LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14920, 19 February 1912, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

An Australian mail arrived from Sydney by the Victoria last night, consisting of 138 bags. As the vessel missed connection with the Main Trunk express, the Southern portion will be despatched South to-night. The usual budget oi Australian mail news will be found elsewhere in this issue. In another column a meeting of supporters of Mr. John Payne, M.P. for Grey Lynn, is convened by Mr. Chas. McMaster, to be held in the Richmond Hall this evening, at eight o'clock r As matters of interest arm likely to arise, it is anticipated that there will be a large attendance. Steady rain set in •on ; Friday night, and continued until about ten o'clock on Saturday morning, after which intermittent showers fell. The total rainfall it or the 24 hours registered by Mr. T. Cheeseman, curator at the museum, up ".; till 9 a.m. on Saturday was .51 ; of an inch. This brings the total fall for the month, so far as it has progressed, to I.lßim / , "'

' The hearing of the civil action Ethel Ella Watson v. W. M. , Fyffei i dentist, of Onehunga, a claim of £200, as damages for alleged unskilful treatment, was continued in the Supreme Court oh Saturday, before His Honor Mr., Justice Edwards. A good deal of further evidence was ; heard, and after counsel had addressed. the x jury, the Court adjourned at 10.15 p.m. till nine a.m. to-day, when the judge will commence his summing up. The Chinese * throughout the Dominion are observing to-day as a general holiday, in celebration of the -abdication :of the Manchu - dynasty; . All the local' Chinese shopkeepers and gardeners will observe the holiday, and - a.picnic has been arranged/ the Ruru leaving the Ferry, Tee at 10 a.m. for Pine Island. Owing to the short notice that to-day was to be observed as a holiday, it has been impossible to make very complete arrangements, but about 50 are expected to make the trip.

The Mayor of Devonport, Mr. Wm. Handley, having been requested by the Royal Humane . Society of ; New Zealand to make a presentation to Master John S. Faulkner, of the society's bronze medal and framed certificate—in , recognition of bravery displayed by Master Faulkner in saving the life of Mr." Taylor at Auckland in October, —will make the presentation at a meeting of the Devonport Borough Council to-morrow, evening, at eight o'clock. The No. 3 troop of Boy Scouts, of' which Master Faulkner is a member, will be in attendance for the purpose of witnessing the presentation.

The mana of the New Zealander in Eng-land-is great, according to the Rev. Mark Sutton, vicar of Holy Trinity ; Church, Devonport.; While in England, recently, Mr. Sutton sometimes felt it to be a distinct advantage *to have been ! associated with New Zealand. Everywhere he went in England, he found the New Zealander looked upon as a patriot,* • a loyal son of the Empire. The beauties;; of the Dominion are, he says, i more widely known than is generally thought, while its prosperity ' and its opportunities are, perhaps, somewhat exaggerated. ,■■': " About 200 people gathered in Wellesley r street West about 10 o'clock on Saturday night, being attracted by the' spectacle of two men engaged in a : heated argument and using insulting epithets to each other. Both of the men had evidently been \ imbibing not wisely but too well. ; When one of the men took off his coat and offered to fight the other, the crowd intervened and were taking the challenger away when the person challenged threw a largo beer bottle at him and inflicted a nasty wound. The injured man was taken away by some person in the crowd, and the thrower of the bottle lost no time in making an escape...

Among the passengers by the Wimmera from Cisborne yesterday morning, were the members of the Wattri Federal Band and the Whangarei Municipal Brass Band, who are returning to their homes after attending the band contest which was held at Gisborne last week. As the Wintmera steamed up the harbour both bands played several choice selections of music, and there was a large number of spectators on the Queen-street; Wharf ■ to welcome them. The Waihi Band was very successful at the contest, as it won the Beesoa shield, which carries with it £150, and was second in the quick-step competition, taking £25. In honour of its succees the band's flag was flown at the bow of the steamer. The .Whangarei Band also did fairly well at , the contest, coming second in the ." B " grade test piece {taking £30), and third in the quickstep competition in the same class. The Whangarei Band returned home by the Ngapuhi lost evening, ;] and the Waihi Band will leave by the express this morning-:: ■ 'V ■■■ ■■■'••'.'/ hJ^h%'i^

