LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Northern Advocate, 2 September 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Weather Bureau forecast for 24 hours from 9 o'clock this morning:— Southerly winds, strong to gale, with westerly tendency. The weather 'will probably prove scjfaally with heavy showersj. Barometer unsteady. Tides good; sea rough off shore.

Yesterday afternoon at Otonga an inquest was held by Mr J. M. Killen (district coroner) into the death of Alexander iMcKtfnzietf isettlei 1 , of Puhipuhi, who died suddenly on the previous day. The evidence of Dr East was that death had been caused by heart failure —the deceased having suffered from affection of that organ for some time —and a verdict was returned accordingly.

Mr Robert Mair reports as follows: —The total rainfall at Whangarei for the month of August, 1913, was 8.80 in., the maximum fall being l.SOin. and 1.40 in. on the 20th and 21st. For the corresponding month last year the record is 4.92 in., and the maximum 1.14 in. Rain fell upon 22 days last month. The month was very cloudy and hazy, three days only being cloudless at ,9 a.m. West, south, and south-west breezes predominated, and with few exceptions were moderate. Three frosts were recorded. The temperature ranged from 61 to 42 on 31st.

The following passengers were landed by the Manaia this morning:—Messrs McMahon, Morris, Watkinson, Crane, Hempton, Archdeacon Calder, Rev. Favell, Brigham, McLean, McNab, Metcalfe (2), Palmer, Bailey, Heath, Armitage, Mays, Johnston, Booth Hoggard, Tomlinson. Burt, McMillan, Knowles, Burdett, Wood, Shore, Brown, Waster, Ross, Schischka, Page, Anderson, Wakelin, Pike, Learning, Ferguson, Carley, Smith, Thorne, Marriner, Lester, Van-Veen, Kerr, Hepworth, (Morrison, Hepworth, Bird, Nicholson, Watts, Beard, Proud, Cleave, Dooley, Otto, Weaver; Mesdames Doidge, Malcolmson, Baxter, Weaver, McLean, Vincent, Lindsay and 2 children, Brown, Ridley, Gathedcole, Shore; Misses Mander and child, Knight, Alexander Smith, Alexander, Hall, Hoey; and 10 steerage.

There was a rather small attendance when the Rev. W. Day took the chair at the Whangarei Literary and Debating Society's meeting last night, the of debate being the question, "Is New Zealand's Labour Legislation in the best Interests of the Country?' Mr J. Harrison, in opening in the affirmative, dealt with the subject from the widest point of view, maintaining that legislation to regulate conditions of labour was necessary in every community. Taking it on the whole, Mr Harrison argued, the laws had been a success, but as intelligence grows they would need to be amended and advanced. Not only should the laws regulate the conditions of labour, but the State should see that every man who would work, should have work to do. Mr Jackson, who took the negative side, while agreeing that the labour laws had been a success in so far as they had abolished the truck system, and sweating, and had raised wages, maintained that there never were so many strikes as there are to-day, showing that compulsory arbitration had been an absolute failure. The increased cost of living had largely nullified the benefit obtained by the rise in wages. Preference to unionists was a tyrannical interference with personal liberty. The policy of protecting industries by means of the tariff was to be condemned. After debate by Messrs Driver, Solomon, Heather and O'Shaughnessy, the openers replied, and the question being put, was answered in the affirmative.