LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 869, 16 July 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A deputation on gambling reform will wait on the Prime minister (Sir Joseph Ward) on Monday at noon, at Parliament House. • Mr. Victor Phillips, of Kaitoko, writes as follows:—i was very pleased to see the letter of Air. W. Taylor, of Petoue, in your 'paper regarding the historic fight of "' Te rSgutu 0 Te iiiana." lam pleased to inform you that my father, >\ir. G. Phillips, fought there, and is still live and is living at Ivaitoke at the present 'time. My father saw Major\ou 'i'empsky fall, also Captains Buck, Hastings, and Palmer shot, and well remembers the retreat through/the bush to the .camp. / Our Otaki correspondent telegraphs that a man named August Rowi was arrested yesterday, on suspicion of being concerned in the theft of . £43 from the convent at Otaki last Sunday. Some £25 of the sum missing has been recovered. The new Palace Theatre at Petone, now approaching completion, will furnish that prosperous town with a fine place of entertainment. . It is designed in suck a luannw • thai it cat. be- used as a theatre, picture hall, or skating rink as the occasion arises. The building is, 130 ft. by 66ft., and will accommodate about 1500 people, including 300 in the gallery. The theatre will probably bo opened for skating some time next month. . "I may -mention in passing," said • Mr. Burbank, manager of the American team, speaking at the Town Hal), last evening, "that Americans have their eye on New Zealand." "That's all you'll get,"' came an instant, if impolite, rejoinder from a member of tho audience. , v v ■ ■ •' . : Mr Hogg, M.P., intends to ask the Minister for llailways whether he.will revert to the old railway time-table in the' Wairarapa, and restore the morning trains . between Masterton ai:d Woodvillo, so 'that tradesmen un<i settlers may be able to do their marketing and business as formerly, in- a few hours, instead of losing a whole day; qualified scholars from country schools may be enabled to attend the district high schools, and workers resident in the centres may be able to use tho railway in travelling to and from their work in the. country. Mr. Hogg states that the passenger arid other traffic between the Wairarapa and Palrnerston is insignificant compared with the traffic 'between the various townships on the Wairarapa line, and the. existing time-table subjects the community between Masterton and Woodville to great loss and inconvenience. . _! ■' Mr. C. R. Fenton, who was severely injured in the'.'recent bicycle .accident on the Island 'Bay .Road, reported to be progressing favourably. Speaking at", the" Post and Telegraph Association's reunion last evening, Mr. D. Robertson (Secretary of the Department), said that during his recent travels abroad, he had noticed the fact that the general conditions of post and telegraph. officers in Wellington would stand comparison with other parts of tho world. He-had-frequently'observed telegraph operators working under very trying conditions as regards space.-On the whole, tho New Zealand officers had reason to feel dissatisfied. ■ ■■". In the Labour Department's report on the conditions of trade and labour in Wellington, during June, one paragraph dealing with industries states :—Bootmaking (factories) extremely busy; cannot cope with work; ■ one leading firm could place 100 bootmakers and 150 machinists. . Tho tender of Messrs, Stillwell and Co.,' at £694, has been accepted .by the Government for the new .post office at Motuoka. Tho .Kuclmristic Congress,' .which is to bo attended by his Grace Archbishop Redwood, is to be held in Montreal this year. Last year it was held in' Cologne (Franco), and the year before that again in London. . -. . ■• "Never give a person in charge of a constable of. police if you can possibly avoid it," was the explicit advice given •by Judge Box, of Victoria, to'a jury in tho Beiidigo County Court recently. His Honour stated that it was a most, serious matter to causo a. man to be deprived of his liberty without just cause. Except, perhaps, in cases of porsonal violence, it would be better for au aggrieved person to place his facts before a magistrate, and if the latter were satisfied he would issue a summons to bring the accused before, the Court. If that course were adopted more frequently, it would save a deal of unpleasantness, worry and expense. 'There have been installed in the Auckland Branch-of the Bank of New Zealand three counting machine* (writes our correspondent).- These machines, .which are similar in appeaianco to typewriters, not only list amounts, but also- record the tota! simply by tho; clerk in charge pressing a key'at the end of'the listing or a I any other time. They cau add, subtract, multiply, or'divide., . They can count, if required, the number of documents going through them/ and can also listtwo separate- columns. .The operating is very simple. As long as the.opeiator presses the right key the result must be accurate.' Even if the wcong key has been pressed, the mistake <an be rectified without leaving a trace on the manuscript, as the record is not mado till a handle is moved. Tho machines are fitted in such a way that they can also, if necessary, bo worked by electricity. The machines are .stated to be great labour-saying devices, and if' the Auckland experiment is satisfactory, they