LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1886, 22 October 1913, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

' Tho Postal Authorities advise that the , 5,3 Marama, which sailed from Suva , for Auckland on Octobor 18, lias on board English and American mails via Vancouver. The Wellington portion is duo per Main Trunk express at 4.15 p.m. to-day. Tito Postal Authorities advise that s.s Manuka, which sailed from Svdnev for Wellington on October 18,) has on board an .Australian mail. She is.duo to reach Wellington to-day. A sharp shock of earthquake was experienced in Wellington at 3.57 yesterday afternoon. Provisions of the Shipping Bill were discussed yesterday at a conference between the Minister of Marine (the Hon. P. M. B. Fisher), representatives of the ship])inn; companies, and representatives of tlio Seamen's .Union. The <»nference did not complete its deliberations yesterday, and it ivill therefore bo continued this afternoon. The system of dunning bushioss pla for subscriptions and donations to all and sundry sports organisations is coming in for harsh words in different parts of the North Island t sayis an excnange. Recently olio of the New Plymouth dailies spoko very straight in regard to the ''bandits" who elect vice--1 presidents from a dozen upwards to secure their unwilling donations. Recently a Nativo football club at Itactihi elected sixty "'presidents," as one of the enthusiasts called them.. Amongst pnkeha clubs the evil is almost as apparent. The latost sports body to voluntarily break down tho time-honoured evil of canvassing the town for subscriptions is the Taihajxj Athletic Club, livery year tho business people of Taihstpo have been penalised to the extent of £80 upwards to keep tiie sports going. At tho annual meeting the members of tho club decided that this year the sports must pay for themselves, and a. vigorous system of retrenchment in expenditure will be a result without in any way affecting the success of the. meeting. Soveral of tho business men of laiiiapo atpto it hns cost thorn, in past years from £30 to £50 a year for donations to sports clubs, football dubs, and picnics. Seven years' service in tho Wellington Volunteer Fito Police entitles a member to a gold medal. It was recently. decided that as a reward for ■fourteen years' service a certificato should be issued. Five members are now entitled to this certificate, namely, Captain Wright, Lieutenant T. Balli'nger, Lieutenant A. Asher, Treasurer' P. Cohen, and Mr. W. T. Ifildreth, At the annual meeting last night it was suggested that tho City Council and not the Firo Police should' issuo these certificates. Tho Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luko) considered tho suggestion a good one, and promised to bring tho matter under' the notice of. tho Tire Brigade. Committee. A united thanksgiving service in connection. with tho Salvation Army is to bo conducted by Commissioner Richards, supported by ' Lieutenant-Colonel Pow- ' ley, in the Wellington Citadel .next week. At this service the declaration ] of tho self-denial totals will bo made. j The Wellington Tramway Employees' ( Union has unanimously passed tho fol- 1 lowing resolution, which has been for- ( warded to tho Minister of Public t Works (tho Hon. W. Fraser), and Mr. c T. 11. Davey:—"This meeting of tho t Wellington' Tramway Employees' Union J hereby desires to plaeo on record that Jj it is not in accord with the statement supiKised to havo been made on tho floor e of tho House of Representatives, by tlm Minister of Public Works, to tho effect } that the tramway men would prefer to f< wait for tho alterations to take place e to the ears rather than lose part time v of their employment. It further urges 61 the Minister to proceed with the Tram* 1 ways Amendment Aet, 1913, and trusts P that the representatives on both sides «, of the House will render every support c, to the Government in thus endeavour- e : ing to safeguard the live sof the public si and the tramway employees throughout o: the Dominion." .A sum of £50 hns been voted by tho local branch of the Seamen's Union to ~, 1 he Dublin Strike Fund. The amount ) J( will be cabled to Dublin. if !.!>! your tiursp guide you when purelia.s- ]w a'sewing machine. It is not always ci economy to buy flio "cheapest" but we cc have several high-class "Wcrlheims". in J* stuck which we liave rciluced in price. Si Now- is your opportunity to secure a really <?s reliable tewing machine with a guarantee at much less than ordinary cost. Free demonstration at Oscar Hewett's 56 Cuba W Bt„ Weilingto.fl. , :

Th© Salvation Army intends holding its next territorial congress in "Wellington during the last week in March, 1914. The congress .is to bo a representative one, and similar to'the gathering held hero last June. During tlio congress tho opening of the new Maternity Home and Training College is to tako place, and the commissioners and delegates intend leaving finally for tho International Congress to ho held in London in June. A return presented to tho House of Representatives yesterday on the motion of Sir Walter Buchanan, shows that ' tho amount of duty paid up to Marph 31, 1913, at the different ports of New Zealand, under tho Tariff Act of 1907, and the Customs Duties Act 1908, on : wrpught-iron and cast-iron water-pipes, : totalled £22,211 10s. Tho duty that . has been paid, upon wrcught-iron and steel water pipes exceeding six inches . in diameter totals £273-1 IBs., and tho duty that has been paid on cast-iron pipes exceeding nine inches in diameter amounts to £19,476 18s. Thcro is one factory in tho Dominion (at Wangaiiui) engaged in producing spiral steel water- ' pipes. The wagos paid per annum at ' this establishment, total £6242 lis. A Nelson opinion on tlio "Nelson" ' System.