LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 134, 29 February 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Customs revenue collected at fellington yesterday amounted to £6266 7s. Detective "Williams arrested a man yesterday on a chargo of theft of £8 1/s. 6d. from Ernest Neilson, of Taihape.' Accused will bo brought before the Court this morning. Tho meeting of the College Governors, which was to havo been held yesterday, lapsed for want of a quorum. The .'date of tho next meeting has not yet been decided upon. i An evening sports meeting will be held by tho Y.MiC.A. Amateur Athletic Club oriMarch 11, when the following events will bo decidedloo yards, 440 yards, milo (open), and 220 yards club championship. Argument relative to a, motion for tho dismissal of an interim injunction, restraining Mrs. Arini Donnelly, and others from placing stock upon Waimarama ; laud, Hawko's Bay, in the occupation of Miss Meinertzhagen, and in which defendants claim an interest not accurately defined, ly survey, will .be heard before Mr. Justice Edwards on Monday, at 10.30 a.m.

Mr. L. M'Kelvie, of Rangitikei, has imported, through Adanis, Ltd., a magnificent ■six-cylinder-Napier motor car, said to bo tho finest in New Zealand. The car, which is gorgeously fitted, has a lift. 6in. wheel base and a 4ft! Bin. track-. The wheels are detachable, and instead of tho labour of fitting on a new tyre, "thd'sparo wheel carried can be fitted on in half a minute.

Quito a novel attraction at tho Wellington Swimming Club's carnival in tho Te Aro Baths this afternoon will be. tho " sea serpent." As the number of persons who believe that they have seen a sea serpent' in his natural element is few and far 1 between, tho captivo" marine monster " should prove a great draw. Exactly what'feats ho will will, no doiubt, depend upon the degree'of shyness which tho presenco of a large gathering of spectators occasions. '.-\ ■

School picnics' are in vogue just now. Yesterday, tho scholars attending the Newtown' District High School, accompanied by their teachers'and parents and friends, wero taken out by special cars t-o.' Wonderland, where 'a mobt enjoyable day was spent. The school championship race is to be J run on Monday, at Newtown Park. Tho Mount Coble School, picnic .was also held yesterday, the spot selected for the day's outing being Day's Bay. ' •.

At a meeting of the Masterton Chamber, of Commerce yesterday, •several members protested ;"against: tlie waste of time by trains at stations between Masterton and Wellington. Tho following resolution wis adopted: '■'That ; the attention of the General Manager of Railways, bo drawn to the apparently unnecessary waste of time by trains travelling to Wellington, particularly the 7' a.m. train from. Masterton, and the 4.7 p.m.. train from Wellington' to Masterton, and,, further, to suggest that local trains be run to Upper Hutt, and 'from. there to Wellington, one stop to be made at Lowor Hutt."

Yesterday the Hon. Wi Hall-Jottes was approached by Mr. Kembell,. one. of the oldest settlers in the Horowhenua district, in regard to the riparian rights of ' tho Ohau River. - Last'. November a meeting wis' held by seven of the settlers, in connection with; this mattor. The kbttlers are 'afraid that, if the Borough of Levin is permitted to utilise the Ohau River for;a high pressure water supply, -as is proposed, it will leave little .water for owners lower down. Alroady a large quantity of water is taken' from the stream for. the Levin water-race. Tho Minister promised to look into •. the matter; and ascertain the amount of water drawn from tho river by the water-race, and whother. sufficient- would be left for a highpressure supply, as'proposed." ■

When the Government steamer Hinemoa visited George Sound a few days, ago search was made for traces of the Canadian moose, or elk, that were liberated there somo three, years ago.. The .party', which .consisted' of the chief, a'nd second officers,, Messrs. A.. Burns and, W. Judge (passengers), had not proceeded- far' when, they discovered' tracks adjudged to bo those of elk imprinted in the soft, peaty soil at' the head, of the Sound. The hoof-marks, which' could not have been more.than a few horn's 1 old, were-numerous enough for the conclut siori to be drawn, that the little herd '.was keeping well together, and that they were not wandering far'from the spot where tliey were liberated. Inquiry was made from ,Mr. Sutherland, atMilford Sound, if there, wore any wild cattle, roving the district, which might have , made the tracks, but .Mr. Sutherland had never heard of wild cattle being about, and was of opinion that' the .tracks seen'were those of the elk. This is the, first that the strangers are alive and doing well since their liberation! '

The Salvation Army officers in command of divisions in the North Island, who, met in conference yesterday, assembled in the Citadel, Vivian Street, in tho evening, ;to bid'farewell to Commissioner M'Kio, who has received notice of his transfer from the command of the institution in Australasia* About one, hundred and fifty were present. During the evening a valedictory address, forwarded by the Natives at Tauranga, was read, and the Commissioner was made the recipient of a spear, valued for its\ antiquity, also several beautiful mats. . The Commissioner announced that he would address special meetings in. the Opera House on Sunday, - and that a special In Memorianl service would be held oh Monday. It was his intention, he said, to leave ion Tuesday for Auckland. Prior to leaving for Adelaide, he would officially inspect the new inebriates' home, conducted under the auspices of tho Salvation Army, at Pakatoa Island. From Adelaide tho Commissioner proceeds to Brisbane, thence to' Sydney, and finally to Melbourne, where a great farowcll demonstration is to bo held. '•

Mrs. Ethel It., Do Costa, LL.B. (neo Miss Ethel R. Benjamin, of Dunedin), after practising for somo years in that city, has commenced practicc as a barrister and solicitor in No. G Nathan's Buildings, corner Grey and Featherßi.cn Streets, Wellington. Mrs. De Costa •, has the distinction of being the only lady practising at tho Bar in the Dominion. Intending clionta can depend on prompt andireful attention at Mrs. Bo Costa's hands.

