LOCAL & GENERAL

Otago Witness, Issue 2719, 25 April 1906, Page 85

LOCAL & GENERAL

- = At jW-ffdnerKlay's meeting of Ahe Education <ylipaxd~, a^4?mjn6nication was- read^frairi^^heV " ". Inieni^o^I c ;P^cevv^Eooia^p;^sugge Isting^1 sting^ > ."theSß^iy^btlify! :of;. instructing .teadxera'to. < give'lesonsjon important events, and also _-,* suggesting that lessons bs given on '" the opening of The Hague Conference.' The ■- letter/ was - minuted-. " received'"^. without , comment. ;;^ "£ /: ;"/;" ~V' - " ~- -' The surgery, and disperfsa'ry''expoEs€s of " _the"_ Dunedin Hospital, increased last year - j'from' £323 in 1905 to £1400, and the triis- - tees think some "explanation should be - forthcoming. On Wednesday, on ihe mo - tion of Mr S. Solomon, the secretary wae __ i inßtructed.to supply an account showing the - cause of "'the- unusual' increase. i ~ ' Several complaints have been made lately .ooncerning a portion of the road .about Z -ial£way ;up Ki}mog^ MSL,: Ikbfonf place ■'-"there is -said tof'b'e'a "dangerous ■ rut ab~out J.'a'.foot, deep running" diagonally, across the > J and -drivers" 'of '.vehicles*;. -p'reßiot^an" jSafeeidentJjerej' long- *.i£^tlie's utattgr. ..hot . *v. promptly'' attended /toS ''■ • ; r ' '*' J' " i • -.rTlie^ ■workman.-, against... whom an , ■ : :-^e^bf^.qci^.de : UiV'l^pitimg at»-tn^ Waipahi i I'Schoorbiulding on" Sunday "TecenMy. , was noty „. J an' '"efiplol^le -of '"the >^E^ucation Board; but" /was really",a, contractor, being a -Balclutba ~_z ; bricklayer, .from whom a. ' priced for tfacj 1 brickwork (labour only) had been accepted. \ The board's workmen on the job unsuccessfully , remonstrated with tlie man in the course' of -action he was taking. At- Wednesday's meeting of. the Benevof- lent"- Trustees the" case of- a fdrmer male ,in- , m&te of -the Otago Benevolent Home came up - for^consideratlo'n as the result of correspondence' "from tfc« secretary of the Blind y Asylum at Auckland, where the man 'is V npw-loeated. , The man, who arrived here i „'' some "two years ago from Australia, had ' "fceenjeent' from' the Auckland, Blind Asylum ,- to ,the-JcqnsuinptiTe sanatorium, but was /there judged not "to be "consumptive. lie ? ? was therefore returned to,.the Blind Asylum. The 'doctors "considering the warmer climate j » of W^esfern Ausiralialmjshi -salt liim better, ! the _-. •asylum' authorities 'vjished 'to know j what^steps the Otago Benevolent , Trustees j '.„ would take toWrds furthering that prop'esab- The trustees on -Wednesday afternoon --^agreed thai 'tho <New^ Zealand Government '. should, .never, have- 'allo.wetL such an\i,mmi : . grant^io land here, but, at thejsame "timei ~- exprjeesed- /doubt- a3 -to whether;' the Ccm- > i" f -nk«i'i^ealth? I Goverrimentf 'tvould ; -;p«rniit' "the man's __It waa,' finally decided , to. -Vr«qom'men*d leaving .-the 1 ; c marL j .-»whereJ-', hie* inquiries, 1 ' andjlp. reply ,to / the,-. Blind - .Asyium- authorities- that~ 'the Benevolent Trustees- would f be happy 'to . facilitate his return if" practicable. - Three proclamaiions appear in Thursday -, morning's, Otago Daily Times notifying the *■ re^rrafibn, tinder the Scenery Preservation ■ AcVof two' areas ha the -Dunedin and East / Taieri. .sui;vey,.distrlct,. > .cpmpr^3ing 142. acr^s 'and"-24'acres_ respectively,-' and an area of 110 _acr-es ,in the "North Harbour and; Blueskin district.,;; P«rebjas cuttfng or-i^moving '- timber, or^inan^>-w'ay Sn'terfering.- with thereserves -or damaging the scenic features, ; are liable to a penalty not exceeding £100. We beUeve'-'.the,ltwo'.-aseeas*-in' the ' Dtspedin' -'_ and >t Eistr.TaiSri "at^Wfiare Flat; and part of Saddle Hill, 'while the area in the" North -Harbour and, Blueskin I - district- is most likely the reserve on Mount Gargill. :4 - x ■ , , - At the Lytteltoni Magistrate'se Court yon - "Wednesday , liilian MOlahon,' alias Martin, a' -prepossessing . young woman, who . was^ arrested, in, Dunedin, j>leaded "Guilty" to. -, having.>,tolen.