LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 972, 5 September 1889, Page 1

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The meeting of the Tailoresses' Union and the olothing manufacturers held on Saturday afternoon to consider and settle the prices to be paid by the manufacturers to their operatives was a very protracted one. By request of both parties, Mr Fenwick again acted as chaitcaap.

The proceedings lasted (rom 3 o'clock sntil ll at night, with « haif-hout adjournment at 6 o'clock for refreshment, ihe prices in the log drawn ap bj the union were in a great many inatancee agreed to oy the manufacturers, but over a number of others there were protracted fend animated discussions The items in the log an which no agreement was come to were left for the decision of the joint committee This latter body is now complete, Messrs Donald Reid and W. Hutchison, who had previously been appointed by the manufacturers and the union respectively, having on Saturday agreed to appoint Mr William Brown as fcheir colleague. The manufacturers agreed to pay the log prices as from Monday last ; so that the girls who lor the two or three days had not been working in some of the factories sommenced work an Monday contented and satisfied with their improved rates of pay. The new log, taking it all round, is an increase of about 12\ per cent, on the one submitted lately by the manufacturers. There are now TBO members in the union Now that the affairs ot the union promise tc go steadily on, the committee intend to take ap the cudgels on behalf of the stocking knitters and the bag makers.

At present it appears very anli&ely r <b&t B.M.S. Orlando, the flagship, will be in port »t the opening of the exhibition. The new admiral, Lord Charles Scott, does not leave London until October 3rd, and the Orlando will probably wait in Sydney fOE his arrival.

On the 28th ult., John Bwart, a farmer at Hindon, reported to the police at Outram that he had found the body of a man, named Gawn, beside a wire fence near Boyd's woolshed at Hindon. A horse, saddled and bridled, was running loose near the body, and it is thought the animal can against the fence, threw the rider, and then fell upon him, causing death.

Our Tapanui correspondent informs ub that the particulars we published regarding the death of Mr T. Wardlaw were incorrect so fat as the? related to' his having been drinking haavuy of late. , The evidence at the inqueat does not bear this oui. Mr Wardlaw died from apoplexy succeeding t a paralytic stroko, and the esteem in which he was held in Tapanui was shown by the very large attendance at the funeral.

At a flitting of the Tuapeka R.M. Court on the 26th ult., a man named T. Carroll was fined 5b for drunkenness, and as he had no money he elected to go to prison While there the police found that Carroll was " wanted " on a charge of f otging a cheque at the Arrow some four years ago. , The Chippew&y Indians on the Mille Lacs Reservation, Minnesota, are on the warpath. Some contractors who had to make an irrigation canal set to l work on the reservation, despite a warning from the Indians that they would not 'be pexcaitted,to do so, and 300 labourers, mostly Swedes, began the digging operations. The Indians feared that the labourers would drain the lakes and stop their fishing. Accordingly 400 Indiana, under White Snake and Great Bear, in full war paint and armed with toma» hawks and rifles, attacked them. The labourers dropped their spades and fled. The Indians shot and killed seven of them, all Swedes, and -wounded several ethers. Two of the victims we're scalped and their bodies were fiendishly mutilated. Three companies of troops have started for Mille Laca to restore order.

Statistics compiled by the French Colonial Government, and published lately in the Tahiti Journal Officiel, show that during the year 188b the numbers of the Society Islands Qatives, at least those o( whsts a census could be taken, had slightly increased in numbei, the deaths numbering 393, while the birthi wort 40&. This increase, however, amongst eomt thousands oi people is very slight, in the little Qambiet ox Mangarewa Group, south, ol to* Tuaraotub, and under French rule, the natives seem to bt dying oat at aii' extremely rapid rate, foi the le&tht laßt year were twict those ot the births. In the Marquesas, too, the islanders are fast disappear ing from then beaatiivu islets., for 18&. de&thj last yeat are recorded as against 6? births In the Tuamoto oi Low Archipelago the population seems to just keep o& it ever, balance, for the births last yeai were 69, while the deaths numbered 55.

