LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12328, 21 July 1903, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The matter of the report of the Commission appointed to inquire into the management of the Auckland Hospital gave rise to a brief informal discussion at yesterday's meeting ;of the Hospital Board. The chairman ; (Mr. Q. J. Garland) ruled that as no copy or notification of the report had ; been sent to the .; Board officially* no resolution on the subject. could be 'received, ihe report itself 'was therefore nob dealt with, and thus no reply to the statements in the report will be received -by the local bodies' conference at its adjourned meeting on the 31st in St. The conference will therefore be exactly in the same position as it found itself on assembling last week, , The ; steamer Westralia, from Sydney, which anchored in ftangitotb channel on Sunday night, > came into port yesterday ; morning, her mail? being taken down to Motuihi by one of the ferry , steamer's for fumigation shortly after her i arrival; .After the usual medical arid Customs inspection the';. estralia berthed at V the Queen-street Wharf, ', The -\ passage I across the Tasmari Sea Was marked by ; strong winds, confused v seas, and! thick i weather. On Saturday evening a very ] joyable concert was held in the , dining ■I saloon, the programme was \ successfully i rendered by the following passengers: — (Miss Snow, Messrs. Trengrouse, fry,i Mori gan, Brown, Henderson, and?the Westralia | le ? *»*%• Mr. Henderson fulfilled the , duties of chairman, while Mrs. Henderson j proved herself a very capable accompanist. ! 'hiring «ie evening a collection was taken tip m aid of the Royal Human* Shipwreck Relief Society of New South Wales, which resulted in the '-' sUm :of £1 15 8 ■ being Col- , lected. On Sunday,morning. Divine seri vice- was conducted on board '■•-. by the Rev. J J.. S, Ponder.

