LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 624, 29 September 1909, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The postal authorities adviso that tho Moana, n which left Sydney on Saturday for 'Wellington, < has on board an Australian' mail, which 'is due hero this morning; • ■ , Mr. Henry M. Christio, of Moxham Avenue, ■' Kilbirnie,' writes: Excavations for tho sewer ! which is. to carry the Waipapa Stream alonj J Wellington Road at ,Kilbirnie have, revealed beds of shells, charred wood, and oven stones. ! The narrow strip of land between Bourke's Hill 1 and . the sea has, no doubt, formed an admir- 1 able camping ground for some of, .the Maori 1 dwellers on Hutaitai, Thcro is a covering of 'i Eoveral feet of clay and rock, but this has ' been placed there during road construction. ' Tradition lias it that tho hill to tho north-east 1 of tho Kilbirnie Hotel. was thq ancient site ' of a pa, but information upon that point is 1 vague. It is understood that, as a further instal- ' mont nf\retrenchment in the' Agricultural Dc-. partment, the collection and.' publication ol statistics as to crops, stock,,etc., may bq discontinued. . Tho Ehcep. returns. will, however,' bo continued. •. The of should bo a' most valuable movement: has been Started by a committeo of those who find that-their recreative interest centres in- the boat liarbour at Clyde Quay. This committee, with Mr. M'Bridc (custodian) and ' Mr.' Chishblm ' (of tho : yaoht Syren) havo started an evening- school of instruction for : thoso lods who frequent tho boat' harbour and whoso inclinations turn to acqnatics, tbo i idea being to foster their natural bent by instructing them in knotting, splioing, sailing, and'the hundred arid ono tricks, that go to mako a good yachtsman. There are dozens of youngsters who simply' cannot-keep away from tho; water-front, so strong is the call: of tho sea, and it is these as well as the , owners of' smaller boats, patikis, and catamarans who aro being afforded the opportunity to, learn tho'ways of good sailormen on Tuesday nnd Friday evenings of each week. Somaphoro signalling is another of the specialities of this free school of instruction, which seems-to deserve much, encouragement, and if necessary financial support., With V cheery optimism the' Trustees of the Benevolent Institution,"yesterday.'accepted the; assurdttco'of an [indigent individual—officially .described by tho master of tho home as being' "full of alcohol and run down"—that ho would . refund'some day the ■ monetary . assistance granted to-enable him to exploit the Wairarapa for somothing to do. - Tho. final touebes are,now being administered to;,the northern ■ half of the city reserves which lio .between'. Kent, and'Cambridgo . .Terraces,, which of late' havo. undergone a gradual but complete change. Where wind-twisted firs were wont to 1 shako'their dusty boughs 'at : tho bidding of tlio turbulent northerlies is now a fino stretch of : green sward, which is to .'be protected to a certain degree by a.;-live', 'fence., planted' somo: ago. Tho.rcscrvo is un... questionably a fino 'lung" for a portion of tho ' city' that is 'particularly, closely, hiiilt, if : not '.congestqdi -and 1 is.;a safo playground, for -the children, Thp-council: w;oula be considering tho oldor people, who wish to sun -thomsclves in tho reserve; if they , plnccd a few garden seats in convenient positions.. The footway.between the Teservo and tho tramline, has. been neatly n"phalted, and tho,old "avenue" is looking.quite, decent once more. / ' A discovery, of rather an interesting .'.naturo lias been made at Dargavillo (writes a northern Wairoa correspondent), several residents'being of, the opinion. that a mcteorio stone has; been unearthed. . It. .Th«} : '.ploughing operations ;!werp.Grounds,; tho • struck a '• heavy 'rock; which seemed .immovable. 'After,digging round it; .a. chain' was, attached, to one: ,end, -and eventually-two horses' dreiv it from its place of -', eoricealmenl.' 1 .' The stono'is"of-'a., ir.ost . peculiar, (jhaoe, .and its. surface is. liko flint. Tlio discovery "is interesting from tho fact that; fiyo; ypars: ago tlio 'same place, wus ploughed and "sown- in grass, but'no such obstruction war,met withi I '.The country is of a marshy dcscriotion,' and stone or rock is a novelty. It. is the opinion that'the stone, has beou buridd] for centuries, arid hns only been .brought nearer, .tho surface by the "steady" sinkt ■ ing' operations ; of-\tho ground. : ' The following resolutions will be considered at: the meeting of thdiCity Council to be held on . October 7^-"That'.the • resolution of tho ' 'council, .passed on', .August '26,.' 