GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1514, 7 March 1901, Page 26

GENERAL NEWS.

Five tenders have been received from English firms for engines for the sewerage pumping station, and the City Council has referred them to the Engineer for report. Mr L. M- Grace last week again took Up the lease of 33,786 acres of land known as the Okahukara Block, near Mount Tongariro, for three years, at an annual rental of £6B 19s lOd.

In response to the application of the St. Patrick’s Day Demonstration Committee, the City Council decided last evenin° r to request the mayor to declare Saturday, 16th March, a public holiday.

The Department of Agriculture has informed the City Council that new regulations have come into force, by which the Council itself will in future have to take over the inspection of retail milk shops.

During a sitting of the Federation Commission, the Hon. J. Roberts, G.M.G., stated that the records showed that in 1880, when the population of the colony was 271,000 less than in 1900 there were 500 more births than in the latter year.

The “Trade Review’-’ in its report for the week of the money market, says : The Bank of England rate has been reduced by two drops of a half per cent, each, from 5 to 4 per cent., and fie London open market terms are still below the hank rate. Should the downward movement continue, an opening may occur for floating.some of the colonial loans, which have been waiting for an easier market. The local supply in the colony is abundant, and money is readily obtainable, on freehold mortgage, at from 4 \ to 51 per cent., according to character of security and margin. Bank rates are unaltered. Shares of a good class' and freehold, properties of a suitable character are in good demand for purposes of investment. At last week’s meeting of the City Council, the Mayor moved that leave of absence be given to Councillor Townsend from the night’s meeting on account eff the death of his father, and also that a vote of condolence with him in his loss be passed. He further moved that a vote of sympathy with the Hon F. H. Fraser in ms severe illness be conveyed to that gentleman. Mr Fraser had been a member of the Council for years, and he was glad to say that from information .which lie had received that evening he learnt that lie was better. It was now hoped that Mr Fraser was on the fair way to recovery. Both motions were carried. "When the Board of Conciliation made its recommendation in the saddlers’ < industrial dispute, which was fought out between tile union ana three city master .saddlers, a clause was. inserted, giving the union a month in which to bring the country employers in the Wellington industrial district into line. That time has now elapsed, and the Board has fixed the 11th inst. as the

date oil which it will hear the case as ” between the country master saddlers and the union. _lne three city firms mentioned will also probably appear before the Board, a difficulty having arisen between them and the union as to compliance with the Board’s recommendations.

The time within which notice could be given by the employers in the timber yards and sawmills industrial dispute of their intention of carrying their case to the Arbitration "Court has expired. .“Notice of' such intention, however, has been given in- the proper place by the city owners of timber-yards. The country sawmillers, with a few exceptions, have remained inactive. The question consequently arises as to what* is !he position ox_ the country sawmillers who have not given the required notice. Arcthey bound by the Board’s recommendations? If none of the parties had moved, all would have been bound by the Conciliation Board’s decision. Arc those who remained passive bound by the recommendation, or is the action of a. portion, of the employers’ side in seeding an award of the Court to bind the whole? It is maintained that the new Act contains a power by which that result- is achieved automatically, but as the question has never arisen heretofore there is as yet no decision on the point.

Some forfeited land in the McKenzie Settlement alongside the railway line at Mangamaire, a few miles north of "Eketahuna, was sub-divided some time ago into a number of sections ranging from sixteen to forty-two acres. The soil is of first-class quality,well-watered, close to a railway station, and in the neighbourhood of creameries and dairy factories. At the request of certain village settlers occupying a few acres m the locality, the land, however, has been' locked up with a view to an alteration of the Land Act enabling them to apply For the sections. The Land Board now recognises that the pressure for homes on the part of landless people, the value of the sections for dairy farms and the possible delay that may ioccttr in getting the law altered, renders it inexpedient that the land should be held much longer against occupation. It intends to obtain information as to tne prospect of the powers of _ villagers being enlarged, and should this appear problematical or remote, the land will be offered for occupation in the usual way.

The Fire Brigades’ Conference at Christchurch was attended by over sixty delegates, a record number.

