LOCAL AND GENERAL

It is expected that these wfil be a large attendance at the meeting which! will be held in His Majsety's Theatre) this evening, to discuss the proposal tcf make a canal between Christohuroh and Samner. Apparently the Harbour. Board's action in rejecting the minority report in favour of the canal has only increased public interest in the prbjeotjj ; Some of the most enthusiastic mpteraj in the scheme will speak this evening, and some strong arguments will be brought forward to show why the people of the district should deolaro thai they feel that the time has come when I the canal should be commenced. ■>.-•, A meeting of the Canterbury Landf Board will be held at 10 a.m. on ThunH day. ' I The Telegraph Department w*i advised at nine o'clock this morning that the Waimakariri River was 3ft above, normal," and was still rising, and it was, raining steadily. j ; The motor bridge ' over the Paha'u; river, on the road to Hanmer, will bq opened next week. The bridge oyei\ the Waipara, on the same road ,is «*t pected to be finished within' six weeks* time. f I The river report, telegraphed at ninfl( o'clock this morning, is as follow*:-—^ Ashley and Ashburton, clear; Wai-. makariri and Opihi, discoloured ; Selwyn, Rakaia, Rangitata and Waitaki,, fishable. ■■-•.. A block of . land comprising 1685} .acres, which has been acquired by the. Land for Settlements Department at Dunsandel, is at present being inspect^ ed by the Commissioner of Crown Lands and the acting chief surveyor.] It will probably be opened for selection;! at the end of November. < 1 -J3top and think for a moment. Maiiy-j people are all run down, tired out and' hardly able to drag about — don't know! what ails them. Steams* Wine of Cod Liver Extract, the great tissue builder,' j h the answer. .§6 »•

All telephone connections to the Chriatchurch exchange for which subscriptions are not paid by October 11 will be cut off . The City Council has decided to take proceedings to enforce the provision of the by-laws relating to the licensing of tky-signs, hoardings and balconies. ' The Chief Postmaster has accepted the offer of the Tramway Board to barry the mailbags daily on the Bur/Wood line for £5 per annum. The service commenced yesterday. ' . It was mentioned at the meeting of the Christchurch Tramway Board yesterday that eight of the new destination signals for the afreet cars were being made, and would be tried before any more were made. The Postmaster-General has decided to increase The telephone exchange attendance at Ashburton by opening the office to subscribers on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 6 p,m. This attendance is in addition feo that already provided for bureaux am Sundays. . Last night the City Council, on the recommendation of the Sydenham Water Supply Committee, decided that tine charge for testing a water supply meter, should be 10s, the amount to be returned if the meter was found to be incorrect. The motion was made a regulation for the entire city. ...•'• The Hon D. Buddo (Minister of Internal Affairs), writing to Mr G. W. Forbes, M.P.j with reference, to the deputation that waited on him recently at Cust, states that it is the intention of the Railway Department to provide another holding yard at Cust. and this will do away with a good Heal of the present difficulty attending the loading of sheep at the station, which the deputation complained of. : During September fifty-three per/mits were issued by the Ghristchurch city suryeyorfor the erection of buildings of all aggregate estimated value of £15,237, the total amount received in fees being £66. Permits were granted for ten buildings valued at £1260, In the outer area, one valued at £600 in the inner area, nineteen valued at £8630 in St Albans, eight Valued at £2060 in Ltnwood, and fifteen valued at £2897 in Sydenham. I At last evening's meeting of the City Council, the Electrical Lighting and tower Committee reported that CounVallor Cooper's proposal to' light Manchester Street from the Railway Station to. the Clock Tower, High Street irom the Clock Tower to Colombo Street, (and Colombo Street from Hereford Street to Armagh Street with electric fere lamps had been considered by the committee, which regretted that it bould not see its way to recommend the to- adopt the suggestion until Ithere was a larger supply of current 'available and the present contract with Vhe Gas Company had expired. The proposal was therefore not adopted. The City Council last evening agreed bo the renaming of many streets in the city, tne new