LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12543, 9 April 1904, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Minister for Public Health (Sir Joseph Ward) was waited upon yesterday by Mr. A. Kidd, M.H.R., who represented to the Minister the desirableness of enlarging the Cambridge sanatorium in view of the large numbei of patients now awaiting admission to the institution. Mr. Kidd pointed out. that a comparatively small outlay, about £1500, would provide double the present accommodation. Sir Joseph agreed to authorise the addition to the sanatorium, which will be put, in hand without delay.

As an outcome of the adoption by the Auckland Presbytery op Tuesday evening last of a motion approving negotiation by the General Assembly with the Methodist and Congregational Churches in the direction of union, the mover (the Rev. W. Gray Dixon, M.A.) yesterday received the following telegram from the Primate of New Zealand (Bishop Nevill): —"Respectful thanks for kind words respecting union."

An accident of a novel character befell a young man named Alfred Smedley, a resident of Queen-street, Mosman, Sydney, last week. He Was pedalling his bicycle along Musgrave-street, Mosman, and when going down a steep incline leading to the wharf his machine ran away with him. Ho endeavoured to stop it, but it had gained too much speed, and both rider and machine went over the wharf into the water. He grabbed hold of the piles of the wharf, and managed to keep himself afloat until he was rescued. Smedley was taken to the Sydney Hospital, where it was found I that he had sustained a dislocation of the ! right thigh.

j A communication was read at the meet- | ing of the aitemata County Council yes- : terday from the secretary of the Treasury, . stating that the Colonial Treasurer absolutely declined the application, for a loan of £6000 for the construction of waterworks at Nortkote.

I A well-dressed young man named "3 | Frederick William Ganderton, ?. former !f . resident of Auckland, and a chemist -by ' occupation, appeared at, the Auckland lfl« ! Police Court yesterday morning to answer g ; a charge of wife desertion. Mr. J. (j. p $ i Martin, who prosecuted, applied for a re-*V%jjS| mand in order that evidence may bo col- ;\ ; §| 1 lected. He stated that two years ago, ' \f«f while ill one of the Australian Suites, acI cused sent his : wife over to New Zealand, -Jg and for a short time he corresponded with, her. However, lie went over to America ,'X with another woman, and bad not • been : 'fs heard of till tlu present time. Counsel asked that bail be substantial, stating that '«3l in his letters to his wife while she was in Auckland, accused boasted of his smartness / |in eluding everyone. Mr. Martin suggested ' that bail be fixed in two sureties of £200 r $$ each. Mr. Alexander, on behalf of accused, : ?M urged foi a smaller bail. Finally the case was adjourned till Wednesday, and accused '.'fe , was allowed bail in two sureties of £100 pi each. " gp

The electric trams have been claiming j quite a number of canine victims of late. | Two dogs have been run over and killed: j in Wellesley-street within the past day or | two, and one was killed yesterday moraine jin Queen-street. A clay or so ago the pasI sengers on a. car in Ponsonby Road, travelling towards the Three Lamps, witnessed rather an extraordinary incident in this connection. A dog of the terrier breed, whilst standing 111 the vicinity of oae of the centre-poles near the Western Park was scared by a tram coming from the. Lamps, and in getting away from it ran into the up-tram. Looking behind, the passengers saw the dog rolling over and over in the dust, and now and then standi ing on its hind legs and turning somersaults, all the time yelping pitifully. Suddenly it jumped to its feet, and, ears down, began to run blindly after the tram that had caused the trouble. Coming up with itthe dog still rushed madly along in its wake until it dashed headlong against the back part of the platform, and was again laid low. The car then disappeared round the corner, and the dog's subsequent fate was not ascertained by "the passengers. It is a matter for conjecture what actuated the dog in chasing the car that had injured it.

Mr. It. Goring Thomas (clerk of awards) lias received a telegram from Mr. .Justice Chapman, president of the Arbitration Court, stating that Monday, 25th inst., had been fixed for a sitting of the Court at Auckland. Cases under the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act will be taken first. The Court will deal only with those cases filed up to December 31 last at this sitting, but should time permit other cases may be taken. Early intimation will be given of dates for hearing the industrial disputes and applications for enforcements, the latter of which may be taken before the 25th inst-. Up to* the present 19 disputes, 21 compensation cases, and 38 applications for enforcement have been set down to engage the attention of the Court. ■»

