LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4336, 20 April 1901, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

It is expected that the Health Department will 'bo in occupation of its now offices in Brandon street next week.

Entries for table decorations at the Horticultural and Florists’ Society’s annual chrysanthemum show, to be held on Thursday and Jb’riday next, close at noon on Monday.

The police 'are* making inquiries ns to tho whereabouts of a young woman, about twenty-seven years of ago, who left her homo on Thursday afternoon. She was dressed in a fawn skirt, with blue Dorothy pinafore, and was last seen near Ellice street . In answer to a. question last night regarding the route for the Royal procession, Mr .Aitken • said ho had had three interviews already with his .Excellency the Governor on this .subject, and would bo almost ashamed to go back. But there was si'good deal of pluck in Sco tchmen—(laughter)—and lie was propared to go again if asked to do so. “ Wliat about Die water supply?” This question was put at Mr Wilford’s meeting by a gentleman who was apparently labouring under some form of exciteuient. You haven’t had much of it lately,” was”the' ready and good-hu-moured retort, which raised a general laugh among the'-, appreciative audience. ' I

Whilst. English towns are rapidly bc- • ing supplied with up-to-date tiro engines, a it is interesting to note that tho.-co-ionics are by no means behind in this respect. • The Christchurch fire department, will i L shortly receive a valuable addition to its ■* j firo extinguishing plant in the form of - I a new e-team.firo engine of the same patf j tern the Merryweather “Gem” as i those already ".supplied to St. 'John's: 1 : Newfoundland, Sydney (2), Melbourne, 1 s Falkland Islands, .(Denier--3 ara), Shanghai, Gibraltar, and many 1 ( j towns in ether parts of tho globe. . j ' Tho majority of 806 votes oy which 1 \ the Town Hall loan: proposal was car- \ riod yesterday was a surprise,' m so far 1 tlmi- it was not expected that, tho plur- * alitj: would be so'large. Towards the [ ;result achieved, tire efforts-of prominent . 'musicians and musical enthusiasts have, ’ materially helped 1. Mr Maugham -Bar-' ; | nett, Who just now- has two largo hod- " 'ie.s of singers and instrimicniwiists in > training, was persistent at recent rc- ': hearsals in urging them to usorthoir in- i ’ fiucnco iu favour of the Town Hall pro-j > po.sal. Other . leaders .in the musical' 5 ’world worked hard in-the same -iiroc- ; tiOU. j r Whilst the Seventh Contingent was , encamped at Treutbam some troopers ' belonging, to it made a. demonstration 5 in front of Mr V. Jenson’s store at Upper Hint and pulled down a Danish flag which was .flying over the building. Tho troopers are said -to-.-havo. been under tho impression that the flag was that cf the Transvaal. An officer of the contingent immediately apologised for, what had 'taken place., MrJens'ca put the matter . ' in the hands of the Consul for Denmark (Mr H D. Dell), from whom lie has now ' received, all official letter containing the ' following passage:—‘T am glad to bo able to slate that the Government have ' made a full apology to myself as Con--1 sul for Denmark for the affront to the ' flag.'’ ‘ In regard to the competition for designs for the 1 official invitation cards to 1 bo issued in connection with the Koval visit, tho awards have been announced | bv the Premier. Tho two designs which ; the judges considered tho best could not be considered—one because it was net . quite complete,- and the other liccau.se some alterations would have had to be made to it if it were accepted. Mr WH. Young, of the “Star" Office, Auckland, takes tho first prize of £ls 15s, and Mr F. W. Sears, of Wellington,, the second prize of £5 os. Mr R. Hawridge, cf Dunedin, has been awarded a special prise of £5 5s for a design which arrived after the time for the closing of entries. The Cabinet lias awarded a prize of £2 2s to each of the following competitors for meritorious designs; Mr AT. C. Schmidt,/-Star” Office, Auck-’. land; Mr Ti Mclntyre, Dunedin ; Mr W. Gulliver, Auckland: and Mr son, Christchurch. "Mr A'. 1). Willie-, Wanganui, who- sent in'two designs, has been awarded £2 2s for each cf them. Five of the dt signs will he used by tho Government. The arrangements ,n connection with the lithographing, etc., of the cards have been entrusted to Messrs i W. Gray (Secretary to the. Post Office) < and J- Mackay (Government Printer), j

Ur Mason. Chief Health Comnnvonor, is expected to return i'/om ».v youth to-rcerruvv. The first annual meeting ot the »V «‘lliustton Steam Ferry Company vnt » held on Tuesday. the «Wth ms>Dr Fomari. t( the HeaUh Depart meat. left vest vrt’.iy ter ihuvkc's Bay. vrhf; u a prep na.i-i inerting is shortly to be hem. The number ol pav-etiser* vaivod '■» (lie Y.'rllini'.tov. tramways i.ctibs I'!’* s\ :uuu ihe th'O- have bc**n under the control of the Citv Canned n ;t -. ] .kOd.l'Ub. :<iu] the number ul mil-'' run ■ was practically led. l : . 1 r i hr Mapourika. iviin the iowam e-.n ’. Francisco mail- chmdd reach Wclhnv ton about ten o'clock this moinuv:.. 4fter binding the ■Wellington. rNS.son : ami West Coast mails sue trill go oil ' to Lyttelton with the Canterbury ami , Otago portion. The onlv adverse vote given ycaer- , dav was that against the wood-pm. mg k lean roccvds'd at St. Paul 8 bo-awoh«■!, ;• Sydney street. At that polling P'aee : the opponents of the proposal vie \ u I a majority of seven. 'l’lio returns hem - other polling places, however, ccum elected the TUovndoa vote, a.tKi can tint the proposal by Idl votes. Messrs H. Gerritxcn and Co., the New 2/ualand agents inr Messrs .Sie- - mens and Halslto, the celebrated mann- . fact m ors of electrical appliance 1 , oi I Berlin. Vienna and St. Petersburg, -I have received intimation that the last* I named linn has been awarded ton grand prizes, one tiokl medal and one silver medal for their apparatus and inachiucrv tho'vn. a t the* 1/nris P-x.nhi-t ton.

