LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13927, 8 December 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

.The- night.. express/ from Wellington, which ; it is proposed to add to the regular service during the Cliristmas; holidays, will leave Wellington about 7.30 o'clock. *It is possible that it may connect with the twodays' train"-at Taumarunui, instead of Ohakune. This will be. arranged if the traffic threatens to be too Sbeavy for the :" accommodation resources abOhakune.'i ■"

■'• Some months ago \ plans were ', prepared by the Railway Department for an extensive re-planning of the railway yards at the Auckland station. The programme, as published in these columns at the time, comprised rearrangement of the yards and sheds : from the station to the Parnell bridge, including a substantial overhead traffic bridge in place of the present level crossing in Breakwater Bead. The plan also provided for the removal of the engine sheds to the Paraell side of the grounds at Mechanics' Bay, as well as additions to the goods shed accommodation. It appears, however, that as; no financial provision has been made by the Government for carrying cut these works, the programme remains one on paper only for the time., being. The works outlined would cost a considerable sum, probably £200,000, and presumably the question is being allowed to remain in abeyance until the ;matter of a, new , railway station is. dealt with.

At a meeting held last night in connection with the formation, of .a Highland volunteer corps in Auckland, the chairman 5 (Mr. vP. M. Mackay) made some interesting remarks upon Dominion defence. 'j; We should be indeed foolish, he said, if, because the present aspect was peaceful, we allowed ourselves to be lulled! into a false security.; There was ( no warranty that we should always be permitted to jive, undisturbed in this beautiful land. Let those who! thought there was any such warranty contemplate the state of the world at the present time. The rivalry of armaments was never greater, the expenditure of the produce of ; labour, on these armaments never heavier. The Pacific was no longer a comparatively unknown ocean, for a Biew Power had arisen. This Power was friendly now, but events marched rapidly in the 20th century, and who could tell what the near future held? 'It ! behoved us to make ourselves ready to meet, with a bold front z whatever the | future held in store.

The Main Trunk express -was fairly! ■well patronised yesterday evening, but not very many of the. passengers .'-■; were booked for the through journey. There were five first-class tickets and 12 second-class tickets issued from Wellington. . <■■..-.

Business at the Government ; poultry | grading depot during the past two months : has not been so brisk as usual;. though I the figures to date lor the year show an increase on those of the previous year, indicating the growing popularity of .the industry in the country. There is a lull vat the present time, this being probably due to the fact that poultry-farmers are . waiting in order to secure the Christmas trade. At the same time, it does not follow that they do secure the trade. :As a rule, poultry comes in in such numbers the week preceding the ; festive season | that the graders are quite unable: to cope with the rush, and, besides, the market .is'apt'to become glutted. There has been a falling off in the number of eggs coming forward, and the season is drawing to a close. < *•

A small bottle, containing a message from the sea, was picked up on the West Coast by Captain Bollone, of the Government steamer Hinemoa, which arrived at Onehunga from Cape Maria on Sunday. The message, which was . dated \. June 7, 1907, stated that the bottle was. thrown overboard from the .; barque "Kirkdale, bound from Newcastle to Chili, when 300 miles east of Newcastle. The writer of the message asked its finder to forward it. to "Mrs. Dale, Sydney." The request will be acceded to.. ..

