LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2600, 13 January 1904, Page 23

LOCAL & GENERAL.

M^The retiring of the "West Taieri JK|^" f3b»«l "wsfe fre-elected" on Tuesday, llpM t»t|i£ fi^ #«# candidates proposed. ■jgpie tn.smbe~r3 ar| Messrs John Bathgate, -|> jf*meifW\ pUilr, Aloxauoer^ C-hisholm, James i^^dc; wg*|s Sltrtae^ofdj Snow", *^^^ SSinll^ryoang. ,4^be oSici«| tepor^a th&£ the average Wmffiei of <&M|| fe l>M^in and Suburbs 3^,ttid jSpUwf m: §M Stars' ejpding I&8C) tras |kJ6| fo*"£hij peii6s Wfy to |&^ '(tnelueive) JpTe aVeifcge fas 611 1 foiTihe period 1886 IK W &'**< hi &a &tio§ i 691 |o |pßf ttyis Bh for && &§&* 1896 io *P p'-fe? 6&; aaa for Ihe ifixed yea*3 ending 4§ MPthe '&Yer&ge tramfelr <5f deaths was 755, J'*lSie Gort Staaclai^ JA&^S * t&risoik of tte cases that vfcave "obctiTTSd $ % M a^* *lector&*e TSfiing Ihe 3$ #oniha (%? to December) *that &b-|so©n£& has been iH operation and !*ne previous six months, shows that noJicenie has diiajnishect the amount of \irunkenness in £he district, For the cix inontbs since no-license has been in operajfcjoji the*e %aye been iive convictions for Urtinkeniiesfl in the '6o*e court and one proThibition order grantef, while for th& previous sis months, intH Koenses in force, there were 29 convictions for drunkenness «nd eight prohibition orders were granted. {Whether no-license diminishes the actual Vmonot of drinking is another matter, fthough it has achieved one good thing in imping out street drunkenness.

During tho year ended 31st December last 'there were 14 bankruptcies in Dunedin, as "against 12 in 1902. The assets in the bank'xnxpb ««tates (as per statements filed) last year, however, only totalled £2170 10s lOd, compared -with £4513 18s lOd; whilst the j liabilities (as per statements filed) in 1903 ! ,were £4327 19s 7d, and those of 1902 j amounted to £22,456 lls 3d. In 1902 the j sum of £1634 12s lOd vas paid in dividends, and in the year just closed the dividends aggregated £1193 03 6d. The tenth annual session of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science was opened in Dunedin on Wednesday. The sectional committees had Eome formal work in hand in the morning, after which the General Council met and transacted a quantity of business. It was decided to hold the next meeting in Adelaide, in September, 1906, and Professor W. Baldwin J Spencer, of Melbourne, was nominated as president of the meeting. The garden party at Bishopsgrove in the afternoon was to some extent spoiled by the rain. The Inaugural meeting of members in the Garrison Hall in the evening, presided over by his Excellency the Governor, was largely attended. Professor David occupied over two hours in delivering his presidential address. The- first meeting of the aosocis.tion was held in Sydney in August, 1888, a.nd the first president was Mr H. C. Russell, 8.A., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., Government Astronomer, New South Walee. Biennial meetings have since been held in the different centres of the colonies. The la-st time the association met in New Zealand was in January, 1891, the meeting being held in Christchurch, when S^r James Hector, K.C.M.G., M.D., F.R.S., was president. Sir J. G. "Ward, PosimaGtcr-gene-ral < n Friday, accompanied by Messrs J. A. Millar and J. F. Arnold, M.H.R's., paid a visit to the Dunedin Post Office and inspected the recent alterations, under the guidance of j Mr Douglae, the acting-chief postmaster, f In the courEe of his p3regri nations Sir i Joseph said that with his knowledge of the whole of the chief post offices oi the colony i he had no hesitation in saying that Dunedia j now had, without exception, the most 1 efficiently-equipped post office in the colony. ! Sir Joseph also commented \ipon the fact that within the last few years it had been found necessary to considerably increase the accommodation at Auckland, Wellington, ! Christ-church, and Dunedin, and at many of , tho smaller towns, and stated that this was largely due to th 9 enonncrus expansion of "business, apart from the natural growth of the colony, consequent upon ihe adoption j of p-er.ny postage. Not only wa3 thero this j increase of business from penny postage, bur there was a corresponding financial advan- ! tage, and the Minister's h-cpe was that e\ery | other country which had not a'ready m?d© j the reduction to the " nimble penny " would | do so at the earliest opportunity. The . experience of both Now Zealand and Canada 1 6howed that the adoption of the penuy posi-ege very quickly enabled ilia rovpruo given away by the change to be oveil.aa'e:! ', by the increased business the changj brought about. Sir Joseph expressed the < hope that the outcome of the next Pos'al ' : Conference, which would take place m April, would bo that all other countries -n the Postal Union would adept the penny postage system : ■*"" the «..ati-tic3 whi h would be submitted would show that 111 all the countries wh'ch had already adopted penny postage the re»uk hrd been financially successful. During the afternoon Sir J. G. Ward visited the .Science Association ' meeting at the- Boys' High School, in the evening he attended the eom-erir^icne ai the University, and this morning he leaves ; for the bouth with the Governor. '

