LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 149, 18 March 1908, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

' The Cnstoms revenue collected -at'. Wellington yesterday , amounted to £4075 17s. 9d.

A largo batch of owners of unregistered dogs will be called upon to, answer to tho Stipendiary 'Magistrate this morning for their remissness in failing to register.

The prevalence of grass, fires of late has moved the police to lay an information against a youth, charging him with wilfully setting fire to some grass ,at . Wadostown recently. The alleged offondor'• will be brought before tho Court on summons on Friday morning.

1: "I am suro that a lot of lameness in horses is caused.by bad shoeing," said tho inspector of the Society for the Prevention of Cruolty to Animals at tho meeting' yesterday. "It is a pity that tho' Voterinary Surgeons Bill of last session was thrown out." Next yoar, ho said, he would do all ho could to have tlio Bill ro-introduced, since shoos should only be nailed on by rncn of experience, 'who were acquainted with the formation of the hoof. He could not in his position', ho said, go round and lodge complaints •with blacksmiths. •

Tho members of the Wellington Stock Exchange observed the holiday yesterday, consequently there i was no sitting of tho Exchange. This morning the Arbitration Court will hear the compensation cases, Whiteford v. the King, and Kelly v. the Union Steam Ship Company. In the afternoon several applications for enforcements will be dealt with. Tho preliminary arrangements for a wedding; which was to have, taken place to-day, wore upset yesterday evening by tho intcrforeneo of Dotcctivo Connolly. Tho prospective .bridegroom was . " wanted " in ono at the country districts to answer a trilling charge, and the detective locatcd him on tho ere of his marriago, and shattered a happy dream in one fell swoop. A Dominion paragraph* a day or two.ago raado reference to a seaside place in the Hawko's Bay district called by tho charming Maori namo : Tamataukakatangihangakoauau. Mr. C. 11. Parata says, this is an abbreviated form of tho name. In full it is Tamatauwhakatangihangakoauaotancnuiarangikitanatahu.,, Mr. Parata's .translation is, " The .bill on which Tanenuiarangi (tho husbapd of lleaVen) played his flute to his beloved." • y The 'Wellington Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association 'last niglit discussed the.matter of a reception to the New Zealand athletes who represented the 5 Dominion at the Australasian Championships at Hobart. The team tHH return'by the Miowera, probably on Friday, and it is expected the Southern men will proceed' South tho same evening. In view of this, it was considered that little more; than a formal'gathering could bo held, and the arrangements wore left to a committee comprising 1 Messrs. W. Coffey,'J.' W. Heenari, and B. A." Guise (secretary).

At the.biennial conference. of the. Amalgam mated Society of Railway Servants, at present sitting at Wellington, the, following officers were clected for the ensuing term:— President: Mr. W. A. Veitch (Wanganui); Vice-president: Mr. F. Hutchms (Invercargill); Executive Councillors: North IslandMessrs. S. 6. Smith (New Plymouth), T. Wilson (Palmerston. North), J. HValker (Cross Creek), ;R: Moore ; " South Island—Messrs. J. .Witham;'(Greymputh), ;J. M'Nab (Oamaru), P. J. Barry . (Dunedin); Treasurer: R. Moore; Trusteos: .Messrs. Leo, Ryan, .and Ahern.; The - conference,' which has been now!in deliberation for almost two weeks, .will probably come to a closo tomorrow. "r .' ■

: The promoters of' a" completed . syndicate allego that oysters abound in a certain part of Cook: Strait', one,bed being nine milee.long by one and; a. half miles, broad.. Mr. J.. Pomeroy,' who has had 'a, long experience in' the'oyster industry', at"'the; Bluff, is manager for. the Byndicntc, . which has engaged the steamer ; Lily for a month. -If the bod turns out anything like.as.rich as the membors. of the syndicate represent it to be, no time will be lost, in'forming a company with a to founding ! an;.oyster'-: trade. with Wellington 'arid other parts' of. the Dominion.' For the lovor . of oysters tlio prospect >is alluring. Heretofore, thp oyster eater, has had to pay a shilling for a dozen, " Bluffs " .{with bread, arid vinegar th'rown iri) ,* but .'at the Bluff : they are given'..in with a pint of fourpenny beer. Is fciat. pleasure awaiting/the hungry! toiler, in,' Wellington ?. if./si twenty-mile oyster,bed is discovered at our front' door,: the > 'cost-of-living" correspondent' : will ■ write/; declaring: that Providence, has intervened in the nick of iimo. ', .. ', . " ''

