EMPIRE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 122, 24 May 1909, Page 4

EMPIRE DAY.

0 As the 24th of May comes round Tit ti appears to be our annual duty to regret ( ' that the day which most of as still reL member, best as Queen's Birthday, has ; ' not yet been unanimously adopted as a national aiwiversa-iy by the whole Em-' J pire. We do not belong to the class' t which holds with Mr. Asquith and Mr. , lialdane that patriotism can get along . very well without flags and bands and; f spectacular displays. Xa-tional spirit is. c certainly • not created by these things, ._ but personal experience, as well as the s record of Mstory, shows that such ade ventitious aids make an immense difrer- , enco in every country to the scope and c depth of patriotic feeling. As we believe ,_ that the spirit of Imperialistic patriotism j should be fostered by every means in c our power, we are thoroughly in accord . with the attempts now being made in : England, and in most other over-sea j dominions, to celebrate Empire Day. 1 1 The objects of this celebration are adI mirabjy set forth in the article on ''EmI pire Day" by the Earl of Meath, which ° appears in another column of this issue. ( _ We need .add nothing to it. except to ,_ reiterate our regret that the Empire s Day movement has not been taken up j J more unanimously and enthusiastically here. So fax as this country is concerned, there is no doubt that the chief d obstacle that prevents the adoption of Empire Day as our great national anni- , versary, is the occurrence of another public holiday within so short an interf val, We have never been able to see why the Prince-of Wales' birthday should receive in the colonies an amount of formal recognition that has never been claimed for it at Home; and, considerC inj; the importance of thy movement, and the value of the associations already connected with May 24th, we hope that before another year has passed Empire ' JQay ,n;ijj -tsunersede Prince of Wales' n I birthday as a statutory holiday, and that jSlfti-'waT be opened to its effec- " ! tive anj general celebration. f | - ■ Following is the Rev. 1). C. Bates' weather forecast for "24 boms from 0 * a.m. this day:—"Westerly moderate to t strong winds; cloudy: changeable weatj tlier: glass rise slowly." 3 When the horses were at the post for the Empire Handicap at Takapuna on Saturday last. Pearce. the rider of Lea:l (ire. was badly kicked on the arm. and 1 was unable to'ride in the race, his mount I taking no part in tUe contest. On vej turning to the paddock he was examined by Ui\ Guinness, who found that the 1 elbow had been dislocated, and the point r of the bone-fractured. The mishap did f not prevent Pearce riding later in the f day, when he steered Starboard into second place in the Kgataringa Handicap. It is apparent that the Government b or Parliament .will have to do something • regarding the Dominion's water power > at present waiting. It is now some j time since the Government arrived at the conclusion that the idea that the ' State alone should develop the water 5 power of the Dominion Is untenable, .but t nothing has been done so far to make . such water power available to private enterprise. 'West Coast mining men state that regulations on the siTb--1 ject have 'been drafted, but that a fatal ■ error has keen made in proposing to : charge for water at so much per horse- . power, instead of so much per head. The price said to have been fixed for Each horse-power is understood to be 1 prohibitive, and in consequence a big 1 scheme for working Rimu Flat, near - Hokiijka, has been hung up, though it ! i.s understood that Australian capital to the extent of close on £80,000 is of- ' irring if once the difficulty in connection with the water rights is got over. Al--1 ready one public meeting has been held ,- at Hokitika" on the subject, and the i- Mayor bar. been requested to call another. Hp is in communication with ' Ute Premier on the subject, and in view " of the population constantly decreasing. - urges that more liberal terms should ij be provided pn which water power could .j be made available. i It has been conclusively proved that stuck transferred from the South to our Xorth Island climate improve greatly in " vigour, and this is particularly demont strated in the case of sheep (writes our 1 Dargaville correspondent). Some years ago, when Sir. A. K. Harding started to " build up his pedigree Roniney Marsh i flock, he purchased from the best ,pbt tainabie strains, with the determination ] of improving the breed to the limit imaginable. Successive years saw steady ' improvement in wool-bearing and carcase 1 characteristics, till to-day it is admitted 1 that the Aoroa bred 'stud sheep are superior in many points to those raised ,by southern breeders. The demand throughout the North and South Islands L for the Northern Wairoa Romney is 1 keen, and Mr. Harding finds that to 3 meet all requests for purchase is causing him considerable thought and difficulty. ,J 'he Aoroa stud flocks and herds are ? splendid advertisements for this district. 1 and arc now by breeders acknowledged : to be superior to most in Australasia. i The members of the Auckland Com•mereial Travellers and Warehousemen's 1 Association and Club held their annual 1 dinner R t the Tiffin on Saturday night, i The president (Mr. J. F. Connelly) occupied the chair, and there were about 50 members and guests present. In proposing "Trade and Commerce," Mr. T. ', Finlayson expressed the hope that the I commercial men of Auckland •would not . forget that the foundation of true commercial success lay in' integrity. A number of toasts were honoured, and a L musical prolamine was contributed.