The Premier U'!!« it good story of his visit to Palmerston North oil Wednesday. Before. .the speechifying commenced in connection with unfurling the flag 'at the school grounds, a lour-year-old son of !t leading supporter rlim'bed on his kuce. and after he had put the rinld 1 down, "Miss Soddon asked the boy if he knew who was nursing him. The child looked up, as if surprised at such ignorance, and replied, " Of course, that was Dick! - ’

“Wo must have an. unusually clean population,” Mr Aitkon said last night at the Opera House, 'because ,1 cJculate that we use per iioxd of l.'ie population—that is, young babies os well as grov-hairod men—2,j El gabons <d water per day, I do not know, he cc-i----tinned, “'whether there is a lot of whisky drunk in Wellington, tint il so, thci'v must be a terrible lot of wat-r put ini u it.” He quoted figures showing that Glasgow used only 50 gallons per day. and Chicago 533 gallons.

The suggestioh that the City Engineer's department does not know whore the various drains are, was denied by Mr Aitkon last night. “To-day I saw - .” said he, “maps in the Engineer’s office which showed every drain laid for this svsu-jn, showed every joint, the depth in the street, and all the particulars that such a map as that ought to contain.” AM Aitken added that there were drains made long before the pr> sent system, and that tho Engineer's department did not know where these drains are out they had all thq partiaular* of tho new system.

The fortnightly meeting of the New Zealand Workers’ Union was hold at tho Trocadcro last night, Mr .1. O’Bnen in the- .chair. The question of affiliation with the Trades Council was considered, and the secretary was hist” Jclc.l to write to the Trades Council staling time the union regretted it could not. »cc its way to join the Council at the present time, but hoped to be in a position to regard tho proposal favourably ni the course of a- few months. Ti e action of the executive in appointing Messrs Allan Orr and AY. T. Young ■o evidence before the Now »outh Wales Commissioner. on tho- working of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, was approved,. In the Magistrate’s'Court yesterday tho following Sentences wore passed by Dr McArthur,-. 8.M.-: James Wilson. theft, three months’ imprisonment, concurrent -with .a similar term new being served; James- Melwood, theft, three months’; Edward Mycrffi theft-, three months. Fong Leo was remanded on a. charge of indecent assault, and JanieHerbert Evans-was also remanded to enable the Magistrate to consider what penalty will fit Ins crime of obtaining, jewellery by limans rf vnluless cheques. Four seamen,from the barque Gladys applied to have their articles cancelled owing to ill-treatment by tho officer- of tho ship. His' Worship refused to make an order in the case.

• In the Supreme Court yesterday Mr Justice Edwards board' the case betweeh R. Beil and Co.. Limited, plaintiffs, and the Commissioner cf Trade and Custom!-, defendant. Mr J. P. Campbell appeared for the plaintiff company, and Mr 11. DDell for tile defendant. This was an

action brought under the Customs Laws Consolidation Act, 1882. to test th<‘ question of tho ■liability te forfeiture of 393 cases containing boxes of was vestas consigned from London to Wellington. The boxes containing the matches wore stamped “H. Dell ami Co., Ne. -I; cstd. 1832, New Zealand. ’’ The pi ain till company said it had acted innocently. Ihe defendant' justified .the foiled ure under the Customs Laws Consolidation Act.am! the. Patents. Designs and Trade Marks Act, 1889. ’Judgment was reserved.

One ray of sunshine brightened the dull hours suont by the poll clerks at. the Exchange Hall yesterday. When <i company of entertainers was in possession of the hall'last year, it affixed placards to the wall'; bearing the wen -.ls. •■‘Gentlemen arc requested la _ remove their hats.” One of these notices happened yesterday to be .situated just._ af. the entrance to one cf the polling booths. Polite old- gontiemep who evidently had never patronised tl.c modern variety show, on being'confronted with the placard, promptly took oil their bats, and remained nnedveed mild they had left the building. As vhis lit: Ij’ remedy was, frequently repealed, the deputy- returning officers and their clcrlis found in, -it an unfailing source of amusement. In the course of his reply to Hie farewell address of tho Industrial Association yesterday, Mr John Ross mentioned that the other day it had been stated in the newspapers that an American manufacturer had bought up all tho iiides he could obtain iu Now Zealand, had sent them t.o America, and converted them into boots and shoes, which ho had sent back to New Zealand ; and that notwithstanding our heavy duties, he was able to uuder-ssll tho locallymade goods iu this market. This statement was very misleading. Tiic hoots sent to New Zealand were not made from New Zealand hides, but were 'he surplus products of the- factories in America, and. were scut over here in order not to disturb the prices iu Mie American markets. Mr Rosa held (hat trade of this kind should not be encouraged, and mo doubt, said he, our Trades and Labour Council would inquire into the matter. 6 ——-r-r--rr=r