LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12240, 8 April 1903, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

With to-day's issue we publish a Supple. • ment, , containing a number of interesting articles and illustrations, inchding "Things in General," a special interview, an article on Easter customs, the Woman's World Children's Column, two serial stories, and other items. There will be no publicttioii of the. Herald on Friday, being Good Friday. A telegram, received yesterday from Mr. Justice Cooper by Mr. R. Goring Thomas, clerk of awards, stated that the informations •' for breaches of the award, laid in connection with the furniture trade dispute, will be ; heard by the Arbitration . Court at Auckland on Monday, April 20. The Christ* church Trades Council, on behalf of the unions of that city, has forwarded the sum of £34 to the Auckland Council, for the benefit of the men affected by the present deadlock.

The sittings of the Electoral Commission, which commenced on' March 16, were brought to 3 close yesterday, After having extended over 17 days. Yesterday's sitting was held for the "purpose of hearing the addresses of the parties interested.. • Mr. King, registrar of electors, in his address, referred to the disadvantage under which he Lad laboured, in defending himself unaided by counsel against the charges brought against him. He stated that Tie ; had not been a gainer by the advance sheets of printed rolls supplied by him to people, and said he had done this 'in the first place to accommodate Mr. G. Fowlds, M.rLRi, Mr. Fowlds, who was present, however,; " gave an absolute denial to this statement.. Mr. Reed, in addressing the Commission,! on behalf of the complainants, said thai although it. was difficult to produce direct evidence of corrupt actions on the part of the registrar, the deductions, which were reasonably to be drawn from the weight of evidence submitted, justified the making of the charges of corrupt conduct. He commented adversely on the action of Mr. King in regard to the advance sheets of the rolls,, and reviewed the evidence with the object of showing that lie had not acted impartially in dealing with persons against whom he fancied, rightly or wrongly, that he had a grievance. The Commissioners will submit their report to the Governor, in accordance with the terms of their commission, probably some time during next week. " •' Another burglary is reported to have taken place on Sunday night. The house visited was that of Captain Slattery, of Northcote. That gentleman had drawn his pension last week, and had placed the balance, after paying a number of accounts, in a chest of drawers in his bedroom. This amounted to between £10 and £12, and was in gold and notes, and placed in a cashbox. On rising at four o'clock on Monday morning, he was startled to find the drawer open, notwithstanding that it was worked by means of a secret spring. Both cashbox and contents had disappeared, and an examination was at once made of the premises. One of the front windows was found to he open, but no further trace of the intruders was discovered. Nothing else was taken, although there was a quantity of valuables lying about. Although there" were 10 persons sleeping in the how, and it _ necessitated two or three be *ioiris' being passed before reaching Captain Slattery's bedroom, no one appears to have heard any suspicious sounds during the night. b A deputation of Grey Lynn ratepayers, representing the three wards of the borough,, waited last evening on Mr. John Fan-ell, at his residence, Rose Road, and asked him to consent to nomination as a candidate for the Mayoralty ot the borough. The deputation consisted of Messrs. R. 0. Hendy, A. Donald* C. Morlev. R. Dunn, Collins, and others. After hearing the deputation Mr. Farrell stated that he would give their request consideration, and would give his decision in the course of a few days. Mi. Farrell is at present a representative of the Sussex Ward, in the Borough Council. The payment of the legacy left to the Thames Hospital trustees by' the late Mr. Richard Bertram has been made. The . amount bequeathed was £279 19s 6d, which,together with the Government subsidv of v a If Sd thereon, makes a total of £419 19s 3d. This sum has been placed upon nxed deposit until it has been decided in what manner it shall be expended. A similar sum bequeathed to the Old Men's Home,, together with the Government subsidy, ha? also been placed on fixed deposit. "Job was not appointed as a registrar of electors, or he would have fallen," was one of the statements submitted to the. Electoral Commissioners yesterday by Mr. i in S' . his address to the Commission. Mr. King said it was not surprising if a registrar, through continued abuse from those with whom he had to deal, should sometimes lose patience, and challenge claimants for enrolment to prove their case before their claims were accepted. The objection lodged by the Thames Gas '~ Company against the assessment placed by : the borough valuator upon the company's gas pipes and connections, as laid down in the streets of the middle ward, has been withdrawn an amicable settlement having been arrived at between the parties concerned. The dividend for the half-year at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum, together • with a bonus of five per cent, on shareholders' payments for the same period, - will be payable at the offices of the Direc 1 Supply Company, Limited, on and after to-daj. ( r " ■:''■■ " --■_'"