LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 116, 8 February 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Customs revenue collected at Wellington .yesterday amounted'to £1917 Bs. Si.:

A commencement" wvs nu'ij yesterday with the modifications at -li-iyjinment House , required for its conversion info; a,-legislative' chamber foi\noxt isssiiii. '

At St. John's Church to-morrow Dr. Gibb wiy preach his farewell ;cermons prior to! his furlough, and to commemorate .his twentyfifth- anniversary of his. ordination.'.

■ Tho New Zealand Rugby "Onion has received advico that seventy applications for "positions in the British team which will tour tho Dominion during the forthcoming season have boon received. • Twenty-seven, of the applicants- are international players. :

, The steamer Waihi grounded ; about ,ft quartor of , a mile north-west of KarAri Roclc early on Thursday morning, 1 whilst on..her run from Blenheim to Wellington,' A preliminary inquiry into tho mishap ,is ; ;to J)0 hold on Monday by the: Collector; of Customs".,

.The Fire Brigade -.was called outtwico yesterday, tlio first-time at 5.15'p.m.-to a grass and gorßo' Northland, .the flames, froriii which were getting, dangerously near sonie houses., The fire was extinguished by-some residents. The second call w,as v at' 5.52 p.m; ,to a chimney on'fire;afc-159 Willis Street.

- The annual conference of the newly-formed Now Zealand \Automobile Association is to bo ; held; in;'the .Tewn Hall, '■ Wellington, : on February 2h The iHon. T. W. Hislop," Pre;sidont of ( the Association; will occupy' the chair;-..' Rules will ,be ; adpptcd, and matters of general interest, to automobilists discussed.' 1 'All the automobile;clubs the' DominiSii will, be affiliatbd i 'to the A'ssociatien. / '

The monthly . meeting ,of the "Wellington Association of Architects was held '.in the. Association's Rooms, National Mutual Chambers,. lak evening, the. President, Mr:. F. do J. Clere, F.R.1.8.A., in the chair. The. general business having been gone through,", a .most ■ interesting paper was read by Mr. T. Ward, C.E., on the planning and laying out of townships. This, together'with the discussion which followed; proved of great .value-to members present:-,.

A fortnight ago tho Premier promised a number of people, who petitioned him on the matter,, that,the gdtos giving accoss to the Parliamentary grounds, and thus providing " short oUtsfor > pedestrians, would bo\ thrown Opdn, alio the gates' giving communication botween Hill, and Sydney Streets.' This, however, has not yot been done, and residents in tho. locality, many,; of , whom would be greatly convenienced by tho concession, 1 feel that - they ;have a grievance.

/ The annual conference 6f the Now Zealand Ironmasters' Association was to' have opened on , Thursday nest, at Christchurch, but the Arbitration Court has fixed 'that date for, the hearing of the engineers' dispute at Dunediu. This would prevent tho Diinedin ironmasters attending the conference, and they have therefore 'asked that the date of the conference bo altered. , The executive committee , met yesterday at the office of the secretary, Mr. H. F. Allen, Wellington, and decided to communicate with those concernod with a new to .postponing the conference to March 11.

In order to obtain a ruling as to whether night porters at hotels are entitled to a half-holiday each'' week; the same as other hotel assistants, the Labour Department pro-' secuted Alfred W. Harrison, licensee of the Palace Hotel,' in the Magistrate's Court yes.terday for having employed a night porter, and failed to allow him a half-holiday from 2 p.m. on one day in each week., It was argued by Mn Herdman, for the defence, that although the Shops and Offices Act' made provision for a half-holiday for assistants employed during the day, there was. no reference to those employed during the night from 10 p.m. or midnight until 7 a.m., such as night porters; 1 Mr. Riddell, S.M., reserved his/decision l in order to look into the matter. ■ ■ -

At the monthly meeting of the Central Pharmaceutical Association, held on Thursday night, a report was received from the business committee set up at last meeting to consider a grievance in regard to patent medicines. . After discussion it was resolved to request the cooperation of tho New Zealand Wholesale Druggists' Association, with the object of arranging more amicable terms between the manufacturer, wholesalo agent, retailer, and consumer in respect of, many patent medicines the market at a price which, it is said, does not nearly give the handlers a living profit. A letter was recoived from Professor Kirk, fixing February 27 as the date of his botanical demonstration to studonts of pharmacy. The demonstration will, bo• given at' Victoria College, Thore was a large attendance at tho mooting, and. the President (Mr. L. Mackenzie) occupied the chair.

Mrs. Ethel, R. Do Costa, LL.B, (noe Miss Ethel R. Benjamin, of Dunedin), after practising for some yetirs in that city, has commenced practice as a barrlktei - and solicitor in No, S Nathan's Buildings, corner Grey and Featherston Streets, Wellington. Mrs. De Costa has the distinction of being tho only lauy practising at the Bar in the Dominion. In« tending . clients can dopend on prompt and careful attention at Mrs, Do .Costa's hum

The Roman Catholic Retreat and Synod which have been in progress at St. Patrick's College concluded yesterday. ,

It;is notified that the sitting of the Native Land Commission, which..was to have been held at Otorohanga on Thursday, February 20, has been adjourned until Wednesday, February 26.

At the Central Drill-shed last evening Captain T. \Y. M'Donald, Assistant-Adjutant-General, District Headquarters, delivered .! lecture on " Military Field Sketching and Map-reading," to members of the Heretaunga Mounted Rifles and the Wellington Cyclo Corps.

John Reid, whose address is. understood to be Courtenay Place, sustained a severe injury to his heel while | working at Stewart and Co.'s timber yard yesterday.', Some timber, which was being hoisted in a sling, slipped and foil, striking him on the heel of tho foot. The sufferer was, conveyed to the Hospital, where liis injury was attended to.

Dr. Mason hasefFcied to give an address the members of'the League of Mercy, tlib new' Salvation: Army organisation, on' the precautions to be taken in visiting persons suffering from consumption and other infectious diseases, and the rules which should bo impressed upon tho sufferers. The League has now twenty membvs, who are kept, very busy visiting the poor and sick of Welling-' ton. 0 I

The inadequate accommodation for, transacting business at tin- Land. Transfer Offico, is still a iau3e of frequent complaints fbyj solicitors! The report of the Department 1 shows that its work has doubled within the last ten years, but the restricted' space,. iu j which it is accomplished has 1 remained unaltered tluough that period: Solicitors, .quite n3 much ai the Department's staff, are hampered by the inadequate accommodation/

Mr. T. E. Donne, General Manager of the Tourist Department, will have charge of the new Advertising'.Department. which : ,thei Government intends to' establish. Mr. Donne'u Department already controls, the advertising in the Railway Department's -- having taken over this feature, as' a- notice explains "in order to ensure the publication appearing in a form which will maW.it.a valuable source of information and attractive 1 to the public." In its endeavour to " catch >tho tourist','■ this Department has always had agood deal to do with advertising.

A peculiar , position in regard to the Shops; and Offices Act was' unfolded at 1 the Magistrates' Courl yesterday,. when two Chinese were charged on separate informations' with occupying a factory and failing, to keep'a record, showing the hnmos of the persons employed, their wages, and tho kind of work, they were engaged in, also tho ages of those under 21 year's. ,Mr. Blair, for- defendants, assured 1 the. Court that the • kept a record written in Chinese, and. the ' Department had access to' this book, but could not understand it. ) Counsel said he had explained'the, position to defendants, and had shown thorn how to keep a proper record as demanded by tho Act, and in future they were going to; do this. A. fine of 10s., and costs 75., was imposed m : each caso.