LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 291, 2 September 1908, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr. Justice Cooper will hold a sitting in Banco at 10.30 on Thursday morning to taka gonoral Banco business. Tho new church which will serve tho re-cently-formed Presbyterian charge of Roseneath, ICilbirnie, and Miramar has been jiamod tho Evans Bay Church. ; A single man named Gwilliam, about 22 years of age, employed by Messrs. Campbell and Burke, contractors, fell off a scaffolding in Cuba Street yesterday and. fractured the base of his skull. The injured man was attended to by Dr. Boyd and removed to his home, where ho lies in a serious condition. Tho attention of the Fire Brigade was called to a fire at the premises of Messrs. Hutcheson and Campbell, foundrymen, Victoria Street, soon after seven o'clock last night. The outbreak was found to be a small one, tho roof over tho smelting furnace being slightly damaged. • Mr. Geo. Laurenson, M.P., stated at a meeting of South Sydenham residents on Monday evening that in all probability the policy of tho Government would be to curtail tho large schools, and instead of having one big school in a district, there would bo a number of smaller schools spread all over tho district. "His Majesty tho King versus ," shouted the bailiff whilst calling over tho list of civil cases at tho Magistrate's Court yesterday morning. There was no response to tho spirited call,, whereupon the bailiff recollected a/happening of a few weeks ago, and, turning to his. Worship, remarked in a stago whispor, " is at present a guest of his Majesty's—on the Terrace." His Worship understood, and the caso was entered up as,''not served." The street fruit-seller is a product of tho gojden summer-time. When the sun'cracks •tile wood-blocks of the road and iced lemoil squash is in eager demand, tho coster of theso parts is such a numerous quantity that stands enough cannot bo set aside by the city council's inspector, and tho barrowmen liav.e to hawk "on the move," but when tho cold chill of winter grips the land, and fruit is not so welcome, tho coster changes his manner of living. Only four or five applicants turned up at the Town Hall yesterday to ballot for stands, and they got the best sites offering.

A meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Wellington Hospital was held yesterday riiorning to consider the recommendations of. tlip Health Department and the hospital medical staff, with refereneo to the proposed site for the fever hospital. The board sat in' committee, and decided that the recom-' mendations put forward, namely, that site No 1, referred to in The Dominion of yester-i day's date, bo Tho area mentioned in our report yesterday was stated to bo from seven to eight acres.; tho addition of another portion of the asylum reserve, however, brings the total area up to 9 acres 2 roods 10 perches. Access to tho new hospital will bo from tho present entranco to the general hospital; provision, however, will be made for vehicular access from Corom'andel Street. It was also decided that tlio board, as a whole, wait upon the Minister for Public Health in order to discuss values and modo of payment.

: Tho difficulty experienced in identifying tho brands on bags of chaff is not infrequently tho cause of disputes between- tho consignee and tho shipping company carrying the goods. _ This wns fully illustrated in a caso.in which the Union Company was concerned, decided at tho S.M. Court yesterday. A tally of 141 bags of chaff shipped from I icton to Wellington, and supposed to liavo been branded "J," showed only 30 sacks marked "J" alono, and no fower than 111 marked "J" in conjunction with other brands. In one caso thoro wcro no fewer than six brands on a sack, and ill many others', live and, four, whilst otho'rs h«d and two. His Worship considered the rfbovo pointed to the difficulty in identifyiiig\particnlar marks, and in his opinion showed tho entile reasonableness of the Union Company's rubber stamp condition alfixed to boatnotes, which was to the effect that tho coinwgtild not bo Rcoountp.blo for marks! and uumbers. '

