THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES THURSDAY, JULY 3O, 1908. THE COAL MINING SITUATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14279, 30 July 1908, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES THURSDAY, JULY 30, 1908. THE COAL MINING SITUATION

As tho questions in dispute between the colliery proprietors at Green Island and tho miners, which hare been the subject of a conference this week, are to engage the attention of tho Arbitration Court at its present sitting in Dunedin it would be improper on our part, even if it were permissible, to discuss the merits of the case. Thereis, however, a general aspect of the matter to which consideration may be given without the authority of the Arbitration Court being impinged upon and to which it is, in view of the importance of the issue, perhaps desirable that consideration should be given. The president of the Court reasonably suggested yesterday to the parties to the disputes in the other coal mining districts in Otago that they should agree upon as many as passible of the points that are in issue. It will be generally regarded as desirable, if a. satisfactory settlement is to be effected, as does not seem to be at all beyond the bounds of likelihood, that the issues should be narrowed down to as fine a- point as can be reached before the cases an submitted to the Arbitration Court for its adjudication. And this means not only that as many of tho issues as can 'ha settled, by private arrangement ■should be settled', but also that every

offorb should be exhausted to arrive at a settlement even upon points respecting which the views of the parties may seem to bo. at distinct variance, before the cases reach the Court. The result of the conference at Green Island this week cannot he said to have gratified the hopes of any who may have- anticipated that the outcome would be to render the interposition of the Arbitration Court unnecessary through the mutual acceptance, of such a schedule of rates and of such conditions of employment as, wliilo involving no injustice to the colliery proprietors, would he acceptable to the- men. But it would he a mistake to suppose that the conference has not been productive of any good. While on the one hand the employers were provided with a very clear indication of what the representatives of the workers consider should be the irreducible minimum of the Union's demands, the miners on the other hand can hardly have failed to he impressed with the information which was placed before them respecting the varied and increasingly heavy burdens that are imposed upon the coal mine owners of the Dominion. And the miners themselves, as intelligent men, as the manner of their handling of their, case proclaims them to be, recognise, of course, that there is a point beyond which, if the industry is to be maintained, it is mathematically impossible that their demands can go. Some indiscreet statements were made at the meeting that was held at Green Island at the conclusion of the conference, but to these we need not attach any special signiacance at the present moment. We prefer to believe that the hopes which were expressed,by the president of the coal Miners' Union for his part and by more than one representative of the employers for their part, that loyal acquiescence will bo yielded to whatever award the Arbitration Court may make, express the feeling that is the more prevalent on both sides. We are the more inclined to this view since it must he realised by everyone concerned that the adoption of any other course would have a very serious effect—that it would inflict a grievous injury upon a number of industries in addition to that immediately affected and that the persons who would be the greatest sufferers would be the workers themselves.

