LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2132, 25 April 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Postal authorities advise that ■s.s. Riverina, which. sailed from Sydney on April 22, for Auckland, is bringing Australian mails,, and aka_ aft 5 English mail, ?i'a Napies. Tlio. Wellington. portinn is duo hero per Main Trunk express on Monday afternoon. Tho Las.te.rn Extension Cablo Company advises thai telegrams for Vera Cruz, Moxico, are subject to delay, aad arc accepted onlj' at sender's risk. A hundrcd-milo ride to a political meeting savours more of tho early pioneering clays than of the _ present, ,vet such hardy deeds are still being aor.e in the far north. Ono of the settlers present at _ a meeting addressed by the- Prime Minister at Ohaeawai a ■ few days ago liad, according to the Auckland '"Star," ridden from near : North Capo, Ju'sfr a hundred miles, and ' another bad covered seventy miles on horseback. They were delegates to a | conference of the Reform Party, which | preceded tho public meeting, and a dinner for tlio delegates. Additional jianias i'or Utr. X. Samuel's list for tlio Upper Hutt Disaster Fund asIaW.F.S.A,, '£5; T. Earner, Sb. • Th<s Post master-Gcneral lias prohibited tils transmission of money-border and postal correspondence to Ludsi ]P. jiiccbs, Hamburg .1(5, Germany; the International T. D. Syndicate, Milan; and J. Derby, Christchureh. A copy of the late Judge Manning's book, "Old ■ Now Zealand," originally presented to the author by the publishers, has been presented to tie Auckland puhlio library by Mrs, M'Cosh Clark, Tho book was published under tho nom*de-plume "Pakeha-Maori," in 1863, by Robert J. Creighton and Alfred Scales, of Queen Street, Auckland. Following the usual custom, the publishers sent a. copy to the author, aurl Judge Manning mado i.i- a repository for letters and published references to his work. The existing designation ef tha ?th (Wellington East Coast) Rfigimfuit lias been abolished, and the tc.gime.ht lias be<m redesignated as. follows:—lst Bati.alioji to be redesignated tho "9th {HaS.'ko T S Bay) Re.Rime.nt," -witli liesd* ■quarters at Nnpior; 2nd Battalian to bo redesignated th'o litsli (Ruahine) Regiment, with headquarters at Masterton, The svim of £42,524 l?s. id. was paid in interest oft loans by the Weliingteiii City Corporation during tlio .tear ended March 31 last. The expenditure also included a payment of £500 to tlic Police Department for the control of street, traffic (the first of thi> kind made and £225 ; 7s, Gil. paid ■oil of accident claims. Manners Street, in front of tho new Opera House, is to bo widened if the present City Council hare their way. Mr, Luke, tlie Mayor, said last nifjhl that the Manners Street Police Station would bo cncroaehed on for this purpose, and that Flockton's building and other . B'ites would bo treated likewise. . Tenders for supplies for tho Porirua Mental Hospital ha.ro been accepted at underßutter: Bray Bros., Wellington. Drugs: Slmrland and Co. (Limited), Wellington. Groceries: H, Fritchard, Wellington. Meat: A. Moore. Johnsonville. Tea and flour: United Farmers' 00-oporativo Association (Limited), Wellington., Ten. new tramcais are being constructed, according to the Mayor, who delivered; an address in tho fowo Hall last ■ night. Tree-planting has progressed of late on tho hills which enclose tho city ol Wellington, and {according to the Mayor) planting is to bo continued until '■ the hills aro clothed, as thickly as t.hej were on tho occasion of tho advent ol tho white man. There are as many congested areas in ono section of the ciiy_ as in another, said tiio Mayor last Slight, and the young people of "Wellington should be relieved of the necessity of living in these places. Wairoa sawmills are at present in no want of logs for their saws, for there is an abundant supply (says the ; "Northern Adr-ncate*'). All tho booms aro full, and the present difficulty is in fincl.vflg ftccotemedfttioft for tho, supply-. If a fresh should com© this diffi(•iilty would bo very acute and serious, 'llie Northern Wairoa Timber Company has- a total of SojOOO or more logs waiting to bo brought to the mill; 14.00' ■ of' these ara as Mangakahia, 2000 it TCnlim Creek, 8000 in Mongonui, an< 1000 at liangiliua. Tiio K.T.C. alse has a largo