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Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 254, 24 October 1907, Page 4

The following is Captain Edwin's weather forecast for 24 hours from 9 a.m. this day:—"From south-west to west and north strong winds to gale; rain probable; glass rise; weather probably colder."

The contractors for the extension of the tramway system in the Mount Eden borough- is making good headway with the work. About 30 men are engaged, and already a start has been made to put the rails in position at the end from which work commenced. Sufficient has been done to show already that Mount Eden-road will be greatly improved in that particular vicinity in respect to the filling in and widening at narrow curves. The rails are now being carted to the far end of Dominion-road.

The campaign of the Wellington V.M.C.A. to raise £7000 in seven days, so as to furnish and open the new building free of debt, closed last night. The total collected was considerably below what was aimed at, the subscriptions amounting to £4102. This includes £1000 from Mrs. Williams, who gave the site for the building. Among the donations received yesterday were £ 100 from "A Previous Giver," £50 from Mrs. S. A. Rhodes, £25 from Bing, Harris, and Co., and £25 from Mr. Justice Cooper. During the campaign the young men's teams collected £ 1097.

Mr. E. Gallichan, general secretary of the Liberal and Labour Federation of New Zealand, arrived in Auckland by the Rarawa this morning. To-morrow morning he proceeds to Matamata, where the local branch of the Liberal and Labour Federation will tender him a banquet in the evening. On his return from the country, Mr. Gallichan will spend a week 05 so in Auckland.

The life of a* policeman is not all lemonade and ping-pong, but sometimes fortune smiles upon the philosophic man in blue. There's a big tired-looking officer connected with the Dunedin station, and in. the course of duty he was recently sent to a sports meeting at Herbert, in North Otago. Thing 3 were slow aqd irksome, and Robert, to break the monotony, entered for the light-hammer throwing contest. He won it, and pocketed 30/. Then he tried the running high jump, and again scored, winning another 30/. Thus encouraged, he became a competitor in the wrestling contest, and he won this, and also 30/. By this time he was becoming a man of note on the ground, and the guileless handicappers were delightedly piling on inches and weights, no one suspecting duplicity. The constable entered for the heavy hammer throwing competition, and, after a big fight, won it, and was credited with another 30/. Putting the heavy ball' next took his attention, and again he scored a place and a prize. After that, he probably saicl something the modern equivalent of: "Ohe! jam satis est," for his name does not again figure conspicuously in the prize-list. Tha Herbert sports promoters will probably requisition a detective for their next meeting —ordinary policemen are unsatisfactory. —"Dunedin Star."

At a meeting of the colonial executive of the Farmers' Union it was resolved, "That this executive makes a further protest against the Government Endowment Bill now before the House, and further affirms the opinion of the present system whereby the revenue derived from the sale ofi Crown lands is paid into the Consolidated Fund (and is therefore available) is the most economical and satisfactory method of providing for their services."

Mr. J. Carlaw has reported to the City Council with regard to the supply of water to Newmarket, that when it was laid on the borough authorities stated that they would never require the heavy pressure from Mount Eden reservoir, and consequently the connection was not made. On the night of the recent fire at Newmarket, he got a message asking that the Mount Eden pressure should be turned on. He replied that there was no provision for doing so, and that it would take an hour to get up steam to pump water into the mains. He then instructed a man to light a fire, but he afterwards received a message from Newmarket, not to pump. On no other occasion had the Mount Eden pressure been asked for by the Newmarket district. On the only occasion on which it was turned on, the turncock at Newmarket complained that such a heavy force might break a number of the services. Mr. Errington, the engineer for the water supply at that time, when arranging the Newmaret supply, made no provision for a connection with the Mount Eden reservoir, the Council stating that they did not need it.

The Zoological Gardens at Wellington have just come by an addition in a very curious way. The s.s. Hyson was being discharged at the Albert Docks of its cargo of white logs, when a python was discovered. The stowaway was promptly secured by means .of a sack which was thrown over, it, and the authorities at the "Zoo" were communicated with. When Mr. .Tyrrell, who looks, after the snakes at Regent's Park, arrived, ho found that the reptile was a young reticulatfd python some three feet long, and although suffering from the effects of its captivity in the sack, it was otherwise uninjured. The "Zoo" now owns both the largest and the smallest pythons.

A collision of a somewhat serious nature occurred opposite the Palmerston Post Office on Thursday afternoon last. A two-horse delivery van was standing outside a shop in Main-street, when the horses took fright at an incoming train and bolted. Mr. S. Paul's mail coach was drawn up outside the Post Office, waiting for mails, and into this the frightened horses dashed. Three horses were knocked down, another broke away with a swingle-tree attached to its heels, and dashed across the Square towards the enclosure alongside the railway line, and in attempting to jump the iron gate bedamc impaled on the sharp spikes. Willing hands helped to lift it off, but as soon as it got free it dashed away again and jumped out of the enclosure further down. The horses were not so seriously injured as might have been expected.

An exchange states that the Legislative Council adjourned until 4 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon instead of the usual hour of 2.30, in order that tbe Council might be able to attend the wedding of Miss Vera Macdonald, daughter of the Hon. T. Macdonald, tq Mr Joseph Parker, sub-editor of the "Evening Post." The House of Representatives provided a precedent for theis earlier in the session.

Special daily bargain for to-morrow. Heavy white Japanese silk, 27 inches wide, 2/3 yard, to-morrow 1/9 yard at John Court's, Ltd. (two shops), Queenstreet. —(Ad.)