The weekly meeting of tho Esne\ol. Nt Trustees, held on \Tcdn-cscky, was attende-tl ' by Messrs P. Tre-saidcr (in the. chair). R. M. ( Clark. R. Wilson, W. Talboys, I. Green, pnd the Hon. H. Gourlc-y. Tho deaths in the institution of William Neal (nged 80), Alexander Anderson (aged 67), and James Henry (aged 84) were reported. The. monthly outdoor relief returns Tor December showed 307 cases. eomxjrisißa 126 men, 213

women, and 490 children, at a cost of £100 1 15s 6d per week ; the corresponding return for ±he preceding year showing 319 cases, I comprising 125 men, 231 women, and 513 children, at d. weekly cost of £105 4?. Parcels of papers and periodicals 1 were acknowledged with thanks from Mesdames 3 J, U. Ritchie, E. R. Smith, and C. F. Grcenslade, and from Messrs G. Todd and W\ Dawson* Accounts amounting to £4E9 Is 5d were passed for payment, and 33 caces ' oil relief dealt with. ! I &.i a recent meeting of the Church Society for 1 the Promotion of Kindness to Animals , it was reported, among other matters, that h'-s Holiness the Pope aad the Archbishop of Westminster had been asked to urge their 1 clergy to teach systematically the Christian obligation oi showing kindness to animals ; Ih&t the Secretary for War and the War Office Reform Commission had been memorialised t6 consider the desirability of reforming the Veterinary department of the War Office; that the settlement set on foot by the society in South Lambeth road, as the headquarters of persons, ready at any time to plead the cause of animals, was intended as a place of preparation for peiT-ons of all schools of thought to inculcate right views respecting man's dtity to animals, in churches, colleges, schools, park?, shelters, clubs, military chapels, prison chapals, and wherever a hearing could be secured, in any part of the Empire. '. A meeting of the parishioners of St. j John's Chtrreh. Waikonaiti, was held on Wednesday to consider a proposal to disconnect j the Waikouaiti and Palmerston parishes. ; The Rev. C. A. Fraer presided. After j financial matters had been thoroughly dis- j cussed, it was unanimously decided to re- I quest the Bishop to appoint a clergyman ] for the Waikouaiti, Goodwood, and Puki- , teraki districts alone, the meeting agreeing to provide the necessaiy stipend required. It was also recommended that the vestry send circulars to the church members asking for increased support provided the alteration ■ is effected. • The output of coal from the mince of the j Westport Coal Company (Limited) for the j month of December was 40,705 tons 12cwt. The Finance Committee of tho CityCouncil recommends that £75 be granted to the Dunedin Technical Classes Association as a donation for the current year. A slight fire occurred early on Thursday morning in the perfumery room of the toilet soap department of M'L&od Brothers J (Limited), but it was quickly extinguished by the application of their water appliances by the men on the night shift without the necessity of calling in the brigade. Mr William Zeigler, the multi-millionaire, who financed the unfortunate Baldwin North Pole expedition, was on November 14 indicted by the St. Louis grand jury for : bribing the Missouri Legislature to repeal . the law prohibiting the uh& of alum in baking powder. Mr Evelyn Baldwin volunteered the testimony on which the indictment was found. Mr Zeigler had charged him with being responsible for the failure of the Polar expedition. For more than a year there have been reports that the Missouri lawmakers were bribed to re.peal the anti-alum law, but it has heretofore been j impossible to secure enough evidence to warrant an indictment against the Bakingpowder Truet magnates. It is anticipated that the trial of Mr Zeigler will result in sensational testimony bearing on the way j the big trusts buy up entire legislatures.

