NEWS ITEMS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10301, 8 March 1905, Page 4

NEWS ITEMS.

General Booth left London for Australia on Thursday, andl is duo m Wellington on April 28th. At the New Plymouth abattoirs during February seven cows were condemned' for tuberculosis and l thiee sheep for various causes, # A West Coast paper states that a. gold mining claim, on Middle Branch Flat, Goldsborough, is paying the emormous dividend of £25 per man per week . Mr James Mills lias gone to Melbourne to arrange with the Australian authorities for a continuance ' of the Vancouver mail" service. At a meeting of llaxmillers, held at Palnierston North, eight firms entered into au agreement whereby they will protect themselves against accident risks by •a system of mutual insurance. Quite a shoal of applications have already been received! from all parts- of the colony for the post of secretary to the International Exhibition to be held at Christchurch shortly. The Minister for Railways, m order to prevent a crush at the railway ticket boxes, intend® to issue instructions that, tickets shall be purchasable at any time throughout tlie day.

Before the Land Commission at Gore, John Greenlees, a fanner, with 123 -acres of leasehold, said it would now be impossible to keep down the ragwort iv the back country. Li some places the weeds were so bad that if tlie Noxious Weeds Act were enforced the settlers would have to abandon, their sections. Henry Phipps, a friend and associate of Andrew Carnegie, and one of the. directors of the United Stales Steel Corporation, has given a iund of 1,000,000d0l for the erection of improved teuemeiit houses for the working classes m New York City. Mr Phipps says that he expects the tenements to be so planned as to earn about 4 \kv cent, an. their cost, after allowing a proper amount for maiintenance and repairs, and that he intends to have the earnings accumulate, and to be used from time, to time hi erecting more tenements. Potato crops m- tlie Manawatu have got tho Irish blight. Tlie disease first appears on the leaf of the potato m little brown specs m the form of a minute blight. If allowed) to stay there unhindered the blight or fungus quickly spreads down the stalk, killing the plant as it goes, and penetrating to the tuber. Its presence can be discerned m the shri-vel!ed-up appearance of tbe leaves. Its effect on the tuber is to leave a dirty brown mark, as if the potato had become rotten, though the surface is solid to tho touch. A few days, however, will change this, andl the affected tuber rapidly becomes putrid and offensive. In opening the new Cottage Home established at Christchurch by the Children's Aid Society, Lady P'hwiket sa.id that m \this colony, where they saw so many happy children, it was easy to forget—what was too apparent at Horne — that there yet existed a great amount of misery and destitution amongst children. It was a genuine pleasure for her to see such an excellent work beiing carried on. It would appeal to some because they loved children, and were grieved to find that childhood, which sliould' be the happiest period of life, was but too often tlie most miserable. The work would appeal to others also because .they realised the advantages of a good home, and a hi^h moral standard, m training up good oitizens and future parentis for New Zealand. "I hope it will be my privilege to open more lionies or this description m the colony," concluded Lady Plunket. Dr Chilton, Professor of Biology at Canterbury College, was asked by the Lyttelton Times for an opinion m reference to a cable message from New York which stated tliat Professor Loeb, of the University of California, claimed to have succeeded m fertilising the sterile eggs of the sea urchin by '-means of chemical action. Dr Chilton said that the message was vague, and, m view of tho extravagant reports about Dr Loeb's experiments, published some time ago m American newspapers, the recent cablegram justified some scepticism. It was, of course, known that segmentation! of the ovum m certain cases could be set up by strychnine and other cheniiijals, but tlie development of an animal liad not yet been accomplished. The cable message might give the impression tluit Dr Loeb had produced am animal Avithout the assistance of male fertilisation, but that result was very doubtful.

Referring the other evening to the necessity of visits by medicall men to schools, Mr H. 0. Jill, M.H.R., said that it was absolutely impossible for working men to have that amount of attention given to their children's teeth which the}' required. Consequently, competent dentists should be appointed to examine school children's teeth periodically. Not only would much salfering be prevented, but ailments dependent on bad teeth could be obviated, and thus tlwiuture health of the community could be assured.

