LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12737, 14 December 1904, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The colonial mails which left Auckland on November 25 by the mail steamer Ventura reached San Francisco on Monday morning last, and are due in London on the 24th inst. An interview on the reasons for the scarcity of comfortable;: four-roomed -cottages in Auckland,'with a, builder of considerable experience in small-house construction, appears in. the Supplement to this issue. i

"the special Christmas issue of th# WiysKL ? J&as,%.wJiich is also the .dimtmas - mail" nuiiißei-; is ii particularly attractive production. It contains a very largo mun\ bet of -high-class illustrations, depicting different phases of the New Zealand summer Christmas.- There;.X are. given, view*. of'■,:; famous"Christmas resorts m _Stewart ,Is-,-;.;; land,, on .. the Golden Coast, in the .great >■; northern peninsula, &M elsewhere, and Christmas celebrations axe depicted in the Maori pa, on the gumfields, and on , backblocks' farms. Que striking feature of the. issuV is : a series' of splendid' photographs, showing the wonders and beauties of the ..• . diewlv-discovered; caves at ; Waitomo," and besides these are a number of excellent re- ; productions, " showing the Floral, Fete _ at, ■ Auckland, and many other interesting "-- 'events' ! This numbei Of the Weekly News ■ 'contains, 1 besides Christmas pictures a large amount of.--specially-selected:.. Christmas literature, and altogether forms! am exceptionally interesting publication, and-one ■> which "the public will widely appreciate. A letter ..from the .Duucdia Chamber of Commerce, read; a* the meeting of the coun cii of the Auckland .Chamber .yesterday, protested against a" resolution passed by the Auckland Chamber in .September• last, expressing the opinion.-that the Shipwreck * Relief. Society, which has its headquarters in Duucilin,:*oughfc to have given j relief to' the crew of .■thtTSaragossa,- wrecked ira the Cook Islands. ; The letter explained that the fund was, for relief of sailors and passengers wrecked on the New Zealand coast, and that, under the Merchant Shipping Act of » 1394, the superintendent of marine (an office 'held, in -Auckland'' by Captain. Beit}} had power to grant relief in such cases as the Saragossa,,.. and..concluded with the remark that there seemed to be aain.- .';*, appropriateness in -the-.Auckland.Chamber of Commerce criticising the.: action of the society, seeing that there was not a single subscriber to the society in the-city of Auckland. '. The concluding sentence seemed to be rather a shock, and the ; meet in g passed to the next business without discussing the matter..- ~ .. i ...•;, There'are signs enough in, the city that Christmas is near. In tie. larger shops s handsome and; costly goods are temptingly displayedmassive silverware, - cases of more pipes than the ordinary smoker knows what to do with, high-priced boxes of chocolates and rare confectionery,' books in gilded cloth , and in the. heavier, solider, and more expensive calf. The drapers' and milliners' - windows are; gorgeously arrayed, and even the humble little general store pit' the main thoroughfares <.-.,« shows signs of Christmas, if it be only.the working ;in whole .. ginger- of. ''-A Merry, Christmas to All" on a field of washed "currants. Artificial holly leaves, with scarlet;berries that never grew on trees*, are already in some of the windows, and the second crop of Christmas' arid New Year's cards has : : ; been > gathered ? into -, sheaves" in ; the stationers' shops; The year; that is dying has been :a prosperous one fort the province, both in town and * country. The dairying industry has flourished, and the price of wool has gone up 2d lb, and work has been steady and remunerative": in the - city and l "-<, towns. Already visitors from the country are coming into' Auckland to . : -spend r the Christmas holidays, and : there -■ is every prospect of, the city i being particularly full during the season. • ■ :-;•.■"::: ■: .: . .The question of the scarcity, of trucks, for the carriage of grain was again: referred to at yesterday's meeting 'of ■■ the i- council of the' Chamber of Commerce. The-' districttraffic manager of railways and the chairman of the Grain Merchants' Association (Mr. L-axoii') have been brought together at "' a conference on the question. 5 ■; Mr. Laxon instanced • cases in which .trucks containing grain had been .shunted up and down the line, and: the -carts could not get at' them. '~--.? The.; traffic manager stated that '-.