PARK MEETINGS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13791, 24 October 1908, Page 4

PARK MEETINGS.

In expressing regret that the Pukekura Park Board sjiould have consented to a mass meeting being held on the sports ground on Sunday afternoon we feel sure that wo voice the feelings of a great number of Jthe townspeople. It makes no difference what the object of the meeting may be, whether m the interests of No-License or of Liquor, the principle is the same. Hitherto the Board has consistently refused to sanction public meetings in the Park on Sundays, but in this instance it appears to have allowed its hands to be forced in some measure, and as a result it will be somewhat difficult in future to refuse permission or to prevent gatherings of a similar nature. True, the Board, in giving its permission, expressly stipulates that, except in the case •of the licensed victuallers, who must be granted a similar concession, these two cases shall not be regarded as a precedent to the prejudice of the trustees- power. The trustees realise how very undesirable it is that the Park should be made the scene of Sunday addresses on all sorts of subjects by Socialists, Labour agitators, and candlebox orators of all sorts and conditions. Yet they have allowed the thin end of the wedge to*, be inserted, and unless they are very much firmer in future the Park will gradually lose its charm for those who go there in scaroh of peace and quietness.

Mr Marx stated at the meeting of Harbour Board ratepayers at Kaponga yesterday that he had\ received a cable from Wilier and Riley releasing the dairy factories interested from their contracts. In the Magistrate's Court this morning, before Air- ~ Hr S. Fitzherbert, S.M., William Glasson, a shepherd, now of Purau, Lyttelton, but formerly of Waitara, was* ordered to pay the sum of 7s 6d>per *wdek tbwards the support of an illegitimate child of which he was adjudged the father, together with expenses amounting to £ly 10s. Mr Wilkes appeared for complainant. Defendant did not appear.

One of the white swans from Pukekura Park, attracted, by 1 the .luxuriant growth of grass in the neighbourhood of the town, has been making nights boy and. bounds during the last . few days. He has been seen on the Huatofei stream near the MilL^Rf a^ and also near the mouth wH i wi^ > 'Henui River. The Board particularly asks that persons observing, him will refrain from molesting him and will" do their best to protect him' from attacks by dogs. This fine, bird is the only progeny of . the Royal swans which were brought from England by the late Mr E/ M. Smith.

A meeting of the recently-formed Taranaki branch of the Society for the Promotion of the Health of Women and Children was held in the Town Hall yesterday afternoon. Several members were enrolled. Mrs Newton King Avas elected president, and Mrs M. Matthews hon. secretary. An executive committee of seven was set up, the following ladies being elected members : — Mesdames G. Tisch, E. Dockrill, E. M. Smithy M. Fraser, S. Hooper, and H. Okey, and Miss Grant. This afternoon the members of the committee met Dr. Truby King and consulted with him on the organisation of the branch.

Taranaki is not the only district where whitebait is scarce this season. A Foxton fisherman states that with his staff last year, up to the salne date in October, he had caught £-500 worth of whitebait; this year he caught only £50 worth.

Eight Chinese, none of whom had previoubl;, resided in Now Zealand, aimed at Wellington irom Sjdney by the Manuka 011 Wednesday. This will be the hnal batch to arrive bet ore rhe new Act is brought into force compelling each Celestial immigrant to undergo an English education test.

The annual examinations of the New Zealand Accountants and Auditors 1 Association takes place throughout the Dominion the week alter next commencing on Monday, iNovember is. Fi\e candidates are presenting themselves at the New i'ly mouth centre. Mr L. T. Mills has accepted the position ot supervisor.

As evidence of the tightness of the money market, a resident ot South Cantcibury agreed to purchase a certain farm tor £iG,OOU, provided he could get accommodation lor hall this amount. He put down £BOU'O cash, but, in spite of all endeavours, he uas unable to tj/ot the other £80U0, notu ithstanding that he had the best ot security to otter ior it, and as a consequence tlio deal i ell through, say.s the '11 mam Herald.

Scents carry a long way, according to the notions of the Oamaru Times. 'Jhis paper alleges that some years ago the smoke of the Australian bush fires was watted across to New Zealand, and in Oamaru at all events those with noses and eyes were made aware of the fact. Recently large soap and candle works were destroyed in Dunedin. A south-west wind was blowing at the time, and on this wind the odour of burning tallow was distinctly borne to Oamaru, although about seventy-eight miles distant.

"Very few goldminers live to be more than forty-five years of age," said MiFry, of inangahua, at the sitting of the New Zealand Miners' Federation at Wellington. A motion was before the conference to put a duty upon gold produced, to be devoted to the miners' sick and accident fund. It was further pointed out that the goldminer has very unhealthy work, and that he is subject to just as great dangers as the coalminer, and coalminers had a provision of this kind made for them. The general opinion of the conference was that in making such a request the miners were not pleading for a concession, but were demanding a right.

