LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1333, 10 January 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A wharf labourer, named John Ros!" residing at 17 Martin Square, met with an accident on King's Wharf on Monday. He was loading wool, and a bale fell on him, fracturing a leg and a collnrbone. Hβ is 58 years of age.

Over two miles of the Otira tunnel havo noiv been pierced,' and of that- distance about one mile and a half has boon lined. Concrete is being used for linirin the .tunnel instead of-brick. Shingle is being obtained from the Uealoy Tiiver at one end, and from tho Eolleston River at the other.

Tho cooks' and waiters' dispute will come before the Conciliation Council on l'riday morning next. Sometime towards tho end of tho present month the plumbers' dispute will coino before tho council at Wauganui and Pnlmerston -North, and tho Wellington tailoivsses' dispute will bo dealt with at (lie same towns early in February.

Tho workers' dwellings at Island Bay, of which the foundation stono is to Ire laid to-day by tho Hon. J. A. Millar, are tho lirst to be constructed in Wellington under the provisions of tho Workers' Homes Act, 1910. Something like 130 workers' dwellings were erected in or near the four chief centres of tho Dominion prior to tho passage of tho Act of l!) 10, übout 30 of them in the neighborhood of Wellington. The whole of these dwellings were leased. Acts prior to that of 1910 contained a purchase clause, but it was cumbersome, and the conditions offered did not prove attractive. The Act of 1910, however, provided that workers may purchase their homes upon a deferred-payment system. At tho outset a deposit of ,£lO is demanded. The remainder of tho capital value of the dwelling and tho land it occupies is paid off in a, series of weekly instalments, extending over a period of twenty-five nnd a half years, or such shorter term as the. purchaser may desire. The weekly paymonts, combining interest nnd principal, are equal to soven per Cent, of the capital value of land and dwelling, and amount to 15s. or 16s. per week.

The tender of Donald M'Lean and Sons (Wellington) has been accepted for tho construction of the Kahautara roadbridgc at Kaikoura. The bridge is to be of hardwood, and the contract price is .£3255. Unaccepted tenders were those of J. Sinclair (Oartiaru), .£3591; D. Burke (Petone), .C 3793; H. Groftn (Christchurch), ,£iU9; T. Dillon (Wellington), JC4269; A. Pearco (Kaiapoi), .£4323,

Unions affiliated to the Trades Hall have been circularised by Messrs. D. M'Larcn and W. T. Mills, with a view to promoting tho lattor's scheme of federation propounded in his unity campaign. The circular asks the union to Furnish data in reference to membership, sccpo of organisation, etc, so that the "grouping" formulated in the scheme may be proceeded with.

A conference of all the Plasterers' Unions throughout the Dominion will be commenced in Auckland on Februarv 12 next for the purpose of forming a federation to try and obtain uniform eri ditions for all in the trade in Now Zealand. At a special mooting of tho Wellington Plasterers' Union, Messrs. Sievwright and Burton were appointed delegates to represent the local union at that c nference.

The dispute between the Wellington Building Trades Labourers and .the employers has been practically settled, At a first conference between the parties, oncl presided over by the Conciliation C'cmmissionor (Mr. 1 , . Hally), the chief points at dispute were settled, with tho exception of wage? and suburban work. Tho union was asking Is. 3d. per hour, and Is. Id. for scaffolding work, tho ..Id rates running Is. l)d. and Is. 2Jd. respectively. A forty-four-hour week was also sttpht as against forty-five in tho old award, and time and a, half for first two hrurs overtime, double time after that. Subsequently an agreement was arrived at providing for wages at Is. 2d. and Is. 3d.— tho latter for scaffolding work. This agreement will in course of time be embodied in an awerd of the Court, probably about March 16 next. It will remain in force for two years.

The demands of the cooks and stewards of the smaller coastal steamers are to como bcforo the Conciliation Council at Wellington next Friday mjruing.

During his present visit to the south, the Hon. T. Mackenzie will pay a visit Of inspection to Haumer Sanatorium, in accordance with his promise to a deputation, on Monday. Ho will also visit and inspect areas in Central Otago, which have been set apart for regrassing experiments. As a α-esult of overstocking, much of the land in Central Otago has been denuded of native grasses, but it is hoped that with careful resowing and u proper system of "spelling," good pastures may be re-established.

In the suburbs of Sydney there have recently liscn crated two churches which were built in a day between daylight and dusk. America has been showing pomo examples of very rapid church-building. All iiLstanees arc eclipsed bv the prowess of the builders away in Texas, U.S.A", who erected a. church in eight hours. Tho edifice in question is the Herring Avcimo Methodist Church, in tho little oily of Waco. It measures 32ft. in width' and 65ft.. in length, including the vestibule, and scats !150 people. Work was begun on a vacant ;>ite at eight o'clock in the morning, an hour was taken for (liiuicr, and the building was finished at five o'clock in" tho afternoon. Even the foundations, which are laid in cement, had not been prepared beforehand; grass was still growing upon the site when tho men started work. By 10 o clock, however, the foundations were Secured and tho working force, wns increased by another 30 men, making an army of 10 all told. Every man knew what was expected of him, and there was no clash or hindrance. As the carpenters finished, so tho painters came ilixin the scene, and the moment they had completed their task they were foilowod by tho electricians and the paperhangers.

At the Masterlon baths a few days atjo (writes a contemporary), a revolver bullet came, whizzing past a woman and several children and lodged in a piece of woodwork within a few inches of the caretaker. Police investigations rerenkvl that an old man in tho vicinity had fired nt a bird end the biillot went through tho iron fence suxroundiac tho bath*,

A man named William Prottijohn, employed nt thn Commercial Hotel, was arrested last evening by Detectives C'ameror. nnd" Kinvlc on a charge of stealing a .£2O- - from I'lorcnco i'aiilscii, liccusco of the hotel.

A mooting of the Wellington Provincial Industrial Association was convened fo» last evening, but lapsed for want of Ok roquired rinorum of eight, only seven mom here being present,

Fresh tenders aro to lie called for cutting the 7000 ft. tunnel from Lake Coleridge to the Rnkuiu River, which is required in connection with tho Lake Coleridge hydro-electrical scheme. Tenders wcro culled iionie time ago, but: tho only olio received was rejected a« being too high. The power-house, which is to be constructed, will be, roughly, 70 miles distant from Christchurch. Tenders tiro to be called shortly far all tho machinery required. Tho Minister for Public Works anticipates that the work may be completed in eighteen months, ami he is conlident that there will bo no difficulty in transmitting power from Lake Coleridgo as far as Timnru'.