LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14492, 5 October 1910, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

An accident befel a little boy named Claude McQuoid, about 2.30 yesterday afternoon. While crossing Ponsonby Road he ran right in front, of a tramcar. Fortunately he was lifted clear of the rails by the apron of the car, and was immediately carried into Mr. A. Waller's chemist shop. Dr. Inglis, who was summoned, found a nasty scalp wound had been caused, which necessitated three or four etitches. Beyond this and the shaking he received, the boy was not injured, and it is expected that in a few days he will be quite well. The young man Robert Walton, whose absence from Auckland caused some anxiety to his parents and intended wife last week, has returned to the city. He was married at his parents' residence, Macaulay-street, Newton, last Saturday. The stock of Potter and Co., glass importers, which was extensively damaged by the fire in the premises occupied by that firm in Queen-street, on Monday night, was insured for £1000 in the Sun Five Insurance Offid. The shop fittings were insured for £75 in the National Office. In terms of the resolution carried some time back in reference to cessation of work on the occasion of fatal accidents, all members of the Waihi Miners' and Workers' Union employed underground in the Waihi mine ceased work between midnight on Monday and 12 p.m. last night, in consequence of the death of Charles A. Cavanagh, who died at the District Hospital on Sunday night from injuries sustained in the mine 36 far back as October of last year. The mills and surface workings continued' operations as usual. The permanent uplifting effect of the Anglican mission in "Auckland is indicated by the large number of communicants at local churches. At a meeting of clergy yesterday, those present were most enthusiastic as to the good results. Advices have been received here that the Rev. Hubert Jones, who created a great impression at Devonport, has conducted a wonderfully successful mission at Marton. His next destination is Eltham. The Rev. J. C. Fitzgerald, who was at All Saint's in Auckland, is conducting a successful mission at St. Peter's Church, Wellington. Next Saturday week the missioned proceed from Wellington to Christchurch. A suggestion to increase the efficiency of the Infant Life Protection Act is made by the district agent at Auckland (Sarah E. Jackson) in her annual report. The suggestion is that a medical officer, chosen for his special knowledge of the diseases to which infant life is prone, be appointed and paid by the • State, as is done in France, that every help and encouragement be given to the mothers to their infants for at least six months, and that the placing out of infants under that age be discouraged. Incidentally the House of Representatives discussed last night, what might happen in time of war if an enemy's war vessel were lying ten or 12 miles off Wellington. Mr. J. Allen (Bruce) had been picturing the. sack of Wellington that would follow the landing of a foreign force of sufficient strength to drive out the territorials. Mr. G. W. Russell (Avon) said the same result might be achieved by a foreign cruiser lying out at 6ea. Mr. Allen retorted that the hon. gentleman was speaking in ignorance. A cruiser would not waste her ammunition in starting a few fires in the city that the fire brigade could extinguish, and run the risk of finding herself next day alongside a British cruiser and with no ammunition to fire at her.

