LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 100, 25 October 1904, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

« \ According to the despatches of to-day there is quiet at the seat of war, the quiet we fancy that precedes the shock of arms on a great scale. The affair at Shaho railway station is now minimised by a statement that the Japanese merely evacuated the village to procure better alignment, but this does not apparently alter the fact that the Japanese were driven out with serious loss. Two Japanese torpedoers sighted at Gaskevitch Bay, 90 miles south of Vkdivostock, are supposed to indicate an early descent on Possiet Bay, 40 miles further north. There L good harbourage here, and possession of the place may now be sought as part of the reception programme to the Baltic Fleet. The reported successes by the Japanese before Port Arthur were previously telegraphed. The Legislative Council was occupied yesterday in discussing Local Bills and the Destitute Persons Act Amendment Bill. In the House a number of unimportant Bills were put through Committee and final stages. A meeting of Karori residents was hold last evening to consider their position regarding the proposed tramway scheme. Mr. Charles Stubbs presided, and there were about forty residents in attendance. Several speakers referred to the lack of energy shown by the Karori Borough Council in not bringing the matter before the ratepayers. One resident said he had been in the district y for thirteen years, and although different schemes had been considered by the Council during that time, they had never been before the ratepayers. Those present decided to wait on the Karori Borough Council this evening and. ascertain officially the exact position of affairs. A strange act of lawlessness — whether an att-empted burglary or a piece of wanton mischief is not certain — was committed in Upper Willis-street during last night. Somebody hurled a half-brick through the shop window of Mr. J. Ridge, general grocer, at the corner of Dixon and Willis streets. The missile must have been thrown with considerable force, as it shattered the thick plateglass and knocked out of shape a biscuittin against which it was stopped. A big section of the broken glass appears to have been afterwards lifted out, and, together with three boxes of tea and some other goods, taken some distance down Dixon-street, where they were left and recovered by the owner this morning. The Collector of Customs to-day proceeded at the Police Court against a young man named ' William Charles John Usman on a charge of having in his possession twelve watches valued at £2 2s, upon which he had failed to pay duty. A plea of guilty was entered, and the defendant was ordered by Dr. A. M'Arthur, S.M., to pay £6 6s costs. Lizzie Leith, charged with the consorting charge of vagrancy, was remanded on Mr. Herdman's application until the 31st inst. When the Defence authorities get out their gun, seemingly they are not always over careful where they shoot. It was stated at the meeting of the Seatoun Board yesterday that a blank shell from one of the Point Halswell guns landed on the beach at Seatoun near the Pinnacle Rock about a fortnight ago. This beach, it was pointed out, was much frequented in fine weather, and missiles of this sort were dangerous. Numbers of blank shells haye V at various times landed on the opposite side of the harbour, close by Gollan's Valley-road, and once or twice they have dropped unpleasantly near people using' the beach and road. The attention of the police is to- be drawn by the Petone Borough Council to an alleged breach of the Police Offences Act in the borough last week on the occasion of the Hutfc Valley Gun Club's pigeon-shooting competition ; to wit, the discharging of firearms within the aforementioned borough boundaries. The matter was brought up by Councillor Bowles. v The Wellington Harbour Board recently proceeded against William Kennedy for having removed' sand from the foreshore at Lyell's Bay, below high-water i mark, without permission. Dr. A. MAr ' thur, S.M., in his judgment on the case this morning, said the evidence of the parties conflicted as to whether the sand was taken from below high-water mark or not. Defendant asserted that it was. His Worship, however, said he could not doubt the evidence for the prosecution, and fined the defendant 20s and costs. v The civil action arising out of recent divorce proceedings by which Mrs. Louisa Margaret Gray obtained a decree nisi from her husband Adam Gray was decided by Dr. M'Arthur, S.M., to-day. Mrs. Gray, plaintiff in the action, claimed possession of a piano, certain silverware, etc., or their