LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 430, 12 February 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

'.1 The postal; authorities advise .that; the Manuka,'which loft Sydney for! Auckland on February 10, has on board an English and Anstralia.ii mail, which is due .hero by the express train from Auckland on Monday next. A conforenco of Chambers of Commerce will be held iu Wellington on April 13 and . : The. Telegraph Department, notify that a severe cyclone in New Caledonia has caused communication to be interrupted with Noumea.' . '• , . ...Civil Sittings of the Supreme Court will be resumed this morning, when the case, Osmond v. Buxton, will come' before' Mr. Justice Chapman at 10.30 o'clock.. , ' Tho Compensation' Court which last week heard the claims of G. H. Baylis and others v. tho. Wellington City Council, for land compulsorily taken at Island Bay, will sit at ton. o'clock this morning for the purposo of delivering its award. The Court. consists of Mr. Justice Chapman (President) the Hon. T. K. Macdouald, M.L.C., and' Mr. J. C. M'Kcrrow (assessors). * - At tho end of last month the Public Works Department still had 400 men at . work upon the Main Trunk railway lino; chiefly engaged in station and fence building and other flnishing-up work. Tho number has since been automatically reduced owing to tho completion of some of; tho buildings, but '(hero are still a good number employed along tho middle section. Several important land shies are to be conducted by the .Wellington District :Land Board. towards the end of the month. .■ The Board altered the date"of its next meeting to February. 23,', in order. that it might proceed north to commence the sales on tho 2Gth. On February; 27','portion of tho South Wai-. Marino (Ruatiti) Block will be.disposed of.; l'ho board'.will, also sell town Sections at' Raotihi and Ohakune. The Carrington Estate is tobo opefted up- about March 24. . Tho • "Rangitiker Advocato" . states that Mr. Edward Newman, M.l'., has received the following lettor from :the General Manager of New Zealand Railways, on tho subject of boring for . artesian water at Marton Junction:—"Tho work is at present being' carried .out by a, contractor, but so far the;pro,gross has,not been satisfactory, the bore having been'..put down only, about 70 feet, jf, however, better progress is not made with' tho work tho Railway Department will itself undertake tho boring process, and will go do'ivii D.bout 400 feet. 1 may state that tho .present indicatiom do not promise any great Buooess."

Notice of lands open for selection in the Pitt (Lower Hutt) and Carrington (Carterton) settlements is contained in yesterday's Gazette.

■ Tho Gazette of last night contains notice of, certain proposed alterations in tho boundaries of liarori Borough, with a view to having portion of the existing area included in the newly-formed County of Makara.

The Ashburton "Guardian" states ■ that farmers pronounco tho present season to be "delightful harvest weather" in that portion of Canterbury, and that rapid progress is being made with all classes of.farm work. A proclamation appears in the last issue of the Gazetto declaring some 8489 acres of tho Waimarama block,. Hawko's Bay, as set apart for settlement, in accordance: with the provisions of Section 75 of the Local Bodies' Loans Act, 1003. .

last night's Gazette contains a, proclamation validating tho leases-of some 5000 acres of Native land hold by Miss Gertrude Ellen Memcrtzhagen m tho Waimarama block, in regard to which a commission appointed by tho Governor has already reported.- " .

was decided by tho City Council -last night that tho Newtown. Library shall ,1)0 opon from 10-a.m. to 10 p.m. on week days, and bo closed on Sundays'and public, holidays. Mr. C. G. Pcthcrick was appointed assistant at the . branch - for. sis months' on probation. , j In response to a request from, the New Zealand Federation of Labour, the Mayor (the Hon. T. W, Hislop) has convened a public meeting for. Monday night to. discuss the state ,of the labour market; Inasmuch as there are largo .numbers of ! unemployed in tho city, the meeting should •be well, attended.. 'It will be held in the. Town Hall. ;

.A sitting .of . tho Conciliation. Board was held,yesterday to consider.the recommendations to be filed in the bricklayers' 'dispute,' Further; consideration will be given to theseat an / adjourned meeting; to bo held .at ; 10.30 this morning, and it is anticipated that tho board will filo the text of the recommendations to-morrow.

- Much inconvenience is caused daily, especially to strangers, owing 'to tho duplication or street names throughout tlio city and suburbs.-. The matter is at present engaging the attention of a sub-committee of the Bylaws and Street which will , submit :to :the City ■ Council: suitable inames for/those streets the present name of which '.will have .to be' altered.

