COMMAND OF THE MAORI.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 15, 19 January 1910, Page 8

COMMAND OF THE MAORI.

CAPTAIN ALDWELL APPOINTED. Captain Basil Meredith Aldwell has been appointed to the command of the Union Company's fine turbine steamer Maori, in succession to Captain Thomas M. Hunter, who will shortly take up his .new duties as pilot to the Lyttelton Harbour Board. Captain Aldwell has had a very su^» cessful career in the service of the Union Steam Ship Company. He has had charge, at various times, of the Wainui, Poherua, Pateena, Penguin, Rotoiti, Manapouri, Te Anau, and Takapuna. Of late months he has been engaged in the Wellington-Picton-Nelson service as master of the Pateena, and to-day he left that vessel to accompany Captain Hunter to-night on the Maori to Lyttelton. He will make a return journey in company with Captain Hunter, in order to obtain a working knowledge of the greyhound's peculiarities, and will assume full command on Friday next. The Maori' s new commander is a native of England, about thirty-eight years of age. On 31st December a sum of £148,340 9s 5d stood to the credit of the Public Service Superannuation Fund. Among the passengers who arrived from Sydney to-day were the Hon. Rev. Yarde Bulter, of Chatham, and Canon Nash. A vegetable hawker — Thomas Turvey — and two juvpmles appeared before Dr. A. M'Arthur, 5.1v1., to-day, each charged with theft of some carrots from the hospital grounds. It was stated that accused had uprooted a bed oi about 20ft square, and had taken the carrots for the purpose of sale. Turvey was convicted, and fined 20s ; in default two days' imprisonment. The juveniles were cautioned and discharged. Tt has been reported at Auckland that a preliminary enquiry into the grounding of the Kaipara will be held by the Collector of Customs at the Northern port, on receipt of instructions from the Minister. The Marine Department advises, however, that ill all probabißty the preliminary enquiry will be dispensed with, and the Magisterial Enquiry will be proceeded with at an early date. So far, the dato has not been fixed, nor have {he nautical assessors been appointed. The state of the water supply, especially along the Aro-street portion of the city, deserves, according to a correspondent signing himself " Chemicus," the attention of the authorities. " Sometimes," he says, "it is absolutely undrinkable, being of a brownish colour and bad odour." A scene of deplorable vandalism is revealed, says the Otago Daily Times, by a visit to the well-known landmark of the Palmerston district — the M'Kenzie Cairn on Pukeiwitahi. It seems a most unfortunate thing that the thought most permanently uppermost in many people's minds on visiting some particular scenic spot or place of interest is to leave behind, them a memorial of their visit in the shape, generally, of their names. In the case of the M'Kenzie Cairn this tendency has revealed itself in the carving upon the 'stone of innumerable names, the cruel vandalism of this being shown by the fact that many of them are carved more boldly and prominently than even the name of the honoured legislator in whose honour the cairn was erected. The sight of these names, which literally cover the stone now, arouses in all thinking visitors to the spot feelings of the greatest indignation, and it is a shame that no reverence should be shown to the stone and the person whose memory it perpetuates. Sixteen •ft.cidents weie lepoited to the Labour Department as having occurred in Wellington factories lost month. None werc-of a serious Batore*