OTHER CENTRES. TELEGRAPH-SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 105, 27 January 1908, Page 9

OTHER CENTRES. TELEGRAPH-SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS.

-■■ >/ . -: -"v'. 1 /• AUCKLAND. j .- January 25. !' TIl& harbour wcrrks'are proceeding apace. Tho pile-driving-for tho two upper 'sectidnfi of tho new Qtioeu Street wharf has been'completed. Tho. foundations for the continuation of tho eaitorn aids will bo put down shortly, and the-small tees at which tho Gtilf steamers hs*o-bofthed will fo W removed in consequence.' , Th# old Northcote Ferry tod ia rapidly being pulled down, and the' shipping Icompanies wim .Wore stationed there have 'romored to frosh. Quarters.' The work at] demolishing. the Settlers' .Company's tee will: probably be commeiiccd next week, and tho oflioos of the Oempany will be transferred to the railway , wharf,. The regaining small tee will'.also be .dene,away. with!shortly, but the: largo outer :tee will be allowed to remain at presentfor the accommodation of'larger ■■ TeSSoIS. ' . ' \'.-JvV* 1 ' -i V'! " \ r;■ Drainage Scheme. MaUfcra m connection with the Auckland draiflftgo scheaift woro ad?an6ed Another stage yestenrtlijr liftefnoOh. whttri .a >i»it' was' paid by./. the yimombors. of. "the; City Council ;»hd Harbour ißoard to. the sconft of projioßed .' outfali[, at .'Orakei .'is by . Mr. MWgl^ ; '. : presoht, and : answered j-numbor 'of (jue3ti<wjj. regarding: of his'sehonie/'tho propdswl sea dtitfall syfttem being principally dwdt' upon. Two or three of\the.mcmbere"of the Harlioiir'Boaird, who hadiibeen inclined to oppose the discharge''of. the* sewage iiite' the harbour, seomed to bo,' on the-whole, ; favourably impressed by Mr. Taylors •pxplanaitlonj, and their disposition to oppose; the ;scheme will probably bo .found: to .havo lessoned'.by yostcruay's meeting,' althou^,.tbfiy/,itill;,ebhsid6r rthat' the, matter: should, not lie without the most ;carc- . ful consideration...,', Tho, nfxt in cohuection .wit.li the M.heme, will he .taken on Jtonday., night, 3 wheh,.,;a conference. of the repre$11 .thoJqcaT bodies, will held «fc.• thp..City;-".CJ6iincil*cijamUors. ; New Buildings. V An ".unsightly block-of vacaut landin Wel--1 lesley. Street,. befphging, to the Philson Estate,' isj;'sh6rt|y t6 be;transformed iirto wliat 1 promises^to ' be• abusy centro, of activity. Tho ,s'q(ia¥p.tha't .has for So many' yea rs 'Stood bareiaHdfonijity.will before'long be Completely oc'oupiwl : hy*-]irte; 'biiilflins!;.- The bottom Selected ror the new liuxili-, ar y the tep corner, immedi-*™.T;-'eppbsite to the miinicipnl briildings, is the" site cbeson for the Y.M.C.A. buildings. The .trnstees of the estate have now decided - t<),,erect:,,ilpqn.i.the ronaining central portion of<:the, ( squa l rß iv tivij-storv brick or concrcte bnilding.j jT.'the,: estimated cest of -which •is ; The planii/are.in. hand, .but await .ponding tho ascertaining of therwishes .-ot'prospective tenants. The . Philsjm block will have a frontage of 55 feet 8 inoh.es to .Wellesley Street;,and a depth of 1W -Feet, 10finches .te Cbnurg Place.. ,A feature wll/iii all prbbabilitTj be a roof garden.4:,.lt if passible .'that the new building* inay t be:iitl|ig«d : for rwidential flats. Immigration. :

