LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 596, 26 August 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The: special report drafted by the manager of- the tramways, Mr. Stuart Richardson, with reference ;to fares and'sections, which has been referred back to the Tramways Committee on two occasions, wjll bo. placed before the City Council again this evening, 1

Recognising the. necessity for the further, widening of the corner of Cuba and Manners Streets,, the-- City Council some . timo . ago entered into negotiations with the owners of the block of land on which the Union Clothing Company's premises stand, with a u(.w to setting back, the corrier of tho building. It is probable that something definite will be announced in this connection at to-night's, meeting'of the City Council. !' The Minister for Mines (the Hon. R. M'Kenzie) stated yesterday that an application for a Government grant in aid of prospecting at Terawhiti had to be refused, because the land concorned was private property. ' He recollected a : rush of some magnitude to tho place twenty-fivo years ago, and lie believed there was gold to be found thero. Sums for prospecting purposes had been voted ,to miners on the West Coast, and in Otago,' Nelson, and Auckland provinces. Tho committee of tho New Zealand, Club has decided that Tuesday, is a;more suitable day for its > meetings than .Thursday, and the former day will be adhered to as far as possible for the future. Among, tho speakers the club hopes to entertain in. the near future aro Sir James Mills, Sir Albert Spiccr,. M.l'. (president of tho Associated Chambers of Commorco of tho Empire), Mr. Will Crooks (the English Labour M.P.), and some of tho delegates to the recent l'ress Conference. ' :'. " The hills between Nowtown and Island Day havo been scoured by Sergeant Dart "and a squad of probationers in search of tho missing man Caldenvood, Imt no trace has been found. Newtown Park was also searched by tho local police, but without success. A letter posted by Calderwood at 3 a.m. on August 24 has come into the hands of tho police. The letter tends to tho supposition that tho inna contemplated going away to Otago.

Among tho cargo to arrivo from Sydney by tho Moana wero 2031 casca of fruit for Wellington. His Honour Mr. Justice Chapman will sit in Oliambers at, 10 o'clock to-morrow to sottlo the civil list.

A meeting of tbo. creditors of W. E, Lanoy, storekeeper, Petone, will bo hold in tho Official Assignee's oflico on Tuesday next at 2,30 p.in,

Hearing of the charges against Arthur Frederick Wimsctt may bo commenced at tho Supremo Court this afternoon. Other cases set down for to-day aro: Har/y M'Gill (broaking and entering and theft), Charles Kruso (tlieft), and Sebastian Ncwson (sending ship to sea in an unseaworthy Btato).

In tho boys of tho Amokura, tho Mayor (Dr. NowmanV has discovered a new title to respect. Ho stated at tho meeting of the Missions to Seamen last evening that ho was glad thoy learned to givo a proper British cheer, not tho wretched. half-cheer one heard on tho football field, "hip, hip, hurrah," and nothing more.

.The management of the tram traffic to and from the Athletic Park yesterday was the subject of complimentary remark, tho arrangements being probably more complete and satisfactory than thoy have over been before., The tramways department spared: no pains to cope with tho traffic, and every car that could bo spared without dislocating the outside services wa's requisitioned. Altogether forty full car-load* of peoplo were taken away from tho Park,after the football match.

In addition to thov list of Magistrate's Court cases reported elsewhere,; an habitual drunkard with a bad record. William Black., was orderod to go to the Pa&atoa Inebriates Institute and remain there for ono year. Mary, Joyce and Frederick Arthur Carlyle Kingan, both charged with being found in a state of helpless drunkenness, were remanded to September. 1 for medical treatment. Thomas Troy: and Thomas Fowler were each fined 10s., in default 48 hours, and one first offender'was fined 65., in dofault 24 hours.

_ The subjcct for tho meeting of tho Wellington Accountant Students Society last evening was "Liquidations," tho lecturer being Mr. H. D. Vickery, F.1.A., N.Z. The various parts of the Companies Act,'l9oß; dealing with the winding-up of companies, were touched upon, and members were given valuable hints on the l ,subject in view of the Institute of Accountants' examinations. A hearty vote of . ,thanks was aceordcd Mr. Vickery. The president, Mr. D. T.. Stuart, occupied the chair. '

