LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13493, 21 May 1907, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The general cleansing campaign which has been started at the instigation of the | district health officer (Dr. Ptirdv) was eon- | tinued yesterday. The main sewers of it-he city were thoroughly fumigated with [sulphur. A house-to-house inspection I will now be carried out. Dr. Mason, chief j healt officer, is expected to arrive to-day. [All contacts with the recent cases in which two young ladies died of acute septicaemia •have now been released, all being in perfect health and the. required period of quarantine having expired. Workmen are at present busily engaged in clearing away the rubbish front underneath the buildings where the outbreak occurred. Owners of several warehouses have commenced the destruction of, rats on a large scale, and the Harbour Board is carrying out the suggestions made by the Health Department. Yesterday afternoon Dr. Purdy, in company with Mr. Hay lies, sanitary inspector, commenced an inspection of the city sewers. Occupiers and owners of property have been notified that all refuse must bo removed from yards and cellars within 48 hours, and that collars must be whitewashed.

At a meeting of the Paraell Borough Council last night, a letter was received from the district health officer (Dr. J. S. Purdy) calling attention to the two recent cases of acute septicaemia, and asking the Council to have- a house to house inspection made. Comment was made by the members of the Council' about the measures taken by the. Health Department in connection with the cases. It was .stated that Miss N. McMillan, one of the victims, was in a very weak state of health, and had only recently returned from the Cambridge sanatorium, and, taking this into consideration, her relatives were of opinion that she died of fright oil being placed in • the ambulance. Several 'of the councillors also stated that it was a matter that should be inquired into, and it was decided to defer ' the ' subject until a future meeting of the Council. r A similar letter was received by other borough councils. ' '

According to the current issue of the Journal of the Department of Labour, the condition of trade and labour in this district is very satisfactory. The building trade in all its branches is busy, and no men are idle who wish to work. Several large buildings are in, course of/construction in the city, while in the suburbs the erection of dwellings is going on in all directions. The engineering trade is described as satisfactory. The report continues : -—" Boot manufacturers express entire satisfaction with the condition of the trade. There is a difficulty in getting young people of either sex to learn the trade. Clothing trade factories are working full-tended and are busy, but there is very little overtime worked. The tailoring order trade is fairly busy. In the saddle and harness trade all hands are fully employed. Carriagebuilders and wheelwrights are fully employed. Brickmakers are working full time. The timber trade is very active at present. The furniture trade is fairly busy. In regard to retail trades, in general, good business in doing in all branches. In connection with the building trades there is a demand for plasterers; good men can get work readily. , The unskilled labour market is in a satisfactory : condition. There is plenty of work for good men. There are, unfortunately, a large number of the satisfactory class, for whom it is difficult to obtain employment. Ninetyone men were assisted during the month— 15 married and 76 single, with a total of 48 persons dependent on them. Twentyfour' were sent to private work, arid* 67 to Government railway works."

At a meeting of the committee of the New Zealand Shipowners' Federation, on Friday last, under the presidency of Mr. T. H.. White, chairman, reference was made to the correspondence appearing in the Herald respecting a -water police service for the harbour, and regret was expressed that the persistent efforts made by the federation for many months past to get such a service established had so far not succeeded. It was resolved to continue pressing the matter upon the Government, and to assist, as far as possible, the other local bodies which are interested in the question. It was also decided to affiliate •with the central executive of the Employers' Association, in Wellington.

About 600 scholars belonging to the Moun Eden public school assembled on Saturday morning, under the direction of the headmaster and teaching staff, to take part ii: saluting the flag and paying tribute tc the memory of Trooper John Connel, for merly a scholar of the school, who fel' during the Boer war. The children were grouped around the flagstaff, at the peal of which was flying the Union Jack, ant were addressed by the headmaster (Mr. Hosking). In the course of "an inter esting address, Mr. Hoskiug referred t< the fact that May 18 was the anniversary of the relief of Mafeking, and pointed out that Lord Roberts had promised to relieve the garrison of Mafeking on that day, which promise was eventually carried on . Mr. Hosking' then called for three cheers for Lord Roberts, which were heartily given by the children. The children then j marched into ■ the schoolroom, and filed j past the. tablet erected to the memory of Trooper Connel, and each scholar deposited j a floral offering at the base of tho tablet, after "which the scholars reformed in the lower playground, when cheers were given for King Edward and Queen Alexandra, after which the National Anthem was sung.

