LOCAL & GENERAL

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 53

LOCAL & GENERAL

The Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. M'Kenzie) has (says our correspondent) returned to Wellington from his visit to the West Coast. He says the coal iniines are very busy just now, owing- to the strike in Newcastle. A great many rneai who were employed on public works have gone into the mines. The Government is expecting a strong demand for State coal, owing to the heavy ca.ll now being made on all the coal mines on the /est Coast. The Blackball railway is now practically out of hand, and its working will, says Mr M'Kenzie, contribute to the existing prosperity of the coal mining industry on the West Coast. The members of -the Hospital Board will in all probability pay a visit of inspection oa Saturday next to the Sanatorium for Consumptives now in course of erection at Palmerston. It is anticipated that the institution will "be ready, for opening at the end of February, or early in March. A four-roomed wooden house was destroyed by fire at Tuapeka Mouth on Monday at 2.15 a.m. Carpenter's tools, to ■the value of £ls, lying in the building, were also destroyed. The. house was insured for £IOO in the Standard office, and was valued at £l3O. The tools were uninsured. The building, which was the> property of Mr John M'Gown, was situated about a chain from his dwellinghouse, and was last occupied by Mr G. Bulfin, carpenter, about six months ago. The origin of the fire is unknown. Students are not the only persons whose endurance is tested by examinations. A complaint made at Thursday's -meeting- of the University Senate waa that the supervisors had the greatest difficulty in getting candidates to read the rules governing their examinations! Circulars with black type, it was said, might be sent to them; yet students, time and again, told the supervisors that they had not perused them* These remarks were occasioned by the receipt oomplaints from supervisors—one that a candidate had continued writing "after the expiry of the time limit, and the other that a candidate had committed a breach of a rule by tearing a book wherein to scribble. In the first case the explanation of the student was that he was writing a note complaining of the shortness of time allowed (note could be seen), and in" the second ignorance was the plea. In order to uphold the dignity of the University, and express approval of the action of the supervisor, it was resolved, on a half-humorous suggestion, that the latter candidate should be officially reprimanded! The advantages which may be expected to follow on the possession by a Minister of tie Crowi of a thoroughly practical knowledge of the affairs which are governed by his particular department were amply demonstrated by an incident which occurred on the Te Anau-MilforJ Sound track a few days ago, when the Minister in Charge of Tourist Resorts was there on a visit of inspection, and which was reported to one of our reporters by a gentleman who was present. In the past, Glade House has been provisioned from Luntsden as far as moat and other supplies were concerned. This, naturally enough, did not tend to altogether satisfactory results in regard to the privisioning of tho establishment. Accordingly, some time ago'the Hon. Mr Mackenzie gave instructions that, some 11 acres of bush land at .'jlade House wsre to be cleared in order to provide ground on which sheep and a cow could be run, whereby both mutton and fresh milk could be obtaiiaabLe first hand. The caretaker in charge of Glada House was in all respects an excellent man, but lacked the

necessary experience in the matter of bushclearing, which, of course,* was to be first carried out by firing. He started to fire the area, but seeing that Glade House itself was in clanger of being destroyed, he very hurriedly extinguished the flames with buckets of water. Owing to the danger of causing extensive damage no further attempts were made, and the undergrowth became very heavy. A few days ago MiMackenzie, om visiting the locality, decided to demonstrate to the caretaker and others the correct way hi which to fire the bush, and it was here that his practical knowledge was brought to bear. The Minister had no sooner commenced operations than a general apprehension arose among those present that wholesale destruction was to follow, but the fire was so carefully handled and confined that it extended no further than' the prescribed area ; very much- to everyone's relief, and, in bush terms, the demonstration resulted in a splendid burn. The nature of the grass-seed to be sown was' discussed on the spot, and, a selection made, the Minister wired to Dunedin forthwith for a consignment, which has since been despatched. The Otago Run Classification Commissioners have now completed their annual inspection of the whole of the pastoral runs in Otago, the leases of which expire on March 1, 1911, and their recommendations as to how the runs should