LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 207, 26 May 1908, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

' The Customs revenue collected at Wellington yesterday amounted to £1502 3s. Bd. An interesting reminiscence of the difficulties of pioneer settlers in New Zealand in the sixties was given by one of the speakers Tho periodical sittings of the Supreme Court at Blenheim, which were originally fixed for Juno 10, have been postponed for a week. A fireman on the steamer Aorere, Edward Pearcy, dipped whilst walking along the vessel's deck yesterday afternoon, and dislocated his shoulder, Tho injury was attended' to by Dr. Gibbs, but Poarcy will be unable to work for about a morith. Taking advantage of the visit of Sir James Mills to Wellington, a conference was held yesterday between the directors of the Patent Slip Company and a committee of tho Harbour Board. . No decision was come to in regard, to tho proposed acquisition of tho Patent Slip property by the Board, and the oonferenco was adjourned until next weok. (Mr. Christie) at the Veterans' Reunion last evening., In' those days the education of tho settlers' children- was a big problenl. The best .that oould be done was'to engage a schoolmaster to go about .tho district, and set out for the pupils about three or. four weeks' work. He would then leave for another part of tho district. One of the pioneer educationists of New Zealand in thoso days was the late Mr. Chas. Hulko, for many years in charge of Newtown Public School, Wellington. ' . A public examination of E. J. Searl, ros-taurant-kecper, who was adjudged a' bankrupt on November 15, 1907, was opened yesterday morning before Mr. D. J. Cooper, Registrar of tho Supreme Court, but tho proceedings were immediately adjourned iiittil 2 p.m. on Monday next, in order that tho.Official Assignee (Mr..A. Simpson) might file a report concerning matters with which ho might think the Court should be acquainted. Mr. Myers appeared for' the Official Assignee, Mr. A. Dunn'for the bankrupt and Mr; Petherick for several credi--1 tors. 1 • Acoording to the opinion of Mr. J. A. Gilruth, Chief Government; Veterinarian, 'tlje human being wages a continuous wa,r with midrobos from' his infancy, and, unless ho is very careful in tho later days of his life, the microbes beat him. When a being was maturing, 'said. Mr. Gilruth, it was more prone to disease than later, when', the \ body became set. Nearly everyone was impregnated with tho tubercle of consumption, more or less, but healthy living enabled a great number of us to withstand the disease. - Now'and again, however, wo heard-that somebody hud caught a chill, or pneumonia, and had died. It was not pneumonia or the'chill which had brought about death, but the microbes of consumption which seized' tho • human frame,! when it happened to bo in a very weak state.

It will not bo the fault'of .tlie directors of the Union Bank 6f Australia if tho valuables that may, bo deposited ''in ,tho strongroom of th,6 new bank premises (now- in course of erection at the junction of Feather-: ston; Street and Lambton Quay) are, ever ■tampered with. The strong-room is to be. a very Hercijles among strong-rooms. The room itself j'irregular in shape, covers an area of about 18ft. by 13ft., and at tho present stage rosembles a cage, more than, anything ,olso: This is owing to the rectangle of rail'way metal uprights, four-inches apart, which are being embedded in 2ft. Gin. of solid concreto to form - the ...walls;- of.'jjhe.vtreasure house. Tlio floor consists of two.foet of concrete interlaced with 621b. metal rails four iiiclies apart, similar, protection being provided in tho roof.. The. only breach in tho walls not : reinforced, with metals . is, on." tho Lambton Quay, side, and will bo filled in by" a Chubb's strong-room door of the ..most poworful and fire-resisting type. A bullion r-ooni (12ft., by 7ft.), to bo situated-near the Lambton Quay frontage, will be protected by ■tho same stylo-of construction.

• " Now Zealand. Industries Week," (June 4 to 10), during : which shopkeepers / and manufacturers are to make. special displays of goods made in the Dominion, liaß given rise to tho suggestion of the formation'of a: league, the members of which will pledgo themselves to the most rigid loyalty to goods labelled Our Own'Makol". Members' of such an. institution would ibe expected to .eat nothing but foodstuffs produced in New Zealand,' strictly adjuring the pottecf meats from " Tho Jungle," and "th'tf •' alluring Califor-i nian fruits, in favour'of local 'of: tho same kind; mustj sleep on New Zealand-made b'eds with New Zealand blankets and rugs; their furniture must bo made in the country of New Zealand woods, and their clothes must be made of New Zealand tweed. English and American boots and shoes would be barred. It might' be a-:little rough on some to have to drink New Zealand wine instead of old French, but perhaps that point might be waived. In short, it would' havo to bo made compulsory that no 'memßor shall call into use any English'or foreign made article, if a similar article is manufactured in Now Zealand. The idea sounds attractive, but an'"other things being equal" clause would probably be required to secure a, membership of any strength;' .{A-'

