LOCAL AND GENERAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4103, 16 July 1900, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

"'^'WedtoSsday' being ■*" : Arbor ' Day, the various banks and insurance ofuce* will be closed/ In response to the'invitation extended to members of the'-Legislature, okige number .of ladies and gentlemen visited H.M.S. Ivoyal' Arthur on Satmday afternoon. • , ... The 'Wellington 'Harbour Board will hold * .pedal meedas ,™ ,1?““"; the Board. . : „ The fourth annual b-H l of tbe Hvic-taum-m. Mounted Bilks will be heldi n the Sydney■ street Hall to-morrow evening, -for "which- excellent arrangements have been made- Braney mill for Stan and iXewtown at the Uom of;the hall» • , i . Under the auspice:; ef tho Welling; ton Ratepayers’ Association, a depnU lion of citizens will wait ni ,oa '- ‘ Government at tho Parliamentary Buildings at -1 p.m. to-day ln connection with the 'completion ol the korth island Trunk railway'. At some of. the city churches yesterday protests' were made against tho proposal to establish a license tor tho sale of alcoholic liquor in the Ring Country. Protests wore made against the proposal by the Bovs J. Paterson, Dallaslou, Evans and Oliver. Great preparations are being made at Pcto.no Tor the celebration of. Arbor Day, and it is likely, that; practically the whole of the recreation ground will lid planted. Adomtion. m .worth or trees to bo planted on tho occasion has been made by Mr, George London. The third of the series of winter .lectures being 'given under the auspices of "'tho St: John’s Young Men’s Literary and Social Club'will lake place at M. John’s ' Schoolroom " on.. Thursday evening next, when''Professor JSaslerlkld nil* discourse on “Combustion,’ illusi rated with experiments, ‘ The Mayor, Mr o. G. W. Aitken, will'preside; , ■ Vacancies in thq 'Permanent' Artillery have been filled by The appointment of two men from Eccitoii, one from Halcombs, two from Wellington, ope hum

Tomuka, one from Ficton, three from Auckland,’one each-from Forirua-, k oxton, Wanganui, Hastings,'-Coromandel, Thames, Christ church, Blenheim and Oamaru and two from Devonport. The-Minister of Lands (lion T, Y. Duncan) and party, accompanied by Messrs Stevens and- Field, M.’511.11., paid , a visit to the State farm at Levin on- Saturday, • and a thorough inspection of . the property was maao. While ah Levin the Minister was waited upon by.several deputations from the various local -bodies and village settlers, and he promised to look .into, the matters which wore brought under his notice. Under the! auspices: of the- Wellington- Tree-planting- -and. Scenery .Preservation Society, the Salamanca ‘ road and Kilbimic’reserves :v, ill be planted with trees and'shrubs on-Wednesday (Artor Day), 'The'work will commence at 10.,:t< a.mi and.. 2.30 ■ p.m.- : All persons who are l interested 'in beautifying the city in this manner arc cordially invited io assist. ; The'Mayor (Mr j.' G. 'V. Aitken) ’invites: the ’’citizens to Observe a public holiday on Arbor Das T . At the meeting of the Wellington British-Israel, Association,-, the president (Mr T: S. ’Lambert) occupied I ..the. chair, and a paper was read' by that gentlema'n on the prdpliccy that Israel,;, v, as to o6sfeesk' 'thb-gMf.s ! ' 6f her enemies, which,!"it; was. contended, was being,fulfilled at the present time by Great Bntain 1 , whose'pooiile, ho contended, wore 'descended from the house of Israel. Some proposed l ' alterations of rules «t the association were contemplated, amt notices of motion dealing with the same were handed in. ■!

