LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 755, 2 March 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tho mails which loft Brisbane on January 19 by the Makura, via Vancouver, arrived at London on tho. night of February 2C. Tho mails which left Wellington on January 21 by the Ulimaroa, connecting at Sydney with the Naples mail by the Orvieto, reached London on the afternoon of February 27.

Inquiry in official quarters yesterday showed that the Labour Department intend to bring legal proceedings in connection with tho recent industrial trouble which occurred during tho unloading of the s.s. Wanaka.

Une of the workmen engaged on the erection of the new General Post Office had a remarkably narrow escape from being dashed to pieces one day last week. He was working on the gantry platform, which is 75 feet above the ground, when a sling of timber that was being lowered ou to the platform slipped,' and one of the plank ends struck him in the stomach, knocking him down. Fortunately he fell inwards on to the floor of the platform, a few feet away from the edge—and destruction.

Dengue fever was prevalent at Papeete when the Hauroto made a call there last month, and tho epidemic had extended to Rarotonga, where several of tho leading business men were prostrated with it. During the voyage back to Wellington, Mr. M. P. Caffin, purser of the Hauroto, fell a victim to the malady, and he was confined to his bed when the steamer arrived here yesterday. He has been ordered to his home in Dunedin to recuperate.

With regard to the recent suggestion that a portion of the Hauraki Plains should be set aside as a special settlement for miners, the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) has just announced that the land in ijuestion is being dealt with nnder a special Act, which does not contemplate that any land should be disposed of for special settlement purposes, but only in the open market, as tho proceeds are ear-marked, and have to be paid into the Hauraki Plains account. .

, An educational coach applied for relief yesterday from the Benevolent Trnstees. He stated that be had four pupils, between' the ages of 14 and 20, one of whom was studying to pass the fifth standard. Ho informed the trustees that, for twelve months past, he had not had any students who were preparing for Civil Service and other public examinations. The reason—a rather astonishing one, as ho explained it—was that the Government had taken over its own coaching for these examinations. The trustees suggested that the applicant was misinformed, and that several coaches had put candidates through the Civil Service examinations last year. To this the man replied that he was prepared to bring the correspondence which he had had with the Prime Minister over the matter. He did not know the name of the Government coach, but added: "I should like to hope you are right, but there was an air of finality about the letters." The trustees undertook to make inquiries into the position.

Mr.. TV. Jt, Haselden, S.M., has been appointed, by his Excellency the Governor, commissioner under the Municipal Corporations Act, for the purpose of inquiring into and making a report on the adjustment (as regards property liabilities) between the Wellington City Council and the Karori Borough Council, this adjustment being rendered necessary by the; absorption of Northland and adjacent territory,by the city. The commission will sit at 10 a.m. on March 9.

During the bearing of a civil,action in the Magistrate's Court vesterday afternoon, Mr. AV. E. Haseldeu, S.M., said he thought solicitors shdu'd not use in Court any statement made to them by witnesses in their offices," as there may nave "been some misunderstanding as to what actually ocourred.

Pleading for a daily, dose of morphia, an old.man. came before the Benevolent Trustees yesterday and complained that the doctor's instructions had not been carried out by the' officers' of the Ohiro Home. "If I don't get it," he said, "the pain lasts for the whole 24 hours, but a small dose gives me ' relief for a- few hours,-and, by tea-time, I have a little appetite, and oari sleep at■ night." "The secretary said that the complaint was chronic pleurisy, and' the patient certainly suffered a good deal of pain, it the same time no medical' man would order morphia to be taken regularly, and, in this instance, the amount of the i injection had Vieeix dimuAsheW da\\y. Intense and unbearable pain, suoh as called for the administering of morphia, was paroxysmal, and the patient did not suffer continuously. Having beard the circumstances, the trustees agreed to bo guided by the decision of the medical officer, to whom the case, was then referred. "I could be his doctor,"' remarked one of the trustees, as the door closed after the patient, "and I could cure him. It is the morphia habit, and a glass of whisky or brandy would have the same effect- upon him." .

;A meeting of the trustees of the Wellington Benevolent Institution was held yesterday afternoon, and was attended by Messrs. J. Smith (chairman), B. W. Short, D. Robertson, J. Wakeham, H. Cook,.and the Rev. W. A. Evans. Tho secretary reported that there were 98 inmates in the main home (CO males, and 31 females), ono man having died, and another havim; \eSt the tome duTing the past week. Tho intermediate home now accommodated 38 persons, so that there were, in all, 116 inmates in the institution.

A meeting of the Wellington Licensing Committee will bo held at. the ifagistrates Court at noon to-day.

The number of passengers arriving at Wellington from oversea ports during February was 1192, as against 2012 during I'obruary last year. The departures foi oversea ports, numbered 1205, as against' 1347 for February last year.'

Eight specimens of an improved magazine rifle, which, it is claimed, enable a soldier to fire from 200 to 300 shots a minute, have just been forwarded to the French Minister of War. The new rifle, of which the construction has been kept a secret, was made at the State arms factory at St. Etienne from plans : and designs by Major Chauchat, ot'Puteaux. It weighs 171b., and is much admired by the officers to whom it was submitted.