The installation of the interlocking system at the "Wellington Railway tstaticn approaches completion, under the supervision of Mr Wynne, the expert i V ho was brought from Scotland to supervise the work. The busy "W estport station will be the next to have vise new system installed. •The following are the vital statistics of Wellington for February, as compared with those for the corresponding month of last year : —Births, 110 (105); deaths, 50 (33); marriages, 51 (48). It may be of interest to note that the number of births in Wellington in 188 S exceeded that of last j’ear. A letter was read from Mr R. G. Knight at the City Council meeting last week, asking if the Council intended making the land near his place at Island Bay a dumping-ground for manure; and if so, would the Council kindly send along a dozen fly-papers for the “fly nursery.” The Mayor explained that the land on which .the manure was placed was two acres in extent, and tnat it was being dug into the soil.

Feeling is running high at Wanganui because of the receipt of an intimation from tire Wellington Garrison Band that owing to the difficulty experienced in getting its players’ leave of absence, it had decided to withdraw from the contests at that place. The “Herald ’ actually devotes a leading article to the subject, and after roundly abusing the Wellington band, accuses it of being afraid to meet a local band which has lately been sleeplessly practising. It was pointed out that the committee had entered the date of the contest to suit the Wellington band. A deputation from the Cab Proprietors’ Union waited.upon the City Council last week, and urged that clause 4. of the Public Works Report of 31st January, stipulating that the numbers of the cabs be placed inside the vehicles, be rescinded. The president of the union (Mr W. Ritson) and the secretary (Mr J. Turnbull) appeared in support of that object, and urged that there would be very little use in putting numbers inside carriages, as they could not be read at night, and that in cabs with collapsible roofs there was no place on which to write the number. It was further urged that to place a number on the lamp-glass would tend to destroy its usefulness. The- deputation thought it was quite sufficient if the number were placed on the front side of the cab. Councillor Anderson insisted that it was necessary that the number should be placed inside the vehicle, so that a passenger might be able to readily read it, and thus identify the owner in the event of an over-charge being made. The inspector said he thought the number should be placed on the lamp, but not inside the cab. On the motion of Councillor Smith, it was resolved to strike out the clause of the report referred to.

The troubles of the Wilford Village Settlers in the neighbourhood of Feilding occupdied the I and Board last week for about a, couple of hours. During the past six years there has been quite a scramble between two or three settlers over half a dozen sections representing altogether about forty acres. A family named Looney took up six acres, and two brothers named Jobson obtained five acres each. Three sections, containing in all twenty-three acres, becoming forfeited, the Jobsons and the Looneys in turn applied for them. Acting on a report of the Crown Lands Hanger, the Board, with the authority of the Minister, conveyed the sections to the Jobsons. The latter now complain that matters have been made so sultry that they wish to quit the locality, and the Board was asked" to transfer some of their sections to a young lady, who stated, however, that she would not be a resident. One of the .Jobsons, who is supporting a disabled brother, strongly urged the transfer, but some of the members of the Board held that the Looney family should have the preference m case of further transfers. It was finally decided that the Commissioner should visit the settlement, and try to arrange the difficulty. Dr McArthur, S.M., gave judgment for plaintiffs on the 28th in the followng • cases:—Laery and Co. v. Arthur E. Thomas, £33 7s 9d, costs £2 14s; Onrdunnan Gold Dredging Company v. Walter Garner, £l6. ss, costs £1 10s 6d; Wellington City Council v. Manikua Puketapu, 15s 9d, costs 17s; same v. Louisa Tippler, £l2 18s 9d, costs £1 ss. In the case of A. Sample v. Wm. E. Tyson, a claim for £3 rent, alleged to be due by Tyson as guarantor for a relation, judgment was given for oils', which amount the defendant admitted that he owed. Mr Dunn appeared for the plaintiff and Mr Hindmarsh for the defendant. Dr A. Buchler claimed £3 15s, which he alleged had been wrongfully retained by W. E- Sainsbury, the defendant. The defendant had let a house for the plaintiff at £1 5s per week, and had retained four weeks instead of one week’s rental. Mr Hindmarsh appeared for the plaintiff and Mr Luckie for the defendant. The latter stated that the money was retained to defray expenses which hei had incurred- on the plaintiff’s behalf, but the plaintiff said that any services rendered by the defendant beyond letting thel house were rendered on behalf of his' wife. After hearing evidence, Dr McArthur supported this view;, and gave judgment for the amount claimed, with costs (£1 12s).

