LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11202, 24 October 1899, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Albert-street firebell rang out an alarm at half-past nine last evening, the cause being an incipient fire in Bagnall Brothers' mill, Wellesley-street, used for the manufacture of butter-boxes, etc. The fire was in some sawdust in front of the furnace in the basement. The shavings come down a shoot, on an endless belt, from the ground floor where the machines are running, to the basement, and are utilised for feeding the furnace. When the workmen went away at five o clock the hose was turned on the neap of shavings, and they were left apparently safe. At half-past nine Mrs. Combes, who resides in the dwelling adjacent, hearing the horse in the yard making a noise, and hearing a young man call out .fe ire. looked out to see the cause, and saw smoke arising from the basement, in the vicinity of the furnace room. As her husband was temporarily absent on some business, she with commendable promptitude and presence of mind seized the hose which is laid out in readiness on the premises—and commenced playing on the shavings until she was relieved by a mad, and then she got hold of a smaller hose. The fire was soon suppressed. The Fire Brigade under superintendent Gladding, and the Salvage Corps under Captain Field, promptly turned out, as well as Constable Finnerty, of the Freeman's Bay police station, Sergeant Forbes, and some of the city police. Cantain Field subsequently found some of the lining of the shed heated, and played on it afresh with the private fire hose as a further precaution. The damage will be covered by a few shillings, but had not the fire been dealt with promptly it might have developed, from the mass of seasoned timber in the mill, into a serious affair. The origin of the fire is believed to be from the down-draught of the furnace, and that the Spark had been smouldering from the time tne men knocked off work,

- ' If MMMim ———— M——MM—, The new 30-footer yacht Aoma ("Wife Cloud"), built by Messrs. Logan Brothers wis shipped to Sydney by the Waihorayes- 1 > terday afternoon, being hoisted on board ofPs the steamer by the aid of the big crane it the Queen-street Wharf, a large crowd ft assembling to witness the proceedings;. «||g The attention of the Police Court was jjs||§ cupied the greater part of yesterday ; in hearing a charge of using threatening langu- .I', ago preferred by William Richardson, teni-ite perance lecturer, against Ihomas Meehan, a local hotelkeeper. 'l'ho informant con' '•' ducted his own case, and defendant was re-?jf s presented by Mr. Banme. The case caused.some considerable amusement by passage J® between tho informant and defendant's tofcffg citpr. Several witnesses were examined, and the magistrate, after hearing evidence, dismissed the case with costs against the iff informant, at the same time making soioe'.' : - strong comments 011 remarks used by Mr, Richardson, . ;j||

At Opitonui, -Mr. George Premrose haijffs his residence, with contents, destroyed bj' fire a few nights ago, his personal effect! and watch also being lost, There was no'J® insurance, ' *•<*&■} At the Coromanael Magistrate's Court yes'. : /V: terday morning. John Hcald, of Cabbage J;. Bay, * was charged. 011 the information ol I Win. B. Muir, with striking the said Wm. Mnir with a. fencing rail, with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and with knocking him down and jumping on him 011 Octoberß;13. Hie case was adjourned until to-day. .

The box plan for the pantonine season oi% the popular Pollard Company will be opened ;•:> this morning at Wildman and Lvell's, when '' > there is certain to be a brisk demand fur'S^ seats. "The Pollards_ closed a most sue. cessful season in Wellington on Saturdiy night. The ladies of the company left last : night by the s.s. Takapuna, and the gentlemen leave to-day by the To Anau. All tie scenery and effects for "AH Baba" arrived 4 yesterday, and a large staff of men will start to-day getting ready for the opening. A fca- 'f hire of this production will be the numerous'"!: graceful ballets; one of these, the "corn and ' poppy bullet," is universally acknowledged ft as being the most charming picture every seen upon a colonial stage. The grand march of Ganem's Guards, is another magniU.?! ficent effect. The dresses for this one scene cost £900. A largely-attended meeting of poultry* s'fanciers was held in the Central Hotel, on' ? Saturday, for the purpose of considering the . desirability of forming one strong poultry jj" club for the district of Auckland. Mr. 6, jp Peacocke was voted to the chair, Mr, % Bouskill proposed, Mr. Duncan seconded, 01--and it was agreed, "That in the opinion ol " this meeting of poultry-breeders and fanciers, it is desirable, by the amalgamation of the two existing local poultry societies, $5? to form one strong and United association r . for the Auckland district." It was also decided that the two societies be requested to V appoint three delegates to arrange a basis' of amalgamation. Mr. J. M. Thomson was elected secretary pro tem. A meeting - of the two societies will be called early next :® week, to appoint delegates, and en- ;:i deavour to bring about an amicable agreement. v,;

Yesterday Constable Carroll brought down a prisoner from Kihikihi, by the Waikato train, namely, Annie Maunder, sentenced to a month's imprisonment by the Te Awamutu Bench, for an aggravated assault upon hei husband.

