LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10412, 9 April 1897, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A special committee of the Auckland

City Council, consisting of His VYorshipthe

Mayor (Mr. A. Boardman), and Messre. Trenwith, Kidcl, Dii-uau, IWell, Paterson,' Cairns, and Stichuury hae been appointed , to consider ihe most effective method ol celebrating the occasion of the Queen's record reign. The suggestions of the committee will be brought before the Council as a whole and then referred to the' citizens together with the Council to deal with.

A property sale of more than ordinary importance took place yesterday, at noon, at Messrs. Eeara and Arthur's auction mart. Queen-street, when the valuable property in the estate of the late Mr. Martin McDer.

mott, at present in the occupation of Mr, E. Waters, restaurant proprietor, opposite the Herald Office, was disposed of, Thi area of the ground is 12f> perches, with I frontage of 33 3 links to Queen-street, and bidding was opened by Air. P. G. Ewing ton at ,£SOOO. This was rapidly carried ie , £100 to £50 bide to £7100, «t which figuri f Mr. Meed ham became the purchaser, i six-roomed house and allotment situated it" Charles-street, Mount Ro»kill, was also sold for £230, and a house and allotment in Vio* Road, Mount Roskill, which failed to reach, the reserve, was passed in, the highest bid being £250. At; lasb night's meeting of the City ' Council a letter was eead from His Worship the Mayor (Mr. A. Boardman) thanking thtj Council for the extended leave of absence , granted him from attendance at meeting,' ■ He intimated that Ijis health wae rapidly improving, and that he hoped in the court! of another week to let them know his inben- '•■■_; ions; also that he expected te be able to :- ttend the next ordinary meeting. fg

The police authorities ace to be complj-'* aented on their elfin* to suppress the ' larrikinism that hns'lor no lonf; existed out* side the Opera House fii an evening. It ■•a* appears, however, tlmt now the outside | trouble hue beon abated, the larrikin element has been creating disturbances inside the Opera House by hooting and jeering at passers in and out. Steps should be taken to suppress this nuieance.

Two accidents occurred yesterday ab Oiiehunga. Mr. Thomas Brain, shopman for Mr. Neilson, butcher, slipped while stepping quickly from the block to the counter, with the result that the knife which he was carrying caught the back of his left hand, inflicting n terrible gash, and completely severing the tondon and someof the arteries. On examination, Dr. Eraon found that the tendon had so far receded that it was necessary to put Mr. Brara under chloroform to treat the injury. He waa therefore ordered to the district] hospital for that purpose. The second accident happened to a young girl named Louise Carver, who fell from a tree and brolrt her arm. Miss Carver was just recovering from a similar cccident to the sainu arm.

The Collectors of Customs has received a request r.o supply some information respecr ting the passengers who arrived in Auckland from Melbourne about 40 or 41 years years in the schooner Flying Cloud, and the date of the schooner's arrival here. Aβ the disastrous fire in the Auckland Cnstome House in 1573 caused the loss of many valuable records, he cannot trace out the information sought, but some old colonist! . might possibly remember the date, etc.

About eleven o'clock yesterday morning a small yacht owned by Mr. Crabb, of'tlw North Shore, was capsized by a sudden westerly squall, off the eastern tee of Queen-street Wharf. The boat immediately sank, throwing the three occupants (Kenny, (jarnet, and Emilson) into the water. Thl two former, being good snitnmers, supported Emilson until they were picked up by the steamer Huia. In the afternoon'.''*; attempts were made to raise the sunken : boat by grappling, but without success. An accident occurred yesterday motning in Queen-street to a horse and cart, driven by Thomas Hurley, of Chapel • street.' When he got opposite the premises of Mr. J. B. Finlayson. bootmaker, the horse.. ■;■'] stuck up, and Hurley jumped out and endeavoured to lead the animal up the street, when it suddenly swerved to one side on the foootpath, striking one of the verandah posts and breaking it in two. The horse ' then rushed against the shutters of Mr. Finlayson'a shop, breaking a window, and ■• fell on the footpath. With the assistance of the by-standers the horse and cart were got off the footpath, both animal and vehicle having received but little damage.

