The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2,1909 ANOTHER GAGGING CLAUSE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2674, 2 December 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2,1909 ANOTHER GAGGING CLAUSE.

Amongst the regulations governing the Civil Service is one which prevents any servant of the Government from supplying! ‘information to the Press without first receiving tlie special authority of the Minister. Ibis is obviously one of those regulations which must be administered with discretion. It would never do to allow every clerk in the Civil Service the liberty to discuss the affairs of his department with the first enterprising reporter who cared to question him, but, on the other hand, it is suicidal to the best interests of the community to absolutely debar responsible officers from making use of the columns of the press to disseminate useful information. Therefore, in the past, it has been the practice for Ministers to permit a reasonable application of the regulation. So long as information supplied to the press was given in a legitimate way nothing was said, but if a Government employee used the newspapers for ulterior motives or opened his mouth tactlessly lie was promptly to book under the provision referred to. One would have thought that this arrangement, .which seems to have worked quite satisfactorily in the past, could with advantage have been continued, but Mr. T. Mackenzie, Minister of Agriculture, lias different notions on, the subject. Quite recently an official memorandum was sent forth to every employee in his department, threatening them with instant dismissal should they violate the regulation in any way. As a result, officers who have, in the past, made liberal use of the newspapers- for the futherance of the work they are engaged in, now close their lips firmly when a reporter comes- in sight. The frankly .-admit that it is as much as their billets are worth to supply even the most innocent item of news, and naturally, although with keen reluctance, they keep silent. Christchurch papers drew attention to the absurdity of the •position thus created ■on the occasion of the metropolitan show held in the Southern city a few weeks hack. There were assembled there some of the foremost officials of the Agricultural Department, and they 'had an opportunity to inspect typical stock and produce Jrom all parts of the Dominion. The opinion of these experts upon what they saw would be of great interest and value to tlie farming community, lmt not one of them dare utter a word. Locally wo are provided with a similar instance. Mr. • Walter Miller, who has been in charge of the local Stock Department, has been in the 'habit -of utilising the press freely when the work he was en■gaged in 'would ’be ’benefited in consequence. If a dangerous and contagious disease made its appearance in the district he ‘found it extremely convenient to be able ‘to induce the local papers to publish a paragraph warning farmers of the danger. This caused stockowners to be particularly watchful, and at the ffirst signs of trouble they would communicate with the Department for advice. ’lt is doubtful if we exaggerate in estimating that 80 per cent, of inquiries forwarded to tlie Gisborne branch <of ‘the Agricultural Department were sent as the result of paragraphs appearing in the local press. Whatever the ’intention of tlie Minister, it .seems -Obvious that the most notable result of liis latest administrative act will he ito 'rob "tho -Agricultural Department of the bulk of its power for doing good. The matter is one that could with -advantage 'be taken up by the local Chamber of Commerce ■or th© Agricultural Pastoral Association,- by reason of their close connection with the farming interests.

Yesterday was the 65tli anniversary of Queen Alexandra’s birthday. Jhe flag at the Government buildings was "hoisted in honor of tlie-occasion. It is announced that an -entertainment will be given at Waerenga-a-hika to-night by tlie Bright Hours Company , trained by Miss Pearce.. A dance will take place after tlie entertainment. Tike public are reminded that tlh© annual concert of the Gisborne Convent school is to be given in His Majesty s Theatre to-night. The drama lara, a representation of a heroic episode in the ancient history of Ireland, wi.l be performed. Messrs Vita Bros.’’ orchestra will Tender selections. Tlie fifteenth annual meeting of the Gisborne- auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible Society is to be held at 3 p.m. to-day in the/ grounds of tlie Von. Archdeacon Williams', Cobden Street, or, if wet, in To Rail College, opposite. Afternoon tea is to be provided by lady friends.' Admission will be free .and a collection is to be made in aid of tlie, society’s funds. The attention of Mr. W. A. Barton, S.M., was occupied for .some time at the ■ Magistrate’s - Court yesterday morning: hearing an application to vary aii, order for the maintenance of three children. Mr. T. Alston Coleman (instructed by Messrs Barnicoat and Treadwell, solicitors, of Wanganui) appealed in support of the application, and Mr. Burnard for defendant. The evidence of the mother, 1 who is now resident in Gisborne, was taken, and the papers will be forwarded oil to the Court afc Wanganui.

