LOCAL & GENER AL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2829, 3 June 1908, Page 32

LOCAL & GENER AL.

i The Ormaglade run is at present being 1 surveyed for closer settlement, the work being now completed. The run has been subdivided into six areas, two of which will be thrown open for selection as pastoral leases and four as small grazing runs. Prom local indications it would appear that the land will be eagerly applied , for. provided that the rentals are not fixed j at a much higher rate than at present — ■ 1 viz., 3id per acre. At from 4d to 4£d there ' should be plenty of applicants, but at any- ( thing above that it will be hard to make . the land pay. There is also a strong local feeling that the Government shoulct acquire ! the freehold (some 6000 acres), which prac- > tically occupies the whole frontage of the ; area, so as to provide country on which , winter feed oould be grown. If this were > done the land could undoubtedly be cut up : to much better advantage. j A curious fish specimen was hooked the i other day by Mr H. Butfcerfield, boatswain on the Bluff Harbour Board launch. It : baffled the ingenuity of the beet authority in the place, and was sent on for manipula--fcion by the curator of the Museum, Duni edin. The reply made is that it is a rather j fine specimen of the butterfly • fish, and , that, although not unknown in New Zealand - [ waters, it is sufficiently rare to make it «. welcome addition to the exhibits. ; The criminal sittings of the Supreme Court were continued on May 27, when the charge against William James Imrie of ' obtaining goods from Paterson and Barr , by false pretences was disposed of, the ( jury finding Imrie not guilty. He was subsequently set at liberty. Michael M'Kay pleaded " Guilty" to a charge of using obscene language in Mac- ' andrew road, South Dunedin, and was 1 seatencad to three months' imprisonment with hard labour. Herbert Helm was charged with the theft of a portmanteau containing wearing apparel from the 1 Central Dining Rooms, and was found guilty by the jury after a retirement of 20 minutes. His Honor Mr Justice Williams did not see his way to adopt tho lenient course suggested by counsel for the defence, and inflicted what he considered a | short term of imprisonment — namely, three months. Joseph BrowU, whose charge of " indecent assault was reduced by the Grand ' Jury to one of common assault, pleaded | " Guilty" to that charge, and was fined 1 £5. Another distressing case of consumption osme before the Benevolent Trustees on May 27, when a family of small children were reported to be living with their ■ father, who was in an advanced stage of consumption. Mr Gallaway and' Mr Burnett both entered vigorous protests against such a state of affairs, the latter expressing the opinion that the' children were being practically condemned to death. It was decided to report the case to the Charitable Aid Board, and to the Health Officer, and to ask Dr Closs to see the family and report to the trustees. Comment was made at the meeting of the Benevolent Trustees on May 27 on what was termed the "epidemic of getting drunk" that has appeared recently among inmates of the institution. The* Chairman remarked that sooner or later the trustees would have to refuse to take these oases back, and then the matter would pass into the hands of tho police. > ; Our Milton correspondent wired on May 27 that' a deputation consisting of the Mayor, councillors, and representative citizens of Milton waited on Mr James Allen, M.P., yesterday evening on his arrival there and brought under his notice the need for a new post office in the town. The Mayor stated that the deputation was unanimous in the opinion trfat a new post office was required, instead of alterations to the building on the present site.. They thought it would not be wise to spend money on the present building. Mr D. Reid (ex-Mayor) and Cr King also spoke, emphasising the necessity for a new building. Mr Allen, in reply, said he would do everything in his power to give effect to the wishes of the deputation and citizens, and would communicate at once with the Prime Minister and ask him to delay the present scheme until the citizens had an opportunity of interviewing him. He (Mr Allen) would also endeavour to see the Prime Minister on the matter. The deputation thanked the member for the district for his personal co-operation, and withdrew. A Press Association message from P&lmerston North states that in a dispute as to a tenancy and rent indebtedness on May 27, Mr A. D. Thomson, S.M., decided that under an old statute passed , in the reign of George II acceptance of rent after notice to quit was no evidence of a new tenancy. ' We learn that the 2000 h.p. which the City Corporation has available for electria light and power purposes has now been fully contraoted for. Included in this is, of course, the power utilised to drive the city trams— namely, 600 h.p. It is just over a year since the Waipori hydroelectric plant was brought into operation, and the accomplishment noted above /as then surely not expected by even the most sanguine, not, say, for a period of at lea c t two or three years. 1 Captain Tong, of the s.s. Duke of Torjl writes to us from Buenos Aires stating tha' an ordinary seaman named David Hanr> was lost overboard from the steann. March 3. The deceased was on a which had been slung on th^ port (for painting purposes when he suddens

