TABLE TALK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 211, 3 September 1908, Page 1

TABLE TALK.

Rain continues to mar the fleet festivities in Melbourne. The gross taxable incomes in England aggregate 943 millions. The Auckland Horticultural Society's spring show was opened this afternoon. A branch of the Northern Union Football League has been formed in Dunedin. The Second Ballot Bill passed its second reading last night by 43 votes to 15. The English mail via. Suez, which left here 22nd July, arrived London mornin" 31st nit. a Seven people were drowned in tha capsizing of a yacht in Penotscot Bay, Maine, U.S.A. The W-hangapoua store, post, and telephone office were destroyed by fire early this morning. Sydney, with a death rate of 11 per thousand, leads the world in the lowness of its mortality. Germany's action in , Morocco is unanimously disapproved by the Press of England and France. H.M-s. Encounter arrived a-fc Xapier from Auckland last evening, and will remain there for a week. Great gales in England have done much damage to shipping, and a number of lives have been lost. Dr McEvedy, vice-captain of the British footballers, will settle in New Zealand to practice his profession. Lasker has won four games and Dr. Taxraseh one in their contest for tha world's chess championship. Germany declares that her consul's mission to Mulai Hand was in the interests of the peace of Morocco. A four-year-old child named Henry Burton was killed in a tram accident at the Kaikorai terminus. Dunedin yesterday. The British footballers won the final match of their tour, defeating a Queensland Metropolitan team by 26 points to 3. Where Australia leads in the equipment of a squadron the rest of the oversea States will probably follow, says the '"Standard." Tie "Bluff Pi-ess!" states that the steamer Loyalty in eighteen days netted three-quarters of a ton of fish", besides grappling 28,000 dozen of oysters. The sheep returns for the year ended April 30 show a net increase for the Dominion of 1,465,281. TSe total number of sheep in New Zealand was 22,449,053. Twenty out of a crew of 2S of the collier Amazon, wrecked in Swansea Bay, were drowned in sight of thousands ashore, who were unable to rescue them. The electrification of the ChristchurchLyttelton line is not recommended by the engineers of the Kailway Department, as an extra expense of £18.000 per annum \rould be involved. An action, City Council* v. Tramway Company, wss commenced in the Supreme Court to-day, the lieing for "£784 damages for aot having provided a stiffi* cient number of passenger cars. At an inquest on a man who was , found dead in a whare at Te Arai, it was shown that the deceased, an illiterate man, had taken a liniment in place of the right medicine. The A-uekland Ti-ades- anxJ'iiLaßour" Council last night endorsed the resolution of the Christehurch Council, asking for the removal of Judge Sum from the Arbitration Court 'bench. Auckland Slaughtermen's Union disapproved of the Wellington Bakers' strike, and expressed satisfaction with the administration of the Arbitration Co-urt under Judge Sim. Mr. John Redmond recently informed Mr. Asquith that unless amendments were made in the Irish Land Act the Nationalists could not hold themselves responsible for the peace of Ireland. The United States Government Crop Eeport indicates a total wheat yield of 692,790,000 bushel;, and a total maize crop of 2,726,000,000 bushels, while, the indicated oat crop exceeds 1,000,000,000 bushels. At the meeting of the Trades Council last night a delegate declared that there ■were a number of officials in the Postal Department who were working under a system of terrorism that should not be permitted in any civilised country, and would not be permitted in New Zealand if it were known. The Alpine village of Bonaduz, which is situated on a plateau 2160 ft. high, overlooking the Rhine, near Coire, has been destroyed by fire. One hundred and ten houses, mostly made of wood, were burnt down, and over 900 villagers have lost all their possessions and are homeless. Only the church and tha Hotel Oberalp escaped. No lievs were lost. A company has just been formed at Pittsburg for the purpose of manufacturing tombstones of a novel description. The company is constructing memorials of glass, and by means of a patent process a portrait of the deceased person is blown into glass. There are already indications that the idea is likely to -became popular, the eompauy having received a largo number of orders.