The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 1910. AN AUSTRALASIAN FEDERATION

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2760, 15 March 1910, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 1910. AN AUSTRALASIAN FEDERATION

Opinion both in New Zealand and Australia has been practically unanimous as to the wisdom or Lord Kitcheners advice in declaring it essential that the defence systems of im... should lie identical and largely inter-depend-ent. The enemies cf the Commoowealtli and of the Dominion will a! ways bo the same. Strategic posts hold by foreign powers in the .Pacific- Ocean will menace Australia and New Zealand equally. Should ho.tile force, occupy New Zealand, their guns would already be thundering at Australia's doors: should Australia succumb, New Zealand would immediately and inevitably be overwhelmed. Sharing the same dangers, they should share the defence; and they cannot combine -oasily for defence unless in their military forces they possess practically the sanio organisation, the same efficiency and the same scheme of action. Each of these Imperial units, if left to itself, would develop a military system, and the two systems would' show (as they have shown) divergences making it difficult, to the utmost degree, to lit them together. It is singularly fortunate that Lord Kitchener lias been able to visit both countries, not only to emphasise the necessity of their co-opera-tion, but to propound a military scheme which can bring them together. From the question of united defence we come naturally to the greater question of broader unity bet-wen the two parts of Australasia., and the fact has been eagerly seized upon by Australian newspapers for the purpose of pointing out that New Zealand’s destiny is to become absorbed in Australia. Of course they do not put it in that way. The “ Argus’ ’ says :

United action in defence matters ri bound to lead us further. In tin.Pacific Ocean a wide realm of Australasian influence is growing daily in importance, and will be a sphere for great commercial (and perhaps naval) -enterprise. As the South Pacific islands are developed it will he necessary for the Commonwealth and Dominion not to become rivals for the greater power, but to be joint partners in the predominancy which Australasia hopes to claim in those seas. Fiscal negotiations between Australia and New Zealand must soon be renewed, and long before political union is achieved—even While it i» dismissed from- the list of things practically possible—terms of tariff reciprocity are sure- to bo arranged. AYe and New Zealand have our futures linked by nature, and the course of history will forbid us to . stand apart from each other. All this reads very well on, paper, but practical experience is all against the wisdom of political and commercial alliance, between New Zealand and the neighboring States. Our very insularity is breeding in our people a type entirely different from the Australian and this difference is becoming more marked as the years pass by. Before the Australian States federated New Zealanders were against joining in, and to-day they are, if possible, more decided than over on the point. A\'e have only to cast our thoughts for a moment to the- fact that a, general election for a Federal Parliament is to

take place within the next- few weeks

Had we been in the Federation we should- at the present time .be giving more or less attention to the contest for New Zealand representatives for the Commonwealth Parliament, and the country 'would be in a turmoil over the fight that is being waged between the Deakin-Oook coalition and the Labor (party. Our own legislative system gives us ample scope for political activities, but to. have to take a share of the agitations engineered in Australia would be simply intolerable. The irritating part, too, would be. that, having worked up no end of excitement over the Capital site, High Protection, Immigration, and other Federal issues, our elected representatives would he so completely outnumbered in. the Federal Parliament that they might as well have stayed at home for all the influence they could exert. Hence Federation would mean to us a great additional expense of national time and .money and the less of our political independence. From a commercial point of view we are not in any worse position in our endeavor to trade with our neighbors of the Commonwealth than we should be were we members of the same, federation.

A meeting of Court William Gladstone, A.0.F., will be lield at 7.30 p.m. to-day for important business. A meeting of the Freezers’ Union was called’ for last evening, but owing to the small attendance, it was adjourned.' It is announced that a gift sale and concert in aid of the building fund of St. Andrew's Presbyterian 'Church will be held on Thursday, April 7th. The annual general meeting of the Poverty Bay Ladies’ Golf Club will be held iii Townley’s Hall at 3 p.m. on Monday- next, March 21st. "I have vet to meet the man,” said the Rev. F. Rule at the annual meeting of the Presbyterian Social Service Association, in Christchurch, “who has not, when a bov. stolen fruit.”

