LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 161, 1 April 1908, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The preferential tariff, which gives preference to British-made goods in certain lines, will come into force to-day—six months after the tariff was passed by Parliament. , Tho Customs duties collected during March seem to indicate that big clearances have been made, presumably on goods that will from to-day carry a heavier ■ duty than formerly... The duties collected during March in Wellington totalled £74,510, as compared with £01,047 for the Same month of last year, and tho total, duties (excluding the beer duty) for the financial year ended yesterday were £842,985,.as against £766,895 for the yoar ended March 31, 1907. Tho mails which left Wellington on February 21 by R.M.S. Wimmera, and connected at Sydnoy with the Naples mails per R.M.S. Orontes, arrived in London in the afternoon of March 29, due date. \ . A meeting of thb Government Railways ■ Appeal Board , for the North Island will be held % on : April 2to hear the: case of \T,i Timings, tho tablet man who was dismissed as the result'of the recent train accident at Mangatainoka. The estate of the late Sir John Hall has been finally certified by the Commissioner of Stamps, and assessed, for purposes 'of duty, at £216,271. This is the largest estate of 200 finally certified by the Commissioner; last , month. The : . next largest were the : estates of Mr. John Holmes, of Canterbury, proved at £63,590, and of Mrs. C. Boiling-;, wall, of Wellington, proved at £41,937. 'The now Hotel Windsor, which has be-, come one 'of the principal "architectural features of Wi'-lis Street,, is to ibe formally opened to-morrow.' The proprietors', Messrs. Bolton and Edwards, have issued •; 150"invitations to a dinner to bo given at 1 p;m., and between ■ 300 and .400 invitations to an 'aftorrioon tea to be partaken of between the hours of 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The Windsor has been magnificently furnished throughout, and is, in every respect, , a hotel that 'does credit to tho'City. •' : , An elderly man named Chas. Ogilvie, residing at Roseneath, met with an accident in Customhouse Quay at 4.50 yesterday afternoon. It is stated that Mr. Ogilvie commonced "to cross the road opposite Messrs. Turnbull and Co.'s warehouse, but, on seeing a Wallace Street car approaching, stopped '"on- the: side of' the and did not move, although the motoraiari rang liis bell and slowed the car up. The front step of the ■ car struck Mr. Ogilvie's legs, Slid caused ; him to fall towards the 1 car. His face struck the car, the result being a wound above one of the eyes. Dr. Webster attended to the wound.

" It 'appears to. mo that a large . number of these eases could be dealt with more satisfactorily' if"we; co-operated''with 1 the ciety for, .the,i Protection iof Women and Children." This ■ remark from; Mr. Bolton at' the.'Benevolent Trustees' meoting . yesterday ! afternoon opened the; r ay , for 'a ' short discussion. The Rev. WV A. Evans favoured co-operation in the ! cases : instanced by.; Mr';. Bolton, namely, ; those /of wifo desertion, when the proceedings generally , consisted'of maintaining the wife and family until police: prosecution was instituted. •- Mr.. Robertson, however, did * not see the • matter, in', such' a rosy light.' " That cuts both: ways," jie 'ief marked. " 'When we tried it with anothfer society,, some; tirno ago,; the members . did their -best to find cases for. Us' to deal with.''.'

Of.,the 2S British, footballers who sail for. New Zealand early inApril Jremarks •'the " Athletic News no . foweif.thaii fiver are Somerset players—a remarkable proportiqii for> one county to provide.. Four of .them are forwards —R. Dibble, the Bridgwater Albion international man, who lias made' several appearances-for England,; and is temporarily relinquishing 'his responsibilities'as a local bohiface for the trip; Peroy Down,'! of Eailand, who is Throwing up his "employment/in Bristol for the tour; 6. V. Kyrke, the old Marlburkn and Yeomanry subaltern,, just through his legal examinations; and H. G. Archerj.who is finishing a coursoiof medical studios;.' at. Giiy's Hospital.-' . The fifth'is H. H. VassaU, the Oxford centre three-quarter back, who should bo a big asset- for tho tourists in the back division; '.

