TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4132, 21 August 1900, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

THE WELLIN GTON-hl AN A WATT?,. RAILWAY. We publish this morning the full text of the report of Messrs W. H. Hams. John Coom and C- .Napier Bell, the engineers who recently made an inspection of .the Wollington-Manawatu Railway Company’s property. The report must be highly gratifying to the shareholders, who might have been disposed to the belief, from assertions made by t!io->c who perhaps wished the company s property to be .depreciated, that their ime was not as well preserved as it ought to be. In order to satisfy not only, the shareholders’, but the public mind, the engineers named’ wore engaged by the Government to make a tour of the line and a thorough inspection of the property. Their report, which is evidently the work of men who know tboir. busim s*. hap been presented to Parliament, and as far as the safety and security of the line is concerned nothing could be more gratifying to. the proprietors nor satisfactory to the travelling public. Had the engineers been engaged by the company to examine and report upon the permanent way, the rolling stock and the buildings, the result could not have been expected to be more complimentary. So thoroughly and .substantially have the works been carried out in the first instance, that the enginors are satisfied that although buildings have been, standing for fifteen, years, they will endure for as long, a period without renewal. Tim company has strengthened the bridges, culverts and permanent way to meet

tin; heavier traffic of recent .years, am! Hie general efficiency of the Jino is esIa I ill shed by the find! ngf. nf independent engineers of unquestioned autJioiVy. NEW ZEALAND IllOTl IN LONDON. The niaujKi'r of one- of fin; leading co-operative dairying ciiinpaiiics in the colony ftlr Holt, of the Taieri and Renin:.ida Milk ,Sn|ijdy Company, of Dunedin), recenl iy paid a visit to I lie principal. English nnirkcts on. behalf of ids company, and has some, interest inn i'H'ts 1 1 ) relate of what. lie there learnt/ in regard (u New Zealand httller. Mr Bob, v.r.s. assured by a Liverpool linn which lias berm handling large quant iI lev C |' ,\e'.v Zealand butter during the pa si reason that Here had brum no butler sn 1! in;' in I hit market. which could ci moan; with the .special brand of hut ter from < hi;; colony the (inn ' had been handling. Mr licit found I hat New Zeahunk hull**;' watt in evidence sit all He- principed centres lie visited

•London, Liverpool and liristol. He no! iced in a retail shop window Hie anmmneemeid , “Pure New Zealand butter,” which wti.-> being retailed at Is Id per pound. Lor this butt it the grocer had only paid Has a. cud—-a. traction J over 'L'd per pound. A more glaring account of Hu- middleman’s profit was discovered by Mr llolt at Capetown, where he was informed hy an agent Hud New Zealand butter was there selling at. (;; litd, and at I he. front, at, 4s jut pound, for which his firm's representative. in New, Zealand had only paid B'.d. From what Mr Bolt saw and learnt, he is convinced Hint there will lie a groat future before ’ New Zealand butter on the London market, by reason of its fine ((imlity. In London the qualify of New Zealand butler stands' we!) with the consumer, hut, wholesale huye;s complain that then, h ; yet that uniformity which, is the the chief trade essential.

DEAD, LETTER OFFICE. Tin? dead letter brunch of the Post Office appears to have been kept pretty busy during t,lie past year, although the number of letters, etc., handled in that branch of I lie department was ■liglilly less than in 1898, being 111,1(17, as against Ml.(ill. Of these, 71, Mil were opened and returned to I lio writers, 9706 wore returned unopened, to other countries, 178 ,vere reissued, lyi.'iG were destroyed and 22,915 worn re! urned unopened. Letters bearing wrong addresses numbered 11)2, ■M boro previously-usod stamps, -.uni, no less than 1879 registered letters were unclaimed. The carelessness of the public may he gauged from the fact that 2125 newspapers and 1535 hooks r,nd other articles were received without addresses, and 412 letters and 98 letter-cards wore posted without addresses. Libellous addresses were found on 11 letters. Goods to the indue of ,C 0532 were found in letters opened in the Dead Letter Office and returned to the senders whore practicable. -Included in the articles wore 279 post-office orders, of a value of 1M71; 32 bank drafts, value £2981; 215 chorines, value £1195; 16 promissory notes, value £154; bank-notes value £136; £l2 10s in gold, and £5 2s lid in silver and copper. Other articles included gold and silver watches tnd chains, jewellery of all descriptions, a ticket in TattorsaU’s sweep, steamer tickets, shawls, trousers, razors, music, caps, gloves, and so on.

A HOME FOli PRISONERS. A mooting was hold at St’. John’s Schoolroom last evening for tho purposes of taking steps to institute a , Reform Homo for Prisoners. The Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) presided, and in his remarks enlarged upon tho urgent necessity for some institution in which prisoners could be taken care of on leaving the gaol. He referred to the excellent work done by such an, institution in Dunedin, and also eulogised the efforts of the Salvation Army Prison Gate Brigades. Mr J. Freyberg gavo some interesting examples of how philanthropic institutions in the Old Country, in the establishment of which he had taken a leading part, had grown from humble, beginnings to such great institutions as tho Victoria Hospital fob Children. On the motion of Mr J. Jamieson, seconded hy Mr Arnold, it was resolved:—“That u*home bo established' in or near Wellington city for discharged prisoners, the primary object of which shall.be to generally improve and uplift its inmates by ■such educational and industrial methods us, in tho .iudsjmcnt of a board of management, shall bo considered best, and also to aid in finding work.” The following were appointed to draw up rules for the regulation of the proposed home : —Tho Revs. C. Dallaston, W. Dawson, Mr-sdamos Fulton, Cl ere and Hill-Bec-kett, Messrs W. Arnold, J. Jamieson, J. •Frcvborg, W. McLean, A. Hoby and W. C. Fitz Gerald.

CLUBS A.ND THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. Speaking at the opening of the Cosmopolitan Club, at Wanganui, on Saturday last, the Hon Jas. Carroll, after complimenting the members on tho superb, building they had erected, said it was true that whatever they did in their lives .—even though their methods and actions culminated in the construction of a building such ns that one—they would be subjected to criticism, but ho thought they should look upon tho criticism of the club in a favourable light because it showed by way of contrast how popular such institutions were. There were those who would desire them to exist in a mechanical order of life without any enjoyment, who would suppress all the social instincts that found a home in tho human breast, and what was life after all ? That which; tended to the development of their social life, and' gave facilities for the interchanging of thought was what they should over admire and lend their support to. Some had the feeling that a club was simply a place where liquor was vended, but that was not the nobler and higher aim of such an institution. Oimortunity could ho taken of tho splendid library, besides which there were other forms of recreation that could be taken advantage of. That portion of the club where liquor refreshment was obtainable could ho considered ns an adjunct. Who knew, looking down the loii" vista of the future, when they found questions relating to liquor being discussed hv future generations, but that the solution would bo found through dubs ?