LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 26

LOCAL & GENERAL.

• i. is stated .(says the Bruce Herald) that a petition is being circulated in the Kaitangata district, askin-g the Government to take over the property of Messrs Landels, near j the lake, for the purpose of starting a State coal "mine". It is stated that there is good cot", on the property. Ac-'.v, that k, in the sense of being newly found. The tomb just discovered is that ©I or..© of the Pharaoha of the eighteenth ©yiiiSHy, Thothmes IV. For the last two years Mr Theodore M. Davics, an American gentleman who is well known in Egypt. lr&3 be«n excavating steadily and systematically in tho Valley of the Tombs of the Kings of Thebes, clearing the rubbish, away dnch by inch and so laying"* bare the bed a-bek.' He has been rewarded (rays the liondon Times) by the discover; of a previously unknown ' royal tomb. The- mummy of Thothmes. lV. is in ths Cairo Museum, baring been -found hi the tomb of Amen-liot-ep 11, to which it hael been conveyed Ifoy the Egyptian priests for the purposes of concealment, . probably in the age of tho •twenty-first Dynasty; but the sepulchre of (the Pharaoh had" never been discovered, "though it was pretty certain that it was ■hidden sompwhere tinder the d-ebris in the Valley- of the Tombs of the Kings. •-The artual discovery was made by Mr Howard" Garter, the Inspector df tliQ.Mpjuiment? of Upner Egypt, who has * be«i conducting the excavations to- Mr Davics. :■ P. H. Bernays, manager of a large an: riiiiacturiug concern in San Fnmcisco, in a letter to Mr G. M. Ycrex. of WcV-ing-Aon, throws a little, light on the groat com-an-ercial " boom" that is now po.=smg over America. "This country," he says, "is exiperienciug the most stupendous commercial prosperity I believe it has ever known. The railways are utterly unable to keep up with the demand; upon them for freight Transportation. Just in Southern California ■alone at this time the fruit .shippers are calling for 300 cars a day to move their output of oranges and lemon?, while the railways are unable to supply more than 170 cars per day. The Santa Fe R.R. is reported to have moved 13,000 cars of live stock from City to Chicago in one month reoantly. In reference to the proceedings against a private in the Dunedin Highland Rifles at tho instance of Lieutenant-colonel Smith (the officer commanding the First Battalion, ,0.R.V.) to recover fines for non-attendance at a camp of instruction in October last, ./we understand that the private's appeal from the commanding officer's oreler wm dismissed by Colonel Robin (the officer commanding the district) yesterday afternoon. The present proceedings have been aaken by Lieutenant-colonel Smith, as officer commanding the camp, instead of Miose initiated by Captain Sto::eham, .{which came before the Stipendiary Magistrate (Mr E. H. Carew), a.s formerly reported by us. The future proceedings will *»c of ft similar nature to those at tho in-

stance of Captain Stoneham. Mr Carew's authority has to be invoked before Lieu-tenant-colonel Smith's order can havo any effect, and the parties will be heard before him on the question of the legality of the order. The weekly meeting of the Benevolent Trustees, held on Wednesday afternoon, was attended by Messrs P. Treseder (chairman), R. Wilson, A. Tapper, J. Green, W. T. Talboys, and J. Thomson. The monthly outdoor relief book showed that th& number of cases for April had been 308, comprising 117 men, 218 women, and 520 children, at a weekly cost of £103 6s. For the corresponding month of last year the cases numbered 504 (120 men, 223 women, and 508 children), at a cost of £96 16s 6d per week. The death of Moses Savers, aged 58 years, was reported. Accounts amounting to £493 183 8d were passed for payment, and 58 cases of relief dealt with. The Outlook states that the three scholarships offered for compe-tition to students entering the Theological Hall on the 2nd and 3rd April have been warded ns follows:— Knox Church Office-bearers : 50 guineas per annum, tenable two years, D. D. Scott; David Wilson Scholarship: £25, tenable two years, T. H. Rosevear; SumerveJl Scholarship : £20, tenable two year 3, J, Davie. The Right Hon. R. J- Seddon offers through the Now Zealand Literary and Historical. Association a prize of three guineas for the best story, not exceeding 3000 words iii length, dealing with gold mailing from the time of the earliest discoveries, either ia Otago, the West Coast, or the Thames. Wo have received from Mr G. L. Den-nis-ton, Consul for Belgium in Dunedin, particulars of a Universal and International Exhibition undar tiie patronage of his Majesty the King of the Belgians, which will open at Liege in April, 1905, ancl wiltinclude artistic, scientific, industrial, commercial, and colonial sections. With a view to encouraging foreign firms to send exhibits, the Belgian Government will grant free return transport on the Skite railways, and the exhibition itself will be treated as a