In.regard'to the Butter Workers',dispute,. Mr. P. J. O'Regan .(chairman of the Conciliation Board), has been officiallyy advised that negotiations to hold a further conference, of tho parties have proved abortive: - The Board has accordingly decided to njeet in Wellington on Monday next for the purposo of considering its recommendations: . -The'-Board has already made an ;ext'onsiye personal ... investigation of a number of factories, and; has secured sufficient data to enable it to frame recommendations,' but ,; has. ; designedly , fc layed doing so in order to enable the parties, if possible, to follow/the, precedent laid down in' the shearers' dispute. l ,": But, as the negotiations have • come' to nothing, the .Board' has, no alternative. but to' .proceed with , its recommendations in tho ordinary way. This means that the recommendations will bo filed in due course, after which the parties may either, agree to adopt them, or each side may take them to' the Arbitratio'n Court within amonth from the date of the filing.,

A strong protest against keeping fowls 1 cooped up unfed and . uhwatered iin auction yards was made yesterday ,by the inspector of the Society for the Prevention of .Cruelty 'to Animals. The inspector cited a case in which he had. discovered 100 fowls penned in small coops. He had found them'. there . on' tho Tuesday;: and they were without, food and water. An expert was "with. him,■ and 'an examination of the fowls disclosed that their crops were empty.! One fowl .was dead,-but whether from starvation or disease ho could riot say. He interviewed the manager of the establishment, who said- the birds had' been fed on the Sunday. The inspector urged' that legal: proceedings be taken by tho society, since he had frequently spoken in vain on the , cruelty :of tho' neglect.:-" The chairman: " When you have a clear- case, tho committoo 'will be' very, glad to take action.!' The inspector said he could prove the present case, since expert witnesses were prepared to go into tiie arid swear that tlio fowls' crops were empty. -Thp matter was allowed to drop, but action will 'be taken-in the first case where,evidence is clear.

In conversation with a Dominion reporter, Mr. C.- K. Pa rata, iof Wellington, warmly endorsed . the complaints mat. have been made in regard to the difficulty experienced by Maoris in obtaining hotel accommodation in this city. He stated that he had many times had to go from one hotel to another trying-to obtain accommodation for Natives. He had rung up hotols and found that they had rooms* vacant, but when he mentioned' that he was asking on behalf, of Maoris, or took his friends there in a cab, he was immediately told that the house was full, or that' no Maoris 1 could bo taken. There were only two hotels ;in , the oity whore Maoris could obtain board and lodging. Tho difficulty was felt, not only, during the sit- 1 ting of the Native-Land Court "or-. Parliament, but every month; The Maoris had money and were ready, to pay, and thoy were quiet, -well-behaved people, but. the hotelkeepers did not like Natives. . Mr. Parata did not look to tho erection of a special hostelry for .Natives as the remedy. Ho thought the hotel-keepers and others should be persuaded to overcomo their prejudice against their fellow citizens of tho i Maori race. ' '

Mrs. Etliol. R. de Costa, L 17.8. (nee Miss Ethel R. Benjamin, of Dunedin), after practising for somo_ years in that city, has commenced practice as a barrister and solicitor in No. G Nathan's Buildings, corner Grev and Featherston Streets, Wellington. .Mrs. De'Coeta has the distinction of being the only lady practising at the Bar in the Dominion. Intending cllentß can rlopencl on prompt and oaroful attention at Mxß. De Costa's hand*.

Competition .is the soul of enterprise. Grapes labelled " New Zealand " were beting sold in tho streets yesterday fer 9d. per lb. Very fine grapes they looked, too. Wircmu Kauika, the Native chief, has telegraphed to the Hon. Mahuta and Taingakawa, 'at Waikato, suggesting that, thoy should ask the Premier and Native Minister at their mooting tormonw what has been done with the £7000 annually granted by the Imperial Government to tho NAtives of New Zealand. . . A gentleman from Melbourne is interesting himself in the initiation in this country of Jin industry that concerns itsolf with a patent material called *' leatherubber." This material is)- said to consist of tho scrap leather' and rubber that in the past have ■ keen 'thrown "away into, the rubbish tin as useless, v. The vrubber is. melted down, strained off, and raised ■ with 'the leather' (which is. ground into powder); which combination, . in .the; proper, proportions,', produces an article similar to ; ■ linoleum, from which various kinds df floor coverings, mats, cte;, can bo manufactured. The utilisation ,of waste products in the.'manner,suggested seems feasible enough,: assuming the quantities are available,: and that when manufactured ;the goods could compete with-those imported. . .