LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 31

LOCAL & GENERAL.

Fuller information received by the police shows that the man Hugh Donaldson, ■who committed suicide at Shag Point on the 12th, hanged himself by a rope from tiie post of a canopy bed about 7^ft high. Be was fully dressed, with the exception of his boots, when found, and apparently had not gone to bed the previous night. He was last observed at 8.45 p.m. on Sunday, when he appeared to be in his usual health and spirits. A series of proposals has "been submitted by the Otago section of the British Medical Association, representing the lodge sua-gecr.s ■of Dunedin, to the various local friendly societies in regard to tfie relations between the two. These proposals are as follow: — . Increase of rate hi payment for surgeon to £1 Is per member per annum, members •of women's lodges 10s 6d ; contract fee not to include administration of anaesthetics nor any operation where a genera! Anaesthetic is required; young men who axe wage-earners and who by their age are entitled to become members of the senior lodge shp.li not be eligible lox medical attendance en their father's membership; readjustment cf radius; all caJJs to be in by o. specified time", except in case of aoei dent or sudden illness, otherwise attendance on that day to be optional on the part of the lodge surgeon, or charged for at ordinary nates; no lodge surgeon to be required to carry on treatment in a case of confinement or miscarriage which has been attended by another medical man : no member to transfer from one doctor's list to that of another without tUo permission. of tbe latter; an examination fee of 5s to be charged fjjwr all candidates for admission; mothers of single members shall not be entitled to medical attendance unless passed by the lodge surgeon, and, further, the wives of new members shall submit themselves to examination if necessary; any falsa statement on the pa.rt of proposed member to forfeit right to medical attendance; that there be one form of contract between societies and their medical attendants; appointment of &n arbitration com* mittee equally representative of both parties, its decisions to bo final, and the committee to have jower of suspension or fine. These proposals are now being considered by the various friendly societies, and in the course of a few weeks a conference will be held between the Medical Association and delegates of the lodges, when the proposals will be jointly considered and amended or adopted as^the case- may be. As usual, the Railway Department had a large number of pleasure-seekers to cater \ for on th© 14th. The actual number railed to Outram, where the' Labour Day sports were held,* was 2300, and to Wingatui, where tho spring meeting of the Dunedin Jockey Club wa3 opened, a total of 1970. The bookings over the north line totalled 2800, made up principally as follows: — Port Chalmers and suburban stations, 900 ; Portobello, 50; Purakanui, 90; Waitatj, 260; Evansdale, 120; Seacliff, 320; Puketiraki, 180; Waikouaiti, 80; Palmerston, 100; Oarnaru, 110. To points on the south <• line 1300 people were carried, the bookings being: — Mosgiel and suburban stations, 700; Milton, 100; Henley, SO; Stirling, 60; Balclutha, 60. On branch lines about 400 people travelled during the day. Altogether, the Railway Department was called upon to cater for close on 9000 people. The Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times telegraphs: — "A further move k meditated by tho Meikle Committee. A meeting of tho committee is to be held forthwith, and at it a proposal will be put forward to interview the Prime. Minister and the Attorney-general with theifltention of securing for Meikle a ri^ht to an ew trial. -Conditional -apon thin being given, it is understood the eommictee will undertake to cease all further connection with Meikle or his case should ho fail to establish his own innocence and re-establish the perjury for whicb Lambert was convicted." .The scars left in the Nascby landscape by the vanished army of £old --ooVcrs became more honourable in tho oyi-3 of Dr Ohapple'6 audience on the 14th hist., when he spoke of deep leads and gold -sprinkled lower straiafi. Tho surface, he said, had oulv just been scratched, and he pointed out how in Victoria gold had been struck «md 2000 men employed, and who would he employed for 20 years to come, through -the borer being Hised. What was wanted in Naseby was active prospecting by practical men, and the pressing need of this Dominion was a live and enthusiastic Mining Department. The question of free school books was handled without gloves by Dr Chappie at Nasoby on the 14th. "If free school bcoks," he said, " why not free pinafores and freo food? It comes to that. Why not let us have State-supplied pipes and Statesupplied tobacco, and let U* smoke tho ♦State pipe of idleness in Naseby and elsewhere? No; if the State wants to help l», let it do so by teaching us to help yourselves." The Australian Labour party has constantly charged the Government with luring immigrants, including artisans and navvies, to Australia, but the Intelligence Department gives such statements an absolute denial, as the assisted immigrants are confined to farmers, farm workers, and female domestic servants. According to the Daily Telegrraph, the charge has been reiterated. At the eight-fcour banquet Mr A.

