LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13798, 10 July 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

An English mail, via Suez, will be due at Auckland from Sydney by the Victoria on Sunday next. The New Zealand mails, via Suez, which left Auckland on May 25 were delivered in London on Tuesday morning last. Last week there were rather over 13,000 boxes of butter in cold store, at Auckland. At WelHngtoa there were 9300 boxes, New Plymouth 1164, Patea 5100, and Dunedin 988. Since then South African shipments have reduced the Auckland storage somewhat, but there is still abundance to carry the market over till the new supply is available. The indications are that the present values will rule till the spring. . Notice has been given by Mr. Kidd (telegraphs our special correspondent f -in- Wellington) to ask the Minister for Public Health 'whether he will consider the question of giving better facilities for extending the usefulness of the St. Helens maternity homes in the direction suggested by the deputation that waited, upon him in Auckland. The idea is that ! a larger number of nurses may be trained to " give help to those women who are not able to pay the increased sc»le of charges now ask-' ed by the maternity nurses'/ ."These establishments," he remarks, "were intended to give facilities to those women who wish to take up this work, but more especially to those who give their cervices to the wives of workers." ■■.-.--■

The rumour circulated in the, city on Wednesday evening that the s.s. Claymore had been seen in distress off Waikato Heads, fortunately proved without foundation, as yesterday morning Mr. C. Ranson, manager of the Northern Steamship Company, received a telegram stating that the Claymore had arrived safely at Kawhia in the evening, having passed Raglan without entering, owing to the heavy sea. .* The vessel was flying, canvas on her way down from the Manukau, and it is thought that this gave origin to the supposition that the ship was flying a distress signal.

The prospects before flaxmillers are now assuming a more hopeful outlook, consequent upon the better prices at Home, and there ip a probability of a number of Auckland millers, who have closed down their mills, recommencing operations next month. Prices during last season did not remunerate the millers for turning out the best grade of fibre, the margin of price between fair and good fair being too small for profit on the better grade. The "good fair" prices now seem to be firming steadily, and should the markets remain as good there is every hope of attention being turned to the manufacture of the higher class of material.

An, old experiment was tried by Mr. Walklate at the tramway inquiry yesterday. The question at issue was as to how long a motorman had kept a car delayed at the Ponsonby barn, the witness contending that it was only for three minutes. Mr. Walklate , took his , watch from his pocket, and then asked the witness to state when the 60 seconds were up. -A dead silence ensued, the witness assumed a not over-confi-dent expression, and when 34 seconds had elapsed declared that the minute was up. That showed, said Mr. Walklate, the unreliability as to estimates of time, but the observation was turned on him, for the witness promptly retorted, amidst laughter, that at that rate he must have kept the car delayed for - only half the time he had stated. .

In discussing the Pawnbrokers Acj* Amendment Bill in the House yesterday (telegraphs our special correspondent) Mr. Barclay, member for North Dunedin, expressed himself in. favour of a State pawnshop. The suggestion was received with laughter. Mr. Barclay, however, said there was a somewhat similar institution in France. The Hon. J. MeGowan freely admitted that this would be "a step in the right direction," although he did not think the time had yet arrived for such a departure. The country south of Auckland presents a dreary aspect at present, with the stock shivering and wet in the fields, and the low-lying paddocks in many instances lying partly under water. The rivers and streams axe very much swollen from the recent heavy rains, and up to yesterday morning showed a tendency to rise. The Waikato River was" bank and bunk" in many places, while in the viciaity of Mercer it had spread over some of the lower country, The weather, however, was then showing a tendency, to clear,, j

"Some lieay showers, but nothing out of the ordinary," remarked Mr. Cheeseman, of the Auckland Museum, to a Herald representative yesterday, when asked whether Wednesday night's downpour was not rather tropical in quantity. The "heavy showers," however, helped to bring the quantity of rain registered this month considerably above the July average. The rain recorded at the Auckland station yesterday morning was 28 points, or a trifle more than a quarter of an inch. The total rainfall for the month of July up to date is 3.24 in, or considerably more than half the average fall for the month, which is 4.74 in, : although not a third of the period has elapsed. The rainfall for the six months just ended is 22.15 in, as compared with 24.73 in for the corresponding period of last year. In both cases these figures are slightly in excess of the average for the last 42 years, which is 42in per annum. The fall for March, April, May, and June of the present year was in each month heavier than last year, but the total ease for the six months in 1907 was brought about by a wet. January and February,' when over 13in of rain descended.

