LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 750, 24 February 1910, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

• Two Government: advertisements, which, owing to the boycott of 'this : paper;,by the', AVardr. Administration; we publish,' in the interests of.our readers, at our own /cost,-, >vill ■be found in this issue. .. One ;gives'tl)'e special.: rijihjray,; timetable arrangements iii .connection 'with Lord Kitchener's .visit, the' other invites; tenders for. the.Supply of coal for tie Kailways Department. •

i,. Copies 'of the code. taken at the inquiry, into the mishap to the ketch Vesper, /'off. Tiritiri, have been received' by .the/Marine Department, : which, now has the . matter under consideration. . .. .

. - : li6rd Kitcheneris refreshingly unconventional. >:So much so, indeed,".that : he' actually/concedes that a man- can enjoy high dinner in other than evening, clothes. Has hp guessed ..the. secret' that underlies that vague; objection /which, the, average, .man'has to .'donning evening dresV-that broadcloth; wears .well) and age in .the aggregate is/accompanied Iby a . tendency ■to corpulency P.'Be that as: it may/nthe invitations for, the 'Ministerial, dinner to. ho given' in the Field-Marshal's honour at' tho: Grand Hotel' to-morrow .evening. are labelled—'fPlain clothes" (which may be taken to read,: clothes' other", than'evening dress or uniform),';; The same abstention, from • sartorial.'embellishment -i is . .to. be ,observed'; at■'the 'private ''dinner .to-' be' given 'the distinguished •; visitor ■ by His Excellency, the Goyenior. thjs.evening;.,.

, There was.a.fairlylargo crowd 1 of wellwishers at the Thorndon. Station , yesterday. morning , to- witness;' the ' departtire of. the- team' to, represent''W^ellingtbn. at the 'New; Zealand. . Amateur . /.Athletic Championships;/ 111 '. addition, -fey those'. l selected— .WoodgeY, : :Bvenseh,' Wil-." •son,- J. Wilton,, HefFer.iKerr,' .Harding,: ■ond. Ward—the following' who are : payihg' itheir own • expenses also , made,. tt;e jour;; ,ney >ith the objects of. being, competitors.; ;Thomson, '.J.-'.Wilton, Hubbard, .Cushmahj'and Rex. Bridge.The',Otago • represent tatiyes/j nl«>- wcjnt ■ north by the Main Trunk- express . .yesterday . , ;

/ 'It |will be remembered/that a' prisoner who was' before .Mr. Kettle,' S,M., - at' Auckland on ' Tuesday,'; complained i that' ■the'Mohnt Eden 'Gaol'was,infestec'l with vermin. ~ Interviewed/', by. ,a' Dominion reporter yesterday the .Hon.' 'Dr/^Findlay, 1 •llinister for.. Justice, /remarked i "If is freely aidi&tted portion of- the.^gaol 1 at' Mount, Eden , is' guite unsuitable ' for, the confinement of prisoners; but, as . soon: as/'the' new. wing' is 'completed, .tlib; wooden, portion will: be' pulled down.//At .the, present; tin)e .there is; ho' alternative .tb ' using ,'the: iwooden building,' because there : ' is , not,.' sufficient 'accommodation': for the. prisoners; in the i)ew: gaol. / I 'paid 'another.' visit to the gaol last ' week,,, The, old cells / were not as bad'as theyj are inade out to/.be! They. a.re kept clean and are not'-infested/with vermin as alleged. Of course,'some of the people who are admitted' to. gaols ' bring vermin: in with them, but the authorities can hardly be/blamed- for.:that.'"l : may ay,-: thitt - the' Department ■ isconsidering a 1 proposal .to find . room: elsewhere for some '3(1 or, '40 now at. Auckland,. and if this can bo . managed the old wooden building, will' ncit/be. used again. Definite" inquiries are ■■ now btsing made and' if any of the cells' are "found to be.unfit .for. .habitation other . temporary- arrangements :will' be atVon'ceV ,

''The' Tramway' Department has entered into an arrangement/ to carry 800 cadets to the railway station ,this' morning, . and again to-mprrow. The cadets .will,, be ■brought from all quarters ;of ; the' : city' and suburbs, and will be. taken home' in the, trains again, on their return,'from the Hutt in.the evening. • . . . ■ //,;':■

Owing to the half-holiday / to-morrow, the skin and hide; sale has been postponed .to" Tuesday, next.',/ There; is, surs .to'.be, a big entry, , as it b : five/weeks since;/the last 'sale;was held. ' - ' " '

