WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 121, 16 February 1926, Page 6

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

NOTES AT RANDOM

(By

T.D.H.)

The Census Office wants to find out this year what everybody’s income is- - but it will have to promise first not to tell the Commissioner of Taxes.

Italy is making enough money out of State lotteries to pay off its war debts. —One fears lest Uncle Sam’s strong moral scruples may prevent him taking money raised in this manner.

“And what,” asked Dr. Bumpus, “is this paving dispute Councillor H. D,. Bennett has referred to ? It is perplexing to be told that the Highways Board is quarrelling with the Highways Board about something that doesn’t matter, that is quite all right, that is a lot better than anybody ever thought it was going to be. I don’t understand it.”

“You must understand, to begin with, Doctor,” replied Maj'or Fitzurse. “that there are two Highways Boards.” “Indeed!” said the doctor. “Art they twins?” • • * «

“Tlie two Highways Boards,” explained the Maior, “are not exactly, twins. Their characteristics are differ, ent. One is the real Highways Board: it charges me as a motorist £2 a year for looking after 6000 miles of road. The other Highways Board is a local invention which looks after 40 miles of road and charges me £1 10s. a year for not doing it.” “There seems a slight discrepancy between the two rates,” observed Dr. Bumpus. “There is,” said the Major, “but my efforts to direct attention to the matter have not been successful. The" real Highways Board’s charge works out at about a farthing a mile a year, but the other Highways Board charges ninepence a mile, and this does not include the replacement of springs broken on roads under its control.” J • * *

“But, I gather from the Press,” the Doctor remarked, “that the local Highways Board'not only incurs the expense of laying bituminous pavements, but of digging them up again. Is this double function performed by the Main Highways Board I It surely deserves extra recompense.” “Ah!” said the Major, 1 hadn’t thought of that. I felt there must be an explanation somewhere. One cannot expect to have so much extra work done for nothing. Still, the rate doesn’t seem quite right, even so.” “How so?” inquired the Doctor. "Well,” replied the Major, “if you allow the farthing a mile of the national motor tax as the cost of putting the paving, down, it follows that the cost of taking it up must be eightpence three-farthings; that is, if the ninepence per mile of the Hutt Road tax is on the- level.” • “On the level?” ejaculated the Doctor. “What makes you think it is on the level? Why, my dear sir, the whole hubbub in the Press is based on complaints that nothing about the scheme is on the level—not even the pavements themselves.” “I seemed to notice something of the road rising up and down myself in driving about lately,” said the Major, “but I wasn’t certain whether I might not have been a little indisposed at the moment.”

“No, sir,” replied the Doctor, “you were merely cresting the waves of progress.”

Red snow, such as has fallen in Minnesota in America, is by no means a unique phenomenon. About twenty years ago there was a fall of “blood, rain” in Camden Square and adjoining portions of London. This proved on examination to be due to swarms of a minute moving water-plant, known as Sphoenella pluvialis. An organism closely allied to it gives the colour to red snow which has been known to fall at Carmola, in Germany, in Italy, in the Tyrol, and within the Arctic Circle, from which source the Minnesota red snow is thought to have been derived. Sand also causes red snow, am! some of the falls of red snow in the South of Europe are thought to have been due to sand of the Sahara carried across the Mediterranean by the Sirocco.

Black snow also falls in Europe at times, and in 1911 a snowfall in ’ the Lower Emmen Valley above the Lake of Brienz, in Switzerland, the snow as it lay freshly fallen was as black as if it had been on the ground collecting the smuts of an industrial city for a week. Although there is no well-authenticated record of its ever having really rained cats and dogs, there are plenty of its having rained frogs and fish. A.t Sunderland on September 4, 1918, it rained fish until the gutters and spoutings of the houses were full of them. The fish examined all proved to be sand eels about 3 inches in length, and had been lifted from salt water. The shower of them was quite local over a small area about 60 yards by 30 yards. It was estimated that the fish must have been carried at least a mile, for that was the distance, of the nearest spot at which they were common. They were all dead and frozen stiff when they fell.

Mr. Andrew Mellon, secretary of the United States Treasury, himself paid no less than £234,700 in income tax, which, according to the taxation scale, would rouehlv indicate a total personal income of £600,000 or so. Besides administering very considerable private revenue of his own, Mr. Mellon finds time to look after the whole of Uncle Sam’s national finance as well.

A boy, twelve years of age, with an air of resignation went to his teacher and handed in the following note from his mother before taking Ins seat: Dear, sir,—Please excuse James for not being present yesterday. "He plaved truant, but you needn’t whip him for it, as the boy he played truant with and him fell out, and he licked James. A man thev threw stones at caught him and licked him, and the driver of a cart they hung on to licked him; and the owner of a cat thev chased licked him. Then I licked him when he came home, after which his father licked him, and I had to give him another for being impudent to me for telling his father. So yon need not lick him until next tune. "He thinks he will attend regular in future.”

“They say she is a very brilliant conversationalist.” “Yes; you should hear her play bridge.” THE PINE WOOD. The wind now from the sultry earth The fainting earth has broken away And in the pine-wood, with soft mirth, Sets all the high tree-tops a-sway. Come to the pine’s long avenues Where flies that bright, wide-winged bird, This hidden place where tlie great new* Of dew and coolest sleep is heard. The sea holds mirror to the heat.. So long now since the kindly rain Came pattering by on silver feet, With case (or little things in pain. We’ll to the pines from tloi fierce glare And find dark shelter from the sun, And feel the heavenly wings a-stir Raining their benediction. —Katherine Tynan in the “Irish Statesman,**