LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9480, 9 April 1894, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The North Shore Ferry Company announce i special excursion to-day to Hobsonville it 4 p.m.', returning ab 5.30. Waibemata electors in the city will thus be able to record their votes. : : .--.;',. .:,.',..-. -'-■'..■v--...:-: >

After an absence - of twelve months from tb.r colony Mr. arid'' Mrs. W. H. : Smith (of Messrs. Smith and Caughey) returned by the s.s. Mararoa last evening. • Mr. and Mrs. Smith left here on the 10th April last, and have visited the Australian colonies, Ceylon, Palestine, Egypt, Malta, Great Britain, Canada, the United States, China, and Japan, coming to Australia by the Vancouver route. Their tour of travel was an extended one of over 40,000 miles, bub has been a very enjoyable one, business and pleasure being combined. Mr., and Mrs.. Smith return in excellent health. A large number of the members of the Helping Hand Mission were on : the wharf to welcome them back to Auckland, as also other personal friends. -,- - ... - -

The last case set down for trial at the criminal sittings of the Supreme Court was concluded on Saturday, .when. Walter Tibbutt was charged with a breach of the Bankruptcy Act of 1893. He was sentenced to seven days without hard labour, bat as the term r.a3 to run from the first day of the sittings the accused was immediately discharged. The civil sittings open to-day. '•' ;

There were two accidents to jockeys in the steeplechase at Potter's . Paddock, on Saturday. One was to Thomas Bray, who ffas riding Little Jane, and fell at one of the hardies. Bray was conveyed to the grandstand, where Dr. Bewe3, of Otahuhu, attended to his injuries, which consisted of having a slight concussion of the brain, his collarbone broken, and some bruises about the face. He was sent home' to his residence, Onehunya, and subsequently attended by Drs. Erson and Scott. Another jockey, Katterns, the rider of Taffy, had his collarbone broken. ' Both men are progressing favourably. . •'*

On Saturday, at the Wellesley-streeb School, a meeting of the Educational Institute was held to consider the report of the recent Inspectors' Conference. A resolution was come to approving of the recommendation of the inspectors that no new school should be established within four miles of an existing school, except in municipal districts. It was also decided to support the recommendation that the pass system in standards 1,2, and 3be abolished, that examinations in history should be done away with, and that the Government be invited to have a text-book drawn up m history and social economy. Some alterations were made in the proposals of the inspectors with regard to grammar and arithmetic, and it was decided to recommend the maintenance of the present syllabus. ■■: ; ~

J>ear midnight on Saturday Sergeant ! Lyons and Constable Macdonald found a bundle of rags or ticking burning on the verandah of a boarding-house, known, as Dublin House, in Wyndham-street, .land they suppressed the fire, and took possesion of the half burned debris for further investigation. The building was gutted "7 a fire which occurred accidentally f°me weeks ago. An incipient fire woke out about a week afterwards.', so that lo 's is the second incipient fire in the old Kitted and unoccupied building which has kken place. ■ -■ An ordinary meeting of the Harbour Board will be held to-morrow. The flowing notices of motion have been j : ~ Mr - T. Henderson to move (dewred from last meeting), "That the »»orks and Tariff Committee report on Resent position of pilot service, with a; saZ to , callin K for fresh tenders or to make ~ other arrangements as may be deemed "Jvisable." Mr - B. W. Alison to move, i'lat the foreman. of works report at the S me ? of the Board as to the desirar,'7 of providing gas lighting for Calliope sam '.. and also Ornish estimated cost of «m, e -, Mr. J. H. Witheford to i move, mat meetings of the committees of the arbour Board be open to the press." J_. ; . in» M the « P< !l ice Court on Saturday morn- 1 Wail R : S - Bush » S.M., disposed of the Uan7w i"V leS3 than - twenty .minutes.: seven a ak ? ham was fined 20s and costs, or foonH i ys - ,m P*onment, for having been Bol,«o k In u PPer Queen-street:" James on rA Was rema ed to the 11th instant int« »i? Re ' of havi "g feloniously: broken and " -2P °, Geor = Sea " er and ' others, •lies „ v herefrom two pairs of stocks and other hammer .one soldering iron, and Sh^lt' t0 fche tofcal value o* £6 »*• A Act II - cases . under the Destitute Persons »as m! 7 ,nTeB - IKa , fc€d ' the only-order I that *ho wS 9 T ln thecase of Albert Weston. thr eo w°f dered # P a * 'all-wears;within: i.'W«MS&' or ■■" defaulb 1* dayß ' im *