bended warehouse, thus permitting of provisional duty-free importation of exhibits. Tho Executive Committee consists of the loading civic and legal authorities of Liege and tho heads of the principal banks and industrial, engineering, and commercial houp.es. An exhibition could not be more opportunely fcituated topographically than in the quaint and picturesque old city in the Valley of the Mease, with it/s rich art treasures, the accumulation of centuries, and the important industries of which it b the centre. Tiie United States CWuI (Mr Dillingham) says that during the past 12 months he has been inundated with applicants to serve in a mythical Philippines Contingent, 6omo reference to which had been made in a southern paper. Mr Dillinghani says: — ( " We don't want any contingent, and if we did we have men of our own for all our requirements without going to a foreign country to get them." He gave the report an unqualified denial. Than Mr Chamberlain (r.ays tho World) there is no otii3r man in tho Government or i;i the Empire to whom tho South African lr.ission could have been safely entrusted. There is no other who po^aeFios, <-o far as physical life Las disclosed him, the qualities, physical smd mental, which ho diiiplayed, and which were essential if his task were not to end in deplorable col!ap>3. The bedily strain would have broken down most men of ordinary strength, and tho example stiikes a blow at that friiperstition of athleticism which survives Mr Rudyard Kipling's denunciation of " mudded oafs" and " flannelled fools." Mr Chamberlain, a* ho has more than once avowed, is not addicted to sport in any of its shapes. What, it is sometimes said, would happen to our statesmen unless they maintained their strength by the pastimes of the fivld and the open air? Mr Chamberlain does not hunt or fish, he takca no part in the point-to-point races which relieve wearied legi?lutors, he does not fell trees, or play golf, or mako a bicyc-ls record in ' ; .scorching. " While in obedience to time-honour*:l custom university students are allowed a good deal of latitude at certain coil^go

ceremonies and meetings, the free lieen?o taken by somo of the younger members of th-e Students' Association at the annual meeting on Friday evening was such as to trespass beyond the bounds of all reason. In the earlier part of the meeting these youths amused themselves by throwing pieces of bread and scon© at all and sundry, the president himself not being exempted. The noise and interruption during the reeding of the annual report was of such a nature that the delegates from the ladies' faculty rose in a body and left the lecture hall. Tho president had extreme difficulty in maintaining any semblance of order at all during the election of officers, and several times requested one or two members to refrain from smoking. His request was not acceded to by one member, and this ono was asked by the president to leave the room. Instead of obeying the ruling of the chair, the youth impertinently questioned the president, and askeel " on what authority did he rule that smoking should not be allowed." By the time motions relative t-) alterations in the constitution came on for discussion the disturbing clement got completely out of hand, and at la:4 left the i room shouting and yelling. The doors were I then locked from the outside by these bright I youths, who proceeded to keep up an incessant knocking and shouting outside. Subsequently they turned off the gas at the meter, and several seniors were obliged to climb out through the windows and carry the war into the enemy's camp. The Supreme Court case Foley s Extended Gold Dredging Company v. Cut ten Bro.=i. and Faithful was concluded on Friday, Mr Justica Williams reserving his decision. A comoany has been fonneel in Auckland to exploit our native fancy woods and place th&m upon the world's markets. Mr A. M'Coll, tho travelling rcprssentative, arrived here on Friday night on an initial visit. Mr H. F. Moss will act as agent for the company here. Mr William Geary has been elected to represent the Portobello Subdivision on the Portobello Road Board; while Mr James Macandrew has been elected for the NorthEast Harbour Subdivision, he being the only one nominated, although there were two vacancies. The eeoretary of ths University of Otago Endowment Committe« (Mr J. M. E. Garrow) acknowledges receipt of a donation of 15 guineas to the fund from the Otago University Students' Association. This brings the committee's total up to £15*1 13s 6d. In the Supreme Court on Thursday Mr Justice Williams gave judgment in the Laffey appeal case. In the Police Court- a charge was laid against John Laffey, licensee of the Otago Hotel, also known as Court's, for serving liquor to George Magorian while the latter was drunk. Mr Graham, S.M., held the case proved, and fined Laffey £10 and ecftts. From this decision Laffey appealed, and his Honor an Thursday upheld the magistrate's iecision, allowing 50 guineas costs and other