LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2433, 31 October 1900, Page 23

LOCAL & GENERAL.

His Worship the Mayor has received the following reply from the Premier to his message thanking the Government for assisting in passing ihe Drainage Bill n.nd congratulating the Premier on the extension of the boundaries of the colony : — ' Thank you very sincerely for congratulations. We only did our duty. The extensions of the boundaries of our colony will be more appreciated in years to come than to-day. Kind regards. — R. J. Seddo.v."

Tho imprisonment for Debt Limitation Act was included in the list of bills dropped or otherwise disposed oly telegraphed from Wellington and pxiblished last week. In the Wellington papers it* appears among the acts passed, and is now, we believe, in force.

Ik is understood that the butchers of Dunedin have decided to raise the price of meat by Id all round. ' """In connection with the celebration of the Jubilee of the Canterbury provincial district there is a great hunting-up of anythixig giving particulars of the earJy settlement days. Mr H\ R. Chapman has placed at the disposal of the press a copy of a letter written by his father, the late Mr Justice Chapman, who was appointed to the Supreme Court bench as far back as 1843, and afterwards became Attorney-general in Victoria, only to return to the bench in New Zealand. In this letter some particulars aye given of the first of the Canterbury settlers. 'Ihe following little romance related will be read with interest : — '"There is among the settlers Mr Watts Russell and his wife. They are very nice people, and have brought out more capital, and have bought more land, than any other person. On the day in question they had visited the ship they came out in, and as they were returning the boat surged, and Mrs Russell pitched into the water., As &he fell she caught the tiller vove and held on. In the agitation of the moment Mr Russell forgot he could not swim, and jumped in after his wife. Poor Mrs .Russell, holding securely by the tiller rope, saw her husband drift past her. Fortunately, she could swim, so she boldly let go her hold, swam to her husband, caught him, and sustained him until he and she were rescued by a boat. Thus she is a heroine, and will be a historical personage."

The Manawatu Standard, edited by Mr F. Pirani, M.H.R., in an editorial article on the recent session, makes some very serious allegations. It declares that those who feel any respect for representative institutions cannot but regard the result of the session with loabhing and disgust. A depth of degradation was sounded, unrivalled, fortunately, in the annals of New Zealand. Our contemporary alleges that drunkenness was always in evidence, and was not looked tipon as any offence oy ihe majority of members; further, the Standard speaks of the open manner in which persuasion was used and bribes offered to pass objectionable measures, the bribe 3 being the voting of £40 each extra to members as sessional expenses.

In the course of an interview with a representative of the Timaru Morning Post Mr W. Evans, who has just returned from South Africa, said that during the next two years he considered there was scope for a large business to be opened up between New Zealand and South Africa, provided direct communication by steamer can be established, and a reduction made in the carrying charges. At present there is a duty of 2s per 1001b on oats, wheat, and barley imported to Cape Colony, and £4- 10s per ton on flour. Flour in Natal is allowed to go in free of duty. American freight is mostly by steamer, and the rates are about 30s per ton ; New Zealand freight at the present time is up to 50s per ton by steamers, and in order to put matters on a payable footing, this will have to be reduced to about 35s per ton, otherwise New Zealand must expect to lose the trade. So far as he could see, New Zealand* oats, wheat, and potatoes are all superior to those of either America or Australia. -fc" In the course of an address on " The Early History of New Zealand," before the Gisborne Mutual Improvement Society recently, Mr H. Hill referred^ to the difficulties that the early missionaries had to contend with, and went on to say that by 1830' sufficient progress had been made in the Maori language to enable them to send to Sydney in order to print a little book suitable for the use of the Natives. The Rev. Mr Yates went over to Sydney, and there were 500 conies of the

books printed. When Mr Yates returned to New Zealand he brought with him a little boy aged 15 years, named James Smith, who also carried with him a printing press. It was proposed, with this press, to do printing in New Zealand by the help of, this little boy, who had received some kind of a training- in an office in. NewSouth Wales. It was given out in most books that the Rev. Colenso was the first printer, but here they had the fact that James .Smith was really the first in New Zealand. As far as he could discover from the records, he found that Smith printed two things — one a hymn book and the other a Church of England catechism. - - A representative of the Timaru Herald wa-a shown on Saturday, by Miss Paice, of Washdyke, one of those curious hanging birds' nests, which everybody has read about, but few have seen. The nest was accidentally found by Miss Paice' s father, in a Pinus insignis tree in a railway plantation, and the birds to which it belonged were also seen — a little brown pair, rather smaller than tha well-known " silver-eyes." The nest has the shape of a hollow ball 3 about 6in in diameter, the opeping being on one sidtf, with what

