LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15663, 17 July 1914, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

TriE city fire brigade received a call at 5.48 p.m. yesterday to No. 9, Anglesea Street, a two-storeyed wooden house occupied and owned by Mr. T. White. In some unexplained manner an outbreak of fire had originated in one of the bedrooms, but tho prompt arrival of tho brigade confined the damage 9 to the bedding and clothes. Tho house is insured for £400 in the South British office and the furniture for £100 in the National office. The actual damage done did not exceed £20.

The quarantine restrictions which were enforced by the Fiji Government on passengers landing at Fiji from New Zealand havo been removed, a circular to that effect having been received by the Union Company. The restrictions which were until recently enforced were severe, all passengers landing at Fiji from tho Dominion having to show signs of recent vaccination.

The taking of evidence by the commission inquiring into the proposal that the, Remuera Road District should be amalgamated with the city concluded at a-quarter to ten o'-clock last night. There have been 11 sittings of the commission, which actually commenced its proceedings on March 16. The hearing of evidence did not commence until April. Over 40 witnesses have been examined. A date has yet to be fixed by the commission for the hearing of addresses by counsel.

It is reported that last Sunday night's South-bound Wellington express ran into a railway jigger on the main line in the vicinity of the Tuakau station. The jigger' is stated to have been socurely locked when left by some platelayers in the station yard on Saturday afternoon. The collision resulted in ' the jigger being smashed to matchwood, but no damage whatever was sustained by the train, which proceeded on its journey, after stopping to ascertain if anyone had been injured. Tho police are investigating tho matter, which, so far, remains a mystery.

Amongst tho arrivals at Auckland yesterday was tho Norwegian four-masted barquentine Obcron, a steel vessel of 1119 tons gross. She came from Bussolton, West Australia, after a somewhat lengthy passage of 43 days. Vessels of tho Oberon's class are very seldom seen at Auckland, and consequently she attracted considerable attention on the waterfront. The Oberon left Bussclton on June 2, loaded with 607,444 ft of hardwood, about 342,000 ft of which will be discharged here, and the balance at Whangarei. She is a sitter ship to the Wellington-owned barquentine Titania, which has been engaged in the inter-colonial coal and timber trade for some time past, and which is at present loading phosphates at Surprise Island for Lyttelton and Dunedin. Both the Oberon and Titania wero built by Messrs. Russell and Company, at Port Glasgow, the former in 1893, and the latter in 1895. The Oberon carries a deep tank, which holds 480 tons of water ballast, thus doing away with the usual slow method of loading mullock as ballast. Tho vessel's crew numbers 12 hands all told, and comprises five Norwegians), including the captain, four Swedos, two Russian Finns, and one Englishman. After putting out the balance of her cargo at Whangarei, the Oberon goes to Maiden Island to load phosphates for New Zealand.

Corrected returns of the exports from the Dominion during the first three months of tho year have been furnished by the Customs" Department to the Collectors of Customs at the various ports. These returns, include exportations under a larger number of headings than those furnished fortnightly by tho Department, of Agriculture, though the latter obtains its information 'rem the Customs Department. According tc ihc extended returns, the valae of the enumerated products exported during tho first quarter from the whole Dominion was £9,999,439 The figures for tho Port of Auckland are:—January, £330.804; February, £603,433; March, £363,866; total, £1,298,103. With the exception of the returns for January, no information is yet available regarding tho import trade of this year.

The meeting to consider the advisability of forming a town-planning league, which was tentatively fixed for this afternoon, has been postponed until next Friday afternoon. The proposal has been initiated by the Mayor of Auckland, and owing to pressure of municipal business Mr. Panhas not been able to complete the arrangements. He has now decided to convene a meeting in the concert chamber of the Town Hail at 3.30 p.m. on Friday next to which a general invitation to the public will be given, Mr. Parr hopes that the meeting will bo attended by representatives of the- various local authorities, arclilects, surveyors and others interested in the beautification of the city, the provision of municipal amenities, N and the Greater 'Auckland movement.

