GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXX, Issue XV, 11 April 1903, Page 998

GENERAL NEWS.

In n florist’s In Manners street (says the “N.Z. Tinies”) may be seen a daffodil priced at £7 7/. A correspondent asks— Is the tulip mania going to repeat itself?

The Waihi Gold Mining Company in the four weeks ended March 28 treated 17/U7 tons and obtained gold worth £ 52,707. The directors of the Wellington Opera House Company recommend a dividend of 7 per rent, for the year ending March 31st. The rents for the year totalled £1441.

Mr. Winston Churchill, speaking in the House of Commons the other day, perpetrated the epigram that the English people did not mind fighting, but they hated drill.

The Dunedin City Council lias decided to give a trial to the. system of employing men from the benevolent institutions on the Town Belt in clearing it of broom, gorse, etc.

A silver match of the read old “turnip” order was found a short time ago in one of the rifle pits where. Heke’s war took place at the Bay of Islands. The works were rusted but the ease was intact.

Mr. George, the director of the Auckland Technical Schools, says that it seems to be the common impression that any man who can push a brush is a painter. Painting, he says, is one of the worstdone trades of Auckland.

The owners of the. steamer Michigan have been awarded £4125 for towing the s.s. Waikato to the Cape when she was disabled some time ago. The captain of the Michigan was also awarded £450, and the crew £925.

The catalogue of the London Library, which is probably the largest privatelyowned institution of its kind in the world, has just been issued at a cost of £4250. It contains the names of 220,000 volumes.

For exposing himself in a railway train and in public places while, suffering from scarlet fever. It. S. Bight was fined 20/ and costs at ( hristehureh last week. The Magistrate commented on the gravity of this offence.

It is stated that Professor Graham Bell (who invented the telephone) is constructing a flying machine, in which the principle of the kite will be relied upon to a considerable extent. The machine is to be 20 feet long, and will be composed of twenty-five distinct parts.

It is surprising the very small number of to lets in the papers. A very' few years ago quite two columns were devoted to houses to let in Auckland. Tilings have changed; the trouble now is to find houses for the tenants, of which there are such numbers that any sort of “house to let” is immediately snapped up.

A French eor.voy proceeding + o Karelazong, in Algeria, under an escort of troops, was recently' captured by tribesmen and subsequently re - captured by the escort. Later on the assailants finally retook the convoy, and 11 soldiers were killed and 13 wounded. The casualties among the tribesmen reached about a similar number.

A novel method of choosing a teacher is reported by a correspondent. Recently the Board of Education submitted the names of three teachers for a country school. The committee thereupon solemnly decided to well shake the three names in a hat, and draw for the winner. This was done, and the matter, so far settled, the successful candidate has since declined the honour; so no doubt, the programme will be repeated with the two remaining names.

“Strawberries and cream, swings and croquet for the use of visitors at Willow Grove, Devonport." So runs the advertisement in an old “Star” of 1876. What a favourite holiday place the old Willow Grove used to be- all old Aucklanders will remember it, though it is long ago destroyed. In the same number of the “Star" is an account of a presentation of a silver service made to Captain Carey by his officers on leaving the s.s. Wellington for the Taupo. Then, as all through his career, Captain Carey was • great favourite both with officers and passengers.

Captain C. B. Morris, M.L.C., met with a very serious accident on April 2nd. How the accident occurred is not known, but Mrs. Morris, on returning to her house in Onehunga, during the afternoon, found Captain Morris lying unconscious on the floor of one of the rooms with a deep cut in his forehead, from which he had lost a great deal of blood. He had evidently tripped and fallen, and struck his head in so doing. Dr. Scott was called in, and it was found that an artery had been severed, and that the unfortunate gentleman’s condition was such as to give rise to the gravest anxiety.

Mr John Jamieson, of Christchurch, on returning home after a fortnight spent in Auckland, was interviewed by a Christchurch reporter with regard to the new electric trams. Mr Jamieson remarked that he could not say too much for the working of the system, which was in every way thorough. He defended the service against the charge of inefficiency, and denied the overcrowding. He was particularly delighted with the morning workmen’s fast cars. I'; the matter of the works, Mr Jamieson’s highest praise was for the self-feeding furnace, which involved an immense saving of labour. The powerhouse he described generally as being thoroughly up-to-date. From the point of view of utility, he considers that the value of the new system to Auckland is very great, in opening up the suburbs and relieving the congestion of the city.

A curious discovery was made a few days ago by a young man named Arthur P. Sims, of Lincoln-street, Ponsonby. On the beach opposite Milford-road, Takapuna, he noticed a boat lying on the sand where it had just been left by the receding tide. There was nobody about, and nothing iu the boat served to provide any clue as to its ownership. The craft was a rowing boat of the ordinary pattern, 15 feet long, painted white, with a green streak around the gunwhale and a copper-coloured bottom. On the stern were the letters “J.W.A. I.” which are believed to form a part of a local boat-builder’s name. The boat contained tw'o nine-foot oars, a pair of leather s~a boots, a tin of fish hooks, and a couple of lines, pocket knife, enamelled plate and pannikin, towel, a pair of dungaree pants, and two old sacks, which had apparently been used as a sail. Alongside the boat on the beach was an accordcon, about Clbs. of sugar, a tin kettle, and an old oilskin. Inquiries by the police have so far failed to discover the owner of the craft, or any information to explain why it should be found deserted on the beach.

