GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIX, Issue XXII, 29 November 1902, Page 1366

GENERAL NEWS.

Mr W. R. Haselden, S.M., last week, at the Magistrate’s Court, gave the decision or the nautical enquiry touching the cause of the wreck of the s.s. Ventnor on October 28, near Hokianga Heads. The desision stated that owing to negligence, or incompetence, a widely incorrect course was steered, resulting in the striking of the vessel near Opunake. Whether this neglig.-nce or incompetence arose from drunkenness there is no sufficient satisfactory evidence to determine, but there can be no doubt that negligence or incompetence was the cause of the disaster. Tlie Presbyterian Assembly last week passed a resolution expressing the opinion that the time has now come to seriously consider whether the union of the evangelical churches may not be accomplished. A committee was appointed to communicate this resolution to the next annual session of the Wesleyan Conference and Congregational Union. In the event of the proposal receiving favourable reception the committee is to bring up a report at the next assembly. The report on Sab-bath-school statistics showed that there were fewer teachers, but 8923 more scholars. There were 357 fewer Bible class scholars than in 1901. The Wellington magistrate last week gave his decision in the cases against Harrison and Pockman, charged with conducting and assisting to conduct the management of lottery d~pets. The accused were convicted. The Magistrate said he had carefully considered the scheme

in connection with Tattersails to circumvent the Commonwealth postal restrictions on the one hand, and to e-'ade the Gaming and Lotteries Act of thia colony. Harrison was fined £ so on each of two informations, and Pockman £25 on each. Notice of appeal was given. A fire which destroyed five buildings, including a Urge hotel and a general store, broke out in Ota.uhu at about one o'clock a.m. on Monday. The outbreak began in the kitchen of the Criterion Hotel, owned by the Great Northern Brewery Co., in the main street, and when discovered had a strong hold. The licensee, Mr Andrew Robertson, and the occupants of the hotel did a.l in their power to suppress the outbreak, a..d many willing helpe.s were soon oa the spot. The absence of any adequate water supply, tanks and cisterns being the only source, combined with the strong hold which the fire had obtained when discovered, rendered all efforts useless, and the building, which is a wooden one, was on fire from end to end in an incredibly short space of time, being enveloped from floor to ceiling before practically anything con id be saved. The hotel was completely destroyed, nothing but a mass of ruins being left. A light southwesterly breeze was blowing at the time, but the flames nevertheless leapt over a vacant allotment 42 feet wide and caught the general store and residence occupied by Mr J. S. Irvine. The powder and other explosives in the store were got out as soon as the alarm of fire was raised, and a number of other articles of the stock and household furniture were saved, but the salvers were eventually driven out by the heat and smoke, and the building, together with a large proportion of its contents, shared the fate of the hotel. Meantime the fire spread to the buildings, two unoccupied houses, on the northern or leeward side of the hotel, and these were soon a mass of flames, while nothing could be done to extinguish them. The next place to go was the shop and dwelling occupied by Mr Farnsworth, furniture maker and undertaker. The contents of his premises were saved, but the building itself was totally destroyed. Here the progress of the fire was arrested. Two or three hundred people were on the sce'ne by this time, and with the limited means available, everything possible was done. The fire threatened to spread from Farnsworth’s to the Masonic Hail, a large tree growing between the two buildings being in danger of catching fire and communicating it to the hall. Willing workers, however, soon filled the tree and pnt an end to the danger. The heat in the roadway in front of the burning block was intense, and for some time the buildings in the opposite side of the road were in great danger of ignition, the Post Office and Mr McGonogle’s ship being the most seriously affected. Splendid work was, however, done with buckets and wet blankets, the latter of which were spread over the front of the threatened buildings, and were kept wet until all danger was passed. The work had to be carried out in intense heat, the flames from the burning buildings at times reaching almost across the road. During the height of the fire the countryside was lit up for miles around. The origin of the fire is quite unknown. AN INTERESTING QUESTION. The increasing importance of the Wanganui River as a highway for the opening up of the back country is fully recognised, and a scheme is taking definite form of making a steamer connection with the North Island Main Trunk railway route at Tatimaranui. This has raised an important question of whether a packet license (a license to supply liquor to a passenger while on a passage) can be granted to a steamer to have force on the Wanganui River and through a block of 'native land above Parakino that has been proclaimed as prohibited under section 25 of the Licensing Act, 1881. This is the question that came before the Chief Justice yesterday in the form of a mandamus to the licensing committee. Mr Sker-

