LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13796, 8 July 1908, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Postal Department notify that owing •; to the departure of the steamer Navua for : '■■:■.] Suva being postponed until this evening the mails for United Kingdom, America, and the . Continent of Europe, etc., -will close;in accordance therewith, as announced else- . where. ■ . * • The special Board of Conciliation sei,lu>>.."'•';: to determine the dispute between the Auck- ■ ' '; land Electric Tramways Company and the ■• "Tramways , Employees' Union will' commence its sittings in the Arbitration. Court, Supreme Court Buildings, at 10 o'clock this morning. The Board held a private meet- .. : ing on Friday last, when the question as to the admissibility of clauses .7 and 8 <>t the : statement of particulars filed by the union J was put before the ct Irman, Dr. Mc- V; ■ Arthur, S.M. In these clauses the union i ■' requests that the company be compelled to v"y>'instal either magnetic or air brakes on this ; •• cars, and to pay due regard to the recommendations made by the Arbitration, Court • in the award now. in force, viz., providing all cars with glass fronts, the reduction* of the spare list, and to arrange for men who have been 12 months in the companyV service, and who have been faithful and diiiI gent/servants, to have a. yearly holiday on -wages. The chairman will deliver his decision this morning, after which the hearing of evidence will be proceeded with. The case for the union will be - conducted. ' by Mr. Arthur Rosser, assisted by Messrs. C. W. Smith and P. C. Buckley (president ~ , and ex-president of the union respectively), and that for the company by Mr. J. .J. ,'• Walklate (general manager), assisted by Mr. C. Grosvenor (secretary of the Auckland v ' branch of the Employers' Association). The •> Board will sit daily from 10 a.m. to 12 noon , • and from two to four p.m. The first section of the new Queeo-street . .-. Wharf has been completed, and pile-driving has now commenced for the second section. When this is completed, in about a month's time, the Ferro-Concrete Company will pro--1 ceed with the laying of the second section, , -•;. " and the work will continue without a break ;' until completed. The process oi pile-driv-. r ing is a decidedly interesting one to watch, ■:> and numbers of spectators witness it daily. : ; ' The piles, some of them 75ft- in length, are ' of solid concrete, reinforced with steel, and 1 ;! ■ will stand well-nigh everlasting wear. A» •}'* • soon as the first section is asphalted it • > will be thrown open for vehicular traffic. ; ';■ • . Referring to the financial statement for ! the half-year, presented to the Harbour Board yesterday, and a precis of which was :f published in yesterday's Herald, the chair-.. | ;;. man (Hon. E. Mitchelson) said the Board . ;■:) 1 .was to be congratulated upon the results - ; ' for the half-year. The revenue for the six <;;' i months was more than was expected for the •■ ; whole year, " f ' Auckland is freer. of crime at the present - ; jt moment than at almost any period of its •■!; . history. The statement Is made on the '- -'authority of the police. During the la.<* - few weeks there have been ao really serious ■ .l 1 cases before the magistrate, and very few ; : ■:; : cases, in comparison with the population, ; ! of even a minor character. Auckland'* » .- , crime record is a better one than that of j,! Wellington, comparing even favourably j-.; 1 with that of Dunedin, the nearly -crimeless ;.\i. 1 city of the Dominion. '•.•-■■' '.•■.. : ']\} A Press Association telegram from Wei- ■• 'If : lington says: —A meeting held in Welling- lj, . ton to-night inaugurated a movement for & H; national testimonial to Mr. W. J. Wallace, ■ . 1. the well-known New Zealand footballer, • ,i, who has retired from 'the game. Mr. F. .if M. B. Fisher, M.P., is chairman of the - committee. Two persons have : already m Bubscribed £10 each and one £5.' -.'. ; •'. J ; gj ■ '-'I ,: -■/,-...>3

■ - The first banner of welcome to the American fleet forms the subject of one of the snany interesting illustrations in this week's '• issue of th© Auckland Weekly News, pub. sypl lished to-day. Among other current event* ;:f ;•..-*' dealt with may be mentioned the dismastr:- ing of the scow Whangaroa. in the Tasmau p ■ Sea, the opening of Parliament, ladies' golf championship meeting on the famous St. i Andrew's links," new motor van imported by the Government for the clearance of. ';■ mail boxes, the entente. cordiale, the Krag and President Fallieres in London, good >.[. work being done by 'the Salvation Array !:■ ■-... Home for Girls, the coming Royal visit to Canada, a splendid series of pictures showing some of the leading engineering fesits and attractions of the North Island Main ... • Trunk railway route, and » panorama of a wonderful Southern icefield published on the double-page of the number. * »» Arrangements are now complete for "'-, holding a conference of Chambers of Commerce in Whangarei on Thursday, July . 