The discovery, of a rich gold reef in British Columbia has led to the inevitable rush of prospectors and miners from all parts of the world. The find is situated amid wild and mountainous country, and that great difficulties and hardships are in store for the hardy goldseekers will be realised from the striking photograph of a portion of the trail to Bitter Creek, which appears in this week's issue of the Auckland Weekly News, published to-day. The departure of the little yawl Pandora from Auckland, in continuation of her adventurous voyage round the world, is also illustrated in the number, which contains .among other pictures of current events the Dominion Day celebrations at Wellington, the Wanganui Jockey Club's Spring' Meeting, annual horse parade at Blenheim,, and the building of two mammoth liners at Belfast. A highly interesting series of views taken on the route of the great East Coast railway, together with a picture of a wonderful little craft travelling at 40 knots an hour, and a topical page drawing illustrating the first cup day in New Zealand, assist in making up a fine issue. A committee of the Devonnort Borough Council reported to the Council last night a proposal for the extension of the brick area in the borough. The new brick area proposed is described; in the report as follows: —Commencing at lot 5, corner Garden Terrace, thence in an easterly direction along Queen's Parade, King Edward Parade to eastern boundary of allotment 15 in King Edward Parade; commencing at intersection of Church-street and King Edward Parade, thence along Church-street in a northerly direction on east and west sides to Tudor-street; commencing at intersection of Church-street and Kerr-street, thence along Church-street to St. Aubyn6treet on western side ; commencing at intersection of Vauxhall Road and Churchstreet, tnence along Church-street to Cra-croft-street; commencing at intersection of Vauxhall Road and Church-street, thence along Vauxhall Road to Cracroft-etreet; commencing at the northern end of Fleetstreet, thence along Victoria Road on the western side to Anne-street north commencing at lot 3 of Block 11., at the corner of Clarence-street, thence to northern boundary- of lot 4 adjacent to the intersection with Calliope Road; include whole Block XXII., bounded on the east by Wynyardstreet; commencing at lot 1 of 21, corner of Victoria Road and Clarence-street, along Clarence-street to intersection with Annestreet north. It was decided to defer consideration for a fortnight in order to give members of the Council an opportunity of studying the position. A very gratifying feature in the social life of Auckland is the success that has attended the work carried on by the Young Men's Christian Association. The membership of this body has increased to such an extent that the premises of the association at the corner of Vv ellesiey and Albert Streets are wholly inadequate to provide the necessary accommodation for members. Some time ago the directors felt it imperative to make an effort to secure more spacious and up-to-date buildings. As a result of their efforts and the generous support accorded to. the movement by many citizens they .were able to secure a suitable site in Wellesley-etreet, opposite the Free Public Library. In order to raise funds for the erection of their new structure it has been decided to sell the buildings now in their occupation. , It is hoped that the directors will be successful in realising onthe property, so that. may immediately commence the building of an edifice that will be worthy of their propaganda and an architectural ornament to the city. Messrs. Samuel Vaile and Sons, in conjunction with. Messrs.. Richard t Arthur and- Co., ; baye re r -j oeived instructions to auction the present ' Y.M.C.A. premises. This valuable site, so close to the commercial centre of Auckland, comprises over a quarter of an acre, and in addition to the main structure there is a brick laundry and wooden - dwelling. The auction sale is fixed for next Friday, October 7, at the rooms of Messrs. Samuel Vaile and Sons.

The trustees of the Children's Home, Richmond Road, acknowledge with thanks the following donations : —Amount previously acknowledged £693 9s, W.C.S. £10, . Messrs. Hancock and Company, Ltd. £5 ss, Messrs. Alex. Harvey and Son £5 ss, Mr. T. B. O'Connor £5 ss, "Bullion " £5, Mr. T. S. Culling £5, Mr. W. J. Rainger £2 2s. Messrs. Brown and Stewart £2 2s, Mr. J. B % Macfarlane £2' 2s, Mr. C. Williamson £1 Is, Mr. A. Sanford £1 Is, Miss C. Gray ss. Total £737 17s. A cellar in the New Zealand Express Company's Buildings, in Fort-street, in which was stored general merchandise belonging to" Collin and Co. Proprietary, Limited, was partially flooded early" yesterday morning owing to a water main having burst. Fortunately the water escaped from the cellar, and as the merchandise was stored on platforms, some of it escaped contact with the water. The extent of the damage will not be known till a thorough inspection has been made. A somewhat peculiar accident occurred at Gisborne on Monday (telegraphs our own correspondent.) A young man named Felton, was driving a horse attached to a waggonette loaded with carpenter's trestles, ladders, etc., into town, and when opposite the cemetery a gust of wind caught the load, depositing it and the driver on the road. The horse took . fright and bolted, but was stopped before doing any further damage. Felton was extricated from amongst the debris with an injured shoulder. A return laid on the table of the House of Representatives, showing the number of employees engaged in the Railway Department on March 31 last, gives the number of permanent hands in the first division as 1886 and the casual hands at 23. In the second division the permanent hands numbered 7134 and the casual hands totalled 3181. " There is a small nest of men in the Government railway workshops who, when they get into Government employment, cease to pay their dues to the union," 6aid counsel for a plaintiff trades union in a civil case heard at the Wellington Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon. ' The defendant was a former member of the union, who had since entered Government employment without paying his subscription and dues. This defendant, observed counsel, was the last of the nest. The union had been successful in extracting its i dues from all ex-members, who had preceded the debtor in Government employment. A deputation which waited ion the Prime Minister on Monday urged as an argument in favour of the construction of the Masterton-Waipukurau railway that "the settlers were prepared to guarantee interest on the cost of construction. This line of reasoning was promptly disallowed by the Prime Minister, who pointed out that it did not alter the need for going on the London market to borrow money for the construction of the railway. That, he intimated (though he did so suavely in the language of the politician), was where the shoe really pinched. We could not exceed the limits of our borrowing capacity, and until some of the lines now under construction were completed, the , Government could not start others.

