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Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2350, 17 November 1908, Page 4

A society called the “Sons and Daughters of Freedom” has been formed in Dunedin, with the object of advocating State or municipal control of the liquor trade. Feilding land agents report that at present there is a good demand for sheep country, inquiries being received from the South Island, up the Alain Trunk line, and from other places..] Dairy country is not in demand! just now. An excellent dairying season is being experienced at Carterton, and dairy factories -are- paying out large cheques. The Dalefiold Dairy Factory paid out the sum of £IOO4 12s 8d for the four weeks ending October 26, which exceeds any -previous payment for a similar period by £l6O. It is stated by the “Westport Times” that a representative of the West Coast sawmillers has recently returned with large orders for red pine for the Melbourne market, and there is every possibility that the trade will extend to Sydney and Adelaide.-,' ,

Speaking of . a now work just published a brief quotation from the author’s preface would throw stronger light upon the thought which guided him if he neglected to get a four pour ladle for eightpence at Parnell’s Popular Saturday Sales tweptyffirst just. only. . .

The social in aid oi the Mate-rnty Homo, organised by the ladies oi I atutahi and the surrounding .district, realised the suni of £2O, .which has been handed to the Home Committee, the members of which desire to heartily thank all those who were instrumental ;in arranging the function. Growing crops are looking well all over North Otago (says- an Oamaru correspondent), and the; check caused by the recent dry winds has done no injury, the growth having been -a trilie rank just lately. Grass is now coining away excellently, but stock are making little movement as yet.

The shark fishing industry, which has just been started at- Parengarenga, bid's fair to be a success. Tli’e object is to secure the oil from the livers of sharks for the purpose of producing food for calves (says the “Northern Advocate”). Sharks are very numerous in the harbors of the extreme north, those caught- being •from 4ft to sft in length.. Quite recently a tribe of natives, fishing with lines, secured in two days no less than 500 sharks. After the livers have been extracted from the fish, the flesh is dried in the usual Maori method, and is considered a great delicacy by the natives. When the steamer Den of Ruthven left Vancouver for New Zealand l and Australia via Gliemainus on October 6 she took the largest cargo ever carried to the ' Antipodes. The big freighter lias 3,350,000 ft of lumber and 1000 tons of general cargo. O the cargo 750' tons consist of apples from Wenatchee, Washington. This is a very large shipment of fruit. The remainder of the cargo is made up" of lead, sewing-machines, salmon, and Canadian manufactured articles. The Den of Ruthven is- one of the most modern and up-to-date freighters in the world, -her design and up-to-date equipment making her <a splendid boat for the run- to the Antipodes. The “x~nd Star’s” Honolulu correspondent reports that almost coincident with the New Zealand case of the successful use of the Nastin treatment for the cure of leprosy, 'a number of patients have been under treatment at Kalilii for about a year. One patient has been recommended to the Board of Health for re-examina-tion. The physicians state in a report:—“Whilst we are convinced beyond the possibility of doubt that the patient is absolutely free from leprosy, we do not feel lie has made sucli a marked improvement that the request for re-examination is warranted.” The Board lias adopted tl# recommendation, and if the presence of the bacillus of leprosy is not found in the man’s system lie will bo discharged.

