LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14009, 15 March 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Main Trunk train which left, for Wei-; lington last night was the largest that has departed from Auckland since the , inauguration of the through service. Whereas this train is usually composed of; seven or eight coaches, no less . that 16 drew out 'of the station ■' last night. ■In all there were some 500 passengers, including: about 250 j members of the* Southern * fire." brigades. The railway authorities initiated a new system last night to keep the platform clear. None but- bona-fidc travellers were allowed?to pass through the gates, and in preventing them from doing so', the .officials were reinforced by a posse of police. This embargo is to be carried out on all special occasions in future? indeed it;is" possible that on'ordinary occasions the (number; of, persons allowed oh to the platform.will.be restricted. i> It has . been- foundr especially on Sunday nights, that great inconvenience is caused to departing passengers by .the crowds; that have been in the • habit of seeing the train off, and' the problem of averting the consequent confusion and \ crowding is under consideration. ?

The Fire Brigades' Association concluded its annual conference in the .Wesley Hall, Pitt-street, on Saturday evening, .when resolutions "were passed .thanking the fire brigades and citizens of Auckland , for the kindness extended the delegates during their sojourn here. Subsequently a .banquet was held in the Federal Hall v Wellesley-street, Mr. G. H. Poole, M.P., presiding,; while Messrs. F. E. Baume, .K.C., M.P., A. E. Glover, M.P., and Superintendent Hugo were also present. A lengthy, toast .list was honoured, and: a musical programme given. About 250 of. the visitors left for their homes by the Main express last evening, the Railway Department having put on / six extra carriages for ...their convenience.

The residents of Ellorslie and Penrose are complaining of the slow; f speed of the suburban trains running to those populous districts. - The trains ' are scheduled to do the distance to Ellerslie iii 21 and; 26 minutes, but it is considered that this might be; well shortened by about five minutes now that the line has been duplicated. The residents say that despite the great increase in population there; has been :no improvement in the railway service for the past generation. Of late the One-tree Hill Domain is much frequented on Sundays and holidays, but up till yesterday no music had been provided, except when some large picnic committee or society provided a band. . Yesterday afternoon the Onehunga Municipal : Brass Band, under Conductor Kowe, - rendered a programme that was appreciated bj* the large number present. The inquiry into the wreck of the chip Forrest Hall will open this morning. The Forrest Hall was stranded on the morning of February 27, on the -west coast, and afterwards became a total wreck. 1 No lives were lost. ' The Court will inquire ■•:■■■ ,(1) Whether the* ship was seaworthy and fully manned; (2) Generally, what was the cause or what were ■ the cause* -to which the casualty was due? (3) In particular, whether the casualty was due to or contributed to by the negligence or wrong; ful act or default of any person or persons on the chip,- and' if so who was the person ,r who were the persons, and what was: the nature of the negligence .or the wrongful act, or the default? (4) Could the casualty' have reasonably been prevented, and if .'so,-.how! (5) Whether, under the circumstances, soundings should have been taken, and if so, at;what time'? *'The Court will consist, of Mr. C, 0. Kettle, S.M., and- Captains Adamson and Reid as assessors. ■ Recently : the Northern Company laid up the steamer Waitangi- at Onehunga, as, owing to the condition of.the Waitara bar, it was unworkable by a vessel of the Waitangi's draught. 'In order to cope with the shallow bar the company has placed the i auxiliary scow Albatross on' the running from the Manukau to Waitara. . The~Albar tross took up her running last week) and from present appearances she is going to have full cargoes for some time to come. During the running of the Maiden Handicap at the Mauku races oh Saturday Mungawhero, ridden by a diminutive horse? man named Gainsford, ran off the course at the back, and made for a clump «i trees. Before anyone could realise what had happened young Gainsford was seen lying: under a vehicle, and on several going ,to his assistance he was discovered j to be unconscious. . After a while be .came round, and was then placed in a vehicle by his&roaster, Mr.- K. Heaton, .who drove him into ■ Pukekohe for treatment, after which he was brought down to Ellerslie by the afternoon: train. Besides suffering from a slight '"concussion Gainsford was severely .bruised and -cut on the right arm, and much . shaken up in-, ternally. ■_-~.. ( A charge against Henry Cooper, of having failed to, indenture an apprentice named Henry Green, was heard before Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court on Saturday. The case had been adjourned from Friday, to see if an arrangement for the indenturing of the boy could. be made*. When the case was resumed, Mr. Cooper as willing that the boy should be indentured, and the magistrate asked the inspec-; tor of awards (Mr. W. Hood) to withdraw' the case. .' This Mr. Hood could "notVsee" his way clear,, to do, and the magistrate found that a technical breach had been committed^■'.' and fined defendant 10s.' : "

An inquest was held on -Saturday into the circumstances surrounding the death of an inmate •, of the Avondale Mental Hospital. Deceased was about 80 years i of; age, and it was found that death was due to.senile decay. During, his evidence the medical superintendent {Dr. Beattie) said ? In my opinion there was absolutely no excuse for sending this man to the asylum."