An amusing . parallel was drawn by Mr. Justice Chapman in ' his speech at tho Missions to Seamen last evening. "I feel a little .ashamed <if myself," he said, "in not , having been inside this building before. My performances aro on the other side of the road. This, I understand, is a free show. The rival establishment is not always so." .; The Judge's humour was the more appreciated coming from so grave a source. It is expected that the Lyell Bay trainway work will provide employment for about thirty men when the scheme is in full swing. It is'hoped to have the line in working order in time to catch the summer traffic to Lyell. Bay,' which traffic is; expected to be heavyj and ' to pay fair interest on the cost, of . the tramway in . the summer, even though the winter traffic may bo comparatively small. It is tho intention of the coun-, cil to. improve the eight-acre' reserve 'which was acquired recently at Lyell _Bay. From time to time work' will be done in the reserve until the hollows are filled up and the sandhills lovelled. For some time to come sweepings, from the roads, and other spoil, will Go deposited on the reserve so as to help bind the sand. Subsequently • the council will fence the reservo and plant it. 1 in order to make it. as' attractive as possible to the residents of Kilbirnie and Maranui,. and to trippers frpm the city.; ■ , . , ' :As stated yesterday r the City Counbil will be called on this, evening to decide question of .the route for the Wadestown tram line, and there appears to bo every piospeot of the "C" route .being"adopted.o-'. The ( mem- • bers ,oouncil;s,)Fiflance Committee visited the' proposed'.'"C"-.route togethfer with delegates 'appointed by : the residents of.,tlie district,.' ana, after the inspection, the opinion* nppeared to he unanimous in favour of tho routte. ' 'Of late 'the matter has been hung.up' pending' negotiations with\the Rhodes'Truatws, but this mat-, ,ter is now out of the way. tho Trustees refusing to meet the council. In. spite of this, however, the tramway; will probably go on, although some modification may bo made in the .original scheme. When the matter lias been approved by the council, the next step will be for the Mayor to call a public meeting, and for a poll of the ratepayers of Wadestown to be field. Whcn ; the' legal •formalities ' aro ; through, the tramway will be! pushed; on; with, all possible'speed.

. A wider view of . national relationships than is sometimes taken was suggested by certain remarks.which foil at.the : meeting, of the Misstons to Seamen last evening. The Mayor had ihtrodnoed the Chineso Cohsul, Mr. Yung-Liang Hwang, ,M,A.,; as a gentleman the honour of whose friendship! ho was glad to have. Mr. Hwang, in the. course, of an atlle little speech, admitted that he did not know .'where New Zealand was before he bought his ticket for this Dorainipn. Ho softened' tho effect of this statement by adding that to many of: his-countrymen the good reputation of New Zealand .would be familiar, though they might not know where it. Was Mr. Justico Chapman, at a later stage, said, very neatly: "When wo talk about being English, wo must remember, we aro all more or Jess half-castos, like the Acting-I'rimo Minister, Mr. Carroll, ' who was to havtf been with us this evening." He referred to the mixed origin of the British race. 1 ■.

I The programme of the Wellington Homing Pigeon Socioty for the 1909-10 season is said to be the most attractive one ever placed before its members. Through the generosity Of' vice-presidents .and others a trophy has been'.provided for nearly every race. Races will bo flown from the principal towns in the North Island, and' will include ono interval and two. flock races from Auckland, a flock raco from Russell, and one from Parenga, a distance of 500 miles air-line. The principal races from the South Island i will bo from Timaru. Dunedin, Invercargill. and Halfmoon' liay, Stewart' Island,, the latter being an air-line distance of 520 miles; . .In addition to the official; programme, an attempt will probably be maae to fly from the-Chat-ham Islands, providing suitable training arrangements can be secured,, i Inquiries are ■nlso :being made as to when the Government steamer will visit the Auckland Islands, and should the trip be made when the birds aro in training'an effort will be made to fly from there to Wellington. If successfully acoomelisbed, this latter fly would rank with. the est pigeon-flying performances in .the world.

- A resident of Island Bay protests against the decision of the Tramways Committee of the City Council to let the fares W tho Bay remain as at present, and suggests a plan whioh will : .safeguard the tramway revenuo' from the, depletion feared; by tho while affording an, appreciable concession to residents of the Bay. The report of the engineer (Mr. Stuart Richardson) states that 139,232 return tickets were issued during tbe year to casual riders, as distinct from Island Bay residents, and it is. in regard to theso casual riders' tickets that the chief loss from concessions would bo experienced. This resident suggests that the Bixpenny_ return ticket, with provision for breaking, journey, should be issued on the inward trip only. The ticket would then be purchased only by genuine residents of tbe Bay, who would receive a concession that would enoourago population to tho suburb, while the'loss to the tramway revenue would be reduoed in proportion, to tlib greatly diminished number, of riders who would receive the privilege. The previous abuse of tho : privilege, it is pointed but by this resident, could nothavc been very great, unless through the carelessness of conductors, as the number ■ of times a man could break his'journey in tho hour was very few. \