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Otago Witness, Issue 3382, 8 January 1919, Page 5

the case, he* was of opinion that health education ought to come first. A Press Association telegram from Wellington' states that there is reported to be every prospect of further action being taken by the Locomotive Engineers', Eiremen's and Cleaners' Association in regard to its prolonged agitation for a substantial increase in wages and improved conditions generally. The whole position is regarded by. the association as most unsatisfactory, and an "important urgent" meeting of the grand councillors will be held towards the end of February or as soon as a delegate for the Dunedin-Oamaru district can be •lee ted. The meeting will discuss the present position as occasioned by the Government's attitude concerning lodbmotive men's wages, and the advisability of givingeffect to the wishes of the branches as a further action. The notice calling the meeting reads: "As far as possible delegates should attend the meeting fully instructed by the branches as to what position they are to take up in regard to adopting more militant tactics."

On Wednesday, 25th ult., a single man named. Duncan M'Vicar, aged 59, was found dead at Trevorton,- Ashbu'rton, with a sack over his face. The body was removed to the morgue, where an inquest was held before Mr James Cow, district coroner. Dr C. E. Russel Rendle, who made a post mortem examination, said death was due to a combination of lung trouble, alcohol, and exposure. The principal witness, James F. Wilson, a neighbour of deceased, stated that bo supplied him with a bottle of whisky, for which he received 14e. Deceased and witness had one drink each, when deceased complained of pains in the chest, and lay flown outside, putting a sack over his face to keep off the sun. When witness returned home in the evening at 9 o'olock he found deceased, lying in the same place as when be left at 1 p.m. Witness said he did not know what became of the balance of the whisky, whioh Senior Sergeant Ryan said oould not bo found in the evening. A verdiot was returned in accordance with the medical testimony. Artillery fire has been perhaps -one of the most ocstly features of the present war. The War Office some time ago worked out the exact cost of each shell fired by British grins, and the figures are astounding. The ftring of a 9.2-inch howitzer shell has been equivalent to blowing into the air a sum of £2O 4s Id; the shells for 8-inch howitzers cost £l4 Is 3d; 4.5-inch howitzers, £3 15s Id; while every shell fired from the ordinary 18-pounder gun represented an expeditiure ©I £2 2s 7d. When it is remembered that a* many as 2000 pieces of heavy ordnance have,been firing as rapidly as possible over a small section of ground for long periods at a time, it will easily be understood why the war bill has reached such enormous proportions.

The vote on the Estimates for kinematoigraphs was referred to by the Hon. J. A. Hanan during his brief stay in Dunedin 9n Tuesday. He said he would like to do something to help the introduction of the tinema into some of our schools, and he had taken the initial vote with a view to giving a small subsidy where the kinematograph was installed by a school committee. It was pointed out to the Minister that the Mornington School Committee purposed installing a machine early in the year in place of the magio lantern secured last year, bat it was faced with the problem of getting suitable films for instructional purposes. The Minister said he appreciated the enterprise of the committee mentioned, and he had under consideration a scheme whereby a supply of educational films would be made available for use in schools where the kinematograph was installed.

A aeries of burglaries has occurred in (jhristchurch during ths past few weeks (says tho Press), indications pointing to the fact that a clever and daring cracksman is at work. Moat of the residences visited are situated in Fendalton and Merivale, and the theif has showed "a nice discrimination in the seleotion of his victims, visiting only those homes, whero he might be expected to secure a substantial hauL An far as can be gathered, however, hi 3 anticipations in this respect have been disappointed, the intruder failing to locate any .large sums of money and, with the caution of his kind, j preferring not to inour the risks attendant ! on the possession of stolen jewellery. At , one house he is reported to have" secured | 1 sum of about £l2, and a few medals and 0 safety razor are also reported to bo miss- j ing. At one place, visited during the past '■ few days, the lady of the house, whoso j husband is at present in the North Island, had a rather terrifying experience. She was Awakened some time after 4 a.m. by a Boise in her room and observed a man

