LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 32

LOCAL & GENERAL.

Speaking -at • Kentish Town last month, Mr H. C. Lea, M.P., said that when the House of Lords was mentioned he really smacked his lips, for he hoped that within _" three or four years there would be no " 'Bouse of -Lords. .During the past two years - they had been particularly active, for the previous .10 years they did nothing but sleep. Directly the country woke j ■up and 6ent into power a democratic party j •with a mandate to carry out domestic legis- j •lation, then the doddering old men came : down, clapped on their coronets, put on J their bedspreads, attended the King's Speech- at the opening of Parliament, and -said to each other, "Ah, Bill! here we "«xe again, and we will give old 0.-B. fits." (Laughter.) .The ''Peers certainly had given ±he Liberals fits ; but' he thought tho time was coming -when they would return.

the compliment. * Particulars are published in, Paris of an attack mad© upon Mile. Eugenic Bazaine, 'daughter of the ex-Marshal Bazaine, on Ixiard of -» German steamer, on the night Of "'October 28," while on the hjgh seas. The account is taken from a letter addressed to the Petit Telegramme, of Brest,' by a local merchant, -who was on board the - vessel. It is to the effect that shortly after 11 on the night, of October 28 one of the -•waiters entered the cabin of Mile. Bazaine, ■who had gone to bed, but was not asleep". On hearing a noise, Mile." Bazaine turned on the electric light, . and saw a man

_ armed with a knuckle-duster advancing towards her. In spite" of her appeals, he ■*_ threw her brutally on the sofa, and tried to stun her by repeated blows on the lead. Mile. Bazaine, .a woman of 37 years, succeeded, -however, in escaping from, her aggressor, arid rushed out of "the cabin in her nightdress, -which was drenched with .blood. She gave a * description of her aggressor, and €he captain summoned the cabin waiters, all o| whom answered the - call with the exception of the man described by Mile. Bazaine. It is supposed that, after, the failure of bis attempt, he threw himself overboard.

Ah engineer at Glasgow (says a London | paper) has astounded the Clyde shipbuilders by a small fotary turbine engine little more than lft in diameter and capable of , developing 40 Tiorse-power. The nSw turbine will- be known as the "Cortheay,"and its inventor, a Swiss, claims that it " -will revolutionise turbine propulsion. Only two blades are used, .against the many thousands in each of the new Cunarders. _The new turbine is to be fitted . on board -an experimental torpedo .boat, and a speed* hitherto unknown will then be shown, saye the inventor. All the -necessary capital to " afloat" the company hae been eagerly sub-. - scribed. , The new turbine can be applied to locomotives and. motor-cars. ; The blind man is constantly reminding the , public -that he is not so helpless as pity oft Relieves him to be (says the Sydney Daily Telegraph). An excellent illustration of his lability to overcome the very severe handicap placed, upon his activities was given .at the annual picnio of the Sydney Industrial Blind Institution. There the blind ; were seen competing in footracing and swimming contests and other athletic events -with as 4 - much success as could be achieved by those possessing all the great " advantages of "eyesight. As showing how capable the blind man can -become, it might ibe mentioned that the 100 yards was covered by H. Christie in 11 l-ssec, and another -negotiated the three-quarter mile \valking oont«6t in six minutes. The track 'is roped off in the ordinary way. - Each competitor takes hold of a ring running - upon one of the lopes, and this serves a's a guide, the blind man only requiring con- _ fidence and quickness to accomplish the result. - The idea originated in Sydney, and ' " since it was "put into practice' the manager of the" Philadelphia Institution (U.5.3T.) -wrote to Mr Hedger (manager of the-Slyd- - ney 'institution) asking- for" particulars. The system was subsequently adopted there, _ and " Mr Hedger has "been informed that interState sports meetings for blind people have been carried out at Philadelphia and New "York -with^ as much success as any- others. The' Maheno, which arrived at the . Bluff ",on December 30 from Melbourne, brought ' \ (says a "Press Association telegram) 217 paseengers for all ports. Of these, 46 landed at the Bluff. A typically colonial adventurous life .slosed when William Veney, aged 76, died *.t Riverton on Christmas Day. Veney -first. came to New Zealand while a soldier in the 50th Regiment, and fought under Soneral Cameron after Gate Pa. He did Hot leave with the regiment, and made "- lor the West Coast diggings, coming south to work on the construction of , the early - railways; he then went to Orepuki and _ He went south again, and ; afterwards worked about the Orepuki dis- _ - trict. He v*as part owner of a water race, and sold his share for £1000, which he invested — and lost — in a coasting vessel. Then he unwillingly fell back on the'old- " age pension, and though bent double with rheumatism contrived to find for himself till almost the last. Some months ago, when- the Otago Acclimatisation Society liberated a number of owls in Earnscleugh and other districte .with a view to minimising the small biridj nuisance, doubts were .expressed concerning 1 the wisdom of the step. The following letter, which has been received by . the secretary of the Acclimatisation Society from a well-known resident of the Earnscleugh district, explains itself:—" l have An orchard of fruit trees, and in some fir trees' which I. planted as a. breakwind **">

