LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1116, 2 May 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

-c Among the passengers from London by the Rotorua were about 20 miners, the majority of whom were en route to the West Coast. Sixty of the 270 third-class passonars were assisted passengers—2D of them being domestics coming out to engagements, while there were also quite a number unengaged, but the latter were not to Wellington. There were also on board two expert drillers, from Galina, via London, who are leaving today for the Ivotuku oil-;ields, near Greymouth, where they are to commence operations almost immediately. Yesterday the Shipping and Seamen's Act, 1909, came into force. The measure was reserved for the Royal assent, t'nder its provisions it is not now legal 'for any person other than an owner, master, mate, or engineer of a ship, or a superintendent to engage a seaman or apprentice. Every man or boy engaged must be able to intelligently understand English. There are also provisions for securing proper sanitary and hospital arrangements onboard ships.

The annual meeting of the Wellington Musical Union, which was to have been held last evening, has been postponed tor a week.

A sitting of the Supreme Court in Bankruptcy will be held at 9.30 this morning, probably by his Honour the Chief Justice.

The cases set down for the present sitting of tho Court of Appeal are expected to be disposed by the end of this wcei;, or beginning of next.

Professor Jl'Kenzie, of Victoria College, is to road a paper on "The Future of our Education System," at the meeting of the Wellington branch of tho Xew Zealand Education Institute on Thursday evening. A largo meeting of workers was held at t;ie Grey Statue, t Auckland, on Sunday afternoon, in celebration of May Day. Tho following resolution was unanimously carried:—"'That this mass meeting of workers convey fraternal greetings to the workers in every land and desire to emphasise the necessity for increased activity in the international working-class movement, with a view to ending the fear of further bloodv conflicts between tho workers of different nations."

The morning special cars on Sunday last, carried 410 passengers, and the late evening specials 201. The midnight cars carried during tho week 137 passengers.

An Ordcr-in-Council having been issued by the Government authorising the new system of workers' privilege tickcts on tho city tramways, which was approved some time ago by the City Council, the i-ysteni will be introduced probably within a few days. Under the new arrangement a worker will be entitled to take out a return ticket, for a single journey fare, at any city terminus before 7.30 o'clock a.m. This ticket will be available for return by any car leaving a city terminus not later than (1.30 p.m. on ordinary weekdays, or 1.30 p.m. on Saturdays. As things lunv stand a' single workers' car leaves each suburban terminus in the morning, and a workers' car leaves tho city for each suburban terminus in the evening. In the past, these special workers' cars have often been overcrowded, a state of affairs which, it is hoped, will be done away with under (he system about to be introduced.

Receipts at the To Aro baths during tho linancial year ended .March 31 last totalled .CG2O 9s. Sd., and at the Thorndon baths .£lls lis. Id., total J!7ti6 4s. The sum of ,£314 lis. Id. was spent on additions at To Aro baths, and other outlay brought •up the total amount expended on this establishment to ,£730 13s. 9d. The expenditure at Thorndon baths totalled cCI!)3 7s. Id., the total expenditure at both establishments thus being ,£92o.as. lOd. Receipts for the year had been estimated at •£1)50, and expenditure at <£911. Receipts thus fell short of tho amount anticipated by .£lB3 lGs., and the expenditure was .£l4 15s. 2d. within the estimate.

It would appear from what was related to the Otago Acclimatisation Society at a recent meeting that the seagull is almost as voracious as the notorious shag in tho destruction of trout. Mr. Aysou (Chief Inspector of Fisheries) was quite recently at Te Anau liberating trout fry in tho lake. In tho morning he had placed out a large quantity, and in the alternoon a seagull was observed in the locality. It was shot, and on examination was found to be simply gorged with the salmon fry that, had been liberated in the morning. It was stated at tlie meeting that the protection of the seagull extended to within only a short distanco from the sea coast, and tho suggestion was thrown out that in localities where trout were plentiful it should receive about as much consideration as did the shag.

The resignation of the Governor-General of the Commonwealth is causing some speculation as to the causes even- in England. "Reynold's" Newspaper" says:— "It is probable that the truth will never be known as to the real reason of Lord Dudley's retirement from tho Australian Governor-Generalship. He has long been heartily sick and tired of the position, and in private communications to his friends in the Home Country has expressed strong criticism of the Australian authorities in their restrictive and protective attitude, especially in the curtailment of desirable immigration and failure! to find opportunities for expanding and colonising the vast tracts of land in the north-west territories. An additional reason for his retirement is the very unsatisfactory state of lady Dudley's health, and also his strong personal desire to return Home and take an active part in public affairs."

