LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12817, 17 March 1905, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

At the Magistrate's Court yesterday, a lawyer was cross-examining a witness, who boasted that ho could remember conversations that had occurred four years ago. The lawyer had evidently forgotten a statement the witness had made a few minutes previously. The witness sarcastically drew the lawyer's attention to the fact that if ho could not remember what had happen**! two minutes before, lie (witness) could carry his memory back four years. "I beg your pardon, are you addressing me personally?" queried the lawyer. '"Yes," replied the witness. Whereupon the lawyer locked rather loftily at the witness and &aid, "I shall ask you not to.be impudent. Your duty is to answer my questions." The witness: '"Yes, and it is your duty to treat me with the same respect as I treat you." The magistrate thereupon. interfered, and informed the witness that he should not enter into a discussion with counsel. He also added, If ho overstep? Uie mark, I shall quickly interfere." ~

The ballot taken at the Auckland Crown. ] Lands Office yesterdayV morning, for the disposal of the lands opened on the previous day, resulted as, follows: —Section. 3, Block IX., Kawhia South, 1240 acres; lease in perpetuity, half-yearly rent £22 6s sd, 26 applicants, Jas. Gordon; section 7, Block IX., Orahiri district, 572 acres, • 8 applicants, E. G. Reynold, occupation with right of purchase (optional system), jialfvearly rent £14 6s ; section 8, Block IX., Orahiri district, 1095 acres, 6 applicants, J. Coombe, occupation with right of purchase (optional system), half-yearly rent £27 r ij> 6d; section'2l, Block 1., 150 acres. D. S. Malyon (only applicant), lease in jerpj' tuity, half-yearly rent £2 os 6d. The ballot was conducted by Captain Boscawen, chief clerk. . ' . . ;. ' ' :: /' " -. •" - : The blind man. who is usually to be seen at the D.S.C. corner playing the gramaphone waited upon the City Council last, night to request that he should be allowed to continue to play there, The city traffic inspector, lie said, had shifted him several times. In support of his plea he pointed out that he had great difficulty in getting about, as lie could not get a boy at present. The Mayor, in reply, said that Mr. Turner had simply acted' upon the instructions of the Streets Committee, who had received a number of . complaints. As the blind man asked for the names of the , bmplainants- the Mayor read a letter containing 16 names, and he said that whenever the Council . received a complaint like this it was their duty to put a stop to it. The best thing that the man could do was to shift about from place to place, and if he still v,'anted to remain at the D.S.C. corner to get those 16 to withdraw their letter. The blind' man said lie would endeavour to do so. The Council, on the recommendation of the Streets Committee, authorised the traffic inspector to >act an Mlovving .'lie gramaphone men*, to stand in such positions where they will not. be an annoyance, and to move the religious bodies now using the loot of Wellesley-street to Queen-street, above Wellesley-street, clear of the oab stand.

Mr. John Reid, chairman of the Jubilee Institute for the Blind, has received a letter from Messrs. Russell and Campbell, solicitors, advising him that a lady client had instructed them to present the trustees with the sum of £500, on condition that her name shall not. be published. The amount carries a Government subsidy of 2% in the £, making the donation equivalent to £1100.

The proposal of the Auckland Electric Tramways Company in regard to the supply of electricity to the City Council for lighting and power purposes, which was submitted to the Council at its meeting on March 2, was reported upon by the Street's Committee last evening. The committee recommended that the company be asked to quote the price at which they will supply the current in bulk at their power-house, and for the use of their poles throughout the city, and also for the supply distributed. The recommendation was adopted by the Council. The question of the appointment of an electrical engineer was also dealt with in the report of the Streets Committee, lb being recommended that the salary of the engineer to be appointed be at the rate of £350 per annum, and that applicants be required to show that they have had at least from three to five years' power-house experience. "vTr. C. J. Parr urged that inquiries should be made as to what was being done in Christchurch, and it was decided to refer the matter back to the committee for further information. V Several changers in the local Permanent Force will shortly be made. It is understood that Sergeant-Major Bush is retiring, on account of age, and he is to be succeeded by Sergeant Shepherd, of Auckland. Sergeant Withers has been appointed to the position of sergeant-major, and will proceed to Dunedin, while Sergeant Farquharson has been appointed to Wellington as ser-geant-major. Gunner Bush now ranks as sergeant-artificer, and goes to Lyttelton. Merchants, carters, and others who had so much cause to complain of the bad state of the King's Drive roadway last winter will be interested to learn that, the City Council at last night's meeting accepted a tender for the formation of the road. The work will be put in hand at once, and should- be completed before winter sets in. The amount of the tender is £746 16s lOd, the tenderer being Mr. J. Irvine. The city engineer's estimate was '£800,

