LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 58, 6 September 1905, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

♦ The Legislative Council completed its sitting yesterday afternoon. ' 'The House dealt chiefly with the land proposals of the Premier. According to a Rotorust telegram, a new geyser broke out in the vicinity of Ohinemutu yesterday afternoon, and sent mud and water to a height of from 20 to 60 feet. The geyser is close to the Tawera hot water geyser, and had been used as a cooking hole by the Maoris. The eer, tho mouth of which is about thirty feet square, played throughout the afterhoon. All the pools at Ohinemutu and Whakarewarewa have 'been exceedingly active for some days. Some senseless, individual has been causing distress amongst the nervd-uB at Mitehelltown during recent evenings by "playing the ghost," a game, that should be put a stop to with promptness and severity. The individual ih question is stated to devote himself to jumping out suddenly upon women and children who are paesing along the road. According to a description which has been given by some boys who were frightened by "tho ghost," the latter has what looks like the outline of a coffin on his back, and when he throws open his coat his breast is shown covered with phosphorus. The police have the matter in hand. With reference to the proposal to form a boTougn on the eastern side of tho harbour, Mr. John Coombe, a tesideht. of MuTitai, etaies that the number of houfi«s in tho proposed borough of Eastbourne (Eona Bay and Muritai) is 146, of which only fifty-six are at present occupied. On Friday last the number of residents Was only 187. Of cour&e in th« summer tittifr there is a considerably ■larger population, tout just ah present fchor© aro not, so Mr. Coombe states, enough people in the area in. question to comply with the requirements of tho Act. Tho rates collected last year from tho district which ib is proposed to form into a borough were, according to a abatement furnished by Mr, Coombe, only about £300, and he urges that it is absurd to think of adopting the municipal system until there' is likely to be sufficient revenue to carry out works in a. more satisfactory manner than the Hutt County Council is now doing. Tho Royal Humane Society hob (states a phristchurch telegram) receive^ an application for an award on behalf of W. Brooke, chief officer of tho Star of Australia. On tho 4th February the Star of Australia was lying in Napier roadstead discharging or receiving cargo from the Weka. The vessels were moored together, and a heavy sea was running at tue time. Mr. C. Dean, a resident of Napier, was on board the big liner at the time, and in endeavouring to boardi the Weka fell into the water. Mr. Brooke climbed down a rope ladder and managed to drag the man on deck. An eye witness states that Mr. Brooke several times narrowly escaped being crushed to death between the vessels. During a recent deoate in the House of Commons on the Aliens Bill, one of t(he speakers referred to the fact that not all the aliens in London, congregated in the East End, as somebody had incidentally remarked. There wore aliens, he declared, in the West End as well as in the East End. " Take tho case of a man who came to London for a night's pleasure, to ccc what was going on. At a West End hotel he was received by a caishieT who was a Frenchman, shown to 'the lift by a German, and a Swi6s took him to 'his -room and auricd his luggage. He ordered his dinner from a French maitre d.hotel, ha was served by a German, and the food was cooked by a French chef. Afterwards ho entered a motor-car driven by a French chaffeur, an<J he visited 'the Italian opera, The overture at tho opera was played by a foreign band, and the only man who ilooked like an Englishman was tiho player of the triangle. After tho opera his supper was served in an Italian restaurant, and Jio went home after smoking a Turkish cigarette." Ladies are invited to attend a "Free Health Talk " at the'Sydmysforcet. Hall noxb Tuesday afternoon, when Miss Elizabeth M'Call will locture as advertised. Window displays 1 of the latest novelties for spring and summer wear ore being mnda by Kitkcaldie and Stains, Ltd. Homo chnrmjng styles aro being shown. Make a point of eeeing them,—' Advt,.

