OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 3085, 30 April 1913, Page 4

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Tho Labour Department has let contracts for the erection of 15 workmen's homes at Cobden, Groymouth, the aggregate outlay being £5002 7s. Tho prices for individuai houses vary from £317 IQs to £426. in a private letter to a member of the Wellington Council Wuth Bros, regret that they have sold the lioness now in Newtown Park to the City Council for £IOO, as they have been informed by Hagenback, of Hamburg, that the lioness cannot be replaced under £3OO.

A gentleman who returned from the Wess Coast told a Press representative that matters were not very good there at present. A number of sawmills had had to shut down temporarily, owing to lock of orders, and the consequent depression was reflected upon the whole commerce of tho Coast. The Mount Cook Motor Company has acquired from tho Mackenzie County Council a long lease of the Telcapo Hotel (says tho Oamaru Mail), with right of purchase, and it is its intention to float a company to greatly elnargo the house, to place a motor launch on tho lake, and to lay out golf links and tennis courts, and in other ways make Tekapo a health and holiday resort.

John Taupoki, a Maori, was charged on April 18 with a breach of a probation order, and with being found drunk on the North road, Winton. Inspector Norwood said the accused had been in the Dunedin prison, and was released on condition that he kept away from any town, and did not touch liquor. This he failed to do. The magistrate sentenced the accused to three months’ imprisonment. In a letter to a friend in Wellington, Mr T. Sedgwick states that after two years’ correspondence with the Governments of various oversea he has succeeded in inducing the New South Wales authorities to try his scheme for the immigration of women. Very shortly he will conduct a party of 20 widows (who each have one child), and 20 waitresses to New South Wales, where they will enter service. . Recently an advertisement appeared in the papers that a rough carpenter was wanted (save an exchange). A well-known Hedge'hope resident, feeling sure he could fill tho bill, applied for the position. He was informed that the salary was £l2O a year. The other necessary qualifications were that he must bo able to preach and be a lay missionary. The apjilicant came to the conclusion that the position would not suit him ; he could do better in Southland. A flaxmillcr at Balclutha states that his Mataura mill, situated about two miles from tho township of Mataura, suffered severely in the recent flood, tho loss in fibre swept away and dam igc to plant being approximately £3OO. Ihe water completely covered the mill and came as high as evio roof tree of the dwelling-house alongside. In hie eight years’ acquaintance with Mataura he hud never previously seen flood water near the mill.

The Presbyterian Church of Now Zealand has decided to unite with the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in sending a joint delegation to the Now to inquire into the condition of the natives nnd to confer with the Mission Synod at its meeting in Juno. I he delegation will probably spend three months in visiting all the stations in the Now Hebrides, and in duo course it will present a joint report to the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand and Victoria. The Waimate Advocate reports that a young man named M‘Oarthy, employee! by Mr C. Rots, was working in a shingle pit near the Rcelcliff School on Wednesday morning when a slid o of shingle took plaee, completely covering the young man, who was in imminent elanger of getting suffocated. Mr Ross rushed to hie assistance, and, by burrowing with Ire hands, succeeded in releasing the man. He was taken to Waimate, where it was found on examination that ho had sustained breaks of the wrist in two places. The recent floods have done an incalculable amount of good to settlers living near the mouth of tire Waimatuku Stream (says the Western Star), as the river has now changed its course, and runs into the sea alrout one nnd a-half miles on the Invercargill side of the old outlet. The now channel has considerably straightened the river, and consequently there will Vie more fall. The settlers in the vicinity arc not at all anxious now for the formation of a river hoard, as nature has accomplished what they requested. Tim following regulation under the Post and Telegraph Act is gazetted : “ Letters addressed to places beyond New Zealand and posted in any automatic registration machine shall, if insufficiently prepaid, be detained and forwarded to the Dead Letter Office, to be there opened and returned to the senders; provided that if the name and address of the sender of any such insufficiently prepaid registered letter appear on the outside of the envelope, the letter shall l>e returned unopened to the sender by the Chief Postmaster of the district,” At the quarterly meeting of the Railways Superannuation Board, held at Wellington, ordinary retiring allowances amounting to a yearly charge of £2320 9s

