THE SECOND BALLOT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13749, 11 September 1908, Page 4

THE SECOND BALLOT.

A new, sub-clause was inserted by the House in tho Second Ballot Bill limiting candidates' expenses in connection with aj second ballot to £50. The New ZealarithTimes, commenting upon %his, says:-— "With no meetings to be held, and no advertising to^he done, it is hard to see how candidates will be faced with any expenses in- temneotion^wit 1 the second poll, but as.ther authopisin 5 sub-clause makes no Stipulation^d's t> the character of- 'the'- Expenditure, ib may well bo imagined , that needy asphants will avail thfirnsfeNfes to. the.ful of the piracy of the exchequer which fis thereby authorised: , Thinly condition Undef which a mono^ vote for electioneering expenses could fairly be made would be , if the right of free speecji \ were retained. If the gag is to be applied, and candidates are to remain mute, there can bo no excuse for raiding the Treasury for a fighting fund. We rely upon the Legislative Council to defend the public- rights and protect the public purse." Surely Parliament never intended that candidates should be able to claim their expenses from the State Treasury. If that is tho effect of the new sub-clause we can only ocho tho hope that the Legislative CoUflfcil will protect the public purso by eliminating it, «von though it is unrisual fpr the Council to amend an eledtoral measure.

According to Wednesday's Dominion would-be sellers of Taranaki Petroleum shares in Weljjfagton are asking 14s 9$ per share. Remarkable optimism — or a misprint. . '

Yesterday- the streets of New Plymouth were literally strewn with immigrants. A batch of about 120 passed through by the Takapuna from Wellington to Auckland. One or two are still in town., ' "_ . Mr N. J. King, Independent Liberal candidate for the Stratford seat, addressed a good meeting last night at Stratford. He was generally in accord with the present Government, but said he would vote according to the dictates of his own conscience, if elected. He advocated giving back-blocks settlers roads, and pushing on the StratfordOngarue railway. - He received a vote of thanks. — Press telegram. \

The promoters of the ' "Daffodil At Home" held at Whiteley Hall yesterday were so pleased and encouraged by the success of the exhibition that they propose holding a similar function during the rose season, a "Rose Reunion" they might call it, if we 'may suggest a name. Anything that will encour-j age a love of flowers and turn mofe attention to their culture is /worthy of support, and we hope the idea will be pursued.

Mrs J. Paton forwards a^ parcel of "Books for Bushmen." * The wholesale price of butter in Wellington dropped to Is per lb. on Wednesday. The Ada Crossley Concert Company arrived at Sydney , yesterday by the Orontes from London. At the .Magistrate's Court this morning before Mr H. S. Fitzherbert, S.M., Ellen Jones was convicted of drunkenness and discharged. . The Southland Trades' and Labour Council hag unanimously, passed a resolution urging the workersctav-ote nolicense, with a view to bringing the licensing trader under State control. There is now of an early morning a regular contingent of bathers At the Municipal Baths. The baths arc in capital order and the temperatxirc of te water by no mean's low, avef aging about 56. Last night the Auckland City' Council, by <s votes, to 4, Refused permission for a band performance on, Sunday, on the ground (ag one, councillor put it) that it was the thin c.nd of the wedge in introducing a Continental Sunday. A" petition for the repeal of the Compulsory Vaccination Law was presented to Parliament yesterday by Mr, G. Laurenson, member for Lyttelton. There wefe 11,259 signatures on the petition. ' ' f " . The Taraiiaki School Commissioners have received, arbitration, awards 'in connection with the revaluation of a number of their renewable, leases. These show the aggregate^, rental of the pro- . perties in question for the next period of 21 years to-be £490 2s ! as- against £131 6s. Early, in October is suggested by the Council of the Wellington . Ch>niber of Commerce as the most f ittikg time for the official' opening of the Main 1 Trunk Line, 'and it is suggested that representatives of both the Auckland ancty Wellington Chambers with members oi the Ministry could meet at a point half way between the two centres ami there hold the celebration. ; _ , The New Plymouth' Seaside Picnic Committee having made arrangements for a picnic in Pukekura Park and for the entertainment of the officers and men of the man-o'-war expected here v on January 2nd next, requested the Employers' Association' 'to .-recommend the observance of that date as a full holiday as well as New Year's Day. The Association to-day resolved v to call , a general meeting on Friday next to consider the matter. "I \ ' ' Labour Day demonstrations^ "have gone out of fashion during recent years in Wellington, but thereTis an attempt on^foot this year to revive the old-time procession of workers through the city. A committee was set up recently by the various trades unions of Wellington to organise a ceremony; and it hasjbeen decided to hold a banner procession, on the morning of October 14th. This will be followed by a sports meeting at Wonderland (Miramar). ' Arrangements have also been made, for a display of fireworks in the^evening. . "If I could- sell out and get rid !of my plant I would do so, and be^glad to. be on my own again,"- averred «m-en-gineering employer in the Arbitration Court at Wellington, afte* handing in a statement of his business and income returns during the past year. "I work nearly • seventy hours a week, and I calculate I make dut of it about 'Is an hour or under. The . men I pay get more than I earn. I have to spend two or three hours every day doing oy t er again the work they are supposed ,to have done. One job cost me £6 17s $d, and I got 17s for it." . „ • „ A meeting of/fche executive of the Employers' Association was held this morning to consider a communication from the Mayor (Mr G. -Tisch) asking whether the Association intended to observe Saturday, 26th inst (Dominion Day) as a. holiday. The following resolution was adopted :" /' That the executive has no recomniendation to mak;e re observing a holiday Qn the 26th inst., and expressly, objects to any further attempt being made by the Government to increase the number of/ public holidays already, observed throughout the Dominion."