Mr. J. Walker, a \ well-known local pigeon, poultry, and pot plant enthusiast, was a passenger by : the Rarawa yesterday, en route to the : Normanby, ± Eltham, and Stratford shows, where he ;is to officiate as judge of poultry, pigeons, parrots, canaries, etc. He took with , him 250 pot plants and ferns for competition, also a varied lot ;of prize poultry, tfancy finches, love-birds, canaries, parrots* and cockatoos, the feathered shipment to be placed on exhibition only. At the recent show held at Stratford Mr. Walker secured the- Royal Horticultural, Society's bronze medal for the best collection of pot plants. The unemployed" difficulty, though still existing, is not so acute as formerly; During the past week 140 men, 36 of whom were married, registered themselves at the office of the Labour Department as requiring work,- and of these employment was found for; 60, leaving ; still 80 on the books: During the week 34 men were also sent by: the Department;- to the rail-: way works up North.; '• Story readers will find in this issue a second instalment of -an enchanting love story, "If She So Abide," by Viola Tyrell. The story, which is full of novel and dramatic incidents, was commenced in Saturday's Supplement, and will be continued daily till its conclusion.

A lorrymarj named Thomas Cnuna* '"' - in the employ of - -J. J :". c?Sffl Limited, and residing in ; Khyb»"-' Pass, was thrown from a- vehii !at Eden Terrace m Saturday aftertfocm £$ as the result of his horses taking frieWv -■ at a passing tramcar. One of the wfaeLj "' ') passed;over Crummer's left hand; arid""'! after he had received first aid 'at th* * Eden Terrace Pharmacy -t was found ne° I cessary to amputate one of the fingers t<i ' the first joint, which operation was per. I formed by Dr. Wheeler. * : * i During legal argument in a conciliation case,- on Saturday, Mr. C. C. Kettle S.M.,* remarked to Mr. W. Hood (inspec! ,tor of awards) that it would be better if he -were to get legal advice on case S t which a law point was involved. It Was not .fair either to Mr. Hood or to the Court to expect him to argue on points of-i law with solicitors. : Considerably interest Is being taken'u?-t the forthcoming Wellington Mayoral dec- i tion, but as -yet the only candidates "ds* finitely -announced are Dr.: Newman and* Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P. In response to an inquiry as to whether Mr. F. M. 3 Fisher, M.P., would receive a deputation from one of the suburbs asking him -« contest the Mayoralty, he informed the promoters that there will be no need ]■>- a deputation to wait upon him as he ie of opinion that if in the interests of f. 10 city his services are required, he will be a candidate without any deputation bein<» '' necessary. A reporter asked Mr. -W. H° P. Barber whether his appointment tol : I the Timber Commission would affect his « ' candidature for the Mayoralty. "I won't " ■ tell ycu anything about that just now'' 1 he replied. "I will make a public" an- I nouncement as to my intentions shortly * 1 ■ -■ ; ■■■•■.■■ •'" A large quantity of furniture and stock was rescued from Pipiriki Hoik© , during ■' the recent fire, and all the salvage was con« veyed across the road to what was behaved ; to be a place of safety. But. the flames '■- '; were not to be denied. The boat, which was intense, exerted its influence, and the ' pile of rescued goods was reduced to ashes. Nevertheless fire was not the only ravage of the salvage, for pilfering was..pan \. in evidence, blankets, sheets, and other goods disappearing in an apparently nuracii- 1 long manner. Two cases of cigars aid : 1 cigarettes, valued at £15, were also broach- ' 1 ed, and the entire contents appropriated. I Contrary to the first report, all the tourists : ' ; 1 who were staying in the house, succeeded I in saving their personal effects. Mr. Ban- f well, ,the manager of the house, was not » '-; 1 fortunate, and it is estimated that hielets''-- 8 .will run into between £70 and £80. '", , , 1 r \ < In the course of threshing operations on a,farm in the Taieri recently, there came to light what had evidently been a deliberate attemp to wreck the machinery of I the mill. In three separate sheaves there | had been placed large pieces of scrap-iron, and when the first of the sheaves stpnclc ' the drum of the mill a piece of iron concealed in it was thrown out, narrowly miming the head of one of the men..'. Tb«,.