I The advent of the Jewish New Year (567tjp§g ! was celebrated by the Jewish residents Auckland yesterday, which was by them as a close holiday. Special ser)|§|§j vices were held in the synagogue in conhllM memoration of the occasion, and were at-SM tended by large congregations. The prfo< || cipal service was held at 7.30 a.m., whenV?lS the building was filled in every part. 4 $ Rabbi Goldstein conducted the service, s|f| assisted by Mr. Sidney J. Nathan. ■■■Tjie£f|f Biblical precept in regard to the sounding . M of the trumpet for the purpose of calling IS the people to repentance was carried out '"a by the blowing of the shouohar (ram'g -V I horn). The observance of this ancient custom was a special feature of the service.- 3 The Rabbi delivered an impressive ser-- {3 mon, from the text, " Blessed is the people M who understand its joyful sound; they walk '*ji O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance." ''\M There was also a large attendance at the ->\ evening service. Yesterday was the first of •-11 the ten penetential days, which will end 1 with the Day of Atonement, on the 13th inst. ' 4-js A meeting of the supporters of the univejv ..;.-' sal Saturday half-holiday movement was . held at 28, Swanson-street, last evening. i Mr. T. Jackson (president of the Auckland. ' | Grocers' Union) presided over a good attend- m ance. Reports were received to the effect 1 that the movement had met with cordial .-: support from a large number of unions who '".-J had been interviewed, the only opposition ,« met with being from the Bricklayers' Union, - ■ which had declined to receive a deputation - '•' upon the subject. It was resolved that al . ■ Universal Saturday Half-holiday Association " '''■■■'. be formed, and the following officers were 'M elected:—President, Mr. T. Frost (New-, . j ton) ; vice-president, Mr. Wilding (city) * \-0 secretary, Mr. H. Banfield ; treasurer, Mr*;; .% R. Burn (Mount Eden) ; committee, Messrs. A. Toye, Morgan, F. W. Corbett, Johnson, -V? Pennyquick, T. Frost, Wilding, Brophy,,':k| Hughes, Williams, G. F. Pearce, and Bol< dero. It was decided that the committed ']% should meet to-morrow week to decide upon ; I a plan of campaign. ■■■}■ Lady Stout is in her most militant mood 't| in a column letter which she addresses to' ■; the Morning Post (writes our London cor* § respondent). Against the charge that the '-•• women of New Zealand are opposed to the : '| defence movement, she quotes a resolution \ of the Women's Convention favouring the - scout movement, of which she is patroness, ' and remarks that the vice-president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union Con- i vention led a campaign in favour of com- - 5 pulsory military training. As for women 'M voting districts "dry" in opposition to the , wish of the men, she points out that 49,000 :| more men than women voted prohibition at M the last election. " Without the help" and |j sympathy of women," she concludes, " all | the Imperialistic schemes for strengthening M the Empire, promoting trade, and binding-\3 the colonies to the Motherland and for up* ?I holding the honour and ensuring the stabile S ity of the nation would fall to pieces." :| The Wellington workers in connection with -js the present Church of England mission have (says a Press Association message) a resolved to petition the Bishop asking that a monthly evening service be held in St, tf Paul's Pro-Cathedral during.the first, week :K in every month for the clergy, workers, and M communicants of all town and suburban H parishes, including Petono; that such sen' ; vice should take the form of an address nq'| the deepening of spiritual life, followed by - the Litany, in which the special needs of each parish shall be remembered ; that after; the service all present should assemble in 1 the Sydney-street schoolroom and spend tha f: rest of the evening together so that plans j for work may be discussed and the bonds of . J friendship between the workers of each j parish strengthened that it be made quite ... clear that this service is for workers only,' 3 communicants and choir, and that only ■ those who earnestly desire to win the tovnj ;:? for God are expected to attend. . '3

