LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9712, 7 January 1895, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The reduction plant erected for th« Kapai- Vermont G.M. Co., Kuaocunu '.'W opened on Friday last with a great dal o/ eclat in the presence of the margin/ director, Mr. E. Stanley, and S'dnoy manager, Mr. G. Robson, and tweof tie local directors, Mr. Ceo. Harper of A'kland snd Captain Swindley of Coromansl. A description of the mine and pl«b and details of the opening ceremony -ft published in another column. A Southern telegram was pubjhed the other day stating that a circulanad been addressed to the secretaries < various friendly societies, together with form of petition intended for presentatb to the Legislative Council, with a view to bring about the abolition of privat benefit societies. It is presumed that m Union Steamship Mutual Benefit Socievjis the head and front of the offending The secretary of that society, Mr. Grjbr, has made a vigorous reply to the al/gations current, and points out that so farrom the men being exploited the Union S&amship Company has contributed £lSsopne half the amount of the accumulated ftps. Mr. Grater in his statement showaihab the Union Company's Benefit Soci<y is not inimical to the interests .of jgitimate soe'eties, and he generally trapses, and that successfully, the hostile jatements made concerning the organization

It is stated that the Governtenfc have Offered to give 300 of the Aran's a trip to Auckland by train from Rotor*, as a sort of set-off to the excursion gfen to the Europeans at the opening of trough railway communication to that dirict. The proposed arrangement is said to ba that the chiefs shall have free pasas, and the rank and file pay 10s, for when they will get a return ticket. Gefleuien who have come down from Rotojla state chat the proposal has nob glen unmixed satisfaction as making an Aividious distinction between the chiefs a/d others, who iitbey are not " born in th/purple ; ' claim t» be, in these days of dempracy, as good ai the chiefs. / About eleven o'clock yesterday forenoon, 81 Mr. Aitken Carrick, /harebroker, was driving down Shortland itreet, ho stopped tc) post some letters at; the Post Office. while so doing the ponjr in the trap bolted, aid turning into Queeastreet, managed to Collide with the lamp post fa front of the Bank of New Zealand. Tie pony was thrown down, cutting its kiees, the trap eonaiderably damaged, and the harness Jroken, before it was secured.

On Saturday at the Police ?ourfc, a man was charged before Mr. Bush S.M., with being drunk. He had to be emanded for medical treatment. Eugen* Follas was charged with, on the sth int., breaking and entering the shop of looker, and stealing therefrom 4s 6d. Oi the application of Sergeant Gamble the ccused was remanded until the 10th insfc. Later on Thos. Brennan was charged, :efore the Hon. Wm. McCullough, with .aving, on the 28th December, unlawfully assaulted Jno. Hackett, by striking him onthe head with an axe. The accused was remanded for a week.

The claim of £200 by Mr. Thompson against the Upper Mahurangiflßiad Board will be heard at Warkworth, conmencing to-day, before Mr. Bush, S.M., aid Messrs. F. G. Ewington and J. Assessors. Mr. Theo. Cooper will be counsel for Mr. Thompson, and Dr. Laishley for the Board. The Manchester Unity Oddfell<|W3 have ft preliminary announcement, re tieir fiftyfirst celebration, in our advertisiogiolumns. On their jubilee outing last year her 8000 adults were conveyed to Tamaki aid home again without mishap, the Ros Casey coming from Warkworth, the \Taiotahi, Rotomahana, and Ohinemuri from the Thames, besides steamers from Rinmure, Turanga Creek, and Howick, in addition bo six trips of ferry steamers from Auckland. The committee are determined to keep up the reputation they have earned for a well-conducted, enjoyable outhg, and are looking forward to even eclipsiig their jubilee celebration. The committee have applied to Messrs. Reid Brothers for permission to bold the picnic at Home Bay, Motutapu, and arrangements are completed with the Ferry Company for the Eagle and Britannia for all day, with extra boats home.

The contractors for lowering the water mains in the Karangahape Road aro pushing on with their contract, and the work will shortly be completed. When the job is finished a million gallons of water extra will be available at the Ponsonby reservoir, which with the approach of a spell of dry weather before the summer in over, is a consideration.