1909,. adopting the :electrical engineer s; report, re. tramway fares, and .'sections be rescinded in so, far as. it, provides, for tlio'issue of'twenty-four trip tickets on. tho various ."sections." Also 'That twelvo-trip tickets be issued.in lieu' of the twonty>-four trip tickets referred to in the rdport of the olcctrical engineer adopted at a meeting of' the'council, held on • August ' 20,' 1909." I : An employee.; of the Wellington Hotel was arrested; yesterday on'; a. charge of. havin?. broken/five windows of the hotel. While he ; was under tho'influence of liquor, He -will ;. appear,.at., the Magistrate's Court this morn- ,. ing. .. i; Tho domestic help jroUeiri has anbther •. phase (says, tho Glinstchurch, "Press"),. Con-. ; sequent oil, tho disinclination of girls to go td • positions in. the. .Country,''.-.a' local registry ■ officc-lceeper ; lias sent 'a male to a : country hotol ' to discharge the duties bf housemaid. As an , indication of ~thc lengths, to. which, mistresses.' .. will, go who are. anxious' to obtain: household help, :it'is'narrated, that a country housewife • onMoarning that the' only obstacle in the way, ; that prevonted a young lady, from, taking the l' position was her 'desiro to ,bo'jrcsent at a cer- , tain race'meeting, obtained, tlio young lady's services by . promising to drive her to. tho race meeting!' .■ . ■ . ' "Denunciation," said . Bishop Julius at the Christchurch • Cathedral- on 1 Dominion Day, • "is . very cheap and easy. Careless and indifferent people, like".'their; sins, .held'.up to"them-it-I panders, to their somewhat sickly- tastes," '. [' i Dfi .Charles.'Hnrr'iss, ;who has just re'turned i to London from a trip to: South. Africa,, has s commissioned, Dr. Henry Coward, conductor of r a Sheffield 'choir, to a. British choir of X 205, voices, whioh will leave England in March, : 1911, and make a six -months' tour of the Bri- ' tisr- Empire for tho purpose of furthering-Dr. - liarriss s. schemo of-musical reciprocity. The • choir will visit Canada,. New Zealand, Austrahu, and bouth Africa, festivals, will be given : "l the leading cities of the overseas dominions, II and tho wdrks will include "Elijah," "The a "The. Dream of Gerontius," i m Ivinjrddhi, Berlioz's - "l-'austv',' Verdi's a ■ Kequiem,BrahTnsV '-"K€quicm l " • Parrv^s • no j " .Siren?,! 1 'Harrises 'Tan," a Sands-of.-Dee, '-'and' "EnipiM"-- chornses/ -be-' i sides-the better-known orchestral works of Mackenzie, . Villiers Stanford, and other Britich composers. Tlio, orchestras will be organ- '* l&ed m the different countries visited, and will 11 bo recruited by local musicians. '• st ■ s Tho sermon preached by Archdeacon Avorill, f Bishop-elect of Waiapu, in tho Christchurch • Cathedral on Dominion Day, impressed the .• auditors, says tho ''Press, 0 by its. diroctnoss' ■ and its earnestness., Ho suid New Zealand had i passod through its childhood,- and was entering into manhood, I,t was just developing a clinrj- acter and forming its ideals—jlist passing ■ through a critical stage in its national existonce—and tho future of tho Dpminion.depended - to a groat extont upon .tho wisdom anil character 'and ideals of its leaders. Tho: country . .was.now at tho parting of , tho ways. It must J soon jlovolop a settled character,, and tho resironsibility of determining that' character', lay , with its people. Although his duties had pre-. • vented him from taking us active a part in mili- , tary, matters as -ho could have wished, they l' had not-'.prevented him from thinking a good { deal about that nulltor, which had always had t his . deopest, sympathy. The country could , nover develop on. true lines unloss its' best men wero, ready, to sacriSoo.thomselvcs for the 1 5. common good, and tench by their own examples 3 tho duty of .service. They would never do- - volop a noble national character unless some- / thing ,more important in lifo than a horso „ race or a football match was recognised, Clean . sport played an important' part in a nation's development, but it should. occupy a second- • nry, and not a primary, plnco in tho national 0 life. There was a. tendency to' loso all ronso ; of proportion, and to forgot that it was of far 3 grcator importanco to maintain tho character _ of nioii.nnd women than tho breed of,horses. , Nations and empires had como and goiio, and, would come and go, and tho fato of each had J- been determined, and would bo determined, by t its attitude to the duty of service. '