The meeting of the Hutfc Licensing Committee to have been held to-day lapsed owing to there being no business to transact. On Thursday, 7th September, the usual 10 p.m. goods train, Masterton to Woodville, will not carry passengers. By an oversight, <the name of Mk. Holgate, who subscribed €1 to 'be expended on the St. John Ambulance District patients, was omitted ■from the 'list published yesterday. The contractor for the wharf at Rona, Bay has now got his plant on the^site, and the work is to be commenced in a few days' time* Gold and silver medals for presentation to candidates successful in the musical examinations of the Associated Board (London) are on exhibition in the window of Messrs. Littlejohn and Son. The new session of the Petone Technical School opened last evening, and the attendance of pupils was as large as that during the previous quarter. The members of the Board of Managers after disposing of formal business inspected the classes at work. The tender of Mr. A. W. Jones, of the Lower Hutt> at £2310 17s has been accepted for the construction of a street 74 chains long to connect Brittomartstreetj Berhampore, with E. W. Millsstreet, Vogeltown. The new road is to be made for the South Wellington Land Company, which purchased the Wilton Eetate about two years ago. Tho plans and specifications were prepared by Messrs. Mason and Richmond. The presiding Justices at the Magistrate's Court this morning were Messrs. James Ashcroft, James Godbor, and J. C. Goodfellow. Frank Barry was remanded, on a charge of having assaulted Ellen Ball, until the 7th instant, bail being allowed, self £10 and one surety of £10. For insobriety, John Keegan was fined 20s, in default seven days' imprisonment, and one first offender was fined ss, in default 24 hours' imprisonment. On charges of having allowed cattle or horses to wander, Reginald Welsby was fined 10s with 7s costs on each ol two charges, and Richard G. Knight and Henry Clout were each similarly dealt with on one charge. George Bell, William Wilson, of Karori, and Win. M. Taylor and Thos. Delaney were each fined 5s and Costs ; John Chas. Wilkinson was fined a similar amount on each of three charges, and Fredk. Witton, of Karori, Michael Griffen, James M6ore, and Win. Rice were convicted and ordered to pay 7s costs. A fine of 20s with 7s costs was imposed on John Arthur Jones for having allowed offensive refuse to on his premises. Robt. Anderson, John Jacobs, and James Walsh were each ordered to pay 7s costs for having neglected to register their dogs. Captain Stringer, a former resident at Christchurch, who is now filling a responsible position at Singapore, sends his relatives at ChristchUrch an entertaining account of tho way in which the Chinese workmen protect themselves from any encroachment upon their prerogatives. "Just about the time you were turning on tho electric current in Christchurch amid such rejoicings," he writos> "we wero fighting for its very existence in Singapore. The Chinese, who form a large majority of the population, were tearing up the rails and blocking the cars, in the hope of stopping the interference with their business. I should not be surprised if there is bloodshed over the matter, as the ricksha pullers are every one of them Chinese 1 , and they have a powerful guild, and all th : e other Chinese guilds will support them." Captain Btringer thinks New Zealhnders, who know unionism only as it exists in their- own midst, can have no conception of the phases it may assume under different conditions. "There is a lot of- talk just now," he explains, "about the boycott of American goods, on account of the American Chinese Exclusion Act. The Americans here at first smiled. That Was ten days ago. To-day they are looking very glum about it." I " ! Ice boycott fever in China is thus described by Captain Stringer, an exNew Zealandor, who is at present in Singapore : A European housewife dismissed her "washman" on account of his unsatisfactory work, and refused to pay him. She told her "boy" to secme another "washman," but at the end of the week he had not succeeded, and declared that no "washmsii" could be found. "No can come," he said. "Man say you catchee washman chop, chop, and out you go." The "boy" in turn was dismissed) and when the lady returned from her morning's shopping she found that he had taken the whole of her domestics with him — cook, coolie, helpers, and the rest. The house was empty. In desperation the family was marched off to a neighbouring restaurant to lunch, and there the husband ordered quite an elaborate meal to console his spouse for her domestic worries. But the "boy" who took tho order never returned, and when the husband, after waiting half an hour, made enquiries about the lunch, he found that the cook had heard nothing about it. The family