LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2509, 16 April 1902, Page 55

LOCAL & GENERAL.

The unemployed are again with u-. and ilessrs A. R. Barclay and T. K. Sidey. ]\I.H.R"s., have drawn the attention of the Government to the fact Mr B? relay informed the Hon. TV. Hall-Jones that there are about 120 men out of work in Dunedin, mo3t of them being mairied men, whose needs were in some case 1 ; urgent. He <-uggested that work might be found- for them. on the Otago Central railway. Both gentlemen received the following reply from th? Minister: — "I regret to 1 ear there are any unemployed in Dunedin. I am requesting liabour Denartment to report xipon the matter. Will then see what can be doiie." Mr Maiwell. of the Labour Department. reported by wire en the Bth. and it is understood that a3 a result pome of the men will be E?nt to work on the Otago Central line. Mr E. H. Carew, S.M., -at at the }Jag * trate's Court on the Bth to con*:dcr applu-p-tions for the old-age pension He granted four new applications at £18 and one at £17. In respect to renewal* he chanted 36 at £18, one at £16. three at £14. ore at £13, two at £12, and one at £10. £9, £6, and £3. The Orepuki Advocate nn Monday is-ued the following a- an Extra: — "It is with « 11 cere regret that we ha\e to chronicle tiie c!oding-down of the Orepuki Shale Work-. All the men employed at The work-, excepting about 30, were discharged on fcjutuiday last. Some of tho-c whose &er\icc- pro retained for the present vill be engaged in hewing coal for the pmpose cf keep. eg t'.e furnaces going. The remainder w ill bo employed refining the wax and 01!--. Tli ' company has about 100,000 gail'm* cf oil to refine, and 95 tous of v.\j\ Thes" w,.l le placed on tho market directly the r.'finirg process is completed. We aie informed that the works are indefinitely o'osed." From inquiries made it would appear that 60 far as the Labour Depaitn.oni 1- ron corned the labour conJiUo>i= m the city a1"!a 1 "! s-ufaurbs ore in no d'-gvr-o uiMi-ual ;.t th Itime of the J'ear, and the number of i...employed seeking v. 'j;k i- by no m< an» l>eyond the ordinary. There 15 a con-ider able nnmber of 11an.es on the books representing those in search of woik, but t!ip.-'» application 5 lune come in from time to tin--"" and extend over a lengthened pei\oj : and. as a matter of fact, many of the applicants have not returned to Fee tie ie c ult of their applications, presumably because they hu\e found employment without reeouise t> the Labour Department Others, how«?\er. hava continued their effort- to find work thiough the medium of the department, but ths-ir number is not great. It is reckoned that there are not mor-j than 30 nc-ce-ritou* ca^c-. and employment will be found for the-e meu without delay, it being anticipated that they will be sent principally to w< rk on the Otago Central line aid al-o on th- IKi.ot. line. With regard to the c !o t i'ig clow 1! of \l,<" Orepuki Shale Works, it would appear tlut it is by no mejm of a pennan^'it fharattcr. As a matter of far;t. the refinciic- hu\e not suspended operation* at all. a 1 ih< 111 1 ompany have in hand a *cry large -tock of ciude oil which requir. -, reining, :ui«i they ha\e also a large quantity of \\a\ (in v. l.ioh the shale is exceedingly nch> that iequ.re-> to be subjected to tho sweating pioces-. Tl-f other portions of the work- ha\e been clo-ed pending the arrival from America of a quantity of labum -a\ mg machinery, and on its anival they will he .'et going again ■without delay. In the pre-i n! state of things the company cannot afford to work the mine by cUiy-'.