LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 567, 23 July 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

It has been decided- by the Government that assisted immigration shall he discontinued during tho Winter months. This decision will not affect persons already! nominated. It is understood that this step has been taken not only on account of ■ the climatic conditions at this time of tho year, but also on account of tho lack of employment just now.

\ The'position as between, the City ; Council and the Harbour; Board in reference to tbo fire-engine-agreement : was;discussodat some length at yesterday's meeting of■ .the By-laws and'Firo Brigades Committee of the council. The matteiy which' lias already /been before the■:-committee;;.on .'.several; .occasions,' V:was further adjourned to enable the committed to consult the City-Solicitor.,. -.;-•':..';■

' \ The Minister-for Educatidn has under consideration'the question .-of extending the .hours:of instruction to children, in the higher standards of the primary,schools-of the-Dpf minion; It has been brought' under''tlio notice !of the Minister that in Germany and other countries the hours of instruction are longer than here. -The matter will probably be submitted, to the conference of inspectors which is- shortly to be held in .Wellington, .

The' '.teacher of 'the : Makomako,-school, in the "Forty-Mile 1 - Bush,.- is doing' excellent service by ; teaching his '. scholars .how to test milk by means ,of 'the Baboock tester.' He has also a cream separator at the school;' which is : used during the milking' season for the instruction of pupils.':.;; .;;.

Difficulty in the matter of i providing the air space as demanded, by the ;by-law; has proved on obstacle in-theway of.commencing the erection of, a■ now building:;in Willis, Street for Dr. Gibbs.", The matter, was discussed by the City Council pntwoibecasions, but, in 'view of the opinion of the; City Solicitor, it was referred backio the By-laws Committee on each occasion. Dr. Gibbs has now decided to withdraw the application which has been opposed by- the council, and to submit -fresh plans;'.-':'. '-';.'•"

A good supply of; coal is now in sight, at the. Seddonville State Coal; Mine. Interviewed on the matter the Hon. R.M'Kcnzie (Minister for Mines) stated that the mine had now roached paying point. ! Ho further mentioned that largo development■■ works were in hand at Point Elizabeth. 'Tlicso included three miles- of railway, .which would cost £75,000, arid the opening up of: a second mine, so that the output, could be doubled, it was; his'opinion that it would bo a good thing to acquire and Work a mine in the Auckland:.district..'-...

MLramar lias not been backward this year in' the movement favouring, arboreal ornamentation: -Some time ago the Borough Council voted £140 for tree-planting, and of that amount £120 has been spent in plantations at Karakaand Ohchunga: Roads; Miramar, Sbepherd Street, SeatounV and along the foreshore at Worscr Bay. Most of the !trocs planted have consisted of pohutakawas, karakas, pines, and cabbage-treo palms, supplemented by a large number of riativo shrubs, all of which are doing. woU. Tho Mayor of, Afiramar ; (Mr:, C. J. Crawford) is an enthusiast iri arboriculture, and. has personally planted a good number of the now flourishing trees that'bid fair to reliovo the treeless aspect'of that"suburb. ; '-.-... ..'V-;

It .will bo ..remembered that .''a. jriew briquette-making proooss was brought under the notice, of the Pr'imo.Minister, (Sir Joseph Ward) when he was afrFremantle. Tho inventor has now written, to tho Hon. It. M'Konzio (Minister for; Minos) stating that he is prepared to negotiate for tho sale of ,the;, working rights either for the. Stato mines alone, or for the whole'of -New Zealand. If the briquettes can be made without heating the slack,: or using pitch, it should result in a great saving... Under tho present system, £4000 to £5000 is spent annually.', on; pitch alone at tho State briquette _ works. It is, understood that the -inventor is now on his way to the Dominion;

, Tho large numbers of men who aro leaving for Sydnoy every week aro riot all going away because; they cannot obtain work in the Dominion, if the statement of a local business man who comes into touoh with a number of them is correct. At lcast'halfra? dozon who had left within, the past ivcck or two had stated that tliey had earned a chequo and wore off to Sydney to spend it. When the money was done, thoy would return to New Zealand. This was the general rule of the Australians. According to another business man, a large employer "of labour, men have left steady, billets in, town to go and do bush-felling at Waitotarn. This work gave■ .thorn an extra Is. a day,, and a species of holiday. ~- V - ~,. ~'..,

Regulations for licenses to take seals m the southern islands embraced in the' Dominion are gazetted this week.

Detective Abbott arrested a man ia Haining Street • yesterday on tho charge of being in a houso with intent to commit a He will be, charged before the Court this morning, - .

