LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13453, 1 June 1907, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The vital statistics ; . ; for the niftnUilof May, as prepared by the. district rvgistm for Auckland, compared vfith ; the , corresponding month of last 'ye«r 10071, Births, 213; deaths, 88 marriages, 83. 1906 Births, 205; deaths,. 97;.marriaga, .86. .

The Supreme Court will continue itatiV tings at tea o'clock '' this morning. In ri*" ply to questions yesterday, the Hon <3. A.' Tole (Crown Prosecutor) said the caMi to be heard to-day would be those m* Chides Lewin, charged with assault, causing actual bodily harm, and John Shearcl, aim Delaney, alias Kelly, charged with theft] Witnesses in other cases , will not; hi required to ' ! attend a* the Court to%r, A sitting of the Supreme ; Court;. in cteP bers, will be held on Monday morning, a-quartor past ten, in order to settle order of cases in the- civil list, which is published in another column.

The total rainfall recorded in Aucklitf. for the month' of May .amounts to 3.97 in. Pain fell'on 16 days, the highest individual fall being .5-1 on Sunday, the 26th. Toe average for the month <bi: May, for the last 40 years, is; 4.21, and the records for the tiA few years are 'as' follow:--1906. 4.60; 1905, 2.29; 1904, 1.01; 1903) 6.09; 1902, 6.30; 1901, .98. , ' \ - '*

" One of those who sit in bieh places; has remarked that the State experimental farms hare outlived their ; usefulness," said Mr. R. ; Hall ;.at yesterday's wetting of the A. and.P. Association .It was,: he said, a great pity that such a remark should have been made. . The eduratiw of: the young should never be allowed to retrogress. The experimental farms inflected great, credit on the heads of tiu Department' and those concerned.

The newly-appointed Fire ".Brigade! Board for Auckland will consist of Me>sr«. I). Goldie (Government nominee), J# Buttle (New Zealand Insurance Company!, A. S. Russell. (South British Insurant* Company). A. J. Ehtrican, R. Tudeloiw. and P..51. Mackay (Auckland City Cos* cil). ■ The 'first meeting will probably held at the 'City Council Chambers « Thursday afternoon, June 6.

The Land Board has fixed August 5 aJ the date for the opening of the Waimani Estate, and the ballot .will take place *t Wliakatane on August 7.' 'On. August 12 about 27,000 acres will be opened l)t selection near Opotiki, and the ballot will be held at Opotiki. on August 14. Ta" Teasdalo Estate,. 1 near To Avaniutu, m be opened for selection on August 26, m. the ballot will take place at To AuamufcT on the 28th, .

Of three applications received. if': seven of the additional workers' dwelling' recently erected on the La-wry Settlement, at Ellerslie, two were accepted by th« Auckland Land Board. Lot 7 has been allotted to J. C. Mcintosh, and lot .19 k D. K. aria-no. A number rtf inquire have been made about the remaining d*«| lings. ' Our commercial cablegram received ft*London last night says that there is & maud only for a few of the choicest brass*-, of butter*at 94s to 96s for Australian, a* 98s to 100s for New Zealand. There «j nc sale for secondaries. New Zeal** cheese is fetching 66s to ■&* JP•white, and 63s to 64s for coloured. VlC ' torian is fetching 60s to 645: j. The annual licensing committee !«« ings will be held during the coming we* On Tuesday the Auckland committee w*: meet in the Magistrate's Court., at ..*> • and on Wednesday, the Pwnoll CeWWgg will meet, in the Borough Council Mg The meeting of the Eden committee «u- ■ held in the Epsom Hall on on the following day the Waitemata g| rintlee will meet in the BevoJiport bow » Council office. i% "\

