LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 774, 24 March 1910, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Dominion will not bo published to-morrow, Good Friday. (hring to tho boycott of The Dominion by tho Ward Administration, as regards Government advertising, we publish this morning, at our own cost, in order that our readers may not be penalised, a railway notice regarding extra express trains between Wellington and Auckland during Easter holiduye. . The undermentioned hours will bo observed at the Telegraph Office on Friday and Monday next (Good Friday and Easter Monday):—Good Friday. 9.30 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 5.30 p.m. Easter Monday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.> to midnight. The Telephone Exchange will bo open, as usual and the midnight cable service will also bo performed. Wireless communication with points on the English coast was obtained by the lonic for the first couple of days after she left London for New Zealand, but after that the vessel was too far distant from : wireless stations to receive any news over the mechanism. Tho instrument on the vessel, however, worked satisfactorily during • the time she was within reach of tho stations.

Details, of the "figures of merit" awarded to the various units of the New Zealand Garrison ' Artillery have been published recently, and it is shown that the . Canterbury Division has tho highest average in the Dot minion. Its average figure of merit for all classes of .shooting, sixrpounder, six-inch and eight-inch guns is 1.021. The' Otago Division takes'second place with an average figure of merit of .958, while the Wellington Division comos tlrird , with .863. Tho, three divisions mentioned all come within the fir&t-class standard. The Auckland Division is placed as third-class, with "an - average figure of merit of .521. The No. 1 Company of the Canterbury Division, commanded by Captain Gill, tops tic list for the companies of the Dominion. For six-pounder firing - its average figure of merit was .857,' for six-inch breech-loading firing , its figure was 1.307, and for eight-inch firing 1.029, making an average, figure of merit for the company of 1.121. The company has thorofore been awarded the' Coast Artillery Cup for bre-eeli-loading shooting, while the No; 2 Company of the Otago Division takes tho Hudson Cup for quick-firing.. shooting. :' The' average figure of merit for this company for all classes of shooting was 1.021. ■'..'•. '

Goodwill in business was the , subject of a vory interesting address by Mr. A. S. Biss, F.N.Z.A.A., at tho Wellington Accountants' Students' Society last evening. Thero were some thirty mems hers present, and Mr. E; W. Hunt presided. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Biss, who consented to the lecture being printed, in, tho- transactions of tho society. The address was a very;keen and common-sense analysis of the business fetish"goodwill," and when printed should make very interesting reading for others than those, for whom it was primarily.intended/

Somo days ago a telegraph message from Palmerston North .stated , that some surprise had.been occasioned upon receipt of a telegram from-the Government to tile effect that an application, from tho borough : for ■a ■ State-guaran-teed loan for tramways had been refused. It was pointed but that no application of. the kind had ever been made. The official explanation is that some time back, the municipal authorities inquired, as 1 to tlie terms, upon which a ■ loan- for ; tramway purposes could be obtained through the Department. When the State Advances Board met it was decided that'loans .for tramways should be declined in favour of loans for drainage, etc. Hence the message to.the Palmerston North poration. ... . '.-.. .".. ' /., . '

•A map showing in coloured sections ,-the : 'districts'of Wellington city and the number of' daily deliveries and -collections of mails' in each is at present exhibited in the vestibule of the. General Post Office." The colours range' from royal purple (the business area), where there are four deliveries and collections daily, to: a yellow ' (mostly unsettled hill tops and Town Belt), where there aro none. The intermediate sections, blue and pink, show at a glance those parts of the city that are served, with two deliveries or one daily. Tho map is a handy indication to anyone posting: a. letter to. an ; address within" the city boundaries as to when his letter will arrive at its destination. • ; ■ .

Tho successful tenderer for the contract for the erection of the Big Wang'a-, nui Bridge, Westland, is John O'Donnell, of Wellington, the contract price Heing £7908. Other tenderers were as follow: — J. Fitzgerald, Greymouth, £8974; M'Williams aria Andrews/Wellington, £9185; Donald M'Lean snd Co., Wellington, , £9327; J. Sigley, Groymouth, £9793; G.- M.' Eraser, Hamilton, £9847; J. J. Gilmour, Mangaweka, £10,675; H. J. Reynolds, Hokitika, £10,690; and Watson, Rhodes and Son,:Dunedin, £11,203.: . .

