LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12482, 28 January 1904, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A meeting of tile Streets Committee of the City Council was held at the Municipal Buildings last evening, the Mayor presiding. The business of the meeting was to inquire into the working of the city engineer's department, and also to ascertain the best methods ot remedying the present condition of the city streets. The matter was referred to in the leading columns of the He&Ald on Monday last, when it was pointed out that the inquiry ought to be a public one, but the committee met last night with closed doors, the Mayor ruling that the representatives of the press could dot be present. Mr. A. Wrigg the city engineer, and a large number of his staff were present. As the subject matter of the inquiry is one of great public interest, and concerns the whole community, it would certainly hare been far more satisfactory had it been held openly and the proceedings reported in the* 'daily press. J

Work in. connection With the raising of the Auckland Harbour Board's launch Kuaka, sunk in Rangitoto Channel, was continued throughout yesterday, but not much progress was made in getting the sunken vessel up to the surface. Work was to be continued throughout last night, and if everything works favourably the launch should be in the harbour to-day.

The post office will be open as usual for the transaction of business to-morrow Anniversary Day), but the letter-carriers will only make th? naif-past seven o'clock morning delivery. °

Out Waihi correspondent Writes:—A lad named Salt, son of Mr. Salt, the well-known contractor and builder, met with rattier a serious accident to-day when assisting in the erection of a new dwelling oft the Kensington freehold. It'appears that he was struck on the back with a piece of timber which fell from the scaffolding, arid he has been very severely hurt. The sufferer was carried home on a stretcher, and medical aid procured.

:s Honor Mr. Justice Edwards will pass ence to-day on. the following prisoners pleaded guilty in the lowei Courts: — mas Jam ex (Waihi), misappropriation money; Tvnka Api 3to and Tai Ihaia Lauri), breaking and entering and theft; ie Horace Wilpole Priestley (Tauranga)', J:ing and entering and tbeft; John in (Auckland), breaking and entering theft; Geo. K. Adrian (Auckland), ry.

so who may wish to seo the distant P Uranus, discovered by Sir William ell in 1781, will have an opportunity °.' j so if they choose to rise not later " l tee a.m. to-morrow. Uranus is in, cor iion with Venus at ootween seven an . a.m., hut as Uranus rises at nine m !!nn»t two a.m., and Venus six U!! ," titer, and there is a difference of j degree and forty-nine minutes of declii, between them, the more distant plane] ]~» eAS ii v recognisable with an, opera )t if riot with the naked eye. He will b n f 0 ie right of Venus/slightly higher aiK | j t vt-ill be interesting if observers, &em the H braid a brief account (. at) they ma see, ore especially whethe,y ji, u "] it practicable to aotice Uranus |] 10 naked eye. The conjunction tak ace ; n Gemini 28deg. 10m., and the two» ts w ,H rise between east-south-east J _jyrt > I Sy-east, or respectively 27deg. ;11 ,,i 29deg. 57m. south of the east poiu.be horizon.

Instmc, have been received by M. James M^ ( l' ae roa, from tho Hon.. Ja». Can-oil, t tn mence the laying of water pipes to ll.tive settlements near Paeroa. The natiVftve had no good water for domestic \j nce the Oh in emu ri River was declaim grudge channel, and last session Patent voted the sum c! £1000 for the pu 0 0 supplying the natives with water; r- Mackay'has arranged to have the )es for the water supply cut by partif Maoris, and a start with the work wibably be made on Monday next. ' J

A vrorkmhamcd Thomas Morrison, who was en. c 0 n tho work of repairing iho tram, j n Queen-street, opposite His Majesty's. a de, met with an accident about ten o'c yesterday morning. vi a stepped on tc e space between the two lines of rails avoid a car which was passing, hut h\ s thrown against anothei car which washing on the line on the opposite side. 10 motorman promptly applied the egency brake, and thus bringing the cr 0 a standstill prevented the man being, ove r. Tie was carried into .Mr. Ecclehemist's shop, where it was found that s injuries were confined to a slight scaVound, one or two cuts on the face, anobruised heel, which hod been pinched bj, 0 of the wheels. After the injured man.d been attended to by Dr. Porter, ho , taken to his home in Cook-street.

An unmarried n named Ernest Briddart, a labourer, q 27, met with an accident in the course his work at Birkenhead yesterday. He fe distance ot about 20ft, breaking his and receiving several bruises about the f; ftn d other parts of the body. He was tal, to the hospital, an/ was Inst night repo.i to be doing well.