Rain fell during twelve days of the month just past, the total registered being 2"65 inches, in comparison with 2 inches in February last year. The average February rainfall for thirty years is 3.5 inches. Letters of naturalisation have been issued to eleven persons resident in the colonv. including Loth air Hugo "JL-ang-vud and John Vincent le Houpe, both of Wellington. Nearly 15,000 acres in the Mangapoike block, Nuhaka North Survey District, has been set apart for settlement, and also a block of 4200 acres in the Nuhaka and Nuhaka North districts. An area of 1030 acres in the Langdale settlement has also been set apart for leasing as a small grazing run.

The following are among the appointments appearing in last week s “Gazette”: —Francis IT. D. Bell, to be Consul for Denmark at Wellington ; Jas. Robertson, to be a clerical cadet m the Lands and Survev Department; Artnur Wells, to be clerk of the Wellington Lunatic Asylum.

Advantage is being taken of the low •state of the Rangitikei River to float down 19,000 railway sleepers and 3000 posts a distance of forty miles to the Mahohine Viaduct, where a boom has been constructed across the river. The work is expected .to employ twentythree men for a fortnight.

The Citv Engineer (Mr Rounthwaite) has reported to the Tramway Committee of the City Council on the matter of his investigations into tramway matters. Io is anticipated that the report of the Tramway Committee on the reorganisation of the service will be presented attire next meeting cf the Council. The “Otago Daily Times” says that but for the scarcity of labour the Eeriot railwav extension work would be put in hand by the Public Works Department. As the harvest is likely to he general in Otago in a few days, given fine weather, the prospect of securing men for the work is scarcely likely to be improved.

During the month of February eight, old-age pensions were granted by Dr McArthur, S.M. The recipients were the following persons: Catherine Cooper, 67 years of age, 37 years in the colony; David Lewis, 65, 26 in colony; John Thompson, 71, _ 40 in colony ; George Hill, 82, 33 in colony ; George Snow, 68, 58 in colonyC. D. Evans, 69, 34 in colony; E. McNamara, 65, 27 in colony—all the above £lB pensions; James May, aged _ 65, 2V years in the colony, £l3 pension. Included in tho arrivals in the colony for the month of January, which totalled 3105, were 1816 from New South Wales, 643 from Victoria, 186 from the United Kingdom, 163 from Cape Colony, 158 from Tasmania, 57 from the United States of America, and 27 from the Friendly Islands. The departures included 883 to New South Wales, 560 for Cape Colony, 329 for Victoria, 63 for the United Kingdom, 57 for Tasmania, 37 for the United States, 23 for the Cock Islands, and 8 for the Friendly Islands. ■Air L. Stowe writes as follows :—I noticed in' yo'up: issue of last week a paragraph referring to a bronze-leaved flax. It is, I believe, rare, the original plant having been found somewhere near Gisborne. I obtained the I had from an offshoot growing in the Napier district. Of some fifty plants raised only a small percentage were bronze, and varied a good deal in intensity of colour, some approaching crimson brown whilst others were of a lighter colour, and many showing no trace of colour beyond that of ordinary flax.

The “Evening Star” says that the fact that one foundry firm in Dunedin has dismissed thirty hands is conclusive proof of the increasing slackness in the dredge-building boom. When the dredging boom was at its height men flocked from all parts of New Zealandin search of work at the new industry, and their services found ready acceptance. It is said there is now plenty of work in hand in the foundries to keep regular hands employed for some months ahead, and when the winter season approaches, and the dredges get fairly to work, business is expected to improve,

A new warehouse has been designed for Levin and Co., Limited, which, for size and architectural appearance, -will compare favourably with any structure in the city. The site of the building is on the vacant piece of ground directly opposite the Ferry Wharf, Customhouse- quay. The warehouse will be erected from plans prepared by Mr James Hislop, of Dunedin. The "building will be four stories high, and will have .frontages to Waring Taylor street (184 ft), Featherston street (100 ft), and Customhouse . quay (88ft), the lastnamed thoroughfare having the main entrance. The ground floor will be given over to public and private offices, and-jvill contain, besides, a motor-house for the supply of power to the two electric lifts (passenger and freight) with which the warehouse is to he fitted. Part of the first floor will also be taken up with offices, and the remainder will be used as a store and bond, the latter portion being fitted with an intermediate floor. The second floor will be set apart for the storage of goods, and the third floor will he used as a wool store. The design provides for the most modern systems of heating, lighting and ventilation, with other conveniences. Tenders will shortly be called for the erection of the building.

