OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2677, 5 July 1905, Page 12

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

r a nioatinig -in Temuka a few days ago 'it'-'W-as 'd-eeided to "frolS -a sadortd-class bands' 'on or --about QctaSbsr 14.

€flr tfiopkfns, -the Government Apiarist, 'iiftentis to -form .Beekeepers' Associations 'througtetit Hie colony. '-thJere '<fcei?fe -&013 -sfrrhfstls in the colony dstst 'moßth 'anH 2486 pswons departed, 4 flt«in9t <uncl '2212 'fe'spcctive'.y in May, ■1904. TPhfe -master - ; "8f the srs. reports 'tetvin-g :|ia§s*d =<Wr6fe|ftrge, -ttpparently of a "small -*©ar •'S&urakii'ae Head, Palilis&r -Bay. -NDoFiog l'the '-test ]\fo£v 728. dog's were taken ■off the ■ struts ~of 'Wellington; -156 of them '•*rerr© sold, '2(so '■■were claimed, and tho rest \fere 3e&te3yed. -Two small boys, 'eight 'and 10 years of -age "respectively, '-were odil'vi'cted of theft -At "N'ev committed to the -&uckkma 'Industrial -School. In the -last issue 'of tire Gazette the Colonial Treasurer acknowledges the receipt of A £is (in -five-pound notes), forwarded as conscience money. The \Palnierston North Standard understands 'that *th.B -police have laid informations 'against all "those dealing in occult mysteries in Palmerston at the present time.

j f 6ne of the standing -jokes -at Waimate (says "the Timaru Herald) is the fact that r th> -passenger cars on the branch line are 'not 'high enough to 'allow the member for the district 'to stand upright in. *A life 'company 'recently got this letter from <a 'bereaved -widow: — "=I take pleasure in 'informing you of "the death of my hus- ! band, who was assured in your company. ■Please €end "me papers quick, so I can iprore 'he is dead." -v'GsEptam 'Dutaaresque, of Longford, Tasmania, celebrated his orie hundred and third' birttidiarv a fpw days ago. *E© i« -the oldest resident in the Lbngfdi'cl district, and has "beSn a cokmist feu- *80 years. He is now oortnned to his "room. _ Tlie GiSborne S.M. decided in the dog "registration cases on the 28th ult. that a council is not entitled to double a dogregiitr"asi<9 fee if imp* aid fry a certain date. The f«« 'fts&tf by a council must remain throughout Mhe year. '"Sergeant 'O'Malley and Constable Heffer-~-nan, of Slasterton Police Force (reports T,he Daily Times), have had served upon them notice of intention to preceded for the reedve¥y of -£200 : for wrongful imprisonment J 'oi *a -Mrs Carr for drurfkenness.

The Tourist Department has been advised "that the water in the Waimarigu geyser is -hotter than it has ev«r been since the -•geyser stopped playing last year. The craters round about -are more active than for some time. These conditions may possibly presage the restoration of activity at Waimangu. " During his last visit to Capetown," says the Daily Mail, "Mr 'Seddon, the New 'Zealand Premier, "despatched cablegrams at fho rate jof 70 per day. Though remaining in the city for only *48 hours. Mr Seddon ran up bill for £163 for cablegrams, end has now forwarded from New Zealand a cheque for that amount. A large seam of limestone (writes the Hedgehope correspondent of the Southern Standard) has been discovered in the upper part of the district. When tested ifc gave a large percentage of pure lime. Mr James M'Kay has secured the sole right to it, and it is understood that it is his intention to form a company to work it. A branch of the Political Reform League was formed at Lawrence at the conclusion of Mr James Allen's speech on Friday evening. The following office-bearers were elected: — Chairman, Mr A. Fraser : secretary and treasurer, Mr J. B. M'Kinlay; committee— Messrs Leary. Jackson, E. Varoce, James Robertson, R. Cowie, John M'Hattie, and D. L. Christie. The new gev=or that broke out some time ago on the shove of Lake Rotomahana is on the site occupied by the Pink Terraces be-fore the eruption of 1886. The terraces were, in fact, kept in existence by the geyser. The new geyser only played a. few shots when it broke out two month 1 ? ago, but since the 17th inst. it has been playing almost continuously, spouting from 25ft to , 30ft. A remarkable, bit of financing has been done by tho Postal Department at Waipate. An old woocfen post offioc years ago hecsni» too small for the requirements of the busies, and a new and large one was built in brick. Now, Sir W. J. Steward says, the old place is let as a shop and Beijing at £ rental which pays 7 per cent. , oi the cost of yhe new one — that is, it pay 3 interest and sinking fund for tho better office ! .At Alexandra (Victoria} on June U tkera

