LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1792, 3 July 1913, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There is a certain charm about candlelight as compared with the glare of the I incandescent electric globe, but there are occasions when it is difficult to apuro- ' ciato it. The proprietor and staff of one ■ of the largest city hotels had on oxperi--1 race with candles last evening which they . would not like to have repeated very oi'ton. At the present time the hotel is exceptionally full, as many of the United > Congress delegates are staying there. Just ! as the gong rang for dinner, a fault in . the main switch caused all the lights on the upper floors to bo extinguished. Eortuimtely a big supply of candles was ; forthcoming; several were placed- on every table, stuck into glasses, as there were not . nearly enough candle-sticks to go round. , The kitchen and tho passages were similarly illuminated. The whole building, and especially the dining-room, presented a weird appearance, which, notwithstanding the inconvenience caused, had a dis- . tinctly humorous side. After about half an hour's semi-darkness, the switch was repaired and the lights were restored. .The decorum of the Legislative Council Chamber is rather burdensome to those : who are unaccustomed to it, a fact thait was frankly commented upon, yesterday i by the Hon. W. Earnsliaw, when he was speaking on the Address-in-Eeply. Some member made an interjection, and was rebuked by a number of his fellow-mem-bers. Mr. Earnshaw at once waved the protection aside. "As a matter of fact," 49mb :jbm3 A'[iinipoaoxo Jnoi',, "pits ei[ ness greatly embarrasses me. If you cultivated a littlo of the' • liveliness of tho other Chamber, you l would bo better recognised by the people at large." He added that he would, do his best to wake thlem up from time to time. ■Because. Australian wine imported into New Zealand pays a diiity; of ss. per gallon, and South African wine,, under a reciprocal treaty with New Zealand/ pays only; 2s. per gallon, some 253 wine and spirit merchants and hotelkeepers carrying on business in the Dominion have petitioned the House of Representatives that thje rates bo made equaj, at tho South African level. The petition sets forth that the demand for Australian wines is much greater than the demand for South Afrioan wines, but the extra three shillings per gallon is prejudicial to the interests of Australian produce. The petition concludes by urging that Australian wine should be encouraged i from the temperance point of view, owing to /the fact that they aro lighter in character than South African wines. At a sale of books in the estate of the late Mr. G. G. Carlyon, which was held at Napier on Tuesday, 11 volumes of Dickens's works, bearing dates from 1839 to 1857, brought J?4l ss.' The question of introducing an. amendment to the Motor Regulation Act is now receiving the consideration of the Government. One of the great weaknesses in the New Zealand, educational system, said' Archdeacon Harper at yesterday s meeting of the Anglican Synod, was the neglect of tho study of history. There was a lack of the historical sense, of the appreciation of history. He thought that many mistakes which had been made in the administration of .New Zealand could have been avoided if tho study of 'history had been more carefully attended to, and its lessons taken more, to heart. A .big meeting is to be held in tho .Town Hall in the third week of August to discuss tho forthcoming celebration of the centona.ry of tho introduction into New Zealand of Christianity by Bishop Marsden. It is expected that all the Bishops of the Province of Now Zealand will be present. A supplement to the Gazette containing the names of teachers holding certificates or licenses under the Education Act, 1903, was issued yesterday. The list disposes the interesting fact that there are 170 married ladies, 1813 single ladies, and. 1581 men employed in giving public instruction in New Zealand. Mr. H. W. Short-t, chairman of the Management Committee of the Eastbourne Beautifying . Society, informed a meeting held at Muritai on Tuesday evening l that, the Rev. Father Barclay, of St. Patrick's College, had offered the services of all the, college boys as a working: bee in connection with beautifying work at Eastbourne. Tho news was received with applause. The Associated Society of Railway Servants recently appealed to its members for funds with which to erect premises for the society in Wellington. The response, it is stated, was so satisfactory that a deposit has been paid upon a section of laud ic Aitken Street, and Messrs. Cnichton and. M'lCny, architect, have been engaged to design a modern, threestory building. Provision is made in the Municipal Corporations Amendment Bill, which tho' Government intends to introduoe this isession. to enable a Borough Council to buy coal or coke and sell it to the inhabitants of a borough. The "New Zealand Herald" (Auckland) has /Jinounced a now building soheme to provide further accommodation for its machinery departments, and new offices for ■its literary staff; On inquiry at the local agents for Lloyd's (Messrs. Dalgety and Oo.) yesterday it was ascertained that there was nothing further to report concerning the stranded Indrabarah. It is thought that the. attempt to refloat the vessel these spring tides will not be of a serious nature. More g«ar has been ordered from London, aud until this comes to' hand, it is supposed that thos9 in charge of salvage operations will play a "waiting game." In order to be at hand if needed, the Union Company's salvage tug Terawliiti will leave Wellington for Rangitikei Bight this evening. She is expected to arrive a,t the scene by daylight to-morrow. A conference of the members of the Wellington Anglican Synod, under the auspices of th'a Bible-in-State Schools League, is to be held in the Diocesan Library at 11 a.m. to-morrow. At the conclusion of his meeting at IChftndallah on Tuesday evening, Mr. W. H. D. Bell, M.P., was accorded a motion of thanks and complete confidence. The motion, which was carried with enthusiasm, was proposed by Mr. Ferguson, and seconded by Mr. F. Holdsworth, Mayor of Onslow. The secretary of the Sunday' School Union states that 776. entries have been received for the examinations to bo held on July 11. This is 'considerably more than was received last year. .The' city scholars are to meet at various places in the city, and tho country schools are to maki their own arrangements.