LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12734, 10 December 1904, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The first of the Auckland Electric Tramways, Company's new cars was placed in | the running on (.lie- Parne'll route yesterday. It is one of the small type, and*. bears an I outward resemblance to those hitherto hi use. Several improvement!! will, however, be noticed as regards the passenger accommodation, the chief one being a greater I width of aisle. Generally speaking, the new car offers more room a inside. The : ;garden seat system :is used. : Both plat-■ forms are fitted up with: collapsible,; or telescopic -gates, instead of chains, and the motonnan on duty can therefore shut out the public from Ms portion of the car. Two life-guards are fitted on the new car. ■ The Hkraj.d Summary, for transmission by tlia next outward San Francisco' mail, will be published next Wednesday morning. , Those desirous of forwarding the Summary to their friends in Europe, America, etc., will have ample time to do so, as the news*" paper mail . closes '<- on .., Friday next, at' 12 1 noon, up -- to >, which- • our" papers 1 for mailing may -bo obtained of runners at the post office. This mail will bo due in London on January 14. ■ The Sir George Grey statue, which .was placed on the pedestal yesterday morning, attracted a good deal ot attention dining the day. The unveiling ceremony i* fixed to take place on Wednesday,, /Aft, inst. .Subscribers, to the statue fund have -been invited, but any who may have been inadvertently omitted may have cards of invitation on application. ' The Premier promised some time ago to be present 'at the ceremony, but he is understood to have more recently . expressed ; some i doubt :as to his being able to reach Auckland on that dale. The Hon. J. McGowan, Minister for Mines and Justice, will probably be present at the ceremony, and remain in the Auckland district over the holidays. The fact that no sealed copy of .the Auckland Harbour Board by-laws has been supplied to the police or to the clerks. of the local Police Court, came in for some comment at * the Police -Court i- yesterday;! Two carters were before Mr. H. S. Wardell, S.M., upon charges of "touting*' or employment- upon the Auckland wharves. As Sub-Inspector Black produced an unsealed copy of the Harbour Board by-laws, Mr. Wardell said that the copy -was not a bit of I good- unless .it was sealed. The sub-in» specter then. explained that he could not .produce a sealed copy. Who?! the subject cropped up .some time ago, he had sent a sergeant down to the secretary of the Iktardto get a copy, but the latter refused to give it until. the police applied i for * one' in ; writing. The police -did so, and since then ■■ they » had heard nothing more about the matter. , The police had no : sealed copy of the city by-laws either. Remarking that these public bodies ought to see that sealed copies were lodged in ; the Court, ordinary ; unseated copies having no legal value, the magistrate' dismissed the cases before him without further hearing. The magistrate" also classed the action of."the City Council in not providing the city traffic = inspector with a specially sealed copy, Mr. Turner having to "borrow,", a copy when he took proceedings, as "absolutely ridiculous." The future prospects of Fiji are spoken of in very nopeful terms by the Hon. Geo. i Moore, 1.5.0., Minister for Lands and Works and Surveyor-General of that colony, who arrived in Auckland by the ■Hauroto on Thursday. Speaking to a He Bali) representative yesterday, he said that; the fruit, sugar, copra, and other industries are all in < a flourishing - condition. The islands have recovered from the effects: of last J year's hurricane, ■ and, provided that, there is no euch disastrous visitation this season, the Government's surplus will, in.Mr. Moore's opinion, be larger than in any-;previous year. -The new! Governor, Mr. im Thuru, is very popular amongst' all classes, and generally the state; of affairs iu the islands is very satisfactory. The election of the now members of the Legislative Council under tit© new constitution will take place in February, and the necessary preparations for the "same are now being made. Mr. Moore proceeds oh Monday to Rotorua, where he will probably■ stay for about a month. Our Cambridge correspondent writes: — Mr. M. V. Dixon caught two Califoraian brown trout in the Waikato River, at the mouth of the Karapiro Stream, Cambridge, on Thursday afternoon, weighing b and lib respectively. The trout ■■■ in the river are at present feeding on the green beetle.' Mr. Dixon states that the present flooded state of the Waikato is evidently bringing the small trout down, and;that good fishing should be obtained in the various rapids. A proposal has been made to form a branch' of the Acclimatisation Society ! here, 1 and also to start a,: hatchery. Competent authorities assert tha>t in a .'short 1 time there will be splendid fishing in ' and around Cambridge. An English mail, of London date Novem.her 4, -wall arrive from Sydney, by the steamer Mokoia to-morrow J ':";'■:.■ ",'■'.■ -/■'■".■•■■:■■ '-■'■'\\\'t'-y'?'i*"' : &i^