\bour, and for thi- rea*i>n they have placed ordor-> in At'iei ci for macliiiipry winch «• I'] p. r.mt of tiie iiidi:-Tv being profitably rained on Th^ Ic\ machinery was r\bled foi *ou c t,nn> sgo and is due here .n *.\ \.<-<'L- or i-.n iuoiu'pand it i* antn-ip.-.i' d t! at by t. aiti t n.o t ; <■ crude oil in htrck wi! l lia-\e '.;' " 1 pi 1 : through the refine-no - The charges of keroiene-'tealma; from t!.cUnion Company aga.n came up for I. .in.,? at the Police Conn on Wrdne*d.v\ . \i< ' .bi'.d Walker and John Walker lr.'ig charge 1 with stealing three ca-Ps of kero-rne from the ccir.pai.y at Thip.eHin on February 21 The value of the good- being only 27-. tii'> ca s e woidd naturally hat" been d«a!t with tumman!) by the inpgi-tr.cte. Mi Haidon. howe\cr, ftrongly objeoteci to this cour-e and argued tlut the. n.a^i-trate had di(mtionar/ ]>owei to l?ave the iratter to .1 jury, this beir.ff but one of a number of cases. Ultimately (lie fcsice of Mr lianlon'.* reasr-umg \\a* mi'mtted. and the ca=e pro ceeded with on the understanding that it •would be fph: to the S'iprerpe Comt if a puma facie «.»*•• wa- c^tablislied. An oUI and fiai' lookirg n\in brought bo fere the Police Court on Woune-d.iy. c hars^d with drui:keunp«-. hao 1. > le=*- than 63 pre\ ion- fOiii"ietioi">= r< 1 o-i'.i'd aga:n-t 111111 The majority of therP are for drui'lieuiie--, and the rest breach of the- peace, obstructing and assaulting the polire. a-*ault, and damaging property Tin- uneiniable career of crimp commenced, according to the police list, on November 13. 1876. and La- con tinued up to the present time: con-cqueutlv a great portion of the la*t 26 >«.ar- ha- been spent by this man under pun;=hmen: In lii- case th»re seems urgent nece—ity foi permanent committal to tome home foi inebriates. The- usual weekly meeting of the Ri.r.e\ o!":.t Trustees wa- held on Wednesday afteruoou, when there were present — Mes-rs P Treseder (in the ch»ir), W Talboy-. W. Burnett. R. M. Clark, R. Wilson, md the Hon. H. Gourley. The Secretary reported that two deaths had occurred in the institution during the week— viz., Hung Tak (aged 63) and John James Bennett- faced 97). Accounts

' amounting to £214 *s 2c! wc-re pa~-ed for ' payment, and 30 ca-e? of lvlief v ere dealt ; wuh. i)r Clos*. me medial ofr.c-rr f.n the luumii.on. reported that dii'i'i'* the l.i-t 1 month, v. ith the exception Oi << few had ' cr.-es. the health of the inmates had been 1 bettor than usual. Only two death- had 1 occurred — one of r.ar:.!y-i- and oi..- of con I sumption — in the hospital ward Tl.o wti in tin- ward had bc^'ii very v. fll looked after. man}" of them ben,,' very bad to nur-e and to keeD clean : but that had bceu done ' remarkably well by the men allotted to do it. and tlie v.-aid wa~ i!mii and any. The other winds were al-o in a good -anitary s-Lit-°. I'll e patients are well cared for. and c\ervth"ig i* \ery satisfactory. | - The Premier was able to announce at a hiUiq'H't s>nen m hi- honour at Wellington on Thin. -day that lie had just recened a cable message from the Adnnmstratoi of the i Government in Fiji conqi atulatiiig Mr Seddon and the colony on Fiji being ion nected with New Zealand by o.ible. Tl>.e Angha ha- theref.no completed laying tl.p section of the Prciiic cable to Fiji. The engine of the south good- tra.n tini^d to arrive in Dunodin .it 525 p ni. was c.c uilcd at the points at the south end of the Cattle VTards on Thursday afternof.ii. Three track* a!