The Government has decided that the 24th May will in future he observed as a public holiday in New Zealand. Our Palmerston North correspondent says that it is reported that Mr G. M. Snelson has decided to permit himself to be nominated as a candidate at the next mayoral election. Miss May Seddcn has presented a pair of fallow deer to the Wellington Acclimatisation Society. Tho deer have been liberated on Kapiti Island, which should prove an eminently suitable run for them. The thanks of the society are to be accorded to Miss Seddcn for her generous gift. At a. meeting of the Polynesian Society last week it was decided to remove the headquarters of the society to New Plymouth, Mr S. Percy Smith having taken up his residence at that place. Air E. Tregear, who has been secretary of the society for the past ten years, has resigned that position, and was last night elected president. Alessrs S. Percy Smith and W. Skinner will in future act as joint secretaries of the society, which has a membership of 204. In forwarding a cheque for £2 2s to this office, to be placed to the fund for the assistance of Mrs Russell and family, Dr Chappie writes:—“l know of no more deserving cause than that of this bereaved family. Mrs Russell was a devoted wife and mother, her little boys were well trained and tended and taught, and her home was always an example of what industry and thrift can do even on the precarious wages of a delicate breadwinner. She well merits the sympathy and sup-

port of the community, who could rest assured that nothing contributed by them would be wasted or misused.”

The annual meeting of the Convent ex-pupils, held on the 25tli, was well attended. The year’s report was read and confirmed. It was stated in the report that during the year a section of land 1 had been purchased, and a cottage, for the use of the Convent, erected at Titahi Bay. Tho total cost was £360. This had been reduced to £l6O. Several friends of the Convent and many of the present pupils had contributed towards tho expense of erecting and furnishing the cottage. A vote of thanks to the generous donors was carried unani-

mously. The election of officers for the. current year resulted as follows :—Pre- • sklent, the Rev Mother Superior; vicepresideut, Miss O’Connor; treasurer, Mrs T. _G. Macarthy; secretary, Miss K. Williams (all re-elected); committee. Blisses McDonald, Skerrett, Collins and Brady. A proposal to reduce the annual subscription of members was carried.

The last meeting of the Borough Council (writes our Carterton correspondent) was the most turbulent and farcical on record. Much recrimination over trivial matters was indulged m, and one obstreperous Councillor was unusually successful in raising chaos whenever there seemed to be a chauee

that business _ would proceed quietly. On one occasion the recalcitrant one mounted a table, and heatedly told the Mayor that ho would stay there and talk all night. Thereupon the Mayor asked the remaining City Fathers *to light their pipes, with the idea of making the position of the orator (a nonsmoker) untenable. These tactics were successful, the enemy climbed down, and surrendered. The burgesses are getting very tired of the methods of fie Councillors, and at the next election it will be no great surprise if some of them are relegated to well-merited oblivion.

Mr Harry Warner, president of the Wellington branch of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, writes: —At a meeting of our Branch Committee, held on the 27th, for the purpose of giving orders to our members to enable them to replace their tools lost in Stewart and Co.’s fire, strong exception was taken to the reported remark “ that being insured, one of our members was lucky to find his box safe.” As a matter of fact, lie was not lucky, but merely provident. Our society recognises the fact that the “ replacing of tools, lost by fire, water or theft,” is one of our chief benefits. Two of the other employees have not long left the union, and are now no doubt sorry for it. In the present case, the committee was promptly called together, and the claims dealt with so that the men can continue -work. Claims to> the amount of £6O were accepted.

Mr J. Robertson asked the chairman •of the Education Board last week if it was true that the City Council intended to prosecute the Board for a breach of the city by-laws for allowing the Newtown School to get into an insanitary condition. The chairman (Mr J. R. Blair), in reply, said he did not think that the City Council had behaved with that cburtesy which usually characterised the relations of publio bodies. As a matter of fact, no representations had been made to the Board by the Council. The sanitary appliances at the school were similar to those in the other large schools iii the city. The Sanitary Inspector of the City Council had, moreover, informed the Board’s secretary that the sanitary arrangements at the school were in good order in every respect. Mr W- C. Buchanan moved, and it was carried, “ That the chairman be empowered to take any action in the matter which he may consider necessary.”

A poll of the ratepayers of tlie Onslow Borough Council will be taken on the 20th inst. on the proposal that the Rating oil Unimproved Value Act be adopted in the horough.

