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Otago Witness, Issue 3250, 28 June 1916, Page 44

At Suva, Fiji, on the 9th inst., says the Fiji Times, 140 of the Chinese in Suva proceeded to Nukulau in order joyously to celebrate the death- of Yuan Shi-K'ai, the recently-deposed Emperor of China. The reason for this '•mirth in funeral"' is that Yuan Shi-K'ai tried to cheat the Chinese public in regard to promoting a Chinese Republic, Judging by remarks passed at a meeting of millowners, held at Clinton on Saturday, a 20 per cent, rise in milling charges in the Clutha County is likely to be made shortly. One owner, referring to the price of files, said that prior to December last a 20 per cent, rise had taken place, and since that elate another 20 per cent, had been made; files would soon be unprocurable. Then the £SO bond coming on top of the phenomenal rise in the price of all equipment, was too great a burden to bear on the basis of the present charges. There was also too great a discrepancy between the price of chaffciitting and thrashing, the thrashing charges being too low in comparison with those for ehaffcutting. The meeting was called to decide on the course of action to be taken in regard to the £SO bond. After various expressions of opinion, it was decided to try to get an insurance company to take over the bond, and failing that to accede to the County Council's request and get the bond signed by the farmers.

An intimation has been received by the Otago Acclimatisation Society from the Department of Internal Affairs that section 7, block 111, Tarras Survey District, containing about 200 acres, has been declared a sanctuary for the purposes of the Animals Protection Act.

New Zealand politics in the past bail ir<t.ny more stirring incidents than they have now. Sir Edward O. Gibbes describes some former Parliaments as "Donnybrook Pairs." In an article in the June number of the Public Service Journal, lie states that the average life of the 25 Ministries ending with the Atkinson Government, which preceded the long reign of the BalJance party, was about 14 months. Some of these Ministries lasted only a few days, and most, if not all of them, went down under the cut-and-slash method of the direct motion of want of confidence. Sir Edward mentions the great turmoil attending the abolition of the provinces, when Mr W. L. Roes established a world's record by speaking for 24 hours, and the debate, developing from Mr Fitzherbcrt's plan of speaking- at the rate of about a word a minute, culminated in Sir George Grey's claim that as long as he was on his legs he was in possession of the House, and need not speak at all. There be stood, surrcunded and supported by a pile of chairs, cushions, and pillows, packed about him by his frantic admirers. "A scene of inch scribable confusion, of applause, jeers, and shouts of indignation, and laughter was finally lost to the world by the exclusion of strangers.''

An echo of the •yar was heard at the annual meeting of the National Dairy Conference on the 20th inst. (says the New Plymouth correspondent of the Oliristchnrch Evening Star), when Mr H. Dayali asked if the German steamer Wismar, which was interned in Java, at the commencement of the war, still had a consignment of superphosphates aboard which were being imported by the association. In reply, the chairman said that owing to the superphosphates lying in the ship so long they had completely destroyed their bags, and they had therefore to bo rebagged and transhipped, and had finally reached the dominion after a long delay, which had prevented the association making anything out of the transaction. A writer from South Taranaki slates in a Now Plymouth paper: The buyer for the American Beef Trust is operating freely here, and during the last fortnight lias purchased about 800 bead of fat bullocks and cows. Most of these are being trucked to Longburn Freezing Works. Taranaki is about tile only place where feed it plentiful. The Christ-church representatives of a British firm of boot and shoe manufacturers have received the following letter from their principals (says the Lyttelton Times): — "We have now lost all our sine!!.' men who are eligible. We hope to retain the married men, but the powers that be will not hesitate, to take anyone not engaged on army work if military exigencies demand this course. You ask us as to prices after the war. It is impossible to say. For the prices bring maintained, if not increased, tho arguments arc:--—The world's stock of boots and other leather goods at the present time is exceedingly short our own retailers being very short of stock. Tho world's stocks of upper bather, such as box calf and glace kid, are depleted; the pelts have either been tanned and used

for other purposes., or are not available, and the consequent demands by the manufacturers, wHo will have been released from Army work, will be very great for these lines. The same applies to sole leather materials. Accoutrements are taking millions o£ hides that were ordinarily used for ladies' and men's walking boots, and it will take a long period for the tanners to catch up with tho demand. The Central Empires have no leather except from homeslaughtered beasts, which must be rapidly diminishing. They will coino into the market again for hides, of which they previously took immense numbers. These are

arguments for lower prices, but on the whole I should say that for a period of one or two years, as high or higher prices will rule for ordinary footwear, and the signs are not very hopeful yet for an early termination."

According to plans published in New York in April, the Inter-Ocean Submarine Engineering Co. will shortly commence the work of salving cargoes of bullion and other valuable.-; from vessels sunk as 'he result of the European war. Amongst the numerous vessels to receive the attention of this enterprising concern will be the Lusitania. and altogether it is estimated that a total of £60,000,000 worth of goods, can bo recovered from vessels which arc not more than 400 ft below tho surface.