LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10405, 1 April 1897, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Hon. Air. Hall-Jones has telegraphed | local members of the House of Represei ta< | tivea that the Government steamer Tu- 4 tanekai will leave the Alanakau at ten a.m. .1 on Sunday, instead of noon, as previously ' i arranged. • There was no other candidate nominated for the vacancy in the Board of Governor! of the Auckland College and Grammar ; School than Professor F. D. Brown, conseauently that gentleman will be declared duly elected. There was no inquest on the body of tbi gumdigger Ruddy, who was brought into the District Hospital, from Henderson) in ' state of unconsciousness, supposed to have ; bean brought on by an attack of apoplexy- ■ He did not recover consciousness or speak | before he died. : : .j. The case of alleged sly grog selling in the J-■*s[ Coromandel district it is stated will COID9 : .J on for bearing on Friday. ' ./HM on for hearing on Friday. . it

I. jjajor Banks to-day assumes commam j the Auckland district of volunteers, wit S, rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, it ma/ b «interest to give an outline of his career Iff Banks served in the 2nd Battalioi K Mti Foot (South Wales Borderers) as subal I m nearly eight years, when he was trait J Led to the 12th Royal Lancers, and wa : Sunt in that regiment five and a ha! i ' aw' promoted captain in the 7t: I hraeo'on Guards, and also major in the 7t! SiS nrseooo Guards. Major Banks took par % ( !•«captain with the 7th Dragoon Guard H ;; to the Egyptian Campaign in 1882, whei •' !° ha( hie horse shot under him in action y-t 1»; 'j eived for his services in this cam If ' nateo the order of the Medjidie (4th class] >t| ' P|. e r medal and bronze star. During tl< J r ' ter part of his service he held the up Pf |i w i„tment of Commandant Kasauli M lj> I Kgp6t, Punjab, India, and has also nek & ; Jther regimental and staff appointment! |: ' durii? his service. M i Yesterday was the 33rd anniversary o ■' 1 the judgement at Orakau Pa, near Kiln •I f ki \Vaikato. The storming party coir 51 listed 4 the 2nd battalion 18tli Royal Irish if their le.der, Captain Rine, being mortallj '& woundel. One of the oflicSrs of the colo i nial fores. Maor Hereford, of the Waikat< i militia, was also wounded, in leading hi: i men, anl subsequently died of his wound! § atOtaliuiu. The European attacking forct if lost 54 Hied and wounded, and the native 1 mrrisonibout 180 in defending the pa ant | in their ight through a swamp. 5 A meting of the Council of the Aucks land Intitule was held yesterday. Pre I sent:— Ir. Roborton (president), Dr. PurI cbas,' lessrs. J. Batger, W. Berry, H. 1 Camphf'i C. Cooper, J. Stewart, E. A. S Jlaekeonie, and J. Reid. Mr. A. Mont I eomerywas elected as a member of the 1 Institus. A report was read from the ;v Builds Committee, giving particulars i respsc l the progress of tho new build- | jog, ' I ' ie secretary (Mr, Cheeseman) read •j a atafcfaont' ol the anticipated revenue and ■) expen' tUl ' or " ext y earrom which it | appet'ed that there would be a balance to ff credi The question of Mr. T. Russell's i propyl to form a collection of minerals | (atatd in another column) was then disI cuss;!, with some other items of business, ~ Aballot was hold yesterday at eleven j o'clck, at tho Crcwn Lands office, for the j selecion of five fections of land in the Oporiao Block, near Whakatane. Bay of piety, which was purchased by the Governient some time ago. There were 92 appoints for the five sections, and of these, (Severe disqualified. Mr. Mueller (Crown Lalis Commissioner) conducted the ballot, i vb:h resulted in the following settlers obj taidng the desired sections on lease in \ peDOtuitySection 1, block 9, Whaka- ! taD survey district, Elizabeth Butter- ! wotb, area 159 acres 3 roods 15 poles, rent 2s per acre; scction 2, S. E. Crapp, area 191 acres 3 roods 26 poles, rout 3s per acre ; mtior 13, E. Broderick, area 116 acres 1 rood If poles, rent 2s 4d per acre ; section IS, bljck 13, A. F. McGongan, area 105 ctes, rent 7s 4d per acre; section 11, \Vm, Shepherd, area 97 acres, rent Cs 8d per cere. Ail the land in the Opouriao Blots is now taken up by settlors. Itis stated that a number of the employes of the Colonial Sugar Refining Coiipany have been discharged at the Supr Works, Chelsea. A large quantity of bet sugar is at present being imported to lew Zealand from Gormany, and it is gait, this has had an unfavourable cffect on theaolooial markot. 'he Sydney Morning Herald of March 23.ias the following The twenty-eighth actual report of the Mutual Life Associate of Australasia is a more than usually fuourable one. The new business excelled that recorded in any previous 12 tooths of the Association's history. 2605 iroposals had been received, for sums .mounting to £881,001 ; 587 of these had aeon declined or not taken up, or were in course of completion, for £200,851. 