NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10963, 4 May 1907, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

■< -^-. ; , .. (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, tliis day. At the Police Court a Chinaman named Her Lee was convicted of bavirg opium m his possession and ordered to pay costs £3 15s 6d. It was stated that the analysis showed, that the proportion of opium was infinitesimal. . The insurance on the varnish factory burned at Avondale , was £750 m the South British. 1 ■ . The Waitemata Fruitgrowers' Co-opera-tive Society has passed the following resolution: ."That this meeting of fruitgrowers is strongly opposed to the importation of Australian grapes, believing that the removal of the present restrictions would .seriously affect the fruit industry, especially' those engaged m viticulture, without conferring any appreciable benefit on the general public." The object of the Native gathering at Waalii, near Huntly, as set forth m a circular is to discuss :" (1) The sufferings through the injustice of -the people of the Islands of Aotearoa and Waipounamu ; (2) the agreement of Queen Victoria with our ancestors m. the Treaty of Waitangi; (3) the Parliament of New Zealand; (4) the Parliament of England'; (5) the prestige or rights (mana) of our. ancestors; and (6) the cause of the decimktion of the Maori race. Come, work with all your skill and with mine, and our object will be 'accomplished. \ (Signed) Tupu Taina.kuwa Tewharoa." 'The number of. Natives who had arrived at Waahi last night is estimated at between three and four thousand. In "replying to a deputation at Paeroa regarding the silting up of the Ohinemuri river by : mining pebris, the Hon. Mr Millar said that a report submitted, to the Government stated that no harm was being done by the silting up of the rive?*.. If the Government found they had officers who did not give faithful reports, they would have to consider whether those officers were worth employing. -The questior^ of "keeping the river open ■ for navigable purposes.i as well as of .conserving the interests of both the mining ,and farming industries, must, be considered. The Government had before it four or five proposals as to the manner of. dealing with this subject, and he would go' carefully into the matter. The Minister afterwards left for Thames. . ' ... ■ THAMES, this day. . Tlie Hon. J. A. Millar arrived ..(it Thames yesterday. He was met by several deputations, the most important being m connection with the silting of the Ohinemuri" river, as a result of mining operations, and tlie operation of the Fact or iesfj Act. ' Regard irig. the former, Mr Millar^lSaidTthe matter was one of imporr tance.'H^- fully recognised the gravity 6f ; the situation. As Minister for Marine he was determined that any property under his charge should not .be damaged, if his voice m the Cabinet could stop it. It was a hard problem to solve. He had great sympatlry with the -river settlers and others who had suffered. He promised to- assist m every way tliat lay m his power. Regarding the enforcement of the Factories Act, which was a matter which affected other parts of New Zea land, Mr Mackay, Inspector of the' De partment of Labor, wrote stating that m the base of a butcher employed at in-/ tervals at making small goods,, they were more shop assistants than factory em ployes, and therefore not compelled to take Saturday as a holiday, but could take the day fixed upon locally as theii half holiday. '" The Minister promised to bring the matter before Parliament and lo endeavor to secure an ariiendment so as to exempt small boroughs, where the conditions were different, from' the provisions of the Act having special application to large cities. . . ' WELLINGTON, this day. A meeting convened by the Church Council was held last evening to discuss the formation of a committee to promote legislation against gambling. There was "an informal discussion of a series of pro. posals dealing with the' abolition of the totalisator and prosecutions for gambling. These were approved as the basis of consideration for a citizen's committee which it is proposed to call into existence.CHRISTCHURCH, this day. The City Surveyor states, that with the adoption of the Waimakariri: watjer power scheme the city would reap a profit of £69,000 annually by the use of only half the power available. Thai^ sum would more than cover the present rates. A quantity of Exhibition property was sold by auction yesterday. / The inside furniture, etc., realised very satisfactory prices, but the contents of .the fernery and the flower beds outside met with a a very poor sale. A: bid of £150 was refused for the; contents of the fernery as a whole, but only £68 wa_? realised when the ferns were sold iri lots as they stood. '"'..-■' At: a meeting of the Council of the NewT Zealand Amateur Athletic Association it was stated that the reciprocal agreement between the Association and Athletic Association had not been signed as had been previously reported. - DUNEDIN, this day. Mr Le Cren, Mayor of Mornington, and Mr J. F. Arnold, M.H.R., left to-day for Wellington, where they are to interview the Minister for Public Works m reference to a provision m one of the Public Works Acts, which they consider will injuriously affect the borough if enforced, i It appears that where a street is under a certain width the owner of the property fronting that street may call on the Council to pass a resolution affirming that the street will never be widened. In one particular case (Hawthorne Averiuo) the Mornington Council were so requested, but declined to pass the resolution, whereupon the, owner dedicated a strip of his frontage to the borough and sent m a bill for £500 compensation. This power of dedication is m accordance with the law where the Council decline to guarantee that they will not ultimately widen a narrow street, and itis on this point that the Mornington Council want relief. The Borough contains narrow streets arid the Council cannot afford to widen them now, but do not wish to bind themselves nevei* to do so, and many cases of dedication with consequent claims for compensation would ruin the finances of the borough. The Rev. A. Don reports that the Outlook Chinese famine fund now totals ovei* ; £850, and further amounts are, being re : ceived daily. Messrs Irvine and Steven*' son havo donated 220 cases of preserved goods. Owing to the serious condition of Mr. Cook's health Adjutant Cook, of the Salvation Ai-my, will retire from his present command of the South Dunedin Corps to-morrow, and will, proceed , to the North Island.- Capt. Giles will go to Auckland immediately to take up a responsible- position there m connection with the* Army. ■ •.- . ) (Special to Herald.) A local sharebroker lias been summoned under section 16 of the Shop Act, 1882, for Unlawfully dealing m stamps without being licensed to do so. The stamiis referred to are the "official" stamps recently issued for official corres. pondence. The case will be heard on Tuesday "I trust the time will come when no appointment m New Zealand will go outside the engineering staff of the colony. I deplore the practice that prevails of going oversea for these appointments." — Mr 13. F. M. Eraser (Crown Solicitor) at a farewell function to Mr W. G. T. Goodman. . - . ■ ■ mamKMmmmm * wmm maaamm