NEW ZEALAND: GENERAL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 45, 6 November 1902, Page 19

NEW ZEALAND : GENERAL.

Motor cars may now be seen daily running about the streets of Wellington. It is said that onions grown in America are at present being sold in Timaru at 2d and 2sd a pound. The lambing on the large stations throughout the Hawko's Bay district is averaging 80 per cent. Lieutenant D. Hickey, of Dunedin, has been made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, as a mark of appreciation of his gallantry in South Africa. The Premier will unveil the cairn erected in memory of the late Hon. Sir John M'Kenzie at Pukeivaitai on Friday, the 7th mat., at three o'clock. Sir Joseph Ward will also be one of the speakers. Mr A. Carnegie, of Skibo Castle, Dornooh, Scotland, has promised £10,000 for the building of a public library for Dunedin, if the citizens will provide a Bite and agree to spend £700 per annum for its support. Cable advice has been received in Dunedin that Dr. Arthur J. Hall, son of Mr W. J., Hall, ex- Registrar of Biiths, etc., in this oity, has taken his M.R.C.S. (Eng.) and L.R.C.P. (Lond.) degrees. Dr. Hall was senior surgeon at the Dunedin Hospital for some time. It is satisfactory to learn that the desiine to settle on the land is still very keen, as was shown at the ballot for 10 sections of the Windsor Park Estate, lately acquired by the Government and disposed of last week. There were 79 applicants for the sections, all of which went to local people. Some time ago the Wellington City Council was prepared to purchase the Miramar Estate, just outside the city boundary, at the r.ate of £50 per' acre, the area being 1500 acres. The proposal was "blocked in Parliament, and now the owners have sold portions of the property at considerably enhanced prices, a section of 60 acres being sold on Saturday for close on £20,000. The Customs duties for the first half of the present financial year amount to £1.111,711, as against £1,091,429 in the corresponding period of last year ; and the excise duties to £43,222, as compared with £43,387. The value of the gold expor.ted from New Zealand in the September quarter was £544,512, while the value of the whole of the gold exported from the Colony to the 30th of September} is over 60£ millions. Sir J. G. Ward states that the Pacific cable will be open for traffic in a few weeks. The staffing of the different stations will cause a slight delay. The cable has been put down by the contractors a month ahead of contract time. The rates to Canada and the United States terminal charges will probably be : On commercial messages 2s per word, for Government messages Is 4d, and Press messages Bd. The Land for Settlements Act was passed in October, 1892. The first purchase was made in November, 1893, and the first land offered to the public was in December, 1893. The total purchase money for the IC7 estates, containing 448,349 acres, acquired to March 31, 1902, amounts to £2,117,352. To this has to be added preliminary expenses and coats of roading and preparing for settlement (£111,776), making a total cost of £2,229,128. The Minister of Ranlways has informed Mr. G. J. Smith that he has his (Sir J . G. Ward's) assurance that it is intended to do all the work required for the railways in the Colony. Mr. Smith had drawn his attention to the fact that certain men at the Addiington Workshops had been reduced from boilerma'kers to machinists, and had bad their wages reduced, and they were afraid that this meant permanent reduction. He asked whether there was a good prospect of the Addmgton works being kept going full time, and trusted that all work would be done in the Colony, and the vote for rolling stock be available and be expended. On Thursday a number of citizens of Christchurch assembled in the Alexandra Hall and presented Mr E. A. G. Rhodes wdth an illuminated address and Mrs. Rhodes with a diamond tiara. Mr. Rhodes was also presented with an oil color portrait of himself. The presentation was made in recognition of the manner, in which the recipients carried on the duties of Mayor and Mayoress at the time of the Royal visit and when the contingents were sent away. In consequences of the losses through beasts baing condemned, Christchurch and suburban butchers have decided in a body to purchase n.o fat cattle at Addington market unless the vendors guarantee them sound, or contisibute to an insurance fund The fund will be maintained by "both vendor and butcher paying Is for each boast into the hands of the Secretary of the Yards Company A similar arrangement holds good with fat pigs, at 3d per head. Auctioneers have agreed to fall in with the butchers' ideas, and the new arrangement came into vogiK) yesterday. I In order to improve the facilities for tourist traffic at the southern lakes the Government has purchased the business of the Lake Wakitipu Steam Navigation Company, and is to take possession to-day. The property includes three steamers and the wharves and plant. These will be improved and the timetable arranged so that the services may be run in conjunction with the railways. The Goverment will make further efforts to popularise the southern lakes district as a tourist resort, and endeavour to give increased facilities to persons wishing to visit that veritable wonderland. The Right Hon. R. J. Seddon had an enthusiastic reception on^TTs^ arrival in Wellington. On Thursday night he was entertained afc a banquet by the citizens of Wellington. The gathoriner, which was thoroughly representative of all sections of the community, numbered about

120. The Mayor presided, on his right being the guest of the evening and on his left Sir James Prendergast. Sir J. G. Ward and other members of the Ministry were also present. After the usual loyal toasts, Sir James Pnendergast proposed the toast of ' The Guest of the Evening.' Ho referred to the fact that all the great interests of the city and the Colony were fully and sufficiently represented at that night's gathering, and it was well that it should be sot for every interest was concerned in the way Mr. Seddon had carried out his mission, and no one could deny that he had fully, earnestly, vigorously, and unflinchingly advocated all the interests that were represented there that "night. The toast was enthusiastically honored, and was followed by cheers for Mr. and Mns. Seddon. The following (writes our Nelson correspondent) are the names of those who passed the practical examination in connection with the Associated Board of the R.A.M. and R.C.M., held by Mr. Knott at St. Mary's Convent on October 16 : — Local centre junior (piano). Miss C. Stewart; school higher division (violin), Miss H. Gibbs , echoal lower division (piano) — Misses T. Curran, B Falkner> R. Stallard, R. Vauso, M. McMahon (violin). School elementary (piano' — Misses E. Neilson, NT. •'Vaughan. Senior harmony (theory), E. Scaly. Mr. Knott ytatos that the standard of merit amongst musical students in New 7/ .M land compared favorably with that found m Great Britair. At an election meeting an Wellington, Mr. Duthie, a candidate for the city severely criticised the Government for their action in regard to the Lake Wakatipu Steamship Company, whose property, he contended, was greatly depreciated by the proposal to put .on a new steamer. This treatment of the southern company was on a par with that meted out to the Manawutu Railway Company. With reference to Mr. Duthie's remanks, Sir J. G. Ward states: The outrage on public morals referred to by Mr. Duthie may be judged from the fact that the Government has acquired the property at a price which, in my opinion, is a fair one, inasmuch as the company retains both its reserve fund and dts book debts, which means, in round figures, £5000. If the Government had not negotiated for the purchase of the steamers the company to give effect to Ms railway and had put on steamers independently of policy without acquiring the company's steamers there might have been some justification for saying that the property had been depreciated ; but such a course would have meant that instead of £15,000 the company would have had nothing. In regard to the Manawatu Railway Company, Sir Joseph Ward says :— The reports furnished to the Government for its- guidance gave the value of the whole assets of the Manawatu railway as many hundreds of pounds less than the amount offered by the Government.