Speaking at Alasterton recently, Air A. W. Hogg said he -had very pronounced' views with regard to the duties that the State should he able to saisfactorily perform .(states the “New Zealand Times”). The State with its railways was the great overland carrier in the Dominion, and why should it not be the ocean-car-rier as- well? He trusted the time was not far remote when- the two islands would be bridged by large Government steamers, and Government boats would be employed to carry coal from the estate mines to the principal centres ainl ports. The Government should either charter or purchase steamers of the best up-to-date construction- to carry the mails and produce of the country to Great Britain and other distant parts. “In my travels through the dominion,” says Air Ben Alorgan, the special commissioner of the British Aianufaeturers’ Association, “the dearth of •labor was everywhere evident, for in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin most of t-lie. principal factories were working overtime. I •do not doubt that doming the next •few years there will be a still greater expansion of industry throughout the dominion. As in the case of Australia, New Zealand is prepuied to go a long way in order to er-co i rage the local production of her necessities, and the record of the present Government shows that the manufacturer may prosecute his business with a feeling of certainty that Ins Titerusts will be safeguarded. This is not always the case.” ,Alr Morgan ad-!s: “in the next few years the protection of Customs duties and s> a carriage will undoubtedly encourage local production of -a considerable quaniuy of such goods now imported.” The postal authorities at Christchurch were very much puzzled last week when it was reported that- -a red motor car, bearing a representation of the Royal Arms, was darting about the city. Quite a stir flashed on the heels of a rumor that the car proported to be engaged' in the carriage of his Majesty’s mails. Nobody could account either for its appearance or movements, which were distinctly mysterious. The police were communicated with, and a constable at the bank was promptly instructed to hold up the intruder forthwith, - While the constable is said to have expressed his willingness to obey order®, he pointed . out that none other than his Excellency the Governor happened to 'be in the car. Then a great light dawned on all concerned,,. Somebody recollected that the Government motor cars on tho Ait. Cook-Fairlie service had been brought to the Cathedral city for vicc-regal purposes, and for the rest of the day the Rost Office maintained a dignified silence. Lord Plunket-, replying to an address of welcome 1 to him at- Waimate, remarked that if an. official visit from the Governor at election time, caused a certain-amount of inconvenience, it brought no 'misunderstandings as to the object of that, visit. It.simply emphasised one of the happiest features of our country’s general working. It was one of the principles of the traditional procedure under the British Constitution that the representative of the King took no part in political warfare, but gave his full confidence and 1 support only to those whom the people of the country entrusted''with its. government. They had only to compare the unfortunate misunderstandings which had arisen in connection with the German Emperor’s -action and speeches, witli the noble work done by our King, to realise that under God’s providence the sons of England over the seas wore indeed fortunate in living under the British Constitution. Lord Plunket added- that he felt in coming among them on the eve of. a. general election that lie could do so without anyone feeling that he had any interest in party politics. This could not be said, probably, in any other country in -tfafu woyW.:

At the Police Court yesterday morning, before Mr W. A. Bar on S.M., a man named Jas. Hamdto.i was convicted of having procured 1quor during the currency or a - hition order against him. lie was lined £5 with 7 S costs.

Once more lias public attention been directed by a Supreme Court bulge to the facilities put an the way of dishonestly 'inclined people by those who ought to know a great . dear . better. Last week Mr Justice Dcn-niston- remarked during,khe hearing or a certain case tried -in Christchurch, "It seems to be the simplest thin; for a perfect stranger to walk into a perfectly strange place generally a public house, borrow a cheque, fill it up and go on to another public-house and get it cashed/’ A remarkable device to hide the work of the pilferer was discovered in a case of sardines opened up by Pannatyne and Co., ot Wellington, the other day. In the centre or the case a square piece of granite padded underneath with sacking was round which exact ly fitted the vacancy caused by the removal of two dozen haltpound tins of sardines. It was only when the top layers of the tins were removed that the queer substitute was visible. The sardines, which name from Spain, were shipped by the North German Lloyd boat to bydney, and transhipped to the Union Company’s steamer for Wellington. Considerable ingenuity was displayed in the make-up of the peculiar substitute.

The question of defence has occupied attention at practically every political meeting in Auckland during the past month or two, and the other evening one of the candidates, Mr. Richardson, who is standng for City East, put his view tersely and to the point. He said. “I want to teJl you, in passing,that if you don’t get under arms someone will come along and gobble this country' up, and if you are too indolent to take up a rifle, well someone might come along and make you. I am not in lavor ot war, but while other nations arm, every adult in the British Empire should be under arms as an insurance premium against attack.” At this stage someone at the back of the hall called ouo, "The Bible says 'xhou shalt not kill.’” Mr. Richardson’s reply came quickly. "So it does, but it- doesn’t say r you are to let the other fellow kill you.” (Laughter and applause.)