The influential committee appointed at a recent meeting to assist the Bishop oi Onnedm in the establishment of a ohuroh institute, ta include accommodation for theological students, and the library and an office tot the Bishop, have held several meetings, and have decided lo erect t building to» tut *bove purposes upon the site purchased by the Bistopneai All Saints' Church.

A return issued of the number of electors on the registers now in force in the various constituencies of the United Kingdom shows (says the Daily News) that there are altogether 5,982,353 qualified voters. Some of these must appear in more than one list, but we may perhaps roughly estimate the actual electorate at five millions and & half ; hence it follows that the country is really governed by considerably less than one-sixth of its population. The average number for each member is 8928, but the distribution varies considerably. The average for an English or WpHu constituency is 10,008. In Scotland it is 7973, and in Ireland 7325. The" variations from these averages ars very marked, though of course they are insignificant in comparison with the grotesque inequalities of pre-reform days Among the counties, the HandsworMi Division of Stafford heads the list with 16.353 electors, and it is followed by the Shipley Division of the West Riding, the Wimbledon Division of Surrey, and the Bootle Division of Lancashire, each of which can boast of more than 15,000. Rutland forms the other extreme, containing, as it doe", only 4546 voters, and it is hard pressed- by Radnor with 4581. Another small constituency is Southern Huntingdon, with 5575 electors. Bath, with less than 7000 voters, returns two members;

while Brighton, with 15,307, and BuddersfieJd, with 15,338, have each to be content wth one. The smallest borough in Great Britain is Durham, where the register contains only 2338 nanlea, though 11 other places in England and Scotland have less than 3000. It is across St. George's Channel, however, that the smallest constituepcies of all are to be found — in the boroughs of Galway acd Kilkenny, wnich respectively boast of only 1598 and 1792 electors.

A meeting, attended by about 70 persona, w&b beld at Kurow on the 28th to consider the question of having Station Peak run cut ap !or settlement. Amongst other resolutions wa* ibe following : — " That in arder sc 'oaeet shis anormous demand of the people to settle a pot; the lands of the Crown, the whole af Station Peak, oonsisting of about 52,000 acres, be cut up v iollows :— 7OOO acres in from 640 to iOOO acres, oc deferred payments at peroetaai lease, Mid the balance in areas of aot aaore than frooi 2000 tc 4000 icres on the small grazing run system." A petition was drawu up to be signed <n Oamarc and the district for presentation to Parliament, praying that the ran be dealt with m above.

tn she 3opreme Court, Blenheim, on the 29th, the slander aotioD Adams v. Bell wsi Heard Prom ihe s^idence it appeared that plaintiff Mjcasert defendant of stealing five sheep from aim, Mid oa several occasions in public places tie had sailed h:m a b— — thief And Brawler. Defendant admitted the* accusation and using the axpres»ions complained of; but, in extenuation, urged that be was the worse of liquor when he used them, and did not have any intention of casting a slur on the character of plaintiff. No special damage was shown by plaintiff. After an hour and a half's deliberation the jury returned a verdict for plain till for £15, in addition to the amount paid into court (£10). Mr Justice Richmond entirely concurred with the finding, and remarked that a man in his cups could not make serious accusations against another party and then expect to be excused on the ground that he was drunk when he used them, and 'that he had no recollection of making them.

Tn order to show the necessity of a proper inspection of slaughter yards, a corresponded in %he Daily Times makes a very 'lisagreeable assertion Commenting on a recent visit to .Burnside ha aays -.--The pigs were the first te be put tip for sale, and, oh, horror B t-~ creatures exposed for sale and sold saturated with disease, and that communicable to man. We will cay no more about them lest. our swallow refuses to act when pork sausage is put on the table. We will pasß the sheep pens, as they would require handling for detection, The next in order was the fat cattle, which were everything an epicure could wish, except one here and there, which showed disease of a malignant nature, exposed for sale in your meat market. Surely, in the face ot these facts, the | city fathers, for the sake of their own health and I that of their eons and their daughters, will de« vise some means by which this stream of corruption may be shot oat of the meat market, especially during the exhibition summer, when visitors from ail parts of the world will be peer* \ ing into the fat cattle yards to see the quality I and management of the frozen meat trade.