'At a ,mooting -held -in St. . Patrick’s College, yesterday, 'Father Goggan presiding, it- was resolved, to tender, a farewell; “social” and concert to the Venerablo Archdeacon Devoy at the Skating- Rink about the middle of August.’ The proceeds, .of the ' gathering will bo. devoted to the To Aro Catholic School. Various committees were appointed ,to carry out', the preliminary arrangements, and it was resolved to spare no effort to make the reunion in every ‘ way A fitting Send off to the .reverend gentleman whoso departure it is intended to mark.. The “Windsor Magazine” t for June maintains, the usual standard' of that •readable- periodical. >• The illustrations, it is hardly necessary to say, are admirably '‘selected and; executed. Tho reading'matter'is diversified enough to attract -the interest, of most ■ readers, the'! articles and, ’short. ~ stories being by : numerous ■ well-known writers on a multiplicity :of subjects. Mr J. Holt Schooling discourses in Iris characteristically attractive fashion- on “A Ceirtury’s Hard Cash,” arid Air S. R. Crockett has; a capital article on “A Romancer’s LobalTColour.”. The other contributors include Maxs Pemberton, la.n MaoLaren, Airs Oomyns Carr and Mrs Clement Shorter. •.

1 'About] sixty men of -'the . Petone Na- ] val Brigade, iihder Lieutenant Osburrie- ] Lilly,’visited the Royal Arthur, yester-, ’ day by Iririd 'permission of his Exce.'lency the Admiral. ■. Instructors wore told off to, take the men overthe ship, and explain to them the latest improvements' in armament and. ammunition. This having been ' done thoroughly, the trip .proved an object lesson, and the Navals 'learnt much of what may prove to them of general utility. Church parade . was attended under the chaplain, and, apart from the weather, aii enjoyable and instructive •morning was spen£. . The. battery - came up by the company’s' cutters from Petone and Kaiwarra, and experienced very heavy weather on the-retum journey. At-the; Magistrate’s Court on Saturday, bpfore Mr W. R.' Haselden, S.M., Frank Stephenson,. alias - Kingan, was sentenced to < six months’ imprisonment for escaping from lawful custody. Air Garvey,' the bead gaoler, said that accused, had been .well conducted since Alay last,, at ■ which 1 timo he had. been sentenced-to threo years’ imprisonment for-.assault apd: robbery. To the. best of.his rccollccticn there had been three escapes-from -Mount Cook - the past two years.- The case against Frederick-. Whiteman,, who was .under arrest on a. charge of failing to- make provision .for the support of his illegitimate child;; at Christchurch, was remanded, bail, being allowed hi two sureties ol ■ £lo each,, and accusedls- personal bond of £3O. . . - , 1 .The-Mayor of Auckland received by the San Francisco mail from Home a communication from the Horsfall Destructor Company (Limited). London and Leeds, respecting the erection ,pf a rub'bish destructor in the city. The comjpany is of opinion that a four-cel.l destructor, capable of burning forty tons iof ordinary refuse per day of twentvfour hours, would be suitable for the .'requirements of Auckland. It ■ would ’require three 'shifts of men, and, iitciud;iug freight and cost of erection, would, cost about £5000.: The company will J supply the ma terials at a cost of £3OOO jin England, arid- pi’ovido a ■engineer to put'it up at a- salary of £3O per month; - with passage paid bo'h ■ways.-' ■- ; ,

The conference of the Municipal As-/ social ion’:; delegates will commence this! morning, at the City Council Chamber. The last donation of os to the Indian Famine 'Fund from Mrs Bamage, Paraparaiiinii,firings up the total of the fund to .226 hi 12s ;;d.

In the flying race held in connection with the annual the Wellington Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Society, flown from Wanganui, tho winning turd was Mr ,1. Pcnitts K.infiiidy. The work of liUiu" l.hc Westingbouio brake:; to the rolling stock on the North Island railway..,, wnieli was begun on Friday, i; to ocou.jiy three years. So far no contract lias been let for the Soigii Island lines, but it is intended to pro ride the express trains with the now brakes as soon as possible. Tho Agricultural Department has available a few plants for distribution among settlers who have suitable places wherein to plant Diem, and early application should bo made by those desirous or seeuring some. They are oriental planes, walnuts, Jn-dge plants and rhea, end a. large, number of l ine cuttings will be available from Wuirangi, in the 'Waikato. ilic Arbitration Court will meet this morning. The trade disputes to be adjudicated upon will comprise those afli.i ling tlio Baker.,' Union, the Drivers’ '■nr,.'u, tiro Typographical Society, tue Uharf Labourer.;’ and tho Butchers’ Cmuns. Tho disuiites will be heard belorc Air Justice Martin and Messrs .Skill cr tDunedin) aad S. Brown (Wellingl on).

