LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10378, 1 March 1897, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Senate of the New Zenianij;'lJni?erl eity continued its sibtinß at Ufternmenb House Buildings, on Saturdayforenoon. Sir James Hector (Chancellor) iqthe chair. A large amount of formal bifineaswas transacted, and Sir Robert (tout' g W( j . notice to move this (Monday morning, " That the Senate of the Njiy Zea|and : University, again respeetfull[ urge th« Government to provide an effipent endow; ment for the middle district if New Zeai land University College. A detailed account of Saturday's prqceedngß appearj f in another coluiu. Tl.e weather along the cost during the i past few days has been very bid, and all the : vessels arriving report excejtionally thick ." and heavy weather. On Friday night' th« Government steamer Tutanjka; had to lie" under Tiritiri all night owiw to the thjck ■ darkness and bad weather. , The Bteame'r' Stella, coming down from \Vhananaki with a raft of logs for Messrs.'Leiland, O'Brien, and Co., also encountered $e heavy wind and sea. The wind is reported as being i quito a gale, ranging from northeastto M south-west, witn a heavy sea. The barque Einpreza, which sailed for Sydney on Wed. " nesday last, ran back upiler the North | Head on Saturday night, owing tothV ' strong head wind and sea. It is remarkeji by shipmasters generally that there hasrioV been such a continued prevalence of north'. . east winds alone the coast for many yearsas has prevailed during the past>Jfe,w months. Qn Friday night and SutWday morning about two inches of rain fell,' • • . On Saturday Sir Maurice O'Rorksf ai chairman of the Board of Governor of the Auckland College and Grammar School; received through the Government a cablegram from the Agent-General announcing that Mr. Williim John Worrell,,of- the University of Oiford, had been selected to . supply the vacancy caused by the death of ■ Mr, Jlbert, formerly Classical and English Master. From the Oxford University Calendar it appears that Mr. Mprrell obtained a Balliol scholarship in 188s,' first V class honours in Classics in 1887, honours in 1889, and the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1800. From this it would appear th?t Mr. Morrell's aoudemio that could be desired. What his experience in teaching may have been will not be known till the arrival of the next San : : Francisco mail, but it was one of the ',' conditions that experience in teaching was essential. Mr. Morrell will probably arrive ' next month to enter on his duties in May. The selection was made by the Agent- : General and Mr. H..W. Eve, M.A.y' head' master of University College School, Gower-etreot, London. ■ j' . At the ordinary meeting of the Harbour. .' Board, which takes place tomorrow, Mr; Bell ia to move that certain open epacea between sheds on the Queen-street , Wharf and Quay-street Wharf be roofed in, and ■;, that shed I on the latter wharf be extended 90 feet. He is also to tnovo for estimates of tho cose of- extending flobson-strseb . Wharf 300 foot, aud of erecting hydraulic lifting machinery at the end of Queen-street Wharf, Mr. Napier's motion re the estab« lishment of a naval coaling depot will also come on, and Mr. Niccol is ro move for a: report of improvements at Hobson-street Wharf which would bettor adapt it for traffic. Mr. Nupier will move that the, Finance and Legal Committee report as to what suitable site is available for the pur* pose of a house for the admiral, and submit such data as may be necessary to enable the Board to determine the best means of providing such a house.

Lasb year there were no less than nine of the Hospital nurses stricken down with typhoid. This yoar one has juet recorered from an attack, while another has been seized with typhoid, and is laid aside from duty. It is believed thab the long hours of night duty—l2| hours nightly for alternate periods of two months each—with the : inevitable running down of the syetem, renders them more susceptible to disease and less capable of wardinK it off, The whole of the nursing staff, with some isolated exceptions, petitioned the authorities for a return , to the old system ; of monthly turns of night duty, but thab is the last they have ever heard of their petition. Instead of the holidays being grantod on an automatic system in whjca each nurse would know when her turn came, and what the extent of her leaje, the holidays are intermittent, on the plea that the nursing staff is short, and some qf the nurses in their second year have not yet, it is stated, got the full leave they'were, entitled to in their first year. Some of the members of the Hospital and Gharittihle Aid Boiird think the eight-hour might be introduced, as 12| hours of night duty is too trying and exhausting in oar ; long, mufjgy summer nights. The matter has been brought before Mr. Forgueoii, of the Labour Bureau, but he does not think his powers extend to the Hospital, which can scarcely be described as "a factory, : but he is keeping cognisance of the matter, in view of changes which may be made by law. If artisan- find 41 hours quite enough for them to work weekly, it does look like "another injustice to woman" to make Hospital nurses put in 85f hours.

