TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 3942, 6 January 1900, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

ABOUT A BOARD

The heard system seems to he ge(« iug itself, es'badly liked in New Koulh Wide, as in. Victoria (says the Melbourne “Age”). In Sydney they haver.hat called an “lixport Produce Board,” v.'ho«c doings and misdoings arc at present before the public in the shape of charges on the one hand and defences on the other, 'through. the press. The concluding pangraph in reply to the chairman of the board,Ajy jl£r H. x’ateson, well known in Near South Wales produce circle, indicates the tendency of the di.-cio-dci;. ■‘Bet us look,” this critic writes, ‘lor a moment at its most recent action! Ai; .tno beginning of the Transvaal trouble the board busied itself with getting quotations from firms for liuet. '.cnic which could, and many mors that could notj be profitably exported from ii ydne; About the only line—preserved muttir:—that business was promised in, and in which quotations were furnished, r.e: - ’ immediately disclosed by the hoard. A cable iras sent by the Premier and d"information given in confidence jnildi .!■- ed in the papers. The manage* - ef i 'u>> Sydney Meat Preserving Company, m terviewed upon tie matter, said iha' such action of the board tended to eb-

r. true I mtjier than to facilitate business. Tli!! I. v ■; only four reeks ago ; and said by (he i,i?na!'!.;’ •>< ■■■!; institution that is maintained by ’ * hr (•u-Joralials of tJio iiD.iinjv ■ : i 1,1 > in )(r>.clu<;ers’ interests. 31 mid ■; tbs i-s'il, djno by the board is done ):•••<• for tbs lo.v speculators who l;a> advantage of this most imiuriu.4itul lou. When Urn in-:;iibev, ol the boon* do all tlioir busiin’s. I b 11 , ;i'.;b tbs bo-tvd. v. ben the board i'a,‘- • b v. »y; '.'•bi.H i.Jio board doesn’t <jri!) t,r.!c- 1I. <:u' I b-.i i u. * rommunii ■>' u;u-; a'i'l ;vI).;U i In-, board ‘does burion- i: ~ i■ t;■<i{b-tt'T asid more pro-jil-ibly 1 ;iu;i a.oyom- t b:e in 1 lie CODlinuiii--1 v, ’ ib.-e, it i ; ; sul■■!)if ;■ ed. tiie board may lows ■ <■ njs bl■ • !iit Is ; ay (or itself but <>! bei-'vi .<•. its ;il)ob ( ! 'ii rv urged in ibe imblii; iIT.. cheat air-ship. Major bed..,, I'-,v eil in a report to Uio lai'M i i: I v.iii- antnorit ics, describing a \ i it i o I be d;n:i-. yard' in v, bieii a-German air-,-,bin ..visa being i on-.t rinded, says : - - "i n-ii'i immensely inijnvowd on entering a great vrooden building erected on a floating ra ( l, !<i see v.hfl. appeared to bo Ibe iilend -r : k-'le.lon of a huge vessel. This ad appears as big a a the most puwcviV.l bat I b'-riup. but was const ruet<*i! of ■ neb <! • ■ I i i ■; i < e material an to suggi ■ ■ a ■-( ap-ndons bird cage. This, which r made eatnely of aluminium. is Ibe IVamev.-oi-li on which Ibe outer skill v. ill 1,-. si retcb'..b Inside a nnnibor of la i,.,.;.' balloons vri! 1 b- {daeed. Undcrnrai.li a; e a gailei v ami ears, ail made of alumininni., There are also engines which, it is bope.-l, vr.ll drive the vessel through the air at a speed of 22 miles an hour. lln I olid lifting capacity of the air-dibi ' v; 11 (/■ a lion I I 1 ') tom., which h saiibeie*:i' vr it to carry enough stores and ballad io remain in I lie ai r for some d y, ;. v tlioir and pounds sterling have bet a '.pan.' by I lie commission, v. bieii includes Hie hading scientific expert.;.” A PKGMIBING SINGER. .Miss iiate Council, a young Now Zcalandor, lias had her pure soprano voice hi,praised in a, hater received by the superior of SI. Alary’s Convent, Wellington, from Air Gndiani I’. Moore, examiner for Cm Royal Academy of Music, and the Royal Coilege of Aiusic. At the Associated Hoard's recent examination in Welling!on Miss t.oiiuel!, who is a- convent pupil., won high honours lor singing. Mr Moore n«vv advises that she has won (lie gold medal for New Zealand. In his !('•!!..;• be says 11111.1 he was very pleased Willi Mr., Connell'.; singing, and he adds 11 1 ;i! Ims method ami style reflected the greatesl credit upon I he i caching which she bad received. The insl ruction, he consider.:, must have been of extraordinary mefil to acme, e such admirable result's. .Mr .Moore advises Mrs Connell to been her daughter al the convene for a out Imr year, ami, if iur voice retains its pmily and quality, In then send her to Kindlin'! and I bo Continent to get lessons from I.lm be;.! nn Lm: , regardless of rust, A : mil ami volte of such quality is, he vernal ts, a. wry w.iuabb possession. In I io‘ enurse of an mil biisiasue letter Mr Abjoro es it a , ins opinion that Miss Connell n 'oum is superior to that of Miss Amy < V.-.1.1c5, the \ iclorian soprano. lie arms (b.d tic may be advised, of Miss Connell:; p!ogre r-:, and promises to render Imr mv a sistanee in liis power should si'e-go io '.Europe tor further instruction. The Taleiued girl who has received this warm commendation from so qualified a judge is a native, of Rawer!!, and is fifleen years of ago. ’id I if BOER iri PEACE TIME. Mark Twain met (be 'Boer, and this it wind be says of him: --“Ho is deeply religious; profoundly ignorant.; dull, obstinate, bigoted ; uncleanly in his habits ; bosjiitabhu' honest in his dealings with tbe whites, a, hard master to his black \ ,i i*. ; lazy, a good shot, good horseman. addicted to the chase; a lover oi politied independence, a good husband and fatlmr: not fond of hording together in I own;; hut. liking the seclusion and remote.us.•; and solitude and empty vastness anil silence of the veldt: a man or a mighty amietite, and not delicate about what he appeasvs it with —well satis lied v.Uh pork ami Indian corn and biltong, requiring only (Itat the quantity shall not ho stinted; 'willing to ride a long journey to lake a hand, in a rude all-night ilauco uitursparcd with vigorous lending and boisterous jollity, but ready to ride 1 wico as far for a pniyor meeting; proud of b.i.” Dutch and Huguenot, origin and i!s religious and military history; prouci of his nice achievements in South Africa •--its hold plunges into hostile and uncharted deserts in search uf irec solitudes uuvexod by Uu* pestering and detested English, also its victories over the natives and the .British; proudest of all, of Urn direct ami personal interest winch the Deity lias always taken in its affairs, lie cannot read, be cannot write,; he has one or two newspapers, hub ho is apparently out aware of it: until latterly he had. no schoeG, and taught, his children nothing: news is a term which has no meaning l.oMiim. ami the thing itself he cares nothing about. He hates to be taxed, and resents it. lie Ims stood stock still in iSoiith Alriea lor two centuries and a hair, ami would like to stand still till the end gf time, for he has no sympathy with i notions of progress. He is lumgi’v to be rich, for ho is human : but Ins preference has been tor riches in cattle, not in line clothes and fine houses and gold ami diamonds. The gold and liic diamonds have brought the godless .stranger within his gates, also contamination and broken repose, and ho winics that limy had never been discovered. A 'LTiEOSORI.UCAL .MAGAZINE. It would seem that of the making of magaaines there is no end. The latest to arrive is “The New Zealand Theosoplncal Magazine,' 1 the first number of which hears tin) date January _l, 1901). This “lin ite sieelo ” little publication liventy pages of good reading matter lor a penny --makes no apology lor appearing. ‘‘'’’here must,” it remarks, “be a Karmic necessity for our existence, or wo should not. bo here.” That is a refreshing variant on the hackneyed statement that a new paper or magazine lias been started to “supply a. long-folb want.” _ Tho editors of the new magazine, which is, by the way, prinlcd at Auckland, arc Airs Sara lira din and Air Charles W. Sanders- and it cannot be doubted that (hey have produced a very creditable first number, and one Unit should have a powerful educative influence. It includes articles on “Karma,” ■■Reincarnation,” ami, “Deity iu Nature,” while there are reports of meetings, poetry, vegetarian recipes, and a story for children. The latter is from a woman contributor, and ( here is on nearly every page of the magazine evidence of the extent to which women follow the Iheosophie “cult” as lecturers, writers, office-bearers of societies. and so forth. The magazine will, no doubt, bo welcomed by New Zealand l-heoaopliists. AN AMERICAN “APPRECIATION” OF AUSTRALIA.” At the great Commercial Congress recently held at Philadelphia, U.S.A., Colonel 8011, the American Consul at Sydney, read an interesting paper on Australia. In the course of his remarks ho said; ■ —-“The Australian is a good nior--chant to deal with, but' in dealing with I hem you must uuderstuuu that the ouyer is to be the judge. 1 f they want dry goods you cannot pan off codfish on thorn as a substitute. They are the moat commaroial people of the world. The 4,500,000

