LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12213, 7 March 1903, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The formal delivery of the award in the ■ tailoring dispute' yesterday brought"to 91 conclusion. the sittings of the Arbitration Court. But for a little difficulty which '' arose on. Thursday the decision would • have been given then. 'As it". was * both . ' parties to the dispute were considered ii> making the postponement, and yesterday , intimated their satisfaction ' , with the award in its amended "form.' The Arbitra- • : tion Court stands' adjourned until Wednes- . day next, at Gisborne, when, dispute' 'in the carpentering trade 'is 'to ba heard. ' " Mr. A. Rosser (president 'of the local ~1 branch of the Carpenters' Union) will ; conduct the case for the' men.'' At a large meeting of the wholesale and | retail members of the Auckland ; 7 'i Wine and Spirit Merchants and Licensed . Victuallers' Association, it was decided to support the present members of the Licen* v sing Committee at the election 'of commissioners to be held on the 25th of' thii ' ./i month. Whilst the necessity and wisdom of eleven o'clock licenses were urged it ; was decided to accept the platform of 'the present committee, ' which ' includes ten ■ 0 : qlock closing and strict enforcement of -j\v' the licensing laws." ' The nomination of candidates closes ' on Marph 18,' one week. prior to the election. " " v

The meteorological returns for th# month of February show that the weather has been showery and unsettled from the 23rd to, the 28th; for the last of the month' fine and dry. ' The temperature has been ''two'' degrees below" the average; rainfall, l|in below the,, average. ' •

The Rev. F. G. Buckingham, who haw accepted a call to the pastoral oversight of the Baptist Church, Nelson, • arrived 'by the mqil steamer Ventura yesterday. He and his daughter, Miss Buckingham, wjli Be the guests* of the Rev! j. B. and' Mrs. Sneyd, - " Br^idiyoo'd,"' Eden Vale Road, for a' fortnight. 'The rev.' gentleman is spoken of as ' a gifted preacher,"' and ' will b'e ah ac.quisition'to 1 the ' ministerial ranks of New ' "

Oh Thursday last a man named Heavey had a narrow escape from serio|i| Occident at Waihi. He was carting metal from the Waitete quarry, and in coming down a hill with 4a % full load,' "the 'shafts "of ! the dray snapped. ''- The horse walked : clear away, and Hgavey was thrown" out ol the dray. ; ' Luckily he escaped with (several bruises' on the back and loins. The South Australian Register has the) following with rpferencg to Mr. : J. H. Scott, an old South Australian printer, who died in Auckland on January 26: —. Mr. §cptt arriy§| ill Adelaidp in 1850, and entered the * Register * office. In the following , year he ' joined a party, wh'jch ineluded' Mr. W. K. Thomas, and proceeded to " the Bendigo goldfields. In 1858 he established the Williamstown Independent, and then in turn he was proprietor of the . Ballarat' Times " arid the Hamilton - Free Press, the latter of which lie owned for 12 years. Mr. Scott was head overseer of the Melbourne Argus fqr eight years, and in 1881 he went to Fiji, under , appointment as Government Printer. On leaving Fiji, Mr. Scott proceeded to Auckland* %hepg he remained in business until the time of 1 his death. - , Be. Schwarzbach leaves for Te Aroha to-day for the benefit of his health. Hp will be away for about' three weeks. ... Mr. F. Allen, general manager Commer* cial Union Assurance Company, was among the passengers per Rotoiti yesterday morning from Wellington.. ■ An enthusiastic angler caught seven fin? trout in the Waikato ; River, below the Arateatea. Rapids, '• Wairakei, last Satut' day. The catch weighed. * 40|lb. ; • A' Several letters to the editor wilj M found on page 6 of our Suppleswak ■' . :**'

