LOCAL, AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Issue 1337, 15 January 1912, Page 4

LOCAL, AND GENERAL.

■'■ « — A Press Association message received from Auckland stated that the Mahcno which arrived from Sydney shortly before 1 p.m. yesterday, brought GCB ot European and Australian mails, 308 of which left later in the day for the soutli by tho Main Trunk express. Tho postal authorities advise that English and American mails via Tahiti and Rarof.onga left San Francisco on' January 11. They aro due in Wellington on Thursday, February 1. Tenders aro to be called shortly for tho erection of a new Stamps ofiice, of brick, in Sydney Street. The building, which is also to accommodate tho Nativo Department, will bo of fire-proof construction. Monday next (Anniversary Day) will be observed as a holiday by the banks, insurance, and Government offices. Mr. Thomas Edward Richardson, who for many years filled a post in the Public Service of New Zealand, died at ~ New-castle-on-Tyne on November 2,1 last, at tho age of 67 years. Mr. Richardson came to New Zealand in 18S0, and after spouding some time in the Auckland district came to Wellington, and joined tho Property Tax Department, later joining the Prison Department, in which he rose to be chief cierk and accountant. From this position he retired, on account of illhealth, live years ago, on superannuation. Mr. Richardson, who was unmarried, had sinco resided at Newca-stle-on-Tyne. A fire occurred in tho house of Mr. William Biggs, No.. 5, Evelyn Place, at a quarter to three on Sunday morning. The bathroom was gutted, and .£lO worth of damage done. Mr. Biggs states that the only way in which ho can account for tho outbreak is that on Saturday afternoon, when ho was smoking iu tho sit-ting-room, a cinder from his pipe set fire to n pillow, and he took tho pillow to'the bathroom, and left it under tho tap. The houso was insured in the Standard Ofiice for JSMIO. The. Eastbourno Borough Council received n communication at its meeting on Saturday night, asking that the council consider proposals for the establishment of coal gasworks in the borough. Councillors generally were adverse to any private venturers being given authority to supply such a public bervico as lighting, mid tho council decided to tota no -action.

