LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1617, 7 December 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Inebriation is tho cause of many a mishap. Two men who spent Thursday evening indulging, not wisely, but too well, chanced to meet in public, with the result that they completed the usual programme by staying tho night in tho polico colls on Lambton Quay. When this typo of Greek meets Greek, trouble follows as a matter of course. Tho stages to a placo on the Court record-book which these two took wore few and direct. Thoy met. Ono spoke. The other took exception to his remark. Brief verbal argument. Fierce muscular argument. A damaged head. Police. Doctor to dress wounds. The cells. A dream—of home. The Court. One (with his head much bandaged) fined for insobriety; tho other fined for insobriety and assault.

A good story comes from a country district not far from Gisborne. A visitor from town was inspecting the sights of the country plaoe, when ho espied a man donned in (lungarecs and shirtsleeves, actively engaged in cleaning out a schoolroom. _ After conversation about the climatic potentialities of tho district, the Gisbornito remarked that he supposed the gentleman ho was addressing was one of tho railway workmen. "Oh, no," replied the other, with a genial smiie, "I am the English parson." The humour of the situation was much enjoyed by both men, although the visitor was somewhat token aback.

A scheme foT the transmission of fruit through the post office has bee® authorised, and it is now being formulated. A similar scheme for the carriage of lareer -packages of fruit, by the railways, has been adopted by the Railway Department. Tho scheme will, come into force about th« beginning of the year..

The next body of workers who are to stand out for higher wages are the marine engineers engaged in steamers employed in New Zealand waters. Through. th®r institute, the engineers have ■ approached the New Zealand shipowners with a request that favourable consideration be given to an application for increases in the. ratis of now paid, and, in doing so, they point out that no increases have been given -them since 1908, and that in the meantime the oost of living has increased. Other matters relating to general conditions are also preferred; but the matter of wages is the chief one. It is understood that the New Zealand Shipowners' Federation has considered the request, but no courss of action has yet been decided upon.

Mistaken identity was the plea of a youth who appeared in the Magistrate's Court yesterday on a charge of his having interrupted a military parade. A military offioer thought that he recognised the boy as one of the' interrupters of a certain parade, but the boy simply informed the Court that he was not in the company at the time, though, he added, his_ brother was. The Court dismissed the information.

The quarterly meeting of the Welsh Society was held at. Godber's Eooms, Cuba Street, last evening. Mr. A. Williams was in the chair. An address on Welsh philology was given by Mr. Evan Parry. Songs were contributed by Miss Watkins and Messrs. Evans and Bishop. . Mrs. Easson was accompanist. During the -course of the evening Mr. Williams, who has recently been travelling in the Northern Territory of Australia, gave an interesting sketch-of- the immense possibilities of "that'oountry. /' ' ■

It is said that the members of a Dunedin public body have been called on by the Government authorities to show cause why they should not be held personally liable for the payment of a certain sum of money which appears in the balance: sheet as having been paid to another body which, it is maintained, does not come under the control of the body referred to. The amount in question is believed. to be over .£SOO, states the "OtagoDaily Times."

Two prisoners will come up for sentence in the-Supreme Court before Mr. Justice Sim' this morning. They are Leslie Stapleton, breach of probation; and Peter Young, breaking and entering and theft at Hastings.

It is stated that the Ministry will be ready with all the Government legislation for tho session as soon as Parliament meets. The Crown Law Draftsman is already preparing Bills for next session.

A representative of the Timaru Waterside Workers' Union waited upon the Minister for Railways yesterday morning to state the case of the men who have reoently been on strike at the.Sofith Canterbury port. The Minister's reply was to the effect that as the trouble was really a dispute between two unions merely, lie would not interfere in it. He understood that the rival unions were to hold a conference shortly, and ho hoped they would come to an amicable arrangement. The Te Aro Railway League are to meet the Minister for Railways (the Hon. W. H. Herries) at 10.30 this morning, to press the claims of the Te Aro end of the town for better railway facilities—a goods service and an improved passenger service.

At a meeting of the council of the Zoological Society, held last evening, the committee 'appointed -to make inquiries as to the possibility of seouring artists to paint piotures of the animals presented by the society to the "Zoo," reported that the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts bad been approached, and tho hearty cooperation of the two bodies was likely to produce higWy satisfactory -results. _ A letter was received from Mr. W. W. Smith (a New Plymouth member of thesociotry) offering to supply notes on the avi-fauna of . Now Zealand. It was resolved that tho secretary should write thanking Mr. Smith, and asking him to supply the notes at his earliest convenience. The City Ctnuicil notified the society that it is prepared to receive all the animals in the list mentioned to the Town Clerk. Two new members were elected, and Mr. Caterer's name was added to the council. The body of Louis Donald -M'Gulivray, aged two and- a half years, who disappeared from his parents' residence at Pakipaki on August 7, was found on the bank of tho Awand stream, near Pukchou, on Tuesday evening. The spot where the remains have been found is about three miles from where the lad is supposed to have fallen in. The body had evidently been washed up by the floods of September. The parents now reside in Wellington. Announcements of Sunday services will be fottn-d on page 2 of this issue. .