LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 407, 16 January 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

An English mail, via San Francisco, ox , Lord'Softon at Auckland, arrived by tho express train from New Plymouth last night. . . . Visitors to H.M.S. Cambrian will bo allowed on board from 1.30 p.m. to G.p.m; ■ to-day. Tho movements of the trainins vessel Amokura, after' the boys' vacation has finished, havo not yet been decided upon; it is probable, however, that she will be placed on the Slip for a general overhaul beforo leaving on her next cruise. A few tiny feet of land at "Winder's corner havo been added to the. public, thoroughfare.! The scaffolding of the corner building Tiaviiig been removed, ■ this small allotment,. recently acquired by the corporation, is now available, and it-will give more breathing space at one of tho busiest crossroads in the city. .< The Welsh Society held its meeting on Thursday flight last at Godber's, Rooms, ; Cuba. Street, the president' (Mr. ■ Rocs Wat-. kins) in the chair. One of the matters under consideration was how the society should entertain.tho Welsh Choir, which is duo in Wellington. early in February. New members wcro enrolled. Sir Joseph Ward told a reporter at Timaru on Thursday evening that Sir John Coode" had 1 promised to keep his eye upon new points in railway construction and equipment during his,-travels, and he had just received a letter: from Sir John Coode, giving a first instalment of notes on . tho lines promised, which, should prove very useful to the Railway; Department. ~ , : :'! • . The dangers of over-study, are exemplified in the case of Mr. 13. H. Brown, a man of. 30 years of age, who recently resigned a position on the Invercaraill staff of tne Bank of Now Zealand, and whoso body was found in the Waihopai River on Wednesday morn-' ing, He had studied hard, and had received word that ho -had passed -in 'all his subjects, when ho broke .down mentally, with, the sad result related. ■ A number of. stones were found in the pockets of hip clothes, showing, that the act. had been, intentional. Ransacking! the!!bedrooms of >.an -hotel, .is • a. profitable exercise, very often, and Henry Williams (alias Finsbury,\ alias Watson) was engaged in this manner at the Arcadia Hotel between 12 and' 1 o'clock yesterday, when one of tho employees chanced .upon; him. A.few shillings were missed from one of-. the! rooms, and the Mr.' Patterson, sent for tho police. .Williams will .appear- at the Court, this-' morning - on, a 1 charge of breaking, and entering. ' Scicntifio' investigations in regard ' to; the lakes! of Canterbury (writes' our ChriStchurch correspondent) will, be taken in hand soon by a committee appointed by the Council of the. Canterbury Philosophical Institute. - 'It is expected that they will get a good deal of work done during tho present year.' "Somo members of the Discovery Antaretio- expedition, when they' were in Oanterbury-'a few 1 ' years 1 ago,'mado. somo investigations in f his direction, , but as' the tim'e'.' was short,- they I were not on a very large scale- <' ■' y • | Referring to cerfain statements as to: the ■ dischargo'.of railway men in different parts , of the South Island, the Hon. !J. A. Millar ' . (Minister,' for! Railways) Stated yesterday to a reporter; that' a.,' largo number; of; extra hands, had been engaged for the last eighteen ! months in 'making rolling stock for tbe.Main' Trunk line. ' This work being now nearly' completed,! the men ;wero,\boing discharged,!, tho reductions'being'apportioned-throughout ' : th'e different parts eMne'i&Mry' tthero they' were engaged.'' TJie,! reductions would, be spread.'over, .the months of January aid February,. . ' '- ■> ' Tho committes: of the ■Wellington Amateur; ; Athletic, Club ,met on; Thursday,-night -at • thi? j secretary's; rooms.., -A number,:;or accounts, -in conncction with the last! sports,wore passed, the secretary reporting that although ,the. attendance was /not up to expectations tKo.club j would'lose, nothing over;tho meeting. : . The! - committee' decided .to,- run. off... an evening , sports meeting on Wednesday, January 27, ■ at .'which the.,fbllowing -ovehts will be- competed for :-r-75-yards sprint, 44Q-yards flat, and three-mile run, open to members' of all athletic clubs. It was also_deoided .to.hold an 1 autumn afternoon gathering either fn the : last weok' in February' or-,'early, in March. -!'-.'.