Among rccent visitors to Wellington was Jlr. T. Dyer-Edwards, of London, a tourist, win has been making a comprehensive tour of the show places of the .North Island. Mr. Dyer-Edwards camo down the Wangauui River on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, and he is very enthusiastic over the sccnic glories of tho river "I don't understand you prople in New Zealand. You call this river the 'New Zetland Rhine.' Whv, it is a disgrace to the Wanganui River to liken it to tho Rhine. Your river is beautiful beyond 1 lie measure of words. The Rhino is just a Stic rive"—historicallv interesting—but from a sccnic point of "view there is no comparison. Your Wanganui is a bejutiful gorge—a streak Af silver reflecting a wondrously beautiful native bii-h, which forms a pcrfcct picture always."

Poles—two of them—arrived here by the Rotorua yesterday. They passed the examination test and were ailowed to laud.

A story o{ how a llaori chief left some of his creditors lamenting is being told in Wanganui. It was known I hat ho had J2UU or to in the bank, and when the claims for the partition of this caino in it was found that the amount- had beon withdrawn. It is said that Die llaori anticipated his own decease, and wrote out a cheque for tangi expenses, his wishes, needless to say, being done justice to.

It was stated by (he chairman of the Otago Acclimatisation Society on Friday that it had been brought under his noticc that in the Tapanui district fallow deer wore being shot with Government service rides and Government ammunition. Koine four or iive years ago he had had occasion to make complaint on the same subject. A deputation from the council then waited on Colonel Robin, who was in charge of the Otago Volunteer district, and placed the matter before him. and as a result a circular was immediately drawn up and sent out to all volunteers, forbidding them the use of Government ri lies for such purposes. Nov.- the same thing was occurring again, lie had complained ta Colonel Smyth of this practice, and a reply was to hand from him stating that a district order prohibiting this use of Government arms would shortly be issued.

As an instance of tho absurdity of tha present method of electing the education boards, the Taranaki "Herald" quotes tho following facts:—ln the ward of the education district to which New Plymouth belongs, there are 21 school committees, each member of which has a veto for the election of a member of the board. Tho smallest whool has eight pupils and a committee of five, and this committee has therefore five votes. The largest school is the New Plymouth Central, with 600 pupils, a committee of nine, and nine votes. Tho borough of New Plymouth, with !103 pupils in its hvo schools, has !3 votes, while school committees representing 837 pupils in the rest of the ward have 138 votes.

Typhoid fever has boon prevalent among the Jlaoris oi' Taharoa for some months (writes our Auckland correspondent), but under Dr. Pomare's supervision the epidemic has been almost stamped out. Two Natives, however, developed the complaint last week, and one European in Waiharakoke, and one in Kawhai are sufferers. -Mr. Benilet, who arrived last Wednesday, has been instructed by the Health Department to form an isolated camp and obtain trained nurses. An effort is to be made by the local authorities to effect the establishment of an emergency cottage hospital in Kawhai, as this and a large portion of the neighbouring counties are precluded from utilising the metronolitan institution either by land or sea".

The imperial spirit. was dwelt upon in a well-uelivercu speech by Air. T. Willord, as Chief Savage for tlie evening at tiie Savago Club on Saturday, lie described Imperialism as love of Empire —a spirit which Bismarck, as War Minister, had inculcated in Germany until He Had knit Prussiu, Bavaria, and Saxony into one great German Empire, lie was strongly of opinion that England had moie vo fea.- Irom the German peril than from any other source, and ireely quoted from llomer Lee's work and from articles appearing in the official organ of the (ierinau Navy League to show that Germany's objective was England, proved also by tiio r,mall coalcarrying capacity of her latest battleships. Ho also referred to affairs in the Pacific, the awakening of China, the aggression ol Japan, and the construction of the Panama Canal. If America, he said, -pent _ on battleships the money she was' spending on the building of the canal she would have a fleet that would beat any other in the world. Incidentally he mentioned that it was not to be taken for granted that the builders of a waterway would be the parties to control it, and pointedout that Japan, with large colonies of her countryir.cn in Hawaii and the Philippines, had already secured coaling ports hi tho Carribean Sea, close handy to the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. England's strength (and New Zealand's safety) was her Navy, and no .olrort should 1)9 spared by any public man or private citizen to foster that spirit of loyalty to the Empire, and in giving her all the assistance in their power. International peace was but an ideal, and no treaty, as between nations was of any effect when a powerful nation was reaeHing out, which tho speaker illustrated bv quoting Germany's brtach of the Treaty of Berlin.