A mimbei of the dg a t e3 who have been attending the fire br'de conference at Te Aroba paid the Thai, a visit yesterday, and were shown the hts of the town by members of the local ga de. Last night tho visitors were entwined at a social,, given in their honour the Thames 'firemeii The Postal Departs intimates that Mexico has now been }d to the list of countries to which left, from New Zealand may be sent at the te of Id per £oa. There are now 10 caseawaiting bearing at the criminal sittingSDf tho Supreme Court, to be held nextveek. Since We published the criminal li two charges of perjury against John Liwall and James Richards respectively km been added. Mrs. Grace Neill, asstant-inspectof Of hospitals, visited thl Warati Hospital recently. She subsequently told the Hospital Board that the pUguorf bugs was serlously affecting the efficient- 0 f the hospital, and expressed the opiniomhat it was not practicable to eradicate t* pe&t. \Vhihj recommending the. Board i continue the measures of suppression as tteraporary expedient, hei advice was to he effect that a new building was require Mrs Neill is reporting cm the matter tithe Minister in charge ot the Departmental a-depu-tation from tho Board 'a alsoto interview him and ask for a grant in £ of a newhospital. The steamer Naming, whft arrived at Melbourne recently from Capet w n, brought a large number of disappointed Vusttalians,, who had been trying their foiun. in South Africa. They give the place a Ud name. When the mail left Durban liert *ere hundreds of Australians wandering aboit out of employment. Many of ttetn wea good tradesmen, but ill almost eVefy instate preference was given to English and African workmen, who are still pouring int) th« country by hundreds every reek. Thenarrung's passengers confirm / the statements that, as a rule, the mention of the fact toot he is an Australian is sufficient to disqualify an applicant for employment. This hostility, it is stated, is due entirely to the tocollection of the conduct during' the war of a few Australians who apparently thought pillage and reckless destruction of property was their mission in life for the time t eing, The same opinion is entertained of Men Zealanders. Of course the depression in business is caused by the industrial struggle Impending over the proposed importation of Chinese coolie labour, a proposal which is bitterly resented. Wild cats are pi ay jag havoc with the interesting tuatara lizards on Stephen Island, Dr. Cockayne mentioned at a recent meeting of the New Zealand Institute, ill Wellington, that wherever a visitor Went on the island he would find the heads of these lizards, and he thought some steps should be taken to protect them from the 'depredations of their enemies, say by poisoning the cats. The cats got on to the island in this manner: Some 13 years ago, when the lighthouse was erected, the inspector of lighthouses was very careful to see that no noxious animals were taken there, but it never occurred to him that cats might become so. They haa, however, spread greatly, and become wild, and one of the saddest sights was to see the heads of the lizards lying all over the island, which Was about a milt and a-half long, and from I which the bush was so rapidly disappearing i that the islam] would soon be fairly bare. ; The institute decided to call the attention of | the Government to the necessity o?. 6om action being taken in the direction indicated by Dr. Cockayne. Some interesting points were raised m 8 number of laboui cases heard by the magis- ! trate at Stratford a few days ago. Several ! workmen applied for permits to work at a j rato less than the minimum wage fixed by the Arbitration Court for journeymen workmen, the. chairman of the Conciliation Board having, it was stated, not answered &PF ,0 tions made to him. One man, who asked w be -allowed to work for 8s A day, said M had worked three years and a-half at tne trade, -but had not" been regularly apprenticed. The magistrate saiu (reports the loo* paper) he could not see that he had any power to issue permits to men other tn*u journeymen. The object of the award w» to put, pressure on men to become COjnpewuv work! ilea. All he could do was to advise tee men fe apprentice themselves. In, relus *-* several other similar applications, the mag tratij said he sympathised with the . then- difficulty.' but he did not see how « con! d meet their wishes in view of the a - Tt v -as certainly a hardship on both erop£7 and workman/ In the case of a man witn wife and family, who said be had w«» fow r rears and a-half foi different WW™ and asked to be allowed to take 9s a day, the Court granted a permit to extend J 0 [ a period of six months, and at tn* e«»1:1 lit time it would be for his employer to »j if ho was a competent journeyman. The inmates ot the police cells lajt mgW comprised four persons charge i drunkenness.

; At the Te Ante College Students' Conferfciico at Gisborne, a paper by Dr. Pomare vras read on diseases which are potent fac- ' tors in the decay of the Maori, and dea.lt '■lib great length with consumption, which, ,he said, was the natives' first and worst enemy. The doctor pointed out that in olden times the Maoris' bodies were trained to resist the elements, by constant exposure to hard manual training, by regular meals, and by regularity iu dress. Now things had changed, The Maori mind and bod} were not constantly active. They W ere active only when they put a piece of land into the Land Court or when they were trying to borrow money for horse racing, The bodies of the natives nowadays were clad'in a semi-civilised way—one" day in good, warm clothes, the next in dungaree trousers and a cotton shirt; one day with socks and boots, the next without socks. Instead of taking advantage of tho pure air of the hills, they overcrowded in wbtires on the plains. A knowledge of consumption should be learned by all natives. It should prevent consanguineous marriages, living on low, damp ground, living" in crowded whares, in badly ventilated and drained kaingas, exposure, excessive drinking and irregular habits. Ho urged every member of the association to bo a living model in his home, which should be built, furnished, and maintained in compliance with tho laws of hygiene and sanitation.

