CURRENT TOPICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7020, 7 January 1910, Page 7

CURRENT TOPICS

HOLIDAY TKAAI ‘TRAFFIC. The experience of Christchurch in regard to its holiday tmm traffic was the reverse of Wellington Here the receipts increased subsUmtially oyer those of the previous ye;«r. In Christchurch there was a considerable drop. A Press Association messaigc gives the following i>articulars : Elohd'ay traffic on the Christchurch til noways from December 31st to Janim-i"V 3rd, inclusive, amounted to 182,1h9 passengers. The fares totalled £2l2'/.. hor the corresponding days last year the figures were 164,705 passengers, fares £IBBS. The combined trail)c at Clmstmas and Now Year shoots that in 11)09-10 there wore 324,7G8 passengers earned, fares totalling £Fp662, and in 190 S-9 338,831 passengers,. fares totalling £3899.

STORMY AVEATHER PROBABLE. For the past two or tlrnac days a disturbance of a cyclonic :aaturo, according to the official report* lias been threatening the Northern districts, and to-day the Government Meteorologist has issued definite warning of tho tropical visitant which is soon likely to bring considerable rain, possibly witli floods, and an easterly gale northward of East Cape and Ka.wb.ui; the light and variable windfe: which have bold sway during A.e past twenty-four hours also grAng way gradually mostly to strong southeasterly winds. As intimated also yesterday another aTea of low pressure is duo to pass in the South on Monday, preceded by north-westerly and followed by south-westerly winds. Stormv weather is thus autiinipated, first in the North and later an the South, from these aerial twinsj, which act also as combatants. Thcrao will probably bo a zone where thciir influences will neutralise each othew —thus a north-easterly wind meeting'or colliding with a south-westerly will often produce a calm. Such, in fact,'soems to have been the case on New Yearns Day, when Wellington was so fortuiraato in j its weather. Farther north, the weather was rough, but in the South-, ern districts the weather was most stormy, and Southland camo in, for a record bad time for its Now Year's holiday.

THE ROMANCE OF THE TTRE. The 21st anniversary of Mr Xtenlop's tnTHoiiitiiou ,of tho paeumatao tyre for bicycles was celebrated in London ro'oeatly -with -a 'banquet at which a presentation was matte to Mr Barwoy du, K3ros, by whom tho braentdon was fostered in its infancy. Some extraordinary statistics of the growth of the ■cycle trade during the past twenty-one years .were given at the 'banquet. In 1889, the number of cycles in .-the "United Kingdom was, approximately, 300,000. In, 1909, it was 3,000,000. 'The ■export of cycles in tho last six toontns was 840,822. The approximate capital investment in the cycle-making ■trade and allied trades at tihe present time as twenty-five millions sterling, 'and the capital vakie of tihe cycles in uso is twenty-five millions. Qychsts, apart from motorists, ipub into circulation in England, by money 'spent in travelling, food, etc., no less than £17,000,000 per annum; the ■wages paid in the United Kingdom in connection with cycles, materials, and accessories aire, approximately, £5,000,000; land; about one million people d'erivle the whole or pant of tiheir income from .work associated with, cycla-inak-ing. " These ane British figures alone. In (France over two million people pay the cycle taxes. This wwndorral development is duo very largely to the lnventncai of this pneumatic tyre. WHEN KITCHENER COMES. The Now Zealand Defence Department does not at present know whether it will do anything special to show Lord Kitchener now it justifies its existence, _ and as far as can be (fathered it is quite undecided in the nwitter. It is pointed out that as the old system is on its last legs no purpose would be served by parading corps that arc to be abandoned. Still the fact remains that the material of which the volunteer ■ force is composed is the same material .that will compose the Territorial Force, and it roally cannot matter to Lord Kitchener whether he finds men in one' kind of uniform or another. At present it seems more than probable that Lord. Kitchener will merely be given an opportunity to repeat those kind things in reference to the South African troops he said in Australia. If he is permitted he may perhaps examine headquarters and the chaos in company administration. NEWS NOTES When tho cruiser Pioneer left Bluff for Dusky Sound to rescue tie excursionists "by the wrecked < steamer Waiiare the "New Zealand Times" arranged for a representative to accompany the wßirsliip. A second edition of this paper was issued yesterday morning conitafining a narrative of the wreck and interviews with passengers. The Pioneer reached Bluff about 6 o'clock yesterday morning, and our represenifcative put his first "copy" into the telegraph office at G.'IO. The wholo of the message was in Wellington at 9 o'clock, and half am' ■hour later readers of the "Times" wore supplied with the first consecutive story of the mishap. Public appreciation of the "Times" enterprise was indicated by a rapid sale, anld not only in the city and its environment, but on the Main Trunk, Pahnorston and Napier railways the public wore thros supplied withf the earliest possible detailed account of the wreck of the Waikaro and the experiences in Dusky Sound of her largo company of excursionists. Fox tho convenience of subscribers not reached by yesterday's second edition, our correspondont's message is repeated in the ordinary edition of the "Times" this morning. The postal authorities advise that the Winunora. which left Sydney for Auckland on Wednesday, has on board an Australian mail, which is due here on Monday afternoon next by the Main ,Trunk train.

