LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Evening Post, Volume LVIII, Issue 140, 11 December 1899, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Minister for Public Works (Hon. W. Hall- Jones) will return to Wellington from Timaru on Wednesday. The Minister for Lands (Hon. J. M'Kenzie) and the Hon. J. Carroll are not expected back until the end of the week. The Hon. J. G. Ward, who is regarded as the successor to Mr. Cadman as Minister for Railways, at a meeting in his electorate last week stated that it was intended at an early date to reduce passenger fares on the Government railways to l^d per mile first-class and Id secondclass ordinary single. Under this scale, it would cost only 17s 4d first-class to gc to Dunedin, as against 29s under the existing rate, and 11s 7d &s against 19s 4cj 'second-class. A first-class ordinary ticket to the Bluff would cost only Zs 2d, and second-class Is sd. We understand that this announcement is somewhat premature. In his annual statement to Parliament last session the Minister for Railways said tha,t if the revenue and equipment permitted it' the fares would in the course of a few years be reduced to 1^ .and Id per mile for first-class and second-class passengers respectively, but we are told that the Government has hot yet made ,up its mind as to when the" reduction Bnall be made. It will certainly not be made until the beginning of the nexi financial year. When the reduced rates come into force single tickets only will be issued, and the practice of transferring tickets for a return journey will thus bt stopped*.

The reprehensible practice of deposits ing rubbish above hi^h water mark along 2 the foreshore of the harbour will soon 1 cease if the pockets of the offenders are c drawn upon as heavily as happened r this morning in the case of an expressman, T Alexander T. M'William. He had thrown j an express load of refuse on the foreshore i at Evans Bay, and being prosecuted at the b instance of the Harbour Board, was fined f a- shilling and ordered to pay 30s costs. 3 Mr. C. H. Izard appeared for the -.board, £ and defendant pleaded Guilty. r "I was in the City Council three years, 1 and I know what Councillors say is dif- . ferent to what Councillors do." — Mr. . Quick, Chairman of the Conciliation j Board this morning. " After delivering the finding of the Nau1 tical Court which on Saturday concluded • its enquiry into the recent mishap to the 1 Stormbird, Mr. Wardell, S.M., said that both assessors concurred, or, he added, " the position might be more truthfully put ' by stating that the presiding Magistrate 1 concurrecTwith the assessors. The Court " -considered that the course set from the 5 assumed position at the south of Kapiti, " which would have carried the vessel one 5 mile outside Terawhiti was safe in fine ' weather, but it was not a safe and prudent ' course in thick weather such as existed at • the time. In the finding the Magistrate also said: — "I am of opinion that there 1 was great Avant of prudence in running at | full speed no far south in the state of the ' weather without sight of land or light. ' The fact that cui*rents are known to exist renders it particularly necessary that special precautions should be taken and the | vessel kept well off shore in thick, foggy ; weather. The log ought to be kept going , and the lead not neglected. Neither lead ' nor log was used on board the Stormbird. I am of opinion that the theory that the ' vessel was carried out of her course by an 1 extraordinary and unusual current is nut ' established, and that the captain was guilty of negligent navigation in not verify1 ing his position off Kapiti when relieved | by the chief officer, and in not using the ! log. The system of navigation appears ' to have been very lax, and I suspend his certificate for three months. The mate ! is culpable for not telling the captain ; when the weather became very thick, and ,• I suspend his certificate for one month. ' The costs of the enquiry, amounting to £11 11s, are to be paid by the captain." i To hire a gun for a day and then go t and pawn it is, theft in the eyes of the \ law, as Henry Tofts discovered to-day, l when he received a sentence of three • months' . imprilßhment from. Mr. Hasel- , den, S.M., for so disposing of a gun hired I from W. H. Tisdall. Tofts received a simir lar sentence for appropriating shoeing J fees (ss) received on behalf of Bryce E M' Walker, blacksmith, the two terms of - » incarceration being made concurrent. At I the same sitting of the Court a first-of-J fender for drunkenness was fined 7s or in • default 24 hours' imprisonment ; Joseph . Bunting, charged with habitual drunki enness, was sent to gaol for three manths ; ■ Joseph Johnston, for drunkenness, wax > fined 10s, or in default 48 hours' imprison- ' ment, and was committed to gaol for seven • days for having used obscene language in ■ Willis-istreet ; arid Henry J. Hannibal, ' arrested on a warrant from Christ church I charging him with having failed to pro- • vide for the maintenance of his illegiti- ' mate child, was remanded on bail until me i 15th inst. 5 A seaman on H.M.S. Tauranga has been I sentenced to two years' imprisonment for ' assaulting an officer. The latest bankrupt is Bernard M'Guiio. • of Picton, late hotelkeeper, who has been 3 adjudged insolvent on his own petition. 