A petition bearing 373 signatures will be presented to the City Council at its meeting next week, demanding that a poll of ratepayers be taken on the Council's pro- • posal to extend the concession granted to | the Electric Tramways Company by two , years. When the original deed of delegation was signed, Mr." Bingham, the then attorney to the company, stated that the term of 30 years' concession therein granted to the company really represented only 28 years, as two years would be required for the construction of the lines. The Council then agreed to extend the term by two years at the completion of the work, subject to the consent of the ratepayers. The proceedings required by the Tramways Act have been followed, and the.object "of the petition is to obtain the opinion of the ratepayers in accordance with the Council's resolution. Had no poll been asked for, the proposal to grant the concession would have taken effect, but a poll having been demanded by not less than five per cent, of the ratepayers, it will be taken on a date to be fixed by the Council.

Our Otahuhu correspondent writes: —An old colonist and pioneer settler, in the person of Augustus Joseph Shackell, parsed away in Lis 75th year cm Tuesday last, at East Tamaki. Mr. Shackell, with his brother (Arthur 11. Shackell), arrived at Auckland in 1852. They bought land in Last Tamaki, and lived op, their farm for mai! y years. 1 lie deceased was clerk to the Last lamaki Road Board almost from its inception. He resigned that position some time ago on account of failing health. Air. Shackell was held in the highest esteem by his numerous friends as an upright, honourable, and intelligent business man. He was a kind {hearted, unselfish man, and a staunch friend, and took a deep interest in social and religious work. Ihe funeral of deceased took place at the Utahuhu public cemetery on Thursday afternoon, his brother (Mr. A. R. Shackell) being chief mourner. The service at the grave was conducted by the Rev A Whalley.

A meeting of the Auckland branch of tlie Seamen's Union, at which 58 members were present, unanimously carried the following resolution:— this meeting of ■lis Seamen's Union heartily endorses tha action of their secretary at the recent River Limits Commission inquiry. Furthermore, tiiey utteny repudiate the 1 insinuation made v. one of the witnesses at the recent inquay, that the majority of its members do not favour the abolition of river limits."

Dr. Valentine, district health officer, has recently been on a visit to Palmerston North and Masterton. At the former place he inspected and Mil 1 report on some buildings occupied by Chinese or Syrians, which are m.i rather bad state. At Masterton he had a conference with the hospital authorities as to the new hospital. The Masterton Hospital Board has now passed the necessary grant to the hospital trustees to enable them to make a start with the new building, which will be in brick, will accommodate 20 patients, and will cost close 011 £4000.

In its annual report the council of the \\ ellington Chamber of Commerce refers as follows to the North Island Main Trunk railway works:—"Of the whole distance of 426 miles between Auckland and Wellington, 323 miles are now open for daily traffic, including of course 100 miles from Auckland '= toTeAwamutu and 116 miles from Welling- , ton to Marion. Of the remaining distanc* i of 106 miles, more than half is under construction and some of it nearing completion, - .so that, practically, only about 50 miles now intervenes between the outpost" at the northern and the southern ends. As tlii.~ work .{S| lias been in progress some 19 years:, and i very large amount of borrowed money is in- . vested in it, earning a comparatively small amount of revenue, and in view of the ad- | vantages which the line is calculated to yield, it is to be hoped that a strong effort will now | be mad 9 by the Government to bring this most important undertaking to completion J at the earliest possible date." The County Councils' Association will '] meet in conference this year, probably dur- "% ing the first fortnight of the coming Parlia- J mentary session, immediately after the meet- " ing of the Municipal Conference. The Local Government Bill is expected to afford ||| one of the chief items of discussion. ■ : The council of the Wellington Chamber of 'f Commerce, in its annual report, says it has ; to record, with regret, that no progress has been made towards the acquisition of the Wellington-Manawatu line on behalf of the S, colony; neither has anything further been ;||| heard respecting the proposed str.lightening of the line to the Hutt, nor of the ceviatien | at the Rimutaka section, all of which are improvements calculated to be of advnatage to | the district and the colony. f /■> Hi The unsettled weather throughout the week has caused the open-air concerts and /.; Maori demonstrations in the sanatorium grounds at Itotorua to be postponed. ' The Wellington Post states that an in* formation has been laid against the promo- >1; ters of tin* bazaar held at Hastings- under the auspices of the Hawke's Bay Mounted Rifles, and opened by Lord Raufurlv, for - breaches of the Gaming and Lotteries Act ■ v by disposing of a horse, buggy, harness, and a bull ass " works of art" in connection ' with the art unions I

