The Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1912.

Evening Star, Issue 14784, 27 January 1912, Page 6

The Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1912.

Tut: report of the discussion by the members of the Otago HarHarbor Beard bor Board on Thursday and afternoon un the transLaka Logan, tor of Lake Logan to the City Council is worthy of serious attention. As an illustration of the .-.['eg'.-d incapacity of public bodies to deal intelligently and therefore competently with questions affecting tho interests of the citizens it is difficult to excel, while for sheer ignorance, if not ■absolute misstatement, 'ho utterances of one or 1 wo members were characterised, by a m'-'/niticeiit audacity. The origin of the d..bate was a simple and straightforward letter from the Town Clerk asking v.-ii'tiu'i' til-/ board were yet (a significant mnjiosylhibho in ;■■ position to cornmunicaii- anything detinito in regard to handing Lake Logan over to the council in accordance with a promise or undertaking long m'.h'o tiiven t> a deputation of citizens, ■■ ■■'.'i!u , r it, was proposed simply to grant

;-. I •::rp, or '.'.-. aether the board intended i\ :-\ln% will: tin: area in any way before t •an.il'erriiitj it to the City. The answer t>> tln.'Mi p.-itiueiit queries, the secretary informed t'l ■ board, was that the matter bad r.ct yet received the board's final cou:';:!er;.Lio:< —an tins.wcr. v;c submit, ihut is neither Eomplimciilary to the boatd's sense 01 courtesy nor to their business capacity. "'he matter ought to have been dealt with promptly, and an answer uther affirming •_::■ tho transfer returned long Perhaps, however, it is as well that the subject has taken the turn it has, as the general public are now abb to form a tolerably fair estimate of tan qualifications of some of the members of the Otago Harbor Board for the positions they hold. We select the following propositions from these members' speeches : 1. That a formal application had not been received from the council for. the Lake. 2. That the board hid been waited upon by one or two irresponsible deputations 3. That- a very considerable amount of responsibility would be involved inhanding the Lata over. 4. That Parliament had not authorised the board to hand Lake Lcyan over to the City Council. 5. That there had been no deputation from tha City Council to the board.

OF these fivj propositions Nos. 1, 2, and 5 were, in tho case of one speaker, not. *«ee. from superciliousness, and all of tnen>i

arc a travesty of the facts. Nos. 1 and 5 mav be technically true, but at the same lime they arc a quibble of a somewhat unworthy kind. The deputations that waited on the board were both numerous and thoroughly representative. On the last occasion every branch of the City's life was represented—not sport only, but men connected with our industrial, commercial, professional, and social life. The Mayor, we know, was not present, but his absence was fully explained ; and his own sympathies and the attitude of the council are at one in this regard. Alcmbcrs of the Reserves and Works Committees, however, and many prominent city councillors were there, and to those gentlemen we commend the opinion of Mr Barclay, of Ravensbourne, on their .status and their work. So far as the third proposition is concerned, the measure of the City's responsibility docs not necessarily arise at this juncture. By all means let there be a decitfioti after the bodies most interested have, been consulted as to whether the whole area shall be filled in (which, wc believe, would bo the best thing to do), or whether a part thereof shall be retained as a model yachting area—udrieh appears to bo the only marine purpose it can servo. To this end the Works Committco of the Harbor Board, the Reserves Committee of the City Council, and the-execu-tives of the athletic bodies interested should meet together, in order to come to an arrangement as to the future purposes of the reserve.