Herald,'' in its '.leading columns, makes th'-o population-question a peg whereon to arguments for an immigration poliey.-: ; :life says:—ld 1901,. 6522 more persons Zealand ;tban ileffc.it. ■,In 1903 n n Um i^ r mo to 11,275, and in 1906 to 12,Sw. Last year,it.dropped t0.5730,.0wing, we-.prcsume, to .the cessation of the special' inducements offered, by tha Government to H 1 L t . cn^ m g immigrants in the Mother Countrr. Jhis,largo decrease, wo believe, 'is ono of the Jhieficauses of-tho lack' of workers now boin fr rxpericncod throughjaut New Zealand. Tho lignreS'provo that the Dominion can easily absorb; from 10,000 to 1'2,000 'pbr arihiim with--sut' «wAmping! ,J .thtf- labonr:'marketj ;, "'jiii'd»thai' • frorii'-imlhigr'at'ib'ri faW'felow this "aumber• the' resultis ■'a curtailment of industrial - activity .and-expansion? owing to' thOv obkinibg* iSh'''adequai4^sub-' ply;ofrlalibttf; ! 'ln 'tTieae circrittstanies it" is' duty of • tho Gtrvern'nienfcHo' t"ako ?teps , ':-'i(S : :..«bsu#e ;■ uioronsed.. immigration! 'everyofto knows, is making stfehiious- and .Successful efforts' tirattfti'ct ponuli'- : .f! 11 ! expense or • pains' are 1 ' spared' in making tho inducements , which the to offer' to thoso, seeking new' Somes.-; The f?ow Zealand Government might witK great advantage to'the Dominion follow. 3n ;tholines of the Canadian authorities. 1 Our great rn«d- is population, " yet no special made to : obtain: it.' It is highMlimo that this supine policy was aban- ? e j'i ■ ' m °ro ''business-like methods' adtfio d«'Urtirv eet Pressing requirements of T«oX||^t:Qffiw sfta.%'• v• ' '^T 8 k k" o * wliother the' Post' OHieoisite in Aucklaftd is or is not definitely f v- 8 am ® er °f Cominerce meeting, ;fer instance, much bewilderment on tho' point was evidence. , Referring to the question, the Pr«sident (Mr. N. A. Nathan) that at presMlt' tli'jrc :seemed to bo an regarding tto site of the new wuding. iind \m\es3 some definite conclusicn was, arrived at 'thefe. might' 1» a danger of i tho Government hanging up the whole *-ork. . the Gflyornwent might say, When you de- > * ' site, Te ■will go on with the work." •' ■ . i. ■ i: ■ Mr. : ; B.' Maefarlane: 1' thought the bad already fixed the site. The.President: I understand that the railare opposed to the railway station l lv einß lb " a I question as to wjietner. we should take some, action now or : TOit iimtil Sir Joseph Ward oomes up and interview him. : . ; Mr/'Maefarlane! But wio aw not) all of ono wind: \ . ' - . Mr. J. Evans: Suppose wo writs to tho 1 estmaster-Genpral and ask whother the sito of A he >n ft w- Post Ofliee has been decided or ?°t? We wnll then-got an answer Yes or N«.",' Mr. S,. J,.Nathan, said lie understood that the railwar station sito had been selected, ancr that tho plans were now being prepared. . Mr. Macfarlane;. Officially wo havo been informed ,that the railway station site has been selected. Mr-.,Evans: said so? .. Mr.;Mftcfarlano: Sir Joseph Ward camo to Auckland for tho purpose, and it wbs stated In the Press that the sito had been fixed. The.vl'rejident said that tho commercial Mrinnunity was very anjrfous that the new Pnst Offiee should be gone on with as soon as •possible.- • Mr. .Evans moved that the Postniister6«sn«r*|; be writtc*. to ,s.nd asked to state wkf.tker {he sifce Lad been fixed. Mr. lthr,/arl»iie: We have already had an afe«tial mtnaatinn. ■ ■P lO ,? res 'dent: It was only a semi-official ixtimattnn. • -Mr,. fisgnaHt vf« wctq officially informed Bsvto rears ago that the Main Trunk railway Trenld U finished in three years, and it is an finished. r«t. . /Mr. JBthbs'S motion was carried. Pricao-BrStlsh ExJtJblllon. ITitlj » Tieir to baring the Auckland prornprosemterfl »fc' th© FranroBrifci*h Exhibition to be h<?ld at Shcpbercl'a Bnah. London, in M*y, the Mayor (Mr. A. Bk: .Myers) wrst» te the Auckland Chnmber af GVMmeroe, inquiring if they, as repreftnitiHg the commercisl and industrial in-terests-/of Aoekland, intended taking anr stops in the mattorr. The hon. secretary of tho Exhibition Committed also wrote stating that it was the intention of th® French (ioveriimont to give special prominence to /ho products and munufaoturcs of their colo--ies.-- ; It was desired that the British ■'ri ;' nioiis. should bn-us fully represented us ■ ''.'.icli. and the hope was expressed that -' /-"tl Oovernineiits and people would ■ -t:i rJiC.se at 1.1 (ime in an endeavour to in -- ii foyq tho Wui'l-.l tho manifold resources if. tlie. hmpire. TJie Council of the Chamber >f Commerce, at its meeting, came to thu joiielusion that it was too late to do anything in' the matter.' Tramcare. Ilio .reeornmendation in regard to the shortagp of tramears, which was made to tho ■City Council last week by the Electric nnd i Trainwav* Committee, was considered at a