Good progress is being made with the erection of the new buildings for the! Auckland Grammar School at Mount Eden. i Tho withdrawal of 10 bricklayers engaged on the contract in May last put a temporary check to the work, but the places of the roon were soon filled, and since then the work proceeded steadily. At present thero are 42 men engaged on the building, comprising eight carpenters, 14 bricklayers, and 20 labourers. Tho contract is in the hands of Mr. W. E. Hutchison, and the new building, which is to cost £31,450, is to be finished by October of next year. The general foreman on tho contract said yesterday that ho hoped to have the brickwork completed by Christmas, leaving almost another year for tho completion of tho contract. In a fortnight's time ho expects to havo the firstfloor joists laid. Already the brickwork lias bee<. carried all round the building to tho height of the first-floor windows, tho frames of which have been fitted on three sides. The work of laying out the grounds is also going forward, and the large playing field adjoining the new school buildings, the levelling of which has been a task of nearly two years, is practically in a finished state.

Tho proposed purchase of the Tatapuna tramways and ferry will be further considered by a special meeting of the Takapuna Borough Council. Definite terms have been submitted by the directors of the company, and the chairman, Mr. John Brown, explained yesterday that the directors will not materially alter any of tho essential particulars in their proposition to tho council. Should the council decide to take over the tramways, the ratepayers of Takapuna and the shareholders in tho company will have to bo consulted. An offer to purchase tho company's business has also been made by an Auckland business man, who states that he is prepared to proceed to London immediately to obtain the necessary capital to acquire the company's interests. Pending a decision by tho Takapuna Council, consideration of this offer has been oostponed.

Next week a woman, who is alleged to he practising a kind of tohungaism amongst the Maoris for a monetary consideration, will bo summoned in the Police Court. The charge against her will bo that of practising tohungaism contrary to the Statute, wtiich forbids" it. ..

Tho sworn statement of John Htn Cook, of Frankton, contractor and bail<ie?7 has been filed with tho official nssieni 'o Mr. W. H. Fisher. This seta forth M debtor's liabilities to 23 unsecured cka- I tors amount to £517 6s Id. The assets iM set down at £213 Os Id, as follows-Stock-in-trade, tools, etc., £15; balarica due on a contract, £141 Os 4d; foot debts, £70 6s 9d; cash, £4 3 3 ;' f„ °. hire, £12 10s. Tho deficiency in the estate" is £274 6s. Bankrupt attributes his faiW to keen c mpetition having compelled him to take c mtracts at prices winch did n leave odejuate profits. The first rncclin of credito s is to bo held this afternoon »t Hamilton

The ar mini meeting of the New Zealand Federat-d Seamen's Union will probaM bo com nenced in Auckland this mornim? The Auckland delegates are Messrs. J 0 Sharl'dy and J. F. Kneen, Messrs. W. T Young and H. Richards will represent Wellington, and Messrs. W. Belcher and W. R. Clarke are the Dunedin delegates All the delegates are now in Auckland Included in tho business to be transacted is the revision of the rules of tho three branches with a view to securing unj. fortuity.

A peculiar position has arisen concern, ing tho Wanganui Borough County, power to suspend a taxicab-driver's license telegraphs our correspondent. ,TV license of one of the drivers had been suspended, and he, obtaining a legal opinion was advised to continue to ply lot hire A letter from the legal firm intimating this, and adding that the council had no power to suspend a taxicab-driver's license was read at the council meeting last night. It was referred to the council's solicitor. It was stated that the police were proceeding against the taxicab-driver for driving without a liense, and that the council's power would be tested in due course.

Tho president of the United Federation of Labour, Mr. D. G. Sullivan, discussing tho result of the Unity Conference in Christchurch, said that tho new constitution of tho United Federation of Labour had been so simplified, and was based so much upon the opinion of moderate Labour, that tho least revolutionary trades union in tho country ought to find no difficulty whatever in affiliating with tho organisation. No longer had tho executive power to call out any union on strike without giving it an opportunity to take a secret ballot of its members on the question. Tho contributions payable by the unions to the organisation had been reduced by onefourth, and the district or trades councils wero an integral portion of the scheme Every attempt by the I.W.W. section to impress its views on the conference had been unsuccessful, and ho anticipated that at last an organisation had been devised that would include in its ranks all the trades unions cf New Zealand.