As to proposition No. 4, that-the Legislature has not authorised the handing over of Lake Logan to the City, wo submit that such a contention is nothing but a sorry quibble. Clause sof last year's Empowering Act says : It skull bo lawful for 'the board to-grant to the- mayor, councillors, and citizens of th» City of Dunedin and its assigns. for any purpose of public utility or otherwise for the benefit of tho inhabitants of the City of Dunedin, or tho public generally, or any section thereof respectively, a loose of any lands now or hereafter vested in the board (whether reclaimed from the sea or not), subject or not subject to tl>© payment of any rent, and for such period, with such powers, and with, upon, and subject- to such terror and conditions as the board shall think fit; and the corporation may exercise, all the rights and powers conferred by such lease, notwithstanding tho provisions of any other Act. By what process of reasoning or methods of interpretation tho doputy chairman of tho Harbor Board, when asked if Parliament had not authorised, tho board to hand over Lake. Logan to tlie. City Council, could answer " that was not so" we do not know. Tho intention of tho Legislature on the point is quite clear from the above—the board have full, complete, and absolute power to lease Lake lxjgan to the City Council en whatever terms they liko. All that is needed is the will to do so. But it is regrettable that the wording of the clause above quoted did not literally follow that handing over a recreation resorvo to tho Borough of W T est Harbor, which is to enjoy a lease thereof for 50 years certain. The imposition, of a £5 rental (as was suggested) and tho talk of keeping faith with tho British bondholder are. the veriest nonsense. Tho bondholder has no tangible rights owr what is a sheet of water, so far as he is concerned, and ho does not bother his head as to what the board do in such matters. Hie -concern

is that his interest payments arc promptly and fully mot—and 'with this the honor and gcxid uaine of Dunedin are as doeply interested as thofie of the Otago Harbor Board. A peppercorn rental of a. few shillings (which Mr Belcher had in his mind when so insistent on the board retaining a iiymant of otraership) is ample to conserve the board's position as over-landlord. We say in conclusion that thoro ought to be no hesitancy in brushing aside the propositions ]>ut forward by Messrs Loudon, Barclay, and Wilkinson at Thareday's meeting. They axe so preposterous that the wonder is how they wero ever oeriously offered. It is as well, however, that it should bo dktiactly understood from the beginning that tho entiro work of reclamation innst be undertaken by the- board. The City Council will have a burden to boar that will be quite heavy enough when, after tho work of filling in is finished, they are called upon to utilise the reserve and to keep it iu a condition tliat will render it a true beauty Gpot. Mr Fiddis, with characteristic bluntness, lut tho nail MTaarely on the head when he said : '" The Wird should ro- '• claim it, ami pay the City Council a bonus " to take it over." Wjiatbver may be tho form of government China will ultiThe Passing Of mately adopt—whether tho Pigtail. she decides for a strictly Constitutional Monarchy or a Republic—it is certain that the pigtail or queue, which has boon worn by throo coituries of Chinese, is doomed. Why this resolution vac taken is somewhat doubtful. It may have been born of the Manchu desiro to propitiate the Ohinci--e, but most probably it nay not. To the vast majority of Ch-iric.se tho original signification of the quotie wnc, there-is reason to think, vnkijow.ti. When in 1644 the then Manchu Regent of tho boy Kmpcror (how history repeats itcelf!) decided that all Chinese, now being "subjects," mti.st wear a pigtail, ho did so in order to have a. clear, obvious, and unfailing means of differentiating Manchu from Chinese. The pigtail wvert tho outward and visible mark that its wearer was a loyal subject of the new dynasty; to be without it was to render 'the Cbirrfwe easy victims of eucli penalties Oi? might bo ordered. Thai penalty, by tho way, was death. With tho passage of time, however., it is doubtful whether there lived among the masses an abiding .sense of the Khamo of their subjective, condition, in fact, common belief had it that many Chines© attached sonic special and; peculiar benefit to tho pigtail and its wearer. Thoro was certainly no reason, if it wero universally regarded an a badge of servitude, why thoso Chinese. who settled in America and the British colonies should continuo to wear it. We are inclined to think that tho decisive lif not tho sole) canse of the famous ?<Lraclm edict o c a few months siuee had its birth in tho ridicule that had been cast upon tho .\liachu princes, who of late years, with increasing frequency, were in tho habit of visiting Western Kurope, either as envoys or members o£ commissions. It ia said that tho young ladies of tho various Courtc to which they wero invited laughed and poked fun at them, as is the- way with yoang ladies in Courts _ elsewhere. These princes returned to, their own land hot for the cutting oil' of the pigtail, and it was their protests, coupled with tho utter aseleesnecs and dangerous inconvenience of tho queue, that led to the official autliorisation of ite abandonment. What tho world will make ol a queuclees Chinese it is hard to say; but on social a«nd military ground,, it is bettor off than on. Of course, the Conservatives of Cliii/a, like tho Conservativee in other countries, protested against the innovation And one of them (Prince Na Tung) a* truly as wittily said: "China's progress does not lie in tho hair of tho head; evon if wo have no pigtails wo'shall go on blundering, unless tho wearers of the 'new hair' arc honest and capable, whereas a man with good stuff in him will always show it, even if his prgta.il is 'all over tho place.' As our proverb says: "i'ho superior man often has a bald pate, whilst the .noodle may have a splendid head of hair.'"

