LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1359, 9 February 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tlic postal authorities advise Hint the s.s. Maheno, which sailed from Sydney at. 3 p.m. on February 7 for Auckland,' has on board an Australian mail, also an English mail via riuez. The Wellington portion is duo to arrive hero by .Alain Trunk express on Monday next, .February 12. The Karon 31 i 11 o Club is already preparing its members for active participation in the forthcoming New Zealand championship meeting. To-morrow (he club will hold a service practice match over short rangcs-200, 300, 400, and 500 yards. In conformity with the conditions under which the service, matches aro to be conducted at tho championship meeting, the aperture sight will not bo used, but the substitution of a. "sliding V" for tho ordinary sighting apparatus with which the long service Tiflo is provided will be permitted. On the following Saturday (February 17) tho club will fire a 15-sho't match at the 1000 yards range. No new development has occurred in connection with the demand of tho hulkkeepers of the local port for better conditions of employment. Mr. G. G. Farland, who is acting for the men, stated yesterday that no formal demands had as yet been drawn up for presentation to the employers though they had been prepared in a tentative form. Tho Minister for Public Works anticipates that the permanent way of the lino which will eventually connect the Fast and West Coasts of the South Island will bo completed to either end of tho big tunnel which is to pierco the Alps, about seven months hence. Good progress is being made with the construction of tho tunnel. The first of the mental hospital buildings to be erected on the new site at Tokanui (Auckland) will be completed in a few weeks. Further building will proceed simultaneously with cultivation of the estate of 3800 acres, upon which agricultural work in all its branches is to"bo carried out. The buildings are to be erected in detached blocks, so as to facilitate a proper classification of patients ami to minimise the danger from lire. The institution will be in charge of Dr. Crosby, formerly medical superintendent at (lie Mount Ykv Mental Hospital. Mr. King O'Malley's proposals for the early acquisition of land at Ya.ss-Can-bcrra were approved of by the Federal Cabinet at a meeting held oil Friday last. It is understood that the formal notices of acquisition will bo served at an early date. The Government intends to resume in time, the whole of the territory. "\\"e want to get it as early as convenient, and settlo it up," stated tho Prime Minister. Whiskers seem to be an effectual bar to a man's being selected to sit on a common jury at criminal trials, if experience ill the Wellington Court can bo taken as a guide. At the criminal sessions just concluded, .some of the "stand asides" were men with whiskers, but in tho majority of cases any members of the panel, weaving anything more than a moustache, were challenged by the defence before tho Crown Prosecutor had an opportunity to stand them aside, and in one case at least, the prisoner took the challenge out of the hands of bis counsel. A reporter, on inquiring in different quarters as to what were the chief objections to jurors with whiskers, was unable to obtain a satisfactory explanation The most extensive epidemic of bush fires that has occurred in the Adelaide hills during the last 'JO years broke out on Wednesday of last week, and continued on Thursday. Well-known pleasure resorts, such as Mount Lofty, Bridgewater, Aldgnte, and llahndorf, which are out of the railway route, suffered, and besides many beauty spots being devastated, fruit gardens, several houses, and properties were destroyed. Other places, including Mylor Faglo, on the hill, and Norton's Summit,- which latter is near the Governor's summer residence, wore visited by the conflagrations. Many orchards were completely swept away, and miles and miles of grass, and as a rule the country was left, bleak and blackened by the passage of the flames. The (summer residence of Mr. .Martin,, at: Aidgate, was reduced to a smoking mass of twisted iron and ashes. The total damage is estimated at many thousands of pounds. Territorial soldiers when attending annual week camps of inslruction in connection with the compulsory training scheme receive from the Defence Department pay al the rale of -Is. per day, this vale vi-ing U> scale according In rank. In Hie case of civil sorvanls, (ho amount paid each man in camp is deducted from his salary, the actual result being Hint he receives his normal pay. The City Council al lis meeting last evening decided In adopt the same prpecdure with respect to those of ils employees who uiny be called upon to uUcnd the cau>,pe of uuilrucUjun.