number of logs available ■ and tho trouble is to know where t< cut them. Tlio lush workings have been slackened on this account. The Northern Wairoa Timber Conipan,r l.iat ' probably paid out an advance of JCiJO.OOC oil timber which lias not yet ■r.ca.eliec] the mill. • ■ Owing to the existence in its rule? of a provision exemptinc from pay men i of dues any member failing to earn a minimum of £2 per week or £E) pel month, the Lvttelton Wharf Labourers' Union (the new organisation') is reported by the "Lyttetton Times" te he finding itself in serious financial difficulties, . _ Credit for being one of those who initiated tho cambafen acainst slum areas in New Zealand was claimed for the Movrat Roskill Road Board by Mr. ('■. Bagljjy (the retiring diaiftnan), in bidding good-bye to the members on Tuesday night (says, the Auckland "ITeraW). Town planning, he said, hid always been one of his idea's, and tho Momit Roskill Roard had been otto of the Wal bodies to lead the wav in combating congestion in buildiixt areas. Thev had had their 6 rlit.s over tne'nititter in tho Courts, Imt eventuallv. the law was amended in such a wiiv that it Was now praeiieallv impossible, for slilm areas to psVfc in Krv 7piH"l A letter was read from Mr. J. B Clarksan at last evening's meeting of tho Wellington Technical Education Board in which it was stated that it was his firm's intentions to present a set of ' motor-eyeliv engines and gear bo sea to tho. school for tho use of engineering students. Tlio offer-was accepted «ith thanks. Fourteen polo which have a fi.tturo before them arrived in Palmer•stun ali Thursday, and were entrailved for Hastings yesterday. _ Tlioy will be shipped to India to be tiudtm b\ New Zealand polo players next. June. They wore purchased in tlio Wa.ikato., In tho interval tli.e.v will undergo training in Hawkc's Bay, Tho purchase of the Day's Bny .estate was mentioned, by vho Mayor fa liis election speech last night. He »ni.l that Mrs. Willi.ii.ws; bad paid in £1503. and that Mr. ■ ghallchis-s. had. handed in Ji.ll-Ui and reckoned he would have another £ICD to £i>'e ever shiutl.s'.

On Tuesday evemtvp., May 1.2, mom)o:s of the AYellinjjtoa Technical Education Board will inspect the fclmol. Staid comment has been nrsde recently regarding the gear used for eaijio■linging along tlio waterfront. Spenkmg to a report# yesterday, Mr< J. L< Kadjlifffti president. sA tlio W.jiarf Labourers' Union, said that, during iho ivecTc he bad visited different ships for the purpose of inspecting t;b.o gear in use. Income cases ho had found it in had order and the wornen or tho men had tut it up ill his present®. Continuing, Mr. Kadolitte said that it had been stated that lio bait interfered .(vnd stopped the work and nlfl also con« demned some of iho nets. This he denied and added that lie had 1 simply pointed out aiVv defects that ho had happened to notice. in conclusion he stftted that lie held tlio opinion that fee «ts quite justified in doing anything that ho eoiild lo protect members «if the union fro® injury through faulty geaf. ■i'jvQ industrial disputes tare termin- ?« agreements, signed before the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. P. Hally) yesterday. These were tlion cllington Puilors' dispute, and tie Wellington State Employees' dispute. Tins agreements will bo in ado info awards in due course. ■On account of ' tho unsatisfactory sta/to of tho roilds, 'the Labour Department has _ tip to tho present been 11.11able to dispatch tlio batch -.of twenty men to co-operative road work at Stratford. Probably ten. men, including ■five, ex-waterside worsen?, will hs genii to Stratford early nest week, and tlio remaining ten a few days later, Ott inquiry at this Labour Depart* ment yesterday it was learned that tho papers in connection with tlio Wateraidjj Workers' Union's application for ■registration ha,d been forwarded to the Crown Law Office for an opinion. • Not so very rcrnqte fro.m Ikeftoa a.rfe ■this valuable Maiwia, Hot Springs, a little bit off tho track as for as .the average tourist is concerned, but fcirly well patronised by residents o.f tlio «Kstiict, Tho springs aro vested at .present in tho Tourist Department., but there is ;i movement tin foot .for iho control- to bo vested in tho Murejiisan Oftim tv Council, which