LOCAL AND GENERAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 5603, 1 June 1905, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Father Hays Reception Committee is to meet : in the Trades Hall this evening.

Thursday, June Bth, has been fixed as the day for the formal opening of the new Customhouse in Wellington by his Excellency the Governor. The cost of the Queen’s statue for Wellington, including all incidental expenses, has been fully subscribed. The amount subscribed whs £2050.

The Mayor of Christchurch lias received a donation of £IOO from the Hyman Marks trustees to the coal and blanket fund for the relief of the indigent. The State schools, and Technical School will observe Monday as a holiday, in honour of tho Prince of Wales’s Birthday. The ordinary Saturday classes of tho Technical School will ho held as usual'on that day. Tho Inspector of Machinery’s Department, which had boon located in tho Queen’s Chambers for several years, removed itself to the new Customhouse yesterday, whore its business will bo conducted for tho future. A member of tho Acclimatisation Society stated last night that he had received notice to clear rabbits off his property at Day’s Bay. Tho year before last ho had seen one rabbit on the land, last year ho had seen none at all 1

There is evidently a gang of .thieves "working” tho Taranaki district, unfortunately not without result. The sum of £lO was stolen from a shop in Inglewood the other night, and there is no cluo as to who was the thief. On Friday last £2O worth of jewellery was purloined from tho Bridge Hotel at Waitara. , A suspect has been arrested at Mokau. Several burglaries are reported from Eltham. A meeting was held in Blenheim on Monday evening to discuss tho advisability of erecting a new Town Hall and municipal offices. On tho motion of Mr Conolly, the prime mover in tho matter, tho following motion was proposed and carried, “That tho Mayor and Council for the borough - of Blenheim bo requested to take tho , steps necessary to raise a loan of a sum not exceeding £4OOO for the jjftrpose of erecting a Town Hall and municipal offices, and that the site of such 'premises be decided by tho burgesses when the poll with respect to the pronosed loan is taken.” At tho present time Blenheim has neither a theatre nor a hall of respectable size, and this has prevented the town being visited by theatrical companies. Only a few days more, and then our sale will be over. _ Take advantage of our big reductions. Spring-seat Couches, 30s; Duchess Chests, 00s; Occasional Suites, £lO. Henry Fielder and Co.—Advt,

Tho members of tho Arbitration Court, who have boon sitting at Dannovirkc, will probably return to Wellington on Saturday. It is understood A hat they will not. deal with any work Tn tho city, hut will make their way South, where there aro several matton awaiting consideration. Tho “Marlborough Times” says then® is a number of scarlet fever pationta at present in the fever ward at tho Blenheim Hospital. It seems more than coincidence that tho greater num. her of the cases aro drawn from a certain low-lying sjiot to tho south of Blenheim. Every winter thcro is a ro> cnrrcnco of tho epidemic in tho samp I locality. Tho City Council proceeded against forty-six persons iu tho Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning for failing to register dogs. Ton shillings is the registration fee. Out of tho forty-sis informations, ouo was dismissed, nine withdrawn, and throe adjourned. Convictions were recorded in tho remainder. Tho fines inflicted amounted to only 12s, but tho costs totalled £lO 19s.

Messrs Gordon and Gotch have secured the right to issue a souvenir pro* gramme in connection with the tour of tho New Zealand representative football team in England. Tins souvenir will take the form of a profusely-illus-trated booklet of some two hunched pages, containing data about tho team,, details of tho tour, etc., and will bo: sold on the football grounds during the team’s tour.

A rather hard case camo before tins presiding Justices at- tho Magistrate's Court yesterday morning. A woman was charged with committing a breach of tho Education Act, 1901, in that she had failed to send her boy to school. Tho women stated that she was obliged to go out to work, as her husband had been a cripplo for tho past twelve months. Tho boy, who was her only help, was kept from school to attend to his father. Tho Bench was compelled to convict, and tho minimum fine (2s) was inflicted. Mr Sanson (om of tho Justices) paid tho fmo out of hift own pocket.

Tho fourteenth annual meeting ot tho Wellington Sailors’ Best was hold, yesterday afternoon, when Mr W. For-: guson was voted to tho chair. Tho report of tho operations for tho year indicated that the popularity of the Rest continued to increase amongst seafaring men. Tho balanco-slicct showed a credit of £l4l 5s Id. Tho report and balance-sheet were unanimously adopt, od. Tho following gentlemen, wore elected as tho committee for tho ensuing year Tho Right Rev. tho Bishop of Wellington, Messrs Frederic Townsend, A. B. Pearce, and A. HA Turn*. bull, and Dr Ohnpplc.

