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Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 204, 27 August 1909, Page 4

Following in the Rev. D. C. Bates' weather forecast for 24 hours from 9 a.m. this day:—"From between northeast and north and weit moderate to strong winds; glass fall slowly, but rise after ten hours, aid change to southerly moderate to strong windsj weather probably colder." The opinion was expressed by one or two members of the Grammar School Board yesterday afternoon that the boys' school was lacking in a, supply of pictures and maps, and that tae walls of the classrooms would hare a much more inspiring effect on the scholars if they were brightened by such interesting and instructive ornaments. Professor Thorn*9 pointed to some of the secondary schools of Australia as an example in this respect, saying that he knew of one such school which had recently ordered £250 worth of maps and other studies for the walls. The interior of our Grammar School was on the dingy and depressing side in his opinion, and not calculated to inculcate the boys with that spirit of enthusiasm for their work and refinement of taste which was so desirable. Boys were impressionable beings, said another member, and could be largely influenced and moulded by their surroundings. It was generally conceded that in the matter of internal beautification much could be done for tho school, and the headmaster (Mr. Tibbs) said that a number of catalogues from English firms had been consulted, the only factor wanting to the desired improvement being the allotment of funds to carry out the scheme. It was suggested that an appeal should be made to the Ola* Boys' Association, which had already come to the fore with contributions to the library, but meanwhile the question was allowed to stand over pending further consideration. A much brighter tone is now apparent in the local labour market, and the bulk of the callers at the Auckland labour bureau are unskilled labourers, a good many of whom are fresh from the Old Country. The various building operations afoot in Auckland now are steadily absorbing men, with the result that the unemployed ranks are as steadily being reduced. In addition to the public and private works in progress, several other big premises will be started upon shortly, including the new ferry buildings for the j Harbour Board, the Home for Incurables, the Y.M-C.A. new buildings, and a num- : ber of warehouses; while the Drainage Board's works ore on the eve of a practical start. In-short, Auckland has never, in its history had so many big building schemes in operation as at present. The demand from Australia and America for supplies of New Zealand hemp is still reported to be strong, but it is practically impossible to fulfil j orders, though quotations ruling are in | excess of the parity of London values. I A good proportion of tho output to the | end of the year is disposed of under j contract. The mills were expected to reopen before this date, but somewhat I heavy rains have made this imprnctieable for the majority. Commenting upon the position, the "Trade Review" says: ! "It is remarkab'e that, in spite of thG very heavy supply, the London market has shown a slight upward movement for the last two or three weeks. In this market good fair is quoted at £23 107 to £24, and for forward contracts £22 10/ to £23. Owing to the difficulty in getting supplies, fair, which has been neglected, is in more demand, and quotations rule from £21 10/ to £22." His Honor Mr. Justice Edwards, announced this morning that he would not sit to-morrow. There will remain five cases on the criminal calendar to be disposed of next week, including a charge of manslaughter against the motorman and conductor in the Onehunga tramway fatality, a charge of bigamy, and a charge of forging totalisator tickets. An error inadvertently appeared in \ Inst night's "Star" in the results of the Higher Examinations of Trinity Cc# lege of Music, London. The corrected results are as follows: —Associate: Robinson, Gladys A. (Mr. T. W. Finer), 81 marks per cent. Pass: Eady, Lewis i A. (Miss M. Spooner), 70; Montague. Nellie, 07; Lusher, Marjorie H. (Miss Essie Holland), 07j Morton, Francis H. (unaided study), 05. The Minister for Railways, in the course of remarks made in reply to a Wellington deputation which asked for a site for a municipal milk depot, said that the leasing value of Cables' foundry site would be too great to make it suitable for such a purpose, and there was a very large building in view by the Railway Department, which • might interfere. The goods traffic ■ would have to be separated in the fu- [ ture, and a passenger station would . have to be built somewhere in the vicinity, while a goods station would be located nearer the Manawatu Station, but |&Uk{« &othjs£ definite %»U. <

The Hon. J. A. Millar replied to the Auckland Council's resolution in support if continuing the Auckland-Drury train ervice, stating he regretted that the .ecision arrived at could not be departed rom, as the suggested guarantee to reoup the Department was not forthcomng. The Minister added that, should ho traffic between Auckland and Drury mprove to an extent sufficient to justify he reinauguration of Ihe Drury service, t would afford him considerable pleasure o give the necessary instructions to rc-o-mmence it. The letter was received. In speaking at the Mothers' Union neeting at St. Matthew's Church last veiling, Lady Plunket urged the mothers if New Zealand to show their feelings trongly against neglect of or cruelty to nfants. Public opinion should, to her nind, be such that a man guilty of ruelty to children should be in danger if being lynched. There was not a great mount of cruelty to children in this ountry, but one often noticed n certain areless