16. The following are the subjects to be introduced by the WharigaJei Chamber i~~ * Pushing on the construction of railway lines in the Auckland province, extension of the telephone system, loading of back blocks, experiments in the profitable cultivating and grassing of the poorer Northern lands, Harbour Board i: representation, the opening up of native and Crown lands, and 'utilisation of waste water v power. The following bodies are to be represented:—Auckland, Kaipara, Hamilton, Cambridge Chambers of Commerce, North Auckland Railways League, and the various Northern county councils. In 0 the evening the visitors and leading local residents will be entertained at a dinner by Mr. A. R. Crane, president of the Whangarei Chamber of Commerce. All the coastal steamers which were delayed at Auckland, owing to stormy weather during the past few days, got away yesterday for their various destinations. The weather on the west coast was V 1 very rough during the greater part, of yesterday, but moderated towards evening. The wind was from the south to south-we:st, with a big sea running, especially on the Manukau bar. The Northern: Company's r steamer Wartangi, which arrived at Onehunga from Waitara and Raglan yesterday, had to pass by Kawhia, as the bar there ; was not workable. In a letter laid before the HarbourJ Board yesterday, Mr. Irvine, branch manager for the Union Steam'; Ship Company at: Auckland, said he had bsen .approached 'by fruit importers v and others interested in ; / : the fruit trade of Auckland with a view i to getting him rto petition the Board to | have' specially constructed sheds erected i on whichever wharf, in the new scheme, < ."'.;.. might be set aside for the receiving of 1 fruit from Island steamers. The importance of the fruit trade was, he was certain, | fully appreciated by the Board. Under :.'..■■ existing conditions, fruit which arrived in i Auckland towards the end of the week, i ;'"■; during sunmaer months, and remained in the shed over Sunday, was frequently rendered almost valueless by the intense heat existing in the close, iron sheds. He suggested that louvre sheds should be erected on the Island steamers' wharf, or else sheds specially ventilated. The Board ■ decided to send the letter to the Board / Committee for report. ; An: irregular discussion took place in ■■ Parliament yesterday on the question as to whether the site of the capital should ' remain at Wellington or whether it : should, be moved to some other place where land is cheap/ and thus enable a beautiful city to be built up (telegraphs , our- special correspondent). "Where shall i : e;£t we go?" asked various members: • "Auck- ! land,", suggested one voice. *' No, Auckland is out of it," was the crushing retort. «■■■'■ Mr. liaurenson made a mysterious suggestion about an " ideal spot," which he did , , not name beyond indicating that it was in the Marlborough district. The Prime Minister said that the/jjuestion of site was decided when the s|j||f>f Government .'' was removed from AucljHglL After considering the respective jßHfe of Welling- * ton and • Nelson, the 4Hpj| Commission ' decided in favour; of Wellington, and ;•-.'.. .' there it must remain. One! suggestion that had been made, he said, was that the capital should be placed on the top of a high , mountain!, overlooking the mountains and lakes in the vicinity of " Rotorua- By doing so it was suggested ■" that tho Dominion would be able to liqui|f< ift date the whole of the nation's debt. The .-,■..-:-J argument, however, did not appear to appeal to Sir* Joseph Ward as Minister for ■.■Finance.;'.' Mr. Stephen Barlow, who some time a.go visited Auckland for the purpose of inquir- '. into the savings bank methods in opera- * tion here '. and other matters on behalf of ' the Philippine Government, writes to say that the information he received from the authoritief! has been found of great; use in the formation of an Agricultural • Bank in the Philippines, which is to be run Targdy on the lines of the Auckland institution., The Union Company's steamer Takapuna - was responsible for a smart performance on ~ ■ Monday. afternoon on the run from Onehunga to the Manukau bar. The vessel cast off from the wharf at 3.13 p.m., and as it was necessary to take on the bar with the tide in her favour no time wa3 lost in getting away. ■; At 4.10 p.m. the Takapuma - crossed outwards, having made the trip in v 57 minutes, as against one hour 20 minutes to one hour 25 minutes, the time usually w : taken. "■ ■ > * "The evidence goes, to prove that the water is in a fairly satisfactory condition at present, and that the Eden Terrace supply does no *' differ from that in the city." This is the verdict of the Government bacteriologist with respect to the charge made by the Eden Terrace Road '•"i./ Board against the purity of the city water ;. supply. The reply was received at last V. evening's meeting of the Board, and members frankly admitted it was satisfactory. The sample-?" submitted for analysis were . taken at the district health office, Auckland and from a uip in the Eden Terrace district. The result of the bacteriorological examination was couched in •technical phraseology, but the summing up was as - stated above. The report was forwarded :'. - with a letter from the district health officer, Dr. Purdy, who stated, with regard to the presence of organic matter, vegetable debris, and diatoms, in the water, that this was always found in surface waters, more especially after heavy rains. An abf; . . solutely ideal supply of water required 1 sand filtration. It may be of interest to ll •-' '_ Aucklanders to learn that the Colonial ( analyst describes -the appearance of their water supply as "faintly turbid." ]'.' In the Postmaster-General's annual report, presented to Parliament yesterday v (telegraphs our special correspondent), reference is made to the extended free delivery of telegrams from "certain offices. _: It has been decided to supply, at an early '■ dtte, a number of typewriting machines for the use of telegraph operators receiving telegrams, and make a special payment to the officers selected to use them. Officers who at present own their machines may sell them to the Department. This arrangement is expected to induce a much larger number of operators to use typewriters when receiving telegrams. -~•..