WEEKLY WHISPERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 21 October 1911, Page 9

WEEKLY WHISPERS.

/' there's a hole i>i a*.your coats, I rede ye tent it; '- A ehiel's among yc notes, And : fait A, he 11 prent it. . . ' —Burns

There have been persistent and ing rumours that the hoop or crinoline of mid-Victorian days is about to be ■re-established for feminine wear, 'and drapers tell us that the h-id-eosiiy is coming as surely as to-morrow's dawn. That is as majf be; but it- is .beyond question that a wider skirt is- already being worn, as al sort of reaction against the hobble. An outcome of the fashion change is that the . almost discarded petticoat is returning to favour, and the garment is said to be rejoicing at the prospect of th-a removal of the feit-ters which .-for so many months have made th-a spectacle of a- woman trying to .climb into a tramoar > a sight to make the angels weep. But petticoats have never really gone out of fashion however much they may have been restricted. A show-room authority says that they have simply 'been transformed from the hitherto rather voluminous affair of flounce's and frills and. lace to a. narrow garment of much simplicity, albeit of the.simplicity that is generally more costly than elaboration. They are very narrow, and made of fine lawu or muslin, trimmed witn little, though gocd, lace. But more often still they ; are of the softest satin or thin silk..

The comments rf tne London "Sportsman" criticising .Arnst, the champion sculler, for asking big expenses to go to England to .meet Barry may be all very well from the British-point of view ; but it is pretty cool to expect a champion to go chasing a challenger. Arnst's side is very well and fairly put by ""-Rigger," a writer of Aquatic Notes in the Sydney "Telegraph," .who says.:— "That it is Barry's place to come out to Australia, there is no." question. Even if Arnst had no attractions .here in the -of , money-making occupations lie ■would haye the right to make a challenger jgo "wherever ■he desired to race, or elsej do without a, race. .As it is- he 'states he;: would " lose a considerable amount of money if he went, and no man. no. matter w-hat. chances of. success he may-have-,-ig justified .in asking a champion to throw up all this-for the purposp oi meeting the challenger's^.con-. •vemenee-without remunerating', him. to that extent that he- would.- be jOjuit of pocket. ,In these circumstances Barry 'should clearly--come l out to Australia. So faiMas-hefhimself is concerned, he-would ■ not be the loser' financially, ; and probabilities, are that- he would- return better off than -he arrived;' here, -whether he was 'successful, in ; ; the. match or not. They ■•would-;be almost sure to ,get .a £IOOO gate-,-and an- equal division of this would 'be £SCO each,.besideswhich he would.be 'allowed, a reasonable/amount of expenses from Arnst; If it could possibly be. managed, he should come here. He cahn~t reasonably, expect Artist, to go over [thei'e after going to-the Zambesi to meet his■ convenience. If the money- Ibeingraised in 'England now to bring about a match between Arnst and Barry.on the, Thames does, not reach the . amount, then it ought to be handed oyer to Barry to supply. his stake and .some expenses to cover His trip to- -Australia,, together -with those of his trainer,, whoever 'he anight be." ■/• ■ * * * » ■»

Eroof is forthcoming thai .. "coming 'events cast their shadows before." with regard to the.- downfall of the Lauvier. •Government as tjiie.- result of the- Canadian elections. Passing through Canada during the el'ectoral ..campaign, Senator, -Lance, of ■ South Africa, says lie was 'Hruck, by .the curicus apathy- with which . th«. ex-Prims Minister of the Dominion was. received at'his big Quebec election : meeting. The meeting was large, and P-->n;prised mostly of .French people, who arei generally regarded-Wi. excitable of disposition.:! But'there "was.an utter -lackqf enthusiasm.-, - ThePe-'did : not-ge)e(m. 7 -to' „be -miich. Ij.ostiHt.y; , 'but '.the which might hav T e-been ©xpected for a Vman' holding the: position of-,£ir Wilfrid Laurier was quite /ahseh|t.; J in Canada. Senator'TLarieft noticed. considerable interest in the election.;. The quea;tipn -of reciprocity'Jin;trade vfith' ; v the .United States and the" imperial, question.', of course, were bis- factors, aiid the rejsult of the election explained the cool''ness of the ex-Prime 'Minister's l-efcep-'■tioii. • '' i--

