LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 398, 6 January 1909, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

. ■■■ —4 : . ■■■■'.' ■'•' '. ..-•»'" •■• ..■-.:, ' •-■.'■■'.■' ■ The postal authorities advise -that 'the Marama, which left Sydney on Saturday for Wellington, has on board an Australian mail,, which is due here on Wednesday morning next.. . '■■■:■-. .•■■■ ,-■ ■■'-For'an excellent! summary of last:year's weather frith-diagrams, appearing in another page of this .issue, we are indebted to the Meteorological Office. l ' The : characteristic chocolate hue of ~th,o New Zealand Railway Department's pas-, senger carriages and mail and' luggage vans is gradually being replaced by a dark olive green colour.. -, ■■■-,; • -;.- .' Although the brass discs on railway seats ;aro by no means new things, it- does not : yet seem. to be generally known that .passengers on the long-distance runs on the New Zealand railways may, ■ by. paying- 1 6d., have their seats reserved:for them.- .. ':' Eighteen "match's is. the time-allowed for the construction- of the ; new Hutt Pipe Bridge, the contract for which has just been let to Messrs. D. Burke and Co., of Palmerston North. The estimated cost of the" work was 'about £13,000, and the contract price is not'far off this amount. . Barrow-loads-of peaches seem to'be the staple of the -street veridors just now,' and buying.is brisk. Yesterday morning,.permits were granted,to twenty-two street-hawkers, who drew lots for the sites which thev shall occupy* during the ensuing month.' This is the largest number of applications for iruit-' . vending stands received since, last summer,'--The fortnightly meeting of the'"cdmnriifea of. the. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was held' at the Chamber of- Commerce 'yesterday, there, being present x :---Mr. J. S; Jameson (in the chair),, Mesdames Christie, Kernot, and W. R. Williams, Mr. Brown, and the Rev. W. J. Williams; Several oases' of; alleged neglect, were dealt .with;:'. "Some of the cab-horses in Wellington are. :a' disgrace' to, the' city," observed Mr;. Seed,• Inspector for tho. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty :.to Animals fat- a meeting,of';the society, yesterday,: '-They're.,.a 'disgrace to ; ;the city,''he repeated, with emphasis,'.and :announced his:intention of taking immediate steps to compel the/owners concerned to have, •their animals .removed from.the road;,_ ■::;, ;'■ It .is' understood,-that: the"Kebbell'i Chair ■ I lengb Shield for rifle" shooting,- open for com■petition -'among 1 the cadet of the district 'high:-'schools in the Wellington-.edu'-: oatibn district, has.been' won by- Levia Dis- ■ trict High School.' The trophy, "which 'is inow:in its second year of competition, was won previously; by Petone Distoict Higjr School..;. :■:■. ; ;■'• .':.'..:■: ■■',■■--',:?. ; -It seldom, happens locally that a trout exceeding five pounds in weight is, landed from 'any '.of the .'smaller streams around-Welling-' 'ton, !:.This.'seafibii 1 .-however,, the' Porirua Stream Vis-excelling! itself. Ranger. Cole, of !tkat. district, has reported two fish, of over 101b. weight that have been caught there this season. _ The last,one was captured during the Christmas season." ■■-,: , .. ■ Poaching is fairly prevalent in \local streams, according to reports received. .. The. Kaiwarra (says a correspondent) will shortly be depleted of trout, as raids from juvenile poachers are frequent, and the lowness of the stream aids them in the lawless object! Another kind, of poaching is the alleged'sport ■who fishes .'.without. .a' license. It' is understood that a_ case of this kind has been discovered at Porirua. - Very large eels are frequently reported to have been taken from our local streams and rivers, but they hardly equal one securcd!re!cently from a stream in the Marlborough district. Mr. F! Bird, of Flatcreek, near the: Rye Valley, is reported to have captured this monster, which' weighed 331b., and, on the usual post-mortem which followed,- a trout which turned the scales at 31b, was discovered to have fallen a victim to its voracity. ' ■ The committee of the Society for, the Preiveiition of Cruelty to' Animals 'receipt of -the 'following subscriptions:—:Messrs. G. M. Kebbell