LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9914, 1 August 1910, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr Frank Graham has- given a contribution of £1 Is to tho Coal and Blanket Fund. A Press Association message from Wairoa states that a slight earth shake was felt there at three o'clock yesterday afternoon. An 'uncontrollable child, aged sixteen years, was committed to the Christchurch. Recoiving Home this morning by Mr H. W. Bishop, S.M. An order of 4s a week maintenance ,was made against the child's stepfather. 1 From the far , liorth this morning north-east to south-east winds, with rain, were reported, and the wet conditions obtained down the east coast as far as Napier. "Westerly winds, with fair weather, were the rule in the South Island.. 1 The -number of lost bicycles at tho Police Station shows 110 diminution, and .this morning there were fifty-three machines and pieces of all descriptions reposing in tho shed. The number is [daily added to, and owners are as dilatory as ever in coining forward to claim their property. * A Strangers' tea in connection with the Sydenham Methodist Church was held on Sunday evening, in the church parlour. There was an attendance of about seventy. After tea the Rev L. iHudson, in a short speech, indicated (the position of the Church in regard to social matters. Tho president of the Council responded, and several "others also spoke, after which a singing practice was held. ) Settlement at New Brighton has jgrown so rapidly of late that sections in the heart of the borough are becom-. *ng scarce and the "week-ender" is [beginning to turn his attention to the jjiorthern end at the terminus of the feurwood tranf line. For many years [the wasto of lupins and gorse has held [undisputed sway, and some half-dozen ■camps «nd small houses have constituted tho only dwellings. Of late a ,nu.mbor .of sections have been bought and cleared, and several new houses 'are in course of erection. \ • Mount Pleasant and the neghbouring |hills below which Lyttelton lies, offer & strong attraction to walkers in search ■of active oxercise, but tho ascent to the (peaks is not entirely free from anxious I moments. At this time of the year, ■j,the fiteep slopes are very greasy, and .owing to the long spell of wet weather, (tufts of grass that would at other times afford reliable assistance in surmounting awkward places, are liable to tear ;out of the soil under only a slight pull. Many of the stones which lie scattered over the hills have been loosened by the trains and frosts, and an incautious foot •may dislodge a boulder that will bound /down the hills with great, velocity, while (the climber waits anxiouslv for a human 'cry or ovine bleat that will mean that he has caused an unintentional tragedy. ! Fifty Russion teachers who were making an educational tour in England ' arrived in London recently. One of tho (women teachers, who spoke excellent (English, though she had never before ;been out of her own country, gava her impression of London. '''l notice," she said, "that Englishmen walk upright, | with their heads in the air. They are I straight, and look as if they went 1 about their business. Now, in Russia the movement is moro downcast. Rus- ! sians bend the head more, and soem to slouch along, moving thoir shouldj ers„ And then, how quietly j'ou all [talk! In St Petersburg there is more (Shouting. "Wo talk much louder and ' mulch more. Then the omnibuses; they jaro so jray and bright. But how narrow ana winding your streets aro. In ' kit Petersburg they are wide and straight*,"

At the Lyttelton Magistrate's Court ':his morning, a first offender was charged with having been drunk. Mr 't. Hot-dwell, J.P., convicted and discharged him. Miss S. I). Shand, of the Chatham '•lauds, has presented the Canterbury \iuseum with a collection of Mori'ori veapons. They comprise clubs and "meres" made by gtone implements' "roil! rock found on tho islards. For tho most part the weapons show crude ,nd unskilled workmanship.

The reception by the civic authori-ties-to the new Governor will take place in Victoria Squaro on Saturday, It 10 a.m., alter Lord .Islington has been received at Lyttelton, and will be followed by a luncheon. The Premier has not yet arranged which Minister will accompany Lord Islington to Christchurch. Messrs A. L. Ross and Co.. who are carrying out the synchronising of the r ity clocks, state that thoy have not vet completed the work on the Jubilee "lock. A trial run 011 Saturdav showed that the hands operated perfectlv. Iho ■lnnies have stili to be connected up. One result of tho alterations will be an enormous reduction in the we-.'er.it if the machinery necessary to operate the clock and thrt chimes.

A live whale, twenty feet in leno'th. was washed ashore opposite tbo_ai"ders h«ts at tho mouth of the Rakaia River in Sunday, and three boys cut their initials in tho blubber, establishing nrinia. facie evidence of ownership. This morning, however, the whale disappeared. An Ashburton telegram states tliat it is expected that the whale will be washed ash« v e n"aui somewhere on tho Ninety Mile Beach. In view of tho completion of the Trans-Andine railway, Parliament has been asking for information concerning tho distance between New Zealand and London by the Valparaiso route. The distance' from "Wellington to \alparaiso is 5035 nautical miles, compared with Gl6O miles from Auckland to Panama and 5995 miles from Auckland to ban Francisco by way of Honolulu. 1 rem Valparaiso to Buenos Ay res is 894 miles, and from Buenos Ayres to Plymouth 6041 miles. These figures arc ■Tiven in a return furnished to Parliament.