From further particulars which have come to hand respecting the destruction by firo of the Six George Grey Hotel at the upper landing, Tairua, it appears that onl> a small portion of the furniture was saved. The whole of the main building was gutted, though the outbuildings escaped. The hotel, which was owned by Mr. Henry Lajcock, of Ellerslie, was occupied by Mr. Robert Raw, and had been in existence about 18 years. The building was valued at about £1300. and was insured for £650 in the Commercial Union Company. The occupier's insurances are not known". \ The Union Company's steamer Takapuna did not. leave New Plymouth until early yesterday morning, instead of the usual hour on Thursday night, owing to a delay in the arrival of the Wellington train at New Plymouth, caused by the landslips on the Manawatu line. The Takapuua reached Onehunga at one o'clock yesterday afternoon, and left for New Plymouth agaiu at five o'clock in the evening". The consignment of 12 deer, the gift to the Rotorua Rod and Gun Club from Mr. C. T. Chirnside, of Werribee, Victoria, arrived at Rotorua in splendid condition on Wednesday night., and were released near Wairoa yesterday. j

The inspector of factories, Mr. Ferguson, is now very busy making up the returns of all factories registered. There are, however, a number of -factory-owners who have failed to register, and the inspector intends to prosecute all whose returns' are not sent in by the end of next week. Section 10 of the Factories Act provides that all owners •who fail to register are liable to a line not exceeding £5 a day for each day that the factory remains unregistered.

The Hon. 0. H. Mills, Minister in charge of the Islands administration, has received a report from the resident agent at Penrhvn, Captain Nagle. From this it appears that about two years ago a fund for the assistance of the lepers was established, each male, both natives and Europeans, at Peurhyn contributing twe shillings a year. This is supplemented by a levy of one per cent, on all pearlshell obtained from the lagoon by means of diving machines. Up to the present a sum of about- £25 has been expended in the purchase of food, etc., for the lepers. It is pointed out that the lepers are not dependent upon outside supplies. The islet of Morokai, on which they are located, is most fertile, and all the food it produces is at the disposal of the lepers. Our Karangahake correspondent telegraphs :—A serious accident occurred in the Karangahake railway tunnel yesterday morning, when, by a fall of earth, a miner named David Dean was severely injured in the back. The injured man was removed to Montgomery's Hotel, and examined by Dr. Craig. It was found that he had sustained a contusion of the spine, besides other injuries. Dean, at late inquiries, was doing as well as can be expected.

At the Waihi Police Court yesterday morning David A. Wright was charged with having stolen a £5 note, the property of A. L. Stuart, on Monday evening last. The evidence of the prosecutor went to show that the accused and complainant had been having an argument as to who was the best singer. A bet of £5 was suggested, and Stuart pulled out a £5 note, which was snatched, it was alleged, by the accused, who ■went oil with it, and then returned and gave complainant back a note, which the latter subsequently discovered was a£l note. The evidence also showed that the accused had tendered a £5 note for drinks that night. Accused denied that he took the money, but the Bench convicted and fined accused £10, with an alternative of four months' imprisonment. Wright was also ordered to return the balance of the £5 to Stuart.

His Excellency the Governor has kindly consented to open a Maori fete in aid of tie funds of the Queen Victoria School for Maori Girls on Saturday, May 21, at three p.m. The fete will be held in Bishopscourt grounds (by permission of the Bishop of the diocese). It" is a spontaneous effort by the Maoris on behalf of the school, and will be managed by the Maoris almost entirely. . A settler's but at Kaitoke, Great Barrier Island, was destroyed by fire on March. 27, •while the owner, J. Getson, was away, the damage, which amounted to £25, being covered by insurance. It is thought that he failed to properly extinguish the fire in the fireplace. Nobody lived in the neighbourhood, and when Getson returned after two days' absence he found his hut and contents destroyed. The third season of the Prince Albert College Old Girls' Association was inaugurated with a social last evening. It was decided to wear a member's badge at future gatherings, and this matter was left to the committee for further consideration. The police cells last night contained two persons charged with drunkenness (associated in one case with refusal to quit licensed premises), and two persons charged with vagrancy. The cash register stolen from the Royal Hotel last Tuesday evening under circumstances already reported was found in Freeman's Bay yesterday morning.

About 15 men are now employed in constructing the dam for the new Waihi water supply. Tbo mains are being placed in position for the first 11 miles.