fell into the water. Immediate search was made, but no trace of the unfortunate man could be found. Captain Tong believes that Mr Harming belonged to Dunedin. The balance of the wages due to the deceased and the amount realised by the sale of his effects are in the hands of the Board of Trade. It is assumed that the deceased was seized with a fit or an attaok of vertigo. His age appeared on the ship's articles as 25 years. When General Booth was last in New Zealand he declined to te drawn upon the subject of no-license. In England at the present time the Salvation Army authori- • : os are being severely " heckled" because •A the refusal of " headquarters" to allow •ie officers to take part in the agitation in vivour of the Licensing Bill. Interviewed •jy Mr W. T. Stead on the occasion of 'He oelebration of his seventy-ninth birthday last month, General Booth gave expression to his opinions on the control of the liquor traffic. The licensing question, he holds, should be taken out of politics, and ought to be settled upon a national basis, of which the fundamental principle is justice and the practical principle i 6 possibility. "It is no use crying for the moon and it is no use attempting to enforce prohibition when the majority of the population drink and wish to go on drinking." He would, however, get rid of the tied house and establish the principle of the supreme control of the Sltate over the man who is licensed to sell drink. On being asked on his seventy-ninth birthday whether he was a Socialist, General Booth replied in the affirmative, " But," he added, " I am a Salvation Socialist. A Salvation Socialist is different from a Fabian Socialist, for we begin at the other end. I deal with the individual first; the saved individual will be a far better citizen for working out the schemes of your Governmental Socialism than the unsaved man." An interesting legal point was raised at the meeting of the Benevolent Trustees .on May 27 when the secretary .reported the case of a man who was said to have served a sentence of three weeks' imprisonment owing to his ohildren having destroyed a neighbour's t property. Mr Gallaway at once questioned the facts, and informed the trustees that not only could a man not be imprisoned for an offence committed by his ohildren, but lie could not be made to pay for damage they had done. He asked that full particulars of the case be ascertained for presentation at the next meeting of the trustees. The Sydney Morning Herald of the 16th inst. has the following:— "A party of South Coast farmers, who were attracted to New Zealand a few weeks ago, are coming back very much disappointed with their experienoes in a search for land. -The difficulties here were not small, but they found the trouble in a more aggravated form in the Dominion, where local people cannot get what they need at a reasonable price. As a matter of fact, there is a feeling in New Zealand that before long there will -be a considerable exodus to Australia of land-seekers. Queensland already has agents there giving information as to her resources." It is not usual for a Minister of the Crown to appear, in the role of an inventor, but when one does appear as such it is perhaps fitting that the subject of the invention should be connected with a department under his control. And after all, it is perhaps only reasonable that politicians should be inventors, their ingenuity being so often taxed. Anyway, be he a rara avis or no, the Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister of ilarine, has patented a very ingenious inrention which promises to be a boon to all who use rowing boats. A rowlock pulled out by an oar or broken by -coming into contact with a staging or another boat hae paused many an accident, and numberless are the devices that have been tried to overcome the difficulty and still allow of fhe stability and rigidity so necessary when i .1 sorts of water and weather have to bo encountered by the oarsman. Mr Millar's patent is a rowlock which, whilst it is to all intents and purposes part of the boat, is at the same time by a simple device collapsable when the occasion requires. In shape the rowlock is of the ordinary patfern, but the shaft is split from the centre •of the oircle in which the oar rests. The shaft sits in a fairly close-fitting socket, giving just sufficient play for rowing requirements. When approaching a staging, or when desirous of removing his oar, all the rower has to do is to press upwards the lower part of the rowlock ehaft underneath the socket, and the two sides of the rowlook fall back in opposite directions Wong the gunwale, this being achieved by reason of the fact that the two sides are hinged within the socket. A pin through the bottom end of the shaft precludes the possibility of the rowlock coming out accidentally. The device has been very favourably commented upon by seafaring men, and especially by skippers on those trades requiring frequent use of surf boats. Samples of the patent in brass and in galvanised iron are being forwarded to the Arglo-Frenoh Exhibition.

