LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4301, 9 March 1901, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL

On and after Holiday the tram which leave;, Newtown at 6..'J0 a.ra. to connect with the Manawatu train will run via Cuba street instead of Courtenay place.

' Among; I lie passengers by the Rotomaliana yesterday wore Captain Falconer and sixteen men of the Torped/J Corps, who have been engaged in surveying a locality ior a submarine mine in tboLytteltoa harbour.

Cabinet lias authorised the Minister of .Mines to .select a suitable building in which to I oca to Hr Machuirin, the uoyenunent Analyst, the present premises at the Mu .cum having been found inuder quote and inconvenient.

Tim Elingamite, which left for Lyttelton last night, bus on board a number ci Shropshire Down rams from Messrs Coates mothers, of Auckland, and Mr Burnett, of Auckland, which arc being sent to the Canterbury ram fair.

The Wellington Education Beard is to bo called together shortly to consider a schedule compiled by its secretary, suggesting the manner in which the Government subsidy of £301)0 should b; distributed amongst, the teachers of the Wellington educational district-

An enjoy; oio concen t was given to the inmates or the Ob h o Home, on Thursday night, by the Kent terrace Presbyterian CL'..Endeavour Society, the Rev K. Eil.ott occupying the chair. The c./utert was followed by a fruit Mtpper. '

At meeting of tin; IVlarist .Brothers’ Ok l liny-' .■'.s..iTc; 'tiou JEst evening, final arramicireius ~ere made to establish a magazine in connection with t'nc association. A; tec.v aids an impromptu debate was held, and many interesting subjects were discussed.

Tho following additional subscriptions have boon received Inwards the Dueon’; Statin- Fund ;—Native Laud Court Department, 17s Gel: Captain Strang, Li; Mrs Armstrong, 10s; Defence Stores, Department, Buckle street, £3 3s. The total received to date is 1113*16 8s PM. For the forty-four weeks ended February 2nd, the raihva- traffic in all branches but three had shown v. substantial increase on the Government lines. The exceptions were—Sheep, wool and grain. Of tho form or, 21&,20u fewer were carried, of wool 11,800 tons, and of grain (JISBB cons.

Mr T. E. Deane, who was appointed a Commissioner to inquire inco the protests of the residents of iteniuara, Auckland, against tho extension of tho ciactrie tramways to that suburb, has reported favourably to the Tramway Company being allowed to extend its operations linden- certain conditions.

Plans and spocificaticns are to be prepared by Messrs Clero and Swan, architects, for five shops to be erected in Feilcling to- replace those lately destroyed by fire. The buildings will Le of two stories, in brick One is to be a bakery for Mr Grantham, built to tho order of Mr Fowlds, who is also to have another shop, built* for letting; two other shops will be to the order of Mr Williamson, tailor, one to bo occupied by himseif, and the fifth will be to the order of Mr E. Gouclbohere.

The coacbmaktng business in Wellington is exceedingly active at present —so much, so that’the demand for firstclass mechanics exceeds the supply. Messrs llor.so and Hurrell aro at the present time constructing about fifty new vehicles—some for order, and otherfor their country branches. One of the works now in hand is tho construction of a landau,” which, it is claimed, will bo one of tho best yet seen in the streets of Wellington. It is to be supplied to tho order of a Wellington resident.

The Premier says he is a busy man, and has no tune to enter into theological discussions. He has sent the following ’ carefully-wcrdetl letter to the Rev J. K. Elliott, who recently wrote to him, protesting against displays by. the Indian troops cn the Sabbath; —“Premier’s office, Wellington, 7st March, 1901. Rev Sir—Respect for the position vou held, and ordinary courtesy, demand that I should acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 27th ult., and I accordingly do so.—l am, yours faithfully, R. J. Scddon.”

