LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2225, 11 August 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A speoial moating of the Miramar Borough Council will be held on Thursday to make and levy rates for the year ending March 31, 1915.. The Education Board has accepted the tender of Messrs. Sanders Bros, for the work of making certain alterations to the' Ghuznee Street School. The damage done to the windows of the premises of the German Consul (Mr. E. : Focke) was repaired yesterday lay some of Mr. Focke's British friends, who wished to make some reparation for the insult he had .been submitted to by silly irresponsibles. Since Saturday Mt. Focke lias received many letters from his Welling, ton friends deploring the incident. A large number of Maoris are arriving at Raehhi from all parts of New Zealand (says our Taihape correspondent), tofattend the big conference which commences this week. The number of Maoris present at the conference will be about 2000. Native land laws, King Country licensing, and matters relating to the' rights of Natives in regard to nhootiug and tishihg without licenses will bo among the numerous questions which will receive consideration. A well-attended meeting of the Wellington Ministers' Association was held yesterday afternoon in the Y.M.C.A. rooms, to consider the advisability of holding united meetings for prayer and intercession in connection with the present war crisis. It was decided to arrange the suburban churches into groups, each group to hold a united service weekly. ,■ It was also decided to endeavour to hold nnited meetings after tho services in tho town churches. Yesterday his Worship the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) received the following telegram from the Prime Minister (Hon. W. •F. Massey), respecting the Government grant towards tho cost of Williams Park at' Day's Bay, and tho question of the control and maintenanco of the Hutt road:—"l am bringing your inquiry about tho Hutt Road before my colleagues for consideration, and will advise you later of the decision arrived at. In regard to tha purchase of the Day's Bay bush, the undertaking was that tho Government should provide .£4OOO towards the object, and a vote has already been made in the Estimates for the current year." A fair number of New Zealand people had hooked passages (and paid deposits on the same) by North German Lloyd steamers to leave Sydney for Southampton between now and xho end of the year. These people are naturally concerned about their arrangements having been upset, and tho matter of tho return of the moneys advanced on tho passages! So far no definite advice one way or tho other ha» b?on received from the com-: ,2Wf by. local passenger agents,

A Russian resident, of Christehurch, keen on serving 'his country, has written iis follows to Mr. Ullan M'Cabe, of the Imperial Russian Vice-Consulate"'in Wellington:—"l am a Russian reservist. Would you please be so good as to write me if you liave any information from tho Russian Government about Russian reservists in New Zealand, and if there i« for me any chance of reaching St. Petersburg?" Mr. M'Cabe is forwarding the letter on to the Consulate-General in Melbourne. The Central Chamber of Commerce resolved last evening to recommend to its council that representations should be made to the Government to tho effect that there shouM be an inquiry into every fire. Tho mover in this direction (Mr. H. G Hill) said that if one ship scraped the. paint off another there was an inquiry, but an inquiry did not necessarily follow on a big fire on land. Ho thought that a system of strict inquiries would effect a reduction in insurance rates. . In the Police Court, at Auckland, yesterday, according to a Press Association' telegram, Harry Christmas,'charged with wilfully setting fire to the auxiliary yacht Clara, which was destroyed by fire at Waihekc, on June 21, was remanded for a week, bail being fixed at self J3IOO and ono surety of .£IOO or two sureties $ .£SO each. The epidemic which was responsible for a number of deaths among the Natives at Raetihi has (says our Taihape correspondent) been diagnosed as" typhoid fever; A large number of Maoris are affected, aud three deaths have occurred. A meeting of tho Finance- Committee of the City Council was .called for last evening to discuss staff . classification among other things, but owing to the unsettled state of affairs it was found impracticable to disous3. such mundane affairs at such a time, and the meeting was declared off. ' A Press Association telegram from Duri-edin-states that a boy 14 years of age, named Thomas Prater, was killed early yesterday morning near .Duncdin railway station through falling from the platform and breaking his neck. At a meeting of the 'Wellington Musical Union lield in St. Andrew's Schoolroom • last evening, a vary satisfactory attendance of members met to discuss the position of the union.. Owing to tho unavoidable absence of the .president, Mr. G. Shirtoliffe, Mr. W. R; Bock occupied the chair, and after some discussion it was resolved that Mr. Herbert S. Claughton, A.T.0.L., be appointed conductor of tho union, but owing to the unsettled state of affairs prevailing it was felt that the union should remain in recess for the present, but it was hoped that in a short time members would be called together to resume work. Mr. Claughton was accorded a very hearty reception, and brief, ly outlined his proposals for the successful carrying on of the society. Mr. J. G. Wilson (president of the New Zealand Farmers' Union) has circularised the farmers of 'he Dominion requesting them to grow as much cereal produce as possible,' artd also to keep on all their employees oven if. there is not as much work as usual for them to do so as not to increase the distress in tho towns. :