LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 790, 13 April 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Commission appointed under the Civil Service Act, consisting of Dr. Fitchett, LL.D., Professor Salmond, Solici-tor-General, and Mr, Waldcgrave, UnderSecretary for Justice, to investigate the charges preferred against the Commissioner of Taxes, Mr. Peter Heyes, is to commence its sittings this week'in Wellington. Mr. C. P. Skerrett, of Wellington, and Mr. W. J. Najiier, of Auckland, have been retained as counsel by Mr. Heyes. Extensions are being added daily to the fire alarra system of the city. Yesterday's operations took place in the Wellington South district, when the fire brigade staff connected up three alarm boxes on. Adelaide Boad at the cornersof Tamar Street, Mersey Street, and Kees Street. Sir Joseph Ward has wired to Mr. Wilford, M.P., that he will receive a deputation from the Hutt Valley Tramway Board in regard to the tramway loan early next week.- ' At the monthly meeting of the Wellington Presbytery yesterday, the discussion on hymn books, adjourned from the last meeting, was resumed. Dr. Gibb's motion, recommending the General Assembly to adopt tho new edition of Church Praise as the hymn book of the 'ChUTch, was adopted. The remaining business of the Presbytery was conducted in committee. There was a good attendance, and the Moderator, the Eov. W. J. :Coinrie, presided.

. The freehold of that valuable block of land in Manners Street,' at present occu-P"-d by Mr. Shakes's tobacconist shop and tho 'Hat Box," has been bought by Messrs. Charles Begg and Co., Ltd., music warehousemen, of DunedLi and ton, who intend towards the end of the year, when the existing leases run out, to erect a commodious warehouse, suited to thoir business. The section, which. is a portion of the old Heath Estate (one'of the original town acres .allotted by the New Zealand Company, the founders of Wellington), has & frontage to tho northern side of Manners Street of ,36ft. by a depth of 120 ft, while provision has been made for a bulk goods entrance by securing a section which runs from" the back of tho block to St Hill Street (a section now under lease to Mr. M. Bohan). It is understood that Messrs. Begg and Co. paid approximately .£2OO per foot for the Manners Street block. ■ • ■

The tramway returns for the year show that several lines have maintained their position very well. The Kilbirnie b'no shows an enormous increase of traffic, partly natural and partly due to the opening of the Lyall Bay line. The. Island Bay tramway shows a very distinct growth of traffic during the year, but the Newtown lino during tho greater part of the year has shown a marked falDng-off, and the recovery during the summer, months has been but slight. The tramway to Brooklyn has done very good business, and the Tinakori Road line has always been,;a profitable one. If the Karori line is shortened in future by a now road through the Government House grounds, as has been proposed, the line along Charlotte Street, Molesworth Street, and Tinakori Road will still be maintained for the sake of its own and Wades.town traffic. . , *;

A new experiment has been carried out to solve the ; difficulties that have been experienced in connection with, the graving dock. The results will be known in tho course of three or four days, when certain work has been finished and the divers have mado a careful examination. If this latest experiment proves satisfactory it will afford a complete solution of the dock trouble, but if, like previous endeavours, it is unsuccessful, it is impossible to say what will happen.

The tramway revenuo for the year which ended on March 31 was ,£139,000, an increase of as compared with the previous year, which, in all the circumstances, is ■ considered very satisfactory. .The striking feature of the return is the extent to .which people have been using the cars this summer. On several days during the holidays the tramway revenue was larger than on similar holidays in previous, years, and ever since, the beginning of December the returns have been such as to. prove clearly that the pockets of the public have not been so depleted as to make them walk unduly. A sitting of the Bankruptcy Court'has been . arranged" for April 25.

Sittings of the Court of Appeal will be resumed this morning. The. first business of the Court will be the consideration of a point raised during the hearing of the case of his Majesty the King-versus Henry Stephen Coburn, newspaper manager, at the last criminal sittings. Tho second case to be heard is that of Bowron Brothers versus Helyar Wedderburn Bishop, S.M., of Christchurch, and the Commissioner of Taxes, tho Court being asked to prohibit the magistrate from giving judgment in the income tax case recently heard by him, on tho ground that he had no jurisdiction to hear the case. '■■■,'

The curative value of the mineral hot springs at Helensville in cases of rheumatism and other diseases is not well known, despite their nearness to Auckland (writes our correspondent), and the many who can ill afford it travel fur-ther-in search of healing wators, or suffer in silence, when they could afford tho low railway fares and moderate residence tariffs available at Bielonsville. Some remarkable cures have been effeotcd by the wators, and they have secured a whole-hearted advocate in Mr. It. Yates, tho well-known caretaker of the Auckland Cricket Ground. Mr. Yates went up to Helensville ten days ago almost n cripple/ with his hands twisted out of shape, and his body racked by rhonmatic pains. He has returned rejuvenated, without a truce of'his complaint, which was very long-standing in his systom, nnd looking and feeling as if the clock.had moved back ten years.

