LOCAL, AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9713, 8 January 1895, Page 5

LOCAL, AND GENERAL NEWS.

■ •» * l ; Amongst the passengers by the Mararoa; was the Hon Jacob Garrard, New South i ! Wales Minister of Education, who is making the round trip of the colony. The ! hon. gentleman's chief object in visiting Mew Zealand is to inquire into, and see for himself, the working of the Labour Bureau, . in view of the establishment in the sister % polony of a proposed new Department of j Industry, of which he is to bo the Minis-1 terial head. Mr. Garrard leaves for the South today by the Mararoa. The dividend at the rate of fire per cent, per annum by the National Bank, announced by cable in our columns yesterday, it advertised to-day as payable on and after the 19th instant. The directors of the , National Bank are evidently determined to continue on the careful lines of administration which they marked out for themselves some time since. A little while ago a visitor from America called at the Harbour Board offices, and had a chat with Mr. Brigham as to the ravages of the teredo in wooden , piles. Mr. Brigham, who is an enthusiast; i on New Zealand woods, averred the heart ! of totara was the only wood that could withstand the teredo, a marine insect, i harmless looking enough, but good for i completelydestroying an ordinary pile well within two years. Piles of totara heart, i Mr. Brigham said, were good for a life of | 25 years, and he furnished his American , visitor with a sample to take back to ; the States for experimental purposes. j Within the last week there has been . brought, by Mr. Percy M. Hadley, under j the notice of the Harbour Board, a , section of a teredo-proof pile of common j lumber which has been submerged in San , Francisco for seven years and is now as j sound as on the day it was first driven. , Like the white ant the teredo has a strong , objection to crossing seams. Working on | this the pile has been constructed of pieces ( of boarding about one inch thick, the joints < being cemented by a composition. The ( pile shows no indication of teredo whatever, , except in the layer which has been imme- s iiately in contact with the water. Experts ( who have seen the section here say that a , totara pile, built on the same principle, ] would be practically indestructible. I ' Tho timber trade with the South Sea ' Islands appears to be developing into l larger proportions. Mr. Thomas Herbert, ( of the Premier Joinery Works, near the ! Railway Wharf, is at present busy fulfilling 1 a large order for carvings and for seats, I etc., for one of the Free Churches in Tonga. ' It appears that numerous orders for timber -i are coming in from the South Sea Islands, f and with judicious fostering lb is stated, ' a remunerative trade can be built up. c Yesterday morning a young girl named . Mabel Bacon had a narrow escape from t drowning at the North Shore. The girl t with a number of others was bathing near . the old Admiralty Reserve inside of the j North Head, and got out of her depth. A i, very strong current runs at thi'.' place, and , the girl was being swept away by it when | fortunately nome gentlemen came upon the g scene, and effected a rescue just in time, t as when she was brought ashore she w»8 quite exhausted. The dangerous nature of , the bathing place was brought ' before the • Devonport Borough Council at its meeting ' last night, and the matter was referred to 1 the Works Committee with power to act. ' Th« committee will visit the spot on Friday f next, and see what Bteps are necessary to [ take in order to make it safe for bathers. [ Mr. Northcroft, S.M., at the Police Court 1 yesterday morning, cautioned one first 1 offender for drunkenness. He also, on the > application of Sergeant Gamble remanded, until the 11th instant, John Chappell, i charged with having; on New Year's Day, g broken into the Upper Pitt-street Primitive t Methodist Chapel, and stolen 25a worth of t provisions. x

! jVoui a report from the master of the 1 (1 tley Home, read at the meeting of the Hspital and Charitable Aid Board, yesber6v, it would seem that what is known as The Charlotte Chambers' case" is not an ttlated one. Twelve days after that sisode, namely, on the 17th December, aother woman was confined in a cab prepus to reaching the l.'ostley Home. The (atron attended to the woman at once on aching the Home, and made her comfort>le. The child was found alive in the cab, id is now doing well. It appears that some 200 Arawas may e expected to-morrow evening, by train •om Rotorua, on an excursiou to Auckland, 'he chiefs have received special invitations rom the Premier. The party can return a Rotorua either on Thursday, Saturday, r Tuesday next. lb is not known whether ny arrangements have been made for ousing the dusky visitors during their isit to Auckland, bub the railway authoriies are only concerning themselves with he question of transportation. We have to acknowledge receipt of Bond's Llmanac, Diary, and Directory for 1895, and rinted and published by Mr. J. S. Bond, Cambridge, Waikato. This is the sixth tinual issue of. the Waikato almanac, and i contains a large quantity of new latter. The descriptive portion has een re-written, while the legal infortation has been brought up to date, specially as regards the legislation of ,st session of the General Assembly. he Rev. J. H. Simmonds contributes a aper on "Gardening," A third-class passenger, by the R.M.S. rmnz, from England, in transit for New jealand, whose surname is believed to be Duller, met with a serious accident on loan! the vessel on the 2nd instant at lydney. From what can be gathered by he police it seems that M tiller was descending the companion-way, leading to lie steerage quarters, when he fell on his load, fracturing his skull. He was adpitted into the Sydney Hospital in a critical Condition.