Dr. Newman, speaking at the Harbour Board' yesterday, threw a little light upon the troubles of a.Mayor. ''What ha« annoyed mo more than anything, , he , said, "is the petty interference of outside people. ■"•;. More than one local body is bothered by these outside experts. I'vegota "defry" on experts, and this board should not put itself in the humiliating' position of having to take tho advico of these people." . ' ■' .- :

A man named Peter M'Masters, who has been committed to the Supremo Court for sentence on a charge of theft, will be called upon to appear before tho Chief Justice, Sir Robert Stout, this morning. ■■' ■•••■■•" : .-

Broken weather (says a Press Association message from Christehurch) lias hampered Arnst and Whelch in training operations, but Whelch was over tho full course on Saturday and Arnst on Sunday. The Akaroa man is said to bo in wonderful condition—a bit too fine to please some experts, but local people speak enthusiastically of his prospects. Arnst, on the other . hand, seems to be going lazily oii tho water.' Although once or twice he has electrified shore-watchers, as a rule ho has contented himself with steady work, pulling a regular 21 or 22, occasionally, 25. When Whelch went over the course he paddled a couple of miles, and quickened to 26, and finished at 30 over the last balf-niilo.

To-day, Maundy Thursday, was also in former days known as Shere ThurSr day, from a custome of the priests, who 6n this day were wont to shave thornselves of the accumulated beard of the previous six weeks. A. quaint old chronicler says "people would this day clypp theyr bordes, and shere ' theyr hedes, and so make them honest against Easter Day." It is supposed' that Maundy Thursday was the day on which .Christ delirered His mandate that wo should love one, another, but the word itself probably' comes from the word Maund—a band basket in which onr Sovereigns were accustomed to give- alms to the poor. The custom of giving alms on this day Is of very ancient: origin, as St. Augustine speaks of it in the year 400 a.d. At the same time, it included the wnshing of tho feet of those who received the alms. |Queen Elizabeth performed this ceremony at Greenwich, whoro, in her thirty-ninth year, she washed the feet of. thirty-nine , poor women. To show that this involved no very groat sacriiico on Hor Majesty's part, tho historian slyly remarks that the feet of tho womon had boon previously washed by tho yeomen of tho laundry with warm wator and sweet hprbs. Tho eerdinonv was fittingly ended with gifts of stockings to tho poor women.

The regulations under tho Friendly Societies Act, 190 D, ore published in « jeupplemont Jo Jlio Gazette.

An enthusiastic meeting was held last night in the Sydney Street Primitive Methodist Church to give a "welcome" to the Rev. I'. J. and Mrs. Cossuni and the Rev. H. Cottom, the two new ministers on "Wellington I Station. There was a good attendance, representative of the Sydney Street and Northland churches, and tho chair was occupied by Mr. M. Murdoch. Speeches wore given by tho Revs. W. S. Potter, J. Guy, and J. Dumbell, Messrs. Clements, I. Clark, sen., Swift, Long, Haddon, and Egglestono. Tho Revs. P. J. Cossum and H. Cottom replied in an appreciative manner. During- tho evening songs were _ contributed by Mrs. Grant, Miss* .Elsie Florence, and Mr. Manning, and a duet wao given by Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Lambert.

During the last session of Parliament the Hon. J. A. Millar (Minister for Railways) stated that he was having prepared a.return showing the passenger rates and freight charges in NewZealand as compared with those in force in the various Australian States. Speaking to a Dominion reporter yesterday on the subject, Mr. Millar 6aid that the return was almost complete, but he would not publish it until he returned from Australia, as he wanted it to contain the very latest information. "So far as it goes," remarked Mr. Millar, "it certainly shows largely to the advantage of New Zealand both in regard to passenger and goods rates."

