LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14933, 5 March 1912, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

Tenders for the erection of the new wharf at Kohimarama are to be opened at the meeting of the Harbour Board next Tuesday. As the question of riparian rights, which has hung the matter up for some time, has now been settled, the new wharf may be expected to be put in hand as soon as the contract has been let. The question of the roading of the Lucerne Estate was again mentioned at last evening's meeting of tho Remuera Road Board. Mr. Eric Bond said he objected to the signing of an agreement which would leave the- responsibility of making the roads with the Board. They were only to get about £4000 for work that would cost the Board £12,000 at least. That would be a big burden on the ratepayers, and the owners would be getting concessions they had no right to get. Mr. Bond moved that the agreement be not signed, and that a meeting of ratepayers be called to discuss the matter. Mr. Pilkington said the Board had been informed by its engineer that £5000 would cover the cost of roading the estate. For the Board to recede from its position would be unwarranted and wrong. The motion was not seconded, and the agreement was signed. A charge of assault against Joseph Finn, a prisoner in the Mount Eden Gaol, was heard by Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., at the gaol yesterday morning. Evidence was given that Warder Bryant and another warder went to the prisoner's cell, when the accused rushed out- and struck Warder Bryant a violent blow on the face, breaking his nose. His Worship said this class of offence must be put down, and sentenced Finn to seven days' bread and water, and ordered him to lose three months' conduct marks.

In view of a very general impression that the winter's high prices for batter are caused by a " corner " en the part of large holders, it may (writes our London correspondent) be well to quote an authoritative contradiction sent me by Messrs. W. Weddel and Co., who say:—"Seldom if ever have more absurd stories been supplied to the newspapers than those now appearing, which allege that the high prices of butter during the last three months are due to a ' corner' or ring'of importers ;in Tooley-street. Every intelligent man in the butter trade knows that it is due solely to the abnormally hot and dry weather of last summer. In this country we have had droughts from time to time, and so have most of the butterexporting countries of Europe, but there are no previous records of all these countries having a drought at the same time. The excessively hot and dry weather of 1911 extended more or less severely from Omsk, in Western Siberia, right across Europe to Chicago, a distance of 11,000 miles. The breadth of this calamity varied from 500 to 1000 miles. In Siberia thousands of cows were slaughtered owing to want of winter fodder, and the United States Department of Agriculture officially state that the shortage of hay in that country, comparing 1911 to 1910, amounted to 13,534,000 tons, which is a decrease of 22 per cent. Every country in Europe is suffering from the high prices."

The electric cranes on the various Auckland wharves are coming more and more into use, and where prejudice formerly existed against them it is being gradually broken down. Shippers are now recognising the facilities. the cranes afford. The position now is that they are not only paying expenses, but providing interest upon their cost.

A partial settlement has been arrived at in connection with the demands of the Coopers' Union, which were considered at a sitting of the Conciliation Council yesterday, the Commissioner, Mr. T. Harle Giles, presiding. Clauses with reference to wages, overtime,, holidays, and hours of work in breweries were referred to the Arbitration Court, and both parties agreed in respect to other clauses, which relate principally to hours of labour, suburban work, payment of wages, and apprentices.

An Austrian named John Bacicx met with an accident while working at the railhead near Kaiwaka yesterday afternoon. He was on the engine engaged at the works when he lost his balance and fell on to the line, with the result that his left foot was completely severed by the wheel of the engine. The unfortunate man, who was suffering greatly from shock, was brought on to Auckland by special train and taken to the hospital late last evening.

The ornamental gates which the Harbour Board decided some months ago to have erected on the Queen-street and Railway Wharves are likely to make their appearance in those positions before long. Tenders have been called, and will be opened at the meeting of the Board ue.it Tuesday, and practically the only question to be decided thereafter will be that of design. It is expected that gates of an imposing character will be erected, and these, apart, from improving the approaches to the wharves, will allow of the necessary control of traffic. It is not intended to exclude the public from the wharves, but when the berthage accommodation is severely taxed the traffic needs to bo regulated in a proper manner, in which direction the new gates will be of material assistance.