There were about a score of application! before the committee of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board yosterday. None of the cases were of special public interest, and a number were renewals.

Yesterday afternoon as one of Paberson'j fivehoree buses was coming down Highstreet en route for Queen-street, the brake through Borne unexplained cause failed to act. The driver with great judgment and coolness (Jid not attempt to pull up, but endeavoured to tool the coach between the PoEt Office horse trough and the line of heavy drain pipes with planking, which fences off tbe new section of asphalte being formed at the foot of the crescent. He succeeded in getting round safoly, with only the fracturing of the corner drainpipe, the space being too narrow to clear ic with a five-horse team, and got his horses again in hand in Queen-street. The Police Court yesterday morning presented a lonely appearance, as far as the number of " the accused" was concerned. Three drunkards, males, were the only offenders whose names appeared on the charge-sheet. Mr. A. Clements, J.P., i imposed the usual first, offenders' fine of ss, witli cab hire, in each case. The secretary of the Auckland Society of Arts received yesterday two cases of pictures for the forthcoming Exhibition, from the well-known Southern artists, Messrs. John Gibb (Nelson) and Barraud. Ad Australian artist, Mr. Diston, also intends exhibiting. Most of the local artiste, ini eluding Messrs. E. W. Fay ton, L. J. Steele, . P. Wright, C. Bloomfield, Nerli.-J. DPerrett,Bollard, Trenwith,,Gregory,etc, will be represented.

£" . mAPtine of the Works and Tariff Com- > t ~*" of the Harbour Board was held rAiv »fternoon. There were present: Ttaßi W. i- Na P ier (chairman), A. E. £1 Henderson, E. Bell, M. Niccol, ? J Entriwn, and J. T. Julian. Itwai ?«;ied to refer the tenders for repairs to »» lirfll and jetties to a sub-committee to *oor« to the committee on Monday next. I ; «L chairman reported that an accident of ft .urions character had occurred recently to boileri of Dredge 121, and from what ■'•■hi had seen and heard it seemed a wonder Suit Hr low of life and property had occurred. Mr. Napier went on to state o'-aik Mr. ouk, tne contractor, had written "-»letter throwing the blame on the engi- ■ *, Mr. Stewart), and declining to conVγ Swe operations while Mr. Steward re- •■' Lined in hie present position. Mr, Napier '-Ito mentioned that the Hon. Hall-Jones, H Minister of Marine, had stated that the Meet statutory inquiry would be made >..; into the accident, The committee decided to suspend the engineer pending the result ';' of the Government enquiry, and appoint Si Hr R. B- Do u las i of Onehunga, pro tem. Ae'the contract was about to expire the ' minniittee decided to recommend the Board %'' to ,tend Mr. Gouk's engagement for a i farther period of six months, and that the jjjiise relating to the engineer be altered >■ tbat the engineer may be appointed by the contractor subject to the approval of tie Board. With regard to the facilities [or lifting heavy weights on the whanree it Kit resolved thab the foreman of works be requested to prepare an estimate and ipecificatiqne for the supply of sheer legs, u& report to next meeting. The question of substituting planking for blocking on {he wharf was considered. The expenditure per year on blocking was £800, and tie general opinion was that the blocking lysbera was not a success. It was decided lhat the Board be recommended to authorise the renewal of 100 feeb of Queen-streeb Wharf with planking only, and that specifications be prepared and submitted to the committee. The wing entrance to the New Zealand Insurance Buildings has now been partially asphalted; the work will be completed this week, and then gates will be placed at the junction with Queen-street. That which has already been done, and the conversion of adjacent buildings into offices, have imparted a very improved appearance to the whole place. Tho City Council, or (Omeone, however, should see that a lubitantial retaining wall be at once placed where the end of the ritrht-of-way joins the lino of Mills lane, For several feet the timber retentions have given way, ami earth and stones hang most menacingly overhead.

