LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2506, 2 April 1902, Page 56

LOCAL & GENERAL.

The charga against Archibald Walker and John Walker of paint-stealing from the Union Company was continued at the Police Court on the 24th before Mr Carew. S.M., ' and appeared to excite a good deal of public interest. The Crown Solicitor closed his j case w ith the evidence of a number of I additional witnesses, and both accused (who reserved t'neir defence) were then committed for trial at the next Supreme Court sitting. So far this is the 01113- one of these ca=es dealt with by the Magistrate. The members of the Victorian commission to inquire into the working of the labour laws of New- Zealand arrived by train from the <-outh on Saturday afternoon. The members of the commission are: — The Hon. A. R. Outtrim, M.P., president Victorian Factorie* and Shops Commission ; the Hons. j George Godfrey, Robert Reid, and- J. ' Sternberg, M.L C's. ; Messrs F. H. Bromley, j G. Bennett, and H. S. W. Lawson, M.P's. ; I Mr H. E. Wade, shorthand- writer; and Mr ! J. Scott, secretary. The precise object of the commission's visit to New Zealand is to v brain evidence as to the working and effect of the Conciliation and Arbitration Acts, for report to" the Parliament of Victoria. The commission took some c-> idence at Invercr.r- j gill from both employers and labour repre- j sentatives. Thia was generally in favour of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, though . some of the factory legislation was opposed. ; Scarlet fe\er is still prevalent in Poj-t I Chalmers. On Wednesday two mild cases •were reported to the health officer. j The committee of the Dunedin Technical , Causes Association ha*e decided to start I cLasces for photography, wcol-cla r smg, s.ud the study of Maori ; The Easter traffic on tlie railways has j been fairly heavy, and much 011 a par with last year's bookings. The north expresses j 011 Thursday carried 450 passengers, the night trains for Cliristchurc'i and Oamaru 700, an.t Friday's expresses took away about 1100. The southern traffic was much lighter, and , Thursday's south express carried 300, the Clinton train 200, and the night train £50. _ On Friday morning the bookings were larger, ' and tho south express took 600 pa£&engcr=. 1 for all stations, 150 being for Inverca'-gill. The railway revenue of the colony for the , four weeks ending March 1 totalled £161.091 j for 2235 miles open ; while t'-e expenditure was £93,870. The revenue fiom the E4O miles open in the North Island was £65.274 ; 1 while the expenditure. wa« £38,481. The 1 1335 miles open in the South Island yielded a reverrue amounting to £95,817 ; while th » expeudituic was £60,388. The 1198 mil--s j constituting the Hurunui-BlufT section gave I a revenue of £86,426 on an expenditure i totalling £51,922. j I A meeting of the donors of tho J. G. S. I Grant fund was held on Tuesday afternoon j in the hall of Fir=t Church, when the Rev. .1. Gibb submitted a statement of the , ii>miey3 iecei\ed and expended on behalf of the late Mr Grant. After the payment , of the funeral and all other expenses there 1 remained a sum of £17 Is, which by unani- ! mous re-solution wa« handed to the trustees j under Mr Grant's will (Messrs P. Duncan and R En ing) for the erection of a tablet to hi< memory in the Southern Cemetery. The perfect weather prevailing on Friday 1 \ra° especiall}' appreciated by townspeople, after the recent adverse climatic condition 1 , for holiday-making, and full advantage <*f j xl.c holiday was taken by young and 01-l. At a comparatively early hour numerous j picnic excursion parties hurried out of towi 1 by 'bus and train, while those of quietei— j and, perhaps, more sensible — disposition walked up to the Waterfalls and spent tf-c day amongst the many charming glades along Nieol's Creek. Others, whose time fir ' I meiry picinc scrambles have gone pa-it, .-pent the day quietly in the Gardens, but the iire\ riling idea was to get an ay from the town, and by noon the streets were almost deserted. The day was also perfect from the cyclist's point of view, and many wheel parties, ranging from two to a dozen, ovf led to St. Clair. Ocean Beach, and the I Peninsula. The trains leaving town on Friday all earned full complements of paasei- ] gens the two north cxpiess trains being 1 \eiy hea\ily laden. The late train on I Thursday night was also a heavy one. it* freight being chiefly composed of campmg<>ut parties who aie "off duty " till Tuesday. \ The conference of delegate-* to the I'mted ! Comir.eieial Tra\ellers" Association o. Au-.-tialasid wa- bi ought to a close on Friday yftcnioon. after a two days' Fitting, and tl'u delegates were then taken for a dn\e rounJ I the city. Tlie first worsted 'piniinig works in Ncv 1 I South Wales were.opeiu>d with much cerej niony on the 12th"inst at Marrick\ ille. In ' addition to their Woollen Mill*. M«.-i- John j Yukar^ and Co. erected a building alon<;Mde in which all the mach're,ry for the wOlw ol king 1200 spindles ha\e been erected under the fcupcr\ision of Mr E. N. Chambers (a worsted expert from Yoikshire), who was for Mime four year-; iii the employ of Me* R<.--. and Glendhung, of DuneJm. Tne Sycb ey , Daily Telegiapli status that a lrfiye number ! of geiitlemc-ii attended to >ec tho machinery 1 111 opeialion. A luncheon followed, in responding for the firm, Mr W. Vickai-j i-ai'l it was only within the last year or -o that the woollen industry had received a fillip in New South Wales. l"p to that time there was a good deal of stagnation owing to keen competition from other part.s ol th© world, where wages and conditions of work ■ were- \ery different to what existed in Aus- ! tralia. The ad\ent of Federation and the i."ce-»ity for raising levenue from tl-e country had induced the film and its , fnend- to enlarge its premiets and to look Ito the futttie Since the fiun started it { iiaJ m>ed £205.000 worth of wool and ,