: Yesterday forenoon v, the- Supreme Court - i a bill of costs, submitted by TV. Richardson,,' '' sustained by him by reason of the recent ' '■■'■ prosecution by W. J. Baker, was referred to the registrar (Air. W. Brewer), in chambers, for taxation. Mr. J. A. Beale appeared for Richardson and Mr. A. W, ' ,B lair 'for, the prosecutor. -The total amount - of the bill was £60 3s 10d, and it was reduced :by taxation to £5 lis. The main, objection to the bill, which was chiefly for ■ , i witnesses' expenses, was that the Witnesses ■'.! had not been paid in cash, but by promissory note, the registrar holding'that this 'i> was nob >: sufficient payment. The bill of •.; W. i. Bell amounted to £24 13s 4d, and . .' Was :reduced, by taxation to £6. • ;■■ Objection was also taken to tire claiming of personal expenses by' the defendants in both cases, ', tho registrar holding that these were nob' ■>.'■■■ comprehended lit the term "costs sustained'' "' in the Act. , -. /, ?; This Hiiddart-Parker steamer Zealandi;*; ri left for Sydney last evening, with a number of passengers and a large genera! - cargo, included in the cargo from Auekland were 19 bars of bullion, ' valued "at £16,900, shipped by the Waihi Gold Miaiug Company for transhipment to Lou. don ; 150 boxes of butter, 195 bales of itax, 25 cases of canned mullet, and lines of timber, concentrates, hides, etc.* for Australian ports, besides a large consignment} ; of copra, per Bakanoa, from Fiji. ' ' . At Thursday evening's meeting of. theAuckland City Council Mr. John Court will move:—"That the city engineer report la the next meeting of the Council the number ',';, ' > of permits for building dwellinghouses granted by his department since the passing " \. of the Municipal Corporations Amendment,' ; Act, 1902, also if such buildings, erected or in course of erection, conform to the pra» visions 4 of the above Act." The slippery state of the asphalt in Queen* street yesterday caused several horses is ' come down. Shortly after/ nine o'clock ia the morning two horses, attached to a cab,!; I came to grief, and in consequence of the&' ! kicking some difficulty was experienced .in . ■getting them clear of the Vehicle and on : their feet again. They suffered little of ' '' no injury. About eight o'clock on Saturday night .! a man appropriated a coat from the front of - ' Mr. Alf. Moore's drapery premises, Queenstreet, but, on detection, eluded capture "by mingling with the crowd and ridding Ma« , self <of the article of wearing' apparel. ." '- : At the meeting of the Grey LynsBorough Council last night, a letter was read from Mr. Hansen, attorney to ih« '■ Electric Tramways Company, in reply to the resolution passed at the lost meeting of the Council, imposing certain conditions , ' in respect to the signing by the Councils ;■ the debenture trest deed. The letter stated v that the company could hot agree to tft* terms stipulated, The letter was received ' '..'"' without discussion. ;■: , A poll of ratepayers in the Northcotd ' water supply district will be ' taken to* ,'"i morrow, between nine a.m. and six pita., to determine . whether the sum of £6000 shall be borrowed from the Colonial Trea- i,,.« surer under the Loans to Local Bodies Act, 1901, for the purpose of constructing the ■ necessary water-races, etc., to supply * the ! inhabitants with water. The polling booths will be located at the Waitemata County Office, Queen-street, Auckland, and the Bey View Hall, Inorthcote. '' ! '' : ::: : ::' ; ::': : '-: i ':;' : " ,: , //- :;:>:,:#' v:^ At the meeting of the Auckland Hospital '."■ Board yesterday afterni'on, a letter wan re-, : ; : "'. ceived from the Defence Department, in reply tq a communication from the Board, in which it requested payment of an account of £2178s for the treatment of returned troopers in the :}{, Auckland Hospital on their return fri'ta South Africa last year. The Department .•;■ referred the Board to a letter of October last, . in which the Board stated that - this Board most willingly grants free hospital treatment to any members of tho New Zealand contingents invalided from active Service." The ' . chairman (Air. G. J. Garland) said that the , agreement was intended to refer or,hr t-o '".':■* troopers belonging to th? Auckland s district. He thought it was only. fair that the Board ':) should be relieved of the cost of traatuijg troopers belonging to other'districts. Mr. ' ; 3. McLeod said the Board could hardly do , .anything in view of its previous.'letter! Probably many Auckland troopers who were . landed in the So nth received free treatment . there. Mr. A. Jiffies said the Board, A* though it did not intend it; had committe3. itself" to .the; free treatment of ail troopers,. On the motion of Mi;.McLeod it was.resolved to inform the Department that, ia ■ face of the Board's previous offer, no.further . claim would be made, but that the Depart* latent be informed that the offer Was intended ■■■■■;< to apply only to Auckland' triioperi. ' ,',■'• Several members of the Thames Gbldfieiol , Improvement Committee arrived by ' steamer from Thames , last' eveniiig, for the purpose V ? >, of making a thorough. canvass of the met*- , chants and business men of Auckland, for ;; V; the purpose of obtaining contributions to- : iVai'ds the scheme for exploring -the deep ; . levels at Thaines by means.of the diamond '..] drill. The prospectus issued by the commit" • tee appeared iii our advertising columns a. short time ago, and copies have been Circulated, throughout the city. " From a perusai of the prospectus we gather that every sub* -'' scriber to the scheme has an interest, proportionate to the total, amount of sotecrip- 'f tion (estimated at £3000), in some 39 acres ': of ground formerly comprised in the ]doana- j taiari North and Mo&nataiari Extended .. '. leases, which has been handed over to tha' ■';'••. committee by Mr. E. F. Adams, surveyor and mining engineer of .Thames. Several bore :,'■'.•: holes are to be put. ddwh in this ground, ; and should they disclose payable lodes at a depths as anticipated, this property will be of con* ■'.- siderable Value. ' ' \