disposition on the part of parents owards the faults of their children, rhich in itself amounted to cruelty- She requently heard the expression: "It vill be knocked out of them at school." ?his was tantamount to the eneouragencnt of faults in children to be aftervards knocked out of them. Such a state of affairs was bad both for child nd parent. "We mothers bring up the hildren, and are to blame if the}' go vrong and turn ont bad men and wonen,'' declared her Excellency. The occasion was the last upon which Lady 'lunket would address the Union memlers, and in bidding them good-bye, her Excellency said it was with mingled feelngs she left a country in Which for six 'ears his Excellency and herself had met vith such kindness; but as a mother, she nust say that all the goodness they had net with did not quite compensate for he loss of her four children who were in ingland. It was announced at the meeting of :he Grammar School Board yesterday hat the water consumption of the school ,vas averaging now about 1000 gallons )er diem, and that the water rates ran -o something like £40 per annum. "Your joys scert to be strong on the water question; in fact, they appear to be levrloping every symptom of becoming i bod}- of staunch teetotaller?," remarked x member to Mr. Tibbs. The headmaster did not express any opinion as to the soundness of the latter part of the assumption, but he agreed that on ;lie figures there was certainly a powerful indication that water was in pretty strong demand at the school. A consumption of something more than two gallons a head per day discovers either much cleanliness or a big thirst. A waterside worker named Oharlea Murray, a single man of 54 years, was thrown under a 12-cwt wheel on the wharf yesterday afternoon, md received painful injuries, including x broken thigh. With two otticr men ie was trucking the wheel when it canted m-er and slipped, pinning Murray to the wharf. Ho was released by fellowivorkers, and afterwards removed to the lospital for treatment. The question of a municipal zoological ararden was referred to at last night's L-ity Council meeting, when the engineer (Mr. W. E. Bush) reported that the [lon. E. Mitehelson hud offered to present pheasants of two or three different varieties to the Council, to be placed in the Auckland Domain. The matter had been brought before the Works Committee, but in view of the fact that the keeping of live stock in the Domain rnises the whole question of the establishment of a zoological collection in Auckland, he was advised to bring the matter officially before the full Council. He had conferred with Mr. Pearson, superintendent of parks, on this subject, md also on the larger question of the establishment of a zoological garden in the Domain. Mr. Pearson did not favour the establishment of zoological gardens for the keeping of live stock in the Domain, unless a special area, independent of the gardens, is set aside for the purpose. A painful and exceedingly unfortunate position has bean created in the Broken River and Otira districts, according to the special Obristchurch "Press" reporter at Otira, by a literary indiscretion of the Rev. Mr. Mules, the Anglican minister in charge of those districts. He wrote nn article for the "Canterbury College Review," discussing the various phases of life among his somewhat heterogeneous flock, and extracts from the article were copied into papers in Christclmrch and on the West Const. The result is that indignation is at boiling point at the reflections which the people of Broker River and Otira consider to have beer unjustly cast upon them, and the unior has demanded a public apology of Mr Mules for his article. At his request a public meeting has been convened tc hear his defence, but meanwhile the feeling against him is very strong. At last night's meeting of the City Council, on the motion of Mr. P. J. N*rheny, a vote of thanks was passed tr (he City Fire Brigade in acknowledgment of the good work and heroism displayed by members of the Brigade at the Strand Arcade fire. Mr. W- A. Thompson asked had a return ever been prepared showing what preparations existed in the case of a fire at His Majesty's Theatre! The City Engineer, Mr. Bush, said such a report could be seen in his office. Writing of the Australasian draughts championship the Brisbane " Courier" says:—"Messrs. J. A. Boreham (N.Z.) and F. Passey (Queensland) met in the final round. The Maorilander was a game to the good, and three games were to be played. Passey essayed practically a 'Bristol,' nnd this fell to Mr. Boreham, making his score 2 wins to nil and 2 draws. It was, therefore, necessary for the local man to win the next twe games. He adopted the single corner, and although he seemed at one stage to have the best of it, the play of his opponent nullified its effect, and a draw resulting, gave the coveted title to Mr Boreham, who did not lose a single game during the tournament. Mr. Passey congratulated him on his success and general applause followed.'' Among those out of work in Napiei are some who are evidently not parti cularly anxious to find employment, say: the "Daily Telegraph." When volunteer! were called for scrub-cutters one declinet because Pohui was too cold, and anothei thought there were too many hills t< climb, while a third objected to the earh hour of starting. New Zealanders must he "hard cases,' and Taranaki folk the hardest of all according to the "Taranaki Daily News.' A Salvation Army officer of wor!d-iwd< experience informed the He v. S. S. Os borne recently that New Zealand wat ahout the hardest ground the army hat to work, and Taranaki was about tin •hardest ground of the Dominion. The Auckland Co-operative Terminat ing Building Society notify that name will 'be taken at the society's office fo Jtharei in tits 10th." grouj.