may be called a "porch" to it. "Trie material of which it is made is chiefly dry grass roots ; the hollow interior lined with feathers, and the outside covered all over with spider s nests- — not the " vrebs " which are spread out to catch flies, but tils fluffy bundles in which spiders lay their egg?. The attachment to the tvvig on which the ucst hung is a quantity of such spiders' silk pulled out to a few inches in lengrh, cleverly and neatly passed over the twig, and the ends of the bundle worked into the rough material of the nesi. On this the nest swings quite freely and safely. It stood the late nor'-west gales without injury. When first found there were five eggs in the nest— pink with brown striries. These were hatched, and wh/n last vi?ited the nest was empty ; the young birds had flown. X~ The Art Society's annual exhibition of pictures will be opened in the second week of November. Although it is a little premature as yet to speak definitely on the point, the exhibition this year promises to be a very good one. A number of Sydney artists will be represented, and the collection of works generally is expected to be large. The receiving day has been fixed for November 5.

Wo have received a subscription of £1 from " M.M.R." towards the Mrs Thomas White fund.

The 'enterprising young man to whom our Clyde correspondent referred in our issue of last week as having attempted to navigate the Molyneux in a boat constructed of cement casks, packing cases, etc., did not meet with the success he deserved. He overcame all obstacles till he reached Coal Creek, but soon after leaving that place on Thursday morning he received a rather unceremonious immersion. The Mount Benger Mail states thai when passing the Dunedin dredge he cleared the first shore- rope safely, but fell foul of the second one, which was rather close to the surface, and his little craft was capsized. He manfully tried to right his frail bark, and bring it ashore, but the current being too strong he had to abandon the boat and swim for the shore, which he reached without further mishap. His kit of tools fell into the river, but were fished out by some local residents. Tho explorer, who was bootless, had rather a "'tender-footed" journey to the township, having lost his boots with the boat. Needless to say, much excitement was occasioned by the incident, a goodly number of persons having gone down to wish the plucky boatman bon voyage, not expecting such a speedy termination to the journey.

On Tuesday last another old identity passed away in the person of_ Mrs Isabella Wardrop, relict of the late Mr Gavin Wardrop, who died at her residence, Main road, South Dunedin, at the age of 72 years. Tho deceased lady left London with hea- sister, Mrs Henry Growden, in the ship Osprey. in 184-8, and was married in Melbourne. Her husband carried on the baking business there for pome time, but came to Dunedin in the ship Pirate in 1858. For a short time he had a shop in Princes street, opposite the post office. The deceased lady was well known for her benevolence and many "acts of kindness. She was much respected by all who had the pleasure of her acquaintance, and will be greatly missed.

A strange ending to a local sensation happened the other night (says the Hastings correspondent of the Napier Telegraph). For some weeks past it has been said a ghost was about, especially seeming to be on the lookout for females to frighten them. A resident in the street was determined to settle the matter, ghost or no ghost, and two of his sons did sentry-go. Sure enough the (apparently) unearthly visitant made its appearance. One of thorn closed with the apparition. He clung round its neck all he knew, It proved to be a married woman, living close by. It is only fair, however, to say that her husband declares that his wife's appearance on the occasion was an accidental one, and had nothing to do with the previous appearances complained of. Professor Herman Y. Hilprceht, the Babylonian explorer, who in the spring of this year wont to the East to superintend the cxc"avations in Assyria- and Babylon, describes the important results of his journey. He says: — "The results of. our researches exceed everything r?iat has so far been known about Babylon. We found the great temple library and priest school of Nippur, which had been destroyed by the Elamites, 228 B.C. The library consists of 16,000 volumes, written on stones, and covers the entire theological, astronomical, linguistic, and mathematical knowledge of those days. We also unearthed a collection of letters and biographies, deciphered the inscriptions of many newly-discovered tombstones and monuments, and espied, finally, best of all, 5000 official documents of inestimable value to the student of ancient history. The net result of our journey consists so far of 23,000 writings."

Mr Seffern, many years editor and manager of the Taranaki Herald, and one of the oldest journalists in the jolony, died on Friday morning, aged 71. He came out to Australia in 1851, and later to Auckland, where he was part owner of the Southern Cross from 1863 to 1E65. In 1863 he went to New Plymouth, and controlled the Herald till November, 1895, when he retired from active

A well-attended meeting was held at Queenstown on Tuesday evening (says the correspondent of the Southland Times) to consider the action of the Railway department in proposing to discontinue the train from Dunedin to Kingston on Fridays. The Mayor presided, and stated that he had sent telegrams to the Hon. J. G. Ward and Mr W. Fraser, M.H.R., on the matter, pointing out that it would seriously disarrange the mail services, Mr Ward had replied that he would be fllad 1 to look into the representations,

and Mr Fraser had also replied to the that he would do what he could in the matter 1 1 He emphasised the necessity for a strong pro-"/ test, as the change would be specially harm-! ful, and averred that instead of the number of trains being reduced there should be a daily train. Mr Hoiop said Friday's train was the most important of the week for the back country as well as thy town. On the motion of Mr Hotop, seconded by Mr Gavin, it was resolved — " That in the face of the promise of the Government to develop the Lake trade, a request be made that the Friday train be run as before, failing which, that the old time table be adhered to."