- Scholarships are offered to colonials under what is known as an. "Imperial Home-scheme,” and 50 are waiting to be claimed (writes a London correspondent). The scheme was founded in 1003 by Miss A Stratford Cox, Schiller-Platz, Dusseldorf, who hoard a German lecturer state that though to-day colonists born in Great Britain speak of their native land as Home, their grandchildren wilL not even think of it as such. To prevent this catastrophe the Home-scheme was founded, and several schools in Great Britain and English schools on the Continent are offering scholarships to colonial pupils. They vary in value, but are mostly worth half the usual fees. It is hoped to increase the number of schools adopting the scheme, which requires no funds—it only needs publicity. Further information will be furnished to those writing to Dliss Cox.

One result of the improvement of the status of school teachers which will be brought about by the new .Education Act will probably be the receipt by the Education Boards of New Zealand of a large number of applications from English teachers to be placed on the employment lists of the boards. Two sucli applications were received yesterday by the Auckland Board the other day, and the secretary (Mr. V .E. Bice) announced chat these applications were coming in from English teachers as a result of. the increased salaries and the introduction of the superannuation scheme. The chairman of the Board (Mr. O. J .Parr) said he thought that the time was not Jar distant when there would be a system of interchange between New Zealand and English and Canadian or American teachers. Such a system, he thought, would be of great mutual value, tending as it would to increase The experience of-teachers, and to brighten the. outlook.

The statement that the sawmilling industry in Taihape district is in a bad way, principally on account of the large importations of Oregon pine to the Dominion, is not regarded very seriously by the Auckland sawmillers. It is an undoubted fact that a good deal of Oregon pine is coming into New Zealand, but Oregon is not a cheap timber, and commands a higher price than rimu. There docs not appear to be a very great demand for it in Auckland, at am* rate, because several Auckland ' sawnullers who have stocked it to replace medium kauri, have used very little, if any, of it. , One leading ' Auckland sawmiller attributed the undoubted depression in the timber trade to the tightness of the money market preventing people from borrowing money for building purposes. The money market was so stringent at the present time, he said, that it was hard to borrow at 6 or 7 per cent, on the best securities. Tins gentleman also expressed the opinion that the bulk of the Oregon timber was being bought more as a speculation than anything else.

The happy and substantial state of affairs in. the Samoan Group, and atso in the surrounding groups under British domination (writes a Samoan correspondent), is sharply contrasted with the chaotic and unprogressivo condition of the two islands Fotuna and Wallis, which are situated right in the very centre of progress, and which do hot to-day seem to be as far advanced as they were some 20 years ago. It is not long sauce the supercargo of the South Australia was attacked on shore, and his arm chopped off by an infuriated native, whom he had never seen before and whom he had not injured, and it is known that vessels and steamers going to these places, located between Apia and Levulca, have to keep careful guard against surprises. Though the Catholic missionaries have been in charge of these islands for niany years, and no other religion is tolerated, the teachers do not seem to have made the general progress which. lias marked their efforts in other “regions. It would be much better for France and tor the surrounding island groups if these two isolated spots could be sold out or transferred to either Britain or Germany,

A letter from Mr. J. Sheridan on the controversy between the Mayor and the Rev. F. W. Chatterton |Us ko No-license in Invercargill appears in our advertising columns, as does one from Mr. W. E. Crawford, on the No-license question in general.-

“Mr. Clayton classed me as 'a /socialist. ’ eaid Mr. Barton last evening, "because I gave £1 to the Socialists. Mr.? Clayton gave £5 to the Salvation Army, and,” he continued, "could wo say that by tin* t - . lie became a Salvationist?” (Laugh* ter.)

