THE WEATHER,

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19136, 2 April 1924, Page 8

THE WEATHER,

The rainfall registered at Waikouaiti during March (reports our correspondent) amounted to 169 points. The heaviest fall was on March 9, when 92 points were recorded. The total fall for the three months of this year is 3.90 in, as with 7.59 in for tho same period of 1923. (From Od.r Own Correspondent.) WOODLANDS, March 51. Tho total rainfall for March was S 3 points, this being the driest month for 10 years. Seven hundred and ninety-six points have fallen this year, while for the same period last year 1746 points were recorded. The country wants rain now to keep the green crops going. Wells are going dry. An important and far-reaching programme of railway electrification is being carried out on the Imperial Japanese* Government railways. This includes both main line and semi-suburban conversion. In the first place, the present electric service

worker! by passenger motor coaches between Tokyo am! Yokohama, a distance of 19 miles, is being extended to Odawarra and Yokosuka. This latter is a naval base town situated on a branch which leaves the main line at China, about 10 miles from Yokohama, Odawara is 33 miles from Yokohama, and Yokosuka is 23 miles. The main line proper, which is known as the Tokaldo .line, and which runs in a southwesterly direction from Tokyo, through Yokohama. Nagoya, Koyto, and Osaka to Kobe, is also being electrified This line has a total length of somb 375 miles. At Kozu the original main line makes a wide detour northward to climb the lower slopes of Mount Fuji. A new main line already constructed from Kozu to Odawara will run through a long tunnel to rejoin the old main line at Mishima, and will shorten the journey to Osaka and Kobe by about

seven miles, besides avoiding the present heavy gradients. In an address at Whakatane last week under the auspices of the Labour Party (says a New Zealand Herald correspondent) Mr M. J. Savage, M.P., asserted that, both the freehold and leasehold systems encouraged the land speculator and the resultant inflation of values. The only way to prevent land speculation, he said, was to insist that a holder wishing to quit should sell his land to the State. For this purpose

district valuation boards should be appointed, on which the farmers,, local bodies, arid the Government would be represented. The land would bo valued for what could be got out of it, and that valuation wouid stand. The land would be sold at the valuation plus (ho improvements made by thefarmer. The latter could expect no more; there was nothing else to claim. “The Maoris were never troubled with hospitals and old people's homes in (he early days.” remarked fur Maui Pomaro, Minister for Health, recently, when Mr J. Irvine was showing him the site for the proposed new home for the old people at Greymouth. Mr Irvine said that, many diseases which afflicted people nowadays were not known in the early days, but the Minister smilingly contended that modern civilisation was to blame. The aged and the unfit were now nursed and looked after in every way. ■’Yes,” replied Mr Irvine, "the Maoris used to leave them to d:o!”