LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 140, 7 March 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

—$ A number of letters to the Editor aro in type, and will'appear in Monday's issuo. The Johnsonville Rifles paraded last night under Lieutenant Merrilees. There wore only nine men on parade. Dilatory ratepayers should take notice that it is the intention of tlio ■ municipal autho- , rifcies to sue for all city rates outstanding on March 12. > . . The twelfth edition of the Tourist Department's "Itinerary of Travel in New Zealand" , has just been issued. This useful publication continues to increase slightly in bulk" as new information is added in each succeeding ■ issuo. The postal authorities advise that the Wimmera, which left Sydney on March 4 for : Auckland, has on board an English, mail for Wellington. The mail will, in the ordinary ; course, arrive by . Tuesday's express train - from New Plymouth, but if the steamer i makes an early connection at Auckland it may possibly arrive on Monday night. A meeting of the police force'is being arranged for Friday next, when tho position ' of tho force' ill regard to the Civil Service ' superannuation scheme .will be further con- > siderod.. It is understood that/the legal ! opinion obtained'by tho force in reference ' to the scheme will bo discussed; and that a > lino, of action will bo dccided, upon. Nothing officially is yet announced regarding Mr. Ashcroft's successor as Official Assignee and Coroner. The appointment will | be made by. Cabinet. The opinion is held in somo quarters' that the. appointee should possess legal knowledge and trailing, owing j to, tho demands that the position makes in. .this'respect.' -- v • >, A peculiar accident occurred to a young [ man named William Livick, ,on tho ware- ; house 1 staff of Messrs. Sargood, Son, . and ! -Ewen, yesterday. morning. Ho had just > stepped'out of" a descending' lift when 'tho [ top* of his head and shoulder' came, in contact , with an ascending elevator alongside, with ! the result that he • received,' a nasty scalp wound and his shoulder was injured. He was [ taken to the. hospital,: where lie is doing as . well, as possible. ' ' i At a meeting of tho .Wellington branch of i the Political .Labour Leaguo last night, a - resolution,' received from tho Southland i branch of jth.o League,' was agreed to.- The f resolution emphatically, condemned,tho action i of tho Union' Steamship Companym mcreas- ■ irig passenger fares,- and asserted' that the plea, of increased cost of. coal was quite, un- ; justifiable. It 'aJso stated that',-in , viow of I the huge profits made year after year; at ,tho l, cost ,of tho public, the time js - now oppor-', ■ tuno for State competition with the Huddart,Parker and Union -Steamship Companies.,' ' Many tram passengers wil]. have experi- ' enced a 'slight difficulty in', alighting gracefully, from some of the new palaoe cars, not' ' through' the height of. the step (which ap- , pears to worry some folk), but through-the l ; .misplacement of the brass handle-'.outside } . tho doors. Iu some instances these handles ' have been placed on tho least convenient T : side 'of the 'opening to assist passengers, I- alighting from a moving car in the proper 3 ; manner—by facing .the direction in which; the 5 cars 'aro -travelling.-.' The. position .of.'tho • handles at fault;; are. being, altered 'at the " tramways workshop at Newtown. j ■' Failure' to observe the regulation' which forbids tho boarding of tram-cars from the v side nearest the centre polo resulted in a young man, named AY. F. Smith, a boarder at . the Royal Oak , Hotel,' meeting with an. ' acciden o last evening. It appears that Smith' ,' was in a .hurry to reach' tho Manawatu ' RaiWay' station, and attempted to get on the' car from the 'wrong; side opposite the I Scott- motor works, in .'Lower .Cuba" Street.': £• Ho was, struck ,by one of .the centre poies as: the car moved on, and was knocked off, • receiving . a sovero shaking. Smith'was at-; tended to by Dr. Gilmer. g : The end'of the drought and the chilly. s southerly wind which has', succeeded reminds (v all rather unpleasantly that winter. is : :ap•j. proaching. While thero is nothing startling £ in this announcement, _it is, worth; noting in respect to tho inaction.,'of tbo City Council regarding the provision of. another carshed J for tho stabling of our rapidly-increasing rea giment of cars. Tho carshed at Newtown, enormous as it seemed throe years ago, is now unablo to shelter all.the cars after run-. 