LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2561, 6 May 1903, Page 27

LOCAL & GENERAL.

A remarkable invention in connection ■with modern telegraphy, known by the name of the Dclanoy System of Rapid Autoniatio Tek-graphy, has just beeu offered to the Commonwelath Government. The Delaney system increases the capacity of a single telegraph wire from the possible 60 iwords per minute of the ordinary quadruplex now used on the principal Australian 'lines up to a practicable commercial speed of from 1000 to 2000 words per minute. 'No electro-magnets are employed ; no repeaters for long distances are needed, and (there is no movement of any parts for the transmission or reception of signals. The system is said to work well in bad weather or good, and it can be operated over a telephone circuit without disturbing conversation. Mr P. B. Delaney, the invenAor, uses the ideal principle of alternating .currents, and utilises the statio capacity of the lines, which is the great hindrance cf the existing eysteme. In his official explanation of the patent (says the Age) he points out that the transmission of messages by hi 3 invention is purely mechanical, the

recording being effected by the passage of a current ilirough chemical tape. The eystem employs four instruments^ — (a) A Morse key perforator; (b) an automatic high speed transmitter; (c) an automatic receiver ; and (d) an automatic sound transmitter, th& combined operation of which — w ith the addition in the case of ocean cables of a cable transmitter device — produces results which are said to render present methods completely out of date. Mr Delancy's advocates claim that under favourable conditions and over short lines a capacity of 5000 words a minute can be reached. It is further urged that applied to both telephony and telegraphy tho system makes for much greater cheapness in rates and construction cost. The therapeutics of the cake-walk afford an aspect of that exercise which lias not been generally considered. The London Morning Advertiser correspondent in Berlin states that Dr Samuel J. Metzer has juut tried the following experiment. He asked a girl to ekip as long as die could. To her waist were attached bottles containing soup full of microbes. The girl skipped as long as she could, and then the soup was taken from the bottles and aualyaed. It

contained only a few living microbes; in 1 some bottles there was not a Bingle> lmng I microbe. After this experiment the doctor ! is convinced that continual vibration exercises a disastrous effect on the health of microbos. Th& cake-walk dance would appear to bo the very remedy. If it is tho i least graceful of dancc-s, it may be considered the most efficacious and least costly of antiseptics The Education Board is to be atked by petition to declare the Caversham School Committee election void on various grounds. The chief objection urged is that other than householders were allowed to \ote. It has been pointed out to the Daily Times that tl-e statement in connection with the Chalmers licensing case that 1 the petiticn was addressed to Mr IC. C. Graham, S.M , is incorrect. The petition, was not addressed to any magistrate. It wa-, 6ig.ied and filed in the court at Port Chalmers in the manner required by the Regu^tion of Local Elections Act. Tho magistrates, Mcssr? E. H. Carew and 0. C Graham, then (we aie informed) arranged between thenv.ehes without reference to, or fcug^f-stion fioui. the uetiutuciu

