LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 91, 10 January 1908, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Customs revenue collected at Wellington yesterday, amounted to £3292,45. 3d.

A notice in this week's Gazette fixes tho dato for- payment of ' the ihcome ■ tax .for Friday, January 31.

Tho' lidbnsb feo for oil-launohos plying in harbours where there is no Harbour .Board has been fixed by'Cabinot at £1, per annum.

So far, eight eases have been set down for hearing at tho next criminal of the. Supremo Court, which commence on February 3. ' • . ■

\ A proclamation dividing tho new, couiity of Makara into two. ridings is'gazetted. ;Thoy will bo called l'orirua aud Makara ridings respectively.

Tho amended regulations under the Land for Settlements Consolidation -Act, 1900, arid the Land-Laws Amendment Act, 1907, .occupy iiftto'n pages in this week's Gaseti«. ;

i A man named Charles Hood was ar.rested by Detectifo Cameron' yesterday on a .oh&rgi). of having committed various petty thefts in the city. Tho accused will be brought before tho Magistrate's Court this taorning. , :

Tho tender of M'Williams and Andrew, of Wollingtofi, has been accepted by tho Woodvillo. County Council: for tho reconstruction, oS' -Harding's"'. Road; bridge. Tlio price .is, £2427. There were three other tenderers. Hanson Street,, Wellington,, and Jess'io • Street, Kh'andallah, have been exempted from tho operations of Clause 117 of tho Public Works Act ; sub jeet to the setting back, of tho building lino 33 feet , from tho centre' of tho road. , ; ■ v.v The inquest' concerning the death of Henry ftinest Davis (fixei for yesterday) has been further' adjourned until January 23, owing, to tho fact that, through' the absonco ,'irom : Wellington of Dr..- Maclaron, Government Analyst, an analysis of tho contents of, the stomach of deceased has not yet .been made. Mr. Pond, |of Auckland, will conduct the analysis. . It was stilted at tho. meeting at Lower Hutt last evening, held to consider an\elcctric tram system, that 27,000 railway season tickets to Wellington were held in Petono alone. The accuracy of the', statement was immediately questioned, ' notwithstanding that tho speaker, Mr. C. H.. J. Anders'oli, electrical engineer, said that he had it from tho railway authorities.' | > ■' Tho Borough Council Chamber in. tho ; new Town, Hall at Lower Hutt was used for tho first time. Ink evening. .'When .tho joint Hutt and Petono councillors. gathered round tho new " horseshoe " tablo, seatod in, the vory comfortable' armchairs, tho Mayor of Petono (Mr. J. M'Ewan) congratulated the Hutt Council on its fine room, and expressed, pleasure on behalf of his Council at being prosont at tho opening meeting.

Inquiries at the City Engineer's office, with leferenco to the present state of the water supply at Wainui-o-mnta and. Karori, elicited the fact'that the inflow to the big reservoir at Wainui-o-mata is'just equal'to the de-

niantl.' At KaroH Reservoir; the "tap level" of which ;is. 54ft., ~tho water stood' at 12ft. Bin. yesterday morning—a ,dr6p of lift.' 4in. On. tho previous moriiing the lovel was 'lOin., "which indicates that the drain on this reservoir is equal to a drop of 2in. per pay.

' Mry G. : M. Fraser, who> constructed the steel bridge over tho Waikato River, at Oam-

bridge, which is unique in Australasia, has como to Wellington to confer .with tho Publio Works Department • regarding the contract which hp has secured for) tho erection of tho Midland Railway viaduct, over Sloven Creek, thirteen miles from Springfield. Tho bridge,

which will'be of steel, will bo 600 ft. long. Tho preliminary oxcavations liavo'. been started, >and tho steel, work is shortly expected from Homo. The contract price is £21,400. ' ; '

Regarding the London cable message in yestn day's issuo that the city of Wellington had sold £147,300 worth of 4 per cent, debentures at par, the City Treasurer (Mr. C. Collins), who was approached yesterday, said that, as far as he could ascertain, without definite news, tho debentures referred to were those that the Council had handed to tho Electric Lighting Syndicate, in payment for its property. Last August the Council purchased the property of tho Syndicate- for £150,000, and debentures to that amount were given in payment. Mr. Collins surmised that the Company had now placed these debentures m London.

At yesterday's meeting of tho Harbour Beard, Mr. W. T. Wood, M.P., said that complaints had been made to him by flaxmilters concerning the charges made by tho Board for the opening and repacking of bales of hemp that were requirod to be •re-graded. He was given to understand that the Board charged Is. 9d. per bale for this work, and that when hanks of hemp were drawn out a charge of l{d. was mado in respect of each htnk. Tho flax-millers woro of opinion that tho Board was charging them, a good deal more than tho actual cost of the work: At the suggestion of Mr. Wood, tho . Board agreed to have a return prepared showing the cost to tho Board and the charges riiade.

