LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12147, 18 December 1902, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

);;• The English- cricketers constituting Lord Ha'wke's team were "i yesterday morning piloted round the city by the officials of the New Zealand Cricket Council and of the Auckland Cricket Association. They were f driven to the top of Mount Eden, and to other places of interest. At one o'clock they were officially welcomed by His Worship the Mayor (Mr. Alfred Kidd, M.H.R.), at the Municipal Buildings, when a con--1 genial -hour was spent in the honouring ot appropriate toasts. * In the afternoon the team were taken to the Domain, where they put in some useful practice at the ; nets,- and proved that they are rapidly : striking form. The : cricketers were in the evening the guests of the Northern Club to > dinner. Practice v will be resumed to-day, in order that all signs oi stiffness may be got rid of, in view of the first match of . the . tour, which will commence at the Domain : to-morrow afternoon, against the ir-f Auckland eleven. :

At a meeting of the committee having in hand the : question of the augmentation of the Auckland bishopric endowment, held in the Diocesan Office yesterday, when several church members interested were present, Mr. Wm. J. Speight submitted a scheme drawn up by the Executive Committee for the raising of the sum required. This scheme, whereby it is .proposed to issue circulars to church members of town parishes and f country clergymen, has for its object. 1 the raising of £5000, which, added to.the £7500 capital now standing to the credit of the endowment, will enable the stipei d of * the new bishop to be assured. Contributions ; are to be invited in two ways, those desirous of making a subscription outright, and those preferring to subscribe annually, being given the opportunity of doing either. The scheme was tdopted as submitted.

The special Christmas ieatures in this week's number of the Auckland Weekly News include a large number of most readable Christmas stories, and some very handsome illustrations appropriate to the holiday season. Altogether the number is one of the most attractive weekly illustrated editions yet issued, and an early application should be made for copies.

The hearing of the typographical-dispute was concluded by the Arbitration Court yesr terday. ;'■-■ At to-day't: sitting the brickworkers' case will be taken, and to-morrow morning the Court will sit to hear counsel's argument on the law points raised in the clothing manufacturers' case. Some awards may be delivered to-morrow, but no further cases will be heard till after the holidays. Owing to the great press of business the building labourers' dispute, which was set down for hearing to-day, has had to be postponed till January. The Court will resume its : sittings on January 13.

While driving a cart down a steep hill on the Whatawhata Road last Monday, Mr. L. Sutton, who was employed carting cream for the New Zealand Dairy Association, had a narrow escape from a serious accident. The clasps which hold the body of the vehicle to the under carriage gave way, and the body began to slip forward on to the horses. When attempting to jump out Mr. Sutton's foot became entangled in the reins, and he fell heavily to the ground, striking the back of his head, and being within an ace of being run over. Fortunately the horses pulled up in the high furze on the road side, and were extricated without any damage lieing done. _

It will be noticed from our advertising columns that the New Zealand Insurance Company's annual meeting is to be held on Wednesday, January 14 next, tor the purpose of receiving the directors' report and the balance-sheet foi the 12 months ending November 30.Q1902; for the election of two directors in the room oi Messrs. Arthur Hyam Nathan and Seymour Thome George, who retire by rotation, but are eligible and offei themselves for re-election; and foi the election of two -auditors.

Yesterday Plain-Clothes Constable Hollis arrested a man named John Fraser, on , three charges of breaking and entering and theft of certain carpenters' and other tools, 'of a total ; value of £12, the property of Henry W. Smith and Alfred Rice, both of S : Auckland.' Constable Dunne also arrested 'a' man named Charles William* foi the ; alleged theft of three rings, a watch and knife, valued at £1 17s 6d. Both are awaiting trial. The Government have decided to provide R«toruawith a telephone system..

Vast improvements (writes our Rotorua correspondent) have been made in and around the town of Rotorua during the last few months. Dr.. Wohlmann, ever since taking over the control of the ; baths, has been energetically employed in attending to various little reforms, that. will place the ivbathing accommodation on ■'■ a much better footing, quite in touch with the Continental spas. The Town ' Council .have also taken in hand other little matters that will greatly, enhance 'the artistic merits of the : town.! For instance, £ the ;. Council are building a very fine boating' pavilion on the esplanade at the edge' of the : lake. This pavilion is to be a handsome edifice overlooking the water,. and will contain some half-dozen apartments ' for boats on , the ground floor, and will be crowned with a platform to seat some 100 people. A central tower will be erected containing a band stand from which sweet music will ; be discoursed while aquatic sports are being indulged in on the lake. The Councilr also intend erecting small summer-houses on the esplanade for ~ the convenience of 'visitors, etc. A carnival will, in all probability, be arranged to take place in January. A committee has been elected to take the matter in hand, and the idea' is being enthusiastically taken up by the townspeople. It is intended to build and equip- several Maori war canoes for the carnival.

