In the Far East.

Manawatu Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 7900, 6 January 1904, Page 2

In the Far East.

All is suspense and conjectnre. A lot of wise newspaper ' people are telling, us about, the plan of campaign, how many ' battleships are within striking distance, and how many Russians there are in Manchuria; what the Chinese intend to do is, and a lot of more or less valuable and precise details. Yet, after a great, vast strenuous Dutspill-of ink we know nothingj save that the position is ominous, that big .and far-reaching issues are involved, and that it requires but an accidental spark to produce an explosion big enough to shake the earth. As we see it, : Bussia seems to stand alone. -Some obscure Frenchman has toasted the entente cordiale and sung "possibly a post prandial marsellaise, but French opinion remains unuttered, The Germans—even orator Emperor William—are silent. The Americans guess and calculate that the little brown man is kicking the right tramp; England gives open countenance to her ally; China seems to favor her former foe; Canada and Australia have shown their partiality in the customary way by offering braves for battle. But though we know much,- ail >-«we know is not a circumstance compared with the plentiful lack of knowledge of all save those sapient editors who are blest with second sight. The issues are fairly well defined. Nought now remains but to await results.

The first term of the Craven School for 1904 will begin on Wednesday, February 8.

The purchasers of agricultural machinery are expert judges of the best mechanical devices, and this is why the McCormicks are such enormous sellers.*

There are at present employed on the North Island Main Trunk railway about 950 men—soo at the southern end, and 450 at the northern end.

The Mile-a-Minute Blue Streak Tribune Bicycles have arrived. Prices from £20. Clarkson's.*

Mr C. E. Read, Ohao, is the winner of the extra Id per lb given by Messrs W. Dimock and Co., Wellington, for the best quality pigs delivered at their factory for the week ending 2nd January, having secured 89 points.

A young man named Ambrose Davy, of Kairanga, while shearing out at Bulls, ran a blade of his shears into the outside of his thigh, inflicting a nasty, though not serious, wound. He was brought into the hospital last night.

The San Francisco Chronicle speaks rather regretfully of the fact that in the world's production of gold the United States has changed places with Australia, the latter having attained the first position with 81,578,800 dollars worth to its credit, against 80,000,000 dollars as America's output for a year.

The new Government laboratory at Wallaceville, which is to replace the institution in Sydney-street, is now practically completed, although it is not yet ready for the accommodation of the Chief Veterinarian and his staff. Ho provision has yet been made for the housing of stock sent there for experimental purpose?, or for housing the officers of the Department.

Messrs Leopold Simmons and A. Bennet waited on the Borough Council last night and urged a remission of the by-laws to enable additions to premises to be made in timber instead of brick. The matter was referred to the Public Works Committee.

The Council will meet again on Friday.

The Kia Ora inquiry will be com menced at Gisborne to-morrow.

The committee of the Racing Club will meet at the Royal Hotel to-night at 8 o'clock.

The latest additions to the telephono exchange are : Nos. 245, Walter Strang, Awapuni; and 121 racecourse.

Six pens of fowls have "arrived in Sydney from America to represent the United States in the next'international egg-laying competition.

The automatic weighing machine at the Dannevirke railway station was opened the other morning, and as the result of about three weeks' operations it contained 933 coppers, to say nothing of sundry nails, lead washers, etc.

A crowded house greeted the raising of the curtain at the theatre last night to witness that ever popular pioduction " Bobbery under Arms." The piece, which was splendidly mounted and played, kept the audience intensely interested throughout, and tho various acts were punctuated by frequent applause.

Fish were very "plentiful in Napier waters before the rain last week. One of the small boats one day caught over 400 bundles, after five hours' fishing, whilst more than that number was reported by one of the larger boats. Two men, in a small boat, fishing with linos came ashore with considerably over one hundred large fish, principally schnapper and kingfish.

Mr W. Devaney, the Secretary of the Taranaki Saw Millers' Association, is seriously affected in health, owing to his having contracted a form of tuberculosis while milking. The disease Ims attacked his right hand, and a local paper states that the -medical men whom lie lately consulted at New Plymouth have advised him that unless the hand and forearm are operated upon immediately there mav be some danger to his life.

The blackbird has now been declared an injurious bird, but the Governor-in-Council has declined to declare the thrush and lark injurious birds. We (Carterton Observer) are not intimately acquainted with the thrush, but the dear little Jark will cat up a field of young rape, pull out young onions by the yard, and destroy the plants of peas as fast as they appear above ground. We know the lark 1 His only merit is his song; aud farmers think they pay too much for his whistle 1

A somewhat important arrest was mas made at Motupiko, Nelson, yesterday in connection with a man calling himself Cripps. charged with stealing £7 from an employer m mad Drummond. After a long cluue on ihe hills a clever capture was effected at the point of the revolver. It then transpired that Cripps is a man named Madigan, against whom a warrant has been out since 1892 for the alleged theft of JG36 from the Hastings Post Office.