FARMERS IN CONFERENCE. There has always been a groat deal that is both practical and suggestive m the addresses delivered from the chair by Mr J. G. Wilson at the annual conferences of tho New Zealand Farmers' Union. That of which wo publish a summary this morning will be found to %k fully as valuable as any of Mr Wilson's previous addresses. The passage of the Land Act of last session —a measure which he reasonably describes as a compromise in almost every point, arid not least of all in the respect that it has, as he puts it, given "another hoist" to land nationalisation—has enabled Mr Wilson this year to devote his presidential speech more largely than lias been the case for the past few years to matters that have no political aspect. What he had to say on the failure of dairy farmers to practise what he calls the higher, stylo of daily farming was very much to the point. Not only has the Department of Agriculture, through its experts, repeatedly exhorted dairy farmers to study their own interests by testing the milk, obtained from their cattle and by culling their herds upon the results of these tests, but the Dairy Associations have added the weight of their influence to that of the Department in effort to secure the introduction of this system. Strangely enough, however, while the dairy farmers seem readily to admit at their conferences that it would be advantageous to them to adopt a. plan of careful selection of their herds, the majority of them—probably from a mistaken notion that the gain would not be worth the trouble to which they would be subjected—have hitherto neglected to put the system into practice. Mr Wilson, having made himself acquainted with the results that have followed the adoption in other countries of methods by which the farmer ascertains the respective merits of his cows as milkproducers and is thus enabled to discard the unprofitable, is satisfied that it is no exaggeration to say, as the late Daiiy Commissioner has said, that the value of the New Zealand output may be, under a system of judicious selection of herds, increased by a million sterling per annum. This is a startling statement, and one that many farmers may find it difficult to accept. But the results of the adoption at the Weraroa State Farm of tho practice of weighing each cow's milk morniug and evening and of instituting monthly butter-fat tests show so conclusively the benefits of the system that anyone who reads the records of these tests as contained in the last annual report of the Department of Agriculture must be forced to the conviction that if the system became general, or even fairly general, throughout the /Dominion an enormous annual increase in the value of the dairying output would be effected. A comparative test of the results from six good and six inferior cows indicated that the best cow yielded a clear profit of £17 lGs lid and that the worst cow showed a loss of £1 12s lOd, it being assumed that the '<*d for the cows and the labour expended upon them represented £4 in each case. Twenty cows equal to the sis best would, it was found, produce a net profit for the year of £289 10s, whilo the net profit upon twenty cows equal to the six inferior would be only £18 Is Id. It would take sixteen cows such as tho inferior ones to givo a, roturn equal to that of one of the best. Consequently twenty cows like the best would give a return equal to 320 cows of the inferior standard. Farmers are net usually lacking in discernment, and ifi is simply amazing that, with figures like these before them, they should hesitate to adopt a system of culling such as Mr Wilson suggests. The im" portance of scientific farming was justly emphasised by Mr Wilson, and his suggestion that the Farmers' Union. sTTouid interest itself in promoting series of experiments, which (should be conducted by the Department of Agriculture upon land provided by the farmers, who should perform the work and benefit by the results, will commend itself as one that should be widely accepted. Upon the continued: necessity for organisation by the farming classes there should be general agreement on the part of those engaged in. agricultural and pastoral pursuits. Wo

aro disposed, with Mr Wilson, to doubt whether tho working classes in tho mass have, lite those who pose as their leaders and who represent them in tho Trades Councils and Trade Conferences, been hypnotised into a belief that Socialism constitutes a panacea for all tho economic ills; but, even if they have not, the duty still rests upon the farmers, in common with the«other saner elements in tho population, to resist to the uttermost the attack upon the existing institutions in the land.

THE VETERINARY SCHOOL. I It will be a fortunate circumstance if the establishment ot the Veterinary School in connection with Otago University is likely to bo brought nearer accomplishment through the representations which Otago members of Parlia- J ment are addressing to the Government on the subject. The dismission i at the meeting of the members. last Monday threw a desirable amount of' light on the nature of the scheme. The cost of . buildings and equipment has been estimated at about £3500, and £1650 per. annum repre-! sents the maximum estimate for maintenance. The public will agree with | Mr James Allen that it would be a mistake to .start the Veterinary Col- i lege on any other than a sound basis*, j and that, the estimated expenditure is very moderate in comparison with the advantages whieh may be expected from it. It is not extravagant to think that the time has arrived when the Dominion, with its population of dose on a million, should be able to point to at least one institution where those who desire to study veterinary science can avail themselves of the necessary opportunities for so doing. The question of the nature of the entrance examination for the school is clearly of considerable importance, and is to be regarded from more than one aspect. The difficulty of the position amounts to this, that if the standard of this examination is too low the value of the degrees conferred by the school will suffer. On the other hand, if the standard is too high the effect may be. to limit the number of students of veterinary science and so curtail the usefulness of the school to au undesirable extent. As is no doubt generally understood, the matriculation examination is the' entrance examination for the, New Zealand University, it is the test the satisfaction of which is a necessary condition of candidature for a New Zealand University degree. There is, however, a difference of opinion among the members on the point whether candidates for degrees in veterinary science should be required to conform to the, ordinary University entrance examination test. Mr Malcolm holds that the University Senate should be asked to accept the Sixth Standard proficiency pass as a sufficient entrance test in the case of candidates for such degrees, but he did not press this view to a division, and in this he acted judiciously in view of the fact that Otago members wish to present it united front to the Prime Minister as a deputation urging that the Veterinary School should be brought into being as soon as possible. The majority of the members are apparently not disposed—and, we believe, rightly—to admit the suitability of the Sixth Standard proficiency pass as an entrance test. If tlie kind of Veteriuary College wanted is one of high status and repute, of which the degrees shall be recognised outside New Zealand and Joy the Royal College of Veterinary, Surgeons and be on a par with the other degrees of the New Zealand University, it is idle to imagine that a preliminary education up to Sixth Standard requirements will be sufficient for its students. ft goes, we think, practically without saying that the New Zealand University Senate would object to grant decrees on such an understanding, and if the instructors at the technical schools complain with reason of the deficiencies of their pupils in respect of the essentials of education, the professors at the Veteriuary College might be expected to have infinitely greater cause for similar complaint should a sufficiently searching entrance examination not be provided for. it j s desirable that New Zealand degrees in veterinary science should be worth striving for. There is, of course, no reason why the Veterinary School should not provide instruction for ail who are willing to pay for it and'possibly some arrangement could he made, as was suggested, whereby certificates of proficiency which would be of a. certain value in New Zealand might bo granted to students who should' not proceed to their degrees. It should not, however,, be too muck to expect that these taking the full course with the object of gaining a degree should have satisfied the demands' of the ordinary University entrance examination, or some other test of sufficient severity. The University authorities and the Department of Agriculture may, wo are sure, bo relied upon to give these quc-stious the full and timely consideration they merit. At this juncture the issue to be decided relates to the establishment of a Veterinary School, and Otago members of Parliament are right to confine their imme* diate attention to that.

