LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Witness, 5 December 1900, Page 69

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

His" Excellency the Governor ond suite arrived in town on the 27th inst. He was met at the railway station by his Worship the Mayor (Mr R. Chishohn), and the Hon. G. M'Lean, in company with whom he drove to the residence of the latter gentleman, whose guest he will remain while in the city.

Good progress was made with the cases at the criminal sittings of the Supreme Court on the 27th inst. Percy Henry Day, who was charged with the theft of £351 odd from his employer, was sent to gaol for eighteen months ; Reginald Ifindlay Haskell was imprisoned for a similar term for a like offence ; Robert; Cameron M'Kenzie, alias Louis Cameron, alias Robert Eraser, was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment for uttering a forged cheque ; William Nichols was ordered to be incarcerated for 12 months for assaulting a woman; Con O'Brien was convicted of forgery and sentenced to a term of three months' imprisonment ; and James M'Laren for larceny was gi^en 12 months in gaol. The trial of George Knight and William Trigance, who were charged with stealing "a serge suit from their employer, was not Concluded when the court rose for the day.

The recent amendment of the Indictable Offences Summary Jurisdiction Act was brought into use for'tae fir3t time in Dunedin at the City PoliGe Court on the 27th insfc., when a sailor was charged with breaking a ■window, the value, of which was £10. Under the act before the amendment was made there would not have been power for the lower courn to deal with the case, the highest limit of the value of the article which was the subject of a charge with which the court could deal summanly being £'5. Under the act as amended the magistrate has power to finally dispose of cases where the value of the article involved is within £20. In the case referred to the man was apparently intent on using the law as a means of escaping from his ship, thinking probably that an arrest and imprisonment would free him from the control of the captain, who would most likely have left port with his vessel by the time the term of imprisonment had expired. The experiment got the man a month in gaol, and he was ordered to pay the cost of the damage done, the subinspector pointing out that there were some wages to come to him, but whether these can be attacked for such a purpose is not clear.

Probably no war correspondent in South Africa (says the Melbourne Argus) has s.een more active service during the campaign than honorary Lieutenant J. A. Shand, the representative of a syndicate of leading New Zealand dailies. Mr Shand, who arrived in Melbourne by the Australasian, picked up th>3 New Zealand first contingent at De Aar in November last, and followed their movements ■under General French throughout the war. He had the honour of entering Johannesburg unaccompanied first of all the correspondents, and five hours before the entry of Lord Robcrts's forces, and was present at all the engagements in which the New Zealanderd took part. While in Sotith Africa he received, the appointment of honorary lieutenant, which, if it entailed additional obedience to the military authorities, afforded extra facilities of witnessing engagements. Mr Shand was invalided, home through cnterii. fever and ague, and returns to New Zealand this week.

" TheJEmerald Isle " is the title chosen for the new opera by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Basil Hood, which (says a London paper) is to be the next production at the SavoyTheatre. Captain Hood i>as read his book to the company, and rehearsals of tbe music have since begun. It is safe to expect from Captain Hood's new libretto the grace and fancy which are so characteristic of his later works, while Sir Arthur Sullivan probably found inspiration easy when writings of his native country.

According to a Press Assooiation message, a cablegram has been received at "Wellington that Dr W. A. Logan, formerly of the Dunedin Medical School, and late surgeon of the Dunedin Hospital, son of Mr J. K. Logan, superintendent of telegraphs, passed his final examination for the diploma of FJEt.C.S., London.

A few of the Boers who refused to break their oath of neutrality told a representative of the Dciily Mail that they were treated with f;he utmost cruelty by the fighting burghers. Commandant Coetzee gave one man five minutes to decide if he would take up arms

again, aud in the presence of his wife and children threatened if he refused to shoot him. on the spot. Two of the neutrals who refused to fight were sent to Christian Botha at Ermelo, where the Boer women crowded around them, crying, " Shoot them." One virago came armed with a huge knife for the purpose of cutting their throats. * Botha sent the men to Barberton. They were handcuffed, and had to lie in the bottom of a truck, the Boer guard saying that if they raised their heads his orders were to shoot them. They were not allowed to move for more than 24- hours, and in Barberton. gaol they were half-starved.

A Rangitikei farmer who lives in the mid&t of a settled and well-rpaded district, has fifty cows in milk, and runs his own separator, says the trouble is to get suitable labour. " All the farmers around Rangitikei," -he said, " are at times stuck up- for t want of suitable young fellows to look after the cows and milk them. The lads are yearly getting more averse to milking, and as soon as they can they clear out to the city* or the towns." Asked if milking machines had not proved satisfactory, he replied that the inventions were many, but none of them had yet been found anything but hurtful to the cows. Several Manawatu farmers had erected machines; in their dairies, but had to give them up after a trial. The i&j&SQ milker was still i-ho beat, and the ex-

pert was becoming scarcer everj"- j'ear, despite the fact that good homes and good wages were offered.

