LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 402, 11 January 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

■ Tho,'-postal 'authorities adviso that 1 the -Wirrimera', with -Australian and English mails, caught ,the southward, steamer at Auckland yesterday,, and tho' mails will reacli./Wellington to-night. .' ' :: .■-.'; •Russians.; are coming here, but not. with warships and big guns,. The Onder-Secretary for Lands has been interviewed by a party ■of Russian gentlemen .who. aro visiting, the Dominion for..the purpose ;of.-inquiring what lands are.ayailable to them 'for."settlement purposes. Tho party are making investigations on : behalf of njno hundred families (comprising 2000 people), l with a capital of between £50,000 and £60,000, which they. dosire to invest ■ in. laud settlement in the colonies. Avisit has been paid to Manila, '.and .iths party are about lo proceed to Australia. ' -■-..''.-■' . . '"'-Those who saw.Burns for the first time on Saturday (fighting Johnson) must havo left the Stadium convinced that ho lmew not oven tho rudiments 'of at close auartors, while after- tho contest with.' Squires everybody "looked upon-'Jiim as the; last' word In tho art. l, —"Sydney Morning Herald." . , . At tho -Police; Court:.on Saturday ' (telegraphs, our'Christohurch correspondent) the man, W. -.E),- Ki}ott,, who, had been before: the Oourt'onTuosdaychargDd with a breach of a prohibition order, and had appealed un- 1 successfully to ,bp simt to Pakatoa, again made his appearance on charges of drunkenUosSi being a)i habitual drunkard, procuring liquor during'the currency of a prohibition order, aiid failing to account for certain moneys. ,He pleaded guilty, and the magistrate committed him to tho Pakntoa Inebri-; atos . Home for two years.

; The fire brigade was called out at 9:33 o'clock last evening to a grass and gorso fire off Mount Street. It was quickly extinguished. Rubbish burning in a shod at .the back of Luke's Foundry in Luke's Lano (off Manners. Street) led ,to an alarm of fire being given at 4.25 p!m. yesterday. The, City Brigade quickly suppressed the outbreak. The. Health Department report the following cnses of infectious diseases for ..the week ending January 9: —In the city; Scarlet fever 1,; enterio fever 2, diphtneWa 2, tuberculosis; B. Hutt county: Scarlet reyor ' The Tittoll Brune Dramatio Company ap= rived from Christchurch yesterday, and' wjjl leave for Wanganui this morning. The company, whioh plays at Wangai-mi, North, and Masterton this week, is to.open jn Wellington-on Saturday evening. , ■ ■■ The Cornwall, which reached Wellington on Saturday from Liverpool, has on board three valuable Clydesdale horses which have been brought from Scotland; for the New Zealand Government. The long sea voyage appears to have had little or no effect pn the animals. They will bo unshipped at Punedin. . ' . . . At the Christohurch Juvenile Court on Saturday a boy of twelve years was charged with smoking cigarettes.. Ho denied the charge, and handed to the -magistrate a dummy cigarette, and. said that at the time the took his .name he had it in his mouth. Tho magistrate said -he would . require the oase proved, and as the constable was out of town it .was impossible to do-this, and the case .was dismissed. A: perfect sheet of water is now open for bathers at Te Aro- Baths..; The pile ; extractor, which has been at •■work/ for some days, has lifted the wholo of the.piles whioh formed the outer wall of the old jiaths, and the bath is now clean Tho major portion of the: outside wall ; is finished, but. the balance will not be .completed for , 'some littlo time. ..With the piles out of the way. however, ;swimrriers nave little to grumble', at "in the meantime. . . • . ■' • "According tp the terms of the contract, the new Otago'dock should have been completed and handed; over to the Dock Trust in 1907," writes our Dunodin correspondent. "It is not. finished yet, The net cash revenue absolutely lost to the trust is over' £1000. The, wages disbursed to the workr men for the pointing," ;eto., of those ships would, it js roughly estimated,..?mount to £7ooo!» yY ■--~. :■.;■ ;..; William Johnston, who. as The Dominion stated:, last week, has .been arrested .■ at Hobart in connection with bankruptcy pro-r ceedings in New; Zealand, carried on, the business of-a : rabbitor in the Oamaru .district, and a few weeks ago left the;locality. . Hβ will be detained nt. Hobart pending the arrival of ConstabK.i Gassidy, of.'Kurow,. ; who yesterday left Ijy the Melbourne boat to escort Johnston back:to.New Zealand. .. Those on board the F.H.S. Line sfeamer Cornwall,-:which arrived from Liverpool, via Capetown, on Saturday morning, witpossed a magnificent display of the Aurora Aus-;-tralia, while en route "' from Capetown.' to Wellington. The illuminationß, in the form of' rainbows,' etc., were seen , at' night when the vessel's position was in latitado 46deg. 43min. .south and. longitude 139deg.l8m|n. east, and .also in latitude ,33inin. south and;l67deg; 30mvn, east.. This, natural phenoraenop. was the feature of the : v6yi age from, a scenjc point of view-" "• Inv order, to Yguard against-certain deerr stalkers making a trade, of the.'sale .of the heads, of ■ it is proposed'tKat, four-tags. . should he. given, to tna .l\ald«t ■<ii <i?tQxy lioenso', .and that a' tag must be attached to each of the four heads which the .'license entitles the Btalker to t shoot; the" holder of ..any head .withput a tag-to'be liable to proscDUtibn.' : It is' understood (says tho Timaru "Herald") that the. Acclimatisation Societies haye agreed to' adopt'this proposal except • the , South Canterbury and kelson Societies. : The .matter h'as not been )efore the South "Canterbury' ! Society- yet, but it: will ~ be,., dealt; ;with at the next meeting of .the council,:. ' Y :■ v.