Mr. W. KibbaWi, who voluntarily resigned the position of Collector of Customs at Dunedin recently, has (says the "Otago Daily Times") seen over 42 years' service in I lie. Department in Now Zealand. After luissin-; the Civil Service examination in ISlill, he joined the Customs branch at Dunedin, entering as a cadet under Mr. Thomas Hill. At that period the Customs ollice in Dunedin collected more Customs duly than any other port in Otago —in fact, more than Wellington and Christehurch put together. The revenue iu Dunedin in ISO!) was .£202,0(10; last year it was over .1100,000. This amount is collected at a cost, of under 30s. per cent., which is very low in comparison with the cost in England. In the earlv ilays, extraordinary as it mav appear, the duty on nearly all goods was by weight and niensureinvnt-perhaps :(s. or ss. on a hundredweight of hardware goods, and Ss. per toot on silks, piece goods," and drapery. It was certainly the crudest (tirilf that could have been imagined. There was a gold duly ol 2s. per ounce on all gold exported. The banks sent away most of the precious metal, but a good' deal was m the hands of Chinamen, who made a point of doing their own exporting. There were .no wharf sheds in those far-back days for the Customs officials. All the gauging and measuring of cafes was carried out on the open wharf, sometimes in the rain. Compared with to-day the contrast is remarkable. Notice of proposed cancellation of registry under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act appears in this week's Gazette in regard to the Wellington Wharf Labourers' Union, the Auckland Waterside Workers' Union, the Dunedin lederatcd Seamen's Union, and the laitapu Miners' Union. On Friday, February 9, a special train, stopping at all stations, will leave Wellington for Lower Hutt at 11.30 p.m. An advertisement to this effect is inserted at; our own cost in order that our readers will not sillier by (he boycotting of this' paper by the Ward Government There was Hie makings of a nasty tram accident in front of Whitcombe and lombs yesterday morning. A man slipped on the rails and fell right in front of an oncoming train, and for n moment it looked as if he would be badlv muliateil. However, the tram was brought to a sudden -stop, and, thanks to the catcher affixed to it, the man was unhurt, being merely shaken bv the impact. The tram was very well handled by the motorman. The funeral of the late Mr; H. S. Fitzherbert took place at St. James's Churchyard, Lower Hutt, yesterday morning. The cortege left Hie railway'station and proceeded to St. James's 'Church, where a short service was conducted bv the Key. Joshua Jones, and thence to the graveyard. Among (hose who attended the funeral were: Dr. M'Arthur, S.M., Messrs. Cudby and Wilkins, J.l'.'s. Mr. h. V. Bunny (.Mayor of Lower Hutt), Captain Bevnn (of the Petone Navals) anil his stall', and Messrs. Mothes and Mood, formerly of the I'etone Navals. The executive of the Bakers' Federation ot New Zealand will meet the representatives of the employees at tlio Town Hull wa Wednesday next to discuss conditions or labour. It is hoped to ari\ve at a settlement without going to the Court of Arbitration. There is a new method of rabbit extermination. A southern Otago settler lias tried the experiment of placing tarred straw at the entrance to the burrows of the jK'st. His efforts have been eminently successful, as in no case has the mouth of the burrows been . re-opened. By following up the operation and closing up the holes which have bee'i l.'it, untouched, the destruction of bunny \* complete—at least on the area treated. An instance of how land speculation is going on in parts of the King country i- ('led by a To Kuiti land agent (telegraphs an Auckland correspondent). He sold a farm on Friday morning in the Olorahauga district for ,£560. Tho property was again put in his hands for sale, and he turned it over next morning. The new buyer, instructed the agent to sell again, with tlie result that ho disposed of the property for ,£1350. Tho new purchaser still considers that there is a margin, left. The election of a Licensing Committee for Wellington will take place on tho second Tuesday in March, and the Licensing Act enjoins the returning officer to give notice of the election not later than Ills third .Monday in February. Tho present committee, of which Dr. M'Ar(hui, S.M., is chairman, consists of Messrs. W. J. Helycr, G. J. l'etherick, G. Tiller, ,1. Smith, and W. G. Wilton. Last. night the City Council, with n« hesitation whatever, refused an offer from a firm of land agents in the city to sell (he plant at.Mirauuiv of the amusement garden called "Wonderland." Tlie sale price staled was .£4750, at which figure the agent described it as "a real bargain," seeing that it cost .£10,001) to erect. Ii was suggested that the toboggan and tho water-chute, and the other things should be set up at Lyall Bay, or some other place, but the council thought that it might just as well remain at Miramar. An additional charge of 10 per cent, has been. imposed upon city ratepayers who are in arrears with their rates. 7 rho amount outstanding is about .£6OOO. Question timo at tho. City Council last evening gave Councillor Shirtcliffo an opportunity of aslcing whether any officer of tho corporation was charged with tho duty of seeing that the council's tenants complied with tho conditions of their leases. In one case he knew of noxious weeds had been allowed to get a hold, to the detriment of the property. Was there such au officer? The reply was— No.