Potato blight is prevalent in the Otaki district, where the Chinese gardeners and the Maoris have large areas of potato crops seriously affected. Tubers only half developed are being dug up, to prevent total loss. The annual meeting of the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce will be held in Clare’s Buildings at 7.30 p.in. to-day. After the business lias been transacted refreshments will be served, and a short list of toasts gone through. A Press Association telegram states that the following deceased persons’ estates were certified for stamp duty during November: —Gisborne: Anne White £377, David J. Hewitscn £375. Napier: J ohn Stewart £IB2B. James S. Logan £Ol2, Allen Lord £554. There is great rejoicing in Marlborough over the recent rise in the price of chaff. During the last few days one merchant .alone has bought 1000 tons, mostly from the Grove and surrounding districts, for shipment to Auckland. It is notified that the Eng.isli mail usually arriving on Wednesday did not do so yesterday, because the Orient liner Orsova on arrival at Fremantle was delayed shipping 1000 tons of Collie coal on account of the Newcastle strike. > A man who was summoned for debt at the Magistrate’s Court,at Christchurch informed the magistrate that he was a fisherman, and his average weekly Warnings were 17s 6d. He was married, and had two children, and his rent was 10s a week. The magistrate declined to make an order. A remarkable accident befell an Ashburton resident- a few days ago while, lie was shooting rabbits. The gun he was using was somewhat worn at the breech, and on the discharge of the weapon a piece of the copper cap of a ballistite cartridge flew backwards and out of the breech, Ipdging in the ball of the sportsman’s right eye. He was attended by Dr C. L. Handcock, who experienced a great difficulty in. removing tli© foreign matter from the eye. Fortunately the sight of the eye ha,s not been impaired. The committee of the Boy Scouts movement have decided to hold a camp fotr the boys at Willow Crossing, extending from December 31st to January 3rd. The object of the camp will be to provide four days of holiday life, instruction, and practice in scouting, competitions, sports, games and camp fun, all under careful supervision and' with helpful surroundings. The parents of the boys are at present being circularised with a view of ascertaining the number likely to attend, and as the estimated cost is only 5s there should be a large gathering at the camp. The geysers at Whakarewarewa have have been more than usually active during the post seven or eight days, particularly Pohutu, which has given many excellent displays. This geyser, during last week, erupted on eight occasions, the exhibitions being very fine. The Cauldron, adjoining Pohutu geyser, has .also been in a very agitated state for 10 or 12 days, assuming at times geyser action (says the “Hot Lakes Chronicle). The Prince of Wales’ Feather, Kereru, and Waikoroliini geysers have also been exceedingly active, playing at irregular intervals throughout eadlii day for over a week. There have been such demands on the freight accommodation of the Homeboats for the coming two or three montlis that the New Zealand Shipping Company has been compelled to charter vessels to assist in carrying tile cargo. It is stated by the “New Zealand Herald” that there is more cargo being; shipped from New Zealand to England this year than has ever been the case before. Of course the wool shipments make a considerable item. Passenger accommodation is also being heavily booked, and from present appearances all the Home boats leaving during the next three months should carry their full -complement. The .leakage of current on the electric ears is sometimes painfully obvious during wet weather (says the Christchurch “Press”). A day or two ago, a passenger in the act of handing a .penny to the conductor received an electric shock which was so strong and so unexpected, that he promptly dropped the coin on to the floor and refused to have anything more to do with it. The conductor, it transpired, was standing upon a couple of bolt-heads which protruded through the foot-board, and •immediately he touched the passenger’s penny the circuit was completed, and such electricity as was flowing about promiscuously thus found a convenient outlet for its energies. It is-stated that Arthur Roberts, who iis now :in Lyttelton Gaol under sentence of death for the murder of Alice Newman, does not, to outward appearance seem to feel his position very keenly; but this is doubtless due to the fact that the spirits are buoyed up by. the hope that the death sentence will be commuted. He is reported to have said that the day lie receives word of the reprieve will be “the happiest day of his life,” and he has calculated that when he has served twenty-one years’ imprisonment,' he will be forty-two years of age. Mr T. I. Smaill, lay evangelist, who has been visiting Roberts, has impressed on him not to build up too much on the hope of a reprieve. In the meantime, Mr Smaill and the Rev.. J. J. Bates, the Presbyterian (clergyman in Lyttelton, are regularly visiting Roberts, who is a Presbyterian. The condemned man sent for Captain Marciel. Visiting Justice, on Monday, and arranged to send a cablegram to his relatives in Scotland acquainting them of his terrible position. He is reported to have received a letter from a girl in Scotland asking him to return Home. In the mentime, Robert’s appetite is good, and he dleeps well; but he is never left alone, a warder being with bim day and night. . < The cable message stating that Halley’s comet Iliad been seen from Adelaide Observatory by unassisted vision, will set many .a “watcher of the skies” to work, and those who rarely trouble themselves about the Heavens may be awakened to interest. One of the leading astronomical- authorities in Wellington, however, says that many days must pass before any save the keenest sighted may expect to see the visitant, unless provided with a telescope. The first point is to know where to look, and as the comet will appear in proximity to tlie conspicuous star, Aldeharan; there should be little difficulty in this respect. Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus, of a reddish color, forming part of the V-shaped “Bull’s head,” and lying about midway between Orion and the Pleiades. The star rises now at about eight o’clock in the north-east, and is gradually moving westward. In January and • February, it will ■he in the constellation of the Fishes, and the comet will probably be seen as an evening star. But precise prediction is impossible, as when once within the solar system, the local attraction of planets —even of the smaller ones —comes into play. It was computed that this same comet on its last appearance, .was retarded fourteen days in its course by the influence of the earth’s attraction alone.

