LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 50, 28 February 1907, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Acting-Premier, Hon. W. HallJones, to-day received a cablegram from Aden, dated 27th inst., intimating that Sir Joseph. Ward and family had arrived there, all well. The meeting to consider the present position of the Seddon Memorial movement will be held at the Town Hall this . evening, and a large attendance is hoped for. Various matters will be discussed, and all who are in sympathy with thft project for perpetuating the memory of • the late Premier are invited to attend. 1 There appears to be a strong proba- ! bility that the City Council will, at its i meeting to-morrow night, be called upon ', to make a definite pronouncement on the ■ subject of abattoirs for Wellington. The I Abattoirs Committee, it is understood, s proposes to recommend the acquisition of ' a site, and the committee intends to ■ force a division on the subject. i Complaint comes from Sydney of scarI city of deep-sea sailors, owing to wheat . chips having drawn largely, within a. . brief period, on the supply. There weie • 47 sailing vessels in port, tonnage 69,632, I on 20th February. ' A temporary block in the tram service occurred last evening through an accident to a dynamo at the power station. . The result was that the power was cut off tho circuit beyond the Eintoul-street insulation, and as a result about twenty [ ears came to a stand-3till on that sec- '_ lion. The trouble was righted in about an hour. ' ; Tho Pahiatua Era, which was first - published about twenty-one months ago, > id the Government and liquor interests, t ceased publication on Tuesday evening. "You have got a lot of life to live yet before you are as old as you think yoii are, 1 ' said the magistrate to an old ag*" 1 pension applicant at Petone yesterday when it was shown that the lady was "under age." "You never find a lady want to make herself older than she is« r unless it is for an old age pension," , added Dr. M'Arthur. i In the Supreme Court yesterday afterr noon it was intimated that the jury cases . of Mary Coffey v. Jam-es Udy, a claim . of £250 for breach of promise of marriapo; and of Lizzie Fraser v. Henry Lee, ) a claim of £501 for damages for assault, had been settled, and that therefore , waiting jurors would be dismissed until \ 10 a.m. on Friday. i The first distribution of a bonus to i motonnen who have carried out their I duties with care and consideration for tho safety of the public is to be made tomorrow. It will be paid to forty-two i out of some ninety men, and amounts to £1 7s 3d per man. The bonus is to be distributed every sis months. i The Wellington amateur athletic team which won the championship at Christ- , church, Mr. R. Coombes (president of the , Amateur Athletic Uniou of Australasia), and the officials of the Wellington centre of the New Zealand Athletic Association, i are to be entertained by Messrs. E. E. Bannister, president, and R. W. M'Villy and J. H. Pollock, vice-presidente of tho centre, at a smoke concert in the . Masonic Hall to-morrow night. Occasion will also be taken to make a presentation of trophies won by tho Wellington . representatives at tho championship . meeting. On the 2nd inst. we published tae first of .a series of special articles on Australasian and Asian Problems, dealing with questions of the highest importance to New Zealand and the Commonwealth of Australia. The writer has undertaken a tour embracing Japan and China, with the express object of observing the development of tho Mongolian and other Asiatic peoples, and reporting thereon from the point of view of an Australian colonist. The initial article, as our readers "will remember, was devot6d to the Northern Territory, the vulnerable point of the Commonwealth. The second article, written from Canton, which appears to-day, deals with the Chinese boycott of American merchandise, and the methods adopted by ihe authorities for its suppression. The Minister for Public Health has promised the Wairarapa District Hospital Board that he will introduce during the next session of Parliament an amendment to the Public Health Act, in the direction of allowing Hospital Boards to build infectious diseases hospitals on the property of hospital trustees, reports the Age. New infectious diseases hospitals are to bo erected in Masterton and Pahiatua, and a special meeting of the Wairarapa District Hospital Board .will bo held on Wednesday next to docidc whether the board will proceed with the erection of the hospital now, or wait and see whether the proposed amendment to the Public Health Act becomes law. The amendment is desired by the Wairarapa Hospital Board, as it is recognised that the best site for an infectious diseases hospital in Masterton would bo on the grounds of the present new hospital. From Messrs. Crane, Crane, and Co., 6, Crutched Friars, London, we have received the 1906-7 volume of the London and Provincial Directory and Continental Guide, which is really two works incorporated, being a combination of the present publishers' "Directory and Buyers' Guide" with Messrs. A. K. Fisher and Co.'s "Provincial Directory and Continental Guide." The result is a great volume of eleven hundred pagos of text and two hundred of advertisements, containing a vast body of information concerning manufacturing and exporting houses, their specialities," addresses, and trade marks. Get into touch with" the very latest creations in the world of drese by visiting the special display of new costumes, blonees, millinery, dress fabrics, 'etc., now being made by Kirkcaldie and Stain:, LUl.—Advt.

