LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2507, 9 April 1902, Page 54

LOCAL & GENERAL.

y^The tablet system of running trains on the Government railways came into operation on Monday last, 7th inst. The system will be used at every booking station between Waitati and Mosgiel in the meantime, but will eventually be extended to all the stations on the line. The Victorian Labour Commission concluded the taking of evidence on the 2nd as far as Dunedin is concerned. The witnesses examined were Messrs J. A. Millar, J. F. Arnold, and A. R. Barclay, M.H.R's., Frank Coull, R Chisholm, A. H. Bridger, T. R. Christie, J. C. Thomson, and F. R. Chapman (chairman of the Conciliation Board). The evidence on the whole was extremely favourable in respect to the operation of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Acts, and none of the witnesses were of opinion 1 that they ought to be repealed, while nearly 1 all admitted that they might be modified with beneficial results. One witness, who declared himself as strongly opposed to all labour legislation, admitted that the principle of the Arbitration Acts was sound. j There ajjpeared to be a consensus of opinion in favour of retaining the Conciliation Board, j and the senior member for the city would j give it extended powers, reserving the Arbij tration Court as a court of appeal, to which parties could refer on depositing a fee. of from £25 to £50. The members of the commission visit a number of local factories to-day and go north by the express tomorrow. The Bible-in tchools question came before the Presbyterian Synod on the 2nd, when th j Rev. J. Giltb made an important statement \ with regard to it. Certain steps h&ve already ! been taken, others it is proposed to take, and, I to use the reverend gentleman's words, ■ " when the parliamentary election came on he was decidedly of opinion that they should, I aiK 1 . v. ould, put themselves much more in evidence than ever they had done before." 'I he quf-'tion was sent to the presbyteries f"r further action. Since the passing of tho Teachers' Salaries Act of last session considerable dissatisfaction has been created in one way nncl another amongst the public school-teachers throughout Otago, and complaints regarding the <'.ilatoiincss of the department have been frequent. On Tuesday and Wednesday large numbers of t°acher# from the city and tuburbiiii school — and indeed some from the country — attended at the Otago Education Board's oftioei, as they had been in the custom of doing, to receive their monthly instalment of salary. Prior to the passing of the act the salaries had been always and regularly paid on the first week-day in each month, but now the board's officers simply receive the money from the department and hand it out to the teachers, as provided in the act, and when the teachers naturally proceeded to the office this month to receive their money, the board's officers were obliged to inform each one that no salary could be paid, as no money had been received from the department. The teachers had received no notice of this fact, and their first intimation was from the clerks at the board offices. They are naturally somewhat annoyed at this slate of affairs. It will be remembered that Mr T. Mackenzie. M.H.R. for Waihfmo, strenuously opposed the arrangement whereby the department was made the paying centre and the boards simply distributing paymaster-), arguing that the old arrangement was by far the most satisfactory; and 111 this connection he de-patched the following telegram to the Hon. W. C. Walker, Minister of Education: — "Re teachers' salaries. There is a great feeling of disappointmeht among teachers at the nonreceipt of salaries due yesterday. There was no grant to teachers' salaries account notified at bank closing time to-day. The teachers are declaring that if the unpunetual payments of salaries are an indication of the principle of centralisation at Wellington they would infinitely prefer the old Education Board's regime of punctual payment of salaries when they aic due.— 1. Mackexzie, M.H.R." The proposal of the Reserves Committee that a crematorium be erected if the Cremation Society would contribute one-third of the cost, which wa= not to exceed £2000, was discussed by the City Council last week, and was rejected on the casting ■vote of the Mayor. Towards the close of the disfUiK-ion the Mayor pointed out that the tune for the erection of a crematorium \va-> inopportune in view of tho present state of the finances, and mentioned that the overdraft on the municipal account was at prc-.ent £52,488, as against £44,742 last year. Tho weekly meeting of the Benevolent Trustees was held on Wednesdaj afternoon, and attended by Messrs R. M. Clark (in the chair), J. Hazlett, W. Burnett, R. Wilson, J. Green, and W. Talboys. Two deaths were reported— tho-e of John Henry Martin, aged 49, and John Kearney, aged 75. The outdoor relief book for the past month fchowed the number of cases dealt with to ha\e been 300. consisting of 115 men, 122 women, and 514 children, at a weekly average cost of £97 7s 6d. The returns for March of la=t year showed 3^)4 cases, consisting of 99 men, 229 women, and 570 children, at an average weekly cost of £948s 6d. An additional three months' leave of absence on tick leave was granted tr Mr J. Goie. Accounts amounting to £290 9d lid were papsed for payment, and 13 cases for relief were dealt with.

