IN OTHER CENTRES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 165, 6 April 1908, Page 9

IN OTHER CENTRES.

(DX TEIjSGRAiVU—SrECIAL. CORRESPONDENTS.] ♦— CHRISTCHURCH. April 'I. Dr. F. Goulburn Gibson, of Christchurch, states that tho flask.of whisky which, according to tho liawcra "Star," was recently found on tho summit of Jtuapehu, was left by himself in IS9-1. Ho made the ascent in January of that year with six others, among whom was Dr. 11.I 1 . Marshall. Net ths First. A telegram from Wellington which scate-s that the hundred thousand American Atlantic salmon, which arrived from Canada by tho Warrimoo, were tho first ever imported here, has provoked a protest from the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society. That Society, it appears, landed hero last year oil its 6wn account fifty thousand North Atlantic salmon ova from Canada, successfully hatched out forty-five thousand, and has now in tho gardens forty thousand yearling fish in good condition. These aro to bo libera ted in some Canterbury river yet to bo decided upou. some timo in June. Captain England. . r Captain England, late of tho Nimrod, who is to. bo married here this week, has taken a passage for Home by'the' s.s. Ayrshire, which is to leave New Zealand about the middle of this month. A Stransa Accident. A resident of Christchurch met with a strange : accident a tew (Jays ago. ho was having his teeth' attended to uy a dentist, '.l-ho uentist used the rotating neefllo tor boring tho teeth, and when he had tinished with oho instrument he placed it on ono side. The point of it felt on to tho patient's .leg, and tiio needle, which wa;s soil! rotating," mado a holo in nis leg, ana caused a wouiivl stivers enough to lay turn up lor some days. An Old Civil Servant. Amongst tho Civil Servants in Christchurch who aro to leave the service soon under tho. superannuation scheme is ivir. W. C. 14. Shanks,. chief draughtsman in the Land and Survey Department. Ho entered tho service. in iSor', when ho joined as a' cadet in Utago under.the iate Mr. J. T. Thomson, Surveyor-General. He retired from tho service in lb6B, and went to England. In IS 17, having returned to New Zealand, he was invited to join the Department again, and he did so, and ho has ueeu in the service in Christchurch since that year. Ho intends to leav.e Christchurch. next ' month with his wifo to sco his son in London. Mr. Shanks broke, his timo when he retired, and his pension Will, be computed from the date when ho joined again in 1877.' ' Lepers on Quail Island. It is understood, savs the " Times," that tho lepers on Quail island are fairly well situated. The Maori patient has a garden, ill which ho spends a lot of time, and he also does some painting. He is doing very well, and appears to be contented ami improving in health. The European patient, however'i is not in such a satisfactory condition, and does not appear to be at all improved in health. . '

Somnambulism. ,A peculiar caso of somnambulism occurred at Geraldino the, other night. A young man employed on a threshing mill was sleeping over-night iu an upstairs bedroom in one of the kcal hotels. -The mill being stationedclose to tho township, he prepared to commence operation ill tho early morning. About A a.m. the mill whistlo; was blown. Tho youug man referred to on hearing tho whistlo in his sleep sprang out of, bed,'throw up tho. bedroom wmuow, and bundled out on to tlie asphalt footpath, falling about 13 or 14 feet. As he fell, the young man camo to his senses, and was able afterwards, to get on his feet and find-his way back to his room by climbing-tlie fire-escape, when his groans attracted tho attention .of tho proprietor,who immediately, '- summoned medical aid/ Strange to say, no, bones were broken, and beyond ! a bad shaking and severe bruises tlie somnambulist is riouio tho worse for his adventure, Tho Museum. Tho chairman of tho College Board of Governors (Mr. G. W. llussell), speaking to a "Press" reporter on the necessity for enlarging' tho Museum, said:—•'Several departments aro so crowded that the specimens cannot bo displayed to tho best possible advantage, and the Board of Governors is really not ill a position to spend monoy in connection' with tho buildings, because tho Museum draws its support from the combined museum, technical science, and library account, which _has to proyido partly for tho school of engineering, public library,' and school.of art, ns well as for the Museum, consequently the: Museum is air institution that tor a number of years has" been starved on account of tho pressing claims of the other institutions. Tho intention is that tlie Government shall bo approached with a request that tho Museum in Clirisfcchurch shall bo regarded somewhat in tho light of a colonial institution. It really holds .this status as it-is generally recognised that it contains tho finest collection in tho Southern Hemisphere, and stands' very high when placed in comparison with the museums' of tho Empire. We feel that there is a claim on tho .part of this city for assistance from tho Government, especially, when the lingo expenditure the.v aro about to make in connection with the museum in Wellington is considered. Wo: shall look for the support of the Canterbury members of Parliament ill approaching the Government. On the first occasion when the Prime Minister can give us- tho time a deputation will wait on Tiim urging tho claims of the Museum of Christchurch for assistance to provide for tho necossary extensions to display the always increasing collection. For example, if tho whale specimen which we aro now in treaty for ou the West Coast is obtained for' the Museum, it will occupy about 100 ft. in one of tho rooms.. The specimen is nearly 00ft. long, and will bo the largest specimen in any museum in the world." Trout and Dser. At a meeting of the Council of the Ashburton Acclimatisation Society it was stated that, owing, to the dry weather, the Ash-' burton Rivor would liavo to be rc-stocked. The rainbow trout had completely disappeared, and it was proposed to turn out brown'trout only in future. In regard to .tho deer liberated in tho Rakaia Gorge, deer were now also r.hjnmg up from _ tlie south, and deer-stalking would, in time, prove a sourco of revenue to tho Society. Shortage of labour. For some considerable time past building contractors in Christchurch have exporienr.cn great.-difficulty -in securing • the' services of plasterers. Inquiries made by a. "Press" reporter went to show that the completion of a number of largo buildings had been delayed owing to the. shortage. The difficulty had been very pronounced during the past six months, but some relief had "been felt, during tlie last two weeks. One contractor stated that lie had advertised for plasterers for weeks without getting any response. He also stated that as far as ho was aware the employers bad not offered to increaso, the award rate of wages in order to attract outside plasterers, as any increaso given in such a case would bo instantly demanded by all hands on the job.