CURRENT TOPICS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6624, 14 September 1908, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

NEW WELLINGTON STEAMER. ' The Patea Shipping Company (Wellington) has been advisod by cable that the new coastal steamer Arapawa, built for the company by John Fullerton and Co., of Paisley, North Britain, is to undergo her steaming trials on fho Clyde to-morrow. Tlie Arapawa is to leave Home on Thursday next for Wellington, via Tenerifie, Capetown, and Hobart. Captain Dixon, late of the Patea Shipping Company’s steamer Kiripaka. is bringing tho Arapawa out, and Mr Bennett, the company’s engineer, who went to Scotland to supervise tho building of tho steazner, will return as engineer of tho vessel. Tho new boat is about the size of the Kapiti, and similar in design. THE SUMMER SCHOOL. Tho Wairarapa "Ago" says that Masterton’s population will be increased by about eight hundred at Christmas time, though unfortunately only for a week. The Presbyterian Summer School, an annual affair of considerable magnitude, will toko place during the last week of the year. Last year the “school" was held at Invercargill, when over seven hundred Sunday school teachers attended, and as Masterton is more cer{:rally situated it is anticipated that fully a hundred more will be present at the Masterton "school." The gathering is arranged to bring {together as many Presbyterian Sunday school teachers from all parts of the Dominion as possible. Practical work is canned out at the school, while social matter’s are also given plenty of prominence. Spoz’ta gatherings are held, and at tho Matjierton school a swimming carnival is proposed. Tho main school building will be utilised for the accommodation of lady teachers. YOUTHFUL INVENTORS. Some doubts appear to have arisen, owing to »tha ambiguity of the telegram, as to the exact distance covered hy the wireless telegraph message sent by the youthful Dunedin inventors. It seemed as though tho telegram had been conveyed to {the warship in Wellington harbour,- and then sent on to the Prime Minister. This is not so. The arrangement was to despatch the , first "wifeless” from Eavensboiu’ne {to Anderson Bay, and thence telephone it to Bunedin and so on to Wellington by ordinary. This message was to Sir Joseph Ward. It ran tlzzzs:—"To the Postmas-ter-General, Wellington. On behalf of the boys attending {the schools in the Dominion the S. H. and B. Wireless Company send greetings and hearty good wishes to the Postmaster-General and Parliament of New Zealand.—(Sgd.) Stork, Hicks, and Brandon.” The reply from the Prime Minister came to hand in duo course, as follows“ Please convey to »the young inventors the sincere appreciation of myself and members of Parliament for their very kind message of good wishes. The setting up of wireless telegraphy stations and the successful transmission of messages reflect rk; highest credit upon the boys. I congratulate them upon the possession of such inventive faculties, which augurs well for their future success in life.—J. G. Ward." THE DRILLSHIP ENCOUNTER. Tho cruiser Encounter drillship on the New Zealand station during tho absence of the Pioneer (now at Sydney) will be engaged in coaling in the stream at Wellington to-day. Tho collier Canopus, which was bar-bound at Westport for seme days, arrived at Wellington early yesterday morning. Last evening she went alongside the warship to commence coaling operations early this morning. Between seven and eight hundred tons of coal will be transferred to the Encounter, which will leave this evening for Nelson. The cruiser will subsequently visit Westport, Bluff, Port

Chalmers, and Lyttelton, and will arrive back at 'Wellington about November 4th. She will probably leave again on Novemb:»r 12th for Auckland. As soon as the the Pioneer has completed, her overhaul at Sydney she will probably join the Challenger in the South.