Ifc is ia contemplation by the students of tbe university to erect a brass tablet in a cop* spicuous place in the university building ia memory o! the late Professor Brown, who lost Vi&lif c on the 7th December last, while exploring +.he dividing range to the west of Lake fllana* pouri. The 'committee, of students, who were appointed to take the matter in hand, found a ready response to their request for subscriptions, and a sufficient sum has now been raised to erect a plain but substantial memorial of the late prof esaoi The movement, it may be added, ha* beet confined entirely to students and exstudents, subscriptions from outsiders beiug declined.

At «bont a quarter to 12 on Friday morning & fat brok* out in a large shed in the R&ikoroi Valley useo w a fellmongery, and owneo bj Mr Thomas, Martin It is supposed that the fire was caused through k son of B4i Marti d te&ving a pot ot tar on the fire in the shed while he went on the root to do something. Th« pot, U {is thought, boiled over and the tar ignited, letting are to the premises, which were completely burned down in a very short space of time. The Roslyn Fire Brigade and the Ounedjn Ba!vage Corps were in attendance, but they were unable to tender any assistance, && foe names had got too great i hold of the building before their arrival on the scene. The building contained a quantity if «heep9kin9, too., but oearly everything wa* destroyed. Neither the building nor its contents w°re insnred. Mt Martin estimates his loss at 6700. He had not very long started business in the Kaikorai, and he states that the hre has quite rained him.

The Hampden correspondent of the Palmer* ston Times states that owing to the continnance of dry frosty weather there is very little grass, and a number of stock are dying for want of feed. Thft Maoris at the Kaik «c no better off, a number of their sheep *nd cattle are dying from the same oause. The oldest settlers do nob remember of seeing such a dry and frosty winter at Moeraki as the one just passed.

The committee of the Invercargill Chamber of Commerce have interviewed Mr W. M Hannay, one of the Railway Commissioners, and brought under his aotice the time occupied by the express train between Inveroargiil and Danedin, the committee urging that while the hours of starting from and arriving atlnvercargill should remain as at present, an hour and a-half might be saved on the journey by accelerating the i speed of the trains so that Dunedin would be reached earlier and departed from later by that period of time. Mr Han nay promised to fully consider the matter, but pointed out that it was not a mere matter of issuing the necessary i instructions. The alteration would involve a considerable additional expense, as the express could not perform the goods traffic work which ifc now did ii tun at a greater speed. Either

another train would bavo to be run, or the present goods trains would have to be overloaded.

fhe Rev. J. Gibb on Friday evening delivered, in the Athenaeum Hall, the third of the course ol lectures now being held under the auspices of the Social Reform Association. The audience was a numerous' one, and Mr A. Bathgate occupied the cnair. The lecturer chose as his subject. •• The Moralisatioa ot Wealth." He traced the history of the relations between the atnployer and the employed in great Britain trom the feudal period down to the present clay, and denonnced the present social order, which be attributed Co competition and the introduction of labour-saving machinery. The remedy, he maintained, was the principle of " every man foe All men—every mau his brother's keeper." Individualism had had its day, and now stood in the sight of the world condemned as utterly inadequate oi ttftelt to turuish a modus vivendi between capitalist and labourer — worse than useles? to promote the cause of peace and matual good -will among men. He strongly urged that State interference should take place to better the condition of the inhabitants of the slums m the great cities ; to impose large tsxon apo& the rich to provide a fund to be expended to building better houses for the <ieuizene of lUo slumb, tad in providing them with the moans of rational recreation aad self-culture ; to shorten .thehoarß oi labour, and to put au end to the outrageous monopolist. Finally, he said, thny might reasonably expect to se3 the belief m brotherhood issue in a general system of cooperation between the employer and ' %hn employed, by which the latter would obtain » share Of the profits of their industry in addition so the stipulated wages. The lecturer, who was frequently applauded during the course of bis lecture was accorded, on the motion of Mr W. M Bolt, a hearty vote of thanks.