It is always -a healthy sign when units in the community are wak-

Profit Sharing, ened, into activity for the purpose of advancing their own legitimate interests by methods approved by experience. The converse of this is equally true—namely, that it is lamentable to see labor expended for tint, which profiteth not, to tee the pursuit of ideals that can never bo realised, and reforms striven for under the leadership of glib-tonguod demagogues native to the soil or imported from parts unknown. Tho commendable aspirations at tho present time-of Labor across tho Tasman Sea, in the direction of improving the conditions of Australian workers, have brought a lot of theso unwise or indiscreet champions to tho front, with impracticable rostrums to cure social ills. It is always safe to affirm that whenever there is social unrest there will be gathered together exploiters who will hoist the cap of Liberty with one hand and send round the hat with the other. Patriotism and ponce, deliverance and dolhrrs, keep each other close company. It is refreshing, therefore, to turn from these fellows of the baser sort to read in the Home papers just to hand that the gas workers of London have, at their own cost, cr«cted a .monument to ihe memory of Sir George Liveiiey, which was unveiled with proper formality by Lord Gxey. Tho man whom the workers of the South London -Metropolitan Gas Company delighted to honor was for many yearns the chairman- of that huge corporation, and was n benevolent autocrat as well as a great philanthropist. His active love for his fellows seems to have been an impulse derived from his father, odo of the Seven Men of Preston, and a great temperance pioueer. The life of a gas worker obviously is not an ideal one, and its disabilities so excited Sir George Livescy'.s sympathies that he determined to ameliorate them by raising the status of all the employees, lie met at first with opposition from the men themselves, and experienced not a little Jack of sympathy in his board room. Thus was the light begun 18 yearg ago, but today tho employees own shares in tho company to the" value of £327,000, they c-leet three out of the nine directors, and have vastly improved (.heir position as workers. No man livetk to himself at any time, still less so in these days, when industrial and social life is as closely interwoven as warp aud wooL The benefits of p-ofit sharing were so clearly demonstrated by Sir George Livesey that the three great London gas companies are at the present time working under these conditions ; tho workers own close on £6OOXOO accumulated capital in the works tliat employ them, and the scheme has been adopted by the majority of the gasworks in Great Britain.

