LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11954, 1 May 1902, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Ax unusual occurrence was noticed by several resi.l?nts of Symonds-street yesterday morning, in the form of what is described as a shower of shells'. In one instance a lawn which had just been topdressed was found to be covered with small white broken shells— an interesting and picturesque sight. The explanation seems to be that tl: • shells had been caught up in a whirlwind along the shore, and deposited during the recent heavy rr.ins. The shooting season for native and imported game commences to-day. During the past few da-, s local sportsmen have been leaving for the various grounds, and another batch "left town yesterday, mostly for the Piako Vallev, Lake Waikare, and' the Kaipara district. Three reserved decisions by the Arbitration Court in Auckland cases, heard when' the Court was here some lour months ago, were received yesterday by Mr. R. Goring Thomas, the clerk of awards. In each case an employer was charged by the union with employing male machinists at less than the minimum' wage. The Court held that the employers should have paid the miniraam wage, and inflicted a tine of £5, with costs, .upon each tmp'ioyer. A precis of the judgluents will ha found in another column.

The introduction of the colonial scale of salaries for teachers has, according to the Christchurch branch of the New Zealand Educational Institute, had the effect of inducing teachers to look for employment in other parts of the colony, as well as their own provinces. The branch l , has therefore asked the Auckland Education Bo arid to forward it particulars of any vacancies that may occur in the Auckland distrifct. If the Act has the effect claimed by tht branch, there can be no doubt that it will be one of the greatest benefits that will arise from the new slate of affairs, becausi a school-teacher cannot have too much experience; and-unless he his frequenfc interchange of ideas, probably no one settles down more readily into a groove than a teacher. An amusing letter was read at the ' meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce yesterday. The president of the Waikato 'Farmers' Club had written just prior to the departure of the Premier for England, pointing out that Sir. Seddon had stated at Cambridge that he was nob sufficiently conversant with the metric system of weights and measures to give an - opinion on it, and su<"resting that the Chamber should supply Mr. Seddon with literature on the subject, which he could read at bis leisure on the voyage. The letter, judging from its tenor, was written in all seriousness, but the officials of the Chamber were evidently not prepared to take upon themselves the position of tutors for Mr. Seddon, and they replied (hanking the president-; of the Waikato Farmers' Club for the suggestion, butt stating_ that.if " Mr. Seddon was really ignorant, on the matter, which was much to be doubted, he would have ample opportunities while, in England of getting the belt information on the subject ? available. ] • •. Great complaint has been made latelyrespecting the condition oil Queen-street Down the most crowded pan. a wire rope is stretched in the centre of me street, and no crossings are provided. A pedestrian wishing to cross has. to -HUlk about aquarter of a mile, or has to crawl under" the wire rope, or get over it. somehow., At Custom-street, th% obstruction extends some distance along the streq;, and every person coming from the raihvay 01 the Devouport ferry has to go along Fortstreet, and make the best of Bs way over in the mud. On this subject 'V - Sufferer", writes: —"The City Council appear to be quite indifferent as to the convenience of' pedestrians, who, by the wads belli" broken up, are driven off' the r:gular cross" ings and compelled to wade through the mud; especially is this the • lase at the crossing at the Thames Hotel, where .there is about 2in of mud to wade through;'in fact, this is the case in Hobsta and other streets, which in this respect ire entirely W. neglected." ' \ ..,;.,,,-