At the New Year's sermon in the Sydenham Baptist Church, the Rev. J. Hales, when ©peaking on ' ' Causes for Thankfulness in N&w Zealand,"' stated that he had visited some of the largest cities of the world. In Chicago he had seen the strong man picking crusts out of the gutter. In San Francisco he had observed gaunt women with their fingers almoet worn to the bone trying to eke out by work a bare living, and even in Australia he had known of starving childron having no p'.ace of shelter, nor yet knowing where the next meal was 'to com© from, but never had he known of such in Ne.w Zealand. Here all seemed well clothed and well fed.

The Albany Supreme Court in the United States has ("-ays the Paris Herald) fixed tho prico cf ki<-<sca 111 a breach of promise ca.se at 9s P^d ecch. The claimant, a Mi==s Frpnee-s Potitt, announced that had been kissed 1226 time? in 14- jvars of courtship. To prove her statement, fcho produced a diary in which ehe had rccoi'decl tho number of kisses her swam, a blacksmith, h?.d be.^tov.pd. A lowctf court awarded £600 damages, and this verdict has iiov.-bce-n fcustamed after appeal. There was soms c-xeiternent at the R^.ttvay treet wharf sl>Gi-tly after 11 o'clock on Fil clay night. A r«psctably-dre«sod young man, who wa= under the influence of liquor, either fell over the side of the wliari cr jumped iato tho water. Three cf 'he. c*eu of the s.s. Pskeha were fortr.rati ly 0:1 their way to the steamer at the nme, and observed the man disappear ov-r tho tido. Without a moment's hc-s.it-.tion James Wart. A.8., jumped into the water Mith his clcth^s on, secured the drowning n vn, brought hi.i ashore, and then ccn -eyed lii-.n to the Police Station Watt's ace was a \ c-ry plutlcr (.lie, and de«cr\e.3 somo rccog-iiition.

In acec'-danee w'th notice of motion, Cc Sam-ion broughs i.p the quest. on cf tl^ fe^> for tho i-t-gistratioii cf doj, at Fr.day'-j . me-eting' cf thc> Taiori Ccvnty Oou;i(_.l. a id [ he moi rd thau the foe for to 1 ! •'-> !).■• ?- 61 each and that for all ether c'o^s 1C eac"> Collies we-re of great sprvicc to farmers, drover«, and butchers ; but mott of the others, such as ixtricvers. greyhounds, and ' terriers, were kept without being of cn^ UsQ to the:.- cvi ?i'i. Ihe met.en w "is seconded by Cr iiarr son, s:ati-d th.i; '