2018 policies had been issued, for £677,150 (including annuities for £129, the consideration money being £1637), producing in new annual premiums £18,040 9s fld. A branch office, with an influential Board of Director, had been established in April last at Perth, Western Australia. The directors were confident that tho initial expense of this extension of operations, and the addi- | tional outlay necessitated by the acquisition of a larger volume of new business (to which' the branch had made a valuable contribution), would be fully compensated for by a continued increase in the future annual premium income. The investments had been written down by £10,530, making the total sum so applied during the last four years £42,806. That it had not been necessary to "write off" a larger amount was due to the conservative policy pursued in previous years of never " writing up" the assets. The interest revenue had again proved more than sufficient to pay claims by death and endowment assurances matured during the year, with bonuses added; and the "outstanding interest "at close of accounts, £874, was dwelt on with satisfaction as being remarkably small. The actual amount of renewal premiums had been £126,222, of new premiums £15,278, and of interest and rents £54,579; the total revenue for the year, £197,721. Tho total payment of policyholders had been £97,286. The amount of funds at the end of the year was £1,135,760, as compared with £1,767 at the beginning of it. The Launceston Examiner of the 17th ultimo contains a lengthy obituary notice of an old Aucklander, Mr. John Giinn, of that city, who was senior partner of tho wellknown firm of J. and T. Gunn, who have ; for a quarter of a century carried on an extensive business as builders and contractors. He died of a pulmonary affection I after a short illness, having vainly visited England and America in search of health. Mr. Gunn's early career was a fight with difficulties. He entered the service of the lato Mr. George Modes, father of, Mr. George Rhodes, builder, of this city, as an improver, who soon after left for Auckland. A little later Mr. Rhodes induced Mr. Gunn to follow him to this city. Mr. Gunn served in the Waikato as a non-com-missioned officer in the Ist class Militia. Subsequently ho joined Mr. Rhodes in partnership. They wero very successful with their contracts, their operations extending over sonic seven years and including the erection of the Auckland premises of the Bank of New Zealand, several warehouses, and the construction of a large section of the main sewer. During the severe depression of 1868 Mr. Gunn went to the Thames, and shortly afterwards to Sydney, where, on bis first contract, he fell and narrowly escaped death. Oil his recovery ho returned to his old home, Launceston, where he founded, with his ' brother Thomas, the business which has become famous as a model business, scarcely a colonial business centre not being supplied with special building materials by these enterprising brothers, who had shiploads of kauri consigned to them in bulk and othorwise. The firm enjoyed a high reputation for carrying out their work thoroughly, and putting into it honest workmanship, which was the secret of their success. Mr, Gunn was an ardent student, self-taught. Knowing what his own boyhopd was, lie was a generous donor to tho Launceston Technical School, and worked on the committee. He leaves a widow and son to mourn their loss. One of his brothers, Mr. David Gunn, IB at present in New Zealand. r The quarterly meeting of the Manukau Circuit was held yesterday afternoon \n the Mangere Wesleyan Church, when 15 members were present, representing Onehunga, Mangere, and Otahuhu. The Rev. S. I.awry, chairman, gave an interesting account of the proceedings at the recent Wesleyan Conference. Mr. W. Westney, junior circuit steward, reported that 19 new members had been received into the Church ! during the quarter. The collections for 5 the quarter had increased by £10. Messrs. s C. C. Fleming, G. H. Douglass, H. J. I Davies, J. Robins, F. Norris, J, Harris, and £ H. W, Hilling were appointed a Circuit | Home Mission Committee. a The picnic of the Dovonport District I' School, which was hold at Pino Island yesterday, proved a decided success in every ;j' respect. Besides the teachers and pupils, a large number of parents and friends wero carried to the scene of the outing in the ferry steamers Osprey and Eagle. An exgfc; cellent programme of sports was gone tes. through most successfully, and other amuse* ments were provided for the young people. The weather and everything else combined to ensure a most enjoyable outing both for the children and their adult friends. ~' There were in the lockup last evening a I'. si|! woman on a charge of being drunk and disorderly and using obscene language, and |M{vWm; Small, for assaulting and robbing Win". Henry Stead. life.'