-o left the line. The engine was mmewhat damaged, and the line was considerably knocked about. The Ru.ilw»y Departm p nt at once made arrangements to carry on traffic w-Ui as httlo inconvenience to the travelling public a- possible, and by a sy-tein cf transferring 1 passengei- from ' outg-ou.E; trains to incoming tra<ns, and \ice \cr-.n. \ or,. htt!» de'.jy «.i- occasioned. A gan,r of men v a.- put <>.\ to clear the lino, and thf> laf> i.iglit tu-ns- got thro-.^h without ob=tn.ct or. The City Council ha-, accepted the tender of a Belgian firm of ironfour.dei* for 2300 tons of ra'!- for the city and suburban liaimvny, at £6 18- 6i pe. ion (c i f). the tail-- to be shipped \iith.u four mouth-: tiu« being some 6\« months befoie Xi or American firm* coi.kl undertake to deh'.er. and al a le--cr iJ-t. The hearing of the ci'sr;. 1 of kcro-e .c stealing from the I ti'on Conipary ag.u:i-t the two Walkers v;^ concluded befoie Mr Graham. S.M., on Thursday, and the eMdenc oI(-p\cm more v. itup^-r-i hu\!'.i^ Lee n heard, ilic* u'-cuii-d wun again lonvnitted foi tt.al. '1 he smii' ac f 'U-. d will be fint'ivr charted with approijr.ut.n'.' the T"nio:i Co-npam'' stores on Monday. '" Did you con-icW t!.° h'l-baud v, *i* a hrnp< c !-_'Vi man" was aske-d a vwt:i-?ts m a i oiirt i f> -c <; i Tiirr-day. "I ;.r-vci (on-!'!"ifd that ho v.-js a 11,111 at all " «a- the 1111eMKttetl aiii lather di-coKCrt."g answer from th» Lidy 111 the box. In t'.to rnur-f of his e\a:nir.anon of v.itni% sse= on Thur'-day in the " pamt case-," the Clown Solicitor ret fried \nry catwtn ally to the weakness of the memory cf P01 1 Chalmer- railway official-, and in fuct of Govern meiit official* generally. Coui'sel for the defence sutcp-u'cl l!\it pel haps it w a- caused b\ l!:e strength cf the " .*ca an" at the Poit T'uo charge of ii.tm'pr aaaa.-t Hugh SmiMir, pr.-fiircd at the City Po'.cp. Court 01: FiH'ay attracted a crowded auditoi 111 m :i I cu.\. i'io *pac >- fo 4 tie pub'ir he.i.i£ pjilc-o hi. til the c 10-e :it 54 5 p n<. '1 lie occasions! wc»:tly encounter* between r Ma'lard. J.P.. and ..•oiins.el >i»Pi:ied to afford miic-h amu-enient. nul laughter iiad to be suppressed v ord than once. The giavity cjf th" piopeedintj-, when a man va= placed on ti.al for hi» life. Hid not feem to .iiviro-i th.tt section of ttio pu'jli'. present a^ it s!igu!<.l ha\c doi:<' Tue I'ttint teah'ia: <'iaitff i"'i.' 01 < c n-oie I.ro.tght hi folcf 01c ti.e l>< n-.ii on Fnlay at fhc C.tj I'oh. •• Coi-rt wlii-n .Sat..i>.-1 '1 ! om.i, V-, >1,0 1 and I hon.i- H I'otton. *' 11 of the )•.-•■ .enii'i v.n* i 'jigfii wah ri,e.\ing ;«ii»t w« !l know 'ng it i" liav^ licon .-to'en .\'i Fi.i »r. Clown Piu-eiutur, intimated 1 tul t'i'i- 1 \>a-> no tvidi'iicc to *iio'-. that thy '.itter u't-ui-ed \\a- niinr than ;>ii mno ( -lit u,-f,t>. «•»<! He < 'i irq" ygaiusj him vvuiild be wtHdr.iur 'I he case-, on Mr ]'•>-<! - .pplic.r. ior. . wt>ie a l|oi'r:i"d till Aionddy v ornii'4. and ' Liai jet- of pain ' stealing jigTU' l - 1 S T Bolfm. T. Mhi.lnft.on. Mid •' Walkci we,c adjoin n^d tilt Tii''*day, I uh«:i Mr Fraser < \pec-i- 10 hi.i-h 'h» lower j c ourt proc.