thereafter be dealt with have been submitted to the Government in Wellington. The total area of the runs inspected is 359,705 acres. At a meeting of the Retail Section of the Otago Employers' Association, held on Thursday morning, it was decided to observe Anniversary Day on March 23 as usual, notwithstanding the fact that it falls in the same week as Good Friday. It was further decided to observe a holiday in connection with the visit of Lord Kitchener in the event of the Mayor proclaiming same, which, however, is somewhat doubtful. The annual ballot for the election of officials of the Otago Coal Miners' Industrial Union of Workers was completed on Saturday last. For the presidency there were two candidates—Messrs M'lnnes (retiring president) and Simm, both of Kaitangata. Mr Simm was elected' by a majority of 122, Mr M'lnnes polling 79 votes. There were two candidates for the secretaryship, and Mr R. N. Rudd, of Alexandra, was elected, polling 170 votes to Mr Gage's (Kaitangata) 128. No members of the late Executive Committee offered themselves for re-election, and the following were elected: —Messrs Heard, Hollows, Hebbard, and Crowe. A man named Thomas- Dicks, a member .of the crew, of H.M.S. Encounter, was on Thursday arrested by Detective Hunt on a charge of desertion on August 16, 1909. The stable situated at the corner of Richmond and Nicholson streets, South Dunedin, which was destroyed by fire at an early. hour on Thursday morning, was insured with the New Zealand Insurance Co. for £IOO. The salvage party at the wreck of the Waikare succeeded' in recovering the cat which, at the time of the wreck, returned on board and refused to leave the sunken vessel. The animal, when recovered, was in a semi-starved' condition, and was fierce and wild, but, under kind treatment ashore, gradually became reconciled to the new conditions. A Wellington telegram states that the number of persons who arrived in the Dominion during the last month was 5030, and the number of departures 2302. The figures for December 1908 were: Arrivals 5612, departures 2533. The arrivals and departures during the past two years were: 1909—Arrivals 38,650, departures 33,931; 1908—arrivals 44,970, departures 30,709. When the whole question of the matriculation examination in New Zealand is considered by the Senate of the University of New Zealand, the indications are that an interesting discussion will ensue. ' At Thursday's •meeting Dr Fitchett gave notice that he would move that a return should be laid on the table showing fop each of the last 10 years the passes and failures in the - matriculation examination. Mr Cameron also asked when the report of the Recess Committee on the matter would' be available. Mr Hogben replied that it would be available in printed form this morning. Another matter brought forward was whether the time had not come for incorporating a few questions in history and geography in the matriculation paper, so getting rid of the " extra question " arrangement which was a source of much confusion. This question was referred to the Scholarship Committee.. A further matter, round which discussion will probably ensue, was hinted at by the Rev. A. Cameron, when he suggested yesterday that a special investigation should be made into the work of the Recess Committee in relation to this examination. Mr Cameron said that had this committee pursued the same method as was taken last year there would have been 238 more passes at the matriculation examination this year! M* Hogben, on behalf of the Recess Committee, promised an explanation when the matter came up formally. The matter of a complaint by a Tokomairiro farmer (Mr David Scott) -against the Mount Stuart Road Board for not removing a gate on a roadline was heard in Milton before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., on Thursday, The case lasted all day. Ih©

magistrate visited the scene, and evidence as to the inconvenience of the gate was given by Mr Scott and a number of others. For the board, it was contended that the road on which the gate was erected was only used by three people—the complainant and two others. The latter did not consider it an inconvenience, and the magistrate found in favour of the board, with costs. Mr W. C. MacGregor, of Dunedin, appeared for the complainant, and Mr D. Reid for the defendant. The case excited some interest on account of tlie personal element introduced into the proceedings. The magistrate, in giving judgment, held that the bulk of the evidence did not support the theory that the gate on the road constituted a public inconvenience—or, at anyrate it was not a substantial inconvenience. The board, as practical men, had acted bona fide in the matter, and he could not see his way to set aside their judgment in a matter of this kind. A Press Association message states that Captain Newton, of the ill-fated Waikare, was on Friday chosen for the position of harbourmaster at New Plymouth from over 30 applicants. According to a Press Association telegram from Wellington, an application for a rehearing of the nautical inquiry into the loss of the Wellington steamer Duco has been refused by the Minister of Marine, on the ground that sufficient reason has not been advanced. The meeting of shareholders of the Dunedin Starr-Bowkett Building Society on Friday .night was fairly well attended, Mi* S. Smith being in the chair. The 205th appropriation_ of £SOO in No. 1 group was balloted for, and fell to cluster No. 9, held by one shareholder. The 206th appropriation of £SOO in. the same group was put up for sale, and £2OO was sold at a premium of £5 per cent. The eighty-fourth appropriation of £SOO in No. 2 group was submitted to sale, and realised an average premium of £22 16s per cent. Something of a stir was caused some little time ago by the discovery by Mr Sutherland at Mil ford Sound of a white weka (woodhen), and it was classed as absolutely unique. Guide Birley, who has charge of the Wakatipu-Te Anau track at present, stated to a Southland News reporter that he had a similar experience at the Maori Hillocks (Dart Valley) some 20 years ago. The bird, which was perfectly white-, had • only ony ■ blemish.—a solitary brown feather. A .Press Association message states that for the convenience-of'those who desire to inspect the wreck of the Waikare the s.s. Invercargiir; will Jeave Invercargill for Dusky Sound on- February 3. Membe'rs of the Hospital Board, including Messrs J. H. Walker (chairman), W. T. Talboys, W. Burnett, W. T. M'Farlane, and T. Y. .Wales '(architect), paid a visit of inspection to. the Sanatorium for Consumptives, nearPaimerston, on Saturday. Good'progress is being made by Mr E. H. Clark, the Contractor, both with the main building, and- the shelters, which number about 10. The -dining-room was considered to be too small, and it was decided to lengthen it by 20ft. A satisfactory water supply is assured for the institution. Everything points to the building being availahie for the reception of patients in about two months' . time. • There '.were 34 patients admitted to the Dunedin Hospital during the past week, and • 30- were -discharged. One death occurred; the patient's name being John Mitchell Hutton. "At present the total number of inmates is 150—three more than at the end of the previous week. The following list of passes in the final examinations for the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery was posted at Otago University on Saturday morning;—Misses Collins, Messrs Dugelby, Foote, Gowen,--Hyde, M'Bride, Nelson, Short; Sineopc, T*ut;; Watt, and Woodhouse. The- traffic - returns' for the tramwaya for the fortnight ended January 1, 1910, as compared with the corresponding period for last year, were as follow: —Receipts—--1910, £2977 10s 6d; 1909, £2835 .5s 6d; mileage—l9lo, 42,887 miles 72 ohains; 1909, 43,005- miles 8 ohaine. •- One q£ the horses used in connection with the buckjumping exhibition, to be given orf the Oval this week, broke away from jts. tetfrer on Saturday evening, and, the ground being unfenced, after galloping along Princes street as far as the City Hotel, collided with a youth named Edward Bills, residing at the North-East Valley, and knocked him down. The horse continued its course, and shortly afterwards oollided with a tramcar going southwards. The result of the impact was that the horse was so badly hurt that it died during the night at Jeffs's sfeabks, where it was taken after the accident. The youth Bilk, who is about 17 years of age, was not seriously hurt. The report of the Library Committee of the City Council contains the following recommendations: —"That it is desirable to convene a conference of the repres«sitatives from public libraries of New Zealand for the purpose of discussing matters affecting the general conduct and management of libraries in this Dominion, and that such conference be held at Dunedin at Eastertide." While walking on the beach at Fremantle on January 11 a young man named Lawrence Harper picked l up a lifebuoy which had apparently been in the water a considerable time, being much knocked) about. The name on the buoy was not visible to the Ba&ed eye, but examination with the

microscope revealed the letter "W." Separated at intervals were the letters "A" and " R." There is a police launch at Fremantle named the Waratiah, but the police say that none of the lifebuoys is missing. An unusual case was heard by the justices at Waimate on Thursday last (reports the Advertiser), when W. Bannerman (teacher of the Waihaorunga School) was charged with kicking William Black (chairman of the school committee) on the leg. The complainant's statement was that on December 16 preparations were being made for a school concert, and he and some others were attempting to remove from a fence to the school a platform to be used as a stage. Defendant came out of his house and protested, declaring that the platform was his own property, and, during the altercation which