and E. W. Mills-and Co., Ltd., £1 Is. each; Mr. George .Welch, :10s. 6d.; Mrs. D. Rogers, 65.; Mrs. M. Fox, ;"A.A;," Messrs. Wl Woolland, E. ; W. Lowe, i : Union Clothing Co., and Miss Malcolm, :ss. each; Mrs. Ross and Miss Rous-Marten, 2s. 6d. each; "Anonymous," Bs. 9d.; total, £5 !2s. 3d. ;"';'".' :" 1 -' ,;-,, ! The holiday traffic so far as the Auckland jkotels are: concerned is by no moans at. an end yet, telegraphed our Auckland correspondent last night; .The whole of the.principal hotels were so full yesterday that : eral shakedowns had to be improvised to accommodate guests, while in some cases arrivals by the Sydney steamer were unable to obtain even that form of accommodation at one of. the leading hotels, and had perforce: to .go elsewhere. - "' , ■ ' A passenger, who recently travelled to Auckland on: the through excursion train, complains that the journey was unnecessarily prolonged. "From station to station,'' ,he says, "the time occupied was 20 hours and ,17 minutes. We were scheduled:to stop only at Palmerston North, Feilding, Marlon',' Frankton Junction, arid Newmarket,' but as a matter of fact,! the. train stopped at almost every station and for no apparent reason. At least two hours must have been consumed in this way, and the journey could havo been' easily done in, IS hours." On Saturday evening a youngster,was exploding fireworks in a Mornisigton istreet (states the "Otago Daily Times"),, and ho carelessly threw a lighted cracker' through the open window of a residence close by, occupied by Mr. N Norman Shaw. The cracker burst, and the.resulting.spurt, of flame set fire to the bed, which was ajrfickljr ili a .blaze. An alarm was givori. and the fire extinguished after a few pounds' worth of damage had been done. Tho house,- which is the property of Mr. W. Sainsoury,: is insured for £250. •'- .->'..: The rooms of. Mrs. Boljeston,'4 Willis, Street (over-Carroll's), ro : opened yesterday for. Hair ' Treatment,' Pace Massage, Hairdressing, Shampooing, etc. "■ Ladies are advised to'book'appointments early. Personal, attention.. Advice given free of charge. Tel. 1599. C 739 There-are more ways tnan one of blending tea; but there's pnij one honest and right way and that is-to blend for quality, Many teas ore blended for. value—that is, -teas of certain prices, are,: lumped together in order to make certain of profit. Crescent Blend Tea is blended for quality, irrespective of the prices of the' teas required to make ::L'e blend. It is a scieri- : tiflo combination of the strong robust teas of narjeolins and'tbo-fine delimits tea* of. Ceylon; ■ Two shillings per lb„ from all etorw.-Advt,

Nominations for to the : Hutt River Board closed yesterday at noon with .the clerk, Mr.W. Cuff. The election takes placo on January 12. ■'."" i". The Hon:-G.'Fowlds: (Minister for Public Health) will receive a deputation of milkvendors at. 2.30 p.m." to-day.' '.Mr. J.. ; 'P. Ijuko;'M.P M 'will'introduce the deputation, whoso object is to impress on the Minister the desirability of a better system of milk distribution in this city, coupled with the establishment of a depot for the reception and'inspection of milk.' Detectives Lewis and Andrews t arrested a man and a woman yesterday evening, oh two charges of housebreaking. It is alleged that the' accused .entered the . dwelling of Mr. Chas. Durio, ; Roy Street, on December 3, and stole a quantity of jewellery and sundries valued : at £10, and also entered the dwelling of Mr. Arthur Carman, Brittomart Street, on December 17, and stole a .quantity of plate, valued at £35, also some wearing apparel. . Scene: A florist's windc/w in Lambton Quay. Dramatis Personae: Two sinewy-look-ing firemen, named Bill and Jim. Jim (looking longingly at,the flower-strewn window): |'Say, Bill, wouldn't yer like to 'ave a garding and grow them flowers?" No answer from Bill. "What about .'aving them there in the fo'c'sle?" Still no answer from Bill. "Say, Bill, what flowers do yer like the. best?" Bill (laconically): "I prefers 'ops!" A little amusement was caused at the Wanganui-Otago cricket match on Saturday by the sudden appearance of a hare on.the field of play:, The startled animal, relates the "Feilding Star," made 'a bee-line for. the, pavilion, and players and spectators