Tho case- cited in by no moans an isolated one. hut, without quoting ancient history, it may be found recorded that Kdme-Jean Leclaire, a Parisian house painter, employing 500 men, is claimed to be the father of what is now- known as the.system of profit sharing. i"he definition of the term, as laid down by the International Conference in 1889, is "an agreement fairly entered into by which the employed receives a share of profits determined in advance.'' Leclaire's belief was that the carrying out of his scheme would furnish a " powerful means of moral isation, and a living course in public Jaw," or, in other words, to get rid of the antagonism between Capital and i.m.bor. Ho hoped (and the result proved that his anticipations were well founded) that under the profit-sharing stimulus men would show greater zeal and intelligence in their work, that there would be less waste of material, and that employees would not necessarily be liarder walked. The scheme was eminently successful, and provided that, after allowing 5 per cent, for capital invested, •eaid a small sum as salaries to the managing partners, the remaining profits should be divided into four parts, two of wlri.ii were to be given to the employees as dividends. France furnishes a still more striking exemplification of what can be done in this direction, without trying socialistic experiments that spell failure and disap pomtment in almost every case. Jean Baptiste Andre Godin, sou of a poor locksmith, dreaming of social regeneration, started in 1859 as a small ironfonnder at Guise, on the banks of the river Oiso. Twelve years afterwards, when his theories bad crystallised into splendid actualities, lie explained his views and chronicled his achievements in a book entitled ' Solutions Soeiales,' and declared his conviction to Lc that the emancipation of Labor woeiii be brought about by its association with Capital in industrial undertakings, and by an equitable participation in the profits resulting from their combined eil'orts. "This,"' said he,, "is the most beautiiul and holy task which Capital can euuage in at- the present day. it is the true path to social safety and to the institution of a feeling of brotherhood among all classes of the society.'' In proof of the soundness raid practicability of Lis scheme, he could point with pride to an immense giv.up of factories, covering many acres of ground, comprising three palatial quadrangular blocks of buildings four titoneii hi^h.; td the schools, theatres, baths, laundries, stores, bakery, butchery, restaurant, cafe, and billiard rooms, and a commodious nursery. The stores on the works supply employees at cost price, a savings bank rectiv<s deposits from the thrifty, in exchange for which .shares in the industry are issued, and on these dividends are paid, in this "social palace," as it is well called, sanitary arrangements are earned out on the best lines, ;uid a medical man is kept on the premises to give prompt attention to the ailments of close on 400 children and many hundreds of employees that tenant the famous Familistu'o et Guise. Ibis splendid humanitarian has been dead more than 20 years, but his eminently sane methods ot dealing with a very difficult problem have bean copied in many European industrial centres, in America, and in England, notably at Saltairo. i'hure is also the well-known case of industrial partnership set up in the Yorkshire collieries by Henry Briggs, Sou, and Co.. who divided £40,000 as bonuses on wages in nine years; but the syotem came to an end in 1875, when there was a heavy drop in the price of coal, and the men struck rather than submit to a reduction of their wages. Inepito of occasional H'.t-back&, the principle of profit sharing is progressing in the United Kingdom. Ln 1834 there were 101 such agreements in force, in 1901 the number decreased to 92, and in 1906 to 82. On the other hand, while in 1894 there were 28,000 employees participating in the profits of their employers, in 1206 thero wen) 48,000 profit-tharing workers. Tn addition to these, it must be remembered that about one-quarter of the working men's co-operative societies in Great Britain ;ue practically profit sharing. These latter have over .-ix million shareholders, repiesentircaboitt2S million .-oris, and for mutual help ate in touch with the lutemafiorud Alliance, who gather information, distribute it, njid hold periodical conferences fo deal with matters vital to the interests of co-operators. Jn such directions as these lie the best hopes of workers desiring to benefit themselves, rather than in dreams of S'taio collectivism, that would be the worst and most oppressive form of monopoly. The one remedy is within reach ; fhe> others are such stuff .is dreams are made on.