It is (writes our London correspondent) likely that the picture of the battle-cruiser New Zealand, which Mr. Wyllie, R.A., is painting for the people of the Dominion will be ready for shipment much earlier than at one time seemed probable. After the Festival of Empire concluded, the understanding was that the painting should remain here until the battle-cruiser had been absolutely completed, so that the distinguished artist could make the ship perfect in all details of gun and rigging. The British Admiralty has come to the rescue with a set of plans" showing the vessel ready to be commissioned, and as these meet the' case, the painting has been taken to a studio, and Mr. Wyllie will put on the finishing touches without delay.

" In the especial circumstances of Australian life,'" says Bishop Green, of Ballarat (Vic.) in a Lenten pastoral, "where gambling appears likely to become our besetting national sin, and to bo lightheartedly accepted, if not vindicated, by Australian society at large, it is our duty to avoid everything wliich may lend colour to the argument that the Church herself is willing to connive at doubtful methods when she wants money for her own purposes. I ask my people to keep themselves definitely on the right side, by excluding raffles and those kindred methods which bear a suspicious family likeness to jtaitaUmsu'i -.

An accident occurred in the harbo - on Sunday afternoon, the 10ft open boat Fid get being capsized by the yacht Ariki* Both were coming up ■ the harbour with their booms on the port side/ when 'li boom of the Ariki caught the mast M the Fidget, capsizing the latter. >n lfl . Ariki immediately hauled her wind 6om ! . of the crew going off in a dinghy to'rescue the crow of the Fidget, which consisted of Masters P. Home (son of the owner Mr' — W. S. Home, Devonport), A. Martin L'' of Mr. E. B. Martin, of Devonport) and two sons of Mr. A. Emerali, of the'same " place. The lads were quickly rescued place. The lads were quickly rescued and were transferred to the 26ft mullet boat Mystery, in charge of Mr. H. B. Martin, who landed them at once. The? ' were none the worse for their ducking. '• The reclamation works at Freeman's Bay are expected to be completed in. from eight to 12 months' time. The contrac- • tors are making good progress with the' stono bank inside the wall. The next - work will be the lifting of the debris from the wall which fell in several month* * ago. This has been purposely delayed until the floating crane should be avail- ' able, and owing io the system adopted ■ the earlier re-erection of the wall has not been necessary, nor has any delay been.* caused in the general progress of the •, reclamation work. The Harbour Board's dredges will be required at Freeman's Bay until the completion of operations there, and afterwards will be utilised in tha I Mechanics' Bay reclamation. Tenders for the latter are to be let at tie next meet* ing of the Board, and the first work to be undertaken there will be the excavation of St. Barnabas's Cliff* and the erection of a bank. Dredging operations''will follow. It is notified in the Gazette that red' ■ deer stags may be killed in the Hon* ■ whenua, Hutt (Paraparaumu), and Featherson counties (Wainui), and Tarawa ? Forest Reserve from April 1 to May 19 • next, at a license fee of £2 for two istags : :: only. No fawns or hinds are to be-JSolledL After grave consideration, occupying ■'■• many weeks, tho Sydney Eight-kms*-' Committee has come to a decision in ire/-' gard to the question of five days ti working week. The committee does not' favour sacrificing th© eight-hours prim * ciple, and recommends that "* eight hotnf work & day for five days" be inserteJtfai the -proposed Eight-hour BilL"The trial of a middle-aged woman named I'' Mrs. Susannah Hamblyn, who is charged m with committing an illegal operation in Kingsland in September last, was com* menced in the Supreme Court yesterday before His Honor Mr. Justice Chapman. Mr. Hackett appeared for accused, who' pleaded not guilty, and the hearing of the case was not concluded when the Court adjourned for the day. His Honor made an order forbidding the publication of the evidence. ""* At a meeting of the Remuera Road Board, held last evening, Mr. J. S. Dick- - son, M.P., said he wished, for the infor- \ mation of ratepayers, to correct a statement to the effect that he had forfeited«! his seat on the Board through being absent from four successive ordinary meetings. He had gone into the matter, and ■ found that he had only been absent from three at election time. •-,'< ■•'■' ' "■ Opossums are proving quite a pest at Walcapnaka,' in the Nelson provincial : district, where the few pairs liberated a few years ago have increased, until they are said to number hundreds. Great-,. damage i 3 being done in gardens the opos- , sums coming down in great numbers and'•' playing havee with particular kinds 0f %% crops..;. ;"'■ ■■' ,'-....-.." •■" : , ■■"■ : :' .:■;'. , ■■' ; : \e,':mf}, ■ . ■ ■ ■ ~ One of the largest shipowners in Norway, Mr. H. "Wilhelmsen, who control* the Norwegian section of the Scandina- • vian-African and Australian line, arrived in Auckland by the Wimmera on Sunday.' In the course of a conversation with a Heraid representative, Mr. Wilhelmsen ; : said the vessels of the line he was connected with did not come regularly to , New Zealand, although tramp steamers occasionally came. As far as the Australian trade was concerned, he was well satisfied with the support that had so far ■'. v been accorded. The principal lines of , cargo exported from Scandinavia to Australia, were timber and paper, while the steamers on their return journey carried wheat, wool, and ore . from Australia. The ' prospects of trade with New Zealand did not yet warrant the putting on of a regular line of steamers here. Mr. Wilhelmsen was enthusiastic about the possi- , bilities ol Australia. " I had heard a let about the prosperity of Australia," he said, "and I have found better conditions than I anticipated, and I have been :,;;; greatly impressed with the possibilities of the country. In fact there are not many finer countries on earth. But I don't know," he proceeded, "how Australia would get on if it were not for the,artificial aids given to the industries. .In Sydney I find that 13s 4d per standard is charged for floorings, whereas in Europe tile price is only 3s 4d, and in South Africa, 4s to 4s 6d. It is the same with , ; nearly all the manufactured lines in Australia. Each country has to work out its . own salvation, but the question is, are ■ not the wages in Australia too high, and as a result, are not the prices of articles . too high in comparison with those > of; : other countries? That is the thing that