Interest in the Orepuki shale deposit is being revived. After many weeks of arduous work, Mr Lee, the expert, has collected sufficient data to enable him to lay before the directors a comprehensive report upon the shale deposit in the mineral lease held by the New Zealand Coal and Oil Company. The Orepuki Advocate states that the report will be distinctly favourable. A large area, several hundred acres in extent, lying northwards from the works, has been proved to be mineralbearing. There are many indications that the shale deposit extends far beyond the company's property. Some time, of course, must elapse before work on any extensive scale will be an accomplished fact.

Said a Timaru banker: "If the banks chose to take advantage of the present position, they could get much higher rates of interest than they are charging; but they do not want to do this. The banks want to deal fairly by the people, and they are refusing new business (no matter how tempting the rate of interest offered) in order that they may have sufficient money to keep their regular' customers going. What we want to do is to trade on a fair basis, and in working as we are, the banks are acting in the best interests of their clients, as well as of themselves. , When 1 it is remembered that the indebtedness of the people of this Dominion to the banks is £20,000,000, it can be readily seen that there is need for a steadier policy. — Timaru Herald. To show that misrepresentations of New Zealand were made in England io ' attract immigrants to this country, "A Tynesider, writing in the Wellington Post, reprinted a cablegram sent through Reuter's agency to England. The cablegram quoted was as follows: "Wellington, August 20.— The Government Bureau reports that a considerable number of officers of. the United States Fleet called at the bureau and made inquiries with regard to settling in New Zealand. Some of them spoke of making a start when their periods of service have expired. Many expressed their admiration of 'the country. They regard it as a splendid place in which to settle.". Reuter's agent at Wellington now asserts that the information contained in the foregoing message, is correct. Inquiries were made at the Government Bureau in Auckland by . officers of the fleet, and the men spoke in terms of high praise of ( New Zealand. The same information as that cabled to London from Wellington Avas published in the New Zealand papers' at the time.

Speaking to a reporter in Sydney, Dr. Mason, Chief Health Officer of New Zealand, said that this Dominion was determined to stay no effort in stamping 1 out consumption. The t«sults so far achieved had been remarkably successful. The percentage of cures in the Government sanatoria had been about 21 per cent. "Of course," Dr. Mason remarked, "it is almost impossible to compare this- with -the results, from different places, because the word 'cure' is so uncertain in its meaning. - The cure of consumption is not like the cure of pneumonia. It is more like the cure of a 1 diseased bone in the leg — there is a subsequent limp. The consumptive who gets weil has to live in the light of his frailty for ever afterwards,' otherwise he is liable to go back. But there can be no doubt that the campaign which has been conducted both in ajid out of the Dominion 1 against consumption within recent years has had marvellous results. The death-rate is" decreasing all over • the world where sanatoria for the treatment of the disease exist. In England they have lowered it "by 6 units per, looo."

Sir Robert Stout delivered a . little homily' to young men after a recent oratorical competition in the Wellington Town Hall. He exhorted them to take a greater share in. 'public life. In the earlier' days young, men did not wja,it so long before taking part m civic duties. He himself at twenty-four had taken a prominent part in- politics, and at twenty-six became a member of the Provincial Council. The future of this young country rested, with its young men, and he hoped they would feel that the highest duty they could perform was to take an active. part in civic life. It was all very well to be a good footballer, but it. was not the highest function of manhood to kick a piece of leather. There was more to be done than that. He hoped that young men would take an intelligent interest in political questions. If they would set truth first and patriotism highest, and think less of themselves than of their country, he believed that, inspired by such ideals, they would have in this new nation the highest form of Government possible.

A Deep-sea Angling Club has been formed in Wellington, it has over a hundred members.

There is v library of sonic 7oU books at the Hawera Railway Station for the use of employees between Eltham and Waitotara. That the library X largely ju ailed of is shown by the fact that the members, number about eighty. The opening train for the Main Trunk line will leave "Wellington on the evening of November 5, after a Chamber ol Commerce banquet. There will be a banquet at Auckland on arrival there on the evening of the 6th.

The new law providing a reading test in English for Chinese arriving in the Dominion came into -force yesterday. It is expected this will considerably reduce the number ot immigrants from the Flowery Land.

The Masterton Magistrate is inflicting salutary fines for supplying prohibited persons with liquor. In a number of cases that have come before him lately, the full penalty of £10 has been inflicted, and no time allowed in which to pay the fine.

The West port public are showing their sympathy for Hallinan and Andersen (the men wrongly convicted of the homicide of Burke) 111 a practical manner. Various entertainments are being held in order to raise a sufficient amount to erect a tombstone, etc., over the grave of Anders Andersen. A concert, promoted by commercial travellers who visit the "West Coast, produced £33.

Colonel Hammond, Geuoral Booths special emissary to promote emigration, had an interview with Sir Joseph Ward respecting his proposal that the Army should be appointed to choose New" Zealand's immigrants in London on the basis of a small bonus for each immigrant sent out. It is understood that Sir Joseph Ward did not express any glowing appreciation of the scheme, which, he stated, would receive the consideration of Cabinet.

"I would like to say," said Mr A. D. McLeod, of Wairarapa, who returned from a trip round the world on Wednesday, "that the papers of the Dominion, both the dailies and weeklies, compare more than favourably with those at Home. As for American papers, you get plenty of crust in the way of glaring headings, but mighty little meat in the way of honest, reliable news."