names in most cases being found in the names of bishoprics, poets, bublic schools i and admirals. Among the principal changes were Union Street, which was dignified by the cOgnomen of Bangor Street; Elizabeth jStreet, which was vaguely renamed [Lawson Street, after "a poet"; LHawkeabury Street, which was named Kipling Street; JJealey Street, now Charterhouse Street; Shirley Road, transformed to Westminster Street ; Mid Rolleston Street, which was alWed 10 Seymour Street. The Canal' Reserve was' pessimistically termed Linwood Avenue. ' . . A prisoner at the Hanmer camp, a jfoung man named Frederick Creager, an Australian who was serving a five [years' sentence on charges of breaking 'and entering and theft, escaped between midnight and 6 a.m. yesterday. fee is twenty years of age, -6ft Bin m height, and stoutly built. Creager, together with a man. named llxlward Potts, committed a number of burglaries at Islington last year, in one instance bodily removing the whole of the furniture of a dwelling-house. The prisoner escaped by taking out a winnow in a newly-altered single hut. His escape was rendered easier by the fact that there was no warder on night duty, the staff being short-handed. He took with him a warder's bicycle, and would have had sufficient time to reach Christchurch. There are thirty-nine prisoners at present in camp. A Press Association states that the Tainui, which arrived yesterday at Wellington, brought 406 passengers in the third class. Of these ,144 are aslisted. Forty-seven women, nineteen xpfen, and . thirty-four children were nominated by relatives in New Zea-' land,, and. there are 1 forty-four travellers approved by the High Commissioner: xuese comprise twenty . women, fourteen men and ten children. Included amongst these are twentythree domestics, five farm labourers, eleven farmers, one horse-breaker, one dairyman, two ploughmen and twentytwo wives (and children), who are coming out to rejoin their husbands. The capital possessed by the immigrants Vanges from £210 to £26. Mr A. A. B. Danby, chief immigration officer, informed a reporter that the immigrants jrore up to the average. ° During the ' rbyage a married woman suffering from consumption, died, and a four-months'-old baby also died. . In order to provide 'a reserve in case yi accidents, the City Council last evening authorised the purchase of a new Babcock and Wiloox boiler; fitted with a, mechanical stfrker, for the electric generating plant. The estimated cost bf the boiler is £2275. When the question was before the Council, the .{Mayor stated that when the proposal to extend the plant had been before jthe Council he had been led to believe jthat the boiler pow.er was sufficient, but now it seemed that a further exjpenditure was necessary. He did not oppose the recommendation, because it /was in a form that practically would not permit opposition, but he objected too the principle. At public meetings, jfcn consequence of remarks from the engineer, he had stated that there was sufficient boiler-power, and he had not been contradicted by the Council's offitoers. Councillor J. J. Dougall said that the question had been discussed |n committee at length, and the engineer had expressed the opinion that a breakdown in a boiler in the winter at !£he peak -of the load would mean a Stoppage of the plant. : A case bearing on the power of a subordinate Lodge to enter into agreements contravening the rules of the Grand Lodge, was heard by Mr T. A. B. {Bailey, S.M., in the Kaiapoi Magistrate s Court about a fortnight ago. j»nd yesterday he delivered his reserved judgment. The plaintiff, Dr Davies, was the medical officer of the Trafalgar Lodge of Druids at Kaiapoi, and* the defendant was a member of the Lodge, ffche claim being for 12s 6d for attend•ance on and medicine supplied to the (defendant's daughter, who was at the itime under sixteen years of age. The defendant contested the claim on the ground that as medical officer to the podze the plaintiff was bound to attend members' children under sixteen years jee n age. Evidence was called to prove that there was an arrangement between plaintiff and the Lodge, though Ithere was no documentary proof of it, thereby the medical officer was requirjed to? attend only children under fourlieen years of age. The Magistrate said that this arrangement constituted a serious interference with the benefits ti the Society, and the rules of the Grand Lodge should not have been Woken in so haphazard a manner. Abe agreement made by the Lodge was [ultra vires, and the plaintiff mus be