A meeting of ladies is to be held at, the Cosmopolitan Club at 8 o’clock this evening for the purpose of forming a Ladies’ Committee in connection with the Easter social of the Poverty Bay Rowing Club. Great interest is being taken in the motor launch races to be held on i iiursday for the cup presented by Mr G. J. Black. Twelve entries have been received and the handicaps will be 'published to-morrow .morning. This evening a special committee meeting of the Borough Council will be held to receive th e reports from Mr Marchant, C. E., and tiie Borough Engineer, on the position of the waterworks contract.

Wnt. Walker, a voting half-caste Native, was brought up at the Police Court yesterday morning, charged with forging and uttering a cheque for £29 10s, and also with theft, two charges. He was remanded till the 21st instant, no bail being allowed.

To-morrow night (Wednesday) the Pathc Pictures re-open at His Majesty’s Theatre with a new progamme. On Thursday, “St. Patrick’s” night, a special programme will include some splendid Irish scenes, and a drama entitled “The Brave Irish Lass” will also be shown. The funeral of the late Mr D. .McKillop took place yesterday afternoon. The interment took place at Makaraka cemetery, the Rev. W. Grant conducting the service. There v. as a large attendance of friends of the deceased, including all his fellow cmphyees at Mr Colley’s yards, and the members of his private band, who, assisted by several members of the Salvation Army Band, played appropriate music.

Prior to the commencement of the proceedings at the Supreme Court yesterday morning Mr W. L. Rees drew the attention of Mr Justice Cooper to the inadequacy of the accommodation cf t-he Court buildings. Ho also referred to the fact that plans for the extension had been prepared and tenders called for the work. His Honor agreed with counsel regarding the insufficiency of the accommodation, and promised to make representations to the Minister for Justice on the subU ?'U.

An Auckland correspondent states rliat during the past week crickets lave been swarming in the Northern Wairoa district in nuJlions. The oldest residents never remember anything like it. On the river flats, instead oi' the paddocks looking verdant with pasturage after the recent rain, the earth is as bare of grass as it is possible to be. 'him crickets have simply taken posses-’ si.) i of the land, ami in some parts it is black with an immense moving army el these unpopular hoppers, rfo serious has the pest become that farmers have lost hundreds of pounds through one devastation caused by the ravaging hfttaiicns. Quite a number of dairy suppiyers have been obliged t-o dr;, off their herds and place them in pad 1 vks fuitlier back where pasture is more plentiful. This was absolutely necessary to save the stock dying from starvation.

“The Happy Family,” to be given bv the children, of the lvaiti district school in His Majesty’s Theatre on Friday next, is one of the most popular o ; f school cantatas. It opens with a lively chorus, during which the “Old ’Woman who lived l in a iShoc” enters. After bewailing in song the necessity of removing . into more commodious premises, she announces -that it is her birthday, and that she expects to receive visits from members of her family who have long been absent. This leads to the introduction., of Aladdin,, Misses Mu'ffet, iSinbad, and other characters of nursery and fairy tales, who. arrive one after another, and narrate their adventures. Lively games and appropriate action are introduced, and a grand march and “Good-Night” chorus bring to a close a pleasing play sot to charming music, the instrumental oart of which is in the capable hands of the Vita Bros., and Messrs Cuthbert (violin), Chris(p -(cornet) and ,T. Adair (’cello). The concert will begin with a short miscellaneous programme. It is honed that the public of Gisborne will accord a generous support to the juvenile performers, who, on their part-, are sparing no pains to provide an entertainment worthy the acceptance of a- bumper house. Seats in the dress circle may be reserved at Miller’s corner on payment of an additional fee of sixpence. Dingo Eucalyptus is THE remedy for summer colds. Its wonderful properties as a disinfectant and deodorant prevent bacilli from maturing, and effectually cure colds, coughs, and influenza. From all chemists and grocers, Is bottle, or direct post free from Dingo Medicine Co., 173 Hobson Street, Auck. land.

To-day is the last- day on which objections to the Borough valuation list may he left at the Magistrate’s Court. Yesterday morning the Right Rev. Bishop Avorili left Gisborne fur the Coast, proceeding as far as Mr .Loisel’s station, Waihau. The public are reminded that- on Thursday the annual St. Patrick’s sports will' be held in Victoria Domain, and that a grand social will take place at the Garrison Hall in the evening.

