LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13435, 24 July 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Pruning operations are in progress on the trees along the footpath; at the north end of Kidgway Street. Tire rain which began to fall on Saturday afternoon lasted practically all night, during which the weather became very stormy. Yesterday was a most disagreeable day, with frequent heavy rain and strong wind, and was succeeded by another wild night. To-day there wore again frequent heavy showers. A number of specimens of the acacia (bettor known as wattle) are on view in Messrs H. I. Jones and Son’s window, where they have been placed by the Beautifying Society, in order to give people an idea of the ornamental value of the tree. The blooms of the Baileyiana and the silver wattle are particularly beautiful.

The Exhibition of the Wellington Industrial Association, which lias been such a great success, closes on 29th July. The attendance has kept up remarkably well. The reason for this is that, apart from the Exhibition itself, there are so many attractions. Country visitors have been pouring in during the last few days,.and have been much impressed by all they have seen. There is but another week to go, and then all the exhibitors will pack up and go. Mr T. 0. Fitzgerald, representing Pathe Freres, the great moving picture firm, was, in town on Saturday. He is arranging for agents all over the Domin ion to “take'’ subjects for development at the new factory which the firm is establishing in Wellington, one specialty of which will bo the preparation of educational films, the showing of which, it is hoped, will be part of the future school course.

Despite the unfortunate weather conditions that prevailed there was a very fair attendance at the recital given by the Garrison Band in the Opera House last evening. The programme was a really first-class one, and the audience showed its appreciation of the fare provided by the enthusiastic applause that greeted each item. The band propose to repeat the programme at the hospital on Sunday afternoon next, when, provided the weather is favourable, there should be a good attendance of the public. A billet has been found for Mr Bowling, who recently complained that no"" of the colliery proprietors would give him work (says the Sydney Daily Telegraph!. At the quarterly meeting of the Balmain Miners’ Lodge he was elected ’ check woighman. As the outcome of a wages board the Balmain miners commence next Monday to work at a tonnage rate. A check woighman was, therefore, considered necessary to safeguard the interests of the miners, and out of four candidates for the position Mr Bowling came easily first in the ballot. lie received 48 votes, and the others got 11. 9, and 4 respectively.

Cabbages arc exceedingly good property in Melbourne just now. At the victoria market last week there was evident an ususual eagerness on the part of retailer to obtain prime vegetables, of which tho supplies available fell substantially short of requirements. For cabbages prices were realised which were considerably in excess of values ever before recorded within the recollection of the stallholders present, some splendid specimens of the Drumhead variety being sold at the rate of 15s pet dozen. At the corresponding date twelve months ago cabbages of the same variety changed hands at from 1s (id to 2s per dozen. Cauliflowers, which last winter were offered in abundance at from Is 6d to 2s 6d, realised up to 7s. and almost all other kinds of vegetables moved up in proportion. In the opinion of growers, who were consulted at the market, the outlook promises no early reduction in rates, and some of them prophesied a veritable vegetable famine before many weeks - aro past. The latest appointment to General Godley’s staff is of unusual interest (says the Press). It is seldom we see a holder of the Victoria Cross in this part of the world, and the number of such gieu employed in the forces of the Dominions must bo very small. Captain Grant, V.C., of the Bth Gurkhas, whose appointment is announced, was the hero of the most brilliant bit of fighting in the expedition of Lhasa. During the attack on the jong at Gyaugtse ho was in charge of the party of Gurkhas who, with the Fusiliers, wore ordered to storm the fort, under cover of artillery fire. The position was very strong, tho ascent being precipitous in places. Climbing nimbly, with a storm of shot and shell hurtling over their heads against the fort, tho Gurkhas outpaced tho Fusiliers, and in ten minutes forty or fifty were crouching under the broach. The Tibetans, finding that their fire could not atop them, tore stones from the walls and rolled them against the attackers. There was a pause; then Lieutenant Grant led his men into the fort. An eye-witness says that as the first men went through the breach—Grant and a Gurkha—everybody locking on held his breath, expecting to see the two shot down. The last part of the ascent was so steep that the attackers had to haul thenselves up one by one, and two by two, and neither rifle nor gun dared support them, i For, a moment it was those two men against the whole garrison, but the garrison had had enough of fighting, and the British were soon masters cf the place. For this brilliant piece of skilful and daring leadership Captain Grant received the Victoria Cross in 1905.

The recent heavy rains have had their effect on the river, which is fairly high, ,1 while the water is much discoloured. The Weather Bureau reports as follows: —South-easterly strong winds to gale; ram probable, and snow in high country; rivers high; weather probably much colder; glass rise aften ten hours; tides high; sea heavy. Mr V. 11. Cooke, who was recently imprisoned for failing to pay .1 fine, was arrested yesterday at, Christchurch, and committed to Lyttelton Gaol for non-payment of a tine imposed in the Magistrate’s Court for a breach of the city by-laws.

