LOCAL & GENERAL

Otago Witness, Issue 2130, 20 December 1894, Page 41

LOCAL & GENERAL

Our Wellington correspondent states that considerable, feeling has bteu caused in shipping circles by an allegation contained in an article on the W»irarapa disaster, published in the New Zealand Times, that the conduct of Captain M'lntosb, from first to last, oan be accounted for by reasonable men only on the hypothesis that he bad lost his balance by drinking. Tbe paper admits that there is no direct evidence to support its conclusion— 'hat, in f »cr, 1 1 c « vidence is the other way. Tbe Po-t prous's Jt.difcuantly against this "shameful aud entirely uuwarr-mtable assumption and •• slander on ihe dtad."

The last weekly meeting of the Benevolent Institution Truiiteeß was attended by Messrs Solomon (acting chairman), Haynes, Allan, Bndgman, Swan, and Green. Accounts amounting to £211 17s were passed for payment. The out-door relief report showed that the number of eases was 424, representing 156 men, 340 tonmm. and 909 children. The cost Der week

was £134- 19* 6,1, ivud from this £5 10< hud to be taken for children boarded out. Foe the co responding month of la<*t year th/re were 413 caseo, which included 160 men, 326 women, and 927 children, the cost being £123 18a 6d. The numbers, as will be seen, were about the same, at an increased cost of £5 lls. Seventy relief cases were dealt with.

A meeting of tbe Duuedin Licensing Commit! cc was held ou the 12th to give consideration to the question of conditional licenses, especially in connection with irs bearing on the recent application by the Caledonian Society, wbeti the elected member- unanimously dt-cided to adheru to the attitude they are publicly known to have taken up— uttnely, to refuse all such licences. There is reason to believe that this question, together with others bearing upon the Licensing Act, will receive reconsideration after the committee have been a year in office.

Our Auckland correspondent telegraphs that in an interview with Sir James Fergusson, an ex-Cabinet Minister, reference was made to Lord Rosebery'fl remarks concerning NewZealand and Samoa, of which the Colonial

Tr< asurer had complained. Sir James said he thought Lord Rosebery had been rather hat>ty iv his expression of opinion. There was nothing absurd in the proposition that New Zealand should lock atter tbe affairs «f Samoa, though as to it* wisdom a good deal could be Baid on both sides. Personally, be thought it would be unwise for New Zealand to take the responsibility. Th« question should also be regarded from an external at wfll aa au internal pc int of view. " Supposing," Sir James nays, " some German colony instead of New Zealand had put forward a claim to annex Samoa, would the German Government proceed to give effect to this deaire and ignore the interests and claim* of Great Britain and America ? And what would New Zealand Bay to Gre*t Britain if this was allowed?" Yet Sir James understands Germ»rjy is as much if not more inter ot-t-d in Samoa from a commercial point of view Generally speaking Sir James doeß not consider the colonies have much to complain of as to th« manner in which their interests are treated by the English Government.

The first indoor meeting of the Dunedin Field Club, was largely attended. Mr A. Hamilton gave a lecture on his recent trip 1,0 the Macqnarie Islands, in whw;h he gave an interesting account of the flora and fauna. The lecturer mentioned incidentally, to show how little was known by Ta<*maiiiann of their posfießfion, that it was proposed to develop the timber industry. A« a matter of fact the largi it trees were some scrubby coprosmns, from 2ft to 3ft high. After the lecture some new collections of shells, sea weed, and flowering plant* were exhibited and discussed by the members present. Ou Saturday afternoon next the club journey to Flagstaff, via Roslyn.

Rumour has it (says the Oamaru Mail) that negotiations for amalgamation are still quietly proceeding between the B*nk of New Zetland and the Colonial Bank, and that important developments may be anticipated about February next.

The Rev. Mr Wright, of Otepopo, is to receive a call to the Columba Church.