I M. r Dongall, secretary of the Eight-hour 1 Committee, said he wished to protest strongly against people being lured to the > cotantry by means of fictitious Tepresenta- , tions. He was in a to know the i facts. As secretary of the Boot Trades i Union, they came to him and put their union cards on the table, expecting to get : work at once. At times he had hardly the [ heart to tell them the state of affairs. > When he told one of those immigrants , that there were 125 members of his" union i worklese, and many of them foodless, he would scarcely believe it. By the s.s. Paparoa, whfch left London on September 3, a lcrgo consicranient of 1 Christmas presents is being brought to New Zealand for the members of the British Antarctic expedition row in King Edward VII Land. They will be - trans" fcrrcd at Lyttelton to tho Nimrod, to be taken down to the ice when ehe goes en relief. Prominent in the licr cf daintier are a dozen game pics, several boxes of pate de foic gras, a couple of dozen largo plum puddings, 12 tins of anchovy paste, 12 large plum cakes, l£lb of peppermints, and lib caramels. The following are also catalogued: — Fourteen mufflers, 14 wool helmets, socks, scarves, jersey?, gloves; pipes, shortbread, crystalKeed fruits, crystallised ginger, Carls-bad plums, raisins, gingernuts, apricots (glace), figs, chocolates, mixed biscuits, oatcakes. At- a meetinz en the 10th met. of the Southland Sawmill Workers' Union tiie secretary (Mr O'lirnie) is reported in the Southland News to ha.o made some very strong remarks on the manner in which sawmill workers were accommodated. He urged the necessity of asking for an act providing for better accommodation for the workers, because if there wan one cla« of men requiring better accommodation i v was the sawmill workers, who wcr-a eensctimes compelled to work in the bu<~n saturated, and retrirn at nights to huts that were waterlogged. While some of the employers provided fairly good accommodation, there were a few who did not. There was one case where a sawmilletr bad turned the fowls out of & fowi-rcost &r.d asked a man to take tho place of the hens— (laughter),— and because he objected he was told he was one of the upper tern. — (More laugh- I ter.) It was for those employers who failed to provide proper accommodation for the men that an act should be placed on the Statute Book. At a meeting of the Loyal Hand and Heart Lodge, M.U.1.0.0.F., on the 13th, the following resolution was unanimously passed : — " That this lodge desires to place on record ;ts feelings of sincere sorrow and regret at the death of our late esteemed brother, last Permanent Secretary Bro. Thome-? Burton, and its sense of the valued services rendered to the lodge by him, and its deep sympathy with Mrs Burton and the other members, of the family in the loss of a loving husband and father whoso sterling character and vtorth were well known ar.d highly' valued by members of tSic iodge." Tho late Mt Burton had boon a member of the lodge for 43 years, of which time he was for 14- years permanent secretary, and for 29 years lodge agont The lodge members highly appreciated the *. aluablc services that had been rendered by him throughout (hat long period. it was acknowledged by all that tho high position which the lodge has attained was due in a great measure to the ability and foresight of the late Mr Burton in matters pertaining to tho lodge finances. P.P.G.M. Bro. Sligo, and P.S. Bro. James Brown both referred feelingly to tho past services rendered by Bro. Burton. It was decided to forward a copy of the resolution to Mrs Burton. ' Two large whales caused considerable i perturbation to a party fishing from tho ' launch Awakino some miles out from the breakwater on Sunday morning (6ays the Taianaki Herald}. While the party were leisurely fishing the whales rose to the surface about 100 yards away. After a few moments they headed for the boat, and ro3e again almost alongside of it. One, the larger, was only a "few feet from tho launch's gunwale. Turning, • it passed • slowly under the launch. Its 6low progress ! gave the party a great fright, each man i expecting the whale to rise and capsize the boat. The mammal then got tangled in , one of th.3 6chnapper lines, and carried off moat of it. The whales swam on about 100 yards. Suddenly they leapt half out of the water, and the sea was churned into a foaming whirlpool. The whales had been attacked by thrashers. The battle raged hotly for some time. The party in the launch watched the spectacle spellbound, but their feelings were quickly changed when the battle rapidly aproached the boat, and no time was lost in getting far way from the conflict. Recently Mr Lionel Flight, of Melbourne, represented to tho State Premier (.Sir Thoe. Bent) that he had discovered a new system of administering chloroform. He offered to give the Government tho Victoria^ rights of his invention for £5000, if trials proved that it was beneficial. His proposal was- referred to Dr Norris, the chairman of the Board of Public Health. Dr Norri-s reported that any effective means of preventing death from chloroform could fairly be reckoned worth £5000, though the d: b - coverer of such a thing would probably be honoured by receiving the Nobel prize, or some other great reward. However, he suggested that it would be a humane and justifiable action for the Government to promise whatever reward it thought fit, en condition that Mr Flight indicated to

a 3inali body of independent experts the nature of his ejatem, and they, after investigation and cxijci':iflcnt. reported that his claims were sound. TLe Government, however, has decided to decline Mr Flight's 1 offer. The Federal Customs authorities have experienced considerable difficulty in their endeavour to carry out the regulation prohibiting the importation of prison-made goods, owing to tho fact that they do not bear any distinguishing mark. They have ascertained that a number of firms in various parts of the world buy from prisons or use prison labour in the manufacture of goods similar to those they export, and the Minister has decided that tho only way to make certain that prison-made goods arc not being sent to Australia by such firms is to absolutely prohibit the importation into Australia of all goods from them. An Order-in-Council giving effect to this decision will probably lie passed at an early date. Tho Christchurch Esperanto Club and several Christchurch esperanti-sts have contributed sufficient esperanto literature to form 14- packets, which, together with "keys" in six different languages, are being 1 fci'wandcd by the librarian of the club to tho Minister of Marine, with tho object of having them distributed to (he Sailors' Rests in the chief ports of New Zealand, and to the 10 islands where tho New ZeaJand Government provides depots for tho U3O of shipwrecked persons. In Europe a Sailors' 1/eayae has been formed for the propatfutio.i of esperanto among sailors. It is reported that army, na\y, and nurses' associations are taking up ! esperanto as a necessary part of their 1 equipment, and the Red Cross, Christian 1 Endeavour, and many other societies have already taken up the study. 