Page 4 Advertisements Column 8

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 131, 3 June 1904, Page 4

A reason for the state of instability and uncertainty thut prevails regarding the licensing and other litws has been suggested .by - Judge Denniston, who thinks that the- more our legislators talk the thicker the fog" becomes. "Whereever an Act of Parliament is the subject of extensive discussion and contest,-" bo said during the hearing of a banco case in ChristchurcU recently, "it will emerge from Parliament in some chaotic condition." / Sly grog-selling in the King Country must be a lucrative business, says an exchange, for at Te Awanitru last week a defendant was fined £75 and caste for the offence. There w«e nine conviction^ against him. Ho paid up forthwith, and presumably vent bade to recover tlio amount. Six other defendant* were each fined £26 and costs for similar offences, with tho alternative of a month at Mount Jiden. Three of them elected to 'Hake it out. A woman was fined £10 and costs, and informed the 'Court tlwt there was more worry tlian profit in the business one paid up, however. T1 »c Wanganui Harbour Board has decided on harbour improvements which will necessitate the purchase of a dredge with which to dredge out the river flats It has under offer quite a number of new gold dredges, said to be eminently suitable for the requirements of th« port ami the cost is well within the Board's means. dredges in question vary m price from about £800 to £3000 and are capable of dredging to a depth of from 15ft to 30ft. A committee to consider the applications received will report to a special meeting of tho Board tobe held shortly. - . To mark his disapproval of tbe a«tion of the Public Library Committee doubling the fees charged for the mo of the lending department, Councillor Barber moved at last night's sitting of th 6 City U>un« : "That in tie opmkm of tine Council the facb of increasing the fee of the Public Library Lending Department from 5s to 10s will have the .affect) of reducmg the number of citizens usimr.ihafc department. It will therefore be uiuieces. wry to enlarge the building, and tiat the resolution deciding to expend the sum of £1600 on additions to tfce Central Library, be rescinded." The mover charged the Committe with inconsistency and said that the effect of the decision" would reduce tho number of sHbscribers. That fact had been brought home to him by presenb subscribers. CouncHlor Godbec seconded the motion pro forma. He thought, too, that the Council had made a big mistake in increasing the 'fees The motion was, after debate, lost on th« voices. . Under, the Eating on Unimproved Values Act, a local body may, afcer a poll of the ratepayers, decide to levy its rates on the unimproved value, except charitable aid and one or two other rate*, which must continue on tin* annual or capital value. In order to avoid the atoomaiy of having three systems of rating in force at one time, the Wellington City Council will move at the Municipal Conference tnat the Act be amended so that all rotes may be baeed on the unimproved value. At last the Scenery Preservation Society hos succeeded in getting assistance from tho City Council. The Bathe and • Uty .Reserves .Committee last evening .recommended tbe Council td grafat the Society soks use of one of th« Town .Beit Reserves for planting purposes at a "peppercorn rental, and to vote a sum of %25 towards the jfunds of the Society Tho Committee's Chairman (Councillor Nathan) stated that the Committee ha* inspected the reserves planted by the Sc~ weVy, and some of them— =at any rate the " head gardener— did not think tfeat, under the conditions the society was working • under, it was semiring the best results. Tho Committee thought that the society! instead of diffusing its efforts, should concentmte on one special seofciw, and show the citizens what it could do. .To this end the recommendation ~was made. Councillor Luke asked as to the state of the society's present reserves. Councillor Nathan said the gardener's opinion was that the society's area was too buge for its funds. The society's members were enthusiastic and full of heart. The baptising ceremony of a religious sect at the Te Aro Bathe waa referred to last evening by CodnciNor Devine when the report of the Baths And City Reserves Committee was being considered by- the City Council. In reply to q*estio*s by Councillor Devine, the Mayor stated that the baths had been granted eewera! timer for baptisintr purposes, and oaee or twice the Committee had granted the baths; this itime the application was gantntedt by the officials. Councillor Deviue objected to the baths being so used except on the Committee's sanction and authority. Councillor Izard hoped the bath woald be 'let no more for religious 6r quaw-cettgious ceremonies; if they wanted a dk», let them go to the Hufct. The public went for a free show. Some time ago a religious body very nearly caused the death, of a poor old lady on the West Coast by dipI ping her in a cold creek. The Council : shotrid be careful as to giving its authority for such purposes, as in the event j of anything serious happening the CoubcH might "be held to be an accessory before the fact. The dipping of tb«e poor firb in such circumstances was a great eal worse than any of the gladiatorial efforts of ancient Koine. The subject' dropped. The estimated annual cost qf working the drainage system for Auckland city recommended by Mr. Mestayer, G.E., of Wellington, is £1480. Mr. Mestayer states that it would be advisable to consider whether electric current could be - irtilised to drive the air-compressors instead of steam power. He is not in a position., at present to «y whether carrent could be economically employed where the demand fluctuated so considerably as would be the case in. this instance. He has written to firms in England for information. Should it prove that electric motors can be used to drive the air-compressors, tho capital cost" will certainly bo reduced, Mid prODfcbly a considerable reduction might be effected in maintenance and recurring expenses. The use of electric power would, how«ver, be contingent upon -whether satisfactory arrangoments *s to supply could be. mado with the Tramways Company, as there * would be nothing gained if tbe Corporation had to erect the plant for generating The question of whether 'busses, nou used as connecting links in the trawwax system, should in future be used as nd-. juncts to the completed sjwtem, enme * before the City Council last evening. Councillor Bnrber moved; "That ih\Tramyay Manager be instructed to report as to tho advisability or otherwise ol «stablishing a 'bus service in connection wit.n the tramwny system between Duppastreet and Island Bay." Councillor Sroi h seconded. Councillor Evans ; thought it* was a question of policy, and the Council should decide whether it was good policy to run 'bus services in connection with the tramways before getting a report on this matter. To get the report iirst would be putting the cart before the horse. The Mayor stated that the busses now being run in connection -with the tramways at Newtown would still be required— or some of them— in otlier parts of the city M'here tramway works would he going on, for instance, between the Mannwatu and Gsrernment Railway Stations. Cwnciller Barber maintained. ?hat the report would assist and not commit the Council in the matter. The motion •was carried on the v»itm You, can't miss •satisfaction in Black Swau Butter, because it ia excellent in quality, flavour, colour, and texture.— Advt.