AUCKLAND ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 778, 30 March 1910, Page 9

AUCKLAND ITEMS.

. NEW COAL SEAM. ... 'DISCOMFORTS OF RAILWAY TRAVELLING. *By: Telcsrapti.— Special Correspondent.) Auciiluiri, March 29. . Tiie Minister i'or .Vines (the flon. R.. M'Kennie) pri being asked by al'Herald" tho exact whereabouts of the rich seam of coal, • reported -to have been recently clis- ■ covered lfiiids n?ar the mid.'die; of. tho portly' island, stated that the'- t locaiity was ..being. kept absolutely secret ai .present.' is be-" 1 ing- carried, on and 'upon' tho success or otherinse-of thjs. work the future development- will depend. j FEVER AMD CHOLERA, i. Several ca.Hs or ; typhoid are reported from., the, railway, construction '.'works' camp ■on the North , Auckland Main Trunk ; line. :< -In. the Otamatga district IBCn r -died r ..frojn • .tho!.fever, ■ whilst others are.'.at,:present in the Auckland Hospital. ' Ag Maungatiiroto a"sickness .which is said toi be English cholera7:ta's, anymore t|ian' -one victim'has succumbed. to its' effects.

WAHiI MIXERS AND-FATALITIES.

The Miners'/Union poll regard-ing-suspension of work, on.the occurrence .of fatal accidents resulted in a majority, for suspending work on . tho day -of/ the-.funeral.; onlyi Tho Wailii Union recently'passed l a .'resolution that upon, a-''fatal /accident happening in ally.'of'-the mines iri-.;the district, the members .of the'.Union immediately ;ceaso work until the day after' the,funeral. Accordingly'when a fatal accident occurred a fortnight,: ago"- the miners • - ceased' operations \ f for • three days. It is stated,-however, ,that only a few. of them 'attended tho funeral of the victims and , some 200 availed t-hpm-selves of : the 'opportunity of attehdiri's; the ■' races'.at, Te, ,'Arolia.- -This method of- expresiihg. symplathy did' not; -appeil to many.;,of-.the a number-br them'.; considering that' it' -,would have befeii:better'; to-have- worked, ffie.-daiys' ill question-' and' V'have" Kaiided J half. this pay: to; the-bereaved -wives and children! A? ; a • result'' two issues were put before': the members; ahd : it was decided by 265 votes' to 136 that , work should bo suspended-' on /the .day" of- the funeral only ; .

RAILWAY MISMANAGEMENT.

Loud an4. long are t|ie complaints of passengers; on the-Main .Trunk- trains •is '.'to; .insufficient ? accammodation> .'. A.' '.caiise to-make the trip' to. Wellington •andback;and ■ fronr what he for. himself the complaints' were - sufficiently justified'.'.-; It'was a very long train that left Auckland on the trip to Wellington, arid .yet so great, was the number of' passcngera that many had to stand as"far : 'as' Taumaruimi, some ;. eight-' 'hours' journey, before the." crush was -relieved: For the "accommodation, of smokers, only two compartments, one first-class and; the other, second-class, were "reserved, .with' the; result ; that smokers were ■'either •'•"perforce, bound to 'eiijoy their Weed' Standing on the carriage platforms or else forego alThis would-be"; unsatisfactory enough if : " it had been only a''solitary night's incidenti': bu'tvit is. stated'th4tthe;.same rule prevails on every' trip: : The. Bare/ conditions■ prevail oii the run from Wellington, and on'.- the day the" "Herald" representativ.e_.left that city, so great was the traffic that ,by the. time ■ Palmerstoii was reached "the . ' railway officials' had. to "put more carriages on, and thus' add to: the length of an already,. tod loijg train. ; Aiiotlir .ca'uso forjpfflpl3infc,ampflg,,tl)osej¥hojflrd.ua-rj willing orcan't afford tp.-piiy. tho 10s. charge, for a sleeping berth is tho uncomfortable seats, which are easily eclipsed by those on; . the -comfortable .ChristchurchJDunedin;' run, a journey far lesp arduoiis than the Norths Island Main Trunk trip: /'To ;return,'' :hbweycr7 to thd overcrowding,'.' which is' not .a mere incident .0f... holiday, .'times 'bnt'-'a ./daily' and.,cvcr-iiicreasing factor,, some radical improvement. will have to. bo made )') tho Department to prevent ir.-

, IRISH 'PROTESTAK'TS. : : In; proposing tho, "Charter"- .- Grandmaster Bro. -.■ Meredith, at - tha. Orangemen's, banquet last niglit, spoke strongly against - the press • of rthe ; Dominion, arguing that for-. the-last, 30.' years there had been a conspiracy of silence in respect to the Orange insti- . tution, .little.:- cable - information,; bejng published regarding- the' utterances of . prominent; Protestant statesmen of the NortK'of . Ireland.: Ho: argued -tiiati rthore. were about 1,100,000' Protestants' in Ireland,-as well as. 500,000 Orange--*uen >in vanous,parts of -.the/ Empire, 1 and.-another 275,000.0 nt-he rctired. list, they, .were entitled. to.' more considera;the, matter of cable'news. In , Orangeism -alone therewere' ,750,001) men: ready to stand, and. support the rf 1 i 'krone Protestant,-' the hwrty of the.press,..speech,. :and conscience. These liberties should be ex--5,7 eyeryoue in tho. communilv. Mr. Meredith expressed- the belief t-hk , t P e ...- B . rit : I sb' nation- was - tho- greatest civilismg_ and Christianising •:agency in the world.- . God 'had called the British - people- to go .forth and . occupy the S a ®H--i.P' aces -°f. the-•'earth.',' The faster spoke : strongly V against granting Home Rule to Ireland, stating : v. that., .Orangemen ■-.• believed . in • tho. supremaCy_of the. old flag, and were all :. one,-and intended to remain one." " MR. WRAGGE'S DISCOVERIES. . : Mr. Clement Wragge states that he Has mado more curious; finds, in connection with the monolitlis, cups, cross, and -.trianglo, "recently discovered in -. ■. the far - north. He says it is difficult to understand hoiv physical .agencies, : could.have:-caused them."- It'is a mosc weird place, aud is- associated with. a big , romance, ,whether prehistoric -. or ; otherw)scv : Mr. Wragge . has taken .photographs, -..measurements, and . sketches for lecturing purposes