—Tho " Methodist. Times " of 1 the 18th inst. states that a resolution supporting tho platform of tho Bible--1 ill-State-Schools League was unanimously carried by tho quarterly meeting of tho Methodist Church held at Nelson ■ this month. Lecturing at th'o Royal Photographic Society's exhibition in London recently on "Tho Order of the Knights of St. 1 John of Jerusalem," Mr. H. W. Fini cbam mentioned tlint a curious relic of : tho great days of tho Order was roeover- , ed recently from Mediterranean- waters. Not long ago somo fishermen, dredging off the Island of Cyprus, brought up a gun which, from its inscription, was 1 evidently given by Henry VIII. to the Knights Hospitallers, wherewith to defend their stronghold -in tho Island of Rhodes against the Turk. In respect to Mr. C. A. Whitney'sletter about tho English wild duclt, published elsewhere in this issue, it might bo remarked that there are interesting examples of tho mallard duck —of winch lio speaks—in "sanctuary" at tlm Heretaunga golf links, near Wellington. They are exceedingly hnndsomo birds, and. ara much admired by all who see them. Tho "wild" duck at Heretaunga are surprisingly tame.. Not only will they feed from tho hand, but. they loiter on tho home-green in .front of tho golf house, to an extoiit which makes thorn a positive embarrassment to players. Thcro is now a great profusion of bird-life at Heretaunga. Swans, geese, and ducks of much variety and of various rare kinds seem to thrive and do remarkably well. During tho storm in Auckland on Saturday night, tho small craft moored off tho Manukau Yacht and Motor Club's rooms, suffered some damage. Tho launch Orena, owned by Mr. A. M'Gill, engineer, dragged her moorings and«was dashed on to the rocks. The boat was v.erv seriously damaged. A launch, owned by Mr. G. H. Schmidt, •was also swept ashore, hut sho was secured boforo any serious damage was suffered. Other boats were damaged in a minor degree. A shaken confidence in the policy of importing domestic help was admitted by a member of tho Taranaki executive of tho Farmers' Union. Ho said ho had tried tho experiment himself. Through a private agency ho had arranged to secure the services of a young woman from Homo, and had contributed £21 towards her fare. Tho woman arrived at Wellington with her boxes, and that was the last ho had heard of her or his £21. The advent of women architects was prophesied by Mr. D. M'Laren Rt last night's meeting of the Society for th© Protection of Women and Children, and then, said the speaker, they would have cupboards and staircases in their proper places, instead of having houses which required donblo tho amount of women's work as should be necessary. "A mail speaks best who knows riowt," was Mr. D. M'Laren's introduction when proposing the election, of the_ solicitors and physicians of theSociety for tlio Protection of Women awl Children, and later lie quoted the advice of' Mr. Sydney Smith, who said ■ it was better to review a book before reading it so as not- to bo prejudiced. Carpenters and joiners—masters and workers—will meet in conference at Wangaiiui on November 7 to discuss the question of a Dominion award. A visit to Kilbirnio was made yesterday by members of tho Finance Committee of the City Council. They were accompanied by.tho City Engineer. The reclamation works were inspected, as were some sections in which tho council is interested. Tho committee will report to the coiuic.il oil tho subject. Madame Clara Butt sang to n- pricked "houso" at the Theatre Royal, Christchurch, last- night. She was greeted with hurricanes of applause and recalled many times before tho vast audience reluctantly left the theatre.—-Press Association. In tho Houso of Representatives yesterday Mr. H. G. Ell directed attention to tho fact that the West Australian Parliament has approved a clause in a Bill providing that any person prohibit' ing, under threat of dismissal, tho marrying of any employee over twentyone years of ago shall be li'able to a fine of £5(30, or throe months' imprisonment, and gavo notice to ask tho Minister of Labour what steps, if any, ho proposes to tako with respect to tlie rulo which is being enforced by tho dif-' ferent banks prohibiting tho marriage of bank clerks who are ill receipt of loss than £200 per annum. A largo coilcction of miscellaneous articles which wore salved from tlio. wreck of the Devon by Messrs. C. W. l'rico and Co. were offered at auction by Messrs. E. Johnston and Co. yesterday afternoon. There was a large crowd ] present. The ship's piano was sold for - £15, and cabin washstands brought up ' /to £3 2s. (id, each. Two small sideboards realised 255. and 275.. each, and j several ewt. coils of wire rope brought £2 10s. each, Another gang went down. . t) the Devon yesterday morning, and ' tho Admiral is expected to bring up an- 1 other load of gear towards tho end of j this week. ' AK EXCEPTIONAL TALBOT OFFER. { A motor-car 1 can be made to serve in a various capacities, and its 6-pliere of use- 1 fulness is being extended daily, as tho t ] economy and reliability of the petrol- { driven vohielo is more fully appreciated. Wo have at present in our garage at Christchurch a Talbot car which is equip- . ped for almost- any kind of service, ro- 11 creative or commercial. It is-one of e tlioso big, powerful/ 15-25 h.p. models, ii equal to any load on any grade, and al- ii though it is second hand it has. like all b Talbots, proved its durability and honostv of construction,by remaining in excellent condition. Tho car is equipped with two alternative bodies. The first is a regulation 5-G seater touring' body, roomy, comfortable and newly finished in French c grey lined with biack, Then there is a V van body, of 'u typo suitable either for f' eervicc as a passenger brake, or the car- 11 riago of mercliwidiso. This body can be fi painted nny colour, according to the 1] purchaser's dcsiro. A very complete h equipment, including lamps, hood, wind- ti screen, oyc-iomefer, !!norn, sparo wheel t etc., goes with the car. ! Tho utility of ? such a vehicle to tlio country hotelkwp«r 1 or coach proprietor can hardly be ou , estimated, wiiilb tho magnificent reputn. lion of the Talbot is a guarantee of freeclom from mechanical troubles and re- fi pair.". The whole outfit, chassis, two h bodies, and full equipment is offered ot T the extremely low price of .£375. The op- R liortunily is exceptional and m-nv not re- r, jur. Those interested are invited to ;omm;uii.erite with us. Adams, Ltd.. Mo- J! for and Cycle .Importers,- Gar-age, Tiwni ' Street, Christchurch, near High Street 1' Ktablishinent.—Advt.- ol