At a meeting of the Marist Brothers’ Old Boys’ Association, it, was decided to establish a magazine in connection with the association}. Prizes were awarded to Messrs E. J. Fitzgibbon and C. Gamble for best original papers.

The two-acre site of mo proposed brick dairy factory on Nix’s Bill, Carterton, was bought by the newlyformed Parkvale Company for £SO an acre. Twenty years ago (writes our correspondent) the value was £5 per acre.

The Railway Department is reclaiming several acres of land at New Plymouth, and intends to erect a new railway station, and place sidings thereon. This step has been rendered necessary by the heavy increase in business in the Taranaki district of recent years. A large number of men are employed in connection with the works. . Miss M. Dynanr pupil-teacher, has been transferred from the Mauakau to the Levin School, and Miss Violet Rollo is to fill the Manakau vacancy. Miss Mary Dalzell has been appointed pupilteacher at the Waikanae School, Miss Selina Oliver to' Park Vale (near Carterton), and Miss Margaret Mcßeth to the Hukanui School. Mr Lawrence Arcus has been appointed a teacher in the Dalefield School. Messrs Newall (A.0.F.), Kershaw and W. Guise (1.0.0.hM.U.), Mclntyre (Rechabite's), and Flanaghan (1J.A.0.D.) have been appointed by the Executive Committee or the Wellington Friendly Societies’ Jubilee Orphanage to carry into effect the following resolution:—• “That in the opinion of this executive it is desirable that the WellingtonFriendly Societies’ Council should be the governing body of the Jubilee Orphanage in''future.” In the case brought by the police in the Magistrate’s Court on Friday against Evelyn Harcouri, for riding a bicycle on a footpath in Havvkestone crescent, to the danger of persons- using such footpath, Dr McArthur reserved his judgment. Mr Ollivier raised the point that a footway in a private street was not a public place. Other charges of a similar kind laid against John Walter Williams, Alfred Sherard and Mary Warren were held over pending a decision in the first-mentioned case. The Parliamentary vote of £3OO for the encouragement of swimming in puolic schools has been allocated amongst the various Education Boards as follows : —Auckland £64 9s lOd, Otago £47 17s Gd ! , North Canterbury £45 Ts sa, Wellington £33 4s 4cl, Wanganui £ 17s 7d„ Southland £2l 12s, Hawke's Bay £lB 8s 2d, Nelson £l2 12s, Taranaki £8 18s lOd, South Canterbury £l2 2s 9d, Marlborough £4 16s Grey £3 18s 3d, Westport £3 Is 4d. The allocation has been, mad© on the basis of the average attendance. Dr McArthur, S.M., on Friday sent Hannah McCarthy to prison for three months for being a habitual drunkardMary Vaughan, for vagabondage, was similarly punished, an additional sentence of fourteen days being inflicted for drunkenness. Henry Hargreaves was fined 10s for drunkenness, and first of- * fenders were more leniently treated. Stanley Smith was further remanded until Monday on :a charge of having stolen a gold watch and chain from Harriet Richardson, and a like remand was made in the matter of Ngahina Matu, charged with theft of a gun from Thomas Stewart, of Otaihanga. Tlie party of Imperial officers and ladies who, under the ciceronage of Mr T. E. Donne, Superintendent of Government Tourist and Health Resorts, recently travelled overland to Auckland, via the Wanganui river and Taupo, had a most agreeable experience. They were delighted with what they saw of the Wanganui river, especially above Pipiriki, and the cameras, which most of them carried, were in requisition the whole time. At Tokaanu, Taupo and Wairake the visitors were most cordially greeted !by the Maoris, who, by some mysterious agency, learned of their corning, and loaded them with precious gifts. At Tokaanu their reception was a warm one, taking, in fact, the form of a public reception, with triumphal arches, etc., complete. The visitors expressed the opinion that the trip was the most pleasant of all their pleasant experiences in New Zealand.

A special meeting of the City Council was held on Friday morning, and was attended by the Mayor, Councillors Barber, Smith, Luke, Winder, Evans, .Anderson, Murdoch, Izard, Tolhurst and Willeston. The object of the meeting was to confirm a special order passdd at a previous meeting abolishing the wards of the city. Councillor Lukje formally proposed a motion confirming the resolution, which was seconded by Councillor Smith. Councillor Anderson opposed the proposal, contending that the- change had not been asked for, and that the question should be submitted' to the ratepayers. It had been boasted by certain persons that if the wards were abolished they would be able to return all the members of the Council from one end of the city. Councillor Izard supported the motion, which would, he said, be the best thing for the city. He hoped the voting would be unanimous. Councillor . Anderson called for a division on the motion, with the result that he was the only “no.”