Ai Cliinose puzzlo is simple compared -witli ■ the finding of a given number in a ,Welling- , ton street.. All: the numbering of ' premises: has been concluded by the City Council, but almost as much inconvenience occurs now as previously,' for in many the! old numbers have been allowed to, remain on the doors alongside the new. ones. Whether the; council can use. a'by-law to compel householders to remove the old numbers is a matter. of. interest now.. Another matter of interest; but more ancient, is the duplicate and triplicate naming of . the same street. Ingestro Street with'its tributaries and'confluents, for instanco, is ona. of, the., cases ;ih point.' During the heavy gale which raged ill Wellington on' Tuesday, those boats' at anchor in the harbour had a rough time. The steamer Oreti dragged her-anchor, and.wafe observed drifting by some, of the Amokura's boys., A boat manned by six lads, and ah instructor was promptly lowered, and the Oreti was boarded, and another anchor dropped, which immediately took hold,, and held the vessel in a safe position. Some local steamers proceeded to-the'Oreti, and towed hertoa buoy.. One of the Amokura lads had the.misfortune: to jam some of his fingers rather badly;.but although.incapacitated from, work, is getting on Well. . The action of those on! board the- Amokura'in acting .• with, such 'j promptitude has been very favourably commented on in local shipping circles. , , "Telegraphists' cramp" is a disease by no means unknown, in New Zealand. During the past'two or three years several cases have occurred in' the Victorian' staff.. In the supplementary report of the Committee; on Industrial Diseases, published in London' at the end of November, it is recommended that the disease be added to" the compensation list.. The havoc caused by this disease is revealed inthe minutes of evidence "taken _ by. .the committee. According to Dr. Sinclair, second medical officer at the General . Post Office in London, 110 fewer than 2.75 per cent, of 'tho total staff employed in telegraphy—numbering over 18,000—are affected. One effect,.of the ailment is to produce illegibility) and moreover, in his opinion, the complaint is incurable when it becomes established;

•' Acting as a profession lends ! itself to bobbies. That ridden bv Mr. G. S." Titheradge is horticulture, with a big leaning towards bulbs, and a decided set towards'daffodils, and such is his knowledge that it has been frequently : sought after as a judge in England and Australia. In the course of a dressing-room cliat tbe- other evening, the actor said that nowhere ill the world had he seen such beautiful 'flowers asi in the Wellington , district;; and, speaking retrospectively, in no garden that he 'had ever visited —and he has seen ever so .many—has lie observed such variety combined with luxuriance as in.Mason's Gardens at the.Taita, Of course, ho was referring'to the place as it -was in .tho lato Mr. Mason's _ time, some fifteen years ago. There,' he said, he saw, flourishing alongside each -other, flowers Which rightly belonged to a cold climate and thoso usually associated with sub-tropical latitudos. Never in his life had he seen such daffodils, rhododendrons, and magnolias, and the memory of their magnificence had always remained with him.

• 'For"instructions 'on the latest and most becoming style of Hairdressing, for Hair Treatment, Face Massage and Shampooing, visit Mrs. Rolleston, Willis Street (over (Jamil's). Personal attention, advico free. Tel. 1599.'(J739 Thero are more ways tha none of blonding tea. but .there's only one honost and right way, and that is to blend for quality. Many teas are blended , for value—tlint is, 1 teas of certain prices aro lumped together in ordor to. "iako certain of profit. Crescent Blend Tea is blended for Quality, irrespective of the prices»of tlio teas required to make tho blend. It is a scientifib. combination of tho strong robust teas of SujwUng'and tho 'flno delioato teas of Ceyloni Two shillings per lb. from »U etoroj.—Advti