-'a great : source of trouble was the fact that Only a :• small- • quantity ?of goods ; was '" sent; ta - 'the " 3 station during the Msl but that' justib%fo«i7;: : :: five o'clock a great number of carta came, r :.? and it was- very difficult to deal with' them ;. all, while m the country - the consignees took . their own time-to *, unload the i trucks--Mr. M. M. McCallum .; said there was no * doubt about the rush of goods al)oufc five o'clock, but he was afraid it could not be avoided 1 , as orders eaoie h>sbei morsing, ;; people generally wanted- their. goods sent that day, .. As .to the ; difficulty; about unloading upcounfay, that was thes Railway "S Department's ', own . fault. ; The -. secretary (Mr ?/ Goulstone) ■; said the.^l^p^rtnienii^had :;■;> the power- to fine .the people for .not unloading, but they did: not care to enforce ■ it. Mr. McCallum: " No; they might be risking votes." A requisition bearing 382 signatures was ~Y : : presented yesterday to Mr. W. F. Money (Leader of the ,Opposition), asking him to deliver a public address in Auckland before - ,j the holidays!: The requisition was publicly .' presented in the Chamber ;of Commerce. Among ; those ; present were:; Messrs. J. " .-' Farreil (Mayor of Grey Lynn), R. Farrell, E. Jiarle Vaile,' Graves Aicldn,- C. Baglev, M. M. MoXJallum, G. J. Garland,, J. R. Bloomfield,. G. Squirrell, W. J. Rees, E. *■ W. Eur'.on, and E. Anderson. Mr. John Farrell. was' called ,to the chair, and Mr. R. Farrell.presented the requisition, siting ._'.*■ that it had :; only been nine,hours in'circulation. Mr. Massey, in reply, thanked the * ' requisitionists for the honour;,.:they ; ,had done him and the party to'' which lie belonged,: and said lie would have much pleasure in comparing.; with the request. .He ' was sorry that the date suggested (Thurs- : day, December 22) was ,so near \ Christinas, bat he hoped that even then the citizens of Auckland would spare two or three hours for " politics. t ,He was... pleased.' to ' know that the .old apathy, with regard .to / politics was passing away. « He had received two .or three invitations to visit the South, and he intended to, give the" same answer as he bad given .to the A*Bck-.-' land request. ■: ' '- _ The Christmas and New Year holidays to be observed by the local banks are December 26, 27, and; 28, and c January '2 ;;'; and 3. A little .uneasiness, has been occasioned among local shopkeepers at the closing of the banks for three days on end, if pecially in view of the fact that so mtany burglaries have, been perpetrated recentlv. It been sugg'Wted that, as retaeleits have more, cash in hand then than at any other time during the year, an officier should be told off at each bank, to receive deposits. The banks might, in the circumstances consider the. advisability of -carrying out this suggestion. . ■" - .■;.'••.. ~ . . _■■ ■■ The Auckland Savings -Bank .has inti- ,' mated that from January 1 depositors mil - nm paid interests at the rate of four per ;I cent., instead of per cent., > as at pre- * sent. The Savings Bank pays interest" only on sums up to £100. The Post -Office : Savings Bank recently raised their rate of « interest on sums up to £200 ; from 3 per r ? Omfrtb SJ? per cent. Speaking to a Hkralj> " f reporter yesterday, Mr. R. Cameron (manager ofV ; the Auckland ;; Savings Bank) £ ex- ? pressed the opinion that the present tight- 4 ness [of -money ? > is due mom 1 : to * increased demand than.: to short • supply, U and that ' therefore it is a ; good -sign rather 1 ; than a\\ bad, as many suppose. ,',...■ A painful accident befell Mr. . Charles :: ;; Murdoch, of the firm of 13. P. Murdoch and Sons, wood-tui-Here, of Custom-street, Yesterday afternoon. ■■< Mr. Murdoch was work- •:' ing at a circular saw, and in maniptdatiug a piece of wood at the machine his right hand slipped,- and came in contact with the;. ; saw. •>«; The thumb and [■ two fingers were - completely, severed. The sufferer was "taken to the Auddand Hospital, where his rn- J juries received attentions '' > <; The post office authorities intimate that; $. articles .of metal, such as , aluminium post ;, % cards, . cannot be accepted for; transmission for places outside New Zealand at the rate f of postage applicable ,to postcards, nor are - they admitted in such mails at any rate of : ; postage, unless enclosed in such manner as to < preclude the possibility of their causing : injury to other articles in the mails,' or t» : officers the postal service. f Cur Wellington correspondent writes.-—• J The owner of a paddock in which another man's horse was grazing one cold and wet day, in, a spiritoorf r kindness, let the horso into his stable, where it ate largely of pol .' lard,, and died. The owner of the horse thereupon sired him for £25, aud recovered" judgment for £15, with coats." '■'» The two.shops destroyed by fire at Graj hainstowii, on Sunday morning wore, we are [ informed, uainsured. * / ';':\';; ; ; : vV-"'.'; / 3 S' ; -Sfe|lsS '■'..:■''.'' : '.';-.. : ,'-., : ,.'"' ; ' ; ■: ; -:iS:lsi:

The Harbour Board, at its meeting yesterday, decided to invite His Excellency the. Governor, Lord Phinket, and Lady Plunket, to accompany the chairman and members of the Board and lady friends on a visit to Calliope Dock and a trip round the harbour, at a date to be fixed on the Governor's return from Wangaiiui. The. eight Russian thar presented to the Tourist Department by the Duke of Bedford will be handed over to the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society for iiberatiou near Mount Cook. The original intention of turning the animals out on Mount Egmont was abandoned, owing to the fear of the settlers that the animals would eat .their crops, though, from all accounts, there is no danger of this.

v> A pleasing ceremony took place on Saturday evening last at the. Grand Hotel, Prin-ces-street, ■when a few friends of Mr. and Mrs. T. Martin, who have so successfully managed the house for some years, met and presented them with a- handsome solid silver epergne, on which was engraved the following inscription: —'"Presented to Mr. and Mrs. T. Martin, with best wishes for their future prosperity, on their leaving the Grand Hotel, Auckland,; December, 1904.'' On behalf ot tuoSSy present, Mr. Stephenson spoke of the ''esteem* in which Mr. and Mrs. Martin «vere"M3d by all who came in contact with them. ,'iud expressed regret at their departure, wishing them success in their new sphere. Both Mr. and Mrs. Marl in responded, thanking those present for the ,hanasorae gift. A presentation was also i So a few days earlier from the staff ot th. Tel to Mr. and Mrs. Martin, consists. 4 a handsome silver-mounted dress-iug-,t\ a, and « chatelaine bag, both bearing the recipients' initials in silver.

( "Sir. Gresham (coroner) held an inquest fet the Criterion Hotel yesterday afternoon, &V the body of ilarko Suijau. an Austrian, Wsk Wh ° aS k ' lkd at Rrwlie!,d °» Sunday, ft by being thrown from a horse. Auton'ia I lllj lart ' novic!l ' deceased's mate, gave eviTOencc which substantially confirmed the account of the accident* published in the Hkr.vu) of yesterday's issue. Dr. Gore Uillon described the nature of the injuries received by the deceased, and stated that no surgical aid would have been of any avail. Death was due to extensive laceration of the brain. F. Godfrey gave evidence to bringing the injured man to town in a launch, and to his demise shortly after starting out. A verdict of accidental' death was returned by the jury.

Seven applications wire made yesterday for four sections on the Bickerstaffe Estate. The applicants presented themselves for examination by the Crown Lands Board as to their eligibility. Section 51, Block XII., 547 acres, was granted to F. B. Wineor: section 9 and west part 15, Block XVI.. 156 acres, was granted to Charles E. Fisher. Two incomplete applications were also received. A ballot-between James Anderson ami J. J. Law, for section 30. Block XII., 43 acres, will be held at the Board's offices at- ten a.m. to-day.

