LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1855, 15 September 1913, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

His Honour Mr, Justice Chapman will open a sitting of tko Supremo Court in Masterton on September 23. The Dovoii inquiry will probably bo reopened in tlio Supremo Court towards the end of this week. Wo have to acknowledge receipt of £1 from "A.8.C." towards tho Devon crew fund. Counsel was fairly beaten bv a female witness lie was examining in the Christchurch Magistrate's Court on Friday (says the "l'ross"). The case was one in which a youth was charged with using obscene language, and witnesß wrote down tho word she bad heard used. Under cross-examination, she stated that she had nover heara, the word before, and did not know what it meant. "How did you know, then, that it was an obscene word?" finally queried the solicitor. "Well," said the girl, "if it had not been an obscene word, I should havo heard it before, • and besides 1 asked mother, and she told me it was an awful word." Island fruit fly is apparently making its-presence felt in a largo quantity of oranges which • arrived at Wellington from Karotonga by tfho Union Company's steamer Tahiti last Thursday. Tho line in question. is ono of 1500 to 2000 cases, consigned to Auckland. -• Since the fruit arrived hore it has beon under rigid in-, speetion by the Fruit Inspector, and n decision is expected to-day in regard to H'hethor or not tho wholo lot will be condemned and sent to the destructor. It is estimated that this line of fruit alone is valued at from £1000 to £1200 at least. When the Aorangi arrived at Wellington fron Ilarotonga last month a line of 200 cases of oranges were condemned and. burnt in the destructor. There is considerable ex pen bo entailed after the fruit has been condemned, ninepence being charged on each caso of fruit which' lias to be destroyed. ."You are not prepared to live a hundred miles from nowhere."—"l havo lived more than a' hundred miles from nowhere."—Lucid exchange b> two members of the House of Representatives. Six red deer, two' stags and four hinds, have been presented by Mr. C. J. Lucas, of Warnliam Court, Sussex, to tho Otago Acclimatisation Socioty, and they are to be shipped to New Zealand by tho shipping officers of the High Commissioner's department, per the Kaipara, which sails from London at the end of this month. "Five million people in tho near future." "Twelvo millions." "Three millions." "Four millions." —Varying estimates by members of tho House o_ Representatives (in the early hours of Saturday) as to population tho Dommion might carry. Tho staff of the Infectious Diseases Hospital is subject to a deal of worry on the part of friends of patients calling there (by way of Coromandel Street) instead of making inquiries- at the General Hospital. No blame is attachable to anyone in this connection as tilt well-meaning people who .wish to see patients lying in tho Infectious Diseases Hospital aro not aware that tlioy cannot approach within a certain distance of the building, until confronted with tho notice on tho gate at the Coromandel Streot entrance. This informs them that all inquirios about patients suffering from an infectious disease must bo made at the General Hospital. Hence this paragraph. "Proportional voting for Mayor and councillors," "special rates on workers' dwellings," and "general" is tho business set down for consideration by tho Legislative Committee of the Municipal Association of Now Zealand which meets at the Town Hall, at 10.30 a.m. to-day. The following bulletin was issued by the Chief Health Officer on Saturday "The District Health Officer at Auckland reports: No fresh cases reported iu Auckland or suburbs, or in the district." Bishop Neligau, formerly of Auckland, New Zealand, speaking recently at a prize distribution at Eastbourne (England), referred to tho absence.of backbone in a very large section of English life to-day, and called on tho girls to go forth in their age and generation to get backbone and put it back into English life. Ho had seen in London and down in Eastbou'rno people, presumably womon, who were not decent to look at. They had not proper clothes on, tlioy had rags, and tho moro colours they could gei the moro tho rags were tumbling down from lack of backbone. Some curious tales havo been told by the Natives at the''hearing of a case by the Nutivo Land Court at Gisborne. One related by tho "Povorty Bay Herald" deals with a phantom canoe, which appeared about 200 years ago. A chief . was startled in tho night uy hearing voicos chanting a haka. All alert in caso of danger, lio awakened his companions, ana told them what w-as happening. Tlioy listened attentively, and could hear the urging of the rowers of tho canoe, in poetical language, to make for tho shore. A sleepless uight was spent, and when daylight broko all eyes were turned anxiously seaward, but no Bight of any canoo could bo seen. Ono man, moro venturesome than tho rest, proceeded to tho beach to seo if any footprints were visible, and found on tho bcaeh' a. stono canoe with paddles and steersman in stono by its sido. This, tho Natives declare, can often bo seen to this day when tho sea washes away the sand and leaves the canoo uncovered. The place is known by a Maori namo signifying tho phantom haka.

The Kelburno Observatory will ho open at 9.30 to-night, and amateur astronomers and others interested will liavo an opportunity of viewing tbe eclipso of tho moon through tho big tclescopo. Two of tho motor-cars which were salved from the wreck of tho Devon liavo been sold to Wellington residents for £50 It is expected that instructions will be recoived from London to-day in regard to what will bo dono with tho hull of tho vessel and fittings on board. The chief officer (Mr. M.aurico) and two members of tho crow went down to tha wreck on Saturday, for tho purpose of "keeping ship, 1 pending a decision as, to what will be dono with tho vessel. Firos in house-chimneys frequently occur through tho negligence of the householder in not having them swept often enough, but it must como somewhat as a surpriso when the chimney catchos fire within a few days- of tho Bweep having been paid for sweeping it out. That this sometimes occurs is stated by tho Superintendent of tho City Fire Brigade, who, in tho course of his report to the Fire Brigade Committee, calls attention to tho prevalence of chimney fires recently, , in some cases only a day after the chimneys were supposed to havo been swept. _He therefore recommends that in tho interests of the public all chimney sweeps should 'bo licensed. Officers aro reminded in the current battalion orders of tho sth Wellington Regiment that the regimental dinner is to be held at the Oriental Bay Kiosk on Wednesday, October 1.

American tailors, meeting at Sandasky, Oiiio, on Saturday, August 2, dis-. cussed the prospects of slit trousers for men during the next summer season. The convention did not decide the point finally, but admitted that the same arguments which had been used in favoui of slit skirts for women might be claimed, from the sartorial standpoint, for either sex, if sorgo or flannel legs, which were slit outside and inside to a point about midway between tho ankle and the knee, were Worn with hosiery of a delicate hue. In debating the slit trousers, 0110 delegate raised an. uproar by declaring that the convention was being made the stalking horse of the hosiery j trust, and for that reason, and no other, American men nest summer .were being asked to "dress as ridiculously and immodestly as many American women, "The milk that is sold in tho middle of winter is not always fresh," was a statement made by Mr. H. Bodley when a deputation of milk-sup-pliers interviewed tho Minister for i'ublio Health on Friday. Mr Bodley added that in cold weather milk woul.d keep for a week. "Very often," ho said, "the milk sold in the winter may bo two or throe days old. This milk, under tho test employed by tho Department (tho eryosoopic or freezing test, would show an unduo proportion of water, but what the tost really shows is the age of the milk."