yett, for the applicant (Mr Murdoch Stewart), contended that in the event of a town springing up on a navigable river within a district prohibited either by proclamation or by local option, this could not be presumed to prevent the issue of a packet license to steamers plying to such towns. Mr Bell, for the committee, stated that the Government, who had instructed him to appear, submitted that the issuing of packet licenses to have force within prohibited areas was against the policy of the legislature. His Honor reserved judgment as to whether the committee had jurisdiction to grant such a packet license in view of the terms of section 25. THE AUCKLAND ELECTRIC TRAMS. On Monday last the electric cars commenced permanent running in Auckland on the Newton - Ponsonby section, to the manliest delight of the travelling public. The down cars were rapidly filled, and although running every five minutes there were many left at the stopping places in Karangahaperoad for want of room. This, however, did not matter much as another car was along in five minutes to pick up those who missed the preceding one. In some cases horses seemed to object to the machine that runs without apparent propelling power, and some circus play took place in Kara-ngahape-road. A fine animal in one of the L.O’B. Timber Company’s carts gave its driver some trouble as car after car ran past, but fortunately no accident occurred. About nine o’clock a horse in a trap at the foot of Wellesley-street also played up. As the 9.30 car was going up Welles-ley-street a little mild excitement ■was caused when in front of the Opera House, owing to the rehostat getting warm and smoking, besides creating a peculiar smell. Someone ran out with a bucket of water in order to put out the fire, and shortly afterwards a hose arrived from the central Fire Brigade station. Fortunately Motor Inspector Neale arrived at this juncture and prevented the danger that exists from turning a stream of water on to electrical apparatus. Mr Carey, electrical engineer to the Tramway Company, in conversation with a “Star"’ representative subsequently explained that to have turned the hose on would be dangerous to the man with the nozzle, as water, being a strong conductor of electricity, the current would travel through the stream and give a shock, added to which the water would ruin the electrical equipment by short circuiting, as water only increases an arc instead of diminishing it. The cause of the rehogtai getting warm was not due to any defect in the car equipment, but to one of the new motor men running on resistance up hill. The thing was easily remedied, and there was absolutely no danger to passengers, as the cars are insulated. Evidently the Fire Brigade must not turn the hose on to electrical equipments without being advised by one of the officers of the company. In the event of a fire on the line of the tramways one of the company’s inspectors will be always present while the current is on. The company wilt also have an emergency crew with a waggon to Work the fire appliances. Several times during the day horses got frightened at the unusual sight of a car running along without horses attached to it. Early in the vnorning a commercial traveller s trap was upset in Fonsonby-road owing to the horse becoming excited as a car passed by, but no one was hurt. In Karangahape-road, near the top of Pitt-street, a horse ridden by a young man was startled by an electric car, and jumped aside upon the footpath, with the result that he slipped on the hard pavement, fell upon his rider, and broke his leg. A loaded cart of the Northern Roller Milling Company, drawn by two horses, at tandem, in Karangahaperoad this morning, was approaching Pitt-street when the horses were Startled by an approaching electric car. The leader ran round upon the footpath, and was on the point of entering the bar passage of the Naval Hotel, when a man caught him by the bridle and stopped him. A large crowd of women and children, who were standing at Pitt-street corner watching the cars, were considerably

frightened. Fortunately, no damage was done. WEST COAST SHIPWRECKS. It has been stated to the Marine Department that the. wreck of the Ventnor and other vessels on the Taranaki coast is attributable to deposits of magnetic iron sand having affected their compasses, thereby setting them out of their course, and that the Department has taken definite steps to ascertain whether this is so or not. Two shipmasters who have had many years experience on the West Coast of this island ridicule the idea, and gave me to explicitly understand that on no single occasion had their compasses been affected in the way mentioned, accidents, in their opinion, being du® -o ignorance of the const and ocean tide currents. Local shipmasters consider that the Government should appoint a permanent nautical assessor (to act with a Magistrate and another assessor) who is thoroughly versed in the tide peculiarities and workings of every port in the colony. They contend that under the present system nautical assessors have frequently no practical experience of the difficulties under which seafaring men labour in navigating their vessels into many of the New Zealand ports, and consequently their decisions are based purely on evidence. The appointment of an assessor who is intimately acquainted with the coast from the North Cape to the Bluff would, in their opinion, prove invaluable in arriving at a more correct and just solution of our marine casualties than has been the case in the past.