The New Zealand Herald announces th;d some very important changes in the director*. | -.i-» of the Bank of New Zealand, both in London ntnl the colony, are about to take place. In London Sir Fenrose Julyan retires on account of advanced age, and his place will bo taken by Sir Hercules Robinson, late Governor of Capp Colony and formerly of New Zealand. He amassed a fortune at the Oope, and his acceptance of the vacant position is regarded an vec« valuable for the bank. Od the Colonial Board M John M'Lean, of Otago. who has found himself unable to attend the board's meetings, will re tire. Mr G. Buckley, who hss been in poor health, will also retire, having in fact remained OD the board at great personal inconvenience beyond the period he had intended. Mr John Murray, general manager, who proceeded to London, and who is now in America returning ii> improved health; will, at the request of a largo and influential body of shareholders both in the colonies and India, be a candidate for the spat vacated by Mr Buckley. As the half-yearly meeting will take place in a few weeks, the board do not intend to fill the vacancies by nomination, but will practically leave the appointments to shareholders.

A terrible railroad disaster occurred near Lynchburg, Virginia, on the Norfolk and Western railroad, on July 3. Floods had washed away the road bed, leaving a chasm about 80ft wide and 20ft deep, into which a passenger train plunged while travelling at the rate of 40 miles an hour. As the engine struck the bottom, the boiler exploded, and fire completed the work of destruction. Hardly a vestige of the train was left. Seventeen persons were killed outright, a large number were severely injured, many being maimed for iife.

A meeting of the Joint Committee in connection with the Tailoresses' Union was held in the Young Women's Rooms, Moray place, on Monday night; present— Messrs W. Brown (chairman), D. Reid, W. Hutchison, B. Hallenstein, G R. Bercus, J. A. Millar, and C. W. Smith. The disputed items in the tailoresses' log — overcoats, juvenile clothing, slop vests, and order vests — were taken up. and were all disposed of. A compromise was arrived at in the case of the first two, the manufacturers giving in to the t&iloresses' representatives in the matter of overcoats, but persisting in their contention regarding th& juvenile clothing, in which, after a deal of discussion they were successful. Their chief objection tc pay the price for this clothing was that it is a line which is largely imported from Home, and they contend that if they raise their price, they will be undersold by the foreign goods. The next item — that of slop vests— was considered for a very long time, and it was ultimately put to the vote, which resulted in favour of the manufacturers, the voting being .-—Against the proposed price — Messrs Brown, Reid, Hallenstein, and Bercus ; for the proposed price — Messrs Butchisoo, Millar, and Smith. The fourth item — order vests — did not take up much time, the result being that the log price is to be maintained.

The fee for the registration of letters has been reduced to 3d, instead of 6d as formerly.

Mr Justice Williams was occupied in chambers the whole of Monday in hearing an application under the Deceased Persons Estate Act on behalf of the Commissioner of Stamps at Invercargill to have Blakie Bros, declared liable to pay certain duties. The case was an lavercargill one; but was removed to Dunedin for the convenience of the bearing. Mr T. M. Mac* donsld, of Invereargill, appeared for the Commissioner, and Mr F. R. Chapman appeared for the respondents. After hearing considerable argument, his Honor delivered judgment, declaring the respondents to be liable for certain duties.

Old Victorian and Otagan miners will learn with regret of the death of Mr John Alloo, Chinese interpreter to the Victorian Government, and afterwards to the Provincial Government of Otago. In the early Victorian digging days he was the constant companion of the commissioner, travelling about from one diggings to another in the pursuance of his duties. He was