On Friday evening, a gathering of railway employes took place at the Imperial Hotel, in order to bid good-bye to Mr. Charles Hudson, who, for ten years past, bat held the post of traffic manager of the Auckland district railways. Mr. A. V. Macdonald, locomotive manager, presided, and took occasion to eulogise the guest of the evening, for his official ability and private qualities. He also referred to the good feeling prevailing between officers and men in the various departments of the railway service in the districts. Air. Hudson's health was proposed by Mr. H. Pearse, goods foreman, in a neat speech. The toast was drunk with musical honors and enthusiasm. In acknowledging the compliment, Mr. Hudson took occasion to express his regret at leaving Auckland, and parting with those with whom he had been long and agreeably associated. Mr. J. Young, vice-chairman, proposed the health of the new General Manager of the New Zealand Railways. Mr. A. Grant (Mr. Hudson's • successor in Auckland) in responding, stated that he felt sure that Mr. Ronayne would receive the cordial co-operation of the chief officers and the staff. Mr. Coom, resident engineer, responded to the toast of " The District Officers," and alluded to the efficiency of the Auckland staff, and the cordial relations existing between officers and men. During the evening Mr. Armstrong, the chief traffic clerk, on behalf of the staff of the Auckland section, made the presenta tion to Mr. Hudson of a .splendid microscope, and referred to the good feeling which existed between Mr. Hudson and the railway employees generally. The reason for deciding upon the giftselected was that Mr. Hudson took an interest and pleasure in scientific pursuits. Mr. Hudson replied in suitable terms, and said the present would the means of providing many an evening's pleasure to himself and family. He will be a passenger to-day by the s.s. Takapuna for Wellington, in order to assume his new duties as assistant-general manager of the New Zealand railways.

In their struggle to appear progressive, South Australian legislators have quite Outstripped those of New Zealand. In the Assembly the Adulb Suffrage Bill was passed by a majority of more than two to one. The only alteration made in it was the insertion of permission for women living three miles from a polling booth, or who are near their confinement, to vote under the Absent Voters Act. The measure has already passed the Legislative Council, which is sure to accept this amendment, aid is therefore now virtually law. lb pinmits women to vote at the elections for Coundii and the Assembly, ami also to «d in Parliament..

At the legtaning of the year tb/new • Shops HoUrs'Act came into for<*> and clerks, in addition to ceasing wo£ at five p.m. in banks and private establshments, etc., have also to get off at one on Saturdays. On Saturday the Fact/y .Inspector (Mr. Ferguson) gob three fir/* tripping by working their clerks pasfe£»"> p.m. One firm pleaded ignorance o/tne Act and had nob perused it, a second/a nob understand the provisions of theAcb, while a third promised nob to offen/™ future, bub would procure a copy of th/ Acfc » and mark, ™ad, and inwardly dige^The interment the late Mrs. Moore, wife of Mr. J/*• 0. Moore, took place yesterday afte/ oon « ' D he Presbyterian Cemetery, ffmonds-streeb. The high esteem in wl* n the deceased Was held was fully evidenced by the large number of friends wp followed her remains to their last restijg-pl ace - About 80 members of Court N/Oesperandum, No. 6495, A.0.F., of whio« Brother Moore is senior trustee, and ap ufc SO members of Lodge Pioneer, Nati/al Independent Order of Oddfellows, mar directly in front of the hearse, the valgus members being in full, mourning rXalia. An impressive service was- conducted ab the grave by Mr. George AidAge, of the Church of Christ, of which /hurch deceased was an esteemed adherent, '

I The following extract from a letter received by Dr. Bakewoll from the late Mr. R. L. Stevenson a few months ago sheds a melancholy lighb on one of the causes of his lamented death— overwork. For a man of his feeble physique to employ himself in hard bodily labour as a reliof from the severest mental labour was a fatal mistake. Dr. Bakewell fully intended to write again to Mr. Stevenson warning him of this, bub unfortunately his own severe illness, which occurred shortly after the receipt of the letter, delayed him, until too late:— "August 7th. Dear Dr. Bakewell,—l am nob more than human, I am more human than is wholly convenient, and your anecdote was welcomed. What you say about unwilling work, my dear sir, is a consideration always present with me, and yet not easy to give its due weight. . . . However, I am off _ work this month, and occupy myself, instead, in weeding my cacao, paper chases, and the like. I may tell you my average of work in favourable circumstances is far greater than you suppose. From six o'clock till eleven at latest [sic— evidently a mistake] and often till twelve, and aizain in the afternoon from two to four. My hand is quite destroyed, as you may perceive to-day, to a really unusual extent. I can sometimes write a decent fist still, bub I have just returned with my arms all [word illegible] from three hours' work in the cacao. Thanking you for your kind letter, remain yours truly, Robert Louis Stevenson." The anecdote referred to in the above letter was this : A boy of fourteen was asked whether he bad read " Treasure Island." The reply was, " Read Treasure Island ! Every boy has read Treasure Island ; I've read ib four times 1" In sending this anecdote to Mr. Stevenson, Dr. Bakewell wrote that he must be " more than human " if he were nob pleased with it.