An incident which* has given rise to . ,; serious fear* as to the fate of a man named •;-.; John Wilson, a resident of Portland-street, 1 Remuera, has been reported to the Auck- ," '- land police. Mr. Wilson, who is about 70 ; years of age, left ; .Orakei bridge for the Wade. in a trading cutter owned by him, ■ • called the Grace Darling, some 11 days ago, and nothing has been heard of him since that date. The missing man was alone in his boat, which contained no ballast-. Ordinarily the trip : lasts but a few hours, and ' as squally weather was experienced about the time "of his setting out in his craft, and steamers trading to the Wade have failed . to get tidings of the man or his vessel, • -? there is some reason for the fears that are i entertained as! to ! his ; safety, and Mr Wil- ; ; son's wife is naturally very anxious. .- . . A* statement based upon an agreement | arrived at between masters and men in connection with the coopering.trade having lain in the office of the clerk of awards (Mr. Goring Thomas) for the prescribed period, three months, without any objection being made to any of the provisions, now assumes the force and effect of an industrial agreement. It provides for competent workmen to receive a weekly wage of -£2 12s, a- week's work to consist of 45 hours. The usual "holidays ::. are provided, * and. the agreement contains a.: preference clause for unionists. : A ; five years' term of \ apprenticeship is fixed, v apprentices _to be properly indentured, in the proportion '■ of one to three journeymen. Coopers en- ' gaged at. machine work are bound by tins award, which continues in force until December 4, 1906. * The death is announced of Mr. James Sherley,; of Putaruru, at the residence of his ; son-in-law, '[. Mr.; Butterworth, of Kirikiriroa ; (writes our Hamilton correspondent). The deceased was very old Waikato identity. Early in the seventies he kept an hotel a*Rangiriri,/ and was well-known to all the settlers. He "afterwards took to farming at Sherley's Island, below Rangiriri, and later mi was appointed town traveller for Mr. I. D. Nathan. He subsequently look over the management or the Okoroire Hotel, and afterward that '■ of the ; hotel at Putaruru. He leaves a wife and grown up family, \foi " f whom much sympathy < is felt. :• . The death has occurred in : Auckland of -~ Mrs. Maria. Atkin, relict of the late • Mr. • Chas:. Atkin. The deceased lady, who was in her 75th year, was bom at Boston, Lin- - colnshire. She came to the colony in 1862, and settled in Auckland a year later, experiencing many .of the difficulties of early colonial life. Her health gave way some two years ago, and since then she has been prac- , tically'an invalid. 'The deceased's only daughter (the late Mrs. Adam Porter) died a few years ago, but she leaves two sons, of the firm of Messrs.. Cousins and Atkin. ; ; The ■ funeral leaves the eldest ; son's residence at Mount" Eden, oh Sunday, afternoon, at two p.m., for Wuikumete. • A peculiar occurrence is reported from. - Keppel Island (one of the Friendly Group). At night, or. October 20, heavy rain began 'to fall, and a few moments afterwards a sound was heard like a clap of thunder. On the 'following day it was found out that a. stream of watei had burst from the side of the mountain, and what was taken to bo thunder was the noise of the splitting of the earth caused by 'the'.'bursting out of > the tor- - rent. The 'torrent''..broke out in three different streams; each flowing -in a different direction, and large trees were-overthrown by the torrent. By October 23 two of the streams had dried up. A number of plantations were swept away by the»water. ■...-..».''" At the Waihi Borough„Council the Finance Committee's report regarding the, alteration of the official staff, and the creation of an extra office (assistant clerk) provsked a good . deal of discussion, it being maintained by some councillors that a good.'