A South Canterbury settler, who, though stiil a young m*n, has a family of 10 children, and who has spent the past 30 years of his life near Cave, intended Leaving that district on Monday, with his wife and family, in a covered-in waggon, for Owen, a little-known spot away in the Ids of Nelson provinoe. The settler

?ferred to was cowboy on the Levels tation 30 years ago, and from that he

— paired a small holding of hts own at

_■ v". But as there was nothing more ...„:. j, Larc livinsc to be m&dft /jut of that,

i he determined to launch out in a bigger way. He has accordingly acquired from the Government a section containing 810 acres, 60 miles from Nelson. The land is j bush-clad, and in consideration of this fact , he will have no rent to pay for the first four years. After that his rent will be £15 a year, and as the lease is for 999 years, he expects to do well cut of his venture once he has got his land partly cleared. The oldest member of his family is 19 years and the youngest five months. He is taking with him four young halfdraught horses and a few odds and ends sufficient to meet his requirements for a > time. He expects to be a fortnight on the | road if the weather ia fine, and three ! weeks should the elements be against him. | The distance he will travel will be 323 miles. A sample of eggs that have been preserved for nearly three years and are now almost as fresh as when they were first put into cold store has been received by the Government poultry grader at Christchurch, Mr R. Po\insforc'. Tiie eggs are part of the first lot of eggs graded by the department in Auckland, placing them in cool store on August" 18, 1905, for Messrs Dyke Brothers. Most of the eggs were sold about six months afterwards, but about 50 dozen were left in as an experiment for the department, and from time to time they have been taken out and sampled. Mr Pounsford showed a reporter one of the eg-gs on May 22, and breaking , it, demonstrated that the egg was perfectly j fresh and much superior to eggs usually preserved in lime. This Mr Pounsford said indicated the superiority of cool storage if intelligently carried out. It was not being adopted to any extent in Christchurchy but in Auckland the number of eggs treated had risen from 1,128,000 in 1906-7, to over two million and a-half eggs jin 1907-8. The method was merely to I grade the eggs and place them in cardboard boxes, each egg being partitioned off, but not packed with anything. Of course the grading meant everything. The sample of eggs he had received was taken from the cooler at Auckland on April I*6. The Auckland branch of the Farmers' Union unanimously passed a resolution strongly urging that the Arbitration Act, as applying to farmers, be repealed. " Things are simply rotten in South Africa," said a passenger on the Athenic to a Post representative a few days ago. "There's a orowd of us aboard here who consider ourselves lucky to have got away. In Capetown values have sunk fully one-half, and the place 16 dead. Kimberley is just like a collection of deserted diggings. The financial crisis in America ruined the best market for diamonds. Where £5,000,000 worth were sold a year or so ago, there is not the least demand now. Many of the ' Kimberley men went on to Johannesburg, j 1 and made things worse there than they were before. The introduction of the Chinese was the greatest curse that ever befel South Africa. I worked on the mines and I ought to know. Hundreds got away, and by cutting off their pig-tails and dressing in European clothes have so far escaped detection. On some of the mines strict instructions were issued that no Kaffir labour should be employed. This j was in order to create odium against the present Government at Home. I can tell you I am glad to get out here and have some chance of earning' a decent livelihood." He looked to the new country to repair the economic evils of the Transvaal. In an address on " The Awakening of China," at St. David's Church, Khyber Pass road, Auckland, the Rev. G. H. M'Neur, of the Canton Village Mission, sounded a note of warning The changes, he said, whioh had taken place in China during the past six yeare were greater than those which had occurred in connection with any other nation in the world. China now had an up-to-date army and was determined upon enlarging and equipping it in proportion to her populaI tion. When one remembered that this j numbered something like 400,000,000, it j was apparent tliat no individual nation — I not ' even two — could hope to stand against her. Everywhere the people were being inspired with a new patriotism, as was evidenced first in the boycott of American and later of Japanese goods The Chinese were now beginning to discover that the " open door" policy was a peculiar one, in that the door opened one way only. When j China became modernised the industrial problem would be a tremendous one. Her people could underlive and undersell any i other nation. Our legislation as regards Eastern immigrants would very soon be just worth the force we were prepared to put behind it. In conclusion, the speaker urged the evangelisation of China. Among the gifts that have reached the hands of the local treasurer (Mr John Wilkinson) of the China Inland Mission within the last week were a cheque for £100 and a watch and chain from a friend, who wrote: — "I am not able to send a donation, as I have not been prospered with much of this world's goods. However, I take the liberty to forward my watch and chain." The annual conference of delegates to the New Zealand Trades and Labour Council will open in Wellington on June 28. Ampng the proposals to be made are the following:— lssue of State notes for the completion of main trunk and other important railways, and for permanent and reproductive works; abolition of sale

of Crown lands and periodical revaluation

of State leaseholds; extension of the parliamentary franchise to all elections of local hodiesx the referendum;, preference

