LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 810, 6 May 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The t.s.s. Haheno, which left Sydney on Wednesday, May i, for Auckland, has on board an English and Australian mail. The Wellington and southern portion will arrivti by the Main Trunk train on Monday next.

Whilst a. deputation was waiting upon tho Hon. J. A. Millar last night, Mr. Moriarty (secretary of the Furniture Workers' Union) stated that, subsequently, ho wished to bring under the notice of the Minister a matter relating to the work of officials of tho Labour Department. When Mr. Moriarty, at a later stage, roso to mention tho matter, the following dialogue took place: Air. Millar: "If you arc going 'o make auy charge against any of the officials of the Department, you must put it in writing, so that when the matter is discussed the official or officials in question may bo present." Mr. Moriarty: "I don't want to stab anybody in the back." Mr. Millar: "Are yon going to say anything reflecting on their work?" Mr. Moriarty: "I am not going to make any charge; only a statement." Mr. Millar: "Well, I must have tho official in attendance." Mr. Moriarty: "Practically the whole oj the Department will have to be here. (Laughter.)

It ia understood that the whole of the members of tho recently-elected Brooklyn School Committee last night signed a requisition to the Education Board, asking that a fresh election should be held because of certain alleged irregularities at the recent poll, and that in the event of a requisition not being successful, the committee will resign.

About sixty applications hare been received by the City Council for the position of assistant building inspector, the vacancy having been caused by the resignation <■< Mr Vaterson. The council last evening decided to refer all the applications to the By-laws Committee, with instructions to report or recommend at the next council meeting.

Regarding the -wrecked Waikaro, the diver on the scone, at Dusky Sound states that the vessel lies hard and fast on a hard, sandy bottom, with her fore portion resting on a rocky ledge. The fittings thflt hive been taken from the Waikare are, so far, only those light in weight and easily removed, tat when heavier gear and explosives arrive operations can be carried out on a larger scale, and practically all the interior fittings and cargo-will then be removed. Nothing has been decided yet in regard to an attempt to salve the Waikore as a whole.

The dates of the sittings of the Public Service Commission, in connection with the Income Tax Department inquiry, have not yet been fixed. Something definite in regard to the matter is expected to be made known in a day or two. Mr. Stringer, K.C.- of Christchurch, will represent the Government at the inquiry, while Mr. Skerrett, K.C., and Mr. Napier, of Auckland, will appear on behalf of Mr. P. Heyes, Commissioner of Taxes.

It is understood that the tramcar which was used in connection with a test that failed, under the auspices of the Tramway Brakes Commission on the Seatqun line' the othor day, was the one which figured in what is known as the Cuba Street accident.

The nucleus of a native section in the Botanical Gardens is to be made by the purchase of New Zealand mountain plants to the value of .620 from Mr. H. H. Travers, which was agreed to by the City Council last evening. The expenditure was not passed without discussion. Councillor Atkinson thought that the amount should be reduced, or that more information should be forthcoming, and Councillor Hindmarsh suggested that Mr. Justice Chapman; as an expert with regard to Alpine flora, should be consulted on the question of what native plants and shrubs would be likely to grow in the Botanical Gardens. . Councillor Devine moved that the council should defer its decision till more information was available, and tho motion was 6nly lost by tbo .Mayor's vote.

The annual meeting of the Wellington Garrison Officers' Club was held last night, and was well attended. The annual report (which has already been published in The Dominion) was adopted. The. following officers were elected:-! Patron, his Excellency the Governor; president, Lieut.-Colonel Bauchop, C.M.G.; vice-presidents, Lieut.-Colonel Campbell, V.D., and Major Mackintosh; committee, lieut.-Colonel Duthie, Major Courtney." Capt. Chesney. Capt. Turner, Captain Hall, Capt. Cowles, Capt. Corrigan, and Lieut. Roache; secretary, Capt. Trask (re-elected); treasurer, Capt. Henderson < (re-oleoted); librarian, Capt. O'Sullivan (re-elected); auditor, .Capt. J. Duthie (re-elected). The same committee as Inst year was appointed to make arrangements for the annual ball.

Tender's were dealt with by the City Council in committee last evening as follow:—Electric meters: The tender of Messrs. Ccderholm and Tolley was accepted. Boots for Fire Brigade: The tender of Messrs. Pannell and Co. (Cbristchnrcli) was accopted. Alterations to Messrs. Jones and Ashdown's building? in Willis Street: A tender was accepted subject to the consent of the parties interested. Screw-cutting niaohine: The city engineer was instructed to report upon the tenders at the next council meeting. Erection of car depot at Thorndon: The tenders were referred to the Tramways Committee for a report.