expense's. The number of the pupils who havo been enrolled at the Boys' High School this year, in terms of the free secondary education regulations, is 63, and tho number at the Girls' High School 51, tho proportion to the total roll number in the case of the latter institution being considerably greater than in the ease of the former. It is matter for congratulation that the rector of the Boys" School and the principal of the Girls' School have both expressed their satisfaction with the educational attainments of tho new pupils the schools have received through tho operation of the regulations. The effect of the admission of those pupils was to increase the atteuelance at the Boyfi' School, as compareel with last year, by approximately 40 for the first quarter, and to increase the attendance at the Girls' School by about 35. It is feared that, the entrance of free scholars after the Education Board's examinations this year may havo a disturbing influence on^ the work oj" the High Schools, mi, owing to the date at which tlte*-e examination i avo held, eligible pupils from the primary schools will ba entering the secondary schools two, tlireo, or perhaps four weeks after a term has been commenced. Probably it may bo arranged in future years that the impection of the city schools may be completed at a sufficiently early \itc to enable pupils qualifying for froo admission to tho High Schools to enter thc^e institutions in tho beginning of Juno. At a special meeting of the Milton Borough Council on Wednesday evening the question of the opening of the Coronation Hall waii discussed. Tuesday, June 2, was fixed for the opening, and it was decided to hold a banquet in tho afternoon txnd a citizens' ball in tho evening. A young man named John Hutchison, an employee at the Hillside Workshops, had his hand caught in the machinery on Thursday afternoon, and before he could extricate it the tops of three fingers had been cut off. Ho was admitted to the- Hospital, but wa-3 ab!o to proceed to his home after an hour or two in the institution. The Timaru Herald states that a warraut has been L>-:ucd for the arrest of Mr C. N. Macintosh, lato Mayor of Timaru, who lias lillcd different public positions for the past lew years, on a charge of the alleged misappropriation of money entrusted to him. Mr Macintosh left Timaru oi Wednesday last, on his way, it m said, to " The Stuinp3" Farm, a little beyond Temuka, j there to take part in tho opening of the sLooting season, as has been his custom for some years past. Whether he did actually do any shooting is not quite clear, but ho did not return to Timaru, and it is now

said that ho was seen in Wellington on Friday last, and it is suspected that he left the Empire City that day in one of the steamers on his way to Monte Video. Ancther version is that Mr Macintosh'? intention was to go to South Africa. Rumour h.-w it that tho alleged defaulter has got away with 1000 sovereigns. It recently transpired in the London Divorce Court during tho hearing of a summons for alimony brought by Mrs Josephine Beecham against Mr Joseph Beecham, the well-known pill manufacturer, that the latter's annual income was £55,000. When Mrs Beecham waa granted a judicial separation in 1901 she was granteel £2500 a year, and last month she sought to have the amount increased on the ground that on £2500 per annum she could " only afford to take a drive by the hour," instead of keeping a carriage and footman, and was unable to take "boxes at the cpera or go abroad." Sir Francis Jeune (accerrding to a telegram published in a, San Francisco journal) refused to increase the allowance. Recollection of the sensational Fraser ! shooting case- at Ss. Kilda (Victoria) is revived, by the announcement just to- hand from America that, before Judge Smith, at Chamberlain, South Dakota, U.S.A., Mrs Kathleen Fraser was divorced, .on March 16, from her husband, Dr Paul W. Fraser. The sensational episode leading up to the sundering of this marriage will be still fresh in the minds of most people. Dr Fraser | was a medical practitioner at St. Kilda. His wife-, a highly-strung, impetuous woman, was subject to fita of temper, and, on tho 23rd of September, 1899, meeting her husband in High street, she publicly upbraided him, and concluded a torrent of excited words by shooting from a revolver. The bullet lodged in tho unfortunate man' 3 brain, where it still lies embedded 1 . Mrs Fraser was acquitted by the jury before whom she appeared, and subsequently took an hotel in Queen street, Melbourne. When the war in South Africa commenced she offered her services to the British War Office as a scout, claiming that as a woman she ooulel probably acquire information that would bo out of the reach of a man. Her offer wsa declined. Later Mrs Fraeer went to America to obtain a divorce from her husband, her grounds of application being insufficient here, and in this quest she appears to have been successful. Dr Fraser, who in consequence of his terrible