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Otago Daily Times, Issue 15821, 21 July 1913, Page 4

The price of factory butter was advanced as from Saturday morning by Id per lb. The retail price of lib prints is now Is 4d. In advising their customers of the increase the Taieri and Poninsufa Coinpany'6 circular says:—" Owing to the existing butter /Amino we aro compelled to advance the price of our butters by Id per lb." On Saturday morning, however, a Dunedin merchant stated to a Daily Times reporter that he would not bo surprised to see the price fall o,?ain within tho next. fortnight or rhrco weeks. On Tuesday tho quantity of butter in cool stores in tho dominion was 24,231 boxes, as against 37,374 boxes on the corresponding date last year. In Dimedin the total in cool storo was 1048 boxes.

On hie attention being drawn on Saturday morning to the published oablegrom from London with reference to the colourtests imposed on officers by the Union Steam Ship Company, Sir James Mills stated that the tests, imposed on the company's officers liad been in force for the last 20 years without 6erious complaint. Ho also 6tated that the company had no intention of increasing .the severity of the tests,

The fairly large number of people who assembled on the wharf at Port Chalmers yesterday afternoon to witness the departure of the UKmaroa for Melbourne were favoured with something almost equally as entertaining as the pier-head rush of>a belated passenger. It appeared l that ono of the lady passengers had 6ent her luggage down to Port Chalmers to bo put aboard the 6teamer, but for some reason or other it had gone to the Upper Port station. This the lady ascertained only when the boa* was about to sail, and there seemed no poesibib'ty of rectifying the error. A trio of adventurous gentlemen set out to recover the goods, however, and just as the moorings wero being cast off they hove at eight with a handcart bearing the missing luggage. A tall man ran between the shafts like a heavily-burdened 1 rickshaw-man, while his companion pushed behind and manned the wheels when : required. The vessel started to swing out, but the man in the shafts responded with a gallant spurt, and a rope was thrown from the ship and secured to the luggage by willing hands.

Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., presided over the sitting of the City Police Court on Saturday morning. Mary Keenan, a prohibited person, was charged with drunkenness and with procuring liquor. Tho magistrate decided to givo accused another chance, and convicted and ordered her to come up for sentence whon called on. Elizabeth Pleece was fined 20s, or three days' imprisonment, for drunkenness.

It is now definitely announced (say 6 our Wangamii correspondent) that the South Taramaki Shipping Company intends running a weekly service to Onehunga in connection with tho opening up of tho frozen meat trade with Vancouver.

" Constables who have not been appointed rangers under clauso 144 of the Animals Protection Act are not authorised to tako proceedings under that Act." This was tho dictum of Mr T. Hutchison, S.M., at Oamaru on Saturday. A lad named William Ward was charged the previous Monday with shooting a paradise duck during tho closo season. The defendant, who was not represented by counsel, pleaded guilty, and tho magistrate said as it was the lad's first offence ho would let him off as lightly as the Act would permit He adjourned his decision until Saturday, -when he struck tho case out, saying that the defendant had admitted the shooting, and had no doubt committed an offence, but tho information had been kid by a person who had no right to do so.

Various delegates at the Farmers' Union Conference at "Wellington complained bitterly of &o lack of sympathy and understanding between the various Government departments. Instances wore cited to 6how that the departments did not pull together well, and did not study tho interests of the public sufficiently. One would think, said one speaker, that each' department belonged to a different privato company, keenly desirous of ousting tho other. As an upshot the following remit, forwarded by the Auckland branch, was adopted by the conference :—" That this union views with gravo concern a tendency on the part of various Government departments to place the interests of tho department before the interests of tho public, and wonld urge the Government to establish some system whereby tho different departments in their relations with each other and with tho local govorning bodies, would be controlled, and any disturbance in departmental finance equitably adjusted where necessary, so that there would be no obstacle to their cooperation in tho interests of .the general public."

