LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 555, 9 July 1909, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tlio Minister for Justice (Dr. Findlay! states, that arrangements aro being pushet on; as expeditiously »s possible with refer enco.to the proposed reformatory prisoi farm at Tokonui. A deputation will wait on the Acting-Priiw Minister (Hon. J. Carroll) at 4 o'clock thi, nftorn'oon, to protest against tlio grautinj of a charter, to Tattersall's Club. ■ .The main drain of tho Island Bay drainag< works is almost completed to the town cue of the bay, and anbthed is expected tc see the main completed right through, ~ , The conference between ■ tho Hon. A Ngata and Natives in tho King Country, which had. to- be postponed owing to th< death of a-ricphew of,Mahuta, *ivill; probably be held, a" few :weeks he'ueb. „■ ■';.'.-. .. .' 'Tho travelling allowance of members. 61 the Surveyors' Board haß been fixed!at one guinea a day, " when travelling on the business of the board." '"■'. '-,'"■/. '' " Our Auckland correspondent states! that Mr. John' Fuller, of. the FuUer'Proprietary, has concluded the purchase. of the' freehold of the Auckland Opera House for,tho sum of £22,000. '.-;//:.-,:,;.. /'';•/.:/'/■///.:-/; ■,'-. The' new car', for the Brooklyn' tram soryice is now-out" of the hands of the. car builders and in the paint shop, Tho car, which is to., scat about; forty ,people, will not be oh tho road fori some, time;yet,'as,'a quantity, of its 'equipment is being'imported. ' /It is understood that nothing: definite has yet been arrived at in connection.with the .'proposal to widen the corner of/Cuba and Manners Streets ,by setting back tho ; .Union Clothing Company's promises.,. It .is stated that tho negotiations, are being carried out on a basis of the owners jof the property agreeing to accept council debentures at ; 4J per cent. : . : ';' ' ■ / ;.. The city electrical staff hopes to make a ' start with the new suburban lighting scheme 1 next week,' but a few of the department's ■ own men only will be set to work for a be- . ginning, as the whole of .tho'material Will I not bo in hand for somotimb to come.' The work .will be;/begun ; at Roscncath, : after ' which-, a commencement. will probably be made at Brooklyn. , -.'.; ';.■.■;.; /'/:'!.....:•' . • According -to Mr. Ell,'.M.P., 1 thoroean be: i no reason why the publication of.tho report I of' tho Timber Commission, should be further delayed, lie therefore intends to communicate with/Ministers, on .'Uib'.subjeifc.-' Asked /yesterday by a ■ reporter. ;when it .was ..pro- .' posed .'to mako the report public, the lion;; D. Buddo, Acting-Minister, for/.Lands, said - that the matter had not yet; been;decided:; In view; of. the, fact that .the Attorney'General (Br. -Findlay); has agreed. tovdeliver a .public lecturo hi] Dutiediii, shortly, he has been asked to, avail.'himselfVof the visit' to ! give a political speech* thero as 'well.::: Dr. Findlay has replied that ho;will 'only',bo' too pleased to do so, if time permits.'lt-ishw intention to deal with' tho loading' Asocial and political questions of- the. and,; in! , particular,„rwith his. i oivn ; Dcpartments..,'/ //' ,/ .The Heath- Estate negotiations .were before ! the : subcommittee of'tho'V City/' Council's .' Finance Committee -again ■yesterday./Thb"'dis t ; j parity between/the figures submitted to the . committee • and . thi'" figures' : the ' committee' Would beprepared! to recommend/to' tlio con-: sidoration of the council is still/a.matter. .at issuo, .but 1 it', is understood; that there' is a hope that an arrangement may bo;6bme.to at' an early date, when something. in /• tangible' form may/be'submittod to the council. // ./ Interviewed yesterday; .the Minister' for Justice (D.r. Findlay) stated that the mat-' . ter of establishing' sitting's 'of the'' SupremoCourt at/Masterton,. Hamilton,/iihd'.;;,clsewhere was being brought! before tlw; Judges who were attending: the'present sittings: of tho Court, of Appeal. i,Mr. Justice Cooper, ■ who ' had recently held sittings of the; Supremo Court .at "Westport,:Oroymotith,.etc'.', , on/tho); West Coast, had; token all the/Work that would have' come -before, the/District Court had Jt' still, been irt existence.i'.Asfar as ho ,(fhe Minister); could ; -learn,:,general approval was now; felt on' tho : West Coa3t at. the change '. /,.:■/; / : ,..