of people in Australia are worth more than 25,000,000 Europeans. They are a people -of honesty in trade; they pay ail their bills ; they have no wars, no differences, only occasionally a dry spell. Socially they are elevated. They possess some of the best newspapers in the world —clean, respectable and well supported. Their legislation is very far advanced, probably the most advanced of all the nations” of the earth. In the management of their great cities, of their great utilities, of their great railroads, I have never heard a scandal. The Government carries ilu; telephone, telegraph, railroad:;, and all of tho franchises of tho city are owned and controlled by the mu-ni'.-irialitv, am:! thov arc managed honestly.” EABOUT OE GOLD AND SILVER. A. return has been issued by the Alines Department showing tho quantity and value of gold and silver exported from the suveral purl.:; of Now Zealand during tho month of December, 1899, and tho corresponding period of 1898, together with the totals for tho year just ended. Following aro tho figures for December, 1899:—Auckland 11,9590 z, value 1M 1,801 ; Nelson H9oz, value R 1571; Greymemth 900iuz, value £30,005; Dunedin 18.29-loz, value £74,105: total, 39,6730 z, value £153,002. For December, 1898, the figures wore : —Auckland 19,G850z, value £70,830 ; Westport IGSOoz. value £0721; Clreymoulh 79000 z, value £31,8-11; Hokitika. ll leez, value £1578; Invercargill 2730 z, value £1092: total, 30,7430 z, value £121,068. Silver: —December, 1899 —Auckland 31,9680 z, value £3768; December, 1898—Auckland 23,8010 z, value £2773. The gold and silver exported during the your 1899 amounted to 389.5550 z, of a value of £1,080,091.an increase over tho past year of 109,4100 z, value £432,551. The silver exported during the year totalled 349,8580 z, value £40,288, as against 293,8510 z, value £33,107 for tho previous year. The yield of gold for the past year was the largest since 1873, when 505,3370 z, value £1,987,425, was exported.