were passed in respect of 22 persons. Allowances amounting to an annual charge of £273 were granted to nine widows and seven children. Refund of contributions in respect to men who have resigned or been retired from the service amounting to £2439 10s lOd were passed. The accumulated funds now amount to about £257,000. Members of the Associated Churches of During the hearing of cases against Defence Act defaulters in the Auckland Police Court last week Mr E. C. Cutton, S.M., warned employers of territorials. The prosecuting military officer stated that the employers of several lads who had failed to attend camp had written just on the eve of the camp, asking for exemption for the Lads. The magistrate advised the representative of the Defence Department to take action against the employers in cases where they restrained their employees from complying with their defence duties, particularly in the case of taxicab people. At blastings on Tuesday, 15th, a baby boy, 13 months old, named Charles Martin Peterson, was scalded to death at his parents’ residence at Kercru. Details of the sad occurrence are that the child's mother was engaged in washing and boiling clothes, using one of the old-fashioned threelegged iron pots. She piled some of the boiling clothes on one side of the pot, and the child crawled along the floor to the pot, grasped the clothes and pulled the pot and its contents on itself. The pot was nearly full of scalding water, and the injuries which the child received caused its death a little later. A dog last week cost somebody about £BO (says the Dannovirke Evening News). The animal was lying on the roadway at the junction of Rawhiti and Stanley streets, and a motorist, who was returning to town, endeavoured to pass it, and then pull over on his right side again. Unfortunately his intentions were mistaken by a Native — a novice at driving —who was proceeding from town; lie altered his course, with the result that the cans met head on. None of the occupants of the cars was injured in any way, but the damage to the European’s and Native’s cars respectively is estimated at about £3O and £SO. Tiic Free Press states that at the Balclutha Borough Council meeting on Wednesday evening Mr Clark mentioned that Mr Malcolm had been reported by the local papers to have said, at his meeting in Balclutha on Friday night, that the Balclutha protective bank was riddled with rabbit holes. Mr Clark was of opinion that a motion should be passed “ condemning the member for his ridiculously untrue statement,” and stops should bo taken to have the statement refuted. The Mayor, in reply, stated that the engineer in reporting on the bank had said that out of 100 leaks during the flood not one had occurred through a rabbit hole. | One of the engine-drivers of the Wel-lington-Taranaki express stated at a coroner’s inquiry at Wanganui last week that motor traffic was the greatest “ hurdle ” which the engine-drivers of this train had I to face. This was particularly so on the ! Feilding-Pahnerston section, where lie had 1 seen some of tho most daring tricks imaginable performed. It was not unusual, he said, to see motorists attempt to race tho i train when the road was running parallel ! with the railway track, and then to cross ■ over in front of the engine when there ; was not 2ft to spare. Frequently ho had I had to blow his whistle on such occasions, ! and, by way of acknowledgment, tho I motorist would simply turn round and grin at him. I Twenty-three of the schools under the jurisdiction of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board are supplied with a complete outfit for the testing of milk. According to the director of agricultural instruction, great interest is being taken in tho work of the children as well as by their parents. The Hawke’s Bay Herald states that the timber industry has not shown any signs of improvement of late. In fact, the conditions have gone from bad to worse, and some millers who have boon running two mills have closed one down for an indefinite period. The stringency of the money market is responsible for a slump in tho timber industry, and there is nothing to show that there will ho any improvement for some time to come. The late heavy rain was responsible for an occurrence which might have ended much more seriously (says tho Wakatip Mail). On the night of Friday, March 28, after Messrs T. Kennett and O. Lynch had retired to rest in their tent on Mount Judah, some 6000 ft above sea level, a heavy i landslip came down tho slope on which they were encamped and cut away a portion of their tent. Tho debris just partially caught 1110 bed in which the occupants were sleeping, and was the means of giving thorn a good shaking. It, however, carried away the whole of their food and a quantity of other materials and completely disarranged their temporary abode. If tho tent had caught the full force of tho landslip, , the whole concern would have been carried into the Bueklerhurn River, some thousands of feet below', i During the quarter ended March 31. 1913, 169 vessels of a total tonnage of 440.102 tons and with crews numbering 12,010, were cleared outwards from No>> Zealand ports. For the corresponding

quarter of 1912 the figures were: 162 vessels, 436,916 tons, 11,566 members of crews. Vessels entered inwards during* the quarter ended March 31, 1913, numbered ,172, of 456,233 tons, and their crews numbered 12,322 persons. The figures for the corresponding quarter of 1912 were; 163 vessels, 397,613 tons, 11,081 members of crews; Christy will hear with great regret (says the Wanganui Herald), that the whole of the missionary stuff at Ingome, South Africa, has been stricken with fever. Cables received on Tuesday stated that Mr and Mrs Hadfield (formerly of Wanganui), and their children, had been taken to Buluwayo Hospital, and one received later stated that the young widow of Mr Mansill (of Wellington), who died recently*, had also been taken to the hospital, and was seriously ill. A later cable to hand stated that Mr and Mrs Hadfield were improving.