followed, kicked .complainant on the leg, which was still painful. The defendant (who took the Scottish form of oath) said he had been asked to get up items with the scholars for a concert. He agreed. Some 24 hours before the event he was told there was also to be a dance. This he objected to, and was supported in his objection by the board. The hoarding had been given to him by Mr Dowthwaite. He remonstrated with Mr Black, who failed to desist. Peter M'Allister and the other man desisted. In scuffling with the boards they pushed against one another, and he might .have given Mr Black a kick. He had no intention whatever of kicking. It was a mere accident of the scuffle. He objected to it being called a kick. The bench, after retiring, regretted that the case had come into court; it might have been settled otherwise. Defendant was fined £2, and costs (£1 17s). Half the fine went to the complainant. In order to test the safety of the arrangements made for the patients at the Hospital in the event of a fire, the trustees on Monday evening, prior to their meeting, made a brief test of the canvas chute giving egress from the upper floor. Several of the trustees underwent the experience of sliding down the chute, while one humourously declined. The trustees generally were satisfied with the arrangements, but Captain Mitchell, superintendent of the Fire Brigade, who was present, made one or two suggestions which will be embodied in a report to be prepared and presented shortly. At the meeting subsequently some discussion centred round the experiment of the evening, Mr Walker particularly commenting upon the necessity for practice being given to those likely to be concerned in the event of a fire. He also referred to a report prepared on the subject by the resident medical officer, and desired that both it and the superintendent's reportshould be fully discussed later. From the remarks made by the trustees it was apparent that the provision for escape in case of a fire in the building would be given such attention ns would afford the .greatest degree of security. At a meeting of shopkeepers and others interested, held in the Mayor's room, Port Chalmers, on Monday evening, it was unanimously decided to observe Friday night, February 4, as a late shopping night, instead of Saturday night, February 5, the lastnamed being the date set apart for the holding of the combined annual Port Chalmers ■picnic. It was also' decided to observe Wednesday, February 2, and Saturday, February 5, as weekly half-holidays from 1 p.m. The ordinary weekly meeting of the Benevolent Trustees, held on Monday afternoon,, was attended by Messrs W. T. Talboys (chairman), LeOren, Walker, Moller, Gallaway, Larnach, and Tapper. It was reported that the expenditure during December amounted to £295 5s 9d; this amounting to an average of 6s 6d per week for each of the 203 inmates. In reference to the charge for water, supplied to the institution by the corporation, the town clerk, Dunedin, wrote stating that the council had accepted the institution's cheques, and had written off the balance of £260. The advice was noted. In regard to the financial statement, which showed a marked increase on the credit side, it was decided to defer discussion for a week in order to permit of the preparation of a comparative statement which would throw light on the position. Mr Tapper said that the financial year had been started with a credit balance of £412, and: closed with £B6B in credit. This increase, said Mr Tapper, might have been effected by economy or by a decrease in the number of both inmates and " n eipiente of outdoor relief. Accounts tot;., .g £6B 7s Id were passed for payment, and 21 applications for relief were dealt with. Our Bluff correspondent writes: "The oyster question now being agitated is understood to be recurrent on the part of Dunedin. Hitherto the local merchant was disposed to be conciliatory. Nov/, however, there is authority for saying that he means to take a firm stand, and if Dunedin can suit itself to' better advantage it is welcome to do so." He adds that Dunedin is the only fault-finding market they have to do with. At Monday's sitting of the University Senate, Professor J. H. Scott, in accordance with notice of motion, moved —" That students of medicine shall, before presenting themselves for their final examination, attend a short course of demonstrations in elementary stomatology, and that the number of midwifery cases students of medicine are required to attend beforegraduation shall be increased from six to 12; and that this motion be referred to

