LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2205, 4 June 1896, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Government, we are informed, intend to make some changes in connection with the publication of Hansard. It has been determined by Cabinet that Hansard shall Ue published bi-weekly and up to date. The official reporters are to ba accommodated on the floor of the House a few feet iv f ronb of the seat occupied by the Clerk. The long centre table is" to be divided and separated, and in the 6pace thus created revolving chsirs will be pltuced for the note-takers. By this arrangement the reporters should be in a really good position for hearing, and they will be able to face the member who is speaking, no matter in what part of the Chamber he may be. Amanuenses are to ba employed to asßist in the transcription of the notes, additional office accommodation will be provided for the Hansard staff, and reporters' " typo-script " is to be corrected before it is sent to the printers. The Government h^avo decided that 'in future the debates shalFnob become ancient history before the reports of them are issued in Hansard.

The Public Trustee explains, with regard to the objeotion coming from Dunedin against t&e charge of 1 pec cent, for administering the Brunner relief fund, that 1 per cent, was stated by him to be approximately the rate of deduction which must be allowed for all charges to ba mot out of the proceeds of investments by him of the general fund* of his office in mortgages, and for which he must provide in estimating what rate may be allowed free of all charges. This deduction includes the mortgage tax and provision-for any loss on investments as well as the ordinary expenses ofL. management. The Brunnerton fund is to be credited by the Public Trustee with the rate allowed to capital moneys in the common fund of the Public Tr U6t Office, whatever that rate may be ; but for the purpose of computing how far the fund would go it was nob thought prudent, in view of the falling rates of interest, to estimate the rate of interest throughout the whole period of distribution higher than 3 per cent. The Abt railway laid to the summit of Mount Snowdon was opened at Easter. Oa a recent morning two trains loaded- whh passengers went to the top of the mountain. Oa the return {journey train No. 1 came to gclet The engine was at the front, acting as a break, and the cog wheel working upon the central line of the rail failed to act. Tais allowed the engine to fly away from the train (to which it was not attached), and it dropped over a precipice lOOfo deep. The two drivers stepped off the eugine at the moment it disappeared. The two carriages composing the train were brought to a standstill by the brake, but Borne of the passengers threw themselves out before the brake began to act, and one of the number was killed. The fall of the engine interfered with the signal wire, and automatically indicated to train No. 2 that all was clear. A dense fog was now clothing the side of the mountain, and train No. 2 dashed into the standing carriages of train No. 1, from which, most fortunately, all the passengers had descended. There was a big smash, but nobody was hurt. Tlie cause of the accident' was the sinking of the central line, so that the cog wheel of the engine lost its grip.

The Melbourne Argns estimateß that when the Australasian banking returns for the quarter ended 31st March are completed ifc will be able to record that the Australasian banks hold iv the'r treasuries something between £27,500,000 and £28,000,000 in gold. Only 10 years ago they held less than £W,000,000. Then affairs were seemingly prosperous, and fortunate bank shareholders had only to live economically and invest splendid bank dividends in fresh bank shares in order to become more than " passing rich," Referring to this change, the Argus puts two questions— What does the twin combination of a movement from prosperity to hardship and a doubling of the coin reserves of the banks mean P and why when the banks held less than £1^,000.000 in gold mortgage rates were 50 to 75 per cent, higher than they are today, when the banks hold nearly £28,000,000 ? These questions indicate, th.9 Argua says, that the current of money seeking investment in the colonies is arrested, and that its formerly beneficent overflow is, for a time at least, receding, Our contemporary adds that largo »«ma of Austtali&a-owned. money have for

a considerable time past been lent at rates ranging from 3£ to 4 per cent., the only and proper condition being an absolutely perfect security, and thab only the other day nearly a quarter of a million was lent on mortgage m a rate approximating more closely to 3£ than to 4 per cent. The Minister for Public Works, who was interviewed at Middlemarch, on the occasion of his recent visit to tho Otago Central, relative to the rates that are charged on tho line, h»s informed the seoretary of the Farmers' Association that there are 18 branch railways in different parts of the colony on which an extra, Id per ton is levied on certain classes of goods. The Otago Central is one of these lines, and this charge could sot ba remitted on that line without all the other brunch lines being similarly treated. This would involve a loss ol nearly £3000 in revenue annually, so that under the clroumst&noei it is impossible to make any alteration. Moreover, the Miniifar for Railways informed him that owing to the nature of the country through which the Ofcago Central line passes a considerable extra expenditure is involved in clearing slips on tha line.

Consequent upon the recent dicmiusftls of officers in the Railway department, on account of the collision near Clinton, the following transfers have been resolved upon :— Mr R. D. Isaac*, transferred from Danedin to Balclutha; Mr S. Wright, from Danedin to Waihola ; Mr R. M. Pe&ttie, from Waihola to Lawrence ; and Mr C. Conn, from Lawrence to Dunedin (in place of Mr Isaacs). A largely attended meeting of the committee in connection with Bishop Nevill's testimonial was* held on the 27th ult. at the office of the diocesan treasurer. It is intended that tho presentation shall be made at the Choral Hall oa Monday evening, the Bth inßfc. The various sub-committees have been very active, and it is hoped that all the signatures and subscriptions throughout (he dioocne will be in by the due date, bo as to allow of their being bound in with the illuminated address. The Christian Outlook understands that tha conference held recently at Christchurch between the delegates representing the two churches, to arrange a basis of union, was in every respect a great sacoasa. The meetings were characterised by the utmost cordiality and brotherhood, and each of tho 12 resolutions tabled was ultimately carried without a dissentient voice. The opinion was generally expressed that tbe conference would prove to have materially furthered the cause of union, and that in the course of two or three year* at tha utmost there will be but one Presbyterian Church iv New Zealand.

The height of tmpudonce was retched at East Melbourne last week by a burgUr, who broke into the residence of Canon Bsrry. He entered by the dining room window, and having piled gome coals on the fire proceeded to make himself .comfortable. He drew the canon's armchair up to the fire, and made a hearty supper -of biscuit, cheese, and wine, aud even went so far as to toa3t tho cheese. He had the clock ready for removal, when he was disturbed. He decamped without taking any property. Thomas Dunn English, the author of " Ben Bolt," with which Trilby has brought the world to her feet, has been telling the story of the song in the Golden Penny. It" is briefly thisj ;••• Fifty-three years ago two friends of mmo were ; engaged in reviving an old journal. They told me their means were not very great, and they would be glad of literary assistance. In fact, they suggested to mo to writs for them a sea song. After several attempts I managed to spin out something with great difficulty. Ib was not till three years after this that the melody, which was to become so popular, was connected with the words." Mr English is said to charge Mr da Maurier with mutilating and misinterpreting the song. The International Women's Congress in Paris, on April 9, passed— with but one dissentient vote, and thab a man's— a remarkable resolution, declaring that every child from hiJ birth to>his coming of age should ba maintained and educated at the cost of the State, which I should, moreover, protect and control his existence in the interest of society fit large cc well as in the interest of tho child. On April 11 an outburst of disapproval from the " Freethinker* " was rahed by Miss de Broen, who, on behalf of tha women labourers in the Belleville quarter, demanded " the sanctifloation of the Sabbath." Madame PoloniS-Pierre aroused considerable opposition when ehe moved a resolution for universal disarmament and the transformation of Alsace-Lorraine into a buffer I State. Eveutually a motion calling for universal peace was voted, A. motion wo* unani« mously adopted imploring, the French Government to intercede with the Sultan on behalf of the persecuted Armenians. The congress broke up, after passing the following resolution: — "That philosophy should be excluded from integral education at the source and origin of conflict between men."