At 3.3 S p.m. yesterday the Fh-o Brigade turned out to suppress a grass fire on m vacant section, in Plunket street, Kel-bu_-nie. The blaze was nearly out when the motor arrived.

Fallowing upon a resolution from South Canterbury in favour of systematic medical inspection of primary schools and pupils, adopted by the Educational Conference yesterday, came a jeniit by the Wellington district: "That the Government be asked to appoint trained nurses to assist head teachers in caring for the health of the children." The delegates were almost unanimous in rejecting it, one speaker being heartily applauded when he objected to having nurses as well as doctors "fussing round" the school, js'ext thing, if the institute asked for uuress, it would suggest bassinetts for the infant pupils (laughter), ,

Messrs Ellis and Manton, of Wellington, are jiii-taiJiii'j plant in premises on the llutt road, i'ctoi:-', for the manufacture of caudles. It is feared that the hop harvest in tho Nolsmi district will be v-r.v poor this reason. The vines are backward, the gron-th. thin and tho yield tmall.

The vital statistics for Lower llutt and I'otone for December quarter are: — Lower llutt: Births 33, deaths 7; Petone: Births 4C. deaths 9. The average age of four of those who died at Petone was 81 i years.

Nineteen events, besides children's race's are included in. the programme for the sports gathering wMieh is to be held at l'etone on the I.sth instant with the object of assisting the Hurt lino duplication workers' benevolent fund. The l'eilding A. and P. Association's school garden competition, resulted in a win for Colyton, Halcomhe being second and CheltCii.fluun third. A gTeat Uoal of interest was evinced in the competition, which was very successful. A negro named Daniels, a notoriously bad character, with a long criminal record, was sentenced at Wli.inga.roia yesterday to nix months' and three mo.tiiths' imprisomnonit (tlie seinitnncos to run concnrrenltlyl <>n respective charges of drunkenness, d.fceirderh- behaviour, and using obscene hurogiiagv! at the railway whofrf.

Yesterday tho Marine Department received the evidence adduced at the formal inquiry held at Bluff concerning the grounding of the Warrimoo at Bluff on December 2Gth. As the vessel's hull received no damage, and the incident was trivial, no further action will be taken by the Marine Department. The sovon-yoar-oM son of Mr and Mrs M. H. Walker was drowned at Foxton on Wednesday. It appears he was left, at 6.30 p.m., playing with othlea- children, in a boat moored in shallow water near the shore. At 7 o'clock a search wais made for him, and the body was recovered at 9.30, at the spot where he was last soon. *

A six-a-oomed baker's shop and dwelling at Wera.roa, owned by Charles Williams and occupied by Mr A. Mcßrydie, was destroyed by fine yesterday, also a two-roomed cottage adjoining, owned by Mr Williams and occupied by Miss Hall, dressmaker. The insurances are:—Williams, .£2OO on the buildings in the Su.ni fire office; Mcßrydie, .£l2O in the Sun office on the stock; Miss Hall, .£25 in tho Phoeirjix office on goods. Nothing was saved.

