LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 417, 28 January 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The longi, vacation:inSupreme, Court .'will conclude on Saturday'. '■:' '

The Christian Endeavour rally fixed forte-' morrow has,.been .postponed until Friday' of next week. ';,;■ ■'•".'■ .•'>''■•■'■>;;"' ,'■'■'■

_ Thero'ivbre no Chinese, on -the s.s. Malierio from Sydney yesterday.,'.. Only, one; foreigner —an Italian—was among .the. passengers.'.' ■

; Mr. Justice Cooper will : presidp : oyer. the ■initial criminal' sessions for the'.year,- which will begin next "Wednesday.. .'■ ' •, "Everything .normal!' was ;how Dr. Pollcii (Health Officer) desoribod the state of health of the, passengers who. arrived, by thb • s.s. Maheno from Sydney ■ yesterday..:'' -:,:,\ ;. . -■'. The hotelkeepers of Lyttelton have unanimously decided not to apply for an' extension of the closing: hour from 10:p.m.' at the, annual. meeting of .the' Licensing Committee in;' June next: ■ ',■/.. V';' ; ,: ; ;.:,'.-i;.K;','.;:'■■■:.'.'

.A- compensation case-in which the parties are 6; H. Baylis (claimant) v. the Wellington City Council (respondent); will be 'heard''before Mr. Justice Chapman and two assessors on Monday.next. .. : ,; ■■,"■: '■'■' .'.' ' r '\, : ' : 'K:i ■

"No work;is so-arduous..as that of sur-, veybrs, andiio profession is so badly paid."—, .Mr.;: Jas. M'KBrrow, .the retiring president 'at■ the annual meeting of tjie ;New, Zealand Institute .'of Surveyors yesterday...:-';'' >

■Iri.«liis farewell' ■lebture'.-'b'ri ■ the-Navy- on' Tuesday night, Lieutenant Knox said that it would .bo necessary to lay. down' at; least six Dreadnoughts this' year, in 'order.to maintain' the two-Power ■ ' .'' ■'; '.•'•'

, ;Mangaweka,,on,the Main'Trurik is making a:bid to.become a town of.'sbme-uri-j por'tahee (says a Country contemporary).' -The' Bank of New Zealand is putting 'up. a: bank building .at a cost of sbmefching like.'£3ooo, and the local authority is. about Ho-spend some £400p.0n a water and. drainage'scheme.

A correspondent writes.from French Pass: "In one of your late.issues I/notice an'ex-; tract.from the ,'Nelsori Mail' regarding rabbits .on E'Urville Island.';';'Babbits,'-I feel certain, is a misprint'for 'rats,' for,-whereas there is not a. rabbit bn theisland (arid I feel certain, .there, never has:. been), yet for tho past six months the island' has been plagued with'rats."-■-. ■'■' r

; Referring to;, the■ adverse iof -his action in retaining his seat, on'the'Wellington Education: Board: after beconiing_ a Cabinet Minister, the 'Hon/ A. W.::Hogg stated, yesterday personally he had .no desire to retain his seat on' the boards which entailed a great' deal'of. work, but some, of the members had .urged him to do so. As long as he;could do service to the board and attend' also to his ."Ministerial! -duties, Sir. Hogg said, in conclusion, ile had no desire to spare himself. : .'.-,'>\. .-■.

'"■-Tho. -Rev. E. Rpbertshawe, during •: a Sabbath ....service recently, .'conducted ; .by him .at Dannevirke, / stated.' that a complaint .had been .made to him that the local _ tennis _ courts had been used' all the, morning, which he understood was. con-.' trary to the rules of-the club. . Speaking;as a clergyman..'-he tliotight there, was nomoro 'harm ■■.in. playing a game of tennis on Sunday than'''there "was. in reading. aMtovel. But he considered that people should consider the example they were setting the younger generation, and be more, careful, what was done during the hours of public worship. At the Senato of the New. Zealand •University, now Sitting* at Auckland, Professor J. R. Brown .raised the point that ■ there''were not enough professors in that. body.as at present constituted. He argued that many technical matters were'continually coining up for .consideration, which really". required io> bo dealt witlr by,experts.. He thought-that' if there were more professors; on : the senatematters that now had to bo reforrcd': to the. Professorial' Boards might be settled without this procedure. Mr. L. Gohen suggested that' some matters before the senate wore complicated because of differences of opinionsf arising between professors. The soft .'impeachment was naturally denied by Professor Brown. .■";■'...'. ;'■ ■

