King Country Chronicle Wednes., December 31st, 1913 HAPPY NEW YEAR.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 631, 31 December 1913, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Wednes., December 31st, 1913 HAPPY NEW YEAR.

With tbe paseing of 1913 there goes into oblivion a year which haa witnessed many strange and startling incidents. Taken altogether the year should have been highly prosperous and a period in which the country should have made groat progress, had net such untoward events as the small pox epidemic and tin tremedous industrial upheaval occurred. Tis said that each age gain- its own experience, but the world benefits Sec history and the great events of the past: point the way to those of she present generation. The year lei:l in that sense should be a profitable year for posterity, and toe lessons learned from the things which have happened should serve t" r»"int ;i:e way and help forward the progress of mankind. However, it requires philosophy to accept lessons of this description and few will regret the passing of the year which has witnessed such portentous strivings and events. The hope which makes life possible bids mankind look forward ;o the better days to come, and in turning over another of Time's pages there is always the feeling that with the new period mankind,both imlividu- j ally and collectively has a further opportunity to play a useful part in the world. The pace at which life is lived in modern times renders it necessary that there should be a halting time at which to consider things which are apt to he forgotten in tbe press of business life, and the New Year affords us a time for j reflection, and an inspiration to J achieve something worth while before the sands of the next year are entirely run. Locally the old year has been no less important than in the busy cities where raonipntous matters have occurred. I'rogress has In en steadily maintained and indications all point to such progress continuing I without serious interruption. It is I gratifying to observe that the people j are being thoroughly aroused to the j fact that in this distiret progress and I prosperity can only be achieved by | roads. The realisation of this impor- j tant fact is inspiring the people i" j action in n manner which promises | to make progress at a rapid rate, j For, notwithstanding the main eon- I tributing iniluences towards (he pro- j gress of any district the chief factor j to the progress of both town and | country is roads. In extending the j time honoured wish to all our readers for a happy and properous .New Year, we again look forward to a senson of sound progress both as regards public and private enterprise.

Word has been received that Mr C. K. Wilson, member for the district, will r.rrive at To Kuiti on Friday next. Mr Wilson will coirie direct from Waimiha, which piece he intends to visit.

American fibre authorities declare that binder twine from New Zealand does not retain its strength if kept for a period of years, while Manila and sisal twines do not deteriorate perceptibly for a longer lime. The Davis Gup selectors have chosen the first instalment of the team in Broohen and Wilding. The latter has been asked to enhle if he is available for matches, wherever played. "My dear," 80 id Mr Bickers to his wife, "I saw in the papers to-day a decision of a Virginia court that the wife may, in some cases, be the head of the family." "John Henry," replied Mrs Bickers, "the courts are sometimes very slow in finding out things." A conservative estimate of the quantity of coal reported to be on its way to Auckland from oversea is 20,000 tons, so that, unless some of the vessels are diverted, there should be some cheap coal going before long. Over 25,000 tons arrived in Wellington on Wednesday last. Mr H. de Vere Hunt, an elderly m»n, one of the early settlers in the King Cojntry, was found drowned in the Ongarue river, near Tuumarunui, on Sunday morning. Deceasod, who was the youngest ot the family of the late Mr Matthew de Vere Hunt, Hukanui, was 51 years of age, and leaves two sons and two daughters. The bated capitalist again—and a wicked brewer at that! The Mayor of Wellington has received a cheque for £2OO from Messrs Staples and Co. towards a fund for relieving the needs of families in Wellington who may this year not be so favourably placed as they have been in former years at the Christmas period. A young lady who was going out to New Zealand to get married went to a West End, London, dressmaker for her trousseu. The dressmaker suggested a warm one The young lady asked why, seeing that the climate of New Zealand is a beautifully mild one. The dressmaker replied "I assure you, madam, you are mistaken, for that is where the frozen meat coflies from."

The proprietjrs of the Auckland Weekly News have just issued a special exhibition number, which contains a large number of beautifully printed views of the exhibition, Auckland city, and various parts of the provincial district. The letterpress contains a variety of information relating to the growth and progress of the city and district. There is reported to be unrest among the London police. A young constable when on duty dropped a ticket disclosing the existence of a union, which it is believed has 500 members. At several stations constables have declined duty until their conditions have been improved. The authorities are smoothing over the incidents, and promising full consideration to the claims of tho men.