The president of the /Federated Boot Manufacturers' Association, Mr. H. Dearsly, and Mr. W. H. Murray, a delegate, returned by the Main Trunk express from Wellington on Saturday morning, after attending the annual meeting "of the Federated Boot Manufacturers' Association iof New Zealand.' During the week a confer-' ence was held with the Federated Boot Operatives* Union of .; New Zealand, but an agreement could not be '' come to, so*by '■} mutual consent the case goeg to the Arbitration Court..

______ ■-■•frSH Some excitement was caused, in Ou* street on Saturday night by ft t « 0 Z of the fire brigade. In a P Darby-street, adjoining the ptmml i 2 Moras. Macky, Logan, Caldwell and fiT receutfy destroyed by fire, were a nuajl' of packing-cases, on* of which tad l come ignited, probably through the c&*T lossness of a thoughtless smoW Jt case was burning strongly, but a ' nJI * by. with commendable presence 5 mind, pushed the case out into the mid£ of the road, where it was M the brigade. "X; An interrupter at Professor Mills's nu*r ing in the Royal Albert Hall last evenhT wanted to know "what other way" f?' general labourers had of getting their d? mands. Professor Mills replied: " I -V favour of striking-striking O R, n . striking hard-striking at the ball,, b§

The warehouse, factory, and shop of Messrs. Whitcomb and Tombs, in Welling, ton, had a lucky escape from destruction by fire on Saturday, between ■ three and four a.m. (telegraphs our own coiTesr* a , dent). As Constable Lamb was walking past, the premises in Lambton Quay, 1 about 3.45 o'clock, he saw through the glas* doors on the street front what he, took to be the reflection of a fire inside the building. In order to satisfy himself on that point he went up on the roof of the Commercial Hotel adjoining, and found flames and smoke much in evidence within Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs's establishment. Running across to the fire alrra box? in the street close by, he summoned 'trie" brigade, which soon suppressed the firtu An investigation showed that the fire occurred in the box containing rags used fot cleaning, which had been placed at the aid« of the lift well on the second floor. The box burnt through, and ,the flames made their way down the lift to the growl floor, destroying the shelving on two floors in the vicinity of the lift well,;together? with the stock -of books and stationery thereon. The brigade put out the lira very quickly, and by using as little water, as possible, it avoided doing extensive damage to the stock. Mr. Wliitcombe estimates the damage at between '£300 and' £400. The contents of the building tie insured for £36,370, the risk being held by most of the insurance companies ia Wellington. r The criminal sessions of the Sup. -~, Court will be opened by His Honor Mr. Justice Edwards to-day, at 11 a.m., at which time all jurors are summoned to be" in attendance. There are 38 cases set dowi* for hearing, • including those adjourned from the previous sessions. The Union Company's steamer Coririni which leftOnehunga for. New Plymouth and Wellin,<jton yesterday, took as part cam 17,075 boxes of butter. Of this shipment 16,421 boxes will go to England by: the Tainui, and 654 boxes by the Drayton Grange. The same company's ;&__£' Rosamond took 407 crates of cheese for transhipment at Wellington.