Mr E. F. Black, for the past four years, accountant in the Dunedin branch of the (Jnion Bank of Australia, has received the appointment of manager for Otago of the Australian "Widows' Fund Life Assurance Society. Mr Black lias had a long connection with banking, having been for nearly 20 years in the service of the institution which lie is now leaving, and he has made many friends throughout the colony who will wish him success in the fresh sphere of activity which he is entering.

Our Arrowtown correspondent telegraphs that information has been received there that the train service between Dunedin and Kingston is to remarn as at present. Mr P. Barr, the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, who telegraphed to the Minister of Railways, supporting the request made at a meeting of, the residents of the Lakes district to continue the service as at present, on Saturday; received the following telegram from the Hon. J. G. "Ward: — "It has been decided to continue the four days a week service Gore to Kingston, train arriving at destination threequarters of an houv earlier than at present."

At 1.10 p.m. on Saturday a fire broke out in the boilerhouse of the match factory at Caversham, but owing to the promptness with which the local fire brigade — both the Kensington and Caversham sections turning out — reached the scene the flames were got under without much damage being done. It is understood the promises are uninsured. Thedamage is estimated at about £20.

During the quarter ended September 30 485 inventions were lodged with ihe Patent Office.

Tho following are the weekly returns from the hospital : — Total remaining from previous week, 113 ; number admitted during week, 28; discharged. 23; deaths, 2 (John 'Thompson and Charles C. Langlands) ; total i 2maining, 116.

Mr Stafford Ransome, special commissioner of the Sphere and the lately-established lion don halfpenny journal, the Daily Express, *s at preseuc in Dunedin on a flying trip to New Zealand. His visit to this colony is mad.c in connection with the expansion policy, in which. ihe papers he represents take a warm interest. From New Zealand Mr Ransome proceeds to China.

The general election of members of the Berw ick Land Drainage Board took place on Thursday, when the retiring members were all nominated and declared elected — namely: Messrs John Lawson, Lewis Pearsall, Robert Robinson, jun., David Scott, and Robert Shennan.

The election of members of the Otakia Land Drainage Board was held on Friday, when Messrs James, Carruthers, James T. Gibson, Alexander Soup ess, Robert Shennan, and John H. Wilson were declared duly elected. Mr Gibson is a new member,- in place of Mr Alexander Fleming, who declined re-election. There being not more than the necessary number nominated, there was no poll. Mr C. C. Graham, S.M., sat at Port Chalmers on Saturday, and granted one female a pension of £18, while the application of another was deferred for proof of age". Intelligence was received"on "Saturday of the death of Mrs Wallace, wife of the Rev. Robert Wallace, of Marchmont Home, Belville, Canada. Mr Wallace is well known in Dunedin, having spent the greater proportion of hib boyhood days in this city. He left here when a young man, subsequently talcing up the ministry, and has been in charge of tho above-mentioned home, in which destitute children are brought up and trained, for some years. The rev. gentleman will have the sympathy of his numerous friends here in his sad' loss. Mr H. Chaplin, who was recently dismissed .from the Addington Workshops as the result of an inquiry by Mr Bishop, S.M., appealed against the decision. The Appeal Board, presided over by Judge Ward, having considered the matter, Mr Chaplin, as the result of their finding, has been reinstated in his old position. The announcement by the Union Company of a daily service between Lyttelton and Wellington each way during the_summer months marks a great advance in the facilities enjoyed by the travelling public, and is another instance of this enterprising company's policy 1 of not merely keeping abreast of the times, but of anticipating the requirements of the future. For some time past their favourita steamer Rotomahana has been carrying on a ferry service between Lyttelton and Wellington all the year round, leaving each port on alternate days anad connecting with the southern express ; but during the summer season the s.s. Tarawera will run in conjunction with the Rotomahana, and thus give a daily service from each port.- The Tarawera will leave Lyttelton on Mondays, Wednes* days, and Fridays, and the Rotomahana on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, immediately on the arrival of the express from Dunedin, and corresponding daily departures will be made from Wellington, the steamers connecting with the morning's express from ' Christchurch to the south. Thus on every j day of the week except Sunday a passenger \ can leave Dunedin and be in Wellington bjf- 1 noon next day, and similarly he can leav/jj

