LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 747, 21 February 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

v .The: Viotoria, with'. English arid - Australian mails/; arrived * at'( Auckland early yesterday: afternoon. The mails are due to. arrive in Wellingtonby. ..the, express train this,;evening.!

i;, Since tho announcement' of :the .'pro- 1 jected retirement- of- Dr.. .Newman 'from' the Mayoral chair;'rumour has been busy' with tho names of. possible candidates for the honour. The names mentioned are Messrs. T. Vf. Hislop. 'P, M. ; B. Fisher, ■J. P. Luke, Wilford, and F. G. Bolton. It is understood that neither Mr. Hislop nor Mr. Fisher :has' any present intention of standing, and that none of the others has; seriously, considered the proposition..

Adrift on "the ..vasty'-' deep", was; the 'position-achieved.-last; -week-by a very diminutive. Paraparaumu navigator. . It happears, (says our Oiaki' correspondent) [that the six-year-old son'.of; Mr. W. J. .Howell secured' a boat 6omewhere on , the beach,' 'and '.paddled off "out into' 1 the ;gold west.'/ It 1 was' some time', before [the-.little; follow...was -'[noticed, and, by that time, ho was s two miles out to sea. ,A boat was immediately v dispatohed in [pursuit,, and the bold young : Columbus towed back to safety. , : . '■ .

|. The Mayor' invites citizens to observe .d special -half-holiday from midday on ;Friday next on the'.occasion; of there-iview-of the Defence and Public. School Cadets by. Field-Marshal* Lord Kitchener, t Captain. Jas. E. Pardv, on the question of Anglo-German rivalry, urates, to an English journal:;J .wish, to- put W record a conversation ■ which I had with .one of the most far-seeing of men, and also one, of the ablest of soldiers, of the last century. I allude to-General '-'Chinese" Gordon.. In June .1882 .X'-was;, acting iis : "aide" to him when he. was; review-, ing some troops at Dordrecht, in the Cape Colony, and lie tlion uttered the .following w-ords:—"So',far: as Englandds concerned; she need not, .for the next quarter of a. century, bo under any. apprehension.of serious difficulties arising with any of her European neighbours; but in -1910; or - thereabouts,'".there : will'.have; arisen -a; naval Power which may prove .mightier than she; and ; should she—Germany—gain -tljb supremacy, 'England will, •become extinct, both; as a sea. anil a land Power, and all her dependencies, including India,; will- .fall, into' Germany's .clutches. Ton may: live -to see .this.;-I shall, not, but when that , time comes,remember mywords." v .'

;! Tho following abbreviated ' diary-'"of' .events in lyio (from March) is published in a Homo paper:—Match:; London County Council elections; TJnivotsity boat p ace * „Ap« I: Brussels- Exhibition opens; football cup final nt Crystal-Palace; completion and commissioning of Germany's iirst, full squadron of four Dreadnoughts.' May:iXJnion of South Africa proclaimed; Mr. Roosevelt and Commander Peary in London; Japan Exhibition;at White City opens. June: Great pageant of arms ;at Fulham Palace; Argentine International Exhibition; Field Sports Exhibition at Vienna; opening of world's first airship passengor'scrvice in Germany. July: The Jvinp, reviews, Boy Scouts in Hvde Park'; festival of Empire at Crystal: .Palace. August : Regular Army and ■ Territorial camps; Aeronautic Exhibition in Paris. September: British Army; manoeuvres; Prince of : Wales opens Parliament of South African Commonwealth, October' Possible introduction of halfpenny post cards in France.

vA hand-list of .birds inhabiting New Zealand, and'those birds from other countries that have been observed in Now. Zealand a 9 occasional .visitors, has been prepared bjj Mr. A. Hamilton, director of tho Dominion Museum, and published by the Govornmont Printing Office. Tho list gives both scientific- and common names, and follows Dr. Sharpe's system of classification, which is used in tho British Museum. . •

Examinations were, held • recently at Auckland, Christchurch,. Dunedin, Gisborne, Groymouth, Hamilton, Irivereargill, ; Napier, Nelson, Pahiatuai Palmerston. North, Keofton, Thames,: ,Timaru,i Wanganui, 'Wellington, Wostport,. and Whangarei by the < examiners of. the Inspection of Machinery Department. Of tlio two hundred and thirty-eight ban. didates who sat for' examination, one hundred and fifty-two were successful. The examinations were for the 'following classes 'of, certificates.:—First-class marine engineer, second-class marine engineer, third-class marine: ongineer, rivcf engineer, marine engine-driver and engineers of. auxiliary-powered vessels (both for sea-going and rivor trade), extra firstclass engineer, .first-class stationary on-gine-driver, sccond-class stationary enginedriver, locomotive and traction' enginedriver and winding engine-driver (for mining "certificates);

Important harbour improvements will shortly be undertaken at Hokitiko. The new pngineer, Mr. Toogood, comes from Singapore in six weeks' time, and work 'will then be commenced on the construction of an extension of the south wall. The proposed works are estimated to cost about i!4fl,000, and the board has about .£15,C00 in "hand, and power to borrow another .£25,000. Tho expectation of tho board is that the added revenue obtained when the harbour is made more easily workable, will enable it to proceed with other improvements. 'The extensions are being carried out on the recommendation of the board's engineer, Mr. A. D. Bell, who has resigned on account of ill-health.

