LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 738, 10 February 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

: The Hon. .J. A. -Millar informed .a deputation, yesterday -;;. that. Parliament would not/meet, before'the end of June, tlie, usual'time.. ■/ •>-,■; '■"". ■ ..: For: some days the police have -been busily engaged endeavouring to ascertain the whereabouts of an, elderly man who had wandered from "his home in one :of the suburbs. It .appears that before he, went away he gave his watch and chain to a,friend; : requesting, that they, should : be. handed: over to his relatives. , Subsequently his relatives received a letter in the coarse of which it was remarked:' "Good-bye, I' will never- see you any more." The man returned to his home agaid' last eveoing. ■ l , .. : /A. committee of Island Bay residents will - seek ,'• another interview .with .■. the City Council in furtherance of the protest, against, the. Salvation Army's proposal to locate a prison-gate home .in that, suburb. A letter is also to be written to Brigadier Bray. on.the subject!';..'; In : connection with the: visit to Wellington' of Keld-Marshal. ViECOunt Kit-, chener, arrangements have, been .made for the Veterans'. Association , , to. supply : a guard of ..honour-at'the',saluting base of ,the cadet, review: Between, sixty' arid seventy members of.' the : association are comings down' from Taranaki, , while Wa. nganui, Hawke's.Bay, , and Masterton/will also, be represented.'- -. ■.•■■• ,",'V

In connection' with the .rearrangement of the boundaries of hospital and charitable' aid districts, it, is worth noticing that, after March 31,' patients.. from the Wairarapa* will not .be received at the Victoria Home : on ; * the' 6ame. terms as. •Wellington- patients. . Such! has been the praotico, .hitherto,' but' when- the Wairarapa is cut , oOrbin the-. Wellington■ district, the/fees **. of those inmates who>*are unable' 1 ' to -pay . will. be charged to the; local■■;bodies having.' jurisdiction, in the localities, from. , which-they come, v/."

The biennial conference, of the Amalgamated Society ofXßailway Servants.- will* commence in-..Wellington 'to-morrow. The, society has. a total membership of , -6500, and, apart from branch funds, the amount to .oredit:, : .of: :the •headquarters .:totals .£3633—an increase of i>79o compared with lastsyear., . ■■■,■.;■......''v-.s'.' ■. -':- ; .>: ■ -'■■''■..:

:Bicycle'bells were the subject of comment- by Mr.. W. ; : E.:Haselden,. . S.M., during' the of '.-'a -.collision, case yesterdaylr'.'His Worship said' that he did'not : agree with the"majority as tp ; the; use',of. the bell." ..Frequently, when ..'.a cyclist or motorist icame up : behind, a person he- rang' his' bell vigorously, : and the person hesitated and became flurried, with the result, that-trouble', occurred. The defence raised in collision cases'was frequently that the driver of the .motorcar or cycle rang his bell, and that the pedestrian. , ran into .the machine; His Worship stated that he had held.this opinion in regard to. bells for some, time. "I' had some exprience of- cycle *- bells during ' my■. residence in ".■ Christchurch," concluded his Worship. .' ■•*.■ ... .:*■ ■

• There appears to, be a possibility, of a publio ■ hall: being erected at. Crofton Downs in the near 'future. At' last nighfs meeting of the Onslow Borough Council, a letter .was received from • the .solicitors for : the' 'owner * of the Crofton Downs Estate,' making an. offer of a section fora municipal building. The only condition attached, to the offer was that the. building should be erected within a certain period. Councillors expressed the opinion- that it would' be inadvisable to remove the. borough offices.to the.locality, but it was suggested that, if the erection of: .a ■'•'public hall would be regarded as compliance with'the conditions, the offer might be considered. It was resolved, on the motion-of the Mayor, that ; the borough engineer interview the solicitors for.the Crofton: Downs.Estate. * .

V The fire .brigade received a | call to M'Donald Crescent at 11.4 a.m. yesterday. It was found that a small fire,had taken place among some rubbish outside .a boardinghouse occupied by Mrs. Elmbeth Hake. The fire spread to the wall of the basement,. but. practically no damage was done. ■'. ■■::■/' :-r ■, ■■■ y) ■■■.'■ ■'

One Chinaman arrived by the Moeraki, from Sydney, yesterday.- Oh production of a bond for the amount of the poll tax (iElOO) he was allowed to land. On leaving New ■Zealand witiiin. a stated time the bond'may be destroyed. . The MoOTaki albo brought one Mohammedan (nationality not. stated.)"..'-:"'*' ■..:.*■. -V. : -:; "■•.;;-. . : ./.

