LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13070, 9 January 1906, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The sunken steamer Kapantii was lifted furtier inshore, toward* St. George's Bay, on last evening's tide, and should be placed on the beach this morning. The magisterial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the collision between the Kapanui and the Claymore in the harbour on December 23 will be commenced at the Magistrate's Court this morning, before Mr. C. C. Kettle. S.M., and Captains G. G. Smith and ('. McArbhur, of Wellington, nautical assessors. The inquiry is expected to last for several days.

Yesterday Messrs. G. A. Buttle Kind F. G. Ewington. trustees under the will of the late Mr. Humphrey Rawlings, awarded the scholarship to Henry Gordon Johnston, a scholar in the Mount Eden public school, and eldest son of Mr. R. L. Johnston, a warder in the Mount Eden Gaol. A boy iu the Avondale public school came first. with 465 marks, but on inquiry the trustees found that he was not the son of poor parents" in terms of the will, so they fell back on the second on the list, which was H. G. Johnston, with 446 marks. The scholarship carries with it free tuition at the Grammar School or a college, free books, and £10 a year, payable quarterly in advance, for two or three years, in the discretion of the trustees. If r.ny Rawlings scholars show genius, the trustees have power to help them in various ways, and if they do not show diligence the trustees reserve to themselves power to cancel the scholarships, and give them to boys who will appreciate them and benefit themselves. their parents, and the community by them. There were 32 competitors. The Rev. J- H. Simmon Is, principal of Three Kings' College, was examiner.

The statistics of the Magistrate's Court (civil) for the'year 1905 show that 3715 plaints were entered, 1978 cases tried, with an aggregate amount, sued for of £40,465 0a Id. and £21,663 2s 9d recovered through the Court, For the year 1904, 3285 plaints were entered, 1351 cases heard, with an aggregate amount sued for of £35.501 13s 9d, and £19,977 5s 5d recovered.

The Union Company's steamer Mokoia left for Sydney last evening, with a number of passengers in both classes, and a quantity of general cargo. Included in the shipments from Auckland were six boxes of bullion, sent by the Bank of New Zealand, valued at £25,602; and two boxes bullion, valued at £5738, and 58 bars silver, valued at £8339, by the Waihi Cold Mining Company; also, 200 boxes of butter shipped through to Durban, -South Africa, and lines of sand, hides, etc., for Australian ports, besides a large line of copra from the Islands.

Ihe Collector of Customs notifies owners of sea fishing hosts that unless licenses for 1906 are taken out on or before Monday, the 22nd inst., he will have to institute proceedings for breach of the Sea Fisheries Acts

A young girl named Ada Therm jj. ■ died suddenly at the residence of I, parents in Collingwood-street y * morning. Deceased was about 18 year, * age, and unmarried. An inquest nVLta in the afternoon before the coroner Of" T. Orosham). Kathken At-cs Movl=„ tor of deeded. staled that tl* fe and she were at tl>- Auckland railway *~ ti.m last Friday afternoon. «!,.„ h<-r",i,. fainted and slipped, failing wit!, h cr jj*! against the wall 0 ,- f)Vt . t |.,., * Mid. "All is dark. 1 ~„ ~,,-,. lr !?! Shoitly after sue regained her , i; , . fell ,11. Dc« .-a«-d ~,111)!' ..1. ■,; nf W-ing sitl oil Saturday, and on Sunday did j,,-,. , R to know v.;;:,.:--. K.,riv veM*:,!,- 1' ' n-d,..-:, >,-.., • ,• •• a ora. mg d-eas-d >ln:-.;l mm ...-.- moil*,-, bin did not then complain. She „•' about h..1f.,,,,ct 1n... Dr. n-dforiiij dcw:isMl had l.uiidvvHl a lew minutes when he saw k<;- .it six •>'< I >ik \- -terdav ii! U fj. in- II.• held , p.M-im ii.-ui examination X.. '"'- '" vi,.i,.,H- v.. re '" ihi- bod T . (In opening 1 1st- skull ■•<!.,) <■! i.l.md on {[', brain v.as revealed. Tin .•• v. ;. s also a fr3( ,_ tin-' .ii the internal ! • -i• 1»■ nt tj||. skull. TV fi.nu,:- was, ro d.ndit. i!,.. cause of {b| hemonhage. Th cause of <\-..- i ], „.. ptt ,. sine upon the brain of the !,!•,,! clot—so,,. gestae of an accidental fall. A verdict wy returned accordingly.