In the course of his remarks at! his welcome homo, Sir Walter Buchanan alluded to the superior quality of Canadian cheese. He had visited while in Canada, Montreal, Ottawa, Guelph, and Toronto, and had sampled a great deal of cheese in the course of his journeys, and the difference in favour of the Canadian product was very marked. He attributed tin's to tho better facilities men had to qualify as cheesemakers through the fine agricultural colleges in Canada. Ho visited tho M'Donald Collego and farm of 580 acres and buildings, the gift of ono man, costing over £1,000 000. He had felt so impressed by tho usefulnccs of the institution that he had felt bound ti seek out tho donor and personally pay his respects to him. New Zealand milk was as good as any, and there wore no better pastures in the world than those of this country, but factory managers hero had not the 6ame facilities for becoming scientifically proficient as those of Canada. He found that New Zealand butter, however, was very highly spoken of.

There were 169 patients in the Dunedin Hospital at the beginning of last week and 161 at its .close. During the week 37 pafcionte were admitted and 40 discharged, and tho deaths occurred of Francis Lo Fevre, an infant named Sutherland, Claudo Burgess, Elizabeth Eseon, and George Jonw.

Tho work of tree-planting at Wlare Flat is being pushed steadily on. Thirty thousand trees of different varieties have already been put in, and tho planting of a further 30,000 will bo proceeded with almost immediately. At tho request of tho Reserves Committee of the City Council tho Water Committee has agreed to increase its contribution towards the salary of the superintendent of reserves from £50 to £75 per annum owing to tho increased work which tho superintendent is called upon to do in connection with tho planting on the water reserves. Tin's agreement has yet to be approved by the City Council.

Tho pupils of the North-East Harbour School celebrated Arbor Day on Friday afternoon by doing what is hoped will be a -useful and ornamental piece of work. A piece of 6wampy, low-lying ground was drained by the boys a short time ago, and on Friday a variety of gums and nativo shrubs was planted. When these grow they will hide an ugly piece of tho glebe, visible from tho road, and also make a brcakwind where- it is much needed. The olearia hedge, planted last year, is making good progress and looking healthy.

During last month 1016 cattle, 8728 sheep, til lambs, 358 pigs, and 59 calves were slaughtered at the Bu-rnsidc abattoirs, and of these 33 cattle, 336 sheep, 1 pig, arK ] * calves were condemned as unfit for food, and the carcases sent to the manure works. Authority has been granted to the town clerk to arrange to have all stock at tho abattoirs covered by a policy of insurance so long as they remain there.

The lifting' of tho reservation on the Waipoua State kauri forest, in the north of Auckland, which is recommended by the Forestry Commission, will, it is stated by Jlr J. G. Coatcs, M.P. for Kaipara, result, when given effect to by the Government, in the throwing open of some 24,000 acres of land, and, in addition, 16,000 to 20,000 acres of adjoining Crown lands. All this land is heavily timbered, and it is estimated that there are about 300,000,000 feet in the State forest alone. The extension of tho railway which will be necessitated will ?\-=o give access to a great deal of timber on private lands, which is now inaccessible. A? already slated, tho commission recommends that 200 ac-res of tho State forest be reserved as a park.

The Library Committco of tho City Council reports that tho total attendance at the magazine and newspaper rooms during Juno was 18,092, and at the reference rooms 3245, or a total of 21,337, as compared with an attendance of 18,576 during Juno of last year. Tho attendance at the juvenile department, reading room rose- in the same periods from 302 to 421. Tho number of adult readers' tickets issued by the lending department is 7102, and of juvenile tickets 1295, or a total of 8397, os compared l with 5313 issued- in June, 1912. thousand one hundred and ninety-four books wore issued to adults and 1427 to children, 2199 of tho total being book oilier than fiction. Tho total number of books issued in June lost year was 12,219. Two hundred and four books have been added to the library's stock during tho past month, making the total 19,262, as against 17,605 - in Btook 12 months ago.

The traffic returns for the City Corporation tramways for the fortnight ended July 12, as compared with the corresponding period for last year, aro as follows:—Rccoipts—l9l3, £2738 19s 2d; mileage, 49,964 miles 58 chains; 1912, £2525 5s 2d; 48,722 miles 68 chains.

