NATIONAL BALANCE-SHEET.

In accordance with his curious custom ' of L-hooeing provincial towns or out-of-tlie-way for the delivernnce of | important speeches, the J'rime Minister ; announced at Fuilding last oveninfr the lifrures of the national necounts for the , past year. "We may bepin by congratulating Mr. Massey on being a little more prompt with this information than he • was last year. We may go on by com-

plimentinp him on having come through ! a trying year with better results than he expected. The following is a comparison between his Budget estimates and •the actual accounts: — Estimates. Itesnlts. Rovcnuc f-'s.r.fio.iiiKi rjs.iL-'T.ooT I Kxpendlture.. CJn,a«i.:«vr £L'.s,JOi.!S:W Deficit £i.u'Go.:!trr faai.ssi The following table shows the differences between receipt.* and expenditure in the boom vesir 1020-21 and in tile \enr of depression 1021-22:— ; 1021. V.122. I Kevenup et4.2W.SME! £Cfi.llT,O(lT ] Expenditure. £28,40rt,K«i I The Government deserves some credit for a result that is co much better than was originally anticipated, obtained in a period of falling revenue nnd general financial anxiety. But it must be pointed out that while the revenue fell by more than six millions compared with "the previous year, the expenditure was actually higher than in UUII-21. Air. Maseey's list of economies made in the Civil Servioo totaln live and a half mil-1 lions, but this means that hut for these "cute" the expenditure would l>e greater now or in thn future by this sum. li dues not mean thnt he has reduced previous expenditure by this amount. For the ] first nine months of the financial year I the expenditure was greater by more ' than a million than that of the correo-1 ponding period of 1920-21. Then the axe i fell in earnest, and the last quarter of the year showed a decrease of .COOS.OOO. Economy has come, but it is belated.! The Government may be over the worst , so far as the private business of the Dominion is concerned, but it~< own most ! difficult, period hoe not yet arrived. The ; taxation problem looms ahead, larce and -insistent. The Government collected in income tax last ye.ar a little more than nix millions, which, while it exceeded t he estimate, was two and a quarter millions ■less than was collected in IS2O-21. But i the tax paid in 1021-22 was levied on the j i operations of 1920-21. which were in general much more profitable than those of 1921-22. on which thifl year's tax will be paid. Next February, therefore, the ' income tax will ugain fall away to a ! large extent. .Moreover, thie diminution is quite apart from the fact that the actual rates are far too high for hidus- i trial prosperity. The Government has therefore to deal with tho double pro- ! blem of falling taxation and excessive ' rate of taxation. The Government must: i find si w-y to civo relief. Fortunately, ! the new committee is taking on itself a wide order of reference, and besides hnproesins on the Government the evil , effects of the present system it may be , able to make valuable suggestions for I fcrottdenius; fcfee kaeie of taxation. 1

A fine collection of Chinese coins has I been donated to the Auckland Museum , by Mr. •!. G. VVatdon, of Newcastle-on-Tyue, England, an ardont numismatist. The donor recently visited this city, and finding the -Museum hud no collection of ancient coins of China has kindly for- j warded -- specimens. Sonic of the coins are bronze representations of knives, and date back to the Tehoii Dynasty, which ' lasted from 670 to 221 B.C. An evidence that things do not change rapidly in j China is shown by the fact that therm. | coins have round or square holes in the centre, the same as those, in use at the , present, time. It is understood Mr. Watson hopes to forward another donation later on.

The Deputy-Mayor of Auckland, Mr.] George liiiildon, speaking at Waiuku yesterday, said that he had not been a member of the Hospital Board very lonjj. but lie quite approved of the forward policy the board was pursuing in preparing a build inp scheme which would "run into fully £200,000. It was very necessary that provision should be nnule fur the growing needs of the large hospital district, which would go on increasing for a very long period. He had been impressed by the great work the Hospital Board i- doing. ;