At the last meeting of the Gis'oorne Boro.i'gh. Council tho. Mayor advocated the, taking of : steps■ by ; local .bodies to have the license-fees of hotels substantially.-' increased, stating that lie did not think the,publicans [Would grudge a much largor. amount.' Thereupon;. a councillor, stated that some of the publioans would riot grudge £200 or *£150 instead of the £40 at present levied.

.Requests for the use: of tho Basin Resorvo were -granted, by the City Council: last night to .the following bodies :—-Wellington Cricket Association, for match Hawke's Bay w Wellington, on February 19, 20, 22 (with 'permission to charge); Wellington. Amateur 'Athletic /.Club, ■ March '13- (with, permission to charge) j Athletic Football Sports Club, .March 3, for evening meeting (no charge for admission to bo made); Combined ■ Banks Sports ' Committee, St. Patrick's . Day (rid fee for admittance to be charged). Tho [ Wellington Grocers' Assistants word permitted. to use Newtown Par!: on February I 24" for thoir .annual , sports. -X '

' Our attention" was drawn to a" milk cart in' Vogel Street this . morning,complains the . Woodyillo "Examiner", of Wednesday. This cart: is used for the conveyance of milk', to one of the ItwasMn a most disgraceful state, -and the. effluvia from" it would coritamina'to milk half a mile away. We - will- ; not mention tho 'name, of tho owner, but ho is- a gentleman that has.a lot to say against tho,Dairy Regulations and any other proposal of tho present Government/ and wo hopoho will profit by. this reference. We are certain that if' a dairy ~'inspector-, saw- tho milk-cart in. its, present condition he':w'ould order that it bo burned. . -

• The, secretary ' of' "the British and Foreign Sailors' Society announoes.that for the-prizd' essay competition this, year,(four plaques are offered. : The subject of tho .essay, 'is' "Captain James Cdok, his'-Voyages arid. Discoveries,' and their Value, to tho : Nation, Commerce, and Christianity." A plaque, will bo awarded to a.boy and a girl in each island, and tho Minister' for ' Education has prescribed the following- conditions'; for, tlio competition:—(l). Competitors'must-be under, sixteen years', of ago on May 31 next.' - (2) The essays, which must not exceed one thousand words,- must ,be forwarded: to the Education 1 Board .of tho district on or. before May 31. next.': The envelopo is to bear ' tho • words "CoqtEssay.", (3). The essays.must.bb writt'en , in", school without notes, text-books,: or assistance from the teaoher. . (4) The number of essays iron: tho boys of any one school,; or from -tho girls of the samo: school,' is limited to. two, or at tho most three. (5) On the. last page of each essay must bo. shown tho 'full name of the, writer; his or .her ago; tho namo of tho school, the island in which the., school is . situated, ' .aud. .at certification by,the head teacher that the conditions,imposed have .been , fully, complied with.

A vast crowd of nondescripts filled tho public gallery- pf .(he Supreme Court yesterday, overflowing- into'the corridors', "and out into the street. !: There was no sensational murder trial on tho calendar:.to occupy'the attention of- his, Honour, tho . liing's ■: Judgo. .The, crowd- was merely.anxious: to hear what tho garrotters would' "get," and was also, concerned as to tho fate of E. J.' Searl. ;.This morbid curiosity, however,' was not satisfied, his Honour having,, postponed sentenco until .Saturday. So the crowd, hugely disappointed,/ collected outside in order to catch "a glimpse of tho convicted men as . they emerged '•■from' the building en route .to the. : cabs , which were to convoy them ,back to durance, vile.: Thoro.wore:, four altogether— a forger and three 'garrotters.. Searl, came,;' first, ; handcuffed to a^garrotter— no, social-.'distinctions—and, accompanied by a gaol warder, stepped jauntily into tho cab, and , waved his Ifand > airily to the crowd.'. The garrotter was less buoyant,:. He sat with faco averted, 1 sullen and .morose, Tho driver, cracked his . whip, the' crowd parted," and,, off ..they,,.went.. Next' came .the other: two garrotters. '■.. One -.grinned impudently at the .. crowd, while the other, scrambling in hurriedly, sat down-and stared. out of the window . with a. dazed'expression; which.. assumed ,a. scaled aspect as ! ho : encountered the stare of disapproval with which the crowd outside the window. regarded him.

