LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1434, 8 May 1912, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tlio postal authorities advise Ilia! the Maktira, iiich sailed from Sydney at noon on June 0 for Auckland, lias on board an Australian mail, am! the Kugiish mail, via Suez. The Wellington portion is due io reach here by the Main Trunk express on Saturday. The damaged "Thorueycroft" fire motor, which came to grief in Sussex Square at mid-day on Monday, has been towed to the Jervois Quay station where it is undergoing repairs. Foreman Borrott, who had his broken in the accident, is progressing satisfactorily. The valuable specimens from Hawaii, Tahiti, and New Zealand, which were presented to the Dominion Museum by Lord St. Oswald, have now been duly catalogued, and will be packed awav until proper provision can be made for their exhibition in tlio now museum building which is to be erected. In the meantime opportunity wilt be taken to clean sonio of the specimens, which have suffered somewhat from dust during the long timo thev have been at T.ord St. Oswald's sent in the North of England. 'When they can be properlv displayed, they will form a vorv interesting and striking group, and will be quit© a feature of the Polynesian section in the new museum. The s Astronomical Society has accepted the tender of Messrs. M'l.ean and Gray for the erection of the observatory at Kelburne. The work is to be started at once, and it is expected that the building will be finished in about tsvo months. The Prime Minister (Hon. T. Mackenzie) has promised to receive a deputation from the Civil Service Association, with reference to questions of classification. The date of the interview has not yet been fixed. Confusion of dates was the explanation given by William Crichton for his failure to appear when his name was called for tlio Grand Jury on Monday. Mr. Justice Chapman accepted the explanation as satisfactory and remitted the fine of <£.") that had been imposed on Crichton. On Monday night the Wanganui Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution unanimously approving tlio stand w'li.ich the Hon. A. M. Myers had taken in enforcing the compulsory clauses of the Defence Act. In conversation with a'Dominion* reporter yesterday, the Hon. G. W. Russell said that all the work of the Government is being well advanced, with a view to having everything ready for the opening of tho session at the end of next month.

Mr. E. P. Bunny, Mayor of Lower Hutt, has furnished tlie Minister for Railways (lion. A. M. Myers) with a written statement of suggestions for improvements in Die railway service, as agreed upon at n meeting of' residents of I.ower Hutt am| district, and fully reported in tho newspapers. Mr. Myers has promised to go carefully into nil tho questions involved, and solid Mr. Bunny a reply in duo course.

Tramway revenue for the week which ended oil Monday totalled .£2858, us against ,£27.'W for the corresponding week of 1911. The midnight cars carried 158 passengers during the week, and tlie Sunday specials 4!!S in (he morning and 293 on tlio late evening oars.

Mews. P. I!. Baillie and Co. liaye contracted to supply the City Council_ with a quantity of transformers at a price of ,£420. Unaccepted tenders were:—Messrs. Turnbull and Jones, XMoO; British General Electrical Company, .£585.

A demonstration was given in the city power-station yard yesterday of an up-to-date method of cutting and welding iron nnd steel. The agents for the apparatus ompioved are the Acetone lUuminauiig and Welding Company, of Napier. Ilio plant consists in the main ot storage tanks of acetylene and oxygen gas, aml a blast flame.' The flame cuts through a trnmwuv rail in a few minuter, nnd welds metal with almost equal facility. the demonstration was viewed by the Mayor (Mr. 1). M'Laren! and a number of councillors, the city and electrical engineers, and a number of other officials.

It is understood that certain of those cited as employers of musicians in connection with the demands of the newlyformed Musicians' Union have arranged to engage the services of Mr. Win. Grenfel!, secretary of the Wellington Lm pi overs' Association, to undertake their case before tho Conciliation Council.

Mr. A. E. Jull has been re-elected to the Napier Harbour Board. In n speech he mid that it was impossible to declare a policy until the report of Messrs Culien nnd Keele (two Australian engineers who are reporting on the harbour question! was received. Tho Public Works Department had advised the Harbour Board that ni a ns of the railway embankment and bridge over the inner harbour, in connection'with tho East Coast railway, were in courso of preparation, but the draft shows that it will not mtcriere with the proposed inner harbour scheme — Press Association.

At a meeting of the local branch of the Australasian Institute of Marino Engineers (Mr. F. Clennell in the cnair> the following, resolution was passed:—"That this meeting place on record its respectful tribute to tho memory of those engineers vlio went down in the s.s. Titanic, and also exuresses its deep sympathy with the relatives of those who lost their lives in this groat disaster." The secretary was instructed to forward the resolution to Mr. John Adamson, lion, secretary, Institute Marine Engineers, London, and to Mr. W. L- Marshall, general secretary, Marine Engineers' Association, London.

The annual convention of the Grand LotVc of Freemasons, N.Z.C., is being held in Dunedin this week. Bros.JL J. Williams (president of the Board oi General Purposes), Herbert Soaton, IT. Fletcher, and other members of the Grand Lodge in. Wellington have gone south. .