3 In this estate there is £388 15s 2d owing r to unsecured creditors, and the assets total t £20 (two full shares in the Mauri Gully 1 .Dredging Company), leaving a deficiency r of £368 15s 2d. The largest of the seven1 teen creditors are : — A. E. Kernot, £102 ; • Staples and Co., £69; — Bird, £40; i Ballan Bros., £32 16s; F. MTarland, » £28 13s ; Levin and Co., £23 14s ; Kirkcaldie and Stains, £21 5s ; Wollerman and Co., £16; A. M'Guire, £13 10s; Mrs. King, £12 13s ; C. W. Brodie, £9 12s ; Bennett and Co., £9 9s Bd. The statement ~* of causes leading to bankruptcy is as fol . lows: — "I went into the Ranfurly Hotel E Wellington, on Bth March last. I hac s £200 cash. The purchase money wa? " £2700. • The rest was obtained on mort- • gage to Allan M'Guire, who hft.d a ii.nl i gage for £2500. I was in .the house fo . four months and two weeks. The busi ness did^not pay, and I was forced tc leave in July last, having lost all I' had " and incurred considerable debts. The I place was sold for the amount of mort- ) gage upon it. A number of my creditors . are worrying me, and lam summoned by Ballan Bros. I can't stand the worry any I longer." The first meeting of creditors ! is fixed |or Monday, the 18th, at 2.30 p.m. 5 We have received through Messrs. H. i Baillie the Christmas numbers of the 3 leading illustrated weeklies, which this i year are of exceptional excellence. All > of them are accompanied by coloured 7 plates which make attractive wall picJ tur&3, and. choice engravings are scat- " tered in profusion through the books — one 3 of which, the Graphic, is illustrated J throughout in colours. The Illustrated ' London News contains short stories by ' lan Maclaren, Barry Pain, and H. S. 1 Merriman; Black and White has tales 1 by Mqrley Roberts, Stephen Crane, W. J F. Shannon, and others ; and Bret HarLe ! and other popular writers contribute to ■ the Graphic. Holly Leaves has also some • capital stories, and, as usual, it fosters ! the patriotic sentiment by a fine military ■ coloured supplement. The Christmas I number of the Sketch, besides some fiisr- • class literary matter, has some fine poi- ' traits in black and white of the youth I and beauty of the operatic and dramatic ' stage, and two excelleritly printed col • oured plates. - - The case of Ross v. Hi slop was to have " been heard in the Supreme Court to-day | but, at the request of Mr., Jellicoe, wh< j was not ready to go on with it, an ad journment was agreed to. Mr. Skerrett for the defendant, offered no objection. The case is one in which Annie Teresa Ross, wife of John Ross, of Waverley, claims £501 fiom T. W. Hislop, on the' ground that he, contrary to her "direction , and against her Avill and without her aui thority, submitted to the giving of a • judgment against her in an action at the I suit of George Hutchison to recover pos- : session of certain lands in the Patea district. I Mr. Field, representing the coal deal- - ers in the Drivers' Dispute, noAV befovo • the Conciliation Board, again raised the • point this morning as to whether Wv. - Russell, a member of the Board, could h? > allowed to give evidence on the employ- ■ ers' side, by whom he had been aub- , pcenaed. Previously the members of the > Board had decided against the request, • and it was now mentioned fo^ihe Chair- 1 man's ruling. Mr. Quick would ; • be absolutely unseemly for** member of , the Board to do as was suggested. A I member ought not to be fcfcere and plnced - in the position of an advocate. His mind - ought to be untrammelled in any direction. He (Mr. Quicit) objected to- the t suggestion most strenuously. The.ques-" j tion was accordingly carried no further. A legal gentleman in 'an adjacent town- ; ship (says the Feilding Star) has expressed : the opinion that as the licensing poll for the Rangitikei electorate was not taken " on 6th December, any future poll taken within three years will be invalid, and D therefore capable of being upset. 1 Griffin's Cocoa is used at many tennis ; parties. It invigorates the players, and 3 is most refreshing. Try Griffin's Afternoon Cocoa. — Advt;

