CURRENT TOPICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7980, 11 December 1911, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS

TONGABIEO’S IMMIGRANTS. The Now Zealand Shipping Company's steamer Tongariro, which arrived in Wellington from London on Saturday, brought 368 passengers, 357 of whom were assisted immigrants. These included 105 domestic servants, a ploughman, 7 farmers, 59 farm labourers, and 29 wives (with families in some instances) who have come to rejoin their husbands. The capital- declared by the passengers varied from £lO to £2OO, except in the cases of the domestics, whose capital must reach a minimum of £2. The assisted passages cost from £8 to .£l2 for men, and £2 12s to £6 16s for tho domestic servants. The assisted passengers are booked for the following ports: Wellington 96, Auckland 92, Lyttelton 62. Napier 23, Greymouth 16, Bluff 14, Westport 13, Timaru 9, Gisborno 8, New Plymouth 8, Picton 4, Nelson 1. The girls came out in charge of Misses Dale and M. A. Cooke. Many of the domestics have been engaged by; a Napier syndicate through the British

Women's Emigration Society. There were on board nearly one hundred children under tho age of twelve. There was an entire absence of accidents, during the voyage.

WINE FOR THE SACRAMENT. The acting Primate has sent tho fallowing letter to tho Press Association: “My attention has been called to a statement attributed to the Rev. B. B. S. Hammond to the effect that when national prohibition is carried the churches will cease, to use fermented wine, in the sacrament of the Holy Communion, ‘as his owui has, already done.’ As this very ambiguous statement has- been widely circulated, I think it right to say that ths ug-> of unformented wine in the Holy Communion is absolutely unlawful in tho Church of England, and that no action. of the State will bo allowed to invalidate tho blessed sacrament. It is fair- to Mr Hammond to say that he distinctly repudiates tho statement attributed to him, and that ho is fully awaro that the use of fermented wine in the Holy Communion under national prohibition is expressly provided for in the Act. Signed C. Christchurch, ActingPrimate.”