birds were very numerous until last year, j and ate all the buds- of my fruit trees, not leaving me a case of fruit. Since the owls were liberated by your ranger I have had a fairly good crop of fruit, and I consider that this is due to the work of the owls in exterminating the birds. In the fir trees which I have mentioned I have found several empty shells of eggs, and the trees are now almost deserted by small birds. I found several partly-eaten birds in an owl's home in an old sod wall on my property, so that they would seem toeat both birds and eggs.' The owls all seem to be thriving well in the district." We understand that only 44 owls were liberated in the district— l 4in September, 1906, and 30 in September of this year. j At Lumsden on December 28 a man named Charles Cecil Smith was sentenced by two justices to two months' imprisonment, without the option of a fine, for an -assault committed under unusual circumstances. It seems that two gentlemen of rank who were doing the Lakes district left a valet behind at Lumsden. The valet, who js aHindustani, named Jonas Nazareth, had been staying in Lumsden for about a fortnight, and had ingratiated himself with everyone by his intelligent and courteous manner. He was especially a favourite with children. On Christmas Day, after the sports, the accused came to the hotel where Nasareth was staying and used some bad language- to him. Desiring peace, the valet went outside, whither accused followed him, and then brutally attacked ' him,* knocked him down, and belaboured him on the ground. _ Then the constable came. -It transpired that accused was a rowdy character, and a heavy sentence ■ was asked for. In imposing this, the Bench commented on the fact that the crowd stood by and saw a cowardly bully j maltreat a coloured man. The Mount Ida Chronicle says: — "The, late severe drought has caused some of our , j farmers to turn their attention to boring ! for artesian water in order to obtain a , supply for domestic purposes and stock. . Mr P. Devinney, of Wedderburn, recently I sank a couple of shallow bores with satisfactory results. He obtained some rods from Mr A. M'Lennan, and under the supervision of that gentleman sank a bore at Wedderburn arid" one at Eden Creek. At Wedd_erburn he commenced boring at the bottom of a 16ft well and I went down to a total depth from the surj face_of 64ft? where water was struck. It rose into- the well. At Eden bore (52ft) • the water "rose to within 7ft of the surface. • A suction pump would easily pump it to . the surface from that depth. Most of ' "the ground was of a hard clay -formation, but at Eden a- sft seam, of lignite was struck. Messrs P. Shea and J. Lory are thinking of trying a bore or two." j For the last few days (says the South- 1 land Times), sharks have been seen in the j vicinity of the wharf at Bluff. On Satur- ' day one was seen to take in several sea- - gulls, and baits were promptly set for him. . He took one in the evening. On the boat going, out to secure him he managed to get away. , Further baits were set on Sunday, and about 7 p.m. a commotion at one of 1 these showed that he had again been • caught A motor launch went out, and Messrs P. Farrell and C. Bradshaw gave him his quietus with the lance. He was then "secured and brought to the wharf, where he 'proved' to be a big fellow of some 14ft in length, with a .very formidable set of teeth. The capture caused a considerable amount of excitement, and was viewed by some hundreds of residents and visitors to the port. One -of the stations recently inspected by Mr W. H. M'Quarters, of the Labour j Department, in connection with the accom- j modation for shearers was that at Kekerangu, i in the" Marlborough district. It was there (says the Wanganui Herald) that, on the , night of April 11, 1886, he was cast ashore ! -after suffering shipwreck in ' the disaster which oceurred«»to the Union Company's ill-fated Taiaroa. Mr M'Quarters had aj terrible .experience, sitting in a water- : logged boat for 13 hours watching the j. other -23 occupants die one after the other, i He was taken to Kekerangu Station ', in an unconscious condition and cared for. , Mr M'Quarters was a sailor in those days, and it seems a strange circumstance that • his next ' visit to the station should be ,21 i years' after in the capacity of a shearing inspector. While - there he visited the graves of the victims of the wreck, and was presented by a resident with one of the lifebuoys of the ill-fated steamer, which •wws washed ashore after the wreck. The medical men giving evidence at th« Auckland Magistrate's Court on Deceni ber 24- were of one mind regarding the condition of the morgue (remarks the Herald). " Iniquitously disgraceful," said Dr Sharmanr a^d " absolutely beyond description" said Dr Ferguson, in reply to an inquiry by Mr Kettle." It transpired that the light was provided by "two miserable gas burners stuffed up with dust,", that there was no hot water provided/and that generally the arrangements for conducting the examination of bodies were deplorable — all this notwithstanding the fact tfiat repeated appeals had been made for some improvements. "" It is one of those things which has been kept 'steadily in view,' I suppose," said Mr Kettle. "I will make representations to the Minister not only as to the condition of the morgue," he continued, "but as to the manner of control. It appears to me that with very little trouble anyone , could procure the key, go inside, and j remove a body. It is a scandalous state

A Punjab vernacular journal of recent date writes:— " Within five short years a great change has come over a section of the native population of Lahore. Children of native gentlemen can bo seen being £aken out for an airing by ayahs, j morning and evening. Certain bold men J have begun to take out their wives in the j evenings for a. drive in open vehicles. A ( week ago we caw the daughter of a man 1 of position walking with her father on the railway platform at Lahore. She was dressed in what seemed like an English gown, had English shoes on, and when her j husband came up left her father and walked about with him. Her face was quite uncovered. Let those who have relatives in Lahore go there and see for themselves the state of things". They will see wives going out shoulder to shoulder with their husbands in the evenings— having said good-bye to old restrictions. A man^ who would dare to reimpose the old manners on his womenkind would receive scant courtesy." Have New Zealanders a "twang"? Outsiders say so. The New Zealand Herald prints an extract from a letter 1 written "by a New Zealander now in Edinburgh. He writes:— -"I was standing in the Quadrangle the other day, and a man came up to me and asked, some directions. I thought he was a New Zealander, and he turned out to be a doctor from Chrisst- , churph. Did - you ever know that New Zealanders Have certain peculiarities? In the first place, they generally have a greenstone pendant, and in the second place their accent is usually unmistakable; it is a sort of modified American twang-, which people say is rather pleasant than otherwise. I have almost lost mine; at least it has been modified by the introduction of a certain amount of Edinburgh drawl and general Scotch accent. However, I am told it is still recognisable." Th New York correspondent of the London Standard^ writing under date of v November 14, stated:— "The order by President Roosevelt, removing the motto, 'In God we trust,' from the new coinage, has aroused an even more serious storm than that which "his ukase on spelling reform provoked. ' The votes of protest passed yesterday by episcopal conventions in New York have been followed to-day by similar expressions of censure in various parts of the country. "' Mr Roosevelt's reason for his action, that the motto lends itself to ribaldry, is not thought to outweigh the national sentiment which adopted it under Lincoln in the crisis of the Civil war.- The President, therefore, wilr probably be forced to make good his promise to restore the- motto if the Congress so directs. Advices from Washington say that the question threatens to become a national issue.' A member from Kentucky promises to introduce a bill in the forthcoming session. It i« also pro- j posed to change the law, making the J motto mandatory on all the larger deno- ' minations. Although there has been no , hard and fast law on the subject since , 1865, the Coinage Act of 1873 specified , that the motto should -be added when { practicable. This strengthens the protest 1 against Mr Roosevelt's ' hasty removal, of it on his own initiative, and his statement that the inscription had no legal warrant is the more surprising." A remarkable picture of the length to which curiosity-mongers will go to hear the Wallace divorce suit proceeding in Melbourne is given in the" Melbourne Herald. The description, which supports the short cable message on the subj-eet published some days ago, contains the following passages: — "At 25 minutes past 10 the doors of one of the corridors was thrown open, and a wild scramble took place. Women, daintily attired, fought to get to the front with big, strong men; and ~men jostled and pushed frail women aside. In the wild rush to get 'into the . court women lost pieces of their blouses' and the tips of furs and pieces of lace trimmings. One \ lady had her sunshade smashed in two, j and another lost her waist-belt, while another had her handbag torn from her graap. A lady who had brought her 10-year-old -daughter along 'T^ith her was parted from the child in"* the stampede, 1 and had it not been for the promptitude ! of a constable in pulling the child back she would probably have luffered serious injury." Immediately the holidays are over there should be no dearth of employment. A number of men, about £0 in all, are to be sent away to the Midland, Catlin's River, and Gore-Waikaka railway construction works. There is also ample work awaiting those in need of it in the'eountry districts. In regard to blade-shearers, there is a. partioular dearth of hands right throughout the Dominion. The Dunedin delegates to the Political Labour League Conference just concluded in Ohristchuroh. were very much impressed with the work that was being done in Christohurch by the branch there in the ,way of open-air meetings. Ifc has accordingly been decided to recommend that similar methods .be adopted by the Dunedin branch. If the proposal is approved of locally a series of open-air meetings, at which, the gospel and aims of " the league ■will be expounded, will'be commenced early , this year. | A Midhurst correspondent writes ' to the Manawatu Evening Standard : — " While out fishing the other day two youths from Midhurst ' struck oil ' — at least, so they fondly believed. On arriving at a pond they found' it simply teeming with speckled beauties. In -went the lines," and out came fish after fish; but they soon paid dearly for them. They heard an astonished voice in the distance, and looking down stream -jaw a tall j

