LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14244, 15 December 1909, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A lad named Bert \ West, 15 * years " of age, who resides in Grey-street, " was" shot in the. knee yesterday afternoon. While he and a companion were shooting birds on' a strawberry patch at Norlhcotfe, the latter, while endeavouring to extract a cartridge* from his gun, caused.' it ; -to go off, with the above result. The injured lad was taken to the Auckland Hospital, , where it was '.'round that he was not seriously hurt. ' The new ferry steamer Pupuke, built by Mr. G. T. Niccol for the Takapuna Tramways and Ferry Company, will : be launched from the builder's yards at nine o'clock this morning. She ,is expected to tako up her running at the beginning of next year. ■•.' 'l*A striking commentary upon the. attitude of the commercial community towards book debts as assets - was forthcoming yesterday. A local firm of auctioneers, acting" under instruction of the I official assignee, offered the book debts of a number of firms for sale. The total involved ran into £5578, that being the amount presumably owing to the particular businesses by customers and' clients. Under the hammer, however, the whole . of the debts only realised about £50, the largest offer accepted for. any single set j of debts being £5 14s. '- 1 Hotels and boarding-houses report that they are doing fairly good business "just now, and though the holiday rush has not begun the inquiries for; accommodation from a few days before Christmas onwards indicate that there will be quite the usual number of visitors to the city. The influx from Australia is not likely to be so large as usual, on i account of the coal strike, and rooms which were booked in some Auckland hotels for Australians have been pancelled. The internal holiday traffic, however, promises to be large. The railway returns are beginning to show the approach of the holidays, and the traffic to Rotorua and along the Main Trunk line is steadily increasing. The morning express to Wellington is taking a' fairly large number of passengers, and though the even. ing train is still the more popular, it is not unlikely that when the excursion tickets are issued the morning train will find the greater favour.

'■- The number of pupils on the roll at the Napier-street school has increased during the past, year from 593 to 703. In reporting this fact to the City Schools Committee last evening, the headmaster added that during the year the school went up one grade, viz., from 9B to 9C, and gained another pupil-teacher. ' Now it would go up another grade, from 9C to 10A, and would gain two more assistants. The average attendance for. December, 1908, was 550.43, and for; December, 1909, it would be 646. * • The Religion and Morals Committee of the Auckland Presbytery reports that the Auckland Ministers' Association has. heartily approved of the Nelson system of religious instruction in public schools, as the best, the most practicable, arid the' most hopeful in the existing state of the law in New Zealand, and that it has set up a committee to work for the introduction of the system in the Auckland province. v The Religion and Morals Committee asks that members of the Presbytery should heartily, support this effort in connection with the approaching meetings of householders in April next.. The Presbytery last evening approved £he report. "... '.;--■: ' •,,- > • *..,'■

At no season" of "tbe^JTll 8 ; ' * life of the Do ffi i„i on *• f-t « during Cnristroas time 'J**' hearted happiness prevails and M tion of this holiday spirit mnJ** / to pervade the pages of the • "* Christmas-week issue of the A* P * 1 Weekly News, published ! ing subject pictures;appear Bid7"b ®—^ with delightful studies 0 ;-^^v while such pictures as that entitle f> True Fish Story," or the series Zm-'.' Christmas carols in Maorilad •£?** ' still further enhance the varied^' 10 ' of the number. A special sists, of an attractively coloured «11 "' tation plato which is given , aWafe " the issue, while a seasonable. fronL h and a fine double-page picture.are *J? eluded. Other subject, dealt with * sea bathing at Cheltenham Be .'J "* series of views of Auckland's woS * iar pleasure resorts, summer fcoa¥SS scenes, and weirdly uncanny photo,J? of volcano and geyser action. The lZ ' press contained in the number consist,3> an exceptionally . fine budget of w , able stories and articles, and os ah demand for the issue is assured »■ »J? desirous of securing copies are advitedt place their orders early to'avojd >«,* poinlment. " . '"P" Good catches of trout are still be', made at Tokaanu (reports ' our wen pbndent) and great sport is being obtain"' ed. For the week ending Satr-fey ' Mr' G. Robertson caught 53 fish, of an averae' ' of 81b, the largest being lfljlb, Mart |J Robertson 15 fish, of an average ot.lOAlb the largest being 151b; Mr. H. F. Pats! more, of Dunedin, and Mr. Martin 0 f Okoroire, 42 fish,. average BMb, I W L* 14ilb; Mr. J. Asher, 31 fish, avert, - 8ilb; and Mr. R. Jones, 29 fish, a Vera 9ilb. All the catches were' landed in first-class condition.