There wa3 something in the nature of a " tcene " a.t Thursday's -meeting of the Presbyterian Synod. The question of a grant to Waikiwi was xinder discussion, anl the Finance Committee, of which Mr A. C. Begg is convener, had recommended that a sum of £12 10s should be cranted. Thm

Rev. J. Cumming protested, however, that the congregation was not beiny as generously treated as other congregations, and co good a case did he establish that the recommendation of the committee was negatived and a grant of £300 sanctioned. Mr Begff did not by any means appreciate this reverse, and intimated that he would resign his position as convener. If the synod were going to act in this manner in many cates he warned them that it would not be long before they would bring things to a. standstill. During the course of his remarks Mr Begg. mentioned that some churches ■were misappropriating their manse grant funds. The Rev. Mr Hewit«on vigorously took up this assertion, which was tantamount, he said, to a charge of theft, and moved for a full inquiry in'o the whole matter, but the majority of the synod apparently considered that too much was being made of Mr Begg's statement, and Mr Hewitson's proposal was not agreed to. The Hon. W. C. Walker, Minister of Education and Minister in charge of charis able aid institutions, paid a visit to Seaclitf Asylum and the Inebriates* Home at Waitati on Wednesday,. He returned to the north on Thursday. Referring to the teachers* salaries, the chairman of the Education Board informed a member of our staff, that as no money had come to hand up till Thursday afternoon he had wired the Minister asking wh.m the money would be to hand, as it was unprecedented in the history of the board not to pay salaries on the figst of the month. It is considered possible that the department is blocked with business, as there are some communications from the board weeks overdue, or that the teachsrs' salaries have gone to swell the surplus at the 31st March. At the present .time the question of superannuation is one which is largely occupying the minds of public school teachers Railway servants, civil service official*, the police all have just and equitable arrangements whereby they may spend their la*t remaining year 3in peace and plenty, and why should teachers not place themselves in a similar position? The matter is under close consideration by a special committee lormed from the members of the Committee of Management of the Ofcago District Insti , tute, with a view to have a perfect scheme j ready for presenting at the next meeting of the Ntw Zealand Educational Institute, which takes place at Napier at the beginning of next year. A paper dealirg with the question of superannuation was read at the last meeting of the Otago District Institute by Mr Charles Smeaton, who « convener and the rpal mover in the matte". His ideas on the subject were received wihi the .utmost favour, and the paper was votsd to be the most interesting and valuable of its kind given on such occasions. A do- . sire to hear the paper having been expressed by some of the members of country branches, Mr Smeaton and Mr J. W. Smith, as members of the committee, proceeded to Balchitha for the further ventilation of the subject. The meeting held there was by no m»ans a large one, but ir was thoroughly representative, and Mr Reid, rector of the Milton Ditnct High School, and Mr M'Elrca, rector of the Balclutha District High School, were added to the committee. -Mr Smeaton's views on the question were clearly and fully put before the members present, and after some close and searching question* a hearty vote of thanks was accorded him. It is thu intention of Mr Smeaton and other members of the comrmtles to vsit other brarehps of the institute and place before members the advantages of fucli a scheme, and tliu u awaken that interest so essential to the furtherance of a matter thai is of vital importance to all in the scholastic profession. A lady in the city who ha? lately come in for a legacy on Thur-day forwarded £25 to the Rev. W. Hewit=on a<- a donation to the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund. The members of the Victorian Li hour Commission drove to Kaikorai Valley on Thursday to inspect the RoslynWoollen Mills On being shown over the premises t!i:y aproved the greatest interest in what th°y caw, especially in the hosiery section. The country adjacent to the Taien Rnestill shows very evident trace of the recent floods, straw and debris being piled up wherever the current has swept, and the force of the ftcod waters is shown in the way in which large clump- of willows ar<> bent down and uprooted. Passengers from the Oamaru district state that the country affected