figure with a double-barrelled gun in his hand. The .boys made off, and one, stooping to get through the wire fence, heard a report of the gun and immediately experienced a stinging sensation in his back. Another report followed, a few shots entering the other boy's hand. The lads had entered one of the hatcheries near Stratford. Nine pellets have since been extracted from the damaged portion of the fh-st lad." The Miners' Union having forwarded a claim to the Government for £300 15s expenses incurred over the recent Nightcaps Commission, we understand that it is higb'y probable the Nightcaps Coal Company will follow suit and also make a demand for reimbursement of its commission expenses. A new industry has been started on the West Coast— namely, that of the.manufacture of wood stovepipes. Messrs John • M'Lean and Sons and Mr Leslie Reynolds , are (according to the West Coast Times) mainly responsible for this project. Works have been erected at Hokitika, and the manufactory is under the guidance of an expert from Canada. It is claimed to be 1 the first New Zealand works of its kind , that has used New Zealand timber for the making of the pipes. . , During the month of December, 14- new grants of old-age pensions,-' ranging from £9 to £26 per annum, were made in the | Dunedin district, while two applications were declined— one because the applicant's income disqualified him, ' and the other because the applicant was too young. Renewals of pensions for amounts ranging from £8 to £26 were granted in 84 cases. The application for renewal of a pension was refused on the ground that "the applicant's income disqualified him. Months of work by nearly three thousand clerks and special agents of " the United States Census Bureau has resulted in the information that approximately 130,000 married couples asked for legal~~separation during the 10 years from 1897 to 1906, or at the rate of 13,000 a year. Publication will be made in a few months of the reasons given in the complaints on which these divorces were asked. It is estimated that two-thirds of the cases were successful. The census was taken under a resolution of the last Congress, and the figures are expected to start renewed discussion of the divorce evil in the United States.- There aire about _iO,OOO cases yet to be investigated by the Census Bureau, which will complete what is known as the field work. In the Chancery Division of "the High Court at London on November 22 an interesting point arose in "a. New Zealand appeal -case. The appellant was Mrs Percival "Johnston, of New Zealand, daughter of the late Mr Charles William Schultze, of Hobson street, Wellington, and niece of' Captain Johnston, of Annandale, Sydney; and the point was whether a-elient is oound to pay the fee of a King's Counsel who hasi been retained by the solicitor acting in the case against express instructions. • Mrs Johnston was a party to a probate' suit, and i her case was that her solicitor, contrary to I her directions, had briefed a K.O. lit 100 i guineas. The taxing master had allowed the fee, and she now appealed from his order. Her objection to^ the X.C in question was that when consulted about her case he had given an opinion "adverse to her. Her solicitors, however, retained him, ' and the taxing master -held that under the rules for the" conduct of the Bar the solici- | tor was bound to brief the counsel, seeing j that he had been consulted during the pro- '■ grefcs of the action, and was also entitled to recover the fee from the olient. Mr Justice Parker held that the rule was only , made for the guidance of the profession. ' and that the solicitor could not override the client's express directions. He, therefore, disallowed the fee and gave judgment in favour of Mrs Johnston. The private telephone service has become such an institution in the Tiniroto district, Poverty Bay, that for nearly two yeasrs the I members of the School Committee of tha* ! I township have' only met onee — on the occasion of the annual meeting of householders. The committee meetings are conducted regularly each month over the telephone. At the customary hour of meeting I the members of the committee are placed ' in communication by telephone, the minutesare read and confirmed in the usual way, and the business proceeds as ordinarily. Annual meeting 3 must, of course, be called to allow the general publio to attend, if they so desire. The introduction of the telephone, connecting pretty well every homestead in the locality, as well as those away in the Ruakituri and Te Reinga Valleys, has been a big boon to the settlers, who transact nearly all their business amongst themselves and with town over the wire without having ( to leave their homes at all. j The octangular billiard table has followed closely upon the oval. An exhibition game of 200 up wa» played recently ' between Weiss and Peail, on the first eight-angled Sable made by Messrs Thurston and Co.; at the Thurston Grand Hall, Leicester square. Weiss once more proved his great capacity for adapting his play to new conditions by beating Peall each time in two games of 500 up. In the afternoon he scored 500 to Peall's 245, and at night he defeated his opponent by 289 points. The winner's chief *break -was 99, while Peall's best attempt j *as 41. The play all through was interesting, especially when considered in the light of a new style of game, compared with the oval billiards recently exploited. The octangular game ihould prove decidedly popular. - A little five-year old boy had a etrange experience, and a marvellous escape from serious accident in Sydney last week (writes " Oristina," in the Australasian). He was ( playing in a roadway at Pyrmont when a 4