0 ning hours, 1 with the result that cars suffij. cient to cover tho track space' between the carshed and tho'waiting-room' at the corner of Russell Street are left out in tho open air every night. For this to bo ,the case throughout- the stress of winter does not appear to be consistent with the exercise of a'proper care over city property. As the y building of another carshed, cither at e town, Thorndon, or Kilbirnie,' will take some y time, the matter should receive immediate y attention. E- Tho manufacture of gas for light, and. heat [- by means of air blown through a volatile e oil is not new. The various ways in which !- good results may be achieved is another ,e matter, Bo devious are 'tho methods ome ployedJ A very ingenious method of creats, ing the new gas illuminant is involved ( in j the Perfect Automatic Safety Gas Plant, a ;8 demonstration of which was given in Izard's e Building yesterday afternoon. What is really tt new about the plant is the manner in which a the air is introduced to-the oil tank. This e is, done by means-of a bellows worked by a ii- tiny jblcctric motor, which begins and ceases if work automatically -by the gasometer being attached to tho electric switeh .by medium e of an elastic baud. As the gas exhausts A itself tho tank sinks with its own weight )f until enough strain is put on the elastic to ;e pull down the switch that sets tho motor ir going.' Then as tho gasometer fills ' the J action is oxactly rovorscd. Tho gas given ls off gavo a brilliant white light, and was said to bo the result of a mixture of GO per ie ceait. of air with 40 per cent: of naphtha gas. ( |. Its utility for cooking purposes was also' do;e monstrated. Tho patentee is Mr.: H. j llookam, who ;invented "Twentieth Century" gas, and who is now forming a comp.my with a viow to placing his newest idea [Q on the market. U Jfrfl. Elliot Tt. Do Costa, LL.B. (neo , Misa ■ Utliol R. benjamin, of Dunedin), after practis--1 iu" for some years in that city, has com1' menced practice as a barrister and solicitor n in No. G Nathan's Buildings, cornor Grey anil j Featherston Streets, Wellington. Mm. De Coßta 'i has the distinction of being the only lauy IV uraotiaing at the Bar m tho Dominion. Int tending clients can depend on prompt and w car etul attention at Mra. De Costa a hands.

The Customs revenue collected at Wellington yesterday amounted', to" £1719 7s. 4d. 1 The agreement between tho Wellington ( City Council, suburban-local bodies, and land ' syndicates concerning the Hutt River pipe 1 and traffic bridge is in the hands, of tho ] solicitors, and is approaching completion. J A number of southern fire brigadesmon j passed through Wellington yesterday, en | rou.to to Masterton,'. where the annual con- . ferenco is to bo held. The proceedings are . to bo initiated ivith a church parade tomorrow. Mr. M. F. Bourko, the . well-known flaxmiller, informed a Dominion representative yosterday that ho had closed down the whole of his mills in various parts of tho'North Islancf, consequent upon the fall in price of tho commodity in tho Home markot. Mr. Bourko leaves for Auckland oil Monday. ■ Owing to tho < special sitting of: the Arbitration Court at; Greymouthi having ' been fixed for Monday' next, tho sittings in-other '■ places will be postponed a Week. The Court will therefore open at Wellington on March i 16, at Wanganui on March 31, at Palmerston North; on April 2, and atNapier on April G. The proposed Maori Congress will be opened in Wellington on July 14, subject to arrangements being made with the Native Department, Public Health Department, and tho Education Department. It is proposed to apply to the City. Council for : the use'.of. tho Town Hall for some of the large gatherings, and to' engage the Sydney Street schoolroom for the ordinary meetings. The tender of Mr. J. E. Hampton,' of Rcmuera, at £748, has been accepted tho Public Works Department, for, the-erection of a new post-office in tl'.o Auckland district. A defective chimney in a houso' in, Palmer Street, owned, by Henry Mitchell and. occupied, by George Johnston, ■ resulted in a fire yesterday amongst tho woodwork covering tho chimney.; Tho Firp Brigade; turned oiit at 10.36 a.m., and extinguished the outbreak before any serious damage was done. Whilst .walking along tho beach at Plimm?rton recently a. local resident came across ax kerosene tjii containing the skull ,of a human ..being;. The tin was just above, high- , -water mark,- and appeared to have been Washed up by .the tide. The matter was re-, ported to' the police, and; inquiries- elicited the fact thut -the skull was originally found by a labourer, whilst digging rock for. a ' newly-formed road. -He.;placed .it-in an.'old korbsone tind-as a trophy, i. The skull is,old and weather-beaten, and, in the opinion ot the police','is; part of- the' remains of', a Maori who had been buried many years ago..'' A plea sing; ceremony took place at Messrs. ,Kirkcaldie and Stains' warehouse last evening, ; when Mr. Sidney. Kirkcaldie was. pre l sent-ed with, a handsomely : illuminated address by the employees' of the firm to mark their , appreciation of a .valued concession recently