tried to corner the fugitive, which was just missed by .a lightning shot from Wordsworth, who happened to be in possession of the ball at the time. "Swerving" from, a .straight'run; however, the; hare made a "break"; for the fence, and maintaining a fast ."paee," soon reached 'the '"boundary;" and was neither "caught" nor "Bowled." '. , ; . .::■■ ■■ Iron-fronted apathy has met the petitions which, are being circulated urging the establishment of ■ a Saturday half-holiday. So far they have,: not, been -largely .signed. . The coming of holiday , time to a great extentaccounted for. the slow progress of the -move-- . ment. At-.present only two petitions are being energetically circularised, and it 'is \the 1 intention of those moving in the - matter to convene a "meeting shortly, with a view .to establishing a Saturday Half-holiday League. The. object .of .the" proposed league is...to push matters ahead, and expedite theobtaining of the required" number of -signatures: .-■'--. ; ;■:' -v.-. ••■■--• ' . .'..lt. is hot everyone who : can , muster up courage to tell.the'-'average .cabby the'.trut-L about the,condition of ,his horses, but', tho Inspector, for .the. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty .to: Animals (Mr. Seed) has frer qiiently tq.do so in : the course of.his professional duties, and not infrequently is abused by the incensed jehus, ■ whose amour; propre is easily disturbed by any reflection upon their horseflesh.'_ Mr. ■ Seed'reported that he had occasion,; within'the last fortnight, to remonstrate .>ith'a"city 'cabby for working' ah animal.which %as -unfit, fqr the ' road. The cabby'_ becamo very abusive, and offensively ; repudiated the inspector's regard-, ing the horse. "The animal has. since-died," ■commented Mr. Seed,;concluding his report. 'Although the number ,of denizens of-the '.deep ;known "to man may be said to bo' ' legion,.' yet occasionally there comes *to his ken one which-is to him unique, and such ,a; one '(says Saturday's; Sduthland '' Times '') disclosed itself to a 'party of three visitors to. Stewart Island,■ who, while- enjoying- -a; ;jaunt near -Ringa Ringa," observed' a- com- 1 '.motion .near ;'the. .beach.. .Thinking that :a ; baby'.whale ha'd "gone .ashore, they rah down, and-.-attacked the- creature, and;' after ,a 'struggle dragged "it to the. beach; It'proved to be about-8 feet'long, with sharp nose, without teeth, and', with a: peculiarly shaped tail with a small fin on-thoi back in advance' j6f-the'tail.. .'.An old salt was ,andto him'the fish was a mystery, it. was ;not'a whale nor p a,:blackfish, although it had | a blow-hole in the top of the head as a tliennterest ,at'taching to it the marine novelty was brought lover to: the mainland.-..:\ ~ ; : : In the course of a speech at the smoke ;coricort, held'under the auspices of the New iZealand Athletic Union in Dunedin, on Saturday 'night, Mr.-'. R.- Smith,:of ■ Pahiatua, advocated .the sending to Great Britain of a few of our, champions, snch as Frank Forde, of Invercargill,Afield athlete, and Alexander Duncan, .piper,- -of .the same city'.' He was. sure these gentlemen - would do credit to the Dominion. ;;He promised that he could get. financial assistance in tho North Island. Mr.: Dugald. M'Pherson, president of Otago Caledonian Society, 'supported the . suggestion very: strongly,-and promised assistance. Mr. Forde already holds some world's cham-, pionships, and, Mr... Duncan secured championship honours in pipe'mußic at the Christchurch .Exhibition meeting.; : -~ : ; . -On New Year's Day (says the Dannevirke ■■' .Advocato ") wild and vaguo rumours were flying about the town : that a man had been garrotted in Station Street on New: Year's morning; -and a sum of'£2oo had been taken frbm him., Later on it was stated that'the man had died from the.effects of his injuries; and at various other points and by various other people the story took on other forms of the most exaggerated nature. The facts sofar as we have been able to gather.them are that a young man, named Leonard Brown, aged about ' nineteen years, with several companions, had;; been doing the' .towri, '.'seeing, the old'.year: out.". At about. •4.'45 a.m. they were in the vicinity of Queen Street, and hearing- the"wild cat" come in they