The Municipal Conference which ii meeting in Wellington passed a resolution yesterday to tho effect that the law should be amended so as to throw tho onus of demolishing condemned buildings on .o the Pealth Department. It was resolved that the law relating to "unauthorised expenditure " should be amended by altering Bection 28 of the Public Revenues Amendment Act, 1913, to read " two per centum" for "onn per centum." The conference also adoiited a remit that it was of vital import to the health of th« community that the distribution of milk should be under municipal control.

Candle-making and printing . were the subject ■of a "discussion at the last meeting of the Wellington Industrial Assiiciation. Mr. E. Bull stated that 28,000 boxes of caudles were imported into New Zealand last year. Tho duty imposed waj* insufficient, and for that reason the sale of the locally-made article had dwindled to almost nothing. Some plants were at present lying idle. As' regards printing, Mr. Watkins said that the duty on printed matter (3d per lb) really i mounted to nothing, and was not sufficient to protect tho trade In a pound weight of printed matter there might bo 1000 to 2000 labels. It was decided to place the position before tho Minister for Customs immediately, and to suggest, at the same time, that some relieving measure should bo adopted this year.

Reference to the bad state of the teeth of children in the colonies was made by Dr. Hardwick Smith, medical superintendent of the Wellington Hospital, in the course of*a lecture on Tuesday evening. He attributed the better preservation of the teeth of children at Homo to the fact that they did not have tho same luxuries the people ■ had out"' here, and he especially condemned the eating of too many sweets, particularly after meals and beforo going to bed. Ho urged the eating of raw apples, stating that ho believed that if. after each meal, every child ate a good piece of raw apple it would not be necessary to have even tooth brushes. Tho teeth, he said, were tho gates of the body, and once they became broken down its defences were gone.

A woll-known Alpino guide, Conrad Kain, has been appointed by tho Tourist Department for tho coming season at Mount Cook. In tlvi early part of the season he will bo engaged in teaching tho younger guides the finer, points of alpino work and will afterwards assist Chief Guido Graham in the work of high climbing. The engagement of Mr. Kain will be of great assistance to the guiding staff which was reduced by the disaster which resulted in the death ot Mr. King and Guides Thorn* son and Richmond last season. Conrad Kain is at present acting as chief guide to the Canadian Alpino Club. Ho has a splendid climbing record in the European Alps, in tho Canada Rackies and in New Zealand. Ho came to New Zealand last year in tho capacity of private guide to Mr. Otto Frind, an enthusiastic alpinist who purposes revisiting Now Zealand during the coming season.

A meeting of the committee of the Auckland Horticultural Society was held last evening, it which the schedules for forthcoming shows as framed by the various floral committees were received and adopted, with a few alterations. The allocation of prize-money was referred to a sub-committee. Mr. J, P. Kalangher wrote expressing his willingness to comply , with tho committee's request for an address on school gardens to be delivered before the members of the society on October 22. Satisfactory progress was reported to be being made with tho structural alterations to the horticultural hall in tho Domain, and it was stated that the building would •he ready in ample time for the first sho* of the season on September 4 and 5. 1" was decided to institute a special prize of a gold medal and diploma, the latter to bo framed by the society, and. hung in IM hall for the most meritorious exhibit, competitive or otherwise, made during t«0 1911-15 season. An offer from Mr. J. H. Rice to repaint the society's plant free of charge met with tho thanks of the committee, for some time past ways and means of instituting a class for cottage gardens had exercised the minds of tbo . committee. Difficulties, however, were solved last evening by the offer of a wellknown resident, who has previously proved himself a munificent patrou of horticulture, to provide tho requisite prizes '-Ml