The appointment of Mr. Michael Angland as a member of the Patutahi Town Domain Board, in place of Mr. Andrew Tuohy, resigned, is gazetted. The .meeting of the Borough Council, which begun, at 7.30 o’clock last evening, was only brought to a conclusion at 1.40 a.m. to-day. In the E'ketahuna district there is at present a keen demand for shearersgood shearers being a scarce commodity . The demand in the Masterton district is still unsatisfied. The members of the Borough Council last evening received with thanks an invitation to attend the school sports meeting to be held at the Victoria Domain on Tuesday, December 14. The following passengers had booked last night by Messrs Redstone and Sons’ coaches leaving this morning: For Waipiro, Mr. Hobbs; for Pakarae, Messrs Cox /and E. J. Smith; for'Eoioga, Messrs Murphy, Bell, Powell, A. Graham, Rawhiti, and Johnson.,. A young man from Timaru had some unenviable experiences of employmentseeking in London recently. The local “Post” states that he went in answer to an advertisement for a blacksmith’s striker and found in the streets a crowd of 2000 men on the same errand as himself. At the Police Court yesterday morning, before Mr. W. A. Barton, S.M., Mary Campbell, for being found drunk in Peel Street on November 30th, was fined 18s and costs 2s, or in default 48 hours’ imprisonment. A first offender was fined the usual sum of os and costs 2s. “I am prepared to go out of public life at any moment, but I am not prepared to express anything but hatred of the principles of the present New Zealand Budget affecting the land of this country.”—Mr D. M'Laren, M-P-. at the Wellington Opera House on Sunday evening. A meeting of sheepfarmers will be held under the auspices of the Gisborne Branch of tho Farmers’ Union, at 2 p.m. on Saturday next, December 4th, at the Farmers’ Union Club room, to .consider the' question of improving the control and regulating the sales of frozen meat at London, and also the question of freight charges from New Zealand to jbondon. All sheepfarmers, whether members of the Union or not, are invited. The annual race meeting under the auspices of the Tologa Bay Jockey Club will be held on Friday and Saturday, February 25th and 26th next. Seven events are to be contested each day. Nominations are to be received on January 31st and February 14th. Acceptances will close on Monday, February 14th, for the first day’s races, and on Friday, February 25th. for the second day’s races. The full programme, with dates of declaration of weights and other information is advertised in this issue of the “Times.” While the Mayor of Wellington was delivering a panegyric on progressive New Zealand at the reception to Mr and Mrs Will Crooks at Wellington, lie happened to chance, among the list of State and municipal enterprises, oil that of the State coal mines.. “We have State fire insurance,” he said, “and State coal —” “When we can get it,” came a voice from the rear, and the audience, reminded of the trouble on the West Coast, burst into hearty laughter. Mr Crooks, who had evidently been reading the papers, saw the point, and joined m with a smile. A meeting of creditors was held in Auckland recently in the estate of a bankrupt whose financial trouble was caused by speculation in mining shares, ilr. Pullen, who appeared for the bankrupt, said that that was only the first of a number of cases which would be likely to come before the Official Assignee. Numbers of young fellows had been tempted to gamble in mining shares which was the worst form of gambling, and the amount of credit they were able to get from shareholders was probably the worst feature of the business. A private letter received at Wellington by the last mail from Sir RobertStout, and dated from a private hospital in Londor just before he underwent the operation reported by cable, states that he was then feeling very fit and well, but, acting on the best advice in London, he had determined to submit to the operation, as he told that if he delayed till he was ill he might not be able to stand it. We have since had cable news that the operation was successful, and the Chief Justice was making a good recovery. He will probably return to the Dominion in February. An innovation at the Oamaru Railway Station Refreshment Rooms is causing considerable irritation among inexperienced travellers. For the sum of 6d, hitherto, one was supplied with a cup of tea and a sandwich, and*the instruction to leave the cup and saucer in the train for collection farther up the lineA Now, however, one is called upon to pay Sd for the cup and saucer, “money returned when crockery-is returned.” The average tourist has not -.-a great deal of facility for the personal return of a cup and saucer which he has carried with him a distance of, say 30 miles, so that the innovation (says the Timaru “Post”) is. simply in the nature of supplying him with twopence worth of crockery for threepence. Some sayings bv Mr Will Crooks, M.P., at the Wellington Opera House on Sunday last: —“The Imperial race, which is made up of men and women, and not of Dreadnoughts and huge armies.” “The foundations of the British Empire are in the kitchens of its workers. ’ “Personally, I’ve not much faith in a leader that can’t give a push behind.” “Nothing degenerates so quickly as the unemployed man; ho gets lower and lower, until you can’t raise him.” “Lawyers were for eight days discussing the question whether a well w 4oft. deep was a building 40ft. high.” “We don’t believe there’s enough mopey coined yet to compensate for the loss of one husband, fa ther, and breadwinner.” Considerable alarm and a certain amount of damage were caused by a faulty blast fired at half-past 11 o’clock on Thursday morning last at the Musselburgh quarry, which is leased by Mr M. Stevenson, contractor (says the “'Otago Daily Times”). The blast, which was laid in Mr Stevenson’s absence by some of the workmen contrary to his instructions, was made with about double the ordinary charge of explosive, and there being practically no tamping, it blew straight up in the air. A piece of stone, weighing upwards of lewt., was hurled into the St. Kilda tennis court, and landed on tho asphalt ,at a spot from which one of the lady players had just run in compliance with the warning shout cf another player. It left a bole in the. asphalt. it was accompanied by a number of smalller stones. A large number of stones fell on Mr Adam’s house in the vicinity of the quarry, and pierced the roof. One piece of rock, about the size of a man’s fist, which, must have been projected to a considerable, height,, penetrated the Toot* and actually broke through .the' flooring. It was extremely fortunate that no one was injured.-

