LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1723, 14 April 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

! 10 ' 0r ia was expected by the Wellington Postal Department to arrive in Auckland at midnight yesterday. The only mail she brings is Australian, and the Wellington portion is expected to arrive here by tho 6.45 train to-morrow morning. • ' Tho Secretary to the Post Office i (Mr. W. It. Morris) received the following telegram this morning from the .Chief Postmaster at Auckland, relating to' tho damage done by the fire which broke out in tho mail room of the E.M.S. Makura, while en routo from Sydney to Vancouver, via Auckland"Makura arrived at wharf .3 a.m. to-day. Damage to mails confined to those for Auckland. Twelve bags of London papers, two bags of Loudon letters, one to Auckland from Paris more or less damaged. One Brinclisi to Auckland missing. Remainder of mail in good condition . . . Have searched ship and examined ■outgoing Wellington mails for the Briudisi bag, but . can get no trace. Officers of ship thinl£ it may havo been burned. Will have debria examined." A peculiar-looking fish was found on the Otaki beach (says our local correspondent)' last week by' Mr. W. Roxburgh. It is about twelve inches in length, and in appearance resembles a hedge-hog. Maoris' who have seen it report it as unknown in these parts, and it will therefore bo sent to Wellington for identification, after which it will be presented to the museum.

City hoardings are among the damaged property which suffered by yesterday's gale. One big billboard, near tho Public Trust Office, on Lambton Quay, was hiding its fa«e on the footpath last eveniug, and all day■ yesterday a large sheet of galvanised iron, artistically painted to proclaim to papers by Courtenay Place tho merits of a certain soap, kept up a deafening cannonndo on the front of tho building to which it was still clinging desperately, though with liltlo prospcct of retaining its hold. ' For some years past the Methodist Church has contemplated the- establishment of a central mission in Christchurch, but has been unnblo to obtain a suitable hall (says (ho "Star"). Arrangements havo now been made for the use of tho Queen's Theatre in Hereford Street. . Quite a satisfactory number of Wellington's burglars havo l>con caught, redhanded by the police constables who do tho watches of the night. , In the last twelve months about a, dozen burglarp havo been caught almost, "in tho act," The incident which recalls these facto occurred but; a few days ago, when two Wellington constables tinv n, man go into an alleyway late at; night. They did not. follow t'hei man, but. awaited his reappearance. After a while n man camo out, to the street carrying a bag. Tho policemen took charge ol tho man and (lie bag, and tho for.ncr is now accused of having stolen over ,ESO worth of goods, I lie contents of a. portmanteau. Steamer!: rrom tho couth je.-terday did not have to contend with adverse conditions. The Maori and the Alnnnu-ai bolii made good trips from Lyt.lelfon, and reported that the high northerly prevailing hero was not mot with until port was Ti eared. A wireless breakdown wns reported in the city yesterday. The gale, which blew at. high velocity through the streets, gnlherfd its usual extra, speed on th« Tinnkori IJills anil caused trouble among Ihe wives. Matters were =a.lisfactorily adjusted again, olid onrl.v last night l.lle tyrlein u-ar, tinted to bo in working order

