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Otago Witness, Issue 3149, 22 July 1914, Page 48

It is evident, writes our London correspondent, that the New Zealand Government offices will not be transferred too soon to the new buildings in the Strand when they are erected. The number of callers, and the business transacted, in Victoria street show that more space is required. On one Wednesday the High Commissioner had appointments every 10 minutes throughout the day. This day of the week has been set apart for seeing callers, and the experiment appears to answer very well. The Hud-dart, Parker Company, agents for the German-Australian Line in New Zealand,' has been advised (a Press Association message from Wellington states) that this season’s consignments of dried fruits from the Mediterranean will be delivered by a German-Australian steamer at the ports of Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Dunedin, instead of being transhipped at Sydney and Melbourne for North Island and South Island ports respectively. As far as Wellington alone is concerned, this will mean between 700 and 800 tons of fruits. It is anticipated that this competition will be felt seriously by intercolonial shipping, which has been picking up transhipments for New Zealand at Melbourne or Sydney. The Secretary of the Cromwell Development Company has forwarded to Mr Moritzson particulars of the work that is in progress on the extension of the Otago Central railway from Clyde. The entrance to the Cromwell Gorge, ho says, now presents a scene which should gladden the hearts of all settlers beyond Clyde, and, in fact, ' all people of the dominion who know the potentialities of the Cromwell and Upper Clutha districts. There are three gangs of men at work. The first is clearing away the trees, in order that the first section, which will connect with the present lino, may be proceeded with. The second and third gangs arc busy on formation work. The . point where they are engaged is where the line will first strike the road at the entrance to the gorge, and the work for some little distance wi’l bo fairly heavy, as the line follows a blulf of rock for several chains. There are 32 men at present employed on the formation work, and it is expected that another 30 will bo employed in the course of a few days. The men’s quarters seem to be comfortable. The huts arc constructed of galvanised iron, and each has a fireplace. Men are at work erecting more of these huts, in order to provide accommodation for more hands. The trial survey has now been carried seven and a-’htilf miles above Clyde, and the permanent survey is completed for four miles and a-quarter. The work of laying a railway lines through this gorge i» a most difficult one, and doubJy

so in this case, as the engineer in charge has to select a route that will give good grades, gentle curves, and, at the same time, admit of the lino being laid at a reasonable cost. Mr Stewart, who is in charge of this work, is a man, however, who meets difficulties only to overcome them. He is full of resource and initiative, and is evidently weighing every phase of the question as he pushes forward his trial survey. The Government’s Land Bill (our Wellington correspondent states) will probably bo introduced in two or three weeks’ time. This measure will not be of a very important nature, as all the leading planks of the Reform Party’s land policy have already received legislative eifect in the Bills of 1912 and 1913. In order, however, to remedy some defects in the existing law a further Bill has been found necessary. The report of the Tenures Commission in regard to conditions in Westland and on the Auckfields -will probably indicate some necessary amendments. Our Alexandra correspondent states that tho Borough Council has accepted an offer for a share of the Mount Campbell water race from tho irrigation syndicate. This moans irrigation for Little Valley. Tho poll on the question of she Carnegie Library will be taken to-morrow. Some important wireless telegraphy regulations, which are to apply only to foreign merchant ships and to British merchant ships not registered in New Zealand while such vessels are within the dominion territorial waters, were gazetted last week. All apparatus for wireless telegraphy on board a merchant ship while in the territorial waters of New Zealand is to be worked in such a way as not to interfere with naval signalling, or with the working of any wireless telegraph station lawfully established, installed, or worked in the Dominion of Now Zealand or the territorial waters thereof and, in particular, the apparatus is to be so worked as not to interrupt or interfere with the transmission of messages between wireless telegraph stations established on ships at sea and wireless telegraph coast stations. No apparatus for wireless telegraphy on board a merchant ship is to be ■worked or used while such ship is in any of the harbours of the dominion, except with the consent, in writing, of the Minister of Telegraphs. An exception may be made in the case of making or answering signals of distress. The penalty for a breach of th© regulations is a fine not exceeding £IOO upon each person 'concerned (operator, master, and owner of the vessel). Some amended police regulations are set out in the last Gazette. Amongst other things, it is provided that, in cases where married members of tho force, widowers with children, and unmarried constables are not provided with free quarters, house allowance may be granted them according to scale. Any unmanned member of the force who is the sole support of his mother, and who is residing with her out of barracks, with the permission of the Commissioner, may also be granted house allowance. A married man residing in barracks shall not be paid house allowance 'without the approval of tho Commissioner, who may, in exceptional cases, grant an allowance if satisfied that such man is supporting his wife and family in a proper manner, and for some good reason is unable to remove them to the place where ho is stationed. No man whose wife is not a resident of New Zealand shall be granted house allowance. Examinations for promotions are to be held in various places in the dominion every September. Reefton is the latest place to be visited by a mysterious airship (writes the local correspondent of the Greymouth Evening Star), and several peoale report having seen an aeroplane soaring over Roefton at about 3.20 on Sunday evening, the outline being plainly visible for some time. The direction was north and south, the machine finallydisappearing over the hills over the Duller road. The Reform League delegates from all parts of New Zealand have concluded a highly successful assemblage, and on Saturday (says our Wellington correspondent) they were the guests of tho members of the Ministry and tho local Reform leagues (men’s and women’s) at a social gathering which was largely attended and most enthusiastic. The Prime Minister met with a wonderful reception, being loudly cheered, while the audience also sang “For He’s a Jolly Good Follow,” and the Maori delegates gave him an inspiriting haka. A feature of the conference was tho appearance of a number of prominent Maori chiefs, in the capacity of delegatee, who took an intelligent part in the proceedings and wore loud in their praises of the work done in the interests of the Maori race by tho present Government. From all parts of the country the delegates brought good tidings of the prospects for the coming election, and they go back determined to work with renewed energy against the present LiberalLabour alliance and in the interests of the Reform Government. Eighteen years ago (writes our London correspondent, under date June 12) Messrs Weddel and Co. shipped a quarter of beef from Queensland to Malta, and it remained until this year in the cold storage rooms of tho army meat contractor there. A month ago these rooms were taken over by tho Government, and the antique hind quarter was sent Home as a curio. It made its appearance in Smithfield this week, when a group of blue-smocked experts gathered round and watched the joint thawing itself out in tho blood and suetladen atmosphere of tho Central Market. A hole was bored in the haunch, and samples of beef were extracted, and pronounced to be sound meat. To keep the

joint fresh for 13 years it lias cost at the rate of one penny per stone per month for storage, about £1 a year—more than seven times the original value of the beef, which would bo about £2 10s.