NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10319, 19 December 1896, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The City of Auckland Municipal accounts for the half-yoar emiod September 30 have beau published. Detailed balance-sheets are not, as a rule, abaorbiug reading, but the ratepayer who strenuously sots himself to the task of point? through these accounts will be repaid by many interesting items of information. For instancy ha will learn that tho city derives from various licenses the handsome income of nearly £3000, and that the much-execrated tax on "bikes" increased the Treasurer's receipts by £11, which is nearly three times ns much as private carts pw> bub it is merely a circumstance when compared with the £78 contributed in the shape of dog fees. The lending department of tho Public Library continues to grow in popular favour, aq is evidenced by the subscriptions, which amounted to £99 for the half.year. In thai same period the fines realised £11, while jit says much for the care taken of the books lent that those lost only camo to the value of 16a. The income derived from a public cemetery is not, perhaps, a matter for unalloyed satisfaction, but) it) may be mentioned nevertheless that the receipts from Waikomibi reached dose upon £200. This is nob, far short of the amount derived from the Domain, in spite of its pleasanter surroundings and associations. The Crickeb ground is not yeb self-supporting, for, while £148 were spent upon it, only £91, were received in the shape of fees, etc. !,

Turning to the expenditure for the half year, we notice thab the fresh and saltwater baths cost over | £200, while the receipts from them wero only £42, The carrying out of the Dog Act involved an outlay of £51, while the Whole receipts did not) come to much more; than the amount spent in feeding the captured canines. j The Fire Brigade and General Fire Prevention Department was responsible for £437, 1 which can scarcely . be denounced as extravagant, while the) Public Health cost .£l4O, over £160 la-is than the Public Parks. To keep the two Public Clocks lighted cost £28, and the attendance over £18 more. The street lighting amounted to £6/1. The sum of £217: was spent oq tar £95 on horses (exolusive of £169 for horsefeed), £30 on bruahware,; the same on harness, etc., and £27 on and street) planting." I' '■

The Annual Office' Reports have also been, issued. » From ' these"wo cull the following facts and figuresDuripg the year 40,00*) : ":■ " -.fr '■ r

perSona . visited the Art Gallery; . 30,000 Visited tjio freshwater baths, and 34,000 thp saltwater baths; 496 burials took place jfc Waikoiioifci; there are 21 drinking taps, and' 16 horse troughs in the borough, supplied 'il&jirrtff"few of nfe'jlf m pigljiipp have bgon added to the Aft fellery dyriqg fW ' m'i' ft 'Wflff Library contains 7014 volumes, vyhjle $8 genera} stopk gf. ijoqJja now nuipkera 32,889; the dongtipqs for t|ie ypar to 31)2 yplumea and 89 pamphlets; during tjifl year jp volumes were froti) tjip Reference Library, one of them being, curiously enough, a book entitled, " Rofjulatiops for Convict JMaflasgjn.ent f fiction continue! to be in most favour with sub-; acfibprs to thp Lending Library, ' fO.OOJ) novels having been issued as against 418 works on Theology gnd 433 on Arts and Trade? ( the Fire Briga.cjp recoiy.ed 63 ci>|{p for fires or supposed fires dyeing the year ; tljo inajorjty' 'of t|;§ grog were causcd through carelessness; total insiirapce on Gildings in which fires occurred, £16,665; amount paid. £1758; totijJ ijjsqrjitice op c_Qgfceuts, £14,j)4!); aiiioui),t pai,d £2064; number gf cjwbh§ vitfjjp thq cify 409, being a decrease of 28 compared with thfl previous year; number of birtjis, 8.88 ; 76,000 plants wefp planted out in thp Albert iterk during the yaar; 25,190 animals were slaughtered at the abattoirs; there are registered dairymen and 60 milk vendors; there are 408 registered bicycles, 804 private carts, 268 carta plying for hire, 171 hackney carriages, and 33 trap} care; total quality of water pumped from Western Springs for the year, 650,188,000 gallons; the consumption gi water was 25,360,000 gallon? in excess of the previous year.

A severe earthquake shook has beep experienced over a largo extent of England, principally on the north-west coast. No serious damage appears to have been done, but tha shocks were in many places severe and continuous and occasioned great alarm, Earthquakes in England are not, in epite of the pqpn|ar notion, particularly rare occurrences, The first recorded one happened in 1089 and was felt throughout the Kingdom. Fifty-three yeare lifter a viqlent shppk was experienced at Lincoln, and in 1268 the village of Glastonbury in Somerset was destroyed. In 1318 the greatest shock known occurred, and ii) 1580 part of St. Paul's in London was destroyed by an earthquake. Shocks >vprq also recorded in 1690, in 1750, and in 1755, the year of the great earthquake in Lisbon. Since then slight shocks have been felt in 1860,1868, and 1871, and even later. The present one, however, appoars to have boon the fpet extensive and severe that has occurred for nearly three centuries. The revolt of the Druses has been g(ip? pressed. The rebels in Go? are still troublesome, T|iey attached and packed t|ip Treasury. The situation in the Philippine Islands is serious. The rebellion there {a spreading. Some of the Spanish troops have mutinied. At the Dingaan's Day gathering of Boers President Krugpr said the Republic, which owed its liberty to God, was desirous of entertaining goodwill to the British, ft ja gathered from a speed) by Lord George Hamilton, that concerted action is about to be taken by the Powers, led by England, to stop misrule in Turkey, Baron de (Jourcel, the French Ambassador in London, resigned, it is said, begausq of the hopelessness of attempting to solve the questions at issue betweep France find England,