i Yesterday at . the Avondale Asylum tfa*; coroner (Sir. Gresham) held an inquiry, ! touching the death of a female inrnate who . : died on Sunday, haying been only threo . . days hi the institution. Deceased. who : 1 haa given . birth •to a child about July &, | was supposed, when admitted, to be suffering from' puerperal insanity, and subsequently indications pointed to blood-poison-ing. Dr. Beattie, medical superintendent ■ jof . the asylum, in his evidence, said that at \ j times it was impossible to avoid blood- .-■■•'■ t poisoning in maternity cases, and Landed .« | that he was satisfied that no blame attached ! to the management of the Salvation Army I Maternity Home, .where the deceased gave : §M birth to the child. A verdict was returned jSp ! in accordance with the medical evidence. Yesterday morning the death of Mr. -las. , Kirwin, an inmate of the Waihi Hospital, took place. Deceased, wild wlis 69 years -' • of age, met with an accident some twomonths ago while engaged at some work in : connection - with the ; Waihi Gold Mining ~ Company's Water-race. He injured his ; spine, and has since been confined to his ' v | bed. Just after the Waihi Hospital wft'i':..,, [opened deceased was admitted into the hi-. I stitution, : where Be 'reiii&ined' tip till the time h-'i\ , of his death. , ! The coroner (Mr. Gresham) leaves for m the Wade this morning by one of the : -; I Coastal Steamship Company's vessels for 1 '-'M ! the purpose of ; holding an inquest upon < the body of •an old lady named Elizabeth >= \ Stringer (aged 62), Who died suddenly | yesterday morning. Dr. Hood accompanies i I the coroner for purpose of performing ; a post-mortem examination. On making inquiries at the police station lasi night, a Herald representative was informed , . that the deceased lady had for some day& ■;.;; prior to death been suffering irom influ- 1 enza, and although medical assistance was ;..'. not called in, the Jausband and relatives |j| did all in their power to; alleviate her sufferings. They state '■ that death was due to c ' natural causes. . The■:.■ Tilikum was placed on inhibition . ip Wellesley-street, neat the Art Gallery, for the first time last night, and a very, . large number of people inspected. the tiny of aft, Captain Voss and Mi. Horace Buukridge lectured. The sea anchor vi* "';s• Shown, and the charts with the canoe's : <?., ■ track explained. To-day tile. Canoe willbe -)■ I thrown open from eleven a.m. Captain ■["% | Voss lectures both afternoon; and evening. ;■! | Mr. Buckridge will also be present to '■ answer questions on the Discovery expedi- ' tion. .

\ Th» puilj inquiry by the special com- \ mittee.sei, by the City Council to go \ into the ou ions of the condition of dis- \ trict elector roll and the method of conductling the laielmicipat elections, was opened \ot the Citvbuneii Chambers last evening, Mr. S. 0. I Wri presiding. ;< A number of letters, con ■lining of the difficulties that beset WOuld Voters, were read, and a eonjiderable ttitity of evidence Was taken. Mr. Win. Biardsbn alluded to the " singuMr clianictf appointed by the returning officer to ta charge of certain.booths, arid several witJses spoke to the overcrowding of hodths, t long waiting that had to be endured,- a consequent abandonment of their privil'S as electors by hundreds of tnen and fieri. Mrs. Nieol described certain jlfffllaiities ; " stuffing. the roll,'' and the sit/ting of application forms by a person wl/had not witnessed the signature's, jbritually the inquiry was adjouirtid tpl Seven o'clock on Wednesday evening. .' The p&cipal charges id regard to the Alleged '/int-stealing case? were disposed of at yperday*s sitting of the Police Court. Oritur) 'separate charges Worms and Farrow, fading not guilty, were committed for tift hail being allowed. Farrow, was remaned on two further charges till Monday ixl. The Hon. J. A. 'i'ole stated thathore charges Were pending. In regardto the charge of receiving some of the stoip property. Skinner was remanded until /o-day. The total bail on the three acc/sed amounts to £900.