Notice of its intention to compulsorily acquire 4650 acres of Mrs. Matthew's To Ohu Estate, near Norsewood, has been given by the Government. As the owners object to tho purchase of the portion of tho property concerned, a Compensation Court will sit to determine the price to be paid. The Chief Justice will preside and Mr. D. GuiJd, of Masterton, and Mr. F. W. Williams, of Napier, will be tho assessors. The Public Works Department received the following tenders for tho erection of the new Drillhall at Buckle-street —Accepted : Howie and Matthews, Wellington, "£6900. Declined : F. A. Birckloy, Wellington, £6985; R. A. Wakolin, Wellington, £7533; Martin, Ilurrell, and fcinaddon, Wellington, £7930; E. and A. ReyueU, Wellington, £8341; Hughes and Hansford, Christchurch, £8450 ; M'Lean and Gray, Wellington, £8888; A. Cooper and Son, Wellington, £8900; M'Millan and Brodie, Wellington, £8996; Sanders Bros., Welington, £9703 ; D. M'Lean, Wellington, £10,800; and J. H. Campbell, Christchurch, £11,900. The Swifts Amateur Swimming Club fot off a 220 yds club handieapj at To Aro laths last evening, the result being — H. Aslvford, llsec, 1; C. J. Fordham, 16sec, 2 ; F. Wilton, 9sec, 3. Also started—J. Aston 32sec, P. Palmes 26see, H. Blick 24sec, G. P. Crawford 24sec, E. Jenkiiison 16sec, L. Bridge Bsec, S. W. Kean scr. Time, 3min 19s :c. A close finish. Fordham sprinted well the last 20yds, but Ashford managed to win by a touch. Sitting in his civil jurisdiction at the Magistrate's Court to-day, Dr. A. M'Arthur, S.M., gave judgment for plaintiffs in tho following cases: — D.I.C. v. Evetard C. Farr, £8 13s 6d costs £1 3s 6d ; Mrs. Bannin v. Peter Brown, £13, costs £1 12s~Sd ; Levin and Co., Ltd., v. Andrew S. Johnston, £7! 2s 7d, costs £1 3b 6d ; Gordon and Gotch, Ltd., v. David Clark, £5 13s 3d, costs £1 5s 6d ; Rouse and Hurrell v. Frank Morris, £40, costs £2 14s; Andrews and Manthel v. Chas. O'Brien, 17s 6d, costs lls ; George Winder v. John R. C. Welsby, 13s 2d, costs 6s ; H. Price and Co. v. Mrs. Mary Smith, £1 Is lid, costs ss ; King and Muir v. Chas. C Howard, £7 9s, costs £1 6s 6d ; H. G. Anderson and Co. v. Mrs. Bhaw, 12s, costs only ; Wellington Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd. v. Henry Silk, £1 15s sd, costs ss. The London Daily Graphic prints in facsimile a copy of a memorial brass recently erected in the Anglican Church, Odessa, in memory of five of the ship's company, including the captain and a midshipman, of H.M.S. Tiger, who were killed by the enemy on 12th May, 1854, or died_ subsequently of their wounds. The incident occurred in an early stage of the Crimean War. As stated on the tablet, the Tiger ran ashore in a thick fog in the early morning three miles south of Odessa, only a thousand feet from tho abrupt edge of a tableland 130 ft above 6ea level, from which height she was raked by artillery and infantry and set on fire. A local interest attaches to the event, -as Mr. A. E. Rowden, of Central Kilbirnie, was one of the midshipmen on board, and was taken prisoner. The tablet is made from brass recovered from the wreck by Lieut. Charles Stewart Smith, British* ConsulGeneral at Odessa. Under date 11th January v.\.r Landon correspondent wrote :—": — " Unanticipated delay has occurred over the shipment of the chamois presented to the New Zealand Government by the Emperor o£ Austria. The shipping companies refused to take them on board for England until a permit had been obtained from tho British Board of Agriculture. When that body was approached the officials said they could not grant a per ruit to land the animals unless they knew the exact place of landing in London. And as that cannot be stated until the chamois are actually on board ship, there seemed to be slight chance of anything boing done. Of course the ! High Commissioner is doing all that can be done to hasten matters. A peculiar business custom connected with tho coal-dealing trade, and an equally peculiar proceeding on the part of the Railway Department, was referred to by a deputation which waited on the Acting-Premier yesterday. Mr. W. J. Gwthric, a Dunedin coal merchant, said it was a common sight in Dunedin to see f rom 100 to 150 trucks of coal left standing at the coal siding for days at a time. The man with a cart or any sort of a vehicle could come along and get the supplies he required while the trucks were utilised in this