-cdmg-. tic chai^r- h-vug been ' 1 jriowod down en .dci.My , '1 'ie a::i\.il if t!i-> iJint.pa 1 H.ier lP.ulI snd i' < <.d~r- at Pivtor-a t 1 c h,;..: with Lord • Kite! ci er, a- reported in mi' <.i l>Ugram- ! ti.i- \\(-<K. woti'd appear t 1 it'dfj'<- thkt ! tlKr- 1- a p-o-p-tt of t'lo v jl>- 11 So'.t'i j Afi.trf b"irig broutflit to ac .-• 1' 1- fanto p;r-imo that Lord Kit(h<n-i limrlv inch c;;et '■ j Actimj; I'ie-iden! S-i.aik J'.li^'-: tl.-> I ]>-:ti-'i t- in* brfoi- tri.iiiiiii,' l.nn -■ « fc oudn 1 to ((infer witli the leader a- d ireiieit!. in the he'd. aid it would uiip'-ir 1 «i- if tJn-e term- ln.\e 1 ef-u agreed to b> tii -.■• kj'kr-. ai (itlesw. c t'.eie wo:»ld bt1 110 re; 1 -on wliv t'.«-\ -houid pioce'd Ij l'ret'T,^ I A WViincriMii tJp-raui *•?'■ ti<,<t t r r liieclli'^ of P.irl ani( ut ho.- b >>i cfh. rc'. - Sx'hl foi Tuo-c ay. 1-t .Juiv j '] lie Comnionwn ih Hnv-» o'. R»i»ie ti\i-a ha- had -übmitt^d to it ti.e i^-poit of a Ci; uage Cou.m.tict'. whiih ha- rttoni mended a decimal .-y-;em of ( mai<P an 1 money account, the la-i- of tl.e cuirri.<v tr j l>e god. and expre--t'd 111 iho p\'-i.i g Xi > U-.h -oiP'-ci.;n *l'he follow. 115 com- (1 ih a I esi^tiiiv? system aie 1 cimu..c .dt d . Ine sovereign, half *0M i rcii{ i i. iv. «. -uilliiig put • .s-lnlhnp, '•ixp^iue, a 10 florin-, l'X)3 cm'- . 5 florin«=. 500 cent- : 1 I'tip !O'J cent • i florin. 50 ceim. : i fliir.p. >5 c -tit- It lalao recommended that a m\\ com. of ih'value of 2 2-5 dof the existing <-uiivncy, be coined in some mixed metal »J>d tnaile cur-

rent at 10 ceuth (onc-te.-th florm' : that bronze com- of tie \al-je of— l-1000th. 1 533 th, 1250 th rf the so\erciq-,\ and 1-lOOth, 159 th. 125 th of the floiin. to be known as 1 cent. 2 cents, and 4 cents ro*pecn\ily, be coined to take the place of the existing luonzi. c image: that f.ic'i coir* r-e'r the impre-s of the Coninion;>e«ilth'« relations ti the Empire with a di-tii'ctixe X\ t r ;i m the loim of a Comni'mwea'th -lucid 01 emblem, .mcl tliat each coin be nuiked v.ith it° ■value 111 ti.o .*y-tem. 'iheie are 100 men now einpl >ycd on th<" Otago t'oiitrol railway cii2;ag>xl in p'eicmg tanne I*.1 *. tt.e fomation of works tiirough the Poolburn Gor2;c, ar.d the mr.-o-.ry woik 111 connection with the Ponlburn \iaducl. Probably a- the winter ad\iuic<_s th t numhcr of men wi'l be ]i,crei-rvl and the wo'kpu*hed on more \ igorou*!> thiiii at the prctrC j it time. Tlie saduct hj_- a -uper*t~uctuiv of iron, con-i-tmg of thr^c ~par* each 66 r t iii 11-hr! h and one of 157 ft. The dcene-t portion from (he centre of the cr«.ek to the top cf the bridge is 120 ft. The .-pan* ie*t oi' three ma-nrjy piers a\craging ybout 45ft in height, the abutments bcii.g aUo of masonry. The Hc-pital return- l r r the pa-t week -how the total numbsr cf pat. ol t- in the institution at the beginning of tho week to ha%e been 103: during ilu s w . ek 1? patient- v. etc admitted and 19 were dis charged, leaving tiie uujnlx-r uf inmatc° now at 106. Some hotel irtn-c-ts l<a\e been changing hand.- recently. Ihe lie en-e of the Impi rial Hotel ha* been tran-feired from Mr ti. Keav'.e to Mr M. Al'Allen. late of Alexandra. T!:e Shad- s Ho:e', in Dowl.ng .