The first full mooting of tho newly-con-stituted Taieri Drainago Board was held yesterdays in the Land Board Office. Mr D. Barron was appointed chairman, and it was decided to hold the meetings of tho board at Mosgiel. A largo amount,, of important business was transacted, including resolutions to invite applications for tho position of engineer and also of secretary. Valuers were appointed to classify the lands in the drainage area for rating purposes, and steps wero authorised to bo taken to have the roads at different points from' Henley to Cutram cut through to allow flood waters to escape, tho latter work to 1» done in conjunction with the Taieri County Council. It was also decided that the board's temporary engineer (Mr B. B. Cotiston) be authorised to get the pumps of dissolved Drainago and Road Boards, and also privato pumps, in working order to reduce the flood wafers on inundated lands.

Tho tram service on the St. Kilda line was blocked at Maeandrew road about 6 o'clock last night in consequence of the axle of' a car breaking. Traffic was kept up by special oafs running from town and the beach end, so that the public inconvenience was reduced to a minimum.

Tho fortnightly meeting of the St. John Ambulance Brigade was held in tbe St. John Ambulance Association P>oom. Lower High street, on Tuesday cvonin* when there was a very largo attendance of reninhers and intending members. The superintendon). (Mr John Wood) presided. After tho business had been transacted, the first officer, of the brigade (Mr W. G. North} gavo a wry iittczefifiug and anstructiso address on '''Inwasbilitj," ffinjaerJioiS

sonic of llio causes, symptoms, and first-aid treatment. His remarks were listened to with marked attention, and much appreciated by all present, and proved specially instructive to the first-aid students, who are just on the eve of their examination. At. the conclusion of Mr North's address tho third officer (Mr W. M. Wilkinson) and Corporal Johnson gave a few demonstrations of* lifting and carrying injured persons. Snnorin'endent Wood supervised the work of the evening, and gave many valuahlo bits of instruction and information on first-aid work.. During the evening many cases of accidents were reported as having been treated by the members.

A well-attended meeting Was held last night in tho Trades Hull for the purposed further considering the formation of a Donlestio Workers' Union. Tho following resolution was unanimously carried:— "That, in tha opinion of this meeting, it is desirable for all concerned (hat u Demesne Worlrera' Union should be formed, and that those present agree to become members, and to do nil in their power to make it. a success." \ general discussion then ensued, and it was agreed that rules and regulations should bo drawn up, and that a meeting should 1» held next Wednesday evening for the pur. pose of adopting same and electing officebearers; also to consider tho question of registering the union under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. .

