AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIV, Issue 25, 22 June 1910, Page 5

AUCKLAND.

Deepening the Waikato. At the conference of delegates to the conference of local bodies within the Manukau County Council, held last week at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce Buildings, Mr. E. Allen, who presided, moved, and it was agreed, to urge the deepening of the Waikato River from Mercer to the sea, in the interests of both drainage and navigation. Mr. W. F. Massey, M.P., explained that last session, at his request, the Government had appointed Mr. W. Breakell to inquire into this question. Mr. Massey said he had seen a synopsis of this report, and the engineer was of opinion that it was possible to deepen the river. He was of opinion that the bed of the river had silted up considerably in the last 50 years. The deepening could be accomplished by groins, and confining the stream to a w-idth of, say, three chains. There was lots of swamp land along the Waikato, and if it were possible to thus drain them, they would, instead of being worth five shillings an acre, fetch as many pounds. Then, of course, navigation would be improved, and the much-talked of canal from the Waikato and the Manukau also had a bearing on the question. A Great Improvement, The conversion from’ an overhead to an underground system of telephone communication is being rapidly brought about in Auckland. A large tunnel has been excavated below the present Post Office building in Shortland-street, and duets from different suburbs will come in at different sides of the tunnel. A pair of wires is required for each subscriber, and each duct carries 600 pairs of wires. In all 32 ducts are being installed, thus making provision for 19,200 subscribers —which is nearly 16,000 more than Auckland at present possesses. The west and south-west portions of the town will be served by six duets. Three of these will go up College Hill, and three towards Ponsonby-road. Ten ducts will be required to serve the wharves, Queen-street and the city area proper. Six will run up Shortland-street and spread over Grafton, Parnell, Remuera, Newmarket and Onehnnga. Six have been laid along High-street. Three of these will continue along Symonds-street to tap Mount Eden, Mount Roskill and Khyber Pass, and the other three will serve the intervening part of the town, including Upper Queen-street and Karangahape-road. Some ducts have also been laid up Swan-son-street as far as Albert-street. The High-street ducts have reached Lornestreet, and the Shortland-street ducts are well into Newmarket. It will bo necessary to distribute the wires overhead from the manholes, light poles being required to carry them. The present heavy and unsightly poles will be removed. The work will occupy some months before it is completed. Earthquakes in Rotorua. Between sixteen and twenty-one distinct earthquakes were felt at Rotorua between five and half-past six on Wednesday morning. Each shock was accompanied by a low rumbling noise. Many of the visitors were much alarmed. Shocks somewhat similar were experienced at Rotorua about six years ago. No damage was done. Blaze at Minigaweka. A disastrous fire occurred at Mangaweka last Tuesday week, which destroyer! four business places and one dwelling. Those who suffered were:— Carter (jeweller), Campbell (hairdresser, tobacconist, and keeper of a large billiard saloon), Mrs. Summers (private boardinghouse). A butcher’s shop was also damaged. The fire originated in the back portion of Carter’s premises during the temporary absence of the owner. Carter and Campbell, who were uninsured, are heavy losers. Mrs. Summers also loses heavily, ns she only had a policy for £ 350 on the house and furniture. The greater portion of the goods were salvages!. There was no wind at the time, but

the building on the opposite side of the street narrowly escaped destruction. The other insurances are not yet available. The Value of a Mine. The value of a mine like the Waihi to others outside of actual shareholders ■may be gathered from the following facts shown in the annual report just issued. The gross revenue last year amounted to £970,033 15/3, and the gross expenditure (including mine development) totalled £363,851 10/7, leaving a gross profit of £606,182 4/8. A sum of £36,151 7/7 is allocated for new plant and machinery, and £40,778 17/6 towards the cost of Hora Hora hydro-electric scheme. Shareholders received £396,725 12/- in dividends and £38,845 7/6 went to the Governments of Great Britain and New Zealand ns income tax. On general mining expenses, £138.592 8/8 was spent, and another £6,131 13/7 on the transport of ore, while the milling costs were £45,759 2/5. Another £96,869 18/9 is the cost of extraction of bullion, cyanide, zine, and treatment of concentrates. Another expenditure of £19,763 17/8 is to the Government for gold duty and rent. The investments of the Company in various debentures amount to £249,404 17/9. The Roman Catholic Bishopric. News was received in Auckland this morning to the effect that Archbishop Redwood. Metropolitan of New Zealand, had received a cable from Rome, stating that the Very Rev. Dr. Cleary, of Dunedin, had been appointed Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland, vice the late Bishop Lenihan. The bells of St. Patrick’s Cathedral were rung on receipt of these tidings, and the information was joyfully circulated by priests and laity. Auckland East By-election. The interest taken in the result of the by-election for Auckland Eact was demonstrated by the large crowds that thronged the streets on Thursday night waiting for the returns from the various polling booths. The polls dosed at 7 p.m., and the final returns were posted at the “Star” Office a few minutes after nine o’clock, as follows: A. M. Myers (1.L.) 3180, G. Davis (Lab.) 1087, W. Richardson (P.) 754, R. W. Hill (O.) 309, R. I. McKnight (Lab.) 75. These figures give Mr. Myers an advantage of 2093 votes over the next candidate, Mr. Davie, and an absolute majority of 955 over all the other candidates combined, his total being 3180, as against 2225 polled in favour of the other four socking election. There <a no need, as a consequence, for a second ballot