'to unionists; abolition of the Legislative Council; nationalisation of th« marine coastal and intercolonial services; universal compulsory Saturday half -holiday ; State sawmills, iron factories, bakeries, clothing factories, banks, and shipbuilding yards; increase of old-age pension to 12s 6d a week; and a Fair Rent Bill. The appointment of London correspond- ! ence editor for the New Zealand Associated ■ Press, the members of which are the New Zealand Herald, Wellington Post, Christchurch Press, and Otago Daily Times, in succession to the late Mr Rous-M&rten, has been conferred on Mr G. H. Scholefield, associate editor of the New Zealand Times. Mr Scholefield was a Dunedin boy, and received his education here. He is well known as a capable newspaper man. There were a large number of applications from prominent men on the staffs of New Zealand papers. The tonnage of cargo handled at the port of Wellington during the year ended March 31 (says a Press Association telegram; reached a total of 2,745.875 tons — an increase of 86,538 tons over the total for the previous year. A.t the Sailors' Rest on Tuesday, May 26, the sailors in port, to the number of about 70, were accorded a very good time. The Mornington Methodist Church Choir and band provided a first-class vocal and instrumental programme. Liberal refreshments were provided for all, and the sailors present enjoyed themselves to such an extent as to make a request that the performers should give another entertainment on some following night. A Press Association telegram from Auckland states that Mr John Marshall has purchased " The Coming of the Maori," by Mr Kenneth Watkins, one of the most prominent pictures at the Art Society's exhibition, with the intention of handing it over to the Public Art Gallery. The annual visit of the southern Natives to the small islands near Foveaux Strait in quest of the succulent mutton-birds appears to have been a most successful one this season. Captain Marks, who has just returned to Dunedin after bringing the Natives and their belongings safely back to Colac Bay, states that the Natives brought back fully 80 tons of cured mutton-birds as the result of their efforts on 10 islets adjacent to Stewart Island. The time occupied was nearly six weeks, and the proportion of fine weather was very small. Nevertheless, the young birds were found to be in excellent condition, and the total catch was fully up to the best average of previous years. The work of procuring the joung birds, dressing, and curing them, etc., entails long hours and strenuous effort, but notwithstanding the hardships involved the Maoris make quite a picnic of the expedition, and look forward with eagerness to each recurring mutton-bird season. A meeting of deer-stalkers was held at Tapaami on Saturday, May 23 (says the Courier). The condition of the herd on the Blue Mountains was discussed, and the necessity of taking active steps to improve the herd if the sport is to be conserved. It was finally decided that Messrs R. A. Rodger and Geo. Howat be appointed to attend a meeting of deer-stalkers to beheld in Dunedin, when matters in connection with the red deer herds will be considered. A British red ensign, war-worn and torn with bullets, has been presented to the Hon. George Fowlds (Minister of Education) by Poihipi te Kume, a chief living at Oruanui, near Taupo. It is a flag with vividly interesting history. When the donor was a boy of nine or ten years the Maori tribe of which he is chief took the flag into battle. It passed through the Maori war, and received its first riddling with bullets at Kaukaoroa in 1865. Four years later it headed the Maoris who fought against Te Kooti at Taupo, being in the forefront of several fights along the chores > of the lake. The climax of its battle career came when Te Kooti made his last desperate stanc!. Planted on the fence j thrown up by Te Kooti' s men, it was torn j down, falling into the pa with the body j of the brave young warrior who hod i daringly placed it in position. The incident nerved the assailants to a determined charge, and the maddened rush which fol- j lowed resulted in the rout of Pc Kooti's followers. A dreadful vengeance is said to have been taken by a young woman named Mirima, who tore out the eyes of the man who was supposed to have caused the standard-bearer's death. The Minister, during his journey through the distriot, was asked if he would take charge of the historic relio, and willingly consented. He undertook to replace it with a new ensign, and this has been forwarded to Poihipi, and the old one will probably find a place of honour in some public institution.

Several suggested amendments to the Arbitraion Act will be proposed at the annual conference of Trades and Labour Council delegates to be held at Wellington next month. These include the fixing of a minimum wage and regulating the hours of labour, the minimum wage to be not less than Is l£d per hour for all male workers, and 9d per hour for all female workers; the hours of labour to be not more than 44 per week; that where the necessity occurs of discharging hands in any industry the employees may demand a ballot to decide who shall be discharged; that preference to unionists shall be compulsory; that the Government be urged to amend the constitution of Conciliation Boards to provide — (a) The election of one member by the Industrial Unions of Workers and one member by the Industrial Union of Employers, with a chairman

