LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 520, 29 May 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wβ have to acknowledge receipt of a further number of bundles of clothing for distribution to' families in .distress; also ;a cheque for £1 Is; from Messrs! AV Beaver nu.cl Co.;,(Mr, ,B.,Newman); wholesale jov,-ellers aim; general importers,; to'assist tho unfof,tunato.family,'at,Taihap'o, whoso stato of clip--tress'Wn's'disejosbd 1 afc the sitting of ' the Timber :■■ Commission. /A corrispondbntr "A Daily 'Reader, of Dominion from ■'■ itf bogmning,; , writing North, encloses half-a-crown, :l !the widpw.'svmite " which,.:shp-. hopsa will stimulate, others to nssist in ':the:work ■ oi relifiving those l in thetressv- ■'.•''•. '■ . '',;.-,; :■■■ :, ° ; ; .„■ .■'•..•.■ ''■ The officjal opehingiof'the Hutt.gplf linke will take place at 3.80 p.m. to-day. :'' ~ A' proposal to raise a loan of £30,000 for' the construction' of a tramway! between Gis- ', borne and Patutalii was defeated by 359 %tcs,tp 303 on IHiesday last. , ', .'.-■ .. iThe City Council has decided to . appeal against the. decision of a magistrate in tho caso'dfDiylb versus Gilmei: oohcbriiiiig'the Srosenee of a cesspit on a property owned by efondant at; Island Bay, . ';-■ : :- :•:.■] ....' : The caso of Motonnan Barton, who'was injured by a collision, between.the State Coal .motor wagon and a tram car, .will,be laid before the, Minister for Public Works (Hon. R, M'Koiizio)'on Monday afternoon by a deputation representing the Federated: Tramway Employees' 'Union... ;■'; , . ■ During the past few days people have been Bending parcels l of clothing to The Dominion for those in need,' clothing for grown-ups arid for children, and all they can. send' will be distributed'to the many homes of poverty. Clothing for babios under a year old is very much needed, and is not so easily obtained as.clothing for older children; , Gift guns, it seems, may 1 bo as oxpenslvo .as .the King of Siam's whito elophants. "Palmerstou,": says our local correspondent, "is, likely;'to pay heavily for the gift of guns froni the ■ Defence' Department.: The railway froight on. tho same from Wellington totalled £50.' The Borough Council has expressed'the opinion that it was an exorbitant charge, aaid has decided to make application for'a refund of part of it. Altogether,, with the Work of mounting being done.in the.Square,'the guDs will cost the municipality fully £100." ■ The new Publio Trust building will,'be formally opened by Sir Joseph Ward at rioon on Wednesday, June 0. The ceremony, will take place on the first and it is-ex-pected . that most of the Ministers of the Crown will be present. : The building is finished, with the exception of one or two details, such as the stair rails now being made at Dunedin, while the recorde which are to be jtored in the baeeirient are; now being moved f in. It is anticipated that the removal will be completed in time for all the business of the office to be transacted on the new pre--mises immediately after the. opening 'ceremony. r '.•'.■". ::'.■:'' ~' /.;• .■-. ■ ■ A deputation of Ohariu residents, introduced by Mr. J. P; Luke, M.P., waited on, 1 tho Primo'Minister , yesterday■' to ask ; for,, better postal facilities and other local require-, mbnts. They .wanted a daily , * distribution of mail matter at the telephone bureau, instead of the present service'. They also. wsh(d to be enabled to communicate by* telephono with: Wellington direct, instead of through Johhsonville. "Once,"; said Mr. S. Bryant, "a man rode to Johnsonville and back and got-a doctor; before tho doctor could be reached by tho telephone." Ho declared that tho telephone, as at present operated, was absolutely useless. There had been more of such cases prior to recent com-' ■plaints by tho residents.. Mr. Beach said that if a letter for Wellington were posted at Ohariu on Tuesday,' and replied to on Wednesday, the answer had to remain at Johnsonvillo . until Friday, although Ohariu was so near to the city that the chimes of tno Post OfDco,clock could sometimes bo.,heard' there. Sir Joseph Ward in reply said he thought somo of the trouble with', tho telephone was due to the changes now being made, but he Would look into the matter and consider the question of installing a direct, lino to Johnsonville. As to tho mail service, if thoro was .enough business to warrant a daily service, it would bo granted. ;• •■ - There are two elements In tea—tnelno and tenninj theine has tho stimulating effects- for which we alone drink tea. Tannin produces dyspepsia, and is, 'therefore, injurious to tho system. Tho percentage of theine in teas .varies, and tho variation is Recording - to'-the quality. Theine is tho attract from the leaf, and pure tea must consist wholly of leaf and little or.nothing of fibre and dust. Crescent Blend Tea is all leaf; it is exquisite in flavour, rich; and of full strength. Crescent Tea cwptiriUwi tin palate. All grooori, at 2i, per 10. . i , ..-. -.• .- ■. ■ •■~ -.