-tieet, habeen pmcl.o^ed by Mr C Tilbum from M»J Toomcj-. In connection with the recent change in the syllabus t f law profcr-ional examination*, wheieby the subject *" Torts"* ha> been jilaced \v it-i criminal law instead of with contract* us heretofoie, .he registrar of the I"ni\er-ity of New Zealand wishc* it to be general. v Inov v that candidates who la\e obtained cienht for a section including contract.- a i".l tort- under the old airanuemt nt will not be ob'igetl to t.iko toriS agnn with cmpinal l?\v. The t>\o latter branchewill b.' kept .*'_-p;,rate in the c\am'raticn paper, s-o that puc 1 candidate- maj take the cnininal Ihw section only. Mr J. J. T!am*ay, -ccrrtary of the Cat'iuRailway L -ague, report- that Mess.s K. M'Xab' and Jame* Allen. M.H.R -, v.i.l \isic the Cecti.n"/- Kivcr tii*ti;ct on Y»*<rdnrs clay. They will be met at Owuka by the loc-al Vigilance Committee, .-hown over the distr'tt. and entertained in the same manntr tl.a^ previ'.u* parliamentui-y lcpre--etitati\e = were. Mr H. W. Lucy, in his London lelter in the Sydney Morning Herald, expresses the opinion that the figure created by the war in South Africa among Liherak ar, bririgelc-sF. "" I am afraid.' he says, "it ib the Great Disruption of 1686 repeated, l.ot en quite .-o larg<' a -ea'e. bccat.se the Liberal naity is nc-l so i>uinerou* 3S it was when the Home Rule flag wa- hci--ted o\er its camp. That make- only th" more remote the pr< -p c-t of it? ultimate re-uriection as a uniud and powerful fi>ctoi in the State. It I.* a c i.r 011.feature 111 the late-t de\elopm"nt el ih J eii-!iiti"gr<ition of the Liberal partj that it c.iiiie about in accidental, quite uncic-gned, fa--''ioi> f can per-onallj r te-t'fy that no 0110 was more genuinely surprised at tli3 re-ult of hi.* Le.cesier s-pcech than was .is genial author In .-upp»rt of this paradoxical .-ituation, a, tru-ted colleague on tho front Opposition bench tell* me that C. 8., chatting with him before he went down to Leicester, told him that ha\ing rkctched the gpnc-ial outline of h,s .= pe- <-b, he had carefully eliminated from it everything hkelv to ]iro\e ]no\orativc to Lord Ri-tebery. Po--ib!v tl o e\i :tc-nient tliat sirred o\C the meeting at Ijfice-tT m:'v 111-in-ib'v ha\ l' led Sir Henry tpinnuia il\ on: of the path he had laid down foi hunt-elf."' Owing to a -!"»lit sub-idcpcp 111 the rad v. ay line betwe«»ii RM'ifuiiy and Wcdderb-im or Mon-lay, a good* train m^ -übjfeted to a »hght delay as the re-ult of the cleni'l i.icnt of a waggon. The *übMdf-nce 1- lot « -muc'piod sfj-iou*, however, and it i-= n"t likely that tiaffc will b> luterft'cd w.th. Ai.oti'.rr "" pauit ca-e " wa- di-pos-ed of • t tiie Police Court ou Monday when Samuel 'Inc. 11. 'i- I'oltou. Thomr* Mu*.hie.-<>n, sul Joh'i ulLei wee jomtW c har^-d with rtea' i'ig n;it'-r;al* bc'c«ing to the I'm'ui Coin pary 'I lie o\ ide> cc uuii. trj *hd\\ tr.at tlu two l^-l nan p i louj-ig'ijcf 1 Hi" %'i< d- (w h cli me liid'"'l '-oiin 1 tin- of \;ar.i-h wl ie h ii<id been tubbed ti-au o r tho coinpan\'» rrgsd.i t.o'l biov. v colon,) to !'o t 11 at Kd\ei - liOMiif, bit !ip luj ue\ci- tdken jjo--f--io'i of thi u\ ...id d«Mii«>d .Hi'- Knowledge of tliea. Mr Sin' on H /'..1.'- b- li-,'f *übn .; <"\ thai tliere .\ .( - I<> c<- • a^'""-' ' ll!;l !li ''' l-i- ' -hp t .ok ti<- -a..< \kw «cid 'i- 'i--'d the c j-p a^dii -t lulu 'J !•«" cj.l ci tw 1 <i( ( 1 ,-i-d w< 1 1 orrnntti ■[ for ti ai) Wl.i'li tin- Wart't-n".