man on a bicycle knocked him down. B*- _ fore the child could pick himself up a tram passed over him. The driver had seen the ohild, and applied the emergency brakes as soon as possible, bringing the tram toj a sudden stop. Then everyone looked for the boy. But he was nowhere to be seen*. The conductor and driver and various pedestrians tried to ;aise^ the car from the . rails with jacks; but still there was no, sign of the child beneath it. After aboufj five minutes a far-away voice was uieard calling "Let me out, let me out!" Ib pro* ceeded from the middle of ihe car. " Lifting the detachable board from the floor of the car, the conductor saw the boy. -Ha had been caught by the mechanism attached! to the lower part of the car, dragged as few yards, and hoisted into a groove. Fortunately the wheels had escaped kLn, so his injuries were only superficial. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, and .ra» soon -well enough to be taken- homeC An amusing 1 example of ill-requited kindness is given by the Rev. H. B. "Freeman, vicar of Burton and rural^ "dean, "*n she current issue of a local- magazine, (says the London Chronicle). ' The vicar o£ a v-llaga in his deanery willingly .granted .a. young man permission to ascend the church toweir i "to view the ■, glorious "eceneTy of the neighbourhood." A -few days ]a.ter the vicar received " by post a snapshot' of ■Himself in the act' of entering the only, public 4 house in" the^ vicinity. The, unsuspecting pastor, who had gone into the hostelry o obtain change for a sovereign, to pay some wages, had been photographed from his'owri church tower. " I gladly give this explanation of the episode," writes the Rev. H. B. Freeman, " especially as I know him to be .an earnest and eloquent advocate in the temperance cause." When the four-masted barque , Vimeirs, bound for Sydney from Drammen (Norway), was approaching the equator on Oota- ■ ber 13 last a strange-looking craft was sighted, flying signals of distress. Captain Stewart, of the Vimeira, altered the course and was soon abreast of the vessel, which proved to be a lighter, rigged as a fore-and-aft schooner. On board were nine men, including the skipper and two Jiates. They reported that they were 95 days out front Rotterdam, bound io Buenos Aires, and owing to the protracted " passage had. run short ( of provisions. They " told Captain Stewart that they were "in a starving condition,' and asked him for' supplies to enable them to complete the voyage. The Vimeira was hove to, -while a boat from the lighter put off, and received provisions. Captain Stewart gave the distressed crew liberal supplies of flour, tea, sugar, biscuits, eto.\ for which they were' very thankful;, and after remaining alongside for a time they returned to their own 'craft, -which soon after" "was put on her' course. " i. — * M. Firancois-Marie Bizofc recently pre- . sented himself at the mairie of the Second! 1 Arrondissement to' declare, the birth 'of a daughter and "co make but the little one's etat civil (3ays the Standard's Paris correspondent). After accomplishing the preliminary formalities the clerk asked tha names of the child, and on the happy father replying " Marie Henriette," laid down his pen and, with a magisterial ' air, answered j "Impossible!" M. Bizot'very pardonably I thought he was joking, and 'repeated "the 1 offending name,, when the official- met -him 1 with, " I have not the slightest wish, to I joke, .monsieur! Be good enough to look }--at this little bookll" and landed him a ■ small volume, which contained ihe alphabetical list of the names French citizens are allowed to give their progeniture of tne, weaker sex, according to the law of the 11th • i of Germinal, of the year XI of Ac Re- ' public, which is still in force apparently," though the fact is nob generally known? and M. Bizot will, be obliged to obtain a special dispensation from ■ tho Attorneygeneral of the Republic before "he can register his baby Henriette. The very favourable climatic- conditionswere, no doubt, to a great extent responsible for the large concourse of people on' Dunedin streets on Dec. 31. In all respectsthe crowd was an orderly and well-behaved one. There was, of' course, the usual display of lung power, as manifested by month- " organs ,ahd other instruments of- a likenature; but this year there was a distinctly new factor introduced, inasmuch as the young ladies of the city and its environa took a vehement part in the making of discordant and other noises by means ofi trumpets, hooters, eto. So far as can be gathered there were no disturbances of a serious nature, and the large crowd was * particularly orderly one. As midnight approached the northern end of the Octagon waß made the centre of attraction. As ,ha i hour of 12 rang out there was a great outj burst of explosives, whilst from the Fire Brigade Station there was made at very fine fireworks display. At the same time coloured fires were exhibited from various parts of the Municipal Buildings, the while whistles from foundries and vessels in tha harbour were screaming 1 , rockets were being discharged in every direction', and a detach- _ ment of pipers paraded the main- thoroughfare. For the space of about a "quarter of an hour the centre of the city presented a very lively and animated scene, but once tho fireworks had ceased the crowd began to disperse, and by half-an-hour after midS night the streets presented quite an ordinary - appearance,' and the year 1908 had beet* happily and auspiciously launched upon ita ' 12-months' course. The railway authorities have been verybusy during the New Year, jhe bookings ofl( New Tear's Day being not far short ofi 6000, while the total on Jhe 2nd was 3330. ' The following are the actual figures:—;. January I.— North lines," 3930— Prin.* oipal stations ; Fort Chalmers and

Suburban 900,. Portobello - 110, Christ- ] $iurch $0, Timaru- 70, Oamaru 400, jfalzaereton 500, Wajfcouaiti 150, Puketiraki 380, Seaoliff 260, Warrington 180, SpJvansdale 90, Waitatr 210, Purakanui 180. feouth lines, 1370— Principal stations: Mosgiel and suburban *50, Henley '230, Waiihola 50, Milton 150, Stirling 70, Balclutha 60, Invercaxgill ( 9o. Branch lines, 670— principal station's: Middlemarch 270, Outxam 100, Lawrence 80, January 2.— NortlT lines, 2200— Principal stations : ' Port Chaliners and- suburban 7QO> Waikouaiti 526, Oamaru '60, Puketirakl 130, §eacliff 120, %a.itatL .100, Portobello 50. South lines, BOO— Principal stations : Mosgiel and suburban 420, Invercargill 40, Henley 90, Waihola 50, Milton 40. Branch lines, 330 — Pfinoipal stations: Outram 70, Mount Allan

■ The tramways staff have' had a very busy time during the past .-week and have come through the ordeal with great credit. The iact that there have been no accidents of a Serious nature and that the service in all ate branches haa been " well maintained amply "demonstrates the efficiency of the service.' The loading on 31st ult. was a -good deal heavier than for the same day ©n the previous year, the number of passengers being *1,901 and 'the amount of larea taken £254- Is Id, as against £224 17s Jor the same day in 1906. On New Tear's -anorning the* traffic to the Railway Station B.T.J to Him -wtaro-es -waff beavy, «.n<i ftere was/ fairly good loading to St. Clair. 'The threatening weather about 2 o'clock spoilt the afternoon traffic. There was good outward loading, however, in the evening. The number of passengers was 40,914- and Ihe receipte for 'the day £250 17s, as against £258 10s 8d for New Year's Day, £907. For the two days the" total receipts come to £504- 18s Id, as against £+831, 7s 8d for' the same two days- 12 months ago.

