Untitled

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 68, 20 March 1915, Page 4

.following is Mr. l>. C. Bates* wen ther forecast for 24 hours from 9 a.m. this day:—"lndications for 'easterly winds, strong to gale, veering by east to. north. Expect dull weather, with much mist and fog in parts. Bain probable. Barometer Has "a falling tendency. Tides- High.' - :Sea heavy, on the coast;". - The rainfall during the last tUvree days has been of a moat satisfactory nature -ae-fa-r «v» Ssrmtng »- concerned, bat on the other hand has been ireepoasibte for a good deal of disappointment amongst pleasure-«eeker,s. The total fall for the period, as registered by the 'gauge at the Albert Park Observatory, amounted to 1.90, and of tbfe figure 95 points fall between nine o'clock on Thursday and the same hour the folfowing day. The next fall took place during the previous 24 hoims, ■ and last .night'e steady rain added another 20. points to the total. This makes a total for the month of 2.97 rndhee, only three points off the t/bree-inch mark. To-day\s .rain will have more than made up thos deficiency. The rainfall for *he month of March last year was 2.22j and the average is 2.78 inchefe. The hearing of the dispute between the Auckland branch of the Australasian Federated Seaman's Union and the Auckland Seamen's and Tiremen's- Union, re the refusal of the latter body to admit one William Simpson, "a man of good character," to membership, occupied the .Magistrate's (Court., until the adjournment yesterday • afternoon. A lengthy cross-examination took place of the secretary of the defendant union, Mr. • George Wigg, by Mr. A. E. Skelton, relative to the date of. .of:-the minute book from which some pages are. missing. The ■-cr6s*-ex"aminatH>n of. the president ol the unions-Angus 3Jich6lson,,fonowed. and-lasted until the adjournment. Mr. Prendergas4 appeared- for" the defendant union. -'Hearing- will be" resumed on Monday. If a notice appealing in the latest KSUe.iot.tli'e "Gaaette" can be taken as any criterion, it » the intention of t3w .Government "to purchase 7000 acres of land in the Tiratu bjock, adjoining th* town" of Dannevixke, witih. the "object of sub-dividing rt for closer Settlement purposes. -The notice formailly states that .the Government, prohibits all privorte «f this native other thiah alienations in favour of tbe Crown. It fe -undeitetood that the Gtevernnient have been endeavouring to acquire this block for BOin>e time, and have even gone so far as to pay various sums to natives in piart purchase. A new brewery building ie to be erected in Welldngton.for Meebrs. Staples and Co. at a.cost of £13,000. The building will be erected! on tbe sfieletori steel frame principle, with brick waifa, concrete florae throughout, and a steel roof, covered- vHith aebeetoe and will throughout be -an mearly ftre reeietant as a building can be. The members of the Grand Lodge of Independent Oddfellows of New Zealand, at the' conclusion of the eession.yesierday afternoon, were taken on a vieit of inspection to Chelsea Sugar Works. It was also arranged that if tiie weather was suitable, the visitors be entertained at a picnic at Motutapu this afternoon. j The delay in the construction of the Okahukura tunnel has been taken up by the Auckland Railways League. Yesterday Mr. Peacocke. the acting-chaiT-man of the league, forwarded the following telegram to the Minister for Public Works: "Regarding the stoppage of the Okahukura tunnel contract, will Department proceed with, the work shortly?" The Hon. E. Mitchelsbn will preside at the public meeting to be held in the Concert Chamber. Town Hall, on Monday evening, in connection with the movement to promote a pledge-signing campaign to encourage abstinence from intoxicating liquors during 4he. national peril. ■ "