A dense fog hung over tho city nncj harbour yesterday morning, and did nob clear until between 9 and 10 o’clock. So thick was tho fog that tho electric tramcars were lighted up until 9 a.m., and tho moto-nneu had to keep the bolls ringing vigorously to prevent accident. The residents of Seatoun were awakened, at an early hour by cannonading, and,, under tho impression that part of tin/. Russian fleet had lost its way and wan violently assaulting Poncarrow, nwoko, to find tho entrance to tho harbour obscured and the fog-signal, apparatus at tho Heads booming out frequent warnings: to ships that-might pass that way. Incoming steamers and- tho ferry boats were delayed slightly during tho. morning in, finding their way across tho bar. hour. ~1

Tn a caeo at Huntorvillo whore a resident was fined 5s and costs for hav« ing failed to give notice to tho: District Health Officer of, scarlet fever in his family, tho officer of tho department! who prosecuted said tho , proceedings were taken not in a vindictive way, nor was a'heavy penalty asked for, hut in. tho hope that tho example would assist to impress upon tho public tho necessity of reporting cases of infectious disease. Tho department, would,where cases were reported, do all it could to assist people and prevent further infection. Most cases of. omission to report were due to thoughtlessness or carelessness, and a. good deal of mischief followed, other families became schools were closed, etc. The officer mentioned that it would he regarded as unueighbourly if a farmer allowed a/sheep affected with scab to get among, the flock of another. But it seemed to him much, worsa when a person allowed a case of a human infectious disease to mix in s. school or with people, and so infect and indict loss and trouble upon oilier, families and whole districts. , Inspector Doyle, of tho Wellington City Council, proceeded against , about, sixty-fire persons ,at tho Court yesterday morning for failing to comply with , city bydaws. In tho majority, of cases convictions wero 1 rocordod. In regard to straying cattle, the inspector said that, in spite of frequent fines, tho nuisance continued. Numerous complaints reached tho Council from time to time reflecting on th 4 rangers, and those officials had to ho oa the alert at all hours of tho day andnight to copo with: the nuisance. Ho was of opinion that as’long as offenders, wero treated, with leniency by, the Court there would bo no abatement. Ho asked the Bench to inflict such penalties as would make it unprofitable for owners of cattlo to allow their animals to stray. Later on, when several people summoned failed toe appear at Court, one of the presiding Justioeo said it was strange people should ignore tho Court by not attending. Inspector' Doylo thereupon remarked that people looked upon tho fines inflicted by the Court as an equivalent to rent for the nrivilego of grazing their cattlo in public places.

Memory of tho Boer war is being revived by tho distribution of King’*! medals,, awarded to all those persona who saw eighteen months’ or more unbroken service in South Africa. Tho medal, of silver, is about the size of a half-crown, tut half as thick again, and to it is attached a couple of silver clasps with the years 1901 and 1902 impressed thereon, and a length of orange, white, and green ribbon. On one tide of the medal is an impression of the King’s head, and on tho reverse in a neatly-figured allegory—Britannia extending a laurel wreath to “the sons of the Empire.” The medals are being distributed, unostentatiously for tho reason that those entitled to them, are scattered all over tho colony, and all their present addresses arc not known to the officials of the Defence Department. Bo far, medals have been distributed 'to the following by the -District Office Lieutenant F. Wills, Lieutenant W. Pitt. Lieutenant P. Emerson, Captain .1. H. Boss. Others for whom medals are waiting are:—-Captain H. D. Courts, Captain T. A. "Wood, Corporal R. E. Burnett, Trooper L. Podcsta, Veterinary-Lieutenant D. Fraser, Lientenant W. Lorripan, Captain R. Beddon, Lieutenant P. W. Tail, Lieutenant H. Cameron, Staff-Sergeant M. da Lores, Quartermaster-Sergeant E. T). Robertson, Private E. Willis, Lieutenant W. O. Morrison, Captain A. J. Kitney.