Art accident' which, might have Taeen attended with 'fatal results occurred on the afternoon of the 2nd' in a dangerous locality at the far end of the "second "Beach, at .St.Clair. to a- Mrs-"- Griffiths, and her child, xrho are on a Tiflit from Wellington. They fvere wading-, in the surf alonfir with some friends when a, wave larger than usual washed the child off s her feet and carried. her seawards. Hearing the child cry, the mother at once sprang after her, but was unable to reach her. A young man -named Button, seeing the danger, rushed boldly in, $nd, after struggling through kelp rescued _.'the «eMLd, who had become entangled in ihe weed.. Mr Button had some difficulty in freeing- himself from the ,kelp, and Mr sjSroed went to his - Wflling\ helpers assisted the mother ashore in *• fainting condition. : Unfortunately the lady fead the misfortune ,to loss, her purse, coniainiog- some £5, and as the money can be but 31-spered, the finder would confer a kindness by returning it, The eighteenth annual conference of •Christian* was held in Gospel Hall, Moray glace on the Ist and Znd^ inst. The meetings, . ■jvhieh comprised three each day iQf two and a-half hours' duration, with intervals between for refreshments, which (tfere provided irt the hall, were well attended. - A number of evangelists from various places took- part, and the "ministry was seasonable and profitable. The meetings, will be continued- to-night and on Sunday evening. Some tyE the smaller ponds in. Oamaru Dardens are- at present completely covered $vith a dark brown water-weed which has |he appearance o£ ' trown One of' the exeuMioniflfe" by 'the Tarawera on New dear's Day took a' running; jump at one of ~ these patches and was much surprised to ' "find that < he did not strike ground until tie had passed-, through four or five feet of ' water. His companion jumped in to save him, and the two waded to (Shore, a distance pt sft. " In the- excitement the hat of No. 2 was knocked off,' but thia was soon Tescued by^ No. 1. ' Then two sadder, svaser, and watter young men returned to Ihe boat, where, by the- kindness of the stewards, they were, allowed to lie in bed Sill their clothes dried. According to the police returns for the year ending December 31, 1907, there Was a decrease of one in drunkenness oases at Port Chalmers, as compared with the previous* year. • In 1906 -there were 89 eases .recorded, the number last year being 88. Mr Charles M Alexander, who was inirited, some time ago, by the Evangelisa- j jfcion Society of Melbourne to visit Australia and bring "roth him the Eev. ,Dr Torrey of another evangelist, is- „ finding some difficulty in filling fcho order. ' It * was recently stated in the English press that Dr Torrey had dissolved partnership with Mr Alexander and accepted an Invitation •to visit Los Angeles, California, and, writing at Birmingham under date November 11, Mr- Alexander says:— "l have not an answer yet from the people I iave' been negotiating, with concerning Australia, but will let you know as soon rs I hear something definite. ... lam [doing all I can. to seiltle matters as Bpeedily as possible." According to the Dominion {he popularity ©f the New Zealand Tesorts Sias been very great this year. The Tourist Department has been receiving ponstant intimation, that every seenio^spot - |j9s had its quota of visitors, In many places accommodation has been taxed, but ■ '^reparations proved adequate-. - Rotorua tjas been, en fete, and among the visitors' there have bean crowds from" Australia. &c it. matter of fact,' the general influx from Australia this year has been remarkable. $n spite of the extra steamer " put on by '$he Union Compftny, several intending holiday-makers were unable, so' states the-

tourist officer in Sydney, to obtain a passage over. Apart, however, from the outside traffic, New Zealanders themselves are greatly in evidence at the resorts this year. The chief ©f the Christchurch ScoHish Society was rather puzzled by receiving a cable message "from .the St. Andrew's Society, London, containing only one word, I' Haggis." Visions of a consignment of the "great chieftain of the pudding race " came before the mind 6of the councillors, as a haggis, so far as- a Scotsman is ooncemed, is' like a motion for adjournment — in order at any time. But the explanation, came . by letter later, and included a warmly fraternal greeting from the London Scotsmen to- their "brither Scots'- in the far off Dominion of New Zealand, wishing them a "Guid Now Year, and mony o' them."

A political expedient that is finding favour in advanced communities, writes _ the American correspondent of the Melbourne Age, is the provision known ac the "recall." It permits the voters to turn out of office an elected official who haa misconducted Jiynself, or with whose behaviour they are dissatisfied. Sato Francisco is the latest big city to adopt ,the recall. Under an amendment to the city 'charter recently submitted to the people and voted on favourably, a petition signed by voters equal in number to at least 30 per cent, of the entire vote cast at the -election or tpe officer sought to Tie removed will cause the office to be declared vacant and a new election to be ordered. The effect of such a law is to make tenure of office dependent upon good behaviour. Los Angeles has had such a provision for more 'than two years. It has been irivofceei but once, but the presence" of the law on the statute bookg is said to ' have been, wholesome in its influence upon eleoted officials. The recall law in San Francisco covers the case of all elected officials except judges. A few days ago one" of the Seacliff Mental Hospital cottages* occupied by an attendant named Thomas Sneeston, was destroyed- by fire. The building, which consisted of four rooms, was valued" at £300. The furnfture, which was - worth about £250, was insured for £200 in the London and Lancashire office. " The house was uninsured. Mr Sneeston was staying at the Mental Hospital at the time the fire occurred, his family > being pway for a holiday. A correspondent "from Kurqw writes: — S_unday," December 19, was a' dreadful day of heat. Maximum "shade temperature: 9 a.xn.,.£6deg, .N.W. wind, medium; ia noon, '86deg; 1 p.m., 98deg; 1.30 p.m., lOOdeg; 3 p.m., 90deg, S.W. . -wind, medium,, became overcast with, change of wind; 5 p.m., 80deg." Infant Bfe requires every protection.On. January 1 a, radical change took place in flic administration of &11 licensed homes for infpnts. Henceforward all «juch homes will -be under the control of iJie Department of Education, instead of that of the police, as formerly. Four ladies have been appointed as -district agents, and these will shortly visit every suoh home in New Zealand. After thia inspection has been made all home's will be regularly visited by an officer specially appointed for the purpose. The scheme' of inspection will be such that every infant in a licensed home under one year of age shall b« visited at leas!; once in every two months; And every other infant in such a home once in four months. Foster-parents, must comply promptly with any direction given by a district agent or other duly authorised person, and they must also allow local ■" visitors all reasonable facilities for ascertaining the , condition of ''infants in* their homes. - All infants must also be treated with care^ and kindness. It is, worthy of note that under the amendment of the Infant life Protection Act an important alteration is made. It is now provided that child' received into on infant v .home is to be an infant for the purposes of the aos until it -attains the age of six years. \ Under the previous provision the maximum age was four years. - • j A number of tariff alterations under the .act passed last session came into force on January 1. The .removal of the duty. . of 10 per cent, "on cotton piece goods (including Turkey twills, dress prints, denims, drills, dimities, flannelettes, army grey shirting, moreen, canvas for fancy work, dungaree for working suits, cotton cord, linings for dressmaking, and liberty muslin) is a departure which will be welcomed by all housewives. „ Similarly a duty of 20 per cent, is removed from plushes, all kinds of damasks, sateens, serges, dress hollands, holland curtains, linen sheetings, and towellings, and a hundred and one -other things which come within the same category. The duty on lace goods, satins, velvets, etc., will be reduced from 25 to 20 per cent. There are many other articles on which reductions in. duty will operate as from January 1, but those outlined are the -principal changes which affect the masses. Bishop Armstrong,^ of Melbourne, has called upon the Rev. George Gladstone to resign his position as rector of Nathalia. This Mr Gladstone refuses to do. Three charges are preferred against him. The first is that in righteous condemnation of evil he has been led into exaggeration and mistakes ; the second, that he fails to secure <' adherence to the Church of people in leading positions; third, that he has no 1 spiritual influence with young peopled To these charges he replies as follows: — First, his- main allegations he is prepared to prove if necessary in a court of law, contending that side issues and minor matters