1 Trades unionism is an excellent thing up to a certain point (says ihe Dominion 1 , but beyond that tho ridicule that kills is easily engendered. Recently Superintendent O'Brien, of the Fire Brigade, set some of his men to work to paint a patch of red on those telegraph poles which have • attached to them an electric fire alarm to ! which attention is desired to bo drawn, i He was rung up by the secretary of the , Wellington Painters' Union, nho said that , in allowing his men to paint the poles he was committing a bread) of the award. Finally tho secretary osk'nl h ; m if he intended to demist, and ho replied that ho eertaiiily did not. Subsequently Mr O'Brien took the trouble of looking up tho act, and ascertained that the Fir" Brigade , and any work in connection with its plant I was exempt from any such leetrictions as the union se-cretaiy v. ould ha*.e imposed. • Mr H. Y. Widdowt-on, S.M.. pave judgment at the City Police Court on tho 13th in the charges brought against Captains Newton and M'DonaM for corning with the Moana from Auckland down the coast to Port Chalmers with one A.B. less than the stipulated number. Tiie magifetrato J^held that when Captain Newton became aware of a desertion in Auck'and he chould have telegraphed either from that port or Gisbo-rno or Napier to Wellington to have a man in readiness to fill the- vacancy. In regard to Captain M 'Donald, who brought the eteamer from Lyttelton to Dunedin, his Worship held that tho cap- , tain fchouid not have waited to be informed of the vacancy in the AB. ranks by another officer; it was his duty to see that he had his full and proper complement of crew before leaving port. After making allowances for the circumstances, a fine of £10 w«« imposed on Captain Newton *nd

£5 on Captain M'Donald, £3 3s (solicitor's fee) being allowed in each case. Mr Widdowson ako gave judgment in the charge against F. J. Sullivan for having hares in possession during the close season, holding that, though hares were unprotected by Gazette notice in Mauiototo and part of Taieri County, that did r.ot apply to other districts where a similar proclamation was not in force. Members of the Australian Federal Parliament have received b. circular letter from " the religious liberty department of the Seventh-day Advenfists' Union Gonference of Australasia " protesting against the compulsory military training clause of the Defence Bill. The- letter states that there -are many students in missionary colleges who would be subjected to great hardship if "compelled to devote part of every year to military training. Other reasons urged against the bill are that there are many estimable people who object to carrying , arms. There *re others who regard the Saturday as a. Sabbath "in harmony with the fourth precept of the Decalogue." These people could not drill on Saturdays. The letter also declares that a universal compulsory measure would be "at variance with the>ll6th article of the Federal Constitution, which breathes the true spirit of liberty:" The letter concludes by trusting that the members addressed will be I found opposing the bill. In order to minimise "tbe risk of drowning accidents in connection with golddred'ging operations, the Minister of Mines : has caused to be printed and circulated the j new resuscitation method of first aid to the apparently drowned, by Professor Schafer, of Edinburgh. This method (says the Mines Record) has very generally superseded the Sylvester, Hall, Howard, and other systems of resuscitation formerly in vogue, and is said to be much more effec- ! tive, whilst involving a minim ran amount I of labour on the part of the operator. j There are four clear and explanatory illustrations, which should enable an intelligent person to begin the work of resuscitation pending the arrival of the doctor, and thus save valuable time at tho most critical period. A copy of the directions for first aid is to be posted up on every dredge. Dr Chappk, M.P., at his Ophir meeting 1 on the 15 th, mentioned, in illustration cf his complaint that legislation was rushed through ti.o House in the dying hours of tho session with an unwiso haste, that the Industrial Coneilatcn and Arbitration Bill was so amended in tho I Upper Houso that an employer could j now dismiss all his men en a ! Saturday and reappoint another gang ; or staff on Monday morning without being guilty of a lockout. To bo guilty of a lock- ; out an employer must suspend his busirtees, | and this is a prior necessity to constitute ! an offence. The bill came down from the I Council thus amended, and no one had an opportunity of reading it before the Minister of Labour moved to object to certain amendments, and reference toother amendmenis \iaa thus blocked. Some time ago the local Inspector, of Awards made application to the Arbitration Court for an interpretation of a certain provision in tho Otago boxmakers' award. The question asked was : Are girlsemployed making cardboard boxes solely j by machinery, and who have been 18 months at* tho trade, entitled to 6d per hour? The answer of Mr Justice Sim (president of the Arbitration Court) was received yesterday, ar.d was contained in the one word, "Yes." The returns show that on Wednesday (Labour Daj) tho municipal tramways carried 34,372 pas^ongei*, and that the cash receipts were £164 4s 7d, the distance covered being 3137 milc3. Last year, although climatically a poor day, the returns were considerably bettor. On that occasion 37,59£r pPiKcngtxs were carried, the each rcecjptii amounted to £200 12s 4d, and the distance covered was 3248 mites. A feeling of uneasiness is being felt at tho Bhiff consequent upon the disappearance of a small sailing craft wifrh two men en beard. They set out for Halfmoon 12ay on Monday morning. The island steamer brought in word on Wednesday that they had not Teached their destination, and co far as is known they have net K?c;i heard of in the straits. There has be on a good deal of heavy weather