LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 598, 28 August 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The, postal authorities adviso that tho Mokoia, which left Sydney on Wednesday 1 for Auckland, has on board an English ana j Australian' mail for Wellington, whioli 'is due here by the express train from Auckland on Monday, afternoon-next-Over 25Q V pas?engcrs left for Sydney last •.evening by the Manuka.' A permit was given the Union Company by the Customs authorities to accommodate 60 extra passengers in No. 5 hold. - ' ! The .Depptmental inquiry into tho emeute'i at the paint shop of- the Petono Railwav i Workshop, was resumed yesterday. It will probably continne for a day or two yet. • The new Ministerial railway carriage, which •is' beinj built at, the Petone Railway Workshops, lias been finished, with the 'exception of the addition of the lighting apparatus. It may leave the shopsi'any day. now. The biennial convention of tho New Zealand Christian Endeavour Union is* to be held in Wellington on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, September <7, 8, and 9. . Tenders for the sea-wall, excavation, and reclamation at Miramar, wore received on Thursday by the, Harbour Board, and aro being considered. . An announcement as to .acceptance-of one may,be expected shortly.

"Equipment" was the subject of the weekly lecture at the Garrison Officers'-Club last evening, Captain J. A. Cowles wap'the leoturei 1 . : There, was a good attendance of members, .and the lecture was listened to and afterwards discussed with keen interest. Members of tho Working.Men's Club held their:. seventh ahnual social and <danco in tho Druids' Hall last night. ' Among the visitors were the'Acting-Prime Minister (Hon. J. Carroll) an'd. Mr. Herdman, M.P. Over 50 couples took part in tho dancing,,the M.C.'s in ■ connection with' which were Messrs. A. Firth'ond.D. M'Pheo.

During tho fortnight ended Tuesday last, twenty-eight building permits were'granted by; the city building' inspector (Mr.iiW;.-'D.-Murdoch) .:. The values were estimated as follow: City district; 1 £7622; Melrose,'£so63; t-otal, £12,635. This total shows an increase of £2790 over tho previous fortnight, when the jfigure?, \were:, City,,, £7142; Melrose, £2,753t0ta1,'£9895.

- The' Mayor (Dr. Newman), and membors of t]i&' Unemployethiiolicff,Committee, visited Victoria College, yestorday afternoon,: and conferred with the Chairman ;pf ■ the. College Council' (Mr. 'Watson) on the finkneiiig of tho subsidised works. The committee, after viewing -the work,' voted another £30; which, with the-Government subsidy' of' the sanie amount, is expected to suffico 'for the'completion of tho excavations at tho back of the .college. . . -;'. .V

The new edition of the Wellington Official i Telephone Directory is now out. ; This is>the second edition in book form, . and it will no doiibt be found that the mistakes: which were natural in a' first issuG'have been corrected. ■ The list of ■subscribers classified, according to ' trades has dwindled down to an "advertisers' business, directory,";- but'the hotels 'are plaoed all together after'the letter H, as in tho old lists/ There are over 4000 subscribers connccted with the exchange. Much satisfaction' is with' the progress and', work of the men who have been preparing the foundations for tho. new post .office* under control of the Publio Works Department. - The work waJ undertaken in this way, instead of boine left to form part of the contraot for the ouilding, with tho object of providing work for the unemployed, and the manner : in ' which ' it has been carried out so far has ; fully justified the experiment, Tjio/most difficult stage of the operations, when excavations .were boirig made below sea-level, and continuous pumping was required,. is' now c&mpletod, and. it is expected that ; the work will easily' be tinish&cl' before : tenders for construction of the building fall dud on October 31. •.'

A little bit of stir. was. occasioned on', the Bluff wharves lust Monday (says'an ex?' change) when it was noticed that a black ■ whalo measuring about forty feet in length was fcpouting in- the harbour. The'leyiatbari came in with the tide, andweiit up to; the vicinity ;of liabbit Island. A' whale-boat, with crow undet the guidance of Mr. Charles Bradshaw, was quickly manned, but in their'eagorness to pursue'fhcj tired themselves out rowing after the monster. Several motor launches went out and assisted Vthe whale-boat to keep near the scene of operation, aad as a result a few liair-breadth escapes are now beinfe recorded, for on more than, one occasion, the occupants of theseoil crafts wore in imminent danger of bejng capsized. On one occasion the hnrpoomst managed to strike the>. monster,' but tho whale wriggled out 1 . of - it /with ' no more harm than the loss of a little blood. Tho. general; opinion expressed by old whalers is: that the engines of the small craft; frightened the whale out'of the harbour, for it camo down with the tide about dusk and got out to the opou sea. ■_