!I;i—=== ili- r' ' In to-day's Supplement of the Hkiiald are ||f|" several interesting special articles. Sir I M Robert Stout writes on "Orthodox Social- ! I ism;" Tohunga on "The Art of Idling;" I P Mr. Malcolm Ross, on "Kuapeliu and TonI ' (rar'iro "" M.D. on " What. Civilisation Has I V pone 'for the Maori;" arid C.H.C.W. on I I' "The Calling of the Sea." Then there are llf Local- Gossip, .by Mercutio: humorous ilI p lustrations, an interview with Lady Wurdj 1 ■( London Chat, and all the usual features. i 1%. The stories, " Sirocco," "Kale Meredith," I ti and "Neither Storehouse Nor Barn," are I (*/:■ continued. • I I 5%?-' Sir. \Y. J. Napier, who is visiting Welf ''Islington, has interviewed members of the Go- ?. vernment and Departmental officials with a ; picric w of having the charge of 3d per mesfi' sago now levied 011 telephone subscribers tl i tlio North Shore, abolished. Mr. Na- ::: pier poilite'' out that if by the eccentricity •"■t; of the Telegraph Department, the way to ! ' pevonport was via Birkenhead and Lake I Tnkapun.'i, the geographical position of DeIt- vonport could not. be altered, and that, though Devon was, in a Departmental sense, 10' miles from Auckland, it. was really only two miles distant. If (lie charge of 3d per message were • discontinued lie would guarantee to 'get 100 additional subscribers, which would •mean a largo accession of revenue to the -- Department. The net result of Mr. Na- ' pier I !.' representations is that the charge of i 3d per message is practically certain |' tb 'be abolished. but. as the ■postmaster-General, Sir Joseph Ward, j is so soon to return, no. official ac- ' ! tion will be taken until lie reaches headquarters. Tho hours for using the Devon--5 port telephones are also to be extended.. % Major Gallagher, representative of the iU,: United States Army Commissariat, in the Philippines, who went South from Wellington on Thursday, paid a visit to the Gear Company's works and inspected the processes of converting meat into a food supply. He was particularly desirous of obtaining* I -quantities of New Zealand beef for early delivery at Manila; but was not successful in • Wellington. The major is to interview the meat companies in Christchurch, and if New 'I' Zealand can supply beef cheaper than the } quotations received from Australian companies, then he is prepared to do business. The ■■ quantity of beef required for the army in the £■' Philippines is about 500 tons per month. Oil behalf of himself and others, Mr. J. W. McLaren, of East Tamaki, has forwarded a. communication to the Auckland Board of Education, asking the Board to declare the recent election of a school committee for the district void; owing to alleged contravention by the chairman of S-; the meeting of householders of certain ... regulations governing the election of school ,p committees. The Board has ( referred the ' letter to the East Tamaki School Commitrp tee for report. » M It was' reported to the Onehunga police 'on Thursday that a young man named : Roberts was missing from his home, and had been absent during the night previ•;i|: ous. Sergeant Twomey immediately in-. stituted a search, and the police about the •' district were informed of the matter, with 1 ;v; the result that Constable Foreman, of Otalurliu, discovered the young fellow walking V . about up to his neck in the tide near Westfield!.. Roberts was brought over to Onehunga, and afterwards to Auckland to be examined as to his mental condition. An interesting exhibition of the Canadian national pastime, lacrosse, will be given on tho Auckland Domain to-day, when the match, Auckland v. Wellington will take place. The Aucklanders claim to have , a strong team to defend the pity's • athletic laurels, and much assiduous prac-. l' "*'tice has been'lndulged in' for the match. The Wellington team, which will arrive • this morning, is considered a strong combination, and under the guidance of Canadian and English internationals, the players of the Empire City have attained a - state of high proficiency, so that- an interesting contest, should be witnessed. No ; charge will be made for admission, but , those who desire may assist the local asso- • , ciation, who intend sending a team to Wellington shortly to play a return match. 1 The Native Land Commission will sit at Taumarunui to-day, at Te Kuiti on Mon-j ( ,1. day and possibly Tuesday, and at Otoro- 1 hanga on following days. Mr. Ngiata, M.H.R., will take evidence at these places, ;v. while Sir Robert Stout will probably go to Rotoruu. Wnilo there he will make in- , quiries regarding the Rotoiti ' Block. 1 The English sweated industries' exhibit, which was one of the features of the International Exhibition at Christchurch, and ■ ■'which has been shown throughout the southy em part of the colony since the closing of fe'.the great show, will be placed on view at i, the .City Council Chambers, Coburg-street, '§£ on Wednesday afternoon next. The Mayor (Mr. Arthur 31. Myers) will perform the i' jff. opening ceremony. The exhibit, which Las ( been already described in the columns of the Herald, affords a striking example of the ( iv; evils of the sweating system at Home, and , cannot but awaken sympathy in the breasts ( of colonials who work under much, more : favourable conditions. No charge will be , ■ made for admission. The exhibit will be on ( view for several days. I • The Hon. J. A. Millar (Minister for 1 «; Marine) states that the Nora Niven will • . begin trawling operations on Monday. She > 1 had a successful experiment 011 the way down from Napier to Wellington, securing over 1000 bundles of excellent fish. The i. Minister anticipates that the exploitation of ■ : the- fishing grounds will be very successful. - The Union Company's steamer Taka-' puna is at present undergoing her annual ...■ examination and overhaul on the slip at Wellington. Yesterday her running was t-''taken up by the- l'ateuna, which will be kept in the West Coast trade until the |te Takapuna is ready to resume. Monday next (the Prince of Wales' . •'"■' Birthday) will be observed as .1 holiday by t 'he Customs Department. 5 The meeting which was to have been held in St. Barnabas' Hall, Mount Eden, 1 . tost evening, at which it was proposed to j discuss the desirableness of forming a branch of the National Defencc League in file borough, lapsed, owing to the meagre ( attendance. Those who were present, however, decided to hold a social gather- . ln g in about three weeks' time, when the Ejects of the league will be considered. •A. farmer called at tho Tiniaru Herald office the other day to make a remark about SfeWw published a few days , ago, signed -wrcifiu," condemning the practice of . joying poison for dog.--. He wished to put I tae farmers' side of the case. He lias, lie i k s f'"> often to get up at three or four eciock in the morning to drive away dogs • ; li ~orryiiig his sheep. He could not run |'v „em , own > and could not rely on getting ' near them with a gun. A neighbour of r ■ .', ls this year lost 40 lambs, by dogs driving 1 '«m into a. creek, where they were smoth- ' " ered. How, he wished to know, were farm,, tc protect themselves against the de- ... predations of useless dogs, otherwise than V'i •. y ' a ying poison for them? ——________ it-. ■ , -