LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1534, 2 September 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Sydney mail steamer Victoria arrived fit Auckland at p.m. vesterday, with an Australian niail only. The Wellington and southern portions of the mail will arrive in town by the overland express this afternoon.

That expressive word 'Mnsinuendo" was revived in the House of Representatives on Inday by Mr. J. A. Hanatt, M.L'.,and he repeated the slip, with apparent innocence, when members laughed. More food for laughter was provided by the member for .Auckland Central. Wishing to be very emphatic, Air. Glover gave to a preceding statement an "equivalent" denial

The schools in the Wellington education district will be closed this week for the spring term vacation, reopening on Monday next.

Postal business has "grown some" in Wellington since "fifty-seven." In that year the city's one letter-carrier (the first appointed) did not have enough to do, and ho filled in spare time in the mailroom.__Ten years later he,got an assistant. Tn 187/ there wore four letter-carriers in Wellington. To,day (hero are GB. Last year these C 8 delivered 9,500,000 articles, qnd in a period of six months they made only 2o .errors. These particulars were stated by Mr. D. Robertson, the secretary ?- f Department, at the Wei-lingtoGSjLetter-Carriers' annual dinner on Saturday night.

It is more than likely that some refereiico will bo made to tho recently-discuss-ed proposal to acquire from the Ferry Company tho Day's Bay bush area, as a scenic reserve,' when the Fin.i'nco Committee of the City Council meets to-morrow afternoon.

The Wellington Furniture Union is to wait on the Prime Minister at 11.15 o'clock 'this morning.' '

At a largely attended meeting of tho Star of Newtown Lodge of tho International Order of Good Templars, Held in St. Thomas's Schoolroom on Friday, the following resolutions were carried unanimously:—That we urge on members to work for an early adoption of the following:—That a licensing poll shall be taken at each general election for.members provided that a dissolution of Parliament does not occur within 18 months of tile previous licensing poll; that tho rolls shall be purged of all persons not eligible to vote; for a substantial reduction of .tho .majority required to carry No-License or National Prohibition; that the official count of tho ballot papers lie mad©-on the night of the poll by the deputy-returning officer .in the prescnco of poll clerks and scrutineers; that the lawill reference to No-License or National Prohibition shall be rigidly enforced.

Mr. A. E. Glover, member for Auckland Central, asked tho Postmaster-General (the Hon. R. Heaton Rhodes) in the House of Representatives on Friday about what time the formal opening of the, Auckland Post Ofiico would be held. Ho added that he would prefer that it should be delegated until after the rising of Parliament. The Postmaster-General replied that he expected that the post ofliee would be completed about the middle of October, but if it was the desire of members he would hold over the opening for a few weeks until they could attend. He suggested, however, that if tho Government business was allov.ed to go through speedily there would bo no need for postponement.-

Mr. J. A. Young (Waikato) stated in Parliament on Friday that the impression had got abroad that a certain sanitorium for consumptives was situated In the town of Cambridge, and that the inmates of the institution walked about the town and mixed with the people. That idea had- had the effect of keeping people away from Cambridge. Tho sanitorium, however, was not the "Cambridge Sanatorium," and was not in the town of Cambridge. The institution was the "Te Waikato Sanitorium/' and it was at Maungak'awa, seven mile 3 out of Cambridge away up on the hills.

Tho month which closed on Saturday was ono of the driest experienced for many years in the Taranaki district. Tho average rainfall for the month is about seven inches, but up till a week ago only a shade over an inch and a half had been recorded at Stratford.

Questions affecting public lighting, water-supply, drainage, and tramways in (he borough of Mirarimr will shortly the discussed by a joint committee of the Wellington City Council and the Mirainar Borough Council, which has been constituted for the purpose of investigating these matters with the idea of preparing data for use in future negotiations for an amalgamation of the two bodies in the not vqry dim and distant future.