TOPICS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4298, 6 March 1901, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY

TUP, KV'MARA DET.UNED AND FUMIGATED. Owing to the outbreak of. plague at Capetown, the sfeco- ■ iij> Kiumiro, which, arrived in Wellington yosterdaj via that port, was detained in t*»“ stream by the direction <il the Heal fh Commissioner for the purposes of fumigation. The mails which the steamer has brought were taken by the tug Duco to Somes Island, where i hey wore fumigated. They reached the Post Office at 9 o’clock last night. An official ol the Customs Department went oil to the steamer to conduct the fumigation. oi the vessel early in the. vvenjng. hut it was expected that he would not commence operations till tms morning, in which case the work will not lie finished till late in the afternoon. As the me a, cal officer will require to inspect the vessel again after the fumigation, it will not be till late in the evening that the vessel will he ready to be berthed. The precautions being taken in regard to the Knninra would appear to he a. little stringent, as the plague had not broken out at Capetown when the vessel touched at that port. It is hardly probable that she was berthed there, hut would most likely hare anchored in the harbour, and made communication with the shore by means of ■boats. Under these circumstances the mails would have been tire only means of introducing infection. By the time the vessel reached Hobart—where the was, as is the custom, inspected by a medical officer—any plague germs on board would surely have developed. Unfortunately, the Health Commissioner, Dr Mason, is absent from Wellington, and so has, apparently, had to issue his instructions without being fully acquainted with the circumstances of the case. FIRE INSURANCE RATES. Insurance men throughout the colony are concerned at the fact that the fire losses during the first two mouths of .this year to companies doing business in New Zealand have reached the unprecedented sum of £139,270. “Why, it’s the worst thing Fve ever known in the whole of my career in New Zealand,” said a well-known insurance manager, talking yesterday to a representative of the “New Zealand Times” on the subject. “The figures for the whole of last year,” said he, by way of illustration, “came to only £200,000. It is quite true that the losses for the year before amounted to £300,000, but even this fe a trifling ratio as compared with £139,000 odd for only two months.” “How do you account for such a loss?” asked the “Times” representative. “Incendiarism, without a doubt,” was the prompt reply—“that is to say, a very large proportion of it is due to incendiarism. It only shows that despite all the talk about prosperity, there must be something rotten in the com - munity when this sort of thing is going on.” By far the larger number of the fires occurring during the two months in question took place in country towns in the North Island, from which those concerned in insurance business infer that, times are fairly good in the South Island, while the prosperity of the North Island io more apparent than real. This is the deduction of the insurance manager referred to. To prove this, ho pointed out that in limes of great prosperity, fircs| arc , fe F„ in, number. “For instance,” said he. “in the time of the big mining boom in Auckland, there were very few fires.” Anothersingular fact is that for the- last three years, the experience o' the insurance companies has _ been against brick as contrasted with wood. The outbreaks in buildings of brick have been much more numerous than in those of wood. Since the premiums for In ick are lower than those for wood, it will be seen that the companies have thun lost proportionately. In face of these facts, the recent proposal for the increase of insurance rates assumes a new significance, and though the ardhorities decline fo say anything definite on the matter, more will probably be heard of it in the near future. BACTERIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF SEWAGE. Mr R. L. Mestaycr,. M, Inst. C.E.. writes: —I noticed in the “Times” the account of an interview a reporter had with an admirer of this new process. Although the account generally is correct, dome misapprehension evidently existed on the part of one or other of

Em pavtx.v concerned, a 1? I notice! : ■' N m, it 1.0 Hm effect licit had tin':- ■' "i dealing wiili the sowa''e 'A A ei! .igLnn boon adopted, the Shorn ; would not have been required not tl:e cere. There is no one !;p ci;’o;i between lee Shone system «ue b-otcriologienl treatment; tlio former •uenlumieal modem] of raisin'? tlu oe./o;'*o ii higher level; arid the latter i; n method of dealing wir.li if. when »» is vih.ed to a, sufficient height. No ’■■■■•■•Xb. • what system may he adopted of de;iii:o; with the sewage, it mud first b" r."’ "d to lain height, nod for ■ii ■; dm Sho;;e lystmii mt under exidi.r,- condii ion-- —Mia cieM MiNdd'-. ' ':nv vcy many toivi;--', in New V- d/i’.'l where. biaV’-tk-. becN may fir : d o ■d ivi(Ji >.;r' ;t ailvautm.'.’ rnd < o;., v. \\”i■!iio;/fr;]i i; not one, of ! hem. v. the hae.tcviological method ■.,1.1:1',’ In;vo preyed fur more eo«ll.V ii- < d than the method of disposal :.doii ted !

Till', TELEPHONE EXCHANGE. A subscriber to the Telephone Exchange writes as follows:—Englishmen are generally understood to have the preemptive f.rivilc gc of grumbling; in any ewe, it cannot hi' denied tiiat they indulge pretty freely in grumbling, both with ami without reason. On this occasion T wish to trespass on your nttenAoiji, not to gniinhle, lint to tender a word of appreciation to the young i l . omen who conduct our telephone operation;!. I have resided in other euhniirand in the four cit ies of New Ivsilai, 1 ; I. am a busy man. and like cramp, alfenrion. and I must say that Tu VVV.'lington city the suhseriher not only rids quick responses from the I eleplune operators. Imt lie also gets, v.dii'di is important, civility. Hurliicr, a general, desire to oblige Ls manife.l.ed. which is as gratifying (o the subscriber as it: is creditable to the

(Ici>;irt:nient. 1 have no hesitation in saying that for general smartness in working ami attention to tho wants of subscribers the Wellington telephone si all' v. ill more than hold its own. with that of any other telephone exchange in An I ralasia. I am induced to write this letter because I sometimes see and hear of complaints being made as to want. ( f attention by the telephonists. If you want, to properly appreciate some of the good things you have in this oily, go away From it for a time. TEACHERS SALARIES. The Government’ in Cabinet last night discussed 'tho allocation of the vote for increases to teachers’ salaries. It was decided that, after the separate sums available for each Board had been set aside, the Boards should bo asked to submit to tho Minister of Education proposals as to further payments to their teachers, with details of the amounts, tho sum allocated for increases not lobe exceeded. In accordance with tliis decision, the Boards will he telegraphed to at once, and asked to prepare and furnish schedules as soon as possible, so as to admit, of the allociw tion and distribution of the vote being nmdo bv the Minister of Education before the hist instant. It is hoped by the Government that the action which it has decided to lake will be the solution of what appears to be a difficult matter. The probabilities are that in I ho im-ve majority of cases the increases proposi'd bv Hoards will meet with the approval of tho Minister of .Education.