Some good news reached the flagship on arrival at Sydney from her New Zealand cruise recently. It was that she had been ordered home together with her crew. The news quickly spread from the gunroom to the fo’c’sle, and every Jack-tar wore a smile at the thought of being homeward bound at no distant date. An Admiralty cable received states that H.M.S. Niobe is to leave England in June with a full crew of 700 officers and men for the Australian station, and is to replace the Royal Arthur as flagship of the Australian Squadron. The Royal Arthur is to proceed home, “lock, stock, and barrel,” as an officer put it, on the Niobe’s arrival. It was previously announced that the Spartiate was coming out here, but she has been ordered to China. 11.M.5. Niobe is a fine first-class cruiser, and a comparatively new vessel, having been built in 1897. She has 10 guns, is of 11.009 tonnage, and 16,500 horse-power. Her speed is 20} knots, and she is in the Channel Squadron. Her four funnels give her rather an imposing appearance.

The s.s. Waikare, which arrived from Southern and East Coast ports on Monday,struck a submerged object when about seventeen miles out from Gisborne yesterday. The captain’s official report, supplied to the local office, states that the steamer left Gisborne at 3.45 a.m. on Sunday, and the weather was then clear. Shortly after departure, however it came on thick, and the speed of the vessel was reduced to dead slow. For nearly three hours the steamer was kept at slow speed. At about 6.12 o’clock the officer who was on watch felt the vessel bump slightly. He deescribes it as though the vessel had bumped on some soft object, which was submerged.

There was no shock, and the passengers at the time w'ere not aware of what had taken place. The steamer’s engines were at once stopped, and soundings taken showed that there was a depth of water in the vicinity of twentyfour fathoms. The Waikare was on her usual course, about four miles off the land. The voyage to Auckland was continued, arrival being made here early this morning without further incident. An examination of the vessel will be made this afternoon by the inspecting engineer (Mr McGregor). It is not considered likely that the vessel has suffered any damage, and in the meantime is expected to resume her voyage for Sydney at eight o’clock this evening. It is possible the object touched by the Waikare was a sunken vessel. It may be remembered that a vessel was reported to have been on fire in the locality some months ago, and was not subsequently heard of.

RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS. I am authorised to state that the Government is not disposed to accept the recommendations of the University Senate with reference to the Rhodes scholarships, and that a cablegram to that effect has been sent to the Agent-General, writes our Wellington correspondent.

It will be remembered that the University Senate at its last session suggested that the Rhodes scholarships set apart for this colony be awarded to students who have kept three years’ terms at the New Zealand University. This suggestion was quite contrary to the spirit of Mr Rhodes’ will which very clearly indicated boys from secondary schools as the object of his bequest; but it would seem that the Government, which was asked to report on the question by the trustees at Home, forwarded the Senate’s suggestions before the matter had come up for consideration by the Cabinet. Now' that the question has been discussed the Ministry does not find itself willing to endorse the Senate’s proposed disposition of the scholarships.

TRAMCAR ACCIDENT. A milk waggon proceeding to tow'n from Ellerslie on Saturday evening was run into by an electric car, with the result that the waggon was overturned, fortunately without any very serious injury to the three occupants of the driver’s box. The van was owned by the Auckland Dairy Company, and was driven by an employee named M illiam McLelland, who delivered milk at various dairies between Papatoitoi and Queen street. While driving through Ellerslie McLelland was asked by two young women named Rebecca Scott and Effie McMorrine to give them a lift into town. He agreed, and all went well until the waggon was proceeding under the railway bridge at the foot of Alpha road, when it was crashed into by the car, with the result that it was carried along the road for about six yards and overturned. The driver fell clear, but the girls were thrown on to the struggling horses. The bystanders rushed to the assistance of the girls, who were quickly extricated from their position. Miss McMorrine was thrown almost under one of the horses, and some difficulty was experienced in rescuing her. It was at first feared that her back was seriously injured, but this did not prove to be the case. Constables Bevan and Hutchison were soon on the spot, and procured the services of Dr. MacKellar, who attended to the girls, and then ordered their removal to the hospital. Miss Scott received a nasty scalp wound, and was considerably bruised, while Miss McMorrine’s back was badly bruised, and the hands and faces of both girls considerably scratched. None of the wounds, however, were dangerous, and the patients will be discharged from the hospital in a day or two. McLelland states that he went to pull clear of the line as soon as he heard the alarm bell, but his waggon was immediately struck from behind. The metorman, J. P. Ryan, states that when he sounded the bell at some distance from the waggon it seemed to pull clear, but swerved to the rails again as he drew near, rendering an accident inevitable. He applied the emergency brake, and brought up the car in half a dozen yards. The near side wheels of the waggon were taken off, and one of the axles broken, while the horses were slightly cut about.