Our parliamentary correspondent telegraphs saying that, in reply to a published statement that, the Rev. Mr Thomson had been sent to the Slate cf Maine to investigate matters 'connected with the liquor trade, the New Zealand Government states that no one has been sent or authorised by the New Zealand Government to examine into the conditions of prohibition in the United Stales or elsewhere.

Our correspondent wires that Mr Barclay returned to Wellington yesterday after an absenco of a .fortnight, owing to the illness and death of his father. While he wxs in the south a large mass of correspondence for him reached Wellington. He hopes to deal with it during the next few days

Cr Shaddock, the chairman of the Klec trie Lighting and .' Power Committee, reported to Ja.sfc night's meetitig of the City s Council that tlie total amount of money paid to Mr A. Curwood, the contractor for the Loch Loudon dam, on account of extra leading subsequent upon a departure made from the original contract, was £175. Tho Mayor, the chairman of the committee, the town clerk, and the electrical engineer had been authorised to try to effect a settlement in this matter, and had authority to offea any sum up to £200. | •

Dr Mason, Chief Health Officer, jit company with Dr Ogston (District Health Ofllcer) and Dr Filohett, yesterday paid a visit of inspection to the fever, camp and the permanent hospital at Lake Logan. As a result of the visit made, the canvas hospital, in which the scarlet fever patients have been lodged for some weeks' past,' is {o bo. abandoned, awl to-day the four remaining patient? are 16 be removed to the permanent building. The permanent hospital is not quite completed 'in all details, but the unsuitable weather has precipitated matters, and everything i? to be in readiness for the transference of all patients today. Dr Mason expressed himself as being well satisfied with the now fever hospital" and .its completion should be a 60»vee of gratification to.all. 'Dr Mason'returns'to Wellington by the. first express this morn- s in?.

A statement of tho revenue and expenditure for the quarter ended June 30, 1908. submitted to the City Council last evening by tho electric power and light department* disclosed a very satisfactory state of affairs! The total expenditure over the three months referred to was £4001 8s Id, and the.total revenue for the same period £4403 7s. showing a credit balance of £401 18s lid. In addition, it was also set down that- the total capital expenditure to June 30.in con. nection with this donartment to £187,486 0s 9d.

Conferences between Bruce,' Taratu Koitangata, Oastlehill, and Allandalo coal miners and their employers will be h>M during this week and, if necessary; early next w«elc. Messrs A. Weston and A. Forbes (district president and secretary respectively of the Otago Coal-miners' Union) procaed to meet the Bruce men and the owners, and try to tffeK a settlement of the various matters in dispute between them. Conferences will also be hold at Taratu and Kaitangata in that order, and when they are concluded the delegates will proceed to'AJlandale and give thou- assistance at a conference there. The Allahdale conference was. fixed for yesterday afternoon, but at the last moment oircumstances necessitated its postponement.

At last night's meeting of the City 'Coum cil tho now famous by-law 18 (which deals with the regulation of street traffic) was again before the council for adoption. A deputation of carters was also before tha council, and. the former protested strongly against a clause that proposed to limit the time for which a carter may leave his vehicleunattended to five minutes. After some discussion tho by-law was again held over, this time for a fortnight, in.order to allow that clause to be further considered irt its relation to carters.

Tho letterpress and machinists' dispute will be mentioned in the Arbitration Court this It was referred to jester day, when Mr Breen said no further conferenco had taken place between the parties since tho application had been filed. Every, thing practically had been settled except the wages, and the employers were not wiling to give moro than £2 10s, while tho men ashed for £3 10s. This difficulty had been under consideration when the negotiations ceased. Mr Scott remarked that the employees based their proposals on the old Canterbury award of 1905, which was a renewal of an even older award. At his Honor's suggestion, it was decided to call tho case on to-day.

The Mayor and deputy town, clerk leavs on Saturday morning to attend the' Municipal Conference at Wellington, which opens there on Monday morning next. Subse. quently they so on to Auckland to attend tho fleet celebrations there.

A Press Association telegram from Wei. lington states that as one of the boys on tho training-ship Amokura has developed scarlet fever tho departure of the vessel for Auckland has been postponed. The ship was fumigated on Tuesday.

