LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 599, 30 August 1909, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The'Mokoia, with' English and; Australian mails on board, arrived*'at .liuekland:.' at 8.30 o'clock last nighty 45 minutes before the departure of the Mam' Trunk express. for Wellington. With' a', quick' transfer) .the mail-bags would probably reach,the-train'in time, and if all went well,. the' mails should' arrive in. town this afternoon, i, . - -' '■'.On and after to-day a car.will leave Lambton Station at midnight, via Lambton Quay and Cuba Street, •■ passing -AVinder's;. Corner six minutes later,' all fares .to* be' 6d. /It. :is ' belioTed that tlie running of ■a' late car at a definite time wiir be appreciated by persons' attending latei functions. > : ' ■: ; .;;■;■■ ■ The Hon. Dr. Findlay. has '-accepted an invitation from the executive: of the N.Z, Waterside Workers , Federation to deliver: anaddress in the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall-next Friday/.evening, -.'on "Casual labour—its: waste and ■■Aβ remedy." On September 10 the Attorney-Gteneral will give a political address at Auckland. '. . ■ •'•■,'■ ': Customs revenue' collected .at Wellington on Saturday amounted to £871 Is; 3d.The total for the week was £8090 3s. Gd.,; beer duty amounting to £19. j These figures show a decided falling off when/compared" with those for the ' corresponding i 'period last year, which were:-For the day. £2385 17s. 3d.; for the week, £24,408 145.. Id.; : beer duty, £470 Is. .3d.. ;•. " ■ '::■ ■'. ■, ;V : ; ;i, ' -; ;^-:: A silver tankard,■ i addressed by a Christohurch jeweller to a merchant: in London, was stolen by James Hemingway from the parcels. department of the Wellington Post Office. It was. lodged 'with a Sydney bank on behalf , of Hemingway's brother;." John, and' only when .'the latter returned to New Zealand ■ was ,it recovered and i restored to its ■ rightful owner. Peculiarly enoughj' the inscription on the tankard reads: "Vemendo restituit rem.". (By his'coming, he restored the thing.) : -';' ■. . ''.'. .'.' ; . V : :' ■; : ; , . ;:".• v>: ;'. '.■

.Wo have received from the Officer Com-manding-the Public School v Cadet Corps (Major T. W. :M'Dqnald) a .copy of the new return form which is;to replace the, multi- ' plicity of '. forma; and. registers ■ hitherto required to be made up annually by cadet officers. The form is simple aud direct, and [the release fnn practically, the, whole of the clerical work' previously required should be welcomed by all concerned. Suggestions; from officers with a view to further,improving the cadet system will be gladly received' (states a covering note), and carefully'.considered.;.'. ■ "The mysterious advertisement- about New Zealand lambs, to which I. alluded in my last letter,'.' writes the London correspondent of the I'Pastoralists , 'Review,- ,, •.■'■'has , ligain' appeared, but without: the 'Dread l , noughts' this time. No one seems to know who paid for it. Who has funds for the purpose but the Government? Yet Mr. Camwon, the Produce Commissioner, distinctly tells me that neither he nor any other agent of the New Zealand Government inserted the advertisement or authorised its insertion." . :■ ; .:. '; ~, : ■;', .'

' A pleasant oeremony took place at the Palmerston police station on Friday even-, ing, when the members of the local, force expressed their united approval,of the- important step in life recently taken by De■tective Quirkc; by making that officer a handsome presentation; Sergeant Stagpoolo, in presenting the detective with a silver tea service, expressed the good wishes of the force for the recipient's future happiness, at the same time mentioning the e&'teem which Detective Quirko had earned amongst hie fellow officers. Gaoler Gleeson also added his tribute, and subsequently the health of Mr. and Mrs. Quirko was honoured. , the tramway authorities will extend the minimum faro system'to the- Tinakori Road route. Minimum fares of 2d. will bo charged between Veitchand •, Allan's cornor and Lambton Station on tho car which loaves , Nnwtown at 4.50 and Veitch and -Allan's nt C.3 p.m. for Karon. The car will-carry boards announcing that minimum faros will bo charged. The revenue derived from tho minimum faro car on 'Island Bay lias not been quite up to'expectation,: but:'it is hoped that with tho finer weather ladies who prefer to travel to their > .'destination without being BUbjectcd.to. the ..usual f'rueli hour oru*h will make iuo of thu car. ■

>■ There was .a , clean sheet at the-Magis-trate's Court on Saturday morning. Replying- to tho toast of "Parliament" - at tho Caledonian Society's banquet at Wanganui, on Friday evening, the Hon. T. Mackenzio (Minister for Agriculture) said' that the prosperity of any new country ■ wae dependent on the settlement of tho land, andi this was a subject to which the present Government intonded to devote particular atton-. tion. Tho optional tenure was tho only ono which would give satisfaction. -.Speaking of the exports of tho Dominion, and trade generally, Mr. Mackenzie said the country was on tho upgrade, and there was no fear for the future so long as we believed in ourselves. ' ,: " ;

With regard to the proposal by the Invercargill Borough Council that'; the Government should establish the prison: reformatory farm for the South Island on. land-to bo reclaimed from the Waihopai, Est-uary, the Hon. Dr. Findlay, Minister for Justice, has telegraphed to Mr. J. A. Hanan, M.P., as under;—" Cabinet approves reclamation scheme inland from Otatara tramway. Corporation to give 650 acres, and to provide plant, material, etc. Government to provide labour, only. I am arranging with the district engineer to report to character of. works required. If his report confirms:the estimate as already represented, 'will carry' out ; the work on above Btated." "Tho labour is cheap there, I suppose," said a Dominion reporter to Mr. 0. Gore Adams, mining engineer, recently from Colombia, in South America. "Yea—cheap enough," said Mr. Adame,:" but long ago I came to the.conclusion that cheap labour is very expensive. I will explain what I mean. In mining, if, you employ threvo natives to one white; man, your three men occupy three times the space of,one man, which means three times the amount of development, and development costs money. Then you have to provide three times as many tools, three

times as niuoh food, .arid a.lot more gear. Then you can never got the native to hustle on a particular bit of work when- wanted. Give ! mo 10s.: a day' white" labour against all tlio, cheap.,cploured Bort-s." .:. ,: The question of the establishment of a "Zoo" in the Auckland' Domain wae raised at: the meeting of the Auokland City Council on Thursday night. The city engineer (Mr. W-.E. Bush) reported that tho Eon. E. Mitcheleon had very kindly offered to present pheasants of two or three different varieties to the council, to be placed in tho Auckland Domain; "I have," continued tho engineer, "already mentioned the'"matter to' tho Works Committee,, but. in view. of. the fact that tho keeping of.livo stock of any kind'in the Domain raises the whole quesi tion: .of. tho ; establishment of a zoological collection in Auckland/ I was "advised to bring tho: matter officially before the full council. ;■ I have conferred with Mr; Pearson, superintendent of parks, on this subject, and also on the larger question of the establishment' of a zoological garden in the Domain.'and Ifeel it but right to" inform tho counciHliatMr.iPearson docs not'favour the establishment of zoologicar gajdons/ for. the, keeping- of live stock in V tho 'Domain unless a special area independent of -\the gardens: is,-set aside for the purpose.' , ' I ho: matter was referred to the.Works Com-' mittee. ■■ :■.■<';,■-■■•: . :•■ .. ;. .■■■■:..-.;.: ■■