Tho Fourth Regiment B:u-.<1 had. to face unpromising weather when they -went to the Gardens last night, but they kept to their •.•ndortaking, and under the eliicie-nt direction of Bandmaster George gave a most enjoyable concert. Tho leading items were the- ' Poet and Peasant' overture, the

Tannhauser' march, a selection from ' Tho Arcadians,' ami tho 'Blue Danube' waltz, whilst a piccolo solo deserves special mention. ,

Messrs A. and T. Burt have removed the firo ljcll from the tower in the Octagon to the new Fire Brigade Station, and it is now ready to be rung when necessary. The bell was made in Birmingham, and it weighs 7cwt. People s-iy it is the best iirebe.ll in the Dominion. Its primary useis to notify tho emergency firemen to assemble, but incidentally iici Tinging tells drivers of vehicles to keep the roads clear, and tho citizens also find the bell useful in indicating the ward where the lire is. This has been a- good season for violas and pansics, nnd Mr Tarmock is abb to make a splendid show of >»oth at the Gardens. Stocks are also coming on, and this season Dunedin has struck a bigger percentage of double stocks than are found in most other places. The roses in the Gardens are good, especially tho climbers, Dorothy Perkins and 1-iady'Gay making a brave show. In the winter house the begonias aro doing well, and Mr Tannock has m bloom a peculiar orchid known as the Stanhopia. Visitors may be interested in learning that tho young red doer doe has given birth to a little one that will no doubt become a pet. Potatoes are coming forward freely from North Otago. and so far thero is no sign of blight. "'Jlie reports from Canterbury are of an abundant crop, and other districts further north are putting potatoes on the market in large quantities. Growers aits wondering who is going to eat all these potatoes. An outsido demand would bo welcomed. Meanwhile, Xew Zealand housewives may feel reasonably assured as to cheap potatoes and also cheap bread during the. ve-.ir.

Mr Widdowson, S.M., held another sitting of the Widows' Pension Court this morning. The 7>rcceedings are very quiet and conversational. The applicants go up one by one and toll the Magistrate all about it, much the same as they would at a tea party. A sudden drop in the price of horso feed is reported in Dunedin this week. The agents have been at their wits' end to place consignments of chaff, and values have receded fully £1 per ton, many lines having been disposed of as low as £3 lO.s aud £3 12s 6d. Farmers, and fruitgrowers are loudly com plaining of the operations of tariils and regulations as between the Dominion and Australia, saying that the disabilities on both sides are sadly restricting trade and causing a great deal of irritation. A painful accident befell a man named Fred, .lonhnston while travelling in tho Waikato express to Auckland, tho cause being the ignition of a box of wax vestas which he was carrying in a coat pocket. Before he realised that anything had occurred his clothes wore in flames, and a sensational few moments ensued while his fellow passengers assisted him to extinguish them. On arrival in Auckland ho was convoyed to the district hospital, whore it was ascertained that his injuries were of a serious nature. The burns ace confined to the body.

Dr Truby King caused considerable surprise and amusement, not unmixed with indignation, when speaking lr_st evening at a mooting of the .Seadiff Mental Hospital staff, who had assembled to bid good-bye* to Mitt- Beswick, by narrating an incident which took place at a meeting of tho Dunedin Ilctpital tructccs some 20 years ago. A proposal had been made for an exchango of nurses between tho two institutions, with a view to mutual benefit, but tho idea was scouted by one of the trustees, who feared tho contamination of general hospital nurses by contact with people of -coarser grade. This authority had said confidently and unbhishingly that the qualities needed in an asylum nurse were merely Ixxlily strength and a certain callousness of disposition, whereas what they needed and secured in general hospitals was ladies of culture and general refinement.

At tho meeting of the Taieri County Council yesterday afternoon a letter wuis received from the .Marine Department to tho effect that the bridge erected by the council over the Taieri River on the lieuleyBerwick road in 1891 was impeding tfie navigation of the river. The clearance between ordinary high-water mark and the midorside of the bridge was only sft 4in. .As tho council appeared to have built it without tho authority of the Govemor-fn-Council, as required by tho Harbors Act, tho department requested thai the neco.s<sary steps bo taken to raise the bridge. The ietttr was " received," a oouneilkr remarking that it was a bit late to go into tiie matt or after the bridge had been up for 20 ware.