At Martinliorough on Saturday, Detective Andrews and Constable Dick arrested a man un a charge of forgery. II is alleged that ho obtained a sum of about ,fc.i by forging 11 name to a post oilice bank-book. The City Council announces that from to-day the cars running from Newtown to Ti'nakuri lload and .Kurori will proceed via Charlotte Street, thus cutting out the Liimbtou (Juay Station and Aitken Street. The cars to proceed by way or the new routb will leave Newtown at .1, 15, 2b, n. r i, 15, and 55 minutes past the hour, i'or the future the fare section for all cars travelling through Charlotte Street will end at the junction cf that street and Ixunbton Quay. Threepence-halfpenny a day is said to bo suilicietit to provide ample noonsnniciit per person ill America. An official test has recently been completed, extending for a week, to determine the minimum sum sufficient to purchase necessities of life, with the result that 2s. OJd. a week has been lixed us ample to provide a good (able for anyone. Tho experimenters were several members of tho senior class of the Cincinnati Kindergarten Training School. The Department of Education supplied the girls with n furnished flat, in which they lived for a week, doing all their own work, and kcepiug strict financial account of their marketing- Their expenses for food varied between 3!d. and Bd. per day, as they experimented with different kinds of provisions. The 3}d. regime, which was voted the most successful, was composed of: —Breakfast: Cornmeal mush and milk, brown bread or toast, coll'ee or cocoa. Luncheon: Peanut sandwiches, bread and jelly squares, fruit. Dinner: Split-pea soup, creamed codfish on toast, apple dumplings, with sauce, tea. The results of the experiments will be applied in connection with a model working-girl upartnient-house, which is being erected in Cincinnati. According to Mr. W. L. Moore (Chief of tho United States Weather Bureau) phenomenal tiiucs will be made with airships in the near future. He aivs: "Two hours' time will be all that's necessary between Detroit and New York, anil London will l;o only 10 hours 'out' from New York. AVe will bo travelling so high in tho air that a thormoinctor would show 50 degrees below zero, but we won't notice il because we will be speeding along in aluminium air-ships or tubes. Aerial navigation' soon will he past the experimental stage, and then you'll see very rapid development, fully as rapid as your automobile industry here was. and undreamed-of speed will romc with the aeroplane. But this wonderful speed will be made at such a height that the aerial craft will travel practically through ether. You won't ride iu a picturesque aeroplane, such a* you see imagined in the lithographs of to-day, and are going to bo literally shot to wherever you journey. A breakfast, in New York and dinner in London will be easy." . The Berlin newspapers announce (says Renter's correspondent) that a new process for the manufacture of artificial diamonds has been discovered by Dr. Werner von Bolton, a chemist in (he Siemens llalske works there. The doctor observed that ordinary lighting gas decomposes when exposed to the vapour of mercury, and that if the gas be allowed to work mi metallic amalgams of mercury the carbon contained in the gas is liberated in a non-crystallised form and in crystals or diamonds. As the diamonds obtained were infinitesimal in size, diamond dust was placed in a tube iii wheh gas was dissolved to act as so-celled mother crystals. The newly-formed crystals adhere to these, and' the result is a larger, but still very small, stone. The amalgam used is natrium. It is placed in n glass tube containing a small quantity of diamond dust, and lighting gas- is passed through the tube for four weeks. The inventor is now engaged upon the problem of increasing the -size of the stones. A statue of King Edward is to be erected in Melbourne. At a recent meeting of tho committee, the chairman (Colonel Uurslon) explained, on behalf of tho London Sub-Committee, the arrangements which had been entered into tentatively by them with Mr. Bertram Mackcnual, 11.A., who took a keen interest in the subject, and had given an assurance that the memorial would, from an artistic point of view, surpass any at present in the Commonwealth. The statuo will take about three years to complete, and is to bo executed by Mr. Mackennal from the same model as the large equestrian statue of the Into King for the city of Calcutta, on which the artist is now engaged. The Executive Committee decided to finally nccept Mr. Mackcuiial's offer, and are now awaiting his designs for the pedestal, which will bo executed locally, and also that for an architectural screen, which tho committee hopo to lio ablo to include in tho completed design. Tho fund now in hand, with interest to accrue thereon, gives a total of about ,£6500 as the amount avail-able-for the memorial. Tho site selected is in grounds noiv occupied by tho old buildings of the Victorian Homes, on tincast side of St. Kilda Road. Tho memorial, when completed, is expected (o add materially to the appearance of tho southern entrance to the city. In tho report of the Bidwill Street fire in Saturday's issue, it was stated that the insurance on Mr. Smith's property was .£7OO, and on the contents .£550. This should have read .£670 and ,£365 respectively. Tho attiro worn -by certain bathers on tho beaches across tho harbour formed tho subject of discussion for the Eastbourne Borough Council on Saturday night, complaints having been received as to the habits of certain sea and sunbathers. Mainly the complaint was as to men basking on tho sand. It was decided to notify the police of tho council's desire that tho bathing by-law as to costumo should bo enforced. When the late Mr. J. H. M. Carpentor, of Auckland, passed away in 1909 a number of his friends conceived the idea of perpetuating his memory in a way which they considered would most likely appeal to him were it possible for him to have been consulted on tho matter. During his life time the deceased had been an enthusiastic member of the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association. His pet hobby was the showing of heavy town horses, and many wore the pictures in horsetlesh exhibited under his nominations at successive Auckland shows. It was therefore decided that the memorial should take the form of an annual trophy, to be presented as a "most points" prize for heavy town horses. A sum of over .£IOO was accordingly subscribed by friends in Now Zealand and in England, to which, was added a substantial amount by tho A. and P. Association, tho whole providing sufficient money in interest to purchase a linndsomc trophy each year. A \(sry handsome trophy of silver and glassware set iu oak has been procured for presentation to the winner of "the ■mast points" prize at the recent agricultural show in Auckland, the recipients being the Northern Holler Milling Company. The trophy was supplied by Stewart Dawson and Co., Ltd. Mr. F. W. Lang, M.P. for Manakau, speaking at a social given by him to the members of his olection committees, said mention had been made of tho possibility of a dissolution, but ho believed that when the now Parliament met it would be found that Mr. Massey had the confidence of a majority, and that thero would be no need for another election before three years had passed. (Applause.) Air. Massey was quite capable of forming a Ministry, and there were men in the party qualified to support him in maintaining n Government. (Applause.) I{o was convinced that another election during this vcar would result in a great increaso iii the strength of tho Reform partv. Mr. Lang emphasised the advisability of preparation for any development,' anil advised his committees to form branches of tho Political Reform League, so that the organisation which had been so successful might not be weakened by inactivity. ■