A cove;ed-in lu.u>e.h..ai hits h en placed on the hike- ,11 Roiouia for the in* 0 { anglers. The boat is " ; tht.v to„ mwsurement. !IM \ has aw.mm.nl ni-.n for four passengers. I; is not titled with any means of propulsion, but it i* accompanied by a rowing boat, for the convenience «{ passengers. The boat is towed to the fishing grounds by a steam launch, 0l which a charge of £1 is made, the char-j« being repeated when the t:>hin 3 ground* ate changed.

Mr. M. J. IVylor, architect, died at Wht. ngarei nil Saturday evenim;. Th<« deceased had been in business in Wiia»;;arei for over 25 year*, ami was well known in tlie build, in.: trad* lb' leaves a wife, live sons, and three daughters. Mr. Taylor had b*. a suffering from asthma for many years. Th« funeral will take place at Ivimo this afternoon. The Rev. 1,. L. Cubit "ill conduct the -ervite, the deceased being .1 member of the Anglican Church.

Yesterday morning an old aire pensioner named John Olivet Dewstow. a.„'ed 63. who had been living alone for some time past, was found dead in his house, off Queen.street, Northcote. Deceased had been paralysed on one side for many years, and during the past few days had suffered severely from dysentery. Mr. ('has. MeMan.is. a neighbour, gave him all necessary attention on Sunday, and yesterday morning. Dii going to see if Dewstow required any assistance, found him dead on the floor of his room. The coronet has decided to dispense with an inquest, and the interment will take place to-day. It is understood deceased has relatives living at Newton.

At a special meeting of the YVaihi School Committee on Saturday night, the question of the appointment of master of the secondary school was considered, the following name:! being submitted by the Board: — Messrs. Arthur F. T. Ausley. Edward W. B. Cuddy, Arthur R. Garland. 8.A., Samuel Harris, William K. Johns, William J. Moore, and Edward W. Stephenson It was unanimously resolved that Mr. A. 1!. Gatland be recommended. It was also resolved that the secretary be instructed to write to the Board urging Mr. (.Jutland's appointment. The motion stated that the committee was unanimous in bis recommendation, only one member being absent front the meeting. It was further resolved that copies of the committee's wish and teeommendation be sent to Messrs. Stallworthy and Greens!;.de. members of the Board. The name of Mr. Moore win agreed to, on the casting vote of the chairman, as being the second approved of.

Two highly-respected residents have just joined the great majority (writes our Waiuku correspondent). On December 31 Mr. William, Watts, of Kariotahi, passed away after a long and painful illness. Mr. Watts came to the district about 40 years ■'igo. In former years lie lock much intercut in local matters. IE was a member of tbe Anglican Church, and represented the district at the Synod for several years. 0« Sunday, January 7, the Rev. Mr. Harrfcoa conducted a memorial service, when refer euce was made to the deceased's long connection with the choir, and his other services to (.lie church. Oa January 1 Mrs. James Hill passed away at her residence, Springbank. Although the deceased lady hud li::en unwell for souk- time, her death was unexpected. Mrs. Hill, with her husband, settled in the district about 40 years ago. She was of a very kindly disposition. The funeral look place on January 3. and the long procession testified to the respect in which site was held. The coffin was covered with wreaths. The service at the church and the. cemetery was conducted by the 1! v. Mr. Harrison. She leaves a husband, four sons, live daughters, and a number of grandchildren.