Mr. James Sheckleton, whom . Sir Josoph' 'aril encouraged to como over to Now Zealand ■nm Perth, has completed (says the "Westport imes") tho manufacture of ten tonß of riquettes bv his patent procosß, at the- Westort Briquette Works, lie reports that the ork lifts been entirely successful... Ho has had iboratory tests made, and tho result is comletely satisfactory. Mr. Sheckleton lcavos for • /ollinßton, and will take nine or ten tons of riquettes with him- for ■ practical locomotive :sts'on tho Government railways, .:' . Mails which left Wellington on August 2b ar-' ived-in London on September 27, oho day irly. . . ' At the weekly meeting of the Board of Trusees of the "Wellington Benevolent. Institution cstorday there' w;ere present: Mr. R. \V.' ihort (in the; chair), and Messrs. ll.' Cook,. J. ' Vakeham, D. ltobertson, and tho Rev. W. Ativans. A number of applications for relief • rcro dealt with; In September, of last year the Trustees of tho Jenovolent Institution disbursed X6O for rent ' elief to tho necessitous poor. This month the xpendituro under this liead totals '.£43. In tho main word at the Ohiro Homo this teek there are 77 male arid 32 fomalo inmates, temporary inmates of the intermediate or - 'casual" ward number 21. .: In addition to tho 15,000. acres of th 6 To Vkau Block, north of Raglan, which aro now )pon for selection, tlio Lands Department has just purchased from the Nativo owners another, 15,001) acres, which will bo thrown open as soon ' is tho preliminary •' Work of surveying and reading oan: be carried- out. 1 As thcro are' no roads through tlw blocks-at present, it is expected that tho land will not bo ready for tho settlers until next spring. Tho total area' ot 30,000 acres ocquirea for settlement purposes an the optional system comprises tho best portion of the whole Te Akau Block.and lies.all together in its southern portion. An area ot 60,000 acres remains in the' hands, of .' tho. Natives. Thcro seeins to have been'some misapprehension • aßfciut the terms i>f application, but they are merely tho usual terms tor ballots , under the optional system.,' An intending set. tier may apply for any number of sections, so as to iraprovo his ohanccs at'the ballot, but may only take up one, unless tho. Land Board has previously decided that in ; Special cii'dum-' stanoos two adjacent section's" i»ay be taken up by on© selector. It is riot oxpioted that this ■ will be tho case, at To'Akau, .as: keen comjpo-, s. tition for the sections is anticipated. J . It* person who has' applied for,'say, two blocks draws tho, first of. the .two-at, the ballot, The . must'decide.immediatelyrwhotlier ho.villitake it or' not; that is to say, he,cannot wait to. see how ho fares in regard to'. the. other; which, , perhaps, is .the one ho would prefer. Tho Karfri Rifle.Club will open" its shooting eoason at Trentham, on Saturday next with a match, at 200 and 500 yards, between teams selected by the president and secretary respectively, A olub trophy will bs presented to tho highest scorer.' The club competitions will commenoo with a servioa series, extending over three Saturdays (October 9,-10, and 23), to cam the Government prant of 120 rounds. ; Each , member will require to go through this course. Aggregate prizes will bo presented as follow::- - First, trophy yalrie,X3 Ss., presented by '.Cap. r tain Hall;'second, trophy value .£1 Is., presented. by Major Hislop. Twenty rounds,of ammunition will be awarded to tho highest soorcr in each match. ' ) ~ . The inadequacy of tho Courtenay Pluoo tramway -shelterrshed'' was tho -. subject -of stronj - - comment at last night's meeting of tho Roseneath Ratepayers',.,Association;,.The chairman {Mr. H. jN... Martlet) said that last Saturday night, during a storm of'rain, ho tried to get ' a. little girl into it, but thcro-was absolutely .' no-room. Ho: counted tho people in tho shed, and there were;only 25. Coilrtcnay Place was 1 tho busiest trainway junction in tho city, and ' yet the shed was no larger than any of tho 'others.:-' ■ '•' -.. Hastings,anglers could increaso the interest . 'taken in the sport, and make their district a more enjoyable: one,'for-sportsmen to visit.,by „ establishing an anglers' .club. Such a club., (says ' "the Hastings'-': '"Standard"), is in existence in : Dnnnevirke and' doing good' work, At'-the annual', keeling of that olub : it was decided to, appoint..fiyo extra rancors to- . •protect.the': inteMsts.-of.