SOCIAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12036, 7 May 1901, Page 1 (Supplement)

SOCIAL AND GENERAL.

PERSONAL. The following changes in the railway workshops are to he mado:—B. P. Evans, foreman at Addiiigton, to ho manager at Hillside; K. Haskins, foreman at Hillside, succeeds Mr Kvami at Addin|;ton; J. Carson, foreman al Westport, to Ire foreman at Hillside; leading-fitter Fra.-er, Napier, to he foreman at Westport: .1. F. M'Carthy, workshops foreman at Newmarket (Auckland), to lie manager at Addiiigton: (.'. Haines, foreman at I'elune, to he manager at Newmarket; A. Allan, foreman at Kaslowu (Wangaimi), to lie foreman at Felone; (1. Units, foreniauat Cicyir.outh, to be foreman at Kaslown; leading-titter W. Watson, foreman at Addinglon, to he foreman at Grcymouth. Our spreial reporter at Oamaru telegraphs that on« of the crew of (he wrecked yacht Ariadne has received cable intimation, through Ihe owner, that liy the death of an aunt he has inherited £72.000. Freke is only a )a<l. He was formerly a midshipman on the Medic, and shipped as ono of the crew on the yacht. Mr S. P. Evans, workshops foreman at Addiiigton. has been appointed manager of tho Hilkido Workshops in place of Mr .lames Eden, who has left Dimcdin to tako up his new position in Wostralsa. We understand that Mr William M-Hut-cheson, chief clerk at the Dimcdin Post Oflice, has been transferred to a similar position in Ciiri.-tchiireh, in succession to Mr Millar, who has been appointed an inspector of post offices in the North Island. Mr (i. 15. Dall, senior money order clerk in the Dimcdin office, succeed: Mr M'Hutehcsnn, and Mr W. T. Ward, also of the local ofiiee, will Ik> promoted from second to first money order clerk, Mr Ward's present position beinc filled by Mr F. S. Stoke?. Tho Rev. E. If. Howard concluded hi.i ministry al the Kaikorai Baptist Church last Sunday in order to devote all his time to medical studies with a view to medical missionary work. Mr Robert Crawford, formerly of Port Molyneux, wrus found dead in his bed in the house of his daughter, Mrs Anderson, at the Bluff, on April 10. He was on it visit for the holidays from Dimcdin. He was 78 years of age, and arrived at Port ' Chalmers bv the Serilla in 1859.

James Forrest, an old Crimea veteran, is dead. The deceased was a native of Kdin- I burgh, and saw considerable service with the British army. In 1863 lie came from Bendigo to Auckland, and took service with the Ist Waikato Regiment, for which lie i received the 1861-66 medal, being the | holder of medals for service in the Crimea, ; India, and Xew Zealand. Mr J. Rogers, the recently appointed city engineer, has arrived in Duncdin, anil taken np his duties. ('. J, Wacckorle, who came to Ahroa with the French settlers in 1840, died im . April 12, aged 85 years. | Mr .lames Dore, a resident of the colony : since 1861, died at Moss-hum on Monday at the ago of 59 years. Mr Dnrc resided in tho Lnmsden district for about 30 years. Canon W. Calder has been appointed archdeacon of the Auckland Anglican diocese, in succession to the late Archdeacon Dudley. The Rov. A. D. Thomson, of Otepnpo, Otago, lias accepted a call from the fit. .lames Presbyterian congregation, Thames, Auckland. Tho Rev. J. Chisholm, at one time minister of the Milton Presbyterian Church, which charge lie resigned, believing that it was in.the best interests of tho congregation that a minister should not he stationed too long in one place, was inducted an minister of the Roslvn Church extension charge on 23rd April.' After Mr Chisholm left Milton he accepted a call to tho Palmorston North Church, but finding that the union of the two congregations who had agreed to join hands had not been brought about after ho was in charge, he resigned, lie took up the call to Hoslyn, although lie received a unanimous recall lo I'almcrstou Church because, ns he explained himself, he loved tho Otago Church with which he had been so lonrr connected, There was a welcome uncial on the 3rd insl., the church being so crowded that many had to flond throughout. Tho Rov. W.'.l. Klliott, Vrvlr-yan minister at Ralelntha, who has been removed lo Wellington, was enlertninfd at a farewell social on the lOlli in-l. The Rev. 1». V. Faircloiißh, of Dunidin, was present, and tho Wcslcynn Church was crowded, among those present being a number of ministers from Presbvterian and other congregations. ' The Rcvf. P. IS. I'ra'-er, liellhou.