■ The annual picnic of tho Public 'Works , Department, which was to have been held at Day's Bay yesterday, was adjourned mden- al liitely on account of the bad weather. q At tho Mount Cook Polico Court yestor- y< day morning, before Mr. John Coogaft, J.r., cl Edwin FoiyTds was charged with insobriety, u and was' fined 10s., in default 43 hours imprisonment. One first, offender, similarly j, charged, was fined 55., or 24 hours. ]< At St. Mark's Church to-morrow morning c Bishop Wallis will ordain tho following can- b didates for work in this diocese as assistant n curates: —Mr. G. Kendrick, to be licensed to the parish of I'almerston'North; Mr, a W. Raine, parish of St. Matthews,' Mas- r tortou;.and Mr. C. E. Tobiti, pai'ish of.at. Marks', Wellington. The Itev. 1. H. Sprott will bo tlio preaoher. . ? Tho following wejo tho successful competitors at the -D Battery, sports, : held at the 1 camp at Hutt Park, on Saturday, last Drivers' . championship, 100 yardsi Driver I Quiulan; 'gunners'- championship, .100 yards, Gunnor Gilbertgunners' race, 50 yards, Gunner Ring; teams' relay race, one mile, No. 4 Squad (Todd, M'Quarrie, Gendall, and, Hennessey). . The first 440 yards was won ' by' Gunner Todd, who: gave his second man, . Corporal M'Quarrio, a substantial lead. Lor- ! poral M'Quarrie then continued the lead, arriving at the third man, Gunner Gendall, , about 100 yards in the lead of the rest 01, .. the teams.. No timo was wasted by Gunnor Gendall before ho reached the fourth man, : Gunnor Hennessey, who finished about lop yards before tho rest. Three other teams also started. Tho tug-of-war,_signallors: and gamicrs v. drivers, was a win for tho drivers. » A now '.outer wall having beeil built, the; suggestion has, been put'; forward. that _ no; - 'division should be made across tho'To Aro. Baths, but that the whole length—including. . both men's , and women's baths—should beleft clear; in 'order to provide :a better distance.for championship ' races. , When. tins. ■ proposal was moutioned to a prominent omcial yesterday) the opinion was' expressed that' tbo council would not hear of grariting such a wlfish request. It was pointed; out also that women and girls would feel vory reluctant, to make use of tlie: baths if thoy wefe not' permitted a. separate enclosure. . As it is, the whole of the swimming pool has been common ; property for.some.little time, while the'ox-> tension works have been in progress, and cases have occurred .of trespass in tho women's bath. . More, than oneo boys, have, ' swum, rouiid and divod off the springboards reserved for the uso of ladies; ' A reader of The' Dominion , is of opinion that'a great'.deal of municipal, money has : been, wasted in the method aaopted.of'.finishihg off Kelburnc Park, • which- is' still a waste ' space instead of' being ; available for sport, 110 avers that ,to lay clown about six inches : of ■ manure, covered ; with ; about, the same thickness of . black . soil,. and then to. have, waited passively until tlie whole; area be- ; came rank: with weeds, before sowing , the : grass seed, was " hardy the way to. get tho best results; Eighteen months after_its. completion it is still unready for play, llic 1 suggestion is that if eighteen; inches -Of sou, and manure had been laid down, and the Seed, sown at. once, the'grass would' have been, ready -for - tho roller six weeks: later, and then, if"'top-dressed with lne- material and . rolled every'week, the. ground would liayp been ready for play well within five months., Tho cost of completing Kelbhrno Park and, . making the'other grounds was certainly , very hoavy, and, from all .accounts the method • adoptedr-in finishing off :the .' yet , unready grounds (at Kelburne and Thorndon) is open to some criticism. Exceedingly attraotive . in .appearance _and arrangement is The Citizen, I ', :fortriightly recruit, to the ranks ; of J»ew. Zealand ' iounialistn,' which ' makes: its first ■ appear-; ance to-day. . Its conductor ■' has evidently appreciated the value .of'that:clean-cut so-- : bnety and clearness of arrangement which ' are- 'a. bharm of* the 'serious 'English weeklies. ' .Tho !V DiaH«r- is^well-ch^eri''. ■" and; Dnghtly ; written. : The reprinted, articlesi-jand '.verse ,! '-Bhow. a -judieious (taste, 'arid! the." original con- ' tributibns: and ■ editorial comments • are -terse and fresh, and free 'from ithe'eheap' smartness : of-Soma'New' Zealand, weeklies... The. edrkir. is 'happj,: in his editorial reflections.. The Government's „policy'' is," .called. the';" old >:m----efreotire'polic y :'of tryin'g"to keep sweet;with; everybody," 'of ,which 1 the object," has .;been ; ' to please' everybodyand the result to .suit no, 1 ono.!'' ,The .'now' Ministry te'\the.;.sub]eot .of 1 " some bright'obaractOrisation that'aboitilds in. 1 neatnesses;'- Mr.' Buddo' is certainly "full .of. *■ negative excellences" , and, Mr. ; Hogg t .is-as ' certainly, a 'shining ei?ampl? of " one jvho has; » n&ched ' high office, without '.tho aid of a, ' tailor!" ■ Some interesting reminiscences of! ! New. Zealand in-the fifties and a treatise' on 1 tho lateicomer'at'the theatre are good road--1 ing.' A useful'feature of the new paper is. a, 3; digest of British and American' 1 criticisms oh new novels;.; The Press' Association' comes in. r for some severe eritioismi'. The;hew- journal - makes' a very good' beginning, and it should s: succeed if the' intelligent ipuplic,\which likes t freshness without vulgarity/ is a large one. -