Mr A. Crooke, S.M., dealt with two drunks at the Magistrate’s Court this morning. One (a first offender; was convicted and discharged, while the other w«u» lined Ji‘2, in default seven days’ imprisonment.

The conference between the Education Board, Wanganui School Committee, and Technical School Committee, relative to tho new Technical College, will bo held to-morrow (Tuesday) evening, not in the afternoon as at first intended. The meeting will take place in the Borough Council Chambers, commencing at 8 p.m. The report of a recent case in which a youth named William Cornish, of Brooklyn, was fined for failing to ivgister under the Defence Act, concluded with the statement that his workmates hod subscribed the amount of the fine, hut the hid had refused to allow it to be'paid. Two of Cornish’s shop-mates stated that they wished to make it quite clear that tho subscription was raised purely out of friendship and sympathy for the lad, and not because they wej:v of opinion that lie was doing the right thing in ref using to register. The proprietors of Bennington’s Irish Moss notify in another column that an action was commenced by them in tho Auckland SupiGme Court on the 31st May, 1911, asking for an injunction and damages against an Auckland manufacturer for infringing their trade mark for Bonnington’s Irish Moss, and selling Irish Moss not manufactured by them. This action was settled by the defendant consenting to the injunction and ’ paying damages and costs. The firm intimate that they will at epee commence proceedings against any other person who may sell, or attempt to sell, under their trade mark, any imitation thereof of Irish Moss not manufactured by them.

In olden times, before the hard nnd fast limitation of apprentices, master plumbers undertook to thoroughly teach the trade to youths who indentured themselves for a term of years. Nowadays it is said much of the teaching is thrown upon technical classes, nnd it is contend’d bv some veteran plumbers that the standard of workaday efficiency among the modern plumbing “graduates” is; deteriorating. One employer of long experience complained recently to a ‘‘.Post'’ -epre-entative that the present. system of technical training and examination for certificates in New Zealand was very anomalous and unsatisfactory. In the nest place each district had an independent Board, which did not co-operate with other Boards, consequently a certificate won in Wellington would not necessarily ho recognised in Christchurch or Dunedin. This was a grievance of long standing, Secondly, the examining Boards in New Z.ealand did not contain a sufficient proportion of practical men, and thus an openin'- was left for lack of confidence in the system. In Australia care was taken to have the examinations set and conducted by undoubted expert plumbers thoroughly versed in the theory and practice of the trade. Another important point was stressed by the critic. He declared that it was possible for a young man to pass the examination and get a certificate without being a reliable plumber. In Sydney the examination was of a kind to weed out persons who were rot qualified to do good plumbing for the general public, but in New Zealand the order was rather reversed. A person with no particular skill as an allround plumber might squeeze through the examination, and a good plumber might fail on the day to satisfy the examiners.

Reference was lately made in these columns to the recent exhumations in Egypt, by Flinders Petrie, and others, notably, that unique discovery of the ehrine of HathcA, and tho life-sized figure of the cow-goddess. The same expedition has also discovered the temple of Onias, the Jewish high priest, wllo fled from Jerusalem about 150 8.C., and built his temple under the walls of Avaris, the discovery of the ruins of which place is in itoelf a great curiosity, by reason of the fact that it throws a good deal of light oil tho dynastic history of the shepherd kings, whose period of 300 years has been wrapped in obscurity —a sort of hiatus in the great history of Egypt. The account reads:—‘‘lmmediately adjoining were tho remains of tho Hyksos camp, or capital of Avar in; On ms built his temple under tho ehadow of the immense walls of Avaris. This buiding of the Hyksos, or fjhcphurd kings, was totally unlike any Egyptian work. The wails were three and a-half miles square. Originally they were a more slope of sand, but were subsequently faced with stone, still later were built 50ft high, and contain 80,000 tons. Ancient records Siato that the place was a defence on the eastern frontier of Egypt, and was garrisoned by 240,000 men. There were many graves in side and outside Avaris, all of tho Hyksos' age or over 2500 B.C. The graves contained scarabs of two dozen Hyksos’ kings, enabling one to give an approximate history of these Hyksos invaders. Hitherto the names of only three of those kings have lioen known. The Hyksos held that part of Egypt when Joseph was sold there as a slave. And it was a ‘Pharaoh, who knew not Joseph', that is a ruler of the restored Egyptian line, who expelled the Hyksos after they had held Lower Egypt 500 years.” Tho Onias temple was distinctly Jowiiih, being largely a copy of the temple of Zerubabcl at Jerusalem, and the details confirm statements made by Josephus. Most of the carvings discovered have been placed on view at King’s College, London.