-c, mid Kilpafriel; spoko in the highest (crux of the work done by Mr Klliott during his ministry, and especially in the cause of prohibition. Mr Elliott, ill thanking the speaker.; and the audience, referred to the progressmade by the Wcslcyatu since he had been . in Bak'lutha, During the past four years £1200 had been raised in the cii'arge. lie said he had crTmo to tho district prejudiced against some of the leaders of tho prohibition movement, but after six months' experience, and observation in the Cliitha district ho became a confirmed prohibitionist, and he wae going to leave more deeply confirmed than ever in the. efficacy of prohibition. He declared that the Clntha district was never morn prosperous than it was now under prohibition. CASUALTIES. A double drAwning! fatality occurred at Weymouth. Two children nmiied Krnenings, one eight years and the other three years of ago, who wero playing on the railway bridge near the hospital, appear lo have fallen off into the water below. The youngest was picked up floating on the. water, hut a wound on its head showed that the child bad struck tho culvert and was killed. Th; other child disappeared, but tho body was recovered by dragging. The father of the children is employed on the steamer Potone, and only a short time ago lost a daughter by consumption. The. children had wandered away unknown to the mother. Homy Ilmii, storekeeper ai- Karon, who wa* thrown from his bicycle on tho li'th nit., died on April 20 without regaining consciousness. An old man, who has long resided at Pahialua. X.1.. committed suicide on (be Gth by cutting his throat with a razor. lie had been in depressed spirits for some time, and had been examined as to his sanity by some doctors, but they disagreed. •Inhn Orotty. no old and respected settler at Waipipi, Auckland, was found lying on the road nearly dead. He died shortly aflor being found. He left Waiuku the previous evening, driving a spring-cart, and must have been thrown out. The body of a man named William Codlin, aged 22, was found under the Auckland cemetery bridge. It was evidently a case of suicide. In the pr.cket was written : " Goodbye lo tho world; I am bad," The deceased apparently junipid olf the bridge, and fell about 100 ft. At the inquest a verdict was returned of suicide while temporarily insane. Al the Mangaloro Valley Sawmill, 18 miles from Danneviikc, Lawrie Christiansen, a married man, was struck by a sapling brought down by a trco that had hung up, His hack was broken in two places, and he died while being brought to town. An old miner named Lnmro Morazv.i was killed in his claim at Duffer's Creek on April 12, a fall of earth completely burying him. Tlio body was not found till the next day. Mrs Sophia Ilureli, willow, aged about 77 years, dropped dead in a pew at Lyttelton Weslevan Church during servico on April 14. On April 13 a lad, H years of age. named William Anssped, was found dead in a drain in Wnolstnti, Canterbury. [Hie evidence at the inquest showed that deceased was subject lo fits. Mrs Uli'a Moon, who wnF burned to death on the 16th ult. liv her house being destroyed, lived at dale Pa, three miles from Tauranga. When the fire was discovered Ihe cotage wa» ablaze, and it was impossible for anyone to enter. The son (Frederick), who usually lived with his mother, was away from home, and there was no one in the house with her. After tho doslniction of the house the remains o( Mrs Moon were discovered half-way between where tho bed stood and the front door. The deceased was 95 years of age, and had resided hero for 40 years. A little girl named (ireen. aged 13 months, died in the Frankton Hospital on the 15lh from the ell'rrls of eating matches. About six I'avs previous to her death the child go! hold of some matches in the house, and before being detected by its parents had cslcn enough to bring about phosphorus, poisoning. Dr Douglas did all be could lo relieve the little sulfcrer, but was unable to save her. The body of W. Mowbray Higgs. missing from Purata for about a week was found on the 16th nil. floating in the Waitava River, near the soot where deceased was hist seen. Joseph Strong, farmer at Papakura. committed suicide on his farm on the 161h ult. by blowing his bead off with a gun. He had been peculiar of late. Robert Drysdale. a threshing mill proprietor, was found dead on Ihe roadside four miles from Timaru on the Kith iwl., willi the left side of his face and neck blown away by the discharge of a gun. The ease was at first supposed to lie one of suicide, but the coroner's jury, after hearing evidence, believed the gun was accidentally discharged while deceased was going through some gorse, and u verdict of accidental death was returned. Walter William Rales, a middle-aged man, was sentenced at Wiinganui by District Judge Kettle to wjvon years' imprisonment and iwo (loggings of 30 stroke:! each for a criminal assault on a child under five years. Mr Justice Couollv, at (lisborne, sentenced Rawiri liana to 10 years' imprisonment for a criminal assault on a girl of 10 years, lie said he bad never sentenced a prisoner lo a Hogging, but in such cases be would have to consider whether lie should not do so. The flrey River Argus says the inspector of polire received word from Reellon and Three Channel Flat, on the 22ml ult., that a young man named Tomiletty was drowned while crossing from (ho Mokoia drctk'o, as Ihe result of Ihe boat capsizing and filling. John M'Ciiire, a single man, died in the Auckland Hospital under chloroform. Ho was surTeri'ig from n cni»lieil knee, anil was operated on bv Drs Scott. Moir, and Adam.