OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 3331, 16 January 1918, Page 25

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

During 1917 there were five petitions filed in bankruptcy in the Timaru district. The diphtheria epidemic has practically disappeared in this district (says the Western Star). The only .two patients left in the hospital were discharged last week. It is held that the closing of the schools for the holidays has had a beneficial result. The Government Statistician of Queensland has compiled a statement showing the estimated sugar crop for the present season. It is probable 325,887 tons of sugar will be produced in Queensland alone. This will be easily a record for the State. When the workers on the three steam trawlers at the Bluff , wharf visited their vessels after the holiday vacation it was to find that damage approximating £IOO had been done to tho vessels by some miscreants (reports the Southland Times). It is 130 years this month since New South Wales was founded. The first fleet arrived in Botany Bay on January iB, 1788. Four days later Sydney Cove was discovered and named, and four days after that New South Wales was founded.

It transpired at tho Masterton Magistrate's Court on Monday (says the Wairarapa Age) that two young men and two young girls consumed a dozen bottles of beer while indulging in a picnic on banks of the Waipoua River on Sunday afternoon.

The Inspector of Police at Wellington received advico that a labourer niuned : Michael Edmonds, 65 years of age, committed suicide by hanging himself at Stony Flat, near Maryborough, on Thursday. The deceased was a single man. No reason could be assigned for Edmonds's rash act. The estate of John D. Archbold. of the Standard Oil . Company, was finally appraised on October 27 at rather more than £8,000,000. From 'this there is to be deducted the New Jersey State transfer tax of £300,000, tho Federal inheritance tax of £600.000, and the administration charges of £50.000. leaving a net amount of £7.050.000. A strike was threatened at some offal works near Masterton on Wednesday (says the Wellington Post), when a report was circulated that Australian men were to be employed. The management of the works (which, by the way, states the Post's correspondent, are owned by a Melbourne firm) told tho Australians that there was ho room for them. Speaking to an Ashburton Guardian reporter on Friday about the enormous profits made by the Japanese, owing to the war. Mr T. Herlihy, a visitor from Japan, sard that he was personally acquainted with a young Japanese, who, prior to the_ war, was earning only. £6 a month as a shipping clerk, but who had made over £4,000.C1\3 out of ships. In tho volume of General Sir lan Hamilton's despatches from the Dardanelles, which has been published. General Hamilton says:—"A hideous mistake was made on tho correspondent side. Had wo had a dozen good newspaper correspondents here the v'tal, Hfewsfivroir interest of those stupendous proceedings would have been brought right into the hearts and homes of the humblest Britons."

Many schoolboys at Dannevirke and Napier who offered their services to help farmers during their Christmas and New Year vacation have not had their services availed of in the way expected, and many of the youths have been put to a pood deal of inconvenience in consequence (says tho

News). On the face of it, it would appeal either as if there is plenty of labour available; or elso the boys are not wanted. Candid confession of a delegate to the New Zealand Educational Institute Conference (remarks the Wellington Post): ".; consider," he said, "and I have considered for many a year, that we are a backboneless lot." "We are now," he said later, "turning out of our schools a vast number of unthinking units, and they are being led by leaders who are taking them to their downfall."

"There is room there for thousands of families," remarked! a Gisborno man who recently returned from his first visit to the East Coast, to a Gisborno reporter. He went on to say that he was favourably impressed with what he saw up there, but thought that it would be far better for the Natives wore their largo blocks of land cut up and leased to pakeha settlers. Under present conditions they were doing no good for themselves.

Rolls of honour exist practically everywhere within the British Empire, but South Africa intends to have a roll of dishonour at Johannesburg. The Johannesburg Recruiting Committee has resolved to draw up such a novel roll, on which will be inscribed the names of all eligible men in the oity .who have not enlisted. It ia alleged however, that a considerable number of men have arrived on the Rand from Home to escape conscription. A fine military record is being made by the family of Mr and Mrs J. H. Still, of Petone. Eight sons have enlisted voluntarily. The eldest (Private J. H. Still), aged 35. who WAS educated at Mount Cook and Newtown Schools, and left with tha Eighteenth Reinforcements in October, 1916, was killed in action on December 14 last. Five of his brothers are still fighting, ajid two more are going into camp early next month.

A payment of £6OOO -was mad© to the Red Cross Fund by the committee which organised and managed the commercial travellers' surprise packet effort on December 19 (states the New Zealand Herald). This does not represent the total benefit which the fund will receive as the result of Surprise Packet Day, as it is estimated that, when the ■ returns have been completed, a further £ISOO will be paid over, making a total of £7500.

Mr Clement Wragge writes; "The sun remains in a great state of upheaval, and the gigantic wireless wave lengths therefrom are permeating the entire solar system. Tha response on earth is indicated by the Guatemala earthquake, the eruption of Vesuvius, incoming Australian rairfs, the West Coast floods, and in other ways. Altogether it is a most interesting period from tha scientifio standpoint, and readers should still watch the cablegrams, and watch for tha aurora further south."

A Taranaki boy, writing to his mother,. says that the democratic composition of our arfny is shown by the fact that he had as "bivvy" sharer "a Congregational minister (but a private soldier) in his present quarters. We have," he added, "plenty of straw, a little apartment to ourselves, and with plenty of wood at our disposal keep a bivouac fire. We are quite comfortable and! have plenty of time at - our disposal to reflect on the events just passed. Soldiering in the winter here is going to be hard."