LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13708, 26 March 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A policy speech was delivered by the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) last night at Onehunga, when the Mayor (Mr. J. Rowe) presided over a large attendance. Sir Joseph opened by making an exhaustive and vigorous reply to criticisms of Government finance. Passing on, ho replied to question's put to him through the medium of the correspondence columns of the Hkraid by Mr. S. Vaile. He dealt fully with the recent speech of Mr. Massey, Leader of the Opposition, touching upon railways, advances to settlers, and workers, the Land Bill, land nationalisation, socialism, mining, agriculture, and the restriction of boy labour, making some reference also to the policy outlined by Mr. Mftssey. The speech (which is fully reported elsewhere in this issue) occupied close upon two hours, and was frequently applauded. Sir Joseph receiver! a vote of thanks and confidence at the close.

" This bridge," said the Mayor of Auckland (Mr. A. M'. Myers),, speaking at the ceremony of laying the foundation-stone- of the Grafton bridge yesterday,' "is one of several public works of considerable magnitude that are now being undertaken for the benefit of Auckland Needless to say, these Tvorks involve"a large expenditure, and it is not, altogether unnatural that some people should bo inclined to look on the growth of this expenditure with suspicion and alarm. It is undoubtedly highly desirable that strict economy should be exercised in the disbursement of public money, but ' too far east is west,' and there is nothing more wasteful than economy carried to excess. It is not so much in spending money that danger lies, as in mis-spending it wo haed not be afraid to face a large outlay, if only we make, sure that we get in return for it something that is worth the price. Auckland is a great and growing city. Six years ago the gross capital valuation of the oity was only about five millions and a-half; now it. is nine millions and a-half, while the ratable capital value of the area which I hope will before long be the City of Auckland, is over 13 millions. We must be prepared to face the responsibilities of our growth, and to do what is necessary to ensure that the physical development of our city shall be adequate to meet the requirement a of its increasing wealth and population." (Applause.) Incidentally, the Mayor suggested tranafering Cemetery Gully into a park for the people,

Railway waggons are at a premium (writes our Pukekohe correspondent), and at this busy.station, though close.on 20 trains pass north and south daily, we have practically only one train to take the produce to Auckland and another to the Waikato. If an appeal is made to the station master to rail by other trains, lie has to get special authority from Auckland before giving his consent, and then will probably find the train loaded to the last truck. Judging by the number of extra trains which have been run of late, it is proved beyond a doubt that, the Department lias the haulage power, which could be used to much better advantage were 20 per cent, of the socalled goods (rains run at night. 'Jake, lor instance, the Huntly coal traffic. If these loads were run into Auckland so that they could be operated on at eight a.m., the truck cry would be narrowed down considerably, and a fair percentage of the trucks could be placed on the road again the same nignt.

" No suggestion of coalition has come from me nor has it com© from the Leader of the Opposition to me," said the Prime Minister, speaking at Onehunga last evening. "It has been advocated in sections of Die press, and outsiders have talked of it, but without responsibility or authority so far as I am concerned; and, as the line of party demarcation is clearly defined, the project need -not be seriously discussed. There have been efforts to create a third party by those who have an equal right with their fellow countrymen to do whatever seems to them best. It is the same section oE the community who opposed the late Prime Minister at the last election, and on the same grounds, namely, that the Government did not go as far as they wished. I am prepared, so far as the Government and the Liberal party are concerned, to trust the good sense of the people.

Reporting to the City Council on the new district electoral roll, the city valuer (Mr. E. Hickling) stated that the field men engaged in the compilation of the roll had reported that a large number of people in the community displayed indifference with regard to enrolment. In many cases'the men could get no information, and were told by the persons canvassed that they did not want to vote. Mr. Hickling added that several clauses in the Act required amending, and said ho. ,wy,uld> i>« . glad to

The committee appointed by the Devonport'Borough Council to make the necessary preparations for the opening of the new post office At Devonport, by the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, this afternoon, met yesterday, and completed the arrangements. The First Auckland Mounted Rifles' Band will be in attendance, and also the Devonpoit school cadets, who will form a guard of honour. A platform will be erected at the three lamps, directly opposite the post office* where speeches Will be delivered by the Prime Minister, the Mayor of 'Devonpoit (Mr. Wan. Handley), and members of Parliament. The telegraph linesmen were busily engaged all day yesterday in installing wires and. fittings for the telegraph and telephone services.

