NEWS NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6383, 4 December 1907, Page 6

NEWS NOTES.

A petition in bankruptcy was filed yesterday by David Alexander Taylor, saddler, of Wellington. The first meeting of creditors will be field on the 12tfi iast., at 11 a.m. The charge against Robert MoNab of having robbed a deaf mute named David Sutherland of a sum of ,£lls, in May last, will be further investigated in the Magistrates’ Court this morning.

The last of the series of oratorios held under the direction of the Rev. Father Kimbell, at the Church of St. Mary’s of the Angels, will take place on Sunday next. Special, music has been arranged for the occasion. '

The motor-yacht Mnpn, which was missing from the vicinity of Farewell Spit with eighteen persons aboard, arrived at Oollingwood yesterday. It was feared that the yacht had swamped or been blown to sea. ■

1 The Wellington Garrison Band recently purchased a new set of instruments, and this has used up most of the band’s available cash. For this reason the band will be unable to compete at the contest to be held at New Plymouth in February next.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company and Dalgety and Co.. Ltd. (as joint, agents for tho executors of the late W. L. Hirst), report that a sale of the Mangapapa station has been effected through the agency of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company's Hawera branch.' The new Auckland Poet Office will be erected on the railway station site. It will be an imposing building, with 212 feet frontage to Queen street and 150 feet depth. The estimated cost is £85,000. Provision will be made for a new railway station immediately behind the Post Office. The board of directors of the Christchurch Y.M.C.A. have purchased a site in Cambridge terrace, within two minutes’ walk of Cathedral square, on which to erect the proposed Y.M.C.A building. It will be remembered- that during the late building campaign in Christchurch the sum of £15,000 was raised. His Honor Mr Justice Button will sit in the Civil Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court this morning at 10 o’clock, with a common jury of twelve, to bear and determine the case of J. K. Powell v. the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company. Plaintiff claims £2075, alleged overcharge for the carriage of goods. The Labour Department is hard put to it to meet tho demand f° r general labourers. At present there are vacancies for over eighty labourers for both, private and Government works. Over 600 immigrants are arriving by the lonic to-day, and it is hoped to secure a number of them to meet the demands of private employers.

Messrs J. Trevor' and Company, Limited, builders, have entered into a contract with Messrs S. Woods and Son, shipwrights, to erect a two-floor brick building at tho corner of Waterloo quay and Ballance street. The building will have frontages of 48ft to Ballance street and 50ft to Waterloo quay..

The results of the musical theory examinations recently held in the Town Hall under the -Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music will be available early in February next. The .Board has decided to hold two examinations annually in New Zealand in the future, and these examinations will ho held in June and December of each year.

A fete is to be held at the Assembly Hall, Island Bay, this afternoon, at 3 o’clock, the proceeds of which are to be used to wipe off the debt of the local Anglican Church. The Mayor and Mayoress of Wellington will perform the opening ceremony. A programme of entertainment has been arranged, and will include a ventriloquial item by Mr Beckford. ' , •

An action brought by Charles Montefiore against A. E. Kernot, in which the sum of j£looo was claimed for alleged libel, and which was set down for trial yesterday, has been' withdrawn by consent of defendant. The counsel in the case .were Mr Myers for the plaintiii and Mr C. P. Skerrett, K.C., for the defendant. Mr Myers stated that the terms of settlement were that each of the parties .withdrew any and all imputations against the character or conduct of the other, and should pay his own costs.

Tho Rhodes scholar for 1903 for New Zealand will be selected on Friday, February 21st. The recess privileges in connection with tho General Assembly library will begin on Saturday next. Tho New Zealand University Senate will hold its annual meeting in Wellington on tho 22nd January. The cruiser Pegasus, which arrived at Wellington on Sunday from Melbourne, sailed last evening for Napier.

\ Tho Harbour Board has placed an order with Messrs A. and T. Burt, Ltd., for twelve hydraulic gantry cranes for tho King’s Wharf. Tho price is ,£13,020.

A Press Association message states that a Magisterial inquiry into the wreck of tixe barque Dundonald at Disappointment Island will be commenced at Bluff to-day.

Tho big Shaw, Savill, and Albion steamer lonic, duo this morning from London, is bringing an unusually large imiuber of immigrants. As soon as the Health Officer has granted pratique tho vessel will bo berthed at No. 3, south. Queen’s Wharf.

