LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 584, 12 August 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

■. Tho Corinthic, which arrived from England yesterday, brought 361 thirdrclass passengers. Among them -were 151 assisted immigrants, of whom a'large proportion were women and children, "including a number of domestic servants. Most of tho men were nominated by relatives in the Dominion, and have work guaranteed for them.'. The new-comers, who i had a . smooth and uneventful passage, are well reported on by tho immigration, officer, Mr. Danby. . ■ "

Mr. H.'W. Bishop, S.M., who is holding tho police commission, inspected yesterday afternoon tho now' police training depot in Rintoul Street, which is in charge of . Sergeant Dart. Mr. Bishop ivas- accompanied by Mr. W. Dinnie, Commissioner of l'olice, and Inspector Ellison. This morning Mr. Bishop will leave for Wanganui, where he will take evidence to-morrow. ' Further evidence will be heard at Palmerston North on Saturday, Napier on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Auckland on the following Tuesday. '■ '

The Hon. Dr. Findlay's announcement at To Ato yesterday'that the Government Intended to enable every country settlor to ring up a medical man . gave the ' Mayor (Dr. Newman) an. opening ror some remarks on human nature as exhibited to.him during his-professional and public career. "They sneer''at a doctor wheii they are ,well," he said;', "but when they are ill they go down on their knees, to him. That; .applies to doctors out of practioe, like you and me, sir. When people are flourishing they tako ho notice of 'us, nut when they want something, they come to yonr office and to mine."

The School Park recently secured at Johnsonvillo is to be planted luxuriantly, and, favoured with average : luck, the future aspect of Jolinsonvillo will be materially improved by tho aiforestation work to be done. Towards this Mr. T. W. Kirk has presented trees and shrubs to the value of £6 odd,.and tho School Committee is spending £20 in planting 500 trees in the park. At Tuesday's meeting of the committee,' a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Kirk (who is a member of tot. body)..

Recently application Was made, through Mr. Wright, M.P., to the Hon. Dr. Findlay (Acting-Minister of Telegraphs) for the establishment of a telephone bureau at tho corner of Howard and Crawford Streets. The Minister has replied that a similar, ap-. plication had already been declined on the ground that tho district was considered to be well served, the Adelaide' Road and Hopper Street bureaus being within thirty and forty chains respectively of the site of the proposed bureau. As the conditions were still the same, Dr, Findlay adds, the application could not' be acceded to.

The Presbyterian Church at Brooklyn, according to reports presented ■ at the annual meeting, has a membership of 78. The attendance at Communion has been very good during the year, tho largest number present being 50. The Sunday school has 160 scholars, with an average attendance of 108. The amount raised for Sunday Bchool purposes during tho year was £32; receipts from collections, £178, including £124 from the envelope system, which has proved very successful. and the amount raised towards debt reduction £80. Tho Bible class has a membership of 40, of whom 14 wore added during the year.

As an indication of _ the great growth of post and telegraph business performed at the Wellington chief office, the Hon. Dr. Findlay (Acting-JPostmaster-General) has had figures taken out showing the increased percentage within tho last ton years. The numbor of letters and postcards posted has increased by 173.03' per cent.; other articlco posted by 49.70 per cent.; letters and postcards delivered by 219 per cent.; other articles delivered -by 257.14 per cent. . The value of money orders issued has increased by 115.21 per oont'.; of money orders paid by 102.62 per oont.; of savings bank deposits by I<o.Bo per cent.; of savings bank withdrawals by 209.42 per cent. The number of telegrams forwarded has increased by 69.93 per cent.; of telegrams received by 144.87 per cent.; and of telegrams received at Wellington for onward transmission by 156.74 per cent.

In onr report yesterday of the proceedings at the interview betweon the Minister for Education and the deputation of members of school committees on the subject of the "free placo" difficulty, one of tho speakors was stated, wrongly, to; havo been Air. G. Lambert. The speaker was Mr. r. S. Lambert, chairman of the Mount Cook School Committee. 1

Mr. W. Bowron, of the firm of Bowron Bros., Chris tchurch, returned yesterday from a visit to England. Mr. Bowron tokl a Dominion representative' that he found tile leather industry, with which his firm is connected, everywhere in a quiet condition. Trade in genoral was very quiet hi England. Mr. Bowron formed tho opinion that tho suffragettes wero a very small section, and that tho great majority of English womon had no desire to vote. As far as he could judge, women's franchise and prohibition had made New Zealand the laughing-stock _of other countries. Mr. Bowron was much impressed by tho efforts of tho, Argentine in the frozon meat trade. Ho states that a large proportion of Australians aud New Zealanuei'B aro engaged in tho industry, and that the Argentina is going to be a voiy formidable rivul to New Zealand in this rcspeot. From Buenos -Ay res to Loudon is only a fortnight's trip, and the South American exporters are about- to try tho offeot of merely chilling their moat for transport instead of freezing it, a course which will ovado certain prejudices and misconceptions attaching w tlw froina protiiwa.