Cargo being shipped to London by the Tainui to-day includes . 31,030" boxes butter. . A considerable* quantity of cheese is also included;-;but particulars are not yet available '•■ . .. . : :

The Kelburne and Karori Tramway Company have taken over charge of the Tea Kiosk at Kelburne. Miss Buston has been appointed manager of the kiosk. ' '.;• .-. "■■"■ ■'. ■■■ ■"■"■

During the recent visit of the curator of the Canterbury Museum (Mr. E. It. Waite) Australia, he arranged with the curators of Australian museums for exchanges of specimens between them and the Canterbury Museum, The -.first' specimens received under this arrangement recently came to hand, and are now on view. The specimens* consist of casts of -seven Australian *•-. deadly and venomous snakes. The .specimens were cast in gelatine and coloured by the Canterbury Museum staff. The deadly snakes are brown, black, , tiger, superb, and death'adier, and the venomous reptiles arc the yellow-bellied sea-snake and the ringed sea-snake. 1 " The specimens are calculated to give residents /ofNew Zealand 1 a very good idea of poisonous Australian snakes. -. ■ ■" .■ , -■-.

The Blnff correspondent of the I 'Otago Daily Times" reports that, tbo Waikare wreck recovery gang are''perhaps the most serious • sufferers by. the delays occasioned by the recent heavy weather. They have now entered upon the- third week of their detention at the Bluff. Efforts were made to engage the harbour tug, but her charge (£BO for the trip to and from Dusky Sound) was considered prohibitive, and the negotiations were abandoned. Both the Amokura and Hinemoa are expected to arrive shortly, en routo' for the Sounds, and'if matters are not arranged otherwise one of these opportunities will be availed of.

A quaint aspect of, the young Maori mind.was brought under the notice of Bishop Grimes when he was in Rotorua a short time ago. All the-Sisters and Brothers who have charge of schools there impress upon the Maori.children the fact that' it is wrong to beg for pennies f rpm . - strangers, -...a. practice which seems to have grown up with the tourist traffic, and to have gained a fairly strong hold. He met a few children, with whom he entered into conversation, After a time they told him that some of their comrades begged for pennies.-' "But we," they added,' "are not allowed to beg." ,It was a somewhat. difficult position for : tie Bishop. He couhLnot, of course) give them any pelinies/and, at the same time, he could hardly ignore the very plain ;. hint. -He therefore . tactfully compromised by taking the children into the nearest shop, and buying for thpm something which rejoiced their hearts. . , .. -,■' ; , ; '

It is announced that arrangements 'have been completed between The Do- , minion Pressure Milking Machine Co., Ltd., and Messrs. Booth, Macdonald and Co., Ltd.,, for the latter company to undeftakq the . sale and installing of this milking machine in New Zealand. .To''those'interested,'till particulars will be given by Messrs. Booth, Macdonald and Co., Ltd., at' Christchurch, or at any of their branches; and as'the coming season promises to be a big one, they are preparing to cope with a large demand. A number of orders have been placed for immediate installation, ; and. arrangements have been completed which. will ensure prompt delivery during the season.

■ The platelaying on the Broken RiverCass. section of the Midland Railway has received a temporary, check owing to shortage of sleepers, but will be resumed as i soon as fresh supplies are re'coived, probably in a few days. The shortage is reported to have been unavoidable, the primary cause being the. strike in Australia., The rail head is now about one mile from the site of the Cass railway station, and the line is already being taken advantage of to facilitate the transport of stores and material. An important step will be the removal next,week of the school from Broken Eiver to Goldie's Saddle (The Cass), where .the next workers' township will be formed. Following, on the school the Government workshops, offices and store's, and fie bulk of the workers will be removed. A few men will bo retained at Broken River. Ballasting, is going forward satisfactorily, a pit having been opened at the twenty-four mile peg, some four miles distant from Oass station. It 'is.expected that another month mil see all the-Public Works:staff located at Cass, with the exception, of the few who will'be. kept back to assist in the removal of buildings and.'plant." In three month's there will be few signs of its present activity at Broken River.