since tiiey left, and it is ju^t possible they m-ay have- be-ea driven cut to Ruapuko icr fcJielter. A Chri-ifchurcli Prefs Association message states that a diarp shock of earthquake was experienced at Hanmer at 2.45 a.m. on rhe 16th in-t. It was reported to the meeting of the Trade-5 and Labour Council on tho 15th that t';o bj -!aw« of the Mcrnington and St. Kil<la bcmuglw scjjTaiated that all tape connected with th<Mr water &er\icos must bo of certain sp€cifi< .! imported brands, the New Ztalaml artic-le bving strictly pro-hibit-od. Tho i^oorriary war, instructed to write to tbo comic -Is concerned and ascertain :f: f ti>o 'report was correct, and, if co, why the New Zeaja-nd-manufantured article wae being passed over. In view of the discussion as to whether May 24 or June 3 is the more suitable date on which to observe Empire Day, Mr Edward TrythaE Jius submitted th© matter to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. In a letter dated July 6 Mr Trythall "sets out at considerable- length the arguments pro and con., and the manner in which each date is usually observed in the Dominion, and aske (or an exprefceion of opinion. Mr

Tryfchali has just received tbe following reply from Sir Arthur Bigge: — "I am directed by the Prince of "Wales to thank you for your kind letter of July 9, and, in reply to the question which ifc contains, to say that his Royal Highness certainly considens that May 24 should be observed as Empire Day in v preference to June 3, tha anniversary of bis Royal Highness's birthday." A Press Association message states that' Oscar Sundborn, a fishmonger, was fined £3 and costs (16s) on the 15th at Timaru for employing a male assistant more than the statutory number of hours in a week. In one week tie assistant worked 85 hours. A conferaee between the Caledonian Society, the New Zealand Athletic Union, and the Pipers and Dancers' Association, calkd by the Caledonian Society, was held en the 15th to consider the best means of arriving at a mutual arrangement between the recently-formed Pipers and Dancers' Association and the Caledonian Society in respect to their rules. The question at issue was tbe attitude to- l^e taken, up with regard to the pipers and dencera. who werb disqualified for taking" part in a competition at the JExhjbition meeting. Tfle pipers wanted tho disqualifications removed without the payment of any fee, buti the Athletic Union would not consent to ' this. After discussion, it was decided' that the operation of the rules of the Pipers a-nd Dancers' Association be suspended till alter tbe annual meeting of the New Zealand Athletic Union, and that the con- . fexence be adjourned until a date in January, when another meeting will be called by the Caledonian Society. N A strange example of the vagaries which sometimes occur in the postal 6ystem is recorded in the Taranaki Herald. About th© middle of "July a letter was posted a* Auckland to a member of the Taranaki Herald staff. At the same time and pleca a Budget of June 27, addressed to England, was also posted by another person.. By some chance the letter became concealed in the folds of the newspaper and went Home with it. The recipient, Mr A. W, O. Collins, of "Egmont," Leytonstone, England, posted the letter back to its addressee, end - with it sent a note point ing out another strange coincidence. Th<s. Budget in which the letter was hidden, he points out, contained the following paragraph :—" Missing letters and postJ cards are often traced by postal officials j to the interior of newspapers, hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of miles away from their destination. In order to meet the trouble \the Australian Sta.t« Deputies have proposed to the Common* j wealth Postmaster-general a new regular I tion, laying down certain restrictions with | respect to the preparation of newspapers I for the post." , We understand that tho Mayor of Dun* - edin (Mr J. M'Donald) is at present endeavouring to bring about the holding of public meetings in each of the four centres of the Dominion, with the Mayors of the other three of which he is now communicating, to consider the question of th© defence of New Zealand and test public feeling with regard to compulsory, training on the lines that have already been suggested by different authorities. After telling his audience how America is dealing with" the irrigation question, Mr Robert Scott, speaking at Naseby on the 16th asked Ihem a conundrum : "Wihaft is your Government going to do about! irrigation in Central Otago?" It appeared from the ensuing silence that hia audience gave it up, and Mr Scott began to answer it himself. It had sent men to report, levels had been taken, dam sites inspected, and samples of soil carried away, but the prevailing opinion was that th* Government was r.ot in earnest in thY matter, and that it wj« yet another eas< of dangling carrots in front of the donkey t ' nose. Our Wellington correspondent states tha< an invention for deadening a broken live electric wire is to be tried there shortly. The invention is a local one, and is said to be effective. It will prevent fatal accidents such as are now common through contact with a live wire that has fallen to the ground. A feature of interest in connection with tho Cabinet vacancy (=ays the Auckland Herald) is tho fact that tho portfolio of Railways, which is about to be relinquished by Mr Hall-Jones, carries an additional £300 a year in salary. It is £hus a " plum," in connection with which the question of seniority may crop up. Tho Hon. James M 'Go wan— assuming that b« does not retire from the Ministry, as ha« been suggested in some quarters — may ba eonfcidrred as having the best claim on this specially-salaried portfolio. In any case, whatever^ happens, it is 'probable that there will be a general readjustment of a great number of the portfolios. A large section of the Australian unionists is beginning to clamour for a sixhour day, while the rest are anxious to proceed more slowly but surely by first legalising the eight-hour -day so as to render its operation universally imperative. Among, the former is Mr W. C, . Miller, president of the Melbourne Labour Council, who, in the course of an address at tiie Trades Hall in Sydney, hoped that in Sydney they would soon be advocating a «ix-hour day. The introduction of labour-saving machinery . justified the workers in asking for a. reduction in the hours of labour. At the present time his society, the Typographical Union, was asking for a reduction of hours to 44 per week, and also for an increa-e of wases.

