LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11565, 31 January 1901, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

I Ox account of the funeral ot the Queen on'-"' •■•".' 1 I Saturday a close holiday will ha observed in all branches of the Herald Printing and : Publishing Works. . , !■ The Hon. J. McGowan, Minister for , Mines, who was in Auckland yesterday, re-, - ! presenting the Government at the send-off to tie contingent, will leave to-day for Coromaniel, and intends visiting Opitonui, Kuao- .' I turn, Mercury Bay, and probably the' I Thanes, returning to Auckland next week, I befoie finally departing for Wellington. I Th» following arrangements have been I made at the Chiet Post Office,for Saturday 1 next, the day of the funeral of Her late MaI jesty Queen Victoria.' The office will be I open for. the transaction of all classes of bust--1 ness between eight a. m. and ten a.m. Let- , > I ter carriers will commence their delivery at,; I half-past seven in lieu oi eight a.m. In the * I evening the office will b. open for the deI livery of all classes of correspondence- and ■ | sale of stamps between seven and eight p.m. . I All mails usually closed after ten a.m. on 1 Saturday will close at that hour. § The engineer whom the Minister for Pub-! 1 lie Works has selected to carry out the sur- ■ | vey of the proposed light line of railway befl tween Stratford and the North Island Main | Trunk line at Kawakawais Mr. Monaehan, | who will undertake the duty under the direction of Mr. Holmes, district engineer; The Minister has arranged to turn the first sod of the line early in March, 'and he is eon-': fident that the first section (between Stratford and Toko, seven, miles) will be open %' f": for traffic about a year afterwards. __*- • The payment oi the usual monthly instalments for old age pensioners, both for the Auckland and Waitemaia Counties, will be- ■ [ gin to-morrow (Friday), at the Harbour | Board offices, between the hours of nine a.m. and half-past four o'clock in the afternoon. Those interested should specially act on our notification.. j The following pupils of St. John's College I School, viz., J. L. Haima, H. G. Hunt, S. Green, T. G. Lewis, have passed the recent examination for matriculation., T. G. Lewis . ''. has also passed the medical preliminary examination. A lady writes to say that the new Queen, Alexandra, has not been noticed in all these rejoicings. She thinks she ought to have some cordial recognition from the women of New Zealand. *> One of the last things done before the Auckland section of the Sixth Contingent ;:; left camp was to call the men togetner into ■ the big tent when a formal vote or thanks was passed to the Central Mission by Cap- : tain Markham, on behalf of the men, for the kindly thought manifested on their behalf* ■ . The tent, Captain Markham 'said, had been ' of immense service; in fact,' he did not ! know how they could have done without it during the past fortnight. , It served an. excellent purpose in creating good fellowship - .. and keeping the men together. ,': Colonel ; Banks also expressed his thanks for the use of the tent, and wished the mission good luck. During the past few days the tent has been used by lady friends of the contin- V gent in sewing and doing kindly little necessaries for the men. A -large case containing literature, writing material, games, and about 100 volumes of books was put on board • the Cornwall by the Central Mission for th./ use of the men on the voyage. It is the intention of the mission to utilise the material purchased to equip the tent for the use of another contingent if one is called for. 4 The ordinary general meeting of the Hiku-' rangi Coal Company (Limited) was held yes- ' terday at the office of the secretary, Mr. H. Gilfillan, jun., Insurance Buildings, Queen-street, at which Mr. S. Thome George (chairman of the company) presided. The directors' report and accounts for . the past year were adopted. The Hon. E. Mitchelson and Mi. F. Jagger were re-elected directors, and Mr. It. E. ■■ Isaacs was re- ■-•;:,;■<•. appointed auditor for the current year. The company pays a dividend of 5 per cent, for ~ the past half-year, making 10 per cent, for the year. An advertisement respecting the same appears elsewhere. * Among the many, presents made to tbi) troopers of the Sixth Contingent none was :\ more welcome than that of the American Tobacco Company, who through their manager, Mr. C. B. Russell, yesterday forenoon forwarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Banks, office* . commanding the contingent, 50,000 Old \ Judge cigarettes for the use of the men during the voyage to South Africa. : - ■ " An accident occurred at the torpedo yard, ; Fort Cautley, recently, to a member of the Devonport Submarine, Mining Volunteers, named Wm. Barton. It appears that a chain on which he was pulling, got caught, and in endeavouring to release it Barton got his thumb jammed by a cog-wheel,, which crushed ihe thumb severely. Barton was ;.; I attended to by Drs. Laing and Purchas, and was afterwards taken to the hospital. He was discharged from the institution "yesterday. ''■ ".;.. ■ V | Various requests have been made to His . . 1 Worship the Mayor that the regatta should be fixed for a Wednesday. It is stated it . depends upon getting the Elingamite for flagship, and that it must' be either on a \ Monday or Tuesday. ' Detective Mcllveney has recovered a nirm- '.",' ber of rugs supposed to have been stolen. from yachts in the Auckland Harboui. The owners of some of the rugs are not at present' ; I known to the police, who are anxious to have | all the rugs identified. Owners of yachts, . ; who have lost such property, may be ableto identity their rugs lay calling at the police office to-day. The following tenders were received yes- • terday by Mr. A. P. Wilson, architect, for the proposed alterations. to '-'the'.premises of the Bank of New South Wales, Queenstreet:— Farrell, . £1230; J. Ellingham, £1055; R. Kay, £1197 ; Clegborn andRosser, £997; Ferguson and Malcolm, £1085; J. T. Julian, £1197 J. D. Jones,, £829; Hutcheson, £950; R. Ross, £1100. Consideration of the tenders will take place to-day. .■■■-.■ - ' The premises for the Devonport branch of the Auckland Savings Bank, are being rapidly pushed on. Mr. J. M. Barr will J take charge, who has been so long and favourably known in connection ' with the . head office. Yesterday nine tenders were : received by Messrs. "R. Keals and Son, architects, ol the erection of a brick store in Little Queenstreet, for Messrs. A. Sanford and Co. I'te tender of Mr. J. D. 'Jones (£203), was accepted, and the work will be put in hand immediately. The store is to be 30ft long bySOft deep, and is intended to be used for the storing of fish.- Special attention has been paid to the sanitation and ventilation of. the building. The floor- is of concrete, and every provision is made for easily cleaning the premises. i'..: ..: ~; :: -;v:: . -. is; ';.;• -.; ;-:; : ' ; ~YY;\*Y.?; : . i: iY:-vi-- s -.. i-i^Mi , :: .;.-'..}--. : ;'-'''■;'fj ■>' (dW^.-^HV^-'P'£s-&iMi'^M£M&Ms§oMM

■The cable messages this morning give an interesting description of the preparations being made, in England for the late Queen's funeral on Saturday. Thera will be an imposing naval and military demonstration. Most impressive services have been held in the churches, vast congregations attending, 30,000 people being turned away from St. Paul's on Sunday. The new King has conferred high honours on the Kaiser, who is said to be delighted with the friendliness shown to him during his visit to England. Hopes are expressed that the King's title will recognise the colonies as integral portions of the Empire. lln an engagement at ; , Balmoral, about 50 miles east of 1-retor'w, , two New Zealanders were killed and four were wounded. The New Zealanders t<nd Queenslanders gallantly held their position until reinforced. Several Boer reverses are recorded. De Wet has once more managed to elude the British. As regards the Chinese trouble, it is stated that the peace clauses provide for the restoration of Manchuria to China, and the reinstatement of Chinese authority in Tientsin. The execution of Prince Chuan and the arrest of a notorious Boxer leader are reported. F'.orce fighting is reported from Venezuela, the insurgents killing hundreds of Government • supporters. The Inspector of Police has received a communication from the Metropolitan Police, London, informing him that a reward of £200 has been offered for the recovery of the Nelson relics," recently stolen from the Painted Hall, Greenwich Hospital. The American mail steamer Sonoma left San* Francisco for Honolulu, Samoa, and Auckland at two p.m. on the 24th inst., I and is expected to arrive at this port on the morning of February 12. In yesterday's issue would be seen the notice of the death of Mr. H. F. Windsor, dentist, of Shortland-street, at his; residence, Hamilton Road, Ponsonby, who