A short time ago a man arrived from >apier in a bad state of health, who almost 3 soon as he landed came to the offices of ie Charitable Aid Board. The Board romptly shipped the applicant back to lapier, "and forwarded the little bill for his assage money to the Napier Charitable .id Board. That Board repudiate the [aim, but the Auckland Board have again ppealed to them to re-consider their deision, at the same time supplying them ith all the needful facts. Some thirty picked male and female arriors of the Ngatiwhakauae tribe purose taking the City Hall for a short jason, commencing on Thursday evening ext, and giving some great Maori hakas, i a number of the most ancient and weird :yles. The performance will be somewhat f a novelty to many of our citizens. Yesterday afternoon the fireballs, rang at an alarm of fire, and it proved to be in seven-roomed residence in Grafton Road,

jwned by Mr. J. M. Patterson, builder, *nd occupied by Mr. HeKman, piano im Sorter, Queen-street. There was no one in the house at the time of the outbreak, and tie fire appeared to have originated at a ' partition between the kitchen and a spare room, behind a gas stove. Mr. J. Ford, a nen door neighbour, and Mr. Alex. Congletonlgot the loan of Miss Stimpson's hose, acd¥ept the fire in check until the arrival of me Fire Brigade and Salvage Corps. Mr. Hegman had been in the house early in the ift«rnoon, but had gone to the Grafton load bowling-green, and was there when the aarra of fire was given. The kitchen stove fid not been lighted for the last two years, agas stove being used, but the meter was famed off, and everything left apparently sfe. The total damage will only be about £0. The house and that adjoining belong t> Mr. Patterson, and are stated to be iisured for £500 or £600 in the Norwich Inion. Mr. Hegman's furniture and effects ware insured in the Northern for £170. Sitgeant Gamble and a detachment of pence went "out to render assistance if it wjfe needed. Our Tuakau correspondent writes: — Mr. James Smith's house was accidentally bjrned to the ground on Sunday night. Nothing was saved, and the inmates nar rowly escaped with their lives. On Saturday night a case of assault and robbery took place in Hopetoun-street, the victim being Mr. Samuel Wing, book--1 keeper at Messrs. Hellaby'a establishment, fcShortland-street, and who]resides in Mackel- ' vie-street, Surrey Hills. He left business s at nine o'clock, and after a stroll in Queenstreet he proceeded homewards, via Karangahape Road. On reaching Howe-street, he took a short cut commonly used by pedestrians, by walking across a vacant block into Hopetoun-street, at the back of the reservoir, and on towards Ponsonby Road. When Mr. Wing had got as ar aa the fence of the reservoir en-

j flosure, he noticed two men, one of ' whom hit him, and knocked him down, |i apparently with a weapon. He got up and struck one of them with his umbrella, 1 breaking the handle. Mr. Wing states he was again struck repeatedly on tho head, and knocked down and half-stunned. When he recovered consciousness his assailants had moved away, and he heard one of them say, " You've not half searched him." Mr. Wing got a wound three inches long on the head and a bad cut on the left ear, and bled freely through his injuries. He got bis wounds attended to. Robbery was apparently the object, as on searching his pockets he found one sovereign and six shillings in silver missing. Some pound notes in his vest pocket and a watch, however, were not taken. Yesterday Mr. Wing was able to attend to his duties, but with his head bandaged. The detectives have the matter in hand, but so far have been unable to throw any light on the outrage. Various enquiries have been made by correspondents as to whether Anniversary Day has been changed from January '29th to January 30th. Some time ago the Hon. Dr. Pollen pointed out that the 30th January was the correct date historically, but on enquiring yesterday at the Government departments, we were informed that no instructions or information have been received from Wellington on the matter. The experiences of a representative of the Christchurch Press who had been travelling through the Clutha district have been such as to convince him that prohibition so far in New Zealand was proving as much of a failure as it is reported to be in America and, nearer home, at Mildura. " I do nob say," he writes, " that a policeman in plain clothes or a well-known detective could go into the Clutha district and purchase liquor straight off; but from what I saw, and from ray own personal experience, 1 am convinced that this prohibition business is a complete farce from beginning to end, and that the sooner fresh licenses are granted bo the respectable class of houses tho better. With the exception of the two cases cited, I cannot say that I saw any drunkenness during my week's ramble, but I witnessed sufficient to convince me that man in the Clutha district is quite as frail and human now as he was when whisky and beer could be purchased under the eyes of the law. If people want drink they will have it; and if they have money they can purchase as much as they feel disDosed for, and in any given quantities, from the 10 or 5-gallon keg to the modest tankard, from the two-gallon jar, the demijohn, the bottle, half-bottle, pocket pistol, or ordinary nobbier. It may, in the smaller quantities, be given various names, bub under whatever guise it is served it is equally intoxicating. Most of the bars appeared to be kept open, and at various hours of the day and during the evening I saw a good many people enter and come out. In tome cases the bar door would be closed during the time of service, but as often as not the people would be served openly, with what 1 could not always tell. - Sometimes they would go into an inner room, and come out with a jovial smile and the back of their hand crossing their lips. I saw people served with beer and with whisky, and in a number of instances saw it paid for." The regular monthly meeting of the ladies' lodge Lily of the Valley was held last evening in the Probesbant Hall, Newton. There was a large attendance of members. During the evening, a large photograph was presented by Mr. J. Colli*, of Sydney, on behalf of the ladies' lodge, Daughters of Derry, Sydney, to the lodge. The president acknowledged the gift, and expressed the hope that at a future, date the Auckland lodge would return the compliment. Afterwards the lodge was closed in due form. The mulleb industry is stated to be fairly prosperous in the Kaipara district. As showing the abundance of this fine fish in the Kaipara waters, on one occasion last year a single haul of the nets secured 580 dozen mullet. f : '' ;; -:/V, n :"..' i

