LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15504, 10 January 1914, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

The Canadian- Australasian mail, steamer Matrama, which left Vancouver on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 24, for Auckland and Sydney, via way ports, ■was due at Suva yesterday. ' The liner is expected to arrive at Auckland on Tuesday morning next, contract time. When she left the Canadian port she had on board 255 first, second, and third class passengers, for all ports. The Marama is also bringing European, American, and Canadian mails, and 520 tons of general merchandise for New Zealand. She is timed to continue her voyage to Sydney at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. On Monday afternoon next the R.M.S. Niagara leaves Sydney for Auckland, on the outward voyage to Vancouver. The vessel is due here on Friday morning, January 16, and will load a large shipment of butter, hides, preserves, and other cargo. She sails at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 17, for Suva, Honolulu, and Vancouver.

Household coal is more plentiful in Auckland at present than it has been for some time, and prices are gradually decreasing to their normal leveL As there is only little more than enough to meet the demand, dealers will supply only in small quantities until expected shipments come to hand. The coal, at present to be obtained is all Newcastle, none as yet having been received from the Huntly mines. The price paid is 4s a bag, or at the rate of £2 a ton, compared with 3s 6d a bag before the strike.

An example of the lasting qualities of totara timber is now to be seen on the waterfront at the foot of Hobson Street where the excavations for the municipal hot salt water baths are proceeding. The line of the old breastwork, which was abandoned many years ago, runs across the site of the baths, and as the old timber was not removed but merely covered over, the task of removing a number of piles and other portions of the breastwork has now to be carried out. The piles, which are of heart of totara, were put down about 40 years ago, but the timber is still as sound a* a bell and apparently capable of lasting another 40 or 50 years.

The visiting members of the New Zealan| Institute of Architects have been viewing several points of interest during the last day or two. An inspection was made on Thursday afternoon of the Drainage Board's storage tanks at Orakui. Yesterday morning the architect* were received by the Deputy (Mr. John Court) and shown over the Town Hail, the Free Library, and the Art Gallery.' In the afternoon visits were paid to Titirangi and Point Erin Park.

The sphere of the work of the Salvation Army amongst the European community in the Auckland district is being extended to Tauranga and Mofrinsville. Work amongst the Maoris in these districts is already being carried on. Commissioner Richards and Colonel Rowley (chief secretary for New Zealand) will arrive in Auckland on Wednesday next, and in company with Brigadier Vince, of the Auckland divisional headquarters, they will then proceed to Tauranga to conduct the ceremonies in connection with the inauguration of the work in that centre. Some 39 newofficers of the Army are being commissioned at Wellington by Commissioner Richards for work in various parts of the Dominion.

A wash-house, owned by Mrs. H. Dewar, situated at the rear of a fancy goods shop in Ponsonby Road, was completely gutted by fire yesterday morning. About 3-30 a.m. a fire broke out, and the City Fire Brigade was fortunate in confining the flames to the wash-house. Mr. C. Potter, who occupied the premises to which the wash-house was attached, had a policy of £100 on his stock and furniture^