*. Michael O'Reilly, travelling for a Welling- , ton firm of photcigraobers. at (iUiorne, be- • came unconscious at the hotel where he was staying, and after being three days at the hospital without regaining consciousness died. i The post mortem revealed n rupture of a tilood-vessel of the brain. A man mined Clarke, a Christehurch i painter, while working at a bouse al Rich- ' mond, fell to the ground, a distance of about 10ft. and diod in about 10 minutes. r The body of (teorge Finncster, a boat' : builder at Rullerton, Pelorus Sound, wa: found bv a search party on tho beach al i Stafford Point, Pelorus Sound, on the 22nd. ' Finncster left Havelock on Thursday foi ' homo in an open boat, which was found or > Friday 18 miles from Havelock. i' Jainss Powell, aged 48, an inmate, of tin • Avondalc Asylum, hanged himself on ; paspipe. lie was committed to the institu j tion owing to suicidal mania. r Thomas Thompson, 68 years of age, whr had licon living by himself in Perry's right ' of-way off Cumberland street, was fount ' dead in his house on Sunday. He was lasi seen alive on Saturday night, and as he wa.' t net seen about the place yesterday inquiries j were made, with tho rccult that he wa: found dead on tho floor in one of the rooms ,' Death had evidently ensued several hour; 1 previously. An examination disclosed u< e suspicious ciroutimtMces. Deceased was wcl '' known, and had no occupation, being ii iiosscssiou of some mean;,

I A littlo sirl named Josephine Carriuk, 3i 1 years of,ago, was killed at Westport I ihroii(;li a cement culvert pip.? in which s!io I win playing rallapsiug. Hit skull and thigh i bones were fractured, and she died a. quar- s , ver of an hour after the accident. I An elderly man named .1. K. Jnnsrn, a Nor- ' ! wrgian, committed suicide at I'almcrston ] ■ North. The deceased shot himself through the breast with a revolver. Family trouble : is supposed to have been the cause of t lie t deed. At the inquest a verdict of temporary inanity was returned by Hie jury. : The evidence thowetl that deceased'had been ' . greatly upset of late through family troubles. ' i At Whangarei, (iladys Neill. 19 months, ' : was killed by falling from a sofa. A verdict ; was returned of "Death from shock caused by a. fall." , , „ A fatal accident occurred at the brown Mine, Karansaliiiki'. Thomas Ellcry, aged about ?.3 years, was found dead in a mutilated condition. It is surmised he fell from ( Xo. sto Xn. 6 level, and was crushed by the ; pumping machinery. \ A little girl named (Ireen. aged 18 months died in tin; Frankton Hospital on Monday , week from the effect* of eating matches, j About six days previous to. her death the oliild ','ot hold of home mntch"s in the home, < and before being detected by her parents had eaten enough to bring about phosphorus. , poi-exiine;. Dr Douglas did all lie could to i relieve the littlo sufferer, but was unable to , save her. ] A voting man named Arthur Hughes, a. , cyclist, collided with a trap at Auckland, , lip shaft Roiutr through his thigh under the , bone. He pulled himself off, and was . attended to by Dr (Irnnl. He lost a great deal of blood," hut is likely to recover. A young man named Gibson, who met , with :i serious accident on the railway line , at Ilunterville, anil who was admitted to | the Wnngauui Hospital, died at the institution on Friday. The ca.-c wan looked upon as hopeless from the time he was received at the institution. Deceased is believed to be the only son of Mr (libson, of , West-port. MISCELLANEOUS. ; Afr Justice Edwards was asked on April 17, , at (ho instance of the Public Trustee, to up- i , portion the estate of (lie late Thomas) hunks, fanner, of Urookside, Canterbury, valued «l about. £1400. Hanks was origi- J nally married in England, and had cliil- , drui liv lliat liiairiagc. There was a wprmi- ' f tinii, Hanks cominc, to the colony and his j former ]iartner remaining in England. , where she remarried. Hanks also remarried I with a woman who. by a singular coincidence, was of the same n:\mo a.s hi.s iirst i I wife, in that her Christian name was i | Eleanor. She had been twice previously married, her second husband being of the ' name of Hanks. These marriages and intermurages have