- Coiut met on M< tid^;. moiling' and the application of t'.e Col Jo'J o' '. tion of the City of Uuju dm 111 ir-pcct to a w^ter race ovA right 1 - at tl'" Lee Stre?m wa- califd, Mr V R Ch:'miian who n\> prared for th'- corpor.'tio-i, -tii i t 1 a* i. tin- matter there weie -otue cj\ic--u Ito be- .-ettled as betne'-u tie uiqiuijlioii and the Tiieii Coi'fty Council, and I. woi'l! a*k for a week- u'ljoiinui-tiit Mi C.urw (ward'-nl giant-d an adjCurnxi-ctit til Moi' day lie \t. It 1- not a- > nc'jl'\ l.rcwn th<tt by bo it is; in ~nme pan- of t. <■ c i*v an c\'cll<nt -u|)ply of aitc.ian water en bf cbtpiried Mc--r-li\ine and Stevcn-cn ha^- j;ut down a hoiv on thrir factoiy picßi.-f* 11: I'illcul -tivet, and at a c'epji of 240 ft ha\e taj.ped v .ipparmtlv iiiC\haii*tib'e »upply cf tlicpnrc-' watci Tin 61 11- fr vi.d it n'-ces-aij ti .-eciir.' an ad'ejuate supply of g< .< 1 w jtn for i-tarch making and loi o;Lei uuruo^eo ia conueuion

w ith their manufacturing business, as the tow n supply was far too impure to be of much use to them. They Fccord^ngly decided to try what quality of water bering would yield, aud the result ha* been gratify ing m the extreme. Mr Kidston-Huntcr's analysis shows the water t » be freer frcm -o'.ids and to be softer than ordinary spring water. A thrc-inch pipe has been put down a cli*tanee of 150 ft, and the water ri=cs to within 10ft of the surface, so that :i simple pumping apparatu* I.* a'i that is necessary to uti!i*e this natural supply. Encouraged l'j- the *vccp*- of Mc*-rs Irvine and Stevenson, Mc--rs Sai-good, Son, and Ewen ha\e deeded to put down a bore ut their factory on the reclaimed ground, and the result will be awaited with interest. A- an instance of eh se tendering, it .* worth recordino; that a.t la-t night's meeting of the North-East Valley Borough Council an accepted tender for bridge-building was only Is 3d under the estimate of the council's in-pector. and a tender for an alternali\e design for a stronger structure only 5s 9d out. Owing to the bad weather interfering with harvesting operations and ce'aying the work of farmers, tho Otago A. ar.d P. Society has deferred c losing the entries for the field turnip c impcnitions until Tbuisday, 24th m-t. That g'eat interest i.* taken m the competition i.- evidenced by the fact that already the entries aie about equal to thosj of Li*t year. As the discovery of g>'!d at Gabriel's Gully had .-uch a far-reaching effect not only for (Jtago, but New Zealand generally, it maybe of interest (writes Mr Langlaud*. secretary of tho Otago Early Settlers' Acsociation) to note how the fiist nugget found by Gabriel Read was disposed of. Mr and Mrs Peter Robert' on and familj arrived here 111 the Robei-t Henderson in lc.sc". For tome years after ho- arrual Mrs Rcbcrtbon (who has just r>a.-s..d away) did not take kindly to the country, and could not be induced to ihmk or speak favourably of it. When Gabriel Read was about to s'ar.. pr. specting he called at Mr Robertson's pace, and while partaking of the hospitality sj b'junt.fully di.speu.-ed tliere he told Mrs Robertson of his intention, and tl at he felt certain of bucec*«. Mrs Robertson scouted the idea of gold or anything el-c ot benefit being iound in such a country, and tried to clif-i-uade him from losing tune ou such a hope less search. Gabriel Read was confident, however, and on leaving promised Mr* Robertson the first m>gf?et he picked up as proof. The dipccuery was made, and the promise ledeemed. Mrs Robertson sent tho nugget to Scotland, where i* was made into a handsome ring and returned. Although gold in small patches had been found 111 several plac?s previously, that particular nugget wa.