CURRENT TOPICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7355, 6 February 1911, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS

WELCOME RAIN. Though weather conditions were so unpleasant on Friday as to cause- Wellington residents annoyance, the rain was welcomed in most parts of the North Island. The Waikato has suffered from drought sine© December, and Hawke s Bay has been in even worse plight. January was the driest mouth for many years in the 1 Wanganui district.. Farmers in these districts will therefore receive with thankfulness the Government meteorologist's report that the conditions are favourable for more rain to-day in the North Island, especially on the Bast Coast. The life-giving showers benefited the whole of the South Island excepting the West Coast, on Saturday. ROOM FOR WHITES. In the course of Ills address on South Africa, yesterday the Hon.. G. Fewlds re-, marked that ho visited a dairy farm in Natal, which is probably the richest part of South Africa, and the place where-lie visited was probably the richest' portion of Natal. The owner of the farm ram a large dairy factory and controlled fcho supply of milk and butter to the city of Durban. To ensure that the milk and butter were of the purest description he employed two or three skilled scientists from Denmark. The extent of the farm ’ was 30,000 acres, and on. that area there wore not eight white men. employed. "There is-plenty of room for cutting up for closer ‘settlement there/' said Mr Fowlds, jocularly. JAPANESE POLAR EXPEDITION. The Ja-panese Antarctic exploring, schooner Kai-nan-maru, 300 tons, is due at Wellington at any time now. Under command of Lieutenant Shirase, the Kai-nan-mam left Tokio on November 29th, and was to proceed to Hawaii to avoid the northerly currents and adverse winds. The vessel will call in at Wellington and then proceed to a point between Edward. VH. Land and McMurdo Bay, where a base will be fixed preparatory to an attempt being made to reach the polo. While the shore party are making their southward dash the Kai-nan-maru wall explore the polar seas. She will return to pick up the shore party, which will retreat from the pole via the route taken by Shackloton to verify his records. The expedition has been completely ridiculed by the Japanese press, os the vessel is said to b© quite unsuited for the enterprise. Allegations of unseaworthiness by experts tend to reduce the project, it is said, to a dangerous farce. CONDITIONS IN, THE BACK-BLOCKS. The superintendent of the Advances Office takes exception to Mr Ellingham's statement, os reported in our issue of. 1 Saturday, under the heading “Conditions in the Back-blocks/'’ Xu referring to,the troubles of the book-blocks settler Mr Ellingham said, “The Advances to Settlers Office was not altogether satisfactory to the settlers, who were not getting full justice from it.” Obviously, if a settler’s “land is valued at sl> per cent, too high, and unless a man could get a return from the first year's settlement he could not hold out/' as Mr Ellingham states, his lidding is valueless as a security. The department is anxious to help settlers, and is doing so to the extent of many thousands every week, but cannot advance a penny if the security required by statute is not offered. If Mr Eilingham will call art the Advances Office and make inquiries, he will find that every j case where a settler lias been refused a loan it was simply through insufficient security being offered. -