A Maori named Haiti Takaramene has been brought up from New Plymouth having been arrested on a warrant ***<* at Mercer in May last alleging that he did steal certain cattle. The Sydney Morning Herald of the 3rd instant gives the following particularsi of the experience in an electrical storm of the brigantine Anthons on the passage from the Kaipara to Sydney :— At eight p.m. on the previous Saturday the lightning was powerful, and claps of thunder were so loud that some of the "watch" below felt like turning out. "It was dangerously near," said the master, speaking of the lightning, and at a about half-past eight o'clock an aerolite of considerable size burst with a terrific report close to the starboard foretopmasb backstay, scattering into a myriad of small fragments. An " ordinary seaman, Richard Johnson, who was standing near the mizzenmast, was so affected that he did not fully recover for some hours, and everyone on deck experienced a shock. As the vessel was unmistakably right in the track of the storm the watch on deck were ordered below for safety, and the helm lashed down. The captain and his mate sprang into the comuanion way, and only just reached there when a second aerolite burst with a report equal to that of a, heavy gun, and within a few yards of the spot they had jusb left. A third explosion followed seven minutes later. No one ventured on deck, bub. several tremendous reports were heard some distance from the vessel, These hart a sharp cracking sound. The watch below declared to each other that one of the masts had gone. Throughout this display, the lightning was absolutely continuous, and the roar of the thunder appalling, lne wind, originally in the north-east, ? flew round the compass, and about ten o clock settled in the north-east again, blew tresh, then shifted suddenly to north, later to west, then south, and finished in the southeast with clear sky. The barometer at the timo was 29-95, thermometer 75'.

A sad fatality occurred near Murchison, Victoria, on New Year's Day, two sons of Michael Minter, of Dhurringile fetation, losing their lives Ono of the youths, named Geoffrey, went into the water for a duck he had shot, but. got out of his depth, and, being unable to swim, lie sank. His brother Charles plunged into his assistance, but was heavily weighted by leggings and shooting gear, and was unable to regain the bank. Both were drowned.

By a fire which occurred in a dwellinghouse at Tingha (N.S.W.), two children Stanley and Pearl Gray, aged three and seven years respectively, were burned to death. It appears that their mother went out about seven p.m., leaving her two children in charge of Ruby Smith, aged ten years. A candle was left burning at the bedside, and when it burnt out the little girl lighted another and placed it against the lookingglass and fell asleep. She was awakened by her being burnt. She immediately took the little girl out from among the flames, but could not get back to rescue the little boy. Her screams brought several neighbours to her assistance, and one burst open the door and heroically rushed through the flames and brought the child out; but it was too late, as the body was terribly charred, and life was extinct. The little girl wan so severely burnt that she only lived a few hours. The farcical comedy season at the Opera House closed yesterday evening, when Williamson and Musgrove's Company reproduced " The New Boy." There was a large and highly-pleased audience. The company leave to-day for Gisborne. Ruth's Island, Waiheke, appears ..to be one of the most popular holiday resorts of the season. Over 40 visitors were staying there during the Christmas and New Year holidays. A large number of excursionists visited the island on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and the bays of the island were largely patronised by the Auckland yachtsmen. The island is easily accessible from Auckland by the steamer Coromandel, and affords ample opportunity for spending a very pleasant holiday in boating, fishing, sea bathing, etc. The beautiful bays of the island, facing, as they do, all the points of the compass, are the special features of the place, and give a variety not I possessed by any other seaside resort.

A correspondent over the signature of " Traveller," writes a long letter warning would-be gumdiggers not to be induced to go to gumfields for which gumdiggers are invited by advertisement, until they have learned full particulars respecting the alleged prospects in store for them, as there are few gum-bearing districts in the province which have not been well dug over by either Europeans or Maoris.