Mr W. M. "Bayly, who has just returned from A- trip to England, has brought , out with him a .fine Renault Freres 7 motor car of 14.20 horse power. It is a very expensive machine and equal to anything running on the road either in th.c Dominion or at Home. It is fitted with four rspeeds and is capable ot doing fifty miles. an hour, wonderfully silent- in running and very comfortable. The side and tail lamps are electric and the heaxHights powerful acetylene. The alarm horn is also electric. The car is convertable so as to. -.carry either two or,, four passengers. Speed, is regulated by\a foot lever, thus leaving the two hands tree-f or steering. The. weight of the ca,r, fitted- with four seats, is 23 cwt and as a two, setter about one ton. . ; \. An old grievance of country . newspapers has been brought to notice again bylMr W. T. Jennings in Parliament. He has given notice to ask the Print© Minister 4 when he proposes to give effect to the recommendation made to the House in the session of 1906 by the Public Petitions Committee on the petition of a large number of country newspaper proprietors asking for a full enquiry into the methods adopted by the Press Association in charging entrance fees to newspapers before they are allowed to participate im the use of telegraphic news although the State supplies the same at great reduction in telegraphic rates. .The Petitions Committee should be set up to. enquire into the charges imposed; by the Press Association on those persons wishing to participate in. the privileges enjoyed by tjiat co-operation-A very sad story was told to the Wellington Benevolent Trustees on Tuesday. It was $hat 'of a, young woman who had' a consumptive, husband, a chronic case, and a ( child. - The sole breadwinner was the wife) , whose . utmost earnings were £l(^ AH three slept in one bed. ' They only had one room, arid the surroundings were deplorably squalid. The you,ng woman was making a, most heroic struggle against tremendous odds. , The rent of the room was Bb, and there was no fireplace in it. -< The. man shivered at nights. Now they had been given notice' to quit, as the .other occupants of the house objected to haying a tuberculous person on the premises. 'The case was described by a Trustee as a terrible one. He had given an order for the treatment of the man as an outpatient at the hospital. The woman was quite run down^her experience being shockingly hard, working all day I long, and then best pefrj.of the night in attending to her husband and child. It was decided to supply food and also to •communicate with the Health Department~*with a view to the removal of the man, so that if possible his disease may not be communicated to his wife and child. , - (