-' "•" ._ ,:;.- ■:. / ;/-/- : The -Mayors c-f Eastbourne (Mr. Barr) and Lower Hutt"(Mr; E."P. BunnyJ'havo been conferring with the Mayor of Wellington:in reference ,to'operations.to."bo/carricd but: in, Arbor Street. . It is understood, .that the Mayor and 'citizens of Eastbourne intend to plant a 'number"of/ trees .'along' the', water: front, and/also to.plant portions of: the re,'servos.■'-'. The Mayor of. tho/ilutt...will be assisted by the' Horticultural Society; and 'the public arc/also to be invited to assist/in the beautifying process." The! city, programme' has ■not yet been decided on;, ;; ■■'■: /'';!-. '• : .When, theOutlyingDistricts' Committee of. the..City Council paid a'-visit-,of inspection to, the Happy Valley Road works on \* edhesday. it' was found that' tho Works were' being pushed along steadily, about; one-third of a mile of:roadinghaving,been formed .and a portion of it metalled. .The, metalling is being done with'shingle'from'the creek,: and is serving the double purpose of clearing the channel and giving a -good'surface to the road. The bridge work on the lower end of/ the road has been delayed owing to difficulty experienced in laying tho foundations. ! ■ . , The Government has deeidoct that the 13;000 acres of, the. To Akau blocks purchased from,the Nativo owners.some time ago, shun be put on the market on i the optional system in October next;' The estato ( which originally consisted of 90,000 acres, was'occupicd as a run on the New Zealand Lpafi arid Mercantile Agency Company, for a number of years.,- It is undulatm(r country, and has been more or lesSiiinpfoved. Whilst the 1 Hon. A. Ngata was. in • .the north, recently, the Native owners /expressed i their •. desire that the Government should acquire a further area of some 10,0()() acres.! The, area under offer is how valiied and; if satisfactory aiT<*ingoments can be '-made-. as. to price, it is . to. bo' sedured. Tc.Akiilliis tllC largest block in tho vicinity, of llaglail/; / //, ; ■-.- ! According to tboi : "Otaki'Mail," unless : some measures are-taken very, soon to keep / the Waikanao River within its. .'presentchannel, 'it will', break into! tho old one .by way of - the Waimca- to the, sea. - In such 'an event, most, of. the settlers, wouhhbe placed]' on tho south instead of tho north side of the river, a new bridge would havo to bo built) on the Beach Road,'a.ntl damage would, bo dono to a largo srea of very rich rivor-deposit land.'" As .'it is, considerable damage has already: been done.' Mr; Field, M.l'., who,has the matter of' remedial: measures in: hand, has .deciucd'to arrange for 'tho- Hon.. - It. M'Kcrizie: (Minister lor Public Works) to visit tlio locality, with a view to! tho grant of Government .assistance'.' The estabiishm'entof a River Board, to have/'control.from the beach to the sea, is! also mooted.'■'.-.: A member of the-staff of Messrs.. Johnston and Co,, wont back to!the office'last evening, to attend to some bhsiiiess, 'and while, thero. heard a steady patter of water oil the ceiling above, and shortly after discovered that' the water was finding its way into the offices 'hi-'rather a serious How: : A subsequent; investigation revealed the fact that owing'to some defect, which/has yet to: bo definitely! determined by a plumber, a great quantity of storm! water which had collected on the roof of Messrs. Bcll,.(«ullyi Bell, «.nd Myers 1 twostory and basement building had burst through the ceiling of tlie uppermost floor, flooded the legal, offices below, and worked gradually 'down to the basement ■ 6fficcS' of. MeMra. Johnston and Co, • ;•:.'■.-'.