by the floods there has been desolated, and the seventy of the great ius>h of waters is very apparent. There is always something of a fa r t\na tion for a section of the public in connection with sensational tragedy, and the inquest proceedings at Al'anton on Thursday in connection with the death of tho unfortunate woman Annie SimioU were no excep tion to the rule, an interested group of spectators attending the inquest court all day. The prisoner, Hugh Sweeney, charged with the murder of the woman, al-o seemed an object of interest to many. Local magistrates (telegraphs our Christ church correspondent) still regard motor care, of which there are a good many in the city, as a nuisance. On Thursday Henry Smith brought an action against the driver of a motor car for damage caused to his horse and trap through the animal shying at the machine. After hearing a mass of contradictory evidence, the magistrate held that the pulsations of the car had caused the horse to shy, and gave judgment for the plaintiff. France, within a few years, has won 1,500,000 horse-power from its running and falling water. In Sweden a Echeme is afoot Ho Vfoxk the State railways from tumbling

' mountain streams. In Germany a force equal f ! to more than 1,000,000 horses, derived from I water power, is doing industrial work. In Italy and Switzerland much is being done, and far more is possible. In America the total amount of electrical energy derived from rivers and rapids probably exceeds that iof all Europe. Hitherto the record for long | distance transmission of this power has been held by the San Bernardino-Lcs Angeles line, of 80 miles, in California. This length has now been surpassed by the Yuba RiverSan Jose line, of 184 miles. The power stations are situated in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the power generated being controlled by the Bay Counties Power Company, which transmits the current to Nevada City, Marysville, Oroville, Oakland, and San Jose. A voltage of 40,000 is transformed in the cities t-2 550 current. The lines are duplicate, one being of copper and the other of aluminium. It will probably bp about four month* before Messrs Xoyes Bro?. make a commencement with the work of preparing the roads for the laying down of the rails for the electric tramways. They v are waiting for the rails, aa order for which has been sent Home, and nothing- -jan be done with the permanent way until they come. There are , two other matters, however, in connection ; with the -work that will likely be taken in hand before long — namely, the construction of a bridge over the Leith at the cod of George otreet and the erection of the carbouse The engineer is now busy preparing plans for the bridge, and tenders will be called very shortly. The car-house will be situated in Market street, near the Market ie serve, on a section now occupied by Messrs Glaister and Carey and Mr Barr* (blacksmith). The hou^e will cover fiveeighths of an acre, and will be a brick building of one storey, except the office portion, which wiil be two storeys. Tenders will be called for tlie work in two or three weeks. Whenever a ca«e of some sensational interest is ?et down for hearing at the , Criminal Courts m Dunedin so certain is it that a certain section of the public can j find ample leisure to rttccid, frequently for [ a whole day, and the wonder :s vhat ceupation these people are engaged in which permits of their neglecting it at their convenience On Friday the intimation that the charges of paint-stealing were to be called on and that the AU&fiton murder sensation was to be referred to attracted a crowded court. The matter of the C:6y Council's applications to the warden for water rights in respect to the. Lee Stream and Fortification Creek was di^casaed by the Taieri County Council at its meeting on Friday. Mr Rogers, the c:ty engineer, was present, and gave s-ome explanation of what it was pro- ► posed to do. The county engineer, Mr Couston, gave it as his opinion that the County Council should insist upon the City Council giving an indemnity against any damage lliat might arise over the work. It w.v finally decided that, provided- the City Council could f.id would satisfy the county solicitor? and the engineer that they (the City Council) could and would indemnify the County Council against any damage or loss that might accrue, the County Council would offer no further objection to the granting of tho applications. The City Police Court was again redolent of paint on Friday when the pamt-stealing charges were cou aimed before Mr Graham, S M., and a large and keenly interested audience. The cases promise a good deal of tedium before they are finished. Yesterday Mr Fraser was prepared to go on with a summaiy jurisdiction ca^e and had 21 witnesses in attendance, but Mr Hanlor. not being c o prepared the case had to be adioumed A short oa=e m winch Arc hi bald Walker v.