Wellington on any week day and be in Dunedin the following day, Sundays excepted. This should bring Dunedin and Wellington into very close touch with each other, to the advantage of bothl The new seivice began on Monday with the Tarawera from Lyttelton , and the Rotomahana from Wellington. We have received 10s from "Nellie" for the Mrs Thomas White fund. The London correspondent of the Argus sftj'S that there was in connection with the , recent sliam attack to test the defences of t Dover one feature which ought to make Englishmen pauso and inquire what sort of a spectacle the country is likely to present if ever it be assailed. And the incident was "O very characteristic of the ways of our War . Office that it ought not to be forgotten when. • that department is brought to the bar of j public opinion at the end of 'the present war. j We read that one of the batteries_thrown for- j ward by the defenders consisted of old 40- j pounders, winch have been obsolete over 10 , years, and which had to be hauled into posi- ; tion by a traction engine, f Another of the defenders' guns was a rusty muzzle-loading 25-pounder, of a type which is never seen outside a museum. As there are no cartridges for -such obsolete weapons, those of the 40- ' pounders were split in two, and a few handtiful of powder -taken out and\ thrown into a pail. Such weapons as these, at the end of the . nineteenth century, for the defence of a fortress like Dover ! Last week there were 10 bankruptcies in the colony — a confectioner at Auckland, a labourer at Kiwitahi, a. storekeeper at Stafford, i butcher at Mangaweka, a carpenter at Watiganui, a storekeeper at Seddon, a livery-stable keeper at Blenheim, a hotelkeeper at Timaru, , )h furniture salesman at Wanganui, and a labourer at Allandale. The Rarotonga correspondent of the Auckland Herald writes as follows: — "The whole . of the trade of these valuable pearlshell islands is now being done through Tahiti mer- i chants in French schooners from Tahiti, al- j , though the British flag was nominally hoisted | there years ago. It is now to be hoped that ' the produce and trade of these iolands will , revert to New Zealand, and that French i schooners will be prohibited from inter-island , .trading there. No vessel flying the British ' : flag is allowed to trade in the Tahitian Archi- i i pelago. It is quite time that legitimate Eng- ; : 3ish traders should be protected in British J < islands, somewhat similar to the way the , French are protected in their own waters. - Occasionally in the history of the New Zea- J land Parliament " secret clauses " have been i ' known to find their way into' public bills in I ' a manner bo mysterious that legislators have i ( been known to be puzzled to conjecture Kow — | ' like the fly in the amber — they could- possibly i have got there. Mr John Hutchcson, M.H.R., | ' at the Ratepayers' Association meeting (says t ■ the New Zealand Times) gave the short bis- | ' tory of a little transaction of this kind which j : occurred during the session just past. When ' : the Municipal Corporations Bill was first be- | fore the House, it contained a clause prevent- ■ ing the interference of municipalities with the , rights and privileges of existing gas com- : panics. At a later stage it was found — the J mayor of Wellington made the discovery — ' that the words " and electric lighting syndi- ' cates '' had by some means found their way i into the bill. Pressure was at once brought j to have the words quoted excised. That the effort was suceespful was not altogether due ' to the goodwill of certain people in high ' places was hinted at by Mr Hutcheson in ' the few remarks he made upon the subject. Had the words been retained, the Wellington j City Council would have been very seriously j hampered in its efforts to secure the necessary J po-yer for the installation of electric traction, j )^ Another of the early settlers passed away on Wednesday, in the person of Mrs John j Reid, who died at her residence, London ! street, 'at the age of 71 years. The ' deceased lady, whose maiden name \ was Mary Gall, was born on the ' 12i,h March, 1c29, at Adziel, Strichen, Aber- j desnshire, Scotland, and was married to Mr Reid on the 29th May, 1856, at Cabra, Old ' Deer, Aberdeenshire. Mr Reid had visited Otago.in 1554, arriving here in the ship Pudsey J Dawson, but returned to Scotland, via Sydney, : in the- following year. A few months after ! their marriage Mr "and Mrs Reid- left Scot- ; land for- Otago in the barque William and Jane, reaching Dunedin on February 2, 1357. Save for some eight or ten years spent on the property at Corner Bush, the deceased lady has lived for roost of the time in Dunedin. ' She has been ailing for about three years, the asthma and chronic bronchitis from which she suffered developing into cancar. Throughout j her painful suffering she sustained a cheerful spirit, and continued her lifelong work of unobtrusive goodness, taking especial interest in the work connected with Knox Church, where Vffe had worshipped for many years. In addition I lo her husband, Mrs Reid leaves four sons i&nd three daughters. Three sons and one daughter are married, the latter, being Mrs Skinner, of the Manse, Flemington, near A.shburton. Julian Ralph, in la?t month's "Harper's Magazine," sets himself the task of defining Lord Roberts' s secret of success, and he decides that it is this : — He trusts every man > implicitly until he finds himself mistaken in j jwi individual ; then it is not comfortable to bo in that man's shoes. He is never angry. He controls his temper as he does, his appetite, for he never smokes, and drinks hardly jit . all. He lives, in war, as plainly as any ijolonel under 'him, to say the least. Beyond md behind and above all else that distinguishes , him is this : that though he is a general among ' men, he counts himself, before God, a humble eoldier, for without ever intruding the" fact, he is a devout Christian. A large and influential meeting of citizens | In favour of retaining the railway station on the present site was held at Watson's Hotel on Thursday. The meeting was called byv circular, and there was an unusual response to the invitation. After discussion a strong

committee was appointed to take steps to make Icnown to the Minister of Railways the almost univer&al desire of tho public on the subject. The committee met on Friday, when it was decided to circulate for signature in the city and all the suburban boroughs a petition to the Minister of Railways in favour of the present site. The petition will be presented to the Minister on his arrival hero- in about a fortnight's time, and as there is not much time available to make a canvass it is hoped that those who are in favour of the present site will make a point of signing the petition.