The Mayor of St. Kilda (Mr W. T. M'Farlane) and the town clerk (Mr J. B. Dick) will leave for Wellington to-morrow morning for the purposo of attending tho Municipal Conference. They will subsequently visit Auckland in connection with the welcome to the American battleship. fleet.

The formation of an Hotel Employees' Union has advanced so far as tho point at which rules have been drawn up for Adoption. These will be considered and officers elected at a meeting at the Trad-w Hall to-night.

A Press Association telegram from Wellington states that the Farmers' Union resolved that the Colonial Conforcnco urge upon the Government the necessity of importing an adequate supply of faprn and domestic labour.

Aft Auckland Pres's Association wire stales that. Mr Kettle, S.M., gave his reserved decision in tho charge against Charles Bailey, lessee of His Majesty's Theatre, for overcrowding during the Richards season. Ho held that the defendant was not occupant of tho theatre within the meaning of the by-law, and dismissed the information.

A Press Association telegram stales that the Auckland Industries Exhibition, jyill bq pnaned ok August 5..

A young man named Ernest Sargent was arrested at Port Chalmers (ibout noon yesterday by Conslablo Fraser on a warrant charging him with having stolen a purse an<l money at Christohureh, and also with having obtained goals at Waimale under falso pretences. The money stolen comprised £7 and a cheque, and the goods obtained wcro valued at 14s 2d. Accused was brought before Mr D. A. Do Mans. J.P., and, in answer to the bench, said ho came to the Dominion about 18 months as a stowaway in the steamer Kaipara. Accused was remanded to appear at AVainiato to-morrow and at Chnslehuroh on August 5, to answer both charges. At a meeting of the Trinity Methodist Church Quarter Board last evening a strong and unanimous, protest was made regarding the allegations of the immorality of Dunedin reported as having been made by Mr G. Harnett (manager of the British football team). Certain members of the hoard, who had lived in tho city for 40 years, wcro most emphatic in denying such sweeping allegations. Tho Labour Department has come to the conclusion, after experiments, that concrete can successfully compete with* timber in tho erection of workers' dwellings. A saving of 10 per cent, was effected in the cost by carrying 'out the work by day labour instead of contract, and there was the additional advantage, that tihe material can be relied on as being of better qualify. In regard to the rival materials, two houses were built with solid Sin concrete external . walls, and foundations, and the total cost worked out. at only £20 to £25 more than for wood, notwithstanding the ftot that the material for the concrete cost neatly double that similarly used at Petono at the present lime. The department's nrehitect, Mr Wobnrn Temple, adds: "I expect, therefore, to 1«3 able to report, next, year that concrete is as cheap as wocd, besides being much more durable, warmer, and costing very little for maintenance and fiie insurance. No doubt a large item in tho cost of \yoodon residences is tho abnormal price of timber and other materials, and the experiments being mado will, if tho results are j satisfactorily established, enable the department to further reduco the cost of rent, and , at the same timo to offer more valuable dwellings." A large quantity of correspondence from India is now being received by the Tourist Department .in' Wellington as a result of the steady advertising of New Zealand as a suirablo place of settlement for Anglo-Indian officials. Inquiries are mado as (o tho cost of living, conditions of taking up land and its price, and means of transit. Tho Post says that it is not at all unlikely that, in course of time largo numbers of AngloIndians retiring from the various branches of tho service will conio to New Zealand instead of settling in England. There the cost of maintaining the style of living suitable to tho class is much higher than in New Zealand, where so many costly conventions need not be observed, but where there aro innumerable advantages for those wishing to live a life of retirement in comfortable circumstances and an agreeable, healthy climate. A Christchurch Resident intercslcd in scholastic affairs suggests (says tho Press) that tho School Journal, which is issued try tho Education Department, might be made much more valuable to teachers and children if an occasional issue was given