"I can hardly claim to bo of Scotch birth," 6aid' the Hon. W. F. Massey at the Pipe Band concert at Wellington on Wednesday night, "but there is something —it may be due to eome far-away kilted ancestor—which makes the music of the pipes appeal to me; and that despite the fact that I have not a good ear for music, and cannot always tell one pipe tune from another." Undoubtedly, the bagpipes stirred the enthusiasm of millions of the raco. Perhaps this was because they were associated with- so many stirring episodes in the history of the Empire. They would never forget, the piper who, though shot through both legs, continued to pky in order that his comrades might not miss the rousing music. Such incidents as this, and the part the pipes played in the Relief of Lucknow, served to arouse their love of race, love of country, and love of Empire. They were all proud of the Highland regiments, and the part they had played- in the history. It was well in a young country like this that they had men glad to wear the tartan and the sporran, recalling the great traditions of the race.

In connections with the foundations for the public baths buildings, the General Committee of tho City Council reports that it ■has been found that tho ground towards the rear of the premises is of a softer nature than that at tho front. The lower natural clay formation at the rear is, however, quite strong enough to support tho structure, but, to equalise the bearing, it has been deemed necessary to pile and secure tho two rear ends of the main wall, and tho contractor has been instructed accordingly. The conk-act provides forsnch work to be done and paid for according to measurement

Tivo Wavorley residents who wero out shooting on the sandhills at the beach a-ro reported (our Wanganui correspondent states) to have made a find that promises to ho tho most valuable of its kind heard of on tho Coast for many years. One of them it appeare, noticed a small greenstone tiki in the sand at his feet. It -was of neat design and in an excellent efcato of preservation. The discovery encouraged further investigation, and a cooplo of stakes were procured, and tho lucky sportsmen began to realise that tbey were actually on a genuine treasure ground. Aie handles of all shapes, and sizes, bone meres, ornaments, fishhooks, and many other, articles that constituted tho stock-in-trade of a Maori of tho early days wore brought to light, together with numerous human bones. A Patea Press reporter subsequently gleaned the information that the remains of an old l pa aro visible in tho sand, and that several posts, from which the carving is almost worn away, are visible at intervals along the surface of the sand. Tho sand at this point, it seems, has been shifting for several years, and this has evidently caused the exposure of -what appears to be an old Maori village. The discoverers intend making another trip to further prosecute the discovery and unearth any more treasure trove that may be within digging distance. The find shonid certainly prove of some interest to museum authorities,

Speaking at tho opening of the Evansdalo bridge on Saturday, Mr E. P. Lee, M.P., stated that in the near futirre a Board of Agriculture was going to bo set up, and would bo of' great assistance to tho Government. Experts in agriculture would occupy places on tho board, and would be able to advise the Government as to the best way of developing that important industry. Only that morning he bad read 1 an article in tho Otago Daily Times showing the likelihood of an advance in the agricultural industry, and such a board as that contemplated would do much to foster any advance that took place.

Mr E. M'Nab, now resident at Palmerston North, has presented the Manawatu branch of the Post and Telegraph Officers' Association with a framed photograph which is of peculiar historical interest. It is a reproduction of an advertisement from the New Bedford Mercury of July 20, 1835, relating to the departure of the first mail from the United States for New Zealand. Tho vessel was the Samuel Robertson, and the master was Captain M'Kenzie. She was advertised as duo to leave for "The South Atlantic Ocean and New Zealand on August 5, 1835. The notice states that "all letters and packets forwarded to the Mercury office free of postage for the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans mil bo despatched at tho first opportunity."

On Saturday afternoon Mr A. L. J. Tait, of 217 Crawford street', gave an exhibition in Doivling street of a device which he has invented for. the purpose of relieving the weight on a horse's back when., descend", ing a hill with a cart or dray. Mr Taifp idea is that by meons of a lever at the side of tho vehicle the front portion of tho body can bo so elevated that all the weight is thrown back on to the axle, allowing the horeo to descend the hill in oomfort. The inventor had fitted one of the patents on to a light cart, and on this the demonstration appeared to bo convincing enough. Whether or not it would work as well with a heavily-laden dray was not 6hown. The exhibition was witnessed by several interested people.

