LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4296, 4 March 1901, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Gftrrison Band intends to bold a moonlight excursion on the harboui tomorrow evening, weather permitting.

All milkmen supplying tbo city ait it quested to meet at iticbaids s Moon s, Cuba street, to-morrow evening, to, drs cuss matters of importance ;tc, tnc Uaac.

Mr J. G. W. Aitken and Mr T. M. Milford will probably not bo allowcl to a ►duel for tho Wellington Mayo.fty. Already rumours of tho nomination of several other candidates arc m circulation.

• The following additional subscriptions have' boon' received towards the Queen’s Statue Fund;—Laud ami Heeds Office, £6 6s 6d; government Insurance Department;, £l2 7s. iolal amount to date, £1262 16s Kiel. At the Mount Cook Police Station on Saturday, before Mr it, L. Bannis.oi, J.P., four first-offenders for drunkenness were convicted and discharged, an old offender named Hannah Morris, charged with drunkenness, was fined 40s, In default seven days’ hard labour. Copies of the proposed rules and memorandum in connection with the federation of the various chambers of commerce of the colony, which have been already dealt with By the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, will bo sent to the other chambers of commerce "for approval.

Mr George Payne, of the Western Hotel, has given a silver cup, value £5 6s. for competition at the St. Patrick’s Day sports to bo held on the Basin Reserve on the 16th instant. Intending competitors are reminded that nominations for the sports will close this evening at St. Patrick’s Hall, Boulcotfc street.

Handel’s oratorio “Judas Maccabams” will bo rendered at the Wesley Church, on Friday evening. The following will, take part:—Miss Violet Mount (soprano), Miss Winnie Birch (second soprano), Mrs C.D. Mackintosh (contralto), Mr E. J. Hill (tenor) and the Rev A. Mitchell (basso). The conductor will bo Mr C. D. Mackintosh, and the organist Mr W. J. Harland.

Nino of the Misses Carr and Bardie’s shorthand pupils have, within the last three weeks, received theory certificates from Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, England. The following are the names of the successful candidates: —Misses Codorh.olm, H. Johnson, M. Duff, (1. Sheridan, M. Simpson, M. Cook, M. Merchant, W. Claydcnand M. McLean. According to telegraphic advice from Auckland, published in the “Times” of Saturday, the Customs returns for the month of February at the port of Auckland (£54.377 16s lOd) (constituted a record for Now Zealand. As a matter cf fact the record of Wellington for the month of August, 1899 (£55,203 3s Gdi, has never been, approached by any other port in the colony. Mr Pirani pointed out, lu proposing that the Wanganui Education Board should accept the Government’s scheme of additions to teachers’ salaries, reserving the right to suggest a more cquiik able adjustment iil future, that the Minister of Education had left the mar. ter so dangerously near the' end of the financial year that anyuiing in the nature of an objection' to the distribution proposJsd by the Government would mean that the vote would lapse on the 31st March.

A grave scandal is now being ventilated in Honolulu over the matter of lepers being carried in public conveyances. A wavgon is provided bv the authorities in that place for the transportation of lepers, but a casual employee cf the Board of Health, who experienced some slight difficulty in getting it when he recently had to take eight lepers to the receiving station, solved his difficulty by hiring two public cabs to convey them to their destination. . The fact leaked out, and as a result Honolulu is now in a ferment of agitation, and the higher public officers are being moved to take action to punish the offender. A most disquieting feature of the ease is a defence set up by the culprit that he was only following a long-established custom to meet an emergency.

A Press Association, message states that the mem hors of t!io .Midland Railway Cun! mission arrived at Orcyraouth y< ““ ••■! .y. 'i he University .Senate’s session at Auckland closed ou Saturday. Tho next ainnial session; will ho held at Dunedin in. February. lOOtf. It ins hi en notified from llorno that •ie; cubic between Aden and Zanzibar w interrupted. All traffic is passing via i.’ii V/c-t Cov.sfc of Africa., without change of tariff. An ordinal ion service will bo held at ms-ley Church. Taranaki street, this evening. To-morrow evening there wi : i he a. homo mission meeting in connection v, i:.!i the C'cnlorciico. and on whidnesday evening a children’); concert. 'i he ;j11 1 (>iI.■ ot (he Wesleyan churches el Ihe cr.y and ..ul/itrhs and those cf r, l the other churches were .;c< npii"! yi ■.•del-day hv ministers and local preachers who arc in attendance at the Wesleyan Conference now in progres-,

_Mr Charles Cress, of tho Oceidemtal .lintel, Mastertoa, who met with a had accident while driving in. tho Fortvinile Bush a few months ago, has sufficiently recovered to return to his home, ’.(ml left tho Mastcrton Hospital last week. According to the “ Athcineum,” M. Amlro Siegfried, son of the French Republican ex-Miniscer of that name, is engaged on a book on Now Zealand, lit! has already published an essay, reprinted from the " Revue Politique et i’aiit me-n tain-.’’