f he lio-ard of a case at Green Inland the ! ether night where 40 sh~ep m the. slaughteryard paddock were coined. Ife- v.-ould liko to see =01^0 means de^' r •ed aa hereby people who kept do^s for which thoy had 110 \iso could be trxed he.a\ily. However, after further dirCfsion it w,b deeded, on tho motion of Cr Dow, seconded by Cr Chrisnc, that the fee for collies be 2o 6d rrcli and that for other dogs 5s each. A cold gna/p in January is almost or unknown event in Dunedin, and, -v .th tho rain experienced leut wink, \ l^itci =; attending tho Science Congress are likely to carry aTay a bad imjaression of our climate. Although not required about Dunedin, the. rain was very badly wanted in Central Otago, and our Naaeby correspondent writes that the ram which fell in that district on j Wednesday and Thursday has greatly benefited the crops. At a sitting of the Warden's Court held I on Friday, be-fore Mr E. H. Careiv, Warden, ] an application for a water race in block XV, j Maungatua, to supply 10 heads of water for I the generation of water power was granted to James L. Baxter. Mr A. R. Barclay | appeared in support of the application. { Geologists sent cut by the British Govern- I ment have just completed a nine-months' curvey of Western and Southern Somaliland, 1 and have discovered payable deposits of 1 mica within easy reach of the coast, and j also considerable deposits of g^lona si've-r j and alluvial gold. At Friday's meeting cf tho Taieri ! County Council Cr Samson handed in his ' resignation as a member for the Kaikorai ' 1 Riding, stating that he intended \i=;ting J ■ Scotland, and would probably bo away for- 1 j some time. Tha council offered io grant ■ Cr Sameon leave of absence, but he raid I that he did not think it right that the j [ riding should bo left without a representacive for no long. The resignation wa3 ordered to lie on the table unhl next meeting. Mr Samson will probably l»ave on hi 5 trip about the middle of February. &<■ j A new work on Now Zealand's fauna, | i entitled " The Animals of New Zealand," [ I will be published shortly. It will deal with j all the air-breathing vertebrates belonging to New Zealand, beginning with the whales, the seals, and the bats, going on to the j birds (which will naturally Cicupy most of i the space), and concluding with the lizards, j The authors are Captain Eutton and Mr j J. Drummond, who worked c-ucces-fully to- ' gether in producing " Nai 1 - -*e in New Zealand " a short time ago. TLe latter book is written in a popular vein throughout, . but in the new work there will be full • scientific information as wc-ll as popular \ descriptions of the animals?' habits and j characteristic?. There will also be 130 illustrations! Messrs Whitcombe anc 1 Tombs arc the publishers. 1 At a meeting of the Maniototo County ■ Council hold on Wednesday (writes ox^r | Naseby correspondent) it was resolved, on the, motion of Cr Blakely, by five totes to j four to remove the Council Chambers fi\.m Naseby to either Waipiata or Ranfurly.

Reforsiice was made by Cr Miller at Friday'^ meeting of the Taieri County Council to the question of wandering cattle, which were described as becoming a scourge over the whole district. The speaker stated that some people had no other place than the roads to keep their cattle, .%nd they not only kept them on the roads, but they also bred and reared oalves in the " long paddock." On the motion of Cr Miller, seconded by the Chairman, it was decided ' that the engineer be instructed to take pro- | co&dmgs against all persons \iho£e cattle were found wandering on the county roads within the next month. Tlve Tyosr finer s.s. Star of Ireland -will load her outward cargo at Dunedin wharf. As this is the first instance of a direct steamer making Dunedin wharf her loading, no doubt the enterprise displayed by the Tyser line will meet with the success it deserves, and shippers in general will combine to give sufficient support to the steamer to ensure the new innovation being continued in the future. A rough calculation of the vote-s cast for the Federal House of Rcpresjntath es in the State of New South Wales shows that tha electors were very apithet'C. Th&rc are 6^9.791 names on the roll in this State, and th-^ votes recorded totalled only 261.000. This shows that the Lulk of ih<> electors did not go to the poll. Mr Webster got in for G'lydir, where there a^o 22,366 voters, v.n'a 430 i -votes; Mr "Willis was returned for RoLrrt-on with 5967 votes out 01 a total of 22,436. Or. the Now England rolls there ore 26,756 iot£r c ; ) bat 6850 clecte-cl Mr L-ons-d»!r; Mr Edwards got in for South Sj-xlnoy With 9652 out of a total of 31,765. Mr Shrw, Secretary to the United States Treasury, is one. of the strongest advocates 111 the United States for fubmlssing America. 1 stcameis plying with foreign po.i=. "By a;< act of Corgre^ (wr.tcs our S.-.i Francisco orrrc?pondem) tho American shipbuilder, tho American shipwright, the American shipowner, and iho American flag ha\e a monopoly on the coastwise trade- of t.'io co i7ii try. Bul Mr Shaw -uant*, as he claKd in a speech at the annual dinner oi the Xevv York Chamber of Commerce, Lj mpan= of Government subsidies, to pecuro to Ameiican bottoms "a respectable share of the trade of the South American Republics, South AfricJ, tho islands south of the. rqu;i or, arid the couiur.es washed by ili: Pne no Oepa.n Suppose,"' he continued, "v,e !O'» had legula/ lines of pteamaliip co..".ni:ii'catlon between out pores and the countr.^o mentioned, thp. Government paying the. loss until our tr^de should be established, what would be. th^ rceuk? A r<-!<rr-"enfative of these liaes -would wait at tl:« door of evory factory I*l \h^ land, bagging for the uroducnon of goods spcciallv