Some peculiar methods are resorted to at , times in lands where there are no courts or where the long arm of the law does not extend, in causing absconders to pay tip. Not 10 miles from Taihape the proprietor of a boardinghouse had a visit from a couple of men who made a biir attempt to evade payment As soon as the proprietor of the eating-house heard of the sudden departure of the couple he secured a horse, and with an emblem of his calling carving knife—he set out after the fugitives, and was not long in calling upon them in the Kings good name to bail-up, whereupon a demand was made for silver. It is unnecessary to slate that the money came very promptly, for the appearance ot an excited trooper with bayonet drawn was not too inviting.

At a meeting of the Auckland Tramway Sick and Accident. Friendly Society last night, it was resolved to support a petition praying for the release of Michael O'Neill. a Irani conductor, who is serving a sentence for embezzling the society's funds. On .Saturday a meeting was held in Wellington preliminary to the formation of a New Zealand Irish Association, and it was decided to hold a general meeting about the end of this month. Membership will be confined to supporters of Home Rule in Ireland. A collection taken up at the Wellington Botanical Gardens on Sunday afternoon by the St. John Ambulance district nurses, and other ladies, in aid of the fund for nursing the sick poor realised £20 17s 6d. The following is the state. of His Maesty's prison, Auckland, for the week ending January 6:—On remand, 14 males, one female; awaiting trial, seven males; p*"*' servitude for life, three males : hard labour, 190 males, 15 females: imprisonment, one male; default of bail, two muled; received during the week, 21 males, one female; discharged, 11 males, two females; total in prison, 217 males, 14 telltales. A Press Association telegram states that the young man Mac Donald, who is believed 1 to lie the third victim ot the scow Oban casualty, is a youth who, with his brother, walked from Invercargill to Dune-din to witness the reception ceremony to the Duke « York.

( Last week, while Mr. Bradley, of Te Kopuru, was engaged shearing sheep, his little son was badly injured by falling on an open pair of shears. The child was knocked down by the struggling sheep and fell on the shears, and his arm was almost completely severed, the bone being cut through ami only a small portion of llesh and skin holding the parts together. The injured Lot was taken to the hospital, where Dr. Collins very skilfully performed the delicate work of joining the severed sinews and ■reins. lie hopes to save the child's arm.

A cheque for threepence, being a dividend from a bankrupt- estate, was received from New Plymouth by a Hawera firm the other morning. When sixpence bank exchange k paid, and a penny for postage to return the receipt, the recipients of the money will lie fourpeiieo out of pocket, by the transaction. The fact must not be forgotten, too, that it cost a penny to send this remarkable payment to Hawera, and there was another penny duty stamp on Ihe cheque as well.

Tor the month of December there were slaughtered at the New Plymouth abattoir 193 cattle. 174 sheep, 293 iambs. 105 pigs, and 17 calves, while 92 tripes and calves' heads were cleaned. Six head of cattle ware condemned for tuberculosis, and one animal presented was suffering from tuberculosis ami hydatids. Four pigs were condemned for tuberculosis. The fees for the month totalled £122. and the rents £3 5s 6d.

Immense quantities of white pine ate annually shipped to Australia from New Zealand for conversion into butter boxes. An agitation has been set afoot-to displace the New Zealand timber with Queensland white pine, and sawmillers in this colony ate watching with interest the tests which are being conducted by experts in Australia, with the object of ascertaining whether the New Zealand article can be done without. In the most recent test by Government experts in Sydney butter from the same churning was placed in boxes made of New Zealand white pine and Queensland white pine. The butter (says the Sydney Morning Herald) Mas placed in cold storage for a, time, and was taken out two days before the examination, so that it might be in about the same condition in which butter usually appears on the grocer's counter, The boxes Mete brought out with the outsides covered so that the wood could not be recognised. The chief dairy expert and «,n expert in the trade then made a very careful examination, driving tho trier down several times beside the wood and withdrawing samples. The buttei was then turned out of the boxes, and again examined very carefully. Each of the experts detected a slight woody flavour in one box, but it could not be described its a taint, and was not sufficient to affect the sale of the butter. The box turned out to be that made of Queensland pine, but the experts were satisfied that if both butters were offered for sale there would not be a hair's difference in the price. So far as- it goes, the test proved that butter put up and kept under ordinary conditions in Queensland pine was not depreciated in value, but whether this result can be safely taken as a guide to what would happen if large quantities were packed in this wood is problematical.