.deal of extra work was being occasioned by waterworks, etc., and that the erection of the abattoirs and gasworks would require a' good deal of attention from the engineer.. On the other hand, Messrs. Saunders and Foster objected to the increase; and contended that the staff was overmanned. The>"r* , port' l was eventually carried. Mr. King junior , Clerk, has ; resigned. ' , ' ,' .'P'>*:;iA'^ A letter from the inspector of telegraphs . at Auckland, silting that the. telephone ex-. change at. Waihi would be established as soon-as funds were available,', was read at the Wiaihi Borough Council meeting on Thursday night, one of, the; councillors re-, marking .that the Department; was- simply : . playing 1 a game of bluff. Subscribers' contributions were procured'a'" couple- or yfesrs ago, and still there was no' telephone. . The ~ ~ letter was received.' . : ...''■••■• .Vv•;••:.;v< '..'.■ Our : Cambridge correspondent. writes:—* During the past fortnight ttere has been a wonderful growth of grass and cereal crops, and feed is now very .'plentiful ttiroughoufc the district. Dairyman, however, complain. that the milk is of a lower standard than: : usual at this season of the year, 'which is, no doubt, caused by the rough cold weather . .'". and small amount of sunshine. : ~ A well-known Karanfahake miner, Mr. J. ..-'.■' Dickson, "died at Karangahake last evening ':■', (writes our Paeroa correspondent); ■' Do-. r ceased had been invalided for the last three • years, and his death was not; altogether unexpected. Dickson was widely known and respected by all classes of the community. An inquest Was held at the Courthouse, : , Onehunga, yesterday morning, in connection! with the death; of, Mr. William Cooper, //. draper, who had been discovered'- lying dead on the previous evening. Mr. S.. Luke, coroner,, presided. ■" Evidence was given bv Constable, O'Sullivah, f.ho broke.open the door, and found tin? bod A. verdict, of "Death from natural causes" was -re- '' turned 1 . . . ',i -~'"*-^ The Gore brewery and its proprietor, Mir., Johp. Whittingham, figured .very largely in the proceedings at the InvercargiirSupreDM Court the other day. During the case ;«. letter was read in which the writer gov* an order for beer, enclosing £2, and expressing sympathy with the harass*! breweff '■ ' ; of hquor. Mr. Whittineham's reply, accept* ■ , mg the order, -which was: the subjijet of trw I - action, thanked his customer for "bis practical, not Christian, sympathy." This occasioned some laughter, His Honor remarking that he did not-think'there should be the distinction between the two which was in- • • ferred. At a later stage His Honor re- : marked that it was generally ..supposed that a. brewer's license was not affected by the prohibition question, but the fact remainedSl that ' his ; rights were curtailed in a,' very elaborate manner. His Christian" svni- ' pathiea were \ with; Mr. Whittingfcant, "bat- ; s s| whether he could afford him the practical •. sympathy which that gentleman apparentlv "' considered in, distinction from Christian sympathy he could not say. Brewers, m far as his experience went,' were a claas of . respectable; men, - who were: theoretical!* •' ,> ■ supposed nut to be interfered with by the prohibition doctrine, but in reality they wore placed in a very awkward position, 'if h* .could, not accord -Mr. Whittingham his legal sympathy. he would accord him 'his'; Christian sympathy. Let me put a case," said an employer, when he and his colleagues were dig :irssing the Workers' Compensation Act at i. meeting in Christchureh, " Suppose a man got bitten by a mosquito while working for his master, and the bite induced a fever would the employer be liable for the payment of compensation:" After some consideration, the president said that, in view of the judgment in a recent Southern? case* the employer would be liable, "Millions of Mischief" is the title of a v new and thrilling serial tale, the ripening chapters ot': which appeal in to-day's Supplement. It is by Beadon Hill; the author of. a number of well-known and popular works of fiction. _ A young mail named Charles Richard . Jones, a baker by trade, was admitted to the Auckland Hospital yesterday morning, suffering from a rather" severely crushed foot. The injury ■-. was caused by » caw; >W| wheel passing over the right foot. . ■-i;-.»A sitting of the Supreme Court in bank- ' ruptcy will be held on . Tuesday next. There are three applications for discharge to come before the Court. There was jr.- person, charged with drunken.ii«sr.s, in the Auckland polios cells 3*sf • ■ oagh,i. . , r ■ ~ ■ ■. ~.;;:■;., 5 .: /■:■'".-",■ :.: ; -•:••■. y"/-- -.' yy::'.." ! . ■■:.'■; '■ ■:. •'