I’etitions are being presented to the Chty Councils of Auckland and Christchurch asking that a poll should he talaui on the question of adopting the provision < of the Bating on Unimproved Values Act. The system is now in operation in twenty-one districts.

Tim " Brvco Herald ” .says that the new drive in the Fortification Railway and Coal Company's initio has now been driven about ffoUft into the hill, and good coal has been met with throughonl. The railway lino connecting the mini- with the Cove nun cut railway is a \ most completed.

Thorp was only a short sitting of the Mug!sit rate’s Court on ,Saturday morning. A /irst-offondor was connoted of drm>heni;"ss and discharged. James McAiiult.v, wh,i was previously tonviei<’d of drunkenness a fortnight ago, was remanded for medical treatment for

Mr W. H. Field. M.H.JU, will, address tho Upper ITutt branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Dairy Union at that place next Saturday, with the object of outlining information which lie gleaned during his recent visit to Adelaide relative to tbo Produce Export Department established by the South Australian Government.

A deputation of Maoris from south of the Manauatu river, for whom Air itopata TV. An was spokesman, -was in. trod need to the Premier by Air W. H. Field, M.1i.1’., on Saturday, to discuss recent land legislation. The Prcniior explained l the general effect of ihe legislation of last session, and promised that the natives would l bo given the option of having their lands brought under the new Acts. This intimation seemed to give satisfaction to the na lives nresent.

_Mr 0. E. Smith, Inspector of Public Works, bad the misfortune to lose his sou Mcrtio, wlio l died on Friday. The hoy had been on a visit to Wanganui, in company with his. sister, and it is believed that while there, tho two children caught typhoid fever, for shortly after their return to Wellington tho disease developed, and it was deemed advisable to remove them to tho hospital. "The hoy failed to rally, and trussed away as .staled. The little girl is now progressing favourably, although her condition was For a while such as to cause alarm.

"Tho Yeung Alan’s Magazine” for Alareh contains , tho conclusion of Air Alalcolm Ross’s “Bivouacs in the Southern Alps.” Other articles -are “The Purchase of Opportunities,’’ by tho Rev H. Kelly, AI.A.; “Ruslan’s Message to Young Alcn,” by Air J. A. Johnson, ALA.; “Significance and Power of Habit,” by Air W. Gray, AI.A. ; “Missions in Africa,” by Air E. J. D. Herons ; “Some Marks of Manhood,” by Rov Jas. Gibb, Dunedin; and “Swimming,’’ by Air R. C. Renner. Tho number is a very interesting one, and contains some wellexccutcd illustrations.

in tlia current issue of “Cold Storage,” tho monthly journal of the trade, is a. statement of the natural ice no. partial into tho United. Kingdom from Norway in 1900. It appears tliat tho total quantity received was 448,313 tons, or 55,814 tons less than in die previous year, and 4917 tonsiuorc 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 ton in 1900 was 12s 3cl, as compared with 12s 7d and 14s lOd. England and Wales imported 399,933 tons. Scotland 26,770 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 ice at all, while in 1899 upwards of 8000• tons wore imported from Norway. The year’s shipments also include 730 tons,' valued at £420, exported from North Russia. London received in ail 205,390 tons, valued at. £123,463 (or T2s per ton), 15,040 tons less than in 1899, and the value showing a decline of £11,005. Next in the list comes Grimsby, Liverpool, Glasgow, Hull and Shorcbam. The imports at none other of the forty-nine ports receiving ice reached (ivo figures.