Messrs. Paris and Co.. of Hamilton, have received the following curious communication from Japan. The envelope is addressed as fed lows —"Mr. Master of Paris Mercantile Company, on Hamilton town. New Zealand, Australasia." and the face, in addition to a number of Japanese characters, bears the instructions, " Open yourself this letter." The back of the envelope also bears some Japanese characters, the date, "November 15, 1905, A.D.," and the writer's signature and address, " Tadanao, Uda, Yadagawaru, Kuwana, Ise, Empire of Japan," but the letter itself is unsigned. It reads as follows:—"I am a soldier of Japan. I wish to hard work at your country, and get some wealth. But lam very poor. 1 have not so many money that want to go to your country. lam very sorry of it. 1 wish you to be kind and benevolence for me. Please, sir. lend me some money want to go with and let me paying back it by working at under your command. If you allow this my prayer you will have to send some money to the Minister or your friend is at our country. Then I have to over an examination of that man, and I will have*ti light covenant, and I will boiTow your money. Please, give me a help I respect you very much, and I will wait your answer. lam not si labourer man. But if you help me I will take very loyal service and hard labour for you. I cannot speak English well. I wish you will suppose- at this short letter."

During the year 1905, at the Palmcrston S.M. Court, 972 persons were taken into custody, summoned, or apprehended; 135 were discharged for want of evidence or lack of prosecution, 49 were dismissed on their merits, 46 were committed for trial or sentenced, and 752 were summarily convicted. The punishments inflicted were 470 lines, 75 imprisonments in lieu of fines, and 77 peremptory imprisonments. One man was bound over and two released under the Probation Act. One hundred and one orders were made, and 126 persons were convicted and discharged with a caution. The number of cases of drunkenness dealt with during the year was 235, and 11 cases of drunk and disorderly were brought before the Court ; with the exception of one case, all were summarily convicted. During the year, in the local Magistrate's Court (civil business) 1494 plaints were entered, and 1075 casus were tiied. The aggregate amount sued lor was £16,280 3s sd, of which £8132 4* 7d was recovered.

The Wanganui Chronicle has arrived at the conclusion, after a two years' (rial, that "Carnival Week" is not the good goods it was cracked up to be, and that it is "no go." According to that paper, this year's "carnival" was a poor sort of an apology. Our contemporary sums up as follows: — "It is enough to say, speaking generally, that holiday-makers were hut poorly catered for during the day time, and left practically to their own devices during the evenings, and that to the stranger arriving in Wanganui there was little if any visible evidence of the fact that a- carnival was in progress. ... So far as we can gather, the general business of the town has not been beneficially affected, to any appreciable extent, and there ait: not wanting those, who declare that they have actually suffered a loss of business in consequence of the carnival." Buyers of tobacco leaf have, lor Ihe first time lor many years, visited the sheds of growers in Victoria, and made purchases on the spot. In the Wangaraita district almost all of last year's produce has been bought for Adelaide and Melbourne, at prices ranging from 4£d to 6Jd per lb. One grower received 6d and 6-jd per lb for 12 tons of first-grade leaf, the product of 30 acres. Prices realised leave a good margin of profit for the grower. All the leaf lecently sold is for plug manufacture ; and, taken with the sale of cigar leaf at Is per lb. shows a decided improvement in the prospects of the tobacco industry. A large quantity of last season's leaf has been packed in casks, containing 10001b, a distinct advance on the old svstem of packing in bales. There were four person:, charged with drunkenness, in the lock-up last night.