injury had to relinquish his practice, now lies bedridden at Windsor, his circumstances being (the Age says) such as to excite deep sympathy on his behalf. The magistrate of Berlin are (says the London correspondent of the Argus on March 27) dealing with a spiritualist fraud. A brisk little widow named Frau Rothe is charged with impelling upon the rrablio as what may be called a dealer in spooks. We thought Mr Cavendish's stories about the planchetto messages a sign of remarkable weakness on the part of an English traveller, but the planchette and Mrs Strufct are insignificant by the side of sue! 1 , doings as Frau Ilothe's. Nor will Mdme. Blavatr.ky and Mr Sinn*tt's teacups provide a parallel. Frau Rothe'a miraculous gifts surpriseel such frequenters of her salons as General yon Zastrow, Baron Ruediger, and even the o!el court chaplain, Stoecker. Among other clients of the widow were the Countess yon Moltke, Princess Karaschka, and the Countces Waohtmeieter. ■ The medium, astonished these and other people by materialising flcwer3, roses, lilies, fuchsias, oranges, and trinkets on the slightest provocation. She cculd make flowers grow out of the palm of the hand and with her touch turn them into bread. She could call spirits from the vasty deep or elsewhere, and put them into communication with their mortal mothers. Tho Countess yon Mo-ltke, for instance, was able to converse in writing with her dcael son. Another witness deposed to a conversation with the spirit of a deceased person upon subjects which wero only known to the. two of them. Nearly all the witnessea firmly believed that the materialised flowers and trinkets were sent to thorn from dear ones in the other world. . They seem ta have gone back upon their stories to the police when Frau Rotho was arrested, and it will bo hard to establish the woman's conviction for fraud. The strike of the Victorian railway servants commenced at midnight en Friday, and is likely to have very far-reaching effects. Tho restricted service which the Government hoped to be able to carry on has brok-.-n down. Trade is completely dislocated, and the strike will be seriously felt ici country district*. Apart from the 11,482 men involved by the strike, hundreds of others will bo thrown out of employment. The fact that domestic provisions advanced on Saturday by 25 pe-r cent, shows ho?r fcrious the effects of tho labour struggle, if prolonged, will be on the workers anel nil tho vast number of persona whoso incomes are limited. The question of paying employees in factories, etc., for tho Saturday half-holiday i in Easter week has cropped up again. It j will l>e remembered that this matter was ' argued in the Magistrate's Court in 1690, when a decision was given in a test caec against tho contention of the Labour Department that employees were cntitleel to j bs paid for tho Saturday hfclf-holiday. Siaice then the law has been altereel by the passing of "The Factories Act, 1901," which provides for such payment being made. Mr : Lindsay, the local inspector of factories, drew the attention of employers to the alteration in the law, but the employers were not satisfied that his reading of the act was a correct one, and a number of some of the largest manufacturers ccmtuKed Mr Sim. Hi= opinion coincided with

that of Mr Lindsay: that it wa6 compulsory, to pay for the half-holiday after Good Friday, and these employers who consulted him have accordingly complied with the law. No doubt other employers who have not yet done so will at once follow theexample, and thus avoid a prosecution. ; The Hospital returns for the past week were as follow : —Remaining in the Hospital! from previous week, 95 ; admitted during the week, 20 ; discharged, 1+ ; death, 1 (Samuel Bueby) ; — total remaining in the ( institution, 100. A daring and evidently well-planned robbery took place in the Morningtou Hotel ; on Saturday night. Two men went to the j house in the afternoon and informed Mr I Join Golder, the licensee, that they would I stop at the hotel -for the night. About ]1 o'clock, as they had not retired, Mr Golder advised the- 'men to go to -bed, as he had! to do some work in the cellar. While there Mr Golder heard someone moving in the ' bar, and, his suspicions being aroused, he returned to investigate. He found his two lodgers engaged in abstracting the contents !of the till in the bar. The men at once pounced on Mr Golder, and handled hint very roughly and severely. The housekeeper, hearing the noise, went in the direction of the- bar, and was struct a severe blow in the mouth by one of the robbers. While' one of the men held Mr Golder— who had been knocked down— the other secured the contents of the till, amounting to some £7 odd. Constable Power was on the Town Belt; at the time, and, hearing a scream by the housekeeper, made his way in the direction of where the noise appeared to come from. He observed two men moving rapidly in the direction of the tramway sheds, but as ho had no reason to suspect a