-.; I other pieces of iron were also thrown out' • unexpectedly, but fortunately etruck no . one. One or two of the beaters of the ; ; mill were damaged as a result of coming * into contact with the iron. " - The come- ? : quences of this malicious action might ■;' •"'- easily have been very serious. -' L - - In consequence of the retrenchment, which ■-.>> '■■ ■ ... .■.,■.■.■.* -. ~,■■■...' ■■,■,-■.-■'■■ 1 . * , j 1 is now going on in the Civil Service ;it 'is' : :-_;' . probable that some Departments will he < merged into others and economies are pre- ; - dieted. Among the Departments that an ' likely, to be affected are the Industries and Commerce Department and, the Tourist Bo- . partment, the.duties of which are really carried out by,the same set of officials.'.lt ; would need a very powerful microscope to discover what real assistance has been lent to industries of New Zealand by the Bepartment of Industries and Commerce (pays \ -..; the Dominion). It has on occasions col.. / lected exhibits of wool, flax, butter, cheese,'•;!;. and kauri gum for display abroad, and has ; provided occasional information of interest,':';• '■'_; but, on the other hand, the policy- of'tfifll'L * Government has not been favourable itb|t))»;*"' establishment of new industries in.••. this <■■■>-.- country. In the commercial .section .reports of the London markets are cabled out. at intervals by the-High Commissioner; Mr. Cameron furnishes detailed reports by every I English mail, and inquiries from Home and i. abroad are furnished locally. Mr. Gow has | been sent to South Africa, the East, *tia, - I Canada* to report on trade prospects, pith | a highly discouraging result as far as anything practical is concerned. So Industries and Commerce" v.ill probably In; , merged into one of the larger Departments, . . most probably that of Agriculture, .which ft overlapped in many ways. - >' Farmers throughout the district are being embarrassed in their harvestmg eperaj- .: .:•■., tions by the scarcity of labourers ' *$&$ - ; to undertake the work (says the Oamarn . Mail). There are numbers of men in jh«/ , district, but they are apparently/in fast enviable position of not requiring work urgently, for in view of the immediate ~ prospects of the threshing milk demanding ■ - hands they refuse the comparatively shortlived employment in the harvest work in the. , chance of securing more lasting work «*& 1 the mills. The labour question is a mat- I ter in which the farmers might .well com- j bine for their own good? A mutual »■ I rangement could readily be made I-f tic- i farmers in a particular locality to so order matters that the same harvest bands wcmldj , work in rotation for all, in much the same manner as shearing arrangements are> c"-' ried out. .This would get over the diemclination of the men to accept a week s bar-, - j vesting at the risk of losing a month <* two with the threshing mills. . One of the most interesting and at ib« ! .; same time most regrettable iincidents which came under the noticeoorf r Mr. J--H Davey, M.P., during his recent visit to Otago in company with the Hon. J- *. Millar (Minister for Railways), was tinfact that in these days of earth-hunger thousands of acres of first-class land were lying idle between Riverton and Rnabmo. The railway has been running thrown this district for many years, mainly lor ; timber-carrying purposes, and now that the sawmillerhas practically ceased opera- v tions the land is almost unproductive and is gradually being covered with noxious weeds, whilst there is not a road for ever 11 miles. It is understood (says the T,ytte»- ■, , ton Times) that surveyors will soon *;« engaged in surveying this block, when 1 ( is hoped that the South Island young -*'-' tier will be enabled to make bis home in this locality, practically witbm a , store's throw of Invercargill, being obliged to cross Cook Strait m *«» search for a home. In addition there aw thousands of acres of magnificent native land beyond the Waiau, which it is »>p«i will shortly be thrown open for settlementAn unusual trade dispute occurred at Wellington the other day, and will torm the subject of a case at the next sitting* . of the Arbitration Court in that city ■ A It. appeal that there has been «»» J. trouble about what workers should *> » , 1 plastering in connection with eapanttrii, steel work, and two men refused to 00 1 ']_■': on one of the large city jobs.. Tl*s «»arg against the men is that of striking. The Spa at Hanmer has now v- - finally converted into a sanatorium for■ in-v %■ ' valids, and Dr. Chessou and the matioo ] 3re in charge. -