- the cau°e ol exten-ne goldfields being opened up not only in Otago, but s>'l over New Zealand, and that gives the ring a ■* alue far abo\e its intrinsic one. The ting is now in the possession of Mr* Talboys. of Dunedin, one of the late Mi-> Robertson's daughter?, and will no doubt be trea*ui*<_d as a valued and historic heirloom. For some tune past it was noticed that book- were bom^ taken out of the Athen spuin library Mtrrf>ptitiou*ly. and some of the members were suspected of 1 eing the offender-*. A =trict watch wa* kept, with tho lcsult that one particular member was recently discovered on n-'ore than one oc c 1 sion stealthily bringing in bookb that had Lueu taken out without being registered in the. ordinary way. The matter hiving bee.i reported to the committee, they, ;>t laf>: night's meeting, decided to strike the cu T put'h name off the roll of mcmb. j r»'up. It i« hoped that this will ha\e the effect of deterring other- from indulging 111 nmvlar act 3 of mcaniic*s. A i.ovelty i= at present in Di'iiedm In- way of a New Hudw.ii motor cycle, nr> ported by the local agent, Mr W A. Scjtt. Thc j mat lime 1- pivctirally noi*»'le s when 111 inotiou. A local wheelman — Mr Georgi Ne' s on -who lode 11 out for a -pin to Ander->ou's Bay and through the tuburbs yesterday morning, declares that after the flr-t few rtivohitic.il- he tra\cl'e-l "free wheel " tipariy all the way, and 111 a quie: thoioughfare, whore he ici turcd to unpiO\'tue p»c-e. he is convinct-d tiiat fully a spe^d of 25 miles an hour was- attained. The machine i« fittt-d with a Minerva engine, 12 to 2 horbP power, and it- rf'gs'ered speed 1- from the rate of fi\e to 52 mile- an hour In order to do ;cwav with puiic lure-, it ha s-peeially Spe«dwtll ly.p-. Fr ut and i»m ul-c, ! brake.- are a'l-0 v tt\, aid. with a I the fittings, tlie machine weigh- only 751b, and 1- iiuytlii'^ but c luirn-v in aupearanc A- 1(J thf motive pcn.ei. tl.e eugmt 1- chnen by a g*soliii<» l^iiitcl by an ole-ir < tp'r);, ihf pl<-c«iic current being -loi'd lip-in tlie !' ill h'lIP 111 r.( f 'll'.llli till 1 1 lie 111' till 1 O I iii-pf 1. ju .it tin- Spce'we'l Tittoij, G<oigc -tipft, whore it wil diubllc"-* be a -him > of .pt'iP't i"o indiiv Iyc If eiithu- a-ts. We ha\p ivcti\ed f1 om the Go.ciimic 11 Pi inter a tiaft copy of a propo-ed ioiwili da'io'i of -tjtute- of tho colony, enifcr.ic ii:^ sp'np 20 mr-a L iire- that con-olidiite pro- \ .-."p* I'iliting to the qucf-uons with w I ie h t'i'-e ciea! that a,' at j re=e' t -lattcrfd o^ '^l l),''«cen l ; 0 and 150 statute- eii-H-ted at \auous pfiioi'* batwee'i 1866 ai.d 1901. rlln«r lln« ciufi re; 1 c-< nt.-, however, a mere fiaction of the work tliat n- to be done if there is to be :> -y-t"inatic coiif-oliclatujii of the laws oi New Ztdland. fcji it co\pi- on'y tlto-r "tatute- tlie fim syllablts cf uho-e title* .ire 11 c iuded within tie !«-:ters "Act" snd '" Con " Mr W. Jolliffc. n[ t!ip Crown Law Oflic-p. ha- unclc-i t'ikc-n the cn''iwi- duty of compiling the consolidation, and M/ Sfdc'c'« indicated la-t -f--s on tl-at thf Go\n ninf-nl would ?p[)Oint a couii i*-i( 11T to sec tVa* the statute law was cmhii'cii'v cnilod,?d in tlie coti-obi'at iiii; incasim-- -<> c mpiled a:id when that i* d.,ne thf- L'-gi-'-'t 1 rp wi'l no doubt be asked to ciw.u them, aud to

