NEAR AND FAR.

Manawatu Times, Volume LXV, Issue 1889, 7 April 1913, Page 7

NEAR AND FAR.

I The trades union officials in Auckland are anxious ro wait on the Hon. H. D. Bell, Minister of Internal Affairs, while in Auckland, and ask for some explanations of what is known as the "Johnson case." Johnson, it will be remembered,was shot in the leg during the Waihi strike. He was a leading witness for tlid o?oWii in the proceedings which followed. On a subsequent Saturday morning he went to the police station to collect expenses due to him as witness. That same evening he was en route to the Auckland Mental Hospital. His escape from the institution and his further action in procuring certificates from three leading medical men to the effect that he was sane are al ready known to the public. The Minister leaves Auckland for the Wairoa district to-day, but on his return it is hoped that a deputation will be successful in meeting him in regard to the matter.

J5 The Paris police are now in possession of a weapon that will materially aid them in the capture of criminals.

It was designed during the recent siege of ttie Bonnot motor bandits, and is in the form of a gun foi; firing a kind of bomb, which upon exploding, sends forth gases that will quickly overpower anyone whom they reach. The new weapon was used for the first time with highly successful results. A negro, who had suddenly gone mad, ran amok, brandishing a revolver and threatening to kill all who came near him. Detectives who were summoned to the house in which the affair happened, chased the black from rooja to room, firing one bomb after another at him. He was finally eornered near the roof of the house, and when taken away was in a state of semi-suffocation and quite powerless.

One of the most staggering statements in connection with the Yaldhurst camp is that an average of Sib of meat per man per day was provided, and yet some men complained of not having enough (says the Christchurch Press.) This certainly looks as if either there was waste or the young New Zealander eats more meat than is good for him. The English Tommy gets %lb of meat without bone per day, and appears to find it sufficient. Dr. Alexander Bryce, one of the leading authorities on dietics, informs us that members of the English middle classes eat 3%1b of meat or its allies per head per week, while those of the upper classes eat 561b. Doubtless this latter estimate includes waste, which is notoriously larger in the more well-to-do households. The greatest meat-eat-ing nation of the world is Australia, and in the opinion of Dr. Bryce, "it is probably more than a mere coincidence that this country has also the reputation of consuming per head more pills and potions for the relief of constipation than any other country in the world." Other authorities attribute the prevalence of rhumatism in these colonies to the-excessive amount of meat and tea consumed by the inhabitants.

A mission steamer as a medium for the expression of sentimental tribute is illustrated by the graceful action of the Southern Cross each time she enters the port of Auckland in dipping her flag when opposite the old mission station at Kohimraama. It is doubtless an act of veneration in memory of the founder (the late Bshop Selwyn), but probably one of thankfulness also for safe return from the perils of stormy seas and savage shores. The Southern Cross is now on one of her periodical visits to Auckland.

The question as to whether a Masonic Lodge building should be rated at its full capital value came before Mr E. C. Cutten, S.M., at the sitting of the Auckland Assessment Court. It was in respect to the Eden Lodge, Upper Queen Street. The objectors argued that it was a semi-charitable institution, and contended that they therefore did not get the same returns from the hall as if it were a business premises. The valuation was, however, sustained.

A live year old son of Mr George Dryburgh, foreman of the stables of Bacchus Marsh Milk Company, Sydney, was rescued from a box, the lid of which closed on him, after having been imprisoned for two hours. The child wandered away in the afternoon, and his nonappearance at tea time til led his parents with deep concern. Mr Dryburgh made an 'exhaustive search in the western end of the city, but could glean no tidings of his sor. It was a luckv thought that prompted Mr Dryburgh to go into the stables, jfor on entering the yard he heard a noise as of someone knocking. Running to one of the company's wagons, he located the sounds in a box. He called out, and received the reply, in muffled tones, like those of a ventriloquist, "I'm in the box, Daddy " The poor little boy was in a pitiable condition when he was taken out of the box. His face was streaming with perspiration, and he was unable to ; stand.

