LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12860, 8 May 1905, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The cup matches under the auspices of the Auckland Rugby Union were commenced on Saturday afternoon. Ju the senior games, Newton defeated Grafton by 20 points to 3, City beat North Shore by 19 points to 3, and Suburbs suffered defeat by Paruell, the latter team winning by 8 points to nil. The matches are reported at length in another part.of to-day's paper.

Th.- Auckland sittings of the Court of Arbitration (Mr. Justice Chapman, president), will b-j resumed to-daj. Proceedings will commence at half-past ten o'clock, in the new Courtrooir in the Supreme Court Buildings, and the first matter to be dealt with will be the cooks and stewards' dispute.

The Auditor-General has ordered a special audit of the Onehuitga borough accounts at the request of the Mayor (Mr. A. Gordon). The audit will take place during this week.

In his -annual report the Auckland harbourmaster says:—"l would beg to remiad ' -' the Board that, as the surveying ship Penguin has been removed from these waters - there is therefore no hope of her undertaking the re-survey of the Rangitoto. Channel ■ This work was ordered by the Board, and it was believed the Penguin would be available, for it. The survey is "of the greatest importance in view of the increasing size and draught of steamers trading to the port. No methodical and lasting improvement in the marking of the 'channel can be undertaken until the survey is completed."

Mr. A. Plugge, of the King's College, met with a. painful accident mi Friday evening, at Onehunga, while running to'" catch a, tramcar. Not noticing an "iron"' horse-trough on the edge of the footpath ',: he crashed into it, and received a bad fa])' On. examination one of his legs was found to be severely bruised and cut, but with the aid of a stick he was able to leave by the following car. The injury to Mr Plugge prevented his appearance or the "' football field last Saturday, and his IOSSl OSS was much felt by the Suburbs seniors.

Writing on Wednesday last, our _\l er . etiry Bay correspondent says:—The shinping trade is, and lias been, very brisk during the last three weeks, no less than ten vessels having been in our waters, both, intercolonial and coastal, these 10 vessels having carried away about, 1,500,000 ft of timber. .At the present time the want of rain is becoming a very serious matter, for unless a fresh occurs soon, the mill will be cut out of logs, which would be most disastrous to us all in the.Bay.

While playing for the Grafton district. football club's second fifteen against the Newton team at Epsom, on Saturday a youth mimed T. Cooper collided with an op., portent and had his nose broken. The in-'' jural organ was attended to by Dr. Peter Moir, the medical officer appointed by the Management Committee of the Auckland' Rugby Union to attend to injured players. During the first spell in the match between the City and North Shore second fifteens, at North Shore, a City player named H. Sergeant collided with another player and received a severe cut above the eye, ami had to be carried oil' the field. He was convened? to the residence of Mr. Jackson, and there attended by Dr. Bennett.

Our Hamilton correspondent writes: On Friday a sudden death took place in a, train whilst,between,Ruakura station and Cambridge. Mr. F. J. Smith, builder,, of the Thames, and his wife, were on the road to Cambridge to consult Dr. Roberts as to the husband's health. Just as the train left Ruakura Mr. Smith had a fit of coughing, which caused hemorrhage, with the result that death took place'about aquarter of an hour afterwards. Much sympathy is felt for Mrs. Smith, who is: left with three children, one of whom is only an infant. Our Cambridge correspondent writes that at, the inquest, which was held at Cambridge on Saturday afternoon, before Mr. J. S. Bond, coroner, the jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical testimony, viz., that deceased died from syncope, the result of hemorrhage.

At All Saints' Church, Pcnsonby, on Saturday, there was a large congregation to pay the last tribute of respect to the late Mr. John Henry Cobb and the late Mrs. Caroline Wright, two rery old parishioners, both of whom passed away during last week, and whose funerals took place that afternoon. The. service was conducted ' by Die Venerable Archdeacon Calder, who, in the course of an impressive address; made feeling reference to the exemplary lives led by the deceased. The members of the choir present, and Psalm, xc. and the Nunc Dimittis wets chanted. The "Dead March" in "Saul" was played im- ; pressively by the church organist, Mr. T. E. Midgley. Both interments took place at the Symonds-str«et cemetery, Archdeacon. Calder conducting both services at , the graves.

A report went the rounds at Onehuiiga on Saturday to the effect that a tramcar' had run into a large piece of scantling the evening previous, when passing the Foresters' Hall. It was stated that the timber had been deliberately placed across the - lines. On inquiry being made, the fact was elicited that ? piece of four by four scantling had been discovered lying across «■ the rails, but was removed by a. passer-by ", before 1 lie next car came along. On Saturday evening the police were advised thai an inmate of the Avondale Asylum, named Frederick Jenkins, had escaped. Soon ;.ftev Ins escape, at half- ; past three on Saturday afternoon, the . patient was seen upon the Mount Eoskill/ lv ad. but when the police and the asylum - warders searched for him iu the locality,, • no trace of him could be foufid. The man ' next tinned up at Eden Terrace, where he : was arrested by Constable l Hodgson at , twenty minutes to nine, or fire hours after his escape. , * - A meeting of creditors in the estate of ' John Chaafe, scs., horse trainer, of Onehunga, was held at the official assignee's office on Saturday morning. The creditors present expressed regret at the debtor's misfortune, ami decided to wind up the estate and facilitate the bankrupt's discharge as fa. as possible. The liabilities in the estate amount to £346, and the assets to £40, including book debts estimated to produce £20.