In order to give railway employees a holiday the runniug of nearly all trains will be suspri.ded on Christmas Day. On the Dunedin flection the only trains running will be the express trains to and from Chrifitchurch aiifl luvercargill, a train leaving for Oamuru at 9 30 am. and leaving Oamaru on the return journey at 2.45 pm , and a train leaving Balclutha for Dunedin at 723 a.m. On the Dunedin- Port Chalmers line Sunday trains only will bu run.

For some yeara pasfc the Public Works and Railway departments have ob'ained supplies of ironmongery and other etorps by separate contracts, but for the year 1895 there is to be only oiie contract; combining the requirements of both services, and tenders for the s^rne are now invited by the Public Works department. We undirhtand that the contract also provides for the supply of stores to any other department of the Government service. The advertisement calling for tenders appears in another column.

MfSsrß Dixon, Fyfe, Graham, and C"x tcatle auotber attempt to scale Mount Cook ou the Bth iast., bat after reaching the head of Linda Glacier at 4- a.m., at a height of 9900 ft, the cold wind increasing every minute drove them back.

It is reported (saya the Oamaru Mail) that the Government have sent a representative to the New Zealand Estates Company's station, WaihaoruDga, near Waimate, to prepare a valuation and report with a view to cutting it up for settlement. The station contains 18,000 acres, which is all cultivated, and is partica-

larly adapted for settlement in farms of from 300 to 1000 acres.

W« understand that Dr (Iharles Chilton is ri Binning th« p'lfiHoo of rector of the Porb Chalmers District High School — j» position ho h&% filled for over six years. It in Dr Chil ton's intention to proceed shortly to the old country fco study medicine, and he will be leaving the colony for this purpose tarly next ye»r.

The Hon J M'K»nzie, Minister for Lardi, returned to DnnnrHn from Clinton by the forenoon train on Friday, but did not remaiu in towu, proceeding ou to Shag Point by the exprosn for the north. He left his home on Saturday morning for Wellington, but expects do return south before the New Year.

A meeting of local shareholders, who hold cxtfni>ively in Bank of New Zealand scrip was beld at the Chamber of Commerce ;on Friday afternoon, when a committee appointed at a previous meeting submitted a draft report, which it i« commonly understood speaks of the projected call as unjust, uncalled-for, and inopportune. The object of Fiiday's meeting, we are led to believe, wan to arrange for placit g before tbe OUgo shareholders at large the views of those who attend d ihr. meeting in re-t-pect to the advinabilit} of resisting the call; aud it was resolved that a, meeting be beld early next week at which proposals will be submitted for taking action in concert with shareholders in other parts of the colony.

Even among the settlers on the Pomahaka estate there is apparently a great diversity of opinion as to tbe quality of the land. The interview between eight of the settlers and the Minister for Lnnds on Thursday indicated that in the minds of those lessees — and they aaid they represented others— there is considerable mixgiving as to the result of their venture in takiug up sections on the block, and one of the number told our reporter jjwho was on the grouud that h« was sure the majority of the settlors would gladly accept two-thirda valuation tor the improverients they have effected aud give up their sections at once. On the other hand, another settler, who hag spent the greater part of his life on the estate, seemed to be supremely satisfied with his bargain. Ho is evidently, however, a sanguine man, for he said, and reiterated the statt meat and adhered to it when more than once challenged, that the laid would, in its uncultivated state 1 , carry a sheep to the acre in the winter and two sheop and a- half to the acre in the summer— an estimate of its car'ying capacity which is generally scouted on the Pomahaka and in its neighbourhood, although the settler who made the sta'ement avers that be has known the property to carry the number of sheep mentioned by him. Oue good feature of the estate is that there is an abundance of water about it and that there is plenty of fuel, for, in addition to lignite pits on the property, there is timber very handy.