'. I; cannot eato but lyttle meats " is an eld English song which finds .little: favour with tho lonely lion bf Newtown Park. Leo's meat bill is something considerable, and.an.effort is to be made to reduce it without diminishing, the pile of flesh that must be provided for the upkeep of the splendid strength of the amber-eyed king of ;the "Zoo." In the past'horses which havo become a burden to. themsolvos and mankind have been humanely butchered, and their carcasses. have -either beon boiled down for tho fat there may bo •in them,: or buried in the. ocean sands on the dunes of Jfiramar, But we move along. The burial of dead animals 111 tho district referred to is being prohibited with, .the development of .that .quarter. -So consideration is being: given to the' question whother Leo could not be fed upon the healthy horse that dies or is killed. One would think' that little consideration is needed, seeing that the-prac-tice has been carried out for half , a century in tho beast-keeping centres. of the Old World. The Prevention of. Cruelty to Animals Society, .whose inspector is often, called in to pronounco judgment oil seedy equiues, has various'methods of disposing of the remains. after execution. Mr. S'eed savs.tlmt a horse-skin is worth 7s. Cd., if anyone would take tho trouble' to do tho skinning. At Home there are places that offer as much as £3 for a condemned horse, for what is obtainable from tho skin, fat, hoofs, and bones, but here ono firm,with a boiling-down plant will give only Bs. driviug.fee from town. But sometimes horses are too lame to bo driven— then the "humane killer" is called into use, and the carcass is, buried, or, as in a case' tho othor day, incinerated in tho special furnaco provided for tho purpose in the new destructor. Now comes the proposal to feed Leo on tho flesh of those animals whose race'is run; Mr. Quinnoll, V.S., who does a lot of good work for tho society, lias offered to inspect any such carcasses to ascertain \yhcther they are fit for the menu of royalty, and in ailprobability his offer will be: received ill the spirit in which-it is made, and another economy will be effected.

. It is quite likely that an election of a licensing committee at tho Hutt will not take placo as there is a disposition to arrange, a compromise. The roll number at the Petone District High School is now 1050;' scholars, with an avcrago attendance of 920. Tho attendance at the Lower Hutt school averages 475 on a roll number, of 538. .. ~ . In response, to' a 'requisition;' His Worship the Mayor (Hon, T. W. lias, convened a public meeting of the citizens, to bo held in the. Concert. Chamber, Town Hall, on Monday noxtj February 15, to consider tlio question'of "Tho Existing State of; Unemployment." "I ask your Worship for one more favour,"said .a man 'charged .with a. third,lapse into insobriety yesterday. "Give rao a fino* this time, your Worship, and I'll never touch tho drink again for a thousand years'." His Worship gave accused tho fine, and warned -him.that if he came before tho Court again he could bo sent to gaol or. committed to the, Pakatoa Inebriates' Homo. A poor attendance marked -. the annual meeting' of-tho Hutt No-License League, which was held in St.; Augustine's Hall, Petone, last night., , Mr.. J., W- McEwari, Mayor of Petone 1 (president) occupicd the chair. . The chairman, asked if it .was the, wish of tho meeting to admit tho Press, and, after some ■ discussion,' it was , decided to excludo them until 9 p.m. The late secretary, Mr. Thos. Townsend, then- read the annual report. : : ' .' Workers'. tools ,and excess 1 luggage oil, the. railways came 'up for:.discussion: at'• last night's meeting of .tho Trades Council. : ; Mr. ■ Lightfoot saif that -.the- present allowance was 1121b. without excess charges. A car-: penter's-tools; often weighed more than -this, 7 arid lie :that a deputation wait upon the Minister; for: Railways to point out, the anomaly.. in. tho, regulations,. and ask .-.that workers ,be allowed a little.oyer -/the'''excess •quantity of luggage. . This.,was'decid^;up6m: ' When the Hon. -Mr. . Miflar, . Minister/ for Marine,- .visits Westport, he will be; pressed •to declare an open ..season' for seals at' Cape I'oulwind (says the. "Westport: Times").' ■; It is becoming . more and moro. evident that: the seals are the:pworn enemies of the fish in the vicinity of tho Steeples.. Tho seals are'.useless,'and if;the Government-will not agree.to their/destruction they could bo caught and romoved - to .the Sounds and elsewhere. There ' are some hundreds of seals at tho rookory. The- executive ; of. the, Now Zealand Alliance passed a strongly-worded resolution in connection ■ with the recent •: Hutt"licensing poll.'.;: Tho result of :tho. inquiry was ' deplored, but the .Hutt No-License. League :was congratulated upon its ''exdelleht. y fight;'' "Uncertainties, absurdities, and inconsistencies " in the law,'which demanded, the earnest, attention of Parliament, were ;also referred, to; The need for care in the selection of officers, acting at local-option polls was mentioned; V-Two brake.-loads.comprißin£ ; .fivo deer, thirty billy-goats, ten boar's, and one ram's head were conveyed to Keath'orston on Wednesday fi'omithe well-knqwn taxidermist, Mr.-'J.'-M? Itossi states the Martinborough."Star." ..The', heads are splendid specimens, all of-which were obtained in the: district; by Mr. Fred ,S. Steffan,. ,and have. been executed to the order of the Tourist' Department,' by whom they will be . .distributed to the; several branches of tho Department "all ..over Australasia. The majority/of -the heads were obtained oh: tho ' Waituma Block, and at Messrs. Sinclair and To Whaiti's Whatarangi Station. :-

