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Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 87, 14 April 1899, Page 4

The Hon. A. .1. Cadman is still in town, but he was engaged on his own private business to-day.

The lion. J. McKenzie, Minister for Lands, accompanied by Mrs McKensrie and Miss MeKenzie, arrived from Wellington, via New Plymouth, by the s.s. Gail-loch this morning. The party are accompanied by Mr Oliver Mewhinney, private secretary. The Premier came up from Wellington to Hawera by rail with the party, at which centre he had business to transact. Mr and Mrs MeKenzie and Miss MeKenzie came on to town from Onehunga by special -carriage attached to the 12 noon train. T~hey are stopping at the Star Hotel, and leave for London in the mail steamer Moana on Monday next.

The replies to the circular sent out by the Agricultural Department, suggesting1 that dairy inspection should be undertaken by Government officers, are favourable in nearly every case. If adopted, the six recently-appointed veterinary surgeons will carry out the duties. The Department does not believe there will be any extra cost, but rather the contrary, and the results will be much more satisfactory than the present arrangement by which the. work is entrusted to the Dairy Regulations Committees;

During1 the month of March 105 births and ~>2 deaths occurred in the city of Auckland-, and 27' births and 7 deaths took place in the five principal suburbs. The births in the principal boroughs in the colony amounted to 414, against 412 in 'February, an increase of two. The deaths in March were 19 <». decrease of two on the number in February.. Of the total deaths, males contributed 117, females 79.

At the first monthly meeting' after the recess of the Auckland Ministers' Association two deputations were received, one from the Keel Cross Brigade and the other from the Anglican 'Synod, consisting- of Canon Gould, Revs. George Mac Murray, and Oiilam, concerning' the Bible in sehols question. After hearing- . the latter deputation, the matter was remitted to the committee to make further inquiries, and to report. The Red Cross Society deputation consisted of Mrs Nicol and Miss Kasper, who received the sympathy of the association in their object, and the ministers further promised to attend the public meeting to be convened- shortly. Office-bearers were elected as follows: President, Rev. F. Warner; vicepresidents, Revs. A. H. Collins and R. Ferguson; treasurer, Eev. W. S. Potter; hon.. secretary, Mr Win. Brakenrii-"- (re-elected)

A fire broke out about quarter to twelve this morning in a o-roomed house in Sheehan street, Ponsonby, occupied by Mr John Turner, a Gas Works' employee. Mrs Turner, it seems, was ironing some shirts with a gas iron near an open window, and left the room for a few minutes. On returning she found that the tube had slipped off the iron, and the wind had blown the window curtains on to the lighted gas, causing them to ignite. The flame ran up the wall paper, < but Mrs Turner's father, Mr L. Cosgrove, managed to extinguish it with I a few buckets of water. The alarm was raised and the Fire Brigade turned out, but the fire had been suppressed before they arrived. The damage clone.will be covered by about £1. The house is owned by Mr Cosgrove, and, together with the furniture, is uninsured.

Mr and Mrs J. H. Witheford have

left on a holiday trip for Australia. They are accompanied by their youngest son, who was ordered a sea trip for his health.

Attention has lately been directed, say 'The Melbourne Age' to the possibility of Victoria saving som thousands of pounds per annum by the substitution •of iron for wooden telegraph poles. It is understood that the Postal authorities are making inquiries in that direction. As thei'e are nearly 80,000 telegraph poles in the colony, it is obvious that the cost of renewal must be considerable, in.view of the fact that the average life of the wooden pole is only 10 years. That the timber decays so soon is easily explained by the fact that the trees cut for telegraph poles are only saplings, and, being immature, quickly rot. The Conservator of Forests, Mr Perrin. expresses cordial approval of the iron pole from the forestry/point of view. He observes that the dimensions of. the telegraph poles are such that only young trees are cut for the purpose, and while the immature timber soon decays, each tree so taken out deprives the colony of a matured trunk which, years later, would proAide a much greater quantity of thoroughly durable timber. Mr Perrin suggests that our Postal department should follow the example of Xew Zealand, where the Government is making Use of old rails as telegraph posts. There should be quantities of old rails in this colony which, if quite worn out for railroad purposes, would now enter on a new life of usefulness. They are about the proper height, and all that is wanted is a start at the bottom to make them secure. Mr Perrin states that in New Zealand, the old rails are found to serve the purpose admirably. The durability of the iron post is of course out of all comparison with that of the timber now used, even allowing for the larger initial cost.