The bush and swamp lands in the Wellington district are being opened for selection under the provisions of the Act passed last session—the Bush and Swamp Crown Lands Settlement Act— under which the payment of rent is postponed for four, three, or two years, according to whether the land is heavy bush, light bush^ or swamp land. In addition, the tenants have immunity from local taxation' for the same period. This applies to bush and swampland already opened, as well af that to be opened. = v

Some little time ago a local appeared in columns of a contemporary reminding those interested that a dispute as to the speed of two certain horses would be decided on the sea boach the following Sunday morning. The appearance of the notification in that journal formed tha subject or text of a sermon in the local church, and so emphatic was the preacher in his denunciation of Sabbath hack racing that he threw the paper down on the floor of his pulpit in the presence of the congregation and jumped on it.

Mr Seddon's secretaries have, been amusing themselves writing and despatching Christmas and New Year good wishes over the Right Hon. gentleman's signature to Mayors and Chairmen of local bodies, from North Cape to .the Bluff* Of course the Premier did not piy either for the secretaries' labour or for the wires. Words, empty tfor&s, but good self advertisements. If for each wire the royal sender had had to find a shilling out of his own fob would the wires have been sent ? Not much J —Pahiatua Herald. ; .

At the inquest on Alfred Charles Kin" zett, farmer, of Konini, near Pahiatua' who was recently reported to have cut his throat with a butcher's knife, the Verdict was Suicide while Temporarily Insane. The evidence shows the act to have been a most determined one. Deceased went out in the early morning to milk tho cows, and a few minutes afterwards his wife found him on the floor of his storeroom covered with blood. She got a towel and tried to stop the bleeding, but he pulled it away. She told her fourteen-year-old son to take away the knife, which was lying on the floor. Immediately Kinzett snatched up the knife, and the son got hold of it and tried to pull it away. Pushing the boy away, the desperate man again slashed his throat and fell dead. Deceased was a temperate man, lived happily with his family, and had no pecuniary difficultiesi

Last week Mr A. L. D. Fraser, mem ber for Napier, telegraphed to Mr Seddon, embodying a Northampton firm's recognition of New Zealand's patriotic action in encouraging British trade. Acknowledging the telegram, the Premier said;—" The business letter from Northampton to the Napier merchant is-very cheering, : and proves that at last they are waking up at Home. So far results are satisfactory, and in some lines the Act of last session will certainly divert the trade to the Mother Country. On arrival at Greymouth this morning I received a cable message from Mr Chamberlain conveying good wishes. It's very pleasing to me, as it must be to you and to all well-wishers, to observe that widespread prosperity obtains, and the business people in all parts say this is the record Christmas for business. The outlook for the new year is also very good."

As an instance of the difficulty that sawmillers now have to contend with in getting their timber, Messrs McGregor Bros, are erecting a sawmill on the top of one of the high ranges abore Linton. There is enough rium, nmtai, and other timber to keep this mill working for 10 years or so. Most of the logs will have to be trammed over a mile to the mill, and the sawn timber will be conveyed in a similar way to the railway station, but instead of following the tedious course of the road down the side of the hill these enterprising millers are laying tho rails straight down a spur to the plain below. Although the outlay in erecting the mill and laying trams will run into a considerable amount of money, the owners are satisfied that, owing to the high prices ruling in the timber market, they will be amply repaid for their expenditure. One of the greatest difficulties to be overcome was that of hauling tho engine and boiler from the railway station to the top of the range, which took over a week. Mr E. McGregor has commenced the erection of another sawmill a short distance from the one mentioned.

We are informed by one of the princip ll settlers in the Manawatu district who has a large area of land under cultivation, that the crops this season will prove to be a most serious failure owing to the prevalence of rust which has appeared in almost every grain field in the Manawatu. In previous years the crops affected were few and far between, and in the Sandon district the pest' was practically unknown. With forward crops there is some chance of saving some of the "grain and converting the straw into chaff, but of the late crops in almost every case nothing will be saved. Several farmers have already turned their stock into the crops. One instance could be mentioned where a field of 300 acres has been rendered utterly useless and there was no alternative but to convert it into a grazing run. . Similar complaints come from the Wairarapa, Rangitikei, Wanganui and Taranaki districts, and indeed the greater portion of the North Island under crop. It is predicted that the scarcity of chaff in consequence of this failure will be widely felt in the near future. No steps have been taken by the Government to assist in any degree to mitigate the evil or to keep the farmers posted up with the latest methods of dealing with this scourge. Many of our farmers fortunately have other sources to fall back on, such as dairying, etc., but in the Sandon district many of the settlers rely on the harvesting, so that the present prevalence of rust among their crops will mean a very serious matter to them, indeed to the wJbole community.

