LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13781, 20 June 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A sitting of the Supremo Court, in bankruptcy, will bo hold by Mr. Justice Edwards: a'- 10.30 a.m. on Monday, after which, chamber business, will be taken. The temperature during the paafc three or four days ha? ■><■>< been exceptional eon-td/k-ri"- "i..- time of the year, except that the maximum reading during the dar la« been ii tie lower thai) usual. On July 17, 13, and 19, the respective maximum readings were .54, .53, and .52 degrees. In the city the minimum reading has never reached freezing point (.32 degrees), although away from buildings, in the country, and open grass fields, the temperature may have been several degrees lower. Lecturing on the Maori last night, Dr. Buck (Te Rangi Hiroa), native health officer, said it was not until the arrival of the Europeans that the bacillus taihoa attacked the -Maori. Even at the present time he took his religion very earnestly. "In 1814," lie • said, " Marsden preached bis first sermon to the Maori pagan, and i c we are to accept Bishop Neligan's statement, in 1914 the Maori clergyman will preach to the European pagan. Summing up, I say civilisation has done no good for the Maori. I do not blame the po,keha ; I blame civilisation. At the present time it is only a theory they do not carry out. There would not bo the depths of poverty there are if it was carried out. There was too mucltefar the Maori to assimilate in, the beginning, lam afraid. But now we are beginning to rally against if. The deaths due to ignorance in the treatment of disease will not continue.''

Our Wellington correspondent wires: — Ministers' sessional quarters at Government House are now practically ready for occupation. The Prime Minister will occupy a suite of three rooms near the main entrance, and handy to4)ie House of Representatives, the centre one of the three being also for Cabinet meetings. The Hon. Dr. Findlay has seemed quarters 'in one corner of the building on the first floor, and the Hon. J. McGowan has taken & room in the other corner. The Hon. W. Hall-Jones will be located on the same floor, near the head of the staircase. The other Ministers are variously placed over the- building-. In the majority of cases an adjoining room has been secured for private secretaries. The chief officials of both Houses have their rooms in'order, and their books and papers are at hand. The carpenters arc still working in the Assembly Chambers. The Hansard reporters are to be located immediately to the right of the Speaker, and near to them is desk accommodation for Ministers' secretaries and tinder-secretaries, Departmental officials having a bench immediately at the rear. Beyond Hansard will come tho (dies* gallery, and beyond that again the Speaker's gallery.

Mr. H. Rowland, of Hamilton, has presented tr tlie Auckland Mucsuin an adult specimen, m beautiful plumage, of the Australian white-winged duck, or whiteeyed duck (Nyroca Australia) shot by him on Lake Waikare. The white-winged duck is not an uncommon species in Australia, but appears to be extremely rare in New Zealand. Many years ago the late Captain Hutton reported its occurrence on Lakes Waikare arid Whan gape, and later on Lake Ellesmere, but of late no specimens have been obtained, and most people have concluded that it had become extinct. It is a line species, nearly as large as the- gray duck, but much darker in its general plumage, and with a conspicuous white bar crossing the full width of the wing, making it easy to recognise when seen in flight. Mr. Rowland's specimen has been preserved, and will bo set up for the collect of New Zealand birds in the Museum, as soon as a capable taxidermist is employed.

Constable Keep, of Epsom, lias been promoted to tin; rank ot sergeant, and is being transferred to Cbristchureh, the appointment to take place from July 1. Constable Roberts, of Devonport, will take Constable Keep's place.

tggggjggSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS The Supplement issued with to-day** Herald contains much to interest and in. struct. "Tho Making of Diamonds" lx dealt with by "Tohunga.*" "'How and v Whit to Read."' is contributed hr Sir Robert, Stout-, and ''A Window in Thames" is from the pen of N*. A. Winter. "Substance or Shadow?" is: written by " Xudis Verbis," and "The Safety of Our Fortifications'' by"Senax." Farther instalment* of the serial.*, "A Gokfcn Precipice" and "The Liberal ionwt"' appear, in addition <<> a, complete etory, entitled "The IJr_«coi>. tented Wife." Local Gossip, humorous itlustrations. London Chat, chess and draught?, science, Utsrary ami liiu*i>.ai jottings, and London fashion note?, in addilion to the usual feature?, arc also present.'