A debate took place last evening borepresentatives of tho New Zealand .Socialist party and tho Single Tax league. Mr C. J. Nicklin was voted to tlio chair. The subject for dehato was: “Would wage slavery exist under a single tax regimes'” Messrs Hogg, Halbert, and Wolstcnholmc, lor tho Socialist party, maintained that nothing short of ■of means of production, distribution sand exchange would free labour from (exploitation by capital. Messrs Urnton, Collins, and Brown, for tho Singlo Tax League, contended that tho throwting open of natural opportunities to labour would destroy tho power or oppressing labour which accumulated Wealth now possessed. Mr W. Short, of the Department 01 'Roads, tho Commissioner appointed to allocate tho cost of maintenance ot the bridge recently erected by tho Government at tho upper end of tho ManaWatu Gorge to connect Ballancc with ■llio Woodvill© side of the Maimwatu river, sat to hear evidence at Woed'rille yesterday. The local bodies interested are Woodvillo county and horough and Pahiatua county. Delegates from the three bodies met some I into ago, and agreed that Moodville borough should pay two-fifths, Pahiatua county two-fifths, and Woodville county one-fifth, hut Woodvillo horough repudiated tho recommendation of tho delegates, and tho Coin-j ’mission was set up. Tho case lor ■ Woodvillo county and Pahiatua vonuty shows that Woodvillo horough alono agitated for tho erection ot the bridge, and that it derives benefit hyj increased trado with a largo dairying; district. Tho horough seeks to show! that tho bridge is a stock bridge. | AVero tho proposition to sell the : Philippines voiced by a less eminent : citizen than Roar-Admiral George W. I Melville, long Kngineor-in-Cbief of tho ; (Tinted States Navy, it might (says an : American contemporary) ho criticised as j unpatriotic, hut there is no doubt that j Urn distinguished Admiral merely voices j tho opinion of a largo section of tho j population who have given thought to tho matter as practical business men. tn an address before tho American Academy of Political Science, at Philadelphia, in April last, Admiral Melville classed tho Philippines as ono of three evil inheritances of tho United .'States, tho other two being Latin-' Amoricaii receiverships and tho Panama Canal. To get rid of tho Philippines for a practical and valuable consideration would not, however, ho ns difficult os tho solution of the other two mattors, for it is hot likely that the European Powers now holding possessions in tho West Indies could bo induced to part with them according to tho Admiral’s programme of exchange. Tho nno Power that would ho very glacl to have tho Philippines is Japan, and doubtless as soon as tho war with Russia is settled up, which cannot much longer bo delayed, slio will bo in a position to eagerly negotiate for such a desirable possession. It is doubtful if a more happy and generally satisfactory disposal -of tho Philippines could ho made than by a treaty with Japan. There uietl at Parihaka on Saturday last a native nearly ninety years of ago, ono of tho old school, by name Peno to Maivao. Pcuo was always a staunch friend of the Europeans, and particularly of tho early missionaries. Ho was ono of several natives who, with a European, sawed tho first timber cut in Wanganui, in a pit where now stands tho Moutoa monument. Tho timber was sawn from a log of lotara which drifted down tho river. Tho Into Major Kemp and Pono were fast friends, and lived a good deal together at Horowhenua. Ho and Kemp, in tho very early days of AVanganui, carried the mail from Wellington, Pono often carrying it on foot from Waikanae. Ho was living at a pa, Pukohika, opposite Hiruharawa, whoro the Taupo natives, “a tana” war party, called on their way to AVaitotara, where they worn, to avenge some ■Wrong which tho Waitotara natives had dono them. Peno was on© who addressed them, and tried to persuade thorn. Guo of tlio war party—To Wanikau—replied, “Como with us and got a inokai (Hacro tana ki tetahi mokai man). Como with me and get a slavo for yourself”; but history lias it that tho boot was on tlio other leg, und that few of this party returned, most of thorn being slaughtered by the 'JV'aitotara and Patea natives. Peno bad been living at Parihaka since 1878.

The insurance offices in Wellington, rrill close for holiday on Saturday. Tho Wairampa Farmers' Co-operative Association will close on Saturday, remaining open till 9 p.m. to-morrow. Tho attention of persons/ requiring dresa suits is directed to Messrs B. B. Davis and Co.'a advertisement elsewhere. Excursion fares and train arrangements are advertised by the Wellington and Manawatu Eailway Company for tho Otaki races next Saturday and Monday. The Loan and Mercantile Agency Company advertise entries for to-day’s stock sale at Palmerston North. Tho Imperial Dental Company, over Pringle's, Lambton quay, has a business notice in another column. 1 Messrs Voitch and Allan have an announcement on our first page regarding their rebuilding sale. Kaiapoi jackets .are quoted at special "prices. Tho Wellington Gas Company, is selling coke at low prices. Xu tho Harbour Board’s "B” shed tomorrow afternoon Dalgety and Co., Ltd., will sell by auction 12 bales of crossbred wool, Messrs Macdonald, Wilson and Co. will sell at 1 o'clock this afternoon at the residence of Mrs Dobbie, No. 1, Caroline street, tho whole of her superior household furniture and upright grand piano by Eirohnor. Tho furniture will be on View from 9.30. Messrs Macdonald, Wilson and Co. will hold a sale of landed properties at their Exchange Land Mart at 2.30 this afternoon, when they will submit a valuable shop and dwelling, situate Abel Smith street, on land 23ft x 132 ft; in Grant road. Thorndon, two residences recently erected, containing six rooms each, with land 22ft x 88ft each; valuable villa residence with bay windows, situate Middle Waiwotu road. Lower Hutt. on land 76ft r ISOftj at Te Horo, on the Manawatfi railway line, a valuable improved farm property, containing 522 J acres; and a valuable corner shop property with largo dwelling known as Manchester House, situate at Foxtxm.