LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11564, 30 January 1901, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

We are enabled this morning to give a large amount of cable news of great interest. The King has sent a suitable message to Parliament, and several eloquent and affecting speeches were made, the leaders being naturally Lord Salisbury and Mr. Balfour. Lord Kitchener has issued a special order oil behalf of the army in South Africa. There is, it seems, a prospect that the Duke and , Duchess of Cornwall will still visit Austra- j lia, King Edward being unwilling that a proposal of such importance should be inter- ! fered with. . - •' j Yesterday was Anniversary Day, and the j 61st anniversary of the foundation of the j colony and the City of Auckland, but owing , to the altered.arrangements connected with , the death of our late Queen, was not ob->■ served, as a general holiday ' ■ The only; official recognition of it was the Government offices, . banks, and the Harbour Board I offices being closed for the clay. v: j .A five-roomed house in Edwin-street, | Mount Eden, was burned to the ground at halt-past two yesterday morning. The house, which was owned by Mr. James Parr of Lower Symond-strect, was occupied by Mr. W. Wrathall. ■ The fire was discovered by Mr. Robert Waite, a brother-in-law of the occupier, but his alarm was not received by the fire brigade before all hopes of saving the building had vanished. The building was valued by Mr. Parr at £220, and was insured in the South British i Insurance Company for £120, while the furniture was insured with the New Zealand Insurance Company for £180. ; A number of the country constables have been brought in for to-day's proceedings at the departure of the contingent. An inquest was held at the Northern Wairoa Hotel, Dargaville, on the 15th inst., before Mr. T. Webb, coroner, on the body of a man named John Carey, which was found lying dead on a track outside Dargaville on" the 11th inst. The evidence showed that death resulted from exposure and want of nourishment, and a verdict to this effect was returned accordingly. A slight trap accident occurred in Queenstreet yesterday forenoon. As Dr. Swale was being driven down -Queen-street the near side wheel of his-vehicle came off, and the doctor landed in the roadway, fortunately, on his feet, thus escaping any injury. The horse, which became very excited, was prevented from bolting by, the immediate action of the coachman. :;. Early in the present month Mr. Walter Greenshields wrote to the Hon. J. G. Ward congratulating him upon the reduction of the postage to Id, and drawing his attention to the need of a reduction in the postage necessary upon the weekly illustrated papers, which Were the best advertisement the colony could have. Mr. Greenshields : showed that as the postage was 50 per cent, of the price of the papers, such action was out of touch with the present time. Mr. Ward has replied to him as follows: — " Postmaster-General's Office, Wellington, January 16, 1901. W. Greenshields, Esq., Cobden-street, Auckland. Dear Sir,—l duly received your letter of the 3rd inst., and thank you for your kind reference in regard to my connection with the establishment of the' penny postage system in New Zealand. With regard to your suggestion as to the desirability of reducing the postage rates on illustrated papers to the Old Country, I have to say that this matter is now' being considered, and probably by-and-by some reduction may take place. Again thanking you, and heartily reciprocating your great "wishes, believe me, etc. (Signed) J. G. Ward." , The members of the Auckland Fire Brigade entertained one of their number, Trooper F. Gladding, at a smoke concert on Monday evening, at the Albert-street fire brigade station. During the evening : Trooper Gladding, who leaves as a member \ of the Sixth Contingent, for South Africa to-day, was presented by the chairman, Superintendent Gladding, on behalf of the brigade, with a massive gold ring, which was inscribed with the words :—"Presented to F. G. hy the officers and men of the A.F.8." During the evening an excellent musical programme: was successfully rendered by members of the brigade and their friends. ,-,-. '■ I Our Mahurangi correspondent writes on Monday:—An unpleasant accident occurred at Messrs. Wilson's lime works, on January 2'4, when a young man named Fred. Munro had the misfortune to have his hand drawn ; between some rollers that were going at a special speed. It appears the young man was feeding the rollers, which were used for crushing the raw material, and used his fingers for the purpose of pushing in some material that was not required there,' the result was that the hand was drawn between the rollers. He had the presence of mind enough to endeavour to draw his arm back, and, with the assistance of another workman, who stood neap, succeeded in doing so, but the whole of the flesh was torn from three of his fingers, leaving the bones quite bare. Assistance was at once rendered, and he was sent by steamer to the Auckland Hospital, where he will be relieved of the now useless stumps. As will be seen by advertisement in our columns, the match for the " Amberito" cup, which was to have taken place on Saturday next, at the New Zealand Inanimate Pigeon Shooting Association's grounds, Epsom, has been postponed indefinitely, on account of the death of our late Queen. Due notice will be given when the competition takes place. Lieutenant-Commander Colquhoun, who last month was personally decorated by the Queen with the Distinguished Service Order, in recognition of his services in South Africa, is well knoivn in New Zealand. He came out as fourth officer of the Rotomahana, and, staying in that vessel during the whole of his service with the Union Company, he rose to the position of first mate, under Captain Carey. The company had a good opinion of Mr. Colquhoun as a thorough sailor and a man ot wide resource, and when he resigned in order to join the Victorian navy it was generally predicted that he would make a name for himself. On Sunday last special sermons were preached at Panmure by Father Patterson, at the Catholic Church, on the lamented demise of our late Queen, and special mention was made of the personal virtues of the best Queen that ever occupied the English throne. All nations, tribes, and tongues regretted the lamented death of her. who was so good and true. The " Dead March •' in "Saul" was played at the close of tie service. At Otahuhu special services were also held at the Catholic Church by Father Patterson, in deep sympathy for the loss of a good Queen and model mother. v Father Patterson preached on "Death," and spoke of the many good qualities in the life of our late Queen. He said that it was a national loss, and the whole World deeply felt it as such., The "Dead March " in " Saul "was performed before and after the service. Many of the congregation wore crape: on [ their arms,

