TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 4607, 11 March 1902, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION HALL. The secretary of the Wellington Industrial Association 'has received the following letter from Mr S. Brown, who is at present in Christchurch: —“I have read with great surprise the remarks of Sir Hogg at the Education Board’s meeting re the question of the renting of the Industrial Association Hall. Mr Hogg evidently does not know what he is talking about, to talk about the money saved from the exhibition as being public money is the veriest humbug. People paid to see a show just as they do the theatre—with this difference, that the.actors at the theatre are paid. The actors who produced the most successful exhibition ever held in Wellington got no payme'nt. It was the voluntary work of the whole of the members of the Industrial Association at that time (I think about 85), assisted by a large number of citizens, whose labours extended for over fifteen months. • The association was not bound to give one farthing to the Education Board by their deed of trust. I personally had a considerable number of interviews with the Minister of Education, the late Sir John McKenzie, and Mr Seddon, before I could get the matter of a subsidy-ar-ranged, in order to put the building up. The business arrangements made with the Education Board, the association’s lawyers assured us, were such as would prevent any future Board attempting repudiation. The association requires to get rent for revenue, as there is a good deal which, as an industrial association, they should do, but are prevented from doing for want of funds. The Industrial Association has more than carried out its share of the bargain; the Education Board has not done its part—for instance, one special condition was that there should be cooking taught. I believe some cookery of the fancy kind is taught—of the pound of butter to pound of flour style—l wonder what use that sort of cookery classes is to working men’s daughters 1” With reference to the latter part of Mr Brown’s letter, it is only fair that it should at once be stated that the cookery classes at the Technical School are conducted on practical lines. DECLINE OF NATIVE FIJIANS.* The Government of Fiji appears to have adopted the extraordinary course of withholding census returns from the people of the colony, although these, as compiled up'to'3lst March, 1901, were published in London months ago. The “Fiji Times” of Ist February last, after recounting the various pretests put forward by the Government for not publishing the returns, says:—“We are now in the position to publish for the first time within the colony the figures which represented the population of Fiji on the 31st March, 1901, and which have been suppressed locally. The total population on that date totted up one hundred and seventeen thousand eight hundred and seventy. The following are the nationalities:—

From the foregoing it trill be observed that the aboriginal population exhibits a decrease for the decade of 11,403 souls, otherwise a decadence at the rate of 1140 per annum. The total population of the colony for the 10 years under review shows it to be 1091 souls less than it was in April 1891.” Evidently it is not without reason that the Fijians are petitioning for annexation to New Zealand. PRODUCE EXPORTS. The monthly leaflet issued by the Department of Agriculture shows that the exports of dairy produce and frozen meat for the month of February were as follows, the value of the export for the corresponding month of last year being given in brackets:—Butter, 41,1350 wt., valued at £180,042 (£149,251); cheese, 13,631 cwt., valued at £2B 645 (£45,251); total dairy produce, value £208,687 (£194,500). Frozen meat —Beef, 29,677 cwt., valued at £32,672 (£24,828); mutton. 61,832 cwt., valued at £65,330 (£129,941); lamb, 71.455 cwt., valued at £100,170 (£104,010): total frozen meat, value £198,172 (£258,788). The shrinkage for the month in these exports is more than counterbalanced by the very heavy exports of the previous few months. Taking the eleven months of the financial year that have elapsed since March 31st last, the figures compare with those of

the previous year as follows: —Butter, £890,150 (£671.272); cheese, £168,118 (£198,845); beef. £209,047 (£282,007); mutton, £874,112 (£938,984); lamb. £687,736 (£547,779).

1901 1891 Native ... ... 94,397 105,800 Indian ... ... 17,105 7,468 European ... 2,447 2,036 Polynesians ... 1,950 2,267 Half-castes ... 1,504 1,076 Others ... 467 314 117,870 118,961