From time to time the Educatsn Board * has come across peculiarities arid ;aoma'li».'s" " in the Act providing for a colonial cale for the payment of teaclierr. Another Waned was mentioned at the meeting of thcßoard . yesterday. Under the regulations theßaard is compelled to staff a school accordng to the returns for the previous year, yliich , means that if an abnormal increase lakers place after the 'end of the year there Yno power to make provision for it by appinting extra teachers.' ' On the other hmd, should there be a marked falling off in tie , attendance the Board can still staff on the:, larger figures of the previous year. It world naturally handicap the work of a school ii no provision could be made from time to time for unusual increases in the at tendance, and-. it was decided to bring this difficulty under the notice of the Minister for Education. ; An Avondale settler named Charles Pake f died suddenly yesterday morning, in , the : ; vicinity of his home, at Avondale. It appeal's that about 8 a.m. deceased's wife saAv him driving a heifer on the road, when" he suddenly fell, and on Mrs. Pake reach-1 ing his side she found he was dead. , Dr.; . Girdler was called in, and attributed death| to heart disease. The circumstance'' was \ reported to Constable Gordon, oi Avon-, dale, by Mr. Win. Mclvor, the police is turn reporting it to Mr. Greshara,'coroner,;'-, who will hold an inquest this morning. The deceased, who was about 60 years of age, was a brother of the Mr. Sake whs died on one of the Devonport Ferry Company's steamers about 12 months ago from heart failure. , .; . . . • The annual meeting of shareholders*Snl the Riverhead Paper Mills Company was held at the company's office, Bank of New Zealand Buildings, yesterday,! at noon. Although a comparatively new, industry,: the company has met with a most encouraging measure of success, as during the past 12 months the operations of the com-;-, pany show a profit ot £2023 5s 2d, and, a dividend at the rate of 7£ per cent, is declared. Particulars of the meeting appear elsewhere in to-day's impression. . , When the chairman of the Education, Board expresses his opinion about matters the members are seldom left in doubt: as to his meaning. At yesterday's meeting : the - Teachers' Selection Committee recommended certain names be sent on to one of the town committees for the selection of a teacher to fill a vacancy. Mr. Bagnall, the chairman, objected to one of those selected, on the ground that she had not the necessary qualifications to justify her recommendation for the post in question, and moved to &*«'•* her name deleted from the list, but the pro J , posal was defeated. "This," remarked -Mr.; Bagnall, "is one of those gross injustices wl , make the name of the Board stink m the nostrils of the public and teacher. -^ r - Lambe suggested that that was a reflection on the members. "It is intended to De a reflection," promptly rejoined the chairman; "it is a gross injustice where, for persona* reasons, names are sent to A committee, when they have not the quantitations to entitle them to thr position." Mr. EoDt>i agreed it was a piece of favouritism. \

Another urh . ; :t fti burglarf ?;'' ' suites in diK*uiHKnwK .1' to th- wouH\f thief, wcurred on Tuesday night?' ft •# pears that on Mr. Neman llrquhart proceeding yesteidav morning to open his saop in College Hill Road he found the marts or a crowbar or some other burglarious WW upon the front, door. A neighbor noticeo, a. man hanging about in the vicinity late on the previous night. - ' ' On Tuesday evening, Mr. B. Mills, P°- er at .|lie. Paeroa railway station, met with * painful accident. It" appears that during shunting operations he got jammed hetweu, two trucks, and though fortunately uo bo»« . were broken he was considerably bruu«« | and cut about the body. He was removes to his home, where he is now ■• receiving medical attention. \ A curious fatality is reported fro« ie Awamutu. A six-year-old boy named Mereweather, who bad been left 'by himself £ I a room, was a little later discovered M' » father sitting oil the stove which was »»8" ,; at the tune Despite Mr. Me»weatjjr> prompt action in removing the fefeugSl to the Waikato Hospital, the boy died tne. ov Tuesday from the burns he had sustains"'