Tho Board of Conciliation sat on Saturday morning to near the conclusion of -dr W. I l '. Parsons’s auuress for the union. tie. opposed the ManawaUi Kailway Company’s ami the U.S.S'. Company's applications for exemption. He also objected to toy exemption of factories from tho Board's recommendations. Tho Board .will probably announce its recommendations early this week. Three summonses have been issued against Air Walter Bentley for lecturing, in Hie Opera Mouse on Sunday evenings, and they will ue hoard at the Polfee Court, lids morning, at 10 o’clock. It is understood that Mr Bentley will defend (he eases. Mr Bentley and all the numbers of Mr Ancelrm’.-: company will leave for Christchurch, this afternoon by the Uiitomahana, in order to open a short season there to-morrow in ‘’The Christian.” The largest number of exhibits ever penned by the Wellington Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Society will be seen at the Skating Pink on Thursday, Friday and Saturday next. A special feature' will he (he incubator .competition for hatching the chicks during the show. The various classes of poultry will bo well represented at the show, especially Wyandottcs, Leghorns, Langshans, Plymouth Rocks, Minorcas, Mamburgs and bantams. Tho riotous behaviour of a gang ol firemen from the caruo steamer Mimiro and the subsequent interference on the part of the police developed into a free fight on Saturday night in front of the Queen’s Chambers. The firemen', who were somewhat excited, vehemently resisted arrest, bub finally six of them were overpowered and locked up for the night. Constable T. Ryan and Detective Nixon were severely handled in the melee before assistance arrived. ,

The Alayor of Wanganui hopes before rcuriug from office to formulate a scheme for providing tin auxiliary water supply'fur tho borough and' municipalising tiie gasworks, at a total cost of about TOO,OOO. For Iho water supply Air Hal rick looks to the river, wnich could bo tapped above the tidal influence for an outlay of some £30,000 or £‘■lo,ooo. tie hopes to show the burgesses that Hie money could be raised ■nul interest paid- on it without increasing tho rates. Indeed ho looks to the profits from the municipal gasworks to pay tho interest on the whole loan. Air Isaac Selby lectured in tho Opera House yesterday afternoon to what must bo considered a largo audience considering Ihe unsatisfactory state of the weather. Tho .subject of the lecture was “The British! Museum and I ho Bible.” At all times an absorbing topic, it was made doubly interesting by his treatment of it, and tho lecture was listened to attentively throughout. Tho light thrown on ancient and Biblical history by recent discoveries of cuneiform inscriptions, hieroglyphics, papyrus records, etc., was fully explained, as well as the methods of deciphering these' inscriptions. Numerous limelight representations of tho documents and remains were thrown on the screen by means of a. lantern manipulated by Air Sims. Messrs McCracken and Hales, evangelists, assisted the:lecturer. In the evening Mr Selby preached in the Christian Chapel, Riddiford street, South Wellington, his subject being “The Divinity of Christ.” One of tho great “Wooden walls of England” of tho early days of the century, tho old warship Nelson, is now undergoing demolition at Sydney. As she lies at Chiflgey’s Wharf,, near the Iron Covo bridge (says tho : ‘Mlerald-’), where tho work of dismantling is beingcarried on, tho vessel forms an interesting object to travellers by road or water. This obsolete specimen of naval architecture- was in her day a five-decker. She was- launched in 1809 and the building took 10 years. It is intended to transform tho old vessel into a big coal barge, with a carrying capacity—after being cut down—of 3000 tons. ■ It is also intended to cut her top and gun decks into largo floating stages or pontoons. Tho process of demolition has proved tho vessel to bo as solid to-day as when sho ■was built nearly 100 vears ago. It has be on decided by tho owners to dispose of most of tho parts taken off tho vessel as mementoes. Some of tho principal parts are to be forwarded to the Australian Museum.