The supplement issued with to-day contains much intereaUn! 'ttSi matter. An article "A^r-^l features, r- while Merrutio'? 1 ' features, while Merrutio's L Ch,e! "Local Gossip" will b „ e fiSM Other contributions inch! ■ Seamen" by BB Ago" by Frank Morton, " MUed • " by J- On-," The Flour TraS tS deacon Walsh, and "An Indian I§s W "Onlooker." Pages are devoted to ifc news of the world, the ladies, and ficti *'& Special articles and illustrations make I ' an attractive collection of excellent literal^ fare. u «rary c The preliminary work in connection with - the hot salt water baths, which the Cits • Council decided some tim e ago to cJ ■ struct at the foot of Hobson Street is ' in hand, some 15 men being em iz JZ the excavation,. It is anticipated J the foundations will be completed in aW» a fortnight. The scheme provides? separate swimming bat lis or men £} ' women, the dimensions of tie men . g being 100 ft by 50ft and thote 0 V. women's 60ft by 50ft. Eight slipper ba^ will also be prodded for the conrenii-rt-of those who desire private baths Th baths will be filled with the hot salt waS '■ from the condensers at the Tramway Com pany's power station, which >- now runnjn" to waste into the harbour. burner J- 1 dressing-rooms, a commodious gallery, ttd '' a handsome entrance from Hobson Street'« form part of the scheme. The contractors are Messrs. J. T. li an and S3 and the contract price is £9347. • .?& The consignment of 177 Mongoliaa pheasants for the Whangarei Acclimstiffl." tion Society, which arrived by *h» • steamer Otaki on Thursday, was <?» patched to Whangarei last evening by thtl steamer Manaia in charge of Mr. H. 2:' Holman, curator of the Whangarei Society'The birds will be taken to the socletyv' pens at Whauwhau to-day. One hundred of the pheasants were presented to the* society by Mr. Corbett, of the 1%.whangata Estate, near Whangarei, and 111 society purchased 103 others. The mm. ber lost by death on the voyage was only ' I 26, which is a low percentage. The fact , that so many survived the voyage reflect-' credit on the manner in which they weia cared for on Captain Silba's steamer," In sentencing a- man for vagrancy at th« j Police Court. Mr. E. C. Cuttac S.M., informed the offender that he wjjifS send him to gaol for three months, which was a lighter sentence than two monlip " Yon looked sceptical when I made that statement," said Mr. Cutten to „ Hum,!, ' representative yesterday. " But, neverihs-' less, though it sounds absurd, it is in wcases perfectly true- The man viij get* three months receives an allowance of tobacco and other luxuries which m| fall to the lot of the two months' fflffl It would indeed have been hard imi< man like that had he been sentenced'toV two months, bat as it is he will greallT prefer the extra month." ■,: Despite the charge of 2d imposed <* those who wish to go on the railway pi*' forms to see friends off by the express* " large numbers of people claim the privilege of speeding their departing friends. - Bitten minutes past nine o'clock express ]M.' evening took a large number of passengw! , for the South, but there was a still larger number of people on the platform, and a 1 the train steamed out cheers were rai«d and handkerchiefs fluttered. ■vISSI Th* state of the roads in the Kingdomtry was. the subject of a letter .from- V settler of the Moeatua district, whaj"k,i behalf of. h» fellow-settlers, requested '%$} Auckland Chamber of Commerce to approach - the Government in regard to the matter.", He stated that nothing had been dona fo? years to the roads in, their. district, fit progress of which it would appear had'beea '• deliberately obstructed. It was noticea&is? that roads which were of practically m importance to them and leading i'to.Swvv Plymouth were being rapidly pushed ei I while those leading to the Main Trunk, and thus to Auckland, were being toWljv ignored.' It was decided to forward letter to the Miuster for Public tPorb,-" asking his opinion on the matter. The charge for the transmission ol ordinary radio-telegrams to or from ship ; trading exclusively between Australia New Zealand, or between New ?sSlfi coastal ports, was reduced from lOd to 5d -' per word at the beginning of the yet: The new rate does not apply to ships *&% gaged in Home or foreign trade. \ " A. box of pkkled eggs owned by •» . Chinaman was the principal exhibit in a case heard before Mr. F. V. Frazer, 831.?' at the Police Court yesterday, young man named Robert Arthur tPiwii! (Mr. Singer) was charged with steals the eggs. The witnesses for the prosecution were all Chinese, and in the ab#o|j|| of an interpreter the services, of the ||| formant in the case had to be railed upon. The interpreter caused some anw».': nient by answering many of the qnestjqtt I himself without putting them to .the wit- ■". nesses until it was explained to him dwi - his evidence was not wanted until later. His own knowledge of the events, was demonstrated on one occasion when tlf" witness answered a question. &l|j||| monosyllable, and the interpret*.- pro . ceded to translate the answer at length. Oh, he didn't say all that," objectedMr. Singer, and the interpreter.JjWff-£J very ranch shorter translation. ■ J M|l|f hearing the evidence in the case His WW-,--ship remarked that he did not thinkwj| accused meant to steal the eggs- He «* evidently somewhat under the influanW of liquor, and had taken the eggs as » joke. The charge was dismissed, ths accused having to pay £2 5s expenses. |Jg The maximum fine was imposed on JaOS : Henry Taylor, grocer and win* and «i v * merchant, of South Melbourne, last w*fc - for selling liquor to a child under the *g« of 16 years, in bottles that were 051% securely sealed. A little boy * M i||S| his mother to get two bottles, which ,j provided, filled, one with whisky other with wine. The bottles «)■» to order by the defendant, buthene^eel« ; r to seal them. The boy, with a compag|g had hardly left the defendant's sbopjWfe a constable saw him draw the cork °*j|f whisky bottle, have a drink, and then p* 4 the bottle to his equally y°« thf s panion. The latter took a sip, but 3?* the liquor out. The clause that bottles to be sealed was framed to || just such circumstances as these. 'j|||||| Amongst the numerous side-shows J**-, Brighton Beach (Victoria) on foxing «f\ j was a burlesque wild man." The.lf prietor of the show was doing E°™'?!jDi ness until a young man demanded m money back, as he contended thfty|sjf exhibit was a "fake." An arose between the young man an lW: doorkeeper, who pointed to the ;«, "burlesque," and refused to the sixpence charged for admission; j*■■» crowd in the canvas enclosure to< with the young nun, who began down the curtains. Realising that ~|ip§; tion was the better part of i alolT, W* y proprietor released the chains with the "wild man" was secured to »ggff§j§ \ and they both hurried off along tho , l! flS/.:'' ! The crowd gave chase, caught the **N - man before he had gone far,.mo i!USI ' ; I him into the bay.