LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13762, 29 May 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The list- of case? set down for hearing at the civil sittings of the Auckland Supreme Court, which will'he opened on Monday next, is the longest that has been presented for some years past. The ordinary civil actions number 25. and the. amount involved in the various claims total* over £12,000. There are 18 suits under the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act, 13 of these being petitions for dissolution of marriage. Thy full list is published elsewhere in this issue.

The disaster which betel the a.*. Muritai, which went on the rocks at the Hen and Chicken Group, on Wednesday morning ha* resulted in the loss to the Northern Company of a tine vessel, an illustration of which appears in tins issue, together with a story of the wreck, but, fortunately for the passsssere and crew, the ship struck iu such a peculiar position that all on board were able to land by means of a small ladder, from'the bows of the steamer. At almost any other spot m the vicinitv a wreck might have been attended by loss of life. As it was. tho Muritai poked her nose into a cleft, wedging herself into that position, tod remaining fast as the tide went down, and everyone on board was enabled to land in complete safety on the ledge alongside, and there they" remained till daylight, being subsequently transferred iu the boats to a sandy beach further round the island, where a camp was made. There is some hope of salvage of portion of the cargo. out the ship jteelf is so badly damaged that there seems no chance of refloating. The passengers and mails were brought on to Auckland yesterday morning by tho 6.8. Kanieri.

On taking his seat at the meeting ot the Crown Lands Board yesterday, Mr. J. Straucbon/ the. new Commissioner of Crown Lands for Auckland district, was extended a hearty welcome by members. Mr. J. Renshaw, the senior member, trusted that Mr. Strauchon's stay in Auckland would be a pleasant one, and that the harmony which had prevailed with the late Commissioner, would continue. Mr.A. R. Harris remarked that Mr. Strauchon's reputation had preceded hip, and that the Board looked forward to being guided by an .able and conscientious public servant. After the other members had spoken, Mr. Strauchon thanked them for their kindly welcome, and said be anticipated no difficulty in working in harmony with the Board. With the help of the officers, whom he had found most able and efficient, he hoped soon to lwwe a full grasp of the special requirements and features of the administration land in the Auckland district. /

- It will be a matter for surprise to many that no nomination*' were received for the "Research".'Scholarship, consisting of £100 a year and practically all expenses, offered to Au/kland. The feeling among those qualified to enter apparently is that " the game is not worth the candle," or, in other words, that the scholarship does nor offer sufficient inducement. Nominations .closed yesterday, and up to the timf of dosing there had not been a single/inquiry regarding the matter. The position now is that the scholarship in all probability will lapse for this year. , !

"Unfortunately there appears to be a good deal of truth in the statements made by the captain at the wrecked French ship, President Felix/Fame, and others, that the depots placed on the desolate southern islands for the relief of castaways are visited by unauthorised persons find portions of the stores stolen;" remarked the Hon. J. A. Millar (Minister for Marine) to a representative of Christen Truth. "It is almost cert/in that a good deal of sealpoaching/goes on down there. My idea is that men should be kept, permanently on these islands under conditions which will be suggested to Parliament in due course/*' The annual exhibition of the Auckland Society of Arts is growing in public popularity each day, and this fact was exemplified yesterday by two of the largest attendances since the exhibition has been orrfn. There is much in the gallery to admire, apart from the excellent pictures, tje other attractions including exhibits of wood-carving, photographs, pencil drawings and etchings, jewellery, and handpainted china. The latest addition to the pictures sold is a water colour, entitled " Peninsula," by C. Packer. - Writing concerning the Queensland land purchase of Mr. Scrimgeour, formerly of Otago and Hawkc's Bay, in conjunction with Mr. Hugh Eos?, of Victoria, a Wairarapa writer says it is claimed to be one of the biggest land deals recorded in the history of Queensland. The property in question comprises several important estates', and covers about 200 square miles. It possesses a frontage of 50 mile? to the MacIntyre and Callandoo Rivers. The stations were sold as going concerns, with sheep, cattle, and horses. The price paid is understood to have been something near £200.000. Mr. Scrimgeour has not been any great length of time out of Hawke's Bay, and previously he was a well-known settler in Otago, where his knowledge of land and stock brought him well-deserved success.

