LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2284, 9 December 1897, Page 21

LOCAL & GENERAL.

The meeting of representatives from local bodies and friendly and other societies held on Thursday for the purpose of taking steps to secure the fitting oelebration in March next of the Jubilee of the settlement of Otago was largely attended, and a committee was appointed to prepare a programme for submission to a future meeting. There was abundant indication, however, of a rush being made by various organisations to secure Auniversary Day (the 23rd March) as a date for functions promoted by them. Thus, the Dunedin Jockey Club's Autumn meeting will be opened on that day at the Forbury racecourse ; a Iwj day*' cycling meeting, under the auspices of the League of Wheel men, on the Caledonian ground, will be commenced on the same date ; the New Zealand Rowing Association's Championship regatta, it was stated, will be held on the same day ; the Presbyterian Synod's celebration of the Jubilee of tho church will, despite a protest from Mr M'ladoe against the inappropriatenesa of the date for .such a celebration, be observed also on Anniversary Day ; and doubtless other fix' ul-^s will yet be made, co that, between all of them, the public ceremony of rejoicing which" ths mayor-elect and others present at last night's meeting earnestly desire is, unless tho committee that was appointed can devise some modus vivendl, iv danger of being crowded out on Jubilee Day itself.

We are sorry to learn that his Honor Judge Ward has had rather a serious-attack of illness and has been laid up-for a, fortnight past at his Dunedin lodgings. The judge is now convalescent, though by no means quite recovered.

In the Supreme Court on Thursday, Messrs William Brown and A. J. C. Beown were appointed provisional official liquidators of the Dunedin Timber and Hardware Company (Limited) and the City Sawrailling Company (Limited), in respect to each of which a petition for a winding-up order was filed on the 26th ult.

The quarterly meeting of the Waikouaici Licensing Committee was held on Thursday afternoon at the courthouse, Port Chalmers. Present; Messrs E. H. Carew (chairman), J. Cable, W. M. lunes, J. W.- Harrison, J. Porteus, and Rev. W. 8. Lucas. The only business was an application for a transfer of license for CoDey's Hotel from James Docherty to Peter Nelson. Mr Platto appeared for the applicant, aud the transfer was granted.

Mr Thomas Grose, the well-known sharebroker, died in the hospital shortly before midnight on Thursday. He was 51 years of age, and had been some 30 years in the colony.

Three hundred and thirty- one applications have been received for two ermll grazing run*, the balance of the Hundalee Block, Kaikoura. The majority of the applicants are residents of K^ikoura. The express train from the south was about an hour late- in reaching Dunediu on Friday night. The engine, it appears, broke down afc Woodlands, 12 miles from Invercargill, and another engine had to be sent from lavercargill to bring the train on to Dunedin.

A youth named Robert '"Wilson, 18 -years of age, was committed .for trial at Roxburgh on Friday on a charge of housebreaking.

A middle-aged man, who gave the name of George Tomlinson, was apprehended by Constab'e Ward in Hanover street on Friday morniog on 'a charge of having stolen a bicycle oa the previous evening from the rooms of the Dunedin CycliDg Club. The accused is said to have offered tho machine for sale to more than one dealer.

At a meeting of the committee of the Otago Anglers' Association, held ou Friday afternoon, the following resolution was passed in connection with the proposed new Fisheries Act : — •• That the Otego Acclimatisation Society be respectfully requested to urgo.upon the Government lha necessity of eliminating from any Fisheries Bill they may introduce the last paragraph of section 8 (general regulations) recommended by the conference of delegates held in Wellington in September last;, as in our opinion it offers a premium to illegal fishing and makes a conviction for such oif«nca next to impossible." Five new members sveie elected.

The New Zealand Klondike! In the course of the case of Posfclethwaite v. Ross, which occupied the past couple of days in the Supreme Court, it was stated by one of' the witnesses that 27 persona left the Nevia in one week in the month of March last on account of the severity of the weather.

The correspondent of Iho Southern Standard has the best authority for stating that the Hon. W. P. Reeves, Agent-general, will be on the platform at the ntxb general election, but for which constituency has not transpired.

Afc the Poit Chalmers Police Court on Friday forenoon, before Mr A. Thomson, J.P., Charles Coleman pleaded guilty to having unlawfully in j his -pofseasion 4^lb tobacco the duty on which had nob been paid, the value of the same being £L 4-a 9d. Sergeant Geerin stated that Constable Treacy was on duty in the vicinity of the railway station at 6 30 p.m. on the 2od inst., when his attention was called to the accused walking up and down the George street pier. The constable waited until accused got into George street, but when within ten yards of him the accused turned round and ran uuder the wharf. When the constable caught him be wss in the act of pulling some tobacco from inside his shirt, with the intention, no doubt, ofthrowing it into the water. When accused was brought to the watchhouse he was searched in in the presence of witness and Constable Treacy, and Eome of the tobacco .produced was fouad concealed in his stockings and the rest inside his shirt. Witness was instructed by the Customs officials only to sue for treble the value of the tobacco. Accused was, fined £3 14s 3d, the treble '■ value ; in default, one month's imprisonment, I

The arrest on a charge of drunkenness on Saturday night of one of the seamen of H.M.S. Mildura led to a somewhat exciting scene in Dowling street. The sailor resisted the constables, and one of his shipmates going to his assistance, while the crowd which speedily gathered hampered the movements of the police, it was found necessary to procure the services of three or four additional constables before the men could be locked up.

