LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12452, 23 December 1903, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

His Excellency the Governor (Lord' Ranfurly), accompanied by Captain , Bos- ],

cawen, Hon A.D.C., went for a. fishing excursion in the steamer Lady Roberts in the harbour yesterday. f This afternoon His Excellency will be present at the swimming gala to be held at the Calliope Dock in aid of the Veterans' Home fund.

With to-morrow's Herald will be published a special Christmas Supplement of eight pages, containing a large amount ,of seasonable reading matter.

Advertisers are requested to note thai; there will be no Herald published on Fri-> day (Christmas Day), but the paper will appear as usual on Saturday (Boxing Day).

At the meeting of the Thames Borough Council last night, it was decided, now that the purchase of the intake at the rear of the Pacific Hotel has been completed from the Harboui Board, to take immediate steps for having the same filled in and reclaimed, in order to make it suitable for recreation purposes. A, committee was appointed ,to carry out the necessarj steps for commencing the work. During the discussion that took place on the subject, the town clerk (Mr. A. Bruce) pointed out that the southern end of the intake would provide a most central and suitable site for the erection of public baths, and he suggested that that portion should be allowed to remain as it is > at present, with the .view of seeing whether something could he dona in that direction at as early a date as possible. It was decided to act on this suggestion.

The Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) visited the Matamata Estate on Mondaj, preparatory to hearing the compensation case as to the price to be paid by the Government to the Assets Board tor the estate. . The hearing of the case is expected tc occupy more than a week. The difference between, the price offerer by the Government ana the price asked by the Assets Board is about £45,000, or equal to £1 at acre all,over. The hearing of the case commences at xe Aroha on Monday, January 11. Robert Stout will preside, and the assessors will w Messrs. Frater and Forrest. V--

The Christmas week issue of the Auckland Weekly News is one of the finest or its kind ever published in New Zealand. Christmas and holiday subjects are prominent features of the issue, which includes a handsome presentation dealing humorously with some adventure of Santa Glaus in Maoriland. In .addi on to Christmas scenes and subjects, tlie mim bei illustrates all the passing events m interest in the colony, including the vewrans' Home Bazaar, the Ponsonbv Keg»"», the war cloud in the East, the mining fatality in Karangahake. and other nap penings of not'. The number is an excei ; lent one foi posting to friends abroad by the outgoing 'Frisco mail, which leaves," Christmas Dav, and a very large : sale « anticipated. Orders should therefore M booked early to avoid disappointment.. The statements of the affairs of JameS Sutherland, boot and shoe importer, Queen street, as filed with the official assignee (Mr. Gerard) are a, glows .££g££ , Unsecured creditors, ham - ,u > „ ~„, : bilities, £392 8s 8d (^\. Sarf:. trade, £1100 ; book debts, £180, ftirmt and fittings, £412 6s ; en* «> land, *» 9d: total.. £1700 12s 9d. " .

■ ' (The colonial mails which left Auckland per «- jl.M.s. 'Sierra on December 4 arrived in ',: g»n Francisco oh Monday morning last, 12 tours in advance oi contract time. ( • v 'A ease was brought before Mr. H. W. Brabant, S.M., at the Police Court yesterday * joorhing, in • which two boys named Bertie and Albeit Street were charged with be- _.' ing children having no means of subsistence, .-• their- parents (who axe in gaol) being in indigest circumstances.' Sub-Inspector Black \ mentioned to His Worship that the Waikato Charitable Aid Board had failed to answer jii3 communication, and, as that was. so, $ he was afraid that he would have to apply %~ for a withdrawal of the charge. He did '' go ■ and intimated that the intention of the police was to send the children back to the "Walka-to, where the Board would have to come to their aid. The charge was withdrawn accordingly, and the children handed over to the care oi the Salvation Army in the meantime. j Mr. T. W. Allen, president of the Royal j Jfaval and, Royal Marine Association, a body composed of nautical veterans, has presented His Excellency the Governor, on behalf of the association, with a large portrait group of members of the association. His Excellency expressed himself greatly 'pleased with the gift, and referred in kindly terms to the good work which the associa- • jjon might do in bringing nautical veterans together to chat over old times, going backto the naval engagements in the Baltic and Black Seas.

That the outward railway traffic from Auckland has now fairly set in was shown by the fact that the two expresses which were despatched to Rotorua and intermediate stations yesterday were well patronised, all the carriages being comfortably filled. ■ The total number of passengers booked through to Rotorua yesterday was about 50.