His Excellency Vice-Admiral Fawkea ari ' Lady Fawkes tendered a dinner to ft n um _ her of ...leading citizens on board H.M • '• Powerful last night. • ' Amongst those pre * ',',-1 sent were the Bishop and Mr?. Xelig an " the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr. and Mrs. i M. Myers), and Lieutenant-Colonel Wolfe " and Mrs. Wolf,-. The Mayor and Mayors • will entertain His Excellency and "f <a( j v ' Fawkes and the, officers of the squadron at '' ' dinner to-nidrtow night. They will ,1 „ give an "'At Home" .it the Drill Wednesday, the 29th, in honour «' g,. ' ' Excellency and Ludy Fawkes and fa officers. A considerable number of complaints dra", ~" | in? with straying horses and cattle vl read at last ni_-!itV meeting of the ,Ou«. H ; j hunga Borough Council. Mrs. F. ManhilJ | complained that a Dumber of draught hots» 3 , j rendered Selwvn-stvcet dangerous t<» travel along at night. The Mayor • stated '.that » , stray cow had visited his garden during the . past few evenings, while }*vcral councillors . cited eases of straying animals. The most ' important complaint was one from the , Tramways Company, stating that on several , occasions of late' accident.* had just Wen. avoided owing to horses and cattle stravin> at night on the line in the main streets." jj was resolved that- the complaints be forI warded to the ranger, with li.e intunat'oß that it the .streets be not clean of cattle before the end of the month his f??rvk»s | will be dispensed with, and fresh applies Itioiis be called for the position. ' We are taught to be kind to dumb a a! . • 1 jmals because they are more or less help. '1 ! leys. Similarly, no matter how aggravate | i • Jits oifcucc, we ought not- -to strike a chine, because it i% as a rule, unable 0 take its own part and hit back. Ymtxday a young man named John .Spente Barley pleaded. guilty at the- Police Court to damaging a weighing-machine to the i extent of 30s. and also damaging certain footlights to the extent of £2. .Mr. W, E. Hackett, who appeared for him, ex- . 1 plained that the. defendant put a penny in ■ ■ the machine in order to weigh himself, and ; us the result of a, joke on the part of Ins companions, the machine ' registered his weight as 24 stone. lit confidence of this , unprincipled ljchaviotir on the part of the machine, the defendant indignantly pushed 8 it over, and in falling it struck the foot- " 1 lights. llarley was lined 10s and cost? ' on each charge, and ordered to pay the cost of the damaged articles. ' £ While inspecting ' the buildings in and ■ around the. city on Saturday the health an- 1 ! thoritios came across a deplorable case, hi <* I a dilapidated building two old women, aged 3 > 76 and 80. were found in a half-demented 1 condition, ami covered with tilth. The {§ place in which they lived was in a dread- 1 ful condition. Their removal was order- 1 ed, hut they resisted, and it had to he '(fj 1 effected forcibly. They fought desperately. .1 to remain in their wretched dwelling. It I is understood .'that legal proceedings will •; 1 -be taken, rim a view to getting the build' f ■ ing destroyed. , \ I The Tourist . Department intends, if pos 1 sible, to provide again the loss of fist at ' ' 1 Tarawera and other streams this year, by ■ 1 limiting and improving the spawning V I ground (says the Rotorua Times). Now • ; § , the spawning season is at hand, the fish 1 ( arc making desperate attempts to makf 1 their way up stream,, with the result that I : numbers are stranded. If any fish sue- 1 ceed in getting up they very often never ' | . return to the lake. - Numbers of line fish. § have already been lost this way, and, in j|; • addition, when in the very' shallow water ifj the hawks frighten them on to Hie sides of fe the streams,, where they devour them at pi their leisure. 1 i f .:; Attracted to the end of .Victoria Wharf. j|« Devonport, on Saturday night, by; shouts foi *- : Ml help, Constable Roberts found a man hang 11 ing to the crossbeams under the wharf. H The constable helped the man ;on to 1 the wharf. His .name ,is Henry Carter,.' 8 and he told the constable lie had walked fol H off the drid of the wharf in the darkness. I He had just previously been asleep on a |l seat close by. The constable gave Carter . H restoratives and a change of clothing. ; 1 Twenty-five building lots, for 63 years' §| lease, with right of renewal, fronting Gil-:'; v - m lies' Avenue, Domett Avenue, and Epsom B Avenue, were submitted for sale by Mr. || J. Dacre, at Messrs. Samuel Cochrane and Kg Son's mart, yesterday. The leases of 2- ■ of the allotments were sold at prices rang' i ing from £5 to £15 10s per lease. . ' j|| James Francis Colledge, a Waihi miner, I has been adjudged a bankrupt. The lia- | bilities amount to £138 10s 2d, and the:V 8 assets nil. There are 24 creditors, among i them being Joseph Evans, grocer, Hou- 1 hora, who claims £16 18s Id. The first 1 meeting of creditors will be held at tin p office of the official assignee next Tues- |§ day, at half-past two o'clock. ' •/ | A mail via Vancouver is due from Fiji • g to-day by the Government steamer Ranadi, 1 consisting of about 200 bags, including ' 1 mails from the United States, «,? 1 The entrance to the top end of the || Queen-street Wharf was closed for general'/; 1 traffic yesterday, and tho temporary wharf a from the ea-st side of Quay-street was ® brought into requisition for general traffic - 8 as far as the first eastern tee. To-day the . • § work of taking up the old Queen-street | Wliarf will be commenced as far as the ...v I t-empoKuy wharf extends. " , 1 The young man, Arthur Burke, who met I with a fatal accident at Mamaku on Thurs- f. day, had only that morning started work- if ing in the bush. Deceased was well liked, .; pi , and his relatives reside in the Te Aroha. i'; ( V district. The inquest was held on Satin"- |i day, before Mr. A. W. Roe, acting-coroner. • I C. Davidson and J. Hooper, who were • if working with deceased, gave evidence as 1 to the nature of the accident, and a verdict ' v I was returned of "Accidental death." Tb'Mf 1 interment took place yesterday at -Tf - S Aroha. : I At the inquest held yesterday morning K upon the body of the infant child of Mr. , B F. G. Barnes, a resident of Well P« 1 i Avenue, Grey Lynn, a verdict was return- 1 ed in accordance' with the medical evi- I i dence, that death was due to bronchial i pneumonia. • I According to the Labour Journal for Ma? I;; the number of men on the railways in ft province of Auckland is as follows: —£»**' K kawa-Grahamtown, 47 ; Heleusville North- S, : wards, 144; Gisborne-Rotorua, 41 Nor 1 ® 5 ■ Island Main Trunk, 2270. ; • f"; ft J Our Waihi correspondent writes: — . S well-known solo comet player of the Waif 1 - 1 : g ; Federal Band, Mr. T. Nichols, met with g '■a painftd accident at the Grand Junction || i battery on Monday. He was attending to 1 ; i the stampers when u..e of the stacker- .•. |« heads fell on his left hand. He was con- gR veyed to the hospital, where it was '■ ||| that the little linger was broken and th' ). S: j palm of the hand badly smashed. \ S] Private table messages received in Au c * , ft j land during the past few days state tna <, p ■a very serious strike is at present occur* ' j|L ! ing at San ' Francisco. Business is g en ? m j ally at a standstill in the Californian « J K. jin consequence, especially so far as su'p > ® ping is concerned, and no cargo fur '• j ft. colonies can be shipped in the meantime. || A Suez mail, which left London on B. 12, is due from Wellington on Friday um> g l ing next. .. . . V'Jtj