Tho annual meeting of the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors opened at Auckland yesterday. The report stated that representations had been made to the Governmmlt regarding the insufficiency of and unsatisfactory charges in coiXnootion with the survey of native lands, and the altogether unsatisfactory mode of payment by liens over the land dealt with. The Under-Secretary for Lands, in reply, expressed the opinion that much more satisfactory rates should be fixed for private surveys. The following are a few of the Tokaanu trout catches (principally fly) for the week ending December 31st:— Mr R. Jones, ID fish, weighing 148ilb; Messrs Prowse, Borlaso and Mcßeth, of Wanganui, 18 fish, weighing 1591 b (largest 13Mb); Mr A. D. Shilson, 15 fish, weighing 132.Ub; Messrs Stubbing and Chase, 29 fish, weight 2201 b (largest 141 b); Mr Logan (Napier), 9 fish, weight 901 b (two hours); Major Blewitt and the Hon. H. Wigrani, 22 fish, weight 200£lb; Messrs Montgomery and Grace, 17 fish, weight 173j1b. r A consignment of seventeen baby moose is about to be conveyed to New Zealand. Sir Joseph Ward wrote some time ago to the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan stating that the Government was anxious to experiment* with some of the big game of the Canadian North-west. Instructions were given to a trapper and hunter of the Beaver Hills to try to secure twenty young animals. Seventeen baby moose have already been delivered, and it is these that will shortly be brought to New Zealand. '•

Ma- W. G. Riddell, S.M., held a short Gittatng of the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning. Only two cases were dealt with. Joseph Gribbon, convicted of drunkenness, was fined 10s or forty-eight hours' imprisonment, and Michael Morrisey, who was deemed to bo a rogue and vagabond, was sentenced to one month's imprisonment. He was found about 12 o'clock on the previous night under suspicious circumstances on the premises of the Coffee Palace, 149, Willis street.

A wealthy English syndicate, represented by Major Boyd (editor of the Queensland "Agricultural Journal"), has acquired a large area of land at Cloudy Bay, Papua, where it is intended to raise oocoanuts, sugarcane, rubber trees, and other tropical crops. The company proposes to,construct a railway line from Port Moresby to the Sapphire Greek copper mines, a distance of twenty-two miles. Major Bond says that the rubber plantations" are simply booming. That belonging to Sir Rupert CJarke, at Kanosia, has 600 acres of healthy trees. As a result of the miscalculations (previously chronicled) in connection with the working of the totalisator at the Hutt Valley Trotting Club's New Year's Day -meeting the funds of the Wellington District Hospital and Benevolent Institution have each benefited to the extent of £lB ss, Mr R. W. Short, the club's secretary; having forwarded cheques for those amounts yesterday to the secretaries of the institutions named. Mr Ames, under whose charge the machine was, and-the officials of the club, express their great regret that the error should have occurred.

Whelch. expresses keen disappointment at the tardy maniaer in which, his challenge to row AitnSt has been, received (reports the Akaroa correspondent of the "Press").. He states tfhat it is th'e only genuine chaiJlange Arnst has so for received, a deposit of .£SO having been made, and" though it is somewhere near two monthte since the challenge was issued nk> diefifnSto nepjy hajs beem received. Whielcih hos foregone the Wanganni and Foxton handicaps, and the time has gone past tor hum able to row in February or Maa-cn as stated by Anost. He would require e%ht weeks from date of articles being signed.

Examinations for pupal teachers passes C and D and for tine Senior Civil Service are now in progress at some twenty centres in the Dominion. The number of candidates is ' approximately 2000. Over 700 teachera are • sitting for the Class D, and over 800. for the Class C qualifications, while there are between 470 and 480 candidates for the Senior Civil Service examination. In the Wellington centre there are about 55 teachers sitting for the D certificate and 75 for the C. A large proportion Of Hie Senior Civil Service candidates are firom the Wellington centre. Tho examinations will continue over a wide range of subjects until Wednesday, tho 19th inst.

Police Court records for Peton© for 1900 show that eighty-seven claimants were awarded judgment for claims amounting to ,£905 7s sd. Of this mmoimt .£539 6s 8d was recovered. Maoris figured as defendants in three oases, only, the total amount of against them (,£lO lis Gd) being satisfied. Proiceedings for criminal offences produced 226 convictions out of a total of 265 charges laid. Of the persons convicted (eleven of whom were females) 126 (three of them females) were fined and 72 (including six females) were convicted and discharged. Drunkenness constituted the ofEonoe in "39 cases. Only one accused person was sent to the Supreme Court for trial. Tho chaTge against him (one of burglary) was dismissed. Tho Lux Light Company wish it known that tho Lux Incandescent Kerosene Gas Lamps give the Cheapest and Most Brilliant Light on Earth. See Te Aro House, Bates and Lees', Wardell Bros.', Leydon and Co., Caterer and Carey, E. Pcarce and Co., It. Hannah and Co., Petono Workshops (whore Lux replaced tho latest devices in lighting). House Lamps 22s 6d. Lamps up to 2000 candlepower. 35, 3", 39, Old Customhouse titreet (back of Opera House), Wellington. ' • •