value, £44 ss, and £10, the proceeds on the sale/ of- her bicycle. His Worship said the case rested on the credibility of interested witnesses — the plaintiff and defendant — as there was a direct conflict between them. He found that the articles w-ere the plaintiffs separate property, and said he could not believe the story of the defendant that he paid the amount received on the sale of tt» bicycle to plaintiff. Judgment was for plaintiff, for whom Mr. D. Findlay appeared, for £54 ss, with £5 14s costs. Mr. Chapman represented the defendant. Residents of Kelburne have for some time felt the need of a fire brigade within their district. A meeting was held last night to discuss the subject, with the result that it was decided to organise a brigade, provided that the City Council will provide apparatus and a chemical engine, and that Superintendent Hugo can give volunteers the necessary instruction. Messrs. J. Roacho, F. Fordham, and VV. H. Layelle were appointed an organising committee, with Mr. LaveMe as Secretary. To-morrow afternoon Lord Plunket is to perform the ceremoay of opening tha Nurses' Home, the handsome brick building which has been erected to the no«-th of the main buildings of the hospital ;n Newtown. A lan;e number of invitations have been issued for the opening, and local bodies, the medical frofrssion, and leading citizens will be well represented. In the evening a .'conversazione is to bo held in the Home. An excellent programme has been arranged for the entertainment of patrons of the conversazione, the proceeds of whion are to go to the furnishing fiind. We acknowledge the receipt of the following subscriptions in aid of Miss i Gertie Campion, for whom an appeal was recently made through the columns of the Evening Post : — A friend, 2s 6d ; Another friend, 2s 6d; A.M., ss; Tom, 2s 6d; W.F., 2s 6d'; Friend, A, 2s; A.W., 2s 6d; CM.. 2s; Ben Fuller, £1 Is; A friend, £1 Is; collected by Mrs. S. A. Lindsay, £6 10s. All milk supplied by the Fresh Food and Ice Co. is pasteurised, as recommended by the Chief Health Oflicer for the colony, and is guaranteed free from pre- > eervfttiv«s.— Advfc.

A claim for compensation has been filed with the Clerk of Awards by Alexander Goring, carpenter, who alleges that whilst roofing a fowlhouse at the Lower Hutt a sheet of corrugated iron was blown out (of his hands, cutting his thumb, bloodpoisoning' following. He claims £1 per week from his employer, Joseph Handel, during the time he was incapacitated from work. The Seatoun Road Board met yesterday, when the Secretary was authorised to supply the Government with the statutory declaration as to the population of the proposed new borough. It being understood that Mr. E. H. Beere was willing to hand over to the Board about an acre of rocky ground lying between the main road from Woraer Bay to Seatoun and the sea beach, of which he holds a 99 years' lease, it was decided to write to Sfr. Beere to the- effect that the Board would be glad to receive such an offer. The tender of Mr. C. T. Scoringe was accepted for the removal of nightsoil from houses in the district" for a period of two years. The Secretary to the Wellington Metropolitan Coursing Club (Mr. Tyree) last night informed the Petone Bfcaxmgh Council that his club had decideo to offer tho Council £50 per annum for the use of the Recreation Ground on the condition that I the Council removed the asphalt track. As other grounds were under offer an early reply was asked for.- The Borough Engineer, in reply to a question, said that under the previous offer the club undertook to do all the work and would pay a smaller sum. Councillor Nicholson said he could see no reason for altering the previous decision of the Council declining the offer, and he moved accordingly. The motion was carried without discussion. Exports of wool and hemp from the port of Wellington during 1903-4 show a falling off. The total decrease in both, taken together, compared with 1902-3, is 17,577 bales, or 8.7 per cent. ; while 1902-3 showed an increase over the preceding year of 10,737 bales, or 5.6 per cent. Taken separately, wool shows a decrease of 6.6 per cent., hemp a decrease of 11.6 per cent. The actual figures for 1903-4 are: Wool, 109,202 bales; hemp, 74,676 bales. .On the other hand, coal and* timber handled show an increase. During 1903-4 the tonnage of coal was 105,511, against 100,481 for 1902-3. Timber, inwards, shows 10,421,846 super, feet for 1903-4, against 8,287,247 super, feet for 1902-3 ; timber, outwards, 1,597,248 super, feet, against 846,806 super, feet. "The dredge Whakarire (reports tKe Harbour Master) did good work at the Glasgow Wharf in deepening Berth No. 5 to 32ft 