; Twelve month* hack the 0 rich una a ; branch of the Liberal and Labor,! t-Vdetp. ; tion purchased a splendid oil painting of I the late Mr. Sodden, and for this one of 'the members, Mr. 0. Smith, urn: ■: nuterf • » handsome case, it is intended to ssn ! veil the portrait at the anniversary wviaj 1 of the brunch, to lie held in the core*, lets' Hall on Wednesday evening next. During his lecture last evening on the evolution of tin? Maori race. I)r Buck quoted the prophecy of an old tulmnga ( »: the East Coast, who foretold the coming of the white man. The words of the pit), phecy bear a translation a* follows: — " Behind the tattooed face a stranger stand* who will inherit thi«s hind, and he in white."' Daring the course of the entertainment at His Majesty's Theatre last evening some .'entiling ""as indulged in by a number of the "gods," and a young wan was arrested on a. charge of eating a disturbance White being taken outside lie is alleged to have made, use of some objectionable remarks to the arresting constable, and a further charge of using bad- language was preferred against- him. Smoking is now practically prohibited on Glasgow Wharf. Wellington, at, any rate timing the loading of , flu:;. The Harbour Board officers, having a lively recollection of the lonic fire, sue taking no chances with the Athenic. which h berthed where the lonic had her experience. The Board's officers have all along had the power 10 slop smoking on the wharves, and notices have been affixed for years to the sheds prohibiting smoking in or ''near" the buildings— the qucslion of proximity, whether three or 300 yards, being determinable, by the Board's servants. For the time being matters tfre at u standstill so far as the work on the Sneddon memorial at Oneh.nngu is concerned. Yesterday morning the Memorial Commit.tee, together with Mr. It. Metcalfe. borough engineer, visited the site, at the junction of (lie six roads, near, the Royal Oak. with a. view to fixing upon the best position. An examination ami survey revealed the fact thai, owing to the alignment of the roads, and several fences being out of position, the site would have to receive further consideration. The committee next decided that Mr. Metcalfe should prepare a plan of tho site fixed, so. that members of the local bodies interested might set: how the memorial stands in relation to the several roads. AWairarapa shee-pfarmer who has just travelled through the Waikato stated that he. was wonderfully surprised at the transformation which has taken place at Unaknra, tho Government experimental farm. When ho eaw this place years ago it w&s a swamp, upon which one could sail a boat ; now, through tho use of tho drain plough, the pastures were fine and arm, and fed the best sheep in the district. The cost of the draining was 6d per chain, A paddock treated with basic slag two years ago was now like a lawn. Tho farmer stated that he had at different time* heard much with reference to the loss «ustained by the Government running these experiment farms, but he thought, that if the Skate, were to realise- just now on Itiwknra, it would make a substantial profit on its original outlay and the cost of management. Ho understood, ho said, that the farm was first bought for £8000 lathe Government," while it was now valued from £40 to £70 per acre.