There arrived by the b.B. Manapourion Tuesday last, j from : Sydney, a ■ ■'. young.' woman who gave | her |name an Mrs. Clair. She was travelling from Sydney alone, save with her infant, three months old. -, During the I passage | down she suffered | from i seasickness, though enabled to take some food. Two: of : the \ passengers, as she had no friends, saw her to lodgings; on, Tuesday , forenoon Vab r Mrs. T : Hugill's I boardinghouse =in Wellesley-streeb West. She apeared to be in 1 delicate health, and went to ed soon afterwards/asking the landlady to get adoctor. Mrs. Hugill called in Dr. Beale, who cam© and examined v the patient. ;• He found Mm. Clair:'very weak, and P suffering from violent retching, vomiting, and diarrhoea. On Wednesday night her symptoms became so very grave that Dr. Beale, who had been regularly attending her; called in Dr. Dawson. The unfortunate woman got worse, and died on Saturday, morning. .The medical men are prepared to a certificate; of death from , gastro-enteritis so that ib is not probable any inquest will be held. Before [ her death > she gave her domestic-' history to Mrs. Hugill/ and her story was a very sad and pathetic one. Mrs. Clair said she. was a married woman. ' She stated further that she had left Sydney..with only £1 in her pocket, and- 1 a sewing machine with which she hoped to make a living for herself and r child. 4 There are two boxes of clothing left. An examination of her effects showed that § some books -'■ contained' the name, "Florence Catherine Vardy," and her ;marriage, certificate was ' found, which showed that Vardy was her maiden name. Her family are said to reside S in i Sydney, and her father's name is Henry Vardy.

The fire ab Panmare on Friday night), reported in Saturday's issue, occurred in a double cottage, half of which was owned by Mr..-'John Donnelly,] farmer, arid half by Mrs. Kelly.. Mrs. •;•. Kelly .';, wa s},. away -'• in Auckland at the time. She is nob a widow, as was inadvertently stated in the report.

We have to acknowledge from the; secretary of the Auckland branch the receipt of the report of the eleventh, annual meeting of the Council of the Educational -Institute of New Zealand, which was held at Nelson early in January last. It is printed in pamphlet form and gives a full account of the proceedings on that occasion. '' : : - A fatal accidenb; occurred recently in a foundry ab Richmond, Melbourne, owing to the bursting of an emery wheel, and ab the inquest which followed, it /was,found that considerable ignorance prevailed concerning the speed at which emery wheels could be safely driven. The Chief Secretary has received : a - report on the ' subject from Professor Kernob, and, upon his -recommendation, has passed the following regulation, which inspectors .of \ factories will be instructed to enforce :—" That the circumferential velocity of the emery wheels should be limited to 6000 feet per minute, or 100 ft per second, that if for any special reason it is necessary to exceed this speed' the pa heels must be so • effectually enclosed in massive timber or metal casings as to render it impossible for flying fragments to strike any person in the vicinity. The guard- must be of wrought iron or heavy blocks of timber about 12 inches thick." ; •-■ :•■'• ■- ■. .- -■

. His Lordship Bishop Luck wa3 "at home" on Saturday afternoon to receive the parishioners of St. Patrick's,' in order that they might inspect the new epiocopal residence. A goodly number availed themselves of His Lordship's invitation, and were shown over it. Although the interior is nob yeb finished, all were delighted with their vi«ib. The house is furnished in up-to-date style, the chapel and study being moat attractive. In addition to the beautiful altar in the chapel the portion of the floor near the walls is in parquetry, the handiwork of the Rev. Augustine Luck, of Waikato, brother of the Bishop, while the gas is lit by electricity, a contrivance, we understand, unique in the colonies. The reception room, diningroom, conference room, dormitories, etc., are all brightly furnished, while the view from the tower is a charming one. ,' • ■..- . ;':. : :

