LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10594, 8 November 1897, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

» 9 -gg quarterly Bitting' of ' the Supreme I I tart Northern District, which opens at I ■ ~'»hB Auckland Supreme Court Buildings on I I i-Ljijjy, 22nd inst., before His.Honor Mr. i "tditice Conolly, promises to be a brief one | & noted for its immunity from grave and i 'ions charges. < Up to the present janeI |JL only some seventeen charges have been ; el) t on from the Lower Court of Auckland, I' the most serious of these being a charge of i j inflicting grievous bodily harm, and forgery ! ' j false pretences. Breaking and. entert! L figures frequently 011 the lis#. Country ! j taws also promise to be few in number., ■ The Auckland Racing Club inaugurated | la, racing season at Ellcrslie on Saturday r : i, 5 when a commencement was made with | t lb/Spring Meeting. The threatening j; weather during the morning, and the faut -0[ a bleak wind blowing throughout the jjy affected the attendance seriously, " which was 'set down at 3000. The racing pjssed off well, and without accident. The iwlncipal event of the afternoon was the s, Auckland Guineas of 300sove, whicH proI vided a capital contest, the race'being won Ij, Mr. D. Stewart's colb St. Crispin, who •' defeated the favourite, Mr. E, J. Evans' ' jolt Coronet, by half-a-length after a most ■ :., x citing finish. A full account of the II racin? will be found on the sixth page. ill Though exception could havo been taken 'I ;? j # t ]io weather which prevailed on Saturday Inciting finish. to A full account) largely racing will be found on the sixth page. Though exception could havo been taken to the weather which prevailed on Saturday the excursions to Rangitoto were largely ! patronised, despite the strong counter ' .• Attractions. The Devonport Company's ! j err y boats Eagle and Osprey conveyed the i passengers to the island, and a goodly I . number made the ascent and enjoyed the :|; ■■ beautiful scene below. The Garrison Band • : under Conductor Hunter accompanied the excursionists and played selections during foe afternoon, Yesterday the island was visited by a fairly large number of visitors ,nd it will not be long before the island : ill become a popular pleasure resort of the Auckland people. ' Although the fiat has gone forth from the local municipal authorities that vehicles plying for hire on race days and similar 4 gatherings shall start from a given point it Quay-street, and passing through Queen- : itrest go directly 011 to their destination, the regulation does nob yet appear to have v met a strict compliance. That this is so ' was especially noticeable on Saturday, I when quite a. number of the 'buses and drags plying for passenger hire to the Ellerslie Racecourse were to bo seen reI turning down Queen-street, and frequently /, on more than one occasion, if the first ;■ journey up did not provide the necessary :[ complement of passengers. Others again t who appeared to have "cub their wisdom teeth" avoided the spirit of the regulation, and the pains and penalties . • that' would no doubt follow should the Traffic Inspector discover the breach, by driving up through the main thoroughfare and turning down by-streets to get back to £ the starting point. ' / Arrangemants have been made with the j Railway Department for the despatch of a ( special train to Rotorua to-day (Monday), ; ; at one a'clopk, conveying a large Bee-. tion of the Wesley an General Conferf. ence, which meets this week in this city, to the " wonderland" of the colony. i .The party will number some 60 or 70 j.-; persons, and will ; include _ some of J the Auckland' friends of the visitors. The v train will return on Wednesday in ample § time for the opening of the General Conj ference. It will be seen from our advertising columns that the Royal New Zealand % Fencibles and tlioir descendants celebrate to morrow (Prince of Wales' Birthday) the ! jubilee of their landing at Howick, 1847. A committee has been appointed (of which 'fi Mr. John White is hon. secretary) in order ¥ to take steps to fittingly, celebrate the ' anniversary. According to the programme arranged, -there will bo sports for the young people, instrumental selections, a .' dinner at three p.m. at the Oddfellows' Z Hall, and a ball in the evening in the £ same hall. The jubilation will bo ij? principally by the ■ descendants of the men of the Veteran Battalion, for death t has laid his heavy hand on most of them. 1-." In Howick there is only one surviving, Mr. rims. Heath, and but two of the surviving % matrons, -Mrs.' Heath and Mrs, Frost, !though, of course, there are some pensioners 5-; and their ' wives in other Pensioner Settle- - 4: ments. Mr. Heath (Sir George Seymour) who has just como out of the District Hospital, where he underwent an operation, | attained his 83rd birthday on Friday last. He served in the operations 011 the coast of ' Syria in 1830, under Admiral Stopford I! in H.M. Hastings, and was wounded. '4 He was discharged invalided in 1848. Mr. Heath obtained what is known as the Britannia war medal, the first war medal issued in the Queen's reign. . He 18 still, ; notwithstanding his great age, in fairly : \ good health. A special invitation has beer ■ sent by the committee to the Hon. Colone Haultain, the only .surviving divisional > officer, who is now about 80 years of age. i Mr. C. J. Wilson, of Grafton Road, lias sent a most kindly letter to the committee in regard to the jubilee celebrations, and ! Mr. Every Maclean, who in the older , times was a largo of pensionei • labour in his farming operations, has alst greatly interested himself in the commemor