The Wellington Land Board will hold a sitting at the Courthouse, Masterten, at 10 a.m. cn March 20, to interview applicants for sections in the Langdale estate.

A telephone offico and bureau is now open at Dunrobin, Dunedin 'district. The hours of attendance are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Telegrams are delivered regularly.

The Wanganui Education Board has decided to accept the Government’s scheme in regard to the extra payment of teachers, reserving the right to secure more equitable adjustment for the future.

Mr T. E. Donne entered actively upon his duties as Secretary of Industries and Commerce and Superintendent of Government Tourist and Health Resorts on the Ist. He is at present occupying “P” committee room at the Parliamentary Buildings.

The Very Rev A. Keogh, S.M., M.A., the new rector of St. Patrick’s College, has arrived in Wellington from London, and will enter upon his duties forthwith. The new rector of “St-. Pat’s” is a Dublin University man, and comes to us with a very high reputation as a scholar and as a man. There can be no doubt that in his hands the College will continue to be a powerful influence in the community.

A most enjoyable practice was held last week by the Wellington Liedertafel, when some of the new music brought out by the society’s popular conductor (Mr Robert Parker) was put in rehearsal. The amount of enthusiasm displayed by members went a long way to show that the recent long rest they have had has had the effect of awakening quite a- new interest in the work of the society. Music-lovers may look forward to a great musical treat on the next appearance of the Wellington Lie tier taf el in public.

A very old resident of the Hutt district, Mr Charles England, died at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr J. Lowry, Petone, on Thursday. He carried on business as a butcher in the Hutt district for many years up till the early eighties, since which time he has been living in retirement in Petone. He was a quiet, unobtrusive man, but none the less a good colonist, leaving six sons, three daughters, forty-five grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren-. The deceased was eighty-two years of age. His wife predeceased him oy twenty-two years.

The usual weekly lecture cn first aid under the auspices of the Missions to Seamen was given by Mr J. Moore last there being a large attendance of sailors. Besides hints as to how to deal with accidents, various hints on health were given. An excellent- musical programme was contributed by Mrs Bono, .assisted by Misses Clialker and Daniel and Messrs Burton, Thompson and Legge. Mr Moore is- leaving for a short holiday, and opportunity was taken to wish him a_ pleasant trip and a safe return. A motion of sympathy was passed to the mother of Mr Ashley, the sailGr who died in the hospital on Thursday.

A Press Asociation message from Auckland states that the members of the legal profession on Thursday evening, at the Northern Club, welcomed the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), and bade farewell to Mr Justice Cooper, at a complimentary dinner. There was a large attendance cf Iggal luminaries, including the Solicitor-Glmeral (Dr Fitchett). After the usual toasts, the healths of the guests were honoured. Mr Justice Cooper was then presented with an address by the Auckland Law Institute, tendering congratulations and expressing the conviction that his comprehensive grasp of the principles of law eminently qualified him for his high position. Some details of municipal works now being carried out and projected in Rockhampton, Queensland, have reached us. The water supply question is perhaps the most important and 'urgent. The increasing population and the bad quality of the present supply render an entirely new supply absolutely necessary, and the estimated cost will not be under £IOO,OOO. The Council has also under consideration the advisability of constructing electric tramways in the municipality, and it is expected that a vote of the ratepayers will be taken in about eight weeks 5 time as to whether the work shall be undertaken by the Council or by a private company. No less than twenty-one miles of curbing and channelling are to be put down in the main streets, on a special pattern of the city engineers design, at a cost of £15,000. Three new concrete sewers are to be constructed at a host of £sooo>. A tender for a new bridge, 300 feet span across the Lion creek, to give access to the new sanitary grounds, has been accepted, and the work is to be piUished on at once at an estimated cost of £ISOO. The work of duplicating the present pumping plant and erection of new building, concrete retaining walls, etc., at the water works is now being carried on, and is estimated will cost about £6OOO. In addition to these important works, several other alterations and improvements of a minor nature are also being carried out. When a city'of the size of Rockhampton is thus facing an expenditure of over a quarter of a million sterling, the people of Wellington need have no hesitation about pushing on the tramway and street improvement works urgently required here.