With regard to the proposal to discharge nightsoil from the city and suburbs over tho top of Lawyer\Head into the ocean, the following telegram was received on Friday by the Hon. J. Bolt from the Hon. the Minister of Marine in reply to the joint telegram sent by members of both Houses: — "Re disposal of sewage, your telegram to hand. lam awaiting report from Mr Ussher, and will deal with the matter as soon as report, which I expect daily, is to hand." It may be added that the proposal is viewed with rfliefavour by a nun !ier of the residents of Musselburgh, St. Kiilda. We are informed that a movement is afoot to petition the Minister of Marine to withhold his consent to the request of the City Council. It is stated further that the settlers in the vicinity, especially those whose milk carts pass there every morning on their ivay to the city, intend protesting against the latest proposal.

The surrey of the permanent line of pipes for the new Waitati-Leith water supply has made good progress under Mr G. M. Barr, C.E., notwithstanding the unfavourable weather which has recently been experienced. The minute and careful examination of the country in the Upper Waitati, and also between the Leith and the proposed Maori Hill reservoir, has shown where improvements upon the original lines suggested may be effected, and which are likely to result in considerable savings in the execution of the works.

The monthly meeting of the Trades and Labour Council was held on Thursday night ; Mr Wathen (president) in the chair. A large batch of correspondence was dealt with. The following resolution was passed: — "That, according to evidence tendered to this council regarding the attitude of several employers of labour in discharging and boycotting those workers who have taken an interest in trades unionism, and considering the fact that it is necessary in the interests of law and order that every body of workers should join a union for the purpose of regulating the conditions of employment, to prevent strikes and other trade abuses, this council strongly protests against the unprincipled conduct of any employer who resorts to such un-British methods*" of persecution; and, further, this council pledges itself to give every assistance in its power to any employee who suffers from this cause."

The mystery connected with the disappearance of Mr George Thomson has not yet been solved. On Wednesday Constable Rajmes, along with Messrs James Thomson and John Heney, embarked in a boat with the intention of searching the river to see if Mr Thomson's body, supposing that he had committed suicide by drowning, would come to the surface. Commencing at M'Neil's Eddy, on the bank of which Mr Thomson's coat and hat were found, the boating party went down stream as far as Inchclutha, and likely spots inshore were searched, but without finding any trace of the body. Four charges of dynamite were also exploded in M'Neil's Eddy, but only brought a few fish to the surface. On Thursday, the ninth day, the search was diligently prosecuted by Constable Raynes, but it proved equally abortive When, on the morning of the 16th inst., he was seen going toward the river, Mr Thomson was clad just as he had hurriedy dressed on rising from bed, before 5 o'clock, and had no boots on, only a pair of house slippers.

A writ for £1000 damages has been issued against the Roslyn Tramway Company by Mr F. Z. Moore, solicitor, acting on behalf' of Miss M'Kenzie, of Kaikorai, for injuries alleged to have been sustained by her from an accident met with while travelling on one of the company's cars. The accident referred to took place in December last.

The Railway department have decided to place a stationmaster at the Wingatui railway station, who will take up his duties on November 1.

A meeting of members and adherents of the Waikaka Presbyterian Church was held on Tuesday evening for the purpose of moderating in a call. It was agreed to insert the name of the Rev. W. F. Findlay, Pukekohe, Auckland, in a -call, which was signed by a large proportion of those present.

Early this year the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society issued an appeal for the sum of £1100, the estimated cost of a hospital which they proposed to erect at Chandporo, their second station in Eastern Bengal. Soon after the appeal had been circulated an anonymous friend offered to give £500 on condition that the remaining £600 was raised during the year. This splendid promise stimulated the constituents of the society to give- promptly and liberally, and the treasurer, Mr A. Eoby, of "Wellington, now reports that he has reoeived at least £700 towards this beneficent purpose. The secretary, Mr H. H. Driver, conveyed this pleasing itemof information 'to the friend who courts the obscurity of anonymity, and was delighted to receive the promised cheque for £500. The building of the hospital will therefore be authorised at the forthcoming conference of the Baptist Union, which is to be held in Christchurch during the third week of November. Plans have been prepared by the medical missionary of the society, Dr Charles North, formerly of this city, who will also supervise the erection of the hospital, in which his skill is to ba