handling the articles on her dressing table. At first she was under the impression that it was her husband, who had unexpectedly returned, but realising that this was impossible, she' asked the intruder what he was doing there. Ho replied: "Don't make a noise, or I'll shoot you," and, after glancing round, edged his way through the door and made off. An investigation showed that he had turned on the electric light in the dining room, where he had made a cursory examination' of the contents of the drawers,'but had removed nothing. Further investigations showed that an entry had been forced through the pantry window, while ..tracks across the lawn indicated that the ' visitor had made his way into the grounds surrounding the house by climbing the fence at the bottom of the garden. Our London correspondent mentions that on October 31 Cox's Orange Pippins were sold in Covent Garden Market at 4s each, and Doyennes pears at 4s 6d each. . On the same day- eggs were selling- at auction in the wholesale market at Braintree at over 8d each.

The official returns show the following arrests in Port Chalmers for drunkenness for the past three years.—l9l6, 126; 1917, 77; 1918, 46. The total police offences for 1918 show a decrease of 45 when compared with the previous year's offences. , Captain Frank Worsley, D. 5.0., a New Zealander, who was with Sir Ernest Shackleton in the Weddell Sea Expedition, has now joined Sir Ernest Shackleton again as a member of the North Russian Expeditionary Force. '.Captain Worsley has seen much service in hunting submarines, and prior to joining Sir Ernest was appointed to command the Pangloss, the mystery ship formerly commanded by Captain Campbell, V.C., R.N. After equipping and organising the Spitzbergen expedition Sir E. Shackleton was sent by the War Office to North Russia, where he holds an important position. There are associated with SHr Ernest Shackleton Captain Worsley, Captain Stenhouse, D.S.C., Courtney, Brocklehurst, Hussey, Macklin, and others who were members of the Antarctio Expedition. Captain Stenhouse, like Captain Worsley, has seen much service in submarine hunting, and ha 3 been mentioned in despatches and awarded the D.S.C. for his services.

During December 30 and 31 and January 1 5621 railway passengers were booked at the Dunedin station, as against 6087 on the corresponding days of last season. The number carried on New Year's Day was 1400 more than on the corresponding day of 1918, the principal bookings being: Middlemarch 50, Waitati 154, Purakanui 152, Taieri Mouth 138. **

Taieri Mouth is being favoured with the usual number of holiday-makers. All housing accommodation is full, and camps under canvas are plentiful. The weather has not been too pleasant, but on the whole an enjoyable time is being spent. There have been some good catches of floundei-3 and small fish, and boating has been very much in evidence since the opening of the holiday season. The mouth of the river affords an excellent spot for this enjoyable pastime. Though the weather was stormy, the usual fireworks display was held on New Year's Eve in front of Mr W. R. Brugh's house. The Bashful Boys' Band supplied musio, while well-known airs were sung in chorus by many campers. On New Year's Night a concert was held in the hall. An excellent programme "was provided, and was received with applause by a large audience. A danoe followed the concert. A feature oi the holiday ha 3 been the number of motor cars that have visited the district.

Vancouver's population was suffering very badly with influenza about November 24, when the steamer Opihi left there for Wellington. Officers of that vessel state that there were somewhere in the vicinity of 7000 serious cases at that time. The fatal cases had then totalled about 900. Business was at a standstill, and public utilities were little more than moving. All theatres, schools, churches, etc., were closed, and assemblies were being avoided. San Francisco was also a heavy loser through the influenza, the total deaths having been reported at between 2500 and 2500. ■ Conditions were inclining to normal early in November, and no* recrudescence wa3 expected, for most drastic measures were taken to cope with the malady.