Oil Thursday last Mr. 0. L.' Peacock**"■: chairman of the Auckland Railways League sent a telegram to Sir Joseph Ward.. protesting that a commencement had not yet bsea j made at the Waihi end of the East Coast - railway. Mr. Peacocke received the follow* /| ing reply from the Prime Minister on' 1 Saturday: —" have referred your telegraia 7 regarding commencement- of work f from f Waihi end of East Coast railway to the "j Hon. Minister for Public Works, and hare • asked him to let you have a reply."' ■ A somewhat unusual case came before '.< Mr. P. V. Frawr, S.M., In the Po ; .*, Court on Saturday. Win. Hazel -wati , charged with soliciting alms, and SeniorSergeant Mackinnon stated that.accused' ' had been brought before the.Court.asV' warning to others, and not for punishment. Accused, who is a cripple, earns hia living by singing in the; street, and £ although he does no. actual harm, said thu ; '2'"i : -'••:■■■•■■■■■■■■ ■■■:■■ .■„ ~■ ;■•..■■•'■:■■,-.■.■■■ ■-. ',v. t U-i«J. s *^ f Sii senior-sergeant,. he is a regular nuisance ,- to persons in the vicinity. Mr. • Singer, :: who appeared for Hazel, said it was ask- ; , ing the magistrate to make an invidious , comparison between a man singing in. tit© street and a man who plays the trombone:' in a street band. With a band one puts one's, hand into one's pocket with.a cer-;. tain . amount of pleasure, but with .afl|*? : itinerant singer it is not always such a | joy. His Worship said he had heard V sample of the accused's singing, but ii. :■'■ was not .a' question of ■ the quality of iksU * singing, it was a question of icncMßj ." people. Mr. Singer humorously sug- - (jested that • perhaps the case would be met if defendant was warned to' - keep, his -.'v. voice a bit lower. *' The case was dis-,, missed .on the understanding that defendant does not offend again, the magisIrate remarking that if ho did so offend ; ho could no doubt be dealt with ■ under the city by-laws, '•" . ' >'~"■ The Premier Picnic,, which was fixed to be held on Saturday at Motutapn.by,'.. the...,•. Auckland district of the ••Manchester,'.-,: Unity Order of Oddfellows, was postponed lowing * to * the unfavourable eoncli«" ! • lion of r the weather. A large number of' country visitors had arrived in town early :.- in the morning in order'to participate iu: ; this popular annual fixture, but iii view of the bad weather the committee decided that the holding of a successful picaip' ; was out of the question. It has been do 4 cided to hold the picnic on Saturday March 9. |H

At the present time (says the Cos 0 ' i Daily Times) there appears to be a % small 1 gang of . undesirables in Dunedhvand : 1 one evening recently they carried out *' s , particularly audacious assault on a young man who was quietly making his way, '■ \ home, v It appears that at 10 o'clock he. was going down • St.; Andrew-street, if aro» stopped to light a cigarette. Without the 1 slightest warning he was then set upon- - by three ruffians, J who severely battered, his face and kicked ■ him about '■ the body, went through his pocket* and took &j»j ; and other articles, even to his remaining cigarettes, and finally dragged him up * , right-of-way, and left him in a semi* conscious : state with his overcoat wrapped ; round his head. The young man came,to : shortly after and made his way homflj but was s offering so severely from* fa» mauling that it was considered advisable to call in a doctor next day. It is said this is not the only unprovoked assault. which had taken place in the vicinity mentioned. s - To the Scottish people ; pronunciation is r '■ an important., matter, l and ' this truth was . exemplified at the Supreme Court in Chri&tchurch, one day last week. A wife*;..;. i : . ness, *; whose ■ second >■ name .. was Strachaa, pronounced the word as " Strach-an ? " and. Mr. Justice Denniston suggested that the word was "Strawn." The witness insisted ' that the name was Scottish, and that his version was correct. His Honor drew on the poets for his authority, quoting two lines of the verse. "Is there ' ! not," he aeked "a celebrated verse, telling of an earl 'with sword drawn.'*;£&&; , ' stood waiting for the Earl of Strachart. „■ ■, ~ His Honor renounced the name to rhyme with "drawn," but the witness oveiruled the authority quoted bv His Honor, . and insisted on " Strach-an. ' v ' ~'-'- JJiLj? -A young married man named , job* Walkerby,' while < riding a bicycle, «« kn<v>ed down by a motor car, retrn'Oinf itou the Perth (West Australia) l ttm*&M\}Ji 'killed. • « <L,'%is