Speaking of the drainage scheme for the city ami suburbs, the Mayor (Mr A M. Myers), at the function of laying the foun-dation-stone of the new Grafton bridge, said lie thought there was every reason to hope that the Work Would be carried out by 0110 municipal governing body. "We are beginning, I trust," he said, "to awake to (he fact that, Auckland is hot a mete collection of townships., and that it is high time that We framed our system, of administration, and our provision for all the varied needs of the present and the future with which municipal authorities are called upon to deal, in a. spirit and on a scale worthy of a great city."

During the Prime Minister's speech last night lie was referring to the privately, owned railways in America, and the rebate system in vogue there—claiming credit in comparison, for the Stute-oWned system of \Ncw Zealand—when there came an interruption. " The same thing exist;; in this country," remarked a. member of the audience. "They do not; they cannot," retorted Sir Joseph Ward, "and I will show you why. There is not- a man in business in this country who can book 10,000 ions of coal for transport on oui railways at a cheaper rate pei ton than you can book two tons. There is not a firm nor organisation in New Zestland that can carry millions of feet of timber on the railways cheaper than the poor man can carry half a truck of timber." "But," said the voice, "they can buy it and export it out of the country." "Then why," rapped out Sir Joseph in quick retort, "why don't you go and buy it, and export yourself too'/" (Laughter.) Enlarging on the subject, he contended that no concessions were obtainable br any one person that were not obtainable by ovciy other person ill other State Departments. The theft Of about £30 Worth of jewellery from several of the bedrooms at " GJenalvon" boardinghouse "was reported to the police yesterday morning, and half an hour later Detectives McMahon and Fahey not only recovered the stolen articles, but arrested a man named Archibald Hunter on suspicion of having been connected with the robbery. Hunter will be formally charged with the theft at the Police Court this morning. Captain de Silva and the A.B. named W. Sterling, of the scoW Moonah, who were injured as a. result of a collision between their vessel, and the steamer Wairurna, in 'the Auckland Harbour, on the night of March 10, are still in the hospital, but are making satisfactory progress towards recovery. They are expected" to be able to leave the institution in a fortnight. Referring to the proposal for cabbage gardens attached to prisons, which project he put forward in his Auckland policy speech, Sir Joseph Ward, speaking at Onehunga last night, said that he was persuaded that the people of this country, lan.-ong other things, were totally opposed to the growing up in our midst of the Chinese, and strongly objected to the footing they had already obtained as market gardeners and latmdrymen. The Government recognised this, and would do all in its power to prevent the continuance of the Chinese in these particular branches of industry,, which brought them into direct conflict as competitors with European citizens,, No jeering from anyone would deter the Government from pursuing its course in this respect. The statement was received with applause. The cost of the new Wellington gas works will approximate the sum of £100,000, and they will include the largest gas-holder in the Dominion. It will have a capacity of one and a-half million cubic feet. The company's largest gas-holder now in use has a capacity of only 400,000 cubic feet. Auckland's gas-holder contains about a million and a-quarter feet. Staff-Captain Arnott, of the Salvation Army, has himself collected in Dunedin a sum of £1600-, in order to institute the j Middiemaroh Girls' Home, to be conducted I on line* similar to the homo in Wellington.

I He expresses his intention of coming to J Auckland immediately, in order to raise a ; sum of £2000 for the Pakiitoa Inebriates' : Home.