-anelers in. the district. ... Captain ,Hamilton reported >on ; tho hatchcnes, '253,000 fry having .bepn /liberated in tho Manawatu from ova obtained'from; the Hakatcramea . . hatchery/.all from sea run trout. Not "Will you have a drink F" but "Will you join nic in an oxygen?" was tho question put to members of the Collingwood football team list Saturday week, at tho lialf-timo interval of'their match against South'; Melbourne... it Jtasijm,.,important'match, for .on the result-tdependedii whether:,thb'Collingwood men-ivotild'take a part in tho fiiial-of'tho Viotoriii,n l'ootball':League. - .-It.Vas ,felt that; the. ruck men. would noed .nil tho 'strengthening and rccupdrntivb influehces''that;coul<L|>e,-b1*..,.; tained.and tho committee decided to try the offects of oxygen'on their men.' Two cylinders . of oxygen, containing about 20.oubic foet'ot, the, gas,' wero accordingly'■ brought on . the':'ground - .(states,'tho correspondent of a-Sydney , paper).' Attached to each cylinder was a tube' about 18 - inches .long, with a utop-cock. The t'ubo ended in a oiip of gelatine, which was fitted over th« -mouth:, Tho cup having .been .'.fitted: on,- the patient' or subject 'inhaled .through his inouth and exhaled through': tho nose. Each •'■plaj-er inhaled, for about five'or.'seven minutes. The . practical' result ;does 'not 'seein to,-havo been,, advantageous;;:for 'aftbr '".llalf-tinid 'South 'Mel- - bourno v/eht nliead,'and'-wdii I ' easily,. though Collingwood, had; a' lead, at' half : tiino. Oxygen was also ,Used by d;Brokcn Hill' team on the same day, but tho team' failed'tO jWiri. , ■ The "sixth sense" which has made, tho Rov. 11. Mason, of Otahuhu, famous as a water-findor, is -.possessed- also "by an Auck- 1 laud gentleman, who, ; however,' c(innot locato underground stroams by the more rerollent notion upon his person, but needs tho assistance of. the bending-twig. ' At: tho samo tirno, his-divining capacity is riot confined to. meri water, but. extends, to tho mineral kingdom, . thus cnabliiijr him,. so ho believes, to locate scams of coal and silver'reefs. A "Hera|d -' "representative' sought au 'intpryicw with the •geiitlomnu in said, that' ho H3eertained- that 'liepossessed :, this .V;sixth / sense ". as a ; result of .n visit>to tho • Rov.'. H. • . Mason.' ." At".that tirao-1 .Was sceptical,' but after, watching. Mr. : Mason•' V. tried l the : rod. liivself, ■ to"'my,' siirpriso ( finding that it acted n-ith.me.,. Si'uco then I .have been experiment ' ins''.with-'minerals' (silver aud coal ; particu., . larly), with water, and with auriferous reels. • Tho. rod will act for mo with each of thesa I ain not :suro. whether' my; power ".caU'- bt; brought to any commercial use; Probably; one'... of my.best, tests was on d coal, 'companyVpro-, perty at liiripaka. ■ In walking over the 'sur. face' abovo tirhoro the coal was worked,, at a depth of' 170fU' . tho rod distinctly answered oil over'tho known coal area. When I arrived above a fault where tho coal wai absolutely cut olf,- tlio rod refused: to act. Again, at the ICaino springs, recently, I located a place whore I told the , manager, a new .- spring existed'. Visiting the district' a later date; I was informed by tho manager; iu question that ho, had not had to bore at the spot indicated, lis after n heavy rain the. spring had duly burst''through--flic', crust of tho' cafth. About a fortnight ago,'-I'gave aii-'exhibition at Coromandcl before' 20 or -.30' people in finding: ••• silver coins that had been uuriod in :placos unknown to me,; Sovprnl. half-crowns \vero sj hidden, and in every case' I located „ their position.' Tests, aro now; being mado on a coal ' mining property where iuyrap'oriments lead.' mo to believe o new senin will bo found. Tile chiof problem I liavo to .solve is ..whether the bending rod indicates water or' mine« Mi'« -,I use any kind of.stick or, switchi\so!long, as it is light : and supple. There is only a slight bodily effect upon me, though , after experimenting for some time, I. am very, fatigued and : oxpericnc'o a ' cramping sodsation in the wrists and arms. In riaiug oil horseback ■ across running streams' or over country known to bo . mineral-bearing tho rod nets tho same *. as'it does when:l 'am afoot." :.-This year's art exhibition is d very interest, ing ono, and is attracting many .visitors. Ycs- : torday: there] was again' a very,good 'attendance both morning and afternoon,. , Soiv.o eanio, (o criticise, many, to enjoy, but, unfor.tunatoly, not vory many cdino to purchase. At a late hour in tho afternoon there had been only ono salo for tlio day, and that was Miss Stoddart'i. picturo of "EosoS" (-C8 Bs.'). ', ..