LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1125, 12 May 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Postal authorities adviso that the Victoria, which left Sydney at noon 011 May 10, for Auckland, has on board an Australian mail, and also an English mail, via Suez. The Wellington portion will ccmo forward by the Main Trunk express on Monday, May 15.

Mr. W. H. Field, M.P., is submitting to the various riflo clubs in his district the text of the letter he recently received from the Acting-Minister of Defence on the subject of the Government's policy in relation to the clubs, and is awaiting their replies before making any further representations on the subject.

As the King's Birthday happens on a Saturday (June 3) doubt has been expressed in some quarters as to whether the holiday will be observed on Monday or not. The Labour Department states that the holiday will be observed on the Saturday. Only when the Sovereign's birthday, occurs on the Sunday is it observed the next day in cases where that day is included in the holidays set out in an industrial agreement. The banks, insurance offices, and Public Service iwillobserve the holiday on the Saturday.

Something in the nature of a record in r,ha matter of speech-making was put up by one of the Canterbury delegates to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union (Mr. Geo. Mason). Accarding to a computation made by one delegate, the Canterbury representative made no fewer than twenty-nine speeches during the meeting.

Returns of income under the Land and Income Assessment Act, 190S, are required to be made on or before Juno 1, ami must be delivered at or forwarded to iiie office of the Commisioner of Taxes, Government Buildings, Wellington. Persons who have not received forms of return may obtain them at any postal moneyorder office. The 'liazette" notice closes with an intimation that any person failing to furnish a return at' the prescribed time is liable to a penalty of not loss than £2 nor more -.ban £100.

Yesterday a deputation of Maoris of the Ngatitoa tribe interviewed.the ActingPrime Minister (the Hon. J. Carroll) regarding petitions presented to Parliament, which had been reconimended by' the Nativo Affairs Committee to the Government for inquiry. The subject matter of the petitions was the alleged taking by the Crown of more land in the Paekakariki district than was actually purchased, and th& omission to set apart certain reserves iu the Plimmcrton district. The Minister promised to submit the matter to Cabinet, with 'the hope of having an investigation made. It is probable that records dating back mainyears will require to b& scrutinised.

Given a. Billstiekcrs' Union and a preference clause, the Defence Department would have been in a tight place.over its most recent excursion into the domain of the "worker." Two sergeant-majors of the New Zealand Staff were observed yesterday to be pasting up on the telegraph posts along the main thoroughfares of (he city copies of the military proclamation referring to compulsory registration. One of them had a small pot of gloy and a brush—not the orthodox billyean of sour paste. A Civil Service junior examination will bo held in November, 1911, a junior national scholarship and junior free-place examination will be held on or about November 30 and December I,' and a Civil Service senior examination and an examination for teachers' certificates of Class C and Class D will be held in January, 1912. With the Civil Service junior examination will be taken the intermediate examination, being the special examination for senior free places in secondary schools and district high schools and the first examination of pupil teachers. With tho junior national scholarship examination.will lie taken tho junior free place examination (including tho examination for junior free places, in technical schools). Further particulars are gazetted. A selection of very good paintings by such arlists as Frank Walton. 1i.1., Charles Dixon, E.A., J. Sant, R.A., and W. Christmas, R.8.A., were submitted for sale at auction by Messrs.. W. H. Turnbull and Co. on Wednesday, but the pictures submitted failed to realise their true value, and bargains were the order of the afternoon. One very fine study by Frank Walton, illnmhicd by a good idea and a splendid colour scheme, entitled "Good-bye to the Glorious Sun," was sold for .£'3s, which was perhaps a fourth of its value. Some of Dixon's canvases depicting scenes on tho Thames went for a few pounds each. reclaimed property now in the possession of the police* at various stations named will, unless claimed by .May 31, be sold by public auction. The stations named in the Gazette notice include Wellington, Wauganui, Napier, am! Greymouth. Bicycles, umbrellas, purses, elothi.ig, and jewellery are the forms of property mentioned most frequently in the lists.

A copy of the Midwives Ecgister of Now Zealand is' gazetted.

The monthly meeting of the Hc.=pi.tal Committee of the Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. Id have been held yesterday, lapsed for want of a quorum. The agenda for the inciting was dealt with informally, and lb; business will be confirmed by ilhe rommiitco before the next meeting of Iho full board.

Delegates to the New Zealand Rugby Union annual nicotine have been made honorary members of the Commerei.il Travellers' Club during their sln.v in Wellington.

The examiners of the Inspection of Machinery Department held examinations recently 'at Alexandra South, Auckland, C'hristchurch, Cromwell, [lunedin. Kketaliuna, Greymouth, Hamilton, liivercavgill, Karaniea, Napiei. Nelson. I'nlmerston North, Pembroke, Pongaroa. Timaru, Wanganui, Wellington,- and Wostpoi!. Candidates sat for tiro following classes of certificates:—First-class marine engineer, second-class marine engineer, thirdclass marine engineer, river engineer, and engineers of auxiliary-powered vessels oilier llian steam (both for sea-going and river trade), extra first-class engineer, first-class stationary engine driver,' sec-ond-class stationary engine driver, locomotive and traction-engine driver, and winding-engine driver (for riining certificates). Of the two hundred and eighteen candidates who were examined one hundred and forty-five were successful.

It is notified in the "Gazette" that a piece of land measuring 2.05 perches, being portion oi Allotment 1 of Section 205, of the city of Wellington, has been taken under <thcPublic Works Act by the City Corporation for street-widening purposes.

The Government, by notice in the "Gazette," forbids money-orders and postal 'correspondence for B.irnett. and Grant, Frank Bunyan, and Peter Grant—all of Christclmrch.

The town district of Napier South, in the County of Hawke's Bay. is constituted bv a proclamation gazetted last night.

Th j motion for a new (rial of the libel action, William Ferguson Massey v. the "New Zealand Times" Company, Ltd.-, will bo heard by the Full Court this morning. Plaintiff claimed £i'M damages in respect of a cartoon published by the defendant company, and the jury returned a verdict for the company.

At the meeting of the Auckland Presbytery on Tuesday, 'the fiev. 1. Jolly moved as a recommendation from the Auckland Presbytery to the next, assembly:—"That inasmuch as our Assembly is fundamentally representative of sessions, and the power of the Presbytery is limited to deciding who shall have the right to vote and have their espouses paid, and as the direct appointment of elders to the Assembly by Presbyteries is an infringement of the right of free election of thcir_ representatives hy sessions, and as sessions' mav veto the appointment of an elder made by the Presbytery by refusing to give him a commission, and as it is desirable that Presbyteries and sessions work in harmony in the appointment of voting members to the Assembly, the Presbytery of Auckland would urge that the Presbyteries decide, which sessions shall, have voting members as their, representatives, and ask these sessions to send to Presbytery clerks the names of the elders they wish to represent them in the Assembly, and that this method of appointment of elders with voting powers to the Assembly be made the law of the Church." The Rev. Mr. Simpson seconded the remit, which wan carried.

A resident of Kilbirnio complains that the last car from the Government station through the tunnel leaves the station at a very inconvenient time, viz., 10.5G p.m. Travellers from Palmcrston North by the late train have very little chance of calohing it, he says, as the train is late as often as not, and, when it docs arrive to time, there is no car at the Manawatu station to connect with the tunnel car. It is suggested that, if the ear wore fixed to start a few minutes after 11 p.m., it would serve a more useful purpose than at present.