LOCAL AND GENERAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 5153, 21 December 1903, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The “ New Zealand Times ” will not be published bn Christmas Day, hut will bo issued as usual on Boxing Day. Vacation starts in the Supremo Court to-day, and will last until the end ot January. Monday next and Saturday, January 2nd. will be observed as special holidays by all the banks. Messrs P. Hutson and Co.’s pottery works will bo open for inspection by visitors to-morrow afternoon. The weekly meeting under, the auspices of the Y.M.C.A. at the Opera House last night was very well attended. ' A special lantern service was held. Particulars arc advertised'this morning of the running of trains on the : Govcrlnmcnb railways and (Manawatu Company’s lino during the Christmas holidays. The quarterly summoned meeting of Loyal Britannia Lodge, 1.0.0. F., will bo held this evening. To-morrow night' tho quarterly meeting of Court Sir George Bowen, A 0.F., will bo held. Tho names of Messrs ~ Goofgo T. White and A. Laurenson, who presented medals to tho Marist Brothers’ School, wore omitted from the list of donors at tho prize distribution on Thursday night. Mr and Mrs Alf. Mitchell, of the Metropolitan Hotel, Wanganui, send us Christmas greetings on a special card, having an illustration of tho hotel in tho centre, flanked 1 by portraits of tho host and hostess. Another big shearing tally is recorded. Tho “Hawko’s Bay Herald” mentions that at Olrig,station,last week .twenty shearers in 8 hours 10 minutes cut out 4154 sheep. This gives an average of 270 sheep per man within the time stated. The steamer traffic this Christmas promises to beat all records. Nearly two hundred saloon passengers arrived from- Lyttelton by the Mararoa yesterday. The steamer returns to Lyttelton this evening with a heavy complement of excursionists. Tho infectious diseases reported In Wellington to the Department of Public Health during the week ending Saturday last consisted of five, cases of scarlet fever, 'two of enteric and one of tuberculosis. No cases wore reported from tho Hutt county. ,

Tho secretary of tlio Wellington Benevolent Institute acknowledges, tho following additional donations .towards; providing Christmas dinner for the inmates of tho Ohiro Home:—Warded' Bros., Thomas Ballinger,wFresh Food and Ico Company, C. SnuijlivC'ubastreet (goods), To Aro llouso t (goods); £1 Is each. •; People who utilise tho telegraph service of tho colony to transmit their Christinas jgfoetiugs to friends or relatives will-act wisely if they send tho messages on Wednesday or early on Thursday. The telegraph lines aro so congested with work on Christmas Eve that lath messages arc subject to considerable delay. Tho Wellington Harbour Board rel ceivod the following tenders for tho supply and delivery of hydraulic pipes, valves, etc. (contract No. 12G): —Messrs John Duthio and Co, £OIB 10s Hd (accepted); Messrs Palmer and Co., £9OO 16s; and Sydniy Hydraulic and General Engineering - Company., Limited. £IOO4 13s 3d. The engineer’s estimate was £920. Wo have received from tho publishers, Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs, Limited, a copy ofia book entitled “The Fertility of the Unfit,” by Dr Chappie, ,of Wellington. /The subject is one in which Dr Chappie has long taken a deep interest, and about.two years ago lie contributed a special article to our columns on tho question. Tim present book, which is an amplification of his views, will receive more extended notice, at an early date.' Tho Taranaki “Daily Nows” states that while at Waitara on Thursday Sir Joseph Ward. I’o&tmastei-Gciioral, was approached ■bur Captain 'Reardon, on behalf of tho shipmastersi trading to the Mokaia river, to have xlio pilot station there connected with tho telephone di-rect-to Waitara, so that the. state of tho bar coulfl.bo repotted at any time, instead of. as mow, between 9 a.in. and 5 p.m. Tim Minister promised that if the connection could be made without interfering with other telegraphic work it .should bo done. At a meeting held at Shannon on Friday evening, i’o was decided to form the Shannon. Bowling and J*iwn Tennis Club. To givo effect to tlms object it is proposed to raiso the slum of £BOO, 400 shares of £2 each to bo issued. It was intimated that application had already been made for shares'to. the value of £640,, distributed amongst forty-five applicants. The following ■were elected provisional directors; —Messrs Rawston. G.'Stephenson, W. Carter, T. Lind, J. B. Stan sell, Richardson and M. Monyahan, who were empowered to purchase a section ■under offer. Mr Rejmclds, general manager-of - the Pacific Cable Board, who has been inquiring into tho working of the cable in’tho Commonwealth and New Zealand, with a view of devising means of making it more popular with business people, will furnish ins recommendations to the board on his return to London next month. It is probable that Mr Reynolds will urge that can venters be again' appointed. The proposed conference with reference to the. Eastern Extension Company’s agreement will very likely be held shortly after Mr Reynolds’ arrival in England. Ho left Australia for London on tho 15th inst. Nominations closed on Saturday for tho National Scholarships. From the Wellington . educational district tho names of fifty-two candidates .were sent in for competition for tho. three scholarships available for this province, and seventeen for ‘‘:reo places” under previous regulations. For the scholarships. Mount Cook sends four—boys two, gilds two; Newtown, four; Thomdon. three;..Terrace, three; Clyde quay, two; Te Aro, two; Roseneath, two. In view of the very short notice, given, the response from the various schools in this district may ho considered very satisfactory. Tho examinations will be held on January sth and 6th next.

