LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 99, 20 January 1908, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

It is expected that the General Assembly Library will bo open again to holders of recess privileges on- Thursday.. . • A. first meeting of creditors in tho estate' of Philip Henry. Gossp, of Lower Hutt, earner,'will be held at the Official Assignee's, office f nest Monday, 'at 11 a.m. ■ .) Tho Labour Department has 'won notified that fifty, " navvies" are wantpd for. co-. operatjvo works in Taranaki. A privato cm-' ployer in tho Strathworo. district (Taranaki) is also inquiring for navvies.. Tho Health Department reports tho following cases of infectious disease for the wopk. ending. Saturday last :r-In tho City— Scarlet fever, 6; enteric fever, 2; diphtheria, 1; tuberculosis, 1.. In tho Ilutt—Scai-let fever, 2. . It is expected that tho muster of riflemen at RadclilFs Rango, Christchurch, on, the occasion of the South . Island Rifle Association's annual mooting ou February 26, will l)p a very representative ono;; entries - are being received from all parts of thcr Dominion. 1 Tho tender of Messrs. Sanders Bros, has been. accepted for tho erection of new premises for tho Upion Bank . of\Australia, on ,the site of tho fire at tho junction of, Lambtpia Quay and Featherston Street. - Tho building, which; is to occupy twenty-ono months in erecting, will cost about £33|000, Mr. W. C. Cliatfield is the architect. • The Customs revenue collected at. Wellington on Saturday amountod to £1057 Bs. 6d. The total, amount of duty, collected last week , was £9142 12s. Bd,, .and . the collection of duty on beer for the same period was £362 7a, Bd. The amounts colleot'ed for the corresponding periods of last year w.ere as follow.; For tho day, £1264135. 6d.; for the week,, £10,892 3s. Bd,; beor duty for ;.the. week, £391 13s. lid. Tho Fir.o Brigade turned out at 11.30 on Saturday night to a gorse firo on a vacant section at Vogcltpwn. At 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon the Brigadp was. called to ' the' M.ount Street cemetery; where ,a 'quantity of grass wo? on firp. The fencing roimd' somo of the graves. was damaged. Several acres of; grass , were ljurned at Island Bay on Saturday afternoon, and firo 1 ran through a considerable are?, of grass on tho Eastern Town Belt yesterday afternoon. . , Dr. Mason, Chief Hoalth Offioar, who returned on Saturday from the Auckland district, states that ho visited tho Cambridge Sanatorium.: for Consumptives, from the south, at the same timo that , the Fpwlds, Minister-for public Health, and a party of about forty public pion were visiting it from the north. The'party included several members of Parliament, and a largo number of membors pf Hospital Bpards in tho Auckland province'. Thoy were all much impressed by tho work that is being done at tho sanatorium, and many of the members of Hpspital Boards expressed themselves strongly in favour of the addition of'annexes for con-; sumptives to .tiie hospitals with' which they .ore ,comiected. Dr. Mason's northern tour whs mainly occupied in dealing with various: Native matters in the less ■ visitod districts. On these excursions he was accompanied by Dr. Pomare, Health Officer to tho Mapris.

Mr. Tom Pollard!, of the Pollard Opera Company, has no cause to think kindly of South Africa. When touring that distressful country spmo fira or six years ago the Company ho then bad under his wing had some trying experiences, perhaps; the;- most disastrous of whioh was the burning of a tbijutrc containing th<s bulk, of the' scenery .and wardrobe. It would seem that his .South African ill-luck still pursues him. When ho returned to Now Zealand in 1903, Mr. pol' lard brought back with him as trophies of the lato war a couple of pom-pom shells, which Ijara been used since as ornaments at his permanent homo in Truam Street, Christclmrch, On Thursday last, big juvenile sgn, Mnsler T ( om Pollard, aged eight years, was. playing with ouq' of tho shells in t'ho garden, when lie, happened to hit the top, and in doing so "exploded, the cap that no one'bad over suspectcd was thore. The boy \vas singed slightly about the oyes, and rewired a shock, which wa3 nothing to what would have occurred had tlie shell been loaded.~

The Counters, in hor run to Mahanga Bay yesterday afternoon, carried a largo number of viaitora to tho "At Home" of the Wellij'.gton Engineers, who are encamped in tbiit delightful spot undergoing their annual trying. Several rert-coatcxl Volunteers were dottod about amongst tho summer-dressed crowd on board, and the No. 1 Battalion Hand sent the strains of bright music across the waters. As tho ferry steamer approached Malianga Bay evidences of tho work of the Engineers wore to bo seen in a pontoon raft floating in tho little bight, and in various trostlp and derrick erections on the shore. Fifty-five men, out of a total of fifty-eight, are in camp, and Lieut. Fitzgerald is in chargo. Attention' is being devoted mainly to constructional work, very little pick/and shovel work being introduced into the present routine. So far good work has been accomplished, mostly' at night in the moonlight; hut this week Lieut. Fitzgerald, also hopes to have a bridge erected over the gully in which the camp stands, and other useful inctiuction imparted. A pleasant afternoon was spont by tho visitors,

