LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16123, 11 January 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Manuka, which is carrying 74 bags ' of Australian, 57 bags of European, and seven bags of Egyptian mail for Auck- i land, was expected to reach Wellington j from Sydney at four o'clock this morning. i This mail should reach Auckland by the express to-morrow morning. The impression has been created in some quarters that the junction of Wellesley j I Street and Queen Street will be made the ' ' terminus of all cars approaching the city along Wellesley Street, on the completion of the new line along Upper Queen Street to Karangahape Road. This is not to. Persons desirous of travelling from Khyber Pass Road or Pitt Street to the Chief Post Office will still be able to do so on the penny fare on cars travelling via the Wellesley Street routes as at present. The Upper Queen Street extension will, however, form part of a new penny section running from the junction of Queen Street and Wellesley Street along Upper Queen Street and Karangahape Road, thence to the intersection of Knyber Pass Road and Upper Symonds Street. None of the legacies bequeathed to church and philanthropic institutions under the will of the late Mr. J. C. Macky, |of the firm of Macky, Logan, Caldwell, Ltd., who lost Ids life in the. Lusitania j disaster last year, has yet been paid over. It is understood, however, that I some of the lesser amounts will reach the • hands of the beneficiaries almost immediately. Other bequests will be met as funds accumulate in the realisation of the deceased gentleman's estate. The distribution of the £20.000 which Mr. Macky willed to the employees of his firm 16 left at the discretion of the executors, who are his fear eldest sons, subject to an injunction that they shall deal firstly with I all persons who were actually in the em- ' ployment of Macky, Logan, Caldwell. I Ltd., at the time of his death, also those who had left the firm's employment by reason of old age, infirmity, ill-health, or accident. It is understood that the executors are preparing a plan <. f division under which all who come within this description shall participate equitably, in due proportion to their salaries, and j length of service, and the responsibility of the positions they have occupied.

Satisfactory boring experiments have been carried out by Mr. H. J. Stone, of rapatoetoe, on Mr. S. E. Hoddinott's property, Pcikekohe, a fact which supports the theory of the Rev. H. Mason that a subterranean water basin exists in Pnkekohe Hill. The experiments have been made 120 ft belcw the top of the hill, water being struck at a depth of 224 ft, after boring through hard bluestone rock through the greater portion of 205 ft. The flow secured represents 480 gallons per hour. Recent efforts by the Pukekohe Borough Council, made at the summit of the hill, with a view to securing a water supply, proved fruitless, owing to the difficulty experienced in boring through the basaltic rock encountered.

Should the City Council, at its coming meeting, agree to execute the deed of delegation in connection with the proposed tramway construction in Queen Street, between Wellesley Street and Karangahape Road, there will remain no further formal steps to complete the authority to the Auckland Electric Tramways Company to proceed with the work. As a matter of fact, had the council agreed at its last meeting to the signing of the deed, operations would have been put in band by this time. In the meantime, the company has been unable to keep idle the gang of men who would have been employed in preparing to lay the track, but when once the necessary authority has been given, it twill be ready to commence construction as soon as the necessary labour can be secured. As the Mayor has already stated his opinion that the council will execute tho deed when next it meetswhen the report of the Public Services Committee, to which the question has been referred, will no doubt be presentedit may be presumed that the works will shortly be in progress.

It was recently mentioned that the Salvation Army had decided to open a nome in Auckland for the reception of tiie orphan children of New Zealand soldiers who have lost their lives in the present war. For this purpose they h.'.ve secured a residential property on Clifton Road, Ponsonby, known as " The Grange," formerly occupied by the late Mr. \Y. U. Smith, of the firm of Smith and Caughey. The situation is well out of range of the business part of tho city, Clifton Road being one of the streets which run from Jervois xvoad to the Ponsonby waterfront, a short distance beyond the Tram Company's barn.