A 17-roomed boarding-house, No. 9 Mulgrave Strcot, wae.tho sceno of an outbreak of tiro at 8.27 yestorday evening. . The rear portion of the first floor of the building, which was owned and occupied by Miss Sarah ,j?ye, was badly damaged, and tho rcet of tho first floor was slightly damaged. The. building was insured in tho New Zealand and Sun offices, but tho amount was not available last night, and the contents wore insured in tho New.Zealand office for £500. The cause of the outbreak'is unknown. . Aehort advertisement'in this paper invite ing applications for the post of secretary of the Glen Oroua Dairy Company produced some ninety., replies, ranging from aa far south as Christohureh, and to. Auckland in the north. A Now Plymouth applicant secured the position. The response made to the advertisement may bo taken as an indication of the amount of unemployment; existing as well as,being.a'tribute to", the value of advertising iri/.Tms Dominion! , ■ . A meeting of the Society for the Protection of Women arid Children was held yesterday afternoon, when the members present wer-.s: Mrs. A. R. Atkinson (pivxidirg)- -iJid Afc.s- - W.' Fell, J. KirkciMie, and A Hcby. Accounts, amounting to .'.2 IPs. Sid. ivsro passed for payment. Several fresh oa'Kjs wero reported, and investigations concerning others. discussed. Tho following subscriptions wers ackmwjedijcd:- Mrs Biint-'r ,Jack, £lj C. B. Morrison and M'Lean, £1 Is.: To Arp, 10a.j Dr. A Martin, 10s.; Mrs. lA. R. Atkinsofl, 55.; Mr, A. Dunn, 2s. M. It is suggested that if tho Opposition should proposo that Mr. Massey should attend tho Imperial Conference, together with the Prjmo Minister, for the purpose of indicating a consolidation of opinion on the question of defence, tho proposal would be submitted to the informal meeting of. the Legislature which Sir Joseph Ward •■ will call, and would probably 'hot bo opposed by tho Goyernmont, It is expected that some practical aspects of the Dreaduought gift will bo decided as a result of the Conference; :-...' In future all cars running from the conici of Cuba and Manners Streets'to the Government station and vice, versa will stop at every stopping placo instead 'of.passing "request steps where no passengers are waiting, as is done at present, ■ There will therefore be no necessity for passengers on tho. routes named to ring when they' desire te alight. Tho object of tho ohange is to regulate traffic on the Quay and' prevent overlapping one another, arid to encourage short-distauco travellings ■ If is possible that the ohange will be applied te other lines.'... . / A- ; tatigible . appreciation of the " Dreadnought ' offer comes from the first Chrisfcchuroh (England) troop of ; tho' Baden Powell Scouts, Tho troop, consisting of 60 boys, has sent Sir Joseph 'Wird, through the High Gommissiottcr. a contribution of £5 towards the : cost of that to-be-famous vessel: ' Tho Prime Minister, in bis reply, expresses "tho high Appreciation: of the Government of tho

; splendid spirit which, prompted the offer," and addl! "I have verymuch pleasure in ac-; cep'ting the amount as a graceful acknowledgment 'of the gift offered,by the people of New", Zealand to their kinsmen of the British; Empire" \ From a New Zealand boy tho Premier has received tho sum of 2s. 6d., the result'of a patient collection of pennies,, towd'ds ,tho national liquidation ot. the oamo debt.-' >■- I'•<.'■ ■■•'. ;:■■ ' '. .< i •.■',• . . /'Should'our'railways be run by a board of oominissioiiera F" was tho topic discussed by tho Y.M.C.A. Literary and Debating Society; last evoning, Mr. Bro\vn, the president, occupied tho ohair, and thoro was a crowded tatendihoe. Mr. W.E. Dickenson opened for , the. affirmative in a spsoch'of fifteen minutes, condemning the present administration; from several aspects,'- .Mn Alex. W. Parton then led in same time. The meeting^was then , open for anyone prosent to speak for or' against the- proposal, and several took advantage of tho opportunity express their views. On a votp being taken it Was resolved. that the present ■.' system should-be continued;' Nest Friday vinjpromptu speeches will be tho. order of'the meeting.';- v'JVX;^'.''' I '? , '"' , -^''' I ''' ■'>'■'■' "'•■:! ,on. page, 3 ,of. this jeauo will bo found nortiqos rcMrding at St.' Paul's. I'ro-Cathedral (Anglican)j St. John's Church (Presbyterian), the Church.of Christ :(Riddiford Street))- the .Church pF : Clirist (Vivian Street), ' and the Mission to Seamen Church and Institute. 