appointed by the two ; (b) that when a dispute is filed for hearing by the board, the union and the employers concerned to appoint two representatives each to sit with the other members of the board end adjudicate on the dispute. Captain Joslin, who came to New Zealand about two years ago to recruit hie health after he had been set upon by Chinese pirates near Canton, and severely wounded, is now an officer of the steamer Zafiro, trading between Hongkong and Manila. As compensation for his wounds the Chinese Government has paid him £1250. His family ia living in the Dominion, and he intends to 6ettl« down here before long. According to the opinion of Mr J. A. Gilruth (Chief Government Veterinarian), the human being wages a continuous war with microbes from his infancy, and, unless he is very careful in the later days of his life, the microbes beat him. When a being was maturing, said Mr Gilruth, it was more prone to* disease than later, when the body became set. Nearly everyone was impregnated with the tubercle of consumption, more or less, but healthy living enabled a great number of us to withstand the disease. Now and again, however, we heard that somebody had caught a chill, or "pneumonia, and had died. It was not pneumonia or the chill which had brought about death, but the microbes of consumption which seized the human frame, when it happened to b« in a very weak state. A strange tale was told to the Acting Registrar in Bankruptcy at Sydney of how a small debt, like a rolling snowball, attained big proportions in the course of nine or ten years. Bankrupt, a clerk in the public service, said he borrowed some nine or ten years ago a sum of £60, giving a bill of sale over his household furniture as security. After a couple of 3'eara the furniture was revalued, and a further loan obtained, making the total £70. Since then two promissory noes, aggregating some £54, had been given and negotiated, part of the proceeds going towards reduction of the initial indebtedness. All the time he had been paying at the rate of £24 per annum off the principal, and an additional amount varying from £10 to £17 per annum, according as the amount of the principal debt fluctuated. Some months ago his furniture was seized and sold, realising £50, yet he found himself still in debt to the company from which he had borrowed the money to tl.~ extent of £81. And this in spite of the fact that, according to his own calculation, he had, since borrowing the first amount, paid the company no less a sum than £410. . ; On April 16, as has been the custom for the past 12 years, Mr Theodore Napier, protagonist of the Jacobite "cause" in the northern kingdom, visited Culloden Moor, and placed a number of wreaths, including one from Jacobites in New Zealand, on the memorial cairn on the battlefield. In the mid years of last century, it may be recalled, there were many in the Highlands who believed in the claim advanced by two brothers, born eons of a naval lieutenant in the early years of last century, that they were grandsons of Prince Charles Edward. The brothers assumed the names John Sobieski and Charles Edward Stuart; were proteges of a grandfather of the present Lord Lovat; and were for a time known throughout the Highlands as "the Princes of Eilean Aigas," from the Gaelic designation of the J house given them by Lord Lovat. The j brothers died in 1877 and 1888 respectively; i but as no ardent Jacobites visit their secluded resting-place among the Rossshire hills, one must assume that their claim to be "the last of the Stuarts" is either forgotten or ignored. The Dunedin and Suburban Dairymen's Association notifies that on and after June 1 the price of milk will be raised as follows : — Per pint, 2d daily ; per quart, 4d ; per two quarts, 7d ; three quarts, 10£ d; one gallon, Is Id. Sir Jairxes Mills proceeds to Canada, this week. He leaves Auckland on June 10 to joing the Marama at Suva, and expects to be absent from the Dominion for several months. During his absence his duties as managing director of the Union Steam Ship Company will be undertaken by Mr Holdaworth, the general manager. Mr D. A. Aiken (inspector) and Mr "V. Johnson (manager for Tasmania) have been appointed assistant general managers, and will be associated with Mr Holdsworth in directing the affairs of the company from the head office. Mr C. Hughes, who was for some . years assistant manager of the company in Sydney, has been appointed manager for Tasmania in succession to Mr Johnson. At the last meeting of the Brighton Caledonian Society the chairman (Mr G. Hunter) explained that he had called the society together in order to obtain an expre^ion of opinion ac to whether it was desirable to approach the Otokia Domain Board to ascertain if that body would agree to give the use of the domain for 10 years to the Caledonian Society for its sports meeting, in return for which the society would guarantee to plant a belt of macrocarpas at the rate of 200 per year. A resolution giving effect to the chairman's suggestion was carried unanimously. During a conversational discussion, it was maintained that Brighton was becoming more popular every year, and it was time that steps were taken to improve the domain. If permission is obtained by the society for the use of the domain for sports for 10 years that body will also make a racing track. There is every reason for hoping that at no remote time the Govern- J