' The bankruptcy sittings of the Supreme ■ Court, which were fixed for yesterday, have been adjourned by the registrar at Auckland until the 26th, owing to the absence of His Honor Mr. Justice Denniston, who is at Gisborne. _ * h ■ ' The following was the state of His Marty's prison, Auckland, for the week lended May 18:— remand, 6 males; awaiting trial, 11 males penal servitude (life), 3 males; hard labour, 202 males, 19 females ; imprisonment, 2 males ; default of bail, 1 male; received during the week, 19 males; discharged, 18 males, 3 females: total in prison, 225 males, 19 females. ; The Minister for Lands (the Hon. R. McNab), w ' lo returned to Wellington from the South on Sunday, will cany out the duties 0 [ Minister for Railways during the illness of the Acting-Premier. Mr. McNab leavesj, for the North this morning, to attend the Winter Show in Auckland. He will depart for Wellington again on Wednesday, and' will then remain iu that city until Parliament meets. At St. Paul's Cathedral, Diinedin, on Sunday morning, the Most Rev. the Primate (Bishop Nevill), in the course of his sermon, stated that there had not been for several centuries such a. revival of superstition in England and in other places as at present, and lie believed the same, thing was going on to some extent in New Zealand. Palmistry, crystal gazing, fortune-telling, and other forms of necromancy, were prevalent to an extraordinary degree, and a whole literature of what wa-s called occult science, had sprung into existence.

