LOCAL AND GENERAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5843, 9 March 1906, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At a meeting of directors of the WeL nugfon and Mauawntu Railway Compa ay yesterday afternoon, it was decided to recommend to shareholders payment of a. dividend of -i per cent. 1,0 Lalf-ycar ending February _htli, making a total dividend of 7 per cent, for the year.

_ Interviewed by a “Times” reporter, "i V I l ’ * lO Ltugo throe-quarter, and full-back of the Now Zealand football loam, who reached Wellington last night, agreed that on the dav Males was the better team, “It hiuv }£>« suggested,” said tho reporter, that the long series of <JO-point and 40-pomt anus in Kngland were tho worst possible preparation for a strugffh- with a team of Wales’s calibre.” Aon have just struck it,” replied Mr Booth, “they caused to bo developed a more or less slip-shod way of passing, and when wo mot the short, -djarp paso of Wales wo felt a little bit off.” Iho short, sharp pass of Wales was really the same as was played in Now Zealand. The nursery of Rugby football was still New Zealand. All in all Xew Zealand play was superior lo Me sh play. Proof of this was that M ales copied New Zealand’s play practically in every detail, in the big match' and in the other ones. The Cardiff and Glamorgan games were just as hard as the international. Tho now brick premises for the Bank cf New Zealand at Wanganui have been completed. They were erected from the plans of Mr CluurlGSworth, of Millington, by Mr Meuley, at a cost of £SOOO.

Tho Wanganui Chamber of Commerce has decided to invite tho Premier, tho Minister for Public Works, and tho' Native Minister to pay a visit of inspection to tho courtly between Wanganui and Raotihi,

The county engineer in Stratford has marked off tho true north and south of tho grounds at the District High School, A sundial and other apparatus will shortly bo placed in position to assist in the scientific work of the now syllabus.

Complaints have reached us of tho electric train arrangements on the arrival of the Manawatu express every evening. Usually two cars only are in waiting, with tho result that these are almost always greatly crowded, and oven when quite full—standing space and all —the car is kept waiting for some fivo minutes or so for nothing in particular. O'ur correspondent wishes to know When will the Corporation learn to run cars where the demand for them exists ?”

The Government has recognised under tlie cadet regulations No. 3 Wellington Public School Cadet Battalion, until the following officers:—Major Burlinson, late major of tho Otago No. 3 Battalion, to command tho battalion j Fmiay Bothnnc,commanding tho John, sorivillo Public School Cadets, to be adjutant; and D. M. Ycatcs, headmaster of tho Hutt District High School, to ho quartermaster. Tim Newtown District High School Cadet Company is also recognised.

Tlie Near Zealand Rugby players have played hero, and have won golden opinions,” says a private letter received in Wellington from San Francisco. "It was a sort of exhibition game, their opponents making a special trip down , British Columbia to meet them. American football is almost solely con. hned to universities. It is a developmC o t — ancl a ‘ development backwards’ —of Rugby. All the open features are eliminated, and tho players band to. gether and rush forward like a battering ram. The Rugby game found great favour here, and it is now being energetically urged as a substitute for the game hitherto played.”

The Carrara Ceiling Company, Ltd. are the successful tenderers for the ceilings of the new premises in course of erection for the Bank of Australasia. Customhouse quay. The work in the banking chamber, in particular, will be mu a . unajue ■‘ksigH in renaissance style. The* company has also been entrusted with the carrying out of all ornamental work on ceilings and walls of tho Grand Hotel, Willis street. The relief work in tho principal rooms of this building wHI in design and execution bo of tho highest class, of a kind not before at. tempted in New Zealand. Tho decoration of the dining-room will bo a special feature. It will be in Louis XV, style; with wall-panelling, mantel-piecee, and over-mantels to match. All will be dona in Stnocolin, the company’s patent manufacture.

Dr A. McArthur, S.M.. gave reserved judgment yesterday "in the civil case Smallbone and fit). v. Helmore. Tho plaintiffs claimed £2O 5s for balance of goods sold and delivered by plaintiffs to defendant at tbe lattor’s request, and t for commission thereon. Tho , dispute ' was whether the amount was owing by defendant in his private capacity, carrying on business under- the stylo of tho New Zealand Dental Importing Company, or whether it was due by the Now Zealand Dental Importing Company, Ltd., Dunedin, as a company. The company had, in fact, paid the money, but, as no costs had been paid, plaintiff contended that the amount was due by defendant and not by tho company. His Worship said there was a direct conflict of evidence between plaintiff and defendant personally. The latter, however, was supported by the agent of the company residing in Weil.nr on. His T 1 orslnn was by no means sai)- r,e:l as to tho bona fidcs of the company, but. at tho same time, there was not evid'-noa suffiewnt for him to atsoritlia*' defi.-ndant and the company were one and iho nemo entity. Moreover, the corregpendoneo between the - v, rtics invariably sne.’-e of a company. Under the circumstances, his Worship "'as unable to say that plaintiff had proved his case against defendant personally. Plaintiff was nonsuited ; no costs. Take Tonking’s Linseed Emulsion for influenza and cold in the head. Aek your chemist or grocer for it. 4

Tho police station to he established !-y Tinakori road 'will he opened on Monday - next.

The Steward Settlement, in North Otago, will bo thrown open for selection on April 9th. A ‘'Gazette” notice this week declares that hares may bo hilled in a portion of To Horo road district.