Oil and after to-day tho running : of' the traiii service at the northern end.-'of , the Maini Trunk Railway will bo extended from Waimarino to Erua, a distance of four miles, reducing-the 1 coach journey to. 14 miles. ,In consequence tho morning train from Taumaruntii will leave at 7 a.m., instead of 6.50, and the evening train,, returning, will leave Erua at 3.52, instead of Waimarino at 4. This will allow another for tho coach journey; and for tourists to admire the beauties of the scenery. Tho lino will be opened to Makatoto on May 1. During the Easter .holidays, from April 16 to 21 inclusive, the ; evening, tra.in from Mataroa to Waiouru will run on to Ohakune, and the early train from. Waiouru to Maknroa will start from Ohakune. This will enable travellers to rbach Ohakune from "Wellington in, one day, and to return the whole distanco on the..following day.. A large deputation of Epuni Hamlet settlers and 'residents of Nainai was to the Minister for Lands (the Hon. R. M'Nab) yesterday, by Mr.. T. M. wilford M.P. The Epuni settlement is at Waiwetu, an<J the request was in connection with more convenient road access. It, was pointed out that a road through tho' settlement and past the Elmwood Estate \?ould give direct access both to tho Main Road and the prdr posed now Camp Road bridge qver the Hutt River . At present tho r.oad Via. Nainai is circuitous. The portion ;of land irequired for the proposed road is owned by the' Government, ipith the exception of one piece of about balf-an-acro, which is occupied by a Grown tenant. This settler expressed his willingness to Mr. M'Nab to permit acc6ss' on reasonable compensation. It suggested the Government should tako this portion of land. The distance would ,be about one'mile and a half. The Minister snid he would have' an officer of tho Department, sont out to draw up a report. It seemed to' him, from what lie had heard, that the request was one that should be granted. '

Mrs. Ethel R. tie Costa, LIi.B, (nee Miss Ethel R. Benjamin, of Duncdin), after practising for some years in that city, has commenced ■ practice as a barrister and solicitor in No. 0 Nathan's Buildings, corner Grev anil Featherston Streets, Wellington, Mrs. De'Costn haa tho distinction of being the only lady practising at the Bar in tne Dominion. Inlending elionts can l depend on prompt and careful attention at Mrs. Da Costa's hands.

The Hospital authorities advise- 3 . Vat night that Motorman Barton was still in much tho same condition. The man M'lntyre was a little hotter than he had been.

" The Feeding and Care of the Baby " is the title of an interesting and instructive pamphlet .which the Wellington Registrar of Births hands to every person registering the birth of a child. The pamphlet gives the best of advice to mothers, ■ an'd contains a mass of useful information with, respect to artificial feeding. , • ' , Many .persons who apply to tho Benevolent Institution fbr aid are more in need of "push": than anything else. All they re-j quiro .is • a little encouragement, and they get -it from the chairman, Mr. Evans, "Ch&er up! Things will soon bo better with you,". ho said to an applicant. yesterday,. " When the night is. so dark, the dawn is not far off." The Bum .of ■ £1000 without interest was offered for sale to tho shareholders in No. 1 Fund of ; the United Building Society last evening, tho money being knocked down to Mr,'. J. W. Henderson (£600) and Mr. J. M'Callum (£400). There was, also a draw (by. ballot) for the sum of £1000 among the shareholders in No. 2 Fund. The successful members were —Messrs. S. Gribble (£500), J. Boucher (£200), and J. E. Lerwell (£200). The Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) gives his record of travels during the last six weeks as four thousand railed. During time, he delivered 212 speeches: Sometimes'ho made as many as eight speeches a day.- Sir Joseph states he is satisfied, as the result,of-his trips, that a knowledge of .the pountry is essential to those who administer ' its affairs, and this can only ,be gained by: 'personal observation. • He had found travelling by no means a picnic, but hard work.'