A special meeting of the Cook County Council will take place on Friday, at 10.30 a.m., to select the purposes for which it is proposed to raise the loan cf £IOO,OOO. Mrs Scott and Mrs -J. C. Beere, who have been nominated by the Cook County Women’s Guild as candidates for the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, have an address to the electors in the advertising columns of this issue of the “Times.” “The Chinese believe that a man’s children suffer for his sins in various ways,” said Mr. Hwang, in a recent lecture, “and if a merchant gives short weight the sin may result in his descendants having tiny eyes or very flat noses, or limbs out of proportion.” At a special meeting of the Gisborne School Committee yesterday afternoon it was decided to hold a Swimming Carnival on Easter Monday, air I). Cowan was elected secretary, and a. suit-committee was appointed to make the initial arrangements.

A special meeting of the Harbor Board is to take place ixj 2 p.m. today, to consult with Mr Marcliant regarding the extension of the breakwater. The ordinary meeting of the Bead will be held on Monday next, a week early, on account of the usual meeting day falling cn Easter Monday. His Worship the Mayor has been advised by Mr Merchant, C.E., that be will have the plans for the reticulation of the Gisborne portion of the .borough proper, under the drainage system, ready in about six weeks to two months, and will then proceed on the plans for the Kait-i portion. By that time it is expected to have the money for the work available. In a farmhouse near Winchester, a pet magpie has been trained by the daughter of the house to be a dec-oy-er of flies. The magpie, perched oil the end of a broom, is lifted up to the ceiling and to a piece of tape stretched from wall to wall, where mostly one flies congregate. It is a most interesting sight to see the rapidity with which lie gobbles up the flies. Needless to say flies are not so numerous in that kitchen.

The Union Steamship Co. have a- special advertisement in connection with tli? approaching season for tours to the Islands of the South Pacific. These can be visited with comfort and great benefit from April to November inclusive, and trips .may be taken at any period, although the other months may possibly be a little warmer 'than thc::e indicated. The accommodation of the specially equipped and large vessels is usually fully taxed, and early application is necessary, -paticularly during the colder months of the year.

Supposing that Home defence costs us, within a few years, as much as half a million sterling annually (says the “New Zealand Herald”), we simply ask if any patriotic citizen thinks that too much to pay for the safety of Lis country and the insurance of our national independence? If wo look around us at the waste and extravagance which indicates prosperity—at the enormous sums passed through the totalisator, spent in drinking, expended on bonnets and ribbons, dissipated in a thousand harmless and harmful ways—we cannot reasonably pretend that we cannot afford efficiency in defence. We must afford it, whether the existing sources of revenue are sufficient or not. Spea'king to a Dominion representative in Wellington last week, a large colonial woolbuyer said lie thought there was quite as much competition for small lots of wool at the local sales as there was in London. Some years ago he had an effective illustration of the way small parcels were sometimes overlooked in London. He had just dissolved partnership with another man in a run which shipped a clip of 80 bales a season. That last clip was divid. cd in t-.vo, and each partner sent Home forty bales. The wool was from the same sheep, was clipped at the same time, was shipped Home by the same brokers, and was sold by the same brokers on the same day. Yet one lot fet -lied 6-id., while the other brought Sd ! Says the “Dominion : The Gisborne School branch of the Navy League, which numbers 328 members, is the largest in the world. It was formed during the visit to Gisborne of H.M.S. Prometheus, and has held the premier position over since. Some little time ago a group photograph of the members of the branch was sent to headquarters in London, and Mr. C. V . Palmer, local secretary of the league, received by the last- English Mail proof of a block of the group which is to appear in the next issue of the league s official journal, “The Navy.” The biggest school branch in Wellington is that of Wellington College, which has 290 members. Among the local State schools, the Terrace School, with 133 members, is the biggest branch. Until a few months ago, says, the Wellington corresxioiident of the “Lyttelton Times,” the responsibility of bringing uncontrollable children to book rested chiefly in the hands of the parents. A parent of such a child could take him before a magistrate and hav-e him committed to on industrial school, but. except under certain circumstances, no one could compel the parent to shoulder such a responsibility. The police could only await the inevitable commission of a crime by the child, but could do nothing to arrest him in his downward career. The Education Act of last session, however, lias greatly extended the powers of the police in this respect, and cases are pending in which it will probably be exercised. The terms of the Act pr:.<:ticrJlv mean that if the police consider a child is on the downward grade they may ta'ko him or her before a magistrate without reference to the parents, and.the magistrate may, if iho thinks fit, commit the child to an industrial school. So far this section of the Act has not been put into operation, but the police are enquiring into cases winch enter into its scope and proceedings are likely to follow. Beauty in a man or woman is a gift divine, yet the crowning beauty is the hair, lacking which there is no true perfection. No oho will deny the assertion that the hair is the crowning beauty of the human form, and yet ninety-nine out of every hundred persons treat it with the utmost- indifference. We have always believed that it is bettor to volunteer to do a thing than to wait until it becomes a matter of compulsion, therefore we guarantee with a fair trial of Parasene to produce hair no matter how bad the case may he. Write or call at Morse’s, Gladstone Road, Gisborne.