The following letter has, been sent by the Wellington district branch;, of the Australasian' Institute, of. Marine. Engineers to■■.. Messrs. P. H. Hickey, J. W. M'Arthur, H. West, B.; Butter, and; A. 0. Iriverdritz,: engineers of. the Waikare, wreckod in Dusky Sound:—"Dear sirs,— I am directed by unanimous,vote of the district record the , appreciation, of members, and to congratulate you upon the splendid bravory. displayed by you on the occasion of. the' wreck of the s.s. Waikare. The. manner: in , which every engineer on board sprang to his'station ana remained on duty , in tho enginorooni • reflects upon , all the highest credit, and has called forth the praise of your brother engineers and the newspaper press. Your conduct in the trying and extremely dangeroue circumstances is -another 'example of the bravery constantly displayed by engineers in times of stress, and dancer and will be placed on record in the journals of the institute.—Yours very sincerely, A. R. Hislop, secretary.":..:,<:

' Shampooing, ; Clipping ; Hairdressing, Maniouring,, face. Uassago, Treatment of Falling Hair and Dandruff,; Combings made up.' Natural Hair-pada." Mrs. Eolleston ' (over" Carroll's), ,U'. Willie Street. Th"ne 1599. Advt.■ /....•

At. its meeting next Wednesday, the Wellington District Hospital ; Board will receive a full financial statement, and a detailed report on patients' fees outstanding, in connection with, the Otaki Hospital and Otaki Sanatorium. The board will be asked to decide what is to be done ;in each individual case,. and, in view'.of recent criticisms on this, as-: pect of hospital administration,' it is thought that drastic measures will be taken . \ ■; ■■ : :

Maggie Papakura, : the : well-known' Maori guide, recently explained at , Clontarf (N.S.W.) the famous Maori poi dance. She said the ostensible object of the poi from the firet .was. to : give a graceful welcome 'to strangers (manuhiri), visiting tribes, , 'rangatiras,. ..and other persons of distinction. But gradually there grew another object—to attract the fighting men from other tribes, and invariably the best chosen dances and the best ordered pois.kept the ,ranks of the tauas up to their full strength. At the present. these pois are no more than what they were ,, originally intended to be—the woman's portion of. the ceremonial- welcome of: a hospitable, artistic, and punctilious, people.. The.old Maoris 6ay. that. the j>ol dances of their. time were ■ more effective and more ing. The old.y dance Vwas... slower, and allowed ;.more , time for -■ show of grace and elaboration of gesture.; Nowadays it. is danced, to music. ■

.The Executive Committee of the .Gameon* RifiV Association announces that the. prizes awarded to the:successful competitors at-the Cadet Bieley, held at Trentham in- December last, will be forwarded to' the various schools for distribution, through Captain Coivles (for; the ■primary schools), and Captain Matheson (for the secondary schools): ■ '. .' - ',\

The completion of : the King's. Theatre, which is'-.being erected in TaranaM Place by : . the amalgamated picture' firms . of and the Royal Picture Syndicate,, is now in eight, and the contractors .estimate .having the; building'" , 'finished ready .to hand'over to'the proprietors for opening .in .the. middle of March. Mr. W.' Beck; a noted scenic 'artist, and his assistants, arrived, yesterday'.-from 'Sydney: to commence the decorative scheme 'outlined by. the management for the interior; of the , 'bnildinß/-; ::'■■•■'.!■;■'.•■.■■;.;':. : '.:-' .The Blenheim. ;Eo'wing ■ Club representatives, (four), arrived by. the Arahura yesterday. .As announced by telegram/ they leave for Hobert .by ' the : Moeraki to-day. .A claitn .for reward for discovery of a. new goldfield in .Marina' district, Inanga-. hua county, ■ has reached the- Minister for Mines from a prospector who is sending specimens' of. ; ,<iuartz, ! to .'..'Wellington,'', and states they, have been obtained many miles from a known'goldfield.(says the "Ashbur- , ton Guardian"). The Hon.R. M'Kenzie has instructed -the inspecting branch of the Mines : Department to" investigate the. claim; - About .£sooo' per annum'is being spent :by■ the , Government., in subsidising prospecting parties'- , oil'' the look-out lor gold. ■.";.■"';''.■■.■.';■■' - : r '■'>'■:'■: ■ '■.'■' .]: : ~ : - ■;■■■".■■•■ ''•:

- Mr. :George W. Smalley, for many years correspondent 'of the *New", York .Tribune" in London,..and'-,during ; a Hater period, representative : of <. the/London: ",Times"/.in New. Yorkj' is ; now taking: his lease-in somi-retirement,-arid writing more of those" "Studies of Men" riS' which ; he displayed so. much ripe'experience,,and penetration iii-the :iate nineties (says'the English correspondent of the "Age ); In, a, ;■ magazine article ■'. which he . has) just written;. he - recalls a,visrt -to/-a country house in Sussex, where his fellow guests! included, Lord' Kitchener,:'-.who'was .then pondering his scheme for the establishment of ■ 'the Khartoum .'.College. :.He wanted and , doubted, whether, he' could- get-'it. .'The smashing, of, the Per r vishes had" been comparatively easy; an appeal 'to .the mysterious' British -public was quite another enterprise. He: hesir tated. 'Tfothing less than J3100,000 will be of any .use,", he said; "It is a large sum. 11,- should' not like ■; to fail, and'if they gave meonly part of the amount, to have to return, it. ■: His'friends' assured him that there: would be' no.. failure J' his name would -be .enough; ; 'the .psychological moment ;had : arrived.- Lord' Glenesk' (proprietor: of the '.'Morning'..Post") offered iiIOOO across the dinner:- table. ;• Other] sums were; promised. '; He -was told that' hei could"rely upon the 'support .of two■ powerful newspapers.'" Still Lord Kitchener , , 'hesitated. He repeated-that, he would \notHike' tb.ifaili'vj At last '6ne of the company' said,, "Well, Lord: Kitchener, if.you"rhad' doubted about your as you do about. this,' you ■ would hever; : have: gotvto Khartoum." His face "hardened, and his: .reply"was ; characteristic :of:, the/ man,. "Perhaps not;.but then.l could .depend.:on myself, and ■ now I have. to depend on the British :' appeal ; was 'made, and,: as .'everyone Icnows, ;:it was : highly. Successful. ~:'■:>,,- ■/. ■'.'. .'-.-

.! It.will be about; the end.of' March be-. ,fore the' Government .training ship' Amo-kura-is,:back■ in Wellington: again'.- She left. Wellington*- , '.: yesterday \ evening for Tiiriaru,. and' after' a'brief stay: at.that port* will', leave on' Monday, for. Bluff.'.: On the following.Monday she leaves the Bluff on a tour-, of -/inspection of ■ the .southern outlying-:islands. .',-In -the ordinary, course she'will reach; the' Bluff 'on the return journey about,Marchvls, and. she is then ■to'/ proceed. to:: Dusky.; Sound .in an- en-: deayour tovlocate- the'rock : that 1 wrecked ; the * Waikare in January. •■' The extended, ■cruise with its varied experiences should :prove of considerable benefit to .the . Amokura's> cadets. ,:■: ;■""•■.'••.'.' ■:'-..".'.. ■■'.■.■..■ ('\ ;•'■' *:' : -• ■

An ..unexpected ending-happened'. tt>\ a lecture that was to'have been. delivered by' Mr.:Edmond Lonsdale, .M.Ij.A., at Kurri* Kurri recentlyj:under:.the auspices of the School of Arts, On the subject of land ; values! ■'taxation;. says . the. "Daily Tele; .graph." The hall filled/ up,. and on the 'president of, the-institution and ; the" lecturer ascending the platform; there, was only standing.roorii: '..When the chairman was about to introduce.Mr'.Lonsdale someono at the back,of the hall said: "I think, ■Mr. Chairman,; that, , : .considering ■ Mr. LonsdaU is,a supporter of.-the present Government, which: has'done, all it can to criish us, and has sent our gaol to-day, we ought:to all walk out and..refuse to War , him." : Another voice said; "All unionists will leave: the hall," and ■within three minutes there.were only, the chairman- and: lecturer left.!:. The crowd loft, practicallywithput making any. noise whatever; - The "president followed the crowd out, and asked them to return, in the interests of the institute. He. was!in-' formed .that no: disrespect: wa g ineant.to. him, or, the,institution 1 , but it was: this, only"vmeans, (lie people h'ad 'of.showing their contempt ;'for the Government. ;,. '