When Mr. W, A. Low, treasurer for tho Pollard Opera Company, awoke at the Waikato Hotel, in Hamilton, on Friday morning last, he discovered that his room hod been ransacked by thipvos, and that ho was minus a gold watch and locket, three ohampionship gold medals (for running), a gold sovereign case, and five sovereigns. While lamenting his loss, particularly that of bis medals, Mr. Low js congratulating himself that ho did not take tho theatre receipts to tho hotel on Thursday evening. It is a usual practice to place tho theatre money in the hotel safe, but Mr. Low gtates that tbero was a rather queer lot staying at tho hotel at the timo (consequent upon a trotting meeting, that was being held there), and thcro was a long bridgo to cross between the theatre and his hotel, bo he placed his treasury bag, containing over £100, in a friend's safe in town, But for Jiis precaution, jt is probable that the thieves would have had a much more valuable "swag" than they got away,with. Mr. Low has been a New Zealand and an Australasian champion runner, and tho missing medals were tangible ovjdance of his winning the quartof-mile ohampionship of Now Zoaland at Dunedin in 1894, the halfmile championship of New Zealand at Napier in 185)5, and the quartor-milo Australasian championship at Lancaster Park, Christchurch, in 189(3—his farewell to the running tuck,

Mrs. Ethel R. De Costa, LL.B. (neo Miss Ethel R. Benjamin, of Dunedin),, after practising for some years in that city, has commenced practice as a barrister ami solicitor h\ No. 6 Nathan's Buil<Uugß, corner Grey and Featherstou Street, Wellington. Mrs. Dc Costa ha* the distinction of being the only, lady practisiog: at the Bar in the Dominion. Intending clieata can depend on prompt aud careful attention at Mrs. Do Costa's hands.

: rlt is proposed that the Dunedm City Council should noxt. year, provide for, a trial of wood-paving. Tho New Zealand red. beech, commonly known as birch,-will ho tbcj wood probably recommended for the purpose, Colonol Davies, Inspcctor-Genoral of : the Colonial Forcos, who is now. m Auckland, will to-day commence hit tour of inspection of tho | various corps in tho province. ■ No. 3 Company Garrison Artillery will be inspected. m | camp to-day, and the' First Infantry: Battalion,together with the Bearer Corps and the Garrison and First tomorrow i •" Rotorua is becoming a very beautiful place, and it bids fair to become ono of tho finest: towns in Now Zealand. 1 ' Such is the flattering tribute paid: to, tho Dominion's wonderland by. Sir Rgbart Stout, who arrived in Auckland frgm Rotorua- on Saturday, aftir sponding tbo past few-weeks in the... district.. "The place," he said, "has been-.very full. Tho-, Weather'was magnificent,; and 1 everybody; scorned 'to bo, having a very joyous, time- - I never saw Rotorua so crowded before.' The boarding-houses aro largely pn' the increase,' and they, all appear to bo doing well." ■ The soarcity of boy and girl labour—-to. which the Minister: for Labour makes referon eo in another column—is a common cry in Dunedin (telegraphs our special- correspondent), as well as in other parts of the Do-: minion. Manufacturers m Dunedin say that it is impossible to get', the; juvenile labour they require; Women; too, are soarce. The suggestion has been mado that the Labour Department - might deviso some means by which arrangements could be madq for. boys and,:girls over fourteen years; of oge—the working ager-to register their namos with. rt " The Hon. T. K. Macdonald, M.L.C., presided at the.final meeting of tho Art Committee. appointed by the general public to rtceivo subscriptions for tho purchase of furthor works of art. for tho. Art Gallery.Drs. Fell and Fyffo and Mr; A. D. Riley wero also presont,'- An apology for absence was received from' tbo Mayor (Hon. :T. W. Hislop).Tho ■ final statement submitted showed that a balance of £150 remained to credit in London; and Bs, in the hands'of Mr.' Wardell, • while there was ; an overdraft of £30 at Wellington in connection'with the 1 subscriptions raised hero. It was resolved to pay a sum of £50 to Mr. Norman Gar-: ston, of London, for distribution amongst the members ,ef tho Solection Committee in.London for travelling and other expenses. This committee was instructed to return a sum of £30 tp Wellington to liquidate the overdraft roforred to, and to expend the balanco in the purchase of another picture. Tbo piotures purchased in Christehureli and London will ,bo handed:over, to tho Academy of Arts..