was, in short, boycotted by the assitants at tho restaurant just as it had been boycotted in its own house. In the end it got its lunch, but it was served so badly tfnd wjth such bad grace that the position could not be misunderstood. The housewife went home, paid tho "washman," reinstated the "boy," recalled the cook, sent for tho rest of tho helps, and ' by tiffin time the establishment was running smofithly again. Chinese unionism is simply irresistible. "This is a remarkable case— one of the most remarkable that ever came under my notice," was the opening sentence of Mr. Justice Simpson's judgment in tha Equity Court at Sydney the other day in the family dispute case Malcolm v. Malcolm*. The "plot" of the case is certainly as rcmarkaWe as that of any ordinary novel or drama, and its evolution {reports a local paper) haa taken tho Court almost all its time since the 15tb August, when it was commenced. Six leading barristers were fetnined, and a perfect army of witnesses appeared. The point in dispute was simply whether two young people who have always believed themselves to be the children of Mr. S. A. Malcolm, deceased, and entitled to a share of the Malcolm Estate, were really his children, or whether they had been bought when infants by Mr. Malcolm, and foisted on the family. Hist Honour hold that it was for the plaintiffs to show convincingly that tho fraud had been perpetrated, and this they had not done. In point of faot, in his analysis of tho evidence ho showed that he coh< sidered that that given for the defendants as much more credible in several important instances, and tho witnesses as a whole much less open to comment in regard to apparent motive and consistent narration. It was, therefore, only a natural consequence that ho gave a verdict for defendants with costs against the plaintiffs, who arc still in law the uncle and aunt of tho "infant" defendants. Tho adjourned meeting of the building trade will bo "hciu at Godber's Rooms to-morrow evening. Applications are invited for the- posiiion of Superintendent of fhe Sailors' Rrct. We wish to remind our readers that the first spring show of millinery at Tennett's Right House, 43, Cuba-street, starts To-morrow (Thursday), 7th Sep'tember.—Advt«. J

A white bug which feeds exclusively on grass has made its appearance in the Wellington district. On one property not more than 20 miles from the city the insect is stated to have destroyed every particle of grass, and the owner has had to send his sheep away to feed in another part of tho district which the bug ban not yet invaded. The Agricultural De« partment states that the bug is a pest, well known in many parts of tho colony. ' In some districts it appears in large num.' bers ono year, and rlext year it is hardly seen. It has a particular affection for tho roots 'of strawberry plants, and in tho Canterbury district especially growers have suffered considerable losb through itn depredations. The injection of carbon bi-sulp^hide into the ground is said to bo an effectual means of exterminating the bug, but on account of the cost the pn>< cess can only be profitably applied to small ureas. The Petone branch of the Independent Political Labour League met last evening. After considerable discussion it wan decided, if necessary arrangements can b« made, to nominate Mr\ James Austin an a candidate at tho ensuing general elec- ' tion for the Hutt seat. A resolution protesting against the proposal to dispose of the freehold in the Homes for Workers Bill was unanimously agreed to. It was decided to call a public meeting of local ratepayers to protest against the recent actions of the Borough Council in deciding in certain cases to reduce the build Lug frontage for residential purposes to twenty-five feet The resignation 'of ffl member who has announced his Candida- , hire for the Hutt seat/ was accepted. The Australian light-weight champion^ Hock Keys, who is to meet the local crack, T. Tracy, in a 15-round boxing contest at the Opera House on 20th September, arrived by the s.e. Wimmera this morning. This evening, at the New Zealandef Hotel, he will bo welcomed by the Committee of the Association. Two preliminary contests between ama-teui-s, six rounds each, are being arranged for 20th September, and a largeattendance is anticipated. Negotiations are in progress to secure the services of a referee who has officiated in a lik» capacity in the Old Country. Hie visiting champion had or fine trip across, and is looking in good form. His trainer, Aled Dunn, accompanies him. Mr. J. Fuller has placed his gymnasium at tho disposal tf the visitor, hits. Brown-Potter, whose affairs ar«> now before the Bankruptcy Court, estimates |( whites a London correspondent) that he* earnings aa an actress aince «n» first appeared on bhte London stag* about [-sixteen years ago have averaged from £3000 to £5000 a year. Less than twelve months ago she was in a conw parativdy independent • ( porii£ion, "and optnt £15,000 on the residence wliictt she had acquired at Maidenhead. Now she i 6 in debt to the extent of £18,366, and an additional claim is made- upon her for £5000, widen, however, she disputes. Her estate is represented to b» worth £21,750, but there is come doub* as to its actual value, Which -has not yet been settled. Liko Mr. Kyflo Bellew, her former stage colleague, Mrs. Potter seems to 'have adventured .pretty extensively into the iregion of company speculation. She is the 'holder of a number of eharfu of unsiatea value, tad of a> land concession in Northern ■Nigeria, She attributes her failure mainly to Tier disastrous .theatrical Undertakings as lessee a fe-w months ago of the Savoy Theatre, hhb partly also to unsatisfactory dealings on tue part of !her solicitor, Fossick, who was recently sentenced to a term of penal servitude fo* misap* propriation of itrust funds. There is great activity amongst tho various committees which have been set up in Christchurch to organise the International Exhibition, to be held in that city at tho end of next yeah Reports submitted at meetings held on Monday showed that* the committees had nofc only outlined some comprehensive schemes, but had already made arrangements regarding some of the detafls. Sub-committees were seb up to deal with correspondence, ceremonials, orgarj,, bands, and orchestra*," dramatic and . other entertainments, concerts, ahd j>ro • grammes. Mr. Munro, the Executive Commissioner, returned from Christchurch this morning, and goes on to Auckland this evening to organise a committee to work Auckland in the interests of the Exhibition. As the first step towards the movement in Auckland a public meeting is to be held in Auckland next Friday night, at" which Mr* Munro is to outline the steps taken and to be taken regarding the organise tion of the Exhibition. On^his return from the North Mr. Munro is to hold similar meetings of citizens and business men in Wellington ahd Dunedin. A reference to the Libel Bill is con* teined in tho annual report! of tho New Zealand Journalists' Institute. Ths report, says: — "Tho President and Mr. F. E. Baume, M.H.R., interviewed tho Right Hon. the Premier with regard to the Libel Bill, but failed to induce him to take it up as a Government ine&suie. / Mr. Seddon stated, however, that if a, private member introduced the Bill tha Government would not make it a party question. The Hon. Mf v Feldwick, after sounding members of the Legislative? Council, considered that there was not. much .prospect of getting a Bill through this session unless the Government t6olc it up; he therefore eohduded that ifc was useless to again put the Bill on tha 6rder Paper. It 5s satisfactory to hot* that the Opposition Party in- Parliament has made one of the planks of its plat* fdrm the adoption in this colony of th» English Law of Libel. As most of our members are probably aware, the Libel Law now in force ill Great Britain has been on the statute books for manj years, and has been found to work tt the great advantage both of the press and public. The adoption of (he English law is all that tho New Zealand Institute has asked for, and it is a deplorable fact that" a country Srhich claims to be in the van of democracy denies to the press the same liberty in reporting the proceedings of public bodies as prevails in Great Britain. The Council considers that this question should be placed before candidates at the approaching gen» eral -election," The Fire Brigade has received a don* I tion of £1 1b from Mr. J. W. Jack in recognition of ita services -nt th» Rro ill FewthersUmiitreet last w«k. Mr. Jack •was the tittsnl of a portion of one <w the buildings s&red by -tha Brigade, Tho New Zealand Exprws Company, Ltd., makes a specialty of handling furniture locally, iittd also of packing And shipping same. Experienced and reli*bl« men. Rates moderate. TTelefohone, No. 92.— Advt. Munt, Cottrell, and Co., genera! carriers, Customs and forwarding- agents. Storage a speciality. Fnrnitur* packed aud removed. Office- Queen* Cham, bers. Telephone No. 23.— Advt. C. Smith is making a special chow of new season's millinery. Ladies should make a point of inspecting this display of tho latest modes in Parisian linhvear. There are among the many designs ejiown somo exquisite models, worthy of a placa in tho highest ranks of stylo and fashion, yet tho prices aro such that bring then within tho reach of »ny lady desirous of obtaining ft really smart hit for the coming seaiou. We have already cold, ft number of these goods. Thoso Indies who Wi»k« an early call will have Uio nHvanUge of a belter selection.— C. Smith. Cash Duper. \ Cuha-atreet.-Advt,.