LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11907, 7 March 1902, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Premier has sent the following telegram to the Mayor (Mr. Alfred Kidd!, concerning the Auckland send-off:—"Will be in Auckland for send-off of the Ninth Tontingent, 19th inst. Leaving Auckland, 21st.. Better say good-bye then, as it is impossible fc3 fix a, port of departure, as it all depends on the date on which circumstances will permit me to leave." In his reply to the Premier, Mr. Kidd suggested that the sendoff ceremony should take place on the 19t¥ inst., after the Ninth Contingent had been farewelled by the citizens. v , The fire alarm system for Auckland adop. ted by the City Council as part of their new fire brigade scheme will soon be under con«. struction. Superintendent Woolley, of tJw Fire Brigade, estimates the cost of the wires, bells, etc., at between £700 and £800, and the cost of 70 call boxes and fittings atf £374 10s. The Council decided last night to get the work started at once by the Go* vernrnenf, Telegraph Department. The suggestion has frequently bees mad* that Mr. Austin Strong, who is now,iff Auckland, engaged in preparing plans fof. the laying out of Cornwall Park, ishould ba" asked tc do similar work in connection with some of the Auckland reserves More h» leaves the city. The City Council is now moving in the matter, and resolved last night to ask Mr. Strong on what terms fc*j will lay out the proposed Victoria Pari* Freeman's Bay, and other city parks. The greater portion of the Kawhia blpcß has now been gazetted for selection on tht lease in perpetuity system, and will bt 1 open on the Bth prox. Areas totalling 8109 acres are to be reserved for selection as improved farm settlements and villag* ■ettlements, 7000 acres being set down fof the former, and 1100 for village* settlements. The special settlement areas art to be thrown in with the rest of the leas* in perpetuity blocks. As fa* as is known at present, the whole of the land, with the exception of this 8100 acres, will bt open for selection on lease in perpetuity, The Commissioner of Crown Lands is awaiting additional explanation from head* quarters in regard to* the reserves men* tioned. " A telegram has been received by Inspeo*, tor Cullen, stating that early on the morning of February 26 a five-roomed house at Whs* *" nanaki, occupied by Mr. Robert Murray, * settler, was destroyed bv an outbreak or fire. The tenant of the house believes th» fire to have originated by some smouldennii cinders which were left in the kitchen fireplace. The occupants of the house wert able to save some of the furniture. The New Zealand office hold a policy on ™* house, which is valued at £125, for £IW$ and the furniture, which is valued at £w« was insured at the same office for £30. The question of drainage on St Mary' beach, which has given rise to some alarm by Ponsonby residents, was before the CStf : Council last night, the Council deciding n*fl order to obviate the Ponsonby objections, »J spend £200 in carrying house drainage w low water in a covered drain. % Mr. John Dunn, of Orakei, at one tin*, colour-sergeant of H.M. 70th Begin"***! who recently underwent an operation for *f* internal complaint, died at his e ":*i Orakei, on Tuesday. Deceased, who *■» 79 years of age, saw a good deal of affro- . in India, notably at the Mutiny tt« His regimental 'record allows «w» l .£*"'* during the defence of tlie '* Residency, Lucknow, on which occasion he «•"«» ded. He also served with the 70tn, » «• • Zealand during the Maori war, andj» , twice wounded. Deceased leaves a grow--, up family. '~;,./: S •■■■-■.. ' i , »:■■

The London Standard's account of the Klwkadnrp disaster states that so little wm any attack anticipated that part of the escort -was allowed to ride into Klerksdorp the previous night. The Boers charged with reckless courage and great impetuosity, and captured the guns. Ihe dead and wounded wore stripped, though Commandant De li Key appear, to bate done his best to prevent looting In tie engagement 30 Boers were killed and so wJunded. In a brilllan speech m the House of Commons in defence o the Go vernment in regard to tl.e coiicvm camps, Ml Chamberlain said they were costing £180,000 a month. More JBoeu have "been captured. including Botha» chief telegraphist. The pay of the.Br twU soldier is to be increased to Is a day clear that is, clear of all stoppages. New docks are being constructed at Avon.nnilh at a cost of £2,000,000. They irill have the largest cold storage depots in the United Kingdom. bast, week 75 deaths from smallpox occurred in London. Students riots on a serious scale have occurred at Kieff and Odesso, and both universities have been closed. Count Tolstoi, who was supposed to be dying some time ago, is improving. The rebellion in China is aimed at the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty. A Turkish general has been arrested m Constantinople.

