FROM OTHER PAPERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 178, 23 April 1908, Page 8

FROM OTHER PAPERS.

While Messrs. Beer and party wero fishing in tho vicinity of Rivcrton last week a large shark ranged up alongside. As the monster , was somo 30ft. in length, and longer than the boat, tho fishermen (says the " Western Star") set their engine in motion and left . tho spot. A Christclmrch doctor, in protesting removal of tho Godley statue, s.ajs: Thcro will now bo a vacant place in tho centro of Cathedral Square. It will liavo to bo filled somehow, and I therefore suggest that public stocks' of tho good oldfashioned kind bo erected there, and that the Major and councillors and other prominent citizens who so shamefully neglect tho duty they owe to tho city and to their predecessors bo in rotation exposed to tho public gazo in thoso stocks —pour encouragor lesautres." l ?>®'""re® e ' c '. .(England) " Daily Indepenf'ii i S i °V t j al »iary last to each Jady au tho head of a Sheffield household a voting papei to bo marked "Yes" or "No" .(L) to tho question, " Aro you in favour of women having a vote? " and (2) to the question, Do you approve of tho methods of tho women suffragists?" Tho number of s'Smf 1 ™ turnod to the offico was Ot '23,663 jvonien who answered tho lirst question, 14,652 were opposed to women "J° vote, and 9011 were in favour cf their haying it. Of 21,48S women who answered the second question, 17,942 disapproved of the tactics of tho women suffragists, and 3564 approved of them. Bowling, is not generally regarded as a stronuous pastime, but ono lover of tho ancient game found the other'day that it can on occasion call for unwonted vigour. He was seated on tho bank .that skirts tho bowling green, and had his feet resting in tho, ditch, when lib discovered a bowl making straight for him at a fast pace. He f asfc »y struggled to remove himself from the bowl s path, but in his eagerness quite overlooked tho narrowness of the ditch, with the result that ho was momentarily stuck. He made a final and fierce effort to get free, and his fellow-players were astonished to see liini disappear with his heels in tho air as |ho, bowl bounded into the ditch. The episode was greeted with ; prolonged laughter, and play was suspended for somo minutes.. ■ ' Pecuniarily speaking the oyster trade makes a neat little addition to the circulating medium of the Bluff (states an " Otago Daily Times" correspondent). Settling up day comes onco ?. month. The- second settling day of the season came, round tho end of last week. In rough numbers tho mouth's take is- sot down at 3500 sacks. Allowing 80 dozens to tho sack, the market value of those is, say, £1500. Roughly put, its distribution is as follows:—One-third to tho dredges, one-third to the boat, and the remaining third to tho company.'. Ten or twelve boats; tho majority of which are cutters, have been ongaged in the work, and they aro manned by 38 dredgers,' assisted by 12 wharfingers. It is stated that 20s. per working day was not far off tho average pay- ' 1

, _ Thg qualifications of tliat more or less , ideal entity, the competent farm hand, wero , described by a farmer who gavo evidenco before tho Conciliation Board, says the , , Christchurch " Pressthe sum total of his description being that tho competent j man shauld be equal in capability to the farmer. Naturally tho witness was subjected to sorao chaffing from tho cross-cxamiiter, , who desired ,to know if a knowlcdgo of bookkeeping was nccessary on tho part ,of a farm " labourer, and tho witness, said he cOnsidi ered 'that it was. " Ought ho to be able , to speak Latin and Greek ? " was the next 1 question. " No, I don't think that would ? be necessary," replied tho witness; "tho I horses v/oukl not understand those languages, though some ploughmen talk Maori 1 to their horses." i •,■■■■ , "The contractor who is building my now > theatre in Melbourne," said .Mr. 'William [ .Anderson, to a "Daily Telegraph." reporter, "goes.in'for what the Americans call speedi ing up workmen. In< each department lio . has; a particularly quiek man setting tho i .pace for tho other tradesmen. He pays these i :tast. artisans.about'lss. a week moro than > tho rank and file, and it is really a'treat to watch them at work., My builder is particularly proud of his pace-setting. bricklayer. He .brought me along threo. or four times to : look at him. 'Isn't ho lovely?' ho would •• s ay each, time tho man put a .brick' in position, cleaned tho mortar away from the interstice with a whisk of tho trowel and spread moro mortar on top of it. ' I'll match him for an even , £50 against any bricklayer in Australia,"' is his employer's standing offer. "It's a pity," added tho theatrical manager, "an act like that could,not bo shown in tho music-halls. . It's something .useful., I'm not saying it's as graceful as club-swinging,, but it ought to draw. There's - a fascination about watching people .work; it always collects a crowd. I suppose in. time it will become sufficiently a novelty to bo. able to charge to see people performing it." Tho "Taranaki Herald" says:—"'For some timo past there have been persistent buyers of Taranaki Petroleum Company's shares, a fact which has caused holders to' wonder what has happened to lead to tho demand. Wo are constantly being asked by shareholders for - information as to the progress of operations 'at Moturoa, but all our inquiries from tho directors are met with the reply that there is nothing to-communi-cate; In the meantime rumour' is busy as to the water being shut off and tho bore full of oil. ' Shareholders have, however, been assured in the past that they would bo kept informed of anyi developments, and they do not know what to believe when the directors are silent and brokers are inviting them to sell their shares. We have no desire to bo always finding fault, but must say that it appears to _U3 • tlie shareholders are entitled •to some information from tho directors either that tho rumours are without foundation, or that the prospccts are brighter. Local shareholders have, tho opportunity of making their own personal inquiries, but 'there are numbers at a distance who look for the publication of official reports as to tho propress of operations. ' The question is whether the directors are warranted in pay- ! mg ho attention to reports, which may or i may notbe idle ones. : It appears to us that ■! in-the interests of the shareholders these rumours should'be denied or. confirmed; then shareholders could please themselves about i holding or selling." ' A correspondent. writing to the "Grey / River Argus," and signing himself "Strike j Pay, says:—"l ;seo in the 'Grey i River, Argus' of April 13 a '.statement mado by Mr. Rogers to the wharf-labourers that tho Blackball miners . wero in receipt of £1 a week. Now, sir, it f would ;just be- as, well if Mr. Rogers would i speak the truth in the matter/ He knows very well that the correspondent', whoever ! lie may. be, spoke ,the truth when he said that a man gets £1 10s., his wife gets 10s., , and each child gets ss. • It is true, too, that £3 10s. went.into'somo of the homes, : and I _ could name others who received a c good bit over £3 10s. I might just as well e let Mr. Rogers know that, although I am receiving'striko pay, and living well on it, I would willingly vote for work every time £ under the present conditions. But, Mr. Editor, that is not the caso with a largo number of tho strikers. No, so long as they can got as good a waso for walking about as they could for working they don't want work. I know for a fact that some of the a men who until recently woro against tho striko havo changed their opinions, and are s now not ashamed to boast that as long as ]i tho workers of the Dominion subscribe in tho n manly way in which they are doing thoy l, don't care how long tho strike lasts. I „ should like to ask Mr. Rogers if ho is only gotting £1 a' week. I think that when the ;; books havo to bo audited it will bo- found i; that that gontloman is receiving moro than t, striko pay, which he has no right to do. „ It has been stated repeatedly that Pritchard and Co. aro paying their own oxpenses whilo lording it about tho country Begging for El charity. Such is not tho case, as they are n being , paid handsomely for thoir trouble. " Now, Mr. Editor, I have nothing more to 61 say in the matter, only that I cannot make a out why tho cxccutive arc continually trying n to hide tho truth from tho public with ro- E ' oaid-to 4heir finances*"- a