' A question of some importance to members of Auckland Friendly Societies was mentioned by Mr. P. J. Nerheny at last evening's meeting of the Auckland Hospital Board. He said that some dissatis- , faction had been occasioned because mem- , bers who were inmates of the hospital I could not obtain a continuous sick certificate from the resident medical staff, which was necessary before they could seeuie their sick pay. He suggested that the i chairman instruct the resident doctors to I issue continuous certificates when asked I for, and he pointed out that the Friendly : Societies were paying large sums to the | Hospital Board. With {he board's consent, the chairman promised to give the necessary instructions. Tho provision which the State is making at R-otorua for the accommodation of convalescent soldiers is to be supplemented by an important scheme which the Salvation Army will shortly have in operation. The Army authorities have secured a building in Arawa Street, which was formerly used as a store, and are having it fitted up as a soldiers' institute or club. The establishment is to be conducted somewhat on the lines of the institutes now established by the Army in Trentham and other large camps, as a place where soldiers can find means of profitably passing their spare hours. There will be a library and readingroom, with tables at which games can be played, and accommodation :or letterwriting. Light refreshments are also to be supplied. Workmen are at present employed in enlarging the building, which— it is expected—will be fully equipped and ready for opening within the nest month.

The Auckland City Fire, Brigade received a call last evening at hall-past six o'clock to attend to an outbreak of fire at Phipps's sawmill in Spring Street, Remuera. The outbreak was quickly subdued, no extensive damage being done. It is supposed that the tire originated from a spark from the mill chimney.

The following was the «-tat-e of the Auckland Prison, for the week ended, January 8 :—On remand, 18 males; awaiting trial 5 males; sentenced to life, 6 males; hard labour, 191 males and 19 females; imprisonment, 3 male*; default of bail, 5 males; received during the week, 49 males and 7 females; discharged, 47 males and 7 females; total in prison, 226 males and 19 females.

The convalescent hospital, 'which has been erected by the Government on Pukeroa Hill, Rotorua, for the reception of sick and wounded soldiers, will be officially opened at 2 p.m. tomorrow, by the J Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister for Public Health. It was hoped that the Earl of Liverpool would be able to perform the ceremony, but His Excellency is so much occupied with matters connected with the re-equipment of the hospital ship Maheno that the duty devolves upon the Minister. | The new institution, of which Colonel i Stewart Xewall, well-known as a veteran ■ of the Maori and South African war;, is ; to be commandant, is delightfully situated on a hillside, overlooking the lake. It has been so planned as to employ, to the: fullest extent, the system of open-air treatment, which has been found most successful in the Great Eastern Hospital I at Cambridge, England, and also to take i advantage of the recuperative properties | of trie thermal springs of the district. i j-.ie building is designed on the most modern lines, and from its main i , ' i vr in dew a there is a very tine outlook aero?? the lake to Mokoia [ Island. A special feature of the scheme is the provision of a workshop. in which inmates will ,-be able to cultivate any hobby they may have formed in the way of carpentering, or may lay the foundations of future usefulness to themselves , in the handling of tools. ; A gift set of croquet clubs and balls has been made to the returned wounded soldiers who have been undergoing treatment a" the | hospital annexe. By means of the set , the men have been able to enjoy them- | selves immensely. They Live taken a | great liking to the game, and a number ' of them have become proficient player.?, j A game played on the Domain Cricket ; Ground yesterday morning between teams | representing infantry and artillery caused I a great deal of excitement and much | merriment. In connection with the selection of a new site for the proposed cottage hospital at Warkworth, Mr. M. J. Coyle. the chairman of the Auckland Hospital Board, accompanied by some members of the board's Building Committee, together with the district health officer. Dr. T. J. Hughes, will visit the district on Saturday next. The board's property in the town from which a rite is to be chosen will then be inspected, with a view to making the selection.