"It is wonderful what people will fight about in this Court," said Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M., during the hearing of a civil case at the Magistrate's Court yesterday. "This case may be classed among the ' try-on' eases," added -~His Worship. ' ' ' " ■ ' '■

The alarming notions that prevail .in other lands regarding life and conditions in New Zealand are almost innumerable, though the old idea that the Dominion was populated by a race of cannibals has happily given way to a more favourable impression of what " God's own country " really is. As an instance of the ignorance there is, f well-known commercial traveller, whose wife is at present in London, has received a letter from her, in which she states that while dininj, at a restaurant she mentioned casually that she was a visitor from New Zealand. "How cold it must be over there,'' came the rejoinder; " that's where all the frozen mutton comes from, isn't it?" It took no little persuasion to induce the Londoner to believe that an artificial process was responsible for frozen meat, and that the Dominion in reality was a warmer country than England; ■■■'.■■ '':'■■:'/"' ; '

A reference in the dispute between the master painters of Auckland and the Painters' Industrial Union of Workers has been filed with the clerk of awards. The union, in their demands, ask for a minimum wage of not less than Is 4d per hour for all journeymen, an eight hours' day, special rates of overtime, the limitation of apprentices to one to every four journeymen or fraction of four employed, and special conditions as to suburban and country work. They also ask that all brush ware shall be supplied by the employers, and that no journeyman yhall be ,'Jlowed to perform piecework or. accept work under contract. The dispute has been referred to the Conciliation Board, and will come on for hearing on the 17th inst. . ' ',

There were some humorous touches at yesterday's proceedings ■< in connection, with the tramway inquiry. One of the witnesses who gave evidence was a motorman of several years' standing, who explained that when , the old. merit and demerit system was in vogue he was ■ generally the sixth or seventh on : the merit list out of 150, motormen. " So. you pride yourself that you were' a good boy in those days," observed Mr. * Rosser. "Oh, yes."', replied - the ; witness, amid laughter, which was increased when Dr. McArthur pertinently i inquired, "Have you fallen away from virtue since?" , A little later the same witness, in replying to a question as to the working of the merit and demerit system, said, ; " You were punished before you were tried, and tried after." (Laughter.) Another witness confessed to having followed an inspector in order to see what he was about. "So," said Mr. "Walklate, when he came to cross-examine him, "you ; don't mind doing to others what you complain of yourself?" ''Oh," commented " Dr. McArthur, "perhaps he thought that one good turn deserves another." - r

Th * sujamer Yeddo, from San Francisco, brings a striking instance of how acute is the trade depression in America just nowa depression which Mr. Lloyd-George stated in the House of Commons the other 5 day is almost world wide. "At San Francisco, " said one of the officers yesterday, " hundreds of men came Aboard asking if they might work their' passage to either New Zealand or Australia. We could have filled our' holds with people a desirous of getting out of America. It seemed strange to us coming into Auckland to find men here coming aboard and asking a similar favour. To-day we have- had about 20 men on board asking for a passage to Sydney."

Petitions, containing many hundreds ]01 Maori signatures, are to be presented' to Parliament setting forth the following — "We, the native tribes of New Zealand, who enjoy the protection of our father, King Edward VII., are oppressed by the severe laws that have been enacted by your honourable House in respect to our lands and our property, and we are being impoverished thereby. From the: time of the Treaty of Waitangi to the present day we, the Maori people and Europeans, have dwelt together as one people. The Maoris have acquired ail the customs and industrial life of their pakeha brethren, and we have all been in touch with them ever since then; also, we have had'the advantage of education in the schools and colleges of the Dominion. We have now reached that stage when we are capable of managing quiown affairs. Therefore, we pray that the same rights and privileges with regard to our surplus lands as given to the Europeans shall bo extended to us."

In view of the Prime Minister's announcement that the Government thought £5000 was the sum which should be paid to John James Meikle, as compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, it is interesting to recall the claim made by the Meikle Executive Committee to the Government some time ago. The items of 'compensation were enumerated, in detail, and made a toiil of £17,000. The committee stated 'ihat a carefully-prepared balance-sheet, submitted to the late Mr. Seddon, showed that at, the time of Mr. Meikle's conviction the net equity of his estate was £3442, based on the Government's loan value of his land, which was £4 10s per acre. If this sum had been investad at 6 per cent., to accun, -ate with compound interest, it would hive now reached £10,000. The late Arthur Meikle, whose death was said to have been caused by the shock received by his father's imprisonment, was the mainstay of a brokenhearted mother acid a young family, and the compensation due for his loss was placed at £2000. "For false imprisonment," continued the report, "we feel we cannot in justice name a. less sum; thai) that paid to Adolph Beck, namely, £5000 although Meikle's case by far outweighs Beck's - case in merit, inasmuch as tha latter did not suffer and fight for 20 years to secure compensation, as Meikle has and is yet doing, but was promptly paid, the £5000 and grafted a free pardon.."- ■