The Alcoholic Liquors Sale Control Act came in for some criticism from one of the speakers at the banquet tendered to the Minister for Lands at Clinton on Thursday night The speaker in question complained that local bodies had suffered a great deal through the loss of hotel license fees, and that net only local bodies, but individuals also, had been impoverished. The act was, he said, stringent enough as it was ; let them at least have the only "corpse-reviver" in theClufcha — referring to the refreshment bar at Clintonleft to them. The Government, he considered, should make up to the local authorities the total revenue which they had been the actual cause of those bodies losing. M Actual loss," the speaker said, "because the Government made the law and placed the power in the hands of foolish women." It was, he supposed, time that the women had a vote, but they had made

lUHIIHIHIM— ■■! lll» « I IKIIMBKI >—l — | — — | a vory bad use of their first vote. The rpmarks of the speaker werp received with groat laughter.

Who is to ba believed ? Mows H'^chison, M'Nab, and other members declare that tbe Ministerial ntock-«rhip was not ueed last hessiou Mr G. W Russell told his constituents that the " Liberal party were treated like sheep, to be rounded up by the party whips. So tar as he wag concerned, be refused to ncc^pt dictation either from Government or whips. The Premier had asserted that bin party wan to pass what he wanted aud nothing else. If tva f . wero the cane, th^n the people might jutt as well send a set of marionet'eH to Parliament with voting paperß in their pocket and let the whips collect the papers. H« (Mr Russell) did not accent thfl position of delegate or dumb dog." Mr R<i«ell, referring to the Midland railway, naid " the Premier, as a private member, had helped Canterbury to gat her line, but the Gov* rhtnent had not. Tho reason wa* pretty clear. The Government; wanted £3,000.000 for the North Island trunk, Otago C-iitra'. and Wood v ill e- Bketahuna lines. Tie Midland railway was to be put into tho poc^l. mid *c were to roll the log to provide the £3,000 000 loku beuausw we didn't get the lino ihi« year. Ho whs not going to assist in rolling the log. The Hoe had to be finished, aod the policy of Canterbury was to stand quiet next session, and not go in for tbe £3,000.000 loan."

At Oamaru on Thursday, Mary Booth, alias Caroline Rout, alias Frances Barrett, on remand, pleaded guilty to a chirge of obtaining £4 by false pretences from David Booth. The police put in evidenc« fc> that the show woman had swindled vari< us bank managers ia Victoria, New South Walep, Tasmania, and Auckland. In each case she opened an account by paving in a cheque for £400 or £500, which money was lying idle in Now Ze-rtaud On tho plea of having run short of fuud* she obtained advances of £5. Coining to OUgo, she had lodged a cheque with the Colonial Bank afc P«lraersfcoa for £120, and obtained an advance of £5 She had tried the game at Waikouaiti, but was unsuccessful. Going on to Hampden, »he represented herself aa a relative of General Booth, and obtained a cheque trom Mr David Booth for £4. The accused handed in a lengthy statement, in wf ichahe alleged that poverty and other unhappy circumstances brought her into trouble. She had striven bard to obtain work in Australia. She fully expected fco h»ve » home for her services on coming to Dunedin, but found the people she had depended on had left for England She met with pome kindness, but w.v unable to get a situation. As to her using various uame^, she urged that as sha had written for papers and magazines under various names there was no significance in her doing so. The accused was sentenced to two months' imprisonment ia Duiiedin Gaol.

The death is announced at Eyreton, Canterbury, at the age of 68, of Mm Chilton, aa old and much-respected resident. She leaves three sons and a daughter, one of the sons being Dr Chilton, rector of the Port Chalmers Districb High School.

In connection with the remarks of Mr Martin, S.M. at Wellington, that the inspection of vessels arriving from oversea ports was a perfect farce, we understand that euch is not the case at Port Chalmers. When Dr Cunninghams, the health officer, boards a vessel, even if the captain's reply as to the health of those on board is satisfactory, tbe crew and passengers are personally nd separately inspected by the doctor, as is also their qimters, and should the slightest symptoms of contagious disease be apparent the abio is at once ordered into Quarantine,