Mr R. L. Caldwell, manufacturers' agent, Wellington, forwards ns a copy of a neat little calendar for 1904, issued by tho Standard Corn Broom Factory,' Auckland. This takes a unique form, inasmuch as tho dace slips arc mounted on an aluminium pinto. Mr A. J. Bennett, honorary secretary to tho Hospital Sunday Demonstration Committee, writes expressing the committee’s thanks to the ’’Now Zealand Times” for tho assistance it gayo to the movement, which, ho says, “inntorially. help to make tho affair a success.” Mr Justice Denuislun gave judgment on Saturday in an action hoard on tha 15th iust., in which James P, Maxwell, Wellington, sued the Equitable Building and Investment Company, Limited, to recover £O9 IBs -for damage caused to a house and laud, his property, in Sydney .sfreel, through a landslip on an adjoining section owned by. the defendants. His Honor hold tho defendants wore not liable, and gave judgment no. oordingly, with costs as agreed upon. _ Tho last sitting of tho Old Ago Pen. sions Court for this your was held before Dr A. McArthur, S.M., ou Friday. A large number of application j for renewals were granted. During tint month of December 05 renewals were, dealt with as follows;—Fifty-eight full pensions tor £lB were grunted; one at £ls, ono at £l3, two nb £l2, and one each at £ll, £lO and £7. Ono pension was cancelled, one application was re. owing to applicant being in re. ceipt of “excessive earnings,” and twit pensions wore renewed, subject to refunds for small amounts. Yesterday Archbishop Redwood paid, an episcopal visitation to.tho Roman Catholic parishioners of Lower Hutt, for the purpose of conferring tho Sacrament of confirmation on some thirty children. At tho early Mass a number of children received their first Holy Communion, and at tho Inter Mass tho Archbishop prosided at tho ceremony of confirmation. His Grace preached at the evening do. votions, and congratulated the parish priest, Rev Father Lane, and his curate," Father Walsh o, on tho state of religion * and education in the parish. Evidently tho path of tho British speculator in South American enterprise Is not without thorns. According to a recent issue of the Buenos Ayres “Standard,”'a British drainage company has just boon fined GOOO dollars at Rosa’rio ou a trumped-up charge of not Keeping the tanks flushed, and tho penalty-waa confirmed by a Judge of,,tho. Supreme Court, with interest and costs. Tho Intendon to who imposed thoi fine in the first instance is described as “a billet enemy to English capital'." South American exchanges to hand make mention of the first annual meeting of tho River San Juan do',Ore Gold Dredging Company, Limited, at which a preliminary report was read from Mr William Faithfiul, (Messrs Vjdcton Bras. 1 representative), a Now Zealand export employed to report on the suitability of certain claims on tho river for dredging purposes, Mr Faithful-reported that tho river flowed through rich gold-bear-ing wash equal to, if not better than any New Zealand rivers. Mr David Robertson, another New Zealander, has been engaged in conjunction'with Mr R. A. Scythe to report on the adaptability of tho river for supplying blcotrio power to work the dredges, and they are of opinion that from 300 to .400 horse-power is obtainable, and that, though it will cost a considerable amount ( tho ground can stand any outlay. “A New Zealand Worker” writes:—*, Scciilg how well this colony has progressed since tho Now Zealand Labour party first placed : tho present Government in power, every well-wisher of tho workers will view with- satisfaction the splendid position occupied by tho Australian Labour party during the present federal elections. Evidently* our brothers across tho sea have awakened to the fact that political power is -a splendid weapon to use, and they real, iso that at tho ballot-box th«r numerical strength can overthrow'; air obstacles in tho road'of, real progress. Those of tho Liberal party here who would like to sweep