A deputation from the Auckland Agricultural Association recently waited on Sir Joseph Ward, Minister for Railways, and asked that arrangements should be made for the Rotorua express train to stop at Papakura, to put down and pick up passengers, once a month, when the cattle and sheep sales are held there. The Minister has now given instructions to the Auckland railway authorities to comply with the request.

.- A case of suspected anthrax is reported from Bombay settlement, where a cow died a few days ago. Mr. Lyons, Government veterinary surgeon, and Mr. Brittain, of "the Stock Department, have gone to Bombay for the purpose of investigating the matter.

An incipient fire broke out in the woodshed of Mr. Chas. Judd, Queen-street, Thames, yesterday afternoon but, fortunately, it was discovered and quenched before much damage was done.

in compliance, with a resolution passed by the Ohinemuri Count} Council, the engineer lias prepared an estimate of the approximate cost of a railway from '.he Paeroa railway station to the Puke landing, and he shows that it would cost about £5130. The Council, at its meeting on Monday 4 deferred coneidsration of the matter.

The winner of the fancy cakes and biscuits competition at the Veterans' Home Bazaar on Saturday was Miss Lizzie Ryrie.

Amongst the interesting articles in the veterans' stall at the bazaar was a case of minerals collected by Mr. Thos. Barron from different parts of the Auckland district, and presented by him to the bazaar. • The "Auckland Tourists' Office has been

very busy during the past few days in sup- . plying information to local tourists who desire to visit the scenic attractions within a lev miles radius of Auckland.

'On Monday next a large number of* the ' members of the Auckland Liedertafel will leave by rail on a concert tour to Cambridge and Rotorua. This will be the first time the society has performed out of Auck- , land since its formation.

, • . Owing to the proximity of the Christmas - holidays, the meeting which it was proposed to hold to-day to meet Mr. Wyatt, the representative of the Navy League, has been :; postponed until the week beginning January 10. Tne meeting will take place under the auspices of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, and it is hoped that other public bodies will co-operate in bringing the claims of the Navy League prominently before the public, in order that they may be fully explained and appreciated. This meeting will held in the afternoon, but it is proposed also to hold a further public meeting in the " evening of another day in the same week. The Harbour Board, which is co-operating ' is the matter, decided at their meeting yes--1 terday to make arrangements for a trip rWud the harbour aboard the Kuaka, in honour of the Navy League's envoy. Ihe report of an interview with Mr. Wyatt appears in our Supplement to-day.

' Good progress is being made with the construction of the Taupo Totara Timber Company's railway line from the mill to ■'■ Putaruru—a distance of some 50 miles- ! commenced in June last, in the Mokai-te-ure forest, where the mill is situateu. The line ■ is being built id the same gauge as the . Government lines, in order that trucks may be hauled direct from the mill to the dis- ' trict where the timber is required. 2*o very serious engineering difficulties are to be overcome, and it is anticipated that the lins will reach Putaruru by September next, and the output of the mill will then " be immediately available.

The New Zealand Times, a Government organ, in commenting on Mr. Massey's recent speech, says:—"Mr. Massey's speech on Monday night shows that .the newly♦rganised Opposition has begun by t taking up the maxim, 'Man, know thyself.' The .-party has therefore some right at last to " > expect a useful career. What the future may have in store it is impossible to say. It is, however, quite certain that the country • party has made considerable headway, and it is perhaps an open question whether the Opposition does not command a very respect- , able share of that party's sympathy. At any rate, it cannot be denied that the leaders of the Farmers' Union are quite in sympathy with the Opposition. There will be no further light for this question, however, until the next general election. Un- ■ til then, at least, Mr. Massey will probacy continue to present the pathetic spectacle of i leadt. fighting against hopeless odds. He did that work last session in a manner so >rilliant, untiring, and resourceful that he carried awav the respect of the other side in a larger degree than has ever before '-■■] beei accorded to the Opposition leadei.>.lf he naintains the record rough this Parlia- / inert, ho will be entitled to be regarded m the -ecord ' stayer' of New Zealand pontics.

Aiother lake, the existence of which appeas to have been hitherto unknown, has bee; discovered by Mr. D'Arcy Irvine, Gover.ment surveyor, some 14 miles from Tlobrua. Though the sheet of water is a larje one, the loea' natives appear to have kn.v,n nothing of it. The lake is in the cetre of the Mangarewa-Kahewa b.ock (uar the Mangarewa Gorge, on the road 'oMhm Taurauga to Rotorua), recently pur--'chsed by the Government from the natives fc settlement, and it was in the course of ■■/ hi survey of the land that Mr. Irvine discvered it. '" ,