A fruit with the form and appearance of the blackberry with the lkvour of the raspberry is tho latest good thing which ' has come into Wellington. We have this week been given a tuste of a basket of loganberries grown by Mr. A. Mountier, orchardist, of To Hovo (Manawatu). The "cross" was cultivated originally in America, and Mr. Mountier has just gathered his iirst fruits.. The loganberry is nearly as large as llio mulberry, ripens from the last week in November to the end of Decembsr, is not a noxious weed, does not' sucker from the roots, and the plants are propagated only from cuttings or layers. The fruit is now on exhibition in Mcs-rs. Gibbons and Co.'s and Mr. Cordo/a's windows. The funeral of Captain Anderson, o* the Permanent Militia, took place at the JohnCemetery yesterday with military honours. Deceased was greatly esteemed, and his funeral was largely attended. Au escort of Permanent Artillery, under Lieut. -Col. Messenger, headed the procession. Then came the Garrison Band, under Conductor Herd, and the gun-carriage, bearing the coffin, manned by the D Battery, New Zealand Artillery, under Caplivn Moorhouse. The chief mourners vcre Mr. Frank Anderson, son of deceased, and tho staff of the Defence Store, Messrs. T. H. Sewcll, J. O'Sullivan, and 11. Jervsd. The Wellington Battalion was represented by volunteers from each of the corps in the district ; and the Heretaunga Mounted Rifles, under Major Loveday. The pall-bearers were Captains Brandon vv.d Tyers, Adjutant Duthie and Lieut. Cooper. The following wero also piosent — Colonel Pole-Penlon, Sir Arthur Douglas. Lieut. -Col. Newall, Liout.^Col. Collins, Commanders Davey, Duncan, 'aqd Campbell, and Lieut. -Commander Bell. The Yen. Archdeacon Fancocrt read the *burial service. A saored concert was held last n'ght at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Buc-> kle-strect, in aid of the organ fund. The majority of the ; numbers were well tendered, the following being particularly good :— "Comfort IV and '^Every Valley," by Mr. Jas. Searlo ; an "Aye Regina," by Mr. J. F. Carr. Miss May Sullivan gave a fine interpretation of the solo in Mendelssohn's "Hear My Prayer," the chorus being also heard to advantage. Mr. F. Pope, though not at his best, gave a good rendering of a "Laudate Doininum" by Bernadoni. Mr. Innis presided at the organ throughout, and also played three solos. The concert terminated wth a "Benediction." Mr. M. C. Rowe acted as conductor, and also took part with Mrs. Taylor and Miss M'Donald in a trio* "Ti Prego," by Carbucosi. The final performance of the Gaiety Company at the Exchange Hall on Saturday night was largely attended, and the many amusing items were loudly applauded. The company will open a season in Auckland, i\nd will afterwards return to the F.mpire City where a permanent stay will be made. The Survey Department has arranged to have another extensive area at Rotorua »\lanted at the earliest opportunity. About bOO acres*bf Crown land behind rhe hotel :it the geysers at Whakarewarewa have baon fenced in, and it is intended to convert the whole area into a forSst reserve. :\lr. Matthews, Chief Conservator of Fort Us*, who is at present in Wellington, is 16 carry out the work. The Government nursery at Rotorua is flourishing. There have been nice rains in the district during the past few months, and the trees ana shrubs in the nursery are reported to be looking particularly well. : On Saturday afternoon the members of ft. Peter's Club held their first annual pic.iic and sports, meeting on the Hutt r.icccourse. . The 'excursionists were con\eysd to the grounds in two 'busses, and cvb:l!tent preparations had been made for tlje comfort and enjoyment of the party. 'j he arrangements were 1 successfully carn r d out by the Secretary (Mr. J. Steventon), who laboured energetically to make \h: affair a success. A lengthy programme 01 sporljß of various' kinds had lieen prepared, but was greatly marred by the rain that set in about 4.30. The •Committee d elded to postpone several events. The following are the list of prize-winners in iac various contests that were got off, the llcv. G. P. Davys acting as judge and Mr. Geary, sen., as starter: — 100 yds Handicap. — First heat — S. Tingey, 6yds, 1 ; deary, scr, 2j W. Windsor, 2yds, 3. 'Hine, llssc. • Second heat — A. Pethcrick, 6yds, 1 ; J. Stevenson, scr, 2 ; A. StesensoT, 2yds, 3. Time, 11 l-ssec. Final — Geary, 1 ; J. Stevenson, 2 j Tingey, 3. Time, llsec. Half-mile Handicap. — S. Tingey, 25yds, 1 ; J. Stevenson, 10yds, 2; *W. Windsor, 15yds, 3. A capital race, Tingey winning by about lOvds. Time, 2min lOsec. Putting the shot.— A. Geary, 26ft lO^in, 1; G. Deiandes, 25ft, 2; Struthers, 22ft lO^in, 3. High Jump. — M'Kenzie, 4ft 3in, 1 ; J. Stevenson, 4ft 7in, 2 ; A. Geary, 4ft 6in, 3.