-j- tho so'e accused v.-a-. then proceeded with, and resulted in his being again committed for trial T'ue evidence went to show that the accused had in las pc*-ession a drum of Bon Accord paicit, painted brown. The detectives, with their usual curiosity, applied turpentine to the outside of the tin and disclosed the fact that the original colour of the drum had been blue (the colour of the Union Company's drums), while the Union Company's brand en one side and the j manufacturer's name <.v the other stood regaled in white lettering. Mr Han'.on declining to go on with another case for summary jurisdiction on Monday, the further i hearing of all the remaining cases was adjourned till Wednc-Jay next. Mr Fraser stating that ho expocted to reduce their number to seven or eight. The Tramway 5 Committee hove decided to procure temporary ste.i.n generating plant m connection w ltd the proposed electric tramways for the city and suburbs. The question of it« site ha c been referred to a sub committee for inquiry. | The recently moirited Marshall valve gear wliich is described in The Times of February 13 should meat, a great saving to the railways of New Zealand. The inventor perauadsd the Great Northern Railway Company of Tireat Britain to tost hi<- idea, and the tests, carried out on an old type locomotive built 20 years ago. and extending c\er a period of nine months, ha\e satisfied the companj'* experts. What the gear is alleged to do is to pa»» the steam va atid out of the cylinders in a vastly nnpiwed manner, so that the haulage power is increased by 20 to 50 per cent., with reduced I fuel consumption and lower steam pressure. , It can be fitted easily to any locomotive at j little cost. From May of last year till February of this year the locomotive on which it was tested averaged 99 extra waggons per week of five days, and consumed less coal than the sister engine with which results were compared. If the story of the tests is not exaggerated. — aud it may be pre-

sumed that The Times would take reasonable care to protect itself and its readers against lrnpositicci — we have here the very thing that is wanted by our railway users and taxpayers. If this novel gear is all that is claimed for it, the old engines can get another lease of life. Not the least of its recommendations is the assertion that it is the best solution yet discovered of the spark-throwing problem. The blast is said to be "' peculiarly long-drawn aud soft." and. on the pr cciple that pre\ ention is better than cure, a loco.notive that does not throw sparks is better than one fitted with a ypark-arrestcT. The rumours that have been in circulation lately of a conflict of interests between the sawmill companies of the West Coast and those of Southland and Otago have some foundation iv fact. According to the Grey Argus the Christchurcii market has been supplied for =orae time maicily from the West Coast, while the Southland mills were supplying the wanfs of Dunedin and other parts* of Otago. Lately, however, the demand for timber has fallen off considerably, with the result that the Southland millers have been placing* their timber in Christchurch to the detriment of the trade from the Coast. There was nothing for it, therefore, but for the West Coasters to retaliate in some way, and the step they decided upon was to t-end a million feet of timber to Dunedin and sell it By auction. The first instalment arrived in Dunedin la-it week, but only half of the consignment was unshipped, as it was found that the cost of handling, owing to the bad weather, was greater than anticipated, for which reason the remainder was sent to Christchurcii. The portion of the cargo landed in Dunedin —about 310,000ft— will be sold by Messrs Janvs Samson and Co. on Wednesday. From inquiries made in this pity it is e\ident that the sawmillers on the Coast have a mistaken idea of the amount of timber pent to Lyttelton from the south. Of late it has seldom exceeded 100.000 ft a menrh, although formerly it wa-» considerably more I" is contended, therefore. tha> the Southland millers have not trenched on the West Coast saw-millers' ground in the Christchurch market. Mr T. Mackenzie, M.H.R., on Fridry received the following reply to his telegram re unpaid teachers' salaries from the Hon. W. C. Walker from Timaru: — "Your wire received re school teachers' salaries. Am surprised to learn of any delay Returning to Wellington hy steamer to Might. Will immediately adjust matters."' An attempt was made on Thursday ciight to forcibly enter