A heated , ' and-protracted , : debate took place at.the Political Labour'League,Con-, ferehce on the, simple: proposition that all school children" be- provided with a mid-, day meal by the titate free of; charge, says the: Sydney ■ "Daily,' : Telegraph.'' Mr. ; Jabez Wright, : in supporting, the motion,'said children when they) wont to school. should have: full -stomachs, and.: many ,of them had -not. "The parents of the children," he ■' added, "may have , plenty of:food,;but it is not properly cooked. Half the women of the country don't know, how to cook a meal. (Laughter and dissent.) If midday meals were provided by the "State the children would have at least one well-pooked meal a day and learn how to'cook it." Several delegates, including Mrs. K.'Dwyer, strongly opposed ' the'. motion, on the ground that.it would amount to introducing an undesirable element of. charity into school life, and .hold that.' the ..best way of ensuring that the children would be ■well fed was to see that their parents got a living' wage: * An amendment .was subsequently carried, ' -providing-;: that -school children requiring food be supplied by the State free of charge.. .. : ...'.■•■■':'•.

A movement is: on foot to bring un-, der the. notice of .the: Royal Humane Soeietv, the heroism- of .Mr. E. . Rait, who distinguished himself in the recent boating fatality at .Mount White (states "The Press"). ■-. When the alarm was given Rait was . considerably .over half a mile from the lake, and to, getto the water.'s edge he had. to : run that distance, in his bare feet, over! , an extremely rough road. Ho threw off. his clothes ns he plunged in, and'swam" out to the capsized boat. Belioying that the men were still clinging to it,/he keep calling out as he swam, to let them know that help was coming. When he reached the boat ho found only .one man hanging: on. Rait detached the rudder, and gave it to the survivor to support himself with. He then dived twice under the boat, but could find no sign. of the .other two ; men. .His next task was to swim ashore ■with,the:man he had;rescued,. who, by a peculiar ' coincidence,: 1 mis-., the ,ohly member .of the boating party who could not;swim. This , having, been safely accomplished, Rait returned to the boat to resume his unsuccessful. search,.for the missing .men. s If the .facts are. as stated, the case (is one.'- which' deserves'what ,'■ecoEnitioh. the society can give .it.' v.

The West Coast correspondent' of. "The Press" stated that the. representations. to' the general manager•'•of the.; New. Zealand Railways have resulted in a virtual undertaking to eo alter the- time-table for the West; Coast-Christchurch service that it will be possible to make the through journey from Greymouth-to Wellington, and vice versa, in twenty-four hours. The new time-table comes into force within a few weeks.: Possibly it will provide for connecting eastwards,od Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.- ; A brief discussion on the propriety. of the Christchurch Tramway Board allowing the electrical engineer to engago in work outside his duty to. the board took place at the last meeting (states tho "Press"). The position was,that the Invercargill Borough, Council asked the! consent of the board to Mr. 1 .Scott Symington conferring with a special y com-', mittee which , had, been set up to con-, sider a power, scheme for .'the proposed tramway system. Mr. C. M. Gray said that he.had previously.,opposed a similar application which had been made for the .services of .their former 1 electrical engineer, and he intended ;to oppose this application also. He,contended that there wore plenty of/.electrical engineers in the Dominion : from whom the Invercargill Council could make a selection, and it was unfair' that an engineer in a permanent position should "take, the; bread out of their mouths." The other members of the board, however, did not adopt, this view. They . thought it. wasl their, duty to, assist other local bodies as/ much: 'as - • passible, and ', that' their ': engineer's advice would have a practical value on. account of his tramway experience... The board granted the request, .on the. tacit understanding that the services of their engineer were not to be available to" the Invercargill Council throughout i the ; whole of'the work.... ,:..■;;,.:.;. '..