The electrical engineer submitted to the meeting of the City Council last night a detailed estimate of the cost of the new station as follows:—Building, £33,300; boiler-house equipment, £20,100; engine-room, £43,800; mains, £34,000: tools, instruments, etc., £500; —total, £131,700. The engineer also submitted a report stating that the additional cost for providing high tension alternating plant in the new power station is estimated at £57,000, bringing the total cost to £188,700. The report was adopted. A meeting of the Oh'inemuri River Silting Committee was held in the County Chambers on Wednesday night, Mx. E. W. Porritt presiding. A letter was received from the Under-Secretary of Lands, forwarding a portion of Mr. BrenkeH's report on the silting up of the river. The secretary was instructed to write to the Under-Secretary of Lands, asking for the remainder of Mr Breakell's report. Some discussion took place re Mr. Ivingswell's application to the Obinemuri River Board, asking for a condition to be removed from his license to treat tailings out of the Ohinemuri river. The condition in question states' that the tailings, after treatment, must not be put back in the river. After discussing the question, the meeting decided to strongly urge the Council not to grant Mr. Kingswell's request. It was decided to write to all the members of Parliament, inviting them to pay a vi*sit of inspection to the district, to see the damage being done by the tailings. The chairman and'secretary were appointed to make all necessary arrangements. •With respect to the Newmarket Borough Council's offer to grant the city permission to supply electricity within that district upon certain conditions, it was agreed at the meeting of the City Council last evening to ask the representatives from Newmarket to confer with the City Electrical Committee. Yesterday was the 43rd anniversary of the opening of the Cook's Strait cable service between Otcrangi and White bays. The work of submerging the pioneer three-core cable between Lyell Bay and White's Bay was completed between 3 p.m. on the 15th August end 9 a.m. on the 16th August, 1860. tout the shore ends did not receive the finishing touches till some days later. Two accidents which occurred while the cable was being paid out made breaks which required three splices. Twelve months after the cable had been in use a fault developed in one of the three independent conductors, and the weakness remained- Only two of the three wires are now serviceable. Thirty-nine knots of cable were used in this first linking of the two island-s. There are now six cables across Cook's Strait. Two of them (each about 40 knots in length) run from Lyell Bay to White's Bay, three (each 30 knots) from Oterangi Bay to White's Bay. and one (100 knots) from Wanganul to Wnkapuakn, near Nelson. These are the principal cables in New Zealand waters. Minor ones are the heavy thirty-six core cable across Auckland harbour, and the cables joining Stewart Lsland and smaller islands to the mainland in the North and South. Messrs William Cable and Co., of Wellington, hnve completed their contract for the overhaul of the Tutanekai, and on Tuesday last the vessel went for a. trial trip round Soames Island. Cable repair work awaits the vessel at once, as one of the lines from Oterangi Bay to White's i Bay developed "a fault" about three ! weeks ago. The Tutanekai will take in about Eix knots of cable, and commence her repair work in Cook Strait on Saturday. The break in the damaged cable has been located at a point about seven knots from Terawhiti. The cause of the break is attributed to chemical action and erosion by friction against the bottom due to currents. This cable is known as No. 1, Oterangi Bay, and has been down about 13 years. It weighs six tons to the knot. The Telegraph Department has not been inconvenienced by the break, as Cook Strait is crossed by six submarine lines. Three lenve the shore at Oterangi Bay, two cross from Lyell Bay, nnd one oonnects Wanganui with Wakapuaka (near Nelson). The secretary of the. One Tree Hill Domain Board his written to the City Council intimating that, as the City cannot see its way to assist in the upkeep of the carriage road to the summit of Maungakeikei, the Board, owing to its very limited finances, will require to seriously consider the advisability of closing that road to vehicular traffic. The letter was received. The "Wairarapa Age reports that during the recent floods in the Alfredton district, Mr. J. Smith, the well-known sawmiller, had about four miles of tramway and several bridges washed away. The damage done amounted to about £300. Fish authorities in Nelson are puzzled to name a finny stranger that has been taken into that town by Mr. George Webber, of French Pass. The curiouslooking fish is described by the "Evening Mail" as resembling an eel, yet having fins on its tail.