LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1243, 27 September 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The postal authorities advise that tho s.s. Moeraki, which left Sydney ( at noon on September 23. has on board an Australian mail. She is due in Wellington to-day. A conference of assessors for employers and employees in tho warehousemen's dispute will be held to-morrow morning, before Mr. P. Hally, Conciliation Commissioner. Six copies of portraits of the King and Queen, described as "a. direct present from the King himself," havo been received by tho Wellington Education Board. Tho inspector suggested that two portraits should be allotted to city schools and he named the Terrace and the Training College schools. Two, ho thought, should go to the Wairarapa—Mastertoh and Pahiatua—and two to suburban schools. Tho board resolved yesterday to thank his Majesty (through tho Governor) for the portraits. I The results of Arbor ' Day were commented on at yesterday's meeting of the Wellington Education Board. Mr. Xf. Allen introduced tho matter. Ho faid lhat for years a day had been set asifle as Arbor Day, and, on looking around the schools from time to time, lie had observed that some had done a good deal of work, but that in other fcihools nothing had been done. He moved to got from every hend teacher definite information as rn what had been accomplished on Arbor Day this year, and in former years, with indication's of any plans for tree-planting in the future. Something of this kind, ho thought, would put Arbor Day on a propov liasis: at .present it was ;i. £o-as-you-plcafe fixture. The Inspector of 'Schools remarked, that n good deal in the direction desired had been done in the country schools. A cadet officers' enmp is to be held durjug the .Christmas Iwlldaj'fti

The preparation of the. Commission necessary for Hie reconstilution of the Racing Commission is now ill the hands of llio Crown Law Department. Jho Prime Minister staled in Parliament yesterday afternoon that tho Commission would probably be issued to-day. The Wellington Savage Club will hold Hie final torero of the season on Saturday evening next. A Wairnrapa resident who was in lingtoii yesterday said that Wairarapa farmers lost hundreds of lambs during the. recent cold weather. A well-dressed man called upon a. Napier chemist and asked for something that would kill him in five minutes. The man insisted on being Riven poison, and offered to pay handsomely for it. At last tho chemist, seeing that the man was in earnest, ynva him a harmless compound, and tlicu communicated with the police. Subsequently tho stranger was arrested, and he has now been committed to a mental institution. The first meeting of tlio creditors ot Mrs. Ellen Cockayne, hotelkeeper, Wellington, who was adjudged a, baukrupt on Monday, will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday nest, October 3. The Wellington Ministers' Association has decided to heartily commend the Hospital Sunday appeal made by the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board to tho sympathetic consideration o£ • all ministers nnd congregations in city and suburban churches. The association has also expressed its sympathy with the principles of the Sunday Labour Bill in ctfargo of Jfr. Fisher, and now before the House. The association is dissatisfied with the reply of tho City -Council to tho protest made bv the association, again>l using the Town Hall for prize fights, and has decided to ask tiro council to receive a deputation on tho subject. The funeral of Mr. John Paul, of Boaconsfield, who passed away at Feildiug on Saturday afternoon last, took place yesterday afternoon (says our Feilding correspondent). The liov. Gee. Budd conducted tho service, and amongst those present was Mr. D. H. Guthrie, M.P. Tho late Mr. Paul, who was born at Antrim, Ireland, on November 3, 1835, was a descendant of Bishop Paul, who was Bishop of Oxford in the reign of William 111. and a nepkev; of the Rev. John Paul, D.D., who gave a, church to Antrim. Mt. Paul landed in Auckland from the ship Prido of Scotland, and, after fanning for three years, joined the rush to the goMSalds of Otajo (Dunstan and Gabriel's Gully) in tho early days. Ho also tried his fortune on tho West Const, whore ouo of his experiences was a narrow escape from a gang of bushrangers. From tha diggings lie went farming again, in 'Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and other localities', finally settling at Beaconsfield.

Mr. F. G. Bolton writes unto yesterday's date:—"lieferri'ng to your report on my meeting at the New Century Hall last night, I desire to make tv;o corrections in same. Doubtless, owing to condensalion of my speech. 1 am made to say that, before the present Government took office there was au era of unrestricted competition, etc., I said nothing about the present Government in connection with unrestricted competition. I was describing the industrial evolution all over Hie world and not in New Zealand only, beginning with unrestricted competition which developed into combination and ultimately into monopoly. Also, the motion of confidence, is reported to have been "carried with a chorus of ayes.' Your report omil's to mention that it was carried with acclamation, t.i\A that cheers were accorded to the candidate. I am aware that your space is valuable," but I foel sure that you will give every candidate fair play." When the Wellington Education Board was sboul to go into committee yesterday afternoon, Mr. \V. Allan thought the time opportune to mention a matter which he regarded as serious. Mr. Allan said that at the ia-st meeting of the board a certain thing was considered in committee, and yet appcami in tho press next morning. Ho did not consider that any of the reporters had committed any'breach of trust, for as far as he knew tho reporters had always consistently and honourably respected the committee, rule. However, there was evidently some leakage, some means by which •'tho information had got "out: People interested had suggested that tho information had ■ been got from the board's office, but that was not tho «ifo. The chairman of the board (Mr. ft. Lee) said that he was afraid nothing could come of Mr, Allan's statements; if Mr. Allan could put his finger on the spot something could be done. "Set up a commission," intcirjectal a member. The opinion was cxpt-essed that "wo ought to have a strong feeling of honour amongst us." Members: "Hear, hear." A subscription list in connection with tho Hospital Saturday and Sunday Fund (October 7 and 8) is open at Tub Dominion Office. Some thrilling experiences have fallen the lot ot Gnolei Parker, who was savagely attacked by a prisoner at Gisborne last "week. On one occasion, when he was warder at the Lyttolton Prison, the prisoners mutinied. They almost strangled the chief warder. Mr. Parker was then attacked, but he succeeded in overcoming his assailants. On another occasion, at the same place, one notorious prisoner got out of his cell in the middle of the night, and was attempting to let the othor prisoners out and escape. Mr. Parker heard (he noise, and bailed them up in a corner with a revolver, and signalled for assistance, thus frustrating sorious trouble. •"There is a groat commercial future before these islands, beyond a doubt," said Professor Brown, speaking of tho Solomons to a "Proxs" reporter. "The islands are splendidly suited for the cultivation of copra on 'the coast lands, where the soil is black and loamy, and rubber on the lower slopes of tho very high ranges of mountains. Copra used to pay handsomely at Xl 2 10s. Now it fetches .£23, and there is a limitless demand for it.