OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 4

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

The annual postbag of British India totals over 720,000,000 letters and over 97,000,000 newspapers. Marriages of- minors ar« much more frequent 'in mining and manufacturing than in' agricultural .districts'. In the English "Black Country" there are 30,000 waste acres, of which 14.000 might be profitably afforested. There are at present eight warships for foreign Governments under construction in private yards.in the United Kingdom. Over a thousand of the cleverest l engi fleers in the world are at present making a profound study of the problems of Hight. The most powerful electric lighthouse in Europe is the one at Hanstholm, on the Scow. It has a strength of 2,000,000 candles. In the first half of 1909 the exports- ofcoal from the four chief Welsh ports increased by 681,000 tons; in the last half (when the Eight Hours Act was in force) the exports decreased bv 363,000 tons. At.a fixed inclusiv-q weekly rental of 2£d per lamp in summer and 3£d in winter London workmen's cottages are being fitted with electric light on a new and inexpensive system of wiring introduced by Messrs Siemens. , \_ A Venetian glass manufacturer is said to be making and selling bonnets by the thousand. The glass cloth of which they are nade has the same shimmer and brilliancy of colour as silk, and is impervious to water. The Auckland Automobile .Association is offering a reward of £5 for information that will lead to the conviction of the driver of <t motor car who ran into two children in Khyber-JPass road on the evening of February 28. ~" Commercial: failures in the United States during the year 1909 were 12,924 in number, with defaulted liabilities amounting to £30,920,693. This is a much more satisfactory exhibit than was provided by either of the two preceding years. Mushroom gatherers were out in strong force on the 20th at Gore (says the Standard), and had no trouble whatever in getting large parcels of this much-prized delicacy. The crop of mushrooms has been unusually heavy during the past week. In order to commemorate Lord Kitchener's visit to New Zeaand. the Hon. D. Buddo has offered to the Kaiapoi School a prize of £1 to the school cadet writing the best essav on the Field Marshal's visit, and £1 as an essay prize for the girls. A. sum of * nearly £BOO is now banked co the credit of a fund for the building of a Trades Hall in Auckland. The money represents the accumulated profits of the several Labour Day celebrations that have been held during the past 10 or 12 years. Rotorua generally objects to the striking in the town of a hospital and charitable' aid rate, on the ground that when local control was ceded to the Tourist Department, it was agreed that no other rates, save fire prevention and library rates, should be made. The beaver in the London Zoological Gardens has in the course of 12 months succeeded in nibbling the base of a thick tree trunk which was . erected in its . enclosure until the upper part swayed dangerously over a stem narrowed away to the diameter of an inch. Lemuel Gardiner, of Washington, New -.Jersey, is the owner of a tree which records temperatures with unfailing accuracy. Four years ago the tree was split by lightning, and the crack opens and closes in accordance with the varying degrees of heat and cold. Prior to the Sunday evening service at the parish church of Castlechurch, near Stafford, someone stripped the mantles off all the incandescent gas burners, turned on the gas, broke one. of the organ pedals, and damaged the pulpit. The service had to be conducted by candle-light. In connection with the change Li regard to defence matters brought about by the act passed last session, it is understood, says the Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times, that the authorities are considering the question of organising a corps of nurses for service in the field. Deer stalkers are now preparing for the opening of the deer shooting season, which opens on April 1. Quite a number of stalkers from Timaru are making preparations to go south in quest of deer, chiefly (says the Herald) to the herds in North Otago. A few purpose trying their luck also at Albury. It is reported (says the Wellington Post) that applications for admission to the police force are coming in in fair numbers, and, generally- speaking, from a desirable clasw At present there is a batch of 18 men at the training depot at Mount Cook, and they should be ready for drafting early in May. . ~ Owing to Burns, the American heavyweight : champion boxer of tho world, hav.ing upset his system, by a too fond indulgence in cucumbers, and having thus; interfered considerably with, his training, his match against Lang, tho Australian champion, which was fixed for Easter Monday in Sydney, has been put back to April 20. The match is for tho heavy.weight championship of Australia, ....... ,■

The Puniho toll-gate keeper is inquiring from the Taranaki County Council how much abuse he should submit to from a Maori whilst in the execution of his duty as toll collector. Speaking generally of the Natives, he says he is on friendly terms with meet of them, but there is one " particularly vile specimei" who. when he is alone, is civil enough, but. when he is with other Maoris is extremely abusive, and on several occasions has threatened personal violence.