the residence of Mr E. Cook, chief postmaster, in Stafford street The would-be thief had succeeded in getting one of the windows opened, and was jDartly inside when he heard one of the inmates walking about, and decamped with all =peed. The Mayor of Rcslyn (Mr T. Mackenzie. M.H.R ) gave :iotiee of motion at Friday night's meeting of the Borough Council to the effect tliat at a special meeting, to be held that day fortnight, he would move the making of a c-r.eeial order to enforce the provisions of the Noxious Weeds Act in relation, to gorse and broom within the Borough of Roslyn. He said the act made it quite clear now that property-owners were required to clear the roads adjoining their properties. The holding of the special meeting wa.« agreed to The successful tenderer for the railway cartage in Dunedin not ha\ ing takea up the contiact the Government are inviting fresh tenders. This course, it stated, is ecarcely fair to others who had tendered when tenders were last invited, as their prices have become generally known. A Wellington telegram states that Mr Sniedley opened his tempeiance mission in the Baptist Churc : i on Thursday evening, and introduced his recent Indian experiences, quoting the Bishop of Bombay 'a statement that the Christians' drink destroyed a hundred for every convert made. He ccidemned the Anglo-Indian aloofness from and treatment of Hindoos, and said hi? meetings were i oneequently boycotted by AngloIndians He stayed chiefly with Hindoo", and addressed them in crowds in 56 cities. He declares that coolia women are practically slaves, and that British Christian 11 are ignorant of the fact-. A man. evidently under the influence of drink, had an exceedingly nanow e^capa from m-'.ant death at the Rattray street railway trorsing about 11 o'clock en Satur day mght. He was wandering down tht> street sonaewhat aimlessly, paying no attention to the ringing of the alarm gongs, walked on to the line just as an engine and tender appeared from the southern side. The cro's-ine; keeper, observing the danger, ran to the man, shouting to him to keep back, but his calling was unheeded, and re just reached Uip man in time to drag him back by main strength. The engine-driver, who seemed to have the engine well in hand, noticing that something was wrong, pu'lfd up, but had it not been for the cro^-mg-keeper's agility the drunken man wou'd have been cut to pieces. The secretary of the Otago Education Board informs us that teachers' salaries for the month of March were paid at the board's office on Monday The board'- offices were bes-iejed on Saturday by teacher=, who had to go away disappointed. Our Wellington corre=ponr!e"t telegraphs. — "There is a likelihood of the Go* eminent acquiring tho Moutoa estate, near Foxtori (at one time owned by Mr F. Lark\rorthy, of London), from the Assets Realisation Board; and. according to the Marlborough Times, the nc-got la^ionn between the Government and the owner' of tho Flaxbourne estate have come to a conclusion, and a settlement has been arrived at which will mean.

the early acquisition of the property by the Government for the purpose of close settlement." An idea of the stiength of the current of the usually insignificant Leith during its recent ebullition is got from an inspection of what remains of the concrete protecting wall on the University reserve. The upper half of this, where the pressure was slight, alone remains intact. Of tho remainder, part is a displaced, cracked, and deplorable ruin, and the rest, that should have aeljoined the Leith street bridge, lias, as a wall, disappeared entirely. Portion^, of it may be seen scattered about the river bed, ami some huge blocks of concrete have ev\.n been earned as far down as the next bridgo in Clyde street. Had the wall been banked up behind with a solid formation it v/ouH no doubt have made a better resistanre, though this could not have prevented its being undermined. The Hospital returns for last week fhow the number of patients at the beginning of the week to have been 102 ; 22 patients were admitted during the week, 13 were discharged ; and there were three deaths (Maria Jane Cook, Robert? Sherriff, anil Elizabeth Tyrie)-; leaving a total number of 103 in the institution. Mr E. H. Care-w granted a pension of £12 to one male applicant at Port Chalmers on Saturday. The members of the Victorian Labour Commission, on being interviewed at Christchurch by a representative of the Press, expressed themselves as delighted with what they had so far seen of New Zealand. It. was a magnificent country, full of all sorts of possibilities, said the chairman. The Hon. R. Reid was enthusiastic over the Lakes district, and has an idea that the lakes could be