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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9753, 26 May 1903, Page 2

The Borough Council meet this evening. The monthly sitting of the Old Age Pensions Court will be held on Friday. Mails which left Melbourne, via Brindisi, on April 22nd, arrived in London on May 23rd. Messrs Kennedy and Evans arc now landing 300 tons of coal from the Balmain, which will be sold cheap from the ship's side. In the shield bowling matches yesterday afternoon the unfinished match between Witty's and Simson's teams ended in a win for the latter by 20 to 18. Whataupoko, West End and City play off for the championship. In connection with a collision on the road at Makaraka between a vehicle and horsemen on a recent Saturday evening, informations for furious riding have been laid. The cases will be heard to-morrow at the Police Court. . Harvest festival services will be held next Sunday at Holy Trinity Church. r The vicar wijl be pleased to receive gifts ■ of fruit, flowers, t>r evergreens !" at* any time before Saturday afternoon at the vicarage. The Patutahi Road Board announce thiit tho Mangatoetoe road is closed to all traffic during the erection of a bridge. Mr" McMillan will allow horse traffic through his land whilst the road is closed. On Thursday Messrs Williams and Kettle and the Loan and Mercantile Company hold their monthly sale of stock at Matawhero. Present entries include over 3000 sheep and 150 head of cattle. A feature of this sale will be an exhibition of the Moffatt-Virtue sheep-shearing machine. Seven cases are set down for hearing at the Magistrate's Court to-morroAv. One case is an information under the Secondhand Dealers Act against a local dealer. There are three charges of false pretences against one defendant. An application under the Fencing Act to determine the cause of a boundary fence will also be heard. A correspondent writes: — "Can you state what will be the cost to the borough ratepayers of repairing and metalling the road from the Turanganui bridge to the freezing works? The County Council and Whatiiupoko Road Board have practically backed out of giving assistance, and it looks as if the borough will have to stand the whole of the expense." At the opening of the Queen Victoria School for Maori Girls at Parnell on Friday, the Governor said : ''What I can say is that we in New Zealand may be very proud of our Native race. It is the finest Native race almost in tlie British Empire, and I am very proud of being Governor in this colony over such a race." One or two convictions would probably bring home to horsemen and drivers the. fact that there is a by-law requiring them not to cross bridges at other than a walking pace. Several complaints have been made lately of the way in which horsemen canter over the Toruheru bridge, whilst some vehicles do not slackejj their speed sufficiently.

One £50 note, one £20 note, one £10, and five £5 notes were amongst the donations tn the recent Sydney Hospital Saturday fund. A branch office of Hie Labor Bureau has been opened in Palmcrelon, Mr H. Knowles, Inspector of Factories, being in charge. An envelope containing one shilling in hiilf-pi'iiuy postage-stumps has been sent to the Lyltflrnn Times ollicc with a slip of paper, bearing the words ? "Returned for conscience sake." A Nelson paper of recent date published the following quaint disclaimer: — "To flic editor. Sii\ — The Brigade wishes you to state that no water was thrown on the public purposely at the late fire, nor is the Brigade accustomed to do so, their efforts being directed to put out fire, not to wet the public. — I am, etc., Secretary NW.F.B." '' Tradespeople and others in Dunedin are warned to beware of spurious florins which are in circulation. We (Otiigo Daily Times) were yesterday shown one of these, taken with other coins as change, the imitation being perfect so far as-ap-pearances go, but the spurious nature of the coin is easily detected when thrown down on any hard substance. The- two penguins presented to the Canterbury Museum by tho Antarctic Relief Expedition, and brought up from the Antarctic regions by the Morning, have been placed in position in the bird gallery with the collection of penguins, to which they are a valuable addition. One is an Emperor and the other a Victoria Land pentfuin. The former is an exceptionally fine specimen. The Rev. W. H. Hodge, whilst speaking at the Elleminyt Methodist Church durine; the strike, said there was a man in Melbourne at the present time engaged in stirring up the people against all authority. He referred to Tom Mann, a paid agitator, a man who had been convicted in England of selling stale beer. He trusted that when Tom Mann came to Colac he' would get the reception from the people which he richly deserved. Tho value- of butter, cheese, frozen meat, wheat, oats, barley, malt, preserved meal, oatmeal, potatoes, flax, grass seed, rabbitskius, and wool exported from the colony durincr the year ended 31st M« reh last was £10,151.669. Thero was n remarkable fiilling-off in whent, only 156,096 bushels, valued at £28,760. boiii)/ exported, as compared with 1,964,---923 bushels, value £234,775, for the previous year. Speaking at the complimentary social to Mr H. G. Ell, M.H.R., on Wednesday. Mr Russell, referring to an article published in the Lyttelton Times snmo time ago on "Overworked Ministers." said he thought something could be done to do away with so many deputations waiting on Ministers when they visited tire city, and ■supgested that 'members should form a kind of council to inquire into matters proposed to be brought before Ministers, and assist with their advice. In regard to overwork, lip thought a law should be passed against midnight legislation. The Premier jsnid to meet Mahuta's wishes he intended, with his Excellency's concurrence, to announce Ihe appointment to the Executive Council in the Gazette n« "Miihutn. Tiiwhiao Poliituu Tq Wh«-ro-whero, ,i?kl known, as King Malmla, son of Tawhiao, and grandson of Potatau, formerly known as Maori kings." His Excellency: Certainly. The Premier said Mnhutn',s people desired this, Msihuta desired it himself, and it was only just that lie should be fully announced, so that people might know of his parentage and lineage. A