robberyhad been committed he made no effort to intercept the men. ; Dr Ogston, Health Officer for Otago, has lately been on a visit to Naseby, find while there he menticned (the Mount Ida Chronicle re-ports) that he had inspected! various sites recommended for the establishment of a sanatorium, and was inclined to prefer the hills about Sutton. He thought that within two or three years the Government would probably erect a sanatorium! there, or in some other suitable locality, to 6erve tho whole of this health district. He did not think that Naseby would be chosen, because other places equally suitable hat! better means of communication with tho centres. At a largely-attended meeting held in the I Town Hall, Alexandra South, on Friday | evening, the following resolution was car- • ried unanimously: — "This meeting of dredge-owners, fruit-growers, and residents of Alexandra respectfully urge' the Hon. the Minister of Public Works to proceed •with the construction of. the Otago Central railway as expeditiousiy as hitherto to Alexandra, and thus facilitate settlement cgi the land. An assurance from the Minister that the construction of the line will be gone on with and continued to Alexandra would induce many to engage in fruitgrowing and other industries suitable, to the district." In the course of an address at Hastings Mr J. G. Wilson, president of the New ; Zealand Farmers' Union, strongly urged that ■ a farmers' co-operative fire insurance society ; should be formed. He asserted that the. 1 insurance companies had arrayed themselves against the farmer. The companies had put j £400,000 into their business and taken double j that amount out of the pockets of the farmer, at profits ranging from 10 to 22£ j per cent. With regard to marine insurance he -had private information that instructions had been given to cut rates and so endeavour to shut out a Wellington firm representing Lloyd's, whioh had brought down rates to shippers from 32i 6d to 11s 6d. The farmer's risk was the best of all, as his buildings were, invariably isolated and there was very little risk of fire. The present rates, he maintained, were unreasonable. Sir William Gordcn Macgregor, the Scotch baronet who had to seek refuge in the West Ham workhouse six months ago, and who has just relinquished his claim upon its oold comforts, is the subject of a romantic piece of gossip. The other day he. was visited by a fashionably dreesed young lady, who had a long private conversation with him. Shortly afterwards he obtained his discharge from the guardians, and drove off in a hansom. In bidding good-bye to some of the inmates of the workhouse before his departure, he is said to have tolc.l them he was "going to marry a rich American lady." This, at anyrate, is part of the I current story of the incident. There is notl ing inherently improbable in it (says a London correspondent). Impulsive and enterprising young American ladies have come to tho rescue of members of the British, peerage on several occasions, and not nil of them have figured as conspicuously in "Burke" as Sir William Gordon Macpre-gor dees. He is the fourth baronet of his line, is 57 years of age, and was at one time an. i army tutor. Illness in recent years renI dered it impossible for him to earn ap inde- ! pendent livinjf . He had some assistance from his brother, Brigadier-general 0. R. Maegregor, but this ceased on the latter'a death some time ago. i "I am truly of opinion that there it less immorality on the Whitechapel side of London than there is on the Mayfair side," says the Dowager Ducheee of Newcastle, who has \ lived in both places. Her residence among the claes known to Mayfair as " the lower orders" has been, of course, for philanthropic purpose?. The ftatement is a notable one, for sho is ?, mature observer of London contracts, and not in the habit of attempting to make seneatioLS. It is mot easy (adds the Ace correspondent) to exaggerate the

moral rottenness of a large section of the wealthy idle class of London. Instances of at are co commonly jnentioned in private *alk nowadays that the subject has become positively nauseating. If the marriage law (were less rigid than it is — if it were more Sike the facile instrument advocated by Earl ■Russell, and therefore more like the American statutes— there would be an increase in ILondon divorce business tho extent of which would severely shock the English sense of propriety. The sensation of the season in the book »rorld (says the London Daily Mail) is " The jDurse of Central Africa" — a terrible allegation of cruelty and oppression on the part of the Congo Free State officials, written fey Captain Guy Burrows and Mr Edward IDanisius, who were for some years in the service of the State. From Brussels comes the circumstantial rumour t-ha't King Leopold, who is largely interested in the Congo Free ' State, "is coming to London to visit King Edward in connection with the publication of the book." Certain proceedings Kave' already taken place in