In Ills last report to tho Agricultural Department, tho Produce Commissioner , in Loudon quotes a large number of English press notices of the case which Air Cameron successfully brought against a Blackpool, butcher for selling ’River Plato mutton as “New Zealand.” One of the notices, of which there are over eighty, concludes by saying:—“Wo understand that tho Agent-General is prepared to take vigorous stops to stamp out this fraud, and his action will . havo tho hearty approval of all who believe in honest dealing.” Tho cocksfoot seed market, the London Produce Commissioner reports, is a most unsatisfactory one to follow. There never seamed to be any life in it, and owing to the conditions under which it is conducted it appeared to be a very speculative market. Stocks were bought by dealers and held so' long before they wore sold for distribution that an inquirer could hardly have any safe guide as to what prices shipments corning for- , ward from New Zealand would realise. Tiro general price at, which shipments , were selling was 34s per cwt., though j if the sample was a bright, clean one, and weighing 17 to. 181 b to the bushel, 1 33s could bo expected, and if of extra j quality 35s might be obtained. \ The fifth game in the match between j *- Messrs Mason (chess champion of Now I, Zealand) and Barnes (an ex-champicn) 4 .. took place at the Chess Club rooms last night. Mr Mason opened with a Bov Lopez;. At the thirty-eighth move it was seen that lie had got into difficulties, and in order to avoid a mata, he had to exchange rooks, which, however,- left black (Mr Barnes) with a decided advantage, ho being in a position to queen a pawn in a fow moves. Mr Mason resigned at the forty-first move. Tin f match, which will go to tho winner ol ; the first seven games, now stands:—Mi ■ Barnes three games and Mr Mason two Tho sixth game will be commenced in the social hall of the 'Working Mem’s Clul on Tuesday evening at half-past sevei o’clock, when Mr Barnes has the firs move. All persons interested in dies are invited to attendAt a meeting of the Workers’ Unioi ! last night, the following resolutions wer ( i > carried, viz.:—That this union view I * with satisfaction that after the large rc 1 mission of Customs duties, the inaugu

1 ration of the penny postage scheme and other concessions, the colony this I year will record a surplus of £400,000. It is hoped, therefore, that in view of the statement made by the Hon. Ward at I Auckland, to the effect that ‘‘never bei fore in the history of New Zealand was ' ■ there such a plethora cf money,” that * the Government will endeavour to make I such plethora universal by increasing | the wages of the lowest-paid Government j officials, so that they and their families 1 may bo in a position to enjoy the cora- \ fort arising from the receipt of a living » , wage. In view of the approaching mu- ’ nicipal elections, this union deems it advisable that men of progressive ideas should ho supported, therefore requests ' that Mr xillan Orr be asked to stand in £TTe interest of the workers of Wci.aigton.

The hearing of the matrimonial suit Gadsby v. Gadsby has been fixed, for tlio 14th inst.

The- car:- of O’Leary v the Public Trustee is set down for bearing before Mr Justice Cooper and a common jury of twelve ;u the Supremo Court to-day.

The following accused persons will 'come before the Supreme Court to-day !under the Indictable Olf acc- Summary jJurisdiction Act: —A. IE Konh, false I pretences ; Thomas Cassidy, defeating icourse nf bjsticc; and Nahina Matu, theft. Dnmiani Pichwc, an articled sea in an on the s.s. Indradevi, was yesterday afternoon. charged, before Dr McArthur, S.M., jvitli having disobeyed the lawful commands of his superior officer. He was ordered to pay Court costs and counsel’s fee (£1 8s) and to return to hi.s work on the vessel. Mr Brown appeared on behalf of the captain of the vessel.

An anonymous letter of a strange kind Jia.s been received at the Wellington registry of the Supreme Court from Sheffield, England. It sooins to refer to an estatv, .and the writer, who is evidently a person of slight education, unfolds son;" secret family history as to parentage. The surname Wells is used in the epistle. A conviction of approaching disso'uCon is given as the motive which impelled the sending of the communication, the writer of' which promises that his (or her) name will be disclosed before long.