New Zoalander in Cape Colony, writing to a friend in Christchurch, gives a warning | 0 professional men and others who intend to leave this colony for South Africa. He says that the Government over there has made a rule providing that professional men, engineers and others must have English certificates before they can practise, as they are not allowed to do so on New Zealand certificates alone. He mentions that a dentist who served his npm-enticesliip in Christchurch was fined for practising without an English certificate. At the last meeting of the Auckland City Council a letter was read from Mr Wm. Richardson, asking for a return of the £10 he forfeited by failing to p ( >11 Hie requisite number of votes in his candidature for the Mayoralty at the recent ejection. He made the apnlication on the grounds tha.t had he polled 31 more votes hrs deposit would not have been forfeited, and that owing to the arrangements for taking Hie poll being inadequate, hundreds of people went away without voting. The request was declined. The Pretoria correspondent of theOtago Daily Times sends an interesting paragraph wilh reference to Spionkop. He states that Mr C. Tennent (son of the manager or the Bank of New South iimnrn), who whs n member of the Fourth and Eighth Contingents, some months ago established himself in an ac-commodation-house on Spionkop. distant i\t from Lad y s mith. When Miami Mrs Chamberlain were visiting tho Nata battlefields the New Zealander had the distinction of showing them over the historic lull on which so much sanguinary fighting took place. Messrs George Wilcox and Co. wire to the Sydney Morning Herald:—"Australian hides at the present time in English and foreign markets are in very poor favor simply due to the manner of branding. To such an extent has this affected values that a Canadian leather manufacturer has computed the annual loss to Australian producers 'at £100,000. This is serious, and . downright wasteful. And the question is no longer one that can be viewed with passive silence, affecting, as it does so vitally, one of our best and staple exports, but 'deserves very careful consideration by our legislators in order to bring about a compulsory system of branding that would best promote the welfare of so valuable an industry." By the. steamer Indradevi there arrived from London a trio of Silky fowls to the order of Mr W. R. Blythe, Napier. Silkies are probably the quaintest and most unique of all varieties of domestic poultry. They a.re white in color and are distinguished from all other breeds of fowls by having webless feathers, which closely resemble long silky hnir7 hence the distinctive name. The color of the skin is a dark purple, which gives a most peculiar appearance to the birds, a small crest and a slight covering of hairy feathers on the legs imparting an additionally striking effect. The birds were landed in excellent condition, showing that they had been well enrod for on tho voyage out, and they should be u valuable addition to the lists of our fancy poultry. Lord Curzon, speaking on the Indian Budget, drew a rather painful picture (remarks tho Spectator) of the change in the foreign relations of the Indian Empire. Ihe "secluded land" is losing its seclusion. Great Britain, Russia, France, Germany and Turkey, said the Viceroy, were becoming great Asiatic Powers. India was being pushed into the forefront of international politics, and it became necessary that her forces should be kept in a high state of efficiency and her defences made secure. That is a noteworthy statement, the more so because itwas on this very change, which he clearly foresaw, that Lord Palmerston based his otherwise unreasonable opposition to the Suez Canal. The "improvement of communication" does not always, or necessarily, tend to peace. The report of the West Australia Civil Service Commission on the Lands Department recommends that thirteen offices be abolished, affecting a saving of £2262 per annum^but against this there are increases, leaving a net saving of £1385 a year. A lack of organisation and promptitude is complained of, and it i.s recommended that the Under-Secretary be the secretary to the Minister only/ and that the whole administration be under the Surveyor-General. Two. members, of the commission are obliged to return to their duties in the Eastern States in June, and it has been found impossible to complete the examination and classification of the remaining departments in the time available. An extension of the period for «vhich the services of the commissioners from Victoria, and South Australia were granted will be asked for. The champion trial dog of Australia, Bonnie, the property of Messrs King and M'Leod, of New South Wales, lias been sent over to Mr H. T. Little, of Hawarden, and will meet the best dogs of New Zealand at the Christchurch Sheep Dog Trial Club's meeting at Cashmere on Thursday and -Friday. Bonnie will be entered in the heading, bringing back, holding and yarding class on the first day, and in the yarding competition on the second day, so that visitors to the trials will have a good opportunity of seeing him at work. Bonnie is of the breed known as Kelpies, and Mr Little says that for smartness, alertness and speed he will be a revelation to our owners of sheep dogs. He is doing good work in Mr Little's hands, and the meeting with the best New Zealand dogs will be an interesting one. According to the statistics prepared by Mr T. W. Roive, M.A., chief librarian no the Wellington Public Library, Guy Boothby is the most popular novelist with the Wellington public. His works have been mpst in demand by those readers who have gone to the library during the past year, whilst L. . T. Meade has risen from fourth place last year to second place. Mrs Heuiy Wood has fallen from third to seventh, and J. Hocking from second to third. Rosa Carey takes fourth place instead of fifth, and Crockett is fifth "instead of seventh. Sir A. C. Doyle has ugaiu come into favor, and obtains sixth place, while Marie Correlli drops from seventh to eighth. It is probable that the acquisition of a considerable number of copies of the works of all the authors found most popular, says Mr Rowe, would lead to a somewhat different order of popularity from the one now given.

