LOCAL AND GENERAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 3646, 24 January 1899, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

- H.M.S. Taurimga is, due hero from - Napier about noon to-day. H.M.S. Royalist left the same port for Auckland yesterday morning.- , . - . / The visiting swimmers who took part in the aquatic carnival yesterday were entertained by the local olub at the Trocadero in i the evening. ■ An excellent spread was'providod, and the proceedings were.of an enthusiastic character. Solemn Requiem Mass for the repose of the souls of deceased prelates and priests of tho prpvinco of New Zealand will bo sung at St. Joseph’s Church, Buckle street, at 8 o’clock to-morrow morning. Bishop Verdon, of Dunedin, will officiate. ■ The Petono Homing Pigeon Club bold a prize race for Derby birds from- Ohiro ; Bay to Petono,yesterday,, -The results were:—W. Woods’ Liv,.;velocity ,712yds per minute, 1; W. H. Haggar’s ■ Lady Zetland, 538yds, 2; J. Small’s General, .- 602yds, 3. Sitting at’ Amborley tho other day, Mr Bishop, 8.M./ was greatly (surprised -at being informed by an old ago pension claimant, aged 65, that Ills mother, aged over 90, was also a claimant. Mr Bishop remarked’ that this would surely 'bo a, , unique case if both were granted. The Wellington Homing Pigeon Society’s race from Onehnnga to Wellington (330 milc.s) resulted as follows; M. Clark’s True Blue, 9hr 11mm Bscc, 1; W. E. Clarke’s Smoky, 2; VJk Bailey’s Blackbird, 3. Eleven birds were liberated at 5 a.ra., and all arrived ‘on and after, 2.11 p.m. Two men named John Bowlcy sfiid Thomas Thompson were arrested on tho racecourse by Detective Nixon and Constable Griffiths yesterday on charges of laying totalisator odds. It is probable that charges of trespassing on the racecourse will bo laid against" other bookmakers. J-, A specially-written and -graphic account of tho recent revolutionary disturbances in Samoa appears in another portion of this issue. It is particularly interesting because it presents the facts from a fresh point of view; and throws additional light upon the causes that led up to the fighting. A very .-pleasant “ social ” under . the auspices of Court Primrose, A.O..P.,\Vas held at the Oddfellows’ Hall, Pctori'e, last night. Messrs C. Coulin and A. E. Jarman acted as M.’sC.'.aiid Miss Woods presided -at ;the. mane.; ; Several songs were sung, and a very enjoyable time was spent by the large number who attended. Kj i Complaints ere heard: on the'Govern-' ment railway platforms in the city yesterday - in regard to the insufficiency of first-class carriage- accommodation. Tho number, of first-class carriages available fell short of requirements, and the an-' thorities were therefore compelled to limit the issue of first-class tickets for some of the racecourse trains. The Premier has promised a "Westport deputation that lie will consult with the Minister of Education as to tho appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into, the case of -Mr Cossgrove,,recently dismissed by*the local Education- Board. In his opinion a grave injustice has been done Mr Cossgrove. - Mr, Seddon. also promised to try to get the Board to hold over 'any fresh appointment until tho Commission had reported. ' A builder who is erecting a residence on a knoll between tho Itoseneath road and the Evans’ Bay road has equipped a temporary aerial tramway for tho conveyance of timber and other building material to tho site. Tho length of the wire ropes on which the carrier runs is about 200yds. Material is carted to a - point on the Rosencath ■ road, and then lowered a little at a time along tho wire in mid-air to the knoll on which the house bo built. Cabbage Tree Flat," on which thoTlcsenoath .State School picnic was held yesterday, is situated about mid-way between that suburb and Kilbirnie. It is reached by the road from Roseneath, which, it is expected, will some day he extended to Kilbirnie. In the opinion of many of the residents of tho adjacent ;■ suburbs’ the flat would be an excellent piece of land to reserve for recreation purposes, for which it has, by permission, of the owner, been used for many Q’ears past. If there is one place more than another. in the city to which tho Municipal authorities should turn-their attention it is the locality of Plimmer’s steps. Principally ‘ through defective surface drainage and carelessness on the part of some of the householders concerned the - steps and their vicinity are rendered repugnant to those who use the thoroughfare. To remedy this state of affairs expensive measures would not be necessary, but that an'artery leading up to one of the most fashionable quarters of the. city should be left to remain in its present condition is quite unthinkable.

