LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 758, 5 March 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A shoal, alleged to exist in the Waitara Roadstead, occupied the attention of the Government steamer Hinemoa during the week, bnt whou that vossel returned to Wellington yesterday, Captain Bollons reported to the Marino Department that ho had failed to locate tho obstruction. It appears that some little timo back, the master of the steamer ICanieri informed the master of , the New Zealand Shipping Company's Ivaikoura that there was a shoal in the roadstead, and he gave the bearings. Captain M'Kellar, noticing that such a shoal, if it existed, was not charted, passed the information on to the Marine Department, and the Hinemoa was commissioned to make a search. Beautiful weather and smooth seas favoured the search, but though the Hinemoa spent a whole day "sweeping" the sea in the vicinity, she discovered nothing. It may he assumed, therefore, that if any shoal exists, the.hearings given were not quite accurate. In the course of conversation with a Dominion reporter yesterday,_ the Chief Justice (Sir Eobert Stout) said he looked to West Australia as having a great future before it—much greater than people in New Zealand imagined.

"I ask you now as a business man ". said Mr. Skerrett, K.C., to a witness in the income tax prosecution on Wednesday. "But you said just now," replied the witness, "that I was not a. business man." "Oh, well, did I?" said counsel. "Well, I ask you then as an officer of the Income Tax Department, or, better still, as a reasonable man."

Apparently ex-champion boxer Pitzsimmons finds it very hard to make up his mind to quit the boxing ring for good. It 'will be remembered that at the conclusion of- his contest with Lang, the ex-champion declared that he would not. again be seen in the ring. Reports from Australia, however, show that negotiations are in progross for a match between Fitzsimmons and Williams. Asked yesterday if it were true that he intended to again enter, the ring, Fitzsimmons remarked: "I don't know. I think I might. I will know shortly."

A correspondent writes directing attention to a recent accident at the Hutt caused by a horse taking fright at a traction engine. The writer thinks the attention of those in charge of this traction engine should be called to the necessity for stopping for a minute or two when passing vehicles drawn by horses, especially at night time. It is a source of danger, and certainly all care should be taken when a horse is seen to be restless and frightened. "Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Skinner, of Camp .'"Road," continues the writer, "were driving, accompanied by their daughter, Mrs. W. Morris, and her two. children, also their youngest daughter. The horse was terrified, and plunged to left and right, with the result that the trap was immediately overturned. - Mrs. Skinner was severely shaken and pinned underneath the trap; Mrs. Morris received injuries to ller hip .and side; her two children were not hurt much;; but Mrs. Skinner's youngest daughter had her collarbone broken and suffered shock to her system. Mr. Skinner is badly shaken about, and has a thumb, injured, and will bo incapacitated for work for some time, to come." The victims of the accident wish to thank Mr. and Mrs. Hazelwood, sen I .;"'for":their' kindness in taking them in aiid allowing Dr. Hector to attend to them at their home. '" ,

The recent trouble at the Point Elizabeth State coal mine has not yet -been settled. It appears ..that two workers and a shift boss are affected. Under the Act only a "shot-firer" is allowed to fire shots. On the ground that they had fired one or' more shots the two workers were suspended by the shift boss. Upon an inquiry being held the workers emphatically denied the allegation: The manager (it is Understood) decided in favour of the shift overseer. It has now been decided to place the matter before tho Minister for Mines.,

Mr. George Chirnsidc, of Victoria, who has been trout-fishing for nearly a month at Tokaanu, left for Sydney en route to Melbourne by the Moeraki yesterday. Ho left the Dominion more than delighted with tho sport he has ; enjoyed, having caught upwards of two tons of fish. He states that tie waters about Tokaanu are simply alive with fish—in fact they wero over-stocked, and as a result the fish were hardly in so good a condition as they wero when he fished at Tokaanu before. He concluded that this was caused by a shortage of feed. Tokaanu would be all the better if the waters were fished over by more people. The Commissioner of Crown Lands (Mr. Jas. Mackenzie) felt called upon to speak rather severely to several Crown tenants who had not complied with the conditions under which they took up the lands, and who appeared before the beard yesterday to ask for consideration in the matter of forfeiture. Two or three lessees had taken up sections, and instead of getting to work right away to fell and burn the bush and effect other improvements necessary for making a home in the back country, it is stated that they had taken up other work having no connection with the section. In the meantime other settlers had worked on their sections all round and cleared their land of bush, kept the weeds down, etc., and wore .then handicapped by the sections which had been neglected, and where ragwort had flourished. Th« commissioner held out small hope to some of these people, saying that it seemed to him that they did as little as possible to the sections, and just endeavoured to hang on to them in .the hope of disposing of them to advantage.. In the meantime the land was'"urgently needed by genuine settlers, who would put their hearts into the sections. It was just as well for Crown tenants to know that the board expected the conditions to be complied with, otherwise action would be taken.