produced a crop of claimants, and the court is askul on the ennfilniction of the will to decide whether the residue is to lis divided into two equal parts, the grandchildren taking one share and I he children rif the first Eleanor Hanks the other. His Honor reserved judgment. Mr Ward states that instead of a deficit in the postal revenue for the last quarter nf the year ended 31st March there will he an improvement of £20,000. Tim tables prepared by the secretary of the (llago Education Hoard in his annual report for the year ending December last show that in the number of pupils who attended at all during tho year there was, as compared with the previous year, a decrease in tho Dunedin schools of 220, and in all the oilier rclionls 192, or 412 over the whole district. The figures rclativo to average attendai.ee show tho following decrea=cs for the year:—Dunedin schools, working and strict averages, 15; all other rcliools, strict average 54, working average 97; total for the district—strict average 67, working average 112. The average, for the Dunedin schools is tho lowest sinco 1879, while that for the [ whole district is the lowest since 1884. The average for the last two quarters of the year '. has, however, shown a slight improvi incut, and there are indications that the attendance • throughout the district, which for the past five years has declined to an alarming ex- ' tent, has reached its lowest point, and' will '' now show a distinct, though perhaps very gradual, recovery. The average attendance expressed as a percentage of the mc.m of . average weekly roll for the four quarters was ' £6.9—Liiat is in say, that of the 20,163 c-Iu'l- • ilren on the school rolls 2650 (or over 13 per ' cent.) wero anient every school day througli- '. out the year. In 189 D the average percentage was 65.4, to that 1.5 per cent, represents the gain in regularity of attendance for the year > just closed. Tho output of coal from the mines of the ; Westporl Coal Company (Limited) for the , month of April was 33.792 tons 19ctvt. The I'almerslon North Presbyterian coni gregation have unanimously decided to give l a call to the Itev. "Mr dolly, of South Dun- ■ ediu, to the paslorago recently vacated by tho Kev. .lames Chishohn. ' According to (lie I'o.st, an important dti velopment in acclimatisation and game-rais-I ing work is projected by the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, which proposes to establish it game farm. The society has within i, 33 miles of Wellington a reserve excellently - tilled for the purpose—soo acres of bush land, 70 acres of which have been felled and ' glassed; and there are already op the land several pens and a small cottage. \ At the close of 1E99 there were 222 schools ■ in Piif-ralion in (he Otago district. No new ) schools were opened or sanctioned during - the year. ' Messrs 1). Harron and .1. Duncan, of the [ Olago Land Hoard, proceeded to WellingI ton on Thursday on Laud I'iirchase Hoard 1 limine-*. We understand that ofi'eis have been ) submitted to tho board of properties near Mo-giel and Abbolsford for settlement pur- • puses under the Land for Settlements Act. [ Referring to the lind of the skull, thigh | hone-, and pelvis of a man at Earns--1 clpiirli Flat, the Dunstau Times stales 1 mains to lie those of a man of between 30 s and 40 years of age. Examination proved tho man to have been of great height and strength, and there was an abrasure of the ( skull, such as would have been made by a i blow from a pick-axe. Further invesliga- ' lion elicited the fact that some 26 years ago the body of a man was picked up on the braeh and an inquest held. The remains 1 were ordered to be buried by the then magistrate who sat on the inquest, and the skeleton found by Weaver and parly is supposed to be that of the same man, A peculiar ; feature of the find is that the skeleton was . accompanied in its last resting-place by f quite a number of empty whisky bottles, s Tho arrivals in the colony for Fehnrary ; amounted to 2238 and the departures to [ 1653. as against 1596 and 2042 respectively in I'Vbruaiy last year. The directors of the New Zealand f'oal 1 and Oil Company, with faith in the value 1 of their Castle Hill property, Kaitangala, the ' ficehold of which wai purchased some lime j ago, have been conducting prospecting at r very considerable expense for quite 12 months, '■ and hare been rewarded by the striking cf a '[ seam of coal 25ft thick, which, we understand, in a ftiv mouths more will ho the seat of their principal operations. ,r In a list of estates of deceased persons on d which duly has recently been paid are in- '{ eluded:-In Auckland - W. Hellaby, ~ £34,055; John Abbott, £62,130; F. Mac- '" kechnie. £11.954. Christclmrch-A. Louise son, £30,059; Hugh Hamilton, £26,877; it. o | Dufiull, £3507. Duncdin-H. Hlackadder, ls I £5893. Wellington-*'. 