A risk of a species unknown to local piscatorial experts was picked up on the Riverton beach recently in a pe.rfeirt.ly fresh state, and brought to Riverton, where it was viewed by many. It is nearly 4ft long, with a girth of 2ft at its widest part. There are two tins near the gills, each about Sin long. Extending from the dorsal fin to the tail are 10 smaller fins, coloured yellow. Immediately below the dorsal fin is another fin, with the same number of small fins running to the tail. The fish has few seniles, the back is dark in colour, and the under part silver. It has a mouth not unlike a porpoise, and a. tail something like a moki. The flesh near the bone is hardly to be distinguished from beef, and near the skiu it is salmon coloured. .. The mouth is small and the teeth fine. Natives who saw it have no knowledge of it, and look upon it as. a stranger to our waters.

Mr. F. 11. Bridgland, of Adelaide, who has recently been on a visit to the Southern cold lakes, has written to the Prime Minister condemning the. present steamer service on Lake Wakatipu in very strong terms. During a recent trip from Queenstown to Glenorchy, a distance of 29 miles, he states that the steamer Ben Lomond, leaving at 10 a.m., did not reach the head of the lake until 3.30 p.m., giving the passengers* ten minutes to do the sights of the locality. The writer goes on to say that the residents of Queenstown complain bitterly of their treatment by the Department, and state that the boats were taken over by the Government from the company some six years ago, and it was recognised at that time that they were unfitted for the service, but though promises were made by the Government, there had not been any improvement. No opposition company could start, owing to the fact that* the Government had all the wharves under its control. Mr. Bridgland also calls attention in his letter to the dangerous condition of the Skipper's Road, a°drive that could only be taken with the greatest caution when in thorough repair. He is of opinion that the neglect of Queenstown by the Government is having a very detrimental effect on the world-famous health resort.

The tram traffic on the Onehunga line was delayed tor about half an hour yesterday morning, owing to the 9.45 a.m. car to town jumping the rails near the Junction Hotel, Newmarket. The tramear was replaced on the track alter the necessary; lilting appliances were objrfiiueds

This morning the Prime Minister will **. ' ceive deputations at the Government Build- : bigs. At 11.30 a deputation, from the Town Boards will wait on him, bringing under his notice the necessity for increasing their borrowing powers from £300 to £2000 per annutn, and also the great dim ■•''-■ cully of procuring ibelnl for marl work* owing to shortage of trucks. The depute ' t'on of the Auckland Railways League will ibe received at 12.30 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce room, wan son -street. In the afternoon Sir Joseph will open the new post office at Devonport, For failing to eradicate codiilr moth, four residents were proceeded against by - the Agricultural Department at the W'haftgarei S.M. Court yesterday, all pleading guilty. The prosecutions were. brought as test cases, and a warning to others, and heavy penalties were not asked for. Each defendant was fined 10s and costs. The occupants of the police cells last night were 13 in number, seven of whom, one a woman, were in custody on charges of drunkenness. The others consisted of two men arrested for theft, two for lunacy, and tWo boys who arc to be handed overt* the Industrial School authoriti, . at Lake Takapuna. A witness before the Conciliation Board at tairistehiirdi the other day gave a number of more or less humorous and interest* v ing facts regarding farm work and farm labourer's. lie explained why he had adopted the course of asking a small house rent from his "married couples." In the early days, he said, lis had charged nothing but he had had trouble with one couple, and had been.under the painful necessity of taking the roof of): before he could get them out of the house. The witness described a yearly bonus to the farm hands as a retainer for the harvest, explaining that it WAS human nature to appreciate a lump sum at harvest more than the Bam© sum distributed at the rate of about 4s a week throughout the year. \ The City Fire Brigade was called out at 4.23 p.m yesterday, to subdue an outbreak in a chimney in a house occupied by Mrs. Raven, in Beresford-sireet. , The circumlocutory methods required to be adopted in regard to cases in Continental Courts, where evidence from parts of the British Dominions is necessary, were illustrated in Chambers at the Wellington Supreme Court the other day. Messrs. Skerrett and Wylie applied for an order for leave to take the evidence of a witness of German nationality residing in Wellington. An order had to be made by the local Court, to be forwarded to the Colonial Office, thence to the German Ambassador, then back to the Colonial Office, and next to the German Consul in Wellington, through the Ambassador. The evidence taken is required in a case to come before the Court "at Detmold, Germany. Mr. Justice Chapman took the opportunity of observing that no doubt this process was necessary, because an English barrister who went to Germany to obtain evidence from a witness in that country found himself immediately arrested on a criminal charge of practising in the German Courts without the permission of the Emperor. The police are looking for the owner of • two valuable Chinese vases which were picked up a short distance from the corner of Richmond Road and Sackville-street on Tuesday. • The following letter has been sent by the Wellington branch of. the Navy League, through Lord Plunket, to ViceAdmiral Sir Richard Poore, C.V.0.. the new Commander-in-Chief of the.Australian Squadron:—" Sir,— Wellington branch of the Navy League desire to extend a hearty welcome to you on your taking over the command of the Australian Squadron; and trust that at ho dis- ; tant date you will pay a visit to this port. The presence of a warship here, particularly one flying the flag of an Admiral, is a never-ending soured of interest to the local people, and helps the league greatly in its endeavour to educate public opinion - to a full appreciation of the necessity of maintaining British naval supremacy. There are some 1500 juvenile adherent! of the league here. By the dissemination of suitable literature, the boys and girls r are interested in. naval history, and are taught to realise the privileges and responsibilities of British citizenship. The. young people look forward keenly to the visit of H.M.'s ships." A native named Rata Hahaia, charged before justices at Whangaroa yesterday, with having given false evidence in the Magis-1 trate's Court there in the case, Police v. ; Jecentho, plead guilty, and was commit-, ted to the Supreme Court for sentence. An-" other Maori named Nuapua Taikato, wa» sentenced to three months' imprisonment for theft.