For some time past a considerable amount of interest has been taken in the extension of grape-growing in the Auckland district, but a notice appears in the New Zealand Guette °f April 1, which requires careful consideration in connection with this in - juetry. The notice to which we rofor is Due issued under the authority of the Hon. John AlcKenzie, Minister for Agriculture, in connection with the existence of the phylloxera vnstutrix in the Auckland dis trict. The notice is issued under the provisions of the 10th section of the Orchard and Gardens' Pests Act of last session. The presence of this terrible enemy to the grape vine in so many gardens in the Auckland district calls for immediate action.

Those who have only a few vines in a pjpe-house diseased should at once root them out and thoroughly disinfect the soil, low to prevent the spread of the ineect to placet at present free from infection. In cues where tho sole means of livelihood depends upon the produce of the diseased fines the matter is more serious, and something should be done in such cases on the part of the State; but it is only a question of a?ery short) time whan even the income bow obtained from diseased vines would Hue to exist altogether, and in the meantime the infected vines would be a source pf great danger to all vines in tho district in which they were located, and more or lets affect) the prospect of the culture of the vine becoming & profitable national industry in New Zealand. According to the notice in the Gazette the following are the places in the neighbourhood of Auckland where the disease has tan reported to the Department of Agritalture to be in existence:—Lots 8 and 9, olWction 19, Grey-street, Devonport, occupied by Mr. James Trayes; part of lot 20a, wefcion 20, Buchanan-street, Devonport, tecupied by Mr. William Wrilcox ; lots 65 ud 66, of section 30, Takapuna Riding, occupied by Mr. John Denby, Northcote ; jots 4 and 5, of section 10, Auckland suburbs, occupied by Mr. William Bridgman, Mount Eden Road; lots 7a and 12, section 10, Auckland suburbs, occupied by Mr. Samuel Harding, Mount Eden Road; lots 7 and 8, Motion 16, Eden County, Parish of Waitemata, occupied by Mr. C. T. Wren, Remusra; sections 352, 456, block IX., Farahaki mrvey district, occupied by Mrs, M, A. Born, Whangarei.

The Hon. Thomas Fergus remarked during the course of his address at the laying of the foundation stone of the Bruce Woollen Mills at Milton, Otago, "That the Prince of Wales has ordered some Mosgiel tweed to make a pair of' breeks' for his mother's record reign celebration, but my friend Mr. Morrison has Bent him almost enough cloth to make him a full suit. That will do more to advertise our manufactures in the old country than anything ever done before." The announcement) was received

with much merriment) and applause, and ' Mr. Morrison did not deny the statement. Mr. W. Buchanan, baker and confectioner, of Karangahape Road, has recently entered into occupation of his fins new brick premises, Karangahape Road, built and owned by Mr. Jamas Muir, chairman. of the Board of Education. They are four storeys in height, including basement, having in rear a commodious bakery and mite of stables fronting Cross-street. The . basement is devoted to stores for the ntious branches of his extensive business. The shop ie on the ground floor facing Karangahape Road, and has a wellappointed tea-room. On the first and upper floors are the residence apartments of the family. The bakery is fitted up with the most modern appliances, and as regards sanitation and ventilation one of the , beet in the colony for the health of tie workers, of whom 30, with six .delivery certs, are constantly engaged. As showing the magnitude of the operations there are three ovens capable ot holding 400 ' loaves each, and the weekly output is 10,000 . Iq»»e8, Mr. Buchanan's confectionery branch is also on a like scale, from £2000 to £3000 a year being paid for materials for id '; alone, a further consignment of machinery j> both for the baking and confectionery v branches will shortly come to hand, The ;,;' rove of wedding cakes we saw yesterday in j Mr, Buchanan's establishment go to show f ' that in tho matrimonial sphere he is almost ■ M important a personage as the clergyman. .•...The New Zealand Potterios, Limited, notifies in our columns that the prospectus ~'» now being issued and the list of applications open. Intending iuvestors should :',!w4 no time in applying for shares, as «'.,' already one-third of the issue is subscribed. I ■ This industrial company ha? been formed I' to acquire certain clay and other leases, ;j Plant, and also the Milton Potteries in ■■'.Otago, which are now being most successfully worked. The leases included some f[ mining concessions on Waiheke Island, and jL the directors have already accepted the offer fe%i Johannesburg firm for these, which tfUMction will immediately yield a cash widend of over 40 percent." The Waiheke i'l. Wolinj have been proved equal to any ■£.jfnp»n china-clay, and from tho great JwllHei which the island affords it ie con. Wently held that the company will be 'Die to compete with the imported !g ; : trock«yware. ¥[{$> C. B. Mackie, the well-known exbibitor of the Rontgen rays X and cine- \, yatographe, has lately " radiographed" the jtolocated shoulder of a lady in the Wai'|pf **k>. The negative plate shows with startt _ •'iff distinctness the nature of the injury, j||ind Rives a vivid idea in which the bones - ■ the human frame may be pushed entirely pent Of their places. |ff.'The eighty or so varieties of potatoes -. collected from all parts of the world and I*>V grown and shown lately under the auspices :.■■ .the Normanby Horticultural Society, } which have been handed over to the Agri- ;. ( «eltur»l Department, will be planted at the • «P«rimenta( farm at Waverley. The de•ptrtinent has undertaken to exhibit twelve ••we of each variety at next year's show V_ ™ the Normanby Society. «A special attraction is announced for SHE; ~ R. Dix's concert next Monday, viz,, :■ ••production of the sparkling comedietta The Silent System, l the principal characI Si BasUined by Miss Gladys Leigh ;; •MMr.B.Schiti. . ": ,• -']■■■■ ■ '■