were in the act.of orossing the line. the. station, when Bro\vn collapsed, and fell down in an unconscious condition. ;His mates picked him up, and carried him son to the station platform, where the guard -.advised them to: send for:a doctor.' Dr. : Macallan was accordingly brought to the station, and-heat once ordered the man's Removal _to the hospital. With the assistance of Constable Keane this was done, and we on - inquiry at the' institutionithat Brown has now; practically recovered. )-\ The .bankruptcy;■ statistics for the year for -the Palmerston district are as follow:—Peti'*lon? by debtors, 25; adjudications on petitions by. creditors, 4; orders of immediate'discharge i granted by the Court, 6; cases in which the orders, for discharge were suspended by the :Court, 8; assets as per.statements filed (excluding- amounts secured to creditors), £6762 19s -''„sd.;. amount secured to creditors, £13,792 os. 2d.; liabilities as per. statements, filed' (excluding amounts secured- to creditors)/ £15,263 14s. Id.; amount of debts :pr6ved, £13,550 Is. lOd. Cash: account— Cash in hand on January 1; 1908, £411 lis-.'; receipts during the .year,' £3175 115.'5 d.; :total, £3587' 2s. sd. Disbursements.—Divi- ; deads, £1727 Is. 5d.; preferential rent and 'wages, £258' 10s. 3d.-; amount paid to secured creditors,- ,£139: 2si lpd.; amount of Government commission,-£B7 4s. 5d.; amount paid for cost ;of actions: and solicitors' fees - •£233 3s. 7d.; expenses incurred in carrying ;on Restates for 'the benefit of creditors, £250 jl2s.j general expenses of administration,; including auction charges, £389 9s. lid.; paid i, to Public Trustee,' £3 4s. 2d.; cash in hand. £543 13s. 10d.| total, £3587 2s. od. ~; ..' '.. ■ Some strange'fish, from the Indian region, have been received at the London Zoological Gardens, where, they are to be seen in the reptile house. Although not closely related, they present a superficial resemblance to the perch, being dark green in colour and marked . with dusky bands; ; When, tho. water in' the ponds and streams, dries up,.these fish'travel considerable .distances overland in search of ; uew quarters.. According to a : native tradi- , tion, these climbing perch r for ..so'-'they, are popularly - calledj viravel up coco-palms to drink the milk-frb'iri the nuts, : and the Malayan namo (lihdi-colli) signifies f'treo-clim-;beri"Daldorf, a'Danish lieutenant, claimed to hav6 taken one that'had got about sft. up' a palm tree growing by the edm of tho pond. '.There is no reason to doubt his statement , which is printed in the annals of the Linneair iSdciety, but no one else appears to have had ;a similar experience. Examples kept on the Continent have leaped' out of their tank and .travelled. somo;:yards;,on;,turf j and,even on gravel, working themselves along with'their spiny fins., ; The keeper; of the reptile house :hopes to, induce his climbing porch to come out of .the-water to feed;,if he is successful, ' this .little: 6i'do show,ivill, no.doubt,'be' very popular,-Those visiters, however, who may expect; to see. the fish leaping about .among .the; squirrels;on the trees will probably be disappointed. ' .-...,..

. During thoi month of the.ee... tates of -seventy deceased persons' were placed in the Public Trust Office for administration. ; This, number constitutes the monthly record for. tho year 1908. - The' veterinarians' dinner, to Mr. Gilruth last night was supposed to be the first purely . professional function- of the kind ■< to be attended by a Prime Minister. This aspect of tho proceedings was commented upon with much satisfaction'by some'of those present. •. Sydney files to hand state that immediately after .the : Burns-Johnson fight, ■ the . new champion,., who bore no mark" of the fray, and.who seemingly was not tired,".did a little shadow sparring for thekinematbgraph.; , ■;>'.. : -- ; ■■■ : ■. ■■■ ■,■■■■■? _■.■/,:■.■;.■;• ■ It is v understood that the central mental -. hospital for the North Island will probably ' be erected on a Crown area at .Kihikihi; about four miles from Te Awamutii. 'ori'.the \ Main. Trunk railway: The institution will ;- consist of several detached buildings,-, and ;ia so planned- for purposes ;of classification.