LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1096, 7 April 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Durinß the period extending fron March 21 to April 1, twenty-six applica tions were received by the* City Engin cenng Department for permission t; erect, _ a Hpr, and extend buildings. Ir thirty instances plans have been pxamin ed and approved and permits issued. Tin value of the work authorised is as fol !K2S., d J?S. ■ £1C,859; MclroSG "It appears to mo that we are goinc in for municipalising everything we can/ said Councillor Trevor at the meeting ol the City Council last evening, "and ] rather fancy we pay for it. We do thing: that could be done far cheaper by outside labour." A special meeting .of the -Mirnmni borough Council' was "convened for last evening for the purpose of confirming the special order of a previous meeting for the diminishing of the width of King's Road. As there was not a quorum present the business was ndjourned till the next ordinary meeting of the council. A public meeting is to be held at Hie Worfei Bay Hall on Monday next to discuss the King's Road question. The Customs anneal case George and Doughty, importers, v. H.M. the Kins? will be heard before the Court of Appeal this morning. The Easter vacation of the Supreme Court will begin on April 13, and extend till April 24. It is understood that the motion for a new trial in the case W. 1". ..Massey, Leader of the Opposition, v. the "NewZealand Times" Company, Ltd., will Iμ mentioned beforo the closo of the present sitting of the Court of Appeal. The following officers of the Wellington Drivers' Union have been appointed for the ensuing ycar:-President, Mr. A. Parlanc; vice-presidents, Messrs. F. Ward C. Charet, and F. Drayer; trustees, Messrs. F. Stott and J. G. Startup; treasurer, Mr. C 4. Haslam; committee, Messrs. J. Biittcnrorth, T. Hislop. W. Ilobson, J. Black, L. Harris, and M Condon. The secretary (Mr. Blackie) holds a permanent appointment. The last year's working resulted in a profit of ■£"(!, which brings the cash receipts up to .£7OO. Mr. A. R. Falconer, who performed many acts of kindness for the- members of Captain Scott's expedition, both at Port Chalmers and Lyttelton, has received a unique testimony of the men's appreciation of his efforts iu the shape of a handsome autograph book containing the names of every member of the party, says the "Otago Daily Times." lhe little book also contained a letter signed by Mr. W. H. Ncale, steward, on behalf of the crew of the Terra Nova thanking Mr. Falconer for his kind gifts and valuable services. The gifts consisted of copies of the New Testament, one of which was presented to each member of the expedition. Tho two I!ussians received Greek Testaments, and a sturdy Scotsman preferred one printed in Gaelic. Tho letter was headed as follows:—"Fast in the pack ice, Soutli Victoria Land, Antarctic Regions." Mr Falconer has also received a letter written by Dr. Wilson, from Cape Crozier on January 3, the writer stating that he had neard nothing but gratitude expressed on the ship for Mr. Falconer's thoughtfulness on behalf of the men while they were in Dunedin. Letters have nlso been received from Mrs. Scott and several officers expressing appreciation of the kindness experienced at Mr. Falconer's hands. The small Adcliae. penguins in the Antarctic regions seem to have afforded endless amusement to members of Captain's Scott's expedition. Lieutenant Pennell states that a whole day could be spent watching these birds, which are verr tame, and have no fear of human beings As a matter of fact, when thev see strangers approach they usually run forward to meet them. Sometimes'one woum come along making a loud noiso liko the cawing of a rook, and others would rush up to see what tho matter was. Officers on the Terra Ivov.i found that the birds are susceptible to music. Those that were met with in the recent voyage seemed to 1)3 niiifo fascinated by the pantomime ditty, • Rings on Her Fingers," when it was sung in chorus. Penguin rookeries could, bo seen from the vessel. 'riiev were always in well sheltered position* and it was quite safo to conclude that where a rookery had been established there would be a sheltered place. A petrol-driven tower wagon is to be purchased by the City Council and substituted for the horse-drawn emergency tower wagon now employed in connection with the work of repairing the overhead tramway lines. The Mayor stated that the petrol wagon would cost <C(HO. In tho long run il would bo cheaper than the horse wagon. A power wagon was used in Adelaide and it was stated that the annual cost of maintaining it oniv amounted to .Cllfl. As things iiow stood tho work was very hard on the horses and if the present system were continued more horses would have Iα } K obtained It was difficult, Mr. Wilford added, to train .horses to stand perfectly still in a crowefed thoroughfare, lvhiio repair work was i:i progress. Employing horses, it wo> necessary to keen a driver who did nothing else than look after them, but with the petrol wagon the driver would be able w do part of the repair, .work.