in business in Ballarat at the time of the riots. About 1867 he came over from Victoria under engagement to the Provincial Government ol Otago, and was first located at Lawrence, then at Naaeby, Clyde, and lastly at QueenstowD, where, after several years' residence, he oontracted an illness and resigned his position, removing to Dunedin. From this illness he has been a constant, sufferer ever since his arrival, until death relieved him on Friday morning He was buried on Monday in the' Southern cemetery. A. meeting of gentlemen who nave taken an interest in the efforts which are being made to get the Agnews again settled on their land was Leld on Monday afternoon. It was reported that the subscriptions which had come in were quite •^adequate to meet the case, and tbat unless the Government agree to give pound foe pound on the amount collected, it is useless to proceed further in the matter The position will De explained to the Uoverurnent, and if they agree to do what is asked, the mortgagee's claim can be settled, and a ten pounds banded to the Agnews to again commence with. Meantime we have been asked to say tbat subscriptions will continue to be received by the turn, treasurer. At a meeting of' the Committee of Management of the Otago Educational Institute held at the Normal School on {Saturday, tne 31st ult,, the following resolutions were carried unanimously :— (1) " The Committee ot Management regrets that whereas the board recognises the right ot teachers, along with other members of the community, to express their opinions regarding any line of policy adopted by the board, and whereas Mr White, when requested by the board to explain the words to which it took exception, affirmed that he had criticised only the board's line of policy in regard to the ' threename' system, the board, m the face of this explanation, has seen fit to pass a vote of censure on Mr White." (2) "The committee is farther of opinion that the board was unjust to Ms White in proceeding to put an unfavourable interpretation on Mr White's words before asking him for an explanation." A meeting of Bishop Moran's Reception Committee was held on Monday oight.Mr J. B Callan in the chair. It was announced that though a few "weeks only have expired since the testimonial to the bishop was started, already apwards of £320 have been subscribed by Dunedin and suburbs Mr Francis Msenan is the treasurer of the fund, to whom or to the chairman, Mr Callan, in tending subscribers can forward their subscriptions. Ever since the introduction of the Otago Central Railway Bill it has been reviled by the Auckland papers, and especially by the Hsrald. Every occasion has been taken advantage of to denounce it as a " job," if cot something worse. The Herald, in its latest effusion, demands an explanation from the very few Auckland members who voted for the line, and concludes by saying :—" It seems to us that all our politicians who have been connected with oar borrowing policy of the last 15 years have become completely demoralised, and ought to be ostracised from public life from henceforth, if it is intended that in future we shall live honestly and preserve our credit." An inquest was held at Paki Paki, Hawke's Bay, on August 26th, before Captain Preece, coroner, on the body , of a Native boy named Penetiki Poki, about sis years of age. Mr W. A. Neale was foreman of the jury. The evidence disclosed death as a result of peculiar circumstances. On Thursday last three Native lads, the eldest being about 12 years old, determined to make a kind of steam engine out of an oil dram. There were no working parts, if a whistle be excepted, the idea of the lads being to raise steam enough to blow a whistle a la locomotive. The oil drum was filled with water and tightly corked, and placed over a fire built against; a bank, and" the lads stood back to, watch. Deceased saw the glare of the, fire, and heard the boys playing, and climbed up the bank to see what was going on. Just as he got in front of the oil drum the cork was blown out with immense force by the heated water and steam, which followed the cork in a strong jet, and struck the poor little fellow full on the chest, scalding him all over the, front of the body. He was carefully attended to, but after lingering in great agony until midnight on Friday he died from shock to the system. The jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death," At about 8 o'clock on Sunday evening a very serious fire occurred at the Abbotsford farm, near Oatram, by which the cow sheds and stables, which were of an extensive and complete character, were partly, destroyed. The property was formerly owned by Mr J. Shand, but recently came into the hands of Mr William Jfatnck, who will be a heavy loser by the fire. The steading is built in the form of a square, s.nd by dint of great exertions on the part of Mr Shand and willing helpers, two sides of this .square were saved. In the portion of the building destroyed were three draught horses belonging to a Mr Stewart, who bad a contract for ploughing, and these were burnt. So fierce was' the fire tbat, although - the walls were bailt of concrete, the two sides of the square were completely destroyed. In addition to the horses of Mr Stewart, there were two teams belonging to Messrs Hannah and Sons, who also had contracts for ploughing, but these were got out with considerable difficulty and danger. The whole of the buildißgs on the farm are insured in the South British office for £1500, and of this £600 only is on the stables, which are valued at about £1000. Auckland Star devotes a leader to what it terms the " High Class Larrikinism " of the university student at late capping ceremonies. It cays : — "The only respects in which these budding gentlemen can be Raid to excel are those of displaying their asinine proclivities, their * 'ign class rearing,' and their abominable manner generally. The boys of the lowest ciass ragged schools would comport themselves more decorously at the capping ceremonies than do the educated (?) apes we are alluding to. In the matter ot extempore mußio and new jokes, moreover, we would not mind backing s, collection of the poorest gutter snipes agaißßt thebe unruly sons of purple and nne> linen. Really, it is time the stuffing was knocked out of the rowdies who disgrace these gatherings. Tha Auckland University students and High School boys, be it said, this year desisted from disturbing the proceedings out of respect for the late Mr Justice Gillies, but unless precautions are taken we shall not be surprised if they came up smiling next year with a double programme, including the items that should have come off this year. Let ns hope, however, that these periodical exhibitions will be placed in the hands of the police or be strictly forbidden under a severe penalty by the university authorities themselves. It ought not to be optional with the students whether they shall display their ill-bred manners and cheek at such gatherings or behave themselves; the option ought rather to be between good bebnrionr and forcible ejectment from the hall. If there is snch a passionate love of music in their nnruly natures, by all means let Hert Bchmitt in Auckland and musical leaders in the other provinces provide something worth listening to." At the City Poliea Court on Saturday Gonjrad Bosan aud Wm. Dormer, aged IS and