There are more ways tha none of. blending tea, but there's only, one honest and right way, and that is. to blend for quality.' ' Many:: teas are blended ;for~ ; value— that is, teas of certain prices are lumped together'in order to hake certain of profit. Crescent Blend Tea is blended for ; qualitjv irrespective of - the prices of-' the teas required.to make the blend. It, is a scientific combination of the strong robust teas of Darjeoling and the lino delicate teas of Ceylon. Two shillings per lb, from all stores.—Advt,. .

■" We hear. (Says' the Wanganui "Chronicle - ') that a warrant has been issued for the arrest; of a well-known local land agent, who is said to have left these.shores. .'. \'■ \ Tho Hon' Mr. Rigg last night addressed a. meeting of the Wellington Bricklayers'. Labourers' ;TJnion with- regard to tholabour paper it is proposed to start in Wellington, and the union, decided to ,take. £20 worth of shares. '•'.''' ' ' ..■ Those who know what a "smother" is ainong sheep'(says a Taihape.reporter) will realise how a local Maori sheep-farmer named Pukutoho lost no fewer than 400 prinio two and four-tootli owes one 1 night last week.It appears that the usual curse in- a Maori kainga, the- übiquitous Maori dog,, got ■ towork at a flock of 500 ewes at night and smothered 400 ilia small swampy gully. , The sheep were valued at 17s. apiece,. The Surveyors' Institute Conference, wliioh met yesterday afternoon, held a dinner at the Masonic Hall last evening. Mr. A. P.' Mason presided, and interesting speeches of a, reminiscent. character were mado..: by Messrs. James . M'Kerrow (retiring president), A: P., Mason,. C. W. Adams, :A. Barron, and the Hon. G. F. Richardson. Songs and recitations were contributed by Messrs. F. Twiss, p. J. Kenny, E. J..Hill; A. W. Newton, and,A. P. Mason, ;.. .::.,•' The London "Times" under its new proprietary is reaching out. 'Yesterday Mr. S.. Carroll, secretary 1 of the 'Chamber of Com-' merce, receiveda bundle of'3s copies, of the paper, with a'covering" letter which "stated that the paper intended give prominence' to colonial news and articles bearing on colonial affairs, ■'. and;'.it!-' was suggested . that for the sum of: £15. the 1 local Chamber could havo inserted'an article/seven or eight inches in length bearing .'on .immigration or some such subject..,; The' chamber., has ""turned down" the proposal by handing; over .tho loiter to the' Department of' Industries - and Commerce.' ' p.. ;.:.:. .--! .;:''/.• •' Retribution 'overtook::' a pair" of public .officers who broke the; rule of the road one' 1 cold night recently, and ; availed themselves of the. offer -oi; a . drink from a shopkeeper. l The;- shopman .'.had .two ■:.water .bottles in the back of his ■ shop, one filled: with legitimate stimulant and one with' disirifec-. tant;'and handed the one supposed.to con-, tain whisky to.'.'the ; officers' ; m ; the", dark.: Firsfbiie.and then JtheVbther had;a drink and, became violently ill. -.As soon as they; '.began; toifeel: themselves coming back to 'this; world; again, they waited 'upon - : the ; shopman: to give.him tfeeir Candid' opmion- of his;hospitality. ■ The, shopkeeper, .on consulting' v nis bottles, : :then found! that the state of 'thedisinfectant .bottle told; its own tele."."■'■ The claim of Mr. E.' R. Waita, curator-ofi the .' Canterbury ;Museum '.that' the. skeleton: of;,the.pkarito, whalei is'-tne.-larg&t.'preserved! in. any' museum .was challenged in' the vlocal' press. '.;Mr; Charles Techmaker-Shute.stated that;the'Museum; of Northern Antiquities in Copenhagen possesses ono; 150 ft; in length i" "I -therefore'..wrote;to 'Nature' (Mr.: Waitereported' to vthe ' .Canterbury';. College Governors- 'on • Monday),- and asked for! .particulars,of large whales.. In reply I.have, .received soveral letters,;:one from' Professor Jungerseri/of Copenhagen; he writes:—(The Zoological Museum of Copenhagen possesses onaof the "greatest, and m'ost renowned collections of : whales in;-, the world, -but; I. need hardly! say; ;of.,that; formidablelength, 150 ft.. The longest complete skeleton in our .'collection- is.BaTaena mysticetus.. Of Balaenoptera sibbaldii, we' have a complete skull 19ft!; in length; the 'animal measured 74ft.y but the remainder of this skeleton is not in the;,museum;'.- : As ) our 'whale-is 87ft., my claim is fully established."; The chairman ofUhe;board (MrVG.W. .Russell, M.P.)re:marked that-the; board could now-breathe freely.: again—they v possessed', the champion wh'alel .'- - \;-'''i i .;■;;'• ■•'-..' '.; : :''';.--.'.i. ■'%■}:..■:

':Papers sot, at surveyors' examinations have been too difficult in recent: years—at least the examinees say s"o.- : The few passes'in proper-: tion.to theVnumber' of: candidates- in 1907-is instanced' as : pro6f. ; .'lleferrmg'tb'thbtoatiierj at : the ; ?aßiiualiTne6tmw ;l 6f';,the' 'New- Zealand-. Institute•- of "Surveyors yesterday, Mr. 'Jas, j M!KgrrowisaM>.*haiithtSpuadflr3W6di!that thei pa^erß''for''l9oß^verfe r ofi;a^m6ro''practical ture thanin past years..' He himself had seen' ■'papers which were: considered to he too stiff? ."They were," ho continued, "full of mathe•matical puzzles.: Instcadof serving, to. testa .candidate's practical knowledge, they simply 'upset' him.' 'At; one time I thought that',l. was. a' fair." hand- at; 'solving .problems,' but. many, of the problems mi.ithose papers were, 'to: Die unsolvable; It might take a.candidate, ■an hour, or .so before ho hit 'upon the right, way, of/solving.the:problems,'. and:tho' poor .candidate was then;out of it." , ■ ; .'V;''■'"■; .':'• i*

Two young' men: who were bathing.in the. . harbour at the, ballast ,■/wharf, oh '/ Sunday', morning gbt ! a groat; scare "■ (says the Timaru '.'Herald") 1 . Ono of them was in the "water; .'near the wharf, the.other.on the wharf..'The former was "treading water,", when he';folt himself seized' by the Jogs .'and. pulled under water. ;_He : had time to :sing : out,' and- his companion .dived.'off; tho wharf, and'swam' to ; his. .assistance. - Together/they .made/ their way' to .the.; mole; and /scrambled/up. .-, The young man who' had.been seized had the toes of..one foot scratched deeply, and there:were sbratches 'on.; his -legs and ..arms. .Possibly .some, of the scratches were: caused by.- the the rocks of the mole. The injuries hre'said'not to. be; suoha3,would be caused/ by.f a: shark, .-.unless; it: were :■ a / rery sWll one. An .octopus has/been, suggested; but one of these'creatures does hot readily let go when onoe.it has seized upon anything good for.food. ''./. , //;//;..-■ •/■■'••.'';..'•.-. //. /Garrotting is a memoryof :tho past"now-a-: days, but the escapee from the Terrace Gaol, Archibald J.. M'Neil, is the,nightmare of. the timid. 'Since the escape "of.-tho; prisoner the police have'had various urgent calls to different . parts .of,-■ the suburbs to 'locate: M'Neil;' but,, in every, instance,, fancy. has played tricks with nervous citizens, and iriv.estiga-' tion has' shown, thatithero was no foundation for the rumour.. Two frolicsome / females caused terror to a male heart-in.an'establish-ment, in: • Aurora; Terrace '-'on ■ Tuesday night bydres'sihg-up a ; dummy and plaoing.it; in a. man's 'bedroom. '' When the occupant', of:.the i oom was about to retire he saw the supposed man; in his'bed, and, without- waiting to investigate/locked the; door on-the outside and. rushed off violently in search of. a' policeman. The policeman arrived' in due course, and: visions ipf ■; a"' 'brilliant capture -vanished when [the orij;inators of, the joke, made-their timid' confession and'asked for forgiveness forishe.troubleii.which, they • had- given the; officer.'M'Neil iwas, still at large .last, night. :.::■; .;://