£63 10s from' Catherine Buckley," an old' wonuin with whom" she lodged. -;'*Sh& took* the^moiiey^ from a- drawer ..and a* portmanteau ' in', tlie -complainant's .room. ■i* She -was remanded to ''the Supreme i"Goui*t 'for^eentehce^ * v '■' -"'*,"" ' " ""• The putting-into operation of the teachers' , superannuation 'scheme- has ientailed a- great J-'dsal of -■extra /labour *, on the Education I -'Bogrd's' staff." ;- All the'^calculations Have Cto be-^tnade'in the local office, the ages of - " teacKers verified,' and also statements made . out regarding the salaries paid to each teacher -during the" past 28 years. This must necessarily be^a great strain on the board's clerical department, and it is quite possible that the office staff will, in consequence, have to, be increased. \ The" Canterbury Caledonian ' Society has ~ decided to" offer a scholarship of £15, ten--,ab!e for two years, for children of" Scottish . parents (on- either side). The governors of "^Canterbury College /have granted one year's fre&" education to the successful candidate. -The examination -.will, be — (1) .Scottish history from- the years 1560 to 1660, from Sir •Waiter Scott's] " Tales of a Grandfather"; -j (2) - Scottish .language and literature, includ- . "ing ,-fi»rlife of'Sjr .Walter Scott, two of his epicv- a^d \vfo~oi~- Buxns's larger' poems. They Westpo&K-C0a1.,. Company, being nnaible ft> keep pace' with the increasing demand for coal from the .compajoy-'a mikes, has -decided to put on a double shift at the* "Denniston mine as well as Granity Creek,' where /double shifts^ have been - wofted for'so'me time. " This "departure will enable the) company^ fo. turn out 3000*' tons pf.coal per day. A most important suggestion was made* at Thursday's meeting of the Otago Educa-'■ftioit-Board bySlr T. Mackenzie, M.H.R.— namely, -.that the time" had arrived for the board to take into its consideration^ the appointment of a. competent expert to «peoialise-Jthe teaching agricultural subI " Heja :ih& primary fchgols,. jWilit -cea-

• siderable foretihdug'bt -and self-denial, said . . Mr r ;3laekenzie,-. several teachers had in the, past> in a _ measure! " established practical instruction :tp their" pupils in, tliisL way, especially' regarding.-.oottage gardening and experiments.- in seed-gr.ov.ing. •' .-Prominent among .^ / the^e wei» Mr, . Stewart,- • of ' "Waikouaiti % ■ Mr Taterion,' ; of ''Hampden; j and Mr Barnett, when he was at Waita- > huna. ..Mr Mackenzie added that, consider- ■ ing. -fche position, agriculture was assuming j -in the • production - of 'the'- wealth of the colon/,' the .board shoula not lag- behind in tte matter. ' :"- '- *" .-■''.* j-. The police have instituted proceedings against two men, bricklayers by occupation, for working *at their- trade or calling at Waipahi on' a Sunday. Ths case will to heard* at, the Clinton Court on the 24th j inst.' • ' , " ~ ~~" - "..,'} At ■Thursday's' meeting of the Education ' Board the >■ secretary intimated that three 1 schoo^ teachers .in Otago had decided to ' retire, under the provisions of the Teachers*'* [• i Superannuation - Act — namely, Mr William r Milno'(Gay«fsham),',Mr Jamps Reid' (Toko-.'>'.. ' mairiro)j-'ana Mt -Janc-es Barton (Portobello). > ,Thejnembers.ot"the board referred in most lei'ms to tne "w.ork these '. . genidemen had done in the interests of ' ""educatioocr, and expressed; the hope' that they •/- i would "long enjoy \thfir T rest:'r A ■-' ■• ,/.\v j- „■ - ■ .""'■' * -f" ""* '(' In commenting on a ease -in; which four 'boys were charged with theft at the j Juvenile , Court, ,on -Thursday, -Mr G. . .C. i ■ Gra-hamr S.M., questioned the' efficacy of j birching in , deterring' these boys from repeating the offence. "If the bircJb is to . be administered at all," said the magistrate, } " the -constable officiating must do it properly — in such a way as to make these ;• boys • remember it. I have heard that boys -go out and laugh afterwards. It is what the boys in the public schools in , get — at Rugby even &ons of peers of the j realm ar,e- birched, — and I , trust that the [ attention of the^-inspeetor will be called