Tho beautiful scenic reserve of K a Gully, Northcote, recent* acquired by * Government, situated midway h*£«% Northcote and Birkenhead,:ia ='becoS^- ;; popular holiday resort, and was on Sat,H day and Sunday visited by large nuaW It would be a convenience to the public •« tracks were cut through the undergrowth." ' : ! The contractors to the Bh4«nhe*l ' Borough Council lor the cutting dowhS - the roadway at the approach to the wharf -~i are making good progress with the Work and hope to have it completed by the end' : < of the year. The ferro-concrete what™ • - being erected by the Harbour Board an'also nearing completion, and will provid* up-to-date facilities for the ferry ■ -.ervicb" and shipping generally. ■■-■-■-."•-» An exciting rescue took place on the" Takapuna Beach on Sunday at about noonMr. H. Mollen, despite a strong wind and-' heavy sea, ventured out in a small boat with the idea, of .indulging in fishing. He*' had proceeded about half a mile from ' shore when he deemed it prudent to ml', back. In attempting to turn his boalt , however, it was swamped.. • Mr. Mpuehi managed to cling on to a rope attached' to the boat, but, when it rolled, Wag l dragged beneath it three or four times . By dint of strenuous exertions he sii*' ceeded in holding on, though beeemmfc' rapidly exhausted. Meantime, Mr? Beach- ; mann, who had witnessed the mishap" froai ' the shore, entered the water and swamout to Mr. Mollen's assistance. TJ-ifotta-. nalely, on reaching him, however, tlw' plucky rescuer found that the immersed man was tangled up in his fishing line*and the anchor was too firmly fixed f> i move. There was nothing for it but to - return to shore for another boat, and ' telling Mr. Mollen to hang on, Mr. Beach-- ' mann bravely set out upon, his second' ' half-mile swim. He quickly accomplished; - the task, and, securing another * craft rowed out again to the scene of the accident.- Mr. Mollen was by now. nearly exhausted, as was his rescuer, who, holding his hand and rowing with one car" only, propelled the boat back to tho beach."'• "•■■ Here several people had assembled, arid their efforts were promptly directed towards the resuscitation of both gentlemen who collapsed on terra firma. To" dine course these efforts were successful;.' The-'' action of Mr. Beachmann, who undoubtsdly saved Mr. Mollen's life, is to be highly. commended. '. ; - •"' ' ~ * A private cable received from Norfolk Island last night states that the late gale, has subsided. There have been 20in of rain since the middle of last month. \ ■ Among other tokens of goodwill ihat - the crew of the Nimrod took Away■ fcota . Lyttelton is -a sealed packet for Mr/' Macintosh, to be opened on.New i Year's. ' Day. Mr. Macintosh does not know its O contents, and will not till the date men- ■ tioned. When the packet is opened 'there \ will be found, among other .welcome things, many sprigs of heather from Mr. Macintosh's native country. To ' each sprig is attached the name of the fair" : : -\ donor in the "land of the hills and the : - heather," and a note in the heart of i the bunch asks Mr. Macintosh and his : shipmates to acknowledge these/Scot',| lassies receipt of their kindly tokens. ' Interest in the live stock weightestimaf ing competition at the agricultural; show was well maintained again this year, there - being some 400 entries. . The actual dead weight of the bullock was^ 9481b, /thatof, >i the cow 7421b{ and the sheep 2401b%ttjjii^$ W. ; Vosper, of Cambridge, and ''Air E; ■ ■ Grainger, of Ponsonby, wion first and second.' 'prises in the bullock class; and Messrs; \fr; • Morris, of Helensville, and .A. Muir, of Manurewa, first and second in the cow class,'-j"..-■ with Messrs. J. Jackson, of Aotea and Alex, ; Donald, 'of Richmond,. first and second in ; \ the sheep class, while Mr. F. Marks, of lit:.';' Eden, won the championship, with Messrs, i! A. Muir and J. H. Scott close up. ■, In the separate classes Messrs. Griffiths, AW." Hall, W. Gollan, James; Forsyth, T. A : Wallace, D. Wallace, and Miss Jenkinses. J followed in close order. •■ . ■ - ' '.-:*''■ A curious freak of nature was discovered , on Saturday by. Mr. J.. H. Noonan,; of Fourth Avenue, Kingsland. He had, notic-''^Vj ed that of a setting of duck eggs one very ■ large one, remained after the others had released thsir fluffy little occupants, and ha' broke this egg, finding the shell enclosed * duckling with four wings, four legs, and; . two • tails, while the neck seemed to he, •.j double jointed. ; The wings and legs of this V- ? duckling were well developed, a^.:, Mr. Noonan believes that had the bird been . / able to get out of the shell normally it would have lived. The freak is to be pw^., v .; served in spirits and presented to ~' tM . Museum. A sling of timber that was being lowers • • ed yesterday into the No. 3 hatch of th« :; s.s. Atua, lying at the Queen-street Wharf, gave way, and two pieces; of falling timber struck W. O'Brien and C. Hamilton, wharflumpers, who were working } below. v; Both • received minor injuries, O'Brien a twistad ankle and Hamilton a slight scalp wouttfc ; .The shelter sheds which have ' erected by the City Council at Sheliy;, ; : Beach, Ponsonby, for the convenience ;D|i - bathers, are now about completed, aid' .will be ready for use in a few day»,;wh«o ; ' '_ those who are accustomed to teke'^th^r';>; daily or occasional dip in'' the." .briny"]. :; will be enabled to do so with a ; great**'''y degree of comfort than lias hitherto bee§|, possible. There are two divisions, -on* for each sex. A caretaker has beenap*! I pointed, and a small charge for the aw I towels and costumes will be made. . TheM; ;-i 1 shelter sheds will do duty until the Cons*, cil is in a position to erect up-to-date to" 1 *:' '■■ ing facilities, which will not be posmbft;: until the Harbour Board arrives at.a *•*{';.: cision as to the line of the proposed.•*";.••■• planade. '! A special meeting of the Parhelll Borpogjil?'; Council was held last night to fl purchase of horses and carts for i& borough. No finality was reached, w»,t meeting being adjourned after sub-cent* j ~ mittees had been set up to go into detail*.- • These committees will report to thelnex*' ordinary meeting of the '• Council. K ,*- <l : -\ \, An exhibition of the work stud 6l *:! attending the Elam School of VArl^ia*. Design is to be held to-day, and on Thursday, at the municipal cluing bers. The display will comprise wcrki nil the following classes:—Freehand and tied*' . . drawing; geometrical and perspectir»i ;drawing; shaded ornament from cam,; monochrome painting from cast; head fwa»'j antique; figure from antique; hands, if'j- • and features from antique; still life P*^r"ing; sketching from nature; beads, costume figures, and nude studies fromH»l. ; •woodcarving and modelling. The * *£* . be on exhibit 276 drawings and pamtlPg*. seven modelled works, and 40 These comprise only a' small selection « works in each section, space ,oe rag " . limited to allow of all the works. available . being shown. ' During the Maori war a ford near the j back of the township (writes our » a °£* j correspondent) was made use ofj>y • Maoris, and shells were -thrownfrom a man-of-war lying some distance ««,.-.. in the harbour. Some days ago a aow shell was found a short distance from 11» place and there seems little doubt that* . is one of those thrown from .he »W ti»rio to prevent the Maori* uaw,i»e Ifi*^.