Some of our settlers on the West Coast have tried various experiments for keeping back tho advance of drift of sand inland to the detriment of their farms. The Otago Daily Times gives the following account of experiments made there with marram grass. It says :—"lt is satisfactory to learn that the experiment) of planting marram grass on the exposed sandy face at the heads is proving a success iu every respecs. About three tons have been planted altogether, and it has now advanced so far as to be coming into flower. At first it was planted in selected spots, but a trial was given it in exposed situations, and ib was found to grow freely even in dry sand without a bit of soil to give it a start. The sand drifting up formed little hillocks round the plants, and Mr. Stephens, the Harbour Board Inspector, informs us that in such cases it was feared that the plant would be lost, bub instead of this the roots sent out shoots at the base of the hillock, and the plant continued to thrive amazingly. The seed has the advantage of being light, and there can be little doubt that through the spread from this source and. from the roots combined the present unsightly barren face will shortly be transformed into a beautiful green space. _ Ib is claimed for marram grass that it is practically indestructible, and that in exposed shifting sand it propagates as surely as in the most sheltered position, and these merits seem to be fully borne out by the experiments made by the Harbour Board. It takes 3630 plants to the acre, and there are about 2800 plants to the ton, so that 1 ton 6dwt will cover an acre. A plant consists of as much grass as a man can conveniently hold in his hand."

A committee of the Adelaide Ministers' Association, in a manifesto on the subject of gambling, state that6weeps are promoted in the places of business in the city to a shocking extent among young men and women. The boys and girls iu the schools and colleges are following in the steps of their seniors. The gambling spirit has fastened itself nob only upon the horse race, but upon cycling, cricket, football, and every other recreation. Some of the suggestions made were : No raffling at church bazaars, no playing for money in the home, prohibition of gambling in warehouses, offices, and workshops, prohibition of newspaper publication of betting tips, and the withdrawal of Governors of the colonies from ths racecourse.

The race between naval cutters, manned by crews from the Auckland Naval Artillery and the Devonporb Torpedo Corps took place on Saturday afternoon, and resulted in a decided win for the Auckland men. The course was from the wharf at Calliope Dock, round the Watchman, and back to the starting point, a distance of about seven miles. The Auckland men rowed in their own new cutter, and the Torpedo men in the Iselson belonging to tbePonsonby Navals. The steam launch Despatch, on board of which were Colonel Goring, Mr. E. W. Alison (Mayor of Devonport), several of the officers of H.M.B Ringdove, Captains Parker and Little, and other friends, followed the race, as also did the Ferry Company'a steamer Eagle with a large number of excursionists. Mr. Alex. Alison officiated as starter, Mr. A. G. Johnston (of Wellington) umpire, and the Rev. Canon Mac Murray judge. Shortly after half-past four o'clock Mr. Alison sent the crews off to a very good start, and the Auckland men at once took the lead, and kept it the whole way, finishing 2m 50s. ahead. The prize was for trophies valued at £10.

The following from the Wellington Posb will be of interest to fishermen :—The Customs authorities are enforcing the new regulations which ' raised the standard weight of rock cod from 4oz to Boz. N. Fernandez, of Lambton-quay, was summoned in the Magistrate's Court to-day for a breach of the regulations, Mr. F. Moorhouße, the inspector, having: last week seized a number of undersized fish in defendant's smokehouse. Defendant, for whom Mr. Wilford appeared, said he was ignorant of the new regulation, and he believed that none of the fisherman about knew of it having been brought into force. The fish in question were consigned to him from the French Pass. Mr. Martin, S.M., pointed out that it was defendant's duty to make himself acquainted with the law. The penalty prescribed was £50, but as this was the first case under the new regulation he would only inflict the nominal fine of 40s and costs, 13s. '•■-

Lord Sandhurst, chairman of the Weekly Board of the Middlesex Hospital, forwards us an appeal on behalf of the fund now being raised for providing a separate wing for female cancer patients at the above institution. His Lordship says:—" H.R.H. the Prince of Wales recently presided at a festival to aid the Middlesex Hospital .in providing additional accommodation in a separate wing for the female cancer patients. The treatment of cancer his always been a special feature of the Middlesex hospital, and for over a century three wards for females with 26 beds, and a ward for males with nine beds, have been set apart for sufferers from tho terrible malady. They are admitted to the department without letters of recommendation and receive gratuitously everything for their benefit that human skill and kindness can suggest for the remainder of their lives."

A few days ago a resident of Napier captured a kahawai, and fastened on to the tail of this fish was a flat cray-like insect with multitudinous feelers and ferocious tentacles, by means of which he was slowly draining the life-blood from the animal, which latter was fully 200 times the size of the parasites. "•