LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7721, 2 June 1903, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Twenty-five short sentence prisoners are to be employed tree-planting at Hanmer Springs. The City Council offices will be dosed to-morrow, and the Maijror will not be in Attendance. The Moeraki, front Melbourne and fiofeart, arrived at the Bluff this morning Her mails will probably reach Chnstchurch to-morrow evening. .-. > According to a Kottdon cablegram in a Sydney newspaper, the first volume of Mr John Motley's "Life of Gladstone" is to be published in October nt-xt. The Reeiton Courthouse tvafTbroken into last nJirht, a door being forced open with jTcrowbar. The thieves evidently made a thorough March, of the building, bub obtained nothing. An early-closing movement amongst the grocefs and bootmakers of the Thttines has been recently brought to a Successful issue, the, great majority of suoh places of business having now commenced to close punctually a *> s ** o'clock every evrfhiiig. The New Zealand Mine& Department has received advice that fifty-two mines were at work in tho Transvaal in March. The out' put of quarta was 453,496 tons, which pbduoed 217,5660z of gold, of the value of £920773&, d» icoftjpaifld with 1g6,ft402, "valued at £834,739, in the previous month. Sunday was the fifst anniversary of the ■, ejgning of the Vereenlging Peace Conyention> which brought the South African yt&t t& a, clote. Tiler cost of the struggle to tie Empire was, ia lives, 1072 officer* and 20,870 mett t and in moaey £222,974,000. A case was heard recently ftt the Taxanaki Police Court, in which a hobelkeeper prosecuted a dismissed barmaid for vagrancy and for being illegally on premises. The ft Taranalri Herald" says that the sequel .is the issue of a writ by the barmaidj clainmig £200 damages from the prosecutor. >The N«lBon Education Board intends to ask the Governaient for an amendment of the law, 8o as to give Soheol Committees the power to administer tlieif fund's without the aid of a banking account. It is complained that such an account is found expensive for small committees Where there is difficulty in fflftltinfc both ends meet. / When dealing with the bases of* some > -first eflVnders for drunkennSss, wbidh. Cattle, before hint ttfc tne Magistr ate'a Court this mtn-hing, Sir Easelden, S.M., said he proposed to Inflict on eitrft. find In the cases of those who did net ttusfrer to thek bail." Those first offender* who Appeared would be fined 6s Rfid oostg, and- those who did not would be fluod 7s and casts. It is probable that a Bill will be introduced into Patlktlttent during thd coming session to enable County_jEouncils to devdie some of their funds to the support ' of fire brigodtß. Tie Hon J. M'Gowan has informed tk« .Coroaiand#l County' Council that he will be willing to lake" charge of such an affiendmeiib ef the law in itt» )assage through tb© Hotee. The CoronlOitftel Hospital Board has sent* to the Sistefa of Mercy stationed in that town a letter expressing 'nigh appreciation of the valuable Services given by them as 'nurses at the Coromandel Hospital. The \ocal newspaper states that the pubtia of "Ooromandel owes the Sisters a deep debt of gratitude "fot? the great Work they so ably carried out, which saved the community hundreds of pounds." A life rait, to be carried as part of the equipment of passenger eteatnerfl, has been devised and patented by Captain H» Williams, master cf the Schooner Morning Light. It possesses -several advantages brtt rafts of the ordinary type, being more com* pact, less liable to injury, and carrying its equipment of water, provisions, rockets and blue lights in such a manner that ihey are always protected against weather or accident, and are easily got when wanted, The rafiis practically a boat and raft combined. The ■Minister -of Public Work* .recently expressed the opinion at Piriaka, When banqueted thsre by the op-operative workjaen, that the time, Was coming when proVision should be made for s the conipulitory insuf&nee of tile people. The State should say that/every married man in New Zealand, reddest in th« colony from, Bay, flvo to ten years, must be insured, and that en death his widow should receive from, £60 to £100, also £6 for each child under fourteen yeartt of age. As to tile coat, statistics for « the last flV© years showed that on the £50 basis, £50,000 would meet the expenditure; and double that sum on the £100 baste To-day"s weather forecast is as follows : —Wind strong from the eastward after sixteen hours, at all places northward of Thames and MantlHu, extending thence southward to East Oape,.Taupt> and Raglan after twenty hours, and moderate from the westward elsewhere. The barometer will further flue everywhere, but fall after sixteen houra at all places northward, of Bast Cape, Taupo and Eftglan. There will bd a heavy easterly ftWell from East Cape northward after twenty nours, and .a heavy sea on the west coasb north of New Plymouth, and a moderate sea everywhere else. The tides will be high on both coasts of the North Island northward of East Cap* and New Plymouth, and moderate at other part*.' Warning signals for easterly/gales will be exhibited at Cape Maria Van ttiemen after sunrise. Synopsis of the last twenty-four hours t<- There has been very little movement of the barometer every* where, With moderate winds generally from the westward*. Rain has fallen at Nugget Point, the Bluff and New Plymouth, and also on tho West Coast of th« South Island. . A frost is reported from: Cambridge, Castle Point, Blenheim, Top. house, Naseby and Pembroke. The weather !hai been cold north of 'Auckland. Editorial comment on the position of the Bank of New Zealand appears in the " Financial Tlffltt" Of London of. April 14. A speech by Mr Seddon at Auckland, stating that legislation Affecting the bank is to bs passed this session, is «ilso reprinted. The Premier (says the "Times") did.' not indicate what course the Government in* tends to pursue, but it is dear he prop, :s that the colony shall not lose by the assist-' ance' it rendered to the bank during the crisis of 1894*95. The position of the bank, adds our contemporary, is no\v so strong that we itnaginft it could raise, without much difficulty, sufficient capital to meet all its obligation* to. the State, and no doubt many of th& proprietors would prefer to see thin accomplished, as a largo proportion of the pr&fits now go to the Government under the guarantee arrangement. But there is equally little doubt that the strength of the bank is mainly derived from tie support it reueives from the State. At pretent it is «> tort of hybrid institution, and this* it is iawglned, is the feature Mr Seddon wishes to legislate out of esifltenos. Tl» . eatptriments of Dr M'Carthy, of Melbourne, with his raitt-making invention; ax* said to have r«acWd a stage meriting closd attention. Dr M'Owthy, speakidg i , ol tis work, «ay» i- M 1 claim, to produod nip. by sending up coatiflttourty from thrc« oentrfts » column of gas, made by certain dh«nleals. The gas, if sent up for a maximum of thirty-two hour*,' will produce rain over a range of ninety miles at' any al- . tttttde; with any iky, and with the wind from any quarter. I do nob need to wait until the wkd is from the usually rainy quarter. Xn one experiment I made, the barometrio oonditions w«w quite uniavour- .... rite* y«t I produced rain. Th« go«, you see, causes in the different strata of the fttmospherfra vacuum. Tho vacuum i« the oentre of a heatwrtonn, and i» filled by den«e oloudtb that contain rain. These clouds oqme down with the gravity of the earth, when rain descends. The rain U« diffartttfc from the ordinary rain found in the distriota in which the experiments h«.v« been made. It is tropical rain, coming from very lofty region*, being slight ab ftort., And taea later deaoending in heavy •howtrs and buoketsful." Th« manager of ©06 station on which experiments had been made, resulting in a heavy fftll, ii stated W ■ have assessed the imfirovimonb to his land

