TELEGRAMS.

Colonist, Volume XXXIV, Issue 7066, 17 July 1891, Page 4

TELEGRAMS.

[Per United Press Association] WELLINGTON, July 16. The arrivals in the Colony during June totalled 759, while the departures amounted to 1371. Of the latter 003 were to New South Wales, 273 to Victoria, and 204 to Queensland. The Wellington Knights of Labor are dissatisfied with the Government financial proposals, and have passed a resolution, to be forwarded to all Liberal and Labor members, objecting to penny postage, taxing improvements, to any exemptions at all in the Land tax, to a graduated scale instead of a simple uniform rate, and to the proposals under the Land for Settlement Bill. They are of opinion that the Government proposes to offer little change in the incidence of taxation except in name. The Racing Conference haß appointed a deputation to wait on the Eailway Commiseionerß and ask them to provide better horse boxes and put fares for racehorses on the same footing as hunters, which are allowed the return journey free. The amended rules of raoing will oome into force on the Ist of Ootober, 1891, without prejudice to then existing rights and liabilities*. At a meeting of the Council of the Wellington Law Society, the following resolution waa passed: — "That this Council having read the resolution of the Canterbury Law Society with reference to Mr Justice Edwards, entirely agrees with its terms, and join in a respectful request to the Government that no further proceedings be taken in the appeal to the Privy Council. That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Minister of Jusid.' A deputation of flaxcuillers was introduced to the Premier and the Minister for Lands this evening by Mr T. E. McDonald, M.H.B. Matters relating to the fiax industry were dißOUssed, and the deputation particularly urged on the Ministers the desirableness of offering a bonus for the production of better samples of flax, and also of appointing an inspector to examine shipments of flax before they left the Colony. The Premier said he would give the suggestions every consideration, and was understood to look with favor upon the views held by the deputation with reference to the question of bonus. AUCKLAND, July 16. The Crown Lands Board in re alleged land dummyism in Baglan County, has passed the following resolution: "Tbis Board, after having examined both the Holkers and .carefully reviewing the evidence, are unanimously of opinion that the original applications are bona fide, and no dummyi_m was intended;" Of 127 bootmakers on strike 120 have Bigned a statement againßt any looal union and looal statement being substituted for a federated union and federated statement. Oolonel Fraser, M.H.8., left to-day for Wellington.

Dubixq the late financial debate the Hon Mr Seddon brought the members of the late Atkinson Ministry severely under the lash. Said Mr Seddon:— "The late Minister for Defenoe had asked the Parliament for £4500, and had spent £12,500, and hadinourredOther liabilities to the extent of £19, 000 with out the sanction of Parliament. The hon. gentleman oould not have been aware of all tbe orders that had been given, but tbey woald have been provided for in the Supplementary Estimates. He had spent 16 hours a day in that department for some weeks ; he bad gained a perfeot knowledge of it, and if be had not been able to carry on the duties . be wonld bave resigned his appointment rather than remain a mere figure bead, as the Minister for Defence had been." A terrible knock iot the Cap'n, don'-cher-know !— * Napier News. An amusing story is in circulation about a boy home for the holidays from a college in New England. The young gentleman entered into conversation with an English fallow traveller, and remarked on the inferiority of English newspapers. Having received • civil reply, he continued . "lam myself an editor. Like to look at a copy of onr paper?" palling oat a small sheet from bis pocket; 11 Now, yoa have no idea— nobody not in the profession oan have any idea— of the labour and mental strain involved in that small sheet. Keep it. There may be a paragraph or two in it tbat is worth considering, even if it does come from this Bide of the water." The Englishman with whom ,the precocious editor was talking is said to bave been Mr Walter, o! tha * Times.