deigned to meet tho peculiar nee'l% desires, and w hiirs of the co an tries for which they Vi2.ro intended. And, mark joii, g^ntlcm^n, a foreign nnrkct for 1,000 OOOdol of manufactured pir'lucts mcar.s a domestic mark el ' for at lea^t 800 OOOdol of hbov.r . Nor would tLie bs all. The cstoi'li^hipcnt of trade in • thesa countries woul.l be followed by t Aiiierican warehouse*, tho American b. a'ie!i offices, and tho American banks." And t li 3 1 Government of New Zealand do thenutmost to asiist in carrying out. the policy 1 of the Americans by subsidising the already 1 heavily subsidised S.lll Francisco scnico! j Ineuraneo against errike-s is leech ing an 1 increased amount of attention in the United , Slates of America, and Mr Edward Atkin- ' son, of Boston, a well-known authoiity on mutual insurance, advocates the. idea being taken up on a mutual basis. Mr Atkinson suggests that largo employers of labour should enter into mutual contracts of ineuranco against loss by strikes in exactly the same way as they are nosy mutually insuring against loss by fire. He makes the I further proposition that non-union workmen I might be admitted and insured against lofcT lof wages through strikes Mr Atkinson oa'.1 culates that the eoct of such insurance to employers would not exceed a half of 1 per I cent, a year on their invested capital, while the cost to workmen would not bo more tl<an sdol a year. Tho idea (fays 3 New j i York contemporary) seems likely to appeal i to many employeis of labour, particularly j those in the building trades, who have ! suffered so greatly in the past few year? ' through the constant strikes which ha\e I hampered their operations and involved such J seri-ou? pecuniary losfCa. I Recent expe-rienco having shown that large j ocean-going steamers can safely negotiate ■UlO Victoria channel, it has been deci'l: ." I to bring some of these vessels up to Dunedin to load wool and other cargo for the London market. The Star of Ireland, whicn will start to load he-re on January 14, will bo closely followed b3* the New Zealand Shipping Company's s s. Whakotaiif, v. hich will commence to take in c-argo about the > 15th met. Two of irlve Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company's steamers, the Maori and "Kargatira, will also load at Dunedin wha*f the former about the 16th inst. and the latter about th-e 28ih inst. Shippers will no doubt appreciate th& action of the companies interested in bringing the vessels to Dunedin, as railage? and haulage at Port Cha.lmcT3 will thereby be avoided.

At a sitting of the Old-age Pensions Court at Port Chalmers on Saturday Mr E. H. Carnw, S.M., granted seven renewals at £18, and three at £14. Two applications wcr." adjourned on a question of property, and one on a qtiestion of separation. Two other applications were also adjourned, the magistrate to give his decisions in Dunedin as to tho value of a lifo interest. In regnd to two applications for canoc-llation of pension certificates, the magistrate refused cancellation in one caes, a deed of separation having been executed, and in the other decided that the matter must be dealt with at the time of renewal of pension.

As th-e Moerangi was backing out f'^oui Russell's jetty on Frictay evening, a lad wl.o was t»tandmg at the pier head lost his bal ance and fell into the water, the tide at the time being at the flood. Mr D. Falkir.er, who was close to the boy at +bo +:me. seeing what had happened, without a moment's hesitation jumpeel in after him, and succeeded, after a scramble into a boat, in bringing him ashore. The reecue was a plucky and a timely one, and is wortl 7 of notice.

The Hospital returns for the past wetk show that at the beginning of the week the number of patiente in the institution was 100 ; during the week 23 patients were admitted and 24 discharged, while one death occurred, that of George Fuller. The number of patients now in the Hospital is tho'"?. fore 98.

So far over 30,000 claims for compensation for losses suffered during the South African war have been assessed by the suVcommiseions, and claims to the amount of about £1,700,000 have been paesed for payment by the main commission sitting in Capetown, to which every assessment of the sub-com-mksiona is referred before payment can be authorised. It is hoped that the task cf reviewing theoe assessments will be completed about March, and after that will com© the preparation of the commission's report, and the compilation and printing of a huge moss of statistics — a Herculean tin de-riaking which will occupy about 18 months or two years. It is interesting to note that over 3000 claimants have failed to appear before the sub-oemmisoions to substantiate their claims, thus forfeiting their right to compensation.