The Mutual Life Asuociaoipn of Auetraliisia have every reason to be gratified 1 1 with the reception accorded by the insuring | public to the new forms of policy, which : | were offered at the beginning of the present v year. Table G, for instance, guaranteeing, | in case of failure to pay premium after three ■, years, absolute assurance in proportion to \ the number of premiums paid, has most decidedly "caught on," and the Association, ever desirous of affording all information to its patrons, has now issued a feo. simile of this model policy in reduced form, showing the whole contract and tin amounts of absolute assurance secured.-by•■; | each annual premium paid. Tins system possesses distinct advantages over.tn»» obtaining under other plans, where, in.caw of default, of payment of premium, .''«■ policy runs fqr a your or more on its sur- .:, render value, and eventually lapses alt* gether, leaving the unfortunate f»W i Without any protection whatever. -*«« present indications the business « -W' -. n Association for tho present year bids If" to largely exceed that of 1806. ,% . The inquest on the mail sk ?'feS died at the Hospital on Friday '»R h "1 : fracture of the skull, had to bo portponw on Saturday, owing to its not being possible to obtain tho attend Pf tM ■ necessary witnesses,". It will take place ,;;;;, the hospital by Dr. Philson,. COpner, W» , -morhingi at 10 o'clock. |

. ; The following returns haye been received'of the voting of school committees . for membership of the Board of Education, :—Papatootoe, Messrs, Reed, Lambe, and Jfobbs; Paeroa, Messrs. Heed, Lainbe, Bagnall: Grafton, Messrs. Reed, Mnjr, I Lembe. I ■ \i will be teen from our obituary column I that a very old Auckland colonise has ! passed away in the person ot Captain '■ Kichard MacKay, shipbuilder, of Grahamestreet, at the ripe age of 73. He was a native of Scotland, having been born at Edinburgh) and served his apprenticeship with Hull, of Aberdeen, the well-known shipbuilder. Subsequently he went to the pea, and ultimately emigrated to Australia shortly after the outbreak of the Victorian jjoldlielde. In 185S he left Melbourne for Auckland, and commenced business as shipbuilder at what was then known as yirtb Rock at foot of Hobson and Albertstreets, where he built the schooners Joanna and Strathnever, besides general repairing : trork. When he launched the Strathnever he took command and traded with her i to the West Coaat and to the Islands. Disposing of the Strathnever at Lyttelton, Captain McKay came back to Auckland, and recommenced shipbuilding iu Freeman's Bay, where he built the brigantine Matchi less, took command and sailed her for nine months for a Germau firm in Samoa. He then built several coasters, and the brigantine Defiance, which is at present running under his ownership. The latter vessel he jailed for some time, and then retired from the sea in order to build the barque Northern Chief, which he owned, and which is now in command of one of his eons, Captain John MacKay. After completing tho building of the Northern Chief, Captain , McKay retired from active business life. Deceased leaves a widow and family of nine children, five eons and four daughters, all of whom are married, save one of the daughters. The interment) takes place to-morrow at Purewa Cemetery, and in accordance with deceased's wishes will be private. We are glad to learn that His Worship the Mayor is recovering from his illness, and expects to be able to attend to official ' duties in the course of a few days. I We understand that) Mr. John Kays will be a candidate for the Parnell Licensing j Committee. The elections take place about ! the end of March. : The Auckland police authorities have received a telegram from Aratapu, stating that Constable Scott had arrested at that township George W. Ciilmer, a clerk in the : l; employ of the Northern Steamship Com- [ pany, Auckland (on warrant), on a charge \ of theft of £65, moneys of the said company, Accused will be brought down to . Auckland to-day or to-morrow in answer to Jj the charge. :' According to the general prediction in Zadkiel's Almanao for the year 1597, New Zealand will be visited by drought, which will be very destructive to crops. The 1j ■, planet Mars in the fourth house is evil for I the Government, whose foe: will be power- . ful and will probably overthrow it. There will be much epidemic sickness. An improvement in trade is predicted. A great shipwreck seems to be presignified by the presence of Saturn and Uranus in the ninth house. The book was published at London in October of lasb year, and, eo far, the prognostications poinb to fulfilment.

