LOCAL AND GENERAL.

I * A *-■" — "* " Mr D. Buddo, -M J£R. f will address lia constituents aj£ Kaiapoi next Monday eveh- J ing.-. v - 'i' "■'■'" P-y *'.*■'■ PPy Messrs J- Forrester and «L W.* Lee, Jus* tices. of the Peace, presided at the Policy CouA this morning, and fined PeteTf Doya 10s and costs on a charge of drunkennesa. The Dunedin co-respondent of thispap^r? telegraphs that, despite tho reduotdon in the price of flour; th© master bakerii of Dunedin have -unanimously decaded to maintain sixpence as the prioe of the -41b loaf. The Hon* J. Ca_roU and party are visit- ■-_, ing Tologa Bay to-day,, to inspect '. a site . for a bridge, and the recehtly-aoqiurefl Hahapau settlement. Tologa Bay is ex.* pected shortly to become an . important dairying district. Bp numerous were the visitors to Daka Waikarethoana last summer tha* the;- an?' . commodation at Lako House was severely . v-^ ,a rTr+tq&? is now being erected .for the attendants, ! and on its completion mot* room will be available for visitor*. oome progress is now being made Witli the north end of Bealey Avenue, fos a. considerable time past has. been a wilder*" ness of Destructor' refuse. Metal- is being spread and rolled* and in time, no doubt, i good road Will be formed Once more. " The Marlboroujgh Farmers' Union has passed -a. resolution declaring "That th-a laws . relaitlng to the* liabilities of employers -are too numerous, complicated and un- ,. just, and the time has arriyjed when they should be remedied." The resolution is ttf be forwarded to^he executive of the Union. ' The New. Zealand and African Steamship Company has nominated the steamer But* shiie as the June steamer for South Africa. . Wellington, Lyttdton z Timanl and 'Port v Chalmers will be the loading ports. ; Th«T| steamer andT ports of call have been ap« . proved by the Department -of Industriei and Commerce.. Arhe Government has decided = to- appoint four grain graders for the colony. Tbesewill be stationed at Lyttelton t Timatu, Oamaru %nd Bluff. The salary of the gtadeis -niy: . be £200 per annum ior exclusive t^cviceay to the Department of Industrie* and Com-, inerce. Applications, closing on June l,,o«l invited for the positions. *" * f ;• The alterations that -will be made at tha .Christchurch Railway Statioii,- in ordar to -afford more goods shed accommodation, will be of an extensive nature. The enginehouse will be removed to the Department* , vacant section near Gasworks Road, and it is likely that. the main line leading into the station, near the Loan and Mercantile Agency Company's wool' store, will be straightened. It is -expected that the -al-terations-ydl! be put in hand soon. '• *:'-.' The "Star's" Dunedin ; corr«sp(»hd«nt telegraphs that, at.a meeting of the Star "* of Freedom Lodge, 1.0. G.T., last night, a resolution of sympathy was passed with tba electors of Newtown and Bruce, consequent ':. on the recent .decision of the Privy Council. The Lodge passed a further -fesolution to the effect that, by legal technicalities, the liquor traffic had been able to defy the legally expressed , desire of the electors for No-lioens^, and tho members pledged themselves •$> do their utmost to secure s\ph amendment in the electoral lawa as will ensure a fair and effective poll ia the future. P.P-.y Complaints were made regarding theme* thods of the Railway Department in regar<f to stock on the north line} v Recently, between forty and fifty calves Were trucked for Culverden, and rea.che& that station at about 2 a.m., on a goods train. The man who met them did noksucceed in getting them out of the trucks until* 11 a.m. and then had to do it without assistance from the railway officers. The -result was that several calves were untrucked in a state noi fit for driving, one having* been trampled on, while a man who had brought sheep ta go back in the trucks that day, did not" succeed in getting them loaded in time for th« train.*: .'*. ■''. A-"* Mr Baume, M.H.R., is indignant at al statement made by the : Hon & H. Mills to the efEect that Wellington, .from hex geographical position anfl harbour facilities, is destined to become the great distributing centre of New Zealand. -Sneaking at th-s Ponsonby Coursing Club's social gathering the other evening, the member for Auckland city gave the Minister's statement a flab denial. He said Mr Mills was a membei of the Ministry, and as such had no right to prejudice any port of the colony against the other. Auckland was, despite wha| had been said about Ijer storage and othei accommodation, the leading port in thi colony, and would continue to be, ai sh* was now, the largest centre in New Ze* ! land. If, said Mr Baume, the port* i*< cilities were not as they pught to be, it was the people of Auckland who were to blame, Tbey do not care who does the work, for them, and grumble When ihe work is not done as they Would like. The port waa one of the finest in the world. In a comment on the money market, the - current number of the " New Zealand Trad-* .; Review" (Wellington) says:— "The pbsiA' tion in the local market is a little peculiat; There exists at the moment a measure «f dearth of laree sums available for lending purposes, whue in quarters where smalle* amounts are dealt with the supply it r«r ported to be ample. PubHc reyenn^ctm« tinues to conic in freely,»and colonial debentures are moving off gradually. Tfct colony's products are in some instance* *•■ alising reduoed prices, but as a set-off o«i chief staple, wopl, is improved in value, while in some other cases the low price to compensated by increased output., Tha London market still moves in the direction of ease, latest oabler reporting ft decline for best bilk in the open market bl 2 per oent, while the Bank of England rate siill stands at 3 per cent. The local value -of mdney for mortgage advance rulei from 5 to 6. per cent, aword^ to, amount and character of security, while building companies are no* anxious for deposits at tne recently -idvaM* ed rate of 4i per cent."