""'Considerable" -.'.annoyance'. is expressed by' /tourists : afc' the 'condition of the Routeburn ■Hut, which' is used as an over-night sleeping ■place by those who visit. Lake Harris-Saddle in -the /Lake:. Wakatipu district,'.; Forborne months past an elderly individual, who is described as an artist, in "company with a young man,- has taken''up his abode at the hut, and .visitors are made to' feel oh arrival and dur-. irig. their, stay that'-to some .extent'they are-; there practically on sufferance.:.,. The elderly /occupant of the;hut is'-robecl in a yellow tume 1 fashioned ■ somewhat in the style' of a Chinese mandarin, and like his companioh.'he' adopts a, curt and uncommunicative manner when, addressed. . The interior of the ; but;, particularly in the /men's' ;compa'rtmeht, is in'a'dirty and untidy condition. The floors bear evidenco'of being regularly. trodden" upon .with -muddy-boots,./and some, of thei towels; 'etc.,: hangmg over lines .of cord: stretched across the,interior of the men's;compartment" have had a far-distant acquaintance with,the washing tub. On January 1G and 17' a.'party of four ladies, including a lady medical: practitioner from Wellington, who was/in. company with the wife:of a well-known medical geiitlemau from the samo'eity, occupied -the: ladies' .compartment of: the hut,: but'before 'doing-so-they' took the, precaution to ./thoroughly air the .bedding," arid,: finding some soap,/ they also washed ! a number'.of : the towels. The, bunks in this compartment;were: also cleaned out, -.-the floor/was ■ thoroughly: sWopt, and a general 'clean-up, made tho place look wholesome and cheerful. .The commotion and bustle thus occasioned .were/regarded with stolid ou'riosity: by the. two:..''resident": "occupants, -. and ; an- offer, from; the, ladies to .wash somo towels in ■ the ; men's- quarters was met/ with a.curt refusal..: > Other travellers have complained thatthere" is difficulty in distinguishing between the emergency food; stores' provided by the Government and bedding provided by the accommodation-houses at Taradiso. flat and the food supplies of those who have come to bo regarded as ipennanent residents of the place. The facts above mentioned, it is understood, have already been brought under, the. notice ofthe Tourist .Def.' partmeiit, and representations, on tho,matter wiU'also be made to the Hon.'T.; Mackenzie, the Minister in oharjge; of the Department. ,-.i

When. Mr. Albert Mallinson, the eminent song writer and pianist, is not touring, h9 resides at Dresden. The subject of.conversation was the poverty of the masses in different countries, and Mr. Mallinson had /been saying how well oft'and comfortably fed tho people of New Zealand seemed to be in comi\ parison with those of the older countries. -"Of course, in my town (Dresden)," said he, "you don't see much poverty. We know it exists, of course, but it does not intrude itself for tho simple reason that there'are uo slums. Everyone lives: in flats—the liighor you get up the less you pay, so that the really, poor peo-.'-plo are nioro up "in the. world ' than' the affluent..; Poor—why; do .you know; that the poor people.never eat meat from bno week's end to the other: They can't gef.it—it's .too':dear. You must know that no meat is.at lowed to bo'brought into Germany from other, countries, whether' by land; or sea, conse"-* quehtly. there is not nearly'enough to"-go-round. That is why they resort; to dogs and cv.en cats.to funiish some.sprtof meat supply. V- Horse is quite common, 'and Dresden possesses;an -abattoir for .tho ■ slaughter dogs.'; An attempt to introduce frozen" meat is bpirie vmade, biit so far-,'-it ihas'nof;: succeeded.'/.::■:.': .'.V: - v v ;••;:;...,Xt;.. ■;•■;".-, ./V'-viOV^-