"Ton think it a point of honour never to give in—to a magistrate."—Mr. Hasolden, S.M., to irrepressible counsel who persisted in arguing a certain point..

The building report presented to the City Council last evening showed that during tho fortnight, elided May i \3i applications were received by tho .engineer's department for permission to erect, alter, or extend buildings, and in 3J instances plans were approved and permits issued. The value of (he works to be carried out is estimated as follows:—City, .£11,280; Mplrose, .£4729; Wadestown, .£250; total, MG.259.

To-morrow has been fixed by the General Committee of the Australasian Students' Christian Union as tho day on which the Clrurches of Australasia arc asked to remember in a special sense the claims and needs of the student movement.

The "Outlook" appears this week as a Presbyterian publication pure and simple. The Congrcgntionalists withdrew from their connection with the paper some time ago, and Methodism has decided to essay a journal of its own. The "Outlook" will now have more space for Presbyterian proceedings and special articles, and its appearance has also ■ been improved considerably. The first of the now numbers contains excellent photographs, of the members of the Dr. Henry Mission, and a verbatim report of Dr. Henry's address given in the Town Hall, Wellington, on the three great perils of young men: drink, gambling, und impurity.

The first ''information sheet" published by the new Wellington Central Mission nohfios the following needs:—A flag to lly from the King's Theatre on Sundays; a sigmvriter (amateur or professional) to paint signboards occasionally; a notice board (two, in fact); the spirit of earnest prayer; a stand for open-air work; more members for the choir and orchestra (Mr. T\ H. Pitcher, conductor); a large curtain for the back of the platform; a new Uible, not too largo (revised version); invitations to visit factories and workShops for lunch hour meetings. The flag has already been provided.

Alessrs. Maco and Nicholson, who have opened out n quarry of good road metal in tho Ivgaliauranga Gorge, have entered into a contract to supply and deliver metal to the Makara County Council on any of the roads under the control of that body. This, it is contended, will bo equally as cheap a method of road-repair-ing as tho day labourer plan, in which the metal was obtained promiscuously from wayside faces and stream beds. The contractors will deliver tho metal by the medium of a steam wagon.

Several Ministerial decisions under the Customs Duties Act are gazetted.

With reference to tho motor' accident on Sunday last, by which Mrs. Jane Dixon Guthrie was injured, the driver of the motor car, Frank Wilson, states that Mrs. Guthrie fell down before the motor car touched her.

According to the Registrar-General's quarterly return, the European population of the Dominion increased by 4554 during the quarter ended March 31, making a total estimated population (excluding Maoris) of !)57,480. Tho addition of the Maoris and inhabitants 'of the Cook and othor islands, as returned by the census of 190G, brings the total up to 1,017,551.

The following tenders have been re-, ceived by the Public Works Department for additions to the polico station,. Manners Street, Wellington :—G. L. Wakelin, Wellington, £512 18s. (accepted); H. H. Knight, Wellington, .£025; A. Seamer, Wellington, .£630; Howie and Matthews, Wellington, .£615; and J. Craig, Wellington, .£675.

The tender of Messrs. Rowe and Sons, Ltd., has been accepted by the Defence Department for the supply of forage in Wellington for twelve months, from April 1, 1910.

It is notified in the Gazette that Tuesday, May 24, being Empire Day, will be observed as a public holiday in the Government offices throughout the Dominion.

The highest rainfall officially recorded in the North Island for the month of March was 23.26 inches at the Mountain House, North Mount Egmont, and the lowest was 1.27 inches at Opau, North Makara. The highest and lowest records for the, South Island were: 20.09 at Otira, and .03 at Waikawa Valley, Otago.

■ The tender of Messrs. S. Brow.n, LW., agents for the Westport-Stockton Coal Company, has been accepted bv the Eauway Department for the supply of 25,000 tons of coal, to be delivered at any point in New Zealand where wanted.

Some 350 tons of steel girdors and stanchions manufactured by Messrs. Dorman and Long, of England, and supplied through Messrs. John Duthie and Co., are to be used in the construction of the new General Post Office. Enough steel has already been received for the first two floors, and already some of the ground giidera and etanchions nave been placed in position on the Panama Street side of the building. ■ So far, the contractors, Messrs. J. and A. Wilson, have received 250 tons of stone from their quarries, at Tonga Bay, and in deal with it as expeditiously as possible the contractors have erected a large ehed (100 ft. by 35ft.) on the post office section of the new reclaimed • land at Waterloo Quay, where the masons will shape the blocks of stone before sending jt along to tho building. The second big crane will be ready for use this week, and it is hoped to rig the boiler and .crane plant oh the third gantry next week. This is believed to be the first time on record in New Zealand, where three cranes (on 70ft. high gantries) have been used on the one job. Sixty-three hands are now employed on the contract, which number will be increased considerably towards the end 'of the month. . ' .

