LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2388, 18 February 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The postal authorities advise that the s.s. Wimmera, which sailed from Hobart on February 15, for Wellington, is bringing Australian mails only. She is due on Friday nest. A small boy had a remarkable escape from serious, if not fatal, injury in Manners Street yesterday. He was cycling along tile street when he accidentally collided with another boy who was crossing the street from one side to the other. The lad on the bicycle was thrown right in the track of car 95, coining along from Willis Street. The car was brought to a standstill almost immediately, while a bystander dragged the boy into safety. Beyond a shaking and a severe fright, the lad was uninjured. , No fewer than 400 T.M.C.A. members have onlisted for service abroad with tho New Zealand forces. This statement was made by Mr. Alex. Jameson, the retiring national secretary, in Auckland. Mr. Jameson, who is about to become general secretary of the Hobart Association, said that the loss of these members had only served to give a fresh impetus to the efforts of those who remained, the result being that good progress was reported from all centres.

Not the least remarkable of the features of the present exceptional season is the sharp demarcation 'of the rainfall as between northern and southern Marlborough (says the "Express"). One settler puts the case by saying that there is not ranch more than a hop-ski'p-and-junip between) the parched country oil the plains and the verdant almost rank, growth on which stock is thriving in the Pelorus district and the Uai and Ronga Valleys. A Kaituna farmer relates that, while passing through Havelock recently he was _ delighted to see a heavy downpour, which taxed the gutters to the _ full, and he indulged in pleasant anticipations of the beneficial drenching that his own thirsty land was receiving. In a short space of time lie had reached home, only to find the same old dryness, and the stock being handwatered, with not the slightest prospect of a shower. According to files received by the steamer Tohia, which arrived at Svdue.y from Samoa and Fiji last week, a trying voyage was experienced by the cutter Nabauono during a recent hurricane. The vessel was struck by the hurricane off Olorua, and the mainsail was split into ribbons. Heavy seas swept over her, carried away the bowsprit, and. washed the compass, water casks, dinghy, and galleff loverboard, Hie captain was injured, but he lashed himself to the tiller. He was the only one on deck, the passengers and crew being too frightened to couio up. The vessel was half-full of water, and a filly in the main hold was nearly drowned. For a day and a night the vessel ran before tho gale, and at dawn the Island of Lakoba was sighted, and tho cutter sueeecdecl in reaching a safe anchorage there. The result of a poll takon throughout tho Fcntherston County on tho question' of tho adoption of the system of rating on the unimproved value was: For the proposal, 315; against, 161,

Recent predictions regarding the probable damage by.deer in the Tarras district are being substantiated in full, and it is quite a common thing now (says a correspondent of the "Cromwell Argus") to see small herds iu the various grass and' grain fields surrounding the many homesteads. In the winter tliey will undoubtedly swarm on to the turnip fields, which are a particular attraction to the herds on the hills lor many miles around. It is understood that the authorities will shortly bo approached with a view to abating the troublo.

Returns from the butter factories afford practical evidence of the beneficial effect of the rain which has fallen during the past three weeks, according to an Auckland paper. There have been good rains in some of the country districts,_ and the rapid falling off in the quantity of butter manufactured has been checked. The outlook for the dairying industry is certainly much better than it appeared a month ago. Although shipments have not been made as regularly as in normal seasons, there has not been any difficulty as yet in securing space for the ©sports of but.ter and cheese. All the produce offering was lifted by the Orari, tho last steamer loading for London. The English market is quiet, but the prospects are considered satisfactory. All the Bpace available in the Makura, which will load for Vancouver next week, has been sold, and inquiries are being made for shipments by the following steamer. During the Maori wars (says the Auckland "Herald") the old steamer Pioneer was engaged on the Waikato River in connection with the operations, and the turret of the vessel is to find a resting-place in Gillies Park, as a relic of the early days. This iron structure from the Pioneer has been lying for some years on property, at Mercer- owned by Miss Corbett Scott, of Manor House, Epsom, and this lady has presented the turret to Auckland. Within the next few days the turret, which measures 13ft, by' 9ft., 'is to be taken to Auckland. From its shelter the soldiers; in the troublous, times of the early sixties were accustomed to fire on the natives when they appeared along the banks of the Waikato. The father of the present Governor of New Zealand, the Earl of Liverpool, served as a lieutenant on the Pioneer.

A deputation of Hutt and Belmont residents is to wait on the Minister of' Railways to-da.v concerning train arrangements and railway faciliies on tlie Hutt line.

Tho Teachers' Superannuation Board held their quarterly meeting on Tuesday . Retiring allowances were granted in 15 cases, the annual rates varying from £52 to £460, and in eight death cases refunds of contributions were made .to the respective estates in two instances; a pension of £18 per annum was granted to a widow; allowances at ss. per week were granted on account of two children until they reach the age of 14 years. In the other cases the fund incurred no further liability. Mr. G. F. C. Campbell, in the absence of the Minister, was in the chair.