Subtle! Advertisement in a local Chinese shop—"New laid hen eggs, Is. 2d. dozen; fresh eggs, Is. 4d. dozen." Only two tenders were received for the additions tho Harbour Board is to malco to tho Bona Bay Wharf. These were sent in by Messrs. Donald M'Lean and Co., accepted (£462), and Mr. C. F. Pulley, declined (£513 lis. Bd.). Tho engineer's estimate was £420. Tho annual mectiug of the New Zealand Employers' Federation will be held on Wednesday, October 7, at the rooms. Woodward Street. All the associations will be represented. Tho following delegates havo been appointed: Auckland—Messrs. D. Goldie (president), J. Miller, C. Rhodes, M. Clark; Napier—Messrs. H. G. Warren (president), and S. E. Wright (secretary). The monthly meeting of the Trustees of the Homo for tho Aged and Needy was held yesterday afternoon. Mr. J. G. W. Aitkon, M.l'., occupied tho chair, and Messrs. J. Dailies and Kenneth M'Kenzio were also present. Accounts were passed for payment, and two new inmates were admitted. Everything in connection with tho home was reported to'be. in a satisfactory condition. Lately tho meetings of the Benevolent Trustees have not been well attended, and it has been evident that some step was neoded to improve matters. Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Bolton proposed that notices should bo sent out each week reminding members of tho meeting. He.said that he, for one, was liable to forget tho meeting, as he had so many public bodies to attend. Mr. Evans did not see tho need for the notices, since with him the weekly meeting had got to be almost a habit; but as it would do no harm, and might in some cases havo good effect, the motion was agreed to.-

Miss Harband appealed to the audience at her address at the London Missionary Society's meeting last night not to count the failures but tho successes of the Indian mission field, not to think of what had been left undone but of what had been accomplished. In illustration she told a story of an Irishman who had the luck to find a sovereign, but on going to get it changed found it was underweight ana only worth 19s. 3d. Some time after he was fortunate enough to chance upon another gold coin, but this time let it lie. "No,' he said, . "I'll havo no more of ye. The last sovereign I found I lost ninepence on it." At the meeting of the Wellington Presbytery yesterday, a communication was road from the Rev. A. Cameron, convenor of tho Residential College Committee, and the Rev. D. Borrie, convenor of the Theological Committee, ,in reference to proposals, to be laid before the assembly, for the administration of the college. The most important subject, it was stated, would be practical instruction in the English Bible and in biblical theology. It was thought that the principal should receive a salary of £600 a year, or £400 a yeai with service and commons. The proposals were sent down in case tho Presbytery should desire to make any suggestions to tho' assembly. , The s.s. Mokoia nearly lost a fireman in Auckland on Monday night. The man, who had only signed on tho steamer's articles that day, tarried too long in town, and just arrived on tho wharf as the steamer had cast off for Sydney. Tho Mokoia was too far off the wharf for tho fireman to leap aboard, and tho only way to catch the steamer was to secure a launeh. Fortunately for tho late-comer, the s.s. Presto came upon the scene, and, jumping into tho boat, tho fireman was taken off to the. Mokoia, which in the meantime was brought to a standstill. A rope ladder was thrown over tho ship's side, and the fireman clambered aboard, much to'tho amusement of the passengers, who greeted him with cheers. The Mokoia 'then proceeded on her voyage.

ICelburne's need of a Presbyterian pastor is at last likely to be satisfied. Tho Rev. J. Gibson Smith reported to the Presbytery yestorday that he had received four applications for tho position, which he wished to refer to St. John's Committee. Additional time was granted for that purpose. More unfortunate than Kelburne is Porirua, whence a letter was received stating that' a little band of Presbyterians would be delighted with a service of their own church once a fortnight, or oven once a m6nth. With the letter the sum of £2 was forwarded to assist "any deserving person." The letter and donation were sent to the Rev. J. Kennedy Elliott, with a reque'st that' the Presbytery would do what it could to help the Porirua faithful. The Presbytery has the matter under consideration.

Tho Roman Catholic community of the Lower Hiitt is to lose the services of the Sisters of Mercy, who havo had charge of tho school there for over twenty years, and who have endeared themselves to the parishioners by their unselfish labour. They are to be succeeded by a new order, the Sisters of the Mission (with headquarters at Christchurch), and the property—a piece of land and a residence at the back of the school valuod at about £600 —is to pass on to the newcomers. The parishioners, who hold in the highest esteem the Sisters of Mercy, at a meeting held on Sunday decided to petition tho Archbishop to reconsider his decision and to leave matters as they are at present.. It is understood that tho ne\v_ order is also to take charge of the school in the Petono parish.