Chambers, snd a writ of action for libel has been issued on fcehalf of three officials. When (his comes to be heard it seems likely to raise a new point in the law concerning: the publication of libellous or alleged libellous stat-smente. The names of these three officials do not appear in " Tke Curse of Central Africa," 'hut they were in certain proof-sheets which were sent to the Free State Company, which nibbled at the bosk before publication. For good and sufficient reasons these names were subsequently omitted, and it remains to be seen whether the (sending of the proof-sheets conetitutes "publication." "When acknowledging the eplendid welcome- he received in tho city on March 20 (writes the London correspondent cf the Melbourne Argus), the Secretary of Stp.te for the Colonies used language which ctriaiuly eiicourages the hope that Mr Ciiamberlain might be induced to make an early visit to the antipodes should the Australian Prime Minister or the States Premiers care to renew their invitations. At the Mansion Ecv.se luncheon Mr Chamberlain, after warmly acknowledging tho devoted loyalty of the colonies, and their loving affection to the Motherland, proceeded to declare that the present is a critical period in. <he Jiistory of the Empire. " What we do now and what our colonies do will probably, in the course of the earlier years of this century, " settle for all time the question whether a new empire, Guch as haa never entered into the conception of man before — •eg empire bound together by invisible ties, and yet of extraordinary strength — whether isuch an empire shall be consolidated and maintained, or whether we are to drop apart into several atoms, each caring only for our •local and parochial interest?." Mr ChamT>&rlain went on to argue that tho Imperial ddca had taken deeper root at Home than in th» colonies, probably because in the Matter lopnl ah'air.? had become to important and absorbing that the colonists failed to appreciate adequately all that is due from them as members of the Empire to which •they are proud to belong. The new conception of Empire, as a voluntary organisation bailed on community of interests and community of sacrifices, ought, he thought, to J>e preached from colonial pulpits, and he continued in significant tones, " Yon may find in the future worse employment for your Secretaries of Slate than to send theni ■tramping over the globe in order to preach tho doctrine of tho Imperial mission of the British Empire." The linseed crop in Poverty Bay during the past Eeason hae proved a satisfactory one. Fifteen hundred bags have just be<?n shipped from Gisborne for the Home ninrket, and a eimilar quantity will be sent next month. A report is circulated to the effect that <a gigantic syndicate is being formed for the purpose of bidding on the construction of the Panama Canal under one contract. J. T. Morgan and John B. M 'Donald arc mentioned an interested in tho deal. Tho syndicate will offar to build the enl-iro canal for 135,000, OOOdol, the mm aopropriat<fl under the Spooner Act. Tlie bidders on the work will have the benefit of ihn experience on such large enterprises as the New York Mibway and the Chicago Drainage Canal, and it i.s said will control a patent dr^dgT which will so greatly economise the work as to render competition out of the question on the part of person; who have lOt the benefit of thcee patent.-. The International Marino Company hnve determined to build no more icvir-tlian steamers. In the meantime, any addition that may be made to the combined fleets rin the immediate future, will, it is stated, lie of considerably less size than the Ouric and Celtic, and speculation is rifo as to what the cause can be of f.o sudden a reversion of policy as that represents. We :re led to believe that inadequacy of exi-t-ing dock accommodation has a giv^at ch'al to do with tha change, for under the confiitionis that rule in most ports much of the natural economy of the very largest class of steamers is lost. The change of a policy which has been so long and co steadily pursued is a complnneut to the Cun-nrd Company, whose Carpat Ilia seems to be the flead which the combine is about to follow. Tho Oarpathia is smaller, perhaps, than the ideal boat according to the new view — Messrs Swan and Hunter returned her at something over 14,000 ton*,— but it is far vessels of that type the combine proposes to discard the leviathans, which everyone thought had come to stay. At tome future time the development in point of size may be taken up again, but our information is that there will not be any more Cedrics and Celtics until improved port facilities render their construction a less risky financial undertaking. The Cymric (13,006 tous Kross), the Celtic (20,970 ton 3 gro;s), and the Cedric (20,970 tons gross) represent the Harland and Wolff development of the intermediate type. Of this succession theArabic (15,800 ton.-) is the latest, and it is understood she represents the limit to which tho controllers of the Anglo-American Corporation are inclined to jro. It is a terious