Dr L. Cockayne will arrive from Lyttelton by tho Maori this morning. Ho brings with him twenty-four cases of birds, which were captured at tho Auckland Islands and will be liberated at the plant and animal sanctuary at Kapiti Island. Amongst them are some of the rarest known birds in tho Southern Hemisphere. Tho New Zealand University junior scholarship and matriculation examinations commenced yesterday. Those of tho Wellington centre are being held in tho Parliamentary Buildings, under the supervision of Mr A. T. Bothamley. Two hundred and twelve candidates are sitting locally, this number constituting a record' for this centre.

Attention was drawn at yesterday’s meeting of the Surveyors’ Institute to the alleged lack of care in the custody of plans deposited in evidence in tho Supreme Court. It was stated that plans which were often of very great v&luo were not properly scheduled or safely deposited. Members considered it improper- that any risk should be ' run with valuable documents. Messrs Macdonald, Wilson and Co. yesterday submitted to auction, under instructions from the Hon. Seymour Thorne George, 336 acres of land atTawa Flat. The reserve was not reached, and tho property was, therefore, passed in, Properties in Edinburgh terrace, Newtown, Rosencath, Melrose, Muritai, and Petone were also submitted, but all were passed in. The Karon Defence Rifle Club will shoot two matches next Saturday. A match against Petone Rifle Club will be fired on tho Trenthani range, and ono against Upper Hutt, on the Upper Hutt Club’s range. Mi*' W. E. Jackson, president of the Karori Club, has made the following selection :—Burns, Lewer, Holliday, Kemp, Judd, Marshall, Bulford, Hodder, Tarr, Thomas are matched against the Petone team, and Rabe, France, Aston, Standidge, Jackson, R. Randall, Chapman, Harris, Guise, Greenwood against the Upper Hutt men. Ranges will bo 200, 500, and Cop yards, seven shots at each range. A meeting of the Trustees of tho Home for tho Aged Needy was held yesterday afternoon. There were present—Messrs W. Allen (in the chair), Hon. F. H. Fraser, J. G. W. Aitken, M.P.. T, McKenzie, and A. Lindsay. The usual arrangements for the entertainment of tho inmates of the Home at Christmas were made, and a subscription towards the expenses in this connection was received from Mrs Rhodes. Accounts totalling .£BO 19s 7d were passed for payment. It ■was decided to advertise for, applicants for positions rendered vacant by the resignation of two men helpers. • There were no complaints from any of the inmates of the Home, and the "working of tho institution was reported satisfactory. The secretary (Mr C. P. Powles) will be pleased to acknowledge* receipt of contribution© towards the fund for the Christmas feast. A strong, burly man Philip O’Brien caused some commotion on Lambton quay shortly after noon yesterday. Ho was considerably under the .influence of strong drink, and« was vehemently complaining that ho had been robbed. His conduct was so violent that Constable McKay considered it advisable to take him in custody. O’Brien resisted • arrest violently, and, as the police put it, "played up.” Inspector Ellison, who was in plain clothes, happened along opportunely, and ordered the Constable to handcuff the man-—and, indeed, assisted to carry out this direction, O’Brien was taken in a cab to the Lambton quay police station and locked up. It is understood that there is some ground for his statement that he had been robbed, and that two men, who are not unknown to' the police, arc suspected of having been implicated in the matter.

At tho meeting of the Hospital Trustees yesterday, Mr Bolton asked, with respect to accidents which, occurred on the Wellington wharf, whether any attempt was made to compel shipping offices to recognise their responsibilities when the men were admitted to the hospital, and whether any money was collected from them. Tho chairman remarked that tho companies most readily paid up for men who met with accidents, but the employees of the : Harbour Board were admitted under different conditions. All cases of accidents were admitted without an order, the merits of the eases were afterwards gone into, and the liability for payment ascertained. For the Wellington district tho charge was 2Ss per.week, and tor cases outside 35s a week. They did not admit anybody from outside the Wellington district unless they were able to pay, and 1 ...re must be some guarantee given that the fees would be paid. In many instances these cases had to be •excluded when the institution was full, as it was felt that it was not fair to the district to take patients from outside, except in special , Cases where those desirous of admission could not obtain such skilled treatment m their own district as they could at the hospital hero. -