The Royal Hotel at Raglan, and Gilmore's store adjoining, were destroyed by fire yesterday morning. In reporting the matter tc Inspector Culleii, Constable McCarthy states that the fire originated in the hotel. He says that the hotel also caught fire on Friday night, but the flames were then extinguished. No further particulars wer« available last evening.

Mr. Lincoln Roes, who died in Wellington; last week, while under chloroform, was a . son of Mr. W. L. Rees, of Gisborne, and only went to Wellington a few months ago. Previously he was in partnership at Gis« borne with his brother, Mr. Arthur Bees, severing that connection to commence practice in Wellington. Ho was a prominent member of the Poverty Bay Club, the Gisborne Bowling Club, and othei institutions'. In his younger days Mr. Roes was a fia« runner, cricketer, and footballer, achieving representative honours on several occasions. Mr. Rees was a relative of Dr. W. G. Graces his father, Mr. W. L. Rees, being a cousin to the famous English cricketer. As brother-in-law of Mr. W. G. Lusk, of Napier, ha was connected with another athletic family. The. deceased, who was about 35 years ol age, leaver a wife uid two children, wb* are at present residing in Auckland.' At the Police. Court on Saturday the* was a light charge-sheet. Fotu persons were charged with drunkenness, of whoa one was remanded, two lined IDs, and a first offender ss. A slight sensation was caused in Wynd-ham-street on Saturday morning, by a rsa in a spring trap (owned by Mr. J. Renwick,, carrier) stumbling and falling. Both shafts were broken but no other damage was done. ;

'■ The occupants of the police cells last even* ing were six persons charged with drunkenness, and two charged with threatening behaviour. One of the latter ala. has twa ; charges of theft preferred against him. ,■; v; .' (■■ v.O .vigil

"Til* whole cause of the unemployed is the huge blister of New South Wales— this city of Sydney," said the State Premier to ii deputation. People would, he continued, stick to the city. As he travelled about he had noticed that while scores of men were struggling in the city for a living, their brothers on a small piece of land in the country were doing well. If they went, to the father of a boy in a public school, he felt sure they would find th.it not one in a- hundred had any idea of sending his sou mi to the land, but was intent upon getting him into the Railway Department, or on making him a. clerk. They had a large amount, of railway material on hand to the »alne of about £400.000 at the present moment that was costing them about four per cent. lie had gone through all schemes for new railways, and he proposed, as speedily as possible, to put ill hand the several works.

At the Trades and Labour Councils' smoke conceit at Wellington recently, "Mr. Duthie. speaking to the toast of Parliament, said th.it following the reports of (lie conference proceedings, it seemed to him that tin underlying fact that the wage-earners themselves were the largest ultimate employers was too much lost sight of. In numerical strength they were probably as five to one. consequently in the use. for instance, of manufactures, such as clothing, boots, and the like, or food products of the colony, their consumption was in proportion. Manufacturers and .traders mo doubt levied toll for their services, checked by competition, but the increased cost, of goods by labour restrictions and higher wages resulted unavoidably in a higher price having to he paid by the consumer. Take rent as a further instance. Suppose, tea years ago. that _a_ cottage cost J23CO to erect, and with its site was let at 12s per week. To-day thai cottage would certainly cost £400. md its rent would probably be 16s. (A voice: '"That's Scotch economy, Mr. Duthie.") It might be Scotch reasoning, but it's a mere ease of cause ami effect, for when rents fell short of reasonable interest fa the cost- of 1 perishable investment, building became stagnant and remaiued so until the advance of rent induced fresh enterprise '1 he problem involved, lie thought, claimed close consideration.

Some remark.* made in Syduey by Colonel Bums (of Burns, Philp. and Cc.) emphasise the importance of shipping to the welfare o; Australia. "My company," lie said, apropos of the San Francisco mail steamers, "have been agents for a period of about four years, and during that time we have disbursed a- stoat part of a quarter of a million in this city of Sydney. Shipping brings trade to the port, and I think you will agree that if there is ally country in the world where we should encourage shipping it is Australia. The whole "of the produce of Australia must be seaborne to other parts of the world, ami what benefits shipping must benefit the whole of Australia. Unfortunately, we have not had the same encouragement from Australia as from New Zealand. Legislation heie has made all shipowners a little nervous and a. little anxious, because not only have we had a good many enactments which are derogatory to shipping, but we see. or fancy we sec. more in store for us.'-