i * ' was * large gathering at the Shire Hall, when Mr M'Gay, the Minister of Defence, unveiled 'two 'tablets, otf& bein"g ill nremory of ' Queen -Victoria the 'other in honour of the soldiers "who -went from the i&lexandra district to fight in "South Africa. About '21 nattres ■are engraved tin 'the soldiers' memorial, inclu'difitg <-the 'fia-'rcie df one 'holder of tho wiefcaria Gross^ At "the last meeting of £ho "Executive I Committee of the •Wellington '-brandh of ' tho ~NaVy -League < it "was "resdlved, 6n the suggestion of the branch, ;to i;oommunida'te with thte various ?Ne"W --^teaiand branehe^s of 'tho 4eaguc, /and sfiftlerWa'r^s -apprcaoh f t.he 'CJovernmerft, *with -a- -of i having Friday, 2€, 'cf this year, i declared a •plrtriic holiday in # 'coih"memoration 'bf tho ctentenury of Trafalgar. "•Ybtir odUrttfy is the '-I ■haVe yet visited," said -Mr Plavell ■"HaywaTd, of 'the Brfesctans, to >a -Lyttelton 4"iine"3 Vep'orfer last week. "When one looks >-at 'the 'smiling contentment "of the "New -Z>&al-and "forking "man and cplnparos his lot '-with -that of the .-poor' of '-England's -large "Cifeies. one wdnders the working man here dyer growls. I have been in maay "tquntries, and htfre -studied their laws vith 'interest, but ; New -"Zealarfd is certainly th"c most demDcfatio *and -advanced country I 'have visited." It is that 'ihe total cost *of the Victorian "BtfUser 'Coirfmksion is -likely to exceed i £2500. liegal assikfetCbce lias cost £1500, and "father expenses, including the , printing of three" reports . have 'fceen about £500. The commission "Was ~& ""Fe'de'ral as well as a 'State -body, but all the expenses, except the cost 'of taking evidence recently in Sydney for four "days, 'toill be bofcne by the Government of Victoria. The New South 'Wales 'Government will pay the "cost of 'the in Sydney. There -"Was great at Nukul&fa *when -King GecTrgpe -of Tonga landed on his return from Auckland. The -wharf iras linfcd with nafcive"s from the college, and -thei ' Ton'gan band 'was in gt'tebdanoe. The >Kin^g, prededed by ihe band and a guard bf honour, walked between tWo Hne3 "formed , by the -sti.fde.nts. There was a very large j gathering of natives, and the crowd Was | augmented by the presence of a number of ' eailo'rs belonging to H/M.S. Torch, which wa3 in port at the time. An unusual fatality oecUred at Flqwferdale (Tasmania) on the 19th inst. Two boys, the 'sons 'of a farmer, named Walters, we're "walking along a Toad during a gale, when a 'large treo was tdrn up by the roots and flung upon them. One boy, aged 14 years, was killed instantly, -and the other, ' aged 9, had a les? bi*oken and a foot smashed to pulp. He managed to crawi a few hundred) yards to a houoe, where assistance was prociwpd. The foot was amputated at the Latrobe Hospital. A meeting held at Adelaide recently to promote c orusade having for its object the prohibition of the importation of opium to Australia draws attention to some astounding facts. It is stated that the habit of opium-smoking is rapidly spreading among the better classes of Europeans. It is alleged that in Victoria there are at least 500 European opium-smokers, and among these are many ladies of wealth, who habitually drive to the Chinese opium dens to purchase the narcotic. It is also alleged that in South Australia thei-e is at least one wealthy lady similarly addicted, while several men are known to have fallen victims to the habit. One of a gang of boys who gained notoriety in the Thorndon district by stealing about £92 from the house of Mrs Picton and clearing out to Masterton and cpmping out. appeared before Dr A. M 'Arthur, S.M. at Wellington, a few days ago, on a charge of having been found wandering about the streets of Wellington. His name is Ei*; Leonard Picton, 13 years of age, who, according to Sub-inspector o' Donovan, had played truant unknown to hi= mother ever since he last appeared before the court. His Worship committed the boy to the Nelson Industrial School, and directed his mother to pay 5s a week towards his maintenance in the intsitution. An .attempt was made to burglarise Messrs Thomson and Beattie's Gore drapery <^staby?hm^'jt at m early hour on Sunday morning, 25th ult. The shutters protecting the glaw oj the entrance doorj \o the drapery and mercery departments respectively show pagns of being tampered with, but owing to the doors being held in posi- I tion by 6-t.oui. iron bare, the attempt thus • to gain odmittanoe was abandoned. Attention was then directed to oite of" the large j plate glass windows -which was broken by a brick being hurled through it. A lady's hat was abstracted, but reyond this nothing was takeii. The window (which was insured) will cost sonio £25 to replace. The theory ,

