LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1043, 4 February 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

« The jxistal authorities advise that the s.s. Wimmera, which sailed from Sydney on February 1 for Auckland, has oil hoard an Australian mail, also the English mail, via Suez. The Wellington portion should reach here by llain Trunk express on Monday, February 6. "How many times have you been beforo the Court," was asked of a witness in the Supreme Court yesterday. "Oh, a good few —I don't know how many," was the casual reply. "How many times have you assaulted the) police, and when was the last?" pursued the relentless cross-examiner. ''Not lately," was the cheerful answer. "I've turned that game up." Witness admitted a soft impeachment that he had been up for assaulting civilians in tho street, "but," he added, "it was only very seldom." The City Council's "Library Lectures" do not usually begin until May, but an exception is about to be made for the purpose of enabling a distinguished Australian scientist to address a Wellington audience. Professor E. W. Skeates, of Melbourne University;, who is now attending tho Mining Conference at Waihi, will ho here next Tuesday, and will lecture, under tho auspices of the Library Committee, on •'The Itolation between Geology and Scenery." Dr. J. M. Bell, Director of Geological' Survey, will also deliver a farewell lecture at the beginning of March..

Tho Garrison Band will give a performance in Newtown Park to-morrow. This will be the last performance of tho band prior to tho contest which commences in Palmerston North on Monday week. Tho programmo will include the two test pieces.

A Christchurch Press Association telegram states that it is. understood that a scheme for the medical inspection of school children will reeeivo the sanction of Cabinet at an early date.

The new picture theatre that was promised Newtown some weeks ago will materialise very shortly now. A contract for tho building has been let to Mr. Michael Frain, who is starting the work immediately. The contract prico is about £500.' The new theatre, which has been designed by Mr. J. Beimie, will seat about 1000 persons, including 220 who will be accommodated in a gallery or dress circle, which will command a full view of tho screen from every seat. Tho stage, whilst suited for the display of pictures, will conform with tho requirements of a modern theatre. It will be 52ft. in breadth and. 70ft. in height. It will be constructed on tho steel frame principle, with a brick proscenium, and there will bo tho orthodox "gridiron" and "fly" galleries for the manipulation of scenery, should the theatre be needed oh occasions for histrionic purposes. Tho building will be lighted by electricity,' and special attention will bo given to.ventilation, comfort, and convenience.

' Sentence will bo passed by Mr. Justice Chapman at the .Supremo Court at 10 o'clock this morning on tho several prisoners who stand remanded for sentence.

A complaint by Councillor Muir, of the Miramar Borough Council, that cars, running to the Miramar and Seatoun junction only, had not yet been provided with side-boards distinguishing them from cars making tho through journey, was yesterday referred to tTie Assistant Tramways Engineer. Mr. Cable staled that the junction cars now carried, in front, signs which wero clearly marked, "Miramar and Seatoun junction." The Department did not consider it necessary to place route signboards on the sides of the. cars. r . Tho executive of tho Otago'Employ- 1 ers' Association has donated 501 guineas towards building tho new Technical School in Dunedm. This amount is to bo paid in five annual payments of ten guineas cacli. Among tho collection of books, manuscripts, newspaper files, . etc., comprising the Ilocken bequest and now available for reference in tho Hocken wing of the Otago Museum, there has been discovered in the course of cataloguing a literary curiosity in tho shapo of a bound file containinc; a copy of every newspaper published in Now South Wales in the year 1875. Tho total number of papers in the file is 88, which includes four daily, five tri-weekly, 21 bi-weekly, 55 weekly, and three monthly publications. In reference to the library as a whole, it is interesting to note that up to the present there have been classified and catalogued by the librarian 3631 volumes, and 2926' pamphlets and miscellaneous papers, or a total of 6557, leaving about 100 volumes yet to be dealt with.—"Otago Dailv .Times." The Wellington Choral Society will commence the season's rehearsals on February 10 next. ' Tho first concert will bo given about tho end of April, when tile society will give a performance of Haydon's "Creation."