On Wednesday evening an entertainment was given at the Catholic Institute by the Sacred Heart Dramatic Minstrels, in aid of the St. Vincent de .Paul Society. The performance was thoroughly enjoyed by a large audience, many of the performers receiving a double encore. The first part of the entertainment consisted of the usual nigger minstrel business, songs, dialogues, etc. Mr Donovan, Frank White, James Whelan, Harry Chatwiclc, and George Clarke's songs were encored. Iv the second part songs, Irish jig, and two laughable farces, 'Thompson's Dead' and 'Irish Justice,' were perfox-'med by the company, J. Carr, E. M. Coy, A. Bryant, Geo. Clarke, Jas. Donovan and Harry Chatwick taking the leading parts. Mr Basil Bryant's song, 'Ever of Thee,' was nicely sung, this gentleman having, a good tenor voice. Great praise is due to Mr E. 0. Hare, who acted as stage and general manager.

A meeting in connection with the Church Missionary Society was held last evening at St. Sepulchre's schoolroom. Owing to the inclement weather the attendance was small. Short addresses wore given ,by the. Rev. Lyttelton Fit/.Gerald and Rev. Dr. Purehas. Mr E. Y. Cox gave an account of missionary work in Ceylon, illustrated by liraelig-lit views.

Mr W. Beehan hap forwarded a letter to Mr S. .Reid, secretary of the Auckland Liberal Association, resig'uing his position of chairman owing 1o the indifferent state of his health lctely. Mr Beehan adds:—T have been advised (medically) that T must not be out. after dark 'for some time to come. Under the circumstances I have no alternative but to resign ray position in the Association. I think you will agree with me that I have taken the wisest course, and the. only just one in the interests of the cause that we all love so well. As the gen-

eral election will be on us in a short time it will give you timely opportunity to look out for a vigorous man with (if possible) time on his hands, so that our Association may be as successful in fighting the battles of the Liberal party at the coming elections ay in the past. Mr Reid, I ask you as a special favour to convey to 'ail the members my best thanks for the noble assistance they have given me during my seven years as chairman and one year as secretary. I must conclude by wishing the Association every success, and hope the party will 'succeed in returning a solid' phalanx at the general elections. I am, etc., WM BEEHAN.

The standing committee of the diocese of Auckland has appointed the Rev. Edward Claude Budd chaplain to public institutions, and he has already entered upon his duties. Mr Budd was ordained priest in l8( J.">. He has passed the highest grade of the Board of Theological Studies, and hag done work of the same kind in England, and has also had experience in New Zealand, being- vicar of Waiufcu for over four years. The chapJain will be maintained by the Chaplaincy to the Public Institutions Fund, the income of which will be derived .from: (1) Ptiblic subscriptions and donations; (2) the income of the Selwyn memoria.l fund; (3) the country chaplain fund. The chaplain's work will lie solely in the four public institutions—the hospital, the gaol, the Costley Home for the Aged Poor, and the Lunatic Asylum—and he will also conduct the funerals from these places. Mr W. S. Cochrane is treasurer of the fund, and he will be prepared to receive subscriptions.

j Mr A. J. Dickey, of Mangere, has received in formation that Mrs Beckham, widow of the late Judge Beckliam, and daughter of the late General Baddeley-, officer commanding the lioyal Engineers in New Zealand, died at Cheltenham on the Bth March last. The trustees under Mrs Beckham's Mill are Mr A. J. Dickey and Mr W. Philson. The deceased lady had many friends in New Zealand who will be grieved to hear of her death. • . .

The annual soiree of the Parnell Wesleyan Sunday School wa"s held in the church, last evening. ' A large number sat down to tea at half-past six, and the after meeting was vi»y well attended. The prizes won in the Sunday School were presented at the meeting by the Rev. H. R. Dewsbury, who presided. Addresses were given by the chairman and others, and musical selections by, the Rev. A. Mitchell and the; Sunday School scholars.