body it is under, stood is desirous of developing the springs. Mr. B. M. Wilson, manager of the Tourist Department,. has jtist; returned from tho West Coast, whero ho met the members of the, County Council in conference in tlic .matter of iho desired change of control. He is now to report .oi\ iho matter to lii's Minister,, •Substantial additions aro to bo mads very shortly to tho Porirua Mental Hospital. More rcfnii is rather urgently needed in the day rooms for patients of both se'Sos'., and tenders arc now being called for tho ercciinn of a. substantial brittle building ou tlm lio.rth side of tho main structure. This will consist of a basement and n ground floor, which r ,11 cover an area of about G6ft. square. The ground floor will bo divided ■into two larj*o apartments'—one for cash sex~t.o be fitted with corner annexes fitted with all conveniences. Tlio basement, that is accounted for by the slope of tlio ground. »ill only cover alioiit half the area of tlio ground floor, and frill' tie utilised as ft luncheon room* with dressing and bathroom flccommodafion, This building is to bo erected in lirck, with a cement- facing .and is to be ■coflipleted within six months fr'ojn tn'e sighing Qf tho contract. This is. notthe only contemplated addition to the hospital" at Poririia, There frill 'shortly be prepared plans for another addition to ho called the. reception block, where patients will be received anil . kept liiider observation for a time, with tho object of do.terniininc the. character of the malady from which they are suffering, which is.ii step toward-s finer classification than has existed in tlio past The now retention block is expected to cost in tho vicinity of £800(3. Dr. 0. JL Hector states the figures concerning tho ratio of sunshine and rainfall of Kelson, compared with Kodaiknual (where iho ;;olar observatory _ of India, is established) were misleading. Hie statement should .have Wen that there was 20 per cent, more sr.sishino and 33 per rent. lc=-s rainfall at Nelson ttidn afr Kodaikanal. Mr, S. Bolton is, according to a Press Association telegram from Woodville, offering his Broomiields and. Xiksui properties to tho Government. for closer settlement. These properties contain some of tho finest land in the district, find both aro .close to the town of Woodviilc. . The stage hands' dispute canio before ■a sitting of the Conciliation Council yesterday morning. Mr.. P. Hally, Conciliation ; Coihmissioner, presided- The assessors wiero; For 1 the ', employers, Messrs.. Bert Roylo and Walter Fuller: for tho employees. Messrs. J. Pen ton and L. Flowers, The agreement, w'bfch' was come to at a previous 'sitting of tlio Couficil, was through and o.anfirmed. Tlio main points of the agreement have previously been published, the 'wage mentioned being tho minimum. The. tender of Messrs. Campbell And llurko has been accepted for tho erection of a brick building iii connection with the Buckle Street Creche, which i.? superintended .by the Iter, Mother Mary Joseph Aubert and the I.'ttlo Sisters of the Poof. The new building, which will cover nil area. -JOil.-- square, will consist, of five largo we.ll-ligbtcd 3 : vvi\ny' t.oo.niSj aU oit onij will provide playrooms and slecjinig apartment!! for the littte ones. The ciact site is the block which was covered until quite recently _ by two old wooden cottages, adjoining Messrs. .!. and A. Wilson's timber yard. The contract price is about jJISOO-> Jfr. John S. Swan is the arcliitoot. The 'Court of Appeal will not sit !o* dav, but will rcsuine on Monday mornin:g at 1:0.30. The ease set for hearing is that of liatrick and Co. v. J. A. Headpath and others. lliis hiorning Mr. JiisticeSim wrfl sit iii Chambers to continue the hearing of tne ease of M'Rregor v. M'Gregor. lii a local yesterday referring to a spedch mado by Mr. T. C. Dawson (p, candidate for the Futt> Mayorait.v) at 1)1 (ckbrtdge on Wednesday Mr Uaiv. s,on w«iS reported, t-6 liavo said £i that ouit ■of 3QO& ratepayers in tile borough only 49 were gas consumers and he claimed that by reducing (he price of gas tho number would probably rise to 1.0,0.0 or ]3po. t: Tho words used by Mr. Dawson voro that ottt of 3000 ratepayers only 401 fnot 48) were gas consumers, and bv reducing tho price of gas this number would probably rise to 100 CI.