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Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13634, 13 April 1908, Page 5

Mr. Charles M. Alexander, the singing evangelist, is arranging to visit Axistralasia again, this time with Mr. Wilbur Chapman, a well-known American evangelist. , \ ' The Statutes Revision Commission has, after five years' labour, practically completed tho consolidation of tho statutos. Only the final revision has to be done, and tho printer, who has everything in type, will start pointing in about a fortnight. There will be . four or five volumes instead of forty as at present. Of the 11,315,000 households in France, says the Paris Gaulois, 1,804,710 have no children; 2,966,171 have one child; 2,661,978 have two children; 1,643.425 have three; 987,392 have four; and 566,768 have five. It adds that seventy-nine families possess sixteen, thirty-four seventeen, and forty-five eighteen or more children. Writing'to a London morning paper, a correspondent says: "I stood in the Strand at 11 o'clock between the two churches, and on one church the clock marked 12 o'clock and on the other ten minutes to 2, the Courts of Justice clock struck 11, the Post Office, East Strand, marked three minutes past 11, while a large clock outside a jeweller's marked five minutes past 11." \ A remarka~ble accident occurred on the Blundell Park Football Ground, Grimsby, during <a gale. A huge iron advertisement plate was blown from its hoarding and crashed down amongst the spectators, some of whom miraculously escaped fatal' injury. Many, however, were knocked down and pinned to the ground. Three ooys were conveyed to the hospital in a serious condition. "* The manufacture of coar briquettes at the Government works at Westport i is being carried on by two out of the four machines/ installed last year, states the West Coast Times. The'output is 400 tons per week. Most of the briquettes are taken by the Railway Department. /The department hopes that at no distant date it will be in a position to employ all of the briquette- | making plant. > The possibility of New Zealand supplying a portion of the coal supplies of ! the American Navy was tho subject of a communication by the Premier to the I State Department, Washington. When I it was cabled to New Zealand that the United States Government was inviting tenders for coal in Cardiff for the American fleet to the tune of £200,000, Sir Joseph Ward cabled stating that New Zealand could supply excellent coal fof the warships in the Pacific, and the Government would give every assistance in negotiating for the purchase of .supplies and its transport to the fleet/ A reply has been received stating that, should such coal be reqiiired by the Navy Department, it will be pleased to avail itself of the New Zealand Government's good offices. Roosevelt, throughout the winter, has practised daily at the White House the art of self-defence. The bo^- % ing bouts take- place in tb\e library, and are frequently* witnessed by visitors. The other day, the London Mail says, Mr Roosevelt was' engaged in a sparring match with Professor ;'Mike" Donovan, the boxing instructor of the New York Athletic Club, when a deputation of political friends from Texas was ushered in. Without allowing himself to be perturbed for an instant, Mr Roosevelt delivered Vith astounding skill a mighty straight-arm blow whjch sent Donovan sprawling helplessly among the visitors. Mr Roosevelt did not smile, but with great politeness observed: "Gentlemen, this is Profes90T 'Mike' Donovan. I want you'td meet him."- ' / Kubelik, the world's greatest violinist who is shortly to visits New Zealand, had a record house at New York for the first concert of his recent tour. The number of people who paid for admission was 5486. THe audience showy ed great enthusiasm throughout the ' concert. A New York * paper says it was, without any doubt, the greatest evidence of appreciation of art, genius, and personality than ever was bestowed by a New York audience on any soloist, either instrumentalist or vocal. When Kubelik was finally allowed to leave the stage, a crowd, composed seemingly^ of* everyone in the house, awaited his departure from the stage door. ' Here, again, ho was greeted with the applause of the multitude, and the aid of ,the police* w^s necessary to clear the way. A belated Parliamentary Paper gives a statement of the receipts and expenditure of the New Zealand International Exhibition from May 27, 1905, to October 31, 1907. The receipts totalled £218,505 2/4, and the expenditure £239,970 7/s*. leaving a debit balance of £21,465 5/IJ. The largest item on the receipt side is "to Government advances, -£87,617 7/,"- but against this appears "by refunds to Government, £27,117 7//' Space fees brought in £24,686, admissions £44,322, season tickets £8433, selling rights commis- ; . sions £7107, side-show royalties £5854, concert hall revenue £5166. art gallery £1246, B«6es o' tti' Barn Band £3419. The largest' item on tho expenditure side was £67,822 for the main building. The statuary cost £3776, the' working expenses of the concert hall Were £2859, and those of the art gallery £4044. Other items df expenditure were: Besses o' th' Barn Band £2528, wages of gatekeepers and attendants£3376, salaries and office expenses £7612. The realisation of properties at the close of the- Exhibition brought £16,469, " ra addition to expenses recovered £436. The expenses of realisation were £3392, and refunds absorbed £195.