The career of a Cingalese who « u charged at the Police Court yesterday with being a rogue and vagabond' hit been an eventful one. He.was brought to New Zealand in a warship, nd: on that account, Sub-Inspector Hendrey ex. plained, was exempt from the provisions of the Immigration Restriction Act. He was, however, duly despatched from the Dominion on his way to Colombo. ; When |i] he reached Sydney, he was refused a ' landing there, and came back to, Auek- ■ land. Here he had rather a bad time subsisting by begging his food from*hip» in port. He finally contracted a chest. complaint, and camo into the hand* of j the police in a very weak condition. A spell in the gaol hospital made another man of him, and now he is quite sleek j and smiling. The problem of finding him a subsistence was the one the Court was called upon to solve. The police stated that the man, who in the course of hi* I wanderings has Anglicised his name to j George Richards Johns, had expressed * J liking for gaol, because he got good food jfe! there and not too much work, The J magistrate (Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M.) re- . fused to convict the man as a vagabond, I as he had committed no crime, and sueceeded, after several attempts, in persuading him to go to the Salvation Army Home for a month, pending a satisfactory arrangement being made for hit maintenance. ■-• As usual, the tram cars will run all day ':■ on Christmas Day, and right .through the I holidays, the customary stoppages being observed on Sundays, and in order to cop* with the traffic the company's rolling- , stock i (which now includes 92 cars) will be tun to the. best advantage. "It' is too late'for the man to express "consideration for,his; wife and children," j said Mr. C. C. Kettle;-' S.M., at the I Police Court yesterday, when ' counsel suggested .that a man who had. smashed up his mother-in-law's house should' be bounds over and released, 60 that he should not lose his work, ' and his wife her maintenance. "He should have thought of them • before he came into Court." Reserved judgment will be given' by ;', Mr. Justice Edwards in 'be Supremo Court, at 10.30 a.m. to-day,"- in -each of j the following cases:—McGrath-v. Wine, Ford ;Shipping Company,' Limited,, v. .' Fleming, and Kay v. Shearman (appeals from the Magistrate's Court, Auckland), Boese v. Florance (motion for mandamus), '■'•■'.. Manukau Water Supply Board v. Attor- i ney-General (an action to test plaintiff's right to expend certain money in the'' j erection of road board r offices, etc.), , Moody v. Hoey (argument on a point of law). Judgment will also be given in :.■■'. -■■"■',■'. ° ■.',■.- ... '. ... -y|' •' ~s<!iS" Vi'^.','j'j' l ''! , -!-i-Si;] connection with i a motion to rectify the register of ! members of S. R. Maxwell and Co., Limited.

• At the Hamilton Magistrate'*' Court on Monday (reports our correspondent) Leslie Crump was fined £2 and cost* for a breach of his prohibition order, A. McVicar 205 and costs for being on.licensed premises after closing hours, and JGrant 5s and costs for lighting a firethe borough. W. J. **olenski was fined 5s without • costs; for assaulting H. Tozer, the magistrate saying he had received great provocation- In giving judgment 1 for defendant in the case of C. Shepherd v T. Jameson, claim £15, in connection with the sale of three cows, the magi*' trate said' the cows were not what they were represented to be. The case Lord v. C. Tiller, for the return of a mare and a two-year-old filly, or £24, "took up » considerable ' amount of time, judgment being for 'plaintiff for £24. At *n adjourned sitting of the Manu kau Licensing Bench, held at the Council Chamber, Onehunga, yesterday, Mr. H. W. Northcroft, S.M., presiding, the. application of William George Rae for & transfer of the license of the Prince Albert Hotel, Onehunga, to.Thomas Felfi}', v ! was granted. . , -■ • ■ It has been said over and over »s*& , that New Zealanders travel more " than any other people in the world.- WW** it: is in new cour tries or in old, the Po»* . or the tropics, they are generally some**** about, and ready for adventures an* terprises. It is not so often, though; -W they are heard of as setting out upon » "educational quest, and the short «cW»given by the Otago Daily Times of t«° young men who are doing so is ; W interesting. One is Mr. B. K..'Lpmj M.A. M.Sc, assistant teacher at the » Ci * wyn Collegiate School, and the other *»• A. G. Johnson, B.Sc, assistant waste. at the Timaru High School, and they. 1»« 'decided to pay a visit to America at» f own expense, with the object of studyi at first hand the very latest method* » education in vogue in ; that- very • up-r * date country. Armed with lettersJ» introduction- from the Minister tor Education, with a request that they be rf<w*« all facilities in obtaining what a.**"!™! they will leave Dunedin for > the -Unite". States in-about a week's time, tak.ng«*«■ final departure from New Zealand atA«« land on December 22. ,' They *$ sent for a period of five months, attf'J™ during that time make a *ho.ougn . tigation of American educational mel&J" in primary and secondary schools and , ; colleges, particularly u> *«* ■' l * •nd -Chicago.