Sergeant Rutlcdge and Sergeant M'Crorio, of tho Mount Cook Police Station, raided premises in the city a few minutes before, eleven o'clock last night, and seized a quantity of liquor.

The front of tho Alfrcdton Hotel, in the "dry" Masterton electorate, teems to be doing its own mourning in its own way (writes our travelling correspondent). Tho wall is draped with black crepe, upon which is lettered in big white characters, "Gone, but. not forgotten."

At the Mount Cook Police Court yesterday MOrnln?, before Mr, George J.P., .Tolrn Vrice, Alexander J. Moir and Joseph Tjtike, charged with fn/pchrfety, were each fined 10s., in default !H hours' imprisonment, .Five first offendera, similarly chared, were lined Si, each. Two other first offenders were each fined Ida. ,■■■■■

•'"TKwrt in no more absurd* from ft fK*logioaf point of view than 'the eternal biUs/ , ' ; isairl I>t, J, M, Bell in his Wtwe *t, the Training College'last'evening. Ther hill* change as we do, he explainer]. At th<?~ mornont of their first formation th# atnvv spheric forces liegin their work ot-wf&rinz' them, and all things,, down to the &&&&&-

Of the four closed Eketahuna hot*!*, &sv> are now in business as boardinghotrn*} «&*, the Railway Hotel,,is tenanted* tti *8&/#, The Mauricevillo and AJfrcdton l/,vU. **# also being continued as boardinghotfi**, &V* of tho five Masterton houses, only $s<e Club, is in active competition for paif»s*#s from the travelling public. ,

An appeal lodged by the NigWxaps.j.o*! Company against an assessment of the missioner of Taxes will bo heard by ih« Fo3 Court on Tuesday next. Other ei>j»f«usi«* are likely to bo affected by tho, decision of tho commissioner, and appbeation was therefore made to have tho case brought,before tho Full, Court, instead of bem£ heard "ia Duncdin by the Actaia-Chief Justice alone.

A question as to. drunkenness among hockey players was raised (writes our Chitetchurch correspondent) at a. mooting of the executive of the Canterbury Hockey Association' on Wednesday evening .by Mr. B. Harding, who said that there had been a, good deal of talk about drinking by Thursday players. H,o had hoard of a case in which it was alleged ono player had been too drunk to stand. It was decided to write to the referee asking for further particulars with a view to future action.

■ Generous contributions of books and magazines' havo been received by the Labour fie- v partment from local booksellers to cheer the ; odd'hours of men employed on co-operative works; and at the bushfolling work near ■;-, Waitotara.. The Department gratefully ac- ; knowledge* contributions from the follow-'; irig:—Messrs; S.nnd'W. Mackay, R., HohV day and Co'.;''Wliittakcr Bros., Whiteombo and .Tombs, and J. P. Shand,and tho Bible, Tract and Book ,Society. :;• , , _■■ _ : ; ;-..'>-, .;

'Throb former employees on the, Wellington .' tramways, who set.oijt for Australia a few ■> months iago have'written to their forrnor chief, Mr. Stuart Eicbardson, ; stating that, they arendw in the service of the Adelaide tramways,holding ; good positions with the ~, company.; The. three men are' Messrs.' F... Dunning, J. Davies* and A. C. Barnes. Mr., DunninE held the position of motor instruc-,. tor in I Wellington for som'o time, but left the service, and later on rejoined as motormah". He is now motor' instructorin Ade- ... laido; Mr.'"J."-'Davie's; formerly a motorman locally, is'. holding the' office of teaffio inspector, and Mf;, Barnes, also; a inotorman, is a'ticket, examiner.,' • .- .'

' A somewhat revolutionary- proposal was mad© by Mr. JiG-Hajkness'-at the mooting \ of . tho' Harbour - Board ' yesterday,; following; an incidental reference by the chairman to sigmaUirig/ ' Would it not be bettor,'_ he' asked, ; "to consider the revision of our whole 'sTstem < of;'eignallingr ; -' , C!6uld.wc;nc-t-'do-away-.; with'the-Mount Victoria station altogether f It.was all right;in;the days gone; by, but I , believe our officers Could devise eome-yery much better means of. signalling to the whale., .: :town'-iinstead-Vof■ keeping up;- this .expensive system." The chairman said tihot.it- was not in order toi : 'dißciiss".tWmatter then, but a. - - motion- could; W brought •.•forward later,- if ■Mr. : HarknoßS ~' ' . Practically .tho whole of yesterday morning' was occupied.by the Gas Committee, of the City. Cduncil iin . disoussing; the : reopened negotiations /between:: the. counbil. and , the ~. Gas ■ Company, in : reference, to the 1 , question;: of laying ' the connecting main from Constable' Street' to "the-Gas Company's new, works at Miraniar. Mr. W.' Ferguson was; present'on behalf, of .tho company, and the discussion hinged: on 'a letter forwarded to : the : council: by the company, on Wednesday. , v The . proceedings'.'':wbr'ev'-private,' but from what caii be gathered,, tho matter in;dispute is' moving-ill the directjonof a eettlo-. niont," ■ Tho ■ committee /'and Mr. ' Ferguson',' are to'meet again at il; o'clock this morning, i