have in some cases become confused by untrustworthy reports; second, he admits, that his ministry is to the practical, and particularly to the poor and humble, rather than to the upper -classes, but contends that in this respect he follows In the footsteps of £fs divine Master; third, the happy success of the recent Sunday school picnic j is pointed to as a complete refutation of the last charge. A letter from Mr Gladstone was sent to the bishop requesting an impartial inquiry, but this was refused. A New Zealand company has purchased the Dominion rights for an English coal briquette. , Its texture is so fine and olose thata briquette a little larger than an egg can b§ sawn through, quite smoothly without any crumbling- and cracking. It isimpervious to the weather, and' may be made from the slack of any kind of coal. Some difficulty has been experienced in making the new briquette from the receipt furnished, but this has been solved by Messrs- E. H. Barber and Swannell, mining and mechanical engineers respectively, of Wellington. It is understood that the cost of producing the briquettes is about 5s per ton. Superstition exercises sway nowhere more effectively than at sea. It is regarded as essential by those immediately concerned that Polar expeditions should sally forth penniless. In consequence, just before sailing', Lieutenant Siiaetleton <Jexna-ri<jtecl that each of. his companions should disgorge' his monetary possessions. These were immediately handed over to Mr' A. ] Reid, manager of the expedition, who will retain custody of the treasure until rta several owners, return to civilisation to claim it. And so. the hardy explorers set . out, poor in pocket, but rich beyond, telling . in hopefulness and the sympathy of their . kinsmen everywhere. _ - The only, known coin on board is a battered threepenny , piece nailed fixedly to the mast. A' l3-year-old boy has set a fine example 1 of pluok and devotion to duty, worthy of a British soldier, at some cadet manoeuvres,' in Surrey (says the iOaily Express)-. ' A . corps of ■ Cadets from Reigate \ Grammar School, Reading, and other schools, were ■ engaged in mimio warfare at Boxhill and Betohworth. The 13-year-old lad was placed during- the day on outpost . duty at Headley. The bugle caH r -afc the close of the- operations failed i to reach his ears, and he- wa*/appa- , rently forgotten. Some hours later, when, ' the corps was about to entrain, fehe roll call revealed the fact that he was missing. Officers set off over the hillsides in the darkness with bicycle lamps and farm lantern's -to- search, for the lost boy sentinel, but although they spent the whole night-roaming over the gorse-olad hills they '■ ' were unable to find any trace of the lad. Subsequently, it was found that in spite of the cold and of want of food the- 13-year- ■ old- hero had stuck to -the - lonely post 1 where lie had been placed on duty, until a • gamekeeper, coming upon him during the dark hours, assured him that he must have » been forgotten, and induced him to go to [ iiis > bouse. The* little sentinel, who was lightly attired, was shivering with cold and weak from hunger and exposure to the : night air. The gamekeeper got him a warm meal and kept, him indoors until the 1 search party were communicated with. t. Two of the most recent applicants to I the Dunedin City Corporation for supplies of electricity for motive purposes are the t Eoslyn Tramway Company and the Burnside Oement Company. In the case of the ' Tramway Company, which, proposes to substitute electricity for. efceam as a, motive " power throughout its works, the request is for about 200 horse-power. The Burnside , Cement Company will require a supply t equivalent to 250 hqrse-power. , . The number of patients, admitted to the , Hospital laat week was 18, and the number r discharged 21. There were two deaths — Viz., Queeni© 'Townsend and Henrietta [ Mitchell. The- number of patients remain-C-ing in the institution at the end of the • week was 104. ! The first flow of water into the Boslyn ; Council's new reservoir is to be turned on ] this week, in all probability on Thursday. . The -water supply comes from the upper , reaches of the/Leith and Morrison's Creek, , at about 800 ft above eea level and 200 ft ' . above the- Roslyn reservoir. There will be three intakes in all. We understand that steps are to be taken shortly' to form a Domestic Workers-* , Union, in Dunedin, on lines similar to those • already in existence in Wellington and ; Christchurch. An application is to be i made by .the Christchurch Union, to have its conditions of labpur regulated by the i Conciliation Board. The new wing of the Dunedm Hospital is now Jiearing completion. Some of the paint work and a portion of the internal I fittings stilt require to be attended to. It , i 3 expected that the building will be ( publicly opened next month. > j A party of tramway employees to the ! ' number of about 20 found themselves in ' a somewhat serious predicament on the sth i near Ofcago Heads. They had engaged a > motor-launch for the purpose of enjoying . a day's fishing, and while so employed, ( allowed the boat to_ drift unnoticed on to > the rocks near Harrington Point. In their t efforts to get the boat off they capsized it, t and -the whole party were precipitated > intokhe water. No one was drowned, but • they -re* all very wet, and r in that conf dition, the boat being now unavailable, i made their way to Pbrtobello on foot, i and there obtained a- passage to Dunedin > by the Moerangi. On the. other hand, it • is alleged that the above report is magnfr fied. and that the owner of the launch, see-