I ■ "Kewmarket has- become a : progressive I ' borough/ saii Mr E.Davis at last night's meeting of the Borough Council, "and to wp -the Tan of progress our main jLJat ebould be improved. This will mean Marked advance, and add considerably to Ifeflta' respectability of the borough." The I has decided to have a number of Improvements in Manukau Road carried •to effect. Mr - Davis gave notice of mollllion*'&' ask the K,emuera Road Board to 141'Aedicate to the Council that portion of th« Manukau Bead extending from the Council to the corner of Remuera Road. | The Union Company's steamer Manuka, «hich left for Sydney last evening, took an m-usually large number of steerage passentlPtrtff from Auckland, no less than 125 perm making the trip. A fairly largo num- | ber of saloon passengers also travelled by steamer.

The executives of tho Auckland Ladies' Benevolent Society does not intend to hold -the customary floral fete this year. Nothtoe definite has been decided as to what shall be done to raise the funds usually providedV the annual function referred to. There is some probability of a proposal being considered to inaugurate a street collection on similar lines to that of the St. John Ambulance Association. The funds , the* Benevolent Society will, in due Lrsc,' benefit to the extent of £500 under the will of the late Mrs. Knox, but.there j. » feeling that it would be a pity to utilise that amount for current expenses, and that -it would be preferable to invest it, and only draw upon the income. Should the latter course be decided upon it will become necessary to appeal to the public for the means to carry on the good work being done by the society. Last winter a b.rger number of necessitous cases were relieved than in former years, and the society's income is a diminishing quantity.

"Very few of us like war," said Mr. P M "Mackav, chairman of the meeting Wt* night at "which a Highland volunteer corps was formed, " but if it is thrust upon tjs it behoves us to take care that we are read* to repel those responsible. We of this "Dominion enjoy rights and privileges such as few dwellers in other lands can boast of, and I think I am right in asserting that our ideals are as high as, or higher than, those of any other people., peace and security," he added, "are both jseceaary for the extension of these rights M privileges, and for the realisation of our ideals, and if these are worth having then they are, should the need arise, sforth fighting for."

