TABLE TALK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 173, 22 July 1903, Page 1

TABLE TALK.

Mark Hainbourg to-night. Intercolonial football match. A delegate from the Victorian strikers is visiting Auckland. A lively meeting in regard to compulsory closing was held yesterday. Newton tradespeople are fiercely opposed to compulsory closing on Saturday. Profound regret is expressed for the Pope's deatli throughout the civilised world. The Russian Minister opposes the opening of the Corean port of Wigu to foreign trade. Cooke, the New Zealand footballer, hag been suspended from playing, pending investigation. A gruesome find of human bones at Mt. Albert was made by Mr George Barnes, while out rabbit-shooting. 1 .ie Law Practitioners Bill, providing for reciprocal recognition of qualifications in the Empire, "was read a second time. Some of the leading Unionists are advocating a compromise short of prefertial treatment in the form of conditional retaliation. The King is said to he awaiting Eoman Catholic opinion before deciding on the extent of the rejoicings during his stay in Ireland. The Bishop of Ripon stated the other day that a wet Sunday made from £300 to £400 difference to the church collections in his diocese. Major-General Hutton intends to visit Queensland and proceed as far as Thursday Island on a tour of inspection of the coastal defences. During .June 2047 persons arrived in the colony, and 1583 took their departure, against 1893 arrivals and 1378 departures in June, 1902. Last Wednesday plumbers were busy at Ashburton repairing burst water pipes. Many citizens had to "perform their morning ablutions in melted snow. Henry Pettit, a labourer, who was severely bitten by a camel while working for the W.A. Government on the goldfields, has been awarded £250 by a Supreme Court jury at Perth. H.M.S. Wallaroo, stationed at Sydney, was damaged by impact with a torpedo, which was aimed at a target astern of her. The diver's report proving reassuring, practice was continued. Another phase of the physical deterioration question appears in the request of the Director-General of Recruiting for an inquiry into the causes of the decline as reflected in the returns of the War Office. "I have exchanged The World for the United States," was the startling statement of a teacher to the City Schools' Committee last night. He was, however, only speaking of an exchange of— maps! In reporting on his teachers, a headmaster of a local public school asserted that one lady's excellent work was "rather marred by too much motherly fondness' 5 for the pupils. What a deplorable defect! At the meeting of the University College Council yesterday a donation of. botanical, medical and other books, the property of the late Mr Albert Field, 8.A., Cambridge, formerly of the Auckland University College, was accepted. Inspectors Goodwin and Crowe will visit the city schools for the purpose of examining the scholars thus:—Beres-ford-street, July 20; Napier-street, July 24; Nelson-street, July 27; Wellesleystreet, August 4; and Chapel-street, August 10. The latest move of., the Dominion Government is to distribute 25,000 large wall maps of Canada among the schools of the United Kingdom, so that British youngsters may not grow up in ignorance of the proportions of the transAtlantic colonies. In making application for the relieving of a blind student of certain subject* in the university curriculum, his instructor said that privileges granted to students at 10 miles should be accorded to his pupil, the kingdom of the blind being much more remote. At the Wellesley-street' school there* appear to be some springs, -which', witK inconvenient assiduity, persist in bubbling up in the playground. The chil« dren delight to exercise their engineering talents by damming up the rivulets during play hours. "And quite right, too," said a member of the committee last night, jocukrly. '■'Without doubt the New Zealander i§ a good farmer. Generally speaking, he if also Scotch, and you are quite safe in calling him 'Mac,' just as you would the chief engineer of a steamer when yotl meet him for the first time," says "H Peripatetic" in "A Run Round New Zealand." He must have run faster ovett North Island than round the Otago di 3« trict.