: '. t ■ ■ '■ Most farmers and. gardeners have no. u.S6> ; for the Cantor Oil plant. ApaH ; fronQts .'noxious-mess as' a. spreading 1 p!a.n.t-d'evQiu;ri;ng weed; ■ai'n^.' ; iits''associa-' > lotions .with thi, treSHleV trials of ' ju-yenali-ty,; and . the doctor's visits,; it ' covers, a.lot of ground and deprives grain flp\ver~s:>rid fruity alike of, s paten arid e. .An , apologist' for trie weed- has been found' in Australia, "however: ; The:,local goyern--ing/b'ediies thi-ougho.uit Rivea-ine (N.S.W.V I -have been urging /that-it'he .proclaimed \ noxious,, but- an Inspector" of "Agriculture claims that .in droughts it has vsav-, ed the lives of sheepj and .that>tne ani-. .mals gab to lilce" it' i ohd-- : ;tHriv€ i.t.' He says,l -in the ; y ''jsevr.' South' Wales Agricultural- the Macquarie;{Flats, in the Duhbo district, .thys' p] ani..'was the .pr^dbminan'tVv«getation : many years ago. first frost k,j begins to die,^and-it- was then that Mr.'' ;vv.Oßaird turned 1100. welthers into aibbut 90. aeries'. At first the sheep;. would -iiot '.touch the castor, oil, l»ut ultimately fattened- :^*ift4irii' ■The:', mutton/was slightly .tainted', ■- tout the flesh was of good colour.vi Three- yearsj vago-.Mr.Ba.ird' oii ( eaiiiei•jPiecie of land. The prickles, on the, pods ; of; the plants become ••yery Soft' after they yha.vie; .been frosted, and the seeds were ' 'what.'the sheep ■ particularly relished', though.,',they;a.liso -aitelthje- wilted leaves'." Imagine mutton.with the taste of Castor Oil I That alone. shWld. be a sufficient reason, ibr, extermination. Bxift i n the, New South' Wales Western, districts many curious -weeds > 'are "allowed• t<> gi'oiv,' because in... tirnf they are. edible by stock. .Thja& ,:. in, and , around Bsibhurst there,are .Scotch-Thistles-'hsalf as tall again, as a .ma,n x pecupying ~,.vast.-. "paddocks,' arid rid- one cuts- them down.! I'lestl they might be wanted in /the'''dry", weather- " •'.'..'

. An interesting personality ; pa.ssed away recently in .thto death o/f. Mr .Henry'. Bi-oacUrurs'fc, a,' former BnglisMSl.P/ He was a \veH-kncw : n -Larbouxite. -.■ -.As a young man. he worked-, first: in A black-, sowth's shop, andTateir, at "the "trade of a .--.tonemason. . In. 1875 he became secret • tary of the Labour E;epresentative.League-, and afiter\\-a'rdsj>yas ' elecied tary of the Parliamentary Ccimniittee of the Trades Union Congress, from which' he resigned in 1890, owing tip; ill-health. He was the PariJaimentaTy•representative for Stoke-upon-Treht in* 1885-6. sat for Bordesley, in- .and foir Nottingham , from 1886 ,t0,'1892: and' in ' 188.6, was' Under-iSecre.tary 'of State for the. Homaf Department. ' ;-•.•','.

Soeni interesting- reminiscences .. wore recounted during the recent Staino Col lector's' Conference inLAhMr'aliaj 'Fat-in-stance, ifc .was pointed but-b\{. the . Neiv South. Wales Deputy. Postmister-Geheral that for the first 23 years, after the foun-. dation of the colony, there was- "in*/-'re-' gular post office, although as early as 1803 aran-erementre existedfor the conveyance of letters between Sydriev and Barraimatta. by- boatmen, subject . to a charge of 2d a letter. e#cept\ those on Government service, wbicfy were oarried. free. In conseouence, however, of irregularities which occurred -in iconnection with letters -arriving ->by : ;-vcsFels.-. Gover-■-nor Ma-cquarieV 'with ':s\, .yiejyjtq the. ,Erene--> ral ■oi 'the - inha'bitahis. issuer a.'n\ : order fbi* the, .establishiment of a regular post : office "iii>.the "town" of

Sydney, and- an office- was accordingly eaitahlished on June 23. 1.810, in Highatreet, near Queen's Wharf', (now Lower G-eorge-stre&t.) under the charge of Mr. I-?aac Nichols-; ,His remuneration' waV derived^.fro-m'the amounitfi he was allowed t-o collect oil correspondence delivered; the-'names of-Dersons. for whom letters and parcels were ajvaiting delivery being published in the "Gazette." Stamps, of course'. were uhknciw.n, charges as .mentioned being collected on delivery, > and this arrangement con'tiim'ed for several 'years. In 1838, however, a letter -sheet, bearing ,-ari embossed, stamp,,was■ issued for transmission, without extra charge, within the "town" of Sydney. These sheets were sold at each, or Is 3d a dozen, and their intro-duction-constituted New South Wales as the first country in -the world to adopt pre-.payme.ri.t- of ipostanre- by stamps! though adlhesive postage stamps oame into, use in the United Kingdom two years later.

The T6ma.vka.ble growth of post-office, work and revenue was also mentioned. Takm c New South. Wales as typical of the other Australian Colonies, and beim' the oldest, in 1629, 20 years after the fiiwt. pos-t-office was established; only 15.396 letters were carried—compared with 129,000.000 last year. In 1838 the total employees in the D'epartment, numbered 15. including the PostmasterGeneral, whereas in 1910 the. number w--*s> 7362. exclusive of. mail contractors and mail porters. . From £s9B'in 4828 the revenue increased to £1.506'.021 ; last, year, and the number of posit-'offices'have gone from sight in 1828 to 1911 in 1910 Kv&n. since iC-55 there has been vast expansion, for.hi that vear the pos'ta.o-e Ptam.ps sold realise, . r ], oir ]y £26.476, whereas last i-ear the amount was £1.152 692 AIOFUSSILITJfi.