They might appear to be making a^ unreasonable request, but he considered that the conditions existing ,in the printing trade, as the result of the introduction of linotypes, warranted it. He emphatically stated that unionism, without being backed up by labour politics, could not achieve one-half of what it should. Mr G. A. Alcock, first officer of the White Star steamer Athenic, is making inquiries regarding the whereabouts of his hrother-in-law, Charles Smith, aged 24 years, who left Hobart, - Tasmania, about c. year ago for New Zealand, and has not since been heard of. The missing man's mother, who resides at 30 Burton street, Williamstown, Melbourne, is in great distress about the fate of her eon, as she has a presentiment that he lost hie life in the flooding of a coal-mine in these parts. It would be a great kindness on the part of anyone who recognises the description to communicate the particulars either to the above address or to Mr Alcock, 6.5. Athenic. At the Sydney Water Police Court a few days ago a Hindoo fireman, who was alleged to have deserted from the R.M.S. Britannia, was charged with being a prohibited immigrant. He had told the Customs inspector- that he could speak good English, but when that official put him to the writing te6t be not only failed to write the passage dictated but «eemed .to be temporarily deprived of the power of speech in any language. Mr PickJrnrn, who defended the ' bewildered man, j asked that the passage used .in the test bo read in court, and tho reason of the sorrowful expression in tho Hindoo's eyes j was clearly apparent when Mr Donohue in compliance read the following passage: " Again, it must be remembered that art atmosphere here is almost unknown, and encouragement lukewarm. In the great centres of the Old World there is to be found the food of the gods, splendid studios, numberless exhibitions yearly, progressive national galleries, opportunities on all sides for study and for obtaining models." The Dominion reports -that the "dressripper" is reappearing at the Opera House at great expense — to his or her victims. This demented being, whose particular mania consists in cutting ladie%' dresses and cloaks in the going-in and • coming-out crowds at the Opera House, operated during the last season of the Julius Knight Company. Since then this I ■person's reason has apparently returned, j -but a relapse ias occurred, as on Saturday evening a young girl, who occupied a egat in the stalls, had her coat cut badly up ihe back in such a manner as to lea\e no t doubt that it was done maliciously by j someone using a. sharpened instrument. The detccthes have for months been on the lookout for ihe mischievous person who finds amusement in the manner described, but so -far admit . themselves beaten. How long can I keep my pipe alight ? This was the question nearly 400 people Bet themselves to solve at the 1.0.0. F. Temple one evening- lately at Sy<lney. 'And the answer puffed out by the winner ■•n two hours sixteen minutes staggered mo=t people. The world's record hitherto in this Torm of mania, the '" smoking competi"^n," is said to be two hours fifteen '. /fletitee, made in Germany. Punctually at 8 o'clock (says the Sydney Morrting ■Herald) the 366 competitors who started struck up matches and, seated at 62 little green-baize-covefed tables, a steward to each table, began their long vigil to my Lady Nicotine. It was all very siow at first, as the minutes ticked away, 60 a musical programme kept tho audience amused. But as time wore on the number still in it thinned tremendously. At 9.30 tnpre wa3 scarce *a score still smoking. One by one they dropped off amid the .comments of the spectators. Th© stewards watched them carefully to see that no relighting occurred, and that as soon as a pipe went out its owner left his seat. Kow they were among tho prize-winners, for besides the first three, 30 prizes of sfil " were -given. Here and there the -expressions were diverting to watcfi, as the smoker coaxed a little pinch of ashes into keeping alight. One man' near the finish was smoking wood, for' his bowl flowed like » live so*l."C Finally it re-

■ solved itself into a duel between two young men, who were far calmer, though positively not cooler, than those that crowded round them. At last, just after a quarter to 10, the runner-up " went out." Hia rival* kept on 6teadily for an- . other half-hour, thus winning easily. I .The Hospital returns for the week just expired areas follow: — Patients remaining at the end of the previous week 129, admitted during the past week 33, discharged 26, and deaths three (Jane Creighton, Peter John Shea, and James M'Donald). The total number cE patients remaining in 'the institution is 133. During the fortnight ended October 17 the coal ga3 made at the City Corpoiation Gasworks totalled ' 4,910,752 cubio feet, being a yield at the rate of 12,149 cubio . feet per ton of coal. No water gas was manufactured. One hundred and thirty- 1 two tons of coke And 5966 gallons of tar were 6old from the works. Subject to very moderate restrictions, the public has hitherto been allowed the privilege of referring to th© bound volumes of the Otago Daily Times and the Otago Witness in the library of tihe company's office. In former years this privilege was i grossly abused by persons who out out of • the files Ttercs in whkh thejv«vere interested. i This betrayal of confidence has for some years"- ceased as far as is known, but two or thre© days since it was discovered that two items had been cut out of a bound file for the first half of the present year— one a report of the March wool sales and the other en advertisement of the Early Settlers' Association. The company now offers a reward of £10 fcr information that will lead to the discovery of the miscreant who ' mutilated the files, and notifies that il has withdrawn from the public the privilege of access to the library. Dr Chappie has received