The matriculation and- civil service class at the Gis’borne Technical School will start to-morrow evening at 7 o’clock.

The following have been added to the Telephone Exchange: 226, Rev. L. D. Thomas; 584, W. F. Crawford, Gladstone Road-; deleted: 127, Rev. L. D. Thomas.

Tc-night will he the last opportunity for local music lovers to hear Mr Andrew Black and his concert company at His Majesty’s Theatre. After the Dominion tour Mr Black leaves for South Africa. The box plan .for tonight’s concert is on view at Miller’s Conner, telephone 103. An officers’ examination will be held to-morrow afternoon, supervised by Captain Beere, president of the local Board. The officers to sit will be Capt. Jriellier Evans, for Major, acting-Lieu-tenants Witty and Poyrxter, for lieutnants, arid honorary-acting Capt. Zachariah, for captain. Many marksmen at Trentham have been questioned by a “Dominion” reporter m regard to the use of in its relation to shooting. A number of the finest marksmen m New Zealand shun the oipe as an enemy of nerve and eyesight. One marksman, who has smoked a pipe for fifty years, holds that the use of tobacco is steadying to some and unnerving, to others. “What is one man’s meat,” he concluded, “is another man’s poison. I've been poisoning myself since I was fourteen years olu.” AN ADVENTUROUS CAREER. At an early hour yesterday morning. ,sav s tile Wellington correspondent of the “Lyttelton Times,” the tramp Neptune left her anchorage the stream for Falmouth, via Monte Video and Teneriffe, after being supplied with 70 tons of bunker coal at Wellington. The vessel will receive orders on reporting in the English Channel. It is not generally known that this vessel hasiiad a somewhat adventurous career. At the time of the Russian-Japanese war the Neptune was engaged on behalf of the Japanese navy in running contraband coal from Cardiff into Sns»:_ bo, the Japanese naval base north of Nagasaki, on the island of Iviudshiu. On one occasion the steamer, with a full cargo, is reported to have laid at anchor in the bay at Sasebo while Russian warships were hovering outside in sight of the tramp, nevertheless slie succeeded in delivering her cargo. Another noteworthy fact about the Neptune is that she was the first steamer to arrive in Australia with coal after the Newcastle strike, the vessel having brought down a full carno from Calcutta. The Neptune is owned by the same firm in London that owns the Swan ley, which left Wellington a short time ago for London, under_ charter to the New Zealand Shipping Company.

A DEFENCE OF THE GRAND JURY

In opening the sitting of the Supreme Court, at Mastertou last week, Mr. Justice Chapman, said he could not help noticing that there was a certain amount of impatience in some parts of New Zealand at the time taken up by Grand Juries. He put it t-o them, however,, that they were not present under pressure cf authority; they were present in the exercise of an ancientprivilege of the race —a -privilege which provided that a man should not- be put on his trial at the will of a Government official, however exalted the official might be. No man could be put on his trial at the Supreme Court except through a Grand Jury cf his own. countrymen, and he could assure them that good reasons existed for such ajury. It might not be so apparent in times such as these, but we -might not always have such quiet, peaceful, industriaT times as had existed in this country during the past generation: the occasion might arise at any time when this state cl affairs would be changed, and it would be a matter for regretif the people should allow thoir ancient privilege to be dispensed with. It was not sufficient that- a man should be tried by his own countrymen; the function of the Grand Jury was to sec that a man should not- have cast upon him the stigma of accusation.