LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 563, 19 July 1909, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

■ The' s.s'. which'arrived from Newcastle yesterday morning; brought Brindisi, Australian, and '. Vancouver mails for New. Zealand.';' The total.;-.number' of :bags was .412;: said <to be .the largest mail 'ever, shipped from Newcastle, \ The letters jWero sorted yesterday, but;it wassaidt6 ; bo impossible to. sort out, the newspaper mail until this morning..: The Waitemata brought over the .'greater portion of the mails 'which usually reach' Auckland (from Australia) on Sundays, and; are brought down by ;the Main Trunk express (if the'steamer connects) on the day following. On this, occasion, the mails are a day ahead. The Mokoia will follow with the balance—a ybry small .mail../;-;

\- .The new Pahiatua District High School, is to be formally opened' oh Wednesday next. The Minister for Education and members'of tho Education Board have been invited to bo.-present./ '•', V; ~>:■;,•. ~'■■',■.;,';A'.:'...; j '■ -: ;;>'-., . ■ The . first anniversary, services in connection with the -Wesley' Church, hland Bay, were held yesterday.. ~'. The morning service was taken by the ilev. T. (president of the conference)J''drid v the 'evening • service by. the Rev. Sa'i:J.' Serpcllj -of- the Wesley Church, ..Taranaki:,Street. ; :■■■.- Rangiuia, a young .Maori who wont to Eng-,' land to finish,his studies in singing,. has,been' ! very. successful/ pleasing .tenor • voice, aind his adaptations of Maori songs'.;to suit European audiences/have made him a popular figure at drawing-room entertainments,., He has had the honour of appearing before the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

. Sir. W. C. Davies, instructor_ in, agriculture ".to. the Wellington Education has recently been visiting the schools'on the , West Coast. Althoygh very ; little can bo done at thisseason of .the year, in the way of practical instruction, a good deal of pre- : paratory work is being undertaken. .Most of tho larger schools in the education' district now. have their •school "plots/''■■• V-,'--•■-■. -'' • '.■,..' .... ■-.;:,: £■'■"■ The Palmerston, military 'tournament of 1909 promises to be an ambitious affair. '[', The Mounted Rifles have decided to ask the assistance of. all the .local corps irf running tho tournament for the future, and a meeting of all local officers'is to be held to consider the matter. It is understood that tho coming tournament will in.all probability see a team from 'Australia competing in tho big ovents, while tho Naval Brigade,.'which, was such a popular feature last year, Will again bo .present. . ■■■,''■ -.i ..:; '::./.■,.: '

' Complete arrangements for the tree-plant-, ing ,to-bo carried out under the auspices of the 'Wellington City Council 'oh Wednesday (Arbor Day) have now been made. Planting, will be undertaken :at tho following placos:—(1) The, strip of land at the base of Mount Victoria behind Shannon Street;• (2) tho eastern, slopo'of Kclburno Park, behind Onslow Terrace;.(3) the slope T)etwecn the north end of Tin'akjiri Road and Tliorndop Quay; (4) Sugar Loaf Hill'!and the Triangle at Brooklyn;, (5) Duppa Street Reserve, ..' Island Bay; (6) .'Maraiuii School Grounds. The Mayor, and members of ,tl)e council's Reserves Committee will he in at-* tendance at- the' various'lplnccs named,, at 11: a.m., and, detachments from the public schools liare-'-beon. invited to attend.' The : public is aboiavitod to bVprosoat.. '-.'

: The Wellington.branch of, the Navy League has'at present 147 adult subscribers, 123 associates, and 83 members of the women's section.- •■■•—■; ■ ■-..-,.

• Bee-keopers at Rongotea are making great preparations for tho' coming season^'some of them increasing the number of hives by 50 .to 100 per'cent.,, ;■'•,■■/, :-:■'•-:.y.-

■■■ There arc at present in the Home of Compassion ■ at Island Bay 32 foundling babies under nine months, and nine' babies whose mothors are in hospital undergoing- operations. ' „■;. .'.

A correspondent asks: " Can you, tell mo what has become of the Now, Zealand Natives' which came into'existence a few months'prior to the general election? Has it died a natural death,-or is it merely sleeping?" Inquiry shows that the association is still in existence, though its memberß have' not .been called together for. some months past., .P ' ... . ■ .'-:;..'<. A resident of Suva (Fiji),.writing to a friond in Christchurch, says:—"Suva is at present in the throes of uncertainty and ex- ; pectancy in regard to'mining. Prospecting for gold, copper,'and other minerals is going on. Several syndicates have been formed,'but so far no definite information , is: avait able. If gold is found payable, well, there will be no holding the tropical islo. Several gold ores have: already' oeen procured, but. as to whether the quantity- is • there remains to bo proved by tho prospecting parties who are now out.".'■'""

; Mention of the genesis and development of the Telegraph Department was made at the smoke concert tendered to ; Mr. J.; K. Logan, 1.5.0;, on, Saturday evening. /Mr. ■W.'-'Bi. Morris,(acting-secretary)' said that when Mr. Logan landed in; New Zealand in the early sixties,'there wero only eight telegraph stations in the/country,' and all were in the. South Island. No cables/were then laid, and in tho-North Island the only telegraph line was a military one between Auckland and the Waikato. At the present, time there were 137 telephone exchanges, with :26,Q00 odd connections.'.';.'.'..