The twenty-eighth annual report of the Xorthern Steamship Company, to be presented to the auuual meeting of share- i holders to-morrow, states that the net profit on working account for the year ended March 31, after making provision for insurance, depreciation, and boiler accounts, was £1)277 14/11. Transfer fees amounted to £11 5/, and the ; balance brought forward from April 1, 1908, was £1288 12/11, making a total of £10,577 12/10. Tlie directors recommend a dividend at the rate of 7 per cent per annum on all shares, excepting the new issue (half of the dividend was paid to shareholders on November 13, 1908), which will absorb £9154 19/9. leaving a balance to be carried to the credit of profit and loss account of £10G2 13/1. The directors report that in September negotiations were concluded for the acquisition of the vessels and trade of the Settlers' Steamship Company, the consideration for which was partly cash and the balance in paid-up shares. In ibis transaction, and also in the purchase of the s.s. Daphne, the directors have issued 26.550 of the unallotted shares as fully paid, and in view of extended operations, they deemed it advisable to invite applications from shareholders for a new issue of 25,000, which were practically all taken up. Messrs. "SI. A. Clark., .T. H. t'pton, and N. A. Kathan offer themselves for reelection as directors. It is not generally known (writes our Dargaville correspondent) that the Wairoa district was at oue period of its history the scene of a gold rush. It occurred at Whakahara. Gold in minute particles was found on the properties of Messrs. Clark and Jones, and in a whirlwind of excitement the river residents learned the fact from Auckland, whence news of the discovery had been speedily carried. Sir Jolui Logan Campbell, -who was then deeply interested in the Wairoa, despatched an emissary to effect, if possible, the purchase of the auriferous area. Negotiations were commenced, and the stolidne&s of the prospective purchaser aver the small matter of a few thousand pounds brought business to an abrupt and non-transference conclusion. Reports of the new field rapidly spread, and in the spacn or s short time the diggers in scores planted their tents around the new field, ana the eu>".:i>y of prospecting filled the air. But only A few particles of the precious metal were found, and Whakahara speedily sank Ija<-k into its naturally placid state. Other finds have been made, but none so fur liav.c reached sorion.consideration from practical miner*. Specimens—and good ones. thougTi minute—have been obtained from the vicinity of Tauraroa on the western sidr of the Tangihua Range, from the Wilson homestead, on tbe banks of tjie Xorthern Wairoa. and from Tutamoe. find there is. of course, every possibility that some day the metal may be found under conditions now not understood. An inquest was held yesterday by the coroner, Mr. T. G.resham, concerning the death of the unknown man whose body was found at Heme Bay on Friday with a bullet wound in the head. William Woodward, licensee of the Royal Hott>l. said that the body was that of: Harold A- Devonport, who stayed at his hotel for a week during March. Witness thought that probably excessive drinking was the cause of the trouble. James R. Griin,wood. chief clerk of the Union Steam Ship Company at Auckland, produced letters from the British Consul and the ko.spyisl iswgeen. at Papeete, which indicated that deceased bad recently been of unsound mind. The verdict of the jury was that deceased committed suicide while temporarily insane. A good deal of feeling exists in the Northern Wairoa in connection with the attempt being made by the Whangarei County Council to annex 20,00.0 acres of land within tv? boundaries of the Hobson County. It has been decided by tbe Hobson Council that the Clerk write to Mr. StalhvorLhy. M.P.. drawing his attention to the fact, and impressing upon him the necessity for maintaining a fair understanding of" the circumstances of the Mangakahia district in regard to its connection with the Wairoa and Whangarei. As settlers could, with proper roads, obtain supplies very much cheaper from the Wairoa River, the member for Kaipara was asked to use his utmost endeavour to secure the grants this Council has applied for t& give outlets to these settlers to the Wairoa River. It was also decided by the Council that a copy of the resolution be forwarded to the Mayor of Dargaville. asking for the co-operation of the - Borough.