away from 'their programme all that' pertains to- Labour should tako a lesson from-' tho federal elections, and recognise that Labour, awakened, can beoomo irresistible. I trust our various labour organisations .will congratulate tho Australian workers on their achievement, and press home to tho largo number of unorganised persons the power that comes through com. bination.', “ Picturc-lover”: ’ writes: —I was astounded to-hear on Saturday that there -, was actually a duty of 20 per cent, on paintings and art pictures brought into tho colony from abroad. This is no Jess (-surprising than ridiculous. It iu admitted on every hand that good pictures have an • claratmg influence eg people, and that this colony ; is singularly lacking in good works of art. A oicing my surprise at this contradictory o^niuiidration. I was told by the leadin-- pictuie-dealer in Wellington tl-ar many pen-ons leaving Homo to £C..I :o in tho colony prefer to sell their picture! octoi'O leaving the Old Country rat hot than pav tho heavy duty at rtns er ct, In this manner is New Zealand iobb*-(S of works I'-iat cannot bo produced wit lain tho colons-; -From tho same source I lea, n that 'duly had to ho paid on thf whole ot the collection of paintings by Svdnev artists (that have been on. exhibition' at tho Otago Art Society’s exhibition. and arc now to be seen in »Vcl« lingtou) in case some of these should bt sold! Of course,-this will bo refunded on tho pictures leaving Ho colony, Xhw duty in addition to keeping good pictures out of tho colony, raises tho price of those imported for sale. I do not know whether tho art societies have kicked against this. It is time they did. At tho morning service at St. Paul’s Pro-Cathedral yesterday the pu pit waa occupied by the Bight Rev Dr Wclldqn, Canon of Westminster, and Chaplain- ■ in-Old inary to tho King- Taking as hi* text the words of tho 06th Psalm, 9th 1 verse “Oh! Worship tho Lord m tho Beauty of His Holiness,” the pieacher ' pointed out that the words were, not ' inappropriate to tho season, which was drawing near— tho festival of the birth ■ of Christ for holiness was in some sense 1 His gift to the world. Without reli--1 gion it was possible to have courage. ’ integrity and nobleness, but one could not have holiness, which was nothing ’ less than the truo relation of the soul of man to a power above it-. Three of 1 its essentials were patience, unselfish- ■ ness and a certain heaveuly-mindodness. 1 Tho lesson tho season set forth waa ! that if they would themselves set forth i the beauty' of holiness, they should be- ; hold the King in His beauty and try ■ as far as might be to be like Him. Th« 1 lessons were given by the Bishop of Wei- ■ lington. There was a largo congregation in St. Peter’s Church at the evening service, when Dr Welldon preached on the second coming of the Redeemer ; and the progress and development o! • Christianity throughout the world, tak- : ■ Ing as his text tho words,. “Even si > come, Lord Jesus,” from the 22nd eliap- - ter of the Revelation of St. John. 20th 1 verso. Bishop Wallis imparted th-j benediction., . . ■ ■ ■

A strange egg came into tho posscs- / ion of Mr .1. H. Pagni, of tlio 'Western Hotel, Willis street, yesterday. It is of tlio soft-shelled order and boars an appendage two or throe indies in /cugth, which lias a curious rc.scinhlanco ta a- miniature human. leg, making the egg appear one of tlio most astonishing that has been recorded'. Tho twenty-first annual meeting of '.(ho New Zealand Educational Institute will bo bold at Kelson on January sth. Amongst tho subjects to be discussed 't ill bo a proposition that'the department should prohibit the publication of 'inspectors’ reports. Tho delegates ■flic Hawke’s Bay branch of tho institute will propose, “That, as all other branches of the public service are effi'cicntly managed from tho head departments, tlio Minister bo_ asked to introduce legislation to abolish both Ednea'iion Boards and School Committees.” The same institute recommends that the introduction ef religions instruction in 'public schools is inadvisable, both on religious and educational grounds. A shop is to let in Kolliuruo avenue, Iknmblun quay. Apply to “Times” oilico. The steamer Zealaudia. leaves at 7.30 >.m. on the marine excursion to Piciou on Boxing Day. There will be races for young and old, refreshment.