Saturday's “Lyttelton Times’’ con. iained the Following from its Wellington correspondent: From information received that allot her island cruise of the Tutauekai is not in contemplation, but in actual preparation. It is the sequel* to the expedition at. the close of the last session of .Parliament. The Parliament passed resolutions affirming the desirability of annexing Rarotonga, Palmerston, Snwarrow. Ponrhyn and various other islands situated north-east from, JOOO to 2500 miles from -Auckland. The process in these cases is for the islands to be first annexed to the Empire, and tiion, under the Colonies Extension of Boundaries Act, of .1805, to bo handed ever to this oniony by letters patent. The first part was performed by the Governor in the Miicinra in October rmd November last, the second will bo perfumed presently in the presence of the Premier. 1 said he would go in t!f? Tutauekai, but I think it not improbable that the Mildura will not be far off. The trip will bo, I understand, begun shortly. It lias been the theme of”adverse criticism that the second part of the customary programme has not been ..carried out sooner. The growth of Australian federal interests was supposed to have upset tiro Now Zealand apple-cart in this matter, and in opposition circles tho supposed snub to t!u> Now Zealand Premier was regarded with complacency. Tho news I have supplied will place a. different complexion on tho matter, by showing tljat the original intention is to.be earned out before tho Now Zealand Parliament meets.’’ When questioned by a ‘•Times" reporter last night, tho Premier said that the information in question was all news to him.

A Press Association message from Auckland states that tho residents ot KJlcrdio have presented Mr Justice Cooper with an address. The presentation was made a.t the railway station b_. Sir 0. -M. O’JRorke. Pin) address congratulated tho recipient on his elevation to tho position of a Judge of tho Supreme Court. • The Manawatu “Standard” is indignant at tho refusal of tho Agricultural Department to supply tuberculin to private settlers for testing purposes. If savs it is impossible for the departmental officers to test all the cattle jn the cjlenv, ami adds, “If a breeder of good stock is willing to pay a private veterinary .surgeon for testing his; cattle, surely the Government ought to oifes every facility for doing so by supply mtuberculin at a reasonable price, if it cannot be obtained elsewhere.”

A creek which runs through tho of

tre of tho town of Mastcrton is described by the local press as a menace to the public health, and the “Daily Times” say&“Tho Council can chord to clean out tho creek, remove all obstructions in it, and see that it is not contaminated oy house drains. The present state of the creek iustifies tho interference of the Central’"Board of Health, which, if its attention were called to its present condition, would speedily apply a remedy. IVo trust, however, that tho 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 lha following suggestions:—(l) Thai there should be a public institution in the city to which certain mothers and their illegitimate children should he committed; and (2) that firm steps should ho taken to deal with men who desert their wives and families or illegitimate children. The Premier ox-

pressed himself as being generally in sympathy with the aims of the society, and pivjinised that the Cabinet would consider its suggestions at an early date.

The annual meeting of the -Vow Zealand branch of tho British Medical Association is being held this year in Wanganui under the presidency of Dr Saunders. On Saturday the visiting memhern amj their wives were to proceed up the river in the steamer Ohura. They would stay tho night at Pipiriki, and return to Wanganui on Sunday afternoon. To-day the business of the conference will commence in the Museum Lecture Hall, which tho trustees have placed at the disposal of tho local medical men. The president's address will be delivered to-night, and the annual dinner will be hold to-morrow evening at the Rutland Hotel.

Tho reports .of tho external examiners of tho 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, tho manures, the quantities sown and tho season for sowing. Tho 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 student?, to learn by rote, without really grasping the subject. In natural science the whole class gained an average of thirty-two per cent, of the total marks, tome studentsiattaining as high 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 stooking. Examinations are hold from time to time throughout tho 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 wore in progress during the 1900-190 D scas on. Throe veterinary surgeons,' whom Air Gi truth submitted to a practical examination -while ho wa-s in Scotland, and who (writes the-London correspondent of tho “Lyttelton Times’’) will leave for the colony on January 31, have been appointed. They are Messrs John Kerrigan, Daniel Hay Maehattie and Alexander AlcLeah Paterson. Air Kerrigan, who is thirty-fine, and unmarried, hails from Gicnkindie, Aberdeenshire. He is an A1.R.0.Y.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 tho three parishes, Glcnbucket, Towio and Strathdon, to advise in the management of live stock and farm sanitation. Air Machattio, M.8.0.V.5., is twenty-two and a half, and unmarried He is a Glasgow man. He took gp the veterinary profession at sixteen,' and has seen a groat deal of practice not only in Scotland, but also in Now York and Montreal, Canada, and has been for some time acting as locum tenons for a veterinary surgeon in P'erth. Air Paterson, AI.R.C. V.S., is thirty-four, married, and has two children. At tho Royal Veterinary College, in Edinburgh, ho gained one gold medal, two silver medals and high honours. Ho 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 CTuny, Esk, Alidmar and Alonymusk, in Aberdeen.