LOCAL AND GENERAL,

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 866, 12 July 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL,

The mails which left Wellington on Juno 3, per Maitai, and connected at Sydney with the Bi-indisi mails, per Ii.M.S. Persia, arrived in London on tho night of July 9.

Mr. Mackay, president of the- Island Hay TUtopayors' Association, in giving cvi'dcniw yesterday at tho inquest fondling the death of H-oy Cornish, which was I lie outcome of a bicycle accident on Saturday eve-ning, stated with some degree of ompliasis that the road on which the fatality occurred was in a shocking condition," there being- no footpath for half its length, and pedestrians naturally had •to walk on the road, 110 added that the place was very badly lighted, in fact the street lamp wns almost invariably out. He was of opinion that had tlii's state of• affairs been attended to no accident would have taken place.

At a meeting of tho Bootmakers' Union, held last night, a resolution was passed strongly protesting against Clause 9 of the proposed Exhibition Bill introduced into the House by tho Hon. J. A. Millar. The clause provides for tho suspension of all awards, and the Shops and Offices and Factory Acts.

I Tho Labour Department has agreed to I a compromise in eiie mutter of the statistics whii'li it desires to obtain from employers throughout the Dominion. New foryis, providing for very much less delail than was previously asked for, havu been approved by flie Department, and lire being issued to employers. Tho Department at first proposed to accept this condensed stylo of rctnrn from firms employing j>o or more hands, but has now consented to accept it from ail those employers from whom information of t'fte Kind is required. Jlr. W. Pryor, secretary of the New Zealand Kmployers' Federation, states that that body has agreed to the Department's amended proposals, and hiis undertaken to give the Department every assistance in obtaining as complete returns as possible.

Twenty-four applications have been received for the position of engineer to tho Kiwi tea County Council. Uur l'eildiiig correspondent slates that, at a recent special jiiceting of the council, the list was narrowed down to fhree. A final seiec- 1 tion will be made on Saturday next.

In accordance with a resolution passed by tb'i Anglican Synod on i'riday last, tho Bishop oi Wellington (Dr. Wallis) called a meeting yesterday afternoon of the clergy and laity of the- diocese with a view to forming a guild for promoting mission work amongst the llaoris. It was agraid (hat membership of the guild be open to p-cojile of both races. The following office-bearers were appointed:— President, the Bishop of Wellington; vice-presidents, tho archdeacons of the diocese; committee, the ■ Revs. A. JI. Johnson, E. Bond, and Messrs. E. H. Deane, l\ R. Eussell, P. Taipua, and K. Marumaru, with power to add to their number, and make all arrangements. TheBishop and archdeacons aro members of the committee, ex officio.

Shortly before eleven ■ o'clock yesterday morning the Fire Brigade was summoned to an incipient lire in a six-roomed house at Bernah Street, Berhaniporc, owned by Mr. .Arthur liamsay, of Jlein Street, and occupied by Mr. John Peck. The h're was caused by a lighted candle coming into contact with some clothes, but the brigade, who were very quickly on the spot, extinguished the flames beforo any serious damage - was done. The house was insured for i'soo in the Sun Office, but the contents were uninsured.

In a telegram from Auckland, published in yesterday's paper regarding, the vordict at tho inquiry into the Indradcvi fire, tho inadvertent omission of the word "no" placed a wrong construction on the reading of the message. As a matter of fact, the Court found there was no evidence of neglect or wrongful act on tho part of the master, officers, or crew, or of the'men employed in discharging, and no conclusive evidence of tho cauiD of the fire.

An (uijoyubie concert, arranged by Mv». Schoch, iv':w aiven luat night at the Home fur the Aged Needy, when an excellent programme was contributed by Mrs. Gardiner, Misses Holmes, IVith, Sehuch, nnd Lennox, and Messrs. J. Carr, Swoeney, Gardiner, Taylor, Kankin, and Liii'iirt, Mr. Wiggins playing nil the uccoiHpanimeuts. The concert party afterwards entertained tho inmates at supper.

The cablegram forwarded by the Prune Minister, in congratulating; the Right Hon. Joseph Chainbvrlain on attaining his seventy-fourth birthday, was addressed to the Duke of Slarlborough and not uf .Mowbray, as previously announced.

The cooks' and waiters' dispute, which was before the Arbitration Court the other dav, will bo the subject of a conference to oe held in Wellington 10-day between representatives of 1/oth sides. Mr. \V. Scott and .Mr. J. A. M'Cu'.lough, employers' and workers' reuroseiitatives respectively on the Arbitration Court bench, will be present with a view to assisting the parties to arrive at a settlement.

Ten Scottish farmers who arc to make a tour of tho Commonwealth for the pnrj:o;o of reporting upon its agricultural rcfources. will leave London by the E. 11.5. Orniuz on August 10. They will continue the voyage to Queensland, and reach Brisbane on Ocloher U. They will then bewiniH the Rr.ests of tho Stale Government. In each of the. other Stales a similar procwlnrs will be adopted. The party will consist of.large and small farmers, cattle breeders, and agricultural orjauisoi!),