TOWN EDITION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12586, 17 October 1911, Page 6

TOWN EDITION

The roll for the Gisborne electorate is now m the hands of the printers. The total number of names oh the main roll is &2§f

A Chviatchurch lawyer stated that some of the eccentricities of New Zealand law-makers had created more pit falls m this Dominion's statutes than could be found, probably, m the statutes of any country m the world. As .instances,* lie- said that the Public Holi 'day^^Atfc^r^pe^Teii^afi^iffiO'or-t'a^'clAu^ of the Banks and Banking Institutions Act. and one of the vital amendments of the Land Transfer Act — m its way the most important enactment Parliament had ever made — was m the Probate Act.

According to a Panmuro market gardener, who appeared m the Auckland S.M. Court on Thursday, the wholesale growers of the northern province have been having a very bad time owing tc the fruitfulhesa of the present season. The gardener \vaß summoned for debt and during the course of his evidence he said, "What can a man do when he is not able to get more than 2d a dozen for broccoli. Why, I sent 33 dozen to the market some time, ago, arid got 4s 7d for them, out of which had to come the auctioneer's commission.

Wasps invaded the Cavendish confectionery stores, Kingston-on-Thames, m uicli hordes that the owner was com pelled to close the shop for five days, and leave them to enjoy their spoils. They ate £5 worth of sweets, and then, bloated with their feast, were chased from the field of victory with paraffin and water. Since the opening of the shop there have been several other attempts at raids by jealous wasps who were shut i out of the five-day feast* but the proprietor was prepared for them, and the slaughter lias averaged 50 a day.

Members of the Swedish scientific expedition to North-Weslerlt Australia left Brisbane by the steamer India last week en route for Sweden. Dr- Mjoberjf, a member of the party, said that the Kimberley district was practically unknown from a natural history point of view. His collection, which is for the Swedish Central Museum m, Stockholm, includes 100 mammals, 1000 birds, 300 reptiles, 100 amphibians, and a ; large number of fishes, insects, spiders and centipedes. He ha 3 between 30,000 and 50,000 specimens, and SOQ^specimens of plant life. He thinks that the district is not a white man's country, being infected with malaria.

Dr. Malcolm, m a lecture to tho Otago Institute at Dttnedin on "The Food Value of the Frostfish," said that this fish, like nil deep-water fish, had to submit to a tremendous pressure from the water above him. If he rose, the pressure was reduced, and the gases m his system, released from the pressure, expanded, and the fish became so light that he might not be able to get back to his normal depth. In a word, "ho sinks upwards, and cannot recover himself." Another explanation was that the fish was chased ashore, and the information was volunteered m support of this that when found the tail was sometimes eaten, as if some enemy had made a greedy snap at his escaping quarry. There were other curious facts elicited — that, for example, the fish is usually washed ashore m a vertical position, head up and tail down ; but none of them explained the appearance of tho fish m frosty weather only.

To build a vessel like the Olympic j costs the capital of a bank, and to ■ launch it after it is built swallows up a fortune. It cost the Belfast Harbor Board, which' draws no share of the' Olympic's earnings, £58,400 to get ready for the launching. Of this sum much went to deepen the' channel to 32ft. Opposite the berth a pit 50ft deep had to be dredged m the bottom of the harbor to make room for the plunge of the stern before the bow left the ways. Then Messrs Harland and Wolff, the builders, had to spend £9734 to strengthen Vic r toria wharf opposite the berth lest the terrific commotion kicked up when the j monster struck tho water would cause ! the wharf to collapse. Still, that was; bv-t a beginning. Three of the largest slips they had were converted, into two I for the Olympic and Titanic. Over thej berth a double gantry had to bo erected 340 ft long, 105 ft wide, and 220 ft high,! and equipped with travellers and cranes i japable of lifting from five to 40 tons. Besides this there was a floating crane to be provided at great cost to transfer the boilers to the ships after they .were afloat. More than 600 steers died merely to make her path into the water smooth, for 22 tons of tallow were used to grease the ways-

After inquiring into municipal administration m Wellington, Mr C. J. Parr, Mayor of Auckland, remarked that m Mr 'Morton Wellington had an engineer second to none m Australasia, and he had com© to that conclusion after having seen ail of them during the last two months. /While m Australia recently Mr Parr said he saw no better streets than those m Wellington. The four miles of wood blocking laid down eight years ago showed no signs of wear, largely attributable to the coating of tar and sand they received every year or two. The actual wear on the wood blocks could not be measured, which Mr Parr considered was very creditable, especially as there was heavy traffic on the main roads. Mr Morton had for some, three years past been laying down streets m tar-macadam. The Mayor saw three streets — Grey, Brandon and Panama — and they had been excellently done. He saw nothing better m any of the Australia^ cities. Panama-street had been down nearly three years, and though nothing had been done to it m the meantime it still possessed fin oven surface, as smooth as Auckland's Queen street. Mr Morton was sti-ongly m favor of the tar treatment m making streets where the traffic was not heavy, but where the traffic was heavy he favored either wood blocking or compressed asphalt.

The prospects of prayer-book revision are not improving (writes the London correspondent of the Argus). High Churchmen, who have always been especially afraid that it would threaten the present use of the Athanasian Creed, are not reassured, and, on the other hand, Low Church objectors will find a militant head m the Dean of Canterbury, Chairman of the National Church League. Dr. Wace has been particularly alarmed by a recent proposal (intended to be a compromise) of- the Upper, House of the Convocation, of Canterbury to authorise the use of vestments now worn by High Church clergymen at the celebration of Holy .Communion. He explains to the Westminster Gazette that he hopes for meetings throughout the country to protest against the Bishop's proposals. In an appeal on the subject ho says "that there can be no question that the revision of the prayer-book, if carried through at the present time, will authorise many alterations of a. decidedly Ritualistic character, and the moment has come when th<i most resolute resistance must be offered to them by the friends of the Reformation m our church. We are now forced by the public action of the bishops to active warfare, if we aro to maintain our position m the church."