■ In answer to a recent appeal from the Harbour Board towards the removal of tho Kaipara Shoal, • a reply has been received from the Defence Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) notifying that the Department was not in a position to blast away the Kaipara Shoal, as it had no officers for the purposo. If necessary,. however, the Department would arrange that the electrical officers should assist in preparing tho charges. Mr. Bradney (says tho Auckland "Star") thought that the board was making much ado about very little in respect of this shoal. Thoy were making a lot of noise about it, and in his opinion were spending a lot of money. The shoal should have been got away long ago. He guaranteed, in fact, that ho could soon find men .to blow it away effectually, and inferred broadly that he would not find much trouble in settling the obnoxious shoal himself. The board wasted very much time about little things, ho said, instead of putting their minds to business— which was the general opinion Mr. Bradney allowed hJmself to express. The chairman, observing an opportunity, hastened to concur with Mr. Bradney that far too much timo was lost in quibbling, and, whilo members were smiling intelligently, Mr. Napier remarked that ho would second a motion to tho effect hinted by Mr. Bradnoy, were it not that it would be a grief to lose him from the board. After further pleasantries and considerations, an offer from a local firm to supply the explosives and provide an expert to attend to the serious part of the business was referred to the Works Committee. Various matters affecting tho Hutt County Council will bo brought nnder the notice of tho Hon. R. MlCeuzie (Minister for Public Works) by a deputation to bo introduced by Mr. Field, M.P., on Tuesday afternoon. Shampooing, Clipping, Uairdresslng, Manicuring, Face Massage, Treatment of Falling Hair and Dandruff, Combings mado up. Natural Hair-pads. Sirs. Rollcston (over Carroll's), 14 Willis Street. 'Phono 1599.—Advt

Referring to tho now soani which had been discovered in tho vicinity of the Scddonville State coal-mine, tho Hon. E. M'Kenzie (Minister for Mines) informed a Dosiinion reporter yesterday that. only one bore hail so far been put down. It was not proposed to hurry on with the dovelopmcnt of the new area at present. Tho indications came up to the highest expectations.

Further developments in connection with the proposal to undertake a Government schema of irrigation in Central Otago are reported. The Government has now decided to invite tenders in connection with irrigation works on the Stewart Settlement, which lies near Oamaru. In tho meantime, the work of survey in regard to a scheme for the whole of' Central Otago is proceeding apaoe. The proposal is to provide means for securing the whole of the rainfall on the Upper Taieri Plains, and to construct waterraces round two sides of the Mauiototo Plains, and probably down one side of the Ida Valley to Ophir and Alexandra. Nothing further can be done pending the receipt of the reports of the engineers as to which will ho the most suitable and economic scheme.

Tho Auckland Education Board finds itself in this predicament—it has soma sixty or seventy vacancies for assistants, mostly of low salaries, and it can find no teachers to fill them. Meantime parents, who find that the schools at which their children attend are not fully staffed, art making more or less. strenuous protests, and the only body that they can reach with their piotests is the Education Board. The board, through its committee, which takes special charge of thn work of selecting teachers, has been doing all in its power to fill the vacancies •bnt has at last come to the conclusion that tho teachers are not available in Auckland. Wherefore it decided at the ordinary meeting on Wednesday (states the "Star") to adopt a rather unusual course of action by advertising th« vacancies in southern newspapers. The dearth of teachers has. been brought about bv tho new scale of staffs set up by the last Act, which creates a greatly increased number of positions for certificated teachers.

There promises to be a large attendance at the forthcoming wrestling contest at Stratford between B. J. Soott, champion of New Zealand,. and A. Bain, the Scottish champion. Up tiff a tan days ago Bain, was in training at Lyall Bay, but he is now putting on the fin ishing touches to his work at Stratford, where he is being assisted by Robertson, another well-known Scottish athlete. Scott recognises that he has a heavy task before him if he is to win the contest, for in order to do so he has to throw Hackenschmidfs late "partner" three times within an. hour's . actual wrestling. It is now definitely announced that the contest will take place in the Town Hall, Stratford, on Tuesday evening next.

The mm Tin! conference of master baksra is to be held at Palmeiston North on March 10.

The following are tho arrangements in connection with the visit next, week of the forerunners of. the Anglican Mission of Help to Wellington:—Special .service for Church workers in St Paul's proCathedral on Monday nest at 7.30 p.m.; conference with men in the Diocesan library after the service; conferences will be held (1) with the city clergy in the Diocesan Library on Monday,'at 3 p.m.; (2) with the suburban and west coast clergy on Tuesday in tho Diocesan Library, at 10 a.m.; (3) with women in the Sydney Street Schoolroom on Tuesday, ai 3 p.m. Celebrations of Holy Communion for all who desire to aid the mission will be held in St. Paul's and St. Mark's, on Tuesday at 7.15 a.m., and in Si Peter's and St. Thomas's on Wednesday, at 7.15 a.m. A party of Somoans—eight men, 15 women, and three children—parsed through Suva on the last Tofua, en route to Germany, to give entertainments such as the Maoris are now giving abroad (states the Suva correspondent of the "New; Zealand Herald." They have material for making their houses, etc.j also canoes, and will give the national songs and dances. In the winter they will show in the Continental theatres, and should be a.good draw! 'Tairiasese, grandson of the late old warrior chief, is of the number, and Mr. Marquardt is in charge of: the troupe.

Tlie complaint against the fine .concrete floor at the abattoirs,' which it' is said causes stock to' slip and receive seriom bruises prior to slaughtering, was considered by the Abattoirs Committee of the City Conncil yesterday afternoon. The committee decided to pay a visit of inspection to' the abattoirs nest Monday morning, and sec if the complaint is justified with a view to effecting an improve' ment if such, is needed.