f ment will ccc its way to give effect to the universal desire of pleasure-seekers and . tourists by having Brighton connected by rail with Dunedin, which would also prove a great boon, commercially and otherwise, to th« people of the district and those surrounding it. Mr J. A. Macpherson, M.P., has received notice from tho Hon. Mr Hall-Jones, Minister of Railways, that his representai tions respecting stock-loading yards at Chatto Creek had been considered, and provision would be made in this year's Estimates for the necessary work being done. Meantime instructions have been given for the provision of temporary facilities for the convenience of settlers. The boys who were implicated in the boiler-stealing cases from houses in the southern suburbs recently were brought before Mr C. C. Graham, S.M., sitting in the Juvenile Court on May 21, and pleaded | "Guilty" to the several charges. Oneboy was 13 years old and the other 11 years. The parents promised to exercise strict control over the boys for the future. His Worship said he felt disposed to send the elder boy to the Industrial School, but as Mr Cumming undertook to keep the lads under surveillance, and Sub-inspector Norwood promised that the police would do the same, the boys were convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called on. The parents were ordered to ■ pay 25s each, that being the value of the stolen boilers. The private secretary to his Excellency the Governor has advised the Wellington Navy League that it has not yet been decided whether the Australian squadron is to visit New Zealand at the same time as the American fleet. Lord Plunket is making - inquiries, on behalf of the League, of Vice-admiral Sir Richard Poor'e, Commander-in-Chief of the Aigtralian squadron, as to whether the visit can To arranged. If it becomes possible, the league hopes that the ships will visit Port Nicholson en route to Auckland. The charge of manslaughter against Joseph Coddoi was completed at the Supreme Court on May 29, and a verdict of " Not guilty " was returned by the jury, after an hour and 40 minutes' deliberation. The charge against Chun Dun of assault with intent to do bodily harm was then proceeded with, the jury finding accused " Guilty " of common assault. It having been stated that the costs of the prosecu' tion amounted to 17 guineas, his Honor remarked that he thought a fine would meet the case, and fined accused £18. The hearing of the charge against Bing Sing of assault with intent to do bodily' harm was adjourned to June 8. The death by drowning at Ruapuka Island on May 26 was tfosut of a man named Sylvester, better known as " Jack " Cotter. He was master of the island trader Bonnie Jean, and had been in th« district for a period of nine or ten years. He is said to be a native of Newcastle, New South Wales, aged about 40 years. He arrived from the Bluff on Tuesday and spent the evening on shore with some companions, who left him and proceeded on board the Bonnie Jean, where he was expected to join them later on. Next morning it was discovered he had nofc arrived on board, and a search was at once set afoot. Eventually his dead body was discovered floating amongst the kelp. Being minus his coat and boots, it is 6u»posed that he attempted to swim on board", and that the accident occurred owing to his having been caught amongst the kelp. His countenance was a good deal battered and disfigured, but that is supposed to have been caused by fish and the action of the sea. Cotter was a man of exceptionally good education, and his relations are understood a c being highly respectable. An inquest was held at the. Bluff on May 29, whither the body had been coimeyed for burial. ■ A verdict of "Found drowned" was returned. Captain Linn, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, has received an application for an award in the case of ~"Rem« Karepa, who on June 16, 1907, at Croixelles, while out in a motor launch at midnight with a large party of others, rescued Taimana Pukake and nine others, ~whosa ages ranged from four years to 70 years, from death by drowning. It is understood that at midnight, while in 10 f-a thorns of water, the launch Maata caught fire and blazed up so that the occupants, about 14 in number, had to take refuge over the side. Karepa, however, worked valiantly with the appliances on board to extinguish the flames of the petrol, and was successful in doing so, afterwards rescuing most of those over the side, although he was badly burned himself. He afterwards quickly, built a rait as a means of getting ashore, but it was not required. But for hi« forethought and prompt action the whole party would have been drowned. As it was, three persons lost their lives in the accident. Karepa ie a Maori settler oi Croixelles, aged 21 year*. His case will come before the next meeting of the court of directors about the middle of June, along with about 12 other cases that have to be considered.