collect in small compass fragments of laws that, to the bewilderment of everyon-e, are now buried in all sorts of likely and unlikely places in the statute Look-. We gather from our foreign exchanges by the mail that a German edition of Pro-fe-sor Park's text book on " The Cyanida Process of Gold Extraction " (fifth edition/ was issued in Berlin in February last, the copyright for Germany having been acquired by purchase by the publishers. In subjects relating to applied science we haro long been accustomed to take our lead from German or American authorities, and for this reason we regard the demand for a German edition of Professor Park's manual as a compliment to the author and no less to the dmersity Mining School over which he presides. Lady Nina Grant, in a letter to Bishop Ne\iU as to the movements of the Scafield family, after describing the.r anival in Banffshire, writes: — "We called on Lady Scafield. She was nice, but had very little to say for herself, and teemed very nervous. Business was not allowed to be touched upon, but Mr Campbell, the factor, camo over afterwards and explained certain things to us. We also met Lady Buchanan, the dowager* sister, and her nephew, Lord Charles Kennedy. Findlater Castle is ona of the most interesting of the old ruina about here. It is possible to get down to the underground rooms, though we did not attempt it, as it was too risky. In. the Culleu House grounds there is an old church, which was built in the thirteenth, century. We think of going to London in a few days. Seafield has taken a flat there, og he is sick of boarding house and hotel life!. Wo were so glad to hear that Mr-> Xe'wll was better. We read an account of j-our gaiden party and tho christening of the Eileen Bridge. ML*s Xattie Blacke is doing very well. She has been painting for Lady Napier and Mrs Collin-Hunter. The latter paid her a \ evy high compliment with regard to her paintings." It may be explained that the daughters of the Earl of Seafield became well known to the Bishop as student s ut St. Hilda's Collegiate School, Miss Blp.cke ia a Dunedin young kdy. At the Oamaiu S M. Court on Friday Henrj W. S Patter-on, a cadet in the Railway Department at Duntroon. pleaded guilty to ■■tealiiig a letter rontaiiiiti'^ cheque- aniouni1110 to £17 9* 3-1 fioii .1 -.oceiMi.- u n\. uivl wa-, remanded to il S ' "" ■ edin. for «°ii*c>i The pa»c?.ge C v„\ 1 \ . . Rub-idy Bill 1- th^ ir< .-.t mw 0. . j-i' o-ci-. <i the week in the T'mted States Senate, writes our Canadian c orre=poudeiit by la< mail. A =imilar mca-ure was presented la*t session. The opposition of the pre-ent 'e-»ion, though severe, has b'.-en defeated The final vote was 42 to 31. Some amendmerts were adopted, but they were all agreeable to those having the measure in charge. Srnatoi Hand offered, and the Senate adopted, three amendment* bearing d.rectly upon the acquisition by J. Pierpont Morgan of Eng1 ish fchips. The.se prov.de that no foreign built *hips shall paiticipate 111 the propo-ed subsidy ; that nothing in the act shall be constructed to prevent American citizens or poiporotiona from holding or operating foreign ships in the ocpau-cairj i:ig traclc ; and that no foreign-built *hip of any line thus occnured by Amer.c.wi i itizc-n- shall be admitted as heretofore to the American regibtry