,4 serious accident is reported from Te Pike. While some boys were ' shooting With a pea-rifle on Saturday one of the bilk ets struck a Maori, who was standing near, n the left breast, penetrating the lung. He raß removed to Dr. Hirst's surgery, where 18 lies ill a critical condition. His deposiions have been taken. Th© latest report i that the condition of the patient is imroving. ; ."".". * .;''■ ,-

} The Orchard tod Garden Pests Bill is kely to cause much contention in the [oiise and amongst orchat-disfcs. Mr. AIL m, M.H.B. writes to Mr. R. Marsh, of Overhead, acknowledging receipt of a letter a the subject, and says: -—"You cani rely I 411 be on the alert re Orchard and Garden ests Bill. I quite concur in your remarks re tftie." Writing to lis on the subject of this ill, W. Marsh says:—"l wonder if you •member how the experts of long ago disaigUished themselves by emptying cart>ads of good apples at. the intake, every ae of which was carried away by the larriins. That happened some time after the 10th had a. secure hold ih the country. The sperta must, however, do something to earn heir screw. It will be a bad day foi us all. [ the Bill is made law. Wo can grow fruit qvicil to any the wtirld produces. , Mr. Allan knows right welt the Bill bodes no good ■ i) any of lis. None of Us want it, except erhaps a few amateurs. See What a row here will be if it should be passed ! Cocllin - loth has come to stay—other insects are ardly worth mentioning. Experts cannot ill phylloxera. . ' As to the moth, it is in oany of the bush trees carrying berries, such >s the karaka. Some of us know how to Iglrt it perhaps. better than the experts (so ■ jailed!)—-our own way—to suit our conveni- . Stjcai and special circumstances, yet one of these billet-hunters will come and orde? liiß id do it his way*" ■■'.■'.■■*'".

"'I ! fetepfl are being taken to identify several (the tipots made famous during the Maori vts in the South Tarauaki district, sit. JP. Ward, one of those who slept on the tttleneld of.ie Ngiitu-o-te-Mahii on the n;kt before the -. buttle* has been examitt- '■'< i* the Ideality* and is positive, that the sit Which is pointed out as that where %a : Tempskf fell is not the correct one. 4. the band of survivors of the famous e»agement is now vapidly lessening, Mr. Yard intends to petition Parliament to apfaint a commission to take evidence and scerfcain the exact sites of the actions of . fe Ngutu-d-te-Manu, Te Rua Rua, and To ■ ?ungarehu. I The. Taleri folk have (says the Otago fyiiiyTimes) taken advantage of the heavy all of snow to carry out «t systematic , cheine for poisoning small birds ovfti an ,'re& embracing the whole of? the-: Taieri btthty, from Lookout Point to Henley, id from the coast to Rock and Pillar. 'be whole of the county surfacemen*, as-. iited in many instances by councillors and iMirig" formers, have laid poisoned grain 'a; the favoured resorts 6f the birds, and be result? have been most gratifying. .The /biros* rendered hungry by two days' fast, /have eagerly picked tip tile poisoned grain. ; and about many of the plantations and 'I along most of the road hedges, dead sparrows and linnets are to be found hi scores. :;'Particularly good results, were obtained at 1 the abattoirs; where the birds had congrei gated in . hundreds, and around Mc-sgiel, where the farmers carried out, at personal expense, i-ach his pet theory regarding the . destruction of the small bird. : .

)■,:■■■ An influential committee of ladies ill the 1 Ejsom district has been formed to arrange I for holding; a fancy Stall at the bazaar, to held in Government, House at Christmas, # aid Of the Veterans' Home. Contribhpons may be sent to Mrs. W. R. Bloomfield, 4 The Pines," Epsom; or Mr. Edward Morton, Custom-street; •

f Ah Awhitu boy named Irwin lies seriously ill at Onehunga, suffering from blood poisoning, caused by a bite from a rat. It appears that he was bitten on the finger. The wound bled profusely at the time, and healed up all right, arid the boy seemed 4uite Well. Some weeks afterwards,. while in OUehunga, he took suddenly bad, and a doctor was called in, who found him suffering from blood poisoning. His condition is still critical. . ■

In the Newcastle (New South Wales) district there were 450 births for the quarter ending June 30 (231 males and 219 'females)} and 208 deaths (118 males and 90 females)*