| Our Clevedon correspondent writes j— Death is fust thinning the ranks of those who have been the pioneer settlers of this district. Mr. William Clow died at his late residence, Papakara, on the 18th March, at the ripe age of S3 years. The funeral took place on the 20th March. The remains were followed to the grave, Papakura Presbyterian Church Cemetery, by a largo procession of the residents. The Rev. Thos, Norrie officiated at the grave. The late Mr. William Clow erected a flour mill forJhe natives at llataitai in 1856, and at the outbreak of the Maori war in 1863 was obliged to leave this district and reside at Papakura, whore he has been a respected settler until the time of his death. The deceased leaves a widow and largo family to mourn their loss. Mrs, Henderson, widow of the lato J. Henderson, died at her late residence, Ardmore, on March 22, at the advanced age of 81 years. The funeral took place on the 22nd March at 1 p.m. The remains were followed to the grave, Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Clevedon, by a large number of the residents. The chief mourners were Messrs. Henry, William, James and John Henderson (sons), Mr. William Parker (Jaggor* and Parker), son-in-law ,of deceased. The Rev. Thos. Nome performed the funeral service at the house and the grave. He paid a high tribute to the memory of deceased, the excellent Christian life that she had led for the lengthened period that he had known her. The lid of the coffin was covered with floral wreaths from sympathising friends. A boy named Oatos had the forefingor of his right hand cut off yesterday while working at the Onehutiga Woollen Works. Dr. Erson attended to tho boy's injuries. The thirty • first anniversary of the Grafton Road Wesleyan Sunday-school was further celebrated last night. After an excellent tea, provided by the ladies of the church in the schoolroom had been discussed, a meeting was held in the church, tho Rev. H. R. Dewsbury presiding. _ Tho report, road by Mr. George R. Hutchinson, stated that the past year had been one of the most successful in the annals of the school. The balance-sheet showed the school to bo in a sound financial position. The following musical programme Was gone through :—Anthems by the choir, " I will Sing of Thy Power," " Jesu, Lord of Life," and " Lord of All Powersolo, " The Peace of Mod," Miss White; solos, "The Perfect Life" and "The Voice of the Father," Rov. A. Mitchell song, "The Gift," Miss Laver; song, "Calvary," Mr. James; duet, "The Sea of Gla»s," Misses Gordon. Mr. W. Caley officiated as organist, and Mr. E. J. Gatland as condoctor.

A soiree was held at the Franklin Road Primitive Methodist Church last evening, the occasion being a welcome and official reception to the now minister of the Franklin Road circuit, tho Rev. Mr, Sharp, lato of Tirauru, and who twentyfour years ago was on the Thames goldfields. Tho following ladies presided at the tea-tablesMesdames Booth, Wilson, Kiel, Watersworth, Thompson, Blakey, Walmsley, McCaho, assisted by Misses McCabe and Barker. At the after public meeting Mr. Booth presided. Speeches of welcome were made by Mr. Thompson, on behalf of the C.E. Socioty, by Mr. David Goldie, for the executivo; Mr. Williams, for the Sunday-school; anti-Rev. C. E. Ward for the city clergy of the denomination. The Rev. Mr. Sharp made a very happy reply, in which he sketched out the ideal relations which should exist between minister and people. He had nob come as a moral or spiritual policeman to tho young of the church, but as their guide, philosopher, and friend. The choir was under tho leadership of Mr. Dimmery, Mr. Woolloy officiating as organist. The following musical selections were tastefully rendered during tho evoningQnartotto by four members of the choir ; " Pilgrim Fathers," Mr6i Dimmery ; " Flower Gatherers," Miss Bouskill; duet, " O Touch Thoso Chords," Misses Smith and Hutchings ; sacred solo, Mr. G. Smith.

The tea meeting of the scholars of tho I'oneonby Sunday-school took place last ovening. There was a good attendance. A varied programme was arranged for the entertainment of the children, one feature being the exhibition of the phonograph.