There are extraordinary rumouis, says a cable, of a gold discovery in Siberia. Huge nuggets have been found in widely separated alluvial diggings, including the Yaniseisk province, the maritime province of Kamchatka. Gangs of unauthorised adventurers are colliding with the police. One gang at Lea river killed tiio guards and captured £50,000 worth of gold. Tho Mayor of the little Ohio township of Marion would seem to be a student of the Gilbert and Sullivan one; as. He recently had before him a •:i:ui accused of stealing eggs, who was found guilty. The Mayor sentenced him to five days' imprisonment, his diet, during the perioJ of incarceration to consist of nothing err. the stolen eggs. "I hope I will never see another egg," were the prisoner's heartfelt words on his release, A me -nsgo from Berlin states that unemployment in Germany is worse new i'r'i! -it any time since 1908. The i'ee'aikws sinie that there are 1, LkiO.-.KU) onempmved, hut a more conservative estimate is SuO.ooo. The demand i'or unemployment insurance is increasing. Herr Pelhruck states that statistic::! material for *n Imperial svst.'-i dees not exist, more iiv, r, i b.s Ge\ err.mont is oppoPed (o it be<-eure it would relieve the funds of Socialist Trade Unions and enable them to divert money to political y,v .!. G. Wilson, president of the New /icaismi Farmers' Union, i 3 very mnd.--s!. in .acknowledging a letter from (he ' r a.raneki Kxecutive of the Union, expressim, appreciation of the steps he k'ek £o kill the strike, he said: "Anylhii'g i did was of small eenseijuei-ce in comparison to the noble counsel of the farmers in responding t" a call, "f which 1 was only a vehicle to assist in restoring law ami order. ami leaving their hones a' an exec.-ding! y awkward time (e do re. The si; ike will, 1 hope. iivin; ik< iai-m v e'oser together. Th.o Asci of ihe mine; kebig in exist-et-ce wh'''h au>'" enabled llm fiery cross to 'v.- >■■;■.[ i a,r and near, was the real i'arPa:' to b" ihank fill for, and not nnyihm a \ w as able to do.*' The i oui i'.Aiimr m Taupo and the Hot. Lakes- districts bus proved very satisfaeierv ibis, season, according to •s repot i aa;de im a returned angler. He vats pa-i in lilarly pleased with the nshim: in Lakes Taupo and Tarawera, hut !he best sport as to be o'.iiaineii in the Wnikato river, near tempo. "be average daily bags ran from :.."> to 00, and the weight of the fish was from bib to 81b, according to the locality. The daily catch at 1 nke Tr-.np'.' h.-is boon about 50 and 60 fish, of an .average weight of 81b. Local r-skimns report (hat they have seen severs! bsh of" 101b weight, and ,;.-,,,. hue..'., an id one angler is reported to have hooked -and lost u giant trout which would have weighed nearly 201b.

The Prime Minister intendß ipending the New Year holidays in Auckland.

A shortage of hops is forecasted by the High Commissioner for New Zealand, who saya that growers in the Dominion can look forward wiih confidence to a good demand for any parcels th.iy may send forward. He !ii;„i; (.here is no doubt priceß v\iil be on a remunerative basis.

Som.' oni.m growers at Manakau are having c xtemely bad luck, a sort of blight having got into the bulbs. The first sign of is a bad rust which comes on the leaves, something like a snot, which after a Bhorfc time turns the leaves white, and then they start rotting right down into the bulb. The loss to the growers will be very considernbe, as they mode £l5O per acre Inst year.

It is probably not generally known what a deadly plant the ongaongß, or New Zealand nettle, is. remarks a contemporary. In appearance it is harmless-looking and rather pretty, growing in places to a height of eight ur ten feet. The underside of the loaf is thickly set with tiny hair-like spines, which contain a poison of a highly irritating character. These fine prickles penetrate the Bkin of a horse us well as that of the more sensitive human being and upon Eome animals they have a particularly painful effect. The ongaonga is more often found in the King Country bush in the Taranaki back country than anywhere else in New Zealand.

New Zealand, flays an English exchange bids fair to become the dairymaid of the Empire. She is now actually supplying butter and cheese to Canada where the population has outstripped the home Bupply. Consequently for the first time in sixty years Canada will send no butter to England. So we shall give our large orders to New Zealand, who already sends us about 35,0n0,0001bs of butter, with tons of cheese, which brings the yearly bill up to about £3,000,000 sterling. In addition, New Zealand also exports butter and cheese to South Africa. India, Fiji and the South Sea Islands, though the dairying industry began to be developed only 20 year 3 ago.

Many interesting facta are to be discovered in the pages of the New Zealand Year Book for 1913, which has just been ispued. The birth rate in 1912 was 26.48 per 1000 of the population, while the Commonwealth rate was 28.65 per 1000, and the German rate 29.8 per 1000 but the statistician records that New Zeaalnd "has actually (he highest rate of natural increase among the principal countries of the world, the Australian Commonwealth, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany coming next in order." The rates of infantile mortality in the chief centres in 1912 were 56.95 per 1000 births for Auckland, 61.32 for Wellington, 60.03 for Christchurch. and 38.11 for Dunedin. The figures BUggest that Dunedin has cause to be grateful for being the home of the Plunket nurses. The New Zealand rate of infantile mortality is 51 per 1000 births, compared with 107 for the Mother Country, 120 for France 170, for Germany, and 232 for Russia. During 1912 27,508 babies were born in the Dominion, so that the saving of young lives through the low death rate amounted to many hundreds.