There has brtn ft good deal of comment within the past day or two at the way in which the 'bus-owners have ignored the City Councils regulations with regard to traffic in Queen-street. The matter was explained to J ;he Council last night bv the traffic inspector's report, which stated that the 'buses had been ordered out of Queenstreet, but that, with the exception of the Tramway Company's 'buses, they hr.d all come back and started from their usual stands, the proprietors stating that they had consulted a well-known lawyer, who advised them to defy the authorities. Messrs. Pullan and Armitage refused to submit a time-table for their I'arnell and Remuera 'buses, stating that they could not be responsible for a time-table being correct I v kept when the roads were broken up. The Mayor said he had interviewed the 'bus-owner's, and they were willing to fall in with the regulations, though perhaps they could not be enforced, owing to there being no by-law. The cabs, he said, would also take' their stands on the side streets.

The annual meeting of 'shareholders of the United Tress .Association was held at the Harbour Hoard Chambers yesterday afternoon. There were present: Messrs. J. L. Wilson (Auckland, chairman), H. Brett (Auckland). E. W. Knowles (Napier), L. Blundell (Wellington). J. C. Wilkin (Christchurch), 0. Fenwick (Dunedin), J. L. Kelly (Wellington), E. O. Kerr (Timaru), P. Dinwiddle (Napier), W. McCullough (Thames), V. W. Jones (Wanganui), 0. »Bell (Dunedin), V. Selig (Christchurch), W. A. Parkinson (Hawera), the Hon. H. Feldwick (Invercargill). A. R. Muir (Gisborne), W. Atkin (Westport), and T. P. Williams (Westport). The report of the directors, recommending a bonus of 10 per cent, to subscribers, was adopted. Messrs. Brett and Wilkin, retiring directors, were re-elected without opposition. . A vote of condolence was passed with the relatives of the late Mr. C. W. Kerr, of Dunedin. a member of the association. It was decided before separating to hold the next meeting in Christchurch.

In reply to the Minister for Lands' denial of the statements recently attributed to him re land settlement, the Tuapeka Times says that Mr. Duncan's "stranger" was the editor of that journal, and he so announced himself to the Minister before entering into conversation with him on the question of land settlement in Tuapeka. he Tuapeka Times goes on to say:— regards Mr. Duncans denial of his statements reflecting on the Supreme Court Judges, he is, unfortunately for himself, in a very ugly position. Had it been merely a question of accurate statement as between the Minister and the editor of this paper, the matter might not unreasonably be regarded as the outcome of a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the Minister's words, but yet it may be said that no one who was' present could by any possibility mistake or misinterpret the statement the Minister mad'?, as it was made with a deliberation that indicated it had received some mental nursing, and was no mere impression or opinion of the moment. But supposing the representative had misunderstood or misinterpreted Mr. Duncan's statement, it would have been hardly possible that the other two gentlemen present could have fallen into the same mistake. Mr. James Bennett, M.H.R., and Mr. Robert Cotton were present during the interview, and on the editor of this paper meeting Mr. Bennett an hour or so afterwards, he called Mr. Bennett's attention to the extraordinary nature of the statement made by Mr. Duncan with reference to the Supreme Court Judges, and Mr. Bennett at once agreed that it was an astounding statement. On Monday we called Air. Cotton's attention to the denials of the Minister for Lands on this matter, and that gentleman at once replied that the Minister had made the statement attributed to him by the Tuapeka Times, and added that there could be no possible mistake {.bent it."