"Dr. Bell, tho Government Geologist for t.lio Dominion of Now Zealand, lias been asked by the' British Admiralty to report on the oilfields of Now Zealand, and has reported favourably."—Extract from -The Navj."- (London}.

Mr. Hugo Gorlitz, the well-known manager, Had an application before the Wellington Industrial Association at its meeting last evening for the position of manager of the musio section of the' proposed Wellington .Exhibition. He explained in his letter that as he would be fitting in the work with another ongagamemt ho would be able to act for a reasonable charge. It was decided to. thank Mr. Gorlitz for his offer, and inform him of the decision of the association to put off the exhibition till May of next sear.

As the outcome of a request from the South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce for co-operation in getting the Government to amend the system of collecting grain statistics, Mr. L. Myers moved, at Saturday's meeting of the council of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, "That this chamber heartily supports the South Canterbury Chamber's resolution in connection with grain statistics, considering that the matter is of pressing importance, and one that should receive the immediate attention of the Department." Little reliance, the mover said, could be placed upon the grain statistics of the Department this year. (Hear, hear.) Unfortunately the Government's scheme of retrenchment had been carried to such an extreme limit that this year's ' statistics had been based upon those of the previous year. The president remarked that when the Minister was approached by southern people, he admitted that the Government was at present making no special effort to obtain reliable information. The motion was unanimously.

The Pioneer Lodge, No. 11, 1.0. G.T., held its usual weekly session in the fcchabite Hall, Manners Street,.on Monday evening, Bro. H. J. Millan, C.T., presiding. One candidate was proposed and two initiated; Greetings from various lodges were received and reciprocated. After recess, the sisters of the lodge took charge of the meeting, Sister L. Richards in the chair/ A musical programme was provided by the sisters as follows:— Pianoforte solo, Sister AUsop; . guitar solo, Sister I. Sinolair (encore); recitation, Sister Kelly; duet, Sisters Barrett and M. Petherick; pianoforte solo, Sister Ryan; song, Sister Collins (encore); song, Mrs. Willis (encore); recitation, Miss Hyams (encore); song; Sister Petherick; song, Sister Hyde. During, the evening refreshments were handed round by the sisters. A_ hearty vote of thanks to those who provided, such a pleasant and enjoyable evening was carried by acclamation.

Though Wellington is much better o£E now than it was a few years ago in the matter of recreation grounds, it: has not nearly exhausted its possibilities of development in this respect. Kelburne Park pan be considerably onlarged in future, and the Mayor pointed out to a Dominion representative yesterday that / Anderson Park is at present only. about half its intended ■ size. When, the council has more money a great deal of earth can be removed from the hills to fill up the valley. When that; is done the park will be a very fine playing ground. Last winter the corporation acquired eight acres of the sandhills near the terminus of the Lyall Bay tramway, and it is now negotiating with the .Government- for twelve adjoining acres. If this land is given to the city there will bo a park of 2u acres at Lyall Bay ready to be levelled and improved.' There are a number of other grounds which the city has the right to reclaim when it has the means. In addition there aTe, at various points in the Town Belt, pieces of land that could 1m made into football and cricket grounds if the money was forthcoming. "If only the public will insist," said Dr. Newman, "when money is more plentiful, on expenditure on these sites, Wellington in a few years' time will be not well provided, but fairly provided with recreation areas." - : ' • •

Tho Wellington engineers' dispute jvill be heard before the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. Hally) at his rooms' in the Te Aro Post Office, to-day. The employers' assessors,are Messrs D. Robert-, son, of Wellington; Jas. Murray, of Wanganui; and G. L. Scott, of Christchurch. The employees' assessors will be Messrs. C. Griffen, Thos. Tulet, and Alex. Stevenson, all of Wellington. -One of the chief demands being made by the union is'a rise'iif'th'e rate of'pay from Is. 4Jd. to Is. 6d. per hour.

An interesting sketch exhibition is" to be given- under the" auspices' of ""the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts some time next month. The past summer-has been an ideal one for sketching, and it is understood that local artiste made the fullest use of their opportunities.

The tender of Mr. W. H. Bennett has been accepted by Mr.-, John Swan, architect, for the erection of a largo': threestory, brick building on the corner of Manners and Herbert Streets, on the site which has been for so many years occupied by a Chinese fruiterer. The old onestory wooden building, which is now being demolished, has done good service. It was erected about'.'46 years ago. by the lata Mr.- Luxford;. sen., for. the conduct of his butchering business, and even now the old : irons for the' suspension of the beef and mutton may be seen beneath the verandah, The new building will have a frontage to,Maimers Street of 22ft., widening gradually to' a width of 68ft. sin. at the back of the section, which has a frontage of 56ft. 3in. to Herbert Street. The building will be finished in red brick with cement facings, and will have a cantilever verandah and ample cellar accommodation. The'cost of the building, which is to be completed in six months, is about

An agreement has at length been ar-' rived at. between the Makara County. Council and the Hutt County Council as to the adjustment of accounts. A cheque for w£2ooo has been drawn by the Hutt Council in favour of the Makara County) Council.