' ' /Mr. Harry Smith, one of Wellington's ' ;ost popular singers, intends to leave on a v/vTip round the world about the end of next ■ month (writes our Wellington correspondent). He will proceed as fa* as Colombo ; 'from Australia, and ill there commence a I tour of India, thence travelling on through '■":' ths Suez Canal, or goin to via Singapore, '. China, and Japan, and across Siberia by rail--1 *&y' H will return to thf colony via ; .. America, in order to visit the St. Louis Ex- •;' Position. |Bv?!S '■'■■■■■ * ■ . ~ There were in the police cells last night, i ."three persons arrested on the charge of I "drunkenness, one charged with usuing obo scene language, and another charged with [~ _.. Sreatoyj a disturbance in a public place.

y- The overcrowding of tramcar* lately has frequently been the cause of - complaint among the travelling public. In several prosecutions, which took place at the Police Court yesterday, Mr. Heed submitted that the by-law was unreasonable, because, as fast ae the passengers were cleared off I the .back of the car bhey grit on again jat the front. Some people would not give their names, and often subjected the conductors to abuse, and even to assault. The city solicitor (Mr. Cotter), who prosecuted, replied that a person who refused to leave a car when ordered to do so by the conductor, when all the seating accommodation was occupied, should be given in charge to the hret policeman, as it was an act of trespass. iJae Irani ways Company, too, should see that the law was not bioken, and should assist tneir servants to observe the law by employing more men. Mr. Brabant, the presiding magistrate, suggested that if the lramways Oompahv thought the by-law unreasonable, then they should go to the Supreme Court and get a ruling. Four conductors were convicted for overcrowding, and were fined £2 and costs each.

I Oh December 9 Frank Broome, aged four ! years, residing with his grandfather, Mr. Walker, of Lower Nicholson,, died at the Bairnsdaie Hospital from the- effects of terrible burns received on the -previous day. The boy hao been left asleep in bed whilst his grandfather and aunt went to milk the cows. An hour afterwards.the little fellow rushed out of the house screaming piteously, with his nightclothes blazing. He was iouudto have been frightfully'burned'all over the body. It is believed" the bov got out of bed and lay down in front"of the fire, as he often did, and that the fire foil out upon him. - '

■ Misapprehension has been seated (says the Melbourne Age) with respect to the position of the Federal Government in relation to the minting of iiio silver coinage used in the Commonwealth. It is not desired, as has been supposed, to mint the silver at Government works actually in Australia. That would prove too costly an undertaking for some time to come. What the Government is negotiating with the Imperial authorities for is the minting of Australian silver at the Imperial Mint at Birmingham undei an arrangement similar to that made between the British Treasury and the Dominion Government of Canada. " Under such an arrangement the Commonwealth would get all the profit, less the cost of minting, derived' from the conversion of silver bullion, purchased for it in London, into silver coins. This would amount to some tens of thousands a year. Whether the Federal Government would be able to earmark the profit for some purely Federal purpose is one of the questions which is now being looked into by the Federal Treasurer. Apparently the money would have to be merged into the general revenuo and distributed amongst the States.

White men, black men, yellow men, and brown men thronged the Melbourne District Court recently to obtain hawkers' licenses for the ensuing year, and the commingling of the various races as they made their annual bow to the licensing magistrate formed an interesting picture. Altogether 317 applications were granted, First came the Europeans, to the number of 119 : then the Syrians, tall, serious, and dignified, of whom there were 70, including four 'women... The familiar Chinese, to the number of 24, followed, and 104 Hindoos completed the tally. Owing to the absence of police objections, and the fact that nearly all the applications were for the renewal of expiring licenses, the proceedings were of a formal character," the applicants entering by one door, crossing the Court, and passing out by as their names were called.

The courageous attempt made by Mr. Geo. Bayford, electrical engineer, to save the life of John Traquair, who was drowned in the Tana at midnig&t on December 6, was highly commended by Dr. Cole, Melbourne district coroner, who inquired into the circumstances of deceased's death. Traquair was a carpenter, living with his wife and children at Murray-street, Prahran. "He had recently been worried and depressed, and suffered from insomnia. He bad a delusion that he was being ruined. He occupied a room by himself, and his wife last saw him alive at nine p.m. At midnight Mr. Bayford, who. was passing under the railway bridge at Yarra-street, South Yarra, saw a man struggling in the water. He jumped in fully dressed and tried to drag him out, but the man struggled out of his grasp. Being incommoded by his clothes, Mr. Bayford swam to the bank, undressed, and again plunged in. The man bad sunk, and though Mr. Bayford dived repeatedly he could not find him. The river at that spot was dark, dangerous, and full of snags. Next day the body was recovered, and identified as that of Traquair. The coroner recorded that deceased was found drowned in circumstances that indicated suicide.