ation. . Shortly after midnight the PotiEonby fin bell rang out an alarm, and the l onsonb; contingent of the Auckland Fire Brigade proceeded to the locality indicated (Lincoln / street). The fire proved to be in a ehed_ m '"--.Lincoln-street, occupied by Mr. Service, ■: painter, and owned by Mr. Campbell. ■ Shed and contents were destroyed, the : damage being about £20. On the alarm i being given the Karangahape contingent - ■ also proceeded to the fire, and ft hose-reel detachment from the Albert-street head . ; station, under Superintendent- Hughes, and also the Salvage Corps, under Captain ! ' Field. Mr. Service is unable to throw any light on the orginof the fire. He was in ■ the shed at ten o'clock, and everything appeared then to be safe, Constables Howell and Keenan (of the Ponsonby police station) and Constable Finnerty, (of the Freeman s < Bay station) and Constable Fraser of the city force, were early on the scene to render S; any assistance necessary. '

The ground committee and stock stewards ' of the Agricultural Association were busily engaged all Saturday making arrangements for the reception of slock for the coming . show. In consequence of the unusually > f large number of entries it was found that it •xb. \ would bo necessary to erect a considerable number of new pens. Mr. W. Dunwoodie, : ' ground manager, has a staff of man busily engaged in carrying on the work. ' A new departure has been initiated in connection ' with ! the coming agricultural show, viz., the offering of prizes for the best butter actually made upon the show l: ?' ground.. Prizes have been offered lor tills / object for several years, but hitherto the, committee have nob succeeded in inducing p, competition. This year, however, soma oi f • ■ the Ellerslle settlers have ventured in the ffield, and doubtless the competition, which •; is to take place at eleven o'clock on Satur- *;•: day, will be watched with great interest by the butter-makers of the district.;; '" ; , j &£ . A man named Harry Olsen had _ a narrow Is escape from sustaining serious injury on Saturday. He was crossing lower QueonI?';, street early. in the afternoon and failed to . notice the approach of a drag filled .with passengers journeying to Ellerslie.V Olson ¥Ti' was knocked down by the off leader, and it seemed as though he 'must either be f trampled on by the horses or run over by ,■ • , the drag. With considerable presence of mind the driver of the latter managed to : swing the horses round, clear of the prostrate 1 man, and stop the vehicle. i Olson : escaped with no other injury than that of a ■ bruised shoulder. ( - ■ 1 The Police' Court ' sitting of Saturday -: ' morning occupied- only half-an-hour, and '$$ was presided over by Mr. H. W. Brabant-, , , S.M. William Betts and Walter Townsend, ■1 ' for drunkenness, were each fined 10s, or in default 4S hours' imprisonment, and Mary 0$ Brown, for • a'i similar v off«nce, . who, ; by ■ the way, MveVas;her, excuse that _ she had had .a tooth ■ drawn ,on Friday fer' and thought a little brandy would be good % > for her, .was mulcted in 20s or 48 hours', &.-< also having ,to disburse 2s;'6d as cab hire. ? ; James Turton, charged with failing to t.i '.. comply with an order for the support 01 his fe better half, pleaded inability to pay the full amount of the order,' and His \\ orslnp ad fji journed the case to Saturday next to enable Turton to produce witnesses, ordering ; hill to pay 10s on account for arrears, by to day (Monday). Mr. Reed appeared foi the :complainaub on behalf • of i the Sociefc} ||||^ the Protection of Women and OhilI dteo, !§ § ■/;