ing bad weather approaching, induced the T passengers to land and walk to Portobello. Among numerous photographic groups of golfers adorning the club house on the Balmacewen Links is one taken in 18S9, containing many old and middle-aged golfers. Of those in the nearly 20-year-old group- everyone k still an active golfer, with the exception of one, who gave up the i game and has subsequently died.' x r ! " Referring to the holiday traffic to Queenstown the , Wakatipu Mail says that since the Christmas holidays began there has been^ quite a large number of visitors In the town. The hotels , and boardinghouses have at times been taxed to their utmost, but everyone has been comfortably, quartered. Were it not for the accommodation afforded in private houses it is diffi- ' cult to say how many would have been ' housed. The Christmas holiday-making orowd was much, greater this year than it ' has been for some time past. Fortunately the weather- has been of the very best, and " ample opportunity has been given of seeing the charming^ environs of our scenic I township. ( - ' ! The conditions under which applications are to be made' for sections in the well- ' known Otekaike. Estate, just curt up by the , ! Government for selection, are advertised. [ The area dealt with is 29,925 acres, arafadi-rlded into^a allotments. Over , 15>-o£ these preference will be given to ; married applicants with families, and over ': 14 to landless applicants who have been twice unsuccessful within the previous two years. The balance of the allotments are open for general application. Applicants j will be examined in alphabetical order at Oemaru on February 4r4 r 5, and 6. The first persbn at thi6 end of the Dbminion deemed to be an habitual drunkard \ 'under the " Habjitttal' Drunkards Act, 1906," | was convicted as such by Mr C. C. Graham, StM., at the Police Court on Saturday morning, and: sentenced to 12". months' detention va. the new - Salvation ■ Army Home for Inebriates at Pakatoa (Auckland). According to a ' circular | issued by the Salvation Army authorities, i this home is now an established institu- • tion, with accommodation for 50 inebriates, j Of late a great many warnings have been | given from the bench to persons who have, , by continual drunkenness or by breach of j prohibition orders, qualified themselves, to \ be classed! as habrtualffj while in some in- ; stances regret has been expressed hj the presiding magistrate' that at that time,, although the .Habitual Drunkards Act was in operation, there was no place in which habituals could be confined, away from the ■ temptations of drink* Those persons whom ' the bench has- had' occasion to reprimand would do well" to bear in mind that such an institution w now in" existence. The Dunedin Drainage and Sewerage Board forwards the following records of rain j statistics for the month" of December: — Days on which rain fell, 13 (heaviest fall , between the 18th "and 19th', when, .BflQfn' fell); total fall for the 'month, 2.360 in; j total rainfall for the year, plus 6 per cent., I 21.1585 in. The 6 per cent." is added; owingto the mouth of the gauge being 4-ft instead of 10ft above the ground, -which is the regulation height. At a recent public meeting in Duntroon the question of appointing a, justice of the peace for the district was discussed. At the- present time- the nearest justice is over four mile* away. Mr A. Wills proposed and Mr W. A. Wise seconded thia motlgns "That the names of Messrs H. A. Dovey, R. Hamilton, and A. Bell, sen., be'forwatdted to" t^e Minister of Justice for approval and appointment as justices of ihe peace for the district." A curious case <^f police action against the Pojes is reported from the old episcopal city of Gneson. Some time ago several gramaphones were confiscated by the j authorities, and their owners were sum- J moned because those instruments had frequently played what the police^ regarded as Polish national airs of a political tendency. When the case was tried theowners .of the gramaphones and their makers were in court to prove that as these airs were not accompanied by words there could be- no danger of insurrection. The J makers of the instruments and the plates j swore that, should the court take^ action, all their, stock of Polish airs would lieon their hands, and they would! therefore 2-affer considerable loss. After a lengthy deliberation, $he court announced that the owners of the instruments would not be fined or imprisoned, but all their plates would be destroyed and the manufacturers forbidden to make or sell any more .plates with Polish. air». Within the last few months circumstantial reports of an increase in the number of Chinese stowaways who have contrived to evade the immigration restrictions and slip into the Commonwealth from Eastern ports have reaohed the Prime Minister (says the Sydney Daily Telegraph). Careful preliminary inquiry has revealed . that quite a perceptible stream of stowaway Chinese were finding entrance- to Australia at the- minor ' ports, where the • Federal, officials, are few and immigration- restrictions laxly administered. In view of this, Mr Deakin decided to send Mr H. Lewis, chief clerk of the Department of Internal Affairs, up the north-east coast, on 'a tri,p of detailed investigation. Mr Lewis- concluded' his mission a few day* ago, &nd is. now preparing his report. Apparently he "has no doubt that a number of Chinese are "sneaking" in as stowaways, and is 'convinced that special precautions will have to be taken to deal with the evil. One of the most experienced Customs ofizcers

T in Queensland has expressed! an opinion" that the presence, of a Federal detective on board every boat that sailed from the' East to Australia would alone be sufficient to stop these evasions. As the result of an incident that took place at Port Darwin two months, ago, it has been deoidedl by the Mnisfer of. Customs that officers engaged in tracking and arresting smuggler* I shall be 'armed with revolvers. This' pref caution is regarded as especially necessary, in view of the frequent attempts to evade the opium prohibition law. An official statement for 1906-7 shows that _ the whole number .of Rhodes scholars at; the beginning of the October term, 1907, " was 160. Of these 157 were in actual resi- • dence: three were temporarily absent on account of illness or for purposes of special' study. They , are distributed . among the colleges of. the University as follows: — Fourteen at Balliol, II at Christ Church, 12 at Queen's, 11 each at New ' College and St. John's, 10 each at Exeter, Worcester, L and Merton, nine at -Oriel, eight at Mag- , dalen, seven each at Hertford, University, Wadham, and" Trinity, six each at Brase- ■ nose and 1 Lincoln, five at Pembroke, two each at Corpus and J^sus, one each at . Keble and Sit;. Edmond Hall. Twenty-eight ! __ new scholars- were~ elected and entered into* residence in October, 1906. Of these, six h were from \Australia, eight from Canada. . t five from Souta" A&lca, one each from , , Bermuda, Jam&ica, Newfoundland, and . '. New Zealand, and five from Germany. No scholars- from ■- the United States were , elected for 1906. For 1907 73 scholars wera ( elected, 45 of whom were from the United t , States, eight from Canada,, five from South . Africa, one* each from. Bermuda, Jamaica, Newfoundland, and New Zealand,' and five from Germany. Three States, of the Americ ' can Union failed to supply qualified candi* [• , dates. The three scholarships provided fot I Rhodesia were not ta&en up. , [_ Mr D. F. North, brother of Mr F. „' North, the' American tourist who lost hia. life in the vicinity of the' Greenstone River in April or May last; has arrived in the- . i Wakatipu district from America, and ia • ; making thorough investigations into the ' ; circumstances surrounding the unfortunate , disappearance of the adventurer. Mir NorthT ' t | has nrisitedj the Greenstone-,' and ha wilt "l" l probably make » search olr one^ or kwq ' : I parts oi the river. The missing- man left | f .the most of his papers and personal • pro* '■ petty in hia, portmanteaus in Melbourne. i | Paragraphs- have appeased in the papers ■ I frequently o£ late respecting cAtort-weight i butter -presented for export in Victoria, i vMr Crowe, the Qovernment dairy expert,i has sent in & report* to the Prime Miniates. i ' on the .subject,' and! states that during the 1 ' period -from tna 'beginning o£ July to the l end of November, 246,083 boxes of butter "t were taken to. the stores for export. Of 5 ' this amount, consignments representing v 6188 boxes were found 1 'to' be short in weights _] One or jmore sample boxes, taken from I | eachT consignment, showed thia. This it t ■ three times, as many ac (Occurred last year,j and more, than three times as compared j with the one before. Faulty scales are r ' alleged by the defaulters to be the cause, \ 'but it Is remarked that it. is surprising- how , scales could have got out of order this year. t One, of the healthiest methods o£ spendf ing the* holidays wa« adopted by Mr T. W. Brown, & young Welfingtonian, who; } .recently started from Waiouru. on a walk* . ing tour, and gained a good idea of the i -scenic attractions of the centre of tha , North. Island and the Rotorua thermal district without aid from the usual transit • r facilities indispensable to the touriaj^ i Carrying a pack weighing 141b, Mr Browa walked from Waiouru to Rotorua, 100 miles . distant, and but for an exceptionally hofi [ 'spell of weather, would have tramped 1 to I Galatea and Opotikij[lso miles). Instead; I i he took train to Auckland, returned to . i Rotorua, and resumed walking, -visiting Waifoa, Tarawera, Lake Rotomahana, Wai* \. -jnangu, and the Waiotapu prison camp-. He 'continued his journey ' southward to v Wairakei, recrossed Lake Taupo, and made . his way to Waimarinq, on the Main Trunk j line. After a. train journey to Taumarunui \ and back he walked £rom Waimarino, to , the' Makatote viaduct,' thence to Ohakuno ' t ■ and Waiouru, thus completing a walking ' tour' of 250 miles. Hk beat day's walk ■was from Waiouru to Tokaanu, 44 milesV ( over a sand and pumice road. He covered , the distance in 15£ hours. ' > An important conference took place on > the 6th between representatives of the r Athenaeum Committee and the City Count cil to consider a- proposal to amalgamate i the institntiona. After *a> lengthy diseus lsion it was agreed ' that the Mayor (Mis Loudon) should submit the matter to th« ! Finance Committee of the council a view to drawing up definite proposal* ' which, having been ratified by the Citjp; ' Council, would be submitted to the Athenaeum subscriber*. It has been announced' at London .^haS i the Salvation Army is ambitious to possess • a fleet of steamers of its- own. ""tt is . Bimply a question of finance," said Colonel - Lamb. "As sooo as we can find the money. we shall buy the ships, and' have a- «ervjc< of vieesels of our own. Our shipping de-» partment has been very successful. W^ , have chartered vessels- solely for our owni. , . use, and hare* already secured 1Q for nexi > , seasonfe emigration. Of course, we shouldi. ' expect hostility from the, steamship coaU i panics,* but thf t is only to , W <Sx£eete<&, i We can. get plenty -of efficient . men fxomi i the captain downward*, andV* he added£ i "no swearing- ij» the »to£eholdi AH would i be> gooct Salvafctomats-. The vesffe&r wtfuld, i be ririmanljr intended foe gaasefiget traffioi