The annual meeting of the Auckland Railways League will take place in the Chamber of Commerce room at three p.m. on Monday, when His Worship (ho Mayor, president of the- league, will occupy tho chair. All the Auckland members of both Houses of Parliament hare been invited to be present, and tho branch leagues are sending representatives, as follows: — The Hon. McCardle from Ka.whia, the Mayor of Waihi, and Mr. J. J), McKeiuie, representing the Wbangarei Chamber of V Commerce. Mr. Mander, M.P., Mr. Massey, M.P., and others have promised to be present if possible. ; P On Thursday rooming the wife of a resident of Victoria-street, Onehunga, wandered away while suffering from melancholia, induced through insomnia. During " the day she was discovered, in a weak condition, some distance from her home, by a lady friend, but it was not until night time that she was restored to her home. Medical assistance was obtained, but she was very weak yesterday. Mr. John Homer, manager for Messrs. John Fuller and Sons, and representing th« World's Picture Syndicate, has received . notification from the town clerk that close on 200 inmates of the local orphanage* will, in acceptance of his invitation, attend the matinee- performance of the Wide World Pictures at the Opesa House today, In addition to these, at least another hundred aie expected from other orphanages, the authorities of which have replied directly to Mr. Hamer, and a specially attractive eeries of pictures is being ari ranged for the entertainment of the little ; ones. A solitary passenger, who tnvellec lately one bitterly cold morning by the first train north from Mastcrtou, atoned considerable admiration by the way in which he had adapted himself to circumstances. He was the only passenger in the car, and he had practically ensconced himself in foot-warmers. There were footwarmers at the back of him, foot-warmers at the side of him, foot-warmers beneath him, and foot-warmers in front of him. There were eight in all, two at the backer him, one each on his flank, while he sat on another two, nursed one upon his ' knees, and kept ona beneath his feet. 1" this happy manner the salamander rode hi state till the train reached Eketahtum, when incoming passengers necessitated an abandonment of the warm comfort* At a largely attended meeting of tti* Women's Political League, held in tli« Pitt-street schoolroom, the following resolutions were carried : —" (1) That as midwives are now required to cert if their competence before being allowed "to register as mid-wives,.'we request that the Government take- steps to see that the knowledge required shall be given to those desiring to qualify, cither at St. Helens Hospital , or any other place the Government deems desirable." "(2) That the probationer, from registered obstetric homes be permit- -..■ ted to attend the lectures at St. 'Helen* ._" Hospital, and alter they have finished attendance at, the prescribed tumtei ot cases for practical instruction' elsewhere, be permitted to sit lor the annual tsswnuiatioa.'* ■ .;:;"-'ip-H: ■ ♦

An English mail, via' • Suez, and an American ■ mail are expected at Auckland from Sydney by the Mokoia to-morrow* The Auckland Drainage Bill was exhaustively considered at a meeting of the committee of the local bodies' conference last jvening, and it was finally agreed to with i few minor amendments, which do nob in my way affect the principle of the measure. I'Jio discussion at the outset took rather an animated turn, the absence of any provision or the representation of the suburban bodies in the Drainage Board being the rock upon rhich the members were inclined to split. ■Eventually, however, the opposition to the OHstitutiyn of the board as proposed was withdrawn, on it being explained that proision for all necessary branch intercepting ewers was made in the Bill. A great lea! o£ misunderstanding was removed by he discussion, and the meeting ended harmoniously. The Bill will be submitted to ho conference for confirmation on July 3.

There was a protracted discussion at the Harbour Board meeting in committee yesterday on a resolution brought forward by a sub-committee, that the offer from the Bank of New Zealand, with regard to the fourth issue of debentures, 'be declined, and that debentures for £100,000 be issued at 4i per cent., £10,000 worth to be sold locally at par. The bone of contention was the fact that only £10,000 worth was to be offered locally, members holding that there was plenty of money available, and it would be much better that the interest should be expended locally, if possible, it was ultimately resolved to leave the disposal of the full, amount open. In reply to a question as to what offer the bank had made, the secretary said: "They wanted to fix a minimum of £95, and 1 per cent, for underwriting."

"The Polynesians, who had no alphabet, or even hieroglyphics, cultivated memory to such an extent that it forms one of the racial characteristics of the people," said Dr. Buck last evening, lecturing upon the Maori. " Elsdon Best secured some 400 songs from one man, without counting genealogies and tribal history. Percy Smith- down from one old man the genealogical, descent of all the members of his- tribe, involving the recollection of oyer 700 names and going back for some 3-1 generations. These genealogies were considered lapu by those who had been entrusted with them; consequently it. has been difficult to get them from the very old tohungas. and such of the Maori genealogies as we have are not reliable after 40 generations, though the Karotongan records go back 95 generations or so, to 450 B.C. These," continued Dr. Buck, "'are very reliable, having been given by the last, old Rarotongan tohunga, To Ariki Tara-are."'

