LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 72, 28 March 1910, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

English, American (via Vancouver), and Australian mails reached Auckland yesterday by the s.b. Maheno, from Sydney. The Wellington portion of the mail arrives by the Main Trunk express this afternoon. In addition, an Australian mail is duo here on Wednesday morning by the s.s Warrimoo, which left Sydney on Saturday afternoon. As a result of a raid made on premises in Tory-streeft yesterday by Sergeant Rutledge and Constable M'Kelvie, charges of sly grog-selling will . be preferred against two men. While cycling to Woodville on. Good Friday, Mr. Edward Rosenberg, of Manners-street, met with a serious accident, causing concussion of the brain and a fractured skull. He is now lying in a critical condition at the Thorndon Private Hospital. A child three months old, one of twins, named Agnes Noeline Davis, daughter of Cecilia Davis, who is housekeeping for a man named Leonard Hobbs at Normandale (Lower Hutt), was found dead yesterday morning. According to the police report, deceased and the other infant were fed by their mother at 2 a.m. At 5 a.m. she again went to feed them, and found one of the children dead. The children slept in a perambulator. An inquest will be held. The- fact that the Union Company decided to abandon its projected Easter excursion to the Maryborough Sounds owing to lack of support, is a somewhat striking proof of the slight interest that a large majority of the community take in one of the most picturesque parts .of New Zealand (comments the Christchurch Press). The scenery of the Marlborough Sounds has not, of course, the quality of stern grandeur that distinguishes tho West Coast Sojinds, but the combination of bush-covere3 hills and land-locked* waters that it offers is strikingly beautiful, and the evidences of settlement, and the uee of the Sounds as a waterway by the settlers, give them a human interest that Fiordland lacks. On Friday evening Dr. Cockayne returned to Christchurch from a botanical excursion to South Westlund. According to the Lyttelton Times the main object of Dr. Cocka'yne's journcv was to see what effect the proximity of a great mass of ice would have on the adjacent vegetation. That is to cay, whether alpine plants would descend to far below their usual altitude. The result of the investigation has shown that that is the case in no small degree. On the ice-worn rocks from which th 6 glacier had retreated, at no distant date, various alpine species of the mountain daisy, the mountain carrot, and, above all, of the cidelweiss, grow vigorously. '"But," he snys, "it is not the presence of plants like those whidh give a special charm lo the Franz Josef. It is rather the fact that the snow-white macs of the icefield, with its fantastic pinnacles and its innumerable amethystine crevasses and caves, is surrounded not by bare rock or masses of stony debris, but by a lovely forest of varied hues of green, within whose recesses are countless ferns, from giant tree-ferns to the delicate, translucent kidney fern, and its allies. The forest, in fact, is not at all one of the alpine region, but is a portion of the great tropical rain fores-t which formerly extended with few breaks throughout the low lands of New Zealand from north to south. Even on the solid rock recently abandoned by the ice masses of a tropical orchid — tropical &o far as its adaptations go — were in full bloom. Thanks lo the energy of the Tourist Department during the past three years the glacier can be explored in » thorough manner/

Ten moose, four males and six females, aTe now on their way from Wellington to the Bluff, and will be liberated at Seaforth River, Dusky Sound. It is stated that the joint tri-weekly service between N"ew Plymouth and Onehunga which has been maintained by the Union Company and the Northern Company during the summer months will be continued during April. The extent of the Foveaux Straits oyster beds has always been a subject of controversy, and a few persons outside of those engaged in the oyster traffic are in a position to give an opinion. From enquiries made recently by a Southland News reporter, it appears that the area is approximately 40 square "miles. The beds extend in all directions, and there are twelve centres, ranging from 11 miles W.S.W. of Waipapa Point to 10 miles E.S.E. of Centre Island, and to within a few miles of Ruapuke Island and Stewart Island. The depth of water over the beds ranges from 13 fathoms to 25 fathoms, and the oyster dredges used are usually equipped with 54 fathom lines to- enable cross trail to be made. Mr. Ell, M.P., informed a representative of The Press last week that Messrs. Morten Brothers, with the view of perpetuating the memory of their father, the late Mr. R. M. Morten, have ■ generously given about sixty acres of land on the Port Hills for the purposes of public scenic reserves. The different areas have been carefully selected, and consist of five reserves at different points along the Summit-road from Dyer's Pass to Evans's Pass. Mr. A. G. Allom, district surveyor, has just completed the survey of the blocks. The executors of the Morten Estate are at present preparing for the disposal of the property on the Port Hills, and the reserves made will come as an acceptable Easter gift to the people of Christchurch and Canterbury. "Farmers' Law ip Npw Zealand" is the latest addition to Mr. W. Jolliffe's useful series of annotaved reprint* of Now Zealand statutes. In this, as