spocial meeting of the Council in committeo. Tho committee, recommended that tho City Solicitor bo instructed, to tftlife Mtolr legal notion'as is necessary to refover the daniaEcs accruing from- with tho notice to provido-additional cars. The Council decided to refer the matter , of onforcing the unas td tho City Solicitor. In regard to the licensing hf hiotOrnien, it was dticidcd to eontinuo the former'"system of "issuing "®®nfles on the certificate of the tramways officials that, the nion have, been efiiolently trained. , Tho Rotorua Passenger Traffic. j, Tho iieary passenger traffic to ' and ,™ ' Rotorua still continues, and on Thursday the ineominj; express from Kotorua was twenty minutsH late in reaching Auckland, a good portion of the tlrae . lioving boon, lost by a wait .for a crossing at Bllerslici Those, who were present at the railway (station 'to' meet friends wore getting somewhat tired of waiting. Then a traiil appeared'with Wo engines, and . a rush, to. gfect ..the passengers, .but it proved to bo, Only ; a mixed freight ahd passenger train, ft discharged mails and about a dor.en people, and hod dmfrn out on tii tho.'sidmg before tlio whistle of tho'ex-press-was heard.' - There was abundant evidenco on tho clothing of travellers: and on tho vehicles of tho. heavy ■ dust encountered on the run through. Every carriage was coated with it, nn(f..l!iggago itio'kod ;as though it; had been brought across the Sahara.- One passenger suggested that tlio railway department might well try the experiment of sprinkling a little oil on the Worst, portion of the road. '■ CHRISTCHURCW. : _ January 2fl. Tho disadvantage of tHc existing system ofmanning tho firo brigade, under which the : superintendent and tho engineers ore ; the only permanent members of'the staff, was. shown at tho hospital fire; : The Mipennton-, ;dent reported at a recent meeting af tho I Board that two steamorß and two chemi-: oal oiigiiies attended tho fire, there' being; only nine firemen to handle them. Tho rail-, way engine was not available, as this was at, Addingtoii, and there .weris no horses'at' the station,' and the ; Sydonham " and ■ : St.. Albans fire stations Were rung'up. Regard-: ing tho'latter, the men wore working in-the . oity, the engineer 'wss working on the steam,' roller some distanoe 'from the station, and I tho horses were out in the water-carts on the streets. Tho Sydenham chemical-would havo been of no '■ use. Three policemen rendered great assistance with the hosein the upper ward. / "I must; again call yoiiri attention to Jihe Urgent need for more men and horses being provided,; This iiro showed the necessity for having a sufficient number of men to get; away with tho plant' upon. an alarm of lire being givon." In the course of tho disoussidn'.the chairman said he did not' think that the absonc&_of finaniial details should ■prevent them taking steps - to' engage pormar nont men. At tho hospital fire tnero was an absolute insQffioiency of mon to cope with the flames, and not even enough'to cut tho necessary holes-in tho ceilings.- There was a considerable: amount of disorder consequent' • upon' tho men arriving at different poriods, and owing to tho fact that, when the later comers arrived they did not know what placos . they ought to, take up. Tlie main defect was that.'there were no permanent--men; who would have b'oen on, the seono at* the 1 eerliest opportunity. They had'great reason' ; to be thankful that more damage to the pro- ' perty was not done, and more l especially, that there was no loss of life. In further remarks ■ ho pointed out that tho engagement of the , permaimnt men involved nn esstra • expondi.ture of ,£4BO. It was decided to eng.ice i a number of/permanbnt men for the various firo stations. I '' , - ... . < Place Names 'of New Zaaland. . \