A meeting of the Korth Canterbury Edulation Board will bb held on Wednesday. ,!_• funeral of the late Hon J. B. Acland ♦ill take plaoe at Mount Peel at 1 p.m. jfe Saturday. The Deputy-Commissioner of Stamps state* thai the duty payable on the purchase of cemetery lots up to the value of, £50 is 7s 6d £ not l?s6d. A whale about 35ft long was washed on io 0«M& Beach, Dunedin, early *bLia morning. It is claimed by two men, who diecoverod it, and by the Domain Board. At ihe Wanganui Police ; Court, this inorning, Thomas Ooughlin pleaded gtulty io escaping from Wanganui gaol on May 9, *nd rwas committed to the /Supreme Court for, sentence. The Auckland CSty Council h-a*. adopted ■tne following rates :,•■— General, ls ; hospital, 2£d; library, Jtcl; separate Banita- > ■tidto wd«, lid in the _v— exclusive of water charges. - .The ratea, as a whole, arlel inAreiaed by 3d in tho £. "tlrdon't care what they (the witnesses) liy,-. I saw the thing," Remarked Mr, Haselden at the Stipendiary Magistrate's Court Ihis morninqg, wheh refetiriag to the evidence tendered in connection with a claim for, damages caused by wrongful interference with a water-course. ■ ' __• Wellington oon^spondent of this papet- telegraphs bhat the Cabinet came to a decision yesterday in respect to the long* Jfeferred appointment* of Customs soft Soda experts. Those appointed are---.fessra M. Orchard, Ohristchfcrciv ; Bi Wil-Ua-as^ Dunedin | «ndß, F. Sherwood, Nel§an. ' Instructions have been Issued that visitors • 'A^U not be allowed ..nl" the Christchurch Hospital ill the evening. A previous rule .allowed husbandfi and wives to Visit on Batiirdfty- evenings, but the rule was taken ' 4dv»nt«fe of by adi kinds of visitor*, and th* prt^ldge has, therefbre, been withftrawnA t With .regard to a letteivin this morning's newspaper complaining that unsavoury re* "* fuse from tha D**stru<3;or.,haß been placed on the Cemetery Road, leading Item, the Bar- j ,- t*Joos Street Bridge to Churchill Street and ihe' North Bftlt, it is stated by the municipal oftc^rs that ordinary clinker is beihg used lot forming the* fen-rdatlbns of th^road, c |_»il thatji-fe only irnell is that which usu- • |By co_Rs f«>_4 olittkers. '- 7 'y Dr M'Arthur, S.M., gave judgment at Wellirtfton to-day)%in the ease of Chappie t. PliMnwr, in which the plaintiff clainied * BIBS' • fpr medical * sei?vicw&, and Plinuher Onnter-clftimed for* j£2oo damages for al- , _|f«diua-skilful praatice,* and- undue inItMttce; The Magistrate g»*e> judgment or- plalotifl for £153 6s and costs, and on &a counter-claim also decided in favour of &f Chappie, with costs. The hearing of the case lasted four days, and created con- ' siderable interest. ; * As art outoome of the protest made by the Auckland "Bleottib Tramwaiy-S Company , the Auckand City Council /has apparently

::A|wgii* the "H«r__d , *)Adroi>ped its objecj Z litm io tihe double-deck cars:"' When, the A Jritfiw&ys Compatty cKimed a right to con_u__ihg the cars, the City Council re--7y W^ed' the matter to the city solicitor, who 'Mtainor: advised that in view of the fact | Afchltftihe designof the oats was approved by | Aflifeitjr eHginefer «u_d the Publio Works De- '• j^iftmettt, the Council could not now ar- \ bftrarily -withhold the license for these oars. : !t^e city goUcitor'e opinion was received at A Thursday's meeting pf .the Council without A'.*«BWKi«lt.*rj <-,-;- ~- -„ -.* v V Jt^errihg. , to . to-day's ; cable message re- ; gaiSin^' the meeting of the Empire League '"■■-in- landon,. (tt which mention is made of education in the history of the Empire, an Auckland telegram saya the scheme ig practicaliy ideriticaf with Lord Ranfurljr's, but TZ his Excellency states that his is' qiiitfe ih(SSependebfc of the English scheme. He hap Juwi the idea for the past # four years, but 460k ; ho stqbs. to develop it into its- present f orm "till a short tim* *go. His Excellfehcy 4s highly pleased that the English movement follows so soon /MtZ. hisy. aiwi^gyen •would have.an Empire-wide currency. : He believe* he haa hit the proper moment for jbhe introduction of his' scheme. I •.■'.'■■lhe career of Mr _\ Sinclaire, who has been nominated by the Auckland Professorial Board for selection by the Rhodes Scholarship Committee, is a notable example of the . value of the colony's / free education system. He gained a Board ■': scholarship, "' with which he entered the Aucklaitd Grammar School, where he distinguished himself by his remarkable proAgrees en, the literary and language -adie, hnd;by/his -wide reading in more than one branch of modern literature. He won a higMycMdiiaWe place in the 1898 Junior University (Scholarship list," and, after a brilliant university career, secured the Senior Scholarship for Latin, and graduated M.A-, with first-class honours in Latin and Frerich. Mr Sinclaire is an enthusiastic iftudent of dramatic literature* and possesses Zi softie histrionic powers. lie has played football for his school and college, and has Xfckeii an active part in college sports gener-> ally, and in the work o( the various college associations. al •; -' . „:■: ". ..:; '