—Dargaville correspondent. A young man named Coventry met with a somewhat serious accident at Taumarunui on Saturday. He was handling a rifle, when it was accidentally discharged, and the bullet penetrated under his armpit. He was conveyed to the Waikato Hospital. Thomas Crisp, an employee at the railway workshops, Xewmarket, met with a painful accident on Saturday night. He was engaged in assisting to remove a portion of an engine from the forge when his left hand was caught in the chain and badly crushed, a portion of the middle finger being taken off. Tbe man's injury was attended to by Dr. W. G. Scott', and he was then taken to his home at Onehunga. A runaway horse came to grief at the corner of JSy'monds and Wakefield streets last evening. It had escaped from a livery stable, and was running away from its pursuers, when it collided with a tram ear. It sustained injuries that necessitated its destruction. The front of the tram was slightly damaged. On 21st inst. the Xew Zealand Dairy Association. Ltd., distributed amongst its miik suppliers £10,477 2/, covering but-ter-tat delivered during April. The corresponding payment last year was £7755 15/. Thus there is an increase of £2721 7/ for the month. Jackets, jackets! Coats, coats! —Tomorrow, at (irey and Ford's (Limited). Great salvage sale. Ladies', maids' and children's coats and jackets to be sold at special clearing prices. Hundreds to select from. The "Old Beehive," Xewton.—(Ad.) Special Ferry Boats are to run to Exhibition on Railway Wharf during the week.—(Ad.) Mr A. W. Martin, sole controller of Dr. iiherman's method of curing rupture, can now be consulted at the Royal Hotel. Yietoria-stVeet. — (Ad.) I/O, 1/0, 1/6, 1/6! Blouse lengths, blouse lengths. To-morrow. Grey and Ford (Ltd.) will sell 1000 lovely new blouse lengths at 1/0 each. "The Old Beehive," Newton. — (Ad.) Promenade Concerts at the Winter Show, Railway Wharf, every afternoon. — (Ad.) 1/, 1/, 1/, 1/! Boys' jerseys, boys'i jerseys. 250 boys' jerseys lo be cleared ! at 1/ each. 100 boys' jerseys at 1/0 ■ each. 300 boys' jerseys at 1/9 each. I 500 boys' jerseys at ]/ll each. To-mor-row, at Grey and Ford"s firing-out sale of Crescent Manufacturing Company's salvage stock. — (Ad.) Rugby Union Annual for 1909, price 6d, at "Star" Office aad stationers.

Probate has been granted in th» 6 preine Court in the estates of tb f? lowing deceased Mger (Mr. Keut). John Mark, (Mr. Thorne), Bernard Fo, 5 Mahony), Richard Milbank (jf r i, r, ander), Thomas Bridson (Mr 5 " The following applications for tefclT* l - administration were also gtantod Charles Fleming Hamilton f\£f strong), David John Hewitson Xolan), Annie Catherine Parker nf Nolan), John Spink Hudson $" Thorne), Robert Leaf (Mr. J ackso r Elizabeth Armour (Mr. Gittos) 1 J,, Harris (ait. Buttle), EHza Jackson). lJlr ' A murderous attack on a ■«,„,:, named Jagru took place at Sorua jfcon May 7, when two Indian" hacked linn in a most cold-blooded mm ner. The intent was highway raD W and the assailants managed to <r e t lJi of about £10 in cash aid a .gold fl eS lace and 10 sovereigns, and made d? Jagru was picked up near a creek in J semi-conscious condition by a TOissjn. Fijian and assisted to the" estate cW? by. The injuries inflicted .on him ,w™ of a frightful nature. His faoe mv sliced downwards from his forehj causing his brows to cover his eyes fli' jaw was broken and teeth were roissino Am ugly pash on the top of -the Wj showed his brain. Many-other injuries besides the loss of a finger were received Forty stitches an his head were necessary. The police at Xarcua ® m communicated witli and Inspector Wa-w was soon on the scene, and % hours had the Punjabi arrested and the stolen .property recovered. Jagr.u Ms able to identify tshe Punjalri Trio though admitting his guilt, declared \l 2/11. 2/11. 2/11. 2/11! % Q . mm t Grey and Ford's sale of Crescent Ma na . factunng Company's salvage stock 1000 nice dark costume lengths to jh. tired out at 2/11 the length of 6vdß. livery length a real iargain.^AiL)'