PROTECTION V. FBEETBADE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 3679, 17 July 1886, Page 4

PROTECTION V. FBEETBADE.

♦ i (Melbourne Daily Telegraph.) Production has passed beyond the requiraments of. borne consumption, and if tbe outlets are sbut oft tbe result must be a fall m prices below the paying'limit, and a gradual thinning out among those unable to withstand the pressure. Depression already exists m the boot trade, which is attributed m great measure to the business with Riverina, once a flourishing and profitable one, having disappeared. The export m slop or ready-made clothing, which has been carried on extensively by Melbourne factories, employing Bomo thousands of hands, is also feeling the effects of the new burdens. Tho woollen mills aro likely to suffer, as much of the cloth manufactured by them is sont to New South Wales. There is abundanco of evidence of the^injury which will be caused to our intercolonial trade all round. Our total exports to the other Australian colonies, including New Zealand and Fiji, were £5,679,548 m 1885 as against £5,862,240 m tho previous year and thedocrease will, under the unfavorable conditions to whicb we have referred, be Btill more strongly marked m the present year. Something may be done to remove the shackles which harass trade by a relaxation of the regulations at the Custom-house, and anything that can be accomplished m this direction without injury to the revenue ought to be done. Our main hope, however, lies m negotiating with other colonies for an interchange of products. An attempt was made last year with Tasmania, but some initial errors Titiated the transaction. A renewal of the negotiations might lead to more f avourablo result. With Queensland and Fiji also an understanding might be arrived at. Both colonies are largely concerned m the produc-