up entirely to historical end other matters connected with a particular centre. He says that a beginning could be made with the four large centres of population, and tho scheme could lie extended to minor centres. One issuo might Ire devoted to Christchuroh, its rise and progress; another to Dunedin another to Wellington, Auckland, and w on. Each special issue could bo made valuable to tho whole Dominion. In Taranaki, for instance, there is a large quantity of historical information that should be possessed by every child attending the Dominion's public schools. It is felt that if a scheme of this character is carried out tho children's minds would bo greatly enlarged in respect to the history of their own country. After hearing evidence from a number of .witnesses in connection with the fatality which occurred at Caulfield Racecourse when a jockey-Frederick! John Hayhoe (27) -Mvas killed owing to his mount (En'vov) falling at a jump in the Steeplechase over a distance of two miles, the coroner returned * verdict of accidental death. "There sbe'ms to bo some change going on in steepleoltasing," remarked the' coroner. 'Races are much faster than formerly. If a horse close ahead of another rises thW is always a tendency seemingly for the horse ■ m the rear to rise also, and that at too great a distance to ensure a safe flight over the fences. I do not know whether it would not be better to lengthen the di,. tanco over which steeplechases aro run, so es to steady the pace to some extent to tho lower jumns." Mr Scooncs presided at the meeting of tho Dunedin Starr-13owkett Building Society last mght. In the No. 1 group the 173 rd appropria. tion of £500 was disposed of by ballot, foiling to cluster 174, held by one shareholder. The 174 th appropriation of £500 was offered by sale, but as fhoro was no purchaser it was also submitted to ballot, It fell to elustor 201, hold by ono shareholder. In 1 group No. 2 tho 71st appropriation of £500 fell by ballot to cluster 128, held by ono shareholder holding threo shares. For some weeks past the fish trade at tho Bluff has been very slack, the takes < being non-productive. This is <i uo to tho ] boisterous, unsettled weather. The sea, both ; in the strait and outside, has l?ccn very " high, and what craft succeeded in venturing out were kept for tho most part .hanging around the outside shelters. On Sunday tho Port Pegasus ketch Scout reached the Bluff in a 12 hours' run from the port. She brought 200 cases of cod, and that is about the only shipment there is to report. Tho intercolonial steamers took away on Monday 380 sacks of oysters-140 per Ulimaroa, for Melbourne, and 240 per Maitai, for Sydney. His Honor Mr Justice Williams has granted probate in the estate of Lindsay Charles Henry Stables (Mr Webb), deceased. Loiters of administration have been granted in re Jano Hclmkey, deceased (Mr Bedford), and Elizabeth AVcir, deceased (Mr Stephens). In ro John Smyth Fleming, deceased, an ] ardor has been mado confirming the regis- ' trar's report; remuneration to exeoutors accordingly. "The Messiah," which was given in His i Majesty's Theatre, Ohvistehurch on Tuesday 1 night, in further celebration of the opening ] of tho city organ, attracted an enormous i attendance, and so many failed to secure 1 admission that tho Organ Committee i decided to have the oratorio repeated on < Friday. The soloists were Mr Charles ' Saunders and Miss Clara ltobson (of London), and Mr J. Prouse and Miss Buckmann : (of AVellington). Mr Saunders, who was very successful, has accepted a re-engage-ment for Friday, necessitating a postponement of bis recital at Timaru. - l ' When in AVellington during the past few days, in company with Mr Snowball, tho abattoirs inspector, and. Mr Gough, city building inspector, Or T. Smith was very much surprised to learn that in the capital j city there is absolutely nothing done in regard to the inspection of the carcases of pigs coming into the city. In this respect, ho remarked, Wellington is far and away behind Dunedin, and probably no more laxity is shown in any other part of the Dominion than there. An identity of name and a similarity ill appearance nearly spoilt a holiday ; taken by a Wellington lady in Australia. '■ She sent a letter of credit'for £100 from ' her Wellington bankers to tho Sydney : General Port Office, to Tcmain until called for on her arrival in Sydney. A few days elapsed beforo b)io called at tho office, j .When she did apjdj for th.fi registered ;