A meeting of the Auckland Hospital and Charitable Aid Board was held last evening to consider the Bill which it is proposed to put before Parliament next session. The proceedings were conducted in committee. . Mr. W. P. Massey, M.P. (Leader of the Opposition), will hold meetings at Maungaturoto on Match 30, Waipu- on March 31, and Whangarei on April 1. Writing on March 23, a Taupo correspondent says :— " Ketetahi crater, on Tonga-" riro Mountain, has been very active lately, giving a good display yesterday at 12.20 p.m.; the column of steam went up fully 4000 ft, making a grand spectacle." There were 127 violent deaths in New Zealand during 1907, 95 of which were classed as accidental. Eight of these latter were caused by fractures, and 17 by falls. In four cases deaths resulted from the deceased being run over by a train, three by being struck by tramcar, three crushed by dray, truck," etc., two while getting off tramcar in motion, and three, by an accident at the Auckland Dock. Nine deaths were from burns or scalds, 16 by drowning, 12 by suffocation, and one by poisoning: while there were 28 suicide?. our deaths were classified as homicide. The new steamer for the Wilson Lime and Cement Company, which is being built by Mr. W. 11. Brown, at his yards, Custom-street West, will be ready for launching in about three weeks' time. The new steamer will have a carrying capacity of about 200 tons, and is one oi the largest vessels of her class built in Auckland. • • ■ Some very good baskets of trout have been obtained lately (says the Kolorua Times). Messrs. Burton and party have been very successful, securing 14, 39, and 33 on different days. Messrs. Buckthought and party landed 18 last Wednesday. A record for New Zealand was established at last night's meeting of the Auckland Co-operative Terminating Building Society, when allocations in 15 groups were disposed of- by sale and ballot. The sum advertised to be appropriated was £6000, but this amount was exceeded by £1200. The highest amount disposed of by the society [.Deviously was £5800. Messrs. John Edgerlev and Henry Conquer have been nominated for the vacancy on the Epsom Road Board caused by the resignation of Mr. F. C. Jones. - Tbeskcfiojx takes,place,. nest Wednesday.