The Union Company's steamer Kamona arrived at Onehunga yesterday, after having towed the same company's trainingship Dartford from Wellington to Kaipara. ■ The Kamona, after discharging i 3000 sacks of chaff and 1000 sacks of malt, will leave for Greymouth direct. The dangerous practice indulged in by a few people of riding at almost top speed op and down Lake Takapuna Beach and sundry other beaches after eight o'clock in ,the morning whilst children are playing about was nearly the means, on Sunday afternoon about three o'clock, of causing the death of a little child, daughter of Mr. A. Tucker, of W. F. Tucker and Co., who is residing for the * summer at Lake Takapuna. Three people came along on horseback, and returned again at an

exceedingly smart pace. The horses cer- •'' L - tainly ; were- galloping, as a number of || people who witnessed it can testify. After H completing the second journey down the irf beach they returned again at a ; smart ffff pace:* "The parents of the child, who were near by on the beach; did not hear the horses, the wind blowing fairly strong, until they were right upon the children, when the little maid, becoming flurried, ran the- wrong, way and into a horse ridden by a lady. The child was rather teverely bruised and very much shaken. . Fortunately, there appears to be no further injury. The Wellington Post, in referring to the control of the various Departments of State ' in' New Zealand, caustically remarks: — , "The Defence Department we had almost overlooked, and after all what does it matvS«ter? v The Government has no defence policy, so why 'ehould it worry over a Minister for Defence? If the Department pots its shutters up altogether, it would "- save us some £200,000 a year, and we 111 should have ' about •'■ as efficient a defence system as we have at present. Let the r Prime Minister seriously consider whether '"' \ the " experiment is not worth trying—or, in , the alternative, whether be should not find a policy." * l|j'|-: Yesterday morning "the Northern Com* " pany's steamer Waitangi went upon the . > **hard" at Onehunga in order to have her propeller attended to. The Claymore took up the Waitangi's running to Rag- '•'■' land and Kawhia in the afternoon, but tile latter "will be ready for sea to-day. • The secretary of the British and Foreign - , Sailors' Society, London, writing to Mr. G. Jv'Hoghen, Inspector-General of New Zealand Schools, says that the essays sent from the fj;; Dominion on the subject, "What th© Nation Owes to Nelson and Her Sailors," were ? far in advance of any of the others, and considerable difficulty was experienced in deciding, as the standard of merit was so high •11 through. The writer also states that '■■• the prizes for the next year's competition *31 be increased.: |>s ;The Taumarunui Town Council is making vigorous efforts to get municipal mat- ..- ters on a better footing (writes our cor-, fespondent), but their work is much ham--t pered by the peculiar land tenure of most •f the township, the do-nothing policy of ." the Native Land Board, and the apathy displayed by those in charge of native afi||; fairs. The horizon, however, seems a -; I little clearer now, and some necessary changes are hoped for, notably, to get the reserves on a proper footing and to be able to raise a loan for works urgently fequired. ■ Regarding . the meteoric phenomenon reported last week, when a meteor was seen to fall into the French Pass," th© Hawera Star says that a mass of metallic substance \ has since been discovered on Mr. C. Hawken's farm at Mokoia. The ground was torn, up where the meteorite ploughed it- ;;- •elf into the earth, and the ball was appar- ,:. ently sliattered to fragments by the force , of the impact. The material has the appearance, of an iron ore, and Ounesponds with the description recorded of other meteorites that have fallen in different parts of the world. Scientific authorities state that 520 .meteorites have fallen, of which * , 142 fell in the United States. Only 37 lave been actually seen to strike the earth. * • there are three kinds, varying in solidity, ■lit all containing iron and meteoric minc- ■ ill. The largest recorded was one weighty 8471b, which was discovered in Pennsylfcaia. Durinj the month of November the Westfort Coal Company's output, according to . the Wwtport Times, was 46,823 tons. For ♦k* 11 months the output is about 4000 ; tons short for the corresponding period last •'. *•»• The output of the Seddonville State tttne for 11 months is 55,617 tons, an in•was© over the corresponding months of list year of 22,506. The State mine's November output was 4736 tons 16cwt, includj-£ fog 388 tons briquettes. : ,» , -