exercised in relieving the sufferings of the numerous patients who now appeal for his help. The thanks of the society are 'heartily accorded to all who have helped to raipe the amount required for this beautiful piece of benevolence. The funeral of Mrs John Reid took place on Friday, n large number of friends, as well as some of tlTe relatives of the deceased, following her remains to the place of interment at the Southern Cemetery. Amongst those present were (.he Revp. Dr Rutherford Waddell, W. Hewitson, R. R. M. Sutherland, and D. Borne, Messrs H. W. Reid, E. H. Reid, 0. Reid, J. Reid, Donald Reid, A. J. Burns, J. T. Mackerras, W. C. M'Nee, J. Mann, W. Grant, J. Cameron, J. Mill, W. D. Sutherland, J. Heenan, G. C. Proudfoot, R. T. Wheeler, John London, John Lethbridge, W. B. Haiiow, A. Matheson, J. A. Torrance, Edward Herbert, J. Smith, J. M'Kinlay, J. R. Sinclair, Peter Duncan, Job Wain, W. Philp, P. Treseder, S." Park, J. Mollison, W. Hutchison, M. Joel, R. Hudson, D: Baxter, P. G. Pryde, R. Chisholrn, E. B. Caigill, C. S. Reeves, H. Reeves, G. Moodie, Somerville, W. HisloiJ, G. L. Denniston, Vf. Fitzgerald, P. Goyen, C. R. Richardson, T. Dick, A. R. Baiolay, M.H.R., J. Richardson, Dr Black, and Dr Coughtrey. The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. W. Hewitson. Beautiful floral tributes were sent by Mr and Mrs A. J. C. Brown, Mr and Mrs C. J. Payne, Mr and Mrs W. T. Todd, Mis&es Shand. Mrs George Duncan, Mrs Dudoit, the Standard Insurance Company's staff, Dr and Mrs Coughtrey, Mr and Mrs T. R. Fisher, Mr D. J. Napier, Mr and Mrs John Martin Smith, Mr and Mrs C. M. Greeuslade, Dr and Mrs Black, Mr and Mrs William Henderson, and Knox Cluirch Ladies' Association. "H. R., Alexandra, sends a subscription of £1 towards the Mrs Thomas -White fund. The inquest on the body of the Chinaman who was killed in the Roslyn tram accident was held at the hospital on Monday. A good deal of evidence was tendered, but very little light was thrown on the question whether the Chinaman jumped or was thrown off. Evidence was also given as to the efficiency of the brakes, and the practice of the company's officials in picking up the rope at the point where the car got away. The driver, in his evidence, contended that it was a physical impossibility to pick up the rope at the table, and the chairman of directors of the company offered to give a demonstration to the contrary. Meantime the inquest stands adjourned, in order to get the evidence of the cleaner, who had not sufficiently recovered to be able to appear. It will be remembered that at last meeting of the South Dunedin Borough Council Or Johnson tendered his resignation, because the head of the locomotive department, in which he is employed, had informed him it was not desirable that public servants should sit on local bodies, and, therefore, he must either resign his position as councillor or give up his situation in the department. The other councillors felt disposed to resent the treatment accorded to Cr John=on, particularly as they believed that the department had been urged to move in the matter by someone in whom, as a result of Cr Johnson's victory at the recent election, ill-feeling had been engendered, and refused to accept the resignation. A letter was sent to the Minister of Railways explaining the circumstances of the ca°e, and pointing out that the resignation would put the council to the trouble and expense of another election. As a restdt Cr Johnson has been notified that he may complete his term of office, which will expire in April next, but he mv.it not stand again. The councillors on Monday night cordially welcomed Cr Johnson back to his seat again, and the Mayor, in doing so, humorously said it was a pity he would not be able to sit for three years, as the old Municipal Act empowered, but they might write to Mr Ward and ask him to get his friend, Mr Seddon, to alter the new act to suit Cr Johnson's case. He referred in scathing terms to the action of the person or persons who had moved the department to have Cr Johnson excluded. The annual session of the Presbyterian Synod' wa3 opened in First Church on 29th ins"t. After the usual synodical service, the retiring moderator (Dr Bannerman) nominated his successor, the Rev. J. U. Spence, of Chalmers Church. The two young* women injured in the accident on the Roslyn tramcar on Saturday are now doing fairly well at the hospital, although they are still suffering somewhat from tho shock. It is thought, however, that they will continue to improve from now on. Sir Philp, Mr Ralph Ewing, and the employee (Downes) are all confin^cr to their houses, suffering from the effects nf the accident, and were unable to attend the inquest on Monday. The petition in favour of retaining the Dunedin railway station on its present site is being numerously signed. Those interested in the removal of the station to St. Andrew street are not idle, and a petition in favour of that site is being taken round for signature. Our Milton correspondent writes that a latter received by a local resident from the Home country states that Mr Pillans^ jun., late of Inchclutha, is now a lieutenant in the Royal Horse Artillery. Some time ago Mr , Pillans went to the old country to pursue his medical studies, but subsequenl-iy "relinquished them- to enter the ai\my.The Meredithian dictum that a deliverer always gets more honour in coming in at the end than at the beginning of a row is not always borne out, and so a young man fo\md out to his cost" the other night when assuming the role of peacemaker in a dispute. The cir* cumstances were revealed in the Police Court on Monday, when a couple of youths were brought beEore the justices to explain why they disturbed the peace in Walker street by fighting. An altercation started at tho foofc