...." Tho yacht Viking returned from the Marlborough side of the Strait on Friday evening, after a very enjoyable two weeks' cruiso in Pelorus Sound.

The opening address, and soiree of the annual conference of the New Zealand section of the British Medical Association will take place to-night at the Masonic Hall. The address of the president (Dr. purdy,. of . Lower Hutt) will deal with matters affecting the relationship ofthe profession and the public.: Br. and Mrs. Purdy will afterwards hold a Reception.

"Locomotive drivers in Germany, who run for ten years "without an accident, receive a gold medal and.XlOO." A hint to tho Government dropped;at the smoke concert of tbto Enginedrivers', Cleahere', and Firemen's Association on Saturday night. A company has been formed in London and Australia (states the "Argus") for the purpose of providing Melbourne, Sydney, 'Adelaide, and' Brisbane, and' some "of the larger country towns with a com-: plete service" of taxi-cabs. The . first batch; consisting of 300 four-cylinder oabs, with pneumatio tyres, will arrive in April. .The field on which fhe new company proposes to ■ operate in Melbourne includes that now served by about 800 licensed horse-drawn vehicles. There are at present only 40 taxi-cabs,: and the "promoters of the now company propose a rate of fares equal to those now: charged for horse-drawn vehicles..

A: stir is expected on' the. coast ...when the Boss -Flat gold-mine resumes work. The mine is tho property of the Eoss Goldfields, Ltd., and has not. been worked for years. .Up-to-date, machinery has now been put in,, however,, and: the : electric-ally-driven pumps' are'taking out the water rapidly. Already the level .of water has gono down 300 feet in tho old shaft. It'.is expected that bottom, will be reached' in about-three weeks' time. '

Said'' to .be the'largest. timber-dressing promises in the Dominion, Butler's saw : mi 11 ,% near Hokitika; wiU ; - probablycommence operations next month. ; mill is being built on . the south -side of the* Hokitika River, adjacent to the Hokitika-R-oss railway. . .

.A".benefit concert-is .to, be' given.-in Christchurch by > members of -Williamson's Comio Opera Company, in aid of the widow of the late Mr. W. Crawford, who was drowned off the yacht I'atronus at Wellington Heads on Christmas Bay.

•A rather; extraordinary, state of affairs seems to prevail at: the, small township of Maramarua, .near Pokeno/: (says, the Auokland "Star").lt has a 1 post and telephone office, but/ no poflmaster, ■ and the Postal Department,-. while; admitting' the need of.suoh' an appointment; declines -to make" one on the ground of ; public feeling,, which exists over' the • matter. The Secretary of ,tho Postal Department writes to Mr; John Macdbnald, a- Maramarua settler, : as • follows:—"In reference to your, complaint of the closing of;.the telephone office,. I, have the honour :to inform y6u that the settlers cannot'agree amongst themselves as to who is. to 'be postmaster. One section want Mr. Mahey, the other Mr; Lafsen. . Until .the* settlers come to an. agreement .the- reopening of the telephone 'office; must be . deferred." -Writing on the same subject, ,: Mr.' : G.' Holilsworth, chief, postmaster at Auck;. • land,--, states"ln. reply, to your 1 letter, .1 have to inform yoii that tho telephone ioffico'is not bpen ifor.. one. houri- per daji. and such a proposal is not favoured,-by me; If you people! , persist- in- a family to ..remain Closed, the; fault is your own.. The whole 1 question has now beon referred to Wellington." Meantime postal arrangements at Maramarua'remain in.a state ofchaos.'; When. mails arrive, according, to our ; correspondent, anyone who happens to bo .about. at -the, time.'takes a .hand in sorting the. letters, and such ; a' thing ,as privacy is, not known. An; office of the Au'okia'nd ' Post Office .was askod by. the "Star" why the Department did not appoint a postmaster without: waiting for the settlement :of local, prejudices; He replied ;in the 'old' formula that - officers are not allowed to give information ,to .the press. '. >7;. Among the passengers who landed from the Tainui on Saturday were '■ three'. Kus-; sians, ' who'-wore- able- to. satisfy- the. Customs authorities as to; their, right of admission to the Dominion. ....

■ TOien the R.M.S;..Tainui,:\vas/oiie ;day out from Capo Town on the voyage just 'completed, the third-class-passengers, held a fancy dress ball on the saloon deck. About 40 couples attended .in fancy, dress, and a most enjoyable evening, was. spent,;