The cost of living in India is not high, though whether Ehat is due to the absence of Arbitration Court awards is open to question. Yesterday evening, Miss Harbaiid, speaking at the London Missionary Society's (Wellington branch) annual meeting, gave some instances of the cost of living. The students in tho mission house cooked their own meals, curry and rice being tho staple ingredients) and tho cost of food was only a few sliilliugs a month.. Tho dress, too, was very simple and inexpensive, though neat and becoming, and this was shown when a young lady, donned the costume to illustrate the style ill which the native women were : attired. Mur : murs of approval arose from the male portion; of the audience, and the suggestion was made' that the dress should be - introduced to re-' place the spring fashions in New Zealand.

Apparently India is not a haven to which a worried housekeeper could fly for rest and relief. Miss Harband, speaking last night at tho annual meeting of the London Missionary Society (Wellington Auxiliary), said that she had no idea when she went to India that slio would havo to undertake domestic duties, or that she would have to stand at tho door for ten minutes every morning to watch the milkman milk the cow. In India, she said, the cow was driven from door to door, and the milkman, unless closely watched, was liable to put water in tho milk somehow. A further illustration of the wiles; of tho Oriental was given in an account of, a liorso which Miss Harband purchased. This animal cost her more than it Was worth! in timo for every day she had to watch it being fed, or else, when her back was turned, tho coachman would take away the horse's feed and cat it himself.

' A "two-up" school at Ngahauranga, which school is said to bavo been in existence for the past ten years, was broken in upon by the police a couple of days ago. The school started in a small way, but of late recruits of an undesirable class from tho city liavo honoured . tho gathering 'with their company, with tho result that a number of complaints woro received by the police from residents of Ngahauranga. It is stated that tho players and spectators scattered ill all directions at tho approach of tho police, soino of t-hom taking considerable risk to their limbs ill the enthusiastic dash which they mado to keep clear, of the constables. Tho more undesirable element which tho city contributed to tho school is said to havo introduced numerous shady practices into an already illegal game. Two-headed pennies, aud_ gilded farthings aro stated to have been included in tho stock-in-trado of some of tho gamesters from town. A number of players, who were present at the time of tho raid, aro said to be well-known to the police, but nono of them wore caught red-handed.

Mrs. Ilolleston, Hair Physician, Face Specialist, and Masseuso (certificated), ivho is at ; present visiting Sydney, returns on Septem-', ber 2. . . C 739; The men of New Zealand aro becoming great) tea-driukers, and aro now rather fastidious.; Thero was a time when they took anything int the way of tea offered by the womenfolk, but, now they want palato pleasure—they want Crescent Brand Tea every time. This blended tea has distinguished qualities, for' it is a happy combination of tho strong teas of Dar-J joelfug and the fl&o delicate teas of Ceylon. CBSB |

Tho monthly meeting of the Surveyors' Institute, to havo been held yesterday afternoon, lapsed for want of a quorum. A party of twenty-five Maoris of both sexes, including Maggie Papakura, tho wellknown Whakarewarewa guide, is, being organised in tho Rotorua district to tour Australia, under the auspices of Messrs. J. and i-i % entertainment given is anything liko as interesting as the performances given_ at the Town Hall during the recent Maori Conference there is a rich treat m store for Australians. Our Eastern correspondent writes from Hong-Kong under date August 1:—"In my last two letters I mentioned tho plot that had been discovered to poison the French garrison at Hanoi, for complicity in which three nativo soldiers were executed. The French police have sinco been very active in their search for natives implicated in tho crimo/ and they have arrested tho farmer with whom tho cook-poisoner used to live. They have also arrested tho wife of the cook. Others whom the police have ta'ken in chargo _ are a professor, and numerous natives, all of whom have been sent on to the criminal court for examination. In Hanoi the police have just arrested a schoolmaster, a native comedian, a mason, and a' contractor on charges arising out .of the poisoning cases." It was cabled on August 5 that three nativa soldiers had been sentenced to death in couucction with this crime.