6in at low water spring tidw. This has greatly facilitated the loading of the large ocean steamers. They can now complete their loading in the berth and move away at any stage of the tide.. As soon as practicable, Berth No. 4 at this wharf should be dredged to the same depth, 32ft 6in. At present there is only 28ft, and we find it very difficult to arrange for all deep-loading vessels to berth at No. 5. This really cannot, be done on their arrival, consequently they have to be moved again if they are likely to exceed the 28ft when loaded. This causes loss of time to the vessel, and besides we are unable to move her if No. 5 berth is occupied." An information laid against Peter Brannigan charging him with having failed to comply with an order of the Court to, pay 2s a week towards the maintenance of his sister, was yesterday dismissed by Dr. A. M'Arthur, S.M. It was shown that defendant had a wife and children to maintain. Richard Humphreys was charged with having failed to provide for the maintenance of his child. After evidence had been called, the case was adjourned on Mr. WHford's application to secure the attendance of two witnesses for the defence. A charge of assault, preferred against J. Cannon by R. Seeds, was dismissed. Evidence showed that the proceedings arose out of a trouble between two stewards on board the Mapourika, which defendant tried to settle. Mr. Wilford prosecuted, asH Mr. Weston defended. "Brown Sea Rovers" is the title of the Christmas number of the Otago Witness, taken from the principal article, a brief history of the Maori by Mrs. Wesley Turton, profusely illustrated from drawings chiefly by J. M'Donald, and with | many valuable portraits. The cover, of bold and striking design, by R. Hawtridge, represents a prehistoric Maori voyager, standing at the prow of a finelycarved canoe, shading his eyes from the rising sun, and -watching for land. There are a number of illustrations of New Zealand scenery, a full-page etching exhibiting ninety-seven species of native I birds, and a separate lithographed plate, i a copy of W. Watson's admired painting "Highland Cattle," finely reproduced in colours. The Exhibition buildings at Blenheim have been sold at auction to a private [ bidder for £560, or about £10 more than the reserve fixed by the Exhibition Com- | mittee. The Seatoun Road Board has decided to fight the Hutt County Council in the Courts on the subject of rates levied in the district by the County Council, for which the ratepayers get no return. The waterworks question was again before the Petone Borough Council last night. The solicitors to the Woollen Company notified that the Board of Directors wonld no 6 depart from the position already decided on, and therefore could not agree to' increase its contribution to the maintenance of the lower reservoir to £40. As to the suggestion of ratification of the agreement by legislation next year, it was evident that it j would be impossible to get it through this ! session. It seemed to the writers that the best course would be for them to put in a formaLclaim under the Public Works Act. This could, if the parties agreed, be adjourned either from time to time or otherwise till tht Council had had time to apply for legislative sanction to the arrangements. With reference to the stoppage at the mill, the Board found that the loss to the company by the stoppage amounted to £150, which the Board claimed from the Petone Corporation. The cause of the stoppage had been ascertained to have been the Hocking of the outlet pipe at the reservoir by debris, and not by the breakage of pipes, as at first supposed. This blocking would have been avoided had the suggestions of the Board', made before the , reservoir was filled, been adopted. The Mayor, after rending the letter, said h* had no recollection of any such suggestion. Councillor Bowles : "It looks like war, and I think we had better 'let 'em all come." " Councillor Piper said the incident showed one thing— that the £10 offered by thcompany to keep the dam in repair was absolutely inadequate. The Engineer said the mill -was stopped for a dvy and a half at the outside. Had there been no dam and Ihe old flume had Loon there, the mill would be stopped about three days. It was decided on the Mayor's motion that the Council would not deviate from its previous offer, while as to the claim for £150, the Council declined to acknowledge any respop^ibility. To-morrow will usher in a great bargain event at The ..Correct Store. Kirkcaldie and Steins (Limited) offer beautiful French lawn boxed robes that sell regularly at 198 6d at 12s 6d— a saving of 36 per cent. The bargain holds good for to-morrow only.— Advfc.

