LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1386, 12 March 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mails which left Wellington on February - by the s.s. Warrimoo connected at Sydney with the Naples mail per the Ii.M.S. Omrah, and arrived in, London on March 10. To-morrow afternoon, at 3 o'clock,' his Excellency the Governor will formally open the new Children's Hospital at Newtown. An interesting souvenir brochure, setting forth the history of the Wellington Hospital and the associated institutions, has been prepared for the occasion, and copies will be presented to those who attend the function. Short addresses will be delivered by the Governor and the Uev. W. A. Evans (chairman of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Hoard), Mr. R. C.'k'irk (chairman of the Hospital Committee), and Mr. G. T. London (lion, treasurer of the board). After the speech-making, afternoon tea -\yill be dispensed to tlio visitors. Subscribers to the funds of the new hospital, and all interested in hospital work are invited to attend. The time fnr receiving tenders for the supply (if turbines, electric generators, switchboards, and other powerhouse appliances required in connection with the Tiiikc Coleridge Uydio-eleclrical scheme has been extended from March 27 to May 1. Sir James Carroll states that the area of Native land actually taken up for settlement purposes dnriner the current financial year, will probably reach n record total of 1)00,000 acres. Lost year the. area settled was 2.'11,000 acres. The latest figures, the Native .Minister stated, are based on returns up to last nnnrh, which show that 270,000 acres have been alienated by sale, and the balance lea«od. The vagaries of the tides in Auckland Harbour and the. resulting difficulties which sometimes attend (he. berthing of steamers were evidenced on Friday afternoon iu connection with the berthing of tho Mouowai. The steamer was moving slowly to her allotted berth on the east side of the Railway Wharf, when she was caught by the strong ebb tide and swung round with her bow on to the wharf. Although fenders were put out to protect the steamer's hull and the wharf, tho Mouowai's starboard anchor caught on the side of the wharf, and part' of it was broken oft'. The vessel's bow being hard up against tho wharf, the broken part of tho anchor was kept from falling into tho water, and the men engaged attending the vessel's lines very smartly lashed it to tho side of tho wharf. It was subsequently lifted out of the way by one of the electric cranes. Tho recent comments by Mr. Justice Edwards upon tho prevalence of crime in Auckland were referred to bv the president of the Methodist Conference (Row W. Ready) at the conversazione at tho Town Hall, Auckland, on Friday evening. Olio reason for the largo proportion of crime, said Mr. Ready, was the, fact that Auckland was a rallying ground for criminals from all parts of America and Austtralia. "In fact," he said, "Auckland is the hub of the universe, so far as the south of tho line is concerned. People gather hero just like flics around a sugar basin. This accounts to some extent for the prevalence of crime." ■\Vith the object of preventing "plumping" .at municipal elections, Councillor G. Frost has given notice to move at the next meeting of the City Council:—"That the following be a remit from this council to the next Municipal Conference, viz.—'That in order to prevent the wishes of the majority of the electors being defeated, the Local Elections Act be so amended by making it compulsory that every person voting shall vote for' the full number of candidates required to fill the number of vacancies at such election, and that every voting paper not containing such number shall bo declared informal.'" Councillor Frost states that' "plumping," or, in other words, the system oi voting on a "ticket," was very noticeable at the municipal elections of last year. His Excellency the Governor hod a somewhat unpleasant experience when returning from the Premier's picnic on SaN unlay at Motutapu (writes our Auckland correspondent). His Excellency's parly was aboard tho yacht Viking, which was having a rather rough passage, and making very slow headway against wind and tide. Fortunately, nil excursion steamer, on board which'wero Sir Joseph Ward, Mr. W. F. Massey, and other politicians, hove in sight, and the vice-regal party decided 'to tranship. The carrying into effect of their decision was ii somewhat difficult task, the journey between the two craft having to be inade in a small boat. The transhipment was safely effected, however, tho only untoward incident being the slight ducking sustained by the party owing to the choppy sea.