There in still no .trace of tho seaman MoDougall, of the steamer Haupiri, who has boon missing since last Thursday night. It iu feared that iio must have fallen over tho whair when under tho influence! of drink. " lh .°,^ ad .y Ranfurly Lodge oi Druids' soeial, ah 1 homes’ X.lall ia>t juglir, ius an unqualified success, notwit.L Jand-ng that tho beat was rather too groat for comfort in dancing. Tho ballroom had been prettily decorated with ferns and th’-Sa by an enthusiastic committee, consisting of Bro. and Mrs Ha.-lin, Mr ami Mrs ouclson, Mir, Jacobs and Bro, McXican.,. An acceptable supper was provided by Mr Mawson, under tho managomont of Mrs Watson. Tho M.’sC. wore Bros, fetott,, Marlin, McLean and Mesrlames Jacobson and Judson. Fischer’s Band supplied excellent music. The whole of tho arrangements wore carried out by a largo committee, of which Mrs Uoary,was tho hon secretary. Tho guests numbered about 300, and d ancing was tops , up,:,with enthusiasm till tho wee sma hours. ' . .The Hons J. A. Tolo and W. T. Jennings, honorary secretaries to the Grey Memorial Committee in Auckland, have forwarded to us circulars and subscription .k B, Q no °f the circulars states: as possible may participate in tho duty of erecting tho statue, but more particularly those of thorn who have been 3n ai jy way identified with -Sir George,' , .?V. lor m public or private life, in the building up of the colony. The committee is appealing for support to all sections of the people, apart altogether from political or other considerations, and is mooting with such a response as warrants;;, the belief that effect will speedily bo given to the proposal to pay this slight tribute to the memory of so groat, a man.” A subscription list has been placed m tho pubbe office of the , J\Ow Aoaland Times,” where donations to tho Statuo Fund will bo rcccivod. The Wellington Racing Club is to be congratulated on, the great success of its Summer,Meeting, which concluded yesterday. There ; was a capital attendance, and tho .sum of £11,372 was put ■“JJpJJBu -tho machine, making a total of £-H,/99 for the meeting, which is a record; for the club. The amount .would have boon still larger but for tho small hold in the. Hurdle Race, only .two; horses starting. Tho feature of / tho 1 day s ■ racing, was the struggle between Daunt and Explosion in tho Racing Club. Handicap,. the Auckland , horse turning the tables on his conqueror of Saturday. Tho classic race, tho Wellington Stakes, also excited a great deal ot interest, Mr , Stead’s Courtier boating both tho cracks, Glonoglo and Jabber: there were some excellent dividends, Rata paying £16,185,, Rochester £ls-2s, ■ Courtier £9 9s, and Sodgebrook £8 15s .Uio working of the total! sator, under the management of Mr Joseph Ames, despite tho, increased number of investments, was m every way satisfactory. , The Marquis of Huntly, chairman, and Mr A. W. Edwards, honorary secretary of tho Aberdeen Byron Statuo Committee have forwarded to the editor; of the New Zealand Times ” a draft proof oi the appeal for subscriptions' towards the project. The tribute of •ii City to tho memory of the imtsonous poet, who was educated at her grammar school, is expected to take the ioriii of a statue in- white marble, under a canopy of Greek design in grey granite. “ There is,” in the language of the appeal, “a general feeling' among the admirers of tho poet that no public memorial of him exists, even in England, worthy of bis great name in literature,- and it is believed that Scotland, which owes a tardy tribute to the bard who acknowledged himself half a Scot by birth and ■ bred' a whole one, may count upon interest and aid in this enterprise from both sides of the Tweed and from tho groat English-speaking world whoso tongue-ho- IhmT enriched' with re-' splendent gorna of poesy.” Subscriptions will bo received and. duly acknowledged oy vhe City Chamberlain, Town House -Aberdeen. , ■

