LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13814, 29 July 1908, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company's steamer Matatua. left for London direct yesterday morning', with a large and valuable cargo. Included in the shipments from Auckland were six boxes and 19 bars gold bullion, valued at £40,000, and lines of kauri gum, flax, tallow, skina, etc. The Matatua will be due in London early in September.

Regarding the statement made by Mr. Black, and telegraphed from Timaru, to the effect that he could-guarantee that tenders could be obtained for his own plans for the Auckland Town Ha 11... for the sum of £60,000, it is understood that Messrs. W. E. Hutchison and R. Farrell, contractors, and members of the City Council, and the city engineer, made separate calculations of the cost of carrying out Mr. Elaok's design<?. The calculations were made on the b&sis of the lowest tender received for the accepted design by Messrs. Clark, and as a result they are confident that the cost would not amount to less than £85,000.

The long jetty which forms the most important part of the Freeman's Bay reclamation, work is now nearing completion. The jetty, which is to act as a breakwater for the reclaimed land, is.over a mile in length—lßsoyds precisely. Over 15,000 tons of concrete have been used in its construction, and the work has falcentwo yeans to complete. The workmen are at present engaged in filling up a gap*of about 50ft caused by the gales. The jetty, which is 24ft high, varies in width from 12ft to 3ft at various points. Another seven or eight weeks, it is thought, will see the workmen done with their task.

At. a meeting of the Devonport Borough Council last night a request was received from Mr. E. R. Russell, to whom a tramway option within the borough was granted about 18 months ago, for the transfer of the option from himself to the Devon

orfc Transport Company. Mr. R. Mc-

Veagh, who appeared in support of the application, said that the new company was registered yesterday with a capital of £150,000, £70,000 of this amount being practically assured to the company. -The provisional directors of the company were Messrs, Russell, McDonald (Auckland), Black, and Livesay The company proposed to issue shares locally, and it was thought that the capital would be, to a large extent, subscribed in the

borough and the city. On the motion of Mr. G. Gribbin, it was resolved to grant the transfer. -

One of the speaker* on behalf of the

unemployed deputation which waited on the Prime Minister yesterday in Wellington (telegraphs our special correspondent) was a Mr. Campbell, who said he Lad just come from Auckland, where there were a large number of men out of employment. During the past two days, he said, men out of work in Wellington had come to him almost with tears in their eyes, asking for food. A man told him on Monday that he had had nothing to tat since midday on Sunday, whilst others had told him that they were subsisting on one meal a day. The same speaker urged that men employed on the co-operative railway works should not be interfered with on account of their political opinions. We want," he said, " an assurance that the men who go on these works will not be put off because they do not support the Government at the general elections." Sir Joseph Ward resented the implication that men were interfered with because they were not Government supporters. Mr. Campbell re-, plied, "I can assure you that I have been victimised on two different occasions and harassed off the railway work?."

A case of unusual interest to theatrical managers, reported in another column, was heard at the 'Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, before Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M. On July 8, while His Majesty's was occupied by Rickards' Vaudeville Company, managed by Mr. Alan Hamilton, the theatre was, in the opinion of the City Council's inspector, overcrowded. Mr. C. R. Bailey, the lessee, was summoned under sections 322 and 323 of the city by-laws, for " permitting, suffering, and allowing," the offence. The facts were not disputed by defendant's counsel, but he argued that Rickards' manager should have been named as defendant, For the city authorities* it was contended that, in the meaning of the by-laws under which the action was taken, the "occupier" was Mi-. Bailey. This gentleman, .. -.*;h 30 years' theatrical experience, and Mr. Richard Stewart (manager for Mr. J. C. Williamson), with Rn experience extending over 25 years, stated that this was the first case in their careers in which the lessee, not being the actual occupier, was prosecuted." Mr. Kettle reservfijl his decision on the legal point raised, \ v he made no secret of his opinion regarding the obvious ■unfairness of holding a man, who might be out of the Dominion at the time, responsible for the actions of his sub-tenants.

"People -who cash cheques like this should bear, the cost of the prosecution," said Mr. Kettle, S.M., during a trial for forgery yesterday morning. "Good business people do it, too," put in the chief detective, not referring, however, to the paying of the costs of the prosecution.

The. by-laws of the City Council were responsible for a farcical scene at His Majesty's Theatre on Monday night. During the performance of , " Humpty-Dumpty," the eagle eye of the Council's inspector noted that two detectives, who were at the theatre on duty, were standing 'in the dress circle. The inspectoi instructed the manager (Mr. Richard Stewart) to make the detectives sit down. Mr. Stewart did as he was told, and the detectives obligingly seated themselves. If there had been no seats to accommodate them, would they have been ejected? If so, what would the law say about the matter?

The New Zealand mails, vi# Suez, which left Auckland on June 15, were delivered in London, an Sunday, mormon last.