A number of very striking pictures will appear in this week's issue of the Auckland Weekly News, on© of them being a splendid full-pane photo, of the ceremony of proclaiming King Edward VII., in Auckland, -" '. on Monday." The number will also, contain i handsome full-page pictures of the new King" • ! and Queen,. and altogether will be one o! the' best issues of any illustrated paper yet published in the Australasian colonies. There were a number of additional wreaths placed at the foot of the Queen's statute yesterday, some of them were very beautiful. Every effort will be made, says the Mayor, to have- the bandstand in the Albert Park '*, finished, and the approaches all in order also, by the time the Imperial troops arrive on Sunday week.. If this can be done in time for the Imperial Band, it will prove a great attraction. Two more garden seats have been presented for the Albert Park," the donors being Messrs. J. McKail Geddes . and Tlios. Clung. A serious accident happened to Mr. Dave Reid, of Waitemata-street, Porisonby, on' ' Monday afternoon, on the premises d Messrs. Bailey and. Lowe, yacht builders,! Custom-street" West. While walking on a plank it canted up, and one end struck aim -•. ': a severe blow on the groin; Surgical help was promptly obtained. As there was evidence of internal injury in the evening, the patient underwent an operation at his re-, residence, under Drsi Moir, Girdler, and' . ■' Grant, which proved; very successful, this ' injuries not being so great as might have been expected. There is reason to believa Mr. Reid will make a good recovery, wit}, careful nursing. The man who was found drowned in the harbour last week, and whom the police", were unable to identify, has now been identified as George Taylor, a native of Bradford, Yorkshire, England. He is believed to have . relatives in the Upper Thames district. » v ; Yesterday was one of the dreariest days, ' owing to the incessant downpour of rain. The wreaths at the Queen's statue, and the a mourning on the public buildings and priS vate establishments looked terribly be-? draggled. It was fortunate that the regatta did not come off on the 29th, the anniversary , of the foundation of the colony, as otherwise it would have been a case of, the "English enjoying their pleasures sadly," or necessitated being postponed to a future date. Old : colonists state that in their experience of Auckland weather for over half a century, they have never seen such unseasonable weather in January as we are now experi-' ." vencing. . ; ■ J Wo understand that steps are being taken i to found a Sandovr Club in this city. Anything which has for ite' object promoting among our young men a healthy mind in a j healthy body, should have the sympathy and . support of the public. The Sandow system of athletics is said "to be very effective hi that respect. ■'•■< """■ ■" '~■-'■'}^|-i:i»S As an illustration of the progress made during the late Queen's reign, Canon Gould, in his sermon on Sunday at Holy Trinity . •. Church, Otahuhu, stated that he well re- | membered the death of William the Fourth, I and that it took three days for the news to I arrive at Exeter, Canon Gould's native town. He also mentioned, as a pleasing | fact, that on" Wednesday, January 26, I the day when at noon the ' news I of the Queen's death was received, the scho- - I lars of the Sunday-school, before leaving" I for their annual picnic, assembled in the \ ; j schoolroom about nine a.m., and sang "God Save the Queen," which was perhaps the last time this prayer was offered up by children's voices throughout the Empire. j. On Saturday last a presentation was made at the office of the New Zealand Mines Trust (Limited), Shortland-street, to Mr. W. S. Russell, who has severed his con" nection was the Trust; in order to take up a position with Mr.' W. Thome, of this city. The presentation, which consisted of al travelling bag, was made by Mr. Geo. 0. ■~'. j Creagh, the accountant of the Mines Trust,"'.' who, in a few well-chosen words, wished! • Mr. Russell every success in his new position. Mr. Russell, in accepting the presentation, expressed v his regret at leaving • his old friends, between whom and himself there had always existed the most cordial relations. In order to test the oft-repeated tale about salmon being taken, in New Zealand waters, Mr. Ayson, inspector of fisheries, has recommended that during the present season " several of the big fish in the Waitaki, which .'' are believed to be - true salmon, should be • I caught and stripped, and the ova hatched out. This suggestion is likely to be rar- ; ried out. ■ ■ ■ ■" I out. This suggestion is likely receipt of - ried out. ~% We have to acknowledge the receipt of | a copy of the calendar for 1901, issued. by Messrs. Alfred Tyre and Co., boot, leather, : . and grindery merchants, of Christchurch, Auckland, and London. It has a large number of illustrations, chiefly portraits of the generals and •• others prominent in the . % trouble in South Africa. . Mr. Rees Nicholson, of Mercury Bay, writes in respect to the discovery of coal, % which he claims to have made in Mill Creek, Mercury Bay. He will have to get it proved to a greater extent before anything ■ can be done in. the way of. working it. . A statistician, from sources which he does not disclose, has calculated that there have been exported to Australia from Great Bri- , tain, in preparation for the Duke of York's : visit, 50,000 Union Jacks (ninepenny edi- .' tion), 500 bales of "tiddlers," a million rounds of crackers (as well as quick-firing' rockets), 6700 reams of red. white, and blue ' ribbon, 850 bushels of fog horns, 1300 gross :'"; of buttons, and 350 statute miles of streamers. It seems that not only does I trade follow the flag, but the flag is a con- . ; siderable; trade, in itself. - •