.■'■' Oho effect of the. repent, visit: of,.Canterbury; .scientists to the -West'.Const Sounds in thQ.;B.s : : ilakiUrti' should be.ito stimulate interest, jn .the.question v as to-. whether . the nqtorllis' mantelli still survives iii New,. Zealand, Tho/information which;meinbers:bf the; party have brought that'a strange large'blue bird, with'prominent beak, was observed' oir a,flat at tho.head.of one of ,th l o sounds, has raised a'presumption; that the notofnisMs not yet extinct, though, of course, extremely rare.. Authorities in Dunedin (states the ''Otago Daily Times") are agreed on tho point that it is in.suoh n locality as that in'which the members'of the party saw the' strange bird that tho notornis might be expected to-be ■found, .and they, consider I 'it likely that the bird observed; during the Rakiura'.s trip to the; West Coast was in fact an example of this/ interesting'species. ■"•■ ~ .■•;,■ -v/w The dismissal of a large number, of casual employees '- in the railway .'workshops.; of .'the Dominion ,was noted in '■ this, journal on Saturday. 1 ; The "Otago Daily Times" of the same day stategi—A reduction in the- number of men .employed- on the Dunedin-Mosgiel duplication works has ■ been decidedi.on ;by the , railway authorities, , and by. a process'uf gradual retrenchment, the services of over 100 men are ,to" .bo dispensed with. .The ..first batch .Trill bo paid off to-day, "Unwelcome as this:intelligence'is, its effect is not likely, to. prove 'so disastrous as might be , the case at any other-time, for the near approachiof bar-, vesting operations opens up an almost, iramer diato avenuo of , employment. /Whether tho Government in its wisdom has halted!.in the taking of this" sfep until.the season when' work is plentiful is near at hand it is difficult to say, but : the fact, remains''that ;tho total of 325 men now employed on thoworks is to be reduced to the extent of 100. ~' : ;' \ -.'■*' London ideas do not always find favour' in this, part' of the world. In London theatres,, for instance, ; a person is charged for: his programme after he has paid for Tiis ■seat, which, by ■> the way, is usually 1 , about double the prico charged in New Zealand. So far wo havo been immuno from the programme; charge, but: on Saturday evening:a charge of threepence was made by. the Scar T: let ■Troubadours for their.-sheet, and many, and various were the remarks' vassed 'uv consequence. The entertainment ons'Saturday evening did not begin until 8.30 o'clock and'those in tho audience, the majority of whom took their seats before..S-p.m., had to -endure the continued bawling of a number of programmes, threepence each!" Why a i!souvenir 'is neededjsnot quite /clear.' Usually. a ; souvenir ' programme is asspciated with ' bjg-\: njghts when. ■ there 'is ;'a star cast; ;qr when'- some notable performer.... ; isbeing given; a ..benefit, ;or when a special entertainment is being given in-aid of- a charitable or patriotic cause. ; - iv '.: ■ Mr. Anthony Wilding, who cyoled from Nelson to Christohurcb after the recent tendis teurname'nt,' told, a" "Star"., reporter: ; that'. he.. was' opposed.', strongly to the ■.; pro-; posed separation of New Zealand and Australia, on the ground that jieitKer country is strong enough to stand alone.at the. present time. The Davis Cup had been won through combination, '"* and a separation should at least-be postponed until the Cup had been taken to some other country. In that connection, there, was ft chance that the Cup might be defended in New Zealand, cither at Christchurch or Auckland. Brookes was quite willing .-to , play here, but the Sydney people thought that they had a claim in view of the fact that most of. the .executive work had been done in that city. There woro not many players of outstanding merit amongst the younger men in Australia and. Now. Zealand'at the present time, Miv Wilding added, but'tho same condition of affairs prevailed all over :the world. A tennis player" of the first rank took a long time to develop. Brown had shown distinct promise ;at the Nelson tournament, where the" courts,, by the way, had been as good as any to bo found at Wimbledon. ' :"■".' ■■': . For .instructions on the latest and most bepoining style i of Hairdressing, for Hair Treat"--jnent, Pace Massage and ShnmpooinK, visit Mrs. Rolleston, -Willis Street, (ove'r Carroll's).' Personal attention; advice free. Tel. "1509. C 739 Thore Mβ more ways than one oE blondine tea, but thoros.only one honest and right'way,and that is to blend for quality, .Many teas are blended for value—that is, teas of certainprices ire lumped together in order, to make' certain ot profit, Cr«scent Blend Tea i≤ blended for quality,'irrespective of the pricos of.thV teas required tq make the blend.- It is a scien-' tifla i combination of the strong robust teas of Durjoolinii and tho fiao delicate tons of Ceylon, l Two shiUiags por lb, fiom oil stores, -Advt.