Malta Makomako, who had reached th« age of 90, died at Tuahiwi, Kaiapoi* last month. He is the last, w» believe (says the Christchurch Press), of the 26 of the "principal chiefs" who sold the first block of the 400,000 acres in the couth of the Dominion' intended for the settlement to be called New Edinburgh, but which has been known during 64 years as Otago — or, in Maori, Otakou. The deed executed between the Natives, dated 31st July, 1844, in which they convoyed to Mr William Wakefield, agent for the New Zealand

Company, the land in the districts known as Otakou, Taieri, and Mataura, estimated to comprise 150,000 acres, for £1400, b£ars on it, among the signatures, the name of " Makomako." In conjunction therewith are the names of Taiaroa, father of the late Hon. H. K. Taiaroa, Tuhawaiki, Horomona, Pohio, and others. The sign manuals of the Maori owners of the soil were witnessed by John Jermyn Symonds, P. M. Fredrick Tuckett, George Clark, jun., Protector of Aborigines, and David Scott. A fine iportrait of Makomako appeared in the Witness recently.

The decision of the German Government to increase the subsidy by £11,500 for the Australian, Island, Manila, China, and Japan line of the N.D.L. Company h-as stirred the British companies ipto action, and an effort is to be made (says the Sydney Telegraph^ to induce the Commonwealth Government to take the matter up, and place the British lines on a better footing in connection with the AustralianEaetern trade. It is pointed out that the British companies are hampered in the trade owing to the fact that they have to compete with heavily-subsidised foreign lines. The E. and A. S.S. Company, the pioneers in the Eastern trade, receives no subsidy at all, and the other British lines are in practically the same position. Something, it is argued, must be done in the way of subsidies to protect British interests, not only in the Eastern trade, but «Jso in connection with the Islands services.

European convention does not trouble the Maori of the far north in the matter of christening his children. There are no high falutin English Christian names, out some very quaint things are done occasionally. Two young Maoris living near Hokianga are just getting old enough to comprehend that their loving parents bestowed upon them Christian^ names, lifelong labels, of the most embarrassing description. In 1896 the Waimea rebellion occurred, and some Maoris were arrested for treason. While one of the prisoners was in Mount Eden Gaol, Auckland, awaiting his trial, he heard that his wife had presented him with a son. Not long afterwards the trial took place, and another prisoner, almost simultaneously with the news of his sentence, two years' hard labour, received • tidings that he was the father of a baby girl. These births occurred opportunely as a means of carrying down to the next generation a reminder of their parents' exploits, so the boy rejoices in the name of " Mount Eden," after the gaol in which his father was imprisoned, and the girl answers to the extraordinary name of "Hard Labour."

On Saturday night, when the 9.15 express train from Christchurch was approaching the Dunedin station, a man was seen by Coaching Foreman Neaje to ' step off the platform on to the rails. Mr Neale at once called .nut-to two of the porters, and drew their attention to the circumstance, he aot being, near enough to avert a catastrophe. The porters sprang forward and, jumping down, were just in time to lift the man out of the way before the train ran alongside the platform.

Six deaths ocourred at the Hospital during the past week, the names of deceased being I—Jane1 — Jane Horscroft, Matthew Fell, John Clarke, Peter Paxton, Alfred Stirling, and Thomas M'Dowell. There were 31 patients admitted and 28 discharged, and the number of patients remaining is 116. At the end oi the previous week tile total number ■wae 119 '

Ti.(_ .lion. J. A. Millar will accompany Mr T. Mackenzie, M.P., on Friday next to Karitane for the purpose of ascertaining the wants of the locality, particularly with respect to the fishing industry.

The tramway returns for the fortnight end^d May 23 show that the mileage run was 41,963 miles 8 chains and the revenue £2234 2s sd. For the corresponding period last year the mileage run was 41,839 miles 9 chains and the revenue £2029 2s 7d.

An ultimatum from the Borough Council of Petone, near Wellington, to the Government, stating that unless $he rates on the Stete dwellings for workers were paid within a certain time the various municipal services enjoyed by the tenant* would bo discontinued, has had the desired effect, the Government having paid the money. This information was received with satisfaction at a recent meeting of the council, one councillor remarking, "Well, for once we have brought the Government up to the mark."

The New Zealand Federated Boot Trade Union of Workers has written to Mr J. F. Arnold asking him to meet them in private conference with a view of considering the Arbitration Bill of last session and other labour matters. The meeting will be held in Christcrurch. Mr has aco&ded to the request, and will go north after addressing th c electors here next week. Mr Thomas Mackenzie has received requests to deliver addresses at six different centres on the political situation. The requisition from Stirling i 6 signed by about 60 farmers from Inchelutha and surrounding districts, whilst . that from Owaka contains the names of upwards of 80 settlers. It is evident, from the wording of the latter, that great interest is being taken in politics. It reads as follows: — "We respectfully request that you will honour us with delivering a political address. . .It would be of infinite benefit to the settlers to obtain some knowledge of the present political situation, and, knowing you to be a powerful exponent of ths subject, we trust you will comply." Mr Mackenzie will comply with the requests, and will devote special attention to many matters directly

affecting farmers' interests, also trade, commerce, education, hospital and charitable aid, and the present political situation.