Tho dearth of cablegrams in to-day's issuo is due to an interruption of tho Java land lines. ' Witiiin t-hoV next week or two, the Hon. W. Hall-Jones, Minister for Railways, expects to visit the head-works of the Main Trunk Line. The receipts in connection with the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association championship meeting totalled £243 10s. 9d., and tho expenses amounted to £14(5 18s. 9d., leaving accredit balance of £96 12s. : • The municipal 1 authorities hope that the etitfcing-off of tho water from lifts and other hydraulic apparatus may be safely deferred for some cl?.ys ; cvcil if the drought continues. The loss of water at niglit is now much less than it was a few days ago, the improvement being probably due to the efforts that have been made to remedy or replace leaky fit-, tings. ;;. . . .. .... ' Owing to a difficulty which has arisen between tho Johnsonville Rifle Volunteers and District Headquarters over the question of tilo seniority of the subalterns of tho corps, W members, 90 per cent, of the active strength,; in fact, have, it is stated,..threatened to rosign. A Military Board of inquiry, consisting of Colonel Collins, Captain Symon, R.N.Z.E., and Captain Esson, is at present investigating the matter.,

The Waikanae school was built to accommodate 60 children. It now has to hold 77 children. This fact was brought under the notice of the Hon. \Y. HalVJones yesterday bV the residents of the district, and Mr. Field, M.P., during the Minister's visit. The children were marched in from-their picnic grounds and told to ,be seated in the to provide a demonstration of the . inadequacy of the accommodation. 1 Tho Minister promised to have the matter looked into. . -

As Captain Newton, of the Waikare, is still : absent,, the further hearing of the evidence concerning the circumstances surrounding the death at sea of Angus M'Kinnon, a seamon'on board the Union Steam Ship Company's .steamer Warrimoo, who fell overboard arid was drowned during the voyage of that steamer from Sydney, to "Wellington, has been adjourned until Monday, on which date! the Waikare will be in port. Captain Newton was in charge of the Warrinioo on the date of the accident, „

i At Waikanae the Hoii. W. fiall-Jones spoke, optimistically 1 of the v wool' and flax markets. He believed, he i said) that the present stocks of wool held by many dealers at Home were low, and for some : time to come producers would''be able to rcceivo a figure that would return them a good margin. He hoped and believed that fall in the price of flax was only temporary. He understood that since 'their acquaintance ■with New; Zealand flax, when Manila was for' a time unprocurable, many manufactures had learned to prefer it to' Manila.

' Application has been made to the Arbitration Court to settle the amount-of compensation to,; .be paid by the .Union Steam Ship Company to Charles.Brown, of No. 11 Crawford Terrace, Wellington, in respect of ,an accident;' : Claimant states that on March 22, 1907, whilst ho was assisting to lump coal from the hulk Gazelle to the steamer Warrimoo, he . was knocked off a plank rest; ing be.tweeh. the ~two,, vessels ( through being, struck by a swinging coal basket, and crushed between two boats, sustaining-a fracture of the pel /is, and • other injuries. The amount of tlift 3 claim is £300.

"I had, hoped that the Horn Hall-Jones would have told us the approximate date when the Manawa.tu Railway is ' to. become State property/" said Mr; Fipld,, M.P.,, at Waikanae It might be arranged with the Company ,to acquire possession be-fore.-the ,twelve.. months stipulated in the Act were expired. An allowance baSed on past profits could;,perhaps be made'far the portion of tho year unexpired. He and the settlers hoped'it would not be many weeks before a change of management would bo made., Mr.' Field also expressed the hope that the Government would allow some consideration in regard to the loss of . rates which tihe .country would- sustain-by the change in. management. .

A prolonged spell of warm, dry weather is not^ conducive to the best health of a community. /There have been ugly rumours from . different . parts of the Dominion regarding. unusually tumorous, cases of enteric' fever, but' thanks' to its •.excellent drainage' system Wellington has not yet been affected beyond the 'average', for this time of, year: What is being• complained about ■ in ■. many .quarters is a.mild form of influenza; accompanied' by (soreness of the throat,; which' affects .the vocal organs'materially; Tho'attack is announced by a general/lassitude of the limbs, followed by-phlegm on the-lungs,, coughing, and the sore throat, mentioned.' Whether this visitation arises out of the abnormally loug spell of hot, dry weather that lias been exerienced in Wellington cannot be clearly affirmed, but such a thing as. an epidemii of trying colds seems altogether opposed to ,tbfe brilliant meteorological conditions that, have beori experienced. If tho weather is to blame, the sharp edgo of the desire for rain will take ah added keenness.