I;, is cabled from London tnrongh the Press As;;,.; . lien that the dresses to be worn by tin; Duchess of Cornwall dunneher visit to Australasia will bo rich and varied, aml of British and Irish materia' as tar as possible. On the occasion of the opening of the Commonwealth Parliament her .loyal Highness will wear a black brocaded gauze, princess-shape, with a very long train, with a deep herder of novel design in flowers and leaves. Her mantle will.be of black velvet, bordered round with Chantilly lace of a beautiful floral design let into the velvet, which will ho cut away beneath the lace, showing black lisse. The under-mentioned coal dealers, being parties to the drivers’ dispute, have given notice to Mr W. A. Hawkins. Clerk of Awards, that they decline to accept the recommendation of the Wellington Concdiation Board bled on the 21st February, and that they refer the dispute to the Arbitration Court for settlement: ‘Messrs Samuel Brown, Thompson Bros, and Co., Pi cot Bros., William Bmsoll, Albert Dawson, V/iiliam Nicoll. Henry Joseph ['carman, John Mavra;. . R. Shaw. David Andrews, J. J. K. Powell,’ W- Rees, William. John Gaudin, Jones and Co.- George Sinclair, John Saunders, Richard Duignau and the Westport Coal Company. According to the London Produce Commissioner, the meat market continues in much the same state as when he made his last report. Supplies of mutton wore light and prices are firm at high rates, which restricts trade. Lamb is selling in small quantities, but there were very few f ‘New Zmlands” on the market, the principal offerings being from Australia. The frozen lamb trade is steadily becoming an all-the-yer.r-round one. Beef has come forward in fair quantity and in good condition, but prices have receded. Complaints arc made that this is partly caused by stocks being dis- ■ among many /Competing salesmen’ instead of being concentrated in a few hands.

Tho question of cargo pilfering, which has been exciting interest amongst the Now Zealand Chambers of Commerce, is ■’ iso engaging the attention of die London Chamber of Commerce, that body having r.ppcintecl a committee to make inquiries! on the subject. This committee lias f. ot actively to work, and by tho San Francisco mail, Mr S. Carroll, secretary of tho Wellington Chamber of Commerce, received a number of copies of a form containing various questions as to the character of tho packages tampered with, the names of the vessels, and so on, npacos being left for tho answers, which are to be supplied by the consignees of cargo. Mr Carroll will distribute these papers amongst merchants anti riiipbr,alters. Speaking cf the hemp market, tho Produce Coin missioned, in his last report, states that the market has been steady and prices firm for some weeks at £2l 10s per ton on spot for good fair Wellington. During tjio week ending February 2nd, however, a keener desire was shown and prices advanced £1 per ton. He considered it a great pity if tho flaxmills in New Zealand were to shut down, as there was eveiry prospect of fairly good prices being obtainable on tho London market for some time to conic. Producers, he thought, should,- however, try to improve the ! standard of their output. A good deal of thei hemp • arriving in London was! capable of .very bonsiderable improvement. Mr Catneron reports the Manila market to be firm and rising.

At yesterday’s sitting of the Magis- , trate’s Court, Dr McArthur, S.M., pre- | sided. . John Cooper and John Conroy , were each fined in tho nominal sum of 5s and costs (8s) for having been found on licensed premises, they at the time 1 being prohibited persons. llomuldo Echeverria was fined 20s, in default ■ three days' imprisonment for drunken- 1 ness. Frederick Arnold was similarly der.lt with, and for resisting a constable was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment. For haying travelled from Sydney to Wellington by tho s.s. Westralia witlmut paying his fare, James Brown was fined £3 10s, in default fourteen days’ imprisonment. On an information laid under the railways bylaws, George Beck, for whom Mr Cooper appeared, was lined £2 (coats Us), in default one month’s imprisonment, for having used obscene language in a railway carriage. A married women’s protection ordor was made against Norman Campbell. Mrs Campbell was also granted the custody of three children and 10s a week maintenance. A similar order was made against Frederick Jcssop, the wife being granted us per ■ week maintenance money. Alfred Ray- ’ uer was remanded until Monday nest to ’ answer a charge of having attempted to ; commit suicide.

The adjourned hearing of the case against Edward Pierard that he did indecently assault a young girl was taken by Dr McArthur, S.M., yesterday, with closed doors. Mr Gray conducted the prosecution. Mr Wilford cross-examin-ed the girl with a view to eliciting that alio had told accused' her ago would bo seventeen on her next birthday. She denied having said that. The father gave evidence that his daughter would So sixteen in June of this year. The mother of the girl gave evidence that accused «amo to her house once, and indulged in family worship. She had told him the ago of her daughter. After she became cognisant of the harm done to her daughter, she asked accused why ho had done her so grievous a wrong. Ho ascribed his action to “tho devil.” A nurse who was called deposed that accused called on her, and asked her to intercede with the father of the girl on his behalf, as he (accused) had found Christ, and had been forgiven. Accused told her that he knew ho was liable to an action, as the girl was under age. Mr Wilford reserved his crossexamination for the Supremo Court. Accused 1 reserved his defence, and was committed for trial, bail being allowed in two sureties of £IOO and accused s own bond of £IOO.

