LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1013, 31 December 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The postal authorities advise that the s.s. Maheno, which left Sydney for Auckland at noon on December 28 has on board an Australian mail, also the .English mail, via and English ana A morion mails, via Vancouver. Tho Wellington portion should reach horo on Monday, January 2. Tho mails which' left Auckland on November 23 per s.s. Navua. and con-, nected at Suva witli tho Vancouver mail, per R.JI.S. Moana, arrived in London on tho morning of December 29. Without stoppages, tho AucklandWellington expresses average something like. twenty-five miles an hour, but sometimes tho average is much faster. ■ For instance, yesterday, afternoon's express ran the thirty-eight miles between Koputaroa and Paekakariki iu sixty-eight minutes, an', averago of over thirty-thr.ee and a half miles an hour. The twenty-seven mile run from Packakariki into Wellington was accomplished in sirty-four minutes, .exclusivo of stops of seventeen minutes and threp minutes respectively at Paekakariki and Paremata. • A conference representative of the working men's clubs of the Dominion has been in progress in Wellington during the week. The members of the conference formed a deputation and waited on. the Prime_ Minister yesterday to bring under his -.notice some of tho matters dealt with, at the gathering. : The deputation was ■ not open to tho press. ■ "If you giye me a chance, your Worship, I'll get away rnto the country," said a vagrant who appeared before the Magistrate's Court yesterday. "I'll give you a chance to think over it,'.' said Dr. M'Arthur, 5.M., % '-but before you go up country I'm afraid you. will have to go up on the hill—three months I" Carpentering is temporarily almost' at a standstill ,in Wellington, many employers having ceased operations until after the New Year holidays. It is anticipated by the secretary of the union (Mr; J. Lindsay) that few men will be out of employment when operations arc Tesumed. This- state .of affairs is due in part to the fact that there has been for some time a steady exodus of carpenters from Wellington, The union secretary estimates that between threo and'four hundred 'have, taken their departure during the pasii twelvemonths. The Harbour Board's now scheme of charging the general public a small fee to pass the'barriers, recently erects ed on the Wellington wharves, when steamers are ■ arriving and leaving tho port, was again in evidence yesterday. The number of people who paid for admission to. see the Manuka depart yesterday afternoon was 164, and when the Maori left last night the sum of £2 14s. was' collected, representing a total of 178.

A meeting, of Cabinet was held yesterday, when the purchase of £9000 worth of additional machinery for the Government railway workshops and £7000 worth of - telegraph stores were approved. The expenditure of a number of railway and road votes authorised during the recent session were, also sanctioned. -

The ■ claim of the' Wellington Carpenters'- and, Joiners' Union for a new award' will come up for consideration during January next. Conditions now observed 1 in the industry are based on an award which expired,in July.last.

Tho Cooks' and Waiters-' Union will January 3 next to "'consider a resolution referring tho. dispute between' tho union and employers' in the private hotel, restaurant, tea, and luncheon roflin ; and oyster saloon- industry, to a Council of Conciliation. On tho same,date three as- , sessors will ■be appointed to represent the \inion in subsequent proceedings. . The executives of the; . Wellington Trades Cpuiicil and Wellington Branch of tho New Zealand. Labour party have wired M.r._ D. M'Larpn, M.P., at lio;torua, asking whether in his opinion it would be possible to secure the attend-, auco of. Messrs; Hughes and Bat-cholor, of tho Commonwealth Ministry, Messrs. lieeby and Holman of tho New South Walos-Ministry, and Mr. J. Hodge, tho .British Labour M.P. inow sojourning in ' New, Zealand, at a mass' meeting , to -be held in the Town Hall during' the third week of January next, ' The executives named suggest that souvenirs of the occasion might be'presented to each speaker and that any-'.surplus proceeds, might go towards the traveling expenses, of Mr,-J. Hodge, M.P. Messrs. Hughes and Batchelor are due to arrive in Auckland on Sunday week.

