LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15551, 7 March 1914, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

The preparations for building the Central Wharf, between the Queen's Wharf and the Northern Steamship Company's jetty, will be commenced as soon as the necessary steel for the reinforced concrete work is in the possession of the Harbour Board. A large quantity of this steel is now on order, and the first of it should arrive in four months. Providing nothing unforeseen occurs, said the chairman of the Harbour Board (Mr- J. H. Gunson) yesterday, the actual construction of the wharf should be commenced towards the end of this year, or early in 1915. The wharf will be built in almost the same style as the King's W T harf, being about the same width as that structure, but somewhat narrower than the Queen's Wharf.

The consideration of £200 voted to Mr. Thomas Gresham by the House of Representatives last session, in response to his petition against the termination of his appointment as city coroner, has been accepted by him under protest. Writing to the Minister for Justice yesterday, Mr. Gresham states that he has seen the memorandum from the Paymaster-General to the chief postmaster, Auckland, requesting him to obtain "an additional form of acquittance" before completing payment. Understanding that an assurance was given by the Minister to the A to L Committee on September 18 " that- the Government have decided to grant to Mr. Gresham an annual allowance in consideration of his past service," and that the House was not informed of this statement, Mr. Gresham protests against an '' additional acquittance" being required.

Gas bills this mouth will include a charge for meter rent. Notice is being given with the accounts, which are now being delivered by the meter-readers, that in consequence of the steady rise .n all the costs of manufacture, accentuated at the present moment t-y the effects of the late strike, the Gas Company finds it necessary to increase its revenue. Being very averse to increasing the price of gas.the directors have decided that a small charge for meter rent appears to be fairest to consumers generally. In future accounts there will appear a small charge for the meter service. The charge for meters in ordinary domestic supplies will be sixpence a month, and higher rents, up to Is a month, will be charged for larger meters.

The new baths at Point Resolution, Parnell, are to be formally opened by the Mayor (Mr. C. J. Parr) at 3 p.m. to-day. Addresses will be delivered by the Mayor and Messrs. A. J- Entric-an and R-- S. Briggs. A number of special invitations have been issued to representative citizens and to the member for the district (Mr. J. S. Dickson), whilst an open invitation is extended to the general public. The Parnell Swimming Club will provide an opening programme of swimming events, in which the boys of St. Stephen s Maori School will take part. . After tho ceremony those present will be asked to visit and inspect the Gillies Estate, which it is proposed to acquire for park purposes.

As a result of negotiations which have been going on for some time between the Mayor (Mr. C. J. Parr) and the A uckland Electric Tramways Company regarding tramway extensions along Upper Queen Street and down Shelly Beach Road, the manager of the company (Mr. J. J. Walklate) has now placed definite proposals before Mr. Parr. These will be. submitted to the Electric and Water Committee of the City Council at its next meeting in concrete form. Without indicating the precise nature of the company's new proposals, the Mayor stated yesterday that he thought they would furnish material for friendly discussion between the committee and the company.

A novel explanation was made by the Norwegian captain of a scow, William Larsen, who was charged in the Police Court yesterday with removing shingle from Motutapu Island. He said that contrary grinds had forced him to take shelter in a bay, and that- he was only taking the shingle as ballast to enable "him to reach St. Heliers. It was pointed out that the island was privately owned, but kindly lent to the people of Auckland during the summer. Everyone was aware that it was not a place from which the shingle might be taken. Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., said that the usual fine of £5 did not seem enough to deter people- Larsen was fined £10 and costs, with a month in which to pay-

Supplies of paspalum grass seed for! New Zealand are drawn from Australia, and it is therefore interesting to find that at present the position is being reversed, some inquiries for the seed having been received locally from the Commonwealth. Since its introduction into the Dominion, from Australia a few years ago, paspalum grass has been allotted a permanent place in North Auckland pastures, whe.e it has been found a success on almost all soils where warmth can be relied upon. It is not customary, however, for farmers to let it go !o seed, as to do so greatly diminishes the quality of the herbage. The grass is therefore generally eaten down. It follows that no great demand for the seed could be supplied from New Zealand. Orders to hand, however, are not very large, and are merely due to the fact that there is a late harvest in Australia, causing a temporary shortage. It is not considered that the present slight demand indicates any trade prospects.