utilised for tramways and street lighting. At the Roslyn Woolle-n Mills the commissioners were delighted at the excellence and finish of the manufactures. '" What we admired as a commission," Mr Reid said in conclusion, " was the complexion of health and vigour upon the faces of the girls and boys, and we realise that the generations to come in this country will be a race of vigorous, strong people that will always find a splendid opening on the Continent of Australia." The Tourist Department (fays the Southland Times) is looking ahead to make. Stewart Island an attractive holiday resort Inspector MoorUouse, of that department, has just returned from the islanel, after liberating 15 young red deer. Some of these were bred in Wairarapa, but the majority wew imported from Victoria. They were liberated on the Freshwater River, which runs into Caerlowel Arm nf Pater?on's Inlet. This should make that i~art of the island especially attractive to sportsmen, as the river already abounds in trout. Mr Saunders, tho local agent, reports chat over 400 visited the island last week. A Wellington Prps= Association telegram says: — "It is expected that Parliament will meet .n the first week in July, and that the Premier will return to the colony iv time to delner the Financial Statement, about the third week of August." The tablet block system came into operation yesterday ou the Waitati-Mosgiel section of the railways, and it is satisfactory to be able to record that the change has been made from the Winter block system without the slightest inconvenience or dislocation of traffic. Everything was conducive to a successful installation, as the etaff had had time to familiarise themselves with the working of the systpm before it was actually used. The patentees of the system are Messrs Tyer and Co., electrical instrument makers, of London, and as illustratne of how the invention X finding favour in other countries \vp may mention that it has lecently been given a apo-cial trial in Japan, where it ha-. no>v been finally adopted. It is also used on several of the- Indian railways and al^o on the Belgian State railways. The majority of the single-line railv ays in Great Britain have adopted it. notably the well-keiown Highland railway in Scotland, where it wa* installed sonic- two years ago. The sy=tem is not a new one, as it was heard of as far back as 30 years ago. but the original in-trumcnts were far fiom perfect, anel required co much attention that it remained in tho background till modern electrical knowledge effected fucli lmproveme-nrs thai, ft be cam? favourably known to railway expert? Mr Wynne, "iiinal and PiPrtrical engineer to tho Railway Department. Ik's installed the- patent on the Wellington Potone ond the Turakina Hawera set tions of the railway, and doubtless it will be applied to other heavy-traffic centres a^< time goes on. In repairing the damage to the protecting wall at the I"rm ersity reswie it might be north wlnle for 'he authorities to make in- ' qiuries ap to th<* efficacy of a simple system of groin found of great =erviep in the Grey ' Ri\er. Crate? are made of galvanised fencing wire and fiHeel with ptones, and they appear to --taud a tremendous current without a mo\.». This method might be found of u=e .'a the formation of groins at St Clair, and an experiment could be made at a trifling co^t With refr-r^nc-p to the delay in the payment of teacher-,' salar.es Mr T. Mackenzie on Monday reesived the following telegram, from the Hon. W. C. Walker, Minister of Eciueation : — "It was a strange oversight that 3'O'tr school teachers were unable to get their salaries. The department gave every notice to the Treasury, and your board by eomo- unexplained reason was not attended to I reeret the occurrence very much As for as I was concerned my depaitment had done it<= duty, acid I can only e\pre e s my regret that this stoppage of salaries In- ocemred. It ha<- no reference to the new system. The tame lutdx jui;:lit

f have occurreel at any period of payrr nt of moneys, capitation or otherwise.'' To tFn above Mr Mackenzie sent the following re1 p]y : — "The Hon. W. C. Walker, Weliing- | ton. — I am indebted to you for your kind | attention on the matter of teachers' salaries, and also for the information contained inyour telegram explaining that it was not ill [ any way due to oversight in your depart- | ment. I shall have pleasure iv making that known through the press." j The Joffeoat bequest of £1000 to the University of Otago came up for discussion ail the meeting of the council en Monday after- | noon. It will be remembered that the late ' Dr Jcffcoat bequeathed this sum of money 1 to the University to found a scholarship.I After his untimely death