Mails for the United Kingdom and Continent of Europe, via Montevideo and Teneriffe, per lonic, close at Wellington on Friday, 3rd xnst., at 1 p*n. The picture of “The Beautiful Fountains at Versailles,” shown at the Rathe pictures last night, is a -veritable triumph in animated colored photography and as it can only be shown on Friday night, theatre patrons are advised not to miss seeing-it. . An adjourned special meeting of the Civil Service and Citizens’ Co-opera-tive Bakery Co. will be held in J'ownley’s Hall at 8 p.m. on Monday, December 13th. Trades unionists and others interested in co-operation are invited to be present.

Mr It. S. Badger, a resident of Christchurch, has received from a British firm established in St. Petersburg a request for information in regard to the possibility of commencing trade between New Zealand and Siberia by way of Vladivostock. the “Lyttelton Times” reports.- Mr Badger hopes that people' who are interested in the proposal will communicate with him. For some time past it has been the intention of the secretary of the Y.M.C.A. to establish a Mission Study Class in connection with the institution. The presence of the Rev. W. Maws.on M.A., a missionary from China, in Gisborne was taken advantage of yesterday, when that gentleman was invited to meet those interested in the Y.M.C.A. rooms. A short informal meeting was held, Mr. Mawson explaining several phases of mission work to those present, and at the conclusion of his remarks a number of questions were put to and answered by Mr. Mawson. Something of a record wa s put up by a number of railway servants one morning last week (says the “Otago Daily Times”). At a quarter past 8 o’clock 23 trucks containing 46 horses from Taieri were received in the railway yard. The usual shunting had to be done, and after that the train was taken, over the light line —a very slow journey—to Tahuna Park. Yet the trucks' were at the park gates in time to allow delivery to be made to the owners of the horses at a quarter to 9 o’clock.

It is reported that the demand in Christchurch for up-to-date cottages, equipped with modern conveniences, with from four to six rooms, is as great almost as it ever has been. Agents in the city are quite unable to satisfy the requirements. One firm states that every day it sends away people who are looking for this class of house. The rents range from about 13s to 22s a week, and on that scale are readily paid. Large numbers of cottages are being built, but the owners usually intend to occupy them, and the supply for tenants is hot being appreciably increased.