"I am getting ten bob a day at a go-as-yoiij-please job. Why, it's like geting mtoney from home V 1 So writes a casual labourer in tlri3 Dominion to a friend at Christchurch. There is still the pld difficulty in getting a sufficient number of girls in Wellington for clothing and costume factories, says the chairman of the Wellington Woollen Manufacturing Company. ;.- "n A "brevity" from.- the Dunedin Star. "Ngutu-o*te-manu battle %tNew Plymouth, September 1, 1868.^ Major Von Tempsky, Captains Biick and Palmer killed." Geography is not a strong point with that brevity writer. In the House recently Air. Hornsby said he was lodkirig hopefully forward to the time when Parliament would be composed of young New Zealanders, when the Young Mew Zealand Party would make itfc own laAvs to suit its own ideas, without the help of people born in other pa>ts. ( , An opossuffi was killed in a bush men's camp up the coast, in the Awaking district, the other day. Some Maoris, who. had never seen or heard of. the 'littleV animals, received some-, what of a -^cai-o over the visitor. Opossums have not, as far as we know, , ever rbejen released in- that part of the district, so s^his" particular one must have travelled a long distance. „ The question whether rates sho f uld be changed on a Roman Catholic school and residences came before the Auckland Magistrate's Court' last week. The Borough of Devonpqrfc sued Sister Benigna, of the Sisters* of * Mercy, for £8 10s 6d, for unpaid rates and interest. The Magistrate he\d that the building was not ratable, and found in favour of defendant, with costs amounting to £1 Is. v ' x , A severe^out^reak- of pneumonia and influenza amongst the Maoris was the cause of a sudden adjournment of the Native Land Court whiler~sitting at Tokaanu recently. No Jess than twelve of the Natives died. The outbreak was ascribed to the fact that a number of I;he visitors to, the, court, who werfe residents of the thermal districts and were used to bathing in ih<» liot spring^,- slept in tents in Tokaanu, and so contracted^ colds. Attention from ifr. Buck, Native Health Officer, however; soon relieved the trouble to a very great extent.. > , 1 A story of a wife's devotion comes from thes.lepe'r island of Motuarakau.J The wife of one of the lepers lived on] the mainland. The quarantine island is within the lagoon, and wishing to visit her husband, although such visits are prohibited, clandestinely •■ ob T tamed a canoe at hignt and naddled out to the island, a distance of about two miles. Wearing male apparel, she I /was. taken for /a n^ght fisherman, and ! no notice was taken of the occurrence iat the time. Later the 1 local police heard of the visit, and the was. discovered on the island. An vedict was- issued, and the faithful wife was prohibited from retifrning^to the mainland,, and she now remains', on Moturakau as cook for the^three unfortunates there. J The practice of placing copies of the Ten\ Commandments- on the walls of schoolrooms seems to be gaining a hold. Mr A. Hf Vile hafe* given notice-of his intention to move, at the next^-meeting of the Wellington Education Board: "That this Board draw the attention of the Minister of Education to the fact that there is a general desire on the part, of education boards of the Dominion that the Decalogue be exhibited on, the waUs of school butfdingsj that Jhere is.no board fifnd available for such a purpose; that the- Minister be respectfully requested to provide a sufftyent number of the Ten Commandments to serve the class rooms of the whoje of the schools in the Dominion; and That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to other boards." j It has leaiced but that a quantity of the Connecticut's silver wa^ stolen by the guests at Adjniral Sherry's "at home" in Sydney, the -excuse offered being that the thieves were merely talcing souvenirs of a historic function. It is to He hoped that «ome of the Sydney people will have the grace to secretly return their annexations. Each article is stamped with the official crests. The American officers, though viewing the thefts with deep regret, regard tho matter in a philosophic light. One captain tells a story of an admiral who} at a conversazione on board a colleague's vessel at a Pacific * port, left liis coat\ on a chair in one of the cabins for half an hour. On his reixirn he fouiid that the ladies had cut off every one of the gold buttons. Apparently there are no limits to the Jactions of a certain section of society %hen in search of souvenirs. „ In the earlier stages of the snowstorm, in North Otago a settler in thOj Upper Waitaki set out for -Oamaru in a r trap. He had with him his wife and chjld> and when they reached the OteInatata River the weight of tho vehicle and its load broke through the ice Jat the edge -of the flowing river, i The shafts" -<were dislocated and the occiijjpants were thrown" iiitd the icy cold ,wa_ter. The adults soon regained their feet, but the baby floated away down stream, and it was only after two desperate efforts that the mother secured it. the husband meantime being engaged with the struggling horse. The trap and horse were extricated, and the party drove back to the hotel. On arrival there the clothing of tho three occupants of the^ trap was found to be frozen almost stiff, They wore supplied with dry clothing. Strange to say, neither the brfby nor its parents suffered any ill consequences.

"The < : crime record of the Balclulha police district for the year ending June 30, 1908, is little less than marvellous,** said! Mr G, B. Nicholls/ speaking to the temperance workers of Eaikorai. on Monday. "There are 6000 people in the Balclutha police district. About 200 bf these live near Stirling, and may be classed as in a' license; district. The Stirling licence ' area produced in the year ending - June 30, 1908, . three drunkards and the Stirling case. The only other drunkard arrestod in, the year in. the whole police district was one from a licensed district. Outside of the above matters the only cases before the Balclutha Court from the people under no-license in that police district were; Three cases against juveniles, one of sly grog-selling, .one, prohibition order, one furious riding on a motor cycle, one by-law case, ana seven hreatJ&es of various farming inspection acts, eta. Thus these citizens had almost a crimelesa year. They did^aot provid a single case of drunkenness,"not a single assault, not a single theft, and not a, single vagrancy. It really rests largely with Dunsdin to make t the rest of New Zealand like this. If one of the f four large centres were to carry no-license at the next poll—and Dunedin is the most advanced — there is no doubt that the Govern r ment would immediately give to us a Dominion vote in addition to a local vote. ■ Once we get this it is the end of the"liquor traffic in New Zealand."

The "Humpty Dumpty" Pajitomme Company arrived in New, Plymouth thS afternoon by special train from , Wanganui. Owing to the difficulty of procuring building timber several of the Waitara builders are importing Oregon pine for building purposes, writes, our correspondent. The Waitara Road and North Taranaki Dairy' Companies have shipped their first lo*& of this season's butter for the Home market.— From our Waitara correspondent. ' _

The furniture for the new Courthouse at Waitara has .come to hand (states. our correspondent),, and the gilding will be ready for conducting business at the next sitting of the Magt&ferate s Court on. the 16th.