LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1565, 8 October 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

1 The Chinese Government has appointed October 10 as a day of rejoicing in conimeoimoration of the commencement of the revolution which led to tho establishment of tho Republic. The. Chinese residents in Wellington, recognising the inconvenience Of a whole holiday following, immediately on a half-holiday, will make holiday on Wednesday, Octobor 9, closing for the whole day. A painful incident took place during tho taking of evidence before the Tramways Commission at Brisbane on September 30. Albert Richards, a track cleaner, was being cross-examined by Mr. Warton. Ho had answered several questions but suddenly leaned forward, clutched at tho table, and then fell to tho floor, where he remained motionless. It was thought that he had fainted. Medical aid was summoned, but on the doctor's arrival lifo was pronounced to bo extinct. Deceased was 43 years of age, and resided at Woolloongabba. Ho left a. wife and two children. Tho Court was immediately adjourned till next day. There was nothing in the cross-examination to suggest excitement or annoyance to either side. A contract for tho supply of cast-iron pipes to the City Corporation was signed by Messrs. J. Duthie and Co., Ltd., the price being £1157 Is. Bd. The(Unsuccessful tenderers, were Messrs. Briscoe and Co., nt £1«U lGs. !)d. A compact was also signed by Messrs. S. Brown, Ltd., nt £400 10s. Bd., for tho supply of steel tires to the corporation, the unaccepted tenderers being Messrs. Noyes Bros. (£465), Campbell and Laird (£432), Stewart Timber and Glass Co. (£508), Richardson and Blair (£512-3s. 4d.), V. R. Baillio (£537), A. W. Bobbie and Co. (,£5iS), A. and T. Burt (,£054), H. S. King (.£665 6s. Bd.), Turnbull and Jones (£873). "The New Zealand railways arc not Iwing run for the public, but for tho servants."—Mr. James M'Lollon at yesterday's meeting of tho Council, of tho Chamber of Commerce. •On the suggestion of the 'Auckland Chamber of Commerce, a conference of members of Chambers of Commerce concerned in the manufacture and importation of manures, together with representatives of tho Farmers' Union, is to be held in Wellington on November 5 to consider matters concerning (ho packing and handling of manures. One Of the proliosals to Come before the conference is that the weight of bags for the future should be 1121b. THE PASSING OF THE HEAVY CAR. It has always been our policy to handle only the very best and the very latest types of motor-car. We have insisted on quality in Our importations, and we have also kept abreast of the requirements of our market. While we are fully convinced of the many advantages inherent in the new system of light motor-car construction, wo would have hesitated to import light cars had wo not been assured that tho high quality, necessary in the heavy car, but doubly necessary in the light car, was obtainable. In presenting the products of such firms as Clement-Bayard, Ilumbers, Ltd., and Minerva, we know, and the public know, thai the quality of tho cars is beyond question. As a typical example of the wonderful reduction in price brought nlwut by tho popularity of tho light car, we may refer to the 11-15 h.p. two-seater llumber. Finished in grev, with n beautiful torpedo body, detachable wire wheels, and all the latest devices to secure comfort and ease of control, the car is quito the neatest and most workmanlike two-seater ever produced in England. It is tho ideal car for the doctor, sportsman, or commercial man. Yet the English price is only £270. complete with lamps, hood, and wind-shield. The samo car, with a four-seater body, sells in England for £285. Then there, is the dainty two-seater, torpedo-bodied, wire-wheeled 8-12 h.p. Clcnient-Uayard, which sells in Franco at the surprisingly low price of £180. Wo also slock Iho 10-15 h.p. new light Clement-Bayard chassis, which, without tyres, sells in I'ranee for £210. Wo can supply all parts for building bodies lo order. To these prices we add only tho cost of importation. We have sold the light 20 h.p. Sfudcbakor-Flanders delivery cur (complote in New Zealand, £2!t.il to Mr. F. AV. Collins, grocer and baker. Christchurch. ADAMS. LTD.. Garage. Tunm Street. Christrhureb. Write for Mitalojjue* find /ill information to Palmeri)ton North and Wmis.inn 11 elbo Tourist Jlotor Co.. Eafltitufs,—Advti