The, illegality, of'a rather; common: practice, that prevails amongst sheep-farmers—remov-ing the ear's;-off dead, sheep—was referred to by Mr.' Justice; Cooper at the Supremo Court yesterday. . His.'■ Honour- pointed"' out,; that under the the Slaughtering Act the.offence was punishable by a penalty of £50, 'and that it .was an offence evoajto be in possession'of a skin from which the ears had been removed. There seemed ;to bo ..a misapprehension amongst • totally honest fanners that they could remove", the; ears ".from the - skins ' of -their own sheep. had . had it in evidence: that 50 per cent.-of farmers, cut the ears off their own sheep. " The; Crown Prosecutor . jocularly .'remarked that that was .but the unguarded statement of an expert.; ' -: Members 1 of . the local ;/ bfanch v of " the Y.M.C.A, liavo a new object iji -hand.Now .■and'.again: it; happens that someone who has been identified, with the movement in another" land dies in the city. ' .What , they .'propose ,is that the' City .Council shall :; set apart as Y.M.C.A. ground portion of the Kafori Cemetery,: as- is done-in the. case'of the various denominations. .-.Then if a, non-resident member. of 'the institution, who ,lias. : no .relatives;in the city happens to-die here,'interment 'can .be mado in the allotted portion of the ground fromwhiclvliis relatives mayj ;if they so '.: desire, have" '/'. the : remainsremoved at a _ later date. The Town Clerk Has: invited-the. geiierar secrotary (Mr. Holmes) to select a portion of tho cemetery; after which,application • .will'be made, to tho council to approve' tho' scheme. The Hon. A. W. Hogg and Mr. J. P. Luke, M.P. K visited Johnsonvillo on Wednesday in connection with the proposed linking up of the .Hawtroy Estate roads with those of the. Johnsonville Town Board. The visitors wore mot by the members' of the Town: Board and School. Committee, - and it was- pointed out ■that the connecting-up of tlie first-mentioned roads' with the main, road would not only; benefit , the people generally, but. also, secure access to tho- school, Tho Minister 'referred to.the reasonableness of the claims,,and said he -would report to the Education Board. Tho visitors went over tho school property, acres, situated on tho Hawtroy Es- ; tato, where the board has. built an: infant school with tho idea of eventually putting up a<iiew school there; - : ■ Tho. Thornton■* Dinghy Sailing Club\ wore successful last evening in. getting off another of-a-series, of mid-weekly races for a trophy presented-by Mr. J. Henshilwood.' Tho following boats . started Thelma ■ (scr.), '. Zel' (lmin.),, Blowfly ;(2|min.), Oeo (4inin). : ' On; the run ,to tho:: Coromaridel buoy ,Thelma picked up half a'minuto on the other boats. On .tho wind Blowfly and Thelma put in a short . board inshore, and thus, established , a windward position.'. On reaching: Oriental Bay buoy, Blowfly lia'd tho raco well in hand, 1 with Thelma; in attendance; The latter boat had tho best of luck,' ■ however, 1 and was successful in rounding first followed by Oeo, which had worked: several .'flukes, thus beating Blowfly on: tho buoy. Zel stood: out to. sea, and was almost hull down'when Thelma crossed the finishing line at 7.27, .followed by" Oeo and Blowfly. The second'prize .was awarded to Blowfly, owing' to .the 1 sailing master of Oeo (C. Johnson) not observing tho':rules.o£ the road, and causing a; foul by. which tlio .Blowfly's sailing- master, was disabled for tho - time being.: r A race, will be sailed, next; Saturday for a trophy presented by Mr. 1). Scott. .; ;7?7.:'; '/; : 4.;' Wellington lias h somewhat notorious reputation . for high rents, induced' in the first instance by perfectly natural causes—the excess of-demand'over supply. Now, however,; there is: a check in' the commercial '-affairs the. Dominion and incidentally of the' city," which has : had an immediate: effect 'on property., Olio land and house agent informed: a ; Dominion representative that 'there .were at .present sixty houses to let in the Island Bay and ho conhl not . remember so many shops being, empty in the city sir.co he: had been'in business. .. There was, 'too, 'plenty of vacant office accommodation. Another house and land agont, representing an old-established firm of: the highest repute, | stated that never in his: recollection had there been so little buying and selling in' Wellington. He thought that it was" inevit- ! able that the high; rents ruling; must go down this year if things did not mightily change and referred to certain unscrupulous practices which were boing adopted; andiwhich, he said had come under his personal notice, to keep up rent-s. One tenant in a hlcck of houses had. been given possession of 'a house at a certain, rental on condition that -he informed inquirers . that he was payiiig 55.: per week more, and to ensure' absolutely : ''that tliero should bp no deception", ho. was given a re-. : ceipt • for; the higher sum -each .week. : !n lo ' agent l said ho knew that- tho samo practice had been resorted to' in the,lotting of office accommodation in the. city. :. ~ ■ Teas grown;in different localities have differ ' ent characteristics,'and oven'the tea from any particular garden is not the: same in two successive . seasons.„: Climatic changes, . differences of soil, exercises influences,, and it is - the art of the .tea blender, to bring together the different teas and by. combination to produce a particular flavour. . Crescent Blond Tea is a choice combination of Ceylonand Indian Teas, and the flavour never varies. All, storekeepers, 2s. per lb, ,

