LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14003, 8 March 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The executive of the ; Auckland Provincial Employers' Association, acting under the advice of its solicitors, has issued a circular to the members of the association, to the effect that it is not , compulsory for shops and offices to close for a half-holi-day on the day for ,an election of a Licensing Committee 5 neither is it compulsory for employees, either in shops, offices, or. : factories, to. be allowed, time off I for the purpose of recording their votes. * Accordingly, the bakers, butchers, and grocers have decided :to keep their shops open all day to-morrow and observe the statutory half-holiday on Wednesday as usual.

Fresh tenders are invited for .the new Auckland Post Office, in accordance with the modified plans. :"<■: The' tenders will be received* up to Thursday, April 8. ■

The Minister for Public Works (Hon. R. McKenzie) has completed « his tour of the j goldfields and King Country, and left Te Kuiti for Wellington. Mr. McKenzie has, both amongst mining rand agricul- . tural people, gained -a reputation for blunt outspokenness. The probabilities of the position in connection with the Stratford railway extension are discussed elsewhere in this issue. There would seem to be a strong chance of the route to Te Kuiti or thereabout being better favoured in official quarters, judging by the Minister's remarks on tour. He was, however, always very pronounced in ", the statement that if a promise was made to put the line in the Ongarue, he was not going to recommend the . breaking of that' promise. ■;:.: Settlers all "- along the; rival routes have given Mr. McKenzie cordial receptions, and the organised and impromptu;luncheons> and : "hop-beer parties,", and so on, have been frequent. " Mrs. ; McKenzie 'did not brave the rough King Country trip, remaining at To Kuiti meantime.: '<

The public school cadet camp at Papakura was brought to a conclusion on Saturday, the boys returning home by a special train, which arrived at Auckland at 6.10 p.m. The officers speak highly of the behaviour of the boys, who throughout the week under canvas observed the most rigid discipline. v The officers controlling the week's work were Major Kay, who was in charge of the disciplinary branch, and Major Bobb> who attended to' the commissariat..