The Sydney papers contain full reports of the second triennial ' convention of the Women's Christian : Temperance Union of Australasia, whioh is being held in the Pitt-' street Congregational Church,' Miss Jessie Ackerman,~Australasian President, presides. The Convention received deputations from the New South *,Wales") Vigilance Association, the Local | Option League, and, the Good Templars. :On the .third ■.day, Mrs." G. . M. Main (a visitor 'from Auckland), '-' gave'' an ': account of the movement for .women's franchise in New Zealand. '. Papers' 'were read 'by various delegates. ' . Reports '■' on the subject of women's franchise were read; from the colonies of South -Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, New ', South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. These showed that, the movement in favour of the extension of the franchise to women was advancing in all the colonies, .and in the Western Australian Parliament ib had been lost by only one vote. The reports were -J adopted. Papers were read by delegates representing all : the colonies on various branches of Women's ' Christian Temperance', Union work. ■, Miss Hogg (New South Wales) read a paper on " Barmaids." Miss Acker man said she was not aware of any laws in America >to ■, forbid the employment 'of barmaids; but no American woman would accept the occupation, and : if barmaids' were wanted, 1 they would have to be obtained from England. ■ The public sentiment was so, strong in America against the employmerit of barmaids that they could not get them there. American women would nob serve : behind bars, and when there was talk of .getting barmaids from England, the American -women rose as a body against the proposal, and it had to be abandaned/ Ou the proposition of Mrs. Soltan, of Tasmania, seconded by. Miss Murcutb,; of Western Australia, . it was resolved .to'., appoint \a ' committee .to. inquire into the condition of vbarmaids; in the various colonies, and to report > to the convention. On the evening of the fourth, day Miss Ackerman gave a lecture to a large 1 assemblage c - on "Fifty ' Thousand Miles and What I Saw." Lady Windeyer occupied the chair.; - Last Monday a race for the boats belong-'. ing to the R.M;s. Doric, ab ; Lyttelton, was held.;' The conditions were thab at a given : signal the . bofc.ta were to be lowered from their places in the davits, or on deck, and manned by. their respective crews as would be done in the case of an accident at sea. The boats of the starboard side :iefb the deck simultaneously, and wereij all in : the water and under way when only three minutes -had elapsed.>:; The course was around the reef buoy, one mile distant from the ship's position, and to this point the boats were ; rowed. i. After rounding. the mark sails; were hoisted, and;the boats headed back to the ship ■before; a fresh southerly^ breeze. ."• When some -:*distance outside the moles a signal was given from the Bhip, and -the J conditions were •'go as you please," both* oars and sails being used. No. 3 boat, in charge : of Mr. V; Christie, second ■;officer, was first ■; to arrive,- closely followed by , No, 9, in charge'of the sailmaker, Mr. Hancock. All . the '\ five boats were secured in their places within fifty minutes from leaving them. The ':' beautiful . painting of. the - "Crucifixion," by the well-known ; local artisb, Mr. L. J. Steele, is now exhibited in the church of 3b. Benedict's, Newton, ;, Reference (Was made i&b : the various services yesterday to this generous '• gift of the r ; artist,* and an appeal was made for the purpose of framing and placing it in position in the church. •* As the church is open to the public, lovers )of the sacred school of art will have an opportunity of admiring this : excellent specimens, of Mr. Steele's artistic genius. .! ■ ; : ;?.■'_., M The ;Otago; Daily Times ; says' The returning officer for -the'■ Clutha district, having sent in to the ? County Council the vouchers for the expenses incidental to the licensing election and local option poll, has been referred by that : body to the Government for payment'. the following resolution being passed on the subject:" That as the Alcoholic Sale, Control Act, 1893, provides that $ all costs and expenses inciden :' to ? the election '; of '■' licensing committees or of taking a poll, of electors under the said Act shall? be paid out of the license fees : accruing ?in H the district, and sasi no license has been i carried, and ■-there will \be no license fees from which' the Council can pay the vouchers sent in by the returning officer, they ; be returned, as the : Council has no other funds from which' it can legally pay the same, and that the returning officer be informed ib will • be; necessary for, him to apply to the Government for payment." ~ '

The flauroto, on r her last trip from New Zealand to New South Wales, took 20 pure bred Romney Marsh rams, selected, by the New.: Zealand Land. Association, .Limited, for the Now Zealand Loatf and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, for Mr. H.O. Sutter, of Briiceciale, Bathurab.'

