LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1118, 4 May 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr. Lomas, Secretary for Labour, told a story about a Chinaman at the farewell to the Chinese Consul last night. "John," who was living on the Otago goldfields, was asked b.y Father Walsh, a well-known priest, if ho liked the English. Ho replied: "No, too proud." "Do you like the Scotch?" "No; too mean." "The Irish?" "Ves; welly Rood. Allee same Chinese." Mr. Hwang, when his turn came'to ronlv, said with a happy smile that ho did not know whether tho story was meant as a compliment to the Chinese or to the Irish.The motion for a now trial in the case AV. I". Massey, Leader of the Opposition, v. "The New Zealand. Times" Company, Limited, which it was announced yesterday woul-1 bo heard on Friday next, will not como on until Friday week. The committeo appointed by the Civil Service Classification Board to bring up a scheme for tho classification of the Civil Service, has been meeting each day this week and for many days previously, and though it is stated the task is a very difficult one, the commiltee is hopeful of completing it before the commencement of the session. The Mayor (Mr. T. 11. Wilford) yesterday, concurred in a contention raised by Councillor Cuhenthat the peiiod of one >ear during which n Mayor at present holds office was too short. "I have worked during the.past twelve months," said ilr. Wilford, "on estimates that I knew practically nothing about until I had been in tho council for twelve months. For the coming twelve months I shall be working on estimates.that I have had a share in framing, but if at the end of that time a new Mayor is appointed, he in turn will be working upon estimates, with the details of which ho is unfamiliar. It requires practically six months to take up the reins and know where vou arc." Concluding, ilr. Wiiford said he regarded the shortness of tho prerpnt term as a roileeiion upon the position!of Mayor, ami he npreed with the suggestion that the Legislature should be called upon to' lengthen the term of office both for councillors and Mayor. The City Council yesterday accepted the following tenders:—lnsulators for the Electric Lighting Department (S. Brown and Co.); alternating current meters (Turnb'.ill and Jones); iron railings for conveniences at Courtenay Place (C'rabtree and Sons). A successful social was held in the Aro Street Mission Hall on Tuesday evening. The programme supplied bv the Brooklyn Glee Club, under the leadership of Mr. M'Clell.ind, was nn excellent one. The audience was large and appreciative. Councillor F. Cohen has been granted two months' leave of absence by the City Council .on account of ill-health. He leaves Wellington on Friday bv the Moana for Sydney, where he intends to spend ii brief holiday. "Pc-lorus Jack" is to be protected by a further Orilur-in-Couneil, which will appear in this week's Gazette. Brief reference was made by the Mayor ysstcruity to the work in progress at the .Solomon's Knob dam. Some time ago it was announced that an examination of ihe foundation wall was in progress, and this' has not yet been completed. Yesterday the Mayor stated that tho work beinsf done at Wainui by the contractors lor tho dam was' goinj* on very satisfactorily. The engineer liad informed the speaker that morning that he had no reason to believe anything but that the work v.ould bo satisfactorily put in order by the contractors. Reserved judgment will be given in the Supreme Court this morning in the originating summons case, Ihe Puulic Trustee, as administrator of tin. estate Gf John Eedd, deceased, plaintiff, and Ann Wallis, of Bulls, representing herself and Mary Redd, defendants. B.y the Ulimaroa, which arrived 'from Sydney yesterday, cold, represenring a currency value of J-IPO.GOO, came to hand. It is for the Bank of New South "Wales. It seems hardly possible (writes our Feilding correspondent) that any man or boy would go out of his way to 'leliberately kill the shec-p of a neighbour, yot the discovery by Mr. F. Blundcll of two dead sheen on his land at Stanway points to the, killing having been deliberately done. The weapon used was a nca rifle, and two bullets were found in one of the sheep. "The census figures show that the population of ITiramnr has doubled itself m the last five years," announced the Mayor-(Mr. Brpdie) at yesterday's meeting of the Miramar Borough Council. "This," lie continued, "compared more than favourably with surrounding boroughs. I would not bo surprised'if the present population was doubled during the next year or two." Communication was maintained with Sydney by s.s. L'limaroa all the way across this trip. Mr. Kelly, the operator, heard H.M.S. Cambrian, which was north of Auckland, talking to H.M.S. Powerful at Sydney, and also heard the latter vessel communicating with H.M.S. Psyche at Melbourne. On Sunday and Monday evenings he spoke Hid Osterley (en route from Sydney to Brisbane), anil the Levuka (en route from Suva to Melbourne). Dunedin's matrimonul and birth statistics for the first four months of 3911 aro the best for many years. There were (Ml births and 265 marriages. It. is tho first time since 1881 that there have been so many births during the first quarter, and not since ISfiG, when registration was instituted, have there been so many marriages for the same period. The figures for the month of April are as follow (returns for April, 1910, are in parentheses): Births, 152 (132); deaths, 53 (100); marriages, 101 (bi). Duncdiu is evidently determined to mak« a goad show at the nest census,-

Mr. T. Mill;, manager of the Wcllinq-! ton Presbyterian Orphanage, who has been soliciting support for tliat institution in Masterton, has succeeded in raising .£IOO there. An exchange states that the plates and the angles for framing for- the new Government steamer for the Lake Wakatipii service arrived by the Tokoimiru, which reached Duneriin on Sunday. A start will be mads almost immediately to put the framing together, and at a very early date a commencement will be made on the hying down of the vessel on the foreshore. A marked elinrnolerintiii of his Excellency Lord as a public speaker was commented Mil by Bishop Crossley in Auckland on Friday at the annual meeting of the Orplum Home Trust JJuai-d. With his Lxoellency, said Bishop Crcsslcy, the matter of presiding at public meetings was no formal matter, as it ton frequently was with Governors. Lord Islington's thoughtful words showed that by careful preparation he endeavoured to make himself familiar with the problems, work, and prospectf, 'of 'the bodies with which he, as a speaker, identified himself. I ins trait in the Governor hns been already Kill)- recognised bv people throughout the Dominion. *