There were 130 applications for Mount Patriarch, a small grazing run of 16,020 acres, in tho Marl borough district, including several from other provinces. Th« successful applicant was Air H. Tiipp, son of a well-know Blenheim settler. We are advised (says the Manawatu Standard) that W. Dimock and Co., tlie well-known bacon carers, have decided to raise the price of pigs to 5d per Ib, pay freight on all live pigs, and make a uniform freight of Is per pig on all dead pigs. At this price (5d per lb) it should pay farmers well to fatten. The Wairarapa Age says: — The iisli ponds are a considerable asset to Masterton, besides being an attraction for a largo number of visitors from afar. The amount expended on the up-keep of the hatchery and on the collection and distributiozi of ova during the past 12 months ; amounted to £963 4s 6d. j It is stated that at the Edinburgh University this year George Adams, a ', Patea boy (son of Mr William Adams) won the medal in practical anatomy, by heading the list of successful students, and obtaining the first-class honors certificate. In zoology, he came fourth and won second-class honors. Mr Ayson, Inspector of Fisheries, who Tias had large experience in acclimatisation matters, is furnishing the Government with a report on the result of enquiries made as to the most suitable animals to introduce into the colony for game and other purposes. Tho German Admiralty, after steadily refusing to experiment with submarine boats, has at last decided to build some turbine torpedo-bouts. The Sehicliau works at Elbing have received the first order. The turbines will have to be supplied by an English firm, as Sehicliau lias no experience in their construction. This new venture of the Admiralty is causing some comment, since England has had such bad experience with turbine boats, having only recently lost two of them on the high seas. When the late Mr W. S. Caine, M.P., was a candidate for Barrow-iii-Furness, he told the following story, which he said he had from Mr Barnum: — On© winter morning two of his elephants began shaking with chills, so he sent his keeper for three gallons of whisky. One and a-lu:lf gallons were given to each elephant. It cured them. Next morning, when the keepers went to tliein, he found both elephants shaking with, might and main. "No, you don't," he shouted, "you are well enough to-day," and they slopped shaking. Quite a number of robberies of a more of less serious nature, from the impudent theft of a pair of gig-lamps while a vehicle was left standing for a few moments outside a house to most audacious burglaries from dwellings, have occurred of late in or about the city of Ohristchurch and suburbs, the southeastern district having apparently suffered most. So far the police have been quite unable to trace the offenders in several cases, and people in the districts referred to are complaining of the inadequacy of the police protection afforded them. An undoubted authority on dairying matters expressed Hie opinion to a N.Z. Times reporter that the dairy farmers . of this colony could, with groat profit to themselves, considt-r the advlsableness of housing their cattle, in winter. If this were done the result would be that a regular output of the butter and cheese would be ensured, whereas under present conditions there is an excess of dairy products in the summer and an insufficiency in the winter. Tho present practice of dairy farmers results in a fluctuating market and consequent loss to producers, whereas a steady and profitable price could be obtained the whole year through if tho suggested alteration of methods %vas achieved. The New York firm which furnished the marble and bronze court and electric fountain for Mr George Gould's Lakewood residence has been, asked by the King of Siam for an estimate of the cost of its reproduction five times enlarged for the central courtyard of his Majesty's palace. The cost will probably exceed £40,000, but the figures have not yet been completed. Mr Gould's fountain consists of a white marble basin 60ft in diameter, with a colossal cast bronze nautilus shell as a centre piece, the shell forming a chariot. In the chariot stands a driver, also of bronze, driving a pair of white mai-ble sea-horses. Marble sprites and seanymphs play about the chariot and horses. Electrical effects are produced by a concealed apparatus. A critical observer of the Dellfi Durbar, giving an account o'f his impressions in Blackwood's Magazine, says: — "An incident much more regrettable, and one which it must, we fear, be confessed was equally characteristic of the British of all classes, was the hmd and derisive laughter which greeted the appearance at the Durbar of one of the . noblest of India's princes, and which was due solelv to his being ai'rayed in Hie national state dress of his race. Such an exhibition of blatant vulgarity and rudeness made one blush for. one's countrymen and for the criticism which must inevitablv