A visit was paid to the Jubilee Institute for "the Blind at. Pornell yesterday afternoon by the Hon. G. Fowlds. The Minister, who was accompanied by Mr. C. H. Poole, M.P., was met at the institute by Mr. N. Alfred Nathan (chairman of tho trustees) and other trustees and by the principal, Mr. Freyling. He was shown through the new building, which is now approaching completion, and he expressed himself well pleased with the appointments. A visit was also paid to tho workshops.

At the close of the meeting of the committee of the local bodies' conference last evening i member of the committee made a remark to the effect that the adoption of the Drainage Bill meant the killing of the Greater Auckland scheme. "By no means ; . „tho Bill is only a .temporary expedient." ''" said Mr. L. J. Bagnull. Mr. A." J. Entiican expressed a similar view, and said that , it would no doubt be found that before the j construction of the drainage works had proceeded far a Greater Auckland would be an accomplished fact. " Yes, and the mote , we come together the more we see the necessity for a Greater Auckland," was the remark with which the Mayor (Mr. A. M. ■ Myers) closed the discussion. " There is even a ring amongst banks; there is a banking union," said Mr. A. J. Kntrican at the meeting of the Drainage . Committee, last evening. Local bodies dealing with banks were, he said, formerly allowed to set the credit on one account against the debit on another. "Now," ho added, "if you have several accounts, and one is overdrawn and the otliers are'in credit, you have to pay interest on the overdraft without receiving any allowance for - the credit balances on the other accounts." "The Mayor of Grey Lynn," was the lapsus lingua? for which Mr. G. J. Panwas twice responsible at the drainage meeting last evening, in alluding to the Mayor i ' of Mount Eden (Mr. O. Nicholson). On being reminded of his error, Mr. Parr remarked, amidst great laughter, "Well, shall I say the ' member' for Grey Lynn?" At yesterday's meeting of the Harbour Board the harbourmaster reported adversely on the quantity of timber stored outside the booms at Hobson's Bay, and members of the Board endorsed his opin- ' ion that this affected the safety of the harbour and required to be slopped. The secretary stated that one company had taken logs to Hobson's Bay without any authority whatever, and it was decided to.write to sawmill owners, drawing their "~ attention to the fart that they were committing bleaches of the Board's by-laws, and logs outside booms must be. removed forthwith. It was remarked that during ; a, recent storm scores of drifting logs had ■ created considerable damage to property. A painter stated in the Magistrate's Gimrfc yesterday (telegraphs our Wellington correspondent) that he was unable to yet work in-the city owing to slackness in the trade, and he knew of one firm alone which had dismissed 20 men a. short time ago. He had tried every shop in the town, but without success. He could get work for a time, and would then be put oft' on account of the slackness. The shingle roof attached to the Methodiet Sunday-school building at Kingslan<! . caught lire "about 11 o'clock yesterday morning, but the Mount Albert Fire Brigade turned out promptly and extinguished the blaze. Damage to the extent of £1 was done, however. The tire is considered to have beon caused by a spark from a passing railway engine. ' An Amuri County station hand, who has witnessed tho coming and going of 25 summers and winters, on Saturday last saw a \ railway train for the first time, and made his initial journey to Christchurch. Returning on Monday, he' confided to a com- ;: panion" hia delight with what he had seen. He was amazed at the speed of the iron horse—this, by the way, having long since .'ceased to surprise sophisticated travellerswhile he thought Christchurch much too ex- - tensive for him to inspect in two days. Ho preferred, however, the quiet of the coun- % try and the unruffled calm of a sheep uta--1 tion. Constant reading of the newspapers had failed to convey the idea to him how W«ri' tin- world might be. while the modes . , and manners »l town life struck him as more than passing strange. The buildings appealed to his mind as being magnificent. f but there was a congestion of the tern* ~ incuts, and a >aek of air space, which he \ enjoyed at home, nut to speak of a;« absence "1 tin- sheep and hills among which his simple life had btfon spent, tfff'Uh'Vr '"..:■'■ : ■ i'» .'' ■'■■■'■'". ■■■" .'. ■'.-'■■ '<$M)s'-; : V : . ■■}'■■'■-■:'■■■■ ■■■■■<■■:■ ■: " ■'-■'■■ ■■■