LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1831, 18 August 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Die slcamor Rivcrina, which is temporarily replacing tho Wimmera ill tlio Sydney run, arrived at Auckland yesterday morning villi' a small English and 'Australian mail, which will reach Wellington this afternoon.

llio question of tlio Bible in schools has readied a critical stage," said Archdeacon. Ifarper during tho service at St. Peter's Church yesterday, adding that they had readied a time when tlioy hoped by zeal and enthusiasm to go a very great distance towards securing what they wero aiming at. Roforrilig to tihe deputation which waited .upon tlia I'rimo Minister on Saturday week, asking him not to allow a referendum on tlio Bible-in-sehools question, tho Archdeacon said he wished to draw attention to tho leading spokesman (Mr. Atkinson) on the other side, who said: "It was very singular that the. fore« 3 working for tho Bible-in-schools movement were a mixture of religious bigotry and political cant," and .Mir. John Caughley, JI.A., representing the teaching profession, speaking immediately afterwards, tiaid ho eudorsod all that the previous speaker had said. An emphatic protest should bo' made to these remarks, and they who wore supporting tho movement should realise that leaders in opposition' liad stated tlliat tho tons of thousands of Christian pooplo who were supporting that movement wow simply gifted with hypocrisy, insincerity, and bigotry, because they were working lor a system of Bible teaching which provided equal advantages for every class of religious thought in tho cummui.iitv.

"To the British Navy of to-day we Now Zealanders probably owe tho fact that wo are free men making our own laws and living our lives after tho fashion of Britishers., Wo also owe to tho Navy tho protection of all our wealth,, in tho shape of exports while on the high seas."—Wellington's harbourmaster in proposing the toast of "Our United Forces at tlio Combined Shipping Companies' dinner on Saturday.

Just about a month ago the Timaru Harbour Board offered privstoly to its present dsbenturc-hoilder9 and others throughout the Dominion the £100,0(10 loan which is due on January 1, 1914. The response has been marvellous, .£90,000 of the loan being now applied for. The secretary of tihe board (Mr. W. J. Bards! ov) states that the parcels taken up varied from one debenture (<£100) upwards, and went to all parts of New Zealand.

Mr. Alf. Linloy and Mr. A. .Coleman, of Auckland, .have secured a long lease of the nmv theatre'in Manners Stroet, in tlio Duke of Edinburgh Hotel buildings, with a side entrance in. Willis Street Tho theatre, which is expected to bo finished in about sight weeks' time, is to bo a continuous pieturo theatre, and will be named the Britannia Pictiiro Theatre.

figures showing the proportionate increase in the population of tlio North Island, as against that of the South, wero quoted by Mr. P. G. Cheal at tho annual meeting of the Auckland Railways League in support of a contention that tho North was entitled to more consideration as regards railway construction, says our Auckland correspondent. . Since 1900, Mr. Cheal said, the increase in tho population of tho Dominion was 250,000. Of that increase the South Island could only claim 58,000, whereas the increase in tho Auckland province alone was 100,000, or more than the rest of the North. Island put together.

Speaking at tho annual dinner of the Combined Shipping Companies on Saturday evening, the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, Minister for Marine,, said that it had boen decided, to give the boys on the New Zealand Government training ship Amokura a chance' of becoming qualified officers in tlio' mercantile mariuo as well as seamen.'' At the present time negotiations were being made with the Union Company to have tho best qualified Amokura boys drafted to the training ship Aparima, there to continue their course .of training and become officers in the mercantile marine.

Mr. G. Hogben, j/Inspcctor-GonoTOl of Schools, will address tho Wellington Eufenics Education Society on "Tho Mcdical nspeetion' of Sdhool Children" in the Lodgo Room, 209 Lambton Quay, opposite the IColburne tram station, at 8 o'clock tomorrow evening.,; ,

Canon Garlahd, organiser of the Bible-in-S'chools Leatfuo,- in the course of his sermon last niglit at St. Peter's Churoh, announced that an important meeting of> the women's branch of the league was to ba held this afternoon . at St. John's Church, when tho speakers would bo the Bishop of Wellington, tho Rev'. G. S. Cook (Molesworth. Street Methodist ' Church), Mr. J. G. W. Aitken, and Canon Garland.

According to the Minister for Marine (Hon. F. 11. B. Hshor),'it is not proposed to develop our trade with other co.mitrics entirely by production, but to find markets for ouir goods. With this idea in .view, tlio Government is endeavouring to secure a much better trade with West o£ England ports and Canada. -.

The Maori chief, Poora Tuiinga, who diocl suddenly a day or two ago, was (says our' Auckland correspondent) buried on Wednesday night at Awaitu. Constable Miles visited tho place to see if the burial had taken place as promised, and insisted on the Native being buried, although the Maoris wanted to have hvo more days' tangi. When tho Maoris started to dig a gravo in tho old cemetery at Awaitu they struck an old coffin, and after this grave was filled in, tlhev found at tho next attempt a skull. This gave the Maoris a great scare, but eventually tbo bu.rial was completed at about 10.30 on Wednosday uig'ht.

It is astonishing what peculiar ideas some persons have as to tlio actual value of what they consider should constitute "substantial il<\posits" in tho purchase of property. ■ Recently a casual visitor to Canterbury airrangcd with a Tima.ru property owner to purchase a liouso and land, stating that ho was prepared to pay a substantial deposit 011 it provided the owner would oroct a lean-to at the back to serve' as an extra bedroom. This t.hc owner agrowl to, but first he and his client waited upon tho property owner's solicitor to have an agreement dirawn up.- While tho solicitor was having tho agreement made ready the cQient handed over an insurance policy for twelve years for ,£100; upon which £2 10s. lad been paid, as a deposit. Despite his earnest assurance that ho would keep the policy paid up, no deal was made.