-,.: Pot animals on oversea vessels arriving hero .are common enough, but tho Clan Sutherland, which hove, .in sight .round. Point Halswell yesterday, and tied up at'the' wharf, brings some which are a little out of ; the common. These are four; Madagascar '/; cats. The animals attracted considerable attention among bystanders yesterday, their.: antics greatly "resembling those indulged, in by the monkey tribe., v ~ ■■/.. "_; ; . _ The Consular Agent forltaly :(Mn R. T. •': Robertson) has.forwarded to ua a subscript , : . turn list for the recording of contributions to tho fund that is being raised-for, those distressed by. the recent earthquakes in-Mes-sina-and Sicily. We very readily accede to .his, request to, place' : the.list, in mercial office. Any subscriptions so given. ' will be acknowledged in these columns. The Mayor>hasVacceded to a- request to open a subscription list.-,; .•;-.. ,-...: -, ..:,,-- :,...».■..■■-. .At a meeting of-the'Wellington Presbytery v yesterday, afternoon, the Rev.' Dr. Gibb pre-, sided,' and-there-were also present the Revs;- . W, Shirer/W. Marshall, W, J. Comrie,arid ! .r; J. K. Elliott.' Arrangements' were' made for'-', ''.- the induction of the Rev. J. K. Stowoll, to. : " ; the charge of Wairarapa South. The services": will take place''at'-:.Greytown: on Friday, February 5, when the Rev. ■ J. Patterson will preside, the Rev. J. C. Mill will preach, and the Rev. A. Thompson, of Masterton, will address the minister and people. The Presbytery., also, again 1 -authorised. Mr. .Rattray, missioner at Pongaroa,'to" perform-marriage ; ceremonies during the; next twelve months. outbreaks' of -fire occurred ;in. the city .yesterday. ■■■: The first/was- at 2.37-,tp a dwelling, 27 Wilson! Street, occupied; : : '.'■ Geo. Deare, a-small portion of the outside V". wallof the building being-slightly damaged. The cause of the. outbreak was - ■/'.: match being dropped, amongst some , paper,' - A second call was received at"2.44p.m. ; 'to ':■': a slight outbreak on the roof of the v C.A. building in Willis Street,-- suppbsed.to have been, caused by a spark.- -No damage was done. At,7:.8 p.m.- a turn-out was'made. to. a. two-stery building at. the back of 105 Lambten Quay, occupied by Jas. Markeyas ; a.'■■ cabinet-maker's-workshop. • ' Slight damage" was done .to some timber under, the bench.. The contents were insured in the'Comrnefcial Union: Ofiice for, £50.'. ,Ah'spark 'was ies-\ j ponsible for .the. other,!outbreak, 'which;;dof'_ lourred at Luke and Co.'s fouridry, where:*-' / number of sacks, in'' the -yard were.- ignited;,- ■••' ' : A'' cablegram from ; Sydney-Recently - stated 1 , >that; Mr. - Harry Freeman- had' succeeded..-in-putting up a piano-playing recordVby playV' ,ing continuously for 61 hours 10 minutes.; In-Auckland last week';Mr,)CharJes..Parnell, ; iwho was': associated i'witii'''Fuller&'; Enter-. ~ : tainers for a long ''timer essayed to beat the :Sydney;man's, time.- ;.'Ho ; began-at-'fcV'p.m.. on ';; 'Tuesday last in. the': Hall, 'and: ; '■ played • on ! midnight' 'on.';'-,£ :Friday, having. ; then .played ",i 0r"52.-.hours.:'; :: At .the conclusion: of this'ioxtr&ordinary. feat':.:'. Mr. Parnell: was: loudly cheered. - He stated . that at that -moment : he wasvnot feeling, over-; ■ ; strained in tbe'lea'st; expected-aw.';' action would sot in afterwarys; ."Yon'-'see,'A , he'said; "I .have ,: been straining' myself-'for?. -';: this for -'tho.: past'.six T have- been' : T punching; the, jball, .club-swiiiging, and doing various Tenia's of things to .'.get. myself, into" ~ trim,-and-.you-see..! have,Bftc.ceeded,.-i'th6ugK: ': I have been suffering/from foE-'sevSaJ;: . days; ::ando'it.'hSS;.igiyen;:nios;s6m'.e You-. cah-r.teir.the;-public.--•th'at.. .'fvaino-qnitft .-.-.■'; capiiblcof playingfof 70 hours'when';l!'wish' ■-. to." -A-.'specially-''appointed'Tcommittee ; ;kept::, watch 'throughout' -the; 'performance,' and; ', everything possible was doneffor the jjlayefft comfort'.-.' ,Including>'the,tliree^quartora i of..an. hmir. till'inidnig'ht,,.aiid one i)iin'ut£,'..whlch' he' played after, that: time, Mr. played, continuously for: 52 hours", one minute; '.andduring this period .ho states (that-he -ren.tiered something exceeding >11500 . separate; items'::: • ;.'.'. •:■■'...-■.'.-. '■■■''■ - A." :}•.;■';.;: '-.:. ■'-