County Councils' Conference

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7662, 22 June 1896, Page 3

County Councils' Conference

Wellington, to-day.

The Counties' Confereuco had the Local Government Bill under discussion the greater part of Saturday, but after making several suggestions and considering some of the schedules, it was decided that the time at the disposal of the Conference would not allow of the clauses of the Bill being discussed seriatim ; therefore a committee of ten was appointed to frame suggestions as to rendering the Bill workable, and as to the amendments which were thought necessary. At 3 o'clock the Conference adjourned until 10 a.m. to-day. The committee at once engaged upon its duties, and will submit a report to the Conference at this afternoon's sitting. The Municipal Conference opened this morning. The President's report comprised a statement of the principal work done by the Association since its constitution. The Association has a credit balance of £131, and has no liabilities. The principal business of the conference will be the consideration of the Local Government Bill. THE FIRE INSURANCE QUESTION. Later. — At the Municipal Conference the Mayor of Napier moved a resolution affirming the principle of municipal fire insurance. In the discussion which followed a majority of speakers expressed an opiuion that the difficulties in carrying out the scheme would be too great. The Mayor of Wellington suggested that the New Zealand Government should take the lead from the United States and introduce a Bill to prevent " corners " in fire insurance. The Mayor of Napier replied that if that were done he would not advocate State or municipal fire insurance, as he believed that legislation to prevent "corners" would remove the difficulties now experienced by property owners. The resolution of the Mayor of Napier was lost on the voices by a large majority, Tho Mayor of Greymouth moved a, series of resolutions on the Chinese question, and a long and interesting discussion took place. His resolutions were that boroughs be. given power to— (1) Confine Chinese to separate districts ; (2) To issue licenses to opium dens and stores where opium is sold, to be similar to hotel licenses, with a heavy penalty for selling without a license ; (3) To limit the number persons who may occupy the same tenement with the exception of members of the same Chinese family ; (4) To make it an offence if a Chinese householder harbors or encourages to enter any European cf immature age. The first two resolutions were rejected, and No 3 and 4 were adopted.

A peculiar incident occurred in midocean on the last voyage of the P. and O. Royal Mail steamer Victoria from London. In a heavy rainstorm at 11 o'clock one night a swarm of dragon flies settled on board. The nearest land to leeward at the time was the Keeling Islands, distant about 295 miles, and to windward of the North-west Cape of Australia, 897 miles.

The following letter was read at the last meeting of the South Canterbury Board : -" Thames, May 20, 1896. To the Timaru E.B. Gentlemen,- On behalf of myself and many of my oppressed schoolfellows I beg to return our grateful thanks for the humanity that prompted you to pass a resolution in ' re excessive home lessons ' the Syllabus that exacts so much work is stupid and tyranical, the woman in ' Hood's Song of the Shirt' had quite an easy time in comparison to the school children of N.Z. I was born in Oaramaru, I attend the Convent High School, I am in the Ylth Standard, and am 12 years old. I remain, gentlernon, your obedient servant, Lulu.M. G. Joyce."

An Otago medical man, Dr Church, in a lecture which he delivered at Naseby recently, stated that though the Emperor Frederick of Germany had been dead only fi fow years, yet within those few yours surgery had so advanced that were he living now, Buffering from the same complaint, the chances were that his life could be saved. Instead of the wonderfully skilful but unsuccessful operations Sir Morell Mackenzie performed, the Emperor would now have his larynx removed. The- total extirpation of the larynx had been Biicceesfully performed twice to his knowledge in Dunedin. But the operation dtd not stop at the removal. The unfortunate who had had his larynx cut out was, of course, unable to speak, but the science of to-day could givo him ■an artificial larynx. It was a thing made on tho principle of the clarionet that is to say, it contains reeds, which, by vibrating, produce tones. By means of this sirtiGcin larynx the patient could still speak. Ur Church we mny say is a graduate of Otngo University, and lately brought himself into promnipnco by the successful carrying out of a most delicate internal operation. Tho operation is the first of its kind ever performed in the colony, and only the twelfth in tho British medical records. It is Interescing to note that Dr Church has had no Home experience and having taken a practice at Naseby immediately on qualifying as a doctor about live ycarrago.

Mr Ira P. Wetmoro, a prominent rei> estate agent of San Angelo, 'lexus, has used Chamberlain's Colic, Cholera and Diurrhojn Remedy in his family for several yeais a>occasion required, and alwayß with perfect success. He Bays : " I find it a perfect cure for our baby when troubled with colic oi dysentery. I now feel that my outfit is not compete without a bottle of this Remedy at home or on a trip avray from home. " For sale by E. D. Smith, wholesale and retail agent. — Advfc,