Regret was expressed by tbe Mayor of Petone last night that the Public Petitions Committee had reported adversely to the House on the Petone Foreshore Bill, which pioposed to have the control of the foreshore vested in the local Borough Council. He did not think the Secretary to the Harbour Board was quito fair to Petone in his representations to the Committee. He (the Mayor) strongly advised persistence, though he could hold out little hope so long as the sumo gentlemen had the matter to consider in Parliament. A special word of praise was due to Mr. R. C. Kirk, Borough Solicitor, who had done full justice to the claims of Petone. The Navy League associates of the Willis-street school sub-branch — some 15Q in number — made an official visit to H.M.S. Psyche yesterday afternoon, and were shown over the vessel. During the afternoon, Lieut.-Commander Roy presented Navy League badges to a number of the scholars. On leaving the boyi and girls gave enthusiastic cheers for th» officers and crew of the warship. After reaching shore cheers were also given for Captain Fraser and the crew of the Janit Seddon. Instructions have been given the Petone Borough Engineer (Mr. W. H. Cook) to obtain information as to the cost, utility, etc., of motor-driven vehicles for passenger traffic. The Marine Engineers Association ban contributed £10 to the funds of the Wellington Hospital, and the Petone Working Men's Club £4 Is 6d. A large party of members of Parliament yesterday afternoon accepted thfl invitation of the Mayor of Wellington to inspect the tramway system and the Town Hall. ThNp party included tho (Premier, Sir Joseph and Lady Ward, the' Hons. W. Hall-Jones, C. H. Mills, and J M'Gowan, nearly all the members oi' the City Council, and a large number jOf ladies. Four tramcars were placed at the disposal of the party, one of th* cars, which proved a popular vehicle, being a combination car, which was used for the first time. The visitors were run from the Government railway station to the carshed at Newtown, where am inspection- was made of all department* there, including a visit to the offices, under the guidance of the Electrical En-, gineer (Mr. W. .R. Wright). Then thtt party was taken to the power-station hi Victoria-street, where Mr. Riohardsom acted as principal guide. An inspection of the new municipal offices and the Town Hall followed, the Clerk of Worko (Mr. ShortJ showing the way, and finally afternoon tea was served in tße Town Hall. The fine appearance of the hall won praise from the -visitors, and there was much eagerness on the part of several politicians to test its acoustic properties. The offices and Town Hall wer<» found to be nearing completion, and even citizens of Wellington were surprised a'fc the handsome and commodious appearance of the interior of the whole building. The visitors enjoyed their outing. The first heat of the Petone Rowing Club's fours was rowed last evening, and resulted in Tremaine (stroke), Cunliffe, Shardlow, and Croft defeating Bonner (stroke), Bishop, Moore, and Wakefield. A parade of the First Battalion o? Wellington Rifle Volunteers is summoned for Friday evening. A young married woman named Catherine C. Hallinan created some uneasiness yesterday by behaving in a pc» culiar manner, and making use of serioun threats in the grecincts of the Magistrate's Court, whilst awaiting an application for sureties of the peace againsd her. Late in the afternoon this applica* tion was 'made by her husband, H. J. Hallinan, to Dr. *A. M'Arthur, S.M., ora the ground that she used insulting and provoking language towards him. Evidence called by Mr. Wilford for tho prosecution showed that informant, a blacksmith, at present employed in Wellington, instituted divorce proceedings against defendant at Dunedin. She came to Wellington recently and said to him,. "Before I'll go into the Divorce Court with you, I'll shoot you down." Yesterday outside the Court she repeated the threat, and said she would "put a fill in the Magistrate as well." Dr. A. I'Arthur, S.M., said he could not havo the defendant going about Wellington in her present frame of mind, and remanded her in custody until to-day in order to give her an opportunity of returning to Dunedin by herself last night. The Court of Appeal began the hearing 1 yesterday of a case reserved for argument, in the matter of section 35 of the Deceased Persons' Estates Duties Act, 1881, and of several deeds of conveyance and memorandum of transfer between James Nelson Williams, of Frimley,, Hawke's Bay, and others, 'and of a meni» orandum of transfer from the Yen, Archdeacon Samuel Williams, of Te Autej Hawke's Bay, to William Williams. Messrs. Skerrett and Myers appeared om behalf of the Crown, and Dr. Findlay and' Mr. Humphries (of Napier) for respondents. The short facts alleged aro that Mr. J. N. Williams gave substan. tial sums to three of his children. wh» repaid him the money immediately, and he transferred them certain lands. Thesn