In presenting a recommendation, subsequently adopted, that consent be granted or (no erection of an outhouse at Brooklyn, the By-laws Committee of the City Council last evening drew attention to th'o tact that it is necessary to apply to Iho '■■"■y engineer for a permit before carrying out additions or alterations to premises, and that in future, breaches of tho by-law in (his respect be dealt with V>v prosecution. From-an architectural point of view, as well as from the general utility slandpoinl, the new Public Trust Ollic-, which is to be erected in .Albert Street, Auckland, on the vacant allotment adjoining .Malcolm's Building, and immediately onnosite the Salviition Armv Barracks, will (says (ho "Herald") lie one ol the hnes-t buildings in tho northern city. Ihe front portion of I lie structure will be built in granite and stone, giving it a massive appennmee, and to tins dignity will be lent by the appearance of a number of stately Corinthian columns, which will rise to a considerable height. Hard-nrewed bricks are to bo utilised for the contraction of the side walls, tho lloors and roof are to bo in reinforced concrete, and s'.eel girders will bo employed freely in the construction. I'rom this it will be seen that tho building is to be as fireproof a.s possible, but to make assurance doubly sure in this instance, tho authorities have d"cided to havo the. steel girders encased in concrete, so that in case of fire'there will be litHn danger of their buckling'. Although the actual dimensions have, nor yet been definitely decided unon. it is probable that the building will have a frontage of 71ft., with nil elevation of about COft, and will comprise either three or four storiej, besides a basement. It is intended, with the erection of the building, to institute a Government safe, deposit system in Auckland. Special vaults are to be installed for this purpose, and the business is to be carried on on the same lines as are observed in London. The estimated cost for the building is between JUO.DOO and X 12.000, and tenders will be called for shortly. The City Council last evening decided not to accede to the request of a citizen that concession tickets should be sold on the cars by conductors. The Superintendent of Reserves has been authorised to supply the Alexandra Home with some trees and shrubs for planting the grounds of that institution. The Hon. ,T. A. Millar (Minister for Marine) has arranged for the captain of the Terra Kova to meet him at Wellington on Monday to confer on the probabilities of a survey of the Xcw Zealand coast. The City Council has agreed to raise the bridge across the Woiwctu River, conditionally upon the llutt Park Committee facilitating the laying out, of the road connecting the Hutt Pipe Bridge, and that over the Waiwetu. Twenty "domestics," who came nut to New Zealand by the Ruapehu, were "snapped up" within n very short time of their arrival at Wellington yesterday.

The whole of the ship's complement on board tho Hnapehu, 310, will be entered up as belonging to tho population of New Zealand in tho census of the Empire. Had the vessel been a day or so Infer in making Hobart, the Tasmaninn population would have gone up by 300 odd. The City Council is in negotiation with the Hon. "C. J. Johnston (who is the only surviving trustee o£ the Jubilee Surplus Fund) in connection with the establishment of an Early Settlers' Department at the Wellington Public Library. Moving last evening, on behalf of. the Libraries' Committee, that Hr. Johnston bo invited to co-operate with the council in this project, or, in tho alternative, to hand over the amount standing to the credit of tho fund to the council. Councillor M'Laren stated that it was proposed to devote (he money to the purchase of old books dealing with the early history of the Dominion. The Mayor stated that, at Mr. Johnston's request, the City Solicitor was at present considering the position of the "fund. The amount to credit wns ,PllO. The only difficulty was as to the process by which this sum could bo transferred to tho. Libraries' Committee. As soon as tho Solicitor gave an opinion it would be laid before the committee. The council ap--nroved the recommendation of the Libraries' Committee. At the Court of Appeal this morning (ho cases of H.M. the King v. Walter I'rancis Darby and H.M. the King (on the prosecution of Joseph Hore) v. Walter Francis Darby will bo argued. A special meeting of the Knrori Rifle Club will bo held at Mount Cook Drillshed this evening to consider the rmesU O,l ? f , ta , kin K st(, Ps to send President H Marshall Homo to the Bisley meeting, as the club , a representative. The Minister for Finance acknowledges conscience money, 10.=., forwarded to the Resident Engineer of the Public Works Department, Greymouth. It is for ironwork taken from the Public Works Department.