17 rears -espectively. wero charged with stealing on the 25tn Inst. at Fine Hill, one pair of winkers and one nalter oi the value of 10s, the property of Thomas Murphy.— Mr Hanlon appeared for Dormer and pleaded guilty to the charge,— Bosan elao pleaded guilty.— Mr Hanlon stated that the younger boy had fallen Into bad company , and the elder lad w&s leading him astray. He was going to work on Monday, and he (Mr Hanlon) would ask the bench to deal leniently with him. — Bosan pleaded hard not to be sent to gaol, and stated that he also would go to work. — Conßtable Miller stated tbat the winkers were sold (or lc to a man named Smith —Sergeant-major Bevin tald tnat both tbe boys had been beforu the court before. and that they were a perfect pest to the neighbourhood et Pine Hill.— The two boys were then charged with stealing on or about the 15th inst . at NorfcliBast Valley l ' seven bent of tbe value of 14*, the property of William Mirams.— Mr Hanlon appeared for Dormer, and pleaded guilty, and Boenn also pleaded guilty.— Sergeant-major Be»ln stated that four of the hens were taken to Dormer's place, and three at them- to Boean's.— The Bencb. sentenced Bosan to 31 hours in gaol, and Dormer to receive five strokes from the birch rod, for the firtt offence , &nd nned eacn. of the culprits ss, without costs, in default five days in g&ol, on the second, fillen Dormer ws.B. charged. with having on or about the 15th inst , at ihe North-East Valley, feloniously received trom William Dormer two hens ot the value of 4s, the property ol William Mlrantu. knowing them^to have bben i tolon.— Mr H&nlon appeared for the accused, and pleaded nut guilty .—Mrs Mirams stated tbatsbe, in company with Constable Miller, went to accused's house and saw Hire* hem which she identified ab once as belonging to ncr Witness claimed them, but accused said that they -were hers, and that she had reared two of them Two of the hen* were subsequently brought back to witness, and the third had disappeared.— Constable Miller gave corroborative evidence.— The boy Dormer said he took the fowls home, but hie mother would not keep them, and he put them into a shed on the opposite side ot the way. -Boian. gave a direot contradiction to this, and stated that the boy Dormer took them home and put them into his'mother's fowlhouse-with the other fowls.— Mrs Dormer having given evdenca, the Bench said they found tho evidence of a very conflicHng satire, and th"y would dismiss the case, the fowls to be handed to Mrs Mirams.