LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14019, 26 March 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

In a recent report to the City Council, the city engineer recommended that Oamaru limestone be substituted , for the proposed brick and cement dressings in the Grey-street front of the Town Hall, at an additional estimated cost of £2000. In a later report the engineer informed the Town Hall Committee that, after consultation with Mr. Biddle, he did not care _to hold opt to the committee the possibility of any reduction in the capital coat of the building, as contracted for. Messrs. J. J. arid E. J. Clark stated that a saving of several hundred pounds might be effected in the plastering, but they had not come to a decision as to a substitution. Messrs. Clark were satisfied with the use of a really good facing brick for the elevation, and he did riot press hie recommendation, which was made to secure uniformity in the external treatment of the building. The Town Hall Committee recommended that, as the financial position would not permit of stone being substituted, no change be made in the contract. The report was approved. When the s.s.; Monowai arrived in port yesterday morning, Dr., Sharman, the : health officer, in view of certain infori mafcon which he had received, went on j board, and made a ■ medical examination }of the steerage passengers. The tee of j the Queen-street Wharf - had \ been railed i off prior to the vessel's berthing, and be i fore the gangway j was lowered, a rope 1 ladder was thrown over the side of the ' steamer, jby which < Dr. •. Sharman climbed |on board. As a result of his examination ■ the doctor eventually permitted all the I passengers to land without restriction. with the exception of one family, which is at. present under observation ,/6n ; shore One member of the family' has been found to be suffering .from scarlatina. He -'s undeistood to be a passenger who arrived at Wellington by the Corinthic. Five saloon arid 33 steerage passengers from the s.s. Corinthic arrived in Auckland by tho Monowai. ; " ■ .~' In our issue of yesterday we regret that an error occurred in reporting the bankruptcy proceedings against William Wolf Benjamin, and justice to the old-estab-lished firm of Messrs. Shirley W. Hill and Co., shipping agents/we now desire to set the matter right. .' In our letterpress; by mistake, it was made to appear that the bankrupt had been trading as S. '. W. • Hill and Co., whereas it should have appeared that he was trading as Benjamin and Co., and it was on the petition of Messrs. S. W. Hill and Co., as creditors,' that Mr. Benjamin .was adjudicated. We understand that j Messrs. Hill and Co:, who are a firm of. good repute in the city, have no connection ' whatever with : the '■ bankrupt other than as the petitioning creditors. The- -New Zealand Shipping Company's chartered steamer Cape Breton left Auckland for London direct at nine a.m. yesterday, with a large and valuable cargo. The principal lines, hipped at various ports in the Dominion were as follows: —From Auckland: 3652 cases' and 770 sacks kauri gum, 1679 bags copra, 5148 packages spelter. From Napier: v 3393 bales and 52 pockets wool, 655 casks tallow, and 106 bales flax.. From Lyttelton: 1523 bales wool and skins, 189 bales hair, and 178 casks tallow * From Wellington: 1530 baies wool and 233 casks tallow. ; From ? Dunedin: 1597 bales wool, 395 bales tow, 290 bales flax. The Cape Breton is expected to reach London about May 16. ■ The Ellerslie Ratepayers' Association decided lost night to request the - local Town Board to refuse to take over, the three bridges recently erected by the Government, on the grounds that the approaches were' not properly finished. "The Government have made an ugly elephant," remarked ' one : member' " and »cxpect. us to keep his skin tanned." . ..-., ... . The city water supply, according to the report of Dr. Frost, city ■ bacteriologist, was found, during February, to be free of microbes indicating sewage contamination, or which would cause gastritis, etc. . The question of the big impounding dam in connection with the Waitakerei water supply : scheme was again- before the City Council last- evening. Mr. John Schischka wrote to say that he was doing his best to push the work - ahead, that the plant had been ' improved,' and that better progress would now be made. The engineer in charge of the scheme stated that the contractor was not making such progress as would eneure the completion of the dam within reasonable time. 'He (the engineer) recommended that the Council should undertake the completion of the work on the contractor's account. It was resolved to notify the contractor that the Council was not satisfied with the progress made, and insisted upon the condition that 50 cubic yards of concrete must be placed in position each day. - Inquiries at the Government Labour Bureau yesterday elicited the information that a largi number of men are still applying for,: work., They are principally of the general labourer class. r, he cases of some of the unemployed have been taken tip by clergymen, no less than three of whom visited the bureau yesterday and endeavoured to procure situations for men in whom they wera 1 interesting themselves. It" is. stated that, men out of work seem to, be drifting into Auckland from all parts of the Dominion, and from Australia. There is a probability of work being found for : the applicants shortly. - A letter was read from a! ratepayer at last night's meeting of ; the Ellerslie Ratepayers' Association, complaining that the new workmen's homes being erected on the Lawry settlement were not included on. the new valuation roll. They were practically completed, and a loss of rates would therefore fall upon the district. ' ; The value of the 12 houses was approximately £6000. Mr. ; Skynner explained that the Government had ; arranged to collect all rates, with rents, and this would obviate a grievance, which had been caused by former tenants frequently departing, and leaving subsequent tenants to pay the rates. Members agreed that the arrangement was satisfactory. At the inquest in to the circumstances surrounding the death of ex-Constable Jones, of Pirongia and Te Awamuu, a verdict was returned in accordance . with the medical testimony, that death was due to fatty degeneration of the heart arid liver*'' : - •"