A meeting of the Wellington branch of St. John Ambulance Brigade was held in tho .secretary's office, Feathorston Street, yesterday afternoon. It was decided to approach tho various firo boards with a view to making it compulsory for firemen to take a course in first-aid work. Regarding Ambulance Saturday, it was decided to ask the Hospital Hoard to join with them and \a share U\e amount collected. November DO was suggested as a suitable, date. If lho Hospital Board is not willing to join with them, tho fame date is suggested for the usual Ambulance Saturday. A Territorial named Neil M'Lean received a severe shaking on Saturday, being thrown from a restless horse while oil parade at Miramar. .The new artillery horses mid imported mules have apparently mado parades rather exciting, Tho question of the closing hour of railway goods-sheds is one that is alwavs cropping up in various parts of tho Dominion, ami there is still a difference of opinion among currying firms and merchants as to whether or not the present closing hour (4.30 p.m.) should be adhered to or extended. At yesterday's meeting of tho council of tho Chamber of Commerce; tho secretary (Mr. H. 1). Vickerv). who had been instructed to gather opinions respecting the mast convenient hour tor closing among peoplo immediately concerned, stated that both among merchants and carrying firms there was a diheronoo of opinion-six of one and half-a-dozen of the other. Whilst some business firms were strongly opposed to closing tho goods-sheds at 4.110 p.m., other linns staled that extending the time to a>p.m. would mean keeping the men back, and would create an unnecessary amount Of overtime. On tho motion of Mr. Ballinger it was decided to support tho request (which emanated from the Wnngnmu Chamber of Commorco) to have tho hours of railway goods-sheds extended to o p.m., and to support any' steps taken to secure (ho alteration. ,

reference to tho representations made to tho Department of Industries and Commerce on t.ho' inefficient trade arrangements between Wellington and Rare tonga, owing to the steamer not having time to discharge or take in all tho cargo oitenng at Karoronga, the secretary (Mr. I:. S. Pope) replied that primarily tho han 1 ranciseo-Wellington service was for mails and passengers and duo regard had been paid to wearing as fast a connection as the amount of tho subsidy will allow, llio representations had been noted and inquiries were being made with a view to ascertaining how far they may bo (met. A new departure in local Freemasonrr was made on Saturday, in the consecration and opening of a lodge of Past Mastew for Masonic research, under the auspices of tho Grand Lodgo of New Zeaand, with tho title of The Installed Masters Lodge of Wellington. It starts with a roll of between seventy and eighty members, including the principal focal officials of both New Zealand and English Constitutions. "I'm afraid ..you are not a. lawyer," observed Judge .Box, wilh an indulgent smile, to a witness in a Melbourne Court recently. The person addressed—Captain Harvey, station and pier master at Port Melbourne—admitted that he was not. "But," ho proceeded, "tho reason why I stated that children counted the same as adults to the department in accidents was because we have had to pay for them." "What, for children who were killed?" asked his Honour. "Well," responded the witness, "thero was a child who lost several fingers through an accident on tho pier" . "Quite so," assented his Honour, "quite so. But there is a vast difference in this regard between a dead person and an injured one." And ho proceeded to recount the legal legend of the American mail driver, who, when ho had an accident to his coach that maimed any person, hit all the passengers on tho head with a tailboard. "Because, you 60e," he went on to explain, "dead men cannot claim damages. So you see there is a vast difference between a living person and a dead one." Witness, after a briof interval, was able to intimate that ho "saw," and the Itoyal-Commission that is inquiring into life-saving equipment on Bay passenger steamers proceeded gravely with tho taking of evidence.

:: ,His Excellency., the Governor, attended by Captain Symonds, visited the Arts Club last evening, and was present at a lecture given by Mr, Malcolm lioss, who took ns his subject the South Sea Islands. Dr. Hay, the president, and Mr. Rayward, vice-president, received Lord Islington. and showed him over tho building, finally ushering him into the common-room, where the lecture, illustrated by .some very interesting views, was given. Particularly interesting were tho pictures of tho rebellion in" Samoa thirteen years ago, ana almost equally so were those of tho annexation of tho Cook Islands (in Lord Raufurly's time). Mr. A. A. Corrigan (who. with Mr. W. G. Duthie, represented the Wellington Chamber of Commerce at tho recent Empire Chamber of Commerce Conference in London) told tho local council nt yesterday's meeting that tho offices of tho High Commissioner in London wore frowsy premises, stuck in a back 6treet, whilst Victoria and tho Commonwealth offices were in a gorgeous building full in the eyo of tho great world of London. 110 also said that our officials at Homo wero cramped in their work; were, for instance, only allowed to eond immigrants out during the. summer months here—tho winter there. Now Zealand was very little known, and most people ho met wero rather hazy as to its geographical position. Australasia, to tho bulk of tho people at Home, was Australia, and New Zealand one of the States. Representatives of all the colonies except I\ew Zealand were down to respond through their representatives to tho tonst of tho Dominions Oversea at tho conference banquet. Notin; this, ho moved a resolution of protest*. The chairman. Lord Desborough, said if it were carried it would read like a vote of censure on what had Icen an oversight, and would lie tho only carping nolo in the proceedings, so ho (Mt. Corrigan) has submitted to it being'amended to get ever the difficulty. New Zealand should be mado better known—if. only geographically. Tho council passed a resolution thanking the committee of the conference for the courtesy and hospitality shown its ■representatives, and a resolution was passed to Messrs. Corrigan and Duthio thanking them for acting in tliat capacity.