the following ' telegram from the Minister of Minos: — "No advice has been received yet of the / shipment of the Keystone drill, but I expect that it will arrive within a month. Its destination will be 'in the vicinity of Naeeby. A report will bo obtained as to sites for trial boros." ; . An accident resulting in the death of a ■ • horse occurred en Saturday as the Volunteer artillery was taking the field guns out i for practice. The owner of the horse, Mr Wiu. Hastie. an expressman, hired the horse out, and it was put in the lead, and j when the gun had been taken a short i \ distance along Lower High street one of the > pole horses jumped forward, and the leader ' at the same moment backed, with the result i that the pole was driven into the animal i | and so severely injured it that ie died veYy '< shortly afterwards. ; After many weeks of arduous work, Mr * Lee has collected sufficient data to enable < him to lay before the directors a coniprc- i hensive report upon the shale deposit in the mineral lea-.e held by the New Zealand ' Coal and Oil Company. Tho Orepuki • Advocate states that it is in a position to ! say that the report will be di-stinely favour- ( able. A large area, several hundred acres ] in extent, lying northwards from the works 1 has been pro\ed to be mineral-bearing. 1 There are many indications that the shale * deposit extends far beyond ihe company's 1 property. Some time, ol cour&e. nu;.-»t ' elapse before work on any c\.ter.*i\e scale will be an accomplished fact, but the strong probability o* the bhale works bsing in the , not distant future the scene of a permanent , industry is good cause for congratulation. ' ] A correspondent who is usually well in- ' formed on political matters wiit<s to the '' Dominion discrediting the idea that Mr Laurenson is likely' to secure fh? portfolio ] to be rendered vacant by the retirement of < Mr Hall-Jones. " Neither Mr Lauren-on , nor any other Canterbury member," ha s j writes " will succeed Mr Hall-Jones, but \ 1 should Mr T. Mackenzie be elected the t portfolio will be given to him. Mr Mac- r kenzie is undoubtedly the best man for the ] f position in the ranks of the Liberal party — t j he is a sound, practical man, of much f , experience, and a> good speaker— a man in f : marked conii'asfc in every respect to a ] • number of the theoretical, political squibs t who aspire to the position. The journal c points out that its correspondent does not s appear to regard the fact that already three j members of the Cabinet— Sir Jcseph Ward i

and Messrs Millar and M'Nab— hail from tho far eou'th as a serious handicap to Mr Mackenzie. Possibly a greater handicap, however, is the fact that h : s connection with the Government party has been of such brief duration. A London message states that the Christchurch. City Council is issuing £88,704 worth of debentures at 102£ per cent. It is worthy to record that between 5 o'clock on Saturday afternoon and Monday morning the polica had no occasion to make a single arrest for drunkenness. The St. James's Gazette (London) remarks that the annual meeting of the New Zealand and River Plate Land Mortgage Company i* " a reminder of the short-sighted policy o£ New Zealand politicians towards those desirous of employing capital in th« • Dominion. This company was originally formed in 1883 under the tille of the New Zealand Land Mortgage Company, but in 1888 the oppressive laws of "that country caused its board to turn its attention to Argemiina as a better channel for invest- ., ment. Accordingly the title was changed to that he-Id at present, and gradually the whole of the money employed by the company was transferred to the Argentine, and the words New Zealand might well be dropped out of its title. The change in. venue had an excellent effect upon its fortunca^ for dividends have steadily risen, until 7 per cent, was paid for last year. An example like this should have its effect upon the legislators of the new Dominion, but we believe, "they are still pursuing their relentless opposition to capital, and other companies are likely to follow the course of the one mentioned." Th© New Zealand Times has been given! an interesting account of the "ship's deviation recorder," which was given a trial on j the last trip of the Maheno to Sydney. The instrumant was invented by Mr T. A. Ri»sell _(a Wellington electrician) and / Captain Hennah (of the Government service. An interested spectator of the trials during the trip was Mr JL. Dwan (of Wellington), who on his return from Australia gave a Times reporter a deeorip- | 'tion of what it had accomplished. The appliance, briefly put, is an electrical one, which can be attached to the ordinary ship's compass in euch a manner as permanently to record the slightest deviation from the course set. Further than this, if the deviation is large e)iough to be at all serious, an » alaarni bell in the officers' quarters is rung to attract their attention. It is claimed that the instrument is an absolute check upon bad steering and bad seamanship, for from it can b& ascertained the exa-of- time at which any falling off from a direct course takes place. It will also show at once when any drift occurs, and should be especially ireful -when it is impossible to take the taual ob»?rvations. The record is marked on a strip of paper carried on a re\olvin.ij dium, in much tho same manner as in the case of a weatherrecording instrument. Mr Dwan said that the Maheno's steersmen did not know at fhst that the appliance was in use on board, but that as aeon as they were told of it the line on the paper changed from a zig-zag to an almost perfectly straight one. Mr Rissell took the instrument over in order to te*t it in the open ocean, and those who watched it spoke highly of its possibilities. For th<? fortnight ended October 10 the receir-U from the city electrical trams totalled £2273 3s 5d fora, mileage of 42.100. In the coiresponding period in 1907 tho mileage was 41,953 and the revenue £2103 13s Bd. The Argentine conespondent of Ihe Lyttelron Time* states that the city fathers of Buenos Aires are being called upon to regulate various matters. One which they settled at a sitting 1 was the wearing of hats by ladies in the stalls and circles of theatres. Not a protesting voice was raised against the propc=al, and tho ladie^' hat = will no more be seen in those parts of the theatres. Another question that is up for consideration ia the regulation of cab fare*, and if the Mayor's proposal is carried it will be obligatory for all hackney cabs to carry taximeters. A great boon will be ' conferred upon the public, who have < suffered long enough at the hands of local Jchu=s. An •enterprising fiim in the city has offered to supply 3000 taximeters free

