LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1418, 19 April 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The (iovernmeiit offices throughout llio .Dominijii will )>o closod on Tucsilny, April 23, in culobratinn of St. George's Dny mul St. David's Day.

The postal authorities advise that tho s.s. Maheno, which left Sydney at noun oil April 17, lor Auckland, lias on beard an .Australian mail, nKo an English mail, via Suez. The Wellington portion is duo to arrive here by Main Trunk train on -Monday next.

The deaths per 1(100 inhabitants in each of the four chief cities of New Zealand during the month of .March were as follow AiK'klnmt, 0.S0; Wellington, 0.71; Christchureli, 0.72; Dtinedin, 0.71. If the suburban boroughs are included, the rates (ire a< follow .—Auckland, 0.711; Wellington, 0.(58; Chri-lehurcli, 0.71; Dunedin, O.UO. Thus it will be seen that, including the suburbs the rule at Auckland is the highest, and at Dunedin the lowest, 'file rates for March, 11111, including (he suburbs, were: Auckland, 0.0!); Wellington, 0.56; Chiistolnirch, 0.7:!; Dunedin, 1.01. The total births in the four chief cities and their suburban boroughs amounted to 010, against 582 in t'ebruarv —an increase of 58. The deaths in March were 200—an increaso of 30 as compared with last month. Of the total deaths, males contributed 110, females 90. Fortytwo of the deaths were of children under five years of age, being 21 per cent, of the whole number; :i"> of these were under one year of ago. There were 57 deaths of persons of 05 years and upwards in the, four chief cities and their suburban boroughs, as against (it in February.

To avoid the frequent waifs oft the hillside loops of the Brooklyn tram line, ami to case the work on the single line, an elfort is to be made (luring the present financial year to duplicate the line between the loop near tlie Nairn Street Reserve and that at Seagar's Corner. This work will call for a Rood d-eal of excavation for the.greater length. of the line, It is proposal that as far as possiblo (ho excavation necessary to widen the track bo made on the open or town side of tho track, and that would demand tho removal of several knobs, which obstruct tho view of tho city and .harbour at different points of the journey. The spoil from the excavations would bo deposited in the lower hollows on the site of the proposed new recreation ground, between tho Nairn Street Reserve ami the Brooklyn highway.

The newly-appointed West Coast Settlement Reserves Leases Commission will sit at th« Courthouse, Hawera, on Wednesday, May 8, at !1 o'clock.

Tho Midivives • Register is gazetted as required by the Midwivcs Act, 1908.

Tho first torero of the 'Wellington Savage Club is to be lield at the • club's room, .Masonic Hall, ou Saturday, April 27.

At the meeting of the City Council last night Councillor Flctcher moved: "That tiie small parcel of corporation land adjacent to the Wellington Naval boatsheds, oil the wntcr-froat, as per accompanying sketch, be utilised for the purpose of a tish market, and tlio City Engineer bo instructed to prepare plans and furnish an estimate of the cost of a suitable and inexpensive structure for the better distribution of iisli." Ho explained that a committee had been set up to investigate this proposal, but nothing had been done by it. The only objector was Councillor Fuller, who thought that a good building should bo erected. His amendment that the 7notion bo referred to the Markets Committee for report was not seconded, and the motion wns carried.

One of the Labour deputations which waited on the Hon. G. Laurenson a fewdays ago placed beforo him their objections to tho system of labour contracts which they regarded as an undesirable evasion of" tile requirements of awards. It was reported at the time that tho Minister offered to discuss with tho deputatioa after the reporters liad left, sonic proposals of his own to 'meet the position. When the matter was mentioned to-liim yesterday, Mr. Laurenson said he was not prepared to disclose what lie had in view, bill; he earnestly hoped something would bo done, as he was personally strongly opposed to the practice of contracting out of awards. No definite course had yet been decided oil.

On April 1, 1912, there were 269 fatients in tho Wellington Hospital, as against 210 in tho corresponding month of the previous year. The number admitted during tho fortnight up to April 15, 1912, was 123, and the number discharged 130, as against 98 admissions and 85 patients discharged in the corresponding period kst year. The number of patients .still in the hospital is 2G2.

There was an .interesting gathering at Captain's Point, Jervis Bay, on Thursday afternoon of last week. The occasion was the inspection by the Prime Minister, Mr. Fisher, of the site finally selected for the Naval College, and also a visit to the locality by Sir Allen Taylor (Lord Mayor of Sydney) and the co-trusfecs of tho Dreadnought Fund. On reaching tho l'oint, Colonel Owen, of tho Federal Public Works Department, opened out quite a number of maps and building plans, and explained these to tho Prime Minister. Those plans provide for an expenditure of .£250,000, but it is believed that in course of time upwards of half a million of money will be absorbed,in construction for the training quarters.

The City Council last evening acceptcd the tender of ,the Stewart Timber and Hardware Company for the supply of cross-arms required by the electric lighting department. '

In order that the district and suburbs generally might be free from overcrowding (says the annual report of the Hataitai Municipal Electors' Association) your committee forwarded a request to tho City Council, asking that body to take advantage of Section 31 of the Municipal Corporations Act Amendment Act, and prescribe the minimum frontage of a section at 40ft. on which a dwelling-house could be erected. The resolution had scarcely reached the City Council when it was found that the Outlying Districts Committee had recommended fho City Council to reduce the air space required for dwellings by exactly half. Your committeo took immediate action, convened meetings of representatives of other ratepayers associations, and fmally organised n deputation, which waited on tlio City Council, and protested against this retrograde proposal. Our efforts were practically successful. Tho proposed bylaw was thrown out, only three councillors voting for tho proposal. The request to have a minimum frontage was, however, declined.

A man whoso presence is' desired in Christcliurch was arrested ip Wellington yesterday by Detective Andrews on n charge 'of forging tlio name of Walter Field to a i' 23 cheque, and uttering the cheque to W. A. Tribe.

Tho tone of discussion at the 'meeting of tho City Council lost ovening was loud rather"than forceful. As a general thing five or six councillors wero talking at once. The result was discordant, and orderly debate 'became impossible. At tho best of times tho utteranco of an individual speaker was usually accompanied by a lively bu2z of conversation amongst ins fellow-members, and it was only at infrequent intervals that a speaker obtained anything approaching a good hearing. There was nothing that could bo described as a. "scene" during tho progress of tho meeting, but it happened, liuie and again, that tho voice of tho councillor who nominally held tho floor was completely drowned in a babel of interruptions and unrestrained "asides."

For giving a picture entertainment on a recent Sunday, without first obtaining permission, a firm of picture proprietors m tlio city is to lie prosecuted, under tho city by-laws.

The City Council has declined to increase its' contribution to the Maranui Surf and Life Saving Club towards the construction of the new surf house, from ,£SO to A7O.

The construction of a bear pit at the Zoo. estimated to cost .£QOO, to Be Carried out during the current financial year, was approved by the City Council last night. Some days aw a deputation from the Wellington Bugby Tnion waited upon the Finance Committee of the City Council asking, for a remission of rates on the principal football playing lieid of ths city, Athletic Park, and in support of their application they urged that they were likely tu he in financial straits "liul'll.v if the rules were not remitted. I.nst night the City Council adopted Hie. following recomtnendalioii of the committee:—"That the Wellington l.iijjby l.'iiion be informed, in reply to their roriuost for the remission of rales on the Athletic. IVrlt, tlm.t tho «>uiu:i| iTitrct. thnt thoro kno yotver to rauit such