Consideration of the notice of motion by Councillor. Hindmarsh" That monthly tram tickets, be issued to residents of Berhamporo and Island Bay at induced rates," , has beoa deferred until the; next'meeting of the City: Council. The Wellington ; Choral . Society will commenco practice for the first "concert of the coming : season on March 5. The works to be, undertaken for tho first part of - tho season the cantata'- • 'Comala," , "Tho Black Knight" (Dr. Elgar), and "The Song of Destiny:". -.The annual meeting, of tho so-oietjr'.will.be-hold in St. : John's: : Schoolroom on 1' riday evening, February 26. ' "Whiit are the particulars;": queried one ,bf the City Fathers last'liight; when the?' Town Clerk intimated that'during the past fort-, night a complaint had been received; about tho invasion of tho ladies' bath at To Aro by men. 'It. appears," replied ;.- Mr. ■ Palmer, "that, a ,man made, his presence in the ladies bath very objectionable, aiid when spoken to .gave:the: caretaker'some."trouble:!."ThereVis. not , likely to';be a jopotitiotf .of: the ; act, ; for ; tho police have been asked to see that it does not happen again." . y :"v'.;'-'-".This policeman 'seems..'to ba .very, certain about' everything connected-:with; my. case,". said the- defendant, . charged .with being drunk and disorderly,; "but there:'; is one weak point. in -his. evidence anyway.": 'Why does ho not call his fellow-officer to: corroborate ..what he ..says?"/ 1 "The {gentleman is a. strangor: in. the -district, your Honour." remarked. tile /.witness. "There's . only ono policeman stationed in the township, and that 19 . myself." "But,'' exclaimedthe: prisoner, with some-indignation, ''I: saw two policemen last night." /"Exactly," '•' .remarked the. Bench, ' 'exactly.. .That is just r tho charge against Advocate."- ;:' , ;- A:man employed; on the. co-operative : worko atDomett,: when'in Christchurch a few daya ago, - gave a ; member: of. Parliament some information regarding tho conditions- prevailing oil the works.. He stnted thaH his" first pay had worked out at tho rato of 10s. '4d.;'a day, 1 'his second at tlie rat-o of Bs. 4d.' a' day,and his third at the rate of ss. 2d. a day. This marked fall had beon due to a reduction in tho price paid per yard from Is. Bd. to Is:. 6d., and he suggested that it would not:have been allowed to occur had a practical and ex-\ perienedd man; been -making'' the 'estimates. The : officials v'seemed- to fear that the mea would carn-itod muchV'and had gono to the other extreme by making/it /impossible for tliem-to eam ehough: : "The;'m6vanc6' in ,f^; • gard to the scarcity -of . tents liad been remoThe man added that:'some grievances' had existed, but he thought that tho leaders •in the.agitation were "going a bit too far."-