Australia's population (exclusive of fullblooded aboriginals) has passed the 5,000,000 point. This achievement, delayed by the outbreak of war, the departure of troops, and the practical cessation of immigration, was, according to the Commonwealth Statistician, made in September last. Mr Knibbs recalls that in 1800 the populatioi of Australia (aboriginals not counted) was 521"?,

whilst a century later it reached 3,765,339. The Australian population attained its first

million in 1858 (70 yeara after settlement was effected); its second million in 1877; its third in 18S9; and its fourth in 1905. Thus, since the attainment of the first million in 1858 the average addition to the

Australian population has been one million every fifteen years. The decline of 8964 and 56,663 respectively in 1915 and 1916 was followed by an increase of 59,985 in population in 1917. For the first nine

months of this year the net increase has been upwards of 66,C00, and Mr Knibbs is of opinion that with the resumption of normal conditions for immigration and the repatriation of troop's from abroad Australia's population will reach 5,400,000 persons by the end of March, 1921, the next census.

The Minister of Health remarked on the 30th that he had been informed that some wealthy persons in country districts had refused to contribute to a guarantee fund for the maintenance of a doctor. The rich folk said that they had -motor cars, and would not, need a local doctor. This selfish attitude, continued the Minister, would not be able to hamper the less wealthy people in the future, for section 14 of the amended Public Health Act would enable a local body to levy a rate, if necessary, for the provision of medical services. Many applications had been received recently from country districts for doctors. These pioneers of settlement had a special claim for consideration. The new seotion would also help medical men who had been to the war to re-establish themselves in practice.

j So glowing have been the reports, of the 1 success of prohibition in Canada and ■ America that numbers of Australians have ! wondered what really was -.he amount of sly grog-selling and illicit liquor traffic which it produced in those countries. Most prohibition lecturers have been silent on the point, reports a Melbourne paper, but Mr S. Maugher, in the course of an address at the Temperance Hall recently, said that although prohibition was an unqualified success, there undoubtedly was an undue amount of illicit traffic indulged in. Beer was smuggled into Toronto in motor cars and in trusses of hay, and even under the I ladies' petticoats. He quoted an instance of a lady who entered the city in a car. When; searched she was found to have a string of bottles of champagne tied round her body. She was imprisoned, and, in addition, was fined £IOO. The possibilities of several new industries in Australia, and of development of existing industries, have recently formed the subject of consideration by the Commonwealth Board of Trade, which has presented its monthly report to the Federal Cabinet. In connection with the leaf tobacco industry it is interesting to note (says a Melbourne paper) that the board considers the information available showed that' tobacco-growing in Australia was/ in a very unsatisfactory condition, but that if better methods of cultivation and curing could be introduced and suitable assistance given, there was a 1 wide field for the expansion of the industry, as the soil and climate in various localities were favourable. At present only about one ; tenth of the leaf used in local tobacco works was of Australian origin. The assistance provided by the Bounties Act of 1907 and_ 1912, which expired in June, 1917, had failed to lead to the desired result, and inquiries are being made with a view to finding a solution of the difficulties. A proposal to establish the meat-bag knitting industry led to the receipt by the board of an application for an exemption from the war-profits .tax, and a temporary bounty of Is 6d per lb on the finished article, pending revision of the tariffl The board, after inquiry, decided that it could not recommend the payment of a bounty. In regard to the canvas, tarpaulin, and linen aeroplane fabric industry, the board decided that the local production of flax must be considerably developed before it could be established on a commercial basis, and further consideration of proposals was y deferred until January, when the present crop will have been dealt with, and it will be possible to form a better idea aa to the probable flax position in the near future Few people have ever thought of the Holy Land as a trading country, but there is good reason to believe that in years to come Palestinian products will be as familiar in the markets as the products of any other part of the world. For a good many years the imports and exports of Palestine have been steadily growing; the total trade increased from £360,000 in I§B6 to £2,000,000 in 1913. The geographical situation of Palestine —the highway between Asia Minor and Egypt and Arabia—has