- It has a been stated by telegram, from Thursday Island' the I Rev. James Chalmers, in charge of the London 'Missionary Society's station at New Guinea, has returned by the steamer Miro to. Thursday Island, prostrated-..-'with{ever. The ; Hon. John Douglas, British Resident, has wired' Ito ■ the | Sydney .;. secretary of ■■ the socieby, concerning the seriousness of Mr.' Chalmers's illness, and ; advising an"j immediate change of climate for that ;i gentleman. Actupon this, arrangements , have been , made for",Mr.':Chalmers to come to: Sydney. I The steamer, Miro, which Mr. ; Chalmers * has lately]; used for mission 'work, on the Ply River, jand]; elsewhere, has '. : . undergone an overhaul,"and will leave Thursday Island in charge of Mr. Robert Bruce. v Her crew were , all down with fever on the |. last y trip.' and the.deaths of two native teachers are reported. ~|By 'the steamer : Ysabel, from New Britain, there returned to Sydney. Captain Slater, who -; lately took up to the islands a small mission yacht.

On Saturday morning two lectures were given at the University buildings—the first by % Professor Thomas, on " Botany, and Agriculture," and j the other by Professor Brown on" Elementary Science." They were well attended, and are to be continued every Saturday : - morning, ■ being intended chiefly for,teachers.

It! order to .encourage whalers :to visit Melbourne before setting out, or on returning from, a cruiso, the Customs department has decided to reduce the fees for docking those vessels!at the Alfred Graving, Dock. It has been - agreed that ■ in . the case of whalers and missionary and charitable vessels, such as Dr. Singleton's Bethel Ship, the fees charged should be no more than the actual cost of pumping, the water out of the dock after the vessel has gone into it and the expense incurred in shoring up the ship while in dock.

" We are requested '< to stated thab; the Deacons', Court of J Sb. Andrew's Church having, most kindly waived their right to the Choral Hall for Thursday, 19th instant, the Chrysanthemum' Show has been postponed till that date. . The change of date will have the effect of bringing out one of the grandest displays of flowers ever seen in Auckland, the season having "been,; eminently, favourable for culture, though later than, usual. The incurved sections ought to be well- represented this year. . The entries will \ close definitely ab ■ 5 p.m. on Thursday next, and we are requested to state that they may be either sent by post to the hon. secretary or left ab Messrs. Wildman and- Lyell's, where one of the committee will be in attendance to receive and explain from three to five on the date of closing. ;. * . .'* *',',•'

The Oamaru Mail remarks \ that the unusually wet summer has nob' been an altogether unmixed evil, for while ib has had a serious effect \ upon ) the harvest;'; ib has been productive of - a material diminution of the rabbit nuisance. The destruction of rabbits by the excessive moisture during the the summer has been remarkably heavy. ; In places where they have usually been exceedingly plentiful only a • small number are now to be seen,;and young rabbits are somewhat of a rarity. ; The conclusion arrived at on these facts is that, as a result of the heavy rains during January, and February, the holes wore flooded and the young rabbits drowned. , ; :-,■■•% ' At alatemeetingof the Christchurch Ministers' Association the question of the Sunday evening concerts, that havo recently been given in thab city, came up for consideration. At St. Andrew's Church, in the course of a sermon on a miracle of .healing performed by Chrisb on the Sabbath, the Rev. Gordon .Webster made allusion to the Sunday concerts advertised to take place that evening. He pointed oub that, while'it was lawful to. do good works on the Sabbath, they must be careful not to allow their observance of the sacred day to degenerate into pleasure-seeking. At the Lower Highstreet Bible Christian Church, the Rev. A. Mitchell preached from Nehemiah xiii., 17 —" What evil thing is this thab ye do, and profane the Sabbath Day ?" In the course of his sermon the rev. gentleman spoke strongly, against , concerts advertised as sacred being held on the Sabbath.

. t There was only a fair: attendance at'the Choral Hull, last evening, when Mrs. Sara Dra'ffin delivered a i lecture entitled the "Theosophy and the Masses." The lady spoke for over an : hour, '■:■ holding- the • close attention of her audience throughout .'.'. A number of questions were asked.,-. : " .