Witli the approach of winter the evenin" classes in ambulance work under tho auspices of the St. John Ambulance Association arc gradually being organised. Tlio cla«3 at JUrauui was opened by Mr. J. I) Averv, secretary of the local centre, v.id* arrangements 111 counoction with (ho Railway and Harbour Hoard classes are now complete.

The usual meeting of the t'.A.O.D. Pacijie Lodge was held in tlio Druids Ha 1 oip Monday night, iii'o. Ji. Jones presidji|.r. The amended rules, as registered, wore considered, and a full and animated ili-cussion took place 011 them. A sug"estion by Hro. Mowhiimey as to tho change of rules will come up for discussion nl. tho next meeting.

The person who thoughtlessly pours benzine or petrol' down the sink, be it but the drainings of a tin or tho dregs from n motor-car (remarks an exchange), little imagines,how lie is endangering the lives of his fellow-citizens. The smallest quantity of* those volatile spirits, in conjunction with the natural gases existent in the sowers, forms the clement of a dangerous explosion. Quite recently—at fe\vi«|iam, London—twelve sewermen were seriously burned, and only escaped with their lives, through an explosion caused by these spirits.

Yesterday afternoon the Onslow Bor--0,,,'h Council held a special meeting to consider a request, that it should acquiesce „ m-oposal that pormis-ion be given for the erection of a siding af Station Koad, Kaiwarra. for Messrs. Uvw and Co. It was explained that Messrs. Levin and Co. intended to erect, very expensive works at Kaiwarra (the cost was said to be ibout .£30.000), and that the Hailwny Department derived that the council's con'prt should be obtained before the siding proposal ivds gone on with, because the council would at some future time take ~vef the roid concerned. TSic council tie. rirlnil to point out that it had no jurisdiction in the mattter, and io add that it would not object to the proposal if tho present overhead fontwny were so cxonded lliat in the case of trucks for (lie sidin" blocking tlie piesent entrance to ||i»' Kaiwarra Station people would be •ible to "a'li enlrv by means oi (lie overiiP'i'l bridge. This condition was suggested to safeguard psopie from missing train? if Mi® nrdiiMiry entrance becomo* bkckodr

A deputation of .Tohnsonvillc residents will hp introduced to tlio Minister for li",iiv,:ivs (Hon. A. jVI. Myers) at noon today by' Mr. W. H. V). 8011, M.P. Tlio annual smoke concert of tiic Metropolitan Hotkey <"1 hi) will bo lipid in Scott's Rooms, Manners Street, thisoven.'iii.'. The funds of (lie local branch of the St. .tolm Ambulance Association lmvo boon augmented by a (toimlion of ,£5 from Archbishop Kedwood. Further donations and .subscriptions from sympathisers may be sent (o (he lion, treasurer (.Mr. W. JS. Fisher) who will promptly acknowledge tilem. The city Labour organisations are working actively in furtherance of Mr. 10. Trogear's camliilalur.-! for the vacant seat on the City Council. Campaign details wore discussed by Mr. Trogear's lady supporlcrs at a Meeting in llio Tiffin Jioimis yesterday afternoon, and n meeting of the Central' Branch of the l T liited Labour I'artv was held, for a similar purpose, Inst evening, Mr. Tregenr intends to address the city and suburban electors at a series of meetings, commencing to-morrow eveningr. Mr. W. J. Thompson does not mean to hold any meetings, but will take an early opportunity oi' addressing the electors' through the press. Mr. A. 11. l'tilllord intends to adopt tlio same method of making his views known. "I a.m not afraid of the competition of ! the German, or the Russian, or the Frenchman, but I am afraid of the coinpetition of the Mongolian," said the lion. U. J.auronsoii last night. The furniture workers' deputation had just mentioned the forthcoming conference of workers and employers to discuss Chinese competition in the furniture trade, and the Minister stated that the matter had already been brought before him at Christchurcii, and anything that the union or the employers throught tit to place before him in that connection would receive every consideration. "The Mongolian," he •added, "will be the dread and fear ot this country in the future." Members of the Kelburne Volunteer Fire Brigade aro not like i'alstafl's "rogues in buckram suits," for while the latter multiplied in the most extraordinary fashion the membership of the .Kelburne Fire Brigade has dwindled from twenty-one a few months ago to live at the present time. A meeting of the brigade was called Inst evening .to discuss the question of revival, and four of the five members mustered, but there were no new volunteers. Those interested, in tlio brigade aro anxious to see its numbers increased. It is pointed out that, on the occasion of a fire in Kelburne, a great many of the residents usually assemble round the scene, and, if they would take service m the brigade, they would be very useful. Practices are held once a month, the aims of the brigade being to acquire sufficient knowledge to suppress fira In the ineijiiont stage and to assist the municipal lire brigade in nuy serious outbreak. From what can be gathered it appears that when a fire actually does occur, volunteers are numerous but, owing to their lack of training, are apt to do more harm than good.