in its predecessors, the law it given verbatim, with the regulation notes, etc., printed in small type in juxtaposition with the sections to which they relate. Opening with the briei Agricultural Tenants Act (English), which is ir> force in New Zealand, the book contains, in whole or in part, thirty-one statutes, forming a full compendium, with complete index of the law of New Zealand as it bears on "the man on the land." It contains three hundred pages, and is compiled in the same careful and conscientious manner as other worku from the same hand. Mt. Jolliffe has also issued "first annual supplements" to his "Local Government in Boroughs" and "Local Government in Counties." These aro printed on oae side of the paper, each item having prefixed the page to i which it relates, so that, if so desired, J the paragraphs can be cut apart and inserted in the original volumes. People who have seen aeroplanes only in pictures have the opportunity now of realising what a flying machine is like in reality. In the premises lately occupied by Lyons's Bestaurant, there is on exhibition the Pechugin aeroplsune recently described in The Post. When seen by the reporter first, the machine was in pieces, but now its parts aro assembled and the machine stands there like- a huge bird witk a. double tail poised foi flight. The aero-suction tube of the central backbone of the aeroplane may be observed clearly and its purpose understood. It is not, as has been incorrectly stated, for the purpose of propulsion at all, but simply, as stated in the description given m Tne Post, a brake to ease a sudden dip or descent. The. aeroplane is practically full-size, and in the opinion of the inventors, Messrs John Pechugin and Henry Little, quite capable of flight, if only equipped with a proper engine of the kind used in the Mights of such aeroplanes as the Wnight and the Bleriot. It is with the idea of • raising funds to get such an aeromotor that the inventors are exhibiting their machine. Their efforts, which have cost them time and money in three years' experiments, would seem to deserve encouragement. As a profit-making concern, the Victorian railways are ahead of those of all i the other States (6ays the Melbourne Age). Interesting statistics for the past nine years have been prepared under the directions of the Commonwealth Statistician. These show that while the net earnings of the New South Wales railways per train mile run have decreased during that period from 34.13 dto 33.05 d, Victoria's revenue under the same heading has increased from 27.38 d to 35.36 d; Queensland has advanced from 10.69 dto 28.44 d; South Australia, from 26.92 d to 33.83 d; Western Australia, from 17.96 d to 31.28 d, and Tasmania, f.rom 8.68 d to 17.70 d. After the payment of working expenses and interest on loan expenditure, the net loss on i the Victorian railways wa6 £202,251 in 1901, and the net profit in 1909, £235,215; New South Wales had a profit of £105,638 in 1901, and £3J8,892 in 1909. The death roll on the Victorian railways greatly exceeds that of each of the other States. The figures for the various States where uniformity of methods in compilation existed were as follow :— Killed : New South Wales, eight years, 287; Victoria, nine years, 389 : Queensland, nine years, 83 ; South Australia, nine years, 95 ; Tasmania, nine years, 15. In regard to persons injured, the New South Wales casualties totalled 1921 in eight years, and the Victorian list reached the heavy total of 4995 in nine years. It was just after dawn — "under the» opening eyelid of the morn" — a farmer's employee, in a field a few miles from Wellington, saw a figure glide swiftly and stealthily across country. The fugitive reached a tree, and clambered rapidly up into the branches. This crafty procedure- puzzled the observer. He pondered deeply, and a Sherlock Holmes instinct told him that he had seen Joseph Powelka, tho escaped prisoner. The observer hurried to the nearest police station, and breathlessly announced his find. The district constable's eye brightened, and visions of promotion dazzled him. His first impulse was, no doubt, to rush away and lay hold of the- escapee :ii all hazards, but he deemed it prudent to get assistance. He commissioned two large navvies-^-men of length and girth and depth — to accompany him on the desperate mission, and the party sallied out with sufficient weapons to terrify three Powelkas. The tree was found, it was surrounded ; the man was ntill there in his leafy retreat. The constable itched to use the handcuffs. The men on the ground expected armed resistance, and the man in the tree held nothing more formidable than a stop-watch. He was merely splitting seconds, and had not the least desire to split skulls. He was a respectable settler timing secret performances on a private track by a trotter in which hewas interested. The constable was disappointed, but not discouraged. He presently struck another trail. A strang# man, answering the description of th* gaunt, swarthy Powelka, had called at a h«u»e in (he neighbourhood in quest of food. The policeman followed up the scent, and soon he was near the quarry. He telegraphed to the Wellington headquarters, and two detectives went out as fast as steam or petrol could take them. The suspect was run down, and was recognised by one of the detectives as a quarter-caste Maori — and l J owelka was still to be found. Then the constable did feel discouraged and disconsolate, and did believe that Powelka, so far as his district was concerned, was more or lets a mytb.