have filled the minds of the foreigners present. It need hardly be remarked that this was a performance in which the natives of India did not join." We should have thought that the British who were present on the great occasion would have known better. The harm which may be done by tho worse than senseless and silly conduct of the kind noticed is beyond computation. One of the most notable disputes between^the Auditor-General and the Treasury (says the Manawatu Standard) was in reference to the refusal of the Stamp Department to comply with the requirements of the Audit in regard to checking the sale of stamps in the Department, and the Government and the House upheld the action of the Under-Secretary in flouting the Audit Department in appointing an officer himself to carry out the work, despite the regulations. Now we say that an officer of the Stamp Department has quietly left, after committing frauds on the State to the extent of £182— at least, tha.l, is the amount known so far. We wonder when the Government will learn that it i.s in the interests of honest government that the Audit control should be as stringent as possible, aud that the best safeguard a Ministry can possess in regard to protecting the public funds is to have a live and fearless Audit Department, s ready and willing to check extravagance and fraud, and ablo to hold its own against miv branch of the service. In regard to the alarming mortality among horses in some parts of the Molong district, N.s.w., as many as 20 having died within a few days in one locality, an examination of the intestines gives color to the conjecture that the long-continued course of hard-feed-ing is responsible for the mortality. In some of the horses' stomachs big balls of bark were found in a congested state. There is* according to the Tatler, only one man in existence who can claim to have struck King Edward. This particular distinction can be claimed by the veteran Lord Wemyss, who once in the House of Lords inflicted a blow of some violence upon the head of his Majesty who was then Prince of Wales. It was during a debate in the Upper House when Lord Wemyss was speaking with some considerable animation and energy, and whilst emphasising a particular point raised his clenched fist and brought it down with a thump upon the shiny silk hat of the King, who was sitting just in front. Apologies of course followed, "but his Majesty prudenty removed himself out of range of Lord Wemyss' energetic fists. 'The liberality of the land laws of New Zealand is generally recognised (says the A.Z. Times), but some recent happenings have drawn pointed attention to the necessity of varying them in some minor, yet important, points. There have lately been several cases where settlers from over-sea countries desirous of settling on the land have been repeatedly unsuccessful ait the ballot box, with the result that they had at hast to leave New Zeaand to prevent their means from dwindling away. It has been said that the residents of this colony should be given at least equal facilities to those accorded to strangers, and at first blush this seems Itobe an unanswerable argument— but the fact remains that a resident of New Zealand can afford to wait- his chance when he is of necessity domiciled here, and is, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred earning his living in another way pending his acquirement of the land he seeks. iS the case of an over-sea immigrant, however, there is no such method of' tarrving without loss; and, seeing that the colony is in undoubted need of settlers possessing money, it is thought that it would be well if Parliament in its wisdom could devise some means to meet the extraordinary case of such individuals. The career of Mr Gustavus Swift, the wealthy Chicago meat packer, whose death has been announced, was. a typical - millionaire romance (writes the London correspondent of the Melbourne Age). When he first commenced business as a butcher he was the owner of a little shop in a Massachusetts town ; when he died he was the head of a, firm which has a capital of £5,000,000, and does an annual business of £37,00(^000. H«. was <*« of the first to use the refrigerating system, for exports, and by a shrewd bargain he obtained, and for long greatly benefited by, special railway rates, which none of his rivals in the same trade was able to secure. His success succeeded even that of the Armours, and on this account he resisted as long as he could the proposal ifor a combination of the packers. When he did join it he exacted terms which, it is said, "made ;the Armours wince." Mr Swift's modest social ambitions and his dislike of the luxurious habits of the later generation of wealthy Americans were long ;» sore point with bis'numerous family. Until two years ago — when they worried him into taking a house in the fashionable part of Chicago— he lived in a plain wooden house among his workmen in the neighborhood of the famous stockyards.