or IVir course-], that Mr GiaV.am should hold the inquiry into the alleged irregu-larni-s cf the po]'. Tliis is important from the' petitioners' point of view, for they now find that a purely magisieral arrangement for the administration of justice has resulted j in wl at they rejr.vd as ft sorious injustice — ii?.rnc!y, the r-tfural of a fair hearing cf fieir cdi?. The committee of the Dunedin Competitions Scciccy :r.et again on Thursday, when the full jM"*Si''mme was finally decided upon, and the secretary was instructed to put it in tha printer's hands at once. The committee expects that it w ill issue the programmer in about a week's time. The total prize money this year has been increased to £145, the prize money for the choir contest amounting to £40, wLich is a considerable increase on that offered laet year. In connection with the choir contest j it vi as decided to make the following con- j dition: " Bona fide church choir member to < irian one who has taken part with tho ohoir in ordinary church work for at least 10 Sundays during the pe.^ 12 months prior to the competitions.' 1 In view of the increa&e'd prize monry end the more attractive programme, the committee expect even a nvueli torger number of entries than was received hut y< ar. Intending competitors are respectfully requested to care-fully read the general conditions which will be issued with the programme. The book of words containing all the test pieces is also in hand, and will be issued without delay. "A record rear of succors in every respect " was the phrase made use of by Sir J. G. Ward on Wednesday in reference to postal and telegraph business, when making a presentation to Mr M'Niekle, of the Telegraph Department. During the year ending 31st March, Sir Joseph said, the department had established a record for the number of telegrams sent, and the Postal Department for the number of letters, etc., passed through. The money order business had also eclipsed all previous yours, and above and beyond all, the British snbject had shown his confidence by the way in which he had, in the deposit branch, put through monay in a larger aggregate than we have ever known before-. We hi>ve the authority of Sir Joseph Ward for saying that there is a reasonable prospect of securing at an early date the boon of a penny rate of postage on all newspapers tent to the United Kingdom. A universal penny rate has already- been arranged between Canada and" the UnitedKingdom and between Canada, and New Zealand, and Sir Joseph Ward has reason to believe that success will attend the negotiations the Federal Postmaster-general and himself have in "hand for securing the same concession for the newispai>crs of the Commonwealth and New Zealand. The concession is one that usually affects the weekly newspapers only of this colony, which, owing to tl-eir hea\y weight, can at present only ba sent at varying charges, having for 'their minimum 3jd, tho numbers issued at Christmas coftting 4^d. It is higli time that thi.s absurd impost should be reduced. A petition bearing over 3COO signature 6 , praying that a pardon should be granted to Sarah Fogo, who wa?, abemt thiee year 0 &vice, convicted of the murder of her husband, and is now undergoing imprisonment for life, will shortly be prPtented to h'n Excellency the Governor. Copies of tho petition lie for signature at tho shops of Messrs Alexander S-Lgo and C. Bills, George street. At length tenders are being invited for the erection of a new railway stat-on at Dunedin. Tenders will be reoeivcd until noon of June 3. Plans and specifications may be seen at the district railway engineer's office. Dumi£ the 12 month"* f>-o:n Apiil 1, 1902, to March 31, 1903, the revenue derhed from the- South Island railway* was £1.183.479, and from the North Island Hues £788,557 — n.aking a total of £1.974.036. The total number of scarlet fever eaves reported «t tho Health - Office during the past month hag been 121 (44 from the country and 77 from city and suburbs). This shows a j eduction of 73 rases as compared wit.'i last month'e returns — an indication that the epidemic is at last substantially waning 1 . Ten rases of mea'ka were reported for the month. The \ital stat-tt-ies for the pa^ month show a record of 115 births, 65 deaths and 79 marriages, tiie figured for th°> corresponding month last year being 110 birth/, 62 deaths, and 41 marriages. The fortn.ghtly meeting of tho Waipori Falls Electric Power Company, hekl on Friday, \va<j attended by Messrs J. Loudon (in the, chair), J. Howard Jackson, E. Cotton, and thf> Hon. T. Fergus. An apology was received from Mr C. Speight. It was reported that Messrs Oakden and Burnett had proceeded last week to Sydney in connection with the affairs of the company. Accounts amounting to £359 4s 5d were pa'sed for payment. The Foreman of Wcaks reported that No. 1 tunnel had beon sueefo?fully pierced, and that tho work at the Falls was progressing mo^t satisfactorily. The I contractor for the iluming construction had | commenced work on the race line, and, if j the presonc fin-o weather continued, should make quick progress. The ca^e of George Marshall and G. Low v. the Charlton Valley Dredging Company, which was fixed for hearing in the Supreme Court or Friday, was t-ettled out of coiut. j The claim was for the balance of purchase money in respect of certain land, an injunction restraining the company from working tho land until making payment therefor being al-o Fought ; and a= the rr-ulfc of a Lonk-reiiuC the company acrced to pay tie