been one factor in this result, and it will become a more potent factor still when the railway system has been further developed. The second factor in Palestine's progress is the character of the population. During the latter part of the nineteenth century Jewish settlers founded many colonies and engaged in agriculture with great vigour and success—draining marshes, stamping out malaria, and applying the best scientific ideas to the cultivation of the soil. The Jews obtain better cereal crops than the Arabs, and better orange and olive crops. The fact is, as the Economist points out, that the Jew spares neither labour, capital, nor thought in his agricultural ventures. Agriculture will continue to be the main source of the country's wealth, but there are great possibilities in wine, brandy, and raisin manufacture, jam-making, soap-mak-ing, the cigarette industry, and fishing. The dastardly act of running over a man, injuring him seriously, and leaving him lying helpless in the roadway was perpetrated by" a motor hog at Masterton on Christmas morning. A married man named Traill was proceeding to his home on the Upper Plain when he was run down by a motor car and seriously injured. It appears that Trail left a friend near the Congregational Church-to walk home. This was about 10 o'clock, and at 2.30 he was found by a passer-by lying on the road in Reynolds street. The police were informed and the unfortunate man was given medical attention. It was ascertained upon examination that one leg had been broken, a shoulder dislocated, and other injuries sustained. Mr Traill only remembers being struck violently by the car, and was left

' lying on the road until the passer-by found , him. In the course of his speech of welcome l at Auckland .to Lieutenant Bassett, V.C., who returned on Christmas Eve, the Hon. j A. M. Myers stated that New Zealand had won no fewer.than 15 Victoria. Crosses, ' of which four had been gained Jjy soldiers \ of the Auckland Military district, seven by Wellington, and two each by Canterbury j and Otago. The King had referred to the j fact that the greatest number of Victoria Crosses in proportion to the • number of troops had been gained by Australia and New Zealand. Their hero guest was one of the men who had distinguished themselves among the heroes who had taken part in that campaign. Lieutenant Bassett had won that which was priceless. The president of the Auckland Grammar School j Old Boys' Association, in presenting Lieutenant Bassett with a handsome illuminated address on behalf of the old boys of the school, referred to the fact that 1500 old boys of the Grammar School had taken part in the war, and of this total many i had fought at Galiipoli. ! For some time (says a Press Association telegram from Wellington) the New Zealand Fruitgrowers' Association has been ' recommending that an expert should be sent to America to observe the methods of packing and marketing fruit, and to obtain any information helpful to the industry J. generally. The Minister of Agriculture said j last week that a well qualified officer of the Horticulture Division would visit America for that purpose. It was expected that this investigation would prove very ; beneficial to the fruit industry. "There is no possible hope of the Minister giving the publio back their suburban services with.the present staff of locomotive men" (says the Locomotive Engineers' | Journal), "and there is no prospect of getting any more to an appreciable extent under present conditions. . Never in the history of the railways was the locomotive department in such a deplorable state as it is at present, especially in the North Island, where the men are almost out of control. The whole blame for the breakdown will rest with the Minister of Railways." • v The' Countess Markiewicz, who has been elected a member of the British Parliament, is a remarkable woman, and took a prominent part in the Dublin- rebellion in kEaster, 1916 (says an exchange). She comVnanded the insurgents in the Royal College \i Surgeons. She was sentenced to death by court-martial, the sentence was afterwards commuted to penal servitude for life, but in June, 1917, she was released from Aylesbury Prison, and a few days later, - when she arrived in Dublin, she was mot by a large crowd, which accompanied her as she drove through the principal streets. She is a daughter of Sir Henry GoreBooth, Bart., a large landowner of Sligo. After being presented at Court to Queen Victoria in the Jubilee year she became an art student in Paris, and achieved a certain amount of success, Sixteen years &go she married Count Casimir Markiewicz, a Polish artist, who at Easter, 1915, was fighting