tion of sugar, of which Victoria is a plentiful consumer. A differential duty m their favour of £2 per ton would be an inducement for them to grant free admission to Victorian manufactures and produce. It is idle to disguise that there are difficulties m tho way, and that the action of Victoria is likely to be jealously scrutinised j but under tho mollifying influence of time thi3 feeling will pass away, and eventually we may hope to achieve that universal freedom of trade throughout the Australasian colonies which is tho desiro now both of Protectionist, and Freetraders. A|9y dney telegram to the Argus on the 16th June, states that information received there confirms the recent intelligence from Kimherley to the effect that it would bo worse than unwise for diggers to go to Kimberley till the rainy Beason sets m m September. There is good reason to believe that several of the reports of large finds at Kimberley had not the slightest foundation, but were Bimply circulated by interested parties for the purpose of keeping up a rush. It is at times difficult to find any use for sawdust, but according to an English paper the following ii one way of deriving advantage from it : — Water is added, up to a degree of plasticity ; the mixture of one to three parts of reiinous sawdust and one pars of washed kaolin is ground and presied by means of a press. The lumps thus obtained and dried m the air, then placed m a stove, and, lastly, vitrified m the ovens under white-red temperature. These blocks can be sawn, planed, and polished into the shape of incombustible bricki, which ar« used m America for building houses. The eruption of Mount Etna, which occurred m May, is declared says the Home News to have been the most sudden and terrible ever beheld by the inhabitants of the surrounding country. Eleven craters were active. Tho central one disgorged only smoke and ashes, but from three others huge stenes were thrown up a prodigious height. The lava streams m some parts were 600 ft wide, and were flowing down the mountain side and through tho fertile valleys, destroying the crops and setting the woods on fire. The small towns of Ni olosi and Belpasso were threatened with destruction, and many of the inhabitants had fled. No lives seem to have been lost, but numbers of people were homeless, the earthquake shocks having destroyed their houses or the showers of ashes and lapilli having obliged them to geek a refuge elsewhere. One chesnut wood had been surrounded by streams of lava and burned. The eruption was accompanied by constant earthquakes, with terrible subterranean noises like thunder. The Bight from Catania was indescribably grand and tremendous, and vast crowds were constantly gazing at the awful spectacle. The MadraH High Court was recently occupied m trying a case which hag caused great excitement m the Southern Presidency. Mr Garstin, secretary to the local Government, while travelling some months ago, was attacked by a band of dacoits. It was stated that the dacoity had been got up by some native friends of another European official, who was on bad terms with Mr Garstin. The trial of the ca-» was removod from the district to the High Court, and the interest m it was further increased by a statement that the Madras Government had made a representation on the subject to the Seoretary of State, and by the belief that the full details of a grave official scandal was about to transpire After a nine days trial the case ended on May Bth. Tho jury acquitted all the prisoners on all count 3 of tho indictment, a result which was received with loud applause m a crowded court. At the City of London Court on April 25, Mr Commissioner Kerr had before him a case m which a trade mark was involved. The defendant did not disputo the order for tho labels, but said the price was exorbitant. — His Honor : lam afraid your defence comes too late. You ought to know that the law of England is a wonderful institution. It is made up of maxims generally formulated for the benefit of lawyers — (Laughter.) In order to further mystify ordinary people, theso maxims aro put into Latin. There] is] one which I will translate for you : " Ihe law is made for the vigilaDt not for thoio who go to sleep." lam afraid you have gone to sleep m this matter by not initiating your 'defence soon enough. One of you is evidently a foreigner, and it is qnite necessary we should understand that the moment you set your foot on English soil you are supposed to know the whole of the law of England fiom the earliest times. Looking at thia trade label, I think it is very well executed. I see there are the arms of the French Empire, which has ceased to exists and there nre also the arms of the United Kingdom, which has not yet censed to exist. — (Loud Laughter) — In another case the defendant sent a doctor's certficato that he was suffering from illness, and could not attend. — His Honor: From thia certificate I can see that a little sulphur and treacle would cure the patient m twenty-four hours, If the doctor does not know that, send him to me, and I will iostruct him. — (L-ughter). — The case was accordingly adjourned. At the ordinary general meeting of the society of Telegraph Engineers and Electricians, held m London m May, Mr W. H. Preece, F.R.S., delivered an address on "Longdistance Telephony." The paper dealt with the question of working at a distance between town and town for commercial purposes, as distinguished from mere distance speaking with the view of seeing how far one could speak. Speech had been transmitted over lUOO miles of open wire, but it was difficult to speak over twenty miles of cable. The development of telephones m the United States had been enormous. At the present time 325,574 instruments were m use, while m England there are only 13,000. London was not even the chief centre m Europe. Berlin exceeded, while Stockholm had nearly as many subscribers. New York and its neighbourhood alone bad as many instruments as the United Kingdom. The disturbances to which telephones are liable and their remedies were fully detailed m the paper. Speech was now perfectly practical to distances of 100 miles. Inter-urban connections m the United States were very extensive, from the 42,461 miles of wire, and t hey earned 538,000 dols. a day. Tho longest distances were about 100 miles, the toll was 25 cents, or Is., for five minutes conversation. This business did not pay of itself, but it paid indirectly by attracting subscribers to local exchanges. Remember thia. — If you are sick Hop Bitters will surely aid nature m making you well when all else fails. If you are costive or dyspeptic, or are suffering from any other J of the numerous diseases of the stomach or bowels, it is your own fault if you remain ill, for Hop Bitters is a sovereign remedy m all such complaints. If you are nervous use of Hop Bitters. If you have rough, pimply, or sallow akin, bad breath, pains and aches, and feel miserable generally, Hop Bitters will give you fair skin, rich blood, and sweetest breath, and health. That poor, bedridden, invalid wife, sister, mother or daughter, can be made the picture of health, by American Co.'s Hop Bitters, costing but a trifle, Will you let them suffer ? In short they cure all diseases of tho stomach, bowels, blood, liver, nerves, kidneys, Bright's disease. £500 will bo paid for a cose they will not euro or help. Druggists and Chemists keep. Prosecute the swindlers ! — If when you call for American Hop Bitters (see greon twig of hops on tho white label and Dr Soule's name blown m tho bottle), tho vendor hands out anything but American Hop Bitters, refuse it and shun that vendor as you would a viper ; and if he has taken your money for anything else indict him for tho fraud and sue him for damages for the swindle, and we will pay you liberally for the conviction. (2)