'' ' : „ iun»Hli4 which the London ***?* c „ ntiv<il (al sympathy for the V « fi ° b*n h"VI. "it contains the B° erl, \ *L« on tie 3,;tish troops, and remMti falsehoods regarding great Boer l** M r B The British in Nigeria have capESS© King Emir of Kontagora. and W l o hi ? followers. The latter have 100 ft to their homes. The. shipping bße lne continues to be regarded with great e0 in Fnidand, and a movement is *<W n Ltition Parliament to dose Bri#lag»W the Trust. .; Captain "*** P ♦£« well-known naval writer, conPMI remarkable article to the National ■ IflW*. a d Sine with the importance of the feS g the colonies, hold Bran?. B f *i formerly Governor of Victoria, ' fh °, the necessity for closer union between Sffflerland and the colonies in regard *•• A" relations and naval defence. Mr. * tr . s £S"e speech has not been feibT received even in America. The n tend the press disapprove of it. ; tSXSSS that some difficulty will arise ■ ffin the BriUsh and Federal post office. vfiSrS'Z over the decision of the latter ' Ti Slcharge letters from Britain bearing PyXP^' stamp - The Union Company's steamer Taieri argStft* Westport late last night after IS rough passage of Jour days Leav--?'.W«toort at midnight on Saturday last, ■■•J'rfMiner fell in with a strong breeze from £ northeast, which increased until it was £1 a strong gale, accompanied by a JS caused sea. The steamer laboured a S3 deal, and seas continually broke on O but no damage was done. The gale Sued until Tuesday morning when •nd -ad sea went down, but it took 72 Era from the i line of crossing the bar until Cape Mftria Van Piemen was passed On .jvi.sdaynii'ht heavy rain set in, with much thunder and lightning Down the coast to arrival .moderate weather prevailed. * A 8 showing; how our Auckland youths tf getting oH in Edinburgh at the Medical School, the follow:,,; •<• Oracled from the Scotsman of March 26:-Class prize lists, winter session. 1901,1902: Unemistry. first v J r -Second-class Honours, B. 1. Champtloup and P. Vickerruan, equal; R. 11. Walton ■ Practical chemistry— mt-clui Lours S. T. Champtalpup, medallist; Lad-class honours, R. i 1 Walton. E! SSy zoology-Fir ;: class honours S. ™ Ciaaiptaioiip. medallist, first, lractical «'oloi:t---Fr:st-ciiiK honours, S. T. CharapMm, medallist, first; R. H.Walton, second. Lectures on anatomy—First-class honours, S. T Charaptttloup; eeconu-claks honours, h. H Walton. McKenzie bursary, for profic'iencv in dissecting, one of the most coveted mtses of the university, carrying pre distinction—A. C. McMaster and 33. \y Sibbald, equal. Sir William inner, th* Professor of Surgery, spoke highly of the" dissecting of the. winners of this burmtv- Physiology (junior division)—Firstclass honours, P. Vickerman ; second-class honours, A. C McMaster, D. W. Sibbald. Eroerimental physiology — First - class honours, D. W. Sibbald; second-class honours, A. C McMaster. Systematic surgery (juniors) Second-class honours, A. C. McMaster and D. W. Sibbald, equal. Practical surgery (juniors)— Honours, D. W. Sibbald, A. C. McMaster. Clinical surgery-First, A. C. McMaster, prize, a box of instruments. Pathology class honours, R. T. G. Aickin. Medicine —Second-class honours, K. T. G. Aickin. Disease of women and children —Secondclass honours, B. T. G. Aickin.

An employee of the Auckland Electric | ' Tramways Company yesterday experimented | \ with a new devic* for scaling telegraph poles, introduced by Messrs. J. G. White and Co., contractors to the company. By means of projecting spikes attached to his boots and strapped around his legs the climber found it- a simple and safe matter to ascend and descend the poles, thus proving the device to be a useful one. A young miner named J. Garvey had a remarkable escape on Monday afternoon. He • was engaged in No. 5 level of the Waihi Gold Mining Company's works, when he by some mishap steppftd into a pass, falling a distance of '50ft, and escaped with nothing , worse than a severe shaking. R. Scobie, a miner, also employed in the Waihi mine, received a severe scalp wound by falling i quartz. ' ■ Swera' dastardly acts of larrikinism, which involved the risk of serious loss of , life, have been perpetrated at the Branoer'eoal mine. In one instance (says the Christchurch Press) two casks of grease, each weighing 4£cwt, were sent rolling "down the incline- ot the mine, one falling with such force i<= to tear down partitions, and it was within an ace of wrecking - : the electric lighting: plant. Another act'/ was still more serious. Three trucks, which were standing ready to be lowered down the tunnel at the commencement ot the six a.m. shift, were deliberately uncoupled, and bad the mischief not been detected the uncoupled trucks would have broken away. The Wairoa Bell says.:—There is to be i daily ferry service between Aratapu and Mititai from May 1. 'Die tender,of the Northern Union Steamboat Company was more'liberal than was anticipated, and the public will'reap the benefit. Daily and frequent communication between the two banks of the river must lead to a large in- , crease of traffic, and materially assist the development of the whole district. When the committee iramed the table of ferry charges it was" not considered probable I that there would be a regular ferry on more than one ox two days of the week, so that the splendid service about to be in- . augurated will be a pleasing advance on our expectations. We look upon the establishment of such a connection between the eastern and western portions of our county as a. step of very great importance, and we congratulate those of our public men who have worked for years towards this end. A word of praise*is also due to the steamboat company for their enterprise in making such a liberal tender. And we must not forget Mr. A. Keane, whose pish and energy have done much in bridging the river for our settlers, and whose enterprise, no doubt, influenced the powerful steamboat company in making its tender so fully up to requirements.