The only business in the Police Court this morning was a charge against, John .Mans of refusing to obey the lawful command (if tho chief engineer "f the ftt earner ivaipara—namely, to turn to and do his duty. Accused* pleaded guilty. Afiked if he would assure the Court tllat he would go to work, accused said that he wcultl give no assurance whatever. Ho was tlien sentenced to two days' imprisonment. An application by the Dunedin City Corporatiou for a dam at Curwood'.s Creek, in block 8. Waipori district, came before the last sitting of tho Warden's Court at Lawrence. Tho application was objected to by Mi-s -Margaret Cotton, of Waipori, on whoso nm the site of the projjosed dam Is situated. Mr Finlayson appeared for the Dunedin City Corporation, the applicant for the dam. and .Mr Fletcher for .Mrs Cotton, the objector. The principal ground of the objection was that if tho application were granted tho objector -would sustain serious loss, owing to applicant's workmen eontinuoiisly and constantly disturbing objector's sheep, not only during the construction of the dam, but also after it was completed. At the previous sitting of the Warden's Court Mr Hobert Cotton, objector's husband, gave evidence in support of the objection, claiming £5 jw annum from applicant for the remainder of the term o( objector's lease, which had seven or eight years to ran. for prospective damage to objector's stock and land. .Mr Finlayson, in combating the objection, produced a eert.ilie'i cupy of the objector's lease, the original of which was ciipixisod to have been burned. The- lea.-c showed thiil the land wa.s held hv the objc< tor unrlor section 177 of the Land Act. 1892, subjection (d) of which state* that laud ii> held .object to the law relating to minim:, and that it would n.vpire on 28th February, 1919. Mr Friday-son also referred to the definition of "Crown lands" in section 4of tTio -Vlrninp; x Vct. and to sections 16, 17, and 104 of the Act, which gave the right to apply for a dam over " Crown lands." lie ako referred to .section 112 of the Act, to show that there was no provision in the Act for giving compensation to holders of runs on Crown landa. [Tho warden also referred to section 203 of the Act, which extended compensation in certain eaixK.] Finlayson further referred to the small area of the <l;im (14 acrus), the small rental paid by tho objector lor the run, and the poor quality of the land, which was only worth 15t> per- acre, and the small likelihood of objector's property or stock being injured by the dam. .Mr E. K. Stark, city electrical engineer, Dunedin, and Mi- Edward O'Neill, Crown kinds ranger, Dunedin, gave evidence in support of the application to-combat tho objections. The evidence showed that objector paid a rental of £36 17s 8d for 1,967 a Or 32p, and that the land was worth about 15s per acre; that it wa<; very unusual to jay compensation for a dam constructed oil Crown lands runs; thai it was not usual to fence off a dam, as required by tho objector; that the dam would not be dangerous to stock; and tliat the caretaker of tho dam would be prohibited from taking a dog with him when going to and from the dam. The evidence aleo showed that tho dam was situated from three- to live chains Irani objector's boundary fence, and that .Mr Stark had made a gate in the boundary fence by Cotton's pormifeion fo tiii not to injure tho fence. The warden, in giving his decision, said that ho did not think this was a case in which tho objector was entitled to any compensation, as the evidence showed that the objector's fence and stock were not likely to be injured by the dam m any way, and ho would strike out the objection without costs.

The Ulimaroa, Victoria, and Arawa will bo within xvivciess range to-night. The English mail which was despatched from Dunedin via Vancouver on December 20 arrived in London on the 26th inst., two days lat-e. Mr T. Morgan, judge of the band contests, told l)r Thackcr-(says tho ' Lvtfcelton Tiroes') that he had seen ability and musical talents in Christchureh that would make the finest bands in the world. On the previous night ho had listened to three or four bands that could bo turned into belter bands than the best regimental bands he had heard anywhere. He was impressed, also, with tiio gond health of the bandsmen and with their uniforms and smart appearance. Another point upon wliieh he was curious was why the military judged in civilian clothes and not in uniforms.