Notwithstanding a fall of 10* per ton in the price of flour in Auckland, 54 of the master bakers have raised the price of bread per Ibi owing, they allege, to the advance in wages claimed by journeymen bakers.

In an article dealing with the currency question in the "National Review" for November, Mr Donald Reid, juo., referring to the concessions which Mr T. Lloyd, a prominent monometallut, appears to be prepared to make for the sake of monetary peaco, in making a suggestion for a further concession, says it is "one thab will, I am sure, be acceptable to the United States and France, and which will at the same time be in the direct interest of the AustralfieietQ eoloaies— that is the inclusion of the

colonies in any Bimetallic Union formed, and the coinage of a colonial^ dollar or rupee with a currency throughout all these colonies. By this we shall have an expansive currency suited to the immense developments which are necessary to build up a nation in this part of the world. Moreover, tho need of a common currency for the Pacific archipelago is indispensable to promote the commerce and settlement of these islands, and this currency cannot be anything else than silver. The benefit th*t would arise to the mother oountry from the increase of wealth and commerce, the result of an expanding currency, would be considerable. These colonies and islands would again bo a remunerative field for the investment of British capital under British laws and among kiusmeo, while they would for a century to come absorb those British manufactures which embody a large amount of capital and labour."

Our Palmerston correspondent writes :: — •• A very successful musical and limelight entertainment, in aid of the funds of the Palmerston Atheusoum, was held in the Town Hall on the 3rd iuit. Misses Nelson, Raymond, G wynne (2), and Mes»rs Brown, Keddell, Cotton, and Appleby contributed item? which, judging by the frequency of encores, were highly appreciated by the audience. The Palmers ton Brass Band played two overtures in good style, and Miss Horau's playing of the accompaniments materially helped to make the cjucerfc a success. The entertainment concluded with a series -of limelight views by Mr Lawson."

The Hon. J.S. Lark*, Canadian Trade Commissioner ill Australasia, who arrived in Dunedin by the Westralia on Sunday, was a' lay delegate from the New South Wales j Couferance at the sittings of the Wtsleyan Methodist General Conference in Auckland. 1 Mr Larke has combined, however, attention to j the duties of his office under the Government i of the Dominion with the performance of those of an ecclesiastical nature, and yesterday he interviewed a number of the principal business men of this city on the subject of interchange of products between this colony and Canada. It was hoped by him that be would be able to visit the Lukes, bub this he unfortunately Suds himself now unVble to do, as he had to leave for Christchui«'i oa Wednesday.

The first sitting oi the Arbitration Court in Duoedin was held at the Supreme Court on Monday, when tho dispute in the bakers' trade was brought under the notice of the court, which was constituted of the following members :—llia: — Ilia Honor Mr Justice Williams (chairman), Mr Thomson (representing the employers), and Mr R. Slater (representing the employeei). The hearing of evidenca on bath sides was concluded, and the chairman intimated thab tho court would defer its decision.

A Gielong telegram in the Argun states that the people about town a*j 1 o'clock on the afternoon of the 26th ult. were considerably scared by a terrific report, which was afterwords found to be due to the explosion of a live shell that had found Its way into a quantity of marine stores purchased by a dealer. The latter, being ignorant of the nature of the missile, placed it upon an' open fire to melt down some lead that wrs attached to it, when the powder iv tho shell became heated. The explosion followed, and the ■dealer,, a woman, -narrowly escaped injury. Little damage was done through th« fact that the cap of the shell was blown out. >, It ia suppoeed that the shell came in scrap iron purchased from a QueongclifE collector.

At the Dunedin Police Court ou Saturday, Win, Roberts was charged with theft, on tho Bth ult., at Goodwood, of one gelding, valued at £18, the property of Samuel Wilson.— Mr O'Reilly app.-ared for accused. — Ceief Detective O^Brien stated that Mr Wilson was a farmer at Otakou, near Otago Ileade. Accused had been known to Mr "Wilton for some time, and on the occasion when he was at Mr Wilson'rt house he was deploring that he had no horse to go to Palmerston, where he had obtained a good deal of work. ' There was a horse in the paddock, ami he asked Mr Wilson to lend it to him. Mr Wilson demurred for some time, but finally consented to lend him the animal, which was a valuable one. When taking the horse accused snid he might find a customer for it, and would let Mr Wilson know. He took the ho>«e •and went to Goodwaod station, and worked for Mr White. After the work was done Mr White told him he would K'vc him a racing hack, and something in addition, for the horse he had with him, and accused replied, " Well, you will have to give me .£12." £8 was, however, eventually agr«ed upon. On the Ist of the month Mr Wilson became suspicious, and anked accused what he had done with the horse, and he Baid he had exchanged it afc Mr White's, and would give him (M> Wilson) a chestnut in ptace of it. lie said to Mr Wilson, ''You gave me leave to sell the horse," but Mr Wilson would tell the court that he g.ive no such authority either to sell oi 1 exchauga. — Evidence was siveu by complainant, Thomas Wilson, John Wanklin White, and Constable Ojoncy, after which a- cased was committed for lri.il. •*