Great mortality occurred in a mob of sheep which arrived at Port Ahuriri from the country on Thursday evening last for shipment to Canterbury (says the Napier Telegraph). On the way in from Taradale, in spite of the drovers' efforts, the sheep greedily drank of the salt water in the inner harbour, and in. the morning 28 of their number were found dead from the effects thus caused, 42 others were prostrated, and are not likely to recover, while many more which were affected were shipped along with the healthy ones to Lyttelton in the Ilakanoa, special men having to accompany the steamer to look after the sick animals.

Dr. Chilton, professor of biology at Canterbury College, was asked by the Lyttelton Times for an opinion in reference to a cable message from New York which stated that Professor Loeb, of the University of California, claimed! to have succeeded in fertilisg the sterile eggs of the sea urchin by means of chemical action. Dr. Chilton said that tlie message was vague, and, in view of the extravagant reports about Dr. Loeb's experiments, published some time ago in American, newspapers, the recent cablegram justified some scepticism. It was, of course, known that a segmentation of the ovum in certain cases could be set up by strychnine and other chemicals, but the development of an animal had not yet been accomplished. The cable message might give the impression that Dr. Loeb had produced an animal without the assistance of male fertilisation, but that result was very doubtful. On Monday afternoon the Hon. C. H. Mills, after inspecting the Waitomo caves, visited the recently-discovered caves known as Ruakuri, situated about two miles from Waitomo. Mr. Mills drove to Kawhia from To Awamutu, and left yesterday morning for To Ivuiti, from which place he will go to New Plymouth via Awakino and Mokau. He will lie accompanied by a number of local residents. According to a statement in the Lyttelton Times, important changes have recently taken place in the New Zealand Times Company. Mr. Martin Kennedy and Mr. T. W. Watson, two large shareholders, have disposed of their shares to Mr. R. E. Bannister, who previously had a large interest in the concern, and have consequently resigned their seats on the Board of directors. I Other changes are anticipated. The fine family residence recently erected at Mount Hobson. Remuera, for Mr. Herbert Thompson (who is removing to Christ■church), together with 3£ acres of land, was offered for sale by auction yesterday, at noon, by Mr. T. Mandeno Jackson.': Bidding ceased at £2700, and the property was passed in, .the auctioneer| remarkingthat the figure was well : below the ;khtvcfixed. ' •' ' . , , ,

. . lAt the Magistrate's Court yesterday? nifc'.vVi S. E. McCarthy, - S.M.y reserved his deci. sicn in the case of A. R. Wright and Son# v. Live Stock and" General Insurance Com. pany of New Zealand, which was a. claim V v for £40 due for insurance on stock, or in y the alternative £31 5s for the return of the premiums paid. The ; Hon. •J. A. Tale, 4J who appealed for plaintiffs, had closed his case on the previous day. The evidence given, by plaintiffs. was to the effect • that'v it was a floating policy covering all theM horses owned by Wright and Sons. . The case , ■ : for the defence was that it only covered certain horses. Mr. J. R. Reed, who appeared for the defendants, called Mr. Kirk- ..: caldy, district manager for defendants in Auckland, who contended that lie had only . insured 21 horses, and not all owned by the firm. In regard to the City Council's yard ac- , commodation, the Streets Committee last night stated that the city engineei had reported to them that the present accommodation was inadequate, and recommended that sheds, stables, etc., required; be' erected on the Council's property in Pattesbn-street, in accordance with the plans submitted, at a cost of £5000. It was stated that the committee had not yet arrived at any decision in respect to the engineer's recommendation. i'i.