with tho Russian army. In addition to her i activities as a Sinn Feiner she took a leading part in suffragist demonstrations. She established the National Boy Scouts in 1910, and this body gave many young lads to the ranks of the rebels. She was prominently associated with James Larkin in his activities, which paralysed the trade of Dublin in 1913 and led to grave riots in the city. Tho National Council of the New Zea£ land Federation of Labour (according to a Press Association message from Christ-. i church) has instructed Mr Hunter (national secretary) to call a conference of representatives of all national organisations affiliated to the federation. These include the Miners, Drivers, Watersiders, Freezing Works Employees, and Boot Operatives Federations, and tho Railway Servant** Society. The conference will meet in Wellington at the end of January or the beginning of February. The object announced is "to decide on a common policy." An interesting account of the sinking hi the mammoth liner Justicia in July last, after an exciting fight, lasting 24 hours, with enemy submarines, is given by Mr H. T. .Hone, who was an officer on the Justicia at the time, and who is now purser of the White Star liner Runio, which is lying at Auckland; ' The Justicia, a new steamer of 32,000 tons, was attacked about 60 miles from the English coast, while on her eighth voyage to New York. The first torpedo hit the ship amidships about 3.30 p.m., destroying the machinery and bringing the vessel to a stop. There .were at least 12 submarines in the vicinity, and the British destroyers were kept busy locating the position of the enemy by tracing the tracks of torpedoes. The gunners on the Justicia did good work in hitting and exploding several torpedoes speeding towards the steamer. At least four submarines were destroyed by depth charges dropped by the destroyers, and. 50 German survivors were picked up. Four powerful tugs arrived on the scene about 5 p.m., and took the Justicia in tow, travelling- at about four knots. The submarines persistently attempted to sink the steamer, but, though the darkness hampered the destroyers in their operation?, the efforts of the enemy failed. One torpedo just missed the Justicia's stern, and another went right under the keel. Owing to the danger of further torpedoes striking home, all hands, numbering 600, were called on deck, and at 9 p.m. the trawlers, took off. many of the men. The weather Was comparatively fine, but there was a heavy At 10 a.m. the following day, when the Justicia had been towed over 20 miles, two torpedoes struck her bow. These hits completed the destruction of the vessel, for she commenced to settle down, and the tugs had to cast off the moorings. All hands remaining on the liner were removed, and the Justicia sank in deep water nearly a day after being first torpedoed. A trial was given at Temple ton a few days ago, before a representative of the Public Works Department, of a Sampson sieve grip tractor, 10.25 horse-power, in order to shovv its efficacy in connection with water-race and road construction The tractor was first attached to a light road plough, but the latter proved to "be of insufficient strength. It was then attached to a road grader, and a V shaped ditch was cut out of hard, solid ground, the grader pulling up to at least the power of about eight heavy draught horses. The trial was considered quite successful, and i« was considered that the tractor would prove efficacious in almost every branch of work where several horses are required. The first election, of a member of the Federal House of Representatives in Australia under the system of preferential voting, brought into operation by very recent legislation, was that for the district of Coringamite. The first count of the voting showed the following result:—J.Scullin (Caucus Labour), 10,693 votes; W. G. Gibson (Farmers' Union), 6604; Lieu-tenant-colonel G. H. Knox (Nationalist), 5737; F. R, Coldham (Independent Nationalist), '1174; Captain T. D. Leaper (Soldiers' Political Party), 892. The second preferences having been distributed according to the voters' directions, the final result was ascertained to be:—W. G. Gibson (Farmers' Union), 14,096 j J. Scullin (Caucus Labour), 10,944. The convoy to which the transport taking the Forty-first Reinforcements to England was attached was attacked three times by submarines when a day's steam from its Tho first warning came about 10.250 a.m., when the signal indicating that a submarino had been sighted was hoisted. Destroyers came into action immediately and gunfire and depth charges prevented tile enemy doing any damage. One torpedo*

boat destroyer steamed at right angles across the wake of the convoy, and emitted great volume* of dense black smoke, which, settling, on the water, formed an effective Boreen. Another attack was made soon after midday, and this time a destroyer signalled that she had sunk a submarine—a fact which created the greatest enthusiasm. Later in the afternoon a third attack was beaten off successfully.

