LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8376, 24 July 1905, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr S. Lawrence, J.P., and Mr B. O'Connor, J.P-, occupied the Bench at the Police Court this morning. A female first offender, charged with'drunkenness, was convicted and discharged.

' A meeting of the North Canterbury School Committees' Association will be held in the New Chambers, 193 ? Gloucester Street, at 8 p.m., on Wednesday, when the School Committees Election Act, the Bible-in-Schools question, Mr Brunt's paper 'on the election of Boards and committees, technical instruction and other subjects will be discussed.

During a disoussion upon the smallbirds' pest at the Agricultural Conference last week, Mv W. H. Beetham (Wairarapa) said that by the use of bird-lime he had caught three hundred small blackbirds in a quarter of an hour, and in a few days he bad counted lip to 3000. Still, even this destruction seemed to make little difference to the numbers about.

Very few New Zealand farmers, fortunately, know what thevkea is (says the " New Zealand Times ") ;, and Mr D. D, Macfarlane, of .Canterbury, came very close to informing the Agricultural Conference on the subject. He had given notice to move that the reward for keae be increased. "What's that?" "What are they?" echoed from all parts of the room, A North Island delegate explained that the kea was a. kind of parrot that attacked sheep in the back coijntry of Canterbury. The Public Works Department has, during the past few days, made a start with the extension of the railway line beyond Seddon, on the Picton-Hurunui section. The line at this point is subsequently s to be extended to Flaxbourne, but the length so far authorised is that portion of the route betwoen Seddon and Lake Gxasmere, a distance of over five miles. The site of Flaxbourne township is another tenmiles further' on. Owing to Seddon being considerably " elevated, and the railway after leaving that place having to find a way down to the valley of th« Blind River, the work of forming the track for the first mile or two will be somewhat difficult. Thereafter* howover, the going will be easy as far as Flaxbourae. At present twenty men v are employed on the work, but tfiaf number will be increased within tnt next few days. . .'

By research in the North Island the Government Biologist has arrived at the probable increase from a pair of sparrows in the course of a few yeart. v He found never less than five eggs under a sitting bird. Incubation takai thirteen days, and shortly after hatching the young birds are turned out of the nest. But not before a fresh sitting of eggs has. been laid up, and the young ones are sometimes called upon, „ by tae heat of their bodies, to assist in the incubation of the prospective brothers and sisters, which are ready to chip the shells before the test batch is turned out of the nest. Allowing for a loss of one-third from natural causes, there will be eleven pairs at the ■>;- end of the season, 121 pairs at the; end of the second season, 1331 at the a end of the third season, and 322,100 v < birds at the end of the fifth season. The, ornithological division of the Bureau of Agriculture at Washington estimates the increase at twice Mr Kirk's figure.

For the Hastings Poultry Show there are close on nine hundred entries, a record.

Herbert Taylor, a man with several aliases, was, at Dunedin to-day, comnaitted to the Supremo Court for sentence on three oharges of forging and uttering cheques on tradespeople.

The Auckland "Star" records a case of a dog which voluntarily delivered a purse carried in its m-outh* containing four shillings and some newspaper cuttings, to a tram conductor recently.

The Addington Ladies' Hockey Club played a match against the Doyleston fadies 6n Saturday, and wero defeated by two goals, scored by Miss Ronnie. The visitors were hospitably treated by the Doyleston ladies, ana spent a most enjoyable day.

The city was given an unpleasant foretaste cf the summer this moraing. The warm wind brought up clouds of duet, and the electric cars speedily proved themselves to posses* very unpleasant dust-raising powers. Each car as it raced along was .followed by a long trail of swirling dust.

■ At tho ordinary meeting of the City Oouncil this evening, the report of the Finance Committee o t a the position of the Sydenhani sinking fund will probably be placed before" the meeting. Councillor Hurst-Soager's motion regarding the technical classes is also set down for discussion.

The West Christchurch secondary school continues to be heartily support-

cd. The brick building is filled with pupils receiving secondary instruction, and the Education Board has decided to engage another teacher and make use of one of the class-rooms in the main wooden building for the purposes of the secondary school.

Little remains to be done to the new drill-shed. The first of the fifteen iron ribs was raised into position twenty-four days ago, and now the great building, 300 ft long by 120 ft wide, with 3d, 000 square feet of floor space and 4000 square reet of windows, is practically complete. Work has been going on night and day, and from 200 to 250 men have been employed.

Amongst the estates of deceased persons which have been finally cex-tified by the Commissioner of Stamps recently were the following: — Canterbury: Emily C. Maude, £9548- Robert. ivi'Queen, £7275; Robert Finlay; £1302; Frances ButterictT, £1559; Edwin Henry Lough, £1265; Edward Acton, £9282; Sarah Ann Goosetry, £1519; Henry James Ainger, £13,500; Leah Sa-adstein, £21)90; Daniel Day, £3061; Joseph M. Heywood, £5692; Susannah Duckworth, £1489.

In connection with the dispute hoard by the Arbitration Court at its last, sitting in Christchurch between the' Canterbury Lithographic and Letterpress Printers' Machinists' Industrial Union and the employers, -$he Court has decided that the award made on August 19, 1901, shall remain in force until June 20, 1908, no alterations being made. The Court shall have power to add further parties to the award and to bind them to its provisions. The employers already Joined are the following :— " Lyttelton Time 3" Company, "Press" Company, "Whitcombe and ' Tombs, H. J. Weeks and Co., Smith and Anthony, Willis and Aiken, Marriner and Spencer, Lawrence and Sons, T. E. Fraser, Zealandia Printing Company, A. Wildey, H. Thompson, Cusack and Merriman, Caygill and Co., G. W. Russell, Honry and Co., C. Redfern, G. E. Collins, Drapper and Co., P. Kinge, Walter Suckling, T. Brown and E. E. Wright.

Mr T. W. Adams, chairman of the •North Canterbury Education Board, is at present in Wellington, and he has been asked, in conjunction with Messrs D. ;Buddo, M.H.R., and C. A. C. Hary, M.H.R., to press upon the Education Department the need for .additional accommodation at the Addington School. The school has been overjiowded, especially in the infant classes, for a considerable time, and tho matter has been before the Department for about two years. So far the Board has not succeeded in securing any improvement, the Departmental officers apparently thinking that the surplus children should be drafted into neighbouring schools which are not at present occupied to their fullest: capacity. It is rather doubtful whether the Board would have the power to force parents to send their children to another school, and, in any case, it is pointed out that many schools cannot 'be filled right up without an increase in th"e~teaching staff. If a claßSroom will accommodate, seventy scholars, and there are only fifty children in the standard for which it is used, the twenty vaoant places cannot well be filled. If a draft from -another standard were placed in the room, an additional teacher would be. needed, and even then there would be obvious difficulties. • * . ■