About 600 excursionists Mt this morning by the Union Company's turbine steamer Maori on her special trip to Picton. The vessel is e-xpeefced to return about 6 o'clock this evening. In a letter to Sir Joseph Ward, Admiral Sperry, writing from the United States Naval College at Newport, with Tespect to the visit to New Zealand of the American fleet, says: "I am more and more convinced that the visit of tho fleet with so many of our intelligent young men has promoted an intelligent friendship with lasting effect." A complaint regarding a phase of railway management is made by a correspondent. He states that on Saturday evening he went to meet the Wairarapa train, and was told it was an hour late. : He went away for a while, and on returning fouHd that the train had only been forty minutes late, and he and a friend had missed it. H« suggests that the American system should be followed. There, a board is kept on which the progress of trains is shown. Thus, if a, train was an hour late at Masterton the fact would be noted, but if it had picked up time at a station nearer Wellington that fact would also be noted on th« board. Such a course, our correspondent urges, would save the- time of th* officials and be a great convenience t* the public. Some diversion was caused at the conclusion of the Miramar Pony Races on. Saturday afternoon at the unexpected, action of one of .the club officials. Tha last race resulted in a win for the favourite, and on the return of the contestants to the "birdcage" a disappointed horse-owner accused the jockey, who rode the third horse, of having nursed the winner and jostled his own horse. A small crowd gathered, and riding into its midst, the clerk of the course proffered information in support of the owner's allegations. "It was a put-up job" 1 he declared from his mount. "The mare was bumped and carried along by the other two— l heard the boys arrange to do it before the race started,'* he added. Some remonstrance- waa made from inside the stand at the candour oj the official, who, in reply, quite coolly intimated, "I have done with it," and he thereupon divested himself of his scarlet coat and black velvet cap, which he handed over to the club. Hethen contentedly rode off homewards. The money was paid out on the winner and the assemblage dispersed. The Bluff correspondent of the Otago Daily Times slates that he has reliable' information from Stewart Island regarding the state of the red deer herd liberated there for breeding purposes. Mr. George 1. Moffett, of Invercargill, has just returned from an eight days' visit to the island, and, in compliance with a request by the Southland Acclimatisation Society, he made the matter a point of special observation and enquiry. The result is an unqualified .conviction that the deer are thriving well und spreading rapidly. The country between the head of Paterson's Inlet and" Mason's "Bay would appear to bo their chosen resort, and travellers from that neighbourhood, one and all, bring as the same report. Within the last three weens a couple of well-built stags were sighted on the hills overlooking the pass. A> seen in the distance they were picsures of life and activity. In reporting these facts to his society, air. 3Moffett> will remind it that the time has come when closer and more minute inspection is necessary, in case of "throwing back," or other deterioration arising from consanguinity, the presence of which is not ascertainable- except upoH the close view^ Mr. D. M'Laren ; M.P., is at present in Dunedin in connection with his camt>l ignfor ; the formation of aNew.Zealand Federation of Labour. He has already visited, a number of places in the Dominion in furtherance of his proposal. After addressing several meetings at Auckland, he proceeded to the West Coast, speaking at Westport, Greymouth, Blackball, Runanga, and Brunner. He then spent eleven days ia Christchurch, during which time he addressed some twenty-four meetings, and also came into close touch with the members of the trade organisations in the surrounding districts. On Tharsday night he spoke at Timaru, and went into a number of matters connected with the local organisation. Mr. M'Laren will probably be in Dunedia. for at least a week, and he will thea visit InvercargHl and Bluff, while h* will speak at a number of places oiji his way back to Wellington. So far, Mr. M'Laren ha-i? received many expressions of confidence in his scheme. A number of the larger unions have already decided to join the proposed federation, while other bodies intend considering the matter when they hold their next meeting. Judging by appearances, Mr. M'Laren is of opinion that a great majority of the labour organisations will enter the ranks of the federation. Under offer to the Libraries Committee of the City Council, and mentioned at the last council meeting, is a copper vessel of some antiquity in New Zealand history. The present owner is Mr. A. E. Brough, a drain engineer, ! who spent some years up in the Piako district at work on the swamp there. While he was engaged in that undertaking, an epidemic of sickness broke out among the Maoris. Mr. Brough, an I old sailor, had some elementary Knowledge of medicine, which he applied with, excellent effect. The Maoris weTe not rich, but in their gratitude gave the best they had — an old_ copper pot — a sort of heirloom in the tribe. It was found on the Waitakurura beach over forty years ago by a Maori wahine, Mariana Whakapoura, whose husband, on the settlement of Auckland, helped to put up the first raupo dwellings for the Europeans Mariana still lives at Kiripaka, where she is in receipt of a Government pension. The pot itself is a plain pan-shaped vessel of beaten copper, handmade. It is considerably battered and dented now, and part of the rim has been stripped off, destroying the clue to its origin. Part of the inscription, however, remains, and reads "0 thregt," so far as it can be deciphered. There are no handles, and nothing to indicate any particular school of .art. It is just a ptein copper pot. It is understood that the owner asks a considerable sum before he will part with the mysterious vessel. A beautiful range of ladies' choice evening shoes in all the newest shape* and shades, in an unequalled range oi prices. — Kirkcaldie and Stains, Ltd. Advt.