, Mrs. Wincko, a late resident of , Tβ ;Aroha,- left Wellington for Sydney eiu route to Durban last Friday week. On • arriving at.Sydney on Tuesday of last week sho proceeded to Cook's Tourist Office in; Martin Place, and on arriving tltero was dumbfounded to find that ■her purse, containing the stun of £14 17s. 6d. and her ticket to Durban liad either dropped out of her hand-bag or been stolen, leaving her absolutely stranded. She was greatly, distracted by Jier loss and could'not proceed on her journey, having no ticket. Sho had to be. sent back to Wellington by Messrs. Oook and Son, arriving hero by tho Moana yesterday, penniless. Sho is now being assisted to Waipukuraii (whoro she- says sho has friends) by Cook's representative here. Mrs. Wincke is a German, and was going to a small place in tho Transvaal to assist a friend who keeps a store.

If oil fuel is to como into general \iso among the.navies* of the world/the demand for it will increase .enormously, and if New. Zealand remains diffidoiit and inert some more enterprising coun-: try will reap tho benefit. At a near date there will be considerable naval forces both in Australia and in New Zealand, and it will bo anomalous in the extreme if, with extensive old fields both in the. Commonwealth and in this Dominion, the oil fuel for thcso v vessels has to be brought from a ' foreign country in a distant part of tho world. The matter is one that calls for.attention without further loss of time.— "Southland Times."

Shampooing, Clipping, Hairdresslng, Manicuring, Face Massage, Treatment of Falling Hair and Dandruff, Combings made' np. Natural Hair-pads. Mrs. RoUeaton (over Carroll's), .14 -Willis -Strcot, .'Phono. 1599,-^s*^

On arrival in Wellington one of the passengers by the R.M.S. lonic was found to be still suffering from the effects of chickenpox, and is in consequence being detained on the vessel for a few days. '■ - - "■■•

Cautain E. J. Evans, Marine Superintendent of the Shaw, Savill; and Albion Steamship Company, writes stating that in tho report which appeared yesterday of tho case Sanders Bros*, v. the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company 1 it was stated that "while the freight was being discharged it was dropped from the slings." "Such," says Captain Evans, "was not the case, hot was it so expressed in evidence." The defendant company, Captain Evans states, based what it considered a good case on "insufficiency of strength of packages/' but owing to the introduction of the nonsuit point the case was not ■' tried on its merits as originally intended, and no* witness was called on behalf of the company. : . :

Tho preliminaries in connection with the erection of the'last -tihiw service' reservoirs which-flip City Council has in view are well in hand. Excavating work has been commenced on the Roseneath reservoir, a site has been definitely chosen for' the reservoir at Wadestown, and within the. past two days a site on the town belt, behind Newtown Park, has been 6slected to accommodate tne Melrose service tank.

-.. Although two of the P. and 0. Co. 'a steamers, the Malwa and the -Mongolia, have called at the port of Auckland, and have each taken a large number of passengers for oversea porta, the passenger traffic to Sydney by the weekly steamers has shown no ■ fallmg-otf (writes our Auckland *• correspondent)* In fact, there has been a decided improvement during tho past month *oc two. Th Wimmera, which left for Sydney on Monday evening, was a full ship so far as the passenger .-■ accommodation in the saloon and steerage wa« concerned. About 50 intending passengers failed to secure berths.. The steamer carried 152 passengers in the. saloon and 100' in the steerage. Bookings for the latter class were stopped at. nine a.m.' on : Monday, and for.' the former class at noon.on the same.day. : doth classes included s number; of -through passengers, who will connect 'with .'the Orient mail steamer atSydney for/London. The Maheuo, leaving AucKiandt on Monday next for Sydney, is also expected to take a large; number of passengers from that port. A large number of Auckland passengers have also booked by the Tainui, which sails from Wellington for London to-day, and by the lonic, which is timed to leave Wei-: lirigton on April 21 for the 0165 Country.: ■-.- *;- ■ ■•.■•■".•.•'.- :.. * : '.". " .

