ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13586, 7 May 1906, Page 9

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

(Fhoh Oyis Own Correspondent,) LONDON, Maroh 23, Lord Carrington, president of tho Board of Agriculture, in company with Sir Thomas Elliott, permanent secretary of the, department, yesterday received a deputation on tho subject of tho Dogs Bill introduced by the Government, and the regulations as to tho importation of dogs. ' Mr Catheart Wasoii, M.P., the introducer, while sympathising entirely with the desire to stop the worrying of sheep by stray dogs, expressed his fear lost, under tho bill farmers and shepherds should bo deprived of the right of claiming exemption for sheep dogs, He suggested that, as was tho oaso in Now Zealand, tho compulsory wearing by every dog of a collar bearing tbo owner's name and address, which could he provided by tho local authorities at > small cost, would afford, sufficient protection. A good deal of attention is being excited in Bradford, I learn, by a new method of treating seeds, etc., in wool, moohanioal means having recently been perfected which, practically speaking, removes all this objcctionablo matter without heat, fluids, or chemical treatment of any kind. A correspondent was shown. samples of Australian merino, New Zealand oroisbred, and card waste which . had been treated by tho now method, rapidly becoming known as the Youla process: and when samples of the original material wero placed side by side with tho clean products which had been obtained, they wero "a perfect eyeopener." The result had been achieved without subjecting tho wool to anything but mechanical treatment. Those present expressed amazement which was generally shared even by the principals of many of the largest wool houses in Bradford, somo of whom had point blank refused to believe that tho results had been aooomplislied by purely mechanical means. •. j A few weeks ago ,I sent you particulars of tho reduced charges for oojd storage proposed to be. levied by the Bristol authorities on frozen mutton; landod at Avonraouth. Both the Cardiff Bock' Company and tho Barry Dock Company now announoe their intention of opposing Bristol's parliamentary bills,, on tho ground that they will be prejudiced by what they term nnduo preference.. • ■ The directors of tlto Bank of Australasia in their report for tho half-year ended Ootober 16 state that, after providing for rebate on bills current, for bad and doubtful debts, and for British and colonial rates and taxes, the net profit for ,the halfyoar amounted to £137,451. To this sum must bo added £17,103 brought forward from the previous half-year, making a total of £154,555,. out of which tho directors have declared a dividend for tho half-year at the rate of 12 per eeut. per annum, or £2 Ss per share,' free of incomo tax, Tho dividend will absorb £96,000, and the directors havo further appropriated £30,000 to the refervo fund, and £11,000 in reduction of tho cost of bank premises. There will' then remain £17,555 to be carried forward to the next account. Mr Donald Murray (formerly of Auckland, New Zealand), tbo'inventor of tho Murray printing telegraph system, has just returned to London froin Itiissia, where ho has been engaged for the psst six weeks installing his apparatus between St. Petersburg and Moscow. _ Remarkably .successful : results were achieved, I learn, in 6omc experiments made with tha Murray system over very long Russian- telegraph 'lines, tho speeds obtained being in every oaso from 50 to 100 per cent, greater than with tho Whoafcrtono system, which''was iried at the same time and 'under tbo same conditions. In countries with long and expensive telegraph lines such an increG6o of spwd is of great importance, as it makes one telegraph wire practically equivalent to two, oven when compared with the Wheatstone, tho l«st system hitherto known for such work. In ,0110 of tho trills tile fetal length of tho line was 1926 miles of iron wire with three repeating stations. A speed of 56 words per minute was reached and a number of messages were printed satisfactorily. This is by far the longest distanco over which a printing t-piogranh syttsni has over lieen wortked; in faot, on an iron wire no printing telograpli has'ever before been worked over oven half this distanco. A trial of like Murray system was also madd between Berlin and Si. Potorsburg direct, with surprisingly satisfactory results, no less than 70 words a minuto being reached. The distance between the two capitals is over 1000 miles. .Mr Murray describes fiis visit to Russia as having been• most enjoyable.. Tho whole country was covered with a thick blanket of snow, the Nova, was froy/m 2ft trick, and an electric tram was running across the ice, but the Russians know how to keep themselves warm, and the cold was less noticeable than in London. Everything was quid, bolii in St. Potnrsbiu'if and in Moscow, and Mr Murray gathered the impression that the newspaper accounts of Russian troubles are greatly exaggerated. He found tse Russians n. wry kindly, patient, and hospitable people, and the poital and telegraph officials loxceedingly courteous and well qualified for their work and he says that whatever truth there may bo in 'the newspaper .reports about other departments of the Russian public service, tho Russian Poslnl and Telegraph Department at anvrate is well managed and op to date. In Moscow the telegraph lines had suffered greatly at the .hands of tho ' strikers, .many milos of wire being destroyed. J'he Government will not' be caught again in this way as it is laying its ' eity telegraph wiros in cables underground. Tho .Murray system is now working between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Berlin and Hamburg, and London and' Edinburgh, and sets are being constructed to work, between 1 London and Dublin. Vienna'and Prague in ' Austria, and Calcutta and Bombay in l Tndia. This last lino is 1200 miles long. ' Tho Indian Government, in order to avoid ! any danger of interruption of tiho traffic, ' has ordorcd not only a complete working j set, but also a complete reserve set of tho ! Murray system for Oaloutta and for Bom- i bay, ===== . ]