letter, she found to her amazement that somebody else had been beforo hor, and, giving the same, name, had received the letter. Sim went at once to tho bank and informed tho manager. AVhile she was there a detective arrived with the missing | letter. A woman, whoso name was genuinely the same as that of the right- ( ful owner, and who had been accustomed • to receiving remittances from New Zealand, bad scoured the letter and attempted to cash it at the bank. Had there not been something suspicious in her manner, tho money would have been paid out without demur. The holiday-maker refused tc prosecute. Such a contingency as actually occurred she wver dreamt of, as she had frequently adopted tho same policy before m travelling. A considerable industry is being built up in the United States in the manufacture of galalith, or milketone, which is cheaper than celluloid, and is non-inflammable. Tho stone is made of milk. The raw material is skimmed milk from the large co-opera-tive dairies. To this in largo tanks is added rennet, coagulating the casein, which is pressed, dried, and powdered, and freed from its cheesy odour by repeated washings, and finally is hardened by a chemical. The product is more brilliant, moro solid, and a trifle heavier than celluloid. It is as easy to work as wood, and can be made mto a great variety of articles, such as combs, hairpins, piano keys, buttons, knife handles, umbrella handles, backs for brushes, paper knives, dominoes, inlaid ornaments For furniture, ami almost any ohjcot requiring solidity and tine polish. It can he given any colour or made to imitaio marble, coral, tortoiseshell, etc. William Campbell, an unemployed bricklayer, quarrelled with hie son at dinner, in New York (says the correspondent of tho Daily Telegraph), ami slashed him across the arm with a big carving knife. To save her son, who is 21 years old and the mainstay of the family, from further injury, tho heroic mother lushed between the combatants, and was herself stabbed to the heart. The murderer would probably have escaped but for the arrival of an athletic priest, summoned by neighbours, who wrestled with the bricklayer, threw him helpless to the ground, and then calmly administered extreme unction to Mrs Campbell. The mother and son and two daughters, aged 22 and 14 were seated at table when the father arrived intoxicated. Tho woman affecicd not to mind him, but the son got angry, and protested that a drunken father was a sorry spectacle for the young daughters. This led to a war of words and a fight in which chairs and dishes were freely used. Finally, the father caught up a carving-knife. Tho priest kept guard until the police arrived and took iin bricklayer into custody. The neighbours who saw the affair stato that young Campbell would undoubtedly have been killed but for the mother's heroic sacrifice. According lo the None Preio Presss (Vielina), a company is being formed to provide a floating sanatorium for invalids likely to derive benefit from a sea voyage, but whose requirements are not—or only imperfectly— mot by a voyage on ordinary vessels. Messrs Swan, Hunter, and AVigham, Richardson, and Co., of Wallsend (England), havo undertake to build for £100,000 a vessel specially designed for invalids and dovoted entirely to their needs. AVhereas ordinary vessels aro obliged to follow a pre-established course, and 'to tako 6torm and sunshine as they may come, the floating sanatorium would go in search of good weather, seek shelter from bad weajher, and consult solely tho welfare of its invalid passengers. Tlie ship is to bo designed to contain a swimming bath, hydro-therapeutic institutes, and a hall for gymnastics and other exercises. All cabins aro to bo constructed so as to afford their occupants a maximum of direct light and air. • The Adriatic, and, in particular the Austrian Riviera and the Dalmatian coasts, aro contemplated as the usual cruisingground of tho new vessel. o An old-established engineering, brass, and ironfoundry business, centrally situatcdi in AVellington, is for sale. Tenders close on the 4th August for the Dunedin Drainage Board's loan in debentures of £100 each bearing interest, payable halfyearly, at tho rate of £i 10s per cent, per annum. Tenders shcnld bo lodged in the board's office, Town Hall, Dunedin, not later than 3 p.m. on Tuesday next. Ladies' Gibson coats, only a few left in light and dark tweeds; full length and tight fitting; worth from 23s Gd to 49s Gd, Jlollisons' sale price, 10s Cd each.—Add. We do expert repair work to watches and jewellery of all kinds. Do not run the risk of. spoiling your watch or losing a valuable stone out of a ring, but have them seen to now. G. and T. Young, the dependaolo watchmakers and jewellers, 88 Princes street, JJnnedin—Advt. For bronchial coughs fake Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. Is Gd and 2s Gd. Tho coughs, colds, and sore throats which are so prevalent at this season of the year may easily be cured by a bottle or two of "Benjamin Gum." The great feature of Benjamin Gum" is that it gives relief with the first dose! Is Gd .bottle. Who is Peter Dick?— The most reliable Watchmaker ami Jeweller, opposite Coffee Palace, Moray place, Dunedin. Charges strictly moderate—Advt. ■'' 1 I ]