! of the police is that the "act was committed by a certain person wno when the influence of 'h'quor becomes 'mildly insane dnd iTrespons/ble. •Inq-airi&s instituted -go io s.ho\v («ays the Ensign) that this ,psrson had had liquor en 'Saturday night 'arid "Was missed ?rom hoTne "abotMfc 2 o'clock on "Sunday 'morning. 'Detective Oooney -is jl afc pTownr. inquiring into th© 'm after. The "town cleric of Wellington, in hia "j&inual -tenott (states 'lfo> jPost), "Sewmgly tfrges Jupon the -council -consideration of the <<>sßaßlishiheiit of a Municipal laundry. H« f^ays:— U sn ibis "fcidy tile "»f!va'rii»'ge'3 J »n establisimi^nt \rou\t\ be of -spefeial Asalne to a" ve"ry Uttge number of ""tlie citizens, 'MJft 'might 'he, -at 'a lm%ll T^bifge, matlo seffeuppofting e> Owing to the lack 'of y'afct- : Toom in 'Wellington. cofTeeqwerit 'Upon *tl"te high lai)d values, Ibis most -important yiSft • of the 'domestic ec'Jnoniy is lanie^nifcaWy/snoTfc of re^uireinents, reridering waAhin'g day troublesome one to matiy^'-homes. The *iiistitution of the municipal Maucdry in l li<Jn9on and other large eifees has 'teen -an "unqualified boon, 2nd under proper "nratfagement -would donfer a similar advan^ge in Wellington. Untfer mo'disrn '.Jneitb&dfl, tho "fort-nightly 'washing r di an ordinary 'household can bo conipleted atid'Tetarted "-within a few hours, without inoonvsilieiice 'to tha housewife, 'obviating erittreiy the 'drudgery -and Worry eenseqttent " where, with 'no room to spare, children require -attention and hn-s-bands'theiir >mid Say m&al." : The extent to ■'which 'the timber resources aro being trenched tipon may I*. -estimated from the information which th-a writer of " Axe and 'Saw " notes :n the Southland Times has provided. He -gives the r.aaie? cf no less lhan twenty-seven mills which have cut out within the lat-jfc three years. "As each of 'these mills Would <have ! bush ' area of iiot less than £00 -acres to work upon, their 'cufticg out means that 21,600 atores of bush have been nfeed up in less , than three yoars. Some n?w mills have I been started in the Same time, but tfco number is not anylhing like equal to that of the mills which have closed down. The proportions cf tho industry Imvc, therefore, shrunk considerably. Tho?a show how neosesarv it is th"at fresh sawmilling areas should bo tapped by "the dxj tension of railway facilities,* artd "also th'ab some means should he adopted for restedking the bush with marketable tlfiibe^r. Tho rapidity with which a sa<vniill cuts out ita bush areas calh for the adoption of the latest methods of reforestation by the forestry branch of our Agricultural -Department. The question of Ihe future of tlte pawrnillmg industry is one cf very great importance to Southland, and the figures provided furnish material for thought. The danger of dealing with big sums in figures Was prettily illustrated at Mr M'Lachlan's meeting at Ashbnrton on Thursday (says the Lyttelton Times). The member was threshing Kis way through a dreary pamphlet of statistics when a sudden sum in millions completely stopped him. Ho paused, and in an -audible whisper started to check it backwards. " Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, millions," he was heard to mutter, and then, with a gleam of relief, he burst forth triumphantly, "Ah, yes, ten million nine hundred and; fourteen thousand and forty -eight.' Shortly afterwards he struck another heavy number, but at this he shied diplomatically, and after a moment's pause announced it as "a great many hundreds of thousands of pounds."

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