Though not many are aware of it, a great saving has been effected in the I Postal Department since October last by abandoning the date-stamping of letters on the buck of the envelope. This innovation was made quietly on October 1, and such satisfaction has it given that no single complaint has been made to the authorities about letters being delivered late. Tradition in postal matters dies hard. A person may still, reoeive letters from different parts of the world datestamped all over, and in England the old method stili obtains, but a letter posted" within New Zealand bears one stamp only —that which cancels the stamp, in his i report on this subject, the Postal Secretary (Mr. D. Eoberteon) said—The process of back-stamping lotters is costly, ' and always results m delay. Moreover, tho necessity for back-stamping letters nullifies to a large extent any sorting of transit letters which mav bo made by the office of dispatch. To abolish the date-stamping of transit letters would result in great saving of time at central offices, as it would then bo possible for inland offices to sort and dispatch forward letters in bundles, which need not be disturbed by the transit omce. For example, an office like Palmerston North could without any inconvenience tie letters for Christchurch, Dunedin, foreign places, etc., in separate bundles, which on. receipt at Wellington would simply be> placed in tho proper bags.. At present, as letters have to be back-stamped, it is useless attempting any sorting of tho | kind.

TJio KaiJway Department is still experiencing very considerable trouble with the slip at the Gasworks cutting (says the "Otago Daily Times")', and this has greatly delayed the work of duplicating the line between Dunedin and Mosgiel. The wholo side of the hill has been slipping more or less for the past twelve months, but the greater portion of the hill that has been on the move has been taken down, while draining and piledriving have helped to minimise the trouble. Before this point is made perfectly safe, however, the wholo of the slippinj; hillside will have to be brought down, and that is what is being don.fi now.

Shampooing, Clipping, Hairdressing, Manicuring, Face Massage, Treatment or Falling Hair and Dandruff, Combings mado up. Natural Hair-pads. Mrs. Rolleston (over Carroll's), 14 Willis Street. 'Phono 1599.—Advfc