11. Chalmers, £8794. ■j; Xapier-A. H. lttissoll, £16,176. ;- | One hundred mon of the Whakatohra is | tribe, of Opotiki, undor tho chief To Awanui ie ' Aporolanga, are being drilled preparatory for 1. the reception of the Duke and Duchess of a ' York at Hotorua. This tribe had many en--1 leagcinenls with the colonial troops during •h tho tumble with the natives in -the sixties, i- ' hue is now one of the most industrious it tribes in New Zealand, producing large qualities of maize, etc., for export to Auckland, t- : Tho amount of postal and telegraphic reas turns for the quarter ended March 31 upit pears in to-night's Gazette. The aggregate :!. return from both post and telegraph was >r £126,334, a decrease of £682 on revenue for in tho first quarter of 1900. Tho salo of stamps amounted to £49.000, as against ic £59.976 during the first quarter of last year, a Private box rents contributed £3400 to the. il- revenue; money order commission, £4260; telegrams, £36,441; telephone, exchanges, lr) £1440. The rovenuc contributed by tho four i cliiot centres was:—Wellington, £20,655; „1 Auckland, £14,709; Christchurch, £12,323; s t Dunedin, £11,644. Tho money orders is„s sued unmoored 95,118, aggregating £312,099, P , and 69,343 were paid, amounting to ng £278,177. The Savings Bank deposits '~ amounted to £1,141,258, as against rj £1,078,521 for tho same quarter of 1900. ,„ Tho withdrawals amounted to £1,056.024, as .][ against £985,292. Tho excess deposits over" in withdrawals last quarter were thus £85.233, as against £93,231 for last year's poriod.

Mr Leslie U.- Reynold.--, C.lv, lias submitted his report on a water pnpply reheme for the Jlorousfli of Milton. The estimated cost of scheme No. 1, wliii'h lie rct'oniinontls should lip adopted, is £13.591. The cm\ of \<i. 2 scheme lie c-limalc:l at £15.105. He estimates llip cost uf introducing water combined with electrical power sufficient to run 750 16 caudle-power lights al approximately £24,250. ; Mr V. A. Ileimct', Native missionary in Taranaki. is at. pr<>:nt in Dunedin in tininterests of I lie fund which i< being raised to eslab!i.-h a si-hcol at Auckland for the education iff Maori girls. He ha? met with considerable surro,' .-■» far. and as over £700 out-of the £10.000 required is in hand in the north, it is anticipated that the school, which will he a memorial to ||:» late Queen Victoria, will soon lie an accomplished fact, A- lire broke oul in .the Blackball coal mine, near (irpyimmth, on April 17 in one of (lip hoids. Tim• miners were withdrawn, and, with the aid of the (Irey live Brigade'* engine, the lire wa< got nutier by the 19th. Water is to he lai;( on all over the mine, and with a gon/1 Ripply of hose in various places il is hoped that any outbreak caused hy the crushed, coal becoming heated will he easily poped..with. Henry Johnston, who has been managing director at Auckland of the Kauri Timber Company, it a* arrested at .Sydney on a charge of misappropriating £500 of the company's money. The discrepancies in his account are said to be between £2000 and £'009. Jolmsliin had on him a return railway ticket from .Sydney to .Melbourne, and a return passage for New Zealand, also a letter of credit for £200. When the men of the. seventh contingent were encamped at Ticntham (near Wellington) a party of trooper* made a demonstration bciorc.Mr V. Jensen's store at the Upper Hull and pulled down his Danish flag, under the belief that it was (lie Transvaal (lag. International complications uere threatened, Mr Jen-en putting'dip. matter into the hands of ihe Danish 'Coii'id at Wellington, but it is satisfactory to know that snbsecpiently Mr •lenseii received an official letter from his consul staling: -"I am glad to he able to i'lale tlint the (SnvernniPiit have made a full apology to myspjf as. Consul for Denmark fur the alfroiil to the Hag." At the instance: of Kduard Bonvy, rook. Wellington, a writ was is-ucd claiming £6000 ihuiin'.'e* from Count de Courte, the French Consul. Huuvy had been in the count V employ, and a dispute a> to- wages had been investigated in the law courts. Honvy alleged that some lime p.ficrwards the count falsely and maliciously charged him with having been sent tu -New Caledonia as a convict, and with being illegally at large. Bmivy was arrested, and aflcr'prolongcd legal proceedings, extradited and sent to Noumea._ After investigation the authorities at Noumea caused Homy to be discharged from custody. Application was made to the Chief Justice to strike the ca.-e off the list. After consideration the Chief .fnstim granted the motion, holding that no c,\u ! o for action had been shown. Huuvy has been granted leave to appeal.