died, after an illness of about five weeks, at the comparatively early age of 46. He leaves a widow and a family. He had been a considerable time a resident of Auckland. His widow is a daughter of the late Captain Ellis, who, over a quarter of a century ago, was harbourmaster in Auckland. ' Yesterday afternoon Trooper O'Sullivan, who came up from the South with the Sixth Contingent, being one of the returned troopers from South Africa, and who was ! going back with the Sixth Contingent, met | with a sad accident. He was in the Imperial I Hotel, upstairs, with one of his comrades, I when in coming down a staircase, his spurs | caught in a ridge in it, and he was precipi- I tated to the bottom, severely hurting himself I in she back. Drs. Darby, "King, and Shar- i man did what was possible for the unfor- 1 tunate man, after which he was taken in the 1 ambulance to the hospital, by some members 1 of the ambulance corps. lb appears that I Trooper O'Sullivan hurt his back in South j Africa, being thrown from his horse. The hospital authorities are unable to determine the extent of his injuries at present, and it will be a few days before thev are exactly determined. Word was taken to the Cornwall | by his comrades of the accident which had befallen O'Sullivan. . " -' fi A buggy accident occurred yesterday at I Lake Takapuna. It seems that Mr. Evans | was driving in from Castor Oil Bay with | his wife and son and his parents, the Rev.. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, when the horse com- 1 menced to kick at Williamson's Hill, smash- § ing both shafts and the front of the buggy I Mr. Evans was kicked on both legs, though I not seriously. The horse injured its le<r 1 rather ; badly". The others in the buggy i were uninjured. Mr. Evans' father and § mother, 82 and 83 years of ago respectively, 1 were naturally a good deal shaken. "' f ( The men convicted of sly grog-selling at ] , Balclutha recently, says the Otago Daily Times, were taken to Dunedin by the express train, and a large crowd of peonle turned cut at Balclutha to see them off. : As the train steamed out of the station three i cheers were given ,by a number of the spec- § tutors for their friends who were about to! make a short and compulsory visit to Dun- I edin, whilst three groans were given for I the individuals who were supposed to have acquired tho necessary evidence for the police. Inspector Pardy (says the Otago Daily* Times) has succeeded in one swoop f in getting convictions and fines amounting I to £280, and the majority of the . offenders I sentto prison, without having in any way to disclose his modus operandi. Specula- j tion. was rife in Balclutha as to who the | ,;■ informants were, and the suggestion that f had most credence was that they were the gentlemen who not long ago were employed ! in a similar capacity in the King Country. The date of the show in connection with the Franklin Agricultural Society has been fixed for March 6. On this occasion the show will be held on Wednesday instead of Saturday, at Pukekohe. Provision is made in the schedule for poultry, pigeons, and I dogs being added to the customary exhibits I of horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Farmers' [ wives and daughters will find numerous [ classes open for them to compete in, such 1 as dairy produce, bread, preserves, flowers, j fruit, and needlework. The Northern Steamship Company (Limited), in connection with the Kawakawa races, issue return tickets to Russell at a specially-reduced rate, per s.s. Clansman, on Monday. Return saloon fare, 20s, avail- I able to return on Thursday. i On Tuesday evening next, at the Opera House, the Biograph will begin a short-fare--well season. The company exhibited in Auckland some little time since, and without doubt gave thorough satisfaction to the crowded audiences attending. Nothing can be better in the way of animated pictures than the reproductions which will be shown on Tuesday evening of the many notable events in which our late beloved Queen was central figure. The programme to be submitted is long and varied. In addition to a number of old favourites, some 20 or 30 are entirely new to Auckland. The Windsor Magazine 'Xmas number is beyond all doubt the literary sensation of the year. It contains stories by Rider Haggard, Zangwill, Guy Boothby, Benson, and others, and a long complete novel by J. C. Snaith is given away with the publication. Price, Is 6d, obtainable at Messrs. Wildman and Lyell's.