T can't understand all the humbug thafs.going .on. -By Jove! , I'd like to bo king of this country for a bit! I would! I can't, understand what's going on at all," remarked Mr., Jennings,' MJ?., at a meeting of the School Commissioners at New Plymouth on Friday. The subject under discussion related to a communicition from the Superintendent of the State Advances Department -in connection with an application for a loan.

Captain M'Arthur, of the Maoriland Steamship Company, states that he has received advice that the steamer Lauderdale is stuck up in Melbourne over the strike of timber-yard employees. The steamer arrived with 1,000,000 feet of timber from Huon (Tasmania) to discharge for, Melbourne consignees, but as there was no prospect of getting.the lumber removed from the wharf and stacked in the yards, the vessel could not be discharged, and she still lies at the wharf. The strike is a serious matter to the company, as the expenses on the Lauderdale run into J330. a day. ,

The Maoris of the north are apparently very devoted- to their church, the Natives of Hokianga being particularly so (writes onr Dargaville correspondent). Last week a fine new Roman Catholic Church was blessed at Motu Karaka, and dedicated to divine service. The Natives went from far and-near to participate in the great event, and it is anticipated that over 2000 people (including pakehas) participated in the ceremonies'.' The blessing of the sanctuary was' performed by the Verv Rev. Dean.Lightheart, Provincial of the Mill-Hill Fathers. High Mass followed, and was celebrated by the Rev. Father Becker, assisted by the other priests present., Tho praise worship was very impressive, the Kaihu choir being particularly conspicuous for their,splendid part singing. After tho religious portion of the proceedings had concluded, the whole assemblage sat down to dinner, and when it is. stated that six bullocks, ten pigs, and fifteen sheep had been slaughtered and roasted or steamed in six hugo hangis, along with twenty-live sacks of kumcras and ton socks of potatoes, some idea may be gathered of the immense undertaking in feeding such an exceptionally large. multitude. Two largo tables had been provided to carry tho viands, eaoh' table being capable of accommodating 200, and these were relaid no fewer than six times each. The large assemblage was most orderly, and the tribes concerned were congratulated upon the great success of the function. The church, which was designed by Mr. Mltahonoy, of Auckland, is an ideal edifice, and is called ""Whararo-Karakia Eangitira," or, in other words, the treasure of tho north, by the Maoris.

Councillor Carmichael has dven notics that he willmove at the next meeting of the City Council:—"That the motion passed on April 4 accepting a tender for the supply of gravel be rescinded."

The question of the new carshed at Thorndon will probably be dealt wifli finally by the City Council at its next meeting. The cost of the land was JB3OOO, and the construction of the 6hed, which will hold 24 cars, will' probably cost about iEGOOO. It is 'believed, however, that the. work.will be reproductive, because cars which go to Karori. and which will go soon to Wadestown, will not haro to cndur6 the Wear and tear of useless trips between Thorndon and Newtown in order 1 that they may be housed at night, and cars which there is not now room to house at night will be tinder shelter. A largo part of the cost of the Thorndon shed will be for laying down car lines inside and for the expensive overhead equipment. Under the prosent system, which includes so much useless mileage between Thorndon and tb<> Newtown carshed, a large amount of extra wages has to be paid which will bo saved when the new shed is built. The cost of the land and of the shed will bo paid for out of last year's and this year'o tramway profits.

Lord Eoberts has become a boy-scout He has been mistaken for: a boy befor» now (says a waggish London scribe)'. At the first Black Heart ball at Simla, which was a masked one, little Bobs, who was then Commander-in-Chief in India, went up to an Irish lady and asked her in a feigned voice to give him a dance. . The, lady looked at the diminutive figure who; addressed her in squeaky tones, .and answered, "Arrah, go on now, is it time I have got to-night to be dancing with boys:"'-

"Fine weather for the trams" is an ex, clamation which one hears very fre> quently when, as yesterday, the rain is falling fast. But wet weather is not fina weather, even for the cars. A Dominion representative was assured on good authority yesterday that the trams do exceedingly well in fine weather, and very badly when it rains. The explanation is that in wet weather an unusually large proportion of people stay at home. The seaside has no charms for them, and theatres and entertainments lure in'vain, The cars are crowded at the. "rush" hours when people go to and from, work, and their passengers conceive the' idea that they are doing an enormous business, but it does not last long enough to pay. By studying the daily tramway returns for the last five years an expert could state easily what find of weather was experienced in.any particular week. The chart of the returns of tramway revenue coincides very closely with the chart, of ths Weather.