} and many attractions at tjio N'avaltt’ and Garrison Baud’s picnic at Beatoun on New Vear’s Bay. Williams and Kettle. Ltd., will sell Hairy farms by auction at Napier on January 2dth. The properties are within Jour miles of town. Tho New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company hold a stock sale af Palmerston cm Wednesday. Qua Her day falls on Thursday with Hib Alliance, Victoria and Liverpool and London and Glebe Insurance Companies. Black currants and raspberries- from Burton Gardens aro for sale by Mr J. oawers, 15 and IG, Queen’s Chambers. Motors Hislop und Walden invito tenders for erecting residence* at Mirnniar and at Kelhurno. Tenders nro invited by Messrs Seaton and SI addon for road formation and metalling work .at Miramar. 'The half-yearly dividend of the National Bank will be payable on and alter January dtli. Messrs Sidey, Meccb and Co. bold <a ijalo of picture frames, pictures and carnets this afternoon. . John Elliott, late of H.M.S. Orlando, is requested to communicate mtn the thief steward of HALS. Lizard. Tho Town and Country Co-oporatiyo Uupply Federation purchases new - laid eggs for cash. There nro onlv four more days of the fourth “Yankee' hustle sale.” People in search of Christmas;gifts- would do well to pay the American Novelty Scores a Visit. .Feed oats and fowl wheat will bo sold by Messrs George Thomas and Co. at auction this morning. The D.T.C. is offering at Londoik prices books of all kinds—religious and gift books, poetical works, novels, dictionaries. etc. Special concessions aro given to schools and libraries. An important property sale will bo hold on January 11th by Messrs Mnetlonald, Wilson' and Co, 1 ‘On that date Jhe firm will sell six residences situate lit Petouo and two rcmdencos in Coro/nandel street. Each of tho houses has vix rooms, and is equipped with latest \Jonvenionce3. On January 30th at Gisborne the Now Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency 'l.'ompivny, under instructions from the East Coast Native Lands .trust, will sell the Paremata estate, of 7112 acres agrieulhiral and pastoral land, subdivided- into areas suitable for dairying and Reiiorai farming. In addition parts of tho Marletnha block will be submitted to auction. Particulars of tho properly and details of terms of payment are given in a. preliminary advertisement this morning. Messrs J. Mollraitii and Co. make a Jresh announcement relating to their holiday, picnic, excursion or Christmas hampeiri at a reasonable cent, which shpiild attract the attention of the public on the eve of. the holiday season. York Bay sections aro being rapidly disposed of, and only a fow lots m the first subdivision reiruiin unsold. Un Saturday afternoon arrangements vtqvo made by Messrs William H. Turnbull Mid Co. for Mr Cudby-s drug fan meet the Uav’s Bay steamer., and- convoy mtemling" purchasers to York Bay. A number of buvers availed themselves of theopnortimitv, and as a result six sections pore sold at =£Bo, AIOO, J1105,_ ILo. J-110 inti .£l3O, the purchasers being Messrs Rogers, Williamson, Erskinc, Dunlord sn.il Mooro. This brings tho total sales to £5517 10s. The balance of the sections avo still for sale at upset prices. Marked plans showing sections sold and upset prices of tho unsold sections may be had tonn Messrs William H. Turnbull and Co. Intending buyers are urged to visit fh© property during? th© > holidays and secure sections. * The Deputy Public Trustee publishes jin announcement in regard to tho estate *f the late Mr J. 11. Heaton. Alessrs Xevien, Sballcross nnd Co. sell hams, bacon and maize by auction this morning.