The Morning Post, in reporting the death of Dr Stewart Brown, of Holly Bank, Brockley road, says: — "A fortnight ago he injured his spine and sustained a severe scalp wound in a carriage accident. In pursuit of health he was travelling some days later to the South of Europe, and just as he arrived at the quay at Boxilogne he saw a man fall from the pier. Without hesitation, injured though he himself was, Dr Brown jumped overboard and brought the stranger ashore. Then, in his wet clothes, he set to work to restore respiration, a task which occupied him two hours. The journey had perforce to be abandoned, and Dr Brown returned home to die. He will be greatly missed in Lewisham and the neigh bourhood."

Mr Thornton Jackson, LL.B., was admitted on the 27th inst. by his Honor Mr Justice Williams as a barrister and solicitor.

His Excellency the Governor left for Shag Point by the special 5 o'clock train on Friday afternoon, and visited the 'Hon. John M'Kenzie at his residence there next morning. Later on in the day Uord Ranfurly picked up the express and went as far as Timaru, where he was the guest of Mr- Rhodes at Claremont. On Monday his. Excellency opened the swimming baths at "Timaru, and next day ho was driven to Waimate, where he will be the guest of" Mrs Sfudholfhe for 3 couple of deys, the time being occupied in fishing. After that his movements are uncertain. ' Lord Ranfurly is particularly anxious to be in Dunedin when the Harlech Castle arrives with the members of the first contingent, and will forgo all engagements entered into in order to assist at the welcome home to those who have fought for the Empire in South Africa.

The Rivers Commission has been engaged during the past week inspecting the Awamoko and Kakanui Streams, in North Otago. On Friday the commissioners returned to Dunedin. On Monday they proceeded on an extended tour of the Central Otago goldfields, starling at Middle-march. This tour will embrace an inspection of the rivers on "which dredging operations ar-e being carried on at the present time, and the rivers on which operations are likely to be carried on in the future. It is expected the labotirs of the commission will conclude in the Otago dis-

•ict about the middle of January,

A Wellington telegram says: — "The Premier has received from the Seccetary of State for the Colonies, through his Excellency the Governor, the following : ' The Imperial penny postage scheme will^'be adopted in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony on December I.' "

The Premier has received a cablegram from the Agent-general stating that in the Blackpool meat case, in which a tradesman was charged with selling River Plate mutton as New Zealand, judgment was given in favour of the New Zealand Government by the justices, and defendant fined.

Mr Charles Edwards, the examiner for the London Trinity College of Music, concluded his examination work in Dunedin on Friday. In a conversation he had with a representative of this paper" Mr Edwards stated that he found a distinct advance in music in the colonies compared with his previous visit here two years ago. Some distinctly excellent playing was heard by him, although the performances of the pupils were by no means uniformly good. Mr Edwards visited South Africa prior to coming- to New Zealand, and wab away up in Kimberley. Notwithstanding the disturbances he found the preparation for the examinations very good. On Friday evening Mr Edwards had a talk at the Dresden with the local teachers. On Saturday morning he left for Invcrcargill.

What there is very little reason to doubt is a genuine salmon in the smolt stage was caught in the centre of the town of Nelson, in the Maitai River, on a May fly, by Mr O. W. Hanb'y, on Thursday evening. It weighs about lib, and is probably one of the fish reared in the Nelson Acclimatisation ponds on their introduction by Mr Tinline, and released in the Motueka River a year ago. " The specimen is being preserved, and will be forwarded to Mr Ayson. .

An Ashburton telegram sa3>-s : — "Miss Annie Bauchop, M.A., of Port Chalmers, has been elected to the position of mistress of the Ashburton High School."

Lord Ranfurly and the Hon. J. G. Ward visited the Hon. John M'Kenzie at Heathfield on Satiirday morning last, and remained with him for over two hours. Theiy both left by the northern express. Mr Ward was greatly pleased to find that his old friend and colleague was much better than when he last saw him, and the visit of Lord Ranfurly was marked by the sympathetic kindness and consideration so characteristic of his Excellency. On Friday last the Hon. J. G. Ward received an invitation from the New South Wales Government for himself and Mrs Ward to attend the inaugural celebrations of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The criminal sittings of the Supreme Court were brought to a close on Saturday night. Two cases were heard during the day, .loh.'i Norris being charged with false pret?noos and' George Knight Noble and his wife wi'h stealing serge from Mr A. Lories shop^ and in both the accused were acquitted.