Tho location of the tunnel which it is proposed will' pierce tho watershed between , tho To Arai and Mangapoiko Valleys will form tho first work to engage tho attention of the -surveying, engineers, who' are to ba put on after the holidays to locate' the' Gisborne-. Napier line. According to present estimates it will bo necessary to construct a tunnel two miles in length. This, 'however,'is. not regarded as a; serious obstacle, as onco tho tunnel-is completed it will. bo a permanent work, f reo from obstruction by slips. The success' attending the running of a. recent picnic train was the strongest argument that can be adduced regarding tho_ desirability for the Otoko section being taken over by the Railway Department, and tho initiation of a more , convenient time-table. Three hundred passengers made tho journey to Otako, which formed an admirable spot for picnicking, and great interest was . taken in the construction work, the magnitude of which came as. a great surprise .to most of the excursionists. The rails aro laid for a distance of. two miles across the gorge about the 33rd mile. Construction work, however, is in hand to . a point 10 miles beyond Otoko.

Some of tho -master' grocers aro uncertain as to whether Tuesday next is "the day of the New Year's Day" for award purposes. Among tho holidays provided for in the holiday section of tho award are New Year's Day and the day Wero.it not for the recently-passed Public Holidays Act, which makes Monday, January 2, the legal New Year's Day, probably grocers' assistants would not have been entitled to a holiday on Tuesday. As it is, however, according to Mr. E. J. Caroy, secretary of the Grocers' Union, the position is quite clear. Tuesday is a compulsory holiday. Most of the larger master grocers accept this interpretation, and have intimated their intention of dosing on Tuesday.

Something must harp changod the proverbial ''Chinese luck" in Ballarat. For twenty years tho Woah Hiiwp Canton. £.M. Co. was the solo property of Chinese, and the annual meetings of t)io company were a canso of great interest.and amusement,'being conducted with music and prayer, the eating of pigs roasted whole, and tho burning of yellow paper to scare away Cooey (the devil). But tho AVoah Hawp fell upon evil times. Its stone becamo poorer, and finally the reef pinched out. Tho mine was abandoned by tho Chinese, and about five years ago was taken up bv a body of adventurous Australians. Fortuno changed The reef, was picked up, and every blow of the nick has since shown increasing richness (savs a Melbourne paper). On the returns 'for tho last eighteen months a net profit of £20,000 is disclosed, 824>z. of gold having beeinvon from I>U-}1 tons of ore. For the best and most modern Hair and Complexion Treatment, Urs. Roli e3 . ton. who has just returned from England and America, is recommended. Highest diploma for removing superfluous hair. Vibro-massago, Hairdressmg, Shamp 00 ; ing. and ChpplnE.-_^_lY?iil3^-tre<;lLiow

It is said that Wanganui holds an unusually large number of bushmcn at present, and that somo very heavy cheques are being "knocked down" in tho usual style. Tho National Provident Fund, provided for by the Act of last session, is to be worked under tho direction of Mr. R. E. Hayes, chief of the Friendly Societies Department. Complaints pro continually being made that British postal notes sent to' people in the Commonwealth cannot be turned into cash, although they are negotiable in Ngw ' Zealand (says the "Sydney Morning Herald"). Mr. Young, tho. Deputy Postmaster-General of Now South \Vales, is unable to give any explanation beyond tho fact that a considerable amount of correspondence passed on tho'subject some time back, and the: Commonwealth authorities havo.been unable to see their way clear to recognise these notes. . "New Zealand has some reciprocal arrangement with the British Post Office," he said, "but Australia has not. If a British postal note were sent out hero from England we could not cash it: it would have to be sent backhand the .money collected there. Sometimes these notes are sent to us, and wo havo to. send them to the_ Commonwealth' offices in London with instructions to collect the money for us." Mr. Young admitted that the matter was one that called for somo further con- ! sideration'on the part of the Commonwealth.