LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8779, 16 November 1906, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Careful inquiiy is bejng made by th« postal authorities as to the possibility of utilising motor-oars for' the delivery of mails.

"To-day's river report is as follows: — Ashley, Waimakariri, Ashburton (upper and lower), clear; Waitaki in good' order; Rangitata and Opihi fishablo; Rakaia slightly discoloured, but fishable. -

The Minister of Justice. (Hon. J. M'Gowan) has received a^request from the Government of Sweden (through the Swedish Consul-General for Australasia) to be supplied with inforirtfttbri relating to the Courts for juvenile : offenders which have been create*! in tUisr colony. The Justice Department is iur> nishing the particulars required.

The approximate entries for the first of this season's wool salesi opened at Wellington this afternoon, number between 1700 and 1800 bales. This is a very good entry for this sale. At the corresponding sales of last year only about 1400 baies were offered, owing to the preceding wet The wool has come on the market. in very good condition , showing : that • the sheep wintered well. There are no; noticeable breaks in the wool. ...» ..-...<

A case of interest, to schb^ifeacliera in particular, will come ' ifefore '"thfl Dunedin Police Court on November 20, when two committeemen of a country school, situated not far from r Dunedin, will be charged with- insulting the teacher in the presence of his pupils. In the one case it is alleged that th« committeeman was under the inffuenc* of liquor, and, remaining on the premisee for the greater part of the day, interfered with the working of ~th« school. The other committeeman. is alleged to have challenged" the teache*. out to fight. , •' ■

1 The sight of three or four, clergymen in immaculate linen grubbing amongst blackened and charred books in the destroyed Bible Depot (sajs the; Otago "Daily Times") was amusing enough j to draw a small knot of spectators in. Princes Street on Wednesday morning. It may have been that the^r "t»ilt«mplated replacing some of the worn Bibles usediinfheir Sunday schools, or i it may have been that they ing for rarities in literature^at > : all events their assiduity was noticeable. Lest an ancient slur on the Sooth nation be revived, it may be mentioned that one of them looked like an Anglican clergyman.

Some interesting information concerning the Jewish world is contained in the "Jewish Year Book, 5667." There are, it is estimated, some 150,000 Jews resident in London, two-thirds of whom live in the East End. The total Jewish population of the United Kingdom is given at 228,707, being an in.* crease of 1541 during twelve months. The total Jewish" population of the British Empire is approximated at 361,512, the colony having the largest number being South Africa, with 48,820. There are three Jewisn peers in England and eleven baronets, while sixteen Jews have seats m the House of Commons. In the English Army there are 400 Jews serving in all ranks and 100 in the Navy, the highest rank attained by any Jew- being that of colonel.

At Man-cheater last month two police constables were each sentenced to three months' hard labour far breaking into a tobacconist's shop and stealing goods therefrom.

At Dunedin to-day, Thomas Laurenson, proprietor of "the Royal Albert Hotel, was fined £5 on each of two informations for applying a false trade description to whisky in bottles.

Captain Edwin's weather forecast, telegraphed at noon to-day, is as follows:—" Moderate to strong ™ Ed « from between nort' and west and south-west; glass fall slowly;, tides good; sea moderate."

Four lads, aged from nine to fourteen, were before the Juvenile Court at Invercargill to-day on charