LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9911, 28 July 1910, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mrs C, B. Dykes has'given a contribution of 10s to the Goal and Blanket tfund. „ ' j Castlepoint and Invercargill. had the distinction of. being the only stations in--tho dominion to report rain this niorning. The weather has " taken up" generally, although Otago—had more than its share of cloudy .sky. ' j Great. reticence is being shown, says' a Press Association message from Greymouth, concerning the steamer Lauderdale. Arrangements, , however,, v are being made to dismantle the vessel, for which purpose a gang of men has now: been engaged by Captain Willis. ')

The Governor will be - tendered a luncheon at the City Council Chambers on August 6 at which civic dignitaries and heads of religious bodies and. local authorities will be present. His. Excellency will hold a levee in the Pro-' vincial .Council Chambers at 5 p.m. Owing to the danger of schools catching fire from unruiy fuel in fireplaces, the Wellington Education Board has resolved to invite tenders for fire-screens for its schools. A recent narrow escape-of the Hamua 'School. from destruction brought - - thematter home, and recommendations in, favour of protective measures were re-: ceived both from th© committee of that school and from the-'Department, ■ Madama Carreno played in a halo at lvotorua the other evening, says aus exchange. before her recital was duo to begin the electric light failed, and the hall was filled with dehse darkness. Attendants scurried about, and found five candles, which fitfully and! weirdly illuminated the artiste's face and hands while she was bewitching the grand piano to speak its best. There was almost a sigh of regret when «ao coinmonplace electric bulbs again flashed in the halls.

The Mayor has received a reply from Mr T. E. Taylor, M.P., in regard to his • inquiry. as to the correctness of the statement made recently by the Minister of Education that over*£l4,ooo had been spent on technical education by the Department in Christchurfeh.. M? Taylor states that the impression that tlie Minister 6aid that the money was spent on buildings is incorrect, for the actual sum spent in that way is £BIB4, while the whole amount spent on buildings and furnishing amounts < to £13,546.

On Tuesday a number of friends mel in the Riccarton Village Wesleyan Church to bid good-bye to Mr and Mrs Macanu and family. The Rev S. Lhwry, who presided, spoke of, the Work Mr and Mrs. Macann had done in eulogistic terms, and presented Mrs Macann with a silver tea and coffee service. Mr W. Macann replied on behalf of his parents. During the evening musical items ere given by the Misses Jar man and Kemp, Mesdames Anderson, Biggs,Cooper and Roberts and Mr L. Cooper. Messrs W. and- G. Macann were afterwards each presented with an umbrella, in recognition of their special services for the church.

The new eruption at the Eoh'oCratei may or may not mean a rejuvenation of the old monster Waimangu, writes the Auckland correspondent ' of tlw "Dominion.;" The Echo Grater is hexl door to what the American tourists called "a half-acre of hell with the lid off."' 'Where Waimangu used to lift itg > gigantic pillar the eruption of Tarawera in 1886 opened (or re-opened) a fissure or rift, known as earthquake rift, extending from the great red chasm in the side of Tar a wer a, through the Rotomahana Lake bottom, and south-westerly over the hills to what was' afterwards known as Waimangu, thence southerly, or south-westerly for many mile-3 towards and beyond Waiotapu. This rift over its lirst section was dotted with separate and independent' craters, the order of "the main ones starting from Rotomahana was Black Crater, Inferno Crater, Echo Lake Crater p,nd Southern Crater. From the Black Crater, which is an elevated point, the hillside slopes down, and on the slope a huge dark gash belching steam represents the Inferno. Down on the flat is the Echo Lake, and between th«m broke fbrth some ten years ago the huge geyser Waimangu. It was estimated that Waimangu threw its water 1000 feet, and hurled great stones fol* hundreds . of feot. The present outburst will hardly occasion any surprise. . It i* situated along a fault. Froin the Echo Lake and Wai ngu Crater* a valley runs right down to Rotoma. hana, carrying into that lako th« overflow water of the district. When Waimangu was active, and hurled tons of water in all directions, a. raging boiling torrent used to rush down this vailey to the lake, and it was into this torrent that the hapless victims of the 1903 fatality were washed when they were caught by the falling ejecta.' It has been remarked that this valley, varying from 300 feet to 400 feet deep, rims parallel and quite close to the rirfc, yet the eruption, of 18SG did not choose the valley, which would appear to be the line of least resistance, but showed a preference for cleaving the spurs and hills rather than the lower, ground. Am your daily tasks becoming ,to<i strenuous—too much for you—maktf you weak ? Thev needn't—rStearng' Wine of Cod Liver Extract, will fill ycii 1 irifft vim and vigour. ft ;j

Mr Paulin's prediction, telegraphed this --afternoon, is as follows Squally north-west to south-west winds and cold rain showers.

The weather on the West Coast for the past fori'light lias been splendidly fine, with cold snaps at night and lovely sunshine in the daytime. The export ot coal from Greymontb last week was nearly a record for the port. Colliers entered and leit the river without the slightest delay, there being always a good depth of water. Mr J. MncdonaU, photographer to tile Tourist Department, has obtained some good kineniatagrapli pictures or ploughing at the recent match at Springston. Ho will go to Ashburton to-morrow to take sonio moving pictures of ploughing by means of trac- . tion engines. These pictures will ho included in a series illustrating the agricultural industry of the dominion. The rates paid to workers as compared with the minimum wages under awards in connection _ with factories formed the subject of investigation by tho Labour Department fur the year Glided March '3l. For this -purpose tho Trages. of 7374 workers compared. Of this number 2/bo received the minimum wage and 4589 in excess of it. Only the wages of persons over the age of twenty-one were taken into consideration for, tho purpose of the comparison. Tho mistake of a University examiner has brought to 190 Victorians tlio unpleasant experience of rc-examination. After - the fast examination for the clerical division of the Federal Public Service complaints were made that a sum in the arithmetic paper had been wrongly set. Tho Commonwealth Public Service Commissioner states that the examiner has fpund- that the question was wrongly stated, and that probably another examination in arithmetic will bo 'held. 'Local Government Board statistics rhow that at th'e end of. April, out ot an estimated population of 3o,1 50,l)lU there were 789,008 paupers in receipt of relief in England and Wales, inis is one of the highest figures on record, having been exceeded only m April or the two preceding years and in the four years from 1870. Indoor paupeis numbered 275.571, and outdoor paupers 513,437, giving a ratio per 1000 in,habitants of 7.7 in the first case and . 1.4.4 for outdoor, paupers. In London the paupers numbered 121,749, a ratio of 25.2 ■ per 1000 inhabitants, and though this ratio has many times been exceeded since 1870, the total has been larger only in IS7Oj 1871, 1908 and 1909. The greater number of the paupers were' in receipt of indoor relief, this class totalling 79,291. There was jubilation among small ex- ' porters of frozen meat and fruit, says the Melbourne " Age," when they read That the Government had decided to areet cool stores. One exporter has informed the Minister of Agriculture 1 ihat he had to refuse an order from London for 30,000 lambs last season, becausp "he could not iret cool storage for the carcases in Melbourne. It js generally admitted that the present Government and private stores failed to provider for the heavy export season just ended.: > v The, site most favoured for new stores is, the block of land near the Australian : W'harf 'and the Harbour Trust buildings, which for so long lias been unoccupied. Previously a' Site behind the Victoria Barracks was favoured as ' convenient' for the easv trucking of goods to Port Melbourne. The Government; lease' of the present stores, which belong to the city corporation, lapses in July next, and it is ur«ed that new stores should be erected before then. The dilatorincss of the civic authorities prevented .the signing of the lease until twelve months after its preparation. By it thfe Government pays a set rent of £12,000 a year, with commissions amounting to about , £4OOO. more. In order to beautify the surroundings of the Federal capital" site the Minister of Home Affairs proposes to plant forests' at-'suitable points on» the, .vast plain J •which"'- stretches • out for miles square jri'this uninviting region. For a start 1,000,000 trees are'to be planted, and the idea of the Minister is to give a practical demonstration of the value of afforestation. An ■ effort has be-en made to secure the services of Mr W. Guilfoyle, curator of the .Melbourne . liotanical Gardens, as the advice he could offer would he invaluable for such an undertaking. Owing to ill' • health Mr Guilfoyle has been unable to accept the offer, and the' Department ia now endeavouring to secure the assistance of another expert. The nine-inch reflector telescope and other scientific instruments which have been presented to the Federal Government by Mr J. Oddio, of Ballarat, will shortly bo erected- at-Canberra under the direction of Mr Baracclii, the Victorian Government Astronomer, or his senior : assistant, t The clearness of the atmosphere will bo tested, and other experiments ' will he made to determine the • suitability cf the locality for the establishment of astronomical and other observatories. In the Department of Labour's an- j Bual report appears a .statement showing the penalties paid under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act by employers, workers and slaughtermen since the inception of the Act. The total , number of cases in which penalties were inflicted on. employers yras 1520, the fines amounting to £4668 9s. Of this amount £3554 was paid within three months, £383 within six months, and £2ll was collected within six months. The total amount outstanding was £520, representing 11 per cent of the total fines. In the case of workers, penalties inflicted in <mj-± cases amounted to £470. Of this sum £343 was paid within three months, £24 within six months, and £2l collected after six months. The sum of £Bl remained outstanding, representing 17 per cent of .the total fanes included. Fines imposed on 1266 slaughtermen during February and March, -x. 1907, totalled £1330. Of this £<4*2 was paid within three months, £7O within iix months, and £534 after six months, leaving £303 outstanding, representing 22 per cent of the total. Of the amount outstanding, £203 is owed by slaughtermen who at present cannot be found. ' Efforts are heing made by Injectors of Factories to collect the balance by attachment orders on wages. Vice-Admiral Poore got beyond liis depth-at the Sydney Chamber of Commerce dinner, says the "Age," when , he ventured to remark that '' there can ' cnly be one navy, and that can only exist under one supreme head." The Vice-Admiral has overlooked all past controversy which governed the initiation of the Australian navy scheme. It is clearly set forth in tho proceed- ' ings of the Defence Conference that in times of peace the Australian n'avy is to be controlled by the Commonwealth j Government, and in times of war it jests with the Commonwealth .Government to decide whether it shall be handed over to the control of tho 1 British Commander-in-Chief. When the Vice-Admiral's remarks were 'brought under his notice afterwards, the Prime Minister said the Australian navy would be under the command of the Australian Government, and subject to that they hoped for the cooperation of the navies of all the "British possessions to preserve the peace of the world. The Acting-Min-ister of Defence remarked that one listened to the opinions of the admiral of the station with the very greatest possible respect when he spoke of those matters which were peculiarly within the scope of his supervision, but when he went outside that and \ «ntered on other matters he was as other men. The conditions which applied to the . Australian navy were agreed to at the Defence Conference. TW combined the principle of the full exercise of Australian _ authority with that of single control in time of emerKenev and danger. , As the authorities, political and naval, in Great Britain, as well as the people of Australia, lud approved, of this, there could not be any question as to its wisdom, nor, oi ■ course, any question of departing from

Mr F. Waldegravo arrived in Christchurch to-day, to hold an inquiry in regard to the alteration of the name of a Justice of the Peace who was charged with drunkenness at the Police Court in Christchurch.

LATEST SHIPPING.

IATi'ELTON. ARRIVED. July 2S, C.30 a.m.—Moana, s.s., !5915 tons, iN'evnie, irom Lmnodui. Union Steniu Ship oompanr, agents. Ju.y '2s, G.ot) a.m.—Storm, e.e., 'lO5 tons, Broflcliiouso, from iimaru. A. H. '.Lurubuil and O'o., agents. July 28, 6.53 —iiaori, fe.s., 3309 tons, Altlwell, from Wellington. Union Steu.u riLip Company, agents. Passengers—Misses itiach, Cooffiba, "Wmuiell, Miller, Waldograve, rioniard, M.erton, Ha trick, jNowton, "Wade and child, .Daaas, Berry aiid Henrys, Mosdames Urier and child, O'Connor, Ilurst,, Rountr.-c, Hntchinscm, Atkinson, Evans, Gilmonr, Irwin, Archcy, Park, Summers, Willianißon (2) and Weld, ilessrs Sanders, Gibb, Ballin, 'Parsons. Analey, Bailey, Parker, Clarke, JNayior, Smitli, Hepburn, V;ukeiibacli, Evan. Shißrlinv, Simpson, lteevoa, Diaaiontl, Slytor, Williams, Kcsteven, Pearco, GoMg>>, Waldes:rnve, Postsr, Thorn,.' Pay ton, Leahy (3), Brown, Hunt, .Tyl'ord, Henrys, Young, Sisson. Bourke, Gilmcur, . Livingstone Irwin, Mearcs, Hughes, Archay, Evans, Hnrsl O'Contoell, Buttoworth. ! Hcnriqucs, Jones, Coppoll. Cttto. Edwards, Scott, Gerber. Hodsre, 'Williams. Bald. Weld, Lane, Halloy, Woods', Pallisor and M'Farlane. Julv 23 7.C0 a.m.—Canopus, s.a,, 133 < tons, 'Sillars, from Westport. Wostport Coal Coupany, iitjentß. July 28. 9.23 a.m.—Mouowai, s.s.. 8433 tons, Smith, from MeHwurno, via Hobart, Bluff and Dunedin. Union St cum Ship Company, agents. Passengers—Misaes Borers, Brasaiiigton and Jcfconte., Me&anuies Oaboni and Rutherford and two children, Messrs W. H. Osbcrn and Paitherford, and ten ateerags. SHIPPING TELEGRAMS. BLUFF. July 28. Arrived—Hinemoa. irom Macqunrrie Island, with tho Penguin oil gatherers on board. AUSTRALIAN SHIPPING. NEWCASTLE, July 23, pSailed—Melbourne, for Auckland. Whangape, for Bluff.