The manager cf a large business house in Wellington told a reporter that he found the position decidedly perplexing. " I have the best staff now that I ever had," he said. "I am using girls in places that were always filled by men before the war, and I- say frankly that I am satisfied the change was for the good. The girls are just as intelligent as the men, they learn just as quickly, and they are more reliable and conscientious. There are exceptions on both sides, of course, and I ought to say that we pay good wages and get the best class of girl. We don't employ flighty ' flappTs.' My trouble now is to find places for the r eturr.ing men without doing damage ta i.'sy staff .raid injustice to the girls, some »if whom have been with us now for over three years. Tfa* are going to play the g<m& by the r/um. livery man who went to the. front from this 2i-.-.e can come back at las old salary if ne van la to. But these arw g*(~g to be moie girls employed in thh office than thei.o vex© before the WAS'."

An mfftuußo* oi how the men of the navy lis* to to* occasion when danger threatens Is to'.rf by Mr D. C. second officer of the Runio, who was fourth officer on the hospital ahip Britannic when she was torpedoed in the Maditerraoean on November 2X, 1916, (state* the Auckland Herald). When the vessel waa torpedoed at 8 a.m. an S.O.S. signal was sent out. This was picked up by a destroyer at Mudross, 50 miles av.-ay. The destroyer immediately left for th« scene of the disaster with every man it was possible to put in her stokehold shovelling coal into her furnaces. Her boilers wora almost bursting with the steam they were forced to carry, and when she reached the spot where the Britannic had sank at 9 a.m. she was covered witn ashes emitted out of her funnel by the forced draught. She had covered the distance in an hour, and when her engineers y-ere spoken to regarding her smart performance, they simply remarked, " She was wanted, and she had to do it." It was a greater speed than she had ever done before, or is likely to do again. For having displayed a red flag at Yarrabank meetings on . recent Sundays, two women, supporters of the Socialist psrty, Jennie Baines, of Brunswick street, North Fitzroy, and Jane Aarons, of Kerferd street, Hampton, were each fined £2 in the Melbourne City Court, with £3 5s 6d costs. The case against Jessie Baines was that she addressed about 200 people from the Socialist platform at Yarra-bank. Sine asked her hearers to givo "three cheers fo/r the red flag and the coming revolution." Oheerr were given, and defendant, who continued to wave a red flag, then took up a collection to purchase new flags in place of the flags which had been confiscated by , the police. She also invited large num-

bers of people to attend a subsequent Sunday gathering, all provided with red flags, so that the police could' not arrest all who I flaunted the Socialist emblem. For the f device, the woman said she would not c' the regulations forbidding the display oi -Je red flag " whatever the consequences might . be." Mr E. N. M-eore, P.M., ordered defendant to enter into a recognisance of £25, within seven days, that she would not offend again, in default 14 days' imprisonment. In the case of Jane Aarons, who exhibited a red flag at a meeting, the P.M. ordered her to enter into a bond of £lO, and abstain from offending again. The Acting Prime Minister on Sunday informed our Wellington correspondent that he saw no prospect of the Makura or any other of the delayed ships-coming over from Sydney immediately. He had telegraphed some time ago to the New Zealand agent in Sydney to see that none of our people stranded there were in want. He had reoeived advice from the agent that 150 of the exiles would be returning to New Zealand by the Durham and the Port Lyttelton. There is (our Waitahuna correspondent writes) considerable stir amongst the farmers regarding the Rabbit Nuisance Act passed recently and much comment anent the power given to the rabbit inspector. It is contended that" such power will tend oidy to stir up trouble unless great skill and discretion are • exercised- by the inspectors. The fact that rabbits are more numerous this summer than for many years past makes the coming of the " new power" more objectionable to the farmer. Despite the high price paid for skins during the past winter and the prices still offering it is almost impossible to procure labour to destroy the pest, and farmers are forced to watch the destruction of their spring owing while they are making provision for winter feed. The position is difficult, and there is nobody more anxious than the farmer to find a remedy for his troubles. Noxious weeds, rabbits, and farm labour are subjects that make the farmer wrathful, and good p~ices for his products do not, in his opinion, compensate him for the worries which ho is enduring. Growth of all kinds is very backward, and although grass is plentiful on the low levels the position is unsatisfactory on the higher country.