The annual statutory meeting of the Miramar Borough Council was held yesterday when the district electors' roll wa-s confirmed. ;

The Pioneer Lodge, No. 11; 1.0. G.T., held its ; usual weekly session in the Rechabite Hall,' Manners Street,, da Monday evening. Bro. H. Ji Millan, C.T., presided over a good' attendance of members and friends! The officers and members of the .Trafalgar Lodge, H.M.S., Powerful, ; and - visitors from various parts of the, Dominion, were present, and brought greetings .from lodges both near and far.: One, candidate was readmitted. After routine' business had. been . disposed :of, the naval .brethren ■ contributed ' several item?" towards the .'. evening's pro? gramme, which was as. follows:—EecK tation, Bro. Isreal (encore); song, Bro. llhodes; song, Bro. Baird; song, Bro. Lawson; comic recitation, Brol Dickson. A hearty.vote; of thanks to the performers was carried by acclamation, several visiters responding. '••-.

'_ lip to Friday the. Otago Acclimatisation; Society had received' no '.advice as to what the license fee for'shooting red deer 'stags.is'to bp'this' .nor when tho licenses will be available (says tho "Otago Daily Times"). The season opens on April 1, and stalkers are .'already "on-their-:'way ; -to "distant, camps, and others are leaving ". this week. In order to secure pack horses, some of the parties have to go early, but the stalkers will have to' go 1 on without., their licenses. The'delay in the ■ issue. of the licenses is attributed to t!ie Hon. D. Buddo, Minister for Internal Affairs, who has been endeavouring to induce the society to reduce the license ;fee. Both the society and stalkors are agajnst the fee being reduced, as'.'the. money is required for culling the herd, and particularly for red'jcsng Uie numbers of ceer on the overstocked C'.-untTy. IV number 6t stalkers going to the Otago Society's ground is evidently ■ going to be considerably less tirm last year, end a reduction in therevenuo : from stalking ■ licenses -will • probably interfere wifjh the programme of culling the society intends to carry out this year.

,0n March 4 a telegram was sent to the Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. Mr. Buddo), asking that : the Government vote of £500 for the Karitane Homo be paid over before March 31. It was pointed out (remarks the "Otago Daily Times") that if this was not done there was a danger of the vote lapsing and tho money being lost to'the institution, as:had happened in 1907. If was also urged that the £200 not yet allocated to branches be allocated as isuggested in a letter sent by the Society for the Health of Women and Children to the Minister for Public. Health on January 31. Mr. T. K. Sidey, M.i\, received on Saturday, the following reply from ■ the Minister :— "Referring to telegram: of March 4 from yourself and other four members of the Legislature, I have to inform you that the matter has been under consideration of Ministers, and it has been decided that no further payment can be made during the current. finan* cial year, 1909-19] U, out of vote fot subsidies to societies for the promotion of the health. of. women and They have been paid on the : basis agreed upon.—Buudo." . ; .'-, : .

The wider jurisdiction which is year by year being given to magistrates m deciding ■ questions of fact; was commented on by Mr. C.C. Kettle, S.M., at the Auckland Magistrate's Court oa Tuesday afternoon. Ho expressed the opinion' that if two sworn assessors were present to assist the Court in such cases, or,failing this, a .jury of four, it would bo an improvement. The question, however, he said, was one wnich the Minister for Justice and the Law Society should decide. Mr. Kettle also referred to the appointment of magistrates to exercise special jurisdiction in various matters. This is provided for in the Magistrate's Court, Act of 1593, but no such appointments have up to the present: been made. Mr, Kettle pointed out that if such jurisdiction was sanctioned, judges of the Supreme Court could be relieved from a great deal of work. Magistrates so gazetted would * then, he said, be able to deal with disputes concerning partnership accounts and claims lor pecuniary compensation for false imprisonment, illc gal arrwt, libel and slander, not ex* ceeding £200. ■ They "could also exer> ciso all tho powers of a judge of the Supreme Court for dealing with the arrest of persons about : to quit the country.' ' " ■' " : -. '•''■"

It appears that there- is an anomaly in tho State Guaranteed Advances Ad> which affects applications for cortain loans under the section : dealing with advances to workers. The statute provides that every application for. a. loan "shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration that tho applicant is a worker within tho meaning of this .Act and that he desires the loan for the solo purpose of erecting a house fpi Inmsolf and his family." Iμ official quarters the viow is held that, as the law at present stands, only thosfl workers who , "intend" to build can obtain advances, whilst "those who re* quire advances' to bo piado "against houses already built are debarred ,from .having their request-acceded, .to.