The total number of customers whose ' premises .have been connected with the • electric light and power service, ie 193. > During the past fortnight 15,661 units were generated, the' machinery running for i; 176± hours, during which time 109,390 ' gallons of water and 35 tons of coal were . used, and the wage's totalled £180 10s 4d. ■ The City Council resolved lost night, on ; the recommendation of the Electee and ■ Tramways Committee, to apply to Grey i Lynn, Archhill, Eden Terrace, and Newmarket local authorities for permission to : supply electricity ; within those district*!. > It/was also/agreed/: to obtain; prices for 1000 yds of large cable, required' for the Railway Wharf and other large undertakings, and to extend the Albert-street mains from"Wellesley-street at a cost of £90..,;.-. Several applications for : land ifci the Coromandel, "Tairua, and Te Aroha Survey Districts were refused at the meeting of the Crown Land Board yesterday, . the ' Wardens for the respective districts re- '' porting that the sections in question were • auriferous, and should be open for pros--1 pectors. Captain Swindley.'a member of 1 i the Board, considered that mining rights ' were sufficiently protected without tying ' /*. >/ land up until some prospector came '. along and prospected it. .He objected to ' '■!. dual control with the\Wardens, which, he ! said, had always been a bugbear. The ; Commissioner said it was impossible to go 1 against the Wardens' reports, which ; were 1 so strong in the present instances. The 1 other members of. the Board agreed with ' the Commissioner, and the applications k were refused. / , The crew of the ship Forrest Hall, i which was wrecked on/ the north-west , coast on February 27, left Wellington for [ England by the Athehic yesterday. Capi tain ■; G. G. Smith, superintendent for » marine, had ai ranged with Messrs. Levin . and Co., to, send the 11 distressed seamen back to the United Kingdom; ' The ex pense of their transport will be paid by ' the British Beard of Trade, which will < 1 collect the amount from the owners of the Forrest Hall. i i During the hearing of a case .at the : Magistrate's Court yesterday. one of the I counsel, engaged complained of the magistrate, " Mr. C. C. Kettle,' S.M., _ ordering i him to subpoena a hostile witness. " The i object of counsel is not/ to get the better of one another, but •to assist; the Court :in i arriving at the truth," replied'the magisi trate. :;■■"-.: - r Lecturing at the Choral Hall last night, : Mr. Clement Wragge, F.E.G.S.,' touched upon the educational value of astronomy. / If he had his way, he said, he would have ' a little observatory placed in every school for the benefit of the young. i■ ■ • i A representative of the Herald was- ' given an opportunity yesterday of inspecting a very fine copy ; of Blair Leighton's pictura "In Time of Peril, ' the original ' of which hangs in. the local public Art '. Gallery. The copy is by Mrs. Katherine Burcher, who was one of the prime niov-, ', ere in the formation ot the old Auckland ' ' Art Society. Blair Leight on is v a personal ' friend of hers, and sent her a list of the actual ■' colour*, and paints employed by ' him in the picture referred to. Mrs. : Burcher has, therefore, been able, with 1 the i assistance :•;• of an undoubted / artistic 1 gift to reproduce the subject most faithfully. Her picture which is about the I same size as the original, is shortly to be sent to Wellington, it is likely to ! be acquired for the Art Gallery in that ' .city.: . . ' . . The bulk of the business of ■ the, Labour Department in Auckland is now being car--1 ried on in the new quarters in the.supplementary Government Buildings. These are situated adjoining the Customs, and 1 facing Albert-street. Until . the end \of 1 the week, however, officials will be' in I attendance at the old offices in High-' {■ street, to transact the business of the employment and registration bureau. , A proposal for the formation of a fire ] / brigade for Ellersi|eiwas discussed by the ! local / Ratepayers' Association last • night, j / and it was decided to request Ellerslie Town Board to call a public meeting , to i discuss the question. It was stated that , the nearest brigade was at- Newmarket; " will be a warm subject," remarked one of the speakers, "for if the rates /continue ' to go up, outbreaks of fire will keep pace.": I . ' .."'''■. '' : ' ..- ■ ■ # ■.■;". . , The unpacking of cases in Queen-street :' formed subject of a report by Traffic- [ Inspector Turner to the City , Council ; last. . evening. . He stated that the only remedy ■ . was to confine the practice to the early , hours of the morning, and this would bring the * shopkeepers . into conflict with the labour laws. The larger shopkeepers were ' "expeditious in ; : unloading but the smaller ones took their; time.' The inspector was instructed to take steps to minimise the complaints as much as possible.