The question of an increased Government grant towards the establishment of the proposed manual training school at Ot&huhu was brought before the Hon. Geo. Fowlds (Minister for Education) yesterday morning by Messrs. Harbutt and Sturges, representing the Otahuhu School Committee and Progressive League respectively. ■It was stated that a total of £460 was required for the establishment of the school. Tire residents had voluntarily Subscribed £50, and the Government had made a grant of £200, which, of course, was insufficient. It was pointed out that the scholars who attended the classes in town copld not get by train farther on their way/ home than Penrose after 6.20 p.m., and tiat their journey had' been completed only through the efforts of two residents, who hid taken in turns the work of driving the scholars the remaining tine* miles Otahtiliu, it was pointed out,, had a large working population, and the schools drawn upon for pupils would in--elude those at Tamaki, Pauinuw, Maug&re, Manuiewa, Papatoefoe, and possibly Papakm a. It was stated that some of the local residents would give their services a* histructors in the manual work. .The Minister said he would give the matter hill consideration, |

J An address wax Jelivered by Mr. .JoI hannes C. Asdoreoif before the Arts aM I Craft"! Guild at Cifr-fitchurch a' tew fay* ago on the subject pt "The Maori in Relation to Art." M« Anderson drew attention to the fact *b'»t (he possibilities of Maori .niythologi&l n"d legendary lore i« tho direction of/providing imbject matter for the artist ha<l pot been exploited to any considerable exiist. The present generation of New ZiKiWtnd artists, he said, had ample opportunities of fttudying the pre-sent-day Maori: and characteristic Maori customs, and «*re therefore in a positionto infuse intoJTeprPacntatiane <«; idealised | Maori life th* true spit it. which evolved the beautiful Itori** .that had survived the, civilisation of th*- Maori. Be instanced many legend! which would lend themselves to pictorialireatment, and had somethinit to say in appreciation of Maori effort* to attain a tlnracteristic decorative ait, giving on* or two illustrations: of the manner in which the primitive decorative forms of the Maori could he utilised by modern defeigners. f While not advocating a study of j Maori ait for its intrinsic artistic value. he suggested that a knowledge of its principles wfluld do much to help the student u» appreciate the spirit and atmo»pheie which gave birth to. Maori art and -Maori folklore. The annual eerie* of lecture*; on fir*t aid to the injured under the auspice* ■>( iwSt. John Ambulance Association will begin on Friday next, when Dr. Murray will giv* the-first lecture, to men at the office of tit* centre. Mercantile Chambers. On the hiloving Tuesday Dr. Bedford will give the list lecture to ladies at the Leys Institute, linsonby, and on Wednesday, June 10. Dr. Goldstein will begin the course for ladies at the office of the centre. Mors names are required for the Pamell and Rcmuera classes , before the dates of the opening lectures can , Ik> fixed. The members of the Mount Albert Bond Board accompanied by Dr. "Purely, district health officer,' and the Boards official*-, made an extensive tour of the district on, Wednesday afternoon, and where the road.* ! were found in want of repair gave order* for the work to be carried out. The members expressed surprise at finding so much gorse and blackberry on several of the side loads. and signified their intention of bringing the matter under the notice ot the Agricultural Department. Mr. John Marshall has purchased "\h« Coming of the Maori,'* one of the exhibits at the Art Society's exhibition, by Mr, Kenneth Watkins, with the intention of handing over the picture to the Public Art- . Gallery. It i.« stated that the sum paid is a very substantial one. . A Thunderstorm, accompanied by vivid lightning and heavy downpours, passed over the township on Wednesday afternoon (writes our Cambridge correspondent). One downpour lasted about a quarter of'an hour, but it was to heavy that the town was soon in a flooded state, the water overflowing the footpaths and running into a number of business premises. The singular part of the atonn was that during its progress jagged lump* of ice larger than marbles fell, but the atmosphere remained quite warm. " New Zealand Industries Week" (June 4 to 10), during winch shopkeepers and manufacturers are to make special display? of goods made in the Dominion, lias given rise to the suggestion of the formation ol a league, the members of which will pledge themselves to the most rigid loyalty to goods labelled "Our Own Make!" Member* of such an institution would be expected to eat nothing but foodstuffs produced in New. Zealand, they, must (sleep, in Now Zea-land-made beds with New Zealand blankets and rugs; their furniture mu*t be ■ made in the country of New Zealand woods, and their clothes must, be made of New Zealand tweed. English and Amen- ;/; can boots and shoes would be barred, In * short, it would have to be made compul- , sory that no member shall call into use J any English or foreign made article, if a similar article is manufactured in NewZealand.