A meeting was held on Sa.bu.rday evening at the Metropolitan Hotel, in connection with the projected Northern Rifle Club. There wore about 30 persons present) connected with the Volunteer movement, or interested in rifle shooting. Mr. Koarsley presided. Mr. Hovell, surveyor, described the proposed rango ab the North Shore, between Sunnyside and Melrose, on au inlet) of Shoal Bay, which he illustrated by a diagram. It was vested in the Harbour Board. Ib was stated that the expense of formation would be trifling, and ranges would be provided from 200 up to 700 yards. It had also the advantages of being flat, giving safety, a good back ground, and all materials for formation were in the vicinity. After a general discussion, in which Messrs. VV. B. White, Webster, Spinley, Diddams, and the chairman took part, Mr. Webster moved, and Mr, Hovell seconded, that a Northern Rifle Club be formed, for tho promotion of rifle shooting among riflemen and civilians. The motion was carried unanimously. Mr. Diddams moved, seconded by Mr, Krotechmar, that Messrs. Webster, Hovell, and the mover be appointed a committee to approach tho Harbour Board, in reference to obtaining the proposed rifle range, and to report to a fnture meeting as to the result and cost of equipping the range. The proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to Mr. Hoveli for the trouble ho had taken in the matter, and also to the chairman for presiding.

Last night, in the Mutual Life Buildings Miss Lilian Edger, M.A., lectured to a large audience on "Karma and Re-incarna-tion." Ab the end of tho lecture a collection was taken on behalf of those suffering from the famine in India. The Indian section of the Theosophical Society under the guidance of Mrs. Bcsant, is acting as a distributing agent in this connection.

This evening, at the City Hall, the production of Mr. Alfred Hill's operatic Maori legend," Hinemoa," will take place. If the reception given by the large audience who were present at the final rehearsal of " Hinernoa" on Saturday evening at the Choral Hall is an index of what will take placo to-night, there is little doubt, that, as at Wellington, the production will prove an unqualified success. The charm of Mr. Hill's work will be found in its great originality, and in the fact that the legend of " Hinemoa" is of local interest. The first part of the programme will be con« tributed solely by M. Musin's Company, including Madame Musin, Herr Scharff, and the talented violinist himself.

The box-plan for the forthcoming season of Pollard's Opera Company will be opened this morning. In view of the glowing accounts of the opening attraction, " Boccaccio," and of the excellent manner in which it is dressed and mounted, there should be a crowded house on Thursday to witnoss the initial production. A feature of the production is, that every item used from beginning to end, was made in Now Zealand.

The entries for the Auckland Amateur Athletic Club's Autumn Carnival of Saturday, March 13th, closed with the secretary, Mr. W. 0. Speight, at the Metropolitan Hotel on Saturday evening, and are amongsc the largest yet) received for this particular gathering. Several men from outside districts will take part, including Gisbornp, Waikato, and Wangsinui, the latter including A. H. Holder, the well-known champion. Handicaps for all events are duo on Thursday next, and acceptances dose on , Saturday. The second day of the Obahuhu Trotting Club's Summer Meeting announced for Saturday was postponed for a week on account of the bad weather. '■ A lunatic was brought up from the Thames on Saturday by Constable Flaiell.