LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 51, 23 November 1907, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Postal authorities . advise that the Manuka left Sydney on November 20,\with 121 bags of Brindisi mail, which will probably reach Wellington by the express on Monday, night. , . ■ ■ The Customs revenue collected at Wellington yesterday amounted to £1515 2s. 2d. A very enjoyable dance and social'gathering wore bell at Victoria College last evenii.g to mark the conclusion of the examinations. The adjourned cases in which the Crown claims possession of strips of'land included in the To Aro reclamation and for mesne profits—which, wero set down for hearing this morning—will not bo heard until Saturday next. People continue to send tinsel postcards through the post without enclosing them .in envelopes. Such , postcards are to be destroyed, but the . Department has .delivered a number of them, after delaying delivery for the purpose of a'warning.' Tho tender of Messrs. Sanders Brothers has been accepted for the erection of the now Civil Service Club, to bo built from the plans of Mr. J. Charlcsworth, at the corner of Stout and Ballancc Streets (oppos? ito tho Supreme Court), to. the order of. Mr. Sidney Kirkcaldie. The contract price is about £10,000. • There wero fourteen tend-? ers. .. i . The New Zealand Shipping Company's steamer Tongariro, clue from London tomorrow, is bringing the following livostock: 2 horses, 11 sheep, consigned to Dalgety and Company; 2 coops of poultry for D. H. Kutherford,' Wellington; 6 deer; 1 coop of pheasants for the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, and 4 rams for Lyttelton. ' . Botween fifty and sixty people gathered from Wellington and Pctono at Akatarawa, beyond the Upper Hutt, 'on Thursday, to attend the funeral of the lato.Mr. Dunford, builder, of--Lpviu. formerly"'of' Pet'dne. He was 31 years of ago;"' M~"li sympathy is felt for tlra and ,-..thhv*"Wi young children. "I toetotally object to working with hif*."' strenuously protested a creditor at a bt'-' ruptcy meeting yesterday, whon it was suggested to him that there might be'some hope of getting something out of the business if he (bankrupt's partner) would consent to carry on. "I ain't a-goin'. to dip me 'and into me pocket no more," ho concluded, with an air' of finality. The word "Nil" was writ large over the credit sido of a bankrupt's statement of finances, presented at a meoting of his creditors yesterday' morning. The'only ray of hope, and it was a feeble flicker, was an item of £100 which was estimated as a surplus from tho securities. "It's a one-legged bankruptcy," remarked tho Official Assignee. A wharf labourer named Thomas Grosvenor, a married man, residing at No. 4 Hanson Street, mot with a serious accident yesterday. Grosvenor was engaged running coal across a plank from a hulk to the steamer Maori when the hook caught in the plank oil which he was standing and threw him into the hold, a distarico of 12 or 15 feet. Grosvonor's thigh was broken" and he was removed to tho hospital for treatment. ' The long hours of the session.seem to be having an effect on tho vision of at least ono M.H.lt. The fire brigade was turned out at i a.m. yesterday to subdue a dust-storm. A zealous but erring Parliamentarian was dashing, 1 along a deserted street, when his attention was attracted by what he thought was smoke, and,, therefore, a fire. He raiv.il an alarm, : and the brigade turned out smartly and proceeded to.the seen..; to find a perplexed member of Parliament rubbing his eyes and ■ endeavouring to explain how he camo to mistake the dust raised by some cariy-morhing street-sweepers for smoke. Mason's Gardens at tho Lower Hutt—one of tho most picturesque horticultural. spots in New Zealand—is about to bo thrown open to the public. For a great many years those gardens wore owned by the late Mr. Mason —familiarly known in tho old ' days as "Quaker Mason"—who was an expert horticulturist, and, as such, spared neither olfort nor expense in bringing his extensive demesne to a state bordering on perfection. The present owner has fitted up comfortable luncheon and tea-rooms within tho grounds, and, tho number of pleasure places within easy reach of the city being very limited, Mason's Gardens aro bound to attract a largo number of visitors during the summer days. .

A candidate for honours in English in the M.A. examination had a long and lonely furrow to hoc at Victoria College on Thursday afternoon, in consequence of a very simple mistake. Ho was handed the Senior Scholarship paper in. English literature instead of the M.A. paper, and as the periods covorcd arc the same, worked through the whole paper for three hours without discovering tho difference. Outside on the staircase landing, when ho happened to consult a fellow-candidato about a certain question, ho recoived a ruile awakening. Ho rushed back to tho examination room, tho sad mistako was oxplaincd, and the weary candidate sat down to grapple for. threo further hours with tho difficulties of his proper papor. "Spell-ho" for rosfreshments, taken into tho "Spell-ho" for refreshments, taken into tho examination room, was mercifully allowed.

Mrs. Ethel R. Do Costa, LL.B. (nee Mibs Ethol R. Benjamin, of Dunedin), after practising for some years in thai city, has .commenced practice as a barrister and solicitor in No G Nathan's Buildings, corner Grey and FeatLeiston Streets, Wellington. Mrs. De Costa has the distinction of being tlio only lady practising at tho Bar in tho Dominion. Intending clients can depend on prompt and careful attention at Mrs. Do Costa's hands.

■ ' Steady progress is boing rcado with the Bonstruetion of the great new waterworks dam at Karori. Messrs. Mitchell and King', 1 tho contractors, roport that tho wall of tho dam has reached a level of about, fifty foot abovo the ground at tho baso, and there is " now about twenty feet dopth of wator hold back by' tho wall,' the working width of which has bcoh narrowed down to 17 feet. In accordance with tho terms'of tho contract,'tho water has to bo held by tho dam as it' progresses in height, to demonstrate that .it .is tight. For this purposo, a valvo ' is provided every fifteen feet of tho height of tho wall, and. tho work is far enough advanced to allow of the accumulation of moro water. It is possible that tho depth of water at the. dam may bo increased to thirty feet this week. Messrs. Mitchell and King are' confident that the work will V sompleted by tho end of February, if not prior 'to that' date. __.