The Oamaru Mail. THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1909.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10106, 25 March 1909, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1909.

Xkw Zealand's offer of a, battleship. or two, to tho .Mot Iter TiiM wisnoai oi'" Country has, raisetl the Tiui skiu'HNT. (question or her ability stati<l tho cxpt-Mt.su without mulnly straining her iiuances. According to some alleged authorities on the subject of Now Zealand's financial condition. the Dominion is iu a bad way. and never "will bo any better till th Wait! Government is out and wc are H- . M by the kind attentions of an Administration formed from that-other party which muild spend "without either borrowing or taxing. We have before us threo views oi the financial situation, which emanate from the same number of prominent- New Zcalenders. ilr ilassey. one of these authoi 1ties, and the must' distinguished because of his political position as loader of the Opposition, points to the excess of withdrawals in tho case of the Post Ollice Savings Bank in comparison with the deposits, ;is "somewhat a serious matter. So it is; but- nobody supposed surely, that "we were going to pile up wealth in any of the banks year iu and year out- without intermission. iWlien money becamo scarce and was at a premium in the great financial centres of the world, through the collapse in the United States, it was not to be expected that tho deposits in our banks would not become nimble. Instead of complaining, we should, be gratified that- there "was money iu the banks to take out- and distribute'where it was required in a time of stress, liut Mr Massey cannot be anything but pessimistic so long as he is nothing more than a drag on tho conduct ot the affairs of this country ; and he. therefore strays from a review of the position of the Post Office Savings Hank to make a few remarks about the awful profligacy of the Government, whose place could be so much better filled from the ranks of his own following. From facts he drifts into fiction, and confidently announces that •'the time has arrived for Parliament and the public itself to check any unnecessary expenditure," and so forth. Wo understood from ill- Massey that "the time had arrived, long ago; but oil this point the public and that gentleman as much at variance as oil any other. When the people of Jvew Zealand, whose opinions on national affairs are embodiments of the greatest wisdom of which the nation is capable, come to think with Mr t Massey, or when Mr Massey, whose political wisdom is now a negligible quantity through conversion, thinks with the people, then Sir Joseph Ward's political ascendancy will bo imperilled. The leader of tho Opposition is -too flagrantly censorious to win respect. He- magnifies peccadilloes tiil they, from being aniiualcula;, appear as monsters, of political, misconduct; or, as in the case of his objection to the erection of a temporary chamber for tho Legislative Council instead of embarking in an extravagant building scheme, he audaciously. for the mere, sake of differing from his antagonists, seeks to inflame the public mind with the idea- that tho virtuo of economy, which he has previously enjoined, is a. vice. It is only too clear that we shall not get. any light and leading from Mr Massey oil the all-absorbing topic of tho day; so we will leave him to the enjoyment of his platitudinous paradise, or the miseries of its political antithesis.