The situation in tie Balkans likely to lead to , important developments. According to French advices from St. Petersburg, ' Austria and Russia •. have secretly agreed to, occupy Servia and Macedonia in the event of the Sultan of Turkey failing to carry out the reforms ' demanded.' Bulgarian insurgent bands are" again active in Macedonia, , and the Porte '"comniains that owing to tk? sympathy of the inhabitants ' with them the- operations .of ' 'the Ottoman 1 troops' against' these ' bands api greatly impeded. A' British Blue 'Book shows that the Austro-ftwssian scheme was only'' communicated "to" the British" Government'oil February 17, and was agreed to in order to' avoid : delay. ' The new 'German tariff is causing *" dissatisfaction " in England, and a conference" has ' been convened by the London Chamber of !Commerce, for the purpose ' of' calling Lord •Lansdowne's attention to the matter. The question of maintaining food supplies 'in Britain in time of war is engaging the attention of the Government, and it is proposed to set up a Royal Commission to inquire into the subject. The Premier says that what lie fears is not the exclusion of food' and raw 'material, but its cost under certain, conditions owing t.o the question 'of insurance/' The rebels 'in Morocco have defeated the Sultan's forces, inflicting a loss of' 50 killed and 100 wounded. The Pope is suffering from a cold, and although' it is stated that there is "no cause for ''uneasiness,' he has been ordered complete rest for ! some days. America's naval programme, is interpreted as a' reply to 'German 'arid Austrian attempts to revive ' the Central- European Customs boycott against the "United States. German jurists are attacking the 'Monroe Doctrine as an ' empty pretension supported by real power. Mr. ! Balfour, in the course of a speech at a Unionist ' banquet, referred to " the question of Home Rule, and declared that the Liberal party, in order to gain the support 'of the Irish members, was ' prepared 1 to dissolve the union with Ireland. :

A Press Association telegram from Wellington states that the Consul for France in New Zealand and Countess de Courte left lay the Mokoia last night for Sydney en route to Europe. The Countess has been in very indifferent health lately, and is to .undergo medical treatment in Paris.

Madame Melba did not proceed to Rotorua yesterday, her plans having been changed at the last moment. Yesterday evening she was present at the performance at His Majesty's Theatre.

In the bankruptcy of John Philip Lawson, at Sydney,' the bankrupt, in answer to the official assignee, said he had never been bankrupt, and had never assigned his estate or made a composition before. His bankruptcy ' Was caused by specula- ( tion in mining shares. He was 63' years of age, and was born in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A., and for the last 41 years had been connected' with* mining. He started mining in 1851, in Montana, and since had carried on mining operations in North and Soutji America and New Zealand, and had been speculating in mines in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Sydney. In 1868 lie Was worth £150 and lie had' made and lost six fortunes. 'Li 1396 'lie came "from London to New Zealand as a mining engineer to three companies, "at a salary 'of £3000 a year for three years. Those mines turned' out'pp. lie" worthless, and he paid £1600 in wages to one company, and was never repaid. His ' accounts ' were being prepared by hi? solicitor. Mr. Parish. Witness was living at the Australia Hotel last year until April, when he rented Mr. Mark Toy's residence "at Belle Vue Hill at a' rental of £26 per month. He left then and'' went back to the Australia, where lie Was seriously ill for 46 days. He sometimes went to the races, "but he never betted more than " 10s ' each time. In 1898 Mr. * Harry Brett " and ' witness bought the Barrier Reefs mine, which is situated on the Great Barrier Island, about 50 miles north of Auckland, New Zealand. They opened' up the' mine arid floated it into a' company', called the Barrier Reefs Gold Mining Company.' Witness had about 29,000' siares.' but gradually* sold out all but. about 2000" shares. ' He r finally sold out- about two years ago. The '& was shut down now. ' ' .He believed he made between £6000 and £7000 by dealing in shares in' the' Talisman mine,' which was .also situated 'in ' New Zealand. He lost the money in buying mining interests in Tanopa, Nevada, U.S.A. The matter was adjourned until March 12. In consequence of the very low rates of "freight offering for timber cargoes from New Zealand to Australia.,' shipowners aye not at present inclined to accept theip, and are sending their vessels from the South' to Australia in ballast to load coal back. ' The barque Helen Denny left Wellington for Newcastle in ballast on Thursday, and the barque Kinclune goes _ across to the New South Wales coal port in ballast also'. '