Interest in the licensing committee 11 tions, which are to be held to-morrow » II m.w reached a very /high ' pitch, and n* II claims of one " ticket" over the other J*! 8 I to form almost the sole topic of I | tion in some circles. The- questiotelSf' I fought out is whether the- full number 1- '' hotels allowed by the carrying of reduct I shall be closed or whether the committed f toJise its discretion in the matter, $ "ticket" being pledged to the fuV*3l tion and the other offering itself as «ifc£ f ' pledged." In addition to the two "ticket I Mrs. Emily E. Nicol and Mes. w" 1 Richardson (the prohibition advocate)' £ and John . Jamieson are also stand Ig ing. It is many years since , there jj 1 * I | been such a keen struggle over the election I of a licensing committee, and it is certain that the voting will be very heavy. \ The spell of dry weather now being I perienced in Auckland has lasted; for ,'jj£d I over, five weeks. Last year January'Jj; I February were exceptionally dry iriontb» ) | and the province experienced a drougai' I which led to a considerable falling a way .'ft 1 the butter exports, a deficiency, however 1 ■which was compensated for by what wat I practically a second season in March; and April, welcome rains bringing on a surpt* ing revival in the pastures. Biibh.fires also 1 occasioned considerable damage, although i the effect eventually was one of benefit to 1 many districts. While the present dry I i weather lias not been sufficiently prolonged I to entitle it to be called a drought, the pa* I tyres have fallen off very considerably, aini 1 a good refreshing rain would be welcomed if in the country. 'I The King Country ought to claim Q»l| attention of tourists, there >■ being many I really magnificent scenic features well I worth inspection. The rideVth^lh 4 .se'■"§[ Waitewhena Valley from Mangaroa^which 't I was taken on Saturday by the Minister I for PublicVWorks, was through some of thefl most picturesque native bush in theDpffij. 1 nion. At a later stage of the journey If the travellers 'slopped for a few momenta B to look at the Wairere Falls in the.Mokaa'fjl River, the other side of Piopio. .Though ■ the water was not flowing &-, plenteously '° m as usual the cascade was a V magnificent IJ 1J sight, and, in a splendid scenic situation, §■ nearer Te Kuiti, but off the route ' folknfc jfl ed, there are other ; very fine bush areat 'jl and waterfalls, while the Waitomo caver H are only eight miles" from the Te Kuiti )M township.- ;, Te Kuiti is very prosperous-' §■ just now, as the number of business places*, 3 '|8 shops, and residences shows. A fine new [9 post and telegraph office and a telephone. !■ exchange are being opened to-day, ? so thaiV; ''IJ Te Kuiti is now in telephonic cornmunica- 'M tion with Auckland. It is quite within 'M possibility that, when "the beauties of % m surrounding country become more.'gener-'■■ ■•S| ally known, Te Kuiti, will be both a tourist IB and a business centre. The only drawback H at present is the dust. * _' n There are on exhibition at Messrs. Arthur B Yates and Co.'s some very fine peaches'of H the variety known as Sea Eagle, grown by 9 Mr. W. Hooton,' of : Albany. This dis".#l trict, which is about eight miles from I Auckland, bids fair to become one of the -?|H largest fruitgrowing centres in the Auck- II land Province. The land is being rapidly,■■ || taken up for, fruitgrowing : purposes, and j# 1 new orchards are being■ planted each'-yeaiU' §1 At the present time, more than 12 tons II of fruit are being - shipped ■ weekly for^:W'Sl Auckland and Southern markets. A large §| quantity of Albany Surprise - grapes wi&|f ' : shortly be placed on the Auckland market,' i this season's yield being prolific. >.|. & * • The new auxiliary three-masted f f | built by Mr.-Geo. T. Niccol, of this■ city, I I was launched from the builder's' y'arib, fi I Custom-street West, oh Saturday morning. '.M I The launch was a very successful one,' and * as the vessel left the nays she was named .M 1 the Novelty.; A description of the ; schoow f. | has already appeared in, the Herald. Soon : j§ | after she was launched she went for'a : .'M I trial spin, and developed a speed of about Ml five knots per hour -without the aid oKf'S-l saUs. .When fully loaded she is expect- If § ed/to steam about eight knots per hour. | | She will probably be employed -in;the \'h\ 1 j Auckland-Whangarei trade. " , 'During the fire brigades' church parade 4 ,5 yesterday a boy named Hollis Hefford, | f aged ; 14,. was knocked down by a cab, and SI sustained a broken thigh. He was*attend- § ed to by Dr. Johns, who bandaged the M leg and ordered his removal to the bos- m pital. • ' ■ ' m ' « , ' ' '"'■'• v' ' M The Parnell Fire Brigade was called out i yesterday afternoon to deal- with a. fire on v i 1 the grass reserve on the western;sidel of ■.]§ Campbell's Point. The flames, which had § come within dangerous proximity to ad- '.■'\ joining residences, were quickly suppressed. i : The Union Company's steamer Cbrinna, , :|{ which ' arrived at Onehunga on Saturday, left again yesterday, taking with her.an- .v . other large cargo of 10,133 boxes of butter and 770 crates of cheese. . At Wellington". ) this cargo will be. transhipped andl sent to London by direct liner. - The dispute between the Auckland Hotel ■ . and. Restaurant Emplbyees' Union and the beard inghouse keepers ! will be called '• before the Conciliation Council this morning, at the Supreme Court buildings. "Messrs. Harry Radford and George Phillips for the union, and Messrs. Albert A. , Brawn and George Usher, for the boar<Mnghotof keepers, are the assessors who will, sit with the Commissioner (Mr. T. Hark Giles)*. In the bankruptcy of John Derungs, of Hamilton, a statement has been prepared for submission to the creditors. In this bankrupt says that he started business in --. t * v - , ■ ■,'- j ' ';./•■■■■::■,■'' April, 1906, as a laundry proprietor, and paid £24 for the goodwill of the business and stock-in-trade. In May,, 1906, ; j he took in a partner, J. H. Taylor, who was to pay £100. Subsequently Taylor withdrew from partnership, on bankrupt's suggestion, and negotiations "weremade | for another partner, but, nothing 54 ™*. S I of them. Then some of the creditors began V \ to press, and as bankrupt found,i,t impossible to get in sufficient money to : carry on the business, he decided to file- '■■ His total .assets are set down at £221, I and his debts at £323 17s 9d. The first | meeting of creditors will be held at the courthouse, Hamilton, at 10 a.m. on -_ Wednesday. . •' .•{:■•'. •';':. Regarding the proposed tourists' hotel, for Suva, matters seem to be taking, * tangible form at last (writes oui Fiji correspondent). Mr. McClellan, th« Union Steam Ship Company's Island manager, who left Suva for New Zealand per ' last Navua, said, prior to departure, that ! his company was negotiating with the Fiji j Government, and that with the exception ? of one or two minor details the terms, of i the lease had been arranged. The whole matter, however,, depended on satisfactory arrangements being made by the Union Steam Shin Company for the continuance of the Canadian-Australian Boyal Mail j Line. The hotel is intended to be \ two-storeyed, either of concrete or -) \ brick, a special feature being wide verandahs. The design will, of course, be left , to the architect. The Northern Company's steamer ' Ra- ■ rawa, which had been lying at Onehuhga ; since Thursday morning, undergoing. > boiler inspection and general overhaul,. .. j resumed her west coast running yester- , I day afternoon. .To-morrow, Captain Nor- •I | bury will rejoin the Rarawa, after sere? ; .., 1.1 ral months spent ashore I through: illness.- li CI * El