The funeral of the late Philip White, late of Whangarei, son of Mrs M. A. Purchase, took place on Tuesday, April 11, at the Howick cemetery. The interment -was largely attended by relatives and friends of deceased. Among the chief mourners were his four brothers and mother. :

The final race of the season of the Manukau Yacht Club will be sailed tomoiTOW aftei'noon, April 15th, at Onehunga. The following are the handicaps of the boats eligible to compete:—Bell, scratch; Tui, 7min.; Venice, 12min.; Myrtle, 12min.;. Helena, l'jmin.; Petrel, . 24min.; Unknown, "Omin.; Sally, 38min.;. Patiki, 40min.; Galatea, 45min.; Lifebuoy, 50min. The winner will hold for one year the Manukau Yacht Club challenge cup, besides receiving ,an enlarged mounted photo, valued at thirty shillings, presented by Mr E. S. Pegler, vice-president, and £ 1 of club's funds. The second prize will be, a silver cruet, presented by Mr H. Siebert, and 10/; third prize, 10/.

The first anniversay of Knox Presbyterian Church, Paipell, was held last evening, when a vocal and instrumental concert was given in the Oddfellows' Hall, Manukau Road^ The half* was prettily decorated for the occasion. The Rev. H. Kelly, M.A., presided. A long programme of vocal and instrumental items was gone through, Mr J. F. Bennett acting as nrusical conductor. Among those who contributed were:—Mrs Maxwell, Miss and Mr Fountain, Misses Helen Morris, M. and F. Maxwell, Dacre, Cardno, Helloris, H. Steele, Maxwell, Messrs Steele, Crawford, and Bennett. Two part songs were given by ladies of the choir, the solos beingtaken by Misses Paterson. and Gilmour. Mr W. George sang 'The Wonder of the Deep,' with accompaniment by Miss George. The Misses Annie Fitz and Dacre played the accompaniments.

The members of the Star of Newton Lodge of Good Templars conducted last evening the first of the series of open meetings to be held before the general election. There was a gOod attendance of members and friejids. The Rev* F. Warner occupied the chair, and gave a very earnest and impressive address. Sotigs were given by Misses Ruby McMaster and Plummerj recitations by Miss Mineham and Mr Johnston; Bros. McDermott and Richardson gave instructive and interesting addresses.'

This evening the Rev. G. H. Cowles is to deliver his lecture upon New South Wales in the Central Mission Hall. Being the mother colony of Australasia and xjossessed* of resources so vast and varied, New South Wales has always held the most prominent place in colonial politics. At the present time when federation seems to be in the balance all eyes are towards N. S. Wales to see how she emerges from the conflict. The lecture should draw a large attendance, especially as many beautiful limelight views are to be shown. Further particulars may be seen in our advertising columns.

By reference to our advertisement columns it will be seen that Mr T. H. Bosworth, music master, Symondssrree't, is now forming- classes for violin and theory; and that Mrs Bosworth is prepared to accept a few pupils for piano" and violin.

Messrs O'Leary Bros, and Downs, the well known seedsmen, announce ha.ving- received their stocks of new season's selected seeds. During the past year the firm experienced a considerable increase of business all round, and have now made special preparations to enable them to cope with the large demand for their seeds. .The catalogue they have just issued is of special value to amateurs, as it contains cultural instructions and a calendar of gardening- operations, while the lists of vegetable seeds offered include many new and recent introductions not hitherto catalogued, as well as the standard sorts.

Ali new varieties are grown at least one year at the trial grounds of the firm and 'proved' before being- offered. The list of flower seeds includes xuany novelties which are fully described for the information of those interested in flowers, and the bulb lists contain all the choicest and most popular varieties. The cataloue, which is pgrinted at the 'Star" and 'Graphic' office, is very attractively printed and illustrated in the newest am! latest style.

Winter, '1899. —Court Bros, are offering- some splendid value in shirts for winter wear; a heavy make in working- shirts with button-down collars at l/ll.—(Ad.)

Winter, 1899. —Court Eros can supply you with the very best value in men's tweed suits, a specialty, at 22/6, with quilted and padded shoulders. Ad.

Winter, 1899. —Court Bros, are now showing- first-class value in boys" and youths' tweed ovei'coats. a specialty iv sleeveless with long- capes.—(Ad.)

Winter, 1899.—Court Bros.' first shipment of mackintoshes for boys, youths, and men, just, opened; men's mackintoshes with sewn seams from 12/11.—(Ad.)