it was found that ( tho estate would not be able to pay the I bequest. The will, however, contained a I codicil revoking it, but, unfortunately, this I codicil was unwitnesseel, and consequently i irformal. The University thus became legally entitled to the money, and had no power to surrender its rights. The council diel the only thing open to them under the circumstances, and refrained from taking any steps to possesa themselves of the Legacy. It is now proposed to introduce a bill iv Parliament to authorise the council to forgo their rights, and the solicitors in charge of the matter wrote to the council yesterday intimating the course they were about to take. The council, after discussing their position, thought it sufficient to "receive" tho letter without minuting any expression, of opinico on it. On the wharf on Monday there were landed from the Burrumbeet eight trios of birds imported from England for the Government poultry farm, Milton. The new arrivals consist of Minorcas, black and buff Orpingtons, golden and silver Wyandottes, Plymouth Rocks, brown Leghorns, and Houdans. Experts who have seen them say that they aro all good specimens of their respective breeds, superior to anything so far gathered at the farm, and either for breeding market birds or show stock they in every way justify their importation by the Government expert. The University Council ab its meeting en Monday afternoon decided to close the Ulrich memorial funel at the end of this month and to invest the amount in the general account at 4A per cent. The fund will be devoted to founding a medal for proficiency in miaeralogy anel petrography, and will probably carry with it a book prize to whatever extent funds will allow. The vicechancellor askfd on Monday afternoon if the medal was to be of gold, but Mr James Alien expressed the opinion that it should be of bronze. The initial expense of pro- [ viding a die is expected to amount to some £20/ At the Magistrate's Court on Monday, before Mr E. H. Carew, S.M., the case of M'Kenzie Bros., of Bushy Park, ar.d Mr A. M'Kcrrow, the Government Valuator (as executors under the will of the late Sir John M'Kenzie) versus Fraser M'Kenzie, : Wellington, was further adjourned. Tho action was instituted by the executors for a claim of £60 5s for money alleged to have been borrowed by the defendant from Sir John M'Kenzie, and also for the amount which, ifc was stated, had been paid by Sir John to bring defendant to the colony from Scotland and which was to be repaid. Mr Wilkinson (on behalf of Mr Fraser) appeared for the plaintiffs, and requesteel that the case should stand adjourned. Mr Hanlon I (who appeared on defendant's behalf) agreeing, his Worship granted an adjournment until April 23. William Emeraon Redmond, better known a^ " Billy " Emertton, widely known in Australia a; a minstrel, died in destitute circumstances at Bosto on February 22. Concumption was the cause. The famous funmaker played In-- la it engagement with " Billy West's " minstrels when they were at tho Boston Theatre last May. At that time .he was taken i»ick, and has failed rapidly ever since He loaves a widow in San Francisco, and a son by his* first wife in New York. Emerson"' last year; were succeshions of misfortucie and dire poverty. After his return to America from a f=ucce£i3ful trip to Australia he lived like a. prince, and the 500,000d0l he had accumulated were =0011 exhausted Then the famous minstrel found intemperance hael mastered him, and he drifted from worse to «or=t. About a year ago he was discovered in Cincinnati by his old minstrel comrade West, siiiging in beer halls for a mere pittauce ou which to exist. West befriended Emerson, gave him money ar.d a place ivifh his troupe. He went to Boston with West's minstrels, bit could not master him-elf. Consumption I'ad taken hold of linn, and the end came as a relief after months of suffering and wretched poverty. Wo have received an ancaymous donation of 5s towards the Hewitt fund. W.D. alsc forwards ss.

SAID ON JL HAZ\KI> SCHOOL. AUCKLAND, April *. Five detectives raided this afternoon a.*' alleged hazard school under Tattersall's Club, in Swanson street, and arrested Tobias Tobias and James Beckett, book- • matkers, alleged keepers of the school, and nine others — viz : William Ryan, Thomas M'Kay, A. De Groen, Frederick Lovelock, Mark Bush, Charlei Mark, Albert Champion, Henry Davy, and Harry Hayr— all well known in turf circJeF. The door was burst in, and gome who escaped over a backwall, being known to the police, afterwards burrc-ndered. All were released on bail . subsequently. Beckett and Tobias were charged with being keepers of a common, gaming-house, and the others with beioja found w tli£ game*