the Medical Committee for report." He said that it must be very obvious to all medical men that a certain amount of knowledge of stomatology was necessary. The proposal was certainly rather a novelty, but there, was every possibility of its being generally included in medical courses. A class had been .held in Dunedin duringlast winter, and had been attended by all the medical students, who expressed themselves as being glad to have an opportunity of gaining tuition on this subject. As fop further tuition in midwifery cases being: given, none would' object to that. Dr Collins seconded the motion, which, was unanimously carried. At Monday night's meeting of the Hospital Trustees a letter was read from Messrs Kirk and Davey, solicitors, Naseby, intimating that under the will of the lata Grace M'Connochie, of St. Bathans, the sum of £250 bad been left to the institution, and, this being subject to abatement, the institution would benefit to the extent* of about £220. The chairman reported! that of course the legacy would carry with' it a Government subsidy of po,und fori pound. The letter was received, the legacy to be noted with thanks. On Saturday last the new Palmerston water supply was turned on into the [ reservoir. It took the water many hours—• hours that were heavy with expectation!, and doubt to the anxious population with whom the water question had been a very live issue for some time —-before the water forced its way against the air pressure, through the many miles of piping and began to flow steadily into the reservoir. The water was turned on at 11.30 a.m., but by about 7.30 p.m. was coming through' in volume. With the satisfactory completion of this work the residents of the town will now be able to enjoy the luxury of a regular water supply. The following is the corrected list of passes in the final examinations for the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine andl Bachelor of Surgery which was posted at Ota.go University on Saturday morning: Miss Dugelby. Messrs Collins, Foote, Gowen, Hyde, M'Bride. Nelson, Short,. Sincox, Tait. Watt, and Wcodhouse. George Olliver. who is charged with attempting to murder his wife at Kingsland and with attempting to commit suicide, appeared at the Auckland Police Court on Monday (says a Press Association tele* gram). A remand for a week was granted', but on accused's counsel applying for baUl on the ground that imprisonment was affecting accused's health, the police objected because Olliver had told a constable that he was not sorry for what he had done, and only wished he had to meet the ends of justice by the last sentence -of the . law. The application for bail waaadjourned. j The Railway Department will as fron* Monday next, up to March 31, issue through tickets daily from Dunedin and Caversham to Taieri Mouth, including bofchi train and steamer fare. The first returat fare will be ss, and the second return 3s 9d» : ' The fact that Anniversary Day, Wednefi-, day, March 23, falls in the same week' as Good Friday is causing some concerip to the retailers of the city, and, we understand, another .meeting of the Retail Sectionl of -the Ota go Employers' Association haaj been called to reconsider the matter. Ifcj is generally recognised that to close fori] a whole day in the middle of Easter Weeift would greatly interfere with business, «] considerable amount of which would be] shut out. Some of the retailers are prepared to recognise the holiday on Eastert \ Saturday, and another section prefers tofj observe it on the preceding Monday, whileiS a number favour cutting out the holiday; altogether for this year! ' An effort is being made to secure 0 section of ground in the north end of city for the purpose of laying down * running track for purposes of training,:and in accordance therewith the Otago Centre of the Amateur Athletic Association ha».. approached the R.eserves Committee of that City Council. A section adjacent to thai Woodhaugh Gardens was suggested, bull considered out of the question, and now Mr Tannock has recommended the reserrtf near the Botanic Gardens as being suited to the purposes required. An inspectionf of this reserve by the parties interested will be made on Wednesday. During the first week in January 355 people travelled by the seaside excursion train to the north run by the Railway Department on Saturdays, and 326 in the second week. .The figures for the corresponding week-ends of last year were 305 and 273, showing that north line excursions have this year become even more popular. The week-end excursions to Queenstown instituted by the Railway Department are not meeting with anything like the support that might reasonably have been expected, the average weekly number making the journey this year bcinpr about 30. During the past year 17 petitions for dissolution of marriage and one for nullity of marriage were filed at the Supreme Court. Dunedin. Sixteen decrees for dissolution and one for nullify wore granted. Hannah Elfard a domestic rervant em--plovcd at Bladder, Manchester, cut her thumb while cleaning some vases lasfi March. Blood poisoning supervened, and sho went to the infirmary. At Preston County Court she was awarded £IM and COats. , Anioaigst the jllu.-trations in this issu-a will be found a <ull page of photo? depicting stages in the preparation cf Messrs Nelson, Moats, and Co.'s well known teas for the market.