Prior to his departure for Duncdin Mr A. L. Adamson was presented by Iris fel-low-employees of the local office of the New Zealand Express Company with a handsome travelling bag and a sovereign east. Miss Rollings, in a felicitous speech, made the presentation, referring to the happy relationship that had at times existed- between Air Adamson as manager and his co-workers. Mr Adamson feel-, ingly expressed his thanks. The presentations ivere suitably inscribed. The dangers attending level railway crossings, and especially such as that over Severn street, were further cxemplifiedycs- . terday morning, the incident, being one by which a young lady came alarmingly- near being- overtaken by a shocking accident. A cyclist was Been by pedestrians to be riding down Severn street at a rate of speed which gave the, impression, that she had lost control of her machine or that her brake had failed to act. At the time. .the. .20 minutes to 8. train from Oamaru was approaching the crossing, and a collision seemed inevitable to the onlookers, who awaited the result with breath. lessnoGSi • Fortunately, however, the young lady's life was saved as if by a dispensation of .Providence. , With_ a full realisation of her dangerous predicament, she„swerved her "machine off the roadway and at a tangent dashed over the rails in,front of the oncoming engine. Bareiy had!' the' bicycle crossed the rail®, when the 'rider fell ; off,, and she was only able to draw her prostrate body clear of the rails to allow theyengine- to pass withim a few inches. " THo engine-drivte, seein<r: the dangerj applied the brakes, and brought-..,the ttain- to a standstill, the slackening .of the train's speed, undoubtedly preventing a fatal result. Although bleeding slightly at the mouth, she expressed - herself as not being,: hurt, but as may be imagined she wais con- | siderably shaken; ..It i? tKS knowledge

that bucli accidents are possible at Sovern street that justify the ablation for llif Severn street, crossing lu-iup; abolished. Strange to relate. though the Nimrod • has been on our eoast for nearly two days. New Zealamlero received their lirst. information of hient. Shackleton's suceew; fiom London : so that tlie news was sent, from this country ami Iravolk'd almost 30.000 miles before it returned to it. Ihe enterpiise <tf a Eondoti newspaper is resnonsil'le for this circuitous transmission or news i h;tt \\';us at our very doors. .As the. funds whii'h wore mpiired * uy \" {X expedition will" partly raised by eonterrinu' Iho information ijainod solely upon certain puhlications. tis no voom for complaint. \\i> could ourselves have had the j iows first it we had thought to Jit oaf ;i vessel on sneh a mission. U will. J however, be disaiM">hitiii«: if t-ho most interesting incidents and valuable discoveries connected with the enterprise -lionld he withheld till tlury t un reach us in papers and magazines from Home. \Ye have heen promised a spo< ial account of the expeditions exploits—at lea>t tlie Vvws Association have purchased some copvriu'ht or other hearing on the matter." It would have heen more Kttislactory to the evening papers had 1/iont. Shaekletoirs party put- their mysterious packet ashore at- the lUtiil, or tak< n into their heads to come by a ••.. .e oxpeditioxis route, as the Ximrod had been 34 hours on the passage Iroin Cape Saunders <2OB miles\ when we went to press, and had just hoop signalled nine miles oil bvttelton Meads. 'The Tennis Club's bazaar was opened tliis afternoon in St. l.uke's Hall, there a attendance ol visitoits to encourage stall-holders who, together with their assistants, have workeil nohly to the end that a display of eoods should be made sueh as would compel purchase. In this endeavor they have been sinjiulav]v successful, the result beimj that every stall is covered with a wealth of yoods. many and varied,, hut all of excellent quality, in their own particular line, '.file stalls'are under tlie following management -.—Work Stall —Meed times Arinstroiiij, Venuell. liuckley. and lJouelas; Toys and Fancy Hoods— MesiUmiefi lljorriiisr and Hindinaish ; Produce —Mrs ]3avys and Miss i I e:wl lain I. Sweets.Misses Cilchrist, Nii.olls. Ifulleicl. iuml Murdoch. The tea tent is under the su pcrvision of .Mcsdamos Whitton, Hurry, and Potter, and, judging by appearances, should prove a source of considerable revenue. The Committee have endeavored —and that success!'nil"--to so dispose the stalls that they will show to the best advantage, while at the same time their patrons will not be unduly crowded. His Worship the Mayor (.Mr I!. Milligan), Councillors Keys, Taylor, .Miller. Malum, Mitchell, Snadden, Clarke, and Crave attended a special meeting of the Council last evening, called for pose of amending the district electors' list, and fur passing same as a roll, and tor the purpose of appointing two representatives on the 'technical Classes .Association Hoard of -Management. Regarding the iirst object, several amendments were made, atid it was agreed on the motion ol Councillor Kevs.' seconded by Councillor Taylor, that the roll be the district elector's roll for the ISorough of Oumurn, Councillors Mitchell and Snadden, along "with the Mayor and Town Clerk, being api Jointed to tdgn same. tonneilloi.s M'Adam and Mahaii were appointed the Council's representatives on the Technical Classes Association Hoard of Management. Our Waimafe correspondent writes: —A statutory meeting of the Waimati! iMiroULih Council was held yesterday, at 11 a.m., to adopt the district electors ro I for the coming period. The Town Clerk submitted a roll containing 736 names, and reported that in compiling the roll he had omitted seven names owing to death. 15 who were on the last roll as residential but diid not vote, and 5a names of those who possessed no present muililieations. Amongst the latter were several who resided in houses provided ny their employers, but had been left oil because they did not actually pay vent, and were not free tenants. Alter discussing the roll it was certitied. to as correct, and so signed by the -Mayor and Councillors' mitt and line■kingham. It was resolved to submit the limiting of I lie roll to lender. and the Clerk was asked to not latinise who had been struck oif but were still in the district.