The Wellington City Council gives notice in this issue of its intention to raise a special loan of £50,000 for tue erection of a Town Hall and Municipal offices.

There was only a short sitting of the Magistrate’s Court on Saturday morning. A first-offender was convicted of drunkenness and discharged. James McAnulty, wha was previously convicted of drunkenness a fortnight- ago, was remanded for medical treatment for seven days. Mr W. 11. Field, M.H.R., will address the Upper Hutt branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Dairy Union at that place next Saturday, with the object of outlining information which he gleaned during his recent visit- to Adelaide relative to tlie Produce Export Department established by the South Australian Government.

Mr G. E. Smith, Inspector of PublicWorks, bad the misfortune to lose bis son Bertie, who- died on Friday. The boy had been on a visit to Wanganui, in company with his sister, and it is believed that while there the two children caught typhoid fever, for shortly after their return to Wellington tlie disease developed, and it was deemed advisable to remove them to the hospital. The boy failed to rally, and passed away as stated. The little girl is now progressing favourably, although her condition was for a while such as to cause alarm.

“The Yeung Man’s Magazine” for March contains the conclusion of Mr Malcolm Ross’s “Bivouacs in the Southern Alps.” Other articles are “The Purchase of Opportunities,'’ by the Rev 11. Kelly, M.A.; “Ruskin’s Message to Young Men,” by Mr J. A. Johnson, M.A. ; “Significance and Power of Habit,” by Mr W. Gray, M.A. ; ‘‘Missions in Africa,” by Mr E. J. D. Hercus ; “Some Marks of Manhood,” by Rev Jas. Gibb, Dunedin; and “Swimming,” by Mr R. C. Renner. The number is a very interesting one, and contains some wellexecuted illustrations. In the current issue of “ Cold Storage,” the monthly journal cf the trade, is a statement.of the natural ice inported into the United Kingdom from Norway in 1900. It appears that the total quantity received was 448,813 tons, or 55,814 tons less than in the previous year, and 4917 tons more than in 1898; the value at the point of landing being £274,163, which shows a decrease of £42,719 and £54,398 respectively, compared with the previous years. The average price per tori in 1900 was 12s 3d, as compared with 12s 7d and 14s lOd. England and Wales imported 399,933 tons, Scotland 26,779 and Ireland 23,110. The activity of the increasing number of ice manufactories in Great Britain accounts for a good deal of the falling-off. Aberdeen, which is a case in point, and possesses three factories, last year received no natural The reports of the external examiners of the Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, for last year show satisfactory results. The method of examination in agriculture is for the examiner to accompany the students to the cultivated fields and question them upon the kinds of crops grown, the nature of all experiments, the manures, the quantities sown and the season for sowing. The result was that the students exhibited a good general knowledge of the practical work. In agricultural chemistry the examiner detected a tendency, too common among students, to learn by rc-te, without really grasping the subject. In natural science the whole class gained an average of thirty-two per cent, of the total marks, some students attaining as liigh as nine-ty-five per cent, while in practical botany the average was sixty per centPractical examinations, with good results, were held in reaping and sbooking. Examinations are- held from time to time throughout the year in threshing, ploughing, shearing, ditching, hedging, milking, butter-making, cheese-making, horse grooming, practical knowledge of live stock, blacksmiths’ work (including horse-shoeing) and carpentry. Ninetysix experiments in cropping were in progress during the 1900-1901 season.

Three Veterinary surgeons, whom Mr Gilruth submitted to a practical examination while he was in Scotland, and who (writes the London correspondent of the “Lyttelton Times*’) will leave for the colony on January 31, have been appointed. They are Messrs John Kerrigan, Daniel Hay Machattie and Alexander McLean Paterson. Mr Kerrigan, who is thirty-one, and unmarried, hails from Glenkindie, Aberdeenshire. He is an M.R.0.V.5., and winner of the Allen Thomson gold medal in anatomy and of a large microscope in chemistry, and has for the last five years and a half been employed by the three parishes, Glenbucket, T'owie and Strathdon, to advise in the management of live stock and farm sanitation. Mr Machattie, M.R.C.V.S., is twenty-two and a half, and unmarried He is a Glasgow man. He took up the veterinary profession at sixteen, and has seen a great deal of practice not only in Scotland, but also in New York and Montreal, Canada, and has been for some time acting as locum tenens for a veterinary surgeon in Perth. Mr Paterson, M.R.C.V.S., is thirty-four, married, and has two children. ‘At the Royal Veterinary College, in Edinburgh, he gained one gold medal, two silver medals and high honours. He has been in practice for ten years, not only in Scotland, but also in Texas, and has been lately employed as veterinary surgeon for the parishes of Ciuny, Esk, Midmar and Monymusk, in Aberdeen.