A block of 371S acres, comprising a portion 'of the " Invovcargill Hundred '' .Estate, about seven miles from Invercargill, has been opened tor sale or selection, for cash", for occupation with right of purchase or for renewable loaso, and applications for sections will bo received at the Inv,ercargill District Land Office up to August 2*l, the ballot taking place on the following day. The ■irea has been .subdivided into two sections of first-class land of 20-i and 200 acres respectively, and sixteen sections of second-class land, ranging in area from 180 to 370 acres. Four blocks of second-class land, situated in various parts of the Auckland survey district and aggregating 851 acres, have been opened for sale or selection on the nme conditions, and applications for these sections will close oil August 22. The work of electrically synchronising tho Jubilee Clock lias been completed, and a start has been made with the Post Office clock. It will be necessary to run the clock for some days without tho hands, to regulate its working, and the wiring and installation will then be put in hand. The clocks when completed will not be real clocks at all, but merely dials, which will have a magnet behind them. They will be controlled from tho "'master " clock, which reposes in tho Town Clerk's office, and is worked by a -battery. Tho standard tim© will bo received by Mr Smith from the Telegraph Department when required, but the synchronic clock is so finely adjusted that it will keep regular time for a long period. There is no winding to be attended to, and as long as the batteries are working the clocks will go.

When the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the efficiency of tram brakes was sitting, evideneo was given extolling' the air brake at the expense of the magnetic brake. A copy of the evidence bearing on the question was forwarded by Mr Stuart Richardson, city electrical engineer, of Wellington, to the general manager of the Glasgow Corporation tramways, Mr J. Dalrymple, who now writes:—"As you are probably aware, we have been using this brake (magnetic) ever since it was introduced into this country, and during the whole time we have had the magnetic track brake in use we have always considered it the most reliable brake, and. when properly applied, is, I think, to be preferred to the air brake. Tha air brake, of course, has not been adopted to any extent in this country, and 011 some systems they have not adopted anything outside of the rheostatic and ordinary hand brake. I. may further add -that I am shortly proceeding to build fifty new cars, and these will, like the others, bo fitted with the magnetic track brake." Pandemonium reigned at the Customs House, says the New York correspondent of the Daily Mail," when several thousand pounds' worth of confiscated Parisian gowns which wealthy New York ladies had vainly endeavoured to smuggle into the United States, were sold by public auction. While thfe smugglers were weeping tears of mortification, a turbulent crowd of fashionable women, dressmakers' agents, and girl clerics, surged in the Customs House intent on securing bargains. Through the hubbub and wrangling tho auctioneer, Mr Honkel, roared, "Ladies —ladies! Please remember you are ladies!" but he could not diminish the uproar. V erv few bargains were secured. Two ladies, disgusted at thoir failure to obtain at a reasonable price some Princesse gowns and coats of grey pongee, pushed their way past me to the door, saying, " No better than any bargain sale!" The moment they left a third lady triumphantly secured a charming lace blouse, Bligbtly soiled, for four ■ shillings. Several gowns brought as much as £3O apiece, nearly half their cost in Paris.

The "St Petersburgskaya Gaze-ta " recently printed a . remarkable correspondence between Count Leo Tolstoy and M. Kuchin, leader _ of the Vegetarian colony at Vladivostoclc. M. Ituchin's conscience was troubled by the question whether a convinced vegetarian could honestly wear leathern boots. Count Tolstoy instructed his friend M. Bulgakoff to send the following reply;—" Leo Nikolaievitch asks me to reply that the real Christian religion lays down no fixed rules for life, but only indicates that direction of life and activity in which every man should strive to go, according to his strength, and in aspiring to the ideal. So it is with vegetarianism. _ The first step is to abstain from eating killed animals. Fvjrtlier steps are indicated by every man's conscience, once ho wishes, or is impelled to, advance past the first step. Among our friends and fellowthinkers there are men who abstain only from meat, and there aro others who also make no use of leather. Instead of bathern boots they use in winter ' valenki' (long boots of felt), and in summer birch-bark shoes, wooden sandals, or boots with tarpaulin uppers and soles of rubber or linoleum. Tnoy make these boots themselves. The manufacture of'vegetarian boots on a largo scale is' an affair of the near future." They add much to the comfort of a home, and the opportunity of securing some of the newest shapes at reduced prices should be a great inducement to buy now. "We refer, to our Antique Copper, Brass, Black and Brass, Black and Copper Kcrb3. Prices from 30s, complete with fireirons, etc. Coal Vases in quaint shapes from 8s 6d. We solicit a visit to our show rooms. "W. and Sons, Ltd., Colombo Street . 5133

The Greeks were passionate lovers of •ings and engraved atones, and the -iost parsimonious among the higher I'asseo of Cyrenians aro said to lave worn rings of the value of ten ninae (about £BO of our money). With the cntti'ir/ of the diamond, however, the ancients were Unacquainted, and henco they wore it in its natural state. In the British Museum there is ;; splendid collection of antique rings and rsurts. |' ' " . ' l " '