on condition that it is allowed to place advertisements on them. The Buenos Aires city councillors have also decided that a tax of 17s 6d shall be levied upon all who employ domestic labour. s The city solicitors have been instructed to reply to the solicitors for the Taieri County Council not agreeing to allow that council the privilege of an extension of time for lodging applications for electrical power. At Saturday's meeting of the Waihemo County Council a letter was read from a ratepayer who, after referring in scathing terms to the disgraceful condition of a road in the county, suggested that perhaps the council had decided to reserve the road as a fish hatcher 3% The pathetic, if somewha.t vehement, appeal moved several councillors to verify the writer's opinion of the road, and it was decided that the . inspector be instructed to have it repaired.' I One of the professional nurses carrying on wcrk in Wellington in connection with the D.strict Nursing Guild, established by the St. John Ambulance Association, is a daughter of the late Mr James Macandrew, Superintendent of Otago in the old provincial days. Together with another lady in the nursing profession, Nurse Macandrew is doing splendid work in the capital city among the sick poor. Lady Plunket is patroness of the guild, Mrs S. A. Rhodes (honorary associate of the Order of St. John 1 of Jerusalem) is president, and Mrs W. B. Fisher is hon. secretary. The local branch of the Navy League has arranged tc have Nelson's immortal signal displayed on the flagstaff in the Victoria Gardens on Trafalgar Day on Wednesday next, 21st inst, and all members of the league are expected to wear their badges on that day. On the 19th instant the members of the Taieri Drainage Board (Messrs D. Barren, C. Findlay, R. A. Kempshall, D. T. Shand, John Callender, J. T. Gibson, and H. Macandrew), Messrs J. MacGrcgor, and F. Duncan (of Messrs Duncan and MacGregcr, solicitors), and Craig (Government Valuer) undertook a tour of inspection of the new drainage district, and, leaving Mosgiel at an early hour, went via Outram and Dow's road over practically the whole plain lying north of Waipori Lake. Moynihan's dam and the drains in the vicinity were inspected en route, so that the Drainage Board might gain an idea of what might be done to relieve the position there. The whole of the day was thus occupied, the party again reaching Mosgiel just at dusk. " I am an optimist," was the text of a most refreshing speech made by Mr J. Blair Mason (secretary of the Otago Harbour Bear&) on board the Athenic on tho 19th. Ho touched upon the timo when vessels of heavy tonnage were brought in with. " fear and trembling "; , but all that had happily gone by. There was the Panama Canal, which would, when finished, bring New Zealand and the Old Country into closer touch. It behoved us to look ahead, to make provision for the Lusitania and the Mauritania type of vessel, to put our house in order so that we should not' be caught napping when our time came. At t>he close of the meeting of the Bay Town Board on the 19th, Mr D. M'Curdy took the opportunity to refer to the great assistance which the chairman (Mr John MacGregor) had rendered to the board since its inception. He had given his legal services gratuitously, and had at all times shown the greatest courtesy to the members. It was decided that a record of the foervices of Mr MacGregor be recorded on the minutes. A Press Association tolegram from Christchurch states that it is understood that the necessary steps were taken on tho 19th to appeal against the decision of Mr H. W. Bishop, S.M., in the cases in which George Rankin and F. H. Christian, booksellers' assistants, were fined for having sold literature which the magistrate hold to be indecent in character. It is probable that the appeals will be dealt with by Mx Justice Denniston next month. A Westport Press Association telegram states that a sacred concert on Sunday O'ight in aid of the fund to place a monument on Anders Andersen's grave produced £33. A member of the Temperance Reform Council recently lodged &n objection (says the Southland Times) against 304 of the names on the Awarua electoral roll remaining on same. The registrar followed out the regulations of the act consequent on the objection, and as a result some 260 names were removed from the roll. Before the magistrate on Friday " the other side " > asked that an order be made directing the registrar to re-instate the names on the : 1011, in globo. After hearing evidence and i legal argument, the magistrate rcser\ed decision, but said that he was inclined to < think that the order could not be granted. 1 He would, he gaid, order the rc-inetatement I of individual names where it was shown that such had been wrongfully struck off. . H. A. Macdonald, who aeked for the { granting of the order, said that in two r instances a man and a woman had been y reported as drad, whereas as a matter of g fact they were still placidly residing in q Ihe electorate, having failed to go wbaxe bhe wicked cease from voting and reformers p are at rest. y Mr A. Hamilton, director of the o Dominion Mu-cuin in Wellington, has re- a ceived an important offer from the Ameri- „ can Museum of Natural History, made in fc, the following kher :—" Through Mr T. E. tl Donr.2 v.c hi\e learned tint your mueeum c < is engaged in the preparation of nicdele n

