LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9610, 7 September 1894, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

We understand that the staff of the General Manager's office of the ' Bank of Mew Zealand will be removed to Wellington in a few days. ' At the Magistrate's Court yesterday Mr. H- »V. Northcrofc disposed of a number of debt cases, after which he was engaged in the hearing of a case brought by George M. Smyth against Jonas Arick Persson, for the recovery of £97 18s 6d, the amount alleged to be duo .for photographic enlargements taken away and delivered by Persson. ' An order signed by Smyth on the New Zealand Express Company being pub in evidence, plaintiff accepted a nonsuit. "

A meeting of the, Works and Tariff Committee of the Harbour Board was held yesterday AfbernOOri, When there Wete present: Messrs. iccol (iln the chair), Holland (mayor), Henderson, Julian, and Farrell. The foreman bf Works repbrtfed as to recLamation north of the Auckland Dock. The water penetrated through for a considerable distance, and every rise and fall of tide a small portion Was carried away. Things could be made Bate at a cost) of £64 10s. It was decided to call for tenders for the work. Id was agreed to recommend also that repairs be effected to Wynyard Pier, the cost being estimated at £11 2s. A letter was received from Mr. C. C. Dacre as to : storage of goods on wharves. Io was resolved that the recommendation of the committee re tarpaulins be rescinded, and that Mr. Dacre be informed that ample shed accommodation is provided at other berths thau that used by Captain Skinner, of which he could avail himself at any time. In regard to the reclamation of Freeman's, Bay, it was agreed to inform Mr. O'Connor that tie Board has no interest in the gantry axcept so far as securing the safety of the Board's property and maintaining the channel is concerned. . .

The Supreme Court was occupied the greater part of yesterday in re-hearing the charges of indecent assault preferred against a man named William Sharp McCormick, in whose case the jury had been unable to agree. A verdict of guilty was returned, His Honor deferring sentence until a further charge of rape againsb the accused had been heard.

A nice point of law was raised at the Stipendiary Magistrate's Court, yesterday, regarding the expenses of a witness. The witness in question, who was subpoenaed by the plaintiff, was the real defendant in the cause, and was previously instructed by his solicitor thab his presence was nob required in Court, as he would contest the cause on documentary evidence. The solicitor for plaintiff caused the defendant to be called, who appeared and refused to give his evidence unless payment was made for his attendance. Mr. - Northcroft, who was oi} the Bench, ruled that his expenses should; be paid, which was accordingly agreed to.

An inquest was held at. the Avondale Hotel yesterday afternoon, by Mr. John Bollard, district coroner, on the body of the gumdigger, Harry Heenan, who (lied suddenly at the house of Mr. Smith, settler, Titirangi. The . evidence. showed that he was about 65 years old, and suffering from bronchial affection. The jury, after hearing thß evidence adduced, returned a verdict of " Death from natural causes."

Yesterday the men engaged in the Freeman's Bay reclamation works succeeded in repairing he damage occasioned by the settlement of the engine and collapse of part of the breastwork. They have replaced the engine on its staging, and stayed the collapse of the breastwork. Work will be resumed as usual in a day or two. Messrs. W. T. Eagot, C. Bartley, E. Bell, and B. T. Hawkins were yesterday nominated as candidates for the three vacant seats occurring in the Birkenhead Borough Council, and being more than the number required, the returning officer, Mr. Seaman, announced that a poll will be taken at the Council's office, Zion Hill, on Thursday. The present boisterous weather is creating quite a rise in the -fish market. Owing to the scarcity of fish the prices have gone steadily upwards until yesterday afternoon, when the record was broken as tar as Auckland is concerned by flounders selling at 4s 3d per doz of twelve fish, a price never heard of in this city hitherto. At the meeting of the Newmarket Borough Council last evening, when the appointment of a new turncock, who is to devote his spare time in doing borough work, was being considered, one member said it required a mechanic to perform the duties thoroughly, and no good mechanic would care to work on the roads. Whereupon he was met with the-remark, " Why, sir, we shall have officers of the army and navy applying for it." At the Police Court yesterday, before Messrs. W. Beehan and H. Wilding, J.P.'s, two cases were disposed of. For the larceny of a brooch while under the influence of liquor, Julia O'Keefe was fined £1, or in default seven days' imprisonment. For leaving: his cart „ unattended in Victoria Quadrant, and not having a chain attached to the wheel, A. J. Edmonds was fined ss, with costs 7s.