plaintiffs £1020 14s 4d. including costs," an* the plaintiffs withdraw their claim for a* injunction. Mr Sim appeared for tlit plaintiffs, and Messrs Adams Bros, for th< company. | Mr E. H. Carew held a sitting of tiit t "Warden's Court on Friday ■ morning, anq granted an application by the Barewoocl Gold Mining Company/- (for whom Mr D. lieid, jun., appeared) for an ordinary pros* pecting license over part of the University, Reserve in the Nent-horn district, tfubjoc* to the condition that not le-s« than two men( b9 employed in the vigorous prosecution of prospecting work. An incident in the life of the Hon. W* Swanson is related in the Auckland Star., About 60 years ago Mr Swanson decided^ as wages were low, that he would visifi California. The voyage was undertaken in a 14-ton boat built by himself — an indication; of the &tamp of man Mr Swanson was.: The then Customs officer at Auckland considered the vessel too 6mall for such 8i voyage, and declined to clear it. Nothing , daunted, Mr Swanson went to the Bay of Inlands quietly and* .managed to get cleared; there. As Mr Swanson and his mates wer« not experts in navigation they were gl«4 to $vail themselves of the aid of. a- passenger.,Tahiti wa3 safely reached, then E-oaolulu , (where the veisel was sold, and Mr Swanson purchased land). He worked for somo tima for 4dol per day, and finally went on to California, where artisans were then re« ceiving as much as 16dol to 25c10l per day,Mr Swanson being paid tiie latter rate foe tome time. The Catlin's River railway appears to h» making good .progress. The formation work k now complete for one mile and a-thirdl beyond Owaka, and is being trimmed ready, for platelaying. The formation work on tha balance of the line to Ratanui, a distance of one mile and two-thirds, is proceeding satisfactorily, 63 men being at present engaged upon it. The station yard and tho approach thereto at Ratan-ni are well unde< wp.y. On the Hcriot extension lin« fiv« miles of the formation work are now com* pkte, and a start has been made with tha_ erection of 'the four necessary bridges. Th« platel.iying a3 far as tl'o first bridge has also been commenced. The distance from Heriot to Edie'e is six miles and a-qunrter« There are 52 men employed on 'the work. | On Thursday evening, ju=t after 7 o'clock^ a brilliant meteor was . noticed to suddenly appear near the zenith and fall "away Jo the south. "How far distant the constellation of a moment was from this planet, on what mighty impact fu'qed it to light andt heat there can be no saying, but it was one of extraordinary .brilliancy, giving forthf an intense white light. Peculiarly enough,;' the reflection on the streets and building's appeared to bo of a greenish-grey tint*' During the few seconds it was within the range of vision the meteoric light illumU natetl a great arc of the- =outhern heavens',; and — a remarkable feature — threw the vastf nebulas south of the zenith into 6trong« prominence against an inky background. | Transactions in the discount stamps issued by the Government have not yet reached ony remarkable stage, except that 10 centres did not i-sue one stamp during the pastf quarter. The total amount of stamps sold in the whole colony during the three months was £590 10s (Wellington £493 10s and Dunedin £3 15s), as against £446 15s during the fh-et, quarter of la-st year. The discount stamps redeemed during the quarter amounted to £535 5s (Wellington £452 16s and Dunedin £2 lit), a= against £377 lla for th<e same quarter of last year. In connection with the co-operative labour camp on the Otago Ceiitial line works near Laudcr, the police had reason to suspecti ply grog selling was being carried on. They, were, however, unable to obtain sufficient evidence of it, but prosecuted one or two suspected of the offence for having no lawful '. iaible means of support, and these were sentenced. Suspicion was then aroused in connection with the sett'ement at Ida 1 Valley, and as a. remit of a caieful watdi a defendant wbs summoned, and on Thursday, at Ophir, was convicted, as reported in another column. The magistrate imposed a fins of £25, but subsequently reduced it to £10, it being represented by counsel for? the defence that a conviction meant confiscation of liquor valued at £17 10?. From the evidence given at the trial the inference is tl'at tiie practice hjs br-en carried on in a somewhat extensive and bold n-annci\ Mr Ryan, the Otago Education Board' 9 truant officer, is now de\ot»ng his attention to negligent parent* and guardians in country districts. At Oplur, on Thursday,before Mr M'Ennas, 5..M.. the following parent", prosecuted for the irregular attendance of their children, wcro fined 2s on each information, with 7s costs: — William Wateon, live informations ; Edward Kearney; and John W. Johnston, each four informations; James Whyle, Bernard Fhuinery, and Charles Gallagher, each four informations., At St. Bathtins on Friday the following parents were fined 2s on each information and 7a costs in each case for the irregular attendance of children : — Thomas Davis M\Le\ie, of Cumbrians (four informations), and Andrew Haig- (fi\e informations). Me M'Ennis, 8.M., said as it was the first tima the defendant-) had been prosecuted for the truancy of tl>oir children he would be lenient, but if they came befoio him again, he would impose the maximum penalty. All the New Zealand teachers who wenfi to Soutl. Africa are, according to the correspondent of a contemporary, who writes from Pretoria under date March 31, willing to accept re-engagement for a further term of three years, with the exception of four, whff wish to return to Xew Zealand. Negotia* tions are in progress which, if successful v. ill secure to those teachers who accept re-en^aj'-'me-ut a free pasage back to this

