TABLE TALK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 155, 2 July 1901, Page 1

TABLE TALK.

Bad weather outside. Mr Wm. Aitken is dead. Outward mail on Thursday. Great seas on Australian coaff-. Terrible heat wave in New York. Fighting in Cape Colony continues. S.s. Waikare arrived from Sydney. Taviuni for the Eastern Pacific thic evening. The inquest on the late H« O'Dowd was continued to-day. Two tugs have capsized on a bar on the N.S.W. coast; ten men drowned. At 'the beginning of this week there were 173 male and 17 female prisoners in Mount Eden gaol.

Mr Hone Heke, M.H.It., for the Northern Maori electorate, leaves here for Wellington 'to-morrow.

A Suez mail arrived from London via Sydney by the Waikare last night. The mail left London on May 24.

H.M.s. Pyiades comes up here from *i Wellington in a few days, and then sails on a South' Sea Island cruise.

The Melanesian Mission yacht South' crn Cross leaves next week on a four months' cruise to the islands of the. Western Pacific.

Gold to 'the value of £11,750 was shipped from here for Sydney by the s.s. Mararoa last evening, for transshipment to London.

Mr Henry Symons has been ap' pointed to the position of Town Clerl; of the Grey Lynn Boroughl, vice Mr Currie, who has resigned after many years' service.

In the Police Court at New Plymouth last Friday a prohibition order was issued against an old lady 78 years of age; the order to take effect in Taranaki and Egmont districts. A South American training- warship was at Apia, Samoa, at latest news, with about 600 cadets and sailors on board. She is expected to come on to New Zealand shortly. . A writer in the "Sketch" says he understands "under all reserves" that, while Osborne will probably pass to Princess Henry of Battenberg-, Governor of the Isle of Wight, Balmoral Castle will most -likely be for private .sale, and that the Duke of Fife may become the possessor.

The Hon. A. J. Ccdman and Mr E. M. Smith, now in England, are not expected to take their seats in Par-1 liament until near the end of the present season, if even then. It is reported that a cablegram <>C a satisfactory' nature regarding- iheir ironsand enterprise, has been received from them. . ■

There is every probability that Mr A. T. Ngata. the gifted young Ngatlporou leader, will before long be seen in Parliament. It is expected that at the first opportunity he will stand for the Eastern Maori . electorate. Mt Ngata left for Wellington yesterday, but will return to Auckland in about a month's time.

Having jjnjmicipalised the . Avatef Glasgow has now decided to municiJ palise the whisky by the establish' ment of corporation public houses. A special conitnfttee recommended that the. thing should be' done as soon a3 Parliamentary powers could be obJ tai.ned. Forty-two voted for the cor* poration taking over the'liquor trada and seven voted against it.

There was a heavy fall of snow in Ballarat (Victoria) the other day, and snowballing was indulged in to sucb an extent that the police had to be summoned to maintain order among the juveniles. A well-known citizen, in passing along Sturt-street, had his belltopper battered by snowballs into the shape of a concertina, while his umbrella was smashed when he held it up to protect himself from the icy missiles.

The following items are from tbe Admiralty's estimate of the qost of the trip of the Duke and Duchess oj York in the steamship Ophir: Wages, et<?., of officers, seamen, etc., £8396; victualling- and clothing, £1976; coal, £25,000; naval stores, £628; hire of Ophir (including fitting- of ship and restoration' on discharge, Suex CanaJ dues, etc.), £126,700; total, £162,700. The net cost of the trip so far as lh« naval service alone is concerned is £159,400.

Our Aitutaki (Cook Islands) correspondent writes:—"lt is amazing to see the large amount of arrowroot that is used by the natives of this island for food. There is hardly a dish into which this is not incorpor' ated. Some of the dishes are most tasty, as for instance arrowroot and ripe (pulped) bananas well mixed together and then baked. The arrow root is mixed dry with the bananas into a thick paste wrapped in banana leaf and then cooked in their native ovens."

Information received by Lt.-ColoneJ Gudgeon, from Raratonga, regarding the accidental death of Mr Goodwin, States that it occurred on tha wharf at that, island. He. was firing heavy rockets, but not out of a tube, as should have been done, and one rolled over on its side on the wharf and exploded, killing him. Col. Gudgeon had previously advised Mr Goodwin to be more cautious with these big rockets, as fifteen years ago he had known five Maoris accidentally killed at Otaki in just such a war.

The new Martini-Enfielrl .303 cart? ridges served out to the T.M.R H though in other respects very nice little weapons, appear to be very seriously under-sighted, as was ascertained at the match a fortnight ago. A couple of the members oi the Tauranga team went down yesterday to try and find out what the error at 500 yards amounted to, and ascertained that their sights had to be placed exactly at 600 yards. With this they obtained 18 hits with 20 shots, the other two being low misses.—"Bay of Plenty Times."

At a meeting of the Rotorua Royal Receptiou Committee last week it was stated that the receipts for the scats at the Rotorua racecourse totalled £114 15/, leaving a profit of £56. Mr O'Keefe proposed that a portion of the surplus be employed to erect a suitable memorial to the late *. Wylie, of Galatea, whose life was lost whilst fighting m South Africa. It wa ß> resolved that the proposal should be laid before a full meeting of subscribers for their consideration. A bonus of £10 was decided upon as a fitting recognition of Mr Young's valuable assistance a« secretary. . ..... i ....>..._: , rM