Through a broken tow-line becoming entangled, with her .propellers, the N«w Zealand Shipping Ce.'s Rotorua got away for Wellington this morning about three hours late. The steamer was getting clear of the Queen's wharf about, six a.m. when a -hawser connecting (her with the Harbour Board's tug Te Awhina snapped, and the steel portion fouled the propellers before it could - be hauled in. One of the Harbour Board's divers 'was brought along as ' quickly as possible, and the Rotorua remained in the stream in charge of the tug, -while efforts were made to disen- j tangle the wire. Operations were not c assisted by the choppy sea prevailing, I. but about 9 a.m. the diver succeeded in \'; getting the last of the coils free, andl,j •the mail-steamer went on her way. The I ] Rotorua is a triple-screw boat, and it I f is considered fortunate that the accident ] did not cause a much longer delay than i it did. " . 1 An inquest was hekl at Wanganoii yes- < terday regarding the di£aih of Pa-fcriek < Gordon, a Wanganui College boy, who > was found dead on Thursday at Ptitiki, i witih a. pea-rifle bullet-wound" in his fore- ' head. Hugh. Latter, headmaster of the 1 cotLlege, said that decea&od wa.s aged 16 i years, and had been medically attended recently for influenza. \V.rt-neEa could > not account for the tragedy. Albert : Langton said tfhat he sold deceased a < pea-rifle and cartridges on Wednesday. < Br. A. Wilson .©aid the deceased had been ' a highly-strung subject, and 'had had periodical fi'ta of depression. A verdict of suicide while temporarily insane was > returned. The wreck of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company's liner Empress of Ireland last year wars recalled at last night's meeting of the One-tree Hill .Rqad Board, when Mr. T. Rowe suggested that in recognition of the ser- ' vices rendered by the late Mr. W.. R. Bloomfield, a passenger on the ill-f»ted : vessel, and a former chairman of thej' board, a memorial should be erected |' to his memory. Mr. Rowe thought that the most fitting form for the memorial would be that of a lamppost or a shelter shed, which might be erected at the junction of the Great South Road and Manukau Road, on the boundary of. the Epsom, One-tree Hill, and Remuera districts. He considered that the Epsom Road Board and the City Council would agree to contribute to the cost of the memorial. The Board expressed their sympathy with the project, and it was decided that the matter should be further discussed.at a future meeting. Aβ a result of the letter announcing that a British Trade Fair is to be held, with a view to enconraging the British manufaotu-re *of goods ihrthert-o „ mainly exported from Germany (published in lost nighty "Stir") the Chamfer'of Commerce yesterday af-tenvcen decided to set up a standing committee of five, with power to add to ttre number, for the ppom-cti-on of preferential trade within the Empire, and seoondajril y, to secure for our present Allies priority in trade over :th* German, Austrian and Turkish, em--1 pirea. The committee cs to co-operate with other centres, and' with the British and Canadian trade ■ conunissiooere, and it win afeo consider the proposal : to , establish a New Zealand Board of Trade. M-EBi-ns. R. Burns, E. Anderson, A. B. Roberton, Stevenson and Ewen were a> pointed ta:.Pe.^Aid3Ue?j;< ; * JW%\ The "fact wae mentioned at the sft-i ting of the Grand Lodge of Oddfellows of New Zealand that no less than 200 brethern of- the Order had joined the Expeditionary Forces for service at the front. It wae agreed, subject to the approval of the Registrar, that all contributions of members of the "Expeditionary Forces while on active service should be paid by the central body, the expenditure to be debited to a special account, and when the occasion for it . ceases, the amount to be charged against, the-funeral fund surplus. The local V.M.C.A. its agiiai.taking up ' fi«fd service work at th-e. district military camps »t Brown'e Bay, wiere the Coa&t Defence Detachment assembled fox "ten days. A social marquee was conducted during tihe w-feote of tie period, Mr. E. Rimmer being the Y.M.C-A. representative ia Mr. J. V. Hanna, physical director, has just returned from l X«w Plymouth, after having eripervised .. ■the wprk arranged: .by a V.M.C.A., com- : mrfctee Vn 'that' centre. : BuEraeseineM in , Xe"w Blymoutlh undertook the entire' ; financial responsihility, and the "officers : and.men in camp, •numbering over-800, . Subscribed £17 odd towards-the Egypt • Fund for the Same purpose. Thcs in . iteelf ie sufficient indication of the appre- , ciation Sett -toy all of the social (facilities provided. The committee, whose cihair--1 man ia Mr. B. Buttle,. lr-ia now weU in ; hand the arrangemente for Otahothußnjcampment next week. Mr. J. V. jjwill be in charge of tihe tw-o marquees ■to be erected. Mr. Wm. Handley, the retiring ; Mayor of Devonport, ■ has now-oflScially announced his intention of. accepting nomination a# the representative of the combined district of Devonport, Birkenhead, and Northcpte at the forthcoming Harbour Board elections. Mr; UandJey's long experience in local goyernment matters particularly fite him for the position, and he has been chosen by the Devonport Borough Council as its'selected candidate. The Westland Land Board has granted an application for a lease of 30,000 acres at Otira as a wood pulp preservation, and afeo an area for a site for a powerhouse and paper mill . buildings, etc. The applications for. the necessary water righte for power purposes liave been recommended by the warden for the consent of the Minister of Mines. Exhaustive experiments have been made and expert reports obtained have proved the suitability of the timber for the manufacture of. wood pulp I and papers, and a company ie now being formed to establish the industry On the West Coast. At the Magistrate's Court in Wellinc- . ton yesterday, when the Rata Co- ■ operative Dairy Company was charged • with having attempted, on December • 19, to export butter containing more ■ than 16 per cent of water, the com--1 pany's representative admitted that a ■ technical breach had been committed and said it was very difficult to know how the water had got into the butter, as every precaution had been.taken. A fine of £1 was imposed. c P !?*f sor E - E - Prince, Commissioner °* *»shenee for Canada, who visited the Dominion last year and reported , on the fisheries here; gave a lecture before the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club recently-on "The New Zealand Penpatue, the Most Ancient and Wonderful of laving Animals." The ecienti- ' fie name is believed to belong to a ' mynad-legged wood-worm. 3 The eoow.. Knpor* will, be «>« by ' M«re. Rtthert CLOm* jind Son at A*L