*' Is it not a fact," asked a, -householder at the meeting at the South Wellington. | echool> held on Monday evening to elect |j a new committee, " that 30 cases of diph- X-h theria have ' been reported in a certain Xi school?" Mr. G. Flux the headmaster, :f: said that so far as his school -was con-; v ;| cerned, only one case had been reported. He would be surprised to learn that there vS were 30 cases in the city at the present ;> time. In answer to a question "whether 3 the Health. Department notified head ? teachers of infectious disease, Mr. Flux re- '5 marked incidentally that some amendment ?[ was needed in the present system of super- ""',': vision exercised by the Department. Thera f! should be some protection- for schools ;' against infection from children who were: ... allowed to return to school before the .':'| period of. danger was over, or came from >' families not free from infection. His sug- -<L gestion was that the head teacher of a J school, should be given some notice as to the period over which infected children S should be compelled to remain away from -'.J school. There was a very grave responsi- ,' bility resting upon parents in such cases, jj and it was only by their active assistance g and co-operation that {systematic super- S vision was possible. The Health Depart* Js ment has admitted the value of the sug* fj gestion, but thinks it hardly practicable. g A fisher of whitebait appeared before '$ Mr. T. A. B. Bailey, S.M., at the Christ* j church Magistrate's Court on Friday, audi M was charged with having used an illegal . device for taking whitebait, in the shape y of a barricade of stakes and scrub, from S the banks of the River Avon, at New S Brighton, the device being of such £ a character that it tended to prevent the | movements of fish up and down stream. J Mr. Dougall appeared for the defendant, and explained that similar charges had •f. been laid on two occasions under regulations % previously in operation, and the magistrates -X-. by whom the cases had been heard had ;J decided that there had been no breaches.: The device now complained of was exactly ',?| the same, but the informations had been 5? laid under new regulations, gazetted on July 7, which appeared to have been framed . for the express purpose of " getting at • V the fishermen at New Brighton. The men ;■" had been, following methods which had : been practised for many years 'at New Brighton, and the decision of the magisr aj trate would have a very important bearing v| upon their ability to earn a livelihood. -.M Mr. Bailey reserved his decision, and simi"> '-; lar charges against two other men were ordered to stand over in the meantime. | Just as a deputation which had urged ' the construction of a railway from Master- 1 | ton to Waipukurau was leaving the Prime Minister's room on Monday, Mr. Boss, «g M.P. for Pahiatua, got in a word for light J railways. "You will admit," said Mr. •:..'; •Ross to the Prime Minister, that there are certain districts that should not have - been served by the class of railway they 'M have got. Mr. Ross took Central Otago M as an example, and said that a ott 6itt :3| gauge, 301b or 401b rails, less sidings, and poorer station accommodation would have :• been good enough for the district, and would have made it possible for the line m to pay a higher rate of interest. Sir | Joseph Ward said there was a. good deal' to be said for light railways, provided || the gauge was not altered. It meant, || however, keeping two classes of rolling stock. .-■'.■ ■■%&

The gross receipts collected at the Auckland Customhouse yesterday amounted to £2127 16s 7d, including £2115 10s lid from Customs duties. • :^