Wanted—An ideal tonic for strengthen ing the hair, destroying dandruff, and giving it a soft glossy appearance. Hendy's Egg Julep, large bottles Is. Obtainable only from KftYauah's, Sole Agent. - A^y{,

An inset, containing Mr Grove's cash price list, appeaj-3 in this issue.

The Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times telegraphs :—" It turns out that Mr Elliot, the chief steward of tho Monowai, had only half of the ticket on Bridegroom which secured the first place in Tattersall's sweep on tho Sydney • Summer Cup, the other half being held by a Chinese vegetable vendor at Hobarfe. The lucky pair divide about £3000.

Under the direction of the Roads Dcpartni.'p.t, Mr Joseph Dawson is making good progress with a large suspension bridgo over the Ruamahunga river, near Mount Bruce. This will be the first bridge of the kind erected in this part of the North Island. It is constructed according to the design of Mr G. F. Robinson, and when completed will be one of tho best and most serviceable bridges in the district. The bridge will be finished and ready for opening about the end of February, and it will then enable settlers in the Eketahuna district to reach Masterton with their stock much more easily than at present, and in half tho time. The Mount Bruce road will to a large exf"'^ tnke the place of tho old provincial ioau, ilio heavy traffic along which is now performed by the railway.

A few farmers, chiefly in the Carterton district, are turning their attention to alfalfa, which is well known as. the grass upon which the flocks and herds of tho Argentine have made such wonderful progress. Very small pieces of ground have beetf put down, but results hare been very satisfactory (says the Post). In some cases where the seed was put down two months ago there is now a growth of 10 or 12 inches, bushy and succulent. Where alfalfa is grown under favourable circumstances it has been known to crop as much as 15 tons to the acre for the season, four cuttings having been made in some cases. That stage has not been reached in the Wairarapa, but a start has been made, and the best results are hoped for. If attention is paid to this grass and farmers do their share of the work, the Premier's idea of " one cow to the aero " will be realised. To compete with Siberia and the Argentine it is important that the farmers should increase the carrving capacity of their land, as well as" the quality of their stock. "They must mako one acre feed the cow," said one alfalfa believer, " and they can do it."

The question of the morgue came before the Borough Council again last night in the form of a rider from the jury in the recent drowning case, urging the Council to proceed with its erection atonco. Cr Jack moved that the communication bo received ; but Or Johnston, said the whole thing was'a disgrace, and should bo dealt with without delay. Cr Jack then moved that the morgue be erected in the .cemetery. One or two of the councillors who had previously supported the pound site " ratted,!' and spoke up strongly for the motion, but, after a spirited debate, the pound site motion was reaffirmed by fire votes to four. Thereupon Crs Jack, Haydon, Armstrong,- and Tolley followed a couree which has become customary of late, and abandoned tho Chamber, leaving the Mayor and Crs Goodger, Johnston, France, and Essex to transact the business. As soon as they discovered that a quorum remained which had determined to carry out the business and open the morgue tenders, the lobbyists returned. It was then fqnnd- that, out of the'three tenders received, two were informal for lack of deposit, and one was over JBIOO above the estimate. The Councillors who were attending to the business, decided to call for fresh-tenders for a mortuary alone, it being pointed"out that inquests could be held in the Court-house in the vicinity.

Naturally great speculation exists as to what China will do in the.event of a war between Japan and Eussia. In this connection a recent writer says:—There is just a possibility that Jiussian speculations as to the part that China will play in-the trouble, if it comes, are based on false assumptions. Japanese influence in China has been steadily increasing ever siriee the allies withdrew iri-1901.: Drill instructors,, mining and railway engineers, professors, and so forth, have been streaming into China from Japan for the past two years. The affinity of the two races must be taken into account, and it may, safely be assumed that if Chiria does not like Japan more, she likes Eussia less. In other words, she might "not unlikely range herself alongside the islanders in orderto try: and pay-off a few of the scores.,she, owes Eussia. Under Japanese and other foreign .instruction, - the Chinaman has besn licked into shape, and he will ba able to give a much better account of himself than' on previous occasions. Should China ally herself with Japan the Bussian lines of communication could- hardly be kept open, and consequently no reinforcements could reach the Bussian garrison at Port Arthur along the railway, which would in all probability be crumpled up in turn. There is also a possibility, even if there is no official intervention on the part of China, that the wild bandits who infest the country north of the Great Wall willseizethe opportunity to harry the Eussian garrison.