pountry at the conclusion of the term, or at any previous dale should their health fail.

The Hospital returns for the week show that during that period 24- patients were admitted to the institution and 18 were discharged. The deaths of Martin Downie and Matilda Sinclair are reported. The number of patients now in the Hospital is 95.

The Psychological Hall was crowded on Sunday with a very attentive audience to Jsear Miss Morse deliver the iirci of her lectures on Spiritualism. The subject chosen was " Spiritualism : Its Value and Importance to the World." A-t the close of the lecture Mk« Morse elairvoyantly described, with a wonderful minuteness of detail, a number of spirit entities, in some instances giving names, and at the end of the meeting 1 several persons present acknowledged the -descriptions and the names given by Mise Morse as those of departed friends or relatives, and admitted that the descriptions were accurate. Miss Morse lectures again in the hall on Thursday evening, when it will Be permissible to ask questions.

Mr E. H. Carew, S.M., at Pert Chalmers on Saturday granted one female an old-age pension of £13 per annum, and a male applicant £18 per annum.

lie Rev. G. T3. Cole conducted farewell £ i vices in the Garrison Hall on Sunday in conneotion with the Central Mission. There was a very large congregation in the, afternoon despite the unpleasant weather. Mr Cole dealt with the question of the popular amusements of the day and the relation of the Church thereto, laying down the following propositions: — (1) That amusement becomes dangerous which destroys or lessens the love for home life; (2) which lead* to expenditure upon it beyond one's means ; (S) whfen it is made the business of one's life; (4) which leads one unnecessarily into •b*d company; (5) which shuts out the principles of Christ. During the course of his addres? Mr Cole said he hoped when the public Souses were closed in June that some of fbem -would be titilised as clubs where young men might meet for recreative purposes. In the evening he preached to a congregation which crowded the spacious JraQl -to overflowing. His subject was " The Racecourse : Starting, from Scratch, and How to Win." The sermon, which occupied 40 minutes in delivery, was listened to with earnest attention. The service closed by singing "God be with you." Mr Cole {eaves by the south express this morning, « -"jte for Melbourne, carrying with him t At wishes of the large circle of friende Ji .-2.6 formed in Dunedin.

The inspectors of the Otago Education Board in their annual report make the following significant remarks: — " Notwithstanding all that ha 3 been said and done »gr it, pressure through the standards «til. operates on our (schools, pressure from cohool committees, from parents, and even from class teachers; and it is only the •tronger and wiser head teachers who seem Capable of resisting it. During the past year we have had it clearly in evidence thp -vupils have been promoted who were no .t for promotion, and that their promotion impeded not only their own progress, but that of their fellow pnpils, «nd leriously diminished the efficiency of the teacher'B work. We feel that nothing short of ihe abolition of the annual pass examination and of pass certificates for all the rtandards except fche Sixth will free the schools from what remains of the old pressure for pass results. The average ages of those who in 1901 passed the Sixth and fifth Standards were respectively 13 yeara and 10 months and 12 years and 9 months. The average ages of the pupi'.e in these classes at the examinations in 1902 were 13 years and I raonths and 12 years and 2 months. Those averages, though no! exaefly the same in kind, are eimilar, and bheir disparity is to us a little disquieting."