There wis,a fair'attendance of officers at. the Garrison Officers'.Club lecture on Wed- ~ nesday night, the subject of'the: evening - being ': "Field Fortißbations,!' and, _. the : ■ lecturer Captain J.;E.Duigan, Staff; Officer , for the instruction of .engineer', -services..;,.... Lieutenant-Colonel -W. G. Dutbie was in the ■> ohair. The fact/that it was a holiday night, ,- and' the night, following the officers' -ball, ; probably accounted:for the "thinness of,tho s house."- As two or,three companies ' were' l drilling in the'hall, it was decided to invite the 1 liou-oonimissioned: officers in to hear the, lecture, which was illustrated by a number of exccllont.views ofrfield fortifications and - trenches in .the Russo-Japanese Mar, and- ' proved to bo niost interesting'and illustrative. ; At;the ■ conclusion,.. Colonel,.- A. Robin,'C.B., Chief. of the General- Staff, ;' added', some ! interesting observations,oll. the. ;■.- use and valjio'of such entrenchment works as :. were used at tho fodder River and ground;,, about. Rustenburg and jMugato s Nek> u South:.Africa, ~,.: -■; - - ' L ■■'■'; '

The necessity of going on 'with, the construction of roads in the interior, from -Wanganui.was urged upon the Hon.*. M lion- , zio (Minister for Tublic Works) b> .a denu- . tation representing theWanganui Chamber of Commerce yesterday. It was pointed out, inter alia; that given■ the roads . settlers would follow- The Minister,- in 'reply, stated that, if the Lands and Roads Departments found tlio money and stated the-location oV the roads, he would provide the labour. Ho.. agreed' with tho'deputation, as to'the, urgency ■of opening- up Government lands, but Ko was noV going to start public .works simnlv to provido employment for the worfc- : loss; It would bo a waste of public hioncy to carry: Ridgo Road to the top of ttie.liill. The assertion that .the '■ Wanganui-Raetihi Road had been neglected was .hardly. bomo out by- the facts. . Mr. M'konwe added that ; the question of ■ completing that road, and others /whiclr had been brought undor his , nptico, would be well, investigated.,.;, >,

"There; may; bo 1 a depression, but wo havciiH felt it," said Mr. Fred Duval; avant courier of'the Pollard Opera Company. The, company lias just completed a most compre-, hensivo tour of the small towns, :of the North Island, taking in tho provincial centres, at this time of the year usually, tha most arduous and least lucrative of. thoav trical cirouits, to work. ; Juno, July, and-Au-gust are'usually the wettest months,, and those station ppoplo who would, under ordinary conditions, put themsclvos out to .drive'into'the nearest'town to see the show:'arO more or less • prevented from doing so on account of the bad stato. of the roads, and'the general inconvenience caused by the outrageously bad > or, at least, uncertain,, •weather conditions, Mr. Duval says that, without allowing anything for the season-of tho year, the.recoipts all round during the tour just completing'have been from 10 to 20 per Cent, higher than any previous tour mndo by : the company, not even 'excepting "The Geisha," "Bella of New loth," mid■ "Florodora'' tours.' Yet, on tho present op-. ; casioh,' musical; comedy./was sot. aside ". in; favour of, the. popular pporas bouflro of';ft quarter of a century ago, opera such aa "LeS Manteaux Noirs" .(Tho Ulaok Cloaks), '.'Mancla," and /'Hip Van Winkle,", gonuine. old works, packed with melodious,music of a. class' that soars abovp: the ephemeral '■, catchiness of '. tho modern musical comedy.: With Mr. Allan Hamilton, Mr. Duval ngrbca that the days of mUsical comedy*: with its vaudeville and pantoiniiiio tondoncie's, • arc numbered, .and that a few-years h'ill; see legitimate.comio opera coino into.its o\vji. .