struck me mo«t during my visit to Australia." The question of University reform wail dealt with as follows in the annual report* of the Victoria College Graduates' Association (Wellington) "There are strong indications that even the most confident; supporters of reactionary tendencies now; realise that the movement is a force which can by no means be treated lightly, while the University Senate itself partly recognised one of the principles of the movement—the taking of the Professorial Boards into its confidence by making provision for annual conferences with the professors. University Reform is one of the; matters in which the Graduates' Association, if it is to fulfil its functions, ought to take an active part. The need for reform is so clear that the committee has no| hesitation in urging upon the members of. the association that they should lend every possible assistance to the cause. One of ; the most direct and practical ways of help-.;: ing the movement is to see that as far a* , possible the graduates of the district are represented on the University Senate and the Victoria College Council by advocates i of reform." The plucky action of a boy of 11 years, named Norman Thomas, averted a drowning fatality at Akaroa last week. A child of five vears, »on of H. W. Wilkins, wasl playing on the wharf and fell over the side | into some 16ft of water. The boy Thomas, noticed the accident, ran down to the place and jumped in after the child. Be > managed to bring his burden to the side of the wharf where, with the aid of ft > lifebelt thrown to Thomas by a companion named Halliday, ho was able to pull the child up some steps to the wharf. .■,,',„. A mild sensation was caused at Rangiora one day last week through the nonappearance of a prospective bridegroom to = take his place at the wedding ceremony. All preparations for the ceremony fl » a been made, and much sympathy was expressed for the prospective bride m-tm. painful situation in which she ' wig ' ''■ ■ " ; ' "/' '^::•;;'^:^':■: :^i^': -y■''" ::^&l