MOVEMENTS 01/ POPULATION. A return issued) from the RegistrarGoueral’s office shows that- during the year 1898 tho movement Of population to and from Now Zealand was as follows : Xu,lot), this shows a balance' of 2696 as the gain of the colony during the year by immigration, which is a gratifying ’evidence of the growing popularity of Now Zealand. Tho statistics for .December lust: show that tho arrivals in that<month iroro 2219 personsdepartures, ■ 1059 : ' gain tor the,month, 1G0;-This shows-but slight variation from tho figures for December, ,1897, which were;—-Arrivals,' 2213; departures, 1100; gain to’ the colony, 153. ELECTION RUMOURS. , In viow of tho general election that must take place not i later than next T)o- : cember, various country journals are seriously exercising themselves in circulations of rumours—and contradictions of them. Persistent rumours' have beencurrent some time that Mr McGowan was.ilikely to stand for some other seat than tho Thames ' electorate, but ho states that ho has- no intention of doing so, but will contest tho Thames scat agamst. all comers. ~ Tho ‘‘To Aroha Nows” says :—“Wo understand that Air Edwin Edwards will contest Ohinemuri. Rumour has it that Messrs McGowan, Mills and Gain are also to make Dxds for jVIr Cadnuui’s sent. The jVlayor of Thames (Mr Grosnalado) is spoken of as a hot favourite for tho Thames constituency.” Tho “Foilding Star” con-' tains the following paragraph ; “It has been known for.some time that Air J: J. Ragnall has supporters who would ho glad to soo him contest tho Eangitifcoi seat at tho next general election. ■ We now understand that ho has expressed his willingness to do.” Air A. B. P. Pyomont is out' for tho Wanganui seat. TRISTAN D’ACUNUA. Somo interesting ' particulars of this lone, island wore published a few weeks ago by the London " Times ” ' in ‘ the shape of extacts from a letter from Air Peter Green, the head of the little settlement, received by the last Capo mail. Ho writes under date November 4 last: —“ Our island is over-run with rats and mice ; before wo could grow grain and fruit of somo kind, but this is impossible now. If the. Government would only do something in this wav for us I But it scorns we are too "far off from tho world, ami unless some kind souls would remember us sometimes I think nobody would know wo are existing. This year was a specially hard one for us. ■We ■ lost lots of cattle and sheep on account of scarcity of food and grass, and a stormy and hard winter. For five months wo got tho shipwrecked crow of tho British barque Glenhuntly, from Liverpool,- hero, and this made » good holo in our stock too, Wo had not an ounce of sugar, tea, coffee, or flour all the-time, and on account of this bad stormy winter we had no chance of boarding any ships succssfully and do any trade with them. They (the crow) are going away in tho same man-of-war which takes this letter awav.” Ecclesiastically Tristan is im tho diocese of St. Helena, but tho island is so remote that it has been impossible to scud them a clergyman for many years. Tho Rev Air Dodgson, brother of “Lewis Carroll,” spent somo years on tho-island. Ho is now at St. Helena,

LABOUR IN NEW ZEALAND. Optimism is the prevailing note m the reports from tho various labour districts of the colony,' as given in the “Journal of the Department of Labour.” Tho -Auckland states that the engineering trade is brisker, and generally Vpeakihg'7‘workmen appear to be fairly well employed.” ' Gisborne reports brisk

trade, building busy, and “not many unemployed;” while in tho Napier report tho words “busy” and “ Very busy ” recur with pleasing frequency, followed by' tho note: —“Tho town at present is practically freo from unemployed, and the country -work is sufficiently plentiful to absorb all willing hands.” At Hastings “all trades very busy;” Patea, “no local men idle; ” Palmerston North, building tradesmen “in demand; ” Marton, “ very .brisk; ” Ohingaiti, “no swaggers, on the roads,” and “work plentiful in the country; ” "Wanganui, 1 “ very' ; busy,” “working overtime,” and “fully employed” in the different trades; Otaki, “trades all very busy;” Pahiatua and Mastertonboth “verybrisk;” Blenheim “farmers have had some trouble to got men; ” Westport, “ all trades steady; ” Reefton, “a demand for skilled miners;” Ashburton, “ very busy ; ” Timaru, “busy," “clothing factories working overtirao; ” Waimate, “ good bhsinoss,” “ about, 150 young men and boys found employment during the month at straw-berry-picking; ” Oamaru “all available hands l - employed” in building trades, both stone and timber; Dunedin, “ very brisk,” ■„ “ splendid business,” “ all hands fully employed;” Invercargill, “brisk.” The only exceptions to the general chorus , of content are Christchurch, which reports stonemasons and carpenters out of work, and boot trade “ much below normal condition ;” Wellington, where building and engineering are slack, though the boot trade shows a slight improvement; and Eketahuna, which reports building trade not very busy and boot trade “ very quiet : considering the time of thy year.” On the whole the reports are of a most gratifying kind,. though in many cases the precautionary note is added that local labour is generally equal tp the demand.

IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION IN NEW SOUTH WALES. . Tho Mother Colony of Australasia has an Immigration Restriction Act quite as stringent as that which the New Zealand .Parliament refused to pass last year. Experience in administering it has shown the desirableness of the authorities having the power of making certain exemptions from its. provisions. The authorities exercised their -discretion a few days ago and allowed some Austrian immigrants to land, although they could not pass the educational test required by the Act. A similar exemption has been made in connection with the crow of the missionary ship John Williams. The law does not apply to crews of vessels which sire only in the colony temporarily; but in the case of the John Williams the men wore discharged at tho shipping office, so that practically their connection with the steamer ceased. They therefore came within tho scope of the Act, and as they are coloured natives of Cook Islands anil Samoa, tho Customs officials were prompt to preventthe possibility of the ra en being thrown upon the community. However, the London Missionary Society; guaranteed to -take ’them back to the islands. As a matter'of fact the society is - com j polled by the Merchants Shipping Act, and by its own ship’s , articles, ,to do so. As soon as it was known that tho discharged crew: would, be re-engaged and returned to the islands in the John Williams, instructions .were given to allow the men to land, .although as a strict matter of law they are not entitled to do so.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC SYNOD. A new epoch in the history of; \ the Catholic Church in New * Zealand is marked by the opening of the first Provincial Synod of that church held in this country. This innovation is an acknowledgment by the Holy See that church expansion and., activity in New- Zealand, have reached a point that demands the direct relations with, the head of the great religious system. Catholic Provincial Synods, the “Tablet” of Thursday last remarks, “have the dignity and ■Wisdom of attending- to ; their own aft airs. .They are wholly practical and administrativo. Subject ever to the final judgment of the Holy See, their deliberations touch all the widely varied interests in-' reived in the conservation and spread' of the faith within.,the limits of their juris-' 1 diction; the, administration of I ,the Sacraments ; the toning-up of . Christian. life; the relations of the clergy to their, oc-' closiastical superiors, to each, other, to themselves, and to the flocks entrusted to their care; missions to.the heathen;-, ecclesiastical' property; education';' and’ the application of the broad principles of Catholic discipline to .the special; circumstances of .that.portion of .the Universal Church which lies within tho circle of their , charge.”- It is interesting to, recall that m, 1835 New Zealand was included in the newly-created Yicariate-Apostolio of . W estern Oceanica." In the folio wing year, itsi first Vicar-Anostolip, Monsignor Pompatlter, set out for his now field of labour, and in 1838 the cross was planted in New Zealand, and the first Mass celebrated in the house of the first Catholic pioneer of the-colony. Pour 1 years later (in 1842) Now Zealand was.formodinto a separate v icariate, and Monsignor Pompallter was named its first Vicar-Apostolic. Tho year of European revolutions (1848) witnessed the creation of two now dioceses—Auckland and Wellington. A third—Dunedin—was created in 1869. Tho -year 1887 witnessed the ore'etion of the diocese of Christchurch and the conferring of tho arcmepiscopal pallium on the Most Rev Dr Redwood, S.M, In 1840 the white' Catholics of the colony were not above 500 in :a total population. of some 5000. Eleven years later they numbered 3472 in a total population of 26,707; Today they total close on 100,000, with 240 churches, 143 priests, 65 religious Brothers, 600 nuns, 2 college boys, 21 boarding-schools for girls, 8 charitable institutes, and '9B primary schools attended by 11,361 pupils.