Mr H. Fielder will be a candidate for municipal honours at the forthcoming Council eleotions.

The A gent-General will represent this colony at the British Congress on Tuberculosis which is about to be held in London.

Messrs Orr and Lodder have purchased, through an agent, three acres of land adjoining McNab’s Gardens, which Lately botamo their pioperty.

The Posiinuster-Gcncral has received information that the administrations of the Post Offices of Italy, Egypt, Portugal, Coda Rico and Mexica having agreed to deliver New Zealand letters prepaid at Id, the postage on letters for those countries is forthwith reduced to Id for each .’oz. .

The estates of the following deceased persons have been finally sworn at the

amounts stated ;—Wellington—Joseph Sutcliffe,£499B 11s 7d; Rebecca Dawick £lO- 17 7i’u lid ; Abraham W. Abrahams,. £9Bl 17s; John Halley, £.5744 10s 6d: James Gregory ’Buck, £893 Is lOd; Jacob Iloiii v Goodin" £1724 19s 4d.

The Wellington Pigeon Homing Society’s first race on the Wairarapa line for young birds proved rather a fiasco. Tim ‘race was from Masterton, and the birds struck the gale reported at Foathcrsitou, .only two managing to arrive within the time limit. Mr Haynes’.-, bird was placed first, and Mr Leighton’s second. The society has had the misforujne to experience bad weather for several cf its races.

In his monthly report to the Agricultural Department, Mr Cameron, the Produce Insnector of the department iu London, calls attention to the rough and unsightly method in which the majority of the cheese factories bind their case ends. Mr Cameron strongly recommends the iron hoop to the wire, as Hio latter is being constantly torn off the cnscs, with the result that the package bears a very ugly appearance when it readies the London warehouse. The Lungdcle estate will be thrown open for selection on Tuesday, 19th inst. Twenty-two lots, ranging from 34 to 986 acres, will be disposed of on the leaso-in-perpotuity system at annual rentals of from £8 12s 6d to £176 15s. Thirteen town suburban lots from one to five and a half acres will be leased at annual rentals varying from 10s to £1 IGs lOd. A small grazing run of 1030 acre: is rented at £l7l 13s -id,-and four oilier sections containing homestead buildings, otc., are ready for occupation at once.

The annual celebration in connection with the Wellington Hibernian Society, to bo held on the Basin Reserve on Sat. urday next, promises to be as; successful as in previous years. Tho valuable prizes to be given in connection with the art union arcs on view- at Messrs Begg and Co.’s ninsio warehouse, Willis street. For tho grand national concert to be held at the Opera House in the evening all the best local talent available has been secured. The athletic and cycling events have attracted large fields, and some exciting contests should be witnessed. The’ handicaps will appear in Monday morning’s New Zealand “Times.”

A meeting of the New Zealand Workers’ Union was hold at tho Trocadero last night, Mr J. O’Brieii, vice-presi-dent, iir the chair. Correspondence war received from the Federated Fight Hours Union, and the following were elected delegates for the ensuing twelve months ;-—Messrs P. M. Moroney, J. Barr, O’Loughlm and O’Brien. Nominations for next year were received as follows:—President, Messrs J. O’Brien and R. Patton; vice-presidents, Messrs Fitzgerald, Dalton and Haig; treasurer Mrs Tasker; secretary, Mr P. M. Movonoy; auditors, Messrs Orr and T. W. Young; trustees, Messrs Pinnock, Carmichael and O’Dea; committee, Mesdames O’Sullivan and Ross, Miss Tasker, Messrs Barr, Haig, O’Loughlin, Dalton. Worth and McLaughlin. It. was decided to receive nominations until the next mooting, when the election will take place. A deputation from the Tracies Council consisting of Messrs Naughton, Collins and Fuller waited"upon the union and gave reasons why tho union should become affiliated with tho Trades Council. It was decided to consider this matter at tho next meeting.