way, while the legitimate coal dealer had to conduct his business on proper lines, and furnish himself with yards and plant. Mr. Hall-Jones : To whom does this coal belong ? Mr. Guthrie : To the' colliery proprietors. The Minister enquired if sales were made off the trucks, and Mr. Richardson said they were. The owners of the coal had men employed for the purpose. At times the dealers had very great difficulty in getting trucks. Ho reminded the Minister that the value of the rolling stock temporarily put out of commission m tho way referred to was about £15,000. The Minister: Is demurrage not charged on the trucks ? \U\ Guthrie : So far as lam aware, no. This was the only reference made to the question, and the Minister did not revert to it in replying to the other, representations made by the deputation. The captain of the ferry steamer Admiral, Adolph Durloo, was assaulted on 26th February by an ex-seaman on the same vessel named John Roberts. This morning Roberts, on being brought before Dr. M'Arthur, S.M., to account for his action, said he was under the influence of drink at the time. The captain in consequence of the assault had one of his eyes severely injured. His Worship said ho could not allow men to take the law into their own hands as the defendant had done, and sontenced him to one month's imprisonment with hard labour. Frederick Courtenay was charged with having assaulted Axel. Mortison ; also with having stolen a bottle of whisky belonging to Mortison at Otaki yesterday. On the application of tha police, accused was romanded until Bth March. Bail was allowed, on the application of Mr. Kirkcaldie, in selt £10 and one surety of £10. For insobriety, Frederick Arnold was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, Tboa. Neagle and John Phelan were each fined 20s, in default seven days' imprisonment, and two first offenders wore each convicted and discharged. "She is an unfortunate woman, and as bad as you can make her," said Dr M'Arthur. S.M., to-day of an elderly woman named Eliza Lcstrange, who pleaded guilty at the police court to drunkenness and having used obscene language. Sub-Inspector O'Donovan st-ated that some years ago she had 162 convictions recorded against her, and quite a number since then. His Worship asked her if she had anything to say, and she replied, "Dr M'Arthur, I am unable to speak." Subsequently she pleaded, "I wish you could make some arrangement to send me back to my old place (Auckland). ... I wishl had broken my neck before coming South. Auckland is the place for me." His Worship sentenced hoi on the second charge to six months' imprisonment, with hard labour, and convicted and discharged her for being drunk. Nellie Wright was sentenced to ono month s imprisonment for importuning in Willisstreet last night, and to-three months for being an idle and a disorderly person having insufficient means of support, the terms to bo concurrent. The police stated that accuspd was only convicted ya roeontly as yesterday for import«nins

"What is the good of my boy winning a scholarship, when I have to pay for his instruction?" writes a correspondent. His grievance (which is not a now onol i» set out in the following communication he received from the Education Board : — "I bog to inform you that you have been awarded «. Junior Education Board scholarship of £5 per annum, tenable for two years. The scholarship will be paid by quarterly instalments, on production, of a satisfactory cevtificat-e thai you are prosecuting your studies diligently in accordance with the regulations, scholarship entitles you to a free* place at a District High School, at z. Technical School, or at a secondary schoo'i. If you agree to go to a District High School or to a Technical School you will hay« no fees to pay ; bud in case yon eluct to go to either of tho Wellington Colleges (boys or girls) you may be required lo pay the ordinary fee, for the payment of vvhicli the Education Board recognises no responsibility." Our correspondent adds that he sent hi« son to Wellington College, but he wuk not admitted until the parent had guaranteed the fees. The executive committed of the Wellington and Wairarapa. Charitable Aid Board, consisting of Messrs. R. C Kirk (chairman), J. Murdoch, A. M'Laren, I W. H. MoTrah, A. Coles, and F. Cohen, mot this morning to consider the estimates of receipts and expenditure for the year. It