ior.mauy ?cars past, says the "Times," a great,, number, of tliosn paoplo who liavo taken an jnterest in Now Zoalsml historV novo had their minds considerably excroificd ;.by tho pr&blom o.f t fol|e<;ting, correcting, and I justifying i ;he%l ? d<>; names of the' Doiniriiotr. I ho: ;f6jc ; of.; 'tho '* Maori' names,of many, railway stations 'and'pesl'.offices' is, an offence, to tho , ere of "'Maori' scholars. Tho; Hop. C. „C. Wowen/'Ji.t.C., lias; on .sqvoral occasions Urged "upon Parlia- ■ ment; ■ the necessity. for an investigation , of tlio -Maori place names with a viowto having them correctly, spelt and liiidcrstood. and sovoral members of Parliament. hnvo added their influence,; to his, but /hitherto with no success. ■ During last season a littlo.pnrty of members who were sitting by the lobbv' firo waiting for the evcnjng sitting to ftommonoo : v er !, 1 T r . e , tal, l n e mcidonts connected , with iYor.th Island place names. These Wore the Hon J. Carroll Mr. A. T.,Ngata, M.P., and' Mr A. L. D. 1< raser, M.P., all noted Maori scholars, and they produced many -interesting, points arid anecdotos, 11. G. Ell ?t i-' r<!l }l i3 , !t was . just, such matter that would bo of great assistance in carrying out the work Mr. Boweu wanted to havo done. He gotan assurance of help from tho storytellers, and, after a conferohoo with the •Iromier, a Departmental officer -was appointed u to assist in gathering notes about names. Mr.; Ngata undertook to 'supervise the notes, and a% commencement has been made, beginning with one of the county maps of the Poverty Bay district, with which Mr. iNgata is very well acquainted geographically and historically. Mr. Ngata, in addition to giving his personal . knowledge, has prepared circulars to be scut to reliable Maoris giving certain place names and'providing roOm for tho addition of notes of historical incident. Mr. Carroll and Mr. Fraser havs ofierpd to help «s far as' their informstion will allow, ami Maori members.irill bo cominunioatwl with. Tho presont intention is to have a!l«the obtainable information typo-vntton m a convenient, form and set aside for roforenee. siUl possiblv at somo future,date to havo it printed in book form. So far as Canterbury is concerned, Mr. K!| has collectcd a good deal of matter himself and. ho has asked Mr, Johannes 0. Andersen to go -on with tho collection of data. Tho work will bo done on tho same lines as those pursued in the North Island.'