Tho official opening of the new bridge over the Kilmog Stream at Evansdale w performed on Saturday by Mr E. P. Lee (member for the district). A large number of persons were present, including Sir George M'Lean, Mr A. S. Orbeil (chairman of tho Waikouaiti County Council), the members of tho council, and several oxcouncillors. Tho bridge, which was designed by Mr B. B. Coustou, C.E., and erected by Mr J. Kmew6tubb, is an extremely substantial structure, and the materials used are ironbark and jarrah with reinforced conercto piles. After the official opening a luncheon wa6 hekl, and at this function all tho speakers spoke in terms of high praise of the workmanship.

There was a good attendance at the weekly meeting of the St. Andrew's Literary and Debating Club on Saturday evening, ■when the subject was a paper by Mr John Reid on "Tho Composition of the English Nation." .In the unavoidable absence of tho •writer, Mr J. Farquharson read the paper, which dealt in vivid and interesting fashion with tho characteristics and language of the various peoples from which tho English nation has sprung. A vory hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr Reid. Tho Inter part of tho evening was devoted to impromptu speeches, which caused a great deal of amusement, and served to indicate a good deal of latent talent in some of tho less practised speakers (n tho club.

It, is strange what a horror some youths have of using a gun, even in a good cause. Tiro other day an Auckland magistrate had before him a youth who applied for exemption from military training on tho ground that he conscientiously believed in tho principle of non-resistance to evil, fluently, and glibly he discussed tho creed with the magistrate- (says -Uio Auckland Star). If a man attacked his sister in tho street ho would not use force to beat off the attack, he said, and he would not return blow for blow, but he would certainly endeavour to argue tho man from his militant purpose. Ho got his military exemption, and, having cot it, ho apparently put his principles in his pocket with it, for a few nights ago tho nonmilitant disciple of passive- resistance appeared publicly in the ring at the Boxing Association's championships, and punched Ilk opponent just as often and as painfully as tho other chap would let him. Evidently there is a distinction between the principles of selfdefence with a gun and self-defence with a pair of Boz gloves.

A good audience attended the musical recital in the Octagon Hall yesterday afternoon. In arranging the programme Mr W. Paget Gale aimed at pleasing popular taste, and the frequent applause showed that ho had made the right selections. All the numbers wero good, but the variations of the American air, " Old folks at home," and the- lively maroh which concluded the programme met with marked approval. In the absence of Mr Colin Gray, through a cold, Mr W. H. M'Kenrie sang " A dream of Paradise" and "Load, kindly Light,"

A cockatoo scared a burglar who had effected an entrance to a hotel at Bujli (New South Wales) the other day. The bird had been accidentally left in the hotel during the night, and was perched en the railing on the stairs at the top of the landing. Having explored the open room on the ground floor, and ransacked likely places for valuables, the burglar would- appear to have started to walk up the stairs to make further examination, as the landlord, Mr Soanlan, together with the other inmates of the house, were all suddenly awakened by the loud and frightened screeohing of the cockatoo, followed by a bumping noise as of somebody falbng downstairs. The inmates were on ti'e scene immediately afterwards, but the intruder got clean away.

It is not generally known (6ays the London Daily Mail) that the original inventor of the torpedo is still in London, in the person of Mr George A. Kent", the veteran war correspondent of the Standard and popular writer of boys' stories. Mr Henty went through the Crimean war in tho Purveyor's Department, , and while serving on board one of the British warships before Sdbastopol he invented and constructed a veritable torpedo with which to blow up one of the Russian vessels which lay between the Allies and tho line of the enemy's forts. Mr Honty's invention was not a perfect or an altogether effective one, but his idea was 6cized upon and pirated by an American, who introduced- it in the American Civil War and reaped all the credit.