The proposal that the Remuera Roa3 District should amalgamate in the City of Auckland was carried at a poll of ratepayers yesterday by 545 vot<*s to 238 'votes. —Press Association.

I The first mail for six months from Pitcairn Island was received in Sydney last week by the secretary of the Australasian Union Conference .of Seventh Day Adveiitists from Mr.'Adams, the solitary, missionary there. The mail jcame by way of Now Zealand, whither it had been taken by the stearuer Ardenore. The population of tlie island consists of 164 men, women, and children, and till the vessel which brought the mail called they were unacquainted with the state of affairs in Europe, and were greatly excited -when tliey heard the war news. Mr. Adams mentions that the inhabitants are well and happy, tho only. untoward incident during the last six months having been a fatal accident to a young man who had fallen oyer a high cliff and was iiistautly killed.

The Petone Fire Brigade received a call yesterday nforning, but upon its arrival at the scene of the outbreak (the residence _of Mr. J. W. M'Ewan, Cuba Street) it was discovered that a small fire in an adjoining outhouse had been promptly extinguished by Fireman Ryder, who fortunately was passing by at the time.

A meeting of Khandallah residents ■r a n j evening in the local town hall, for the purpose of forming a branch of the National Reserve. M'Leod and A. Newton, or the Wellington executive, were present, and explained the objects and scope of the National Reserve. It was resolved to form a branch, and the officials wore appointed:—Committee, Messrs. E. 0. Alderson, R. Plimmer, Major Davey, with Mr. A. Abraham as secretary and Mr. Kember as treasurer. Mr. Griffiths consented to act as instructor. Twenty-seven enrolment forms were signed in the room. Parades are to be held on Tuesdays at 7.30 p.m.

On Sunday afternoon (says the ' Lyttelton Times"), during tho height of the llorth-wejc gale, a party of four men, who were in a punt anchored' near the Shag Rock, Sumner, were for a tune m serious trouble. . Owing to the wind, the boat became half-full of water. The occupants endeavoured to keep the boat clear by bailing, but the vater came in faster than they could throw it out. They then called for assistance to a launch which was passing. A tow-line was passed to the punt, but at the first pull tho punt went under and sank. The. occupants of tho launch then found that they, were getting into trouble, so had to leave the men in the water. Two succeeded in reaching the shore, but tho others, C. Andrews and — Geogenham, being poor swimmers, were for a time in much danger. Eventually they were saved by Mr. H. Heaton, but not before Geogenham had become unconscious. He was soon brought round, and was none tho worse for his experience.

A correspondent forwards an exchange an account of the discovery by him of a skeleton three weeks ago on n sandbank at Pillans Head, near Tahakopa. Ho had gone to the Head to obtain some ilax, and at the end of tho sand he noticed a round-shaped object protruding from tho sand. This he found to be a human skull, in a good stated of preservation, without the lower jaw. There was a remarkably good set of teeth in tho Upper jaw, the back tooth at each end, however, being missing. Three days later the informant found a number of decaying bones showing out of the sand,_ and on making a further search he picked up the lower jaw, with the teeth all intact, with tho exception of one, which was missing. Close by is the site of an old Maori pa, anc? a, few Maori relics have occasionally been found there.

The death of the late Mr. Robert Drysdale, at tho Opflii River, furnished a further illustration of tho fact that too much care cannot be taken in handling poison (says the Tiinaru "Herald"). The poison to which he gained access tad been given, 12 months previously, by Mr. James, of Timaru, to Mr. Drew, another hut holder at the Opihi, who had asked for it to poison rats, with which he was annoyed at his hut. Prior to this Mr. James bad kept the bottle, locked up in his own hut, where ho had been using it for destroying rodeuts. On giving tho bottle to Mr. Drew ho impressed upon him that it contained a deadly poison,- and that ho should exercise tho greatest cavo with it. Mr. Drew said lie would, but some time later he left lor London, and presumably forgot all about the poison. Tho late Mr. Drysdale had access to tho hut, and drank a portion of the contents of the bottle. At tho inquest the Coroner remarked that Mr.. James's explanation was quite satisfactory, and that no blame was attachable to hi» v

The death of Mr. David Scott removes one who was well known to seafaring men. Most of the lighthouses around our coasts were erected by Mr. Scott, and are known to coastal shippers as "Scott's Monuments." The late Mr. Scott was 72 years of age, having been born at Launceston, Tai> mania, in 1842. Ho came to New Zealand when ten years old with his father, Captain Richard Scott, owner and master of tho brig Spray, an oldtime trader, with painted ports. When Aelson College was opened young David Scott was one of the first twelve pupils. He left Nelson when eighteen years of age, and went to Sydney, where lie served an apprenticeship to the shipbuilding trade. At the time of the Gabriel's Gully gold rush he returned to New Zealand, and about this period fitted out Mr. J. Dransfield's snip, City of Newcastle. For a time lie was with the Panama Shipping Company. He was in the service of the ilarine Department for a while, and tllen took service with the Public Works Department as inspector of railway bridges on The Manawatu-Wanga-nui line, then under construction. He lomed the Marine Department permawm\ m 188 °'- and fo ' r . years iield the position of lighthouse expert and inspector of lighthouses He superintended the erection of a number of important lights, including those at Cape Campbell, Stewsrt Island, Cuvier Island, Pencarrow, Nugget Head, Akaroa Head, Oape Maria van Diemen, lalhser Bay, Mokohinau, East Cape and Hikurangi Point. His last work was the fitting of the revolving' lantern on Cape Brett Lighthouse.