The daily showers during the past week in North Canterbury (says the Lyttelton Times) have aggregated a considerable rainfall" which has been immensely - beneficial to the crops and vegetation generally. The rain has, if anything, been more than enough for the lowlands, arid two or three weeks of fine weather are now required to keep the. crops .in satisfactory condition. On , the plains both oats and wheat : are coming into ear, and the prospects .are now in favour of a good average harvest if the weather continues favourable. Feed for stock is everywhere plentiful, and the milk supply to the factories and creameries is rapidly increasing. . Owing to the rain, shearing operations have been much retarded, only two or three days' work having been possible during the past three weeks. , :■"■ ■ .

The usual quarterly speed examination of the Auckland Shorthand Writers' Association was held yesterday, in the Oddfellows' Hall, Pitt-street. The following candidates were Successful in gaining :; certificates:— 120 words per minute: Misses Alexander. Cullen, Cozens,. Maxfield, Metge, and D. Phillipps. At 100 words per minute: Misses Cahill, Martin, Ryan, and Woodward. At 80 words per minute: Misses ;A. Angus, Judson, Matheson, and R. Phillipps. The examination was conducted by Messrs. Mac Lean and. Payne, assisted by members of the committee. ;

Yesterday a 1 young man named Tapp, the eldest son. of Mr. William Tapp, fell off a load of hay at Onehunga and was -. rendered unconscious. Dr. Pabst was summoned and was quickly in attendance. On inquiring last . night, Mr. Tapp was reported to be ' progressing favourably.

The. annual junior and senior scholarship examinations for the Auckland educational district are now proceeding at the University (seniors), and Wellesley-street school (juniors), the Thames, Hamilton, and Whangarei. In all 269 candidates have presented themselves, 37 being for the senior and 232 for the junior examinations. At Auckland 30 candidates are undergoing examination in the senior grade, 13 being boys and 17 girls; at the Thames, two boys and one girl; at Whangarei, two girls and two boys, giving a total of 17 boys and 20 girls. In the junior division the Auckland candidates total 173, of ivhich number 111 are boys and 62 girls. 'At the Thames there are seven boys and 18 girls (total 25), at Hamilton nine boys and nine girls (total 18), at Whangarei 11 boys and five girls (total 16), making in all 138 boys and 9-1 girls. .

Mr. P. M. Hansen, managing director of the Auckland Electric Tramways Company, Limited, yesterday addressed a letter to the clerk of the Parnell Borough Council, calling attention to a serious : misdemeanour oh the part of some unknown persons. The letter runs:—l regret exceedingly to; have to inform you of an act of a most contemptible nature, perpetrated by some person unknown to me, on the Paruell Rise, which, as you are aware, is our steepest -and therefore i most - difficult grade in Auckland. I am, of course, aware that it is beyond your Council's power to prevent such despicable deeds, but I thought it advisable to bring this one to your Council's notice, so as to give the same a3 much . publicity as possible. I am also communicating with the police. Some person last night placed* a very large stone, weighing from 351b to 401b, on one of the rails just about in the middle of the said i steep grade, : ; with the evident wish to derail the next car going down the hill, or to do some sort of serious damage. The next car going down the hill was one: of our double-deckers (No. 19), and it was only due to the splendid breaking powers of these cars, and the alertness shown by our motorman, that at least a long delay, if not an accident, was avoided. I do not know whether a by-law is ,in existence within your borough making such an act punishable, but if this should not be the case, I would most respectfully suggest that such a by-law should be passed immediately. I would further suggest ; that notices on poles : about sft or 6ft high should be fixed in the middle of the said rise on both sides of the road (at my company's expense), warning people against committing such or similar dastardly acts. One of our inspectors, Mr. McElwain, happened to be on the said car £ and brought the large stone to this office, where it may be seen. .

The ladies of the Auckland Benevolent Society have decided to postpone ; the poster march, which it was proposed to give at Government House grounds on Friday afternoon, till Saturday evening, in order to permit of the march being witnessed by, the English cricketers. The time and place will be advertised in a future issue. :; ': \ ' y - : ' ■ ■ ; . '

A discovery, said to be of immense value, in the form of vast deposits of a natural fertiliser, has recently been made in the Jeparit district (Victoria). The deposits are of copi or gypsum, and there are thousands of tons in the district, about three miles or so from a railway station. - All that is required to be done is to bag the stuff without any preparation, and to despatch it by rail. The stuff is claimed to be as good as any prepared fertiliser for lands deficient in lime, and is quoted by a Melbourne firm at 24s per ton. ;