/The annual report'. of : the Wellington United Friendly Societies', Dispensary Board; read at the Dispensary on Thursday even-ing-last, showedthat the profit for tho'l2 months, was £181 Bs.'Bd., after making ample, provision for depreciation of fittings and plant: The number of members on the roll is now 4098, and'thcy toad dispensed to them 32,338-prescriptions, equal to nearly 90 per day, including Sundays: The chairman,, in ; moving the adoption of the balance-sheet, said_ tho board would like' members to,make tho institution a greater success by increasing the cash sales; It' was decided to • declare a dividend nt the-rate'-of 6 per-cent, on the. amount of capital invested'in tho institution by the various, lodges.

.The "freo place" question, wbich was very prominently in.the public eye during the latter end of 1908; is being revived by a number of school committees, who propose to take united action with a view to arriving at a definite settlement of the existing difficulty with, regard to the accommodation of freeplace; pupils at the Girls' High School. The initiative in this movement was taken; by the ilbttnt; Cook School Committeej- which issued circularsito over twenty school' committees. Nearly all of them have responded in .favourV able terms, and have appointed delegates to; attend a meeting which is to be held on Wednesday evening next,; July 21: at the, Education Board office. Mr. T. S. Lambert,' chair-, man of the Mount Cook School Cbfninittee, will preside. The Rev. W. J. Coijirie is to introduce the subject of the meeting and move the- first; resolution. -;".'P : '--- ...''. I''"■■■■'.■"■.

..■': Lecturing to the Aquarium; Society at; Sydney,. Mr. C. Coles said; that the booming ofthe bittern often, gave rise to, a belief that a bunyip existed in certain marshes .ini Australia.: He regarded the bunyip &b a mythical creature.. The remark aroused two or three members who held opposite views, regarding the bunyip. Messrs. D. and' A./S! Le Souef stated that the bunyip had been fully ac.counted for. It.was'a seal, which -made its way up the rivers, from Bass Strait,: and not a' myth at all. , At certain, times female seaht journeyed'- up -the rivers', - : ,-'and. : made, their way into marshes, where they gave, utterance to the sounds that so alarmed the original inhabitants. Since, however; the-,;&eals' hadlargely disappeared from BassStraif the occurrence of the so-called bunyip had 'become rare.:,.,; [.[.■■.. ' ~..-,;.' ■''■ ■':■'■;'■?. .-.:'■■'.- 'j'yr.r:' lv) , ;Lepers on Quail Island have'a reasonably good time of it, but the monotony of■ ilieiiisolation must pall,, at times (says an "ex-' change);-. However,, they have the joyof: knowing that on the,mainland they have some'' friends. In a: letter from one of them to a lady, thanking-her; for an: offer of/books, one of the lepers .writeVthat reading matter and games are always welcome. -Draughts,'lote. and cards they, have,'-also a gramaphohc.'anda phonograph, but now records will be welcome,: although the writer dbes : not say: the ; make'of the machines. . "We are very comfortable," he writes, "and wo each "have a one-roomed cottage, and get' everything. we want supplied to us. Our meals wo get from the-'caretaker, .so,we,.do;,not ;haye, to do any.-. i cooking;."but we do' everything else" curselves." ' Anything sent to (tne : sufferers through.Mr. W. J. Thomas, caretaker,' Quail Island, Lyttelton, will be forwarded to.them. ;," Tho latest phase of the Young MonV I Christian Association movement is'/tho estab T ; lishment, in'Dunedih of a'.branoli of 'the World-wide Telegraph Messengers' Christian Association;,,/The association was formed,in London; 23 .'years ago; by. Miss Synge, ; and' .there are now/thousands of boys.throughout the world connected with it. ■■',- The most stringent of the rules'of. this moyemenfc.arb':' No smoking, no gambling; no,swearing' no The penalty for breaking'these , rules is usually suspension. The Dunedin branch is under the presidency of Mr; James Allen, M;P._ It is probable that the Wellington branoh 'of the Y.M.C.A. will consider the question of forming: a':similar, association; The Fire Brigade were at 11.24 on Saturday evening to extinguish' an. out-' break; on,ah- allotment at, the corner of Foatherstori Street and Waring Taylor Street, whorethe foundations of a new building are beinjr.laidi It appeared that some timber which was in the vicinity ;of a donkey engine had caught fire.. .Yesterday afternoon at 1 --.2.30 a. slight outbreak 'occurred in the kitchen of;; Goodall's premises in ' Willis Street.- ; Later •in the afternoon, it > 4:30, - the brigade were called to the Albert'. Hotel; whero.it was found that some timber under an'upstairs .bedroom hearth bad! ran<rH alight'.'owing; to the chimney being slightly defective.;. ! /' '■'■'.-,'••.=■ '■•'■'