The third wool salt of the season takes place in the Chamber of Commerce on Monday, at 3 p.m. A total of 1790 bales have been entered so far, but the catalogue ie not finally complete. The total is 1106 more than was the case at the third sale of last year. Monday' 6 sale will be in the nature of a clearing up," and will be the last of the series. About 50 per cent, of the entry consists of heavy, logstained, back-country lots, but about 25 per cent. is lambs' wool, the general quality of which ie good. There are some bright lines of pieces, which could not be forwarded to the last sale owing to the difficulty of transport in some cases, and other reasons. The balance is made up of oddments and pieces. The entry to date is from the following : Alfred Buckland and Sons, 540 bales; Dalgety and Co., Ltd. (in connection with the Auckland Farmers' Union, Ltd.), 530 bales; New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency, Ltd., 520 bales; and G. W. Binney and Sons, 200 bales.

A return as to the cost of living in Australia issued by the Commonwealth statistician (Mi'. Knibbs) states that the upward trend has ceased- In 1912 there was a rise of 10 per cent, in the cost of living, but figures for 30 cities and towns during 1913 give the same results as in 1912. Prices of groceries and food were nearly 3 per cent, lower, and house rents nearly 5 per cent, higher in 1913 than in 1912. The general level of wholesale prices during the last quarter showed no change compared with the preceding quarter. The results for the whole of the year showed that the large increase which occurred in 1912 in wholesale as well as retail prices was converted into a decrease during 1913. The increase in wholesale prices during 191.2 amounted to 1? per cent., whereas during 1913 they decreased 8 per cent.

The supplement issued with to-day's Herald contains a great deal of interest ing reading matter. The question "Dc Musicians Love One Another?" is tih« subject of an article by Tohunga. Mr. A A. Grace deals in a musterly manner wit! the mucVi-discussed question " The Origii of the Maoris.'' An article on " TaurangaA Garden City," is contributed by Mr R. W. Reid, and "Places We Don't For get'' is the title of a contribution by Elsi< K. Morton. Mr. J. \V. Ellis tells a gooc story of the days of the Maori war, refer ring particularly to Rewi Maniapoto am Orakau." In addition to short stories Home news, and other features, souk photographs which give a good idea o; the beauty of the Waitomo Caves, an included.

The Methodist Conference of West Australia has sent a cablegram to Canon Garland, organiser for the New Zealand Bible in State Schools League, stating that it hopes for the success of the Bible in State Schools League in New Zealand. The message states that the Bible in schools is a privilege which has been enjoyed in West Australia for many years, and it is greatly valued by the churches, parents, and general community, and works most harmoniously. The Queensland Methodist Conference passed a resolution expressing sympathy, and assuring New Zealand Methodists of their prayers in " the noble struggle to obtain the same privileges for the Dominion as are enjoyed in Queensland in the system of religions instruction, including the right of entry to State schools."

The Farmers' Union picnic to Ruakura, which it is proposed shall be held at the end of this month, has aroused considerable interest among the members of the various branches, and it is expected that a large gathering will assemble- Advantage is to be taken of the occasion to present to the farmers who acted as mounted special constables daring th« recent strike the medallions donated by the Auckland Citizens' Committee. Luncheon will be provided for the special constables.