of the street, and verbal resource failing both parties by the time they reached Hope street, they fell to blows. Soon one of them was on the ground, and the other, on top of him, was making effective use of the defenceless position of his adversary. When a fight reaches this stage it will be admitted that the end cannot be far off, and the peacemaker (jan usually appear on the scene with advantage. A gentleman, on his M r ay home, happening to come along, detached the uppermost contestant from his foe, and endeavoured to effect conciliation. Ju.°t then, however, three others came up, and resented the spoiling of sport, ordering the peacemaker to desist. This led to another fight, and the gentleman with good intentions found himself in the gutter with a ruffian standing on his chest and kicking at his head. The police th'en came along and made some arrest*. When the first two peace disturbers were asked by the chairman of the bench for an explanation, one said that they merely had some words — they had no fight. The other ceased biting his nails long enough to observe : "We was only 'avin' a friendly quarrel," and each was ordered to contribute 10s to the revenue. This penalty was doubled in the case of the man who - assaulted the peacemaker.

A Petone resident who attended the Wellington Harbour Board's late sale of unclaimed goods bought a swag for a few shillings. On' examining his purchase he found, wrapped up in part of a tent, two fixed deposit receipts of the Bank of- Australasia, one for £14-, the other for £7, both dated 1893, for ihe'term of seven years, at 4>> per cent, and 4 per cent, respectively ; also a Post Office Savings Bank book, showing a credit balance of £65. His trouble now is to know what are his rights in the matter.

The Railway department (says the Post) is highly gratified with the .results of the traffic consequent on the reduction of fares. The new fares have now been in force about four months, and the traffic returns for that period for the whole of the colony show that 220,000 more persons were carried than during the corresponding period of last yeai\. The increase represents about £1800 in fares.

Members of the Sydney press were invited the other day to witness at Woolwich the trial of a somewhat remarkable machine. The inventor, Mr John M'Garrigle, sent through what appeared to be an ordinary garden syringe, a sheet of flame to a distance of about 30ft. Where the experiment was held there was a quantity of bush, and the flame ignited this at the distance mentioned. It is claimed that the invention would be of great utility for defensive purposes.

The railway surface hands at Greymouth who struck for increased 'wages (say 3 the West Coast Times) are not likely to get what they want. Mr Ward says their present rate of wages (7s per day) is better for them than the casuals' rate of Is 6d per hour. In any case, the Government did not intend to put regular hands on a scale of payment by the hour.

At a meeting of the Oamaru Harbour Board, as the result of a communication from the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company, stating that they were anxious to send their steamers to Oamaru if there was accommoda-. tion, the question of dredging, extra wharf accommodation, and facilities for shippingwas referred to the Standing- Committee.

A troublesome slime has covered the sur- j face of Blind Bay since the early part of September, and has proved very destructive to the ■ fish, as well as stopping trawling operations, seriously inconveniencing the fishermen, and ! even obstructing steamers. When steaming through the bay a day or two ago (says a Wellington paper), tho s.s. Waverley, with j a clean bottom, could only register about six j knots an hour. Captain Vickerman, captain | of the vessel, collected a quantity of the slime, j and has brought it to Wellington for the I Marine department. The unwelcome stuff has put in an appearance in other parts of the coast of the South Island.

Tho Lyttelton Times has been making inquiries into some discord which occurred on the voyage of the s.s. Tokomaru from london to Wellington with a large nvrinber of passengers, including a detachment of "Clarion" settlers. Mr Walter Bedwel\ of St. Albans, who was on board, on being interviewed, had no hesitation in saying that the Tokomaru had brought more than one enemy of society into the colony. He stated that after leaving Capetown one or two of those on board began 1 to cause trouble in various ways, and the climax was reached one evening when, after a little social gathering, God save the Queen had been sung, one of the obnoxious ones stood up and cried, " Three cheers for revolution." An indignation meeting was held, when the man who called for cheers was called upon for an explanation. This he refused to give, and another disturbance was caused by his calling several people " liars." Two of his companions also participated in the disturbance, and several, Mr Bedwell asserts, openly declared anarchist and revolutionary sentiments.