At the meeting of the Thames Borough Council last evening, it was decided to endorse the sentiments expressed in the letter forwarded to the Hon. W. C. Walker by Mr. H. Poland and Dean Hackett, re the request of the people of Wa'hi for r hospital. The letter in question concluded by stating that if the people of Waihi think that they cannot be served by a hospital only 3£ miles distant, no one would object to them having one in their township, provided that they get themselves cut out of the Thames hospital district, and as a separate district maintain it in any way they choose, provided they do not call upon the contributing bodies of the Thames Hospital district.

With fine weather the autumn carnival of the Auckland Amateur Athletic and Cycle Club, which takes place in the Domain to-morrow afternoon, should bo a great success. The club has never had such ft membership as it at present possesses, and the entries for the various events are more numerous than for years past, so that a big attendance and interesting racing may be expected. A special feature will be the Cycle League championships, in which Dates, the speedy Southerner, is competing. Among the other attractions may be mentioned George Smiths attempt to beat the record for the 120 yds hurdles. With their usual thoughtfulness, the members are providing afternoon tea for the ladies. The members of the Ninth Contingent having accepted the club's invitation to be present, the sports will give a splendid opportunity to their friends to meet the troopers. The men are to arrive on the ground at a quarter-past two, under the command of their officers. Some notes and anticipations about the events will be found among the athletic notes by Lynx, which will appear to-morrow morning.

The Thames Borough Council has instructed its inspector of buildings to enforce the provisions of section 318 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1900, re fireescapes in all hotels end boardinghonses within the borough.

At the meeting of the Ohinemuri County Council yesterday afternoon, the question of contributing towards the purse of sovereigns which is to be given to the Premier OB a national tribute to his patriotism, was discussed. Several of the councillors spoke in opposition to giving the Premier a monetary gift, and it was decided that the letter and lists from Mr. Wilson, secretary to the fund in Auckland, be received.

The annual picnic of the Master Plumbers' Association of Auckland is to be held at Motutapu to-morrow, and in consequence all the plumbing establishments in the city will be closed for the day. The ferry steamer Britannia has been engaged to convey members and their friends to the island, and will leave the Queen-street Wharf at nine a.m. and one p.m. A good programme of sports has been arranged for the day, and if the weather is favourable an enjoyable outing is anticipated.

At Cambridge yesterday, the Royal Commission—Messrs. H. O. Seth-Smith, A. 1,. D. Fraser, M.H.R., and Hone Heke, M. H.R.—set up for the purpose of inquiring into judgments given in the Native Lands Court and Native Appellate Court, commenced its sitting, taking first the Au-o-Waikato and , Maungatapu cases, but owing to the non-attendance of Mr. W. H. Grace, who is to represent certain grantees, the sitting was adjourned till to-day. An old identity of Hamilton, Mr. William Wood, died on Wednesday evening suddenly. He was returning from work with his harrow, and dropped down in the street. He died on his way to the hospital. A coroner's jury returned a verdict that deceased died from apoplexy. He was at one time a member of the Hamilton Borough Council. The High-street, police station will be vacated by Sub-Inspector Mitchell and his staff to-day, and a removal made to the new station, adjoining the O'Rorke-street Barracks, From this afternoon all business in this department of the police service will be conducted at the new premises. At the officii assignee's office yesterday afternoon, ft "meeting of creditors in the bankrupt estate of George V. Campbell, tailor, was held, but it was eventually adjourned sine die without any resolution being recorded. Inspector Cullen received the following wire from Constable Scott yesterday: — "The Dargaville school children held a picnic at Maropiu on Wednesday. A number of children got on the swing-bridge over the Kaihu Creek, and the bridge giving way they were thrown over into the river, several getting their arms broken. No lives were lost." There was a large attendance last night of the united choir in connection with the coming mission of Dr. Grattan Guinness. Mr. R. W. Bligh was present, and gave an interesting account of the progress of the mission in Australia and the South Island. Messrs. Arthur Yates and Co., seedsmen, Auckland and Sydney, have issued their farm seeds list for the current year, of which all interested in the coming grass-sowing season should procure a copy. Josephine Johnston, a widow, of Auckland, has been adjudicated a bankrupt.