A number oi specific charges against the administration of the Wellineton city engineer's department have been rorrnulated by the Architects, Builders', and Master Plumbers' Associations, and forwarded to the City Council in the form of a protest. The complaints relate to the manner in which the department is said to be accustomed to interpj'et the building and sanitary by-laws. It is alleged these are "frequently and vexatiously construed beyond every reasonable interpretation, involving unnecessary and useless expenditure, increasing without justification the cost of works carried out at the expense ot property-owners." Among other things, it is also charged that there is a "want of courtesy and consideration such as should he shown by a, public office, to arable a better aid more, harmonious feeling to exist in the conduct of business." As the complainants state that they are prepared to support their statements with evidence, it is probable that the opportunity will be given them, and of course the engineer will defend himself and ljis department. In the meantime the document has been referred to the Reorganisation Committee. j The Wairoa Bel! has the following!--We are glad to learn that the work of | establisliing the dairy industry in this \ district on an up-to-date method is pro- [ ceeding satisfactorily. The committee have j had several meetings, and articles of as- . sociation, rules, etc., have been adopted nd printed. Guarantee forms have been sent out, and steps taken to discover .the quality of the water at different localities, and, when these have been completed, the 'company will be in a position to proceed with the erection of creameries and factory. The great impetus which tins industry, when fully' established, will give to the progress of our district is talked ot by several,. but the extent of it is realised. . on h by a few, if any. It is expected that • the Auckland Freezing Company will be- . enrue a partner in the local company, and afford facilities for th* cool storage of the produce in Auckland, also tor its sale iu the Home or other markets.

There wo now over' 6/men employed on the Waihi Borough vorks. The timely action of the Council in at once putting urgent works in progress has (writes our correspondent), reliey/3 ' considerable distress in Wnihi. / • / A number <I summonses in connection with the ptwyihir of the roll for the Manukau parliamentary district were to have been heard yesterday, but, on the application I of the registrar, Mr. King, they were aujourncd/ntil the 14th inst. Skating on ice will soon be possible! in Melbourne, It is proposed to expend £50,0)0 on a rink there. The method of refri/eration to be adopted is that known as /direct expansion." In the heat of sunrlner the rink will be delightfully cool, while in the depth of winter the necessary wrrrnth and comfort will be maintained hi the regulation of the temperature. Mr. ffoldburgh, the engineer, has arrived in Melbourne. Several experts are being drought out from Canada as instructors, and ice polo and hockey, both healthful exercises, will be played, while fancy-dress and masked carnivals will be held, as at St. Petersburg and London. These have proved very attractive and successful, and nave caught on tightly with the fashionable world. An applicant for relief at a meeting of the Ballarat (Victoria) Benevolent Asylum Committee recently, stated that her husband was strong and able, but he absolutely refused to work. She and he family could starve, but he would not seek employment, or find any means of providing them with sustenance. One of the committeemen, who had inquired into the case, said the husband was the most extraordinary creature he ever met. He was physically and mentally strong, tidy in his habits, but nothing would induce him to exert himself. As the woman was in destitute circumstances, the committee made an order that she should be supplied with rations, and 5s was given her, so that she could sue her husbaid.

A fire with terrible results occurred at Sandy Creek, in the Albany district, New South Wales. The wife of a miner, named Mrs. Meredith, had occasion to leave her house to go to a neighbour's residence close by. leaving three children behind her —two playing outside, while the other, a baby, was asleep in bed. Mrs. Meredith, hearing screams, ran home and found the house on fire. Rushing in to rescue her baby, the ceiling of the room, which was ? mass of flame, fell and enveloped the mother and child. Wrapping the child in » blanket, she struggled her way out, her clothes all alight, and she was severely burned. The child, who also was badly burned, was taken to Albury. but died shortly after arrival from injuries and shock. The house and the whole of the contents were completely destroyed. At the inquest it • came out that the children had been playing with toy pistols, on which caps were used, and Mrs. Meredith believes that the fire was caused by the sparks arising from the explosion of the caps. $