[ An exciting incident marked Hip mcel of tlie Fitzwilliam ITounds at Huntingdor on. tho morning of March 5 (says a Lou don exchange). Tlio fox ran on to tin (rack of tho Great Northern main line and then, doubling back through I'ho rail way station, crossed n. .'-chool playground and was killed in the yard of the Falcoi Hotol. Tho hounds ran, into the town ii full cry, aiid enjoyed a meal'in tho principal sired; outride the post office. An empty barrel got "on the looso" it Lambton Quay last night, and interrupted the tram traffic. The barrel staTtec from near tho Government Buildings, one was blown along tho Quay at an amazing speed. It slowed down fitter a while, bill just, as a tram car going ' n t' l6 pam< direction was about to overtake-it, il worked in another spirit. Finally, how ever, it seemed clear that tlio car was go ing to take tho lead, and tlio barrel, as i last strategy, cut in sharply and 'iat fa-irlj in the centra of the car's track. The trair did not proceed until the barrel had beei arrested and removed. Tho Martinborough "Star" reports thai deer-stalkers in that district complain o! tho scarcity of good "heads" this season Those in authority in such matters saj that there never will be good "heads' until the herds are thinned out. According to the "Mataura Ensign' (from which tlie following is taken) th( post office stamp-vending machines *r< not a success. "Complaints are frequenl regarding the stamp-vending machine installed in the post office vestibule. Nu merous persons have dropped pennies int< the slot but no stamps have been forth coming. In other cases a person dropping in a penny has been surprised to fine that ho got two stamps in return, th( machine apparently making up for a previous mistake. It would be much bcttei to remove the machine altogether thai have it working as at present. In on( case where a stamp was required for : letter to be posted by the first expres: going north five pennies were inserted ir tho slot before tho necessary stamp ap peared." Tho gambler should bo ablo t( derive' some solid nrriusement from thesi machines. According to the "Star" Auckland ap pears to bo something of a Attcca foi street musicians at present, ana varioui sounds more or less musical fall on th< ears of pedestrians in various parts of tb< city. A German band is among the re cent arrivals in this particular branch oi ™ art of music, and dispenses harmonj at different points of vantage where it is likjely 1,0 attract coin of the realm. A string band of three members also play< selections, chicfly in tho evenings anc other instrumentalists are a couple oi organ-grinders, a gramaphone owner. [ dusky banjoist (who iis accompanied ir his vocal efforts by his wife), and a wandering minstrel who confines his efforts to a humblo concertina, • The lost meeting of the Onslow Borough Council will take placo on Wednesday, there will be a social conclusion to the evening. The opening of tho new rooms qf the New Zealand Society of Acoountants will take' place on Wednesday evening next, the rooms occupy the whole of the top floor of tho recantly-erected Accountants' Chambers in Johnston Street, and consist of a large hall or meeting-room which extends the full breadth of the building in front, an office for the secretary (Sir. Ernest W. Hunt), a handsomely appointed .library, and a room for the Accountant Students' Society. On Wednesday evening the chairman of the branch (Mr. Eobt, Wilberfoss) will ■ deliver a short address, after which Mr. C. B. Eobertson will read. a,short paper on "The Granting of Credit in the Wholesale Trade/' and Mr. E. T. Tosswill will read one on "The Treatment of Small Accounts." At the conclusion of the meeting members will bo asked to inspect the rooms and partake of light refreshments, . Arrangements havo taan made for 4000 Chinese coolies to leavo Canton for Samoa. They are intended for work on" the plantations in German Samoa—that is, on the islands of Upolu and Savaii. Most of them will, of course, go to Upolu, which is the richest of tlio Samoan islands, and which contains the German capital, Ajjia. Chinese labour has been used in German Samoa for a considerable time, and has been found to giro every satisfaction. The coolies are indenturr/l for a fixed period, »t -the end. of which time they can cither return to China or further engage themselves. t Many of them ; prefer to remain in the islands. It is well known that the ■jnmoan, like the natives gf other South. sea Islands, is a lazy man in. his own country. There is no necessity, for him :o work, seeing that nature supplies him nth all that lie requires. Much of the .and is held by the Samoan chiefs, but ;hey do not put it to the best- use. The loconnts growing on it are ample to proi'iqo them with all tho luxuries they reluire. But copra ig a big item with Gernan and other planters and traders in ximoa, and since the introduction of Chinese labour the output has greatly ncreased. Besides coconuts,' cacao is ex;ensively grown, and latterly a lot of the and has been planted'with, rubber. Assistants employed in the hairdressing itrade brought a dispute before the Arbitration Court in Auckland last Friday. Mr. Justice. Sim presided. Mr. Arthur Eosser, for the union, stated that the principal questions upon which tho parties could not agree were in connection with hours and wages. The men asked that they be given oho night oft' a week, and urged that the Duncdin award, which made provision for the payment of ,£3 and i! 3 ss. per week, bo taken as tho basis of an award for tho district. Mr. C. Grosvenor, representing the employers, objected to the proposed night off,' as he said; most of the Auckland trade was done at night. Tho employers were propared to give- 15s. per week as a minimum wage. The parties ultimately agreed to hours, and the Court is to dccide the questions of the period of the award and wages, i It is announced that the price of butter is to be raised locally to-day from Is. 2d. to Is. 3d. per lb. for all standard brands. Tho advanco is ill sympathy with, the, state of tho markets elsewhere, and brings the .price to .tlie same figuro at which it stood locally at this time last year. . Gorse and grass fires havo been frequent in. Wellington for months past, and in the line of plantation fires a, blaze among the pines at Newtown Park was provided on the chief day of the Citizens' Carnival. Nevertheless, no' one appears to have got sufficiently accustomed to thesfc promiscuous outbreaks to feel otherwise than rather uncomfortable about them wlien they occur on a day like yesterday. Twice tIM Central Fire Brigade's sabbath was broken into by calls to subdue flames that had taken good holds of dry (jorse and grass, and were fanned and driven rapidly by tho somewhat exaggerated zophyr. One of these fires was at the top of Mein Street, and the-other off Epuni Street. Neither of thorn caused any damage. Dr. H. J. M'Lean has removed to 14 Boulcott Street.

CAB ECONOMY AND THE BAYARD. A keen demand has arisen in Into years for a light, moderately-priced, economical small car. Such a car fills tho requirements of tho oommcrcial traveller, or of the motorist who, owning a big pleasure car, requires a small, reliable, cheapruwiing car as a town runabout. The 8-12 h.p. Clement Bayard is the car that fills the bill. Its prico is .£295, inclusive of hood, wind shield, and five lamps. It scats'three'persons. Its weight is llowt., and its nominal h.n. 12, practically a hundredweight to tlio horse-powev. Its petrol consumption is one gallon to 40 miles; lubricating oil, one gallon to 500 miles. Tyres to last. 10.000, cost Ml 2s. for four covers. Speed, .40 miles per hour on the flat. Hill-climbing ability: car can climb tho Paekakariki Hill on the second gear at 15 miles an hour. It, is built by A. Clement, raric., the celebrated French automobile engineer, and its running ex- 1 penees, including allowance for depreciation, do not exceed ,£52 per annum'. It can 1 bo had finished in either green, dark blue, or Trench grey, and wo can givo delivery in five minutes. Adams Limited, Agents for Clomont Bayard cars, Garage, Tunm Street, Christehurch. Depots at Wanga- : nui and Palmerston North. Agents, Tour- | Ist Motor Co.. Hastings.—Advt. ' j

Mr. S. George Nudum, Wellington, lias two farms for sate. Olio of these farms, of 83 acres, is situated 20 miles from Wellington; the other, of 88 acres, is also situated near Wellington. Further particulars nn application. The Bushy Park sale of stud Hereford rnltie is to tie held at Wnngamii on TI mr~ll ay nntl Friday, April 'Jt and 25, The sale commences at 12 o'clock oil Thursday, and 10 o'clock jn Friday.