The political situation from the Labour viewpoint was cleverly put by Mr D. McLaren, a Wellington Labour candidate, rather in opposition to the Government of the day. He pictured the Ministerial and Opposition Liberal parties as a "good old couple of whom the old lady is in opposition to her husband until someone else interferes, and thon she scratches the eyes out of the third party."

The healthy appearance of the country between and .Wellington impressed Mr Harold Beauchamp, chairman of the Bank of New Zealand. "Farmers," ho told a Times' reporter, "are jubilant in regard to the season's dairying prospects. There, of course, they" are not so much dependent upon the price of wool as farmers are on the East Coast. The country is looking very well, and, from what farmers tell me, the produce output from the West Coast this season should be of an exceedingly satisfactory nature to. all concerned."

A remarkable story of red-tape was told at the Women's Congress (states the Sydney Morning Herald) by Miss Grace Watson. In a Commonwealth office at Melbourne a lady had occasion to call upon the second-in-charge. When she entered the room his secretary was alongside him at the table. This second-in-command was so "high and mighty" that he insisted upon the lady explaining her business first to the secretary. This she did, and the secretary, in turn, as the three sat there, transmitted the business to the second-in-command. The latter then gave his answer to the secretary, who, with due solemnity, repeated it to the lady.

Many and varied are the answers that men give regarding the qualifications that would make women desirable as wives. From out of the West (says an American paper) comes the story of nearly five hundred proposals of marriage received from all parts of the country by Mrs Anna Rowe. Not one of these eager proposers was concerned as to whether the lady's education was limited to the three R's, or whether she was entitled to write a string of college abbreviations after her name. Not one even asked whether she was a good cook. Sufficient it was for wifehood that she held a place in line for the drawing of government land at the Fon dv Lac Reservation soon to be opened. It had been published that Mrs Rowo wa.s unmarried. Alas, for the nearly five hundred disappointed and brokenhearted wooers, Mrs Rowe is holding the place in line for her husband 1 .'

It is cruel to dress children like expensive dolls, to force them to wear gloves, to insist on clothing them in weird apparel in order to pander to the vanity of parents. The Times says the children of Wellington on high days and holidays are dreadfully overdressed. The child who is overdressed is not having a happy time. The proud mother "smacks" a child for being natural if the proud mother is one or those foolish persons who believes in making what is reaJly a healthy Kttle savage into a small prig covered with so many pounds' worth of gay clothes. Every boy remembers his own childhood and the agony of- mind he felt when he was "guyed" for wearing long hair or a queer hat or a pair of girrs boots. It is easy to believe that the worst adult prigs w&- have are made by the idiotic clothes their parents insisted on hanging on them to satisfy their own vanity.

The Wellington Post is sarcastic at the expense of Mr C. E. Major, M.P. for Hawera. It says: "If the electors of Hawera had previously any doubt as to how to vote, all their difficulties should be, settled by the speech which Mr Major addressed to them on Tuesday. He asked the people to support him again, because — ana he would say this openly — he .might hold a portfolio. We do not., know whether, the more to admire the .candour and' the courago or the modesty and the naivete of this most engaging utterance: He says-^-and he says it openly — that if he is re-elected he may hold a portfolio. The shy aspirations which other politicians may.,jpnly avow to themselves with a blush in secret, Mr Major's tender regard for the interests of his district induces him to proclaim from the housetops of Hawera. He does not say that he has been offered a portfolio subject to his re-election. He does not say that he is likely to be offered one. He does not say that he deserves one, or even that he desires one. He does not say that he would accept the offer if it were made. He even leaves the possibility open that his sense of his own demerits might induce him to reject such an offer. He merely says — and like a plain, downright honest man who wears his heart on his sleeve, he says it openly — that he might hold a portfolio."

The Baptist Church services to-mor-row will be:— Gill Street 11 and < : Rev. John Laird; West own J : AU"Asher.

Siberian pine, together with Oregon, is reported to be getting a good hold in Australia, and, to some extent, ousting the New Zealand white pine, or kahrkatea. So far as butter boxes are concerned, the New Zealand pine is likely to hold its own in the Commonwealth, for the substitute has not yet been discovered; but for other boxes what is known as the "off-cuts" of white pine* have been, and still are, extensively used The Siberian r.rticlr i:-. hcr\ev<r. taking white pine's place, and a genttemaii concerned in. the "Wellington timber trade informed a Post reportor that when in Melbourne recently ho saw in one yard alone between six millinn and seven million feet ot Siberian pine. Japanese pine, also, for rough box work was coining in with the Siberian and both were in competition uith New Zealand pine in Australia. The freights from the Far East are all in favour of shippers from Siberian and Japanese porjs, although the torirer are closed by ice for. about halt the year. The timber comes down in huge vessels which are cheaplj' manned, and owners, look to Australia for a remunerative homeward freight. This factor has a great influence upon the cheapening of Eastern timbers in Australia, and the better enables them to. cut into Ihe New Zealand white pine trade for box timbers other than for butter boxes.