The Postmaster-General has ordered a number of the "Dickie" stamp-vending machines, similar to that which has heen doing duty in the vestibule of the Genoral Post Office for some weeks past. These will be. distributed among the chief fi post offices of the Dominion during the next week or two. The machine is the T invention of Messrs. R. J. Dickie (an I employee of the Wellington Post Office) t and H. Brown, of Wellington, whoso original model has been improved at . Homo into the present efficient. machine. ' The apparatus is so exact that it rejects ? all coins save the penny, returning them J through a slot at the l base to the in- f serter. On the insertion of a penny a l lever is released within, which allows' \ the reel bearing the stamps to Tevolve i a section which results in a stamp being ] sufficiently exposed to enable it to be 1 secured by the purchaser. Mr. D. Robertson, Secretary of the Post and Telegraph ( Department, considers the Dickie machine t the most perfect of its kind that has - come under his notice. The fifth annual conversazione of the 5 Welsh Society was held at Godber's i Rooms last evening. There was a large * nttendance, and the proceedings were of ' a very enthusiastic nature. A spirited ■ address on prominent Welshmen in both 1 Army and State was given by Mr. Hughes, , and appropriate addresses ■ were also { given by Mrs. E. Williams and Messrs. < Robt. Williams and Bees Watkina (chair- < man). The "National Anthem'was sung by Mr. Bees Watkins, the assemblage joining in the chorus. Musical items were also ; given by Misses Raine, G. Watkins, Mrs. ] Lewis, and Messrs. Rees Watkins, J. M. ' Roberts, Wray, R. Williams, and Wick- * man. • 1 £ The continued dearth of skilled nurses 1 in the backblocks has resulted in the < Government deciding to admit for free ! training to the various St. Helens Mater- I nity hospitals country students specially 1 recommended by Hospital boards. Usually a fee of ,£2O is charged for the course of training given at the homes, ] which lasts about a year. An important ' condition attaching to the offer is that ' the nurses, upon receipt of the free training, will practise in the country. i Experience in large cities such as Sydney indicates superiority of the side-door i type of tramcar over the older, box type. ( The difference has been so pronounced ! in Sydney that the authorities there are, it is stated, altering the bed of their bos-cars, and making them into 6ide-door i cars. Although the rolling-stock on the •! Wellington lines is sufficient for ordinary I traffic the conversion of the box-cars into < "combinations" or "palaces" might en- 1 able heavy traffic to be handled with ' greater ease. ! The luggage prohlem is providing food for thought for. officers of the Tramways " Department just now. At Christmas i time the Tramways Committee of the "i City Council sanctioned a month's trial of running luggage-cars to meet the heavy passenger: trains. The scheme worked moderately well in the rush or the holiday season, but the charges were too low , to enable it to be continued permanently ' on the basis on which it was started. This was only one phase of the luggage problem, and it did not touch the carriage of parcels and boxes.on the ordinary cars. This traffic is steadily increas- ' ing per medium of parcels boys from retail establishments, etc., who pay their penny or twopenny fare and carry with ■ them parcels which, it' is contended, ] would, under ordinary express regula- i tions, cost Is. to deliver. It is estimated .1 that within the past few weeks some tons ■ of fruit have been carried from Court*- i nay Place on the cars. The practice is , to purchase a case of fruit in the fruit : market, carry it to the Courtenay Place, terminus, and place it on board a tramcar. A small charge for such services ' may be made at'a later date, and the j public could hardly object. The diffi- ' . culty the Tramways Department would have to face, however, would he milimiting the number of parcels or boxes to be carried so as not to hamper the working of the cars in any way. In some quarters it is doubted whether any luggage system could be devised to imporve on the recommendations which were brought down by the tramways manager : last year,' but which were thrown out by : the oomm.it.tee. The big turbine which was opened at the Mercer Street electric lighting works towards the end of last year is doing excellent' work, and, with short breaks j for cleaning purposes, has carried the full' lighting load of the city ; since it . was first set in motion. The old plant is still kept as a stand-by, hut the only \ time, it is T,«voiied \&/Vh.eu tha WB-Y 11 machine is stopped to enable cleaning to 1 . take place. ; It is the intention of the Public Works > Department to invite tenders for the con-1 j struction of a portion of tie Inangahua--1 Westport railway. A length of a. mile ■ and a half has been subdivided into six ■ sections, for each of which tenders' will , be invited. One of the sections contains a tunnel. 80 feet long, and in each case ' two years will be allowed' within which to complete the contract. Referring to the matter, the Hon. E. Ml&mzie states that the Government.is trying the system ' : of small contracts of the" Mnd in order J to see how it works. In connection with the section in question, it would not be 1 easy to carry out the work by co-opera- ■ tive labour. The Minister adds that if '. the experiment is successful it will be • repeated whenever it is found to be in the best interests of the country. I e \ A striking diminution in the number r of applications to the Labour Departs ment for work mis evidenced in the case j - of. the, immigrants by the last direct steamer. As a rule, from 40 to 50 new , arrivals by an • overseas , vessel betake ; themselves to the Department in search of employment. From among the passengers by the Tainui, however, only eight—all farm labourers—applied, and they were placed at once. . Two sales of freehold property in George - dtreet, Sydney, were reported last week —,£1064 was the price per foot in one case, .£B6O in the other. Apropos of this it may be recalled that John Lang, an early writer on Australian subjects, states in one of his sketches of Sydney: "Pour '. acres and a half in George Street, nearly '■. opposite to the barrack gates, were sold , to a man, a regimental tailor, for twelve 'down of port wine, six gallons of Hoi-i lands, two pieces of broadcloth, 251b.' of American tobacco, one chest of tea, two bags of sugar, one set of harness for gig, one saddle and bridle, one single-barrelled fowling piece,' two canisters of powder, and four bags of shot. And a noble bargain it was considered by-everyone." r Two deputations will wait upon the Hon. R. M'Konzie, Minister for Public Works, to-morrow. The first, which will . meet him at 11 o'clock, will introduce business connected with the PaparangaNewlands Road. In the afternoon a : deputation from the Furniture Workers' ■■ Union will meet the Minister at 3 o'clock. 1 The Hokitika water supply is now com- ( plete. Mr. Murdoch M'Lean, the con- . tractor, says that Hokitika has the ] cheapest and best water supply in the I ' Dominion. Writing to the Borough 1 Council he stated that 173 gallons per minute were, running into the reservoir, I ; against 132 gallons provided by the con- , tract, and there was 1131b. pressure to , the square inch in the mains, as against ] 3001b- provided for. This, he said, was c entirely due to the completeness and j thoroughness of the plans and specifica- t tions prepared by Mr. Leslie Reynolds. j Referring to the inflow of tho 173 gal- , lons per minute into the reservoir, Mr. ■ M'Lean stated that only one-third was. being used, and that the supply was probably sufficient for a population of t 6000 or 7000. ' ' Invercargill about three years ago c ■ erected a town hall and theatre at a cost ' of about ,£20,000. Up to this year the ' patronage of the theatre by visiting theat- ' rical companies has boon sufficient to § cover the interest on the cost, but this ' year • the revenue from tin's ' source !] threatens to fall short. In view of tin's ° the town clerk has submitted a proposal c to tho council to run a permanent muni- a cipal picture entertainment in the theatre when tho latter is not otherwise E engaged. He estimates that tho net re- c turn to tho town will be about .£lO per T week. The proposal has bceu referred j to the Town Hall Committee fo'r a re- x port. (. Three Austrians arrived in Wellington & yesterday by the Hauroto from Papeete. They satisfied the Customs authorities as to their right of admission to the Do- ( minion. Two of the new arrivals are gumdiggers, and tho other is a farmer. It was a comparatively small shipment ] of fruit that reached Wellington yester-1 S day by the Hauroto from Papeete and fi Rarotonga. It inoluded 5180 cases bana- h nas, 45 cases Californian oranges, 4 cases | o .nineapplea, and 13 sacks coconuts, V