His 'Worship the Mayor states that the tentative offer made by the City Council to tho Electrical Syndicate to take over tho latter’s works for £IOO,OOO has boon refused. A small geyser near tho mouth of tho Puarunga stream, at Rotorua, burnt into eruption last week and sent, liquid mud to a height of quite 100 ft. This geyser plays occasionally, about onco a year, hut it has not hitherto hen known to send the material to anything like that height. Tho woll-kuown yacht Marital has been purchased! from Mr E. Btucholz by Messrs I’. Holland, G. Hoggard, and F. Cook, Tho Muritai was built at Auckland about eight years ago by C. Bailoy, jnnr., and was purchased about five years einoo by Mr .11. C. Renner, who brought the craft to Wellington.

Messrs T. Dmn and Sullivan, owners of the Post Office Hotel, have instructed Mr J. C’harlesworth to prepare plans for a now four-story brick building to take the place of the present wooden hotel premises, Grey street. The new hotel, to bo erected on modern lines, will cover tho whole of tho section, which has a frontage to Grey street of 30ft by a depth of 100 ft. Tho building will cost approximately £7OOO. There arc a number of hot springs to bo found in various parts of the Thames Valley and tho Waikato, which have had little - done to thorn in the way of providing access or bathing accommodation, and the ‘‘Waikato Times” suggests that an officer of flic Tourist Department bo sent round tho districts mentioned to make a detailed list of these, springs and their general features, as a preliminary step to their future development.

The Public Trustee has elected to administer estates of the following deceased persons;—Johan Anderson, Prank Gammisii, James Jarir.oy, and Hannah Hanson, of Palmerston North; Ernest C. Bourne, Edward Knapp, William McGill, and Edward Player, junr., of Wellington; Francis G. Firniin, Anna Hartmann, and John Macphcrson, of Alasterton; James Miller, Akitio; Eliza J. Moore, Moron, Alfreclton; Nicholas Turner, Njiroaha and Ann Ward, Greytown. Discussing tho closing of tho railway goodfl-shed with a “Times' 1 reporter, Mr G. Shirtclilfe, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said the now arrangement would mean the loss of an hour a day to all distributing merchants, and very serious inconvenience ■to country clients Orders that came in at midday were generally of an urgent nature, and had to bo despatched promptly. So far as he was aware, no merchants were in tho habit of holding back goods until late in the afternoon. Mr Shirtclilfe believes if the department recognised the work in tho sheds, and put on enough men to copo with the volume of work, the difficulty would bo minimised. Judgment was given by Dr A. McArthur, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, in the civil case Larkin v. Lacry and Co., Ltd. Plaintiif sued defendants for £3l 10s, being amount received by defendants from the sale of an express, a bay gelding, and harness, sold by them on hehalf of plaintiff at public auction. There were two questions to ho answered—(l) Was the horse included in the lot to be sold, subject to a trial, and (2) ■ did plaintiff authorise the express to be sold, separately, after negotiations for the sale of the lot had fallen through. In his Worship’s opinion tho -evidence clearly supplied an affirmative answer to both these questions. The horse failed at tho trial, and the express was sold for tire amount put upon it by tho plaintiff, namely, £25. Judgment was for plaintiff for this amount, which had been paid into , CouriJ, but, as this was tendered and declined before the action was brought, , plaintiff would pay defendants’ cqsts. It has come at last. The! Maori churches find that they must, a la pa- ■ koha, finance themselves by dint of .concerts, bazaars, wahines vending button-holes, “art” unions for sacks of potatoes, and other of the hundred and one ways of money-raising. The letter which conveys this last sad proof of the development of Now Zealand’s earlier colonists is written on behalf iof natives' of tho Maori Church at J' : rL kiri, near Thames. Resignedly the natives remark:—“Having exhausted all efforts, besides giving up a largo portion of our lands, in the,maintenance of our houses of worship, we are finally compelled to practise- and adopt the ways and means of our pakeha friends.” This departure takes the form of a “Combined Maori and Pakeha Conon behalf of which tho Maoris ceked for the patronage of tho Thames ■-Farough Council, which body they addressed as the “Matua o to Whenma” (the Father of tho Land). The great gift of patronage was conferred by the Father amid impressive silence. The Acting-Minister for Railways ■/Hon. A, Pitt) has sent the following letter to the Chamber of Commerce in reply to its last communication on tho subject of Te Aro railway:— “With reference to the- further representation of your Chamber in regard to tho discontinuance of the train service between Wellington and To Aro, I have the honour to inform yets that tho matter had received very careful consideration, and X regret that X cannot koo my way to comply with the request, as the investigations which I have made show conclusively that a very large passenger business is done at To-Aro station, more especially at holiday times, and there is no doubt whatever that, very serious hardships would be inflicted on a large number of workers who regularly avail themselves of the train service to travel to Te Aro. Very strong representations have been made by corporate bodies ■who are totally opposed to the views of the Chamber of Commerce in regard to closing the line, and I am strongly of opinion that no good and sufficient reasons have as yet been shown for tho discontinuance of the service. I regret that in these circumstances I cannot see my wav to depart in any way from the decision already conveyed to you in response to your previous representations on tho same subject.” Messrs Macdonald, Wilson and Co will sell this morning at 11 o'clock on tho ground No 108, Wellington terrace, a largo quantity of building timber bluegum. Baltic pine doors, sashes, scant'TO VA matchlining, flooring, etc., as detailed in tho advertisement appearing. A matron is wanted for tho Danne■arko Hospital.

The season at the Wellington Physical Training School and Gymnasium. Manners street, will commence next Monday Particulars regarding the different classes are advertised. '