Greymouth is indignant because its promised post and telegraph office has not yet been built. In reply to Mr, Speaker Guinness, who telegraphed to the PostmasterGeneral asking when the promise would be fulfilled, Sir Joseph Ward telegraphed : — "'The matter is before Cabinet "at present, with a great many other public works, awaiting the necessary authority before commencing. I don't quite see There the great indignation side comes in, in view of the fact that it is intended to provide an up-to-date post and telegraph office at Greymouth with as little delay as possible. The Government has necessarily in this cass, as in &11 other*, to be guided by considerations of an important character that, apply to the whole colony. There will be no more delay in commencing than can be avoided, and [ know of a great many places in the colony where, instead of expressing great indignation, they would be very kappy indeed if they were in the position that Greymouth is already in as regards tie new post, and telegraph office. In other words, ' patience is a virtue' which most of us have to frequently exercise, sometiaies against our will. The Premier, however, fully understands the matter."

The dangers of cycling had ample illustration at the funeral of Tamahau Mahupuku on Sunday. At Bidwell's Cut, between Greytown and Martinborough, there is a steep grade-, which can be negotiated witli safety by an experienced rider, but is positively dangerous without a brake on the machins. Some of the unixiSated who travelled the road gained much valuable, if painful, experience through their foolhardiness. The first of this class who essayed to ride fullspeed down the hill—a Scandinavian by his accent—lost his pedals midway, and disappeared in a cloud of dust. When some charitable people reached the bottom they found a very much battered foreigner gazing at a shattered bicycle. He soon "had a companion in misfortune, who tried the hill on similar lines, rode bang into a wire fence at the bottom, and after performing a somersault in mid-air, reached terra Anna head foremost with rather damaging results to his cranium. A nasty cut over the right eye, from which the blood flowed freely, was bandaged up by some passers-by, and the venturesome cyclist completed his journey in an omnibus. Other minor inoidents of a similar nature occurred throughout tho day, all pointing the same moral.

The express train from Napier to Wellington was late on Tuesday night, having been delayed on the Rimutaka incline. On emerging from the tunnel to the south of that wild-looking spot called Siberia, a sharp curve and rise brought the train to a standstill. Three times the engines went back and made fresh attempts, but in vain. The Summit was communicated with and asked to send another locomotive. This was done, and after a delay of an hour the hill was negotiated. Some of the lost time was made up oa the run down the valley.

The Native Minister (the Hon. J. Carroll), who has just returned to Wellington from an extensive tour of the Maori settlements on the East Coast between Wellington and Auckland, and in the Hot Lakes district, states that he was greatly pleased with the improved condition of the natives whom he visited. The Maori Councils have worked wonders in the matter of sanitation, and the general health of the natives has not been bo' good for a great many years. Mr. Carroll was much struck with the absence of drunkenness amongst the Maoris in the Hot Lakes district. The Maoris generally are throwing off their lethargy, and the result is a great improvement in their condition. Most of those the Minister saw recognise the advantage .of securing employment from European settlers, and those who have got work are giving satisfaction to their employers,

Two gentlemen were driving in a motorcar on thePetone Esplanade, Wellington, on Thursday, when the petrol reservoir exploded. In a moment the car was in flame. In the extremity the car was run into the harbour, which effectively extinguished the fire, but not before considerable damage had been done.

. A few weeks ago, when the personal effects of the late Mr. Critchett Walker, Principal Under-Secretary in New South Wales, were about to be submitted to public auction, it became known that included amongst the articles was what is known as the " Commonwealth Bible." It was the one on which Lord Hopetoun was sworn in as the first Governor-General of the Commonwealth, and on Which his constitutional advisers took the oath of allegiance to the King of England and to the Commonwealth. Searchers after historic mementoes were baulked in their desire to become possessed of the Bible, because the State Premier stepped in and claimed it as the property of the State of New South Wales. It will be learned with interest that the same Bible is to be used in swearing in Lord Northcote as the third Governor-General. On the 12th inst. Captain G. Steward, official secretary to His Excellency the Governor-General, telegraphed "from Melbourne to Sir John See as follows: —"Can you let us have Bible with which Lord Hopetoun was sworn in ? Would much appreciate your compliance, so as to enable Lord Northcote to be sworn in with same." Acting on the instructions of the Premier, Mr. J. M. Gibson, Under-Sec-retary to the Chief Secretary's Department, replied —"Premier agrees to lend Bible on the understanding, it being the property of this State, it will be returned directly after the ceremony." To this Captain Steward answered:—""Many thanks for your telegram re Bible. Care will be taken to return it to you immediately after the cereiribny."