LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1724, 15 April 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

• -9 _ In connection with the absence of his Excellency the Governor from Wellington during t ie latter portion.of the visit of the battle-cruiser Now Zealand, ami his consequent inability to attend functions orgamsed during tho visit, it appctirs that rho difficulties confronting his Excellency in tho matter wcro frreator than was at first understood. We aro informed that the Governor has twice had to cancel his engagements in the north owing to changes in tho expected date of arrival of tho battle-cruiser. Ono function twice postponed in this way was & Native gathering at Rotorua. Tho Governor has also undertaken to visit the Thames goldfields at an early date. When the dato of orrivnl of tho battle-cruiser was again changed his Excellency felt it impossible to cancel his engagements for a third time, and so put others as well as himself to serious inconvenience. It is further stated that in order to be present in Wellington during the currency of the festivities in connection with the visit of the battle-cruiser the Governor would have had to transport his establishment to Wellington and] then take it back to Auckland again for the remainder of his stay in the north, so putting the country to considerable expense. The Governor will lie in Wellington when the New. Zealand makes her second visit to Wellington, from Juno 11 to June 14. Regulations governing the conditions of employment in tho stores branch of the' Public Service will probably bo issued by the Commiss'.onor this week, and- tho Workshops regulations will also bo issued shortly. A report has appeared stating' tlmt Cabinet lms selected as General Manager of tho New Zealand Railways an official holding a high position with ono of tho big English railway companies.' Questioned on tho subject yesterday- afternoon, the Hon.. W. 11. Herries (Minister for Railways) stated that he was not in n position to make any announcement regarding tho appointment of tho General Manager, but that Cabinet might possibly take action in (he mutter during his absence in tho South Island. A great deal of interest is being taken in tho prospective appointment,, and many stories aro uilont, but probably most of them aro bused merely ujion probabilities. It is commoiily accepted that the new manager will probably be an official at: present employed" on ono of the big British railroads, because the probabilities have lain in that direction from tho outset. The Natives of Hamua aro said to be greatly distressed at tho untimely death of Iloaui Ngawhiro Marakaia, 'tho 19-year-old sou of Ngawhiro Marakaia, who was killed by.a picco of masonry dislodged from the Maslertou l'ost Offico tower by Saturday evening's earthquake. At. tlio timo' of iho accident tho young man's mother was lying seriously ill in Nurse Major's private hospital in Marion Street. As soon as sho hoard of tho death o[ her son, nothing would content her but sho must proceed to Masterton at oirfce, though not in a fit condition to travel. A taxi-cab was sccured, nnd sho was made as comfortablo ns possible, anil through tho blackness of the night, in a howling gale, she was drivoii to her son. Ngawhiro Maralciin is" the eldest- daughter of the late Nireahn Tamaki, tho famous old chief of the llangitano tribe, and is n distinguished and much respected Native. Iter son Houni had onlv been married three months. ' His wi'fo is a (laughter of Mita A rami, also a wellknown Hamua Native.i Mr. J. Craigio, M.l\, whilo in Wellington yesterday, made arrangementsMn connection with tho unveiling of'a 1 marblo statue of Kobcrt Burns which he Ims presented to tho town of Timaru. Tlio statuo was to havo beun unveiled by tho Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) on March 27, but owing to delay in its arrival from Italy, tho function had to bo postponed. The Chief lias now arranged to perform the unveiling about the middlfl of May. The statue, of white Carrara nia<'klc, is six feet high, and will slmul upon a pedestal of C'oroinandel granile, based upon Timaru Milestone. The silo M'lQcteil is tho main entrance ii> the Be tunical Gardens at Timaru j

■Registration lias been refused by tho Labour Department lo tho new Slan'ghtcrinoti's Onions in Hawkc's Bay, Manawatu, and Wanganui. Tho reason assigned ill overv cuso was that in the opinion of tho Department the workers in theso districts might conveniently belong to tho Wellington "Union. Under tlto regime of tho old union, now 011 strike, workers in all theso districts belong to thp Wellington "Union. Last evening a woman who had been lodged for the night at the Lanibton Quay l'olice Stution complained long, loudly, and angrily that alio was not getting all tho luxuries she wanted. "I'm not drunk," she yelled, "and if you don't giro me a bit of dry bread I'll drop dead! . . . Why, in Auckland, they give you German sausagol" At a mooting of the Northern Clergy Home Mission Union held recently at 'Newcastle, lOngland, Bishop Neligiin, formerly Bishop of Auckland, but now Vicar of Ford, spoke ulxmt Church life in tho Dominion, and incidentally alluded to tho need there was for young Anglican clergy to visit the colonies for a short term of years, and also for tho colonial clergy to como to tho Mother Country, lie urges that in both instances it would havo a broadening cffcct on their minds. Bishop Neligan also referred to the value of synodical church government, which had many elements in it that could with advantage bo copied by tho Mother Church. Ho also spoko of tho "awful scourge of secularism" in New Zealand, and liis experience of it mado him valuo more and more tho Church schools. Tho Kotorua Maoris aro making great preparations for the reception of tho Governor, who is cxpected to arrive thcro on Thursday. At Ohinomuttt improvements are being effected, tho most important being the re-erection of a large diningroom. During his Excellency's stay tho Arawa tribe.will present hiin w;ith an address. At Thursday's meeting of tho Hospital Committee of the Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid lioard,' Mr. L. M'iCenzie will movo:—(1) "That a small commit-' tee bo set up to wait upon tho Minister for Justice to ascertain what agreement can bo arranged tho treatment of delirium tremens cases.',' (2) "That a rotatory scheme be established for Jlie appointments on tho honorary medical staff of the Wellington Hospital, and to give effect to this proposal, additional surgeons and physicians be appointed as assistants. That the timo limit of eervico for seniors not exceed ten years and provision be made for the senior assistant to have priority of appointment when a vacancy occurs on the senior divi.' sion, and that the assistants act as substitutes when members of the senior staff aro absent on leave. In furtherance of this scheme, the Medical Association be asked to recommend appointments.for the junior division." • ' .