A JUunedin oitizen who spent tho holiday season in tho vicinity of the Benmore settlement for returned soldiers states that some of the men are having a pretty hard time in making ends meet, and have to take on small contracting work, eta, to enable them to obtain a little extra revenue. The visitor from Dunedin says that, from what he could gather from local farmers* the settlement was badly laid out in the first place, and that the allotments were not big enough, speaking generally, to enable the soldierfarmers to have a fair chance of making a comfortable living. "While the soldiers have been given flat land in their allotments they have not had sufficient hill country included, and the result is that when snow falls it lies on the flat land and the sheep have a bad time. If some aidlings had been marked off with the flat country the eheep would have had a better chance by making their Way to any gunny faces. Ihe shearing is very backward, and the position is rendered

more acute by the fact that the farmers in that locality prefer blade-shearing to machine cutting, as experience has shown that the machine takes the clip off too close, and that many sheep then die if a cold snap follows. The most vivid impression, perhaps, that -the visitor brought away with him relates to the duplication of a road near Kurow. The existing road has a fine i surface, but, the visitor agrees, it is not straight in places, although the corners are not so very bad after all. The local authority, however, is now constructing a straight road running adjacent to the present highway —a foolish and unwarranted expenditure of publio money. At least that is the impression (riven to the visitor from Dunedin. A Wellington Press Association message states that the shipping companies have been advised that sailing restrictions have been removed, as the coast is now practically clear of mines. Steamers are reverting to the old running. A conference between the employers of drivers and the Drivers' Federation {telegraphs our Wellington correspondent) has been arranged. It will meet on January 23. The purpose of the conference is to consider proposals for a now agreement. < Our Oamaru correspondent writes: —The mortality occasioned in North Otago by the influenza epidemio is fairly well indicated by the increased number' of deaths registered during the past year compared with the preceding year. The Oamaru registration district covers the greater part of the county as well as the borough of Oamaru, and the total number of deaths registered was 206, as compared with 137. Of the increase of 69 nearly the whole were due to influenza or its subsequent complications. At the Caledonian Sooiety's piping and dancing championships for New Zealand at Hokitika on New Year's Day Mr George Munro, of Roslyn, won the New Zealand piping championship. This is the second occasion on which Mr Munro has won this championship, having been successful at Dunedin in 1911. Tho adult championship for Highland dancing was awarded to Mr Hugh M'Donald, late of Dunedin, but now of Fairlie.

According to Charles R. Eastman, writing in the Museum Journal, our modern dogs have a varied ancestry, some being descended from Asiatic and some from African species. The spitz in all its varieties is a domesticated jackal. The mastiff and St. Bernard and their kind are descended through the molossums of the Romans from a huge, wolflike creature that was already domesticated by the AssyroBabylonians 3000 years before our era. The Russian borzoi and the Sicilian hound had their origin in the Cretan hound, which is still common in Crete, and it and its cousin, tho Ibaza hound of the Balearic Islands, came from tho anoient Ethiopian hound, which was a domestioated wolf. The collie or shepherd dog seems to come down direct from a small wild dog of the paleolithic period. According to the British Seafarer of November, 1918 (the official organ of the British Seamen's Union), Mr Havelook Wilson had a rough experience at Glasgow. Mr Wilson and the Merchant Seamen's League had

organised a meeting at St. Andrew's Hall, Glasgow. The chair was occupied by Sir Thomas Dunlop, ex-Lord Provost of Glasgow, who, the Seafarer states, "is a shipowner owning vessels which have always been manned by Chinese seamen. When the meeting opened it was quite obvious that at least two-thirds of the meeting had no sympathy with Wilson and his friends. . . . Two hundred ' chuckers-out' imported from all parts at high prices were there for'the purpose of dealing with interruptions, but apparently they got more than they wantedA large majority of the audience were discharged soldiers and sailors, who had come to protest against Wilson having made a statement, that the discharged men were supporting his boycott scheme. They compelled Wilson to admit that he had been indulging in lies and generally made him feel pretty small.' After the meeting three or four thousand of the crowd marched to the Liberal Club, where Wilson was putting up, and gave him to understand that unless he left the town within 48 hours there would be trouble. He is not likely, to come back to Glasgow in a hurry." Despite his unfavourable reception in Glasgow, Mr Wilson was a successful candidate for parliamentary honours in England at a by-election last year, and subsequently at the general election.