An incipient fire waa discovered yesterday momingehortly before four o'clock by Bome employees at the Herald ollice at the rear of Messrs. Kempthorne, Prosser, and Co.'a premises in Wyndham-etreeb. They noticed Jflames issuing from some empty boxes lying against the back of the building, and telephoned to the central exchange clerk, who gave the alarm to tho Fire Brigade. Before the fire was suppressed the heat had cracked or broken some panes of glass in the back'window, and a little damage wae done to the wall of the apartment. The origin of the fire is unknown.

Only a few more nights remain before the closo of the Kignold season. "Tommy Atkins," the drama now being played, has been by far the most successful of the company's productions, and last night again drew a large attendance. " Tommy Atkins" will be repeated this evening and to-morrow night, the latter being the lasb performance of the piece. In another column notice is given of the daya and hours at which the Professor of Biology and Geology delivers his next lectures. The geology lecture is to be given this afternoon ; tho botany lectures (senior and junior), on Monday and Tuesday evening; and the zoology and general biology lectures on Wednesday. Last evening the usual half-yearly business meeting of the Auckland Caledonian Society wai held in tho Foresters' Hall, Kamngaliape Road, Mr. W. C. Fraeer being in the chair. There were a full attendance of members. The following officers were elected: MeeErs. W. C. Fraeer (re-elected) president, T. McCuno and Captain Robertson vice-presidents, J. Creamer secretary and treasurer, trustees, Captain Robertson, W. C. Frasor, and (J. Huge. The balancesheet, which showed a disposable fund of £100, was read and adopted. The secretary stated that the society's last sports had been a decided success, financially and otherwise.

The first entertainment of the season in connection with the Burns Club was held yesterday evening in the Masonic Hall, Newton, the attendance being all that could bo desired. The following attractive programme was gone through :—Song, " The Better Land," Miss Harrison; song, " Annie Laurie," Mr. Home; recitation, " Mary Queen of Scots," Sir. Newaome; violin duet, Mr. Goldwator and Master Harrison ; pianoforte selection, Mrs. Anyers; song, "The Song that Reached My Heart," Miss Wills; song, "Hearts and Homes," Mr. Dunn; recitation, " Wolf and Hound," Mr. Nowsome; song, "Waiting," Mr, Harrison ; violin selection, "The Queen's Match," Master Harrison; song, " Will ye no Oouio Back," Mrs. Murohie; olarionette solo, Mr. Gold water. At the conclusion of the meeting several members were proposed and duly elected fur membership.