will be installed in all the principal offices of the bank. The Y.M.C.A. Old Boys' Club field a successful function last evening . in honour of their late chairman, Air." A. S. Doust, and' Mrs. Doust. Mr. H. N. Holmes occupied tho chair. Miss Coote recited,.and Mr. Okey sang,■• after which.Mr! Alex. Mill, of Auckland, delivered an address on his recent trip through Egypt, which wa-s much appreciated. Mr. H. M'Girr, on behalf of tlie club, then made a presentation of a-silver cake stand to Mr. Doust. The' scenic reserves/ serve a double purpose, in that they forrn a refuge for birds. The tui, fantail, '• blackheaded .tomtit, and grey warbler are common in all reserves. Pigeons are plentiful'up the Wanganui River, but not in other reserves. Kakas are absent in many places, and are nowhere plentiful. Mr. E. Phillips Turner, Inspector of Reserves', recommends, in his annual report, that the shooting of nativo birds should .bo absolutely prohibited in, all scenic reserves. ' Survey work in connection with tho Government's scheme of reserving the best of the scenery along the Wango-nui River between Wanganui and Pipiriki is being pushed ahead. Two surrey parties were at work during tho summer. In all cases as far as possiblo only,tho land between the river and the sky-line as seen from passing rivers and boats has beoai taken. It is hoped by this meaJis to preserve the beautiful scenery of tho river, and protect the river banks. At a meeting of the Powelka Committee held last evening, it was arranged to - interview the Minister for Justice (Hon. Dr. Pindlay) at 11 o'clock von Friday morning next. The petition to be presented to the Ministor now contains, it is stated, about 12,000 signatures. The Labour Department notify the cancellation of registration of tho Mokau Coal-miners' Union, and the Hawko's Bay Cyclo Merchants' ISmployees' Union,

The lecture on "Captain Cook," which is to be given by Mr. Robert M'.Nab at the Town Hall this evening, is an event of considerable importance. Mr. M'Nab's recent researches in England in connection with the early history of New Zealand have placed him in possession of a mass of most interesting and valuable information concerning the great navigator, and his lecture this evening should prove to bo one of the best authenticated reviews yet presented to a AVellington audience on this subject. It should be mentioned, moreover, that Mr. M'Nab's lecturing' tour has for its object the establishment of a fund to be devoted to tho erection of a suitable memorial to the great explorer of the Pacific. The question as to whether the establishment of a Municipal .Orchestra m Wellington would be detrimental to existing societies in the city was raised at the council on Thursday evening. Mr. Maughan_ Barnett's answer was not fully reported, but it was to the effect that the choral societies would benefit by being able to engage individual members of an orchestra which would be. in constant rehearsal, ' and that the' Wellington Choral Society had recognised this by. guaranteeing 20 guineas. Mr.' Barnett also mentioned that a number ot his professional colleagues were in sympathy .with his proposals; including Mr. Robert Parker, the conductor of the Musical Union. In -a debating tourney held in the Y.M.C.A. last evening, between representatives of Masterton and -Wellington branches, the former were declared winners by 228 points to 219. Mr. R. Brown was in the chair, and Mr. T>. M. Pindlay acted as judge. The winners were represented by Messrs. Hebenton, Sykes, and Cooper, and'the losers by Messrs. Micklin, Dickenson, and H. N. Holmes. The members who gained highest marks on their respective sides were Messrs. Cooper and Holmes. *Last night the St.' John's Literary and Debating Society decided, after an interesting, and animated debate, that it was not desirable to keep the Chinese out of New Zealand. Dr. Gibb, who was in the chair, placed the first sis speakers as follow:—J. Boal and D. Patterson (equal), G. Elliffe, M. Galloway, T. Crawford, ' and L. Andrew (equal).' Next' Friday an Imperial Parliamentary election -will be held. . Last evening, in the Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, the Rev. R. Hut-' son delivered a lecture entitled "Some Attempts to Ameliorate the Evils of Capitalism." The audience, which included a number of Socialists, gave him an attentive hearing. Mr. Hutson con-., tended .that a breach existed between the Churches and .the workers, •_ which was good for neither. They ' did. notunderstand one'another, and his aim. was to bring them together. _ The. Churches bad too often made the mistake of charity .instead of .striving for social justice. The workers had sometimes stultified thernselves by resorting to violent methods such as strikes in . seeking redress of their grievances. The Arbitration and' Conciliation Act, however, had proved ineffective. In conclusion, Mr."Hutson contended that the great work before the reformer now was. to educate the people in true economic principles, ;sol that all might realise that the good of one was .the good of all, and that the first step towards a prosperous .Commonwealth was the abolition of capitalism. '■>■•'. Shampooing, Clipping, Hairdressine Manicuring,' Face Massage, Treatment of Falling Lair, and Dandruff. Combines made up. Natural Hair-pads. Urs Kolleston (over Carroll's), 4 Willii Street. 'Phone' 1599.-Advt. .