His Honor Mr. .Justice Reed, in' addressing the jury at the Supreme ;■ Court in Wellington, laid stress on the J infallibility of linger-print evidence,! ■which was regarded iis conclusive proof: I .where the linger-prints wore identified.! I Not only were tinker-prints s <> identili- j I able, but those of almost any part of the j I body, l'alm-printri were as unequivocally! identifiable as fingor-priul*. Glass was j I probubiy one of the best, mediums for I ve.lainiii'.' linker-prints, or any such ; 1 polished surface, from which, by special I ■ methods, the print.- were to be readily J ■ photographed. i The low birthrate of Waiukti com-! 1 pared with former days was referred to yesterday at the hospital function. In the old days one proud father and j mother could boast of having -4 children to look after, and these were now scattered a-it over the district. More re- ! cently one family numbered the lar/jc total' <.l JJ. and" the father was still. : working in the district. During last i year the total birthrate for the town ■ area about totalled the number of one iof the large families referred to, but several sneakers said that us Waiuku ! needed population i! was honed that the 1 old order of big families would be reperted to. I At the monthly committee meeting of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children, the Rev. l>. P. SniallnVld was unanimously re-elected chairman for the entitling year. A reso- i lutioii was passed gratefully accepting | the offer of the Bohemian Orchestra to give a concert for the benefit of the! Hocioty. Dr. Piirehus and Mr. Ellerbeck j consented to act as n small sub-commit- j tee to inquire into conditions re the [ municipal lethal chamber. In the women .and children department, the secretary ; reported that lit fresh cases had been ! lit tended to in the office during the ' month, and two cases tuken ti> court. The inspector reported for the animal department that 17< cautions had been ! in the cases of animals cruelly ÜBod or neglected, one case taken to j court und conviction obtained. P> animals humanely destroyed. I Speaking at the laying of the founMution stone of the Franklin Memorial 1 ■Ci ttage Hospital at Wuhiku. yester-; day, Mr. H. H. Maeken/.ie. chairman of : the Auckland Harbour Board, said that ' the day would come when the Waiuku ; canal would be made, and then the upper' i reaches of the Alan_ukau Harbour would have big manufacturing warehouses I erected on them. It was not too much to say that the Waiuku district would become s frreut manufacturing centre.j Already they were prosperous, but it was nothing compared with what was yet to be. He bad noticed that when' the chairman of the Hospital Board. Mr.: W. Wallace, told them that they had a I extra levy nf £1200 nut on them this ; year, his hen rent took little notice, and i when be ngain told them that some of i that might be taken off next roar it I was the snipe---none <>1 them seemed , deeply concerned. They know perfectly wrll 'that whatever levy was put upoii I hem they could nay it. Tliev were ; prosperous and did nor worry about the matter at all. j

i i I The meeting of the Auckland District, i Women's Christian Temperance Union i was held yesterday afternoon in the headquarters. Mr.-. Neal presided. The . Key. 1). C. Herron, M.A., gave an interesting address on tho League nf Nation.-, stating that its platform was distinctly Christinii Its ideals were to settle natural dispute* by v higher conscience than force, not by tlic power of the sword, bui l>y arbitration, lie spoke of the horror of modern war and how women were i he worst sufferers, and urged upon all to support the ideals of t !ir> league. Mes.lames Havr and Wil- , J liaras were appointed delegates to the I Temperance Parliament, on .Tune .1. The I J lirst annual balance sheet of tho I Women's Christian Temperance Hostel was rend. It shewed a satisfactory j year. Receipts from all sources and donations C?, 607. expenditure £r>.:>(!" 10/l>. Mosdames <.'-ook an.l Knight were heartily thanked for the* splendid work they lia<l done in (his department, a pleasing feature of (he work being the , expressions of satis!'n<-tion and gratitude by young women for whose convenience and comfort the hostel ivas opened by the union. The chairman of the Hospital Board, Mr. \V, Wallace, caused much laughter when speaking at Wuiuku yesterday at the laying of the foundation stone nf I the new Memorial Hospital, when he j told those present that after the 12 members of the board bad decided to I erect the building on one of the best I sites in the district, the Health Uopantrne.nt in Wellington had sent an officer, ill! the way to Waiuku to inspect, the ! site, and his report was that he ap- '■ proved of it. "It was all so ridiculous.' 1 said Mr. Wallace, "it is an attempt «rt ! ecntralisation, and we have far too; ' mnnv Government inspectors and officials* who have fat jobs who would try, and run the country if they could. We niiixt. however, keen our grip on local control by men who know very fully, local needs " i Ni'\v Zealand's imports during the i financial year ended March :'>l Jas-t lmd a total value of £:5.~>.7!12,7Hn. said the Prime Minister in Vis speech at Fetid--1 in" , . The exports for the period repre- ! scMtad i! value ixf £4:5.-512,500. The j ligure- ivere subject to slight revision, j but they showed that the excels of ' ! exports over imports amounted to moTe '■ than £8,000,200. Thai could be regarded j as a very satisfactory .position. ! Reg-fl.rd.iKi the jrropused KansrlrM-i H'M d.-evVaitiun ">'t w-aw ■s'tiitixl nt, -a of tiho AnclckiTi'l AivtonW'bilo Aewwiut-ron Iβ.-t evening +h*'t. «Jwk-*hr>cibeira. witoo wore cut few wpOTt in tiHe vicinity, h.id observed t'lltu't >|fdgfc were rflavo.l >.i the, I ground -noumd the swamp, mtiirking the j j,<urrcy wi the propoeetl votui, i