According to the Christchurch Press, it !b probable that several Canterbury members nrill visit the Otago Central railway this month.

"Australia," said Mr Deakin in Sydney, in a lecture on water conservation, " will aot be what she should be until every drop of water is known and accounted for."

It has been noted (says a contemporary) .hat one of the largest and most popular •f the steamship lines to tho United States kas declined to have the Marconi wireless ielegraphy attached to its fleet. The chairsiaii of tho company gives a curious reason For this deviation from a line adopted by the English Channel steamers, some of his Majesty's .ships, and several oi the ocean Knes of steamers. He and his board, having carefully considered the subject, came to the conclusion that the convenient of the system was overweighted by the latent dangers attached to it A ship captain caught in a fog, essaying the apparatus at Mio masthead, and finding no response, would bs disposed to conclude that the ship was far remote from land — a concluzi >n justified in nine cases out of ten, but in the 1-entli absence of response might bo due to * temporary breakdown of the ey=tem, and 4and might be in close contiguity. Again* t •this tenth contingency the directcrs guird l>y not employing the Marconi apparatus.

The family history of tbe Chief Secretary for Ireland involves (writes Mr H. W. Lucy in the Sydney Morning Herald) a rare romance. The alternate flattery and abuse of the Irish members have made the public familiar with the fact that he is a detc^n«laut of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who, arrested in .Dublin whilst busily engaged in preparing for the rising of '93, was tried, condemned, and died in prison of his wounds. That is only an incident in the #tory — a branch in a picturesque family tree. "%lr Wyndham is descended fioni Lord

Edward Fitzgerald on the spindle side, his father having married a daughter of Sir Guy Campbell, whose grandparents were Lord Edward Fitzgerald and his wife, the beautiful Pamela, whose birth, like that of Thackeray's hero Jeames, was " wropt in mystery." By her contemporaries she was believed to have bsen the daughter of Philip Egalite, her mother Madame de Genlis. The Due d'Orleans certainly left her a pension of 6000f a year. As great grandson of the last Earl of Egremont, Mr Wyndham has family connections with Earl Rosebery, whose sister married the second Lord Leconfield. The first Lord Leconfield, a peerage created in 1£59, was the eldest, illegitimate eon of the famous Lord Egfemont, who figured in the court of George IV, and died tho year Queen Victoria came to the throne.

At Monday's meeting of the University Council the Rev. A. Cameron gave the following notice of motion — " That with a view to the development of the four university

colleges and to prevent unnecessary overlapping, it is desirable that a conference cf representatives of the four colleges be held t3 eoneider the following subjects — endowments, buildings, distribution of faculties, ■equipment of laboratories, etc. ; and that after conference the four colleges make a united appeal to the Government for financial assistance."

The output from the mines of the Westport Coal Company (Limited) for the month of April was 46,621 tons 14-cwt.

At the University Council meeting on Monday Mr E. B. Cargill (vice-chancellor) moved, and Mr D. R. White seconded — "That Professors Sale and Shand bo appointed to represent the council on the Nsw Zealand University Senate, under the provisions of the new act of last year." The motion was carried unanimously, the Rev. A. Cameron stating that he was present at last meeting of the Eenate, and felt sure that no two representatives on that senate had equal influenoe with Professors Sale and Shand. The council was to be congratulated in having two such representatives. In thanking the members for his election, Dr Shand stated that he and Professor Sale had been together members of the 6enate einoe 1877, 26 year 3 ago. The Registrar reported to the meeting that Professor Salmond and the JRev. A. Cameron had been, nominated by the graduates as their two representatives, end had been therefore declared duly elected.