lands were in some cases taken subject to existing mortgages, and in others new mortgages were created by the children, tbe original mortgages being^paid off. A somewhat similar transaction took, place between tke Yen. Archdeacon Wil* liams and his son. The Stamp Depart* ment in each case held that the conveyance and transfer were deeds of gift, anjl assessed duty accordingly, and the Court is now asked for a decision as to whether deed-of-gift duty is properly chargeable ; if not, upon what basis should the assessments be made? The case was etill before the Court to-day. "The Government forms nothing better than goat-tracks and expects us to keep them in order," said Petone Borough Councillor Piper last night. The remark was occasioned by receipt of a letter from the Department of Roads, forwarded under direction of the Minister for Publio Works, enclosing copy of an Order-in-Council declaring certain roads in tho Korokoro and Maungaraki Settlements to tie under the control and management ol' the Council — about a mile in all. Some few years back, added Councillor Piper, the Pelone Council wished to extend Campbell-terrace about 100 ft, making t.h« width the same as at present. Every effort was made, but the Department refused permission unless the extension was made 66ft in width. Surely whav was sauce for the goose was sauce fov the gander 1 He moved, "That the Coun cil protests against having these alleged roads foisted upon the borough unti\ Euch time as the roads are made in coiv formity with the Municipal Corporation* Act." Councillor Piper also pointed ou<. that the Council, had no power to collect one penny of rates from the people iw the settlements if they refused to pay, because the Council had no power t<\ distrain upon Government property. Several Councillors endorsed tho statement:* of the mover, and stated that the roads were narrow and half on solid and hall loose, and would be very costly to keep in order unless given a proper start. AU the speakers were of opinion that -no money should be spent by the Council on the roads until some satisfaction wan obtained from the Government. The Engineer wa« requested to furnish a report on the condition of the roads, to be forwarded with the above motion. He re. marked that in his experience vine Department had paid no heed to local bodiea in such matter*,.

The colonial mails which left Melbourne by the R.M.S. Himalaya on the 21st September, via Brindisi, arrived in London on the morning of the 22nd inst., mo day early. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Tripe, and Miss hichardson, of Wellington, were nmongbt .ho guests at tho Grand Hotel, Rotorua. L'he whole of their belongings were dorttfoyed by the fire. Judgment was to-day given by Dr. A. ii' Arthur, S.M., ;n; n the Karori sheep irorrying case between Fred Kilmister inri Walter Mansfield. This was a cross iction case in which Kilmister claimed £29 4s, the value of sheep destroyed, and VJansfleld counterclnimed for £25, tho ralue of two doga which were shot by kilmister. His Worship said the evidence A-iis of the usually conflicting nature to je found in such cases. It was also Minted by the very evident ill-foeling berwcen the parties. He believed that Vlansfield's dogs were only some of the logs which worried Kilmister's sheep, and jave judgment for Kilmister on both the ilaim and counter-claim. The amount recovered was £17 18s and costs. Mr. vVilford appeared for plaintiff, and Mr. dyers for the defendant One of the troubles with which the Tourist Department is confronted at Rotorua is the preservation of the pipe jcrvice connecting the sulphur springs with the various baths. Ine injury is chiefly caused by fumes and gases rising from the ground, the action of which corrodes the piping. In illustration the Inspector has sent down a galvanised iron flange (or what is left of rfc) and some bolts, which were fixed a little more than threo years ago, when the pipes were laid connecting the hot waiter supply with tlfo Duchess Bath at the time of the visit of tho Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. The iron has been practically eaten away, as if it were biscuit. In putting down new pipes, it is proposed to coat them with bitumaatic solution, and box them in, protected with a mixture of tor, sand, and gravel. This will not only protect the pipes, but act as an insulator, and serve to retain the heat of the water running through •the pipes. Mr. A. C. Ulrich, of Wellington, who has gone to Europe in connection with i'he construction of special gold dredges for the West Coast rivers, writes to the Hawkes Bay Herald as follows : — "I remained for a few weeks in British Columbia and made myself pretty well acquainted with dredging operations on the Fraser River, but we have to learn nothing from them ill that rospect, as fchey lose a lot of the fine gold just as we do. So faT they have paid no dividends yet in dredging , although there ure some very