The question of rating on ununproved values is one of moment m many parts of the North Island. Li New Plymouth a petition for a poll on the proposal lo adopt the system has been sent to the municipal authorities. Mr G. Fowkls, M.H.K., addressed a meeting m the northern town, last week, while on his way to Cln-istchurch. Petitions have been prepared 1 , and are ready for presentation m the Mount Albert Road) district, Auckland, and m Auckland city. A' petition lias been sent to the Waitemata County Council, Auckland, asking for a, poll. Two petitions have been presented) previously, ami! Mr G. Fowlds has publicly announced his intention of applying to the Supreme Court for a mandamus compelling the Council to take a poll, unless the third petition meets with more favorable treatment than its predecessors.

Preaching his first sermon after resuming charge- of All Saints' parish, Ptilmerston North, the Rev. C. C. Harper, m the course of his remarks, said that his visit Home had confirmed an opinion long held: by him that it was a great mistake to say this was an irreligious age. People," he said, were earnestly seeking, after the Truth. The scepticism of a generation, ago hardly existed now. Atheism was almost dead. Great scientists were often devout Christ iaius, and often also earnest friends of Christianity, accepting nearly all its articles. Book's were always coming from the press, seeking devoutly after the Truth, and handling with reverence the creeds of the church. Theological and semi-theological periodicals were increased m number, m fact, it was a sign of ignorance, or au antiquated mind to find a dogmatic sceptic to-d«y with liis unfaith fixed I and settled' andl complete m its self satisfaction. There never was a time, proceeded the speaker, when the true Christ would! find the hearts of men better prepared to receive Him than at present.

Mr John Holmes, of Wellington, is still engaged m his crusadle m the country districts, on the subject of the better organisation of the butter industry. He has delivered public addresses m response to special requisitions m Hawera, Palmerston North, Masterton, and Stratford, where he has warmly advocated the establishment of dhiiry' produce exchanges, which,, he maintains, will materially facilitate the industry and largely help producers and merchants alike. "Mr Holmes lays great stress on the fact that all tho great centres of Great Britain luive their various trade exchanges for all staple products, andi that the time has surely come for tho establishment of similar institutions- throughout New Zealand. At Stratford recently he referred! to the great benefits that would accrue to the dairying industry from the employment of qualified commercial representatives who would! be able to speak from personal knowledge of the growing products and exports of this colony, and he suggests by way of a unique advertisement the free 'distribution, at tlie end' of each lecture, of a lib pat of New Zealand factory butter m the large town halls of the United Kingdom, thus bringing it iv a most practical way under the direct notice of many thousands of consumers m the Old Country.

Dr Morrison, the London Timus' correspondent at Pekin, who lias returned from a visit to Port Arthur, descuibos the impressions lie gathered there, and says : "Without seeing them, nobody could form any idea of the stupendous strength of the forts or -the increcVible heroism displayed m their capture. No foreign officer is able to explain the reason for tho surrender of. Port Arthur. Those who have seen the condition of the fortress believe that no more discreditable surrender is recorded m history. There were 25,000 able-bodied men capable of making a isortie, hundreds of officers, all well nourished, and plenty of ammunition, the largest magazine being untouched, and ful!l to the roof with all kinds of ammunition for naval guns. There was, further, ample food for three months, even if no fresh supplies could be received, and, besides, the waters are teeming with fish. There was an abundance of wine and medical comforts, and large quantities of fuel of all kinds. The stories that the- Red Cross buildings were wrecked by the Japanese fire are admitted by rcpurabOe residents to have been pine fabrication.? to excite sympathy. All accounts agree m condemning the niajoritj' of the officers, who feared the fadlure of comforts more than of ammunition, and agree that no mam ever held a responsible command who less .deserved the title of hero than General Stoessel."

A POULTRY MAN'S OPINION

Mr E. Solomon, Turtou road, Waralah, N.S.W., the well-known breeder of Buff Orpington fowls, says: "1 have tried Chamberlain's Stomach and Liver Tablets and cannot speak too highly of them a*s a liver livelier. The form hi which they are made makes them easy to take, and they are quite effective. I find they do their work thoroughly and without purging." These Tablets are for sale by E. 1). Smith, chemist. — Advt.