The vexed; question in'regard to play-ground-accommodation for the pupils'at the, Terrace School, was again, brought under tho notice of the. Hon. G. .l'owlds, llinister for Education,/by a deputation from. the : School Committee iyesterdayi It was stated , by . the U«v." ..Van Staveren that the late Mr. Seddon had promised that .no buildings: should be/ erected on ', the/ low-lj'ing area, in the vicinity of the school. An attempt H'as now being made, however, to. have' the' land leased under the Glasgow sj-jtem.' If the land 'were; built ; upon, the children would have to ,play on . the streets, " where , they would run the risk of injury to life, and limb. ' All that the -cqmmittee desired was that tlio. pledge. which had. been given would be kept. ' The Minister* in reply, said that there was no record of any such ;pledge having been given',/ As far as he could see, the best thingjyould be for'the land to" be acquired, in which case, the Government; would be willing; to contributehalf the cost."' Mr. Van' Staveren: If you Say two-thirds, we will try as a committee to urge tlie parents to snbscribo the,balance?, Mr. Eowlds: As soon as I'did . that numerous, other applications of a similar nature would come; in. Mr. Van Staveren: .There is not a school in. tho country so badly off for playgrounds as this one.. l[r. FowldsV I wodld givo/ a': subscription; myself, but 'if : the Government gave t'wo-thirds. tho cost" it would be inaugurating a!principle which would land me into trouble. ' However, I will consider tho matter.

i The Onslow Borough Council ■ has . decided to extend :the .electric lighting through Kaiwarra, to replace the present gas' lamps. ...Tho roads to bo-lit'will .be ,tho Hutt Road, Porirua Road; Winchester .Street, and Foro Street. As soon as tho necessary polos': come to hand 'from Australia, the work will be commenced.

The street lighting of the central portion of the city is to be improved at an early date by tho erection of seven additional Jandcrs arc lamps similar, to the one now opposite tho Union Bank. Tho following sites liavo been decided upon for the new- light?:—Opposite Thorndon Railway Station, Stowart Dawson's corner, Dnke of Edinburgh cornerj' Royal Oak porner, Veitch and. Allan's corner .corner of Taranaki, Streot and- Courtonay Place, and in tho squn.ro opposite the Post Office. . Shampooing, Clipping, . Hairdressing Manicuring, l f aco Massage, Treatment of Falling; Hair and . Dandruff, Combings made up. Natural , Hair-pads. Mrs Bolleston ■ (oier • Carroll s), 11 "Willis Street 'Phono IEM.-Advt.

A first mooting of creditors in tho estate of Holland Andrews, architect,-: will be held at the Official Assignee's office on March 1.

The annual picnic of . tho Stokes Valley school, Taita, will bo : held to-day at Upper Hutt. : l

A considerable amount of. interest has been roused in Masterton over tho discovery of a bed of clay at Mauricevillo out of -which the material- for roofing houses" with tiles can bo made, as well as other articles, such as' pipes, chimney' tops, gully, traps, open drain bottoms, ana even jam and pickle jars .(says a 'Wairarapa paper). Clay of .good quality ha= hitherto, been an unknown quantity, and-the discovery of this bed by. Mr. F. W." 'Rummer,-, whilst prospecting for coal, is/exceptionally interesting, . and. raises grounds for hoping. that an 'important local industry may be established m the near" future. The practical tests have been made by one of ;the leading brick manufacturers in Wellington, and also by Mr.' Joseph; Ellis, modelling mas-, fcer aiid clayexpert at.';the' Wellington' Technical School. ' .Uiioh the discoveiy of the 1 scani, samples ; of it were 1 submitted for tests 'to the- Dominion analyst; Professor Maclaurin, D-Sc., ,'F.C.S., ;an.d other experts. Professor. Maclaurin's analysis shows that what has hitherto been regarded as being simply: "clay" is really not a clay, but a compoEii.ion. oi silica, alumina,, and irohr oxides, with negligibly 6mall percentages of magnesia, alkalies, and other substanccs in smaller 'quantities.'

The . Hon., T. Mackenzie thinks, that from a tourist's point of view-a connection should be mad© between- Mount Cook and' the Copcland Valley on tho westj- so that . visitors and travellers to tho Hermitage . might go., overland ; to. Hokitika and down: into, the west, taking in Fox and Franz Josef: Glaciers ..(bays a southern Dkchange).; The'road:'' to-, the 'Grey was through some of the finest native forest .the Minister hid;ever 'seen. For miles and miles he was;going through .avenues, of,'sturdy, rimus and'-, towering kahikatea, and three or four.very beautiful'.lakes: were passed on tho way. Mo? of the road was in; excellent'. condition from Hokitika to Franz Josef; Glacier—, fit, in facti for a motor, service. A- bridge would soon'- bo constructed over' the Little'. Waiiganui Kiver. In fine ,weather ho had gone from'the glacier ,to Bciss.or .Hokitika under four hours. ■

