FROM OTHER PAPERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 52, 25 November 1907, Page 11

FROM OTHER PAPERS.

Aiwriter in "Blackwood'S Magazine" says: —"To-.day ''Socialism' is the term, used to weaken the law and to subvert government. Its;very vagueness is an element of peril. It may, mean/anything, or nothing, according to the fancy of,tho sanguine orator who mouths one it expresses a virtuous intention, to tax the rich man out of existence. That one declares that it is- nothing more utiotis'ithah the extension to England of tho banking system long encouragqd north of tho Tweed. A, third cares not what is done, so long as responsibility is lifte'd from his drooping shoulders, and the privilege of life-long idleness is conferred upon him. Not a few prove .their complete laok of intelligence by snouting aloud for anarchy, which is individualism gone mad, upon the platforms of Socialism. But all worthy of the sacred name Socialist are convinced that the simple duty of the proletariat is robbery with both hands." : . ■ .'. ■

•-We-i were • aeked to name some yellow, dried, elongated, looking fruit, minus stones, brought in'to this office by Mr. Satherly, Bays ,'t)ie Maiiawatu "Herald." We don't profess to have a pomologist on the staff, so the writer suggested figs, because that was the to which the objects of scrutiny bore • any resemblance. "You're wrong," said.' the jocular farmer, and he showed us a green Japanese.plum and informed us that it wias a brother to the parched specimens. Mr. Satherly said that the plum tree is affected with some new disease and half the fruit .on the particular tree are attacked.