In referring to the fact that his little boy,. ;j? 2| years old. was kicked by a straying horse VW.v in the district, and had his arm fractured, Ji Mr. W. Scott, of Kingsland, makes some ■%; severe comments on the practice at Kings- 1 ■£ land of allowing horses to wander all over m the Kingsland paddocks. He states that this is the second accident, within a brief space, a boy of seven years of age being .s fatally kicked a short time ago. The local -vfc "board, he considers, should take vigorous steps to abate the nuisance. There were in the lockup last evening, one n person on a charge of drunkenness ; one ''ti man, name unknown, on a charge of being drunk and disorderly ; Thos. Solan, on a charge of wilful damage to a window, in th: premises of Mr. Higgins, boot manufacturer; and Eliza Lestrange, on a charge of drunken- il" ness, obscene language, and theft of a ladVi'cf hat. 1 M

One of the residents of Mount Eden, Mrs, Bowring, .net with a painful accident the 3a other evening. It appears that some houses Jf are being erected near the main thoroughfare, | and she tripped over a stone that had been $ accidentally left there, sustaining some if bruises on her face, and other injuries. The Agricultural Association and Racing A Club of Hamilton have accepted the pro- < posal of Mr. Bold, Inspector of Telegraphs, ; to defray the cost of establishing telegraph ! communication between the Hamilton show- 5 ground and racecourse, and also to make up : any deficiency on the cost of working on the days it is in use. It is expected that the wire will be in working order to-morrow.

The first juniors' race of the season in connection with the Auckland Flying Club came off on Saturday from Huntly. There were 21 birds competing, representing five lofts. The winners were:—Master Thomas' Cousin Jack, 1, velocity 966 yds per minute; Master Warner's Royal Tar, 2, velocity 951 yds per minute; Master Bedford's Admiral. 3, velocity 943 yds pel minute. A good deal of building is going on at pre* sent in various parts of the city and suburbs. The change is especially marked on the • western side of the Surrey Hills Estate.

Information lias been received in town that the lunatic who recently escaped from the Avondale Asylum has found his way to Waiuku, where lie has relatives, and with which district he is familiar. The local special constable has applied for police assistance to enable him to capture the escapee.

At the meeting of the Devonport Borough Council, to-night, the following notice of motion, tabled by His Worship the Mayor, will come up for consideration, namely, " That the F nance and Legal Committee report at next meeting as to the best scheme for raising the necessary funds for the erection of a town hall for Devonport."

A poll taken by the Archhill Road Board to borrow £1300 under the Loans to Local Bodies Act, 1886, for drainage works in the district, was lost through the apathy of the ratepayers. The voting was 67 in favour and 16 against. As the requisite proportion of votes on the roll was not cast for the proposal, it was defeated.

The new Ficezing Company has not been long in making an appreciable difference in the exports of frozen mutton from this port. Already a shipment lias been made by the steamer Waiwera, which left Wellington on Saturday, and further shipments are to follow on the 20th of next month and on De- ' cember 6. • By the last-mentioned date the •:>, company will have turned out 18,000 carcases, more than half the total output last season, and that before the date when last year the first shipment was made, One of the most interesting lectures of the season was given last night by Mr. T. F. Cheeseman, F.L.S., in the large hall of the Auckland Institute, on " Rarotonga." C At the request of several of the principal botanists of Europe, Mr. Cheeseman recently spent two months on the island for the pur- 6 r pose of fully investigating its botany, j which has not- hitherto been done. The £ chair at last night's lecture was occupied £ by Mr. J. Batger, president of the Institute. t The lecturer commenced by displaying on . the screen a map of the Eastern Pacific, to '* show the position of Rarotonga with re- »J spect to the other groups. He then narrated the discovery of the island, the arri- % val of the first missionaries, and the history , ? up to the establishment of the protectorate y : of Great Britain. Several beautiful views were then shown of the coral reefs which . t 'l surround the island, and the surf breaking on it, of the principal mountains and chief y natural features. Mr. Cheeseman then de- inscribed the vegetation, showing pictures of the cocoanut-palm groves, the pandanus, I|fi| hibiscus, and other trees. He then passed ■:i to the people, showing groups, and the differ- ■ ent kinds of houses, etc. The description! : were most interesting. The pictures were -jfc all from photographs taken by Mr. Cheeseman himself. At the conclusion, a hearty ~ vote of thanks was accorded to the lec- . v:\; turer, on the motion of Mr, T. Peacock. - )M ' ■= -sM