DUNEDIN. January 25. A number of century-old charts, showing surveys of tho Australian coast matlo in 1802, when Commander Flinders, of H.M. filoop Investigator, sounded tho great Australian Bight, havo boon unearthed by Captain Lou-' den, Deputy-Harbonrmastor at; Port Chalmers, whc36 father for many years navigated those parts. Tho old charts, which aro well proservorl,- show tho soundings mado along tbo coast during the earliest survey, and aro marked in an jrregui.ir lino, probablv th« course of tho ship. i Surveys by Lieutenants Roe and Moore, bearing additional soimdiiigs, are also charted, and a comprehensive survey mado by Commander Stokes is also recorded; Ihe innumerable markings, though computed in tho later part of tho first halt of last ceiifury, aro taken as reliable, rccords to-day. fhe collection is a Very int-eresting.ono, and throivr. much light on early surveys. i t ' lorto thn City Council bave imposed a Is. od. genefal rat-o, and a Od, spccial rato, the latter being for the payment of interest. Owing to the reduction of interest, conse(|u»nh on tho renewal of tho loans, tho Council urn enabled, as a first step, to reduco the 9d. rate to Bd., and the joint r»-tes, instead of being as horetoforo 25., will therefore bo Is, Od.

NELSON. iiiu . Lit ■, 1 . Ja,l,l ary 24, Alfchongh the witid h,i!i hcon blowing at intervals from tho sea; there is as yet no sign of rain. Lain raspberry and hop crops are Buffering through the dry weather, and m many places tho noUlws aro compelled to cart the water for domestic use, Tho rivwß aro lower than thoy have beou for fortv years, and trout are reported to be dyin" iii thousands. ' L '" A discussion on the half-ho-lidav question has beou rovivud, thoru being a Tory stramr feeling in many quartern in. favour of a general batnrday half-holiday. The nwlyioruio<l RotajiflrB 1 , Association ha ve petitkwied tho City Council in favour of retaining Wednesday.

. The Aimiversnry ])«y athletic and cTclinp sports li.ivo nU'ractod n lavjjn number of entries from nil parts of ilie Dlmimmn. many leading riders having signified their' inten-t-ion to compete. Tho chief ovont- on tlio proursinran b a £30 wheel race. Tho Citizens'

Bant] will play at tho sports, and ill the evening tho .Giifriaoii Bund, assisted by* the Male Glee Party, will give nil Open-air con* wrt hi tlio Botanical Reserve, ' . , A slight but rat-hoi' lotig-eontinned shock of OHi'tllquako .was felt on Jitnuary 22. . i •- ~~~ ; 1 NEW PLYMOUTH. ■ . . January 24. , At a mooting of ladies it Was decided to hold a Hospital Saturday and Sunday, oil I'obruary 1 and 2. ■ V, \ > The cry for uniformity in scbool books throughout the Dominion iias, it scorns, liceii noticed by tlio -Education Department. At a mooting of the Tarrtiiaki Kducatioti Board a letter was received from the Secretary for' - Education stating that, tho Minister'would bo glad toi-Vmnv whether, ill the opinion of the Board add.of the Inspector of Schools, it.wrr desirable or foasiblo to have uniform Kehoolhooks lit all ptihlio .sohools' otV tho Dominion, and especially whethbl'there should bo: ono uniform series, of reading books in education districts. The letter' hnd been referred to tho inspectors,' who reported as follows"The. inspectors are of opinion ! that: it is to have tniifot'ni schoolbooks, and'\ certainly desirable in the ease of the' msdor. If a uniform series of reading books'is introduced, - provision should be made: for a periodical reyiMon of them." Mr; Monkhouse moved, lind Mr.; l p all seconded, "That the Board is of opinion that it, is feasible to have uniform scheolbooks, but tliorfi is diversity ,bf opinion as' to whother uniformity k dcsiralilo. Tho'; mem*, hers are unanimous that, if a uniform Series of books is adopted, ; tho selectlon should bo made by .1 conferoiloe of experts, and .(hat provision should be made for the. periodical revision of tho books." Mr. Kennedy, moved as:an amendment,;seconder! by Mr. Morlgoh,. ''That the .Board is of opinion that, a uniform system! of seboolbooks .he adopted, but. that a; eonfdreneo of (delegates'' and inspectors bo ~ hold ■' And Boards' be sot ■up to decide as to the kind to be adopted, and that, to tit-event fossilisat)oh,periodicar revision bo mado.", Tho amendment vffts defeated and the motion .carried./ ,