mado to them. Oil tho suggestion of tho, manager, Mr. James Dawson,; Mr. Kirkcaldio hiais agreed' to give all those, employees who' have been, in th^., service of ;tho. firm, for twelve montlis or, over; one holiday; per year an, full pay, a : concession,.,it is understood, new to the drapery trade in Wei-' lington. The presentation was 11. Roberts, one of the: heads of department-s, who' v'picecf "'the' appreciation', of 'the staff' of Mr.. Kirkcaldio's. -considerate" action;'.' < Despite tho doubts and complainings of ■ New Zealand, vine-growers, the statement of, Mr.,-J.; Scott, Commissioner ..of South ,Au's-; tralia at the New Zealand Exhibition; tothe effect that grapes from, the State could bo sold in Wellington: for 6d. per pound, has ' advanced, to. the ; cheerful .region /of fact. ■ Yesterday. a ; member of the . staff of this, paper purchased'a pound of the best South Australian: (cork-packed) grapes' in a shop Gd. 1 per pound. The barrow-men have been selling Sydney grapes, ex Ulimaroa, for : the same price since Thursday morning,- but ' this is tho first occasion on which tho best . South / Australian ' muscat-els havo • been sold so .cheaply in. a fruit-shopV. This news must; be gratifying to the grape-loving public. The position as regards the winding-up of the Public Service Co-operative Stores was ' .considered by Dr.'A. M'Arthur, S.M., in Chambers yesterday. morning. Mr. Fell api peared in .'support of a petition by Messrs. W. and G. TurnbuH and Company, Wellington. to have the Society wound up on account,'of its inability; to pay its',.debts.' 'No.' ; creditors-came forward to oppose tho. application, and an - order, was made; that the - Company be wound i up, Mr; H. A, Gold being , appointed official liquidator. It was pointed out that' creditors. were required to ,provo . .their claims before April 17, arid notices calr i ling on creditors to send in. their claims were [ ordered,' to .be inserted in the. three j daily I papers. It was directed that ; the costs ,of > the; petitioners should',-b'o paid out of t-he : assets ;of the Society. ■ i At a meeting of the 'sub-committee of the ■ Carruthers benefit sports meeting held, on • Thursday, there wero present Messrs. Hee- > nan (Wellington Centre),' Robinson • (Har- ' riers), Poliock (W;A'.A.C.),: Fitzgerald (Y.M. 1 C.A.), Parkes (Civil Service A.5.C.), ; Hog- ) ben (Victoria College A.A.C.), and Gosling >. (Port Nicholson A.A.C.). Various aijtangeE ments were made for the meeting, which-will > bo a combined one, under the auspices and ■ direct control of the 'Wellington Centre and > the affiliated clubs, in aid of tho widowed ! mother of the late Mr. Thomas Carruthersj : a young Wellington-athlete, who-died reb cently. Many trophies have been donated, j "and; to make the meeting especially attraci tive, the sub-committee is arranging to ser cure tho presence of the Wellington members - of the New Zealand team that Won the inr tercolonial championship at Hobart 'a few i days ago. , ~<■ ' .' 1 The trouble about the Wadestown/school 5 piano, as explained in The Dominion the 7 other day, has reached an acute stage. The 1 school committee paid the first instalment 3 on tho instrument with £10, the proceeds l . of a concert, but- a dispute then arosobe- > tweon the headmaster and the committee ? as to the care and location of the piano.' 1 When the second instalment becamo: nearly 3 due, it was evident that tho parties were " not in a mood to work together in getting ' up another concert- A meeting of the resi- • dents was held on Wednesday night to con--3 sider tho position. Tho discussion becamo 1 heated and assumed such a personal tone, 5 that at one timo it looked as if words alono r would not suffice to; express, the feelings of • tho, parties. Tho headmaster (Mr. C. R-. ' Joplin) explained Iris case at great length. • It was resolved, on the motion of Mr. G. " Nash, to open a subscription list to defray " the cost of tho piano, but then a now diffi--1 culty arose—nobody was prepared to take charge of the list. The chairman of tho i committee (Mr. Ha.nratty) stated that ho • intended to resign, and tho Secretary (Mr. . T. Kaywood) said ho was " full up ". of the ' business. It looks as if those who-signed the > bailment—whoover they are —will bo per- : sonally liable for about £55, tho baWico of the oost of the piano.

The Children's Homo at Palmerstou;North, which is conriccted with tho local Anglican Church, and managed by the Vicar (Rev. C. C. Harper), was started eighteen months ago wit-h ono occupant. A report in the Parish Magazine records that the Home has : justified its existence, Thirteen children are now housed and thirteen more are wait- i iitg for admission. An enlargement of the building is shortly to be undertaken, at a cost of £700 or £800. - The Home is run entirely by voluntary subscription. ,