SALVAGING THE WOOLLAHEA. The enterprising expedition which ifl anxious to recover the sixty-five tons o 1 rails and a lx>iler from the wreck" * barque Woollahra, set out from Wellington early yesterday morning for the scene of tho wreck, near Cap© Terawhiti. Tho tug Pilot, with the scow Eona in tow, left Wellington at -1-30 o’clock yesterday morning with Messrs A. M. Gow, B. Russo, and a party of salvagers on board. When tho vessels arrived near tho wreck it was decided to wait for a couple of hours to see if tho fresh westerly wind and heavy sea would decrease. At 7.15 a.m., as there wore no signs of an early improvement in weather conditions, tho Pilot headed for port. She encountered a strong tide, which delayed her arrival back in tho stream till 12.30 p.m. A party of disappointed men, some of whom appeared to have suffered the joys peculiar to sea travel, clambered ashore at the Queen’s Wharf, but they vowed to make another attempt at an early date, notwithstanding their annoying experience. A CHAIRMAN’S POWERS. The Solicitor-General, Dr Eitohett, has given tho following opinion regarding the ejection of Mr Eustance Lano, representative of tho tenants on tho Hawke’s Bay Laud Board,, by tho Commissioner, Mr Trent, from a recent meeting:—"(l) l ln the case of a public meeting it is the duty and the function of tho chairman to preserve order and to take care that \ the proceedings aro conducted in a proper manner. It is to define, a priori, Vho precis© extent of his duty and power, as they must in great measure arise out of and depend on the emergencies that occur. If ho acts reasonably and in good faith tho Courts will support him. It is disorderly for a member of the meeting to disobey the chairman’s ruling, and, if the disobedience is persisted in, tho chairman, to restore order, may cause him to b© removed. Of course the chairman is supposed to uso tact and discretion, and in no case to adopt more violent means than are reasonably noceesary. (2) In tho cash of a statutory or other meeting attended by a person who has a right or interest entitling him to be present, tho position is practically the same. (3) Applying these general principles to the facts as submitted, I am of opinion that the chairman was justified in having Mr Lane removed. The incident, howover, closed with his removal, as order was then restored, and the chairman would not be justified in re-openiug tho matter at the next meeting.”

RUSHED THROUGH. The ‘‘Otago Daily Times" says"lt is quite pathetic to find tho "Now Zealand Times' and the ‘Lyttelton Times,’ which had nothing to urge against this illiberal and un-British provision while the Second Ballot Bill was before tho Lower House, when their protests might have had the effect of stiffening up some of tho weak-kneed Ministerialists in Parliament to oppose the application of the gag to candidates at a second ballot and to tho press, now uniting in the expression of a pious hope that the Legislative Council will come to tho rescue and delete the objectionable and offensive clause from tho Bill.” Our southern contemporary docs not seem ‘to be very well informed as to what ia taking place in Parliament. Tha "gag" clause and tho ‘‘.£so steal" clause were not in tho original Second Ballot Bill. They were introduced and rushed through late at night, during tho same sitting, and were endorsed by the. House before any salutary criticism could be brought to bear upon them. New Zealand is tho only country in the world in which measures of such far-reaching importance are embodied in prospective legislation without notice or warning. Members of Parliament are notoriously dilatory in dealing with many matters of supreme importance—the public are painfully aware of that fact—but they are wonderfully prompt in placing upon the Statute Book measures calculated to ensure their own profit or aggrandisement even—as in the case under' notice—to the public detriment. The "gag” and "bribe" clauses have been condemned by every newspaper of any standing in New Zealand, but our legislators are growing shameless and careless of criticism. It is an open secret that some of the members of tha Upper House who spoke so vehemently against these clauses on Friday night, are already preparing to endorse a compromise motion purporting to widen press privileges—without materially doing so—but still restricting the tight of public mooting. NEWS NOTES The inward Suez mail, which arrived at Auckland early yesterday afternoon by the Mokoia from Sydney, loft Onetunga. by tli© Raro.'wa at 4» p.m. for Now Plymouth. The mails will be brought on" by the express, due at Wellington about 7.20 o’clock this evening. ■Mr S. H. Gollan, who lives in England, has given instructions for the cutting up of 20,000 acres of the Mangatarata estate, Hawke’s Bay, next month. The following infectious diseases wore reported .to the Health Department for the week ending September 12th:—City; Scarlet fever 1, diphtheria 1, tuberculosis 2; Hutt County, nil. The Primate, Bishop Nevill. Dunedin, has received from the trustees of the estate of tho late Archdeacon Williams tho sum of JSIOO towards the purchase ot a boat for the use of the Stewart Island Maori Mission. The picturesque suspension i>£i<ls® which is being thrown across the Hutt river at Camp road is nearing completion. On Saturday the Mayor, Mr Peterkin. led the way across. The official opening will probably take place in about three weeks’ time. At a meeting of the Wadestown Ratepayers’ Association, it was decided that a deputation wait on the City Council regarding the proposed tramway scheme, asking if it is intended to give eneot to the ratepayers’ wishes as expressed at the poll in May last. Mr Alex. Scott, auctioneer, Timaru, has returned from a three-months trip to Australia, where ho and his brother, Mr George Scott, and Mr McFarlane. of Claremont, Timaru, purchased the Taniaro estate of 20.000 acres. This estate is about 300 miles from Sydney, and is .part of the famous Liverpool Plains. Tho last of the winter series of library lectures will be given at St. Thomas’s schoolroom, Newtown, this evening by Mr A. L. D. Fraser, M.P., on "The Maori: Early History, Mythology, Manners and Customs." As the subject is in competent hands an interesting discourse may he looked forward to.