r=— — Becently an essay competition on "••What the Nation Owes to Nelson and ' Her Sailors," was promoted by the « ■ nrtish and Foreign Sailors* Society, LonV in and the successful essayist for the | ' Si* North Island was little Miss LeoM. Sutherland, daughter of Mr. Donald A. Sutherland, ex-Mayor of OnetL«,. In due time the prize, a hand- ' ling bronze and copper plaque, contain- ■ S copper from the old flagship Victory, I IE- cecbived by the Onehunga School C-amittee. The latter were arranging an rttertainment to provide funds for a picV- and it was decided to present the I 'Sophy at this function. However, both Mr Sutherland, and the headmaster, Mr, 'Sc-N. Mcintosh, thought that the pre- ' Mentation should be made at the High School by the Minister for Education, or , the chairman of the Board of Education. This course would, it was considered, do "aJi'Honoufto the school. This view did I not i# eal to the members of the commits% the last meeting, and some very csnstic comment was indulged in by Messrs. Watts, Horn, Osborne, and the jhairinan. Eventually it was decided to Sd back the plaque, together with copies If the correspondence received, and to bare nothing further to do with the matter -To a question as to where the phvqnc-is located, the answer was vouch- • it was thought to be in one of t*o shops in Onehunga. In the meantime tie clever little essayist, the one most concerned, has never handled the prize.

A member wrote to the Managing Coramittee of the Auckland Educational Insti- ' tuteV Saturday complaining that despite m Minister's oft-repeated statement that paries could not be reduced by reason of a gfling attendance, his salary had been redflce'd tana £225 to £215 per annum. The teacher claims that according to the provisions of section 7 of the Education Amend- - iient Act, 1908, his school should be placed ■'■': in GradeS and that he should receive the maximum salary in that grade, vi*., £240. - The Education Boar.l states that the Minister has ruled that subsections- 7 and 8 of '•; Action 7of the Act do not come into \ operation until the year 1910, and that in ■ accordance with subsection 2 of section 7 I the 'teacher's salary must be such as it ] , would have been under the old Act had the 1 amendment Act not been passed. he com- ! 1 jnjttee expressed surprise that the Minister '.* tMild withhold the operation of sections of I the Act which came into force on January "1,*1909, and decided to refer the whole § nutter to the executive of the N.Z.E.E. in I Wellington with a view to obtaining a legal I opinion on the point raised. I -The little steamer Pitoitoi (Captain WilI liams), which arrived at Onehunga from -: Waitara last Friday, in order to go upon 1 the slip, left again yesterday with a full j cargo for the latter port. It is the inI tention'of the captain to return to OneI hringa this week, as another full cargo 'I awaits him. The Northern Company's * auxiliary scow Albatross, which 'is to re- ; place the Waitingi on the Onehunga to Waitara running, passed southward from the Manukau Heads yesterday, and is expected to arrive from Waitara on Wednesday. Captain- Robt. Clark is in charge -ci, the .Northern Steamship Company's •new venture.