j , Alterations in tho boundaries of.the.Hast . ingH Borough 'appear in tho Gazette thii ■ week. . ; ■''.-• His Honour Mr. Justice Chapman ■'will prcoido at a Bittiiig in Chambers this morning at 10.30. . ' . . ■Tlip office of tho District Engineer of th< Public Works Department (Mr. J. D. Louch' has been removed to tho recently' reetoree . portion of tho old Parliamentary Buildinge ! The Auckland lacrosse representative tean - left by the Main Trunk express, yesterdaj I evening,. for Wellington' to fulfil iyn engage , mont with tho Wellington Association to " morrow. Tho team is under the manage I. ment of; Mn Kelly,: ■. . •: .// " The South Wellington Methodist Circuii i has decided ■to affirm the principlo of s ;, separate Methodist Conference for Ncw/Zea- , land, which involves secession from tho Australasian Conference. At the quarterly meet- ' ing of the circuit, held last evening; a resolution in favour of separation was carried.by 11 : votes to 1.. This will bo forwarded te the District Synod for transmission to the next con- ■ feronee. ■ ':•• .■■'■■ ■•, , : : ' ... '■ ;■" The Hon. D. Buddo, as Acting-Commis-i sioner of State Forests, wa's approached yesI terday by a small deputation m connection •:■ with the timber rights - ( to . a valuable pori tiou.of the Rai forest; in Mailboiotigh. If is understood that there is a disouto between two 'companies as te who should be . granted the rights over tho: area in < ques- ',. tion'. The companice, it is stated,:arowork- '. ing towards tno area from different dircc- .. tione. .",. -~• -./..,. ■■'.'■ '■'.',,"'.. '..-. ..".'...-.. .■'-•. ! In fopl.v to a-letter which appeared ill Wednesday's Dominion regarding the rights of the Arhst-Webb sculling race kinematograph film, Mr! C. P. Colonous', Secretary of the Boys''lnstitute, writes: "As,to tho right of the' picture at the Hon.' Thos. Mackenzie's; coming lecture; I am instructed oh behalf of the Minister to state, that the Government has the right to display the film at this (the Boys' - Institute) or any other exhibition in Netv Zealand." Tho film will be ehoivn at next Tuesday's cntertain- ' ment in the' Town Hall. : . .'\ ■',''• : ■'. If, as aii old adage has it,' "silence is golden,' , the proceedings of the Magistrate's Court, especially on civil days, are anything but gilded..'For a long time yesterday, afternoon, his Worship' Mr. W.G.ißiddelj bad listened patiently, to counsel examining, oross-Bxatnining, aiid arguing in a : case where the amount in Uisputo ; 'was less than half a ' sovereign) but, when both counsel wished to addross the Bench; together, tho protested; ''I cannot hear you both at once," ho Said. "There is far too much time wasted on these trumpery cases as , it.is. There is '.only an amount of 7s. (3d. involved here, ■and it has taken up nearly, one and a half hours, already,!" ~'.. -./-. .'..'.--. ''•'■'■ . ~i ; ' In connection with the: proposal of the Philosophical Society to form a traok and erect shelters on Mount Hector, Mr. Field, M.P.. informed a reporter yesterday that, he had for years urged the Government to undertake, the work.'. In company with'vsosio ,ro6idorits,ho made.'an ascent of.thq mountain in March last',, tho.tnp'demonstratMgjthat.it was possible to leave Otaki early ;on ; : a; suin.mer morning,reach tho top of the'.mountaiii, and return to tliotownsh'ip in the evening. Considering .the amount of pleasure/thai was derivable froin -such a journey,. he considered that if the proposed work was carried out the trip /would bo' undertaken' by a large number of , people .every': summor. , !' The: .yiew-froin Mount Hector was,- inhis opinion; much sUf perior to that obtainable , from Mount'Holds-. .' worth,' which' was- frequently ascended by'par-; ties etarting from Mastertefir , *;;:■,(: ,'/',)'';,," '.V.With-j'a -view to obtaining] two ,additional railway crossings; a deputation'frorn' f Levin .waited ,on the Horn Ji A. Millar'(Minister for. Railways) yesterday. ; It .was'ipointed .out that,.'a■■ crossing at. the railway , station at Wcreroa, and another about balf.way between -Wereroa: and , were,;,badly needed.../ There was, ij; was stated,' only -, one I crossing at; present in~ the; .middle of the' borough; ■ : . The.:deputation, .which ,included tho 'Mayor;' r -6f Ijevin r : ! (Mr. "ti'afiloficrJi.alld Mr,\ M'Leavey, Chairman:of the; HprowhcMa , Countv ; Councily'was'-'.iettodttqed'.fby'r.fMr. Field; ;M.P.v In replv,to : ;«a.., request, the Minister.: promised;.'toJmvo-a,crossing yputnn' opposite, the Weroroa-railway,station;at,once; .AUpiher;crossing, would,';he ;.said;i.;be.. ; ,.plac6c •'where 1 suggested/if the borough'; contriKVit-ed half 'tho ■ cost,. . The Minister also >' agreed to movo a crossing. at.tbo north'of tho.borough to'.. a more ; convenient .site.,; .•'■ ■'../' '■ ; - ; '. '■■■•;.', Applicaiibn has been made to tho Railway Dcpa-rtnien t by' tho.. M pit tea > Drainage Bdard for assistance in precunng a Priestman grab for the purpose of thtir drainago.operation's. Notvlong ago tho board. bo'rxowed : £6000, to i meet -the cost of makingHhe. 14,000, acres of: raluable swarap land under its control suit- ' able ; . for' agricultural': and flax-growing pur-. PJbses. theActthe board is prohibited .from .utilising any portion of the loah for, tho purchase, of tho necessary ;machinery.... 'The board. olTofed to 'pay for the. use of a grab .a rental "that'-would- provide the total cost ih a cbrnparatively:short period..:.lt was specially urged th.it'.if .tho grab'.could he;-supplied, it would moan the employment of a iconsiderablo amount of.labour at orice.- Inreply, the Hon. J. ..A'-.'MiUar has agreed'to, make inquiries as; to what machjnery the Department has ■ in. stock. ■'■Jt was'probnblo,'; lie'. stated, that /theDepartment had a dredge/which, 1 .'with; slight alterations; wouldt answer the 'rcquiromejits..-". At the.request of tho chairman'of the "VVel-. lington Harbour Board, Messrs.;E. W/Hursti; house and Co.; Wellihgtoijihavo just given a demohstration of 'the: United Kingdom compressed'airsystem of intensified ihcdndescoiit gas lighting. The light was ! a brilliant, one; For, the. purpose' of affording a'/;comparison with; the present lighting, on tho Queen's AVhar.f, an arc; lamp similar to those:at-prc i! sent installed was shown, the'•'■'U,K'.'f. , i hght' : lieing cdntained. in' another arc lamp adapted for tw6 burners'.'/ There were also shown two : ordinary office type of hunters, pno represent-, ing'the type,generally- in- iise/.'and the other, the;"O.K.";'system'.■'•' The. compressed iir was supplied by a small hot |. air engine. '/. After viewing , the r ncw light, tho chairman-1 (Mr. Wilford expressed his /gratifehtiori. for: the/ opportunity afforded, tho' members .of the board for viewing tile new further stating that it would receiro their duo consideration ./when discussing tho question /. of /improved lighting of tho wharves.,-''" : ':.-;■' ■■:",')' A- preliminary meetiiig of the New Zealand Club iWas held at the! yTMIC.A-.. last.'evoningj' Mr.- IV C. Ireoth. presiding, , The rules ohibodyiilg -the of tie.- club : wero submitted by.' Mr. ■ H. '-, N T . Holmes (interim Bccrptary), and after slight amendments were passed'.subject' to/confirmation.. at- , tho ''first--|oneral meeting of'the club, when the'"officers' for the first' year, will .also, bo'.elected;,rlt was .decided that.wide powers bo given as to tliodate of the "luricneon-meetings,! , . but that, as a general rule, those should bo held botwcoii 1 p.m. and 2 p.ml on alternate rhursdays during,the winter months.. ~ The HMtter, of , holding meetings-'during the sum--i«or\vas;als6-considered,' The advisability if calling snch; meetings would, it wae.coniidered, bo left to the committee,-who would' be guiiied by tho , presence in Wellington of Arsons eligible to nemade guests pf nonour. , : tho subscription- for active members was ixed at Ss.. per annum. /The secretary ■ nn-. nouncod , that he, already had promises, of n momborship; of about forty.-.-, The first. '' luuchoon-meeting" is to ,be Tield at the S-'.M.C.A. on Tuosday next at 1 p.m.-/ '.'.':'.'