Following the inquiry into the I Titanic disaster, the English Board * of Trade revised its regulations for j the preservation of life at sea. These new English rules recently came to New Zealand, and the Marine Department is having them reprinted, with a view to revising the New Zealand regulations. The department's experts from all parts of the Dominion will be called to consult with the secretary, Mr Allport, and in all probability the proposed draft will be forwarded to the shipowner's and seamen's organisations before final adoption. ! The English rules require a subi stantial addition to the boat accorn- ! modation on ships. In regard to ships running on short excursions j launched before the end of last i month, the English rules will allow | them to run with approved buoyant ! apparatus for . r )0 per cent of the pasj sengers carried until January, I ( .>JK, I a fter which they must provide for ! the full complement. It does not, iof course, follow that a similar course will be exactly taken here.

While tin 1 position of Mr Justice Edwards in Auckland remains wholly unaffected and he will remain 'there as the senior judge in

charge of the district. Mr Justice Cooper is also now stationed in Auckland, and he will participate in the work at Auckland and at the circuit towns attached to Auckland.

Both judges are now, in a sense, resident at Auckland, but the work of the circuit towns and of the Court of Appeal will preclude the possbility of there a judge always present in Auckland. The arrangement thus made is precisely the same as that Wfrich prevails in. Wellington, where, until the recent inauguration, three judges—the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Cooper, and Mr Justice Chapman—have been stationed, and the Chief Justice and Mr Justice Chapman are still stationed. No other arrangement is possible under the existing judicial system.

The Administrator of the Northern Territory (Dr. J. A. Gilruth) arrived in Sydney last week. The present, he explained to a pressman, was an opportune time for him to leave the Territory. The end of the wet season was approaching, and he considered it would be better fox him to make his trip south before the dry season set in, when there would be much more activity in every branch of industry. He had experienced both wet and dry seasons in the Territory, and had never been in better health in his life. The Government must face the fact that large sums must be exiStended in opening up a great country like the Territory and bringing it to a productive stage. It was the first attempt made in the history of the Empire to develop a tropical country with white labour, and he was more firmly convinced than ever that there was nothing in the character of the soil or climate to prevent the "White Austialia" ideal being carried out there. The farming experiments, so far as they had gone in the short time they had been at work, had given satisfactory results. The only drawback to rapid progress was lack of proper communication, which would be overcome in due time. He had strong faith in the future of the Territory; indeed he believed that it would eventually become one of the leading and most prosperous parts of the Commonwealth. As to the site of the Territory's future capital, he said it was important, whatever area was chosen, that it should be secured without delay. Bitter Spring was the centre point of the best land, and there was a very fine supply of spring water there.

Karangahape road Auckland, is to be paved in permanent material. The City Oouncil is being asked to decide between two tenders—that of the Neuchatel Asphalte Company, for asphalting, and that of Messrs Murphy and Wilson, for paving in jarrah blocks. It is understood that the Works Committee is of the opinion that the grade of the road is not favourable to the use of asphalt. On the western side of the thoroughfare it will be necessary to have a considerable slope from the centre of the road to the footpath/ because of the low building line on that side. The Works Committee will, therefore, recommend to the Council that the work be carried out in West Australian jarrah. It is believed that the price for the work runs into a little over £20,000. The permanent paving will be carried out the whole length of Karangahape road, from Symonds street to Ponsonby road, and, aa the contract time specified is seven months, the successful tendering firm will have to start work immediately.

A resident of Auckland has received a letter from America asking for particulars regarding "a great earthquake that occurred at Wellington on the 26th of February last,'' his reason for writing being that he had a brother in "the afflicted city." The writer enclosed a cutting from an American newspaper with a big double-column heading: "Many Injured in Great New Zealand Earthquake." The report is dated Wellington, New Zealand, February 26th, and reads as follows: "With a report as of artillery discharged, ~a heavy earthquake shook this city to-day terrorising the inhabitants, shaking down chimneys and damaging many houses. Nobody was killed, although many were cut by the falling bricks from the toppling chimneys. The shock was the severest ever felt in New Zealand."