• -A' - very . pleasant conceit party, visited. Porirua Mental: Hospital last " evening, taken/by' Mrs. Schoch, official visitor, Amongst those that took-part were Mrs. Gardiner, Miss Pees,' and Messr,'. Carr, M'Cormick, . and. Edwards.. Each item : was thoroughly, enjoyed by the, patients; A; hearty: vote of thanks wai: given'i the visitors for their enjoyable'entertainment.. A ■ strange assortment of "foreign bodies" are found from time t?: time in sacked' grain when it. comes' to' tho mills (says the Melbourne "Argus"), and in order to. prevent these/from being consumed by the public;the':milling machinery has to-be provided with la large variety of "screens.'' The manager, of .one of the city milling firms explained tliat the screens at their works "have been called .upon ' to rejeot,.-amongst'. other .things,; snakes,. 6'pannerfl,. pld hats, boots, 'lizards,;' and;; oilcans.:,' Last week,however, the ..unexpected- ; came,' along in / the shape ■of an ;old pair of.- tougli moleskin trousers that had:: been', sown up in an oat-sack.-. > Not one of the screens proved capable - of Coping. ifit3i the6o garments, and eventually tlioy found their -way into the rollers. : Much good meal was spoilt, and the moleskin ■ clogged. tbe 'machinery, so that-the firm had to-incur a heavy loss, m shuttingfdown ;at. a;- particularly busy. . time. _: In■ Australian grain,; the manager, stated, they had no record; of . articles .of . any value having been found; in Eastern produce,.however,.it Iw'as- notah-uncom-' mon. thing. to.. discover, coins; thatpould represent a considerable purchasing, power' to an Oriental/labourer., -: ;../. ". . All doubt, as to the " probabilty of a Bugby team ooming -from the English Northern/League.to Australia was set at on February 17, when Mr! E. R. :w„i W'-'SewetMy', of . the / New South ■Tales Rugby /Football League,-. received ca r « I !^ f r°m. England .to■' i the louth : .mies> ; " ea^? l??ye.for'New

a S ■ a , s ? a " cau^e ma y- sometimes have far-reaching.: effects.. ' It ■ teUs'-of a I ot caused the loss of a slioc, v. hiflh in turn. made the hares lame. On that- account, the. rider was' lost, which resulted in .the .lom'/of la battle "and a kingdom.. 'At the present time a 1 gentleman, finds ; himself . in . New instead of his -home.dn.Sydney (spates: : the Sydney Daily . Telegraph")!. because', his \vite lost 2o minutes: trying Ho ■ ring him' up on the telephone. -; He had: arranged to leave for New Zealand by. a certain'boat, but. an hour, before its. departure his wife gpt-a/message, which ,'sho had. tb'. convey to hrm,. telling him, not to go. : She: rang ,up on the telephone, and was occasionallv aaswered -bjr yarious of the but found it .impossible' to cdminunicate :Wth; After-trying fox 25 ininnfces ;tne lady into'town, bit oa-ber: :Way across the 'harbour, sie ' sav the • stpamer. wjth ■ her, husband; on; board' half-: way to t .vAa'd new -th© lady is '.wondering if her husband' \yill carryl out "an- oft-repeated, threat';on -his wtuxn - to' get tho family.- axe'and; chop the telephone off : ; the wall.; : •..:

.Tho Queensland pioneer, who claims from ' the .'.Queensland , "Government' .£12,000,000 for, having, as he asserts, dis- : eovcred nine payable goldficlds, and thus created a considerable "on which State. went into- the money, market' to ; bprrow,'; has ■;writtenagain to Mr' Deakin urging .hiin to use his iifluence to ■jjave Jhe claim settled-(states the; Sydney. Doily-Telegraph"). On a previous occa-sions-April. l.last,; lie'., / informed 'Mr. Deakm that his bill, with. 4 per cent, interest, since 1861,',. totaled 4s. lOd.-It Ikisgrown to "This," he .says,,, "is .tho; amount 'of my- claim/ which is due to me by the Government of Queensland. /If the Government is' ;not 'satisfied to'give me my'mono'y," I will take iny. : land,';®; square• miles^ ; which I' projected'and explored with' iny moneyj- and 'I am entitled' to. : I. wish this'claim'to.be settled -within 14 days to - save ' further . trouble." In concluding: his letter id the .Prime'Minister;he.6ays, "I therefore ask you as a gentleman, to , see", that 1 the Queensland,. Government* do .justice' be-tweenmo.and'mycountry.";-The letter is typewritten,'but .signed in the ordinary Viay. .' > V