Tito problem of how to live on hall' a crown * week is being solved by a young man in Wellington, the adopted son oi m '- old lady. This young man made a isost favourable impression when lieappeared before the trustees of the Benevolent Insti- ■' tution. "What..have you coming! in?'* • asked the chairman of the applicant. " Two pounds a month; that's mother's pension," was the reply. " What do yon pay for rent?" was the next question. '\Sefen and' sixpence, .sir," replied the applicant* "W«« live on half a crown a week." Th a. trustee* found on close investigation that tjro young man's story was accurate in every parti lar, and that he was living with ybis mother in a house that was damp, dark, and wretched, and whick ought h be condemned. It was stated at theboa*d meeting that the applicant was* a victim to - rheumatics, for which he wmimvg treated at the hospital as an out-pjttient. Th« Hoard decided to continue rations, an 'l " make a rent allowance in .order that the young man and his metier might move into healthier quarters. I Reviewing the statistics; furnished by t.-a Wellington Harbour Boadb in their 'a-' an- i nual report, the .Syren,/ an English ship-1 ping authority, makes a few interesting. comment*;. It gleans from the report that . the hteaui tonnage catered at Wellington direct from the Unite/ Kingdom has grown from 400 tons in Is2 to 151,187 tone in 1907, while, the saving -'hip tonnage h»« dropped from 25,29?" tons to 5923 tons. In the first-named year number of steamer-! was represented By a unit, sailing ships numbering 29; but in 1907 the totals respectively were 27 and three. Then the paper goes on 4 state that "it would be interesting to kfow what aspect the figure* , wiil assume, *y, at the end of aunt quarter of a. cjjnWy, when the Antipodean Governments Jiuve perpetrated a little mere shipping 'legislation.' The rale of pi'>gress, we fear, will be hardly, so satisfactory as at present."

A panic? almost occurred in the Hdlington Town Hall concert chamber tits other niglit while the Rev. 1). C. Bates was delivering a lecture. When the bell of the fire brigade station, just opposite, tolled out the/news that a blazo was in progress, some of the people got a little restless, but nothing untoward happened for a fewminute*.. Then a couple of children in the gallery pulled aside one of the Wind*, and a/ruddy streak of light came into the hall. At once some nervous woman steamed, awl others concluded that the fire wa* dote at hand, and commenced to make a more. "Sit down! Sit down!" .someone was heard ordering, but it vat of no avail. The move for the doors had begun, and, like a flock of sheep, the majority of those present also got up and pressed towards an exit. It war no use calling out " You are quit© safe-!'* for the people would not believe it. There was a blaze, of light on the 'building* across the sheet, and nothing would convince them that the pise* «as not on tire. It must be owned that a faint .smell of smoke helped the illusion, but when the people got outside they fount! that the light came from the two big #*<*«* lamps under the portico! On account of the large amount of advertiiini matter, and also to ensure conec* daftttiieation, advertisers fur Saturday*. issus of the Hebjujj are requested to fend in their advertisements as tarly as possible tod«." *