■ A man whose - opinion of ' New Zealand, according to the Otago Daily Times,, has considerable weight is Mr. John Sraedley, of England, who was lecturing at Dunedin last week. He has visited .: almost- every country in the world, and has studied the conditions of life wherever he has gone. It was gratifying to hear him state emphatically that the conditions of life in New Zealand were better than in any othei country in the world. The object of the Lamps on Vehicles Bill, which has been introduced to the notice of members of the House is to require all vehicles on highways throughout the Dominion to carry lights during darkness. Traction-engines and motors are excluded from the operation of the BUI, the former being dealt with under the provisions of section 2 (3) of the Police Offences Act Amendment Act, 1890, and the latter by section 7 of the Motor Regulation Act, 1906. The last-mentioned Act covers road engines rp to Sour toils weight, as well as motor cars. Lights on tranacars appear to be provided for by the conditions under which permission is granted for the construction of every tramway. The third test match between Britain and New Zealand, at Alexandra Park, has been fully illustrated in this week's issue of the Auckland Weekly News, published to-day. The recent phenomenal snowfall in Otago is also dealt with in a unique series of pictures, which show the townships of Ranfurly and Naseby almost buried in snow, whilst photographs of road-snaking through-the heavy drifts, enow ploughs at work on the railway lines, and the nurses cutting a track to the front door of Naseby Hospital, form a few of the many.interesting subject* depicted. Other current events dealt with include the visits of the British footballers to Rotbrua, a full-page view of Tthe remarkable procession of suffragists- in London, Trades and Labour Conference, the endless lava flow from the Savaii volcano, an "At Home" givon by Lady Ward, and a topical cartoon, entitled "Twenty-nine to Nil." •Mr. T. Prosser, of; Auckland, who has recently visited the districts under no-license in the South, has stated to an Otago Daily Times reporter that from his observations in Ashburton lie found * that business there had considerably increased of late, and he waa assured that no-license meant improved conditions. The hotel accommodation there was all that could be desired. The streets of Gore, Invercargill, and Ashburton were singularly free from drunkenness, and business generally was g00d.',.... At the annual meeting of the parishioners of Holy Trinity Ghurch, Oisborne {telegraph? our correspondent), it was resolved to make a special effort to ' raise funds for a church costing about £6000. A committee was set up to go into a scheme of finance, proposed by Mr. C. A. Delautour, who said he thought the best way tc build the church was for the people to become their own creditors. The "poorer ones could lend tiheir £1 ''' and the richer ones their £100, and, in -..that way,.''the 3000 professed English Church people could raise the money without a mortgage. A bicycle case of some interest came before the Magistrate's Court, at Oamaru. : A Heinpden youth was charged with the theft of a bicycle, and the evidence disclosed that he took a bicycle from a shed,- rode it for a day, and finally left jt on the roadside, six miles from the owner's place. ■ The magistrate held that tliis did not constitute theft, and mentioned that cases bad previously been decided Jam] the fame ■ grounds. The accused was cautioned and discharged. .-".-•: '..■.—.-■';'. '■.".■■■l"'."';".• '.'.';'.■ ':.';':'.' ;«.- '■'■' The annual report on the inspection of machinery (wires our special correspondent in Wellington) states that there was a marked increase in the number . of engines inspected last year. The" increase of land motor cars driven by '■-■ oil is also reported to be very noticeable. v The total number of boilers inspected was 6968, being 589 in- excess of previous year's number. It was found that several of the vertical class of boilers needed fairly extensive repairs. The report states that," of the defects that were discovered wore highly dangerous, and would undoubtedly have led to explosions if they had not been checked in time." During the year £106 candidates went up* for .the engine-drivers' examinations, and of these 602 were sue-; cessful. No boiler explosions took place during the year. According to a notice appearing iii;. the last Gazette, the Minister for Labour,;in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 21 cv- the Shops and Offices Act, 1904, and section 5 of the Shops and Offices Act Amendment Act, 1905, and section 4 of the Shops and Offices Act Amendment Act, 1907, directed that from and after the 20th day of January , 1908, all the hatters', mercers';, tailors', and clothiers' shops respectively; (including all shops carrying on two or more such businesses conjointly) in the city of Auckland should be closed at one o'clock pirn, on the statutory half-holiday; nine o'clock p.m. on one day, which should be Friday in the case of those observing Saturday as the half-holi-day, and Saturday in the case of those observing Wednesday as the half -holiday and at six o'clock p.m. on the evening of the other four days in the week. A; requisition has since been made tojkhe Minister, in which he has been requested to cancel the former notice in so far as it refers to hatters*, clothiers', and mercer a' shops, and in exercise of the" powers conferred upon him he bus varied the notice- by exempting these shops from closing, the variation to take effect from July 24, 1908. The British footballers will remember one pathetic little incident of the Southern tour, if all others fade away. At Invercargill, just before the commencement of the Southland match, a little fellow was taken from' the hospital to the ground at the expense of the union, because for days past he had begged to see the match, and lie would "die happy." In fact, the doctors said that the excitement caused by the expectation of seeing the match had alone kept the little fellow alive.' He was too weak to see much of the play, but at spell time Dr. McEvedy and other member of the British team were brought along to shake hands and make the boy happy writ a few words of kindness. Should a tramway company be liable for damage to luggage if no fee is charged for the carriage of the same? This question has t>?en raised in Wellington (telegraphs our special ' correspondent), and the City Council has ordered a remit to be considered at the Municipal Association's Conference, to be held in Wellington next week, which, seeks to take responsibility away From; corporations or companies conducting tramway business unless freight is paid for the luggage damaged. The steamer Pitoitoi, which had been undergoing a thorough overhaul on the Onehunga slip, was floated off and berthed fit the wharf last evening. After'taking in cargo and supplies it is expected that Captain Williamson will get the vessel iway to-day, bound for Waitara, where she will resume her running.