The German barque Antuco, at present in port, was decorated with bunting today in honor, according to one of her ofiir-ors. of its being the anniversary of tho Kaiser's birthday. All 11 boats entered started in tho launch race from tho tongue wharf to tho Heads and back this afternoon. Notwithstanding tho heavy rain showers, a crowd of enthusiasts witnessed tho departures. All tho boats were sent off up to time by Rear-commodore Smith, Messrs G. F.' M'Lean, and H. Willis, It was expected that the winning boat would return shortly after 5 o'clock.

Notification of Sunday services as enumerated below appears in our advertising columns: —Presbyterian: First Church, Knox Churoh, St. Andrew's, South Dunedin, North-east Valley, Chalmers, Musselburgh, ItosJyu, St. Clair. Anglican: All Saints', St. " Matthew's. Methodist: Trinity, Garrison Hail, Mornington, Cargill TtoaJ, Roslyn, St. Hilda, Belleknowcs, Woodhaugh, North-east Valley. Congregational: Moray Place, King Street, Leitb Street, St. Clair. Baptist: Hanorer Street, South Dunedin. Primitive Methodist: Duntlas Street, Kew, Abbotsford, Havensbourne, Anderson Bay, North-east Valley. Church of Christ: Tabernacle, South Dunedin, Fillcul Street. Theosophists. Christadclphians. Members of the M.T7.1.C-.0.F. will find in another column particulars of the visit to Milton on. Monday niglrl. For a satisfactory line of furniture at reasonable price visit Sanders's Furnishing House, 175 George street.—{Advt.] No cold can stand up against Baxter's Preserver, the famous remedy for coughs and colls. Price Is lOd (large-size bott T !e). at all chemists.—[Advt.] When Eurf bathing you want to look your best. Come along and get one of our new Canadian bathing costumes, stripes or plain colors. Priced to suit fcVtTy purse—2s 6d to Gs 6d. See window show at Wallace's, the day-alicad outfitters, Princes slroet. —[Advt.] The painters' picnic takes place at Warrington on Saturday, 3rd February. Mr Morris, photographer, bos opened a new business, named the Garden Studio, at tho corner of George street and Kcgeni road.— [Advt.] Dedication festival services will be held at St. Paul's Cathedral to-morrow. Dean Fitcbort will preach at the morning service, ;uid Archdeacon Gould in the evening. Tho secretary for the Money Club (Mr Hugh Mitchell) reports that applications for loans to the amount of £550 and for six shares were received aii this week's meeting of trustees. The half-yearly mcetmg will bo held on the 31st inst. A drvidemi of If, per cent has been declared.

Speight's ale a»d staut are- acknowledged by the Dominion public to bo the best on the market.—[Advt.] The best people now go to the Acme Photo Company, George street, for the most up-to-date artistic portraits. Their post cards of children create attention. Tel. 965. —[Advt.j A. D. Kdgar, dentist, CargiU's Corner, South Dunedin. Full upper or lower set of artificial teeth, £5 3s; extraction under gas, 3s 6d ; painless extraction, 2s 6d, each additional tooth Is. Telephone 3,o69.—[Advt.j Houses depreciate in value if not regularly painted, fainting them on my " full value " system preserves and beautifies them, and cost is minimum. Get an estimate for repainting and repapcring. You'll find my charge very low, but a first-class job is guaranteed. \V." Fraser, Box 57, Dunedin.—[Advt.]

Jordan and I'ittar, extraction specialists, Stock J'xchango Buildings, Dunedin. Extraction under gas, 3s; painless extraction, 2r, 6d; additional tooth, Is. No charge made if any pain is felt under our method of administering gas.—[Advt.] >fo ladv should bo without- Martin's Apiol and Steel Pills. Sold by all chemists and stores throughout Australasia.—[Advfc.J