At tlie drill parade of the Island BayBerhampore section of the National Reserve, held on Monday evening, a big muster of members assembled. The work of the evening was exceedingly good and reflected great credit on tie nistruotor and men. It is intended that this section, weather permitting, will ■ march to the Town Hall ■ to-morrow evening to attend the public demonstration. The section meets at 7.15 p.m. at the corner of Rintou] Street and Riddiford Street, and "the Silver Mission liana will play tie section into town. ' Attention was drawn by Mr. J. M--Johnston, at the meeting of the Manaivatu A. and P. Association last week, to the matter of the extremely small loss of horses by the main body of the tapeditionary Force and the 2nd Reinforcements. That, he considered, wae entirely due to the supervision of the transport of the horse 3 by Mr. C. J. Reakes, Chief Government Veterinarian. Many had expressed the opinion that ou per cent, of the horses would not survive tho journey, and even went so far as to criticise the method of transport, but apparently Mr. Reakes knew what he was doing. Mr.. Johnston thought Sir. Reakes deserved recognition of his services, and he asked the association to carry the following motion:—"That this association desires to record with pleasure the successful transfer to and landing of a large number of troog horses in Kgypt with the Dominion military forces in perfect condition 'and much to tbe'f-urprise of the British military authorites at Cairo, with only a loss of -2 per cent.; also that Mr. 0. J. Reakes, M.R.0.V.5., Chief Veterinary Officer, who was responsible for the ■ work, be . congratulated on this most satisfactory result." The motion was carried unanimously.

At this week's meeting of the Ratai* tai Ratepayers' Association, a discussion, arose-, over tho Courtenay Place tramway shed, and the suggested schemes of Messrs. Jj. M'Kenzie, Jack, and Morton were fully gone into. Stroug exception was taken to the proposed destruction of the plantation, and it wag decided to ask that the necessary iterations to the tramway facilities at Cour-tc-nay Place should be ai ranged in such a way on the open space of Clyde Quay as not to disturb tno plantation now ail ornament to the locality, and to arrange a lay-out which will he capable of extension as the City grows. The new water scheme also came under review, and it was decided to ask that the City Council should without delay make known to the ratepayers the estimated cost of the additional scheme. It was felt that if the scheme was to be built up out of the revenue the ratepayers should have at least some idea as to what amount the City was committed. The general feeling of the meeting was against the proposal to limit Crawford Road to a 35ft. roadway, and it was decided to urgo the Greater Wellington Association to insist on the roadway being extended to a minimum of 60ft.

That talented company of versatile performers at His Majesty's Theatre called the "Magpies" are doing their sharo towards helping the distressed Belgians. During the finale _at the theatre this week the audience is asked to "Payj Pay, Pay," and the sum of £2 was collected last evening, bringing the total uj> to £7 7s. 9d. for three nights of this week.

At a meeting of the Labour Representation Committee, held on Tuesday night, the following resolution was passed: "That this meeting emphatically protests against the action of the Government in passing on to America an order for ten locomotives when such might have been filled within the British Dominion with corresponding advantage to British workmen' and the people of New Zealand."

The "Bay of Plenty Times" says that good progress is being made by tha drainage branch of the Lands Department with the work in the swamp. The Te Rahu-Mangaroa Canal, four miles long, was completed on Monday, and operations are to bo commenced immediately on tho work of making the Kopeopeo Canal, which will lie four miles in length. _ Somo tirno ago tho Government sanctioned expenditure for the purpose of providing a dredge for work in tho Warni Swamp, in a portion of the Maketu Riding of the County .of Tauranga. Tho construction of a' dredgo is proceeding hi the Old Country, and it is hoped that the machinery will reach the Dominion in about three months. In connection with tho operations in the swamp, the drainage branch of the Lands Department intends to commence immediately tho building of a pontoon to carry the machinery. The pontoon, which will be about 60ft. in length and 24ft. in Ineadth, will bo built at Kaikokopu by ; the Department's staff. An engineering survey party is at present engaged on the swamp. The Government-owned area in the Waihi Swamp comprises about 3700 acres; but the drainage operations are likely to benefit an area or 10,000 or 12,000 acres. When drained and fully developed ,tho area in question will take its plaoe as one of the. most fertile districts in that county.