A gentleman residing in India, tclio has an idea of retiring from his present employment and settling down in Wellington, has evidently an erroneous idea of the condition of things in this country. After asking what a, house and half an acre of land on the seashore near Wellington would cost, he, in the course of a letter of inquiry, snys that, having purchased such a property, he assumes that a man. (with a wife and one child) could easily live on, eay, £65 a year in Wellington. The inquirer, who writes in all seriousness, is likely to get a rudo shock on reading the answer to his letter regarding the cost of living in Wellington.

The Department of Labour has just issued a useful publication entitled Volume X of the Court of Arbitration Awards and Agreements for 1900. It also contains a useful index of all cases, interpretations, etc., which have been decided 6inco the Act came into force.

The Court of Appeal will sit at 10.30 a.m. to-day. Mr. Justice Cooper will preside at a sitting in Chambers at 11 o'clock, and will also deliver judgments in the cases of Easson and Austin y. Stansell, iU'J.oaii-T-.rflell (costs), and in ro Edward Gorton, deceased.

.Further inquiries are being .made by the Railway Department, with reference to the possibility, of using oil for fuel for the iocomotives.\ In connection with previous tests, the difficulty lay in the fact that the impure nature of the oil interfered' With its continuous flow into the fire box. When the experiments were made on the Lyttelton-Christchurch line it was found that a pound of oil was equal to a pound and a half of coal. The use of. oil in place of coal necessitates very slight alterations to the fire boxes, but a disadvantage is that unless the oil is kept at a certain temperature it solidifies to such an extent that it blocks un the minute apertures through w'r.ich it is injected into the fire box. A further trial is now about to be made on the Kow. Plymouth-Hawera section.

With regard to a paragraph which appeared in yesterday's issue upon the question of the payment of the Government reward in connection with the recn'pturo of Powelka, the Hon. Dr. Findlay states that it has still to be decided whether any person furnished information which led to the arrest of the fugitive.. He would himself decide in what proportions the reward should be divided among the constables who took part directly .or indirectly in the recapture. Whatever the result the , services of Powelka's captofs would meet with full recognition.

Authority has been given to the town clerk to arrange a deputation from the City Council, urging upon the Government the desirability of establishing a central railway station adequate for the requirements of the city.

"Do you ever go to church ?" asked Mr. H. W. Bishop, S.M., of a man who at the Christchuroh Magistrate's Court displayed an ardent fervour for the Anglioan faith and insisted that his children should be brought up in that faith. "Well, no," replied the man. "You see, I'm not much of a scholar." "Well, that's the first time I've heard that scholarship was necessary for a man to attend church," said Mr. Bishop. "But my eyes are bad, your Worship," returned the man, "and I can't see." "But you go to church to hear, idon't you?" said the magistrate. "But tho placo seems so small to the church I used to go to," answered the man in a la.st defence, which later was swept away by the magistrate, who a said: "I don't think tho man thinks any more of religion than my boot."

At the Native Land Court at Wairoa the hearing of the To Roinga block case ia still proceeding (suys the "Gisborue Times"). A story has been told which shows the cold-blooded calculations of tbo alioient Maori. Being desirous of avenging the death of his brother, one of the chiefs engineered a. raid upon his own pa by a neighbouring chief. The first ohief directed that preparations should be rnado for a great feast. These preparations so tired the • people that they were very easily surprised next morning. When the raid took place its arranger stood on the parapet of the pa and coolly directed the raiding party which portion of the people should ,be destroyed and which' preserved. This raid was paid for ia land, hence the introduction of the.story into the present proceedings.

The City Electrical Engineer has been authorised to invite tenders for 1000 metallic filament lamps.

Should minor positions under the City Council be reserved as plums for corporation employees? The question was suggested at tho meeting of (lie council last night by a committee's recommendation that applications for the custodianship of the Thorndon Baths bo invited "from employees of the council." Councillor Carmichael urged that any respectable citizen should lie entitled to apply for such a position, and Councillor Devino condemned the "paltry practice" of asking corporation employees if they would lite a certain position, and then making them file before n committee before Hie appointment was made. The clause confining applications to employees of the council was adopted by nine votes to five. Instructions have been given to tho City Council's ranger to take action against persons who place their horses on Anderson Park at night lo graze. The first meeting of the creditors of David Rossborough, of Petone, motorproprietor, will be held at the Official Assignee's office, Wellington, at 11 a.m. ncit Thursday,