TOPICS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4310, 20 March 1901, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY

MORTALITY OF FISH. Sir James Hector has reported to the Minister of Marine on the slime which recently caused considerable mortality among the fish in the Nelson district. The sample, analysed was taken after the mortality had ceased'. Sir James rays the mud', or slime, was more decomposed :than previous samples, and with the except ion of fragments of fncoi-ri, which were microscopic, contained no ovjrtnisr.is. When air-dried it was a daix l-liio clv, and gave cif a little Inairusulph'iric acid, owing to the decomposition of organic matter, but ho did not detect ammonia. H.o still thought it was only marine sed.meat. At his suggest ion the sample was submitted to Dr Maclanriu, tho Government Analyrri, who states that the slime has an offensive cdour, due to tho presence ui sulphuretted hydrogen and ammonia, the latter being sufficient in quantity to redder tho liquid distinctly nikalnm While the results showed that the, water was in i\ state which would probably' be’ fatal to .fish, they throw very little, if any. light on tho cause of the mortality. The analysis of samples taken at an earlier date would have been m re exclusive.

IMPORTANCE OF RIFLE SHOOTING

In his annual report of the work ol tho New Zealand Rifle Association, Lieutenant-Colonel Sommorvillo make-, the following remarks upon the future of rifle shooting:—“The time has now arrived when tho Government of tho colony must take a. greater interest, in the Association than they' have done in the past. I don’t care what the system may' be, nor by vhat name it is called, but proficiency in -the use ol Hie rifle must be encouraged amongst all classes of our hoys and men ; it must no longer bo looked upon as a. lad and a. luxury, it is now not only' a necessity for tho defence of our shores tigainst invasion, but it must boa, pprt of the training of om* men to fit 1 born to stand shoulder to shoulder ivlth tho soldiers of ourvKing in fighting tiw battles of the Empire. South Africa has been the first place where colonial volunteers have formed part of a British Army', but it will not bo the bi&t, and wo want lo train - our men. in (bo use of the rifle so that when the day arrives they will .be ready. The war in South Africa has boon a big. object-lesson for us all; it has shown tho authorities that the force best adapted for such a. war is tho mounted riflemen—smart., active men, bandy' with horses, and men that know bow to use a rifle. Wo have sent seven ■ contingents awa.v, first-class men, fearless riders, full of pluck and endurance ; but of tho last two who will .say that they’ knew anything of shooting? that was their weak point."

THE CARRIAGE OF LIVE POULTRY. 1 The Inspector of the Society for the : Prevention of Cruelty to Animals report- ; ed a. shocking case of cruelty to poulj try at tho meeting of tho society yesterday. Passing along one of the city j streets his attention, he said, was atI tractcd to a crate of fowls, and on exi animation ho found the birds were gaspi ing for byeath, and in a condition bur- ! doriug on suffocation. One bird lay : dead at the bottom of the crate. On measuring the crate carefully he found its dimensions, which were 3ft in length by 2fb in width ,and 101 inches in depth, totally inadequate for the carriage of twenty head of live poultry. In order j to ascertain tho space required by f.u i ordinary-sized “rooster” tho inspector j and an expert measured one, and found ■ that its height was twenty-two inches Ito tho top of its head, and j the length of tho body was from eleven ’ to twelve indies, while across the wings it measured about I six inches. From these measurements j it appears that if tho crate’ had been j seme four or five inches deeper its : holding capacity would only have bciyi 1 equal to nine fowls, whereas, as already stated, no fewer thap twenty live | birds liad been crammed into the crate ’ complained of by the consignor. From | further refnarks dropped by tho inspoci tor, the manner in which, poultry is sometimes sent into the city from tho country by thoughtless consignors, is a. standing disgrace. It is to be hoped that tho proceedings the society contemplates taking in this instance vyill i have the effect of speedily mitigating the cruel practice complained of.

TREATMENT OF THE IMPERIAL TROOPS. The Weslcyans at Hamilton recently passed a resolution condemning the action of the Government in seeing that the members of the Imperial .Contingent;, when being entertained by the citizens of Auckland, were provided with beer. Tho terras of tho resolution were conveyed to the Premier by letter from the Rev H. L. B lain ires. In the course of his reply, Mr Seddon said :—The Imperial troops were the guests of the colony, and it was the duty of the colony to see that they were properly entertained. The majority of tho anembers of the Auckland Entertaining Committee hold strong temperance convictions', but were in no way asked by the citizens of Auckland to experimentalise or practise prohibition on the guests of the colony. May I ask, if the majority had been vegetarians, wop Id it have been right or proper for them to have decided that no meats were to bo provided or consumed by the Imperial troops. ... To say’ that tho action of the Government, in seeing that the guests wore given the opportunity of selecting their own beverages was treating Lord Roberts’s desire in reference’to tho matter with contempt, is absurd, and proves clearly that those passing a resolution to such effect-were entirely unaware of the nature of Earl Roberts’s expressed wishes. .... Seeing our guests have departed, I now speak plainly, and say that the lunch provided at Auckland, both for officers and men, was the poorest they wore offered in'Australasia, and not at ail in accordance with Auckland’s well-known hospitality.