.Mr O'Crad.y, (he local l,abor agent, has been informed that Mr W . 11. \\ estbrook, of Wellington, who has been appointed to succeed Mr O'Crady (superannuated) will arrive iu (lamaru on Saturday. The steamer lhikaki .s departure lor Wellington, West Coast, riefou. and Nelson has been delayed till to-morrow. .Mr .1. I), i'amilluu reports having sol I. on account of .Me.-srs il. and I*. I'alcrsiin. their 46 ai res Educational licsei ve. wit!i improvements, to -Mr \\ . T. Ilcllewell. Knlield. Statistics compiled by the I'olire I'oiumissioner of New York show (says the Auckland Star's New York eorrespnudenl) that- while 35 per rent, of the city s population of lour millions is eidier foreign born 01' of foreign parentage, and nearly 50 per cent., or two millions, do not speak the English language, e.varlly 135 per rent, of the criminal class belongs to this tor eign mass. The crimes roiuniitlcd by (lie Hebrews are generally against property ; pocket-picking ami shop-lilting being their forte, the most expert of al! street thieves being Hebrew boys of 15 or lb. _ Murders'are rare among them. Iu this they differ from the Kalians, most of whom are industrious and honest- citizens, but among whom is always to be found a certain percentage of murderous desperadoes, who have been driven from their own country, and who continue (heir career of crime in the Jvew World. This class constitutes tho most desperate, brutal, and degraded byd.v of malefactors probably i'l the world, and the hardest to deal with beehuse of the terror-caused conspiracy of silence among their honest, eo-pal riots. No other nationalities approach the Hebrews and the Italians in their criminal record. Captain 11. Herbert Noyes, Commissioner for the Legion of Frontiersmen, who came out to New Zealand two years ago to form a command in this country, is a. very disappointed man. New Zealand,' he informed a l'ost reporter, is the only country in the liritish dominions which has failed to do its part. The legion, it may be explained, consists of scouts who woukl be of invaluable service to an army in times of trouble. A course of training and operations is laid down, and the various commands in different countries are ollicially recognised by the Government just as the militia and "volunteers are. In the case of manoeuvres —usually hold at Eastertime—the scouts would bo attached to and work with the forces. During the time Captain Noyes has been in Xew Zealand lie has, he states, persistently endeavored to get tho Government to recognise a corps of the Legion of Frontiersmen, but has failed. The Defence CVmueil thinks there is no necessity for such a corps in Mew Zealand, and Captain Xoyes has now decided to return to England with his mission unfulfilled. The agony of an aching head drives away every thought of pleasure and causes, anxiety to tho sufferer's friends. Steam's Headache Cure brings quick relief and makes life livable. 16 Last two days of Penrose's giving-up-business sale. Those who have not visited our store durinir this sale should not fail to do so on Friday or Saturday, as we aro giving value that will beat all previous records. Every item you purchase shows a clear profit to the purchaser. As Mr Penrose retires from business in (lamaru the. stock must be soId.—PENROSE'S Drapery Establishment.