LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 500, 6 May 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

; .Tho first meeting of the newly-elected City l/ouncil will be held on "Thursday, May 20.

Four lasmanian owls arrived bore yesterday by tho Bimutaka en route to I<ondon were transhipped to the OUtwardbound steamer Buapehu. '

Mr. Nelson Illingworth, the Sydney soulptor, /at present resident in AVollington, has received a Jotter from Mr.. John Lemmone, stating that Madame Melba will give, him a sitting for « marble bust when she returns to Australia two years hence, ''■>.'■■■ ,' i

"The Merry Widow" has far from completed her record-breaking career. ' At -Masterton on Monday evoning, "the house easily' eclipsed any previously known, and at Wa-" nganui on Tuesdajvhundrids had to bo turned away. On. the day the plans were to. ,be opened in tho latter place,, people' waited trom o a.m., and among them w.ero hotel proprietors and their assistants, : who had been, instructed to procure accommodation by their country client?. The audience 'was tho : most brilliant ever seen in Waiiganui. ■

The Prime Minister has informed'the Hon. A; R. Guinness, M.P., that the Minister for Justice havarranged that the Supreme Court will sit m Westport as well as'tiokitika, as often as the .-work requires. : ■If is not proposed to abolish tho District Courts bv proclamation, but to afiolish . the District Court districts ]n which' tho Supremo Court now sits or •mil under the new arrangement sit. The Prime Minister furlier says that the proposed changes will involve a oonsidor- ; able saving of public expenditure.

Application was made to the Court of An-' peal, some days ago for a stay of eseoution' in the case of Tβ Maire versus Lysnar; in oonneotion with which judgment was recently given against defendant, who had deoided to appeal. Yesterday Mr. Myers, who appeared for, defendant, stated that Mr. His-" lop, who represented plaintiff, had asked him to inform the Court that the application would be no .longer opposod.* The Court granted a stay of execution, and reserved tho question of costs. ■■

Panic]in a mild fora reigned,amongst the street-betting fraternity when Oassells and Broberg swept down on, the fold, Tho detectives had not come to make a raid/ but had simply called to intimate that they had been on the alert of late, and had gained sufficient evidence to warrant, thorn in sorving summonses on certain persens charging them to appear at the O.M. Court within a few days, and answer allegations of strcot-betting. The prosecutions, which number four in all, aro tho firstlaid in Wellington sinco the Gaming Act came into force. Inference was made in the Court of Appeal yesterday to tho cpse of'the King versus Oliphant Hughes, This is anVnpplioation tor a new trial on a charge of.'porjury. KoconUy tho Court expressed doubt as to whothoi' tho application had been inado:ivitliln a reasonable period. It was decided, howovor, to allow Mr. Wilfprd, applicant's counsel, opportunity to show that tho'application ought to bo dealt.with. Mr, Myers stated yesterday that. Mr. Wilford wished the matter to stand over as ho had not been able to hie requisite affidavits. It was agreed to acloat that course. '. Tea that is not pure should novor bo sold, Interior tens consist mostly of the woody fibres of tho lent, and brew out a considerable amount of tannin, which is injurious to tho eystein. There is rare enjoyment for those who can appreciato fine tea. Drink Crescent Blend tea! it is absolutely pure, It is a blended tea with distinguished qualities—tho strength of the full-bodied, robust teas of Dnrjeeling is added to the fine-flavoured, delicate tens of Ceylon and tho luxurious Crescent-'Blend is the result! Obtainable from oil storekeepers at 2s, por lb. i

The Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister for Bailways, has stated that he oannot : grant a request for an early train from Ohakuno to catch tho northward ospress at Taumarunui. R. Arnst, says an excliango, has received word from Sydney that cttorte aro being made to arrange a Wg sculling onrnival,. to take place on the Parramatta in tho early ?Fr n M g - •«* 1B ll0 P e <i r that both Arnst and Webb will compete, also Geo. Whclch and perhaps. qno. or two other soullors, as well as the pick of Australian oarsmen. The idea is to include double-sculling as well as sincks sou.lh.ng events on tho programme.

The monthly meeting pf the Women's feocial and Political toaguo was hold yesterday, Mrs. Anderson presiding. The election of officers rosulted as foljowsi-Yicorpresi, donts, Mrs. Ta*er and Mrs. Key Brown: committee, Mcsdames Hamilton, 0010, Ander' son, Momss, Major, and Lennox: secretary and treasurer, Mrs. B. Moore. The election to the omeo of president was held over for a Juturo meeting, Four now mombors were elected, and fresh nominations for membor, ship wero received,

. A fow minutes boforo 5 o'clock last ing somo. excitomont was caused in Lambton Quay by the horee in a hansom cab, which was standing outside Messrs. Shaxland and u>. s shop bolting. The driver' was just difr mounting when the horse started. Ho clung to hia. seat for a while, but, after some distance had boen traversed, he had to release Ins hold. Tho animal careered through Harbour Street, Willoston Street, and then along Jorvois Quay, where it stepped on its own accord with no damage done.