Goat-keeping for milking purposes deserves far more attention in New Zealand than it is at present receiving (states the Journal of Agriculture). We have only to loqk round and see the large number of unoccupied or partly-occupied sections, and patches of rough, hilly ground growing nothing but scrub and weeds adjacent to many workers' homes, to-reoogniso that there is a splendid opening for people with limited capital to bring these into profitable use with much benefit to themselves and good results to the land. Thousands of acres at present lying idle in small patches all over the country could be leased at a mere nominal rent, or even secured rent-free in return for keeping down the weeds. Again, many home sections in our outer suburban, districts are large enough to run a milkinggoat; tethering can be largely practised in such situations. Goats as a means .of supplying the home with .a pure, wholesome milk up to three or-'four quarts a day, according to the breed, have, indeed, been woefully neglected in- New Zealand, the journal holcls, "especially when we see what beneficial advances have been made in that respect all over the world. This apathy is probably largely due to the fact that animals of good milking-strain 3 have not been imported."

Stanley Clout, eon of Mr William Clout, of Windsor, New South Wales, and three other lads (B. P. Snowden, Frank Mayne, and Mark Jones) were rabbiting at Bullridge, nine miles from town, recently, when Clout had an exciting adventure with snakes. He was going through some thick bracken and stepped on three large black snakes evidently coiled up together. Two of the reptiles attacked him, while the third glided away. One snake bit the boy on the front of the leg near the ankle, while he received a bite on the back of the same foot from the other snake. Clout's companions acted promptly. A ligature was tied above the bite 3, boot laces being used, and Mayne sucked the wounds. Clout was then put on a horse and hurried in to Windsor Hospital, where he was treated by one of the medical officers. He was in a precarious condition for some time, but has now quite recovered. The presence of mind and prompt first aid by his companions no doubt saved Clout's life. One of the snakes was shot, but the other two escaped.

Although the housewife who expected an immediate fall in food prices and increased quantities is disappointed, there is ample evidence that the price of certain luxury articles are falling (says a London paper of November 14). Futs, hats, and the more decorative articles of apparel are being marked down. A pink hat from Paris displayed in Regent street, has depreciated from 15 guineas to 8£ guineas in four days. Second-hand furniture shops, where a week or two ago a kitchen table was worth when now £2 would fetch £3 10s, have had to climb down. Dealers in second-hand books are more ready to bargain. On all sides the possibility of new stocks of goods being available shortly has a tendency to make the customers wary, Ttnd incline tradespeople to attract purchasers by reductions. This does not, however, apply to men's clothes, boots, or food. Prior to the election of Alderman English as Lord Mayor of Sydney the City Council fixed the Lord Mayor's allowance for 1919 at £IOOO. This recommendation came from the Labour Party. Alderman Hagon moved that the amount be £2OOO, saying that a small city like Adelaide allowed £ISOO.

Alderman Meagher supported the £2OOO proposition, saying that during his. two terms of office at £ISOO a year his books showed a loss of £ISOO a year. He did not believein greasing the fat pig, but a city like Sydney, with a revenue of £1,000,000 a year, should be able to make a proper allowance to its Lord Mayor. He did not want to make the £2OOO a year a precedent, but the year 1919 would tax the resources of the Lord Mayor. Alderman O'Connor said that £IOOO a year would be sufficient. The other £IOOO could be spent in necessary work instead of in guzzling. He contended that the Lord Mayor should not be asked to give elaborate functions. They wanted plain living. Eventually the allowance was fixed at £IOOO.