was shown that the receipt* for the year ended 31st January, 1907, were £9286 14s lid, and the expenditure £8741 2s, leaving a credit balance of £545 12s lid. The value' of assets wai set down at £3084 0s Bd, and liabilities £2554 0b Bd, leaving a balance in fav-'' our of assets of £530. The requirements., of the various local bodies for the year 1907-8 were estimated at £11,370, of which half is to be provided by the Government under statute. If the excess of assets over liabilities (£530) is deducted from this- amount, the sum required for the year is £10,840. Only £150 was set down for contingencies, however, and it was decided to increase this item to £500 in order to be on the safe side, The statement tabled also showed thai the Benevolent Institution required £7501 to close its year's accounts. It viti pointed out that a statement had appeared in the press that the instituion waa in funds to the extent of £1000, and a committee was authorised to make enquiries on what basis the application for £7w was niade. Mr. Coles mentioned that tha institution's application for this year was £500 less than that for the previous twelve months. This, he added, was probably the explanation. Before the usual business of the Wellington Land Board was taken thia morning, some valedictory speeches v were made on the occasion of the retirement of Mr. J. Stevens, M.H.R., who has just completed his three years* tenure of office (making in all ten years' service on the board), and who, being now a member of the House of Representatives, is ineligible for reappointment. Mr. Stevens in ih* courso of a feeling address expressed his great regret at the severance of hit connection with the board, and incidentally criticised the decision of th* House under .which members of Parliament are barred from membErship ol Land Boards. Mr. Stevens paid a warm tribute to the work of the Commissioner of Crown Lands and hig officers, the onerous nature of whos« work in his opinion the public did not fully appreciate. He referred to th« dual position occupied by the commissioner as guardian of the interest* of the Crown, and as the chairman tc whom the tenants of the Land Board made their complaints, and bore testimony to the strict impartiality with which Mr. Strauchon had carried out his several duties. The commiesionei and all members of 'the Land Board expressed regret at Mr. Stevens's ro« tirement, and spoke highly of tho good work done by him in the interests of settlement. Mr. Recce in the course of his remarks expressed the opinion that Mr. Stevens had the beat grip of the wants* of the settlers, and that there was something wrong with, the system under which such valuable knowledge was lost to tha public The Hutt Railway Improvement Works appear "to be making more visible progress now that two big bigbts at Rocky Point have been almost filled in, and the seawall completed. The department is conducting quarrying operations at Pencarrow, Captain Fletcher doing the freighting, and during the past fortnight he has been bring-> ing over quantities considerably in excess of that stipulated by the con* tract. Some seventy men are ai work at tho quarry, and it is reportem that there is quite sufficient stone for; the work — in fact, the output is onlji limited by the provision for freighting. Stone is also being obtained from the beach at Paekakariki, ovej. 1 bOOO tons having already come to han<fi from this source. On the works between Kgahauranga and Petone seventy men are employed. The line ha* been duplicated from Lower Hutt Id Rocky Point, about five and a quartet miles fiom Wellington, and ib is expected that another three-quarters of g mile citywards will bo duplicated within three months. The two heaviest pieces of work, the reclamation of bays at Rocky Point and Paparangi, J have been finished, and the formation, of the road between Rocky Point and Petone has been started. Some delay took place at first owing to the shortage of men, but there is a bigger supply available now, and tho work id being pushed on. At a sitting of the Magistrate's Ccurt at Petone yesterday, Dr. M'Arthur, S.M., and Mr. R. W. Short, J.P., presided. Ad eleven-year-old boy, who admitted several charges of theft, was committed to an industrial school. John Murphy and G. Neve, for quitting a train in motion, were each fined £1 13s, with 7s costs. Harry Abbott, for driving a