In his opening remarks at the statutory mooting of the Miramar Borough Council, tho Mayor (Mr. Charles Crawford) stated that tho press had commented favourably on. oxoellent manner in which the business pi tho oounoil had. been managed last year, and he, on his part, had omitted to state at the last meeting the debt the oounoil owed the press for its vory complete and intelligible • reports. It hftd been suggested that the meotings of tho council should be hold in/tho borough, hut ho thought that tiioy would be much,, bettey reported if they lie]d the meetings in town, and in that way thq ratopayora would gain a batter idea of what waa going ;on.

A .waterspom; was witnessed by those on poard the Now Zealand Shipping Company's steamer Rimutaka, as tho vessel was ap. proaohing New Zealand on Tuesday. The position of tho vessel at the timo was 40.59 south latitude; 170' oast longitude. It was seen on the starboard quarter, and burst about a mile from the vossol. A second one showed up shortly after, but was much smaller than.the first,; An officer qf tho Himiitaka informed ft Doiiinjon . reporter that wntorspouts were booasionally seen in mid-ocean, but theso wore tho first which he had witnessed so closo to Wellington. A perfect deluge of rain fell shortly 5W the bursting of the waterspout. '

Our Hastings ■ correspondent writes:—Mr; C. L. Mackersey and his son had a narrow escape,on Tuesday from a sorious, if n,qt a fatal, motor car accident. Mr. Mackersoy; ninr,,-\ras driving at a fairly good pace along the Railway Road, and ho swung the car' round tho comor of Souttambton Street just as a ballast train had entered one end bHhe crossing a 'few yards away. Nothing but the presonoo of mind and promptitude of Mr,Mnokersoy, junr., avortod disaster, and his action m olapping on all brakes ana manipulating tlho steering gear only Bucoeedod: in pulling upltho'oar broadside within n foot and a half of the truoks. Tho engine stop, pod to. see ifw damage was dono, but for 4 tunately beyond tho shook neither of tho occupants was injured; • . '

■ It 'will be remembered tl) at sometime agq tho water, which-supplied the hillside resor-. yoir at ,tiio Homo of Opmpnssjon failed, and Mother Mary Aubert was greatly troubled to obtain a fresh supply. The Rov. H. Mason, who had on many oooasions been suooessful in discovering underground spririgs, oame from Auckland to Mother Mary's nssistanoe, and succeeded, in locating water in-four or nye'plaoes. His is a.very, enrioys gift, Surface water does not, produce, arv offoct upon but \Mfhei .hfi. conies near hidden water. ;.it may bo. twenty or forty reet oenoatli him, tho.impression is as defi, mte as though thero wero somo electrio communication. He soleoted ono plnco as being workable, a plaoe on a steep hillside, and ho said that WRter would be found so many feet beneath tho place where he put a peg. The only way of reaching the ,w»tor was to tunnel from far down, and for tho past five weeks two men have been at-work, first outting in tho open ground and thon tunnelling. A hfty-foot tunnel was te.reach tho spot, and by: Tuesday night, tho men wero (]uite disheartened because; having .tunnelled to 49 toot thoro was not a trickle of water. Next morning thoy put in another charge of dynn, mite, and with a spurt -fljo'; water came, U)ld as-ico,"-says Mother Mary deliprhtedly(,"and pnro as crystal, enough to fill!a two-inoh pipe oontihuously.V Steps will now be taken to convey this water te the reser, voir which so i many of the Wellington poo , pie helped to build. ,

j;- The insinuation underlying statements of obtain osmdidatea for-.the Onslow Borough. Counod, that,, if elected, they/, would be ojh posed to hole and corner'! methods of transacting business, and. invite' tho full' publicity ot the press, was repudiated by the Mayor (Mr, J. G. Harknoss) at tho installation ceremony yesterday with some warmth. ' The statements had been made, he thought, under a. misapprehension of the position. The old oounoU had done practically tho whole of its S° r V n on e nightly meeting each month. Tho Finance Committee,' Sanitary and Lighting Committee, and Public Committee neld their meetings on , tho evening, and then the members went into full council. Not once in four months, on the averago, .a^s_ ho knew, had the. council , gono into committee, ..Every tiling had been perfectly.open. 1 and the press ropresonlatives had eyeii had tho privilege of being in the room 'while' , tho preliminary committee meetings wore being held,, Ho had pot denied the mis-statenieuta When they wero mado by candidates', fpivtho council, because being himself a candidate , for a different office, it would, not have been a propor- thing for him to reply'to those stater ments. Ho took that opportunity of refuting the misrepresentations, which wore unfair to the old council. The. fact is that tho system of work which was .described by Mr, Hartness, and which suited the, special circumstances of tho council, was V very inconvenient one for tho press. Tho first committeo mot at 7 p.m., and one or other/of the com- 1 mittees might; still be sitting at 10 p.m., whon! tho council meeting proper would begin. Attendance at tho previous committee meetings • where the discussions' woro'naturally conversational and informal and tho.businoss largely of a routine nature, was unprofitable to the press representatives, oven when thoy wero allowed to report, at the subsequent meeting of the council proper the motions previously prpposed wore usually adopted without further discussion. The Mayor suggested yesterday that it might be advisable to hold fortnightly meetings in future; and if that, course is adopted, a-new system of subdivision of the business more convenient to tho press might be devised.