The statement of revenue and expenditure, on tho Government railways to the sth Deoomber is p\i blushed in the Gaaette. The revenue totars £1,379,949, as against £1,266,425, for the coriesponding period of 1902-3, and the expenditure totals £965,872. a-- compared with £904,916, for th-e cotcspending period of the previous finanri?! year. Of the revenue for that period the North Island contributed £551,669 and the Middle Island £346,280, and of the expenditure the North Island absorbed £385,956 and the Middle Island £579,915. The traflic returns show very satisfactory increases in almost every direction, a-s compared witt the. figures for the corresponding period of 1902-3. Passengers inercesed by over half a million, and already total over five millions; parcels increased by 37,635, hor.ss by 1397, dogs by 1766, cattle by 2554, calves by 2919, sheep by 70,478, pigs by 4094, c^aif, lime, etc., by 3920 ton 3, timber by 54,659 tons, grain by 38,625 tons, merchandise by 24,939 tons, and mine-rale by 81,274 ton.. Wool decreased by 3591 tons. With more

than throe months cf tho financial year y --t to inn fiom the. cH'o cf the ictr-n, iKg cLp.T LrnfMit 1-1 lookipof for 1 -, ard (o a ''l "> ; f ati=f.\elory jcaiV buai:i^;j. It Wi'l I'D remcml'cicd (( c ay> t ! .o Wellington Pc;() that the airnncr. vent b"tv, r-en tLf Gcvcrnmt r. t and New Zca iar. 1 pvd Africa.i Stcrn^lr'p (( N :rp:>!,y f-r maing p. d.rc-ct -ervieo to Sjiuli Afuei v. 1 that at the. end of the fir.-t jvr tho cmpa:iy ccuVl renew Ul3 contrrct for a.10!;, r t^ o yea.is if it thought proper io do tc. The firot year is now completed, md tho contract has been renewed for the l-emain-dor of the tlirco-ycar period. Th? annual mbLidy paid to tho cempeny ;s; s £30,000. How little, tho South Sc.a native un-Jp~-ftands bu-iiicco is shown by 'be Ranto i^a correspondent of the New Zealand Herald He cays: — "Copra-making has l.een v-.vy dull this year, tho natives being so independent. They have no real vvanti, as »n Kuiopcans have. As their wanta are so few, our native friends say, ' Wo must have a certain price for onr copra, -md if the traders will not givo this prjee i v* w'H nr.t make copra, but feed our pigs with the n-".ts.' This has really come to pass in many instances this pa^st copra-making ee-ason. L?st year copra fetched a fair price-, and iV.T natives were sati^.fi<xl, but this yeaf the prico of c-£pra ins fallen oft. co thaf tne tiaci-er could not afford to give* r.s lugvi a ]irio,' as last year; the cons-cquemce- has been a vtry small output of copia. The natjv C mind can hardly as yot graop tho r'se mid fall of market valuer cf produce. If cm year he receives a certain price for his produce, he considers that thi-3 pries should always continue the same, if not more, ai.d if flu 1 trader says he cannot afford 'o -Ray thac pri^o again, ho is considered by the natives a ewindler and a thief, and so on "

The Groecr (England) says that art active f'*aud is at present at work in f;ho selling of b^^f extract without beef. This "rauc consists in the substirutiop of th>? p.vtiac of yeast for that of be&f. Recently it wtv d -covered that bho juice of yea^t. on -t'vapotation, yields a brown extract which re'fmbles in emcll and taste extract of beef Large quantities of this extract, it is «cud, VjC now marketed as a rival to or substitute for extract of boc-o;. The ye-ast extract (which is a comparatively cheap commodity), either alone or mixed with a em.-ill per ce-ntage of genuine beef extract, is even =&l& l as "extract of bocf manufactured by Licbeg's process in South America from finest beef only." Until a few days ago. whpi £> reliable test wac given them, public analysts have been unable to distinguish between the fictitious and tlie genuine extract*.