[ decline from 21,000 to 16,600 tons, and suggests that a less eangmn.© view is taken of the future of the big boat. Time, however, may be left to settle that point. The Arabic is expected to be out of the builders' hands some time this month (May). She is 100 ft shorter than the Celtic and C-edric, and has 10ft less beam. Her internal economy may be summed up in the statement that ehe is an improved C-e<lric in smaller bulk. There is excellent accommodation for all olassas of passengers, great capacity for cargo, and extensive provision for tbo carriage of dead-weight. She will not be fast — her speed will probably be between 15 and 1£ knots, — but ghe will bs comfortable, and on that account is likely to bs no less popular with the travelling and trading public thati her eister ships. •John D. Rockefeller, jun., and James H. Hyde, two young men under 30, were recently appointed directors of the Missouri Pacific and other roads of the great Gould system. These two young men represent two of the largest financial interests in the world. Mr Rockefoller can command more ready capital than the Rothschild railroad crowd, the Morgan, the Harriman, or the J. J. Hill combinations, enormous though they are. Mr Hyde, who is 27 yeare old, is the absolute head and dictator of the Equitable Life Insurance Company. While this company is capitalised at only 100,000dol, its araets'are said to exceed a thousand millions. Both Mr Hyde and Mr Rockefeller were trained from youth up for the positions they hold, and no persons could be found who are better fitted for the .positions. George Gould, who is master of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the largest railway system in the world — haying 9000 miles of railway, — was trained to be his father's successor. Now that he has allied himself with Mr Rockefeller, jun., and Mr Hyde, a combination hns ber-n formed than which no one could imagine a stronger. John Jacob Astor. who is, perhaps, the richest young man in tho United Statep, or in the world, is also a. member of the combination. He has bsen a director of the Gould system for several years, although lie hns not. taken an active, part in the manaeement. Mr Gould'fi sye-t'-in i.s being extended, and he will soon have {lip only through line between the Atlantic and Pacific Or^nns. The following anecdote phnufc the Standard Oil interests pives •i hint of Mr Rockefeller's resources: — "On ci;o occasion when there was a fhirry in Wall street a cert.iin firm of brokers found themcelves in a tight corner. They had several important customers out of town and beyond reach who carried on margins an r-nnvmoiß amount of a o?rtain stock which was then bring attacked in a desperate manner by the bear interests on the Stock Exchange, and the bank? which held the certificate!? for collateral kept calling for mrr-e money. At the crisis, when the last dollar of the resources of this firm had been advanced to protect it* customers, an ea.syjjokuf member of the Standard Oil ' crowd' strolled in. He discovered the situation, fold the brdkers to keep cool, and wandered down to the Standard Oil Building, a few numbers below on Broadway. In about 10 minutes he returned, and. laying 11.000,000 dollars utx>n the desk of the senior partner, rsmarkedi 'Shake that at 'em.'" A number of persons in Dunedin who conduct private classes in various subjects have received a circular from the Education Department stating that, in view of rlie facilities that now exist for the establishment of classes for public instruction in to-clinical subjects, it is not considered desirable to continue to regis'.er, for the purpose of railway concessions, teach era of private ci??ses* in such subjects of iee'i-nica-l instruction as are prescribed by tho regulation? that havo benn issued under the- Manual and Technical Education Act. This decision will, we understand, affect a large number of country youths and gir!^ who come to town for the purpose of obtaining instruction in shorthand, type-writing, painting, and otfher accomplishments, pa the effect v.-il l be, when the department ceases to register thpir teachers, r-itiher that they will be deprived of tli? privilege (jiey now enjoy of travelling upon the railway? on oc-m-mutation tickets that represent a considerable reduction on the ordinary fares, or else thry will have to sacrifice their studied altosetiher. For the department seems wilfully to ignore the fact that in hardJy any ca*o liave the educational authorities established classes for public instruction that supply tho place that the private classes have filled, and that, where these public ciassra <k> exist, tiliev are conducted in the evening, and am thus unsuitable for the students to whom tho railway concessions arc granted. C'on-ir-.'jiiPiitly Mio decision of t!i<? Education Department, if adhered (o, will, under the most favourable circumstance*, bo productive- of hardship.