horse and cart across the intersection of two streets at a rapid pace, was fined 10s, with 7a costs. Judgment was given for plaintiffs in the following civil cases: — Alfred H. Smith v. Alex. Hall, claim £11, costs £1 8s 6d; S. G. Radford v. Leonard Hobbe, £2 7s lid, costs 8s; samo v. Wm, Handley, £7 8s lid. and 8s; George Jones v. John Creighton, £2 9s 3d, and ss; samo v. George Packwood, 19s and ss; Mary E. Edwards v. Fiank E. A. Gordon, £8 10s with 8s costs ; Jessie Good v. WalteT Heberley, 11s and 3e ; same v. George M'Alister, 14s and ss ; Richards and Wnkelin v. Jamee Pointon, £5 13s lOd, and £1 5s 6d; Adolph Liobezert v. James Hill and Co., £11 16s 3d and 10s 6d ; Petona Borough Council v. George Foster, 5s 7d and 6s; same v. Charles Millward, £1 7s lid and 6s ; same v. Wm. F. Brittain, £1 7s lid and 6s ; sam<? v. Frank Moreland, 8s 6d and 6s ; Adolph Liebezert v. Tom York, £1 and ss. Judgment summonses — Mary Ann Tattle v. Albert Coleman, claim £"6 lls, order for payment ol 2s 6d per week. In a defended qvil case, George Jones v. Robert E. Spmke, claim 30s for rent, judgment was given for plaintiff, with 6s costs. I In view of the approaching championship meeting the Tennis Association has decided to prohibit play on the Day's Bay courts after Saturday next. Premature Greyness.— This can bo provented by using SavoTy's Hnir Stain. Undeteetable, won't wash off, natural shades, 3s per bottle. Sole New Zealand agents, Johnston and Burn-ss, 6, Feath-exston-stxeet, Wellington. — Advt.

It is the intention of Messrs. MT>an Bros., who have secured the contract, to push on the work of constructing the Wellington, graving dock, and already the preliminary arrangements axe in hand. Mr. Neil M'Leon, the Wellington resident partner, has gone to Auckland to consult with his brother, Mr. John M'Lean, and frohi thore- he goes on to Australia to secure material for the job. The contract time within which the dock Is to be completed is the 31st December, 1910. The dock is to have a length on Us centre line inside the coping of 683 ft, %nd, on the bottom of 671 ft. It is to. have a breadth at the entrance at coping level of 84ft, and at 22ft below high-water level of BQft. The contract will absorb About 80,000 cubic yards of concrete, 580,000 cubic yards of filling, 30 tons of •wrought iron, and 185 tons of cast iron. The site of the dock and pumping-station, off >Te Aro, ha 6 already been dredged out to the proper depth by the Harbour Board's dredge The cement to be used must 'be of colonial or British manufacture. A correspondent writes from the Upper Hutt as follows ;— '"lt is high time that th© -residents of Silverstream, Trentbam, •nd "Upper Hutt had more than the one solitary policeman — who is stationed at Upper Hutt — to protect their interests. On Saturday nights and well on into Sunday mornings bands of rough, half inebriated men roam about the main road and the by-roads. They make night hideous by their rowdyism, and the foulest language conceivable is shouted out to the disgust and great annoyance of peaceable roadside residents. Stonethrowing at the roadside cottages has ilso become frequent lately. The roads •re scarcely safe for even male passengers by the late train on Saturday flights, whilst it is positively unsafe for any ladies to venture abroad after dark. It is altogether too much to expect one policeman to control such a laTge district effectively, especially when he is not^ a cycliat or a mounted constable. It is to be "hoped that the authorities will take some action in the matter, as the residents talk of taking the law into then? own hands by way ox self-protec-tion." Your furniture packed, removed, or stored. Experienced and careful men. By road, rail,, or sea. Axtj where. New Zealand Express Co., Customhouse-quay. TeL 1333.— Advt. j The sale is now over, and by every jte&mer into Wellington we are receiving shipments of new season's goods from London and tho Continent. All are per- j jonal selections of our Home buyer, and represent the choicest selection of goods ever imported into the colony. To make the opening week more interesting we will place 20 dozen of our new imported whito Japanese silk blouses, all new gtvles, at a price that will scarcely cover thu cost of production. Not a new style missing, and prices to suit everyone: 10s 6d, 15s 6d, 18f 6d, at C. Smith's, The Cash Draper, Cuba-street. — Advt.