Inspector Harnett, of the Agricultural Department, lias been round the auction rooms during the past few days, and has condemned a good deal or codlin moth infected fruit. The Department- is taking measures to stamp out the pest this year, and there is a marked diminution in the quantity of infected fruit offered for sale in the shops as compared with last year. A letter was received yesterday from the secretary of the Harbour Board b/ Mr. P. Virtue,' chairman, of the meeting ot Harbour Board electors held on Wednesday, stating that the Board would meet on Tuesday next, when the resolutions passed by the meeting would: be considered. The directors of the Taupiri Coal Mines, Limited!, notify customers by advertisement in another column that,""owing to non-de-livery of waggons by the Railway Department, orders cannot be supplied, and attribute the blame for this state of affairs, and for , the mines being idle, to the Railway Department. . . . ~ i At the Children's Home,' Remuera, last evening the presentation of a' framed photograph of the children of ' the home "and a. fountain pen was made by the committee to the Rev. J. Benning, who is shortly leaving Auckland for the South" Island. In making the presentation mention was made of the deep interest Mr. - Benning has taken in the home. The preparations for the opening of the Leys Institute at Ponsonby are now being made. The Mayor, stated at last night's meeting of the City Council that the ; institute would be opened on the afternoon of Wednesday, the 29th inst. . .. Some amusement was provided by m elderly prisoner who came up for sentence in the Supremo Court, ' Wellington, last Thursday morning (says the Post). He was not only elderly, but he was very deaf; and he came from ' the Emerald Isle.' :' When asked wTiat he had to say,' he remarked, " Perhaps the less I say the' better," and then he went on to point to the ingratitude of the man whose behaviour led up to the charge of wounding. "I took him into my \pamp and gave him plenty of tucker and beer, and gave him a. good time for the New Year. Then lie robbed me, and I hit iiiui with an axe." Then the judge, passed, sentence, and an ear trumpet had to be improvised' out of ; a roll of-blotting paper. The thin "end of' this was placed in the prisoner's ear, and the Court orderly bellowed a resume of His Honor's remarks into the other end. You're not speaking," , plaintively remarked the prisoner and the Court reared. The orderly tried! again, and had got as far as "His Honor says," when the prisoner ejaculated in an aggrieved torn, "Six months!". This set th«: Court ot? afresh, and His. Honor suggested .that per > haps Mr. Garvey would be. more successful He was. He summed-up -His Honor's remarks into two words, " Another month," he called out down the tubs, the prisoner nodded his appreciation of the. information, and was down below before the echoes of the head gaoler's voice, had died away.

A severe thunderstorm broke over Te Puke on Wednesday and again on Thursday last. On the first-named day a man named Ryburn was struck by lightning, and stunned for a while. On Thursday, while working' on a farm at Mats; a' young' man named Barrow was also struck by lightning. Ho Was seated on a disc harrow at the time, and fell off, with the result that the harrow passed over his leg, breaking . it near the ankle. The medical man resident at Te Puke was called in, and it was found necessary to amputate the injured limb. The despatch of the Union. Company# steamer Auclienblae from Fiji, Suva, to New York last mouth with a cargo of 5000 tons of sugar is of more than fleeting 'interest. •It is significant in several respects' (says a. Sydney paper), and" indicates that Fiji Em other' markets open for its products than immediate British colonies.' Tlie value of the sugar taken by the Auchenblae is worth something like £70,000, and must be regarded as a credit-able shipment for the colony, alike in bulk and value. With, the completion of the Panama Canal the road l from Fiji to the eastern States of America and to Europe will be very much shortened,, and it may yet become the fashion of Fiji to send regular cargoes of sugar and bananas to Great Britain. That the Auchenblae' cargo of sugar goes to New York is doubtless attributable to the disturbances in the market, due to the comparatively rccenfc abolition of continental bounties on sugar in Europe, and the consequent improvement in the value of the cane product. Of the 1903 crop of Fiji-produced sugar 5000 tons were despatched to British Columbia ; of the 1904 crop 5000 tons go to the same destination, and 5000 tons to New York. It is a little noteworthy that the cargo en route is not to be landed at Vancouver. .What the exact fiscal conditions are at Vancouver as covering the introduction into .Canada of Fijian products is not quite clear. Whatever the fiscal concessions at Vancouver, the departure -of the steamer how under notice would indicate that they were on a more liberal scale in the United States. Of the 1904 season's sugar crop- about 40,000 tons were sufficient to supply the ever-increasing demand of the New Zealand market. Probate lias been granted by Mr. Justice Edwards ,in the estate of William Henry Srielling, and letters of administration in the estate of John McLeod Paton (deceased). At last night's meeting of . the City Council a tender was received from the Neuchatel Asphalte Company for asphalting the lower end of Shortiand-street for £1023 ss. . The, : engineer's estimate was £988. The, tender was referred to the Streets Committee. * ":V! ** Vv ■' •. *•, >• A man named Charles Clark, of Parnell, was admitted to the hospital at a late hour last night, suffering from injuries to' his 1 head caused'through falling! from-his horse. . '.there were seven persons iu the lock-up | lasfe evening, four 'of whom wele charged with drunkenness. Uo: with theft," auduuo with assault* " '"