■ An accidetib occurred' shortly .after midnight on '■ Saturday "to a ' cabman . named Johnson, in Shortlahd-Btreet, in the'employ of Pollen > and > Armitage. I When opposite Hellaby Bros.' butchering establishment, the axle broke through some flaw in it, and one of the wheels of the cab rolled down the streot, smashing the frosted glass door of a solicitor's office, j On the cab careening to ' one : side, through the ' axle , breaking, Johnson got thrown ! over the dickey and badly cut on the shin bone. He was taken to the Hospital for treatment by another cabman named Dawson. : i- Y/ . / V: On Saturday forenoon a man named Benjamin Jones, a carter, residing in Brown-street, met with an accident. He was driving an express cart loaded with furniture down Grey-street, when the backband of the harness broke, when Jones was thrown out of the trap :on to the road. Before he could get out of the way the wheel of the cart passed over his ankle. Jones was carried into the shop of Mr. Rollins, chemist, by . the by-, slanders. Constable Maciiamara, who arrived on the scene, endeavoured to get a medical man, and soon Dr. 'Somerville was in attendance. In the < meantime Mr. Rollins had done his best for the sufferer, Dr. Somervillo oxamined the injured. man, and found that there were no bones broken, though the muscles were injured. After the patient's injuries had been duly attended to he was removed to his home. Both shafts of the vehicle were broken. The accident appeared to have arisen through the harness being defective, A meeting of creditors in the estafco of Michael Lennan, of the Wade,, baker and confectioner, who was adjudicated a bankrupt on creditors' petition, was to have been held on Saturday, but the necessary number of creditors did not attend. The bankrupt was examined, however, and » supplementary statement given, The Agricultural Hall, on Saturday evening, was crowded to witness the horsetraining undeWaken by Professor Norton B. Smith, and not only did the professor's exhibition of skill prove instructive and interesting, but highly enjoyable. Perhaps no better evidence of the dexterity and surety with which the various animals dealt with overcame their natural nervousness could have been given than in the way in which they soon unflinchingly stood the loud and continuous rounds of applause which followed every test. The various horses were drafted from some of the bestknown stables in the district, and their qualities, and vices—where such existed— explained. Some were undoubtedly very difficult to handle, and at first made free

play with their heels; in a very few minutes, however, they stood quietly whilo steam whistles of varied tone were blown close to their ears (the vapour at times enveloping them), while crackers were exploded around and about them. Drums were beaten 011 their backs and' rolled against them from behind, and altogether quietly submitted to have things done that would have caused to shy the steadiest old cob " warranted quiet to ride or drive, and suited for an elderly lady or gentleman." In more than one instance the professor left his box, with the reins lying loosely on the seat, and, while all the things described were going on, the animals stood as calmly as if they were in their stalls. Other horses will be " educated" to-night and some with old-established vices will be brought under control. One great feature of tho method adopted is that the whip is never once used to chastise; merely as a sort of guide. A sensational drama, entitled, "The Wellesley-street Murder," will be produced at Abbott's Opera House to-morrow evening by Collob Dobson's Dramatic Company. Extensive preparations have been going on for the Inst three weeks for the production. Mr. Dobson, who has just returned to Auckland after a most successful Southern tour, is said to be surrounded by a most capable company of actors, most of whom are new to Auckland play-goors. Speoial interest is centred in the play from the fact of its being local, the scenery consisting of a series of well-known Auckland views by day and night, all of thorn from the brush of Vennermark. Tho sensation of the play is of course a supposed murder in Wollesley-street at mid? night, outside the Public Library. i Though there wore a considerable number of other attractions on Saturday night, tho kiuematogroph and phonograph exhibition at the Opera House was well attended, Fresh pictures were shown, and new soledtions given, greatly .to the pleasure of all present. The exhibition will bo continued this evening.