" The munition factories in Canada are working at very high pressure just now," said Mr. Adam Watson, a passenger from Canada, who arrived in Auckland by the Makura yesterday morning. " Factories which before the war were manufacturing agricultural implements, are now turning out munitions as fast as they can be made, i Most of these factories are being operated I 24 hours 3 day, and some of the expert; mechanics employed in them are earning ) up to 100 dollars a (week- The factories , were originally making empty shell- ! cases only, but they are now turning outhuge quantities of loaded shells, ready in j every respect for the guns." A sitting of the Alien Enemy Com- ; mission, consisting of Mr. J. W. Poynton, : S.M., Palmerston North, Mr. John' Roberts, C.M.G., Dunedin, and Mr. ' George Elliot, Auckland, was held in j Auckland yesterday. The commission j leaves for Wellington and Palmerston North to-day. The remarkable wheat harvest in Canada i las season was referred to by Mr. Adam i Watson, representing the Dominion Flour- I m'lls Company, of Montreal, Canada, who ' arrived in Auckland by the Makura yes- j terday morning, en route to Sydney and ' Melbourne. Mr. Watson stated that after ; providing for her own requirements Canada had 500,000,000 bushels for export, and the bigger part of this surplus was being sent to Great Britain. Yields in the great , wheat belt had averaged between 50 and i 60 bushels per acre, and the oat crop from 70 to 80 bushels per acre. The Auckland City Band of the Salvation Army has returned from a New Year tour of the Taranaki district, in which it combined with a holiday trip a very successful effort in aid of the Servian Relief Fund. Oh the afternoon of the first Sunday of the year an open-air concert of sacred music was given under the conductorship of Bandmaster Deighton at the New Plymouth park, in the presence of about 2000 people, when voluntary contributions were taken at the gates to the amount of £42. The evening was devoted to another concert at the Town Hall, consisting of the service of song entitled "The Wreck of the Wairarapa," which commemorates the j loss o** a fine steamer of the Union Com- ! pany at Great Barrier over 20 years ago. On this occasion the hall was crowded I to the fullest extent, and hundreds of people, were turned away. The total takings in New Plymouth amounted to £140, and a clear profit of £100 was realised for the relief fund. Afterwards the band visited Eltham, Hawera, Stratford and Inglewood, and met with a hearty reception in each town. As the result of the tour, Brigadier Carmichael, who accompanied the band, has been able to hand over the sum of £200 for the relief of the distressed Servians. In most of the towns visited the Mayors welcomed the touring musicians on behalf of the citizens, and also placed the halls at their disposal free of charge. To show the enthusiastic spirit of the bandsmen, it may be mentioned that in order to minimise expenses, and so leave as large a sum as possible available for the fund, they elected to travel from Onehunga to New Plymouth at steerage rates and also defrayed half their travelling expenses.

The receipt of a donation of £6 from the Auckland Commercial Travellers' Association towards the Warkworth Cottage Hospital was acknowledged at the meeting of Che Auckland Hospital Board last evening. The donation carries a subsidy of £7 from the Government.

The phenomenal rise in the prices of shares in American manufacturing concerns and railway companies, as a result of the war, was referred to yesterday by Mr. G. R. Blakemore. an Australian metallurgist, who is a through passenger for Sydney by the Makura. "There is hardly a railway company in the United States," said Mr. Blakemore, '"whose shares have not appreciated by about 20 per cent., and the shares of every indus trial organisation in America have increased in value in proportion. Those in woollen and bout factories have rise!! I most remarkably." The visitor added i that on the outbreak of war share* in the Electric Motor-boat Company were quoted at 6s, but they had recently risen to £108. Another example was the shares of the Bethlehem Steel Company, which two years ago stood at £8, but were recently quoted at £120. These prices were the result of the unprecedented rush of business consequent on the war. Mr. Blakemore, who visited a large metal establishment in the United States, was informed that a considerable portion of the output of 4000 tons per day consisted of shrapnel shells. Large steamers left every week with from 12,000 to 15,000 tons of munitions for the ' allies. The total output would probably be 100.000 tons per week.