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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10300, 7 March 1905, Page 4

Relatives of Mr Conger, United States Minister at Pekin, state that letters received from China intimate that the Em. press Dowager, through the efforts of Mr and Mrs Conger, has become a convert to Christian Science, and will soon publicly announce her conversion. An era of great reforms is expected m consequence throughout the Empire. The business failures m the United States hist year, as reported by Bradstreet's, numbered 10,422, or 654 more than m the previous year. But the liabilities were less, amounting to £29,233,---372, *.\s against £31,472,527 m 1903. The business failures iii. Canada numbered 1177, with liabilities £2,043,733, both showing slight increases as compared with 1903. The question, whether the free admittance into the colony of Chinese women should be extendedl co as to encourage marriage, among the Chinamen now m New Zealand was discussed recently at the Council- of the Churches, held m Wellington. The drift of the discussion was that free admittance of the women would probably, at best, only mitigate a fraction of existing evils; and that it would add wluit is generally considered a further cvil — a larger permanent Chinese population. In the end, the Council did not seem charmed with the prospect, nor with present conditions. The proposal was that naturalisation of Chinamen m the colony should be facilitated, as a means to the proposed end, a naturalised Chinaman, being legally entitled to bring a Chinese wife free of poll tax. Incidentally, the political side— voting power of Chinamen — cropped, up, hut the Council kept clear of this. The Council, being m doubt as to the desirability of the end abandoned the means also. On January 1 last the president and each member of the United States Cabinet sent, through the New York Tribune, sentiments of inspiration, lo the American people. Facsimiles of the original letters were published m that journal. The one from the Minister for Agriculture, Mr James Wilson, contained the following patriotic and suggestive precept: — "All the gold mines of the entire vcrld have not produced since Columbus discovered America a greater value of gold than the farmers of this- country have produced m wealth m two years; the products of the farm for this year "lone amount to more than six times tl*e capital stock of all tlie national bank*;; to twice the sum of our exports and imports a 3 T ear ; three times the gross earnings of the operations of the railways, and to three and a-half times the value of all minerals produced m this country, including coal, iron and ore, gold, sih eland quarried stone." The most interesting address delivered at the Methodfet jubilee gathering at tlie Sydney Town Hall last week was that of the Rev. Dr. Fitchett. His main object was to inspire Methodists of to-day with a due appreciation of the enlarged opportunities which were presented m connection with the great destiny of Australia. This point he emphasised by relating a little anecdote, which much amused his audience. "One day," said he, "my little girl came to me with the cheerful question, 'Was Solomon as wise as you are?' 'Certainly not,' I said — (laughter) — T am 3000 years older than Solomon, and I have made very bad uses of my opportunities if I don't know a great many things that would have astonished Solomon.' (Laughter.) And, ladies and gentlemen, we are 50 years older than the original conference of the 40 venerable fathers who assembled m York street m this city, and we ought to be much m advance of them." He liad onother story regarding Baron Munchausen. That veracious historian had told how one night m the Arctic regions he played a tun© on a cornet, but the cold was so intense that the notes* were frozen as he blew them, and they fell silently on the ice. The nex!t day, however, there was a thaw, and the tune went off. (Laughter.) The world, said Dr. Fitchtett, was full of frozen music—efforts m a good cause the fruit of wliich was not immediately apparent.