The third annual conference of the New Zealand Institute of Local Government Engineers will this year be held in Auckland, commencing on March 19. Delefates will be present from all parts of the Dominion- The sittings will be held in the Auckland and Suburban Drainage Board's rooms at the Town Hall. Among the business on the order paper is a notice of motion that formal resolutions be passed empowering the Executive Committee to make application for registration under the Incorporated Societies Act of 1908. A number of papers will be read, including one on " Town-planning " by Mr. John Kelly, of the Southland County Council. Visits to municipal works and places of interest have been arranged, and the annual dinner will be held on the evening of the opening day. Most of the members of the institute belong to the South, ana the president is Mr. Samuel Jickell, engineer to the Palmers ton North Borough Council.

/he allowance of £200 per annum mads by the Board' of Education to the Onehunga School Committee to cover the working expenses of the Onehunga and Te Papapa schools has been found by '.be committee to be quite inadequate, and it is unable to carry on any longer jnder existing conditions. At a meeting of ■-he committee held on Thursday evening Mr. S. J. Brookfield (secretary) gave a resume of the financial position. He said there was a sum of £8 19s 2d left out of the quarter's grant received a month ago. Against this he had accounts for £21 5s Bd, included in which was one from the Borough Council for £11 for water rates covered by a notice demanding that the sum be paid forthwith, or the water would be cut off. The salaries for cleaning the schools for the next two months, amounting to £23 13s 4d, and other expenses, had still to be met out of this quarter's allowance. The committee expects to meet the householders at the annual meeting next month with a debit balance of £40. It was decided to place the committee's position before the Education Board, and to point out that the cost of cleaning alone , for the two schools amounts to £140 per annum. The secretary also reported that the annual school picnic last year cost about £25, one-third of which was still owing. No action was taken in the matter.

A son of Mr. John Grant, proprietor of the Woodville Examiner, Sir. E. M. Grant, now practising as a solicitor in Brakpan, South Africa, writes interestingly to a Wellington friend, under date January 20, of the recent strike in the Transvaal. In the course of the letter he says:" What do you think of the commando system now? I think it is a bit of an eye-opener to the world that a thinlypopulated place like South Africa could mobilise 60.000 men in the space of three days. You remember, I was always preaching the commando system for New Zealand, and I am more convinced than ever that it is the only system for New Zealand. The Botha Government has cer tainly solved the difficulty of settling strikes. 1 don't think we need fear another strike here during a lifetime. I was in Benoni the other day, and I saw the burghers arresting the strikers who would not return to work. The whole thing was like a comic opera.. Every man that was idling in the street was asked what he was doing there, and if he was a striker he was given the option of going back to work or of being arrested. Those who refused to go back to work were placed in a large open space, surrounded by an iron fence, and in a very short time there were something lik 3 200 penned up. They were afterwards marched to Boksburg, and lodged in gaol . . . The commandos aro now beinj; dispersed, so I expect things will be normal again in a few days."

A Fijian who accompanied the Rev. VV. E. Bennett to Sydney is greatly amused at the way Australians bathe in the surf. Mr. Bennett told a gathering in Sydney last week that the native had written to his father and told him that the ladies especially never went further than the sand. Mr- Bennett added that he secured a costume for the Fijian at Bondi, and saw him go out beyond the fourth line of breaker?. He called him back and remonstrated with him. He mentioned the undertow, and the native said it was not nearly so bad as they experienced on the reefs round the islands. " Then," said Mr. Bennett, " I fired my big gun, and told him of the terrible sharks. He said in reply that a shark would never attack a man in deep water, but only in the shallow. ' Then,' he said. ' all you have . to do is to dive and throw your arms - round him so that he cannot bite you.' " The Federal Postmaster-General (Mr. " Agar Wynne) has approved of a design for several new postage stamps. The new 6d stamp, which will be among the first ■ of the newest designs to be made available to the public, will bear as its chief feature a reproduction of a kookaburra .J sitting on the limb of a ti-ee. The new- ' blue 2£d stamp will show the head of the gg King, while the design for the new isaiia h ; of the 2s stamp will have a black »wan|g| as its central figure. - 7f||