A few weefce ago a Presbyterian church was built by means of a working bee at St. Helier's Bay one Saturday. The Pr»?byterians of Ellerslie decided to follow similar lines in giving a muchneeded coat of paint to their church building. On Saturday, April 29, nineteen membere assembled and put on the first coat of paint. Last Saturday the work was completed, when notwithstanding a few occasional light showers of rain the eecond coat was applied, an evidence of the value of community working ac well as community singing. On both days the Ladiee' Guild provided dinner and tea for the workers. Central Hawkn's Bay is smiling at the astuteness displayed on May 1 by a wellknown resident who is interested in horses (relates the Napier "Telegraph"). Presenting himself at the bar of a big country hotel, he called for a "long one." Receiving the bame. he told mine hue* that lie wuci going out with the pint to exchange it for a brace of ducks. The purveyor of .Scotch milk sniiied sceptically, remarking that his client had no hope. Five niinutos later the searcher for game reappeared with a brnce of duckii and an empty glass. "How did you do it?" asked the astonished boniface. '"Oil, that was easy. I took the glu-ss to your cook, toid him that you had pent mc for the best brace of duck= hanging in Che pantry, and that the Speights wati for him." The (satisfied resident then left the bar, leaving the astounded hotelkeeper too dazed even to collect the price of the pint for whicb the ducks had been procured. For several years past the top of S.vmond* Street has 'been making rapid strides us a shopping centre, rt.s situation as the foraiuway junction of three busy lines giving it a very helpful assistance a s a step-off place. Sow, however, it is making a new move, this Unie as a ntght-lifc centre of the city. Three of the most prominent social elub.-s of the town, the Savage, Orphan, and Vagabond Clubs, are for-sukiing the lower pj.Dt of 'the city and establishing their headquarters at the top of Bymond* Street, two in the new Scots Hall and the third in the Orange JJail. Doubtless the prinre reasoi for this move is (the fact that ttnmcars can be cuugta. for tlii- outlying siiburbs later at. 'Mie lop of Symonds Street than anywhere else <tn <the city, as care for the Epsom and Ponsonby barns after the last runs either pass this poyrt on their home runs or return to it. to switch on to -the rail for the barn. According to the Clutha ■Jjaadcr," , Koiiald True, the former flying olflcer, charged with the murder of Gertrude Vaces at "Fulham (England), is identical with a. man who for some time resided in the "Warepa district. This was about nine years ago. hie first employment there being on Captain Melville's farm, which ivas a little later secured by Mr. W. •>. Thomson, who represents his riding on the Clutha County Council. After being employed there in a general capacity for a few months he necured work on the late Mr. Cross' farm, and was there for nearly twelve months. True made a large number of friends in the district, but his acquaintances state that he proved a most eccentric being. He was a tall, handsome man, and he had a wondrous fund of anecdotes and experiences that were akin to the exploits ot the celebrated l)e llougemont, who has been called "the greatest liar in his-1 ton., " Exactly how True happened to come to Warepa always remained a mystery, and tiierc were a great variety of more or less erroneous myths built

up about him and his antecedents, who ranged, according to reports, from dukes to actresses. It appears likely that True woe i remittance man, his partmte cvi- , tl'titly in-.-ifrininj; that tho atmosphere of Kouth niijrht regenerate their; wayward ton. Several residents who! kne.w True well state that he always j horn a smart appearance, and appeared ' to have plenty of money, and he did not tuke hip farm duties at all seriously. I OHiecTc! of the Department are (says the "Os.nmru .Mail"! busily engaged ■■.-tripping" salmon. This work, which was started on April 20. and will be continued until the c.nd of the present month, is being conducted at Hakutaramea, Otenmta, the Ahuriri mouth, : and tho Dobson Kiver. under the guidance of Mr. Ay eon. There ha* heen an exceptional rim of fish so far. and if the c.limaric conditions remain favoumble Mr. Arson is confident that this year will he one of the best yet e-xperienred. l"p to the present some 253,000 eggs have been secured at Tlukataramen, whereas the total last season was not more than Iffll.ono. Satisfactory results have l«?en achieved at (Xpmata, when , tin.OOO ova were securer! the other day. Boimrts from the Ahuriri are also very favourable. Some big iLsli have heen secured, one male and one female neinsr lanrer than any that had heen caught previniislv. The average weight, of the females is about lfiTb to -201b. In the course of ennversntion Mr. Ayeon mentioned that a lot of quiunat have come into the Molyne.iix "River lo spnun. which is proof of tho etatement that the fish has now Iwonii' established in a frreat juany of the rivers in 'he Dominion. i' Half-prices in ladies' Amorican boots. Sec these lovely lines at lowered selling prices.—Firm of Fowlde.— (Ad.) . £736 in prizes of one guinea to £->0 for hpst essay on "Alcohol and the Huicia-i Body." Miue't he .lodges Iby May ' 20. Full particulars at 25, Wcllesicy Street West. Auckland.—(Ad.) " '

Ribbons at reduced prices in all shades and qualities at sic'Ca , b?V, Newton.- -f Ad.) i School children who arc writing essay? on '"Alcohol and the Human Body and Mind" must note -that all essays are to bo in by May '20. £706 in prizes. All particulars at -~k Wellesley St. \V. (Ad.) Ribbons at reduced prrees in all shades and qualities at McGabe's, Newton.—(Ad.) Big reduction in selling price? belowlast, year's. See thp men's boots nnd shoes offered at the Firm of Fowlds. Ac.