spent £220,000 in wages. Federation had I now given them a chance, and they hoped | to pee a new Bradford in Australia. Speeches j were made congratulating the firm on tb<enterprise displayed. Mr Chambers's friends in Dunedin will be pleased to learn cf the . successful inauguration of the industry under j his supervision. The premises of Mr Walter Panton. draper, of George street, were broken into on Sunday evening during the family's j absence at church. An entrance was j effected by the kitchen window, the snib of which had been burst <iff and the window thrown up. The burglar, or burglars, then made their way to Mro Pauton's bedroom and abstracted a cashbox containing £23, besides a numLer of documents. Several articles of jewellery, the precise value of which is not knowii, were also taken. Shortly after leaving Ophir on Frida}- the c-ach to Alexandra capsized on the road. I The passengers recehed a shaking, but forj tunatejy none were injured. After a short delay the coach was righted and proceeded on its journey. Some figures placed before the Harbour Board on Thursday afternoon show the amount of pilotage and port charges paid , ati Lyttelton by various customers of the I board The table is made up for the year ending December 31, 1901. and it shows that the Union Steam Ship Company paid a [ total of £2238, the New Zealand Shipping Company £2840,' the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company £2357 ; the other ocean steamers (tramps), £4650; ocean-going sailing I vessels, £954; Huddart, Parker, and Co.'s i intercolonial steamers (Zealandia, Westralia, ' Elingamite, and Burrumbect), £428; other vessels (coasting ttcamers and coasting 1 sailers), £128. The totsl of pilotage charges . is £c 504, and of port charges £5624, making J a grand total of £14.129. j The Hospital returns for the past week show the number of patients at the beginning of the week to have been 103. During the wcelc 20 patients were admitted j and 19 were discharged. Ona death is reportct' — that of William Gilmour, — leaving j a total number of 103 patients now iti the institution. A collided took place at Baker's Hill, , near Perth, on March 18, on the eastern j goldfields raihvuy. between a water train and a goods tia.n. r lhe water train was , coming down from Chidlow's Well, and ifc was to stop at Baker's Hill to allow a goods j train coming- in the opposite direction to cross. Some mi-stake occurred, tud the water train went straight through the station, and ciashrd into the gocdi- train a mile and a-half farther on. No oi.e was injured, but eight trucks were derailed and j damaged. A relief train was sent on from Northam to take the pr.ssengers by the j mixed tri'in, which left Perth at 9 a.m., over the break. At Melbourne on the 19th of March Albert Edward Macnnniara wa-i sentenced to death on a charge of arson invoking the death of his infant son Macnamara, a ; recent arrival from South Africa, rented a I shop acid took out a policy of insurance. He took his wife and children for a long walk on January 5, and on their return ga\e his wife some gin and she went off to bed. He went out, ostensibly to post a letter, and in Ins absence the place was foucid to be on fire. Some rags saturated with kerosene were fouad m the room where the fire broke out The wife was awakened by a burn on her arm, and, finding the j room in flame-, she oveilooked the infant in making her eacapc It was subsequently found that M.icaainara had a joint insurance rolicy for £350 en his own and his wife's Ine,. At the fir-t trial the jury were unable to agree When penteuce of death was pronounced Mr» Macnamara uas in court. She heard the sentence quietly, but m the corridor nhe broke dowu utterly, and. evidently believing, in of her-.elf and her c\idcoce at the inquest, that her husband was to die an mnceeiu man, che burst into a fit of bitter sobbing. The Duuedm Pipe Band held another veiy .suctes'ful picnic excursion to the Maon Kaik on Saturday. The band, under Colour scrge.mt Husiie. assembled at the Octagon at 2 p.m and pU-13-ed down to the s.s. Express, where they embaiked. the steamer being comfortably filled with passenger.