'Tc-morrpw' ! being ■\Yhitsundhy.,onp of the great festivals, of tho ecclesiastlcar ye'ar,\ thcrohyill be 'a 'celebration of the Holy Commrinion at St. Paul's at at 10, aim., a second celebration -(choral) and sermon at N 11 a.m., and .evensong at 7. p.m. At St. John!s Presbyterian Church in tho evening Dr. Gibb will give the concluding sermon of the courso on "Religidu on Business' Principles." "Unavailing Tears—Or a Vain Repentance" istho subject of Mr. . Franklyn's. S6rmoii •'■.at'tho Christian Chapel, Vivian Street, to-morrow, - at 7 o'clock. , : : ... '; , A . , ■-■ Tho Executive, of, |Ko Counties Association met-yesterday,. Mr: A. E. Jull, of Waipawa County, presiding. The chief matter for consideration waa : the question as to whether a conference of .Coiinty Councils should bo held this year to consider proposed legislation and other matters; of importance to local < bodies ■generally. In viow of the proposal that the 'session be postponed until.much later in tho Tear itwas/stated that there would probably bo a minimum of fresh legislation, brought forward. . County councils will,; however; bo. asked to appoint representatives' in case a cbnferenco^should'be'deemed necessary, and .tlipy will a150,.-b : o ; . invited to express their opinions upon sove'ral; proposals! of .the Prime Minister, relating to. tho taking' over of : the, main roßds and ; tho 'discontinnanco of; the present system of supplying valuation rolls and other matters of general importance. The Executive .will probably wait upon'the Prime Minister before' dispersing. ■:."'"' •During the hearing of a case at tho Supronie Court yesterday a!'defendant, who is a foreigner, insisted'that he.did not enter into a property transaction on the terms alleged, by plaintiffs. ; Opposing counsel then endciWoured to show that defendant was not by any means a' novico, in regard to negotiations of the kind. • '.'How many houses do you ownP" a6ked'counsel. The reply was:'."That is my business. It has nothing to do with you." Counsel rejoined that he was entitled to'an ansiver to his question. "Twenty—fifty ?" he inquired. . With a smile the defendant, replied: "Two hundred—four hundred, eh P" (Laughter.) intimately defendant admitted that ne owned at least nine properties. Subsoquontly counsel put further questions with a view of ascertaining : whether a co-defou l dant,; who was a, compatriot, also held ptoperty. "Oh, yes," replied defendant' "he has property, but it is all full of mortgage." •'■• A subject l which has received a good deal of attentiollin this journal and elsewhere was brought ;before the Prime Minister yesterday afternoon by the Mayor (Dr. A. K. Newman), who alluded to tho case of Jlotornian Barton, who was Injured iiia collision between, a tramcar. , and tho State Ooa}; Department's motor lorry. The Mayot urged that the law' ehould bo amended so that a claim for compensation could bo sucoossfuUy brought against the Crown. ■ Sir" Joseph Ward said 'he was familiar with the oascy which had been before the Court.' The Government was advised that the injured motorman bad a claim against the. City Corporation under ilb.e Workers'- Compensation Act. The question whether the State bo placed in tho same position as private employers in regard to such : liabilities as, that under notico \yas an important ond far-roachin(; one. Wero tho law. changed as desired, they would find many ' ppcplo , making-, outrageous claims against the State, such as they, would • never make- against an>' other party. Thoro was , a great deal to be said in favour of, tho State, in so far as it \ras engaged in carryine on a busmen, bcins put in tho same position as privatff individuals in busincsß, but safeguards were necessary to provide ngaiilst such extravagant claims asjio had referred to, and this had boon recognised by. every Govornmont that had oxistal in New Zealand. The whole matter, had already, been before Cabinet, and t]\c representations nc-winado would receive consideration. •