Just as Mr. Darton was about to commence his address in the Garrison Hall list evening, a man, who alleged that Mr. A. J. Black had made a false statement, proceeded to a s k that gentleman a question. r j ]u> crowd would not allow him to proceed and -he then attempted to address the audience. Tie was hooted down, but the chairman had to intervene before the interrupter could be persuaded to resume his seat.

The wool clip in the North (remarks the “Auckland Star”) thig season, has been a particularly satisfactory one, and the quality of the fleece coining into' the stores is particularly good. Farmers are feeling anything but happy over the prospects of the

market, however, am it is considered that the average price for the coarser qualities will not go beyond o£d per lb. at the opening sale on the 2jtk inst.

Failure to turn off the gas jet properly nearly accounted foil-two of the Marine'contingent quartered at Mr Devine’s Empire Hall on Saturday night (says the Palmerston North “Times”). They were quartered in a .small ante-room, and slexh noth ti e door shut. In the morning, the night porter of the hotel, wakening them, was astonished at the smell of gas from the room, and the torpor in which the sleepers apparently Jay. A small ventilator saved their lives.

The Pacific Cable Board’s chairman, in a letter to the GovernmentW • states:—“The Norfolk Island * who replaced the Chinese of last year, though at first raw and untrained, and requiring considerable supervision, are becoming seasoned, and have proved a well-behaved set of men. The employment afforded by the cable ship to the natives of Norfolk Island has contributed very materially to the prosperity of this small and interesting community.

Messrs Dalgety and Co., Ltd., Wellington, have received the following cable message from their house.—“ The annual meeting of the shareholders of the company takes place on 19th November. It* is proposed to allocate the profits for the year, namely, £210,311. as follows: Dividend of 6 per cent., absorbing £00,000; bonus of 1 per cent., absorbing £10,000: transferred t-o the credit of reserve fund, £3-5,000: writing down of premises, £30.000: to credit of staff benevolent fund, £5000: amount to be carried forward, £70,311; total £210.311. The re- * serve fund will now stand at £270.000 and the staff benevolent fund, a (created two years ago) at £l-5.000.

In a political speech at Auckland, Mr. A\ . Richardson expressed strong convictions that the whole of the North of Auckland was suitable for the breeding or silkworms. If half that country was planted with the right kind 'of mulberry tree, he said, a crop of silk cofild be secured that would exceed in value all the wool clip. While wool went from 6d to 9d per lb. silk was worth 2s per lb. Thousands of pounds went from New Zealand every year for glass, ''while New Zealand had one of the finest glass-making sands in the world. Then £21 ; 00Q wortlv of blacking came annually to the Dominion, and surely New Zealanders could make their own blacking. There wore 221,000 barrels of cement being brought here every year, and yet Auckland could turn out splendid cement. Then, again, 1,441,0001 bof maizena came here from abroad, whereas not one pound should be coining ; the maize lands of the East Coast should be developed to produce all the maize required, yet the Government admitted maizena free.

Inquiries made frojn Christchurch in T\ elliiigtoii show that the tuatara lizard lias not been given any legal protection. Its name is included in a list of native animals in a schedule of the Animals Protection Act. 1906. but the Act merely provides that the animals may be protected by an announcement in the “Gazette." 5 It does not state that they shall be protected, and there is nothing to prevent its destruction. The very_ comprehensive,.** clauses of the Maori Antiquities Act, passed a few years ago, operate against the export of tautaras, dead or alive .from the Dominion. “Maori antiquity” is defined by the Act as ‘‘anything of scientific value relating to New Zealand,” and no “antiquity” can be sent away from New Zealand without the consent of the Minister of the Interior. This provision is so general in its scope that it has been put into force. Further inquiries show that there are good grounds for the statement that tuatara lizards are sent in fairly large numbers to Eng- i—land and other countries. 4