Only about twenty ladies have, so far, sent in their namos to bo included in the Civil Service superannuation scheme. Very, few 'ladies remain long enough in the service to becomo superannuated, even if the term could over be applied to them. It is understood that considerably less than twenty hnvo sent in their ages with , their applications, although tho printed form roqutsts this information. Wo are informed, however, that no lady who has not already dono so will bo pressed. to answer this (jelicato question, as tho information is readily accessible in departmental records. One of tho first matters to be considered by Cabinet when Ministers reassomblo in Wellington will be tho establishment of tho Superannuation Board. Under tho Act this will consist of one Cabinet Minister, four members nominated by tho Govorno'r,' and five members olected by.subscribers to tho fund, of whom two will bo elected by tho Post and Telegraph Department, and threo by tho remaining branches of the Service. Regulations have still to bo made in regard to tho election of tho Servico representatives on tho Board, which will take place in July.

Jlrs. Ethel R. De Costa, LL.IS. (nee Miss Etlid R. Benjamin, of Duncdin), after practising for some years in that city, lias commenced practice as a barrister and solicitor in No. G Nathan's Buildings, corner Grey and Ifeathorston Street, Wellington. Mrs. De Costa has the distinction of being tho ,ouly lady practising at tho Bar in the Dominion. Intending clients can depend on prompt aud careful attention at Mrs. Do Costa's hands.

, Owing to tho want of l a quorum, tho or : dinary meeting of tho Miramar Borough Council, which was fixed to take place last night, did' not:evontuato. ■: . .! ■.

.Th 6 Postal authorities advise that tho Victoria, which left' Sydney for Auckland on Wednesday; has on board a. Bnndisi mail, which iff duo in Wellington in the Ordinary oourso by Noxt Tuesday's express train.

Advice: has been ■ locally.that,, tho English Rugby football team, which, is to visit New Zoaland during tho coming ; season, is to leave Homo on April 16;: and is duo.at

Wellington about June 3., It is understood that; thebeam. will play: about; twenty-ono matches, a-few of which may bo played in ■Australia. . ■ ■

Applications for: assistance towards pro-, specting are frequently received by the Mines Department from individuals and parties of prospectors (says tho "New Zealand Mines Record."). For general information it may be 'stated that tliosa who aro desirous "bf securing' assistance must,' in too first placo, apply to the local governing body or a Miners' -Association, which ean make a recommendation to tho Minister.

: Plans (or tho , new Technical School at l'ctono havo just boon prepared by Mr. P. do J. Clere. It will bov a . two-story brick building, built'not for. ornament,' biit to facilitate 1:1 every way possible tho spccial work, which is to bo carried-on in tho school. Provision has been made to enable extensions to bo added' without throwing * the' general eontour of tho. building : out of shape. .-. The outside will bo finished m pressed brick, and the roof will consist of red tiles.- Tho site

of tho building is near tho Recreation Ground

It appears to bo tho fashion to cntioiso adversely the .work;vbf . postal departments,

but the fact is forgotten (says the " Sydney Telegraph ") that whilst the department is slow, it is also suro. You may havo to wait for your letters, but you will probably get them at some time—always

p:ovidod that you wait long onough. For instanco, Mr. James M'Grath, of LawsWs Creek, Now South Wales, has just received at tho Mudgee post-ofheo a letter sent many <iays ago—well, many years ago—in short, a lettor posted to linn by : his mothor in

Ireland m the yoar 1856—more than fifty years ago. Mr. M'Gruth's mother has been dead for yoars, and now, liko a message from the grave, comes this letter, written by her in reply ,to ono)ho had sent from Australia. What a curious tale, of wanderings over tho face of tho oarth it might tell, woro it able to speak ! —or did it get into a wrong pigeonhole? -,

Tho Harbour Board, at its next, ordinary meoting, will he asked, to cqnsidor tho ad-, visability of . undertaking tho construction of another largo , wharf: similar 'to the King's Wharf, and occupying a position parallel to it on. tho north. This proposed now wharf

is designed to: have a length of GGO feet on ono side and 792 feet on the other, and will be called tho Pipitea Wharf. Tho plans includo sheds two stories in height, with power-

ful cranes, aiid connection with tho railway, so that trains can run to the ship's side. It

is intended for the export trade, liko the Railway, Glasgow, and King's Wharves. It

will be about half> a mile from tho Post Office. Plans havo also been,drawn for similar structures! described as the Lambton and Thorn-don-Wharves, 1 further tb. tho north,-and parallel with tho Pipitea . Wharf and thoothers named abovo. The Thorndon Wharf would bo the most northerly of the seHes,

■and would bo in a line with the sea wal which fronts the Thorndon Esplanade. • '

In tlm matter of' expense,, as well as of long

duration, the ..Wallace divorce case (according to the."Ago") is certain to distance any similar suit heard in Melbourne for a great

many yeaifSi Whether it will or will riot put

bp an 1 absolute record is a question that, only the oldest • habitues ofthe court profess to answer,'and even they'are divided. on the point. The most , reliable estimate of expense places tlio. sum at from ,£l9O to £220

per. day; Tho, feos ;of counsel aggregate £130 a day ; in addition there, jitrors', fees, ..amounting to £12 a day; the,' short-, hand .writers' fees, the. Witnesses' cxpehses, the solicitors' fees, and a large number of incidental items. • At a .low estimate the total expenditure, when the 25 or 26 days of hearing are over, will probably he found in the vicinity of £5000. ■ n