The members of the Rivers Commission inspected the Lower Taieri River and its neighbourhood on Saturday. On -Monday they left Dunedin on a tour of - Central Otago, and an advertisement in the Daily Times shows the localities to be visited by them during the current month.

An evident case of smuggling was mentioned at the Supreme Court on Saturday afternoon. A witness was cross-examined with, respect

to a conversation he h?d some months ago •with, another man — the accused in a charge of

false pretences — as to taking pome goods ashore from a Home boat without paying duty on them. The articles referred to were cigar?, silk handkerchiefs, scent, " and n lot of other things," and it was alleged that the accused was to get them from some of the seamen on the steamer Papanui, which left this port in August last. When he wont for them, how ever, he found they had already been given to another man, who, doubtless, took them, ashore and disposed of them to advantage nof only to himself but to his customer.

The following are the vital statistics for tho pa&t month for the Dunedin district : Births, 110: marriages, 38; deaths, 56. For the corrospondmg month of last year the figures were : Births, 85 ; marriages, 33 : deaths, 70.

The hospital returns for the past week are : Remaining from previous week, 105 ; admitted during the week, 17 ; discharged, 28 ; deaths (Margaret Slight), 1; total remaining in the institution, 83.

A Wellington message states that Mr W. N. Nisbe't, formerly colonial manager for the Westinghou-.e Brake Company, but now chief Hieohpriical engineer in Queensland, has received leave from his Government to take up his late brother's duties in supervising the work of installing Westinghou&e fittings on the New Zealand Government plant now proceeding at. Petone. -

Alhough the milking test at the summer show has not been a success, it has been suggested to the committee that a competition for the best dairy cow and a milking test in connection with the winter show would be well supported. The suggestion has been well received.

Mr William Ward, of Double Hill, has forwarded to the Waitali School Committee a sum of money sufficient to supply the school with a Union Jack. In making his offer to the committee Ward, who is a. miner with experiences of the early digging days of Victoria, and is now nearly 30 years of age, expressed the opinion that there could be no more suitable or" more practical way of celebrating the birth of the new century than by impressing the rising generation with feelings of loyalty and reverence towards the Empire and the free government under which they live. Mr Ward suggested to the committee that the. flag, pole should be sufficiently high to carry two • flags, the Government having undertaken to present n New Zealand flag to every public school in the colony. The committee have decided that the height of tho flag pole, which is to be erected at one of the gable ends "of tlie scho'dl, shall be 25ft clear of the building, and as it is of the same height, the total elevation will be 50ft. The ceremony of unfurling the flag is, if possible, to take place on the Ist January. At the annual meeting of the Auckland Prohibition League, reference was made to Lord Pvoberts's request that returning soldiei'3 should not be treated to stimulants, and the hope was expressed that this request would be respected by the civil and military authorities in New Zealand; and, further, that the canteen at the forthcoming volunteer encampment would be clear of intoxicants. In discussing the report, Mr Scott' expressed the opinion that the volunteer movement was a nursery for drunkenness He urged that means be taken to abolish canteens from volunteer encampments. The Chairman said that canteens were not only a source of danger in this direction. An officer of the volunteers had told him recently that some of tho volunteer smoke concerts were often of such a nature as to conduce to the ruin of the members.

The Akaroa Mail says :—": — " We regret to record that Messrs Fleming and other Port Levy residents lost no less than 1000 sheep, besides eight head of cattle, in the late southerly gales. Besides the 200 sheep already recorded. Mr T. O. Hay lost eight head of cattle on the Holmes' Bay side. They were nice two-year-olds, in fresh condition, but their new, fine coals were not able to stand the continuous southerly cold and wet. The gale must have been much more severe on that part of the eastern coast of the Peninsula than it was round the harbour. Messrs Rhodes Bros, turned out 1100 shorn sheep the very day the bad weather began, and their total loss was eighteen sheep."

The New York correspondent of the Daily Telegraph states that a woman, formerly aj' actress on the vaudeville stage, and who is alleged to have smuggled over 400,000d0l worth of diamonds into America, has been arrested. It is slated that she made five trips between the United States and Canada before the customs inspectors discovered her method. On each journey she was accompanied by a pet dog. " On Thursday she arrived with a black poodle. She was arrested and searched, but nothing dutiable was foil .id en her person. Later in the day the clog died A customs injector cut the poodle open and found diamonds in its body. It is now said that the woman, after starving the animal for two days, had fed it with meat in which the diamonds were concealed, and the dog thus cai'Kied the precious stones through the custom house.

"F. B. send 2s for the Mra Edwards fund. We have also received from "M. T. W." 2s 6d for the Mrs Thomas East fund.

