Items.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 4999, 9 June 1891, Page 4

Items.

It fins hot'Tt suggested. says the Hawera Star, that the Kgiwoit A. and P. Association .-ilia!i agree to Mtiwcrrlic towards a cure for the sheep disease which has caused such losses in the Tauranga district. and which it is believed may l>e identical with the complaint from which sheep in this district have also suffered. We hear of one sheep farmer not far from Opunake who told the Government veterinarian that if he opened one of the ailing sheep he would tinel worms in the head, in the longs, in the stomach, and in the intestines, and the believed it wis the parasites, and not the innutritions food, which caused the sheep to pine away. The ndvisablencss of reducing the amount charged for the privilege of being connected with the telephone exchange has been urged upon the Cabinet by Mr "Ward, the Postmaster-General, and it has been virtually decided to lower the charge for the use of each instrument to L 5 per annum. The intention k to make the re-

daction apply to instruments used in offices as well as in private houses. The Postmaster-General has gone carefully into -the financial aspect of the matter and is convinced that a reduction to La will not effect the revenue, as is every reason for believing that the increase in the number of connections will more than compensate for the decrease in the present charge. —Wellington Post. The following letter appeared in a Hokitika {taper over the signature of " Consumer "i— u lien in Greymoutli the other day. I was credibly informed that cargoes of Newcastle coal are being aold in Lvttelton just now at 15s per ton, but that Grey coal is sold in Greymoutli for domestic purposes at 21s per ton. Here, West port coal is delivered to consumers at 3«s, and Grey coal at 32s per ton ! Newcastle is distant from Lyttelton (via Cook Strait) about 1400 miles ; from Greymoutli to Ilokitika 20 miles ; from Wcstjn>rt to Ilokitika 70 miles, and yet we are paying here for Westport and Grey coal more than double what Newcastle coal can be purchased for in Lyttelton—by the cargo, of course. It requires no argument on my jKirt to show that this it a monstrous state of things. On enquiry, I find that 10s a ton freight is charged on a cargo of Westport coal, and that no lionts, except thrwc belonging to the Union S.S. or Anchor Hues, can get a cargo. Sir. is there no remedy for such a state of things, and arc we to go on indefinitely ' levying through the nose' for this great necessary to our existence coal I" A Paris jioper gravely, and apparently in good faith, informs its readers that J. L. .Sullivan, the prize fighter, is a son of Sir Arthur Sullivan, the composer. The German matches "Tanclstickors" are in universal use throughout England. General Booth, it will l>e remembered, included in his scheme for the salvation of the "submerged tenth" the establishment of a match factory. Uj>oii hearing of this the German manufacturers have flooded the market with matches of their own make contained in Iwxes bearing upon them the Salvation Army arms. This is commercial morality in the nineteenth century. A Home j»aper truthfully says : —"" Such creatures would steal the life line that was the only hope of a shipwvecked crew." The Auckland Herald says : —A private letter from Mr F. Battley, of the Loan and Mercantile Company, dated London, 17th April, states "We arrived on the Ist instant, after all exceptionally favorable voyage. Both Sirs Battley and myself were decidedly invigorated by the voyage. I am hoping that when I get rest, I shall gain strength in my limbs. I have consulted a physician who tells me all T need is rest." The Wanganui Chronicle tells the following suggestive story : —A well-known fanner in this district the other day sent a consignment of "Ai sacks of potatoes to Wellington for sale there by a local house. The weight of the potatoes amounted to 2'l tons, which realised L2 5s par ton, making the gross proceeds of the consignment LtJ 3s I'd. Account sales were duly rendered to the consignor of the shipment. | Under the heading of charges there ap- ! peared the following items : —Commission | and guarantee at 5 per cent., 6s Id ; i whiirfotje. labor, receiving delivery, ;uul | rent, say lis per t< n, Kis 2d ; steamer | freight from Wanganui, L2 14s (id; cartage, 3s ; and discount at 2i per cent., 3s Id ; making a total of L 4 2s lOd ; thus leaving net proceeds amounting to L2 0s lid (for nearly three tons of potatoes) to be received by the grower. Other expenses such as digging and carriage from field—some distance in this case—to the port of Wanganui have also to be deducted before the amount which may be considered the net profits of one consignment is arrived at. We should think that, after such a case as that just referred to. it would be a sufficient reason to prohibit any future consignments of produce from this district finding their way into the Wellington market.

A discovery likely to prove one of the most important that lias been made ill the medical world for years is published in the following paragraph Professor German See. of Paris, has long been engaged in study to learn what elements in milk rendered it surh all admirable agent to stimulate the kidneys, increase the flow therefrom, and hence prove of such greatservice in dropsies. As a result of his investigation, he is convinced that the one important element is the sugar of milk. Acting upon this theory, lie selected 25 patients with heart disease, in all of which there was more or less dropsy. To each he gave 100 grammes of the sugar of milk a day, dissolved in two quarts of water. In all these cases a marked effect upon the kidneys was felt within 2-t to 45 hours, and the dropsies diminished rapidly, and almost all such swellings disappeared altogether after a series of treatments lasting from six to eight days. Tlie licensed victuallers—or, rather, the brewers, whose slaves they are—have had a bad week. A Bill establishing Local Option in Wales has passed the second reading : and the House of Lords lias judicially and unanimously affirmed that a person" who has a license for one year has no more right to a renewal than if lie liad never been granted a license. The knowledge that this was the law probably led the Tory Government to endeavor last year to pas.s an Act creating a freehold in licenses. If the Bill had ]>assed, its effect would have been to make a present of above a hundred millions to their brewing friends.—Truth. Mr Hamlin, in his evidence before the Native Land Laws Commission, mentioned a fact not generally known. In two case in the liawke's Bay distinct the names of children yet unborn were inserted in the titles, and the ceremony of •• naming the child " was therefore performed a little in advance of the usual occasion.

From all the accounts received from the Waikato, the introduction of sheep is going to revolutionise the value of property in that district. Two or three years ago property which was unsaleable and unproductive is now being made to carry sheep, giving a handsome return after allowing interest on the then value of the property, so that there is a brighter prospect for holders of property there. We have seen the Ixdance-sheet of one of these estates, which, after debiting it with interest at the Property Tux value and payment of all current expenses during the year, shows a handsome profit to the go«jd. Tn another estate, where three years ai:o it was carrying 4600 head of cattle and 5000 sheep, it is now carrying 1.100 head <>f cattle and 50,000 sheep. Next year they hope to increase the carrying cajiacity by at least 50 per cent., and in the succeeding year in the same ratio. The explanation of the increased carrying capacity of the land is not far to seek. 'The settlers, by ploughing, grassing, aud stocking, have been able to conquer the fern, which has been the great difficulty they have had to contend with since taking possession of the "Waikato laud. Nil desperaiulum should be the motto of every \N aikato settler.—Auckland Herald.