s " of 10 Maoris, ranging from old tattooed s men- to types of the younger generation.^ fc He also informs us that it is your inten«. i tion to make duplicate casts of these figures fcr exchange with other museums. In the j event of your carrying out this plan, we j should be very glad indeed if it were posfc sibl-a for the American Museum to arrange f an exchange' with you for a series of these j casts. We have a large amount of archaeological material from the North American Indians, and especially from Mexico and I ?u™' ?* ° Ould P revi <te large casts of * the work of the Aztecs. We also have 5 very extensive collections from the Philip- * pines, winch we could offer in exchange - Tne museum has prepared a large series o f types (life size) of different races, particularly the North American Indians, which, perhaps, would interest you; or, possibly, you would prefer mounted specimens of 5 North American mammals and birds, or •' some of the fossils from our Western ? States. We are sending you under separate x cover a few photographs of material which j is available for exchange.", 1 - A Chrietcljuroh message advises that both ' the Maori who was brought down from the North Island a few weeks ago and the 1 ' white patient on Quail Island are reported ' T to be doing well. As the right eye of r the Maori was badly affected by leprosy, 3 it was thought that the sight of the left' 3 eye might be endangered. *An . opera* • 1 tion was performed about a fortnight' ago, • the right eye being removed altogether^ and the patient is now progressing" very 5 satisfactorily. \ I The wholesale destruction qf valuable !> areas of timber was deplored by Mr E. G. r B. Moss in a speech in Auckland. Ha > said that the slow progress of. railway ' works and the pushing ofVettlement far ahead of railways meant an enormous s waste of timber, and this wast© was already' t making itself felt, as was shown by ail , importation of 3,500,000 ft of Oregon pine . in one week. The denuding of the country . of its forests was affecting the climate. He could remember the time when & I "north-easter" would deluge the country from North Cape to Stewart Island, while ; now it was common to have drought in 3 some parts of the country and frequent floods in others. If the rainfall in Ne.w t Zealand was normal the country, sine© the » introduction of refrigerating machinery, > would never hava anything to fear. * Since the, beginning of August last the | Chinese population of New Zealand has very perceptibly risen. Twelve arrived in .Wellington during August (saye the ; Dominion), 33 landed during September, and 27 during the present month— a total* of 72 Chinamen, 10 of whom had previously been in the Dominion. Others who desire" : to settle in New Zealand under the eanie i conditions as formerly will require -to ; hurry up, for on Friday next, October 23, i another obstacle will be placed in ■ the path — an- obstacle which will occasion them some tribulation. • This additional restric- : tion, which was passed in 1907 and re- • eerved for the Royal assent (now granted), provides that no Chinese immigrant will he allowed to land in New Zealand unless he can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of th« Collector of Customs; or other principal officer, at some port in tho Dominion that he can read a printed passage of not lees than 100 words of tdie English language, such passage to be selected at the discretion of the Customs officer referred to. * If tho candidate should consider that the test has been too 6trict, or unfair, he may appeal to a magistrate, who shall himself conduct a further reading test, and his decision shall be final. Siberian pine, together with Oregon, is getting a gocd hold m Australia and, to some extent, ousting the New Zealand white pine, or kahikatea. So far as butter boxes are concerned, the New Zealand pine is Kkely to hold its own in the Common- » wealth, for the substitute has not yet been discovered; but for other boxes what is known as the " off-cuts " of white pine . have been, and still are, extensively used. The Siberian article is, however, taking white pine's place, and a gentleman con* . cerned in the Wellington _timber trade informed a Post reporter that when in Mcl- , bourne recently he saw in one yard alone between six million and seven million feet of Siberian pine. Japanese- pine, also, for rough box work was coming in with the Siberian, and both were in competition' with New Zealand pine in Australia. The freights from the Far East are all in favour of shippers from Siberian and Japanese ports, although the former are closed by ice for about half the 3 ear. The timber comes down in huge vessels, \tfhioh are cheaply manned, and owners look to Australia for a remunerative homeward freight. This factor had a great influence upon the cheapening of Eastern timbers in Australia, and tho better enabled them to cut into the New Zealand white pine trade for box timbers other than for butter boxes. Oils are likely to play a prominent part in hygiene. Or Frengley (District Healtß Officer at Wellington) has just received a number of samples from Germany of oils; used in place of water and disinfectants for sanitary pur?x>sea. They are the producta • of coal tar., or, at anyrate, that is the basis. They entirely supersede water in certain cases, covering all offensive matter wifch a thin greasy film, which prevents the escape of odours and *■ keeps out flies. Other oite are for use on pools infested with mosquitoes, and successfully prevent the Wvas rising to the surface to breathe, and they are thus suffocated. In malarious countries the oil for this purpose has bees most successful.