Ihe facilities afforded tourists of obtaining information as to tho vancu% sef-nic i-o-rorts by the Government Toiinst D-part-ment arc- being taken full advantage of at the local office-, ove-r 70 callers visiting the rooms in Lower High street yc&terdav, tho majority being visitors m connection v ith the Science Congress. Tours have heen mapped out for a very large number during the past week, and of the visitors yesterday 20 booked for Miiford, about 30 for Queenstown and surrounding dist'-ict. arc! the for various ether places.

Telephone communication is to be established betwe-en Sutherland's accommodation house at the head of Miiford Sound and ilia boat-landing at the mouth of Arthur Rner The convenience is for the bene-St of tourists, who -will thus be able to communicate with the boatmen when they wish to be taken down the Sound. It is probable that tho telephone system will shortly be extended to the huts along tho route to the head of Lake Te Anau.

The Government offered two rural sections in block IV, G'e-nkenich survey district, for sale by public auction for cash at the Courthouse, Tapanui, yesterday. Section 37, containing 3 acres 1 rood, was pufc up at the upset price of £19 10s, and realised £35, the purchaser being J. B. M'Alister; while section 33, containing the same area, and offered at the same upset price, brought! in £40 to territorial revenue, the purchaser being J. J Perry. Both sections are situated close to Tapanui, and considerate 9 interest was taken locally in the sale.

There is on exhibition jusfc new at the rooms of Messrs Park, Reynolds, and Co. a very fine collection of oil paintings by Mr W. G. Baker, a painter of some note. The pictures are all in oil and number 50. and ai-& capital reuresentations of New Z-ealand scenery. Some of them are very large canvases, and in every instance the subject; has been admirably treated. The pictures include river, laks, and sounds scenery, and there are also p. few well-executed coastal views. They will be offered at auction by Messrs Park, Reynolds, and Co. on Thursday next.

Recognising the. value of the Congress a< present being held by the Australasian Association for tho Advancement of Science, both the New Zea^-nd Railway Department and the Union Steam Ship Company offered special concessions to visiting members from, the Commonwealth, the former issuing free tickets, available for one month, ever the Government railways, and the latter allowing a considerable- rebate- on the usual steamer fare. Those who wished to avail themselves of the privileges so kindly granted had to become members of the association, but apparently some individuals have paid the entrance fee (one guinea) solely with the objeot of getting a cheap holiday, and not with the intention of attending any of the meetings of the Congress. The total number enrolled as members of the association was 656, and of thes# 56S have called at the Dunedin ofHco for their tickets, many o£ them having b&e-n pre« Rant at all the functions held. The r«-

znaining 88 members are believed to be Spending their time in holiday-making, and fif such proves to be the case they will proflbably find that a day of reckoning which Jfchey have not taken into account is in store if or them. It ,is understood that all who ihave not yet reported themselves in connection with the Congress will be prevented! from taking further advantage of the concessions extended to them, and that in order to return to their homes they will be required to pay full fares both by rail and by steamer. Az Thursday's meeting of the City Obwn*il, Cr Crust presented the report of the Reserves Committee, and moved its adop-

tion. In the discussion which ensued, Cr Christie .aid that two years ago he brought forward a scheme for planting trees on the city reserves. The corporation had a very large area available — something like 26,000 acres, — and there wero many places which could be utilised for tree-planting. He had spoken to Mr Tannock, their superintendent of gardens and reserves, who was strongly in favour of commencing a system of tree-planting, and it must be apparent to the couuoil that this was a very desirable thing to do. Mr Matthews, the State forester, had reported favourably on it, and, as a matter of fact, it had been hung up till the council secured the services of an expert. Mr Tannook had now been appointed, and he (Or Christie) would like the committee to resume consideration of the matter

and to carry it to a .successful issue, JExtensivo tree-planting on these reserves might becomo a source of great wealth to tho city in years to cone. Or Crust, in reply, said that tho question of Ireo-planting had beoa before the committee for some tame, and it was proposed to visit some of these reserves sho.rtly and see what was the best way to go about the 'vork. He did not think there was anything like the acreage available suggested by Cr Christie, but, at anyrate, it was intended to commence planting in a small way, and they would probably itart next autumn. The roport was adopted.