* to the nun.bei of about 150. On arrnal at the Kaik the weather, which liad been rather dull and di-a^reeablc 111 the uppei harbour, w.i- found to be decidedly better down there, and. as before, the picnickers repaned to ward- evening to the local haP, where inline and ciaiicn:g were indulged 111 for the rest of the day, the Maoii \ iMtors gn mg hakas and poi danciv m Nati\t> costume A * cry enjoyjble nutiug wa» bioiight to a (lose at 9 CO. :m.l a -ti:t th^n lii-dc foi .own, which v.a^ it-aclied al'out 11 1' m. Tho outward and inward iiafl.c on the iiiilwayd WJ* \( x iy hra\y on Monday, the airnals numbering neaily 5000 and the dep.*rtuie- about 2.Z00. Although the rolling Block vwi 1 - severely taxed, it wi, sufficient foi the demands made on it. aud Mr Grant, traffic manager, and Mr Duciean, station-ma-sti-r, ha\e lf-ason to be satisfied with the le-ult. The trains all ran well up to time, passengers' luggage was handled at, expeditiously ab it could be expected in view of the congested state of the traffic, and if a number of the pa£<=engers had to be content witn standing room only on tome of the inward tialas, at any rate this di&comfort was minimised as far aa it lay in the power of the department to do so. A detailed -"tatemeiit of the inward traffic yes terday is made up as follow* : — From the south — 10 50 ti.un from Clutha, 550 pa B- ' c-enger= ; 5.5 *.outh express, 400; 5 45 Otago , Central. 270 : 6.15 extra express from Inver-

cargill. 300; 7.5 frc>p Milton z7O; 7.c5 from Bdcluf.i.-., SCO ; 5.55 .'. - rr.ihTaieri she. 100. From tic 1 o". — " " f- --in Oamaru, 150: 6.55 fiom Pal"..crs:o \ Z'zO; 7.50 from Pal'T:. r-tou. 253; c.'.'j Lou Oamaru. 630: ?3d txtr.\ ex.,:.'?, <: :.i Chnstchurch, *or.,0 r . , P.O <.vrr\.^ iici.i C.iris.church. also aL-out 40C. 'Ihe ciit-,'a>-/! r-. frro was made up r»j io'lcw*: — 2. 3.13, nil 9 5 trains south. 9CO pas enger?, of v. !--c'< .'SO booked for MoFgis! ai.d .mormcdi;ue stations: trains betwce:i Dinicdin and Port Cnalmer.— 4.so. 7 40, 9 5. 8.10. 10.20, and 11 a.m. north trains. 850 passengers for all station?. Thy bookings for the T.i cri lacrs amounted to about 500. The 8.10 p.m. to Christchure 1 ! took 150, the 9 p.m. to Oair.aru 100. and the 8.40 p.m. to Mo-giel carried about 240 passenger?. Taking the holidays all together the railway officials regard the bookings as very satisfactory, although a good deal of reckoning up resrains io ba done before it can be ascertained whether the returns show an increase or decrease on last year It is pleasing to be able to record the absence of any accident. * The various harbour excursions were well patronised on Monday. The ?.s. Inveixargill • took about SGO excursionist.--, a number of whoui landed at the Kaik. The remainder, who elected to brave the perils of the ocean. Lad a good taste of what it is like to be '"rocked in the cradle of the deep," a*3 was a, good roll across Waikouaiti Bay. The Onslow and the Express also conveyed a fair number of passengers down the harbour, and as the weather was fine a very enjoyable day was spent. The \ital statistics for the Dunedin district for the month of March were as follow:— Births, 105; deaths, 55; marriages, 69. For March of last year births numbered 110. deaths 48, and marriages 51. For the quarter just c«ded the figures are:— Births, 345; deaths, 160; marriages, 151. For the same quarter of last year birtlw totalled 375, deaths 147, marriages 138. The tender of Mr Charles M'Veigh, of. the Club Hotel, Kaitangata, has been accepted for the Dunedin railway refreshment rooms. The report current that the Governmd.it did not intend to allow the sale of liquor to continue after the expiry of the present term turns out to be quite unfounded. The last word co the Bacoii-Siiakeipeare controversy is contributed by Mr W. S. Gilbert, and (writes Mr H. W. Lucy in the Sydney Morning Herald) illustrates in 'hia genial manner the saying about a man turning in his graie at some superlative wrong done to him or his memory. " The doubt as to vho wrote the play*, attributed to Shakespeare might," says Mr Gilbert, "be easily and authoritatively settled. Exhume the eoff.as of Shakespeare and Eacon ; open them ; place them side by side, and let Beerbohm Tree stand up aid recite a passage from 'Hamlet.' Whiche\er body turns in the coffin, that's the man who wrote the play." Which shows that with ad\ancing } ears Mr Gilbprt lo=es none of his wit or h' D lo\ ing kindness. It is not generally known (-.ays the Age) that Banco Berthald, who in the year before last joined Mr George Musgrove's operatic company for a time as leading tenor, aud was to successful in " Tannhauser" and other parts, came to Australia and accepted the- engagement solely for the purpose of raisiug mrciey for the New York Christian Science Church, of which he and his wife (who accompanied him) are prominent and devoted members. He succeeded in hi* object, and was able 10 present a veiy substantial sum to the church funds. George Capas, a labourer residing in Newton. Auckland, was found dead in bed with a revolver wound through his right tnmple. apparently self-inflicted. His wife went out 111 the morning, leaving Capas apparently in his usual health. When she returned in the afternoon she found the doors and windows closed, and on getting in through a window found all the furniture in the kitchen broken and her husband lying dead in the front room. TTe have to acknowledge receipt of Stone's Oiago aud Southland A.B.C. Guide and Diary.