The Nelson Colonist says : — Mr Louis, cabman, has brought to this office a clasp knife which, we are informed, was recently found in a secluded spot near the " Murderer's Rock," on the Maungaiapu Mountain, the scene of the murders by the Kelly-Burgess gang in June, 1566. The knife is of oldfashioned make, and has evidently been little used. Its handle is of wood", and the name Kelly is cut on the wood on one side. The knife has evidently been exposed, but it must have been in a sheltered position or it would not be in so good a state of preservation after the lapse of over 34- years.

Mr W. Heney, of the telegraph staff at Bloemfontein, has forwarded to Mr J. L. Wil.son, of Kaiapoi, a Free State officer's uniform. for the Clirjatcliuich Museum. The uniform

is of dark blue clott with orange facings and shoulder straps. The buttons are plain copper. The tunic has been well cared for, though it has seen service and been in action.

At the Kaiapoi Old-age Pension Court a seaman applicant, who put in certificates of his discharge from six vessels found that in three his date of birth was stated in 1835, two in 1834, and one 1833. Mr Wardell, S.M., concluded to deEer the application till the end of the present year on the 1835 certificate, which gave no day or month, and on the completion of 65 years from 1335 the applicant would be as.-umed to be of pension age.

Although some time has now elapsed since Miss Burnett made the offer of a set of chimes to the town of Wanganui, not much progress has been made with the affair, owing to a difSculry, having arisen as to the site of their erection. When Miss Burnett made the offer she- stipulated upon a site, but the Borough Council wished to have them erected elsewhere, and eventually a committee was appointed to try and arrange as to the site. They, however, failed to induce the council to grant the site selected by the donor, and they therefore resigned their position, throwing the full responsibility on the council.

That even a theatre ticket may lead to identification and arrest was demonstrated a'i the Oamaru Theatre Royal on Saturday evening (says the Mail). Early in the evening a lady reported to_ the management that her pocket had been picked, and, in addition ;o her purse, a dress circle ticket for two abstracted. The numbers were quickly ascertained, and the door-keepers warned to keep a sharp lookout for the ticket and to detain anyone who might present" it. Later on the ticket was tendered at the stalls door, and tht individual — a. stranger to the town — was accused of the theft. The lady whose pocket had been rifled was, however, averse to prosecuting, and the fellow was let go on restoring the purse.

An important case will be heard before Mr Burgess at Arrowtown on December 11 (says the Lake County Press). Mr Robinson, recently injured on the Rolling Stone dredge, sues the company for heavy damages. The principal legal talent of Dunedin will be present. " •

In the Wanganui Supreme Court (in Chambers) the other day, on the motion of Mr Borlase, an exemplification of the jn-obate of the will of ,the . late Mr Archibald Forbes, the celebrated war correspondent, was ordered to be re-sealed", as affecting his property in New Zealand. The will was proved in England, and Mrs Archibald Forbes is the testator's sol© executrix. The late Mr Forbes was for many yearp, the Wanganui Herald undertands, the owner of shares in the Wanganui Gas Company, which now pass to his widow.

Advice has been received at Melbourne that Miss Amy Castles has left Madame Marchesi. Miss Castles went Home confident that her voice was a dramatic soprano. That opinion was strengthened by competent critics in Europe. Madame Marchesi, however, 'decided to train her voice a= a mezizo, , and Miss Castles became discontented, more particularly as experienced European critics reiterated ' their former opinions' after " further 1 "" tests. '" Her new teacher _is said .to be a man of the highest attainments in voice culture. Madame Marchesi speaks of Miss-Caatles as an excellent and diligent "pupil, and likely to become an admirable singer, and a credit to her country and friends.

An Austrian, Rudolph Reitener, travelling to Australia partly on business and partly on pleasure, who is staying at Menzie's Hotel, has been the victim of a confidence trick. At Menzie's he was introduced to a stylish young man, who in turn introduced him to others. They took him to a suburban hotel under the usual specious pretexts, and there got the "best of him to the extent, of £4-80. A young man named Palmer, dressed in the height of fashion, was arrested, and practically confessed to having committed the act along with two confederates.

The Organising Committee of the Commonwealth celebration has recommended the Government to erect four triumphal arches, representative of the progress of flora and fauna of the Commonwealth and Empire, at a cost of £1200, and an Oriental Arcadian arch, to cost £500, at Government House entrance. The committee has also recommended the singing of the Australian ode, or hymn, at the swearing-in ceremony ; fifty guineas to be paid for the ode, and a similar sum for the music.

News from TuUiila, Samoa, states that a local chief Letuli, charged with destroying another man's property, and seizing Kis pigs, in consequence of an alleged affront, was found guilty by the U.S.A. Court, and sentenced to be confined on parole for six months outside his own district, and to be removed from office. The court, in its decision, says that it is not the intention to destroy any good Samoan customs, or to lower the esteem in which chiefs are held, but that the United States will protect every one in his rights.