Some two years ago Messrs. J. Burtfc (then president), T. Cheeseman (secretary), and the curator of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, liberated 32 gallons of Sydney prawns in the waters about the liangkoto Reef, and at St. Heliers Bay, in the nope of introducing prawns into* our ■waters. Nothing bad been heard as to the success or otherwise of their efforts until yesterday, when, at a meeting of the society, Mr. Cheeseman informed the members of the council that Mr. Wynyard had written -stating, that a few days ago he had caught a prawn at Orakei. Thus it would appear that the efforts of the society are likely to meet- with success, and in order to investigate the mutter further, Mr. Burtfc is endeavouring to arrange for the further test of the waters in the locality of St. Heliers Bay.

The Balance-sheet In connection with the bazaar and sale of work in aid of the Maori mission tad, which was opened by Mrs. Neligan ill the Public Hall, Otahuhu. on December 7, shows that the gross receipts amounted to £50 14s lid, and the expenses to £4 4s lid, leaving a net: balance of £46 10s for the Maori mission (writes our correspondent). This result exceeds expectations. The girls belonging to the Holy Trinity Church Sewing Guild desire to thank the. many people who assisted in various ways. *

The following nominations have been received for the champion chess tournament, which takes place at Oamaru on Boxing Day:—From Wellington, W. E. Mason (champion), O. W. J. A. Council, 11. J. Barnes. F. K. Kelling. and J. Mason. Dunedin: R. A. Clelland, D. Forsyth, J. Edwards, and J. H. Hamee. Rangitikei: O. C. Pleasants and A. Gifford. Timaru: B. Ma3on. Auckland: J. F. Grierson and E. J. Milnes. Play will not start till the evening of Boxing Day.

Harvest operations have just begun in this district (writes our Pukekohe East correspondent). The hay crops are rather, light on the whole, owing to the very backward spring. The weather it* still very unsettled, and there ha*> been very little chance rtt getting hay &aved in good condition so f.ir. The oat crop, which is quite a fortnight later than usual, is about, theaverage weight, and the quality is very good. The rust does not seem seriously to affect the Algerian oats. In some places they have been reported as rusting it* patches, but it is questionable whether it is rust or wet- that is causing the trouble. Potatoes are looking very well, and so far the blight does not seem to be affecting them. 3 Fruit has had a bad time with cold winds and hailstorms. In some cases peach trees are almost dead, but now that the weather is a little warmer, trees are improving. Our Waiuku correspondent state.-; 1 list the potato disease has made its appearance at Waipipi, incl will be a heavy loss to the district.

The Grown Lands Board, at its sitting yesterday, granted Bishop Lenihan four lots at Matamata township, in all one acre, for a Roman Catholic church site, subject to the approval of the Minister, at £42 per acre.

The /secretary of the Harbour Board (Mr. J. M. Brigham) has prepared copies of the Board's by-laws, and attached the seal to them, for the use of the Courts and the police. They will be forwarded in due course.

A telegram from Dargaville states that a young man named Lea. Levett, who was "working in the bush, : died suddenly at Avoea.

The latest audition to the list of countries to which papers may be sent for Id, irrespective of weight, is Mauritius.

There were in the Auckland police tells last night two women charged with vaglancy, °one person charged with drunkenne-' and another charged with receiving and fraudulently omitting to account for the tame. _____

ii wonderful variety and anec-ial value rolhrcttes and neckwear, Is Is M, is WJ, n lid ti-3&; all colours m embroidered 'faiiton for neckwear. <*l !•««'• »»»-""»l>»" l Ml r . fMt4,b Tt*o y ready-made stylish gar-. at specially low prices-John Court, costumier, Queen-street. n T m§ Hnn i- to be held in St. Sepulchre's A meeting is to oe "*-» ■. t j, e presid*ncy of the An|h«ljg g « diocesan for tho purpose of «» Temperance who «« i»'=>»™l'" "K'pSoiphW and Method of operations oi tue -oucij r!wii*a? TJcal views may be used. Call v.-.i see samples'