A Stockholm telegram dated August 31,, published in The Times, says: — "Captain

i. in 111 i iinnn in .-^ , e<|> ( Grendhal, of Finmark, Norway, telegraphs to'» day from Skjervoe to the Aftonbladet thatf Andi-ee's Buoy No. 4 has been found at thatf place containing the following communication:—'Buoy No. 4 (the first to be thrown! out on July 11, 10 p.m., Greenwich mean! time). — Our voyage has gone well so far. Wei are at present at an altitude of about 25Qf metres; original direction north, lOdeg east;f the compass shows no deviation. Later. — i North, 45deg east; compass shows no deviation. Four carrier pigeons were despatched} at 4.50, Greenwich mean time. They are fly ling west. We are now over ice, which is verjj rugged. Weather splendid the whole times In excellent spirits. — Andbee, STEiNDBEEGf," Fbaenkel. Above the clouds; fine; 7.45' Greenwich mean time.' "

That is a pretty story about Lady Roberta and her trunks, and men returning from! South Africa vouch for its truth. ' At thef height of the transport difficulties, in thet teeth of the officials, Ehe carried eight largo trunks from Capetown to BloemfonteinW Everyone wondered, everyone murmured 1 .- N j one but Lady Roberts could have got the things through. The transport of stores had! been stopped for the time, the sick lackedt every- comfort, and those who were not sick" were half-starved and half-clad. Therefore^, when a fatigue party was toW 'off to' fetchY thoso eight trunks from Bloemfontein station, things were said, probably about the '* plague* of wewnen." But next day seven of thef' trunks were unpacked and their contents distributed amongst the Tommies. The cleverj lady had snapped her fingers at red-tape, and' smuggled comforts through to tho men in) this way. One small trunk contained her kit.

The Colonial Secretary of Barbadoes, in liisreport on that island for 1E99, points out thai way in which foreign manufactured goods aret got into the colony under the guise of British! imports. Enti-ies show that the imports from* Germany aro valued at £957, but this, says tho Colonial Secretary, is fallacious. Shipments of goods come from a British manufacturer with a British invoice, on a British s-hip from a British port, but the invoice makes not mention of the origin of the goods, so that! they appear as British goods. Such gooda have passed through England in bond, and are not, the Colonial Secretary gathers, examined there, so that when re-shipped under, a British invoice, they come as Britifh goods» If these goods were invoioed by British exporters with their country of origin, duty, could be collected which it is now impossibla to collect, and the British manufacturer and' workman would be protected from an unjust competition.

There is really no end to the romance o£ the Princess Chimay. When last we^ heard o£ the ex- American lady she had eloped withi, Rigo, the gipsy, who loved her, and then beafc' her, and finally took her to live — we presume:

happily — at Cairo ever after. But the ir-usi-cal Bohemian's ascendency was no more lasting than the first reigtrof Prince Chiinay, and!' now the lady appears upon the stage once more, having given his conge to Rigo, who has promptly returned to his fiddle and hia gipsy tent. - -The lady meanwhile, after a touching reconciliation with Prince Chimay, is now once more the admired of all admirers when she drives about the Bois in gorgeous raiment, and attended by her devoted husband. Thus it seems, at all events at thei present moment, as if it would be a case o£ all is well that ends well.

Advices have been received that tha steamer Jumna has left London with 60 single men, 200 single women, and 48 families,- as assisted immigrants for Queensland.

A little over two years age- (says the Nelsora Evening Mail) Mr G. Bell, a farmer at Waimea West, lost his watch while ploughing, and it remained embedded in the earth till a few; days ago, when he wa3 reworking the ground. The watch seems to be none, the wone for its burial, and when wound uvj went as well as ever, notwithstanding that Mr Bell went over it with a roller before picking it up.

A case of some interest to shopkeepers wasi decided at Invercargill on Friday, when Jarnea Guilford was charged with obtaining two pairs of boots, vakied at £1 17s 6d, from Messrs J. Eangsland and Co. by false pretences'. Accused got the boots on approval, promising: to pay for them if they fitted, but he did not return, and it was discovered that he wore tha boots. Mr Moffett, who appeared for the* accused, pointed out that under " Tho Sale of Goods Act, 1895," articles, when once*, passed from a shopkeeper to a customer, and taken into use, became, tq all intents ' and! purposes, -the property of the customer. Tfe rested with the customer to transform they transaction from that of - possession on approval to an actual purchase. The accused had done so, and failing a satisfactory settlement, a civil action was the only remedy tha seller had. His Worship concurred with counsel, and dismissed the case. — Southland 1 Times.

The directors, of the New Zealand Dredging and Exploration Company have made a call (the fifth) of 4d per share, payable on Wednesday, November 14.

The Golden Gutter Dredging Company is prepared to treat for the purchase of a good dredging claim which has been thoroughly prospected.

"We have to acknowledge receipt of a newi bi-weekly newspaper, entitled Jubilee Gossip, ptibliahed in Christchurch.