WELLINGTON NEWS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13461, 28 June 1907, Page 7

WELLINGTON NEWS.

(Telegraphed by Our Special Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Juno 27.

Majtfr Tuson, who has been appointed to complete the personnel of the Council of Defence, is a member of the Manchester Regiment. He is a comparatively^ young man, having been born in 1866. He joined the .Border Regiment .as a subaltern^ti 1886; 1 and served in the Easttfndies f^oin 18864^1889, when he .returned A tp. England .for three years. Hp.wasf ws&i the. Egyptian army from to lßS>4i an^t in? 1897 he became a I student at / the S|aff;' College. Major Tu§qn_wen£.with hi^yfegiment to South Afr^a, att^f served tffore.for two years, receiving: far his sertfjees. the Queen's medal and^fiv.e clasps.. / He-wase -was engaged 4^t«#a adjutant of volunteers from 1901 4p 1905, and in the latter year' he was jnade major. A Nspeci'al , certificate for the Itythe musketry course is* amongst his cjualificationsV ' : * ■ ' While evidence in, the plumbers' dispjlie 'was beitigj^iv^ at the Arbitration^ Court thistmorning, says the Post, a.. ( wltness asked the Court to provide that' if it awarded increased wages these shpuld noi; apply to existing contracts. The ' employers' representative on the Bench (Mr S* Brown) interposed to say that ' although the Court" had always made* such a provisjofc' hitherto, he believed its effect was worth 1 noticing, for , Unless the contractor paid the increased wage he could not get men to work for him. Exception was taken to this as-sertion-by Mr Pryor, wlio was conducting/the master plumbers' case before the, Court.; The .men, he said, were generally reasonable in this respect, and they quite realised tie position of the contractor. Cases to prove this had lately come under Mr Pryor's personal notice. Mr Brown's reply was a doubtful shake of his head.

Mr R. Fletcher, a member of the Harbour Board, has given notice to move, "That it be an instruction lo tht> harbourmaster to devise an up-to-dnU* system of night signalling by coloured lights, whereby vessels approaching the wharves after, dark may be en :s bled to readily ascertain the, berth allotted to them without the risks that obtain under the present primitive system ; (2) in order to minimise the risks now incurred by vessels entering or leaving the port, ; af ter-da-rkv ■owing"<to"the present location of, the ,manrof-war anchorage, the ha,rbourni*iiiePreport -upon the advisability of arranging a special and more suitable -anchorage for war vess^fe^Th* fiairbcttr Board's secretary (Mr -W. Ferguson) said that the harbourmaster ha!d already arranged a scheme of signalling, which the speaker had approved. "* * * ■ At Hs^rec3psion <■$% il|eteTown Hall last evening Sir J. G: Ward slidtfee qojjisidered that the time was approaching when the four principal cities of New Zealand should have the dignity of Lofd Mayor conferred upon the men filling the highest civic positions, thus bringing New Zealand into line with Australia and. Great Britain. He felt certain that Mr Hislop would adorn the robes.

The Wellington Harbour Board has decided to increase from £300 t0, £500 a year the' amount set aside annually to form a fund to equalise claims made on. the Board under the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act, the Employers' Liability Act, and at common law. After the period covered by the present insurance arrangement has expired, the. Board intends to be its own insurer by placing on fixed deposit each year a sum equal to the ordinary premium at the tariff rates.

Two mounted infantry instructors are to take up their duties in New Zealand at an early date. Captain M. Lascelles is one of them, and he will probably reach New Zealand next month and stayliere for two years. Lieut. Charles Nelson is the other. He is now serving in India. The Hon. T. Kennedy Mac Donald and Messrs McLean and Fletcher have been appointed by the Harbour Board to act with a cogunittee of the City Council to consider motions by Councillors Luke, including proposals for reclamatipn at Evans Bay. Detective Cassells will leave for Sydney to-morrow to bring back to Wellington James (or John) Rowan, who has been arrested there on a charge alleging a breach of the Bankruptcy Act. Mr T. W. Hamer, Under-Secretary }ior Mjries^asJßsi another attack of sciatica, an 4 .j$ 3tgain confined to his room. M. Wilford.M.H.R., who is believed to be suffering from ptomaine poisoning; is confined to his room.