four Miuiiioi), from H.M.S. Enwiiwlcr, 'pmiiuul through Wellington under iwdil, yesterday, »)i their way to Lyttolton, wlwfn will li» placed on board the warfdlip, ' i AiifdJlcf <!ltfidl<w:urtain fire took tho firo litkink Wit, it I 7,11 p.m. yesterday, this time 1.1 17 CitUtkmy I'ltms, a six-roomed dwelling (Wfß.'l by Mr, 'I'. 0. M'Carthy, and occupied by Mr'/ IM/fiH Jluacoe. Tlio only dam : lioiiii whs l.(i a front bedroom, whoro l.lii flfitidlu liii'l como in contact with tho mirl,tUtt, ' '' Jtldglttetil will l;« delivered in tho Supremo (yVd/rt this wjwrmig iu tho case Gardiner v. I'lifiir, Afi HMibiil by ex-Constable William' Jwpli.' Oaldiiifcr against the sentence of tl/rwv ttwfes' imtirimiment inflicted by Mr. W» U, Kiddtll, fj.M,, in connection with an tiltrir/ With, two oilier constables and soveral ttivmito in CiisUitnlion.Ki Quay on May 10. T)ii> wor, heard by their Honours Jusfkes nnd Chapman on Thursday and i/ridny kit, Tilt, monthly meeting of the Yorkshire Soo'lHy wur. Iwld la«t ni;;ht, Mr. T, If. Huctwief< proaidintt. After tho business of tho uutelinif. had liecn disposed of, Mioso present oilgiif.ou in an cnjoyablo euchro tournament, lor jirl'MM presented by Mr. Thompson. Mr. Mirfield wan tho successful player, Mr. Tom Coitman achieving tho "booby" prissy. The ftov. I). C. llatos has consented to give a lantern lecture at tho next meeting of the society, entitled "Rarnblings in Japan." An electrical engineer in the North Island in busy perfecting an airship, or aerial ear. of tho" heavier than air type, but which will lift directly and vertically, from tho ground, and solely by mechanical means, ana which will, if wanted, remain stationary in tho air at any desired height. The model is said to rise directlv from table or floor, and can then bo propelled in anv direction. This airship is bui)t r on an entirely new principle, and no gas is used to balance gravity, as in tho Zeppelin ship.

A novel idea in box office booking was adopted by Itr. J. Fftrrell, advance representative for tho Nellie Stewart Company, yesterday.; Anticipating a rush, he engaged a staff of assistants, who formed the people into a queue, as they, arrived. The wisdom of tho idea was apparent between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., when tbe queue extended well down 13raudon Street, from the Dresden Company's corner.. Tho plans ior the entire season wore opened, and the booking—some 2000; seats—easily forms a record for one day in Wellington. It is astonishing how many mothers fancy that their.-children are destined for a stage career. It is.' absolutely essential that a baby should appear in "Jane"—the comedy produced by tho Mountebank Dramatic Company at the Opera House last evening—and one was advertised for by Mr. Dunbar Sloan?, of Lanibton Quay. Yesterday morning his shop was literally besieged by mothers with babies, who were one and all cortain that their offsprings would play the part to perfection. I'erambulators and gocarts blocked the sidewalk, and many wondered what the nature of tho accident was (Mr. Sloane is a chemist), and. were amused to learn that it was something in the nature of a baby show. With great difficulty, and not without a deal of tact, one was at length selected, and it is satisfactory to report' that' it ' performed its part last evening as well as if it had absorbs! Hamlet's spcech to . the players with the nutriment sj essential to infants whose ages one counts in ■month'?.

Some 2200 accountants throughout the Dominion have forwarded their names to the special board set up under last' year's. Act for registration as members of the New Zealand Society of Accountants. The board consists of the Controller and Auditor-Gen-eral, the Commissioner of Taxes, the Government Insurance Commissioner, the Secretary to the Treasury, and l tho Solicitor-Gon-eral. The last date for receiving applications for registration was March 31, and sincb then very little has been heard of the progress of the. board's work. It is now stated that certain necessary steps have been taken,; and ,in a short time the board will be ablo to reply to all the applications placed before it. when the society has been constituted by the board's registrations, tho business ot registration will be transferred to a council of 17 members, representing the various districts of the society. >•