payable copper and lead ore mines here in British Columbia. You Jind throughout the country, a good many omelters where the miners send their >res to be operated on, The better ciass if mines are commonly bought up by capitalists from the eastern provinces, und it was a sight to see in Vancouver i.he shipping of lead and copper bars. As far as farming is concerned, at least in the west, the settlers, as far as I could judge, have to put up with a good many aiore hardships than our back country ones, and you see hardly a house paint.»d on the outside, which gives the whole i»ncern a poverty-stricken look." The headmaster of the Christchurch Soys' High School, happened to mention »t a reunion ,of old pupils the other ovening that somo of his scholars altered so much in outward appearance after ttiey had been a few years in the world ihat it was difficult to identify them, and consequently they should not bo pained if lie did not readily recogise Ahem. Apposite of this remark, he said that when he was at Oxford a full-blood-ed African graduate was there, a typical negro, who coached young men for examinations. The coloured gentleman was very affable, and with "nods and becks and wreathed smiles" he greeted 1 all his acquaintances. At last one of the University men, wearied of the irrepressible negro s salutations, ignored the genial African's "How do you do?" in the ifcreet one day, and the polite person was pained. "Why did you pass me by? Didn't you see me?" he said to his "cutter" subsequently. The white man, was momentarily puzzled for an excuse, but a conventional sentence came to his rescue. "Yes," he replied, "but I've uuch a confounded bad memory for ltaces." "Putters-up" — workmen employed in boot factories — (remarks a Melbourne paper) in order to waste as little time us possible fill their mouths with grindery nails. There ara in each factory only a few tins ot nails, and several men fill their mouths from the one tin. When, as generally happens, ,the "putter-up" has placed more noils in his mouth than the job requires, he puts them back in one of the tins when the work is fumhed. The dangers arising from such a practice are obvious. All kinds of diseases are liable to be communicated from one workman to another. Cases are frequent where diseases of the throat and lungs spread 'through a whole factory owing to the infection being conveyed from one workman by the medium of the nails used. The attention of the Victorian Board of Public Health has been drawn to this practice, and it has decided to write to the leading factories pointing out the danger of the custom. Munt, Cottrell, and Co., general carriers, Customs and forwarding agents. Storage a speciality. Furniture packed and removed. Office : Queen's Chambers. Telephone No. 23. — Advt. Furniture carefully packed, stored, and temoved by, experienced men ; special low .rates. New Zealand Express Company, No. 20, Customhouse-quay. Telephone 92. —Advt. Afternoon Tea. — At C. Smith's, Cubalitrect, ladies oan see the prettiest assortment of pure linon afternoon tea olotha, hemstitched and embroidered; also a few handsome embroidered linen bedspreads, •doylies, and duchess runners, etc. These l?oods are the best value we have yet seen, and are confidently recommended. Blouse muslins, delaines, voiles, silks, etc., in Ijreat variety of design and colouring. Hpota everywhere, but no Bpot better than our Cuba-street shop for a grand selection at moderate prices.— C. Smith.— Advt. To-moirow, at 2.30 p.m., at their rooms, Fentherston-streot, Messrs. J. H. Bethune and Co., acting under instructions from the trustees in the estate of tho late Elizabeth Heath, ' will submit at auction the property known as Gear Island, Lower Hutt, containing somo 108 acres of river fiat land. The sale is subject to an exist-, ing lease running out on 25th September, 1910, at £160 per annum. A leasehold property will also bo submitted, comprising land with a frontage of 33ft to Cuba Btuot by a depth of 100 ft, with the two tibops and six-roomed dwellinghoußes thereon ; land with a fiontage of 33ft to Cubanlroot by a depth of 74ft 3in, with the •Jwo shops and five-roomed dwellinghouses thereon; and laud having a frontage of .57£ ft to Abel Smith-street by a dopth of 66ft, with the two five roomed dwellinghouses thereon. Tho above land is hold un lease for 15 years from October, 1904, nt a ground rent of £951 18s per annum, whilst the buildings are let to permanent ■ienanta dt a total rental of £416 per anDum Acting under inalmctions from tho administrator in the estate of the Jate John and Mary Cun-y, the firm will submit a four-roomed dwellingholise and land having a frontage of 50ft to Roxburgh«treot by a depth of 100 ft. Particulars of all the above properties appear in outadvertising columns. Free trips to York Bay are specially advertised for to-morrow (Wednesday) afternoon. Full particulars appear in Messrs. Wm. H. Turnbull and Co.'s advertisement elsewhere.