• The Post, and Telegraph Department has placed an order for a handy motor delivery van for. the collection 'of piail matter from the 'Wellington pillar boS6s .with Messrs. Magnus, Sanderson and- Co., of .this city, A Russell car, manufactured by the Canada Cyole and Motor Company, of' Toronto, has been selected,' and is oxpected to "arrive here some time' during July. ' The Department has also been inquiring into the, utility of larger motor vans for the. removal of bulk niails from steamers and trains, but nothing definite on this point has been . decided.; ;

The 'sharp 'line of distinction' rates the various branches of Trades Unionism was illustrated at'the meeting of the Benevolent Trustees yesterday. An applicant; for relief; was a woman whose husband," a competent coa'ch-painter, -through, slackness of work m his own branch of tho trade, had been working at house-painting. His omployer Was perfectly , satisfied "with him,, bnt was, nevertheless, ,' compelled by the Union to dismiss him, as tho man was not a Unionist' of the house-painting branch, and could not be admitted as a member until his case had. been considered at a special mooting. •. ••• ' r . ... '

The deer-stalking season ,for the, Wairarapa district opens to-dav, and reports from there indicate that stags are numerous, and good sport is, anticipated., Last week several camps were pitched on that portion of the Government Reserve that has been thrown open to stalkers this Boason. The Wellington Acclimatisation Society have increased the license, fee; to,, .thif,, season, and this entitles the-holder to'shoot four; stags, of. "roaring"; is"very- late"this year; in factj it has only .■just, .commence)}!'.. The ;.larger .stags', .which are usually concep.lcd in the bush, havo been Tdceritiy ' seen in ! tho open''country; ' so tlie prospects of some large heads being secured are good. . - ■:

. Several of the barbers. of the City have taken Dr. Mason's timely advice to heart by showing an earnest ..de'sire'/ to' improve the sanitary equipment :of .their saloons.'. Dr. Mason: was! emphatic in insisting that barber's Bcissors, razors, combs, brushes,: etc., should be sterilised after, use.- -This hasi had the: effect, of inducing two or .three harbors, and' hairdressers .to obtain patent sterilisers as usefl in America. ' The affair is very 'simple, merely : a larger, hot-water -urn than is usual, with a projecting; receptacle on either side, where combs, razors, and I scissors m.iy be " hot-aired," arid a deep pari fitted into the- top for steaming the saloon towels! Common sense orjes aloud that-the sterjliser is a good thing, and no barber should be happy, until he gets one..

Regarding the anomalies to which-atten-tion was called .last Week'iii 'respect of- tlio 'sale of poispns, Dr. Mason, Chief Health .Officer, 1 stated;to a: representative of Dominion yesterday that, it is .fully recognised that 'the existing Poisons Act is altogether out-of-date and inadequate. An amending Bill' was brought forward last which he believed would prove-a ' very; suit able measure, but,' owing to congestion of legislation, .it. never passed' into law. ,v Dr. Mason hopes that a Bill will be brought forward with more success next session. The measure introduced last year, ho •stated,' contained one or two provisions that were not pleasing to chemists; but lie :thought that :these. difficulties .'could be | smoothed over.. The chemists would like to see country storekeepers prohibited from selling poisons altogether, but' such a pro? •vision would never bo accepted by Parliament, as the country members would oppose'it as one man.

At the conference of master bakers recently held in New Plymouth a delegate . that the butchers., of Palmerstoii North wero only waiting to see how the cash coupon system for bread worked out to formulate some suoh scheme in connection with tho sale of meat.- Cash trading appears to he a contingency (ff the immediate future. Of;the mysterious causes of fire a probable olio has come to tho knowledge of a leading produce firm within the last few days. In selling chaff in sacks it is customary for the purchaser to be charged for tfid sacks, ,on the return of, which to thp store ho is credited back for each sack returned. Theso are used over ftgain, but, before being refilled thoy are shakon thoroughly to get rid of any dust. On 'two separate occasions,' one this week, boxes of matches have been shakon out, revealing gross carelessness on tlje part of those who have been handling the chaff at the place of'' its consumption. The manager of • the firm .referred to stated that such negligence could very . easily be tho cause, of serious fires, not only in stables or stores, but, on steamers which convoy empty sacks, back to tho places where they are filled. One'; of the boxes so, discovered was a long, flat, 1 penny box, nearly full of matqhes, which a casual kick,: undue; friction,- or: heating of the produce .'might-very easily fire. This discovery carrios its own warning.

For Hair and >aco Treatments visit Mrs. llolleston, Hnir rhysician, Face Specialist and Masseuse, certificated, who lias the distinction •of medical training, being; qualified under Dr. Renlei >E. Both, M.R.C.S., Kng.- Courses, of including necessary / lptions, from 30s. Advice free. : Personal attention only. Evening appointments arranged First Floor, 3 Willis Street (over Carroll's). Telephone 1590. 7152