• The question; of the purchase .'-'of'[the. Southern Wairoa Falls as a source of water j supply for the city and suburbs wa? brought under, the notice of the Auckland City Couu-1 «1 on'. Thursday night. Messrs, Samuel Vailo and Sons, in writing on the Subjerit; stated that they had received. Word 'from •their client,' Mr. Tihnc,' that he was now. much more anxious to dispose of the Southern Wairoa Falls, originally offered to! the Council as a source of water supply, at £10,000. Mr. Tinne was now'prepared! to accept half .that sum; and, indeedj they thought that he was open to an offer for even considerably less.' The lowest estimate of the flow of the river in the driest Weather'was 10,000,000 gallons, per day. The writers thought that in view of the suggestion that' the Waitakarei supply might be insufficient for tho futuro the Council might possibly care to acquire -tho property in the meantime as a scenic reserve, but mainly with tho object of a rosorved supply of water. The city waterworks engineor, in an attached memo., statwl that Messrs. Stewart and Anderson had reported on this stream in 1898, and Mr. Mestayer in April, 1901, but neither looked. upon the Hunua Falls as' an ideal source for water supply. , If tho proporty could be bought very cheap the Council might consider the quofction of purchasing it for a park, with a view to the. possibility in future years of .itilising it when other sources of water wore found insufficient. The matter was roferred to tho Works Committee.

raL i ri S ■ • Costa, LL.B. (nee Hiss Ethel R. Benjamin, of Dunedin), after practising for sorno years in that oity, has commenced'.practice as a barrister and solicitor in No. fi Nathan's Buildings, corner Grey and Featherston Streets, Wellington. Mrs. De Costa has the distinction .of being, the only lady practicing at the.Bar in the Dominion. Intonaitiij. clients can aopsnd on prompt and oaiefuf attention at Hra, Do Costa's hands. - ■

The Monowai, which is duo from Sydney to-morrow, has oil board nine Chinese passengors for the Dominion. Those .were transhipped at Sydney from one of the E. and A. steamers. Lady Mills, who was to have gone to England by the lonic, altered her plan' of travel at the last, and has been spending a few days in Christchurch. She will leave for England soon by another route.. The body of an infant was found in tho water at the Magazine Point yesterday afternoon by somo children, who were playing on tho beach. The police were notified, and tho remaihs wero removed to tho Morguo. ; Owing to tho stampwlo of the audience from,the Concert Chamber of tho Town Hall on account of the big fire in tho Post Office block, tho Rev. D. C. Bates' lecturo on the Melbourne "Zoo" was rudely neglected towards tho end. Those interested will learn with pleasure that Mr. Dates has consented to repeat tho lecture at St. Thomas's Schoolroom on Friday evening. Where wore tlioi veterans on Empire Sun-, day? This question has .been asked by several people, and 'the roply was furnished at the Veterans' Reunion last evening. Mr: C. P. Hulbert regretted that the veterans were not present at tho Church Parado on Sunday. Not only the old veterans but the youngor warriors of tho South African campaign should have been represented, ho contended. Mr. TJrwin hinted that less consideration was sh<swn to the veterans now than in the past. ' Formerly they occupied a- prominent position in the order of procession,- now they had to take a back seat. Another speaker pointed out that' they were included, in the general invitation, but the executive oftho Association had decided that the veterans should not take .part. ■ No further action has been taken yet in respect of tlie Union Steam Ship Company's decision to train its own officers on a special , vessel. The Dartford, .one of the new steamers purchased by the Company M will be brought : over from Australia to . Dunedin, .where, she will bo examined by ail. expert to detormino her fitness for the purposes cf a training ship.. Another vessel, t]ie Loch Lomond, now. at Melbourne, has also been purchased by tho Company, and, pending special examination, , ft has not been dccidod which steamer will be used as a training ship,' and which as a hulk for lightering and other purposes in harbour. The Company has received a number of applications fromboys anxious to join the training • ship, but has not made any appointments yet. . , ; ,