trot we should carry freight ts well, Then " ; we should not be hampered, like other , Companies, in. our working 1 . For instance, if the A-tlantip traffic was slow we could "*" go into the and so on. "We only - want someone — some - Empire-builder — to _- come along and give us the money, and we will start right away." The. English mail despatched from ■ _ 'Auckland, via Vancouver, on November . 26 arrived in London on the 3rd- inst. — two ' days" late. Admiral Fawkes, commander of the "Australasian squadron, arrived in Dun- - edin from Rangitata by the first express -- from the north on 'the 6th inst. The Admiral, who r is accompanied by Lady " Fawkes and Lieutenant Willoughby, after .'" luncheon at Railway Station,, pro-_'-~-eeeded by the same/express to -Invercar- ~; gill, where the party arrived that night. -7 A reply has. been received by his Wor- " Alp- the^ Mayor (Mr J. Loudon) from the Prime Minister "stating that he could not - accede- to the request ,for the erection of . . -a verandah over the Post Office for the - of persons'" waiting for cars. •—-.% verandah over the Dunedin Tost Office for - ihe convenience of persons^ waiting for oars. = -' The " .Carnegie Free Public - Library - building' in Moray .place is. now practically completed, and the electric light. is "being installed. -Owing, however, to the -negotiations" instituted between the City '""Council and the Dunedin Atheneeum Committee no date has as yet been fixed for the official opening. -" -The annual meeting of the Primitive "Methodist Conference, which is to be held - In Dunedin this year, commences in the Street Church on Thursday. r The ~~ Conference sermon) at 7.30, will be de- - livered by the Rev. James -Flanagan, "assisted by the. Rev. W. 8. Potter. Mr Flanagan is 9, veteran evangelist' and a -'.delegate ,'ffom the English Conference. He_is the founder of "the South-East Lon>»'don~ Mission, and has been , conducting -'mission work in various parts- of the -'Dominion. The Conference, which bids -Jair to be a most interesting one, will ..extend over -iO" "days and will include a musical festival, a. garden party, five - socials, and a temperance meeting. The Otira correspondent of the G>ey 'Argus says: — "Very few of us can. grasp, • fully _ how great „an enterprise is the /-boring of the Otira funnel. The- mere preparations are dismaying. Think, of a " ;job' so big that it takes' you- nearly "a year to oolleolr your tools and get," your' apron -. .straight- before you" can" begin./ Think of .' 25,000 jtons of cement,, "and »U other com--modities on a like' scale, "and you begin "to get- the measurev'of this thing that we - are going" to do.- -So far, they/arc- merely „- building workmen's , houses, and "thinking, 1 thinking, 'thinking, though, this "latter - "exercise is wasteful and foolish, ■ because .the taproom of any hotel on the line would gladly - provide a solution for. all --their problems, any time after 9 a.m." 1 -Celebrations of some Maori weddings no-ir' proceed by 'the "week insteafl of" the 'day. It is a very old custom to maintain tangis for a. month, but the sustained " wedding festivity is a. matter of recent growth. One is" now. proceeding in a -South Island centre, less . than' a day's - voyage from Wellington (says the Post),' and the simple expedient of ."passing round the hat" is adopted every time the .fluid in the barrel runs slow or the cake and cold pork fail- to materialise. The celebration is already in its second week, end another fortnight's rim is confidently

anticipated. ''<• Commenting -on the fact that the building societies and like organisations had raised their rate of interest on" deposits ' £ per cent, last month (at present _4£ per cent, for 12 months' deposits), a Welling- " ton- business man on Friday told a New • Zealand Times reporter that the volume ■of floating capital was so' reduced that deposits were slow in coming in to the ■ocieties, whose lending powers were thereby restricted. It was because .of this reduction in €he volume that ' the £ per ', cent, interest was added. This absorption of -floating capital was drawn attention to recently -by Mr H. Beauchamp, who referred -to the practice established . by several large trading concerns in competing .for deposits and allowing interest ~on .current accounts. Mr Beauchamp - mentioned that the balance sheets of seven trading companies showed that they held Cp aggregate of' £535,516 under this head. -Jjjhe .business referred .to above - " pointed to the manner- in which, the Post ' Office ~ Savings Bank absorbs - deposits, - mentioning that in the 12 months ending ~ .September 30 the excess of deposits over was £1,250,000,, the excess the previous year having r been £800,000 — over !£2,000,000 in two years. All this, it .-^ras urged, hampered the operations "of - . . building societies, to whom ,the public .so '/lioquently turns when desiring" to borrow.