The quarters of the scientists on board the Antarctic exploration .ship Nimrod (says the "LvtteJton Time**”) arc being enlarged, so as to make them .about double their original size. Ihe object ol the alteration is to permit ol there being used as a hospital in the event 01 there being any cases of sickness among the members of the landing paitj "mu the Nimrod returns to the Far bouth. In Saturday's issue it was elated that tho Waterside Workers' Federation had taken steps to test the statutory powers of tho Arbitration Court in regard to tho anti-strike clause. Telegraphing to Mr McLaren, secretary, the Auckland Union says:—“Consider Judge Sim s decision ultra vires. Tost it. I T , “J? on of Parliamentary functions. Xhe Urn«ru Union wired: “Union cmlorsoe executive's notion most, emphatically. The Makarn County Council at ite mooting on Saturday, considered > a iotteo from iho Resident Engineer ol .Endways, asking tho Council’s permission to lay a siding from tho Ngahauranga railway station for about forty chains along the Johnsonvillo road, in order to transport stone from the (juarrles on railway waggons to tho Hutt road improvement works. Permission was granted, conditionally that responsibility is accepted by the Government in regard to accidents and maintenance.

In a letter to the “Gisborne Times/ “Sport" writes: —“Don't you think wo are having a little too much of these hockey tours by young girls? It isn't the game I object to, or even an occasional tour, but when you boo a do%su or so Gisborne girls only just in their teen© bawling at the top of their voices as a farewell to a crowd of Napier schoolboys as th© Monowai leaves tho wharf such interesting ditties ae (f Wo Purled on tho Shore/* “Won't You Come Out To-night?" and other vaudeville favourites, it is surely time to call a halt. 1 know there were passengers on tho Monowai who, like myself, were disgusted with conduct almost approaching rowdyism on the part of these young girls/' From further correspondence which has just passed between Captain Fyler, and the Navy League, it would ux;pear that colonial boys are still accepted locally for tho navy, under tho Special Australasian Naval Agreement. From Captain idler's former loiter on tho subject, tho local branch of the league was under tho impression that tho regulations had been cancelled, i.©., so far as boys .were concerned, but this is not tho oa.se. Boys from fifteen to eighteen are eligible for enlistment, subject to medical examination and parents’ or guardians' consent. Tho standard measurements arc:—Bovs, fifteen to sixteen years, height sft 2in, chest to eighteen years, height, oft Sin, chest 32Jin. Boys on entry aro required to sign an engagement servo tor five years from tho ago of eighteen. , A ellington Labour leader, writing to an Australian paper, confesses that the movement for an Independent Labour paifty in New- Zealand is not making very satisfactory progress. The elections will bo held towards the end of tho year, but so far the choosing of Labour candidates and tho adoption of a common platform, has been left in abeyance. The different centres are all agitating for Labour representation, but aro all acting independently of each other. Tho prospects appear to bo brightest in tho Christchurch electorates, where tho Labour League and tho Socialist party have arrived i/b a tacit understanding, mid aro putting forward tho same candidates as stood in tho interests of Labour last elections, without the clashing of fastens. The movement lacks control and guidance. The trade unions are large in membership, but low in morale. . There .are 45,000 registered trade unionists, but except for tho small control exercised by the seven Trades Councils of the Dominion there i. no evidence of true unity. Tho Federation of Labour approved of by ftho recent Trades Council Conference, if brought about, harden up tho ranks.”