The municipal offices in Linwoodi will be permanently closed probably on Thursday next, and after that day all £he business of the Linwood Ward will be done at the Central Chambers.

'At a meeting of the Dun«din Anglican clergy to-day, a memorial was drawn up for presentation to Bishop Nevill, strongly reprobating the Rev Ourzon Siggers's action with regard to the ordination at Stewart Island. ' .

To-day the launch Lyttelton paid ifcs usual visit to Quail Island, and returned With the news tifab Mr Bell, the sraali-pox patient, is better, and that the other persons at the Quarantine Station were in good health. . ■

About 100,000fb of ironbark timber is bsing imported from. Australia for the new Kaitaratahi railway bridge, in the Gisborne district. A large quantity of tfttara will be also Used, which will be obtained from the north of Auckland.

Speufeing at a Presbytery meeting at Duneiiln to-day, the RaY V, Dorrie- said that sdoiier or later the dhurdh would b« wise to f fice. tins question of testricting the tenw»e of ministers and office- bearerd, making it Something less than a life tenure. Dr Gibb remarked that it would b> oae V; of the questions to come tip in connection With thd sdhefrte of churoa union.

Mr A. E, G. Rhodes has received the fJU lowing letter from the Right Hon the Ptomi€t":^ u Welllngt)onr May 50. 1903.— Dear Sir, — I have to acknowledge titedpi af your leister of May 28, conveying an invitation to tiSyself to visit tiie ChristdKurch MuSetltoT for which I desire td Cordially thamft tne Uoard of GuvernoTS of Canterbury College, in reply I may say thai I shall b& very pleased to accept the invitation. It i 9 my" intention to be in Christchurch on June 8, and I ocrtild Visit the institution' on or about that date. The time, however, can easily be af' ranged subsequeHtl?.— l am, yoilts faithfully, R. J. SeddOfl.'*

While the- Premier was at Raglan a few days ttgo, a deputation called his' attention to thWaofc that &■ large quantity 'of native land is lying idle and Unprofitable itt that district, aMoHgW the various blodtt being— Te Akau, 96,000 acres, the lease of which is to expire in two or three years' time; 44,000 atireii iU the Aetea block, which has nevei? been surveyed j 4000 acres at Wft-in-pro and ab&nt 9000 acres adjacent %& Raglan, ia th§ Kafioi block. Ib Was pointed out that the prosperity of the district is greatly retarded by reason of the fiiet that tills land is h&t being properly employed. Mr Seddon said that the !a.ndi should be lilaoed under the jurisdiction of the Maori Council at once, and recommended that stops should be taken in that direction.