LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8706, 21 August 1906, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The public recognition in Wellington of th-e new Ministry will take the form of a conversazione on September 10. The Telegraph Department has been advised that communication has been re-establifihed between, Santiago and Chili. Earthquake shocks, believed to be < connected with those which caused so '. much damage at Valparaiso, have been recorded by the Government seismo- , graph in Wellington. A male first offender was charged at the Lyttelton Police Court thiß morning with drunkenness, and was convicted and discharged. Mr J. T. Brice was the presiding Justice. Much apathy is displayed in connection with the proposed establishment of municipal produce markets in Wellington. At the City Council meeting only on© person attended to give evidence in support of the proposal. It is expected that -the alterations to the public office at the General Post Office will be completed by next week, and that portion of the building will , then be ready for use. It will be a long time, however, before all the alterations are completed. Owing to the prevalence of lameness among torses, the Wellington Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has decided to suggest to the Government veterinary surgeons that it should be compulsory for fairriers to pass an examination and be licensed. Messrs J. Garrard and N. Cr Schumacher have been nominated as can- / didates to fill the vacancy on the Lyttelton Harbour Board, caused by the ( death of Mr F. H. Barns. The nominations will close on Saturday next, ; August 25, and the poll will be held at Lyttelton on Friday, August 31. ; There , is a movement throughout • Marlbofough, and from Flaxbourne to ■ Nelson city, towards raising a monster i petition praying the Government to as- '. sist local bodies in bridging the Opawa -and Wairau Rivers on the main road * from Canterbury to Nelson. At Renwicktown it was decided last night to ■ ask the Marlborough Land and Railway League to urge the necessity of the work in the provincial and colonial '< interest, on the occasion of the coming " deputation to the Ministry on land settlement and railway matters". ■<. l A man, who was this morning charged at the Police Cou.rt with drunken- ; ness, stoutly maintained that he had : not been intoxicated. Sergeant Nox-, i wood, however, gave evidence that ao> pueed came into the watch-house during the afternoon, tossed a florin down - on the " counter," and demanded a ■ " long heer." Witness tried to ex- . plain that he was not a barman, neither - did the watch-house keeper purvey .; beer: but the thirsty one was dull of . intellect, and had to be ejected. He < fell into the arms of a constable a little later, and was put under lock and key. i In glancing through the parties cited to r appear in the traction engine drivers* dispute at the Arbitration Court this morning, Mr. -Justice Chapman said that there was absolutely no information supplied, as to what the parties were. How the Court was to investigate the case in those circumstances he did not know. The Union seemed to have taken the minimum of trouble and given to the Court the minimum of information. In every case the Court's wishes had been published in every newspaper in the colony, but, apparently, without effect. Mr E. Gohns, for the Union, said he would endeavour to obtain, the information during the luncheon adjournment. Barbers (says the Wellington "Post") will not be the /only persons who will come under the notice of the approaching Municipal Conference in debates on the topic of sanitary improvements. Butchers are billed on the programme. Proposals will be introduced making for the abolition of newspapers as wrappers, suggestions for the better preservation of meat from dirt and dust iv shops, better methods of handling this food and transporting it. It, will also be urged that butchers should be'-li-censed. The butchers practically all agreed on these reforms themselves; states Dr -Mason, Chief Health Officer. He may take an opportunity of suggesting the municipalisation of milk supplies. The local authorities in Chrifitohuroh are collecting a quantity of serviceable information on this subject. H.M.S. Cambrian and H.M.S. Flora, which for some months past have been cruising along tie coast of South America, are now due at Sydney. H.M.S. Challenger, which is returning from ' Hong Kong, where she was recently recommissioned for another term on the Australian station, has arrived at Albany. The niew ship's company of the Challenger was conveyed to the East by H.M.S. Argonaut. H.M.S. Prometheus is still in port at Brisbane, but is under orders to sail on August 28 for Hong Kong, where she will receive her' new crew from England by H.M.S. Terrible. The Prometheus, upon being recommissioned, will return to Sydney, and will subsequently be despatch-, cd' to the^ New Zealand division of the station. ' The flagship Powerful, with Vice- Admiral Sir Wilmot Fawkes on board, returned to Sydney from Brisbane on August 12. . Mr H. J. Manson, the New Zealand Government agent in Melbourne, has received a letter from the manager of j the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Distributing Company, Limited, in j which the opening Australian farmers have fox building up a trade in potatoes with this country is referred to at length. Incidentally it is pointed out that "the average . shipment from Australia contains about 50 per cent of undersized potatoes, ranging from seed size down to tiny marbles." Potatoes are also sent forward in unsound j sacks and " leakages " occur. These j facts have since, it appears, been, j brought under the notice of the Vie- j toria-ii Minister of Agriculture, Mr Swinburn, and it is more than likely | that a eyjstem .of Government grading ! will be initiated. The Minister informed a deputation that he would co into the matter with Mr Knight, who recently visited New Zealand. In the course of an interview with a representative of the " Mailborough Herald," Mr C. J. Fulton, the Chief Flax Expert, was asked whether he considered the grading system was capable of improvement. He replied in. the affirmative. The principle itself, he said, had proved highly beneficial, but the system was, of course, like aU other systems — it was open to amendment. He did not go into details, but, generally speaking, his own idea was that the whole thing would be placed on a proper basic if the exact number of points was shown,, on the grading certificates; then it would ,, not matter very much what the relative positions of the different grades were. Under present conditiona the man whose flax' secured the maximum number of points in a certain grade gets no more from the buyers than the man whose output is given the minimum. The publication of the points would bring about a better graduation of prices. It would, In his opinion, be advisable to maintain fairly extended ranges of points within the different grades. To abandon the present trade terms and de^scriptions to which the Home buyers have become acoustomed would lead to confusion. The points system, however, would protect the millers them--B©J.ree» tire buyere, and th* graders.