A Press Association message from Dunedin states that Mr David Baxter, a well-known wine merchant and a pro-

minent bowler, died there suddenly on

Saturday morning

Petitions are being presented to the City Councils of Auckland and Christchurch asking that a poll should be taken on the question of adopting the

.provisions of the Rating on Unimproved Values Act. Tlie system is now in

operation in twenty-one districts. The “Bruce Herald” says that the new drive in the Fortification Railway and Coal Company’s mine has now been driven about 350 ft into the hill, and good coal has been met with throughout. The railway line connecting the mine with the Government railway is almost completed. The Rev R. Coffey, the respected vicar of St Mark’s Parish, and Mrs Coffey, will leave on a visit to the Old Country in April, and will be away for six or seven months. During Mr Coffey’s absence the Rev C. R. Pollock, of Christchurch, will have charge of St. Mark’s-

A deputation of Maoris from south of the Manawatu river, for whom Mr

Ropat-a Te Ao was spokesman, was introduced to the Premier by Mr W. H. Field, M.H.R., on Saturday, to discusa recent land legislation. The Premier explained the general effect of the legislation of last- session, and promised that the. natives would be given the option of having their lands brought under the new Acts. This intimation seemed to give satisfaction to the na. tives nresent.

A Press Association message from Auckland states that the residents of Ellerslie have presented Mr Justice Cooper with an address. The presentation was made at the railway station by Sir G. M. O’Rorke. The address c<mgratulated the recipient on his elevation to the position of a Judge of the Supreme Court. 1 Mr Joe St. Clair has severed his connection with Messrs Williamson and Musgrove, with whom he has been connected for a\mmber of years. On Saturday he left Wellington for Sydney in advance of the Nance O’Neil Dramatic Company. The tour which the company is about to undertake will embrace the Australian capitals, Capetown, Cairo, Berne, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Paris and London. Miss O’Neil’s season in the English metropolis has been arranged to begin in August, 1902. The Manawatu “Standard” is indignant at the refusal of the Agricultural Department to supply tuberculin to private settlers for testing purposes. It says it' ik impossible for the depihritm.ontal officers to t-est all the cattle in the colony, and adds, “If a breeder of good stock is willing to pay a,'private veter- - inary- surgeon for' testing his cattle,, surely the Government- ought to offer every facility for doing so by supplying tuberculin at a reasonable price, if it cannot be obtained elsewhere. A creek which runs through the centre of the town of Masterton is described by the local press as a menace to the public health, and the “Daily Times’ says:—“The Council can afford to clean out the creek, remove all obstructions in it, and see that it is not contaminated by house drains. The present state of the creek justifies the interference of the Central’'Board of Health, which, if its attention were called to its present condition, would speedily apply a remedy. We trust, however, that the Borough Council will not wait for this.”

A deputation. from the Society for the Protection of Women and Children waited on the Premier on Saturday with the following suggestions:—(l) That there should be a public institution in the city to which certain mothers and their illegitimate children should be aud (2) that firm steps should be taken to deal with men who desert their wives and families or ille-

gitimate children. The Premier expressed himself as being generally in sympathy wit-hT'the aims of the society, and promised that the Cabinet would consider its suggestions at an early date.

The President introduced the Rev Richard Harding, from England, to the ministers attending the Wesleyan Conference on Friday, as a nephew of the late Rev Isaac Harding, who in the late fifties officiated as a minister of the Wes-

leyan Church in Auckland. In the early sixties he was removed to Wellington, and his memory is still cherished by many of his congregation in this city. The Rev Richard Harding, wno attended his first conference in London in 1859, related some interesting anecdotes of the shining lights of Methodism in those days, culled from his personal experiences. The Rev J. J. Lewis (Nelson), in thanking the visitor, did so. in the happiest terms.