- One Mile Bicycle Handicap. — 11. Ballinger, 30yds, 1 ; F. Ballinger, «cr, 2;■ E. S. Harris, 20yds, 3. A good race. L'2oyds Handicap. — A. Geary, 2yde, 1 ; J. Sievenson, syds, 2; A. Petherick, 4yds, o. About four years ago the Wellington Harbour Board materially reduced the wharfage and labour charges on flax and •, tow, but it finds that the concession made vas too great, and it has: decided to reverb lo rates at per bole instead of at per lon, and to fix them between the present latcs and those which were in force up to November, 1895. Feeling reference was made to the late Rev. E. Doddrell in the local Congregational Churches yesterday, the Dead March in " Saul " being played at the close of the services. The Wellington Homing Pigeon Society flew two races last week. One from Auckland, 310 mile 3, was won by W. Bailey's Blackbird, the only bird to home v.'ithin tho limit. The other event, irqm ( inborne, 270 miles, was also won by' a b.rd owned by W. Bailey, which homed at the rate of 728 yards per minute j M. Clark's Petone, 727 yards, being second. No other birds were timed in on the day cf the toss. A meeting N)f creditors in the estate of Annie M'Donald will be held at the Official -Assignee's office on Thursday next, at 11 i.m., to consider the .question of granting iurther time for realisation of assets. The Flower Show in connection with the Hutt Public School will be opened io-morrow afternoon. A large inumber vt cn.nes have been received. The quarterly meeting of the Wellingto i Branch of the New Zealand Institute c: Journalists will be held at 4 p.m. toi..cr:ow in the Press Association rooms. A meeting is to be held in St. Peter's r-ol.ojlroom to-morrow evening, at which Ay. hdeacon Fancourt and others will speak uron the work of the Church in the Diol\js2 of Wellington, especially in the country districts. An entertainment in aid of the "Good Lack" stall at the Easter carnival will be held in St. Paul's Schoolroom on Wednesday evening. The distribution of prizes at the Mount Cook schools will take place on Wednesday next. Mr. Blair has consented to pteiside at the boys' school, and Mr. Aitkan, the Mayor-elect, will perform a similar ceremony at the girls' school. Lawson's Liqueur Whisky is undoubtedly the purest spirit distilled, and the Increasing demand for it proves that it is appreciated at its full value. In black bottles with red sea). Ask for it, and use it. — Advt.

The Agent- General, at tho request of tho Government, has selected Mr. Wvmie, of the Highland Railway Company, Scotland, to take up tho position of iignilling and interlocking engineer of the ><e\v Zealand railways. This is to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Art InnJohnson, who left Wellington for London by the Gothic last week on account of tho illness of his wife. Mr. Wynne is said to be thoroughly up in the work Avhich he will be called upon to <"o vi the colony. He will come out lo New Zealand by way of America in order t'nt he may make himself personally acquainted with tho signalling and interlocking systems in the United States. In consequence of this detour he will not urrivO in Wellington until March. Tho MitcheWtown Brass Band will hold a moonlight excursion to Day's Bay on Wednesday evening. Mr. W. Bromiley oif Naseby, has patented a moth destroyer, said to be particularly fatal to the codlin. Owing to the heavy losses of tho British cavalry in tho Transvaal, the New Zealand Contingent was specialy welcome. Black Swan butter is always welcome by householders. — Advt. Early to bed, early to rise, never get drunk, but advertise. Raleigh Bicycles do not require advertising. — Advt. For breakfast drink good coffee. Crease's Al is best and goes furthest. — Advt. Watson's Whisky has secured the highest honours wherever shown for its purity and freedom from deleterious ingredients. It ia the best spirit ever distilled, and used medicinally allays incipient disease. —Advt. k The Christmas cash coupon now being given by O. Smith is giving general satisfaction ; everyone pleased ; there are no exceptions. Cash coupons are given with everything, no matter what you buy, for cash to tho value of 10s and upwards. With men's all-wool twoed suits made to measure, at 37a 6d, you receive your coupons. With linoleums and oilcloths you receive your coupons. With lace curtains you receive your coupons. — Advt. With everything you buy in tho showroom you receive your coupons. With a special lino of ladies' mantles suitable for married ladies and elderly ladies, you receive your coupons. — Advt. With millinery, if it is for ladies, or a pretty bonnet or hat for a child, you get your coupons.'— Advt. * Remember you can obtain hard cash for your coupons on applicatipn any time prior to 15th January, 1900.— Advt. Mr. H. M. Stephens, of Lambton-quay, is now showing a selected stock of dressing bags for both sexes, specially ordered for the Christmas trade. Full particulars will bo found elsewhere. Messrs. George Thomas and Co. call attention to the addition of two superior bicycles to the catalogue for the sale of Mr. W. L. Meek's furniture on Wednesday. Messrs.* Macdonald, Wilson'jand Co. will sell at Mr. R. Carmiohaol'li, farm (late Baird's), just beyond Ngahauranga, at 1 o'clock to-morrow, the of his dairy cattle, sheop, poultry, ducks, dogcart, dairy utensils, lot of furniture, etc. The full details are given la the auction column, and the sale will be unreserved, as Mr. Carmichael has let the farm.