Our Wellington correspondent writes:— • ■ Mrs. M. A. Bezar, wife of Mr. . Edwin Bezar, of Berhampore, died yesterday. The deceased lady, says the Post, was a daugh- • ter of Sergeant, T. Kearns, of the 65th \ Regiment, and was born on board the : troopship Java as the vessel was sailing up Auckland Harbour sixty years ago. When f she was two years old a portion of her J • ' father's regiment was ordered to the Wel'o:.' lington district, and for some time it was . stationed at Porirua. hi 1866 Miss Kearns was married at Wanganui to Colour-Scr- , geant Bezar, of the 57th Regiment, then stationed in that part of the coir, .and with the exception of a year spent in Dunedin she had resided in Wellington provincial district during the whole of hex*, married life. ' • Mrs. Bezar has left a family of five sons •' and five daughters, and there are 16 grandchildren. !< In connection with the dismantling of the Exhibition buildings at Christchurch, it is stated that there are 110,000 ft of glass in the main roof alone, and it is expected that some large merchant will take the < line as a whole. The iron will be sold in lots of five sheets of any length with the ..option of purchasing the lot, while the timber will be sold in lots of a minimum of 1 200 ft, so that the small buyer will have an equal chance with the bigger purchaser. ' ".-i*;* The timber is said to be in very good condition. It was put down unseasoned, but is now quite dry. The first auction sale . will be held about May 29. The sales will be held weekly. It is expected that the stuccolin will bring a good price as it can be cut into convenient lengths and is very thick and strong. Experts say that it can be used ' to build sheds or even houses, being almost impenetrable. The work of dismantling the buildings is said to be ( risky, and Mr. A. C. Idiens, the contractor, fgl is understood to have had to pay 40s per . cent, for insuring his men, instead of the usual rate of 8s per cent. 1 :■ ' ■> ■_. . , _ The Waitakian, tho magazine of the Waitaki High School,, contains the following:—"Next year the rational dress known ff' ■ "in iscw Zealand as the 'Wanganui' cosf t'vme.'-vnll be adopted by the boarders." It is reaily a modification of the Loretto costume so famous in Scotland, and consists ; of a fray woollen shirt, navy blue shorts, ' reaching almost to the knees, a leathern belt, and black golf stockings, with the Waitaki colours encircling the tops. The value; of this dress is that it has no Un- : necessary ornamental parts, which are, no doubt, fashionable, but which tend to weaken the wearer's constitution, and prevent him from growing erect and developing, as Nature intended he should, into a robust and hardy man. For the virile ; young Briton, who, as Waitaki boys do, : : spends a great real of time in the open . air, this is an ideal costume ; and, as showing how keen the boarders are on its adoption; some havp suggested that it should be introduced this term." A few days ago the inmates of Mr. Brosnahan's dwelling at Konini were / startlea by seeing a rat running into the kitchen with a weasel in hot pursuit. Aplj; parently a fight had started outside the ! building, and must have been so furious ■. ! that the rat in his endeavour to escape ran , , into the house for protection. He was pretty well exhausted. Both rodents took | no notice of the persons in the house, and continued, their fight. They ran into a bed- . room still fighting. The inmates of the house then took part in the fight, and soon despatched the rat, but when they tackled , the weasel they found the task more difficult. Sometimes it would turn round and charge. After a while a dog was called in. Even then the attackers did not succeed, '■ and the services of a second dog had' to . be secured. With the aid of* the two dogs and sundry missiles the weasel was killed.