CURRENT TOPICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8183, 26 July 1912, Page 6

CURRENT TOPICS

SIX WOEDS FOE .£ls. The ekill competition announced in our issue of yesterday had immediate results, and several entries have already arrived. The details are set out in another column. There are £SO worth of prizes altogether. • THE FAEIIEES’ NUMBEE. There was a big demand for the special farmers’ number of the “New Zealand Times” yesterday. One enthusiast got a few dozen to send to Australian politicians, including the whole of the Federal Ministers. One copy was sent on its .way to the Northern Territory. A land 'reformer had a copy specially wrapped to be forwarded by first mail to Mr Lloyd George! THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS. Last night’s "Gazette” gives details of the receipts and expenditure of the consolidated fund for the quarter ended Juno 30th, 1912. These show the receipts to have been £3,284,773, against £2,827,180 for the corresponding period of 1911. The increases are mainly in railways, £935,228 (against £827,905), post and telegraph £323,538 (£286,868), and Customs, £777,218 (£681,662). The expenditure for the quarter was: Permanent appropriations £1,199,407 against £1,167,772; annual appropriations £1,302,818 against £1,158,872. Interest and sinking fund rose from £981,423 to £1,001,550, post and telegraph from £379,641 to £540,464, and defence from £67,819, to £107,053. GIVE US A CHANCE I

The Hon. F. M. B. Fisher introduced politics at the opening of the Buchanan Hospital for Incurables at Greytown yesterday, He asked those who had supported Mr Massey’s party in the past not to be too critical of whatever work might be attempted this session. The Government had a very short time in which to prepare its programme. Their opponents were very angry at “going out.-” That was an important point of disagreement from the very beginning. “But if you only give us a chance,” he added. “I feel satisfied that at the end of the next two months you will realise you have the right party in power and the wrong party to legislate out of power. I hope that will last until the end of the Parliament." Speaking of the Defence Act he said the Government would administer fearlessly and impartially “the spirit of the Act.” ON THE SPOT. Says the "Wairarapa Age":—We do not know precisely how the member for Wairarapa and Mr D. McGregor came to interview the Prime Minister yesterday in regard to the grazing runs (presumably in the Masterton district) which it is proposed to subdivide into dairy farms. If their reference was to runs In the Masterton electorate, then we protest most emphatically against their methods and remarks. There are certain grazing runs in the Masterton district, the leases of which have expired, that are admirably adapted for subdivision, and though the past tenants may be very anxious to secure & renewal of their leasee, the interests of settlement and of the country most be considered before those of the individual. The Prime Minister would

do well to pause before committing himself to action which might involve him in serious consequences to his party.

LAND GAMBLING.

At the last meeting of the Poverty Bay Land Board Mr It. B. Ross, exM.P. for Palriatua, sounded a note of warning against the inflation of land values. “The only way to stop speculation,” said Mr Ross, as reported by the "Gisborne Times,” "is te reduce the commission on the sale of land. By that means j-ou would wipe out half the land agents in Now Zealand and laud agonte associated with mercantile firms, who are a source for inducing farmers to transfer their farms one to another. Not only in connection with private lauds is this speculation to he found, but also in Crown lauds. The amount of consideration money asked by outgoing tenants of incoming tenants is simply enormous. Although it. is recognised by the board that it is only a fair thing to the State that we should seo that the incoming tenant is not overburdened, at the same time wo have to be exceedingly careful that we are not inflicting any injustice by refusing a transfer. I always hold it is the duty of the Government to endeavour to get people to realise that the homes they are making are not only for themselves, but also for their sons and daughters, and those who come after." IRON ORE DEPOSITS. Mr J. H. Witheford, who has been is Wellington for some weeks in tho interests of the Ethelburga syndicate, London, for tho development of the iron ore deposits at Parapara, left for Auckland yesterday. Prior to his departure Mr Witheford placed in the hands of tho Prime Minister all the documents la connection with the syndicate’s proposals. At tho dose of last year it entered into contracts for the amalgamation of iroa interests and the erection of works at a cost of £500,000, and it now proposes to provide an additional £165,000 for working capital. On the question of subsidy the proposals of the syndicate are: (1) Instead of all the bonuses proposed to bo given the iron industry, a direct annual subsidy of £32,500 be given, and that the investors erect modern iron a n d steel works of great and economical producing power at a cost of £650,000, and thus enable tho New Zealand works to take fuller advantage of local and foreign markets and compete with tho inevitable attempts which will be made to crush the enterprise by existing powerful iron and steel combinations. (2) The State to get its iron and steel at cost price plus 5 per cent. (3) Arrangements to be made to use State mines coal and coke if price and quality be satisfactory. (4) At tho ond of-forty years tho company to hand over to the Dominion Government tho whole plant and- all the machinery erected by them free of any charges, or, under certain equitable conditions, at the end of twenty years. la the development of the scheme the syndicate points out that the investors would probably pay in royalty to the State during tho period of continuance not loss than £150,000, and use about twenty-five million tons of coal, producing probably not less than fifty millions sterling new wealth from the raw material. A DOCTOR HERO. A doctor who heroically risked his life, and all but lost it, to save a child's life i by an operation for diphtheria, gave evidence at tho Blioieditcli County Court on June 4th, before his Honor Judge Smyly, K.C. The claim before the court was a workmen’s compensation action, and had to bo adjourned from January owing to the doctor’s illness. The medical man referred to is Dr Gerald Mulially, house surgeon at Guy's Hospital, and the following is tho story of his heroism. , A child was brought into the hospital suffering from diphtheria in a most acute form, and ho recognised that if ‘the child's life were to be saved tracheotomy would have to be performed immediately. He was tho senior surgeon about at the time, so he ordered the child instantly to the operating theatre. Without wait, ing to take tho vital precaution of putting a mask on his face, timo being sq precious, he performed the operation knowing all the time the risk he rah Tho operation was successful, but Di Mulially bad to pay tho price of hi), sacrifice, as three days' after he was stricken down with tho dread disease and had to bo removed to a fever liispital. He hovered between life and death in the hospital until the end of February, and could not resume duty until tho end of March.

GOQDNESS AND STAINED GLASS. The Bishop of London, os visitor, at.' tended the annual gathering of Queen’s College a few weeks ago, and delivered an address to . the students on the attractiveness of goodness. After twenty, two years in London, and various excursions, which were sometimes criticised, to other parts of the world, said his lordship, he had come to the conclusion that the reason why religion and the Church in its widest sense had not the power it ought to have in the world wai that they did not really absolutely believe in the attractiveness of goodness above everything else in the world. They thought holiness was quite right, they admired goodness, and thought it quit? proper, but rather dull. But goodness, if they could only see it. must be the most attractive, the most beautiful and winning thing in the world. Among the reasons why they did ■ not realise tht attractiveness of goodness, said his lordship. was that they sometimes had a wrong idea of what goodness was. He believed to a certain extent in stained windows, but he thought they made a great mistake if they associated goodness with stained glass windows Xf once ii were believed that goodness was an affair of stained glass windows, his cause was lost in his diocese. They must realise that goodness was the most human, thinf in the world; it was not a stilted, nonhuman, unnatural thing, but the mosl natural thing in the world.