; Owing to the falling off in the attendance at.the Pohonui school, the Board decided to close ,the. doors. The co-operative labourers in the vicinity of Waiourii nave been clamoring for school facilities, says the Taihapo "News," and in obedience to their request, the Board has- formed- a school-at M'Gonap;le's..camp in. a tent,'under the charge of Captain Tegner,- the late teacher at Pohonui. InV the course of two or three months this camp ,will ;doubtless bo deserted, when tho school'will , be•■ shifted higher, up the line. This-travelling school for the instruction of the co-operative labourers' children is a capital idea on the part of the Board. > A-good. comes from an inland town. Two": inspectors were examining the district school. It was a. two days' job, and the inspectors divided. the work, one taking the upper,-ind:the other the'lower standards. In the" ranks of the latter was a little son of; a-publican at whose hotel tjley were staying. \. During the afternoon the upper standard inspector loft the school and visited the dentist to have a molar extracted. On his return he was accosted by mine libst, who invited him to have a drink to brace him up. He had'it, and the little fellow happened to pass at the time. He must have puzzled his little head about it all night, for early next morning he flopped his hend into his father's bedroom. Father!" "Yes?" "Y9U was filling up the wrong bloke yesterday. It's the other 'spector chap what 'zarnmins me!" AVcorrespondent of -the "Otago Daily thinks that, as wo have laws in New Zealand , to try and regulato nearly everything, something should be dono for the protection of, the unfortunate jockeys who have to "waste" by the use of purgatives and Turkish baths, in order to reduce thoir weight. He says: "It takes away all the. pleasure of. racing when it is mentioned that L. G; King,'who rode the winner of the last Cup, only received the mount on s the eve of the race, and that an attempt toi'reducc his weight made such a strain on him that after passing the scales he fainted, and had to receive medical attention, after having ridden 'a great face.' It seems an unusual coincidence that Evans, tho jockey who , rodo the winner of tho Melbourne Cup (Apologue), is stated to have been so weak oh dismounting that he 'reeled and fainted' while carrying his trappings in, and had to be assisted to the'scales: : It: is/one' - ,pfjthe most extraordinary 'doubles'"ever'fieam of for two jockeys, winners of two Cups, to be placed hors de combat, while-those who back' the horses term it 'sport.'" X and Constable Z were on the beat about one o'clock a few mornings ago, and, according to custom, as they passed along Princes street,, says the Dunedin "Star," they tried the doors of various business'placcs to see that they were firmly closed: . Love's labour was not lost.- The door of'oiie establishment was ajar. With an 'Jabanclon-hcpe-all-ye-who-are-caught-in-here " air, they entered the building and directed thejr ; lantern rays into every nook' and cranny: They drew a. blank,, however. No enterprising burglar was found. Accident, not design, was responsible for tho door being, open. Rather, sadly, the' constables turned to resume their march, wheli lo! they found.that the door had closed and locked them in! All their efforts to open it failed. They were-kept-prisoners for a couple of hours :or more, and were just preparing to settlei :down comfortably till 8 a.m., when a lucky, thought struck Constable X—he openi-l the window, and. they, got out. Meanwhile aa i&ligry arid .eloquent sergeant-in-charge had'missed: them' from the beat, and demanded to know: "What -■ —'' I^.the.course.of his address at the Ota.»o Institute-last night, records the "Daily Times,"-Mr.'W: G. Grave, of Oamaru, surprised;! some :of;hjs. hearers by describing .tho bulky proportions of the swags carried by his'party of -when. exploring between. Te Anau and the Sounds. AVhen setting out their burdens were so heavy that he'Jpind' his'ffieiids'were unable to rise unassisted from a sitting to a 'standing position.). Handles were cut off' spoons, and pannikins'exchanged for jam, tins to lessen tho weight. ; Even then, said Mr. Grave, a swag weighed. 701b.' Scrub, river beds, precipices, attd: glslciers had to be negotiated by men bearing this incubus. When it is considered that,the weight, including ammunition, carried by an infantryman on active service does not amount to nearly 701b., such a statement furnishes food for surprise. ■' "-The,worst of the Protectionists," said Mr. Reid in the Commonwealth House of Representatives recently, "is that, they always us<s foreign goods themselves. If you go into j, lavatory of this building yon uso English soap.;-If you-go upstairs you drink English oi\ some foreign l beer. If you rest about the House you sit on a foreign chair. There's hardly.. ; a Protectionist to-day who did not baoki Apologue for the Cup. Why should they support this foreign' horse, instead of a horse 1 born and bred in Australia? They telhrae that Apologue was brought up on ■foreign corn —New Zealand eorii—and was brbught ovtr in a foreign boat. These Pro-tectionists-allow such a horse to come here and take away our richest prizes. I was horrified; to learn to-day that thousands of staunch Protectionists put everything they had- on this foreign-trade horse, and landed something.pretty substantial, too! It ought to be stoppod." It seems a most, extraordinary thing, but to all appearances the fact remains that an opportunity of obtaining an apprenticeship oil tho oversea sailing' ship is denied the youth of the Dominion; comments the Otago '.'Daily' Times." There is, we are informed, a very apparent disposition on the part of owners or sailing vessels of any importance not to take apprentices from New Zealand, preferring to indenture them in. An endeavour just made locally tol apprentice ayouth to the sea in a sailing ship met with nf> success whatever, and it was furthermore discovered, after exhaustive inquiries, that it would not'only be highly difficult to arrange' an apprenticeship from this ond, but practically put of the question. The reason is, difficult to find. It may be that the iiritish sailing ship is a vanishing quantity, or that the sailing ship generally is being so superseded by tlie steamer that but few op?ortunities of securing an opening for appieniceship how present thomselycs, and such asido exist are too eagerjy sought after. At aiiyrate the prospect is not a good ono for the o'iloriial youth. There are certainly openings to be had in Home training ships, but Che payments demanded there are very heavy, the premium for the first voyage alone 111 one'instance being £70, with almost similarly large 1 amounts in each succeeding year of apprenticeship. A Marion resident, who purchased a thousand'acres between Mangawoka and Taihapc, at £7'per acre, has, in four years, earned the price of the land by grazing store sheep and cattle on it, and has a banking account to boot.