The proposal to appoint) Sir J. Vogol (says the Otago Daily Times) as financial adviser in England to the Government of this colony in succession to Sir Penrose Julyan is one which will commend itself to many people in this colony. Such an adviser is wanted, and we do not know that a better man could easily bo found. Sir Julius has been connected with all phases of the finance of this colony, and is thoroughly familiar with its details. Moreover, his long residence in London has afforded him full opportunities of acquainting himself with the views of London financiers, and of mastering the intricacies of the London market. We did not like Sir Julius as a treasurer, but shorn of political power he may prove extremely useful to the colony.

The Australian cablegram respecting the breach of privilege case in the Victorian Parliament, in which the Rev. A. R. Edgar was concerned, scarcely did that gentleman full justice. Ib says " The Rev. A. R. Edgar presented himself ati the bar of the House to-day . (23rd August) and explained that his statements referred to Parliaments generally, and further, that he had specially in his mind the Jabez Balfour fraud and the Canadian and Panama swindles. The matter then dropped." The matter is more fully referred to in the Southern Cross (a Victorian journal) as follows : — "The Assembly had' 'a brief and exciting duel on Wednesday evening with the Rev. A. R. Edgar, from which Mr. Edgar, at least, emerged unscathed. In an address at Wesley Church last Sunday, Mr. Edgar was reported the Age to hare said ' there were men in Parliament who were a disgrace to the community, and known to be liars and profligates,' etc. When the House met on Tuesday these words, on the motion of Mr. Taverner, were declared -to be a broach of privilege, and Mr. Edgar was solemnly summoned to appear at the bar of the House. He duly appeared on Wednesday, cheered by a considerable .crowd as he entered the building. He told the House the report was ' not entirely accurate,' and read a statement in which he disclaimed contempt for the Victorian Parliament in particular, ! but said thab he told his people ' many of the members of the Parliaments "of the people were a disgrace to the community.' This was 'his conviction as a Christian minister,' and he could not withdraw it. The particular words, ' liars and profligates,' he had nob used, but he said that 'scoundrels and blacklegii were too often returned to Parliament.' The Assembly, after a somewhat agitated scene, accepted Mr. Edgar's statement that he was 'not accurately reported' by the Age, and passed to nexb order of the day. The Assembly seldom scores in a conflict with an individual, and Sir James Patterson was heartily cheered in the House whep he warned the Assembly against attempting to limit the right of ministers of religion to rebuke public wrongs." :

A number of gentlemen met Mr. S. Vaile, the Railway Reformer, by appointment, at his residence last night, being desirous of receiving further information and. explanatory instruction regarding his railway stage system. They stated that''they , wanted to be so thoroughly up in the points and so versed in the reasons for the adoption of the system, that- they could put ib effectively before their own circle of friends and acquaintances, and thus each in his own sphere help to influence public opinion in its favour. Some of those present had had experience in England of some of the forms of tyranny and differential rating practised by English railway companies, and they are hopeful that in this colony where the railways have been built by public taxation will ultimately be managed in the interests of the people and for the promotion of settlement. ; - ''•

A meeting of the Auckland dental students was held last night in the rooms of Mr. Windsor, Mr. Moses in the chair. The minutes of: the last meeting were read and carried. Ib . was proposed by Mr. Kilgour and seconded by Mr. Colson that the Auckland Dental Students, Association and library be formed. The following officers and committee were elected :— President,' Mr. Kilgour; secretary. and treasurer, Mr. Moses; committee, abovenamed gentlemen »' and - Messrs. ,J. ■ Gray, Butters, and Hdpe. A rote of thanks to Mr. Windsor and the chairman concluded the proceedings.

Several pieces of timber taken froin the old shed at the Naval Renerve, Devon port, and which'.' have been simply honeycombed by the white ant, have brought away and deposited at the Harbour Board offices, where . they may be inspected by anyone who feels interested. Captain Brouiii, the Government) entomologist, has seen the wood, he has no doubb bub that they have been the centre of operations of a colony of termites. '

Russia seems, to ,be showing unusual restlessness at the present tithe. • Yesterday ib was stated in the cablegrams she is bent on building a railway to Merv, and thence to Penjdeh on the Afghan frontier. For several years past she has been credited with desiring to possess Porb Lueareffj part Of Corean territory. The following paragraph shows she has other schemes afoot, some of which will affect the Australasian group :—" L'Echo de I'Armee states that a most important - transaction is. said. to bo contemplated by Russia.:. Portugal seems • disposed to cede to Russia for a considera-' tion a great part of her colonial possessions —among others in India the town of Daman (at no great distance from Bombay), further, the territory of Goa, which ' with its large area would enable Russia to establish an important colony there. The question of the purchase by Russia of the Portuguese part of Timor is also on the tapis. This acquisition would be of particular importance, owing to the strategic position of the Isle of Timor in the face of the Australian continent)."