On the arrival of the s.s. Opawa from London a man named John Ward was handed over to the police for having travelled by the vessel without paying his fare.

Tho vital statistics for the month just expired show that there were 116 births. 65 deaths, and 48 marriages. For May, 1807, the births were 157, the deaths 97, and the marriages 39. Comparing the two months, there has therefore been «t decrease in birth and deaths, and an increase in the number of marriages.

" Strikes are not impossible on farms," said a delegate at the Farmers' Union Conference at Chrietchurch on Thursday. "On my farm 15 men struck, and though there was £1000 of stuff ready to rot, I told them, to clear out. That was the way I dealt with that strike, and I would do the same again, even if the Arbitration Court says I would be responsible."

The Right Hon. Sir J. G. Ward (Prime . Minister), accompanied by Lady Ward and i Miss Eileen Ward and Messrs J. Hislop and > F. G. Matthews (private secretaries), arrived > in Dunedin by the first express from the north on the Ist inst. Sir Joseph and party ■ were met at the station bj the Hon. J. A. Millar (Minister of Labour), the Hons. J. R. ■ Sinclair and J. T. Paul, M.L.C.'s, Sir James Mills, and Messrs J. F. Arnold, M.P., W. Belcher, and others. During the evening the Prime Minister took part in the annual . meeting of the St. John Ambulance , Association, and subsequently was present. at the Hon. Mr Millar's political meeting. To-day Sir Joseph officially opens the ■ winter show, and leaves for the south by the evening express. A reassuring note was struck by the Chairman (Dr Will) at the annual meeting of the St. John Ambulance Association on the Ist inst. As a result of the monetary assistance that 'had been afforded the association by the public and the Government, they had been able, he said, to accomplish what they had been desirous of doing for years past. They had been enabled to obtain an ample and complete supply of ambulance requisites for use in the event of any serious accident or accidents, and they were now prepared at five minutes' notice to send away a dozen tramed men to attend to fully one hundred accidents — a statement that was received by the large audience with a very obvious sense of satisfaction. The Government female registry office was opened on the Ist inst. in the rooms that have been acquired in Moray place, opposite the Choral Hall. Miss M. S. Halo is in charge, and when aeked by a Times reporter during the afternoon if there were indications that the new institution was going to fill a want, replied that a very fair number of applications had been received during the day from both domestics and employers. She considered that there had been mode a very good start, and that 'it was only a matter cf time, when the bureau became more widely kttiown, that it would be very largely availed of. A man named John Matthews, by virtue of the order of Mr C. C. Graham, S.M., sitting in the Police Court on the Ist, had to pay £5 for riding in .the train from Mosjiel to Dxinedhi and refusing to pay his fare. The alternative under the law was six months' imprisonment. The offender has been assisted by the Salvation Army authorities, who gave him a bad character, and says he spends in drink any money they may provide him with. Our Greymouth correspondent wires stating that a start has been made with the extension of the State collieries railway to three miles beyond its present terminus. This will enable several valuable coal seams to be worked. The trustees of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery have decided to open the gallery tonight and each night during the continuance of the Agricultural and Pastoral Society's show, from 7 xo 9.30 o'clock, in order that country visitors to Dtmedin may have an opportunity of inspecting the pictures in the evening. The metallic circuit system in connection with the Dunedin Telephone Exchange was completed last week. The mail despatched from. Dunedin, via Brindisi, on April 23 arrived in London on the morning of May 30. ■^ Although the origin of place names in the course of time becomes a matter of interest, it is often but little regarded at the time when first given, and is soon lost. Few people probably know how Skipper's Point, on the Shotover River, obtained its name, though it is less than 50 years since it was first, bestowed. Its godfather was Captain Gay, of the unfortunate ' steamer Victory, which was wrecked not far from Otago Heads in 1861. After the loss of his vessel Captain Gay set out to try his luck on the goldfit-lds, accompanied by the first engineer of the harbour steamer Golden Age, which up to that time had proved an unlucky venture. They penetrated as far inland as Skipper's Point, where thej struck good gold, and as the engineer always spoke of and addressed his mate as skipper the place where they had pitched their camp soon became known as Skipper's Point, which name, abbreviated to Skippers, is still to be found in the Postal Guide.

Trying- to tip a sack of malt into a vat of boiling beer, a stonemason named Hubert Digger, at Worcester, overbalanced, and falling into the liquid, was scalded to