TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4084, 23 June 1900, Page 5

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

FFIMIFAIF COURT LIBRARY. AViili ivlVn i!fo in remark.-'. made by Mr A. AV. Hogg, M.M.R., at the meetting of ti;i- Victoria. Cnilege Onmdl, Mr J. P. O-iinplicll, chairman of Hie WelJinglon Distriel. Law SeoirTv. sl.ito*! to a. “Tii ll (■■■.■’ rcpoi Ter yesterday Hat the society lias cool rihulvd i iir following sums in c.isli (o',Minis i In; eslahlj.dnm’nt and m;i i 11 1 <■ 11 ;i; i ■ of tue following branch huv lilnarics ; vV. iiganui, £1075 ; Palmers! on North, £ls I: Mas■lerlon, £BB 8s; :uul Feildiug, £SO. In ivkliiiou to tlioo jtiiioiin! s .1 large unrulier ol' loxl iimi oilier hooks have Ijct'ji seal. In I ’ice.c lihrarit by the society v’lioii mere. rcc’iil additions have boon obtained for (he Wellington library, or wlion duplicates have l.ieen received. In pib’d Mas!crl.oll recrivnd in this way 86 volumes. Palmer ;| on North 125 volumes and Wanganui 105 volumes. Already during this year .‘lO hooks liave heeu relit to Palmar,tun North and 111 to Wanganui. All country jira-etition-er.s have the free use of tlie Wellington library whenever they visit the city. As to llnanees, I akin'.; the lari live years the annual excess of receipts over expenditure has only been £ls 8s l!d. Copies of a. letter to the above, effect have been, forward'd, h.y the secretary of the society to Messrs A. W. IToge AV. fl. Field: T. A!. Wilford, A. K. Atkinson, .Al’.-j.lf. R., J. 11. .Blair anil C. Wilson. TlilO NATIONAL BANK. The general manager of the National Bank of New Zealand, Limited, has received cable advice that the 28th annual meeting of shareholders is to ho held in London 011 3rd July. The directors propose that. a. i.ivwlcm.l of 4 per cent., for the half-year nud bonus of 1 per cent, for the year, mailing, with (lie interim dividend paid to 30th September last, o per cent, for the year, bo paid to shareholders; that £20,000 ho added to the re-serve fund, making it £30,000; that £SOOO be written off ; promises account; and .that £750.0 bo i carried forward. '['he directors also : have decided that the staff ho granted a i bonus of 10 per cent, on their salaries. 1 SYDNEY AND WELiANGTON. Two arlielcs liave recently appeared in , “Sydney .morning Herald.” which hears < old ilt!' opinion exnrossed by the “.Ain- ‘ tnal Life Chronicle” as to the salubrity . of the Mol her City of Australasia. Tuo . Government Statistician lias just pub- 1 fished a numerous list of cities in every ( part of the .world, showing the annual ] mortiility for a number of years ranging f from Pi.o3 to 51.40 per 1000. Tills re- ; turn proves that Sydney, with 14.08 j per 1000, stands second only to Wol- ; lington, New Zealand. But from Syd- , ucy r. standpoint this statement is of j cousiderahlo value. “Despite the plague, j tlie mortality in April, 1000, was but , 11.00 per 1000, and in the first four o ninths of the year only 12.88 per 1000.” The “Herald” accounts for this by the ( fact that an over-crowded country, in 1 which the increasing number of its 1 people are forced indoors, will almost 1 inevitably have a. higher mortality than 1 one which is sparsely populated. In < other words, the, people of Australasia 1 live much more out of floors than those t in loss favoured regions do. Their ( vitality is therefore greater, and “this 1 is 0110 of the things that has giVou its 1 life assurance societies such splendid re- ■ suits.” 1

“TRUSTS” TN AMERICA. Tin.' Anti-Trust League of the United Stales lies consulted live hundred innnu. fncUirers ami dealers in New York City as to advances in price both of trust goods and of commodities made higher in price in consequence of the increased cost of materials used in product ion, directly or indirectly affected by trusts. Considering that the chief reason urged in favour of tho formation of trusts is that they conduce to- cco-. ninny in management a.iuV otherwise, it is not a little remarkable that in not a. single instance was it discovered that this “economy” had led to a, reduction in price, while in most articles the cost to the consumer had been increased from 10 to 100 per cent. Iron’ angles, for example, had been increased by lOC per cent.; agateware. 00 per cent, ; iron beds, 30 to CO per cent.; bufis; beds 00 to 05 per cent. ; barbed wire and iron beams, 87.1- per cent. each. Many more examples might be quoted but the examples given arc enough tc show that if there bo economy in the management of trusts, it is not meant I that tho consumer should obtain the benefit of it. Public opinion in America is awakening to a sense of tho danger of Inigo monopolies. News from Washington states that the Industrial Cornmis. sion will recommend the Government tf exercise a supervision over trusts as it docs over national banks. Examiners will ho appointed to examine them monthly reports Will bo made, and an inially all trusts will make a report to the Government, and these reports will lie published. Ibis trill be a radical departure from present methods, whore no supervision by either State or general Government is mid. It will protect the public, says the “Labour Journal.'' from wild-cat schemes, and will holt' solid trusts to obtain tho confidence of the public.