An adjourned meeting of the Eden Licensing Committee was held yesterday ab the : Devonporb offices, when there were present: Messrs. Peacocks (who presided, in the absence of Mr. Northcroft, S.M.), Bollard, Walters, Motion, and Alison. Mr. Nation applied for a transfer of the license of the Lake House from Mr. Adam Cairns .to himself. Mr. E. Harrow objected to the 'transfer. The Chairman * said the committee had nothing to do with private arrangements made between lessor and lessee. , They could nob go behind the police report, if it was satisfactory, and the character of the applicant being also satisfactory. The transfer was granted, as was also the license of theflNorthcote Hotel to Mrs. Read. Mr. Brassey appeared for the applicant in the latter case. f ;

Though the night was an exceptionally rough one, there was again, at the Opera House yesterday evening, an excellenb audience to witness the second production, by Pollard's Liliputian Opera Company, of the pantomime 44 Ali Habaor the Forty Thieves." The well-known Eastern legend has been transformed, turned inside out, and brought up to latest pantomime date in the most amusing way possible. Catchy airs abound in ib, present-day topics are caricatured in the most approved fashion, all making up aco pleof hours ormoreof excellent fun. As each favourite, young in years, bub now getting well known, made last night his or her appearance. on the stage they were warmly welcomed, and encores were frequent. One very notable feature of the production was the dressing, all the costumes being new and unusually bright and good. i Scene after < scene, too, evoked rounds of applause, while the marshalling and drilling of the youngsters crowding the stage was deserving of the highest meed of praise. Musically and histrionically it must be a very difficult matter to train so many children to sing and act so as to play one into the other's hands as do the members of this combination ; bub the way fchey have been taught to move in mass like a piece of mechanism is simply marvellous. " Ali Baba " is undoubtedly one of the best pantomimes Mr. Pollard has produced,, and well deserves a long run.

A writer in the Gardeners' Chronicle states that though the onion is generally regarded as a biennial, yet that sometimes it is perennial, and does nob after seeding always die and disappear. He says that in the early part of 1892 there were planted out in his seed-grounds at Bedfont four large specimens of Rousham Park onion. The root-stook in each case had proved decidedly perennial, as they were sending up strong seed-stems this year, as they did in 1892-93 ; thus he would take a seed crop three years in succession from the same root-stocks. How long they would continue to do this remained to be seen. The ground is a heavy sandy loam,' and it became very dry last summer,; so much so, that it was a wonder the root-stocks of the onions were not completely dried up.

The Children's Flower Show opens this afternoon at half-past two o'clock at the Choral Hall. As the Board of Education has granted a holiday on the occasion in order to enable children attending the State schools to visit the Exhibition, and the railway authorities have made liberal ticket concessions there should be a large attendance of children and their teachers. His Worship the Mayor (Mr. J. J. Holland) will open the Show, and will be supported by a number of ladies and gentlemen who have taken an interest in the Exhibition. It' is gratifying to find that 450 children have entered, and that the entries amount to over 700. The cultivation of a love of flowers among the children, and the refining influence it is calculated to have upon them, are not the least of tho benefits which will accrue from such an Exhibition.

About 250 ladies responded to the invitation given by advertisement in our columns to attend at the Y.M.C.A. Hall yesterday afternoon, and they would be given gratuitously some instruction iu the new Powell system of dress-cutting. ' Considering the inclemency of the weather the attendance was extraordinary, but ib shows that given any new device in dress-making, and nothing will daunt or prevent them from seeing. Mr. Powell, the inventor, expounded the practicability and excellence of his system to the satisfaction of all present. The result was thab the ladies were eager to know when they could get the apparatus. The invention consists of five pieces, front, back, sleeve, etc., so arranged by actual measurement that patterns can be obtained to fit any figure. The wonder is thab ib was nob thought of long ago. It will prove a great boon to dressmakers, as ib does away with the pinning up process. Mr. Powell's advertisement in relation to his invention will be found elsewhere.

There was a good attendance ab the Columbia Rink last evening, being club night. To-night is "ladies invitation" night, when a good muster is anticipated.