A seaman belonging to the- barquehtine Pilotas, which arrived in the stream on. Saturday, caused a stir on the vessel during the run from Gisborne. Some unusual behaviour on his part was noticed, but it was not until ho threw himself: over the side of the ship, on the high seas that particular attention was given to him. Ho was got back on board, after some trouble, and, owing to his eccentric behaviour, had to be placed in irons. The vessel signalled for the' police when Bho arrived,.and Constable Leckie wont out to her and brought the seaman ashore. 'Hβ 'was, to have been charged with attempted suicide on Saturday morning but', )as ho was not in a fit state to appear, a re; 'Wnd till this morning, was granted.

The Hon. J. Barr, in his "Labour Notes" in. the "Lyttolton Times,", says that trade in Christchurch. is still far from satisfactory, nor are tho prospects encouraging. It is years since as many carpenters and-brick-layers were to be found idle. The slackness is not confined to tho building trade,;the majority: of trades and industries being none too good. One of the worst is the furniture trade, which has been far from satisfactory for some considerable time. The condition in Christehurch is similar to-that, in the principal oentres throughout .the Dominion , . It is little consolation to those out of work to bo'told that-New Zealand is moreforr tunate at the present time than almost any 'other part of tho English-speaking world. ,' Information was supplied■: to the police yesterday morning that Alfred John M'Donald, a clerk, employed in . the" , Harbour Board's offices,, was missing from his home in Brooklyn. ' The missing man,- who lived with his brother, ;Mr. Frank M'Donald, and sister, at Washington 'Avenue, had been last seen'at his home about .8 o'clock on Saturday evening. If did not seem likely that M'Donald had set out on any definitesion, for his money and effects were: left in his bedroom. The fears of his relatives wero allayed last evening when a wire came, from Lytteltou to say.that M'Donald had inadvertently stayed too long on board the Mararoa at the wharf on Saturday' evening,.and ; was compelled to make, a trip to . Lyttelton. . Jfr. A.' S." Adams, of Dunedin, who is going up, to Waihi' to act as counsel for the 'NoLioense party in the Ohinemuri local option poll petition ca'eo,arrived in Wellington yester-. day, and is leaving for Auckland by this morning's express. Ho.will spend a week inRotorua. The case is fixed for January 25, and the petition, which.was lodged by the License party, alleges numerous irregularities at the local option poll., Great.interest is being taken in the qaso in Auckland, as;Ohinom'uri is.the first-important Auckland electorate to'carry No-License, and themining centre, Waihi, is in the: electorate., ] It was. rumoured at the time of the local option poll .that,a number of Ohinemuri miners had voted in' , favour of No-License, in revenge for 1 the action of tie hotelkeepers in putting up the price. of beer'.to 6d., a pint. /Since tho poll the price has been reduced to-3d: - - - .',■-.-' i Sons'-, of Mars and their : friends had -a ploasant day on Saturday at Lower Hutt Eacecourse,-whore ,D,. Battery, are encamped.: About 000, visitors were present,, and the corps put on a .very, good, sports programme. The feature of the proceedings , was thenight alarm : event in .which - a couple of. detachments, of the corps competed. !: This, .wae keenly watched; 'and much/enjoyed. .A; varied'programme, of music was played during'.the pfternoon by .'-the Wellington. Battalion Band. .: 'Scare reigned; for five;minutes in Taranaki Street;at'--a busy hour;on Saturday evening. It. was;9.3o o'clock, and somebody .shrieked,, f 'Murder I" .. IV a 'few Beconds 'the street was completely. 1 -blocked' from, 'the: Panama' Hiatal .do , ™ past'. Jeasio. Street, and eager eyes-, peered about in : search of supposed garrp'tters,,. But: the.only'violent man in/the orqwd was he who had called for aid, and Constables.":.:Cummings-:and ; M'Kelv>. responded to hiscry. -To-day, he will be confronted with; a charge -of being' : drunk and■disorderly.'-..,:---;'.;;': :; .."'■.■'■.■. ; , ; ;: .:.■.'. : :