He wanted Borne wethers, and (says ' Aulua " in the * Au. tralasian ') he travelled lown to near Inveroargill to inspect aome for iale on a station in that neighbourhood. He law them, liked them, andi, made an offer ; Hit the prioe was too high j-' the owner and he la^gled for some time, but finally he left vithout baying. He got off the track, and iffcer wandering about for some time found limself stuck in a swamp. His repeated 100-ees finally brought assistance in the ihape of the owner of the wethers. " Hoot, non, what's brought ye back hore at a' ? " .shed the latter in a quiet leisurely fashion. ' I waa thinkin' o' the matter, and I just lome back to say that I'll tak' the sheep at tout am prioe " He was at onoe pulled out, Iried and refreshed. A good night's rest nade bim his own man again. In the mornng his host suggested a sale note. "I sonldna conscientiously gie the price ye're iskin," was the reply. "But ye promised ast night." " But I'm no in the swamp noo, fe ken." And this time he got away safely The late Mr Henry Sampson (Pendragon, )f the 'English Referee '), of whose death we beard recently, went to work as a compositor it the early age of 12. His estate waß sworn it under £37,000. The testimonial fund being raised in Sydney for the veteran sportsman Mr Ettie De Mestre now amounts to £1350. While schooling at Caulfield the other day lyro is credited with having made a wonder' ful jump. He stood away 20 feet from a fence and cleared it. The Christchurch ' Press ' states that attempts made to utilise the waste product of Scotch thistles, as well as those of the Californian variety, for ensilage, have proved successful in one or two instanoes, co muoh ao that cattle have been proved to thrive and produce a large amount of milk when supplied with this food. The thistles were simply out with a Bide delivery reaper and placed in large staoks, which were weighted down in the usual way. A Japanese waß sentenced years ago to imprisonment for life, escaped studied law, became a judge, and was re-arrested on the bench. He has been sentenced to six years' imprisonment for changing his name without authority. QUEENSLANDER3 go great lengths to get water for their stock. A bore was recenty completed at Bown Downs to a depth of 1374 feet, when the water spurted out at the rate of a million gallons a day. Biohmond Downs , station got a supply of i£ million gallons a day. of beautiful water, ac 698 feet. \ Mr Hancock, M.L.A of Viotoria, sayß if all the land in the Colony was taken up, it had baen taken up on the quiet, and the sooner it was taken back the belter. The people who had their hold on the land had not got their talons in bo deeply that they could not be gently removed. He would ba the last to advocate confiscation, but if it became necessary it would have to be done, and they should remember that the employment of the misplaced labour of the Colony, wa3 their first duty. A Queensland journal says :— lnhabiting several, if not all, of the rivers of the extreme north of Queensland is a snake whioh appears to be unknown to science. It is known to scientific observers only by two fiat skins without head or tail, but representing a snake of large sizß and aquatic habits. Its skin is everywhere beset with small isolated scales, whioh are little less than Bpines or hooks, An informant who brought for inspection a large skin, states that the tail is very short and much narrower than the body, and is flattened like that of a sea snake, and that it lives entirely in fresh water, beooming helpless when withdrawn from it. He estimates tbe length of the snake, whoso akin is stripped off, at 14 feet. While watering bullooks in a river we3t of Burketown, and seeking the cause of a sudden fright they experienced, he saw this large 6nake Bwimming near the bank, ani on its coming within reach, nooßed it with hia stockwhip and drew it ashore. A white woman of Hull county, Ga., is one hundred and fourteen years of age, has 12 children, 103grandehildren, G36 great-grand-children, 372 great-great-grandchildren, in all 1,273. Her father lived to be one hundred and ten years old. She has k been a member of the church for 102 years. A Melboubne correspondent retails the following : - Our race are supposed to be brave, of course, and so we will suppose that the hero of the following anecdote was a foreigner. At any rate he was an old Melbourne resident. He was not well, and he got a lotion and a draught. He swallowed some of the lotion instead of tbe draught, and when he found out what he had done he rushed to the hospital where he quickly discovered that the lotion waß harmless, aud that no evil results would ensue ; but they did. He fainted with fear before he could be reassured, and he fainted again when told that he was safe, and the fainting fits returned again and again, each time being more difficult to cure, until at last, after a few day's prostration, he died from failure of tbe heart's action, induced by shock, the doctors said in their certificate, but of sheer fright and unimagineable fear in real sober earnest. In his speech at the opening of Parliament the King of Tonga said :— " You all know that my Government was heavily indebted to foreign countries, and we Bhould return thanks to God that we have discharged these debts." The Sydney ' Morning Herald' remarks, in this connection, tbat it " would be a phenomenon to find Australian statesmen joining in suoh ascriptions of praise for the payment of our debts, or, for the matter of that, recognising that there is any room for the existence of a pious spirit in connection with our State obligations at all. In faot, tbe gratitude of Colonial statesman is evoked rather by success in increasing the public debt."