to' the'- matter." r - , The. British Crown has received a windfall - of £50,000 through' the death of Mrs t Taylor, widow of' Mr Hugh- Lewis Taylor, late manager in tonclon of the Bank' of Victoria. This _la.dy, wlo was -Mr Taylor's second wife, died -intestate in ISO 4-, within a month of her husb'a'ndi ' Her estate was £90,000, • •but £40;000'25v-as only a life interest. The curious, featuro of ,: the . case -is /that the trustees: Have not .succeeded "in '~ any relatives 'of the., deceased Ja.dy, or -who ' she . .was ."before • she bacame. •Mr 3 Taylori -It had been undeistcod ±hat ( s'ae x wa? ;tha daughter of- a medical man;- aud -the; widow of a.coWnel'in ihe -Black Watch. All scareK K b'y the^ trustees., failed* -to discover- ; • tha'fc^ these^ .rersens 'ever existed. " Tlie ■trustees were equally unsuccessful in finding' any record of the lady.'s first marriage in the registers of the 'church where the ' ceremony "was said to have fceen-celebrated. Nor did they obtain any assistance from a printed notice, apparently a newspaper .cutting,. ,of her presentation at Cwrt as the 'colonel's wife. The cutting proved to have been Especially "printed, as there was .only' typo on one side of the paper. Whoever ' the lady »was, she completely succeeded in burying' her pastj' and as a result the Chancellor of 'the Exchequer gets her estate , of £50,000. ' j At .Wednesday's meeting of th& Education "Board secretary (Mr P. G. Pryde) , mentioned^ that three head teachers in the } board's had decided to take advant- | age of -the teachers' superannuation scheme, } and had sent in their resignations accordingly. ,Tt is understood that of these two ara head masters of schools within the boundaries of- Greater Dunedin. The .Taieri Commission, having visited all parts of the Taieri Plain and J some of the surrounding district and heard the evidence- of about )t SO witnesses, the ' majority- of wlioin, have; 1 interests in dff- Iferent;.quarterso|'the pjain, concluded ,ats ' publid-' proceedings- on Eriday'with. a sitting! in Dunedins" 'A notable' feature of thsj evidence on Friday was a suggestion' r-y | Mrßoberts, civil engineer, who-advocated-an alteration -in the course of the ,Taieri j. River" through the plaiffc s This .plan was ( put forward nearly 30 years ago by . engineers who were engaged at that time to report on the best method to adopt • to prevent damage from floods in the river. ; They suggested that the course of the river should be diverted in the vicinity of Outram and conducted through the plain to ' the lower part of the district, where it would re-enter its own channel. The expense of a scheme of this kind was not touched en on Friday. It is a project that may be carried out some day. The commission 6its next week in private to ! draw up its report. j Scarlet fever has been in evidence during the past week, 15 cases having been reported at the District Health Office, j In the city, Duke street and Howe street furnish one case each, a similar number [ being reported from Riverton, Edendale, Invercargill, and Mornington. The Kai- j tangata epidemic shows no sign of abatemerit, nine additional cases having been reported during the week. The will of the late Mr William Harrop, of Dunedin, was before the Supreme Court on Friday. The value of the real ar.d ( personal estate of the deceased gentleman was certified to be £28,013 18s lOd, upon ' which" the Commissioner of Stamps claimed £3582 9s "2d by way of; stamp duty. The ' Public Trustee, as the executor of the will, took' exception to the payment of this sum on, the ground that, with the : exception of two annuities, all the bequests were exempt from the payment of duty, < being gifts "for the benefit, of the public. Mr Calvert amtendecl Jba,t fche bequest of

the' residue- to; St. n Paul's Cathedral £n\ Diinedin andVthe bequests to the Odd-fello-res'^of dßlO^per 'annum and . £25 per., annum^ to * I<nuid a soEoiarship, came^ within "yjtbis 'category;^ V-^Mr "JFraser,, on": behkif of ith'e Commissioner, • of V Stamps," | opposed- thai-view. "^OnT the ■-rniain point~i he'^ubmitted that, on- a' strict'interpretation-^-of the statute it could not be said that the question of a cathedral was for the benefit of,, the public. His Honor .remarked tKaV this wa"s the ''first time' fthe coutt had been askeid-to give 'an interpret tation of tne words "for the benefit of- the public." He would" take time to consider his judgment. ' When the proposal to raise a loan of £1000 for the lighting of the Roslyn Borough by electricity/ was proposed one councillor .-very authoritatively stated that the cost of floating the • loan would be about £70. In spite. of pessimistic objec- ' tions the loan was floated, and, as events ! have proved,- tha-total- cost to thet borough | has been only £8 13s 4d. This is Roslyn V, first loan. The question which is occupy- j ing. the consideration; of' avbody of? r rate-~j payers " is : ■ Will" it be t-he^' f orerunnej q£ t other attempts -to exploit the money market ? It may be a solace to some to know, that- the Mayors- notice, ojh. nwStiotr, •to fake steps 1 for the borrowing of- a -further £10/000 ' for borough worlcs — roads,; etc.— wa3- lasi -night .•withdrawn/'SfV <Wa v Slier ! stating that he cou4d not personally pursue - the, matter owing to. the jiear-approach of { the termination of his year- of office .and j the incoming Mayor not being' disposed' to take up the matter without first giving it , full consideration. Mr Washer, however, ' is st.'ll of opinion that it is necessary for tho well-being of Roslyn that a loan for neces- * sary works' is essential,^ and, as ho is a; possible candidate for -any future vacancy ! in the representation of- the borough, more ' will probably be heard of the proposal in ' the near future. " , r j Mr Ronayne, General- Manager .of ,New Zealand Railways.' "has been engaged during the week making an annual inspection of railways in the south. Mr Ranayne' left JDunedin on Thursday for Dunback, Ngapara, Tokarah., and Oamarti. On Friday he Went through to Halcataramea. via Waimate. ami proceeded on Saturday, to JTairlie,, and returned , to Timaru in order to calch'-the first express for Christchurch, . and )yt.nl on to Wellington by J;he evening" steamer 2 -.-■-', -, • Some - things are better left, unsaid or at least expressed 'differently, and the remarks of. an !to civic honours on the 'suburban , councils at a- meeting 1 ][TeJd on Friday evening' Svas superfluous, if j Nothing cjs9.ij- Ho- was^klniJ- enough, to sayv;j " The-.' only^.. other thing, is .Wednesday's voting, 4 and I think you will have intelli-! gence enough to record them all right." Our cablegrams this week" indicate "that apparently the' worst is nov- over in San Francisco. -By the use of artillery and explosives the progress of the fire . in the city has been stojpped, and this being the case more, attention can be given by the authorities to relieving fhe distress J of the thousands of • homeless people who have been forced to sleep in the parks and subsist on short' rations. To make mattersworse, a great' scarcity* of water prevailed, and the sufferings of the women and chil j dre'n, the poor and the ailing, must have indeed been terrible. As there will not now ' be so much demanded for fire suppression, it is to be hoped the' water supply will prove adequate. Trains withfood supplies are reported to be arriving, presumably at Oakland ; and as it is thus made evident that railway communication is not interrupted, assistance may He said, to be near at har/d. Meantime, the interruption to telegraph lines continues, and there is great delay in' obtaining information as to the safety of^ the friends and refatives of many in this .colony who were, resident in- San Francisco' and other place's' in ,the State. ,The. Premier, . it will be seen" fn a telegram, published elsewhere, has undertaken to* make 'every, -inquiry to relieve the anxiety of those in this colony' about their- friends. On behalf of the' colony, "Mr Seddon^has also 'offered practical assistance -ta the authorities for the relief of sufferers. Steps are also being taken by the Mayor of Dunedin that will probably result in a relief fund being raised. Since last week 26 patients have been admitted to the Hospital and 31 discharged. There was one death, that of George Brookes. There are 114 patients remaining in the institution. Mr D. Russell, secretary of the Otago Acclimatisation Society, received the following telegram from Mr Hugh Pollen, secretary to the Colonial Secretary: — "Re your letter of the 28th of March, it is not proposed to declare a close season for ducks in Otago this season." Messrs Millar, Arnold, and Barclay, M.H.R.'s, have received telegrams to a similar effect. The Drainage Board reports that rain j fell on four days last week, as follows : — April 17, .OSOin; 18th. .090 i n; 20th, O.lOin ; 21st. .760in;— total. .940 in. The total rainfall for the year to date is 8.905 in. Mr R. M'Nab. M.H.R., writing to a member of the staff of the Gore Standard, under date March 23, from the Grand Canyon of Arizona, U.S.A., slates that he had a very good passage across the Pacific. With three others, he had stopped at the ■ Grand Canyon on his way to Chicago. He " hoped to reach Boston on the following { Thursday (March 29), and then go on to j New Bedford next day to commence his J. search of the historical records of the } States dealing with the exploration work of the latter part of the eighteenth and ; early years of the nineteenth century. An \ American vessel is supposed to have sailed

ne cause

\ out of •, Boston, to t ..yisik_^he~ shores /o^ southern * New Zealand . jn ' those years,- A there i^ no information to' : bo gleaned from ' .the New ; j3outh Wales] records concerning tthe resulf;b£ Icier Inission. ' -The - historical ■ records 'iri' the New Bedford archives^ may provide •jthis ii link: and complete the- ; chain: ! of history - that Sir - M s .frabVis 'compiling i in connection with the early days of- Miiri- | hiku. Mr M'Nab adds in his, note that | he had,, pretty well given up fche idea of 1 being 'able to get to England.^. * r*" ; *-^- ;- | * are " invitedj in. -this ' issue I for. the positions of head master and mistress of the' new school at - Maori Hill, which will probably be opened on July I.' i It is expected that the school will open with an attendance '- of about 70 pupils.' , ~ The Mataura Paper "Mills have (says thp Gore Standard) experienced , considerable 1 difficulty of late in procuring raw material in conn-eebion 'with their work. 'One cause i of this is stated to be due to a great deal ' 'of the extraneous substance of flaxraills, ; which. , can be utilised, in paper- manufacture, nnding_ its way. to .the English mar- ; ket, superior * price being the inducement. . r The Secon'cP ; Civil' Gotirt - ,was ■ recently, 'engaged jn ~3£elb<mrne--iris;Jiearinjj argument to 1 determine^' who '"''is,'- *4*>niitled.' >f to v . -estate which.. is vaTioujly valued^'at $80,000 and £.100,000." "WJlliajn [ Henry j Seville 'Osmon^. of t'Th* S^camqi^MfJßtaw€?2;»'srrazier,^djedj. on March j. 11, '-"IjJOI, and . "bequeathed- " his^ x estate' ' to-"- his next-of^kin.* ' Inquiries- wero.\ instituted in" England as" to the - next-of-kin^ of the testator." A number of v clahns were sent in. and the nearest of the relatives ii was ■"■found- to btf '-Mrs 1 -. Charlotte -'Elizabeth * j Moulo, wife of- a poor bootmaker at Devonport,, near Plymouth, England, who- claimed to be a niece of the testator on her father's ■ side. Other claimants — cousins, etc.", of ihe testator — disputed Mrs Moule's claim on . the -ground tha* her father was an illegiti-. j mate son of the testator's father. To de- ; termine the question of the legitimacy or* ; illegitimacy of Mrs Moule's father the preF ,sent action was- instituted. A .larcje quan-, tity of evidence, laken an commission • in f England to determine Mrs Moule's claim, I has been placed before the-Vcourt.* A, parfc of the.JPersian' Gulf is known by the tit'e- of ' the t Gr«en'-S€a. on account' of a remarkable strip of vividly greon , water whioh is seen along 'the Arabian coast. , l