LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 24, 23 October 1907, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At to-morrow evening's meeting of the City Council Councillor i\ M. B. Fisher is to move—.',' That the Library Committao/be requested to consider the question of setting up a branch of the Public Library/at the. Thqrndoncnd of the cfty."; ', ■[.'■,,, '. At the meeting of the New Zealand Shopkeepers' Association to-morrow afternoon, members are to discuss the question of-the holding, of a. carnival- week-in : Wellington'; and .the visit to the city cf Mr. Keir Ha'die: m.p', .i. ' :■■ ■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■ ■■■ : -:-:-.\-:--. Another city improvement is being offected in connection with tho erection of new premises for Mr. George Wiridor, 'at tho corner of Manners' Street and lower -Cuba Streot. That part 1 of the city—the junction of four tramway routes — has been inconveniontly congested since'the advont of the electric cars, and the City Council has, wisely acquired from , Mr. Winder a considerable slice of land at tho corner ,that will provide for inoro space between, the tram-rails and tho kerb, and a wide:.- side-walk. Mr. Winder's now building, the plans for which have ;been prepared, by Messrs. tPonty ; -and Blake, will Have a basement and five stories, with handsomely-designed elevation'-in/red pressed brick on, a .bluostono base. The ruberoid-cov.cred roof. The basement will bo lighted by, payenient lights, and.,the. glass, verandah that will traverse tho 150 ft. showwindow frontage, is designed so as to give tha maximum amount of light.. . ~. ~....,....;.... • The following gentlomen will ,act as judges at tho Military Tournament to: be held at Palmerston-North on November 9:—Lieut.-; Colonel Bauchop, Captain; Nelson, ; Sergeants-' Major Dodds, Sanderson, Burr, Peacock, and M'Nairn. : , ■ 'The Labour Department is preparing for' publication, • and expects, to. issue 'very soon, a booklet descriptive of its very striking exhibit; at ;the New Zealand International Ex- , •hibitiori. The-yolumo will; be especially in.foresting.' to- employers and labour Unions, as it will contain,all the charts.and diagrams illustrative of labour conditions, which were specially compiled; for the Exhibition, and attracted much,, interest, when . displayed, 'there', will ! alspibe' r giveri of the Court, and its chief-features, and /'the letterpress; will give , further information. ■-. -•■:; ii An interim report giving the results of three months' trawling:by the, Nora Niven is boing prepared for ment. A complete return 'will bo presented when tho, trawler has concluded', its' testing operations. .■.■ : V. ~ V .■■ Tho Government has been recommended to test, by: netting,: Lakes Tekapo,; in.' Soutti. Canterbury',: arid Kanieiv 'in Westland; in■which young white fish .'have'been deposited during four successive seasons, to see if these strangers'.from: a ■ far country have grown and multiplied. Mr. L. F. Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, has great hopes that the importations, will be found to,- have thriven, as for the last uhree years the eggs have come to hand from America ■in good condition, and. ninety-seven per cent, of young fish have been hatched from them and liberated'.''. '„,' ~'' ' '.'. ■.','.:"■ ,■"..;.' ;ij.,;"'.\ The large: demand for farm-labourers, with which the Labour Department was only just able to cope throughout September, is. now slackening. There is a big demand for carpenters, and navvies are' still in reque&t. .- '" A .Magistrate's Court Dialogue.'—Witness: "Many men are liars." Mr. Beere: "Do you mean all men are liars?" Mr. Wilford: "He doesn't mean that, for, some are lawyers. , ' Dr'l M'Arthur, S.MJ (smiling): " Aren't the terms synonymous?" Mr. Wilford: "Well, sir, you yourself are a lawyer." A lengthy manifesto, according to the "'Now Zealand Herald," has been issued by the executive of tho Independent Political Labour party, in reply to what they characterise as tho Employers' Association's annual attack on tho Labour party i They say:— "The. Labour party, has been for , the last fifteen years getting so-called "labour legislation on tho Statute Book of Now Zealand, and what has it availed them? Nothing, or next to nothing. We do not deny that our laws aro along tho' lines of Socialism, but, when eniplbyers say wo are the enemies of the Dominion generally, wo take this opportunity of giving that statement an absolute and emphatic' denial, as, with our knowledgo of workers generally, wo have no hesitation in saying there is just as largo a proportion of workers who are desirous of the welfare of this Dominion as can bo found among the omployors' class. AVo give an equally emphatic donial to tho assertion that we are' tho enemies of tho employers. It is not the employers wo aro attacking, either individually or collectively, but a system of competition which we believo is in the best interests of neither employer nor employee. As to the charge that we are widening the breach between Capital and Labour, wo cannot''avoid that, as wo believe that Labour has been exploited in the past. We are only endeavouring to got what we think Labour "s rightly entitled to." ' - Tho city's balance-sheet for 1906-7, which was published and commented on Jong before it was, out of the hands of the Audjt Department, is to be.considered at the meeting nf tho. City Council .to-morrow evening. ..... Messrs. Murray, Roberts and Co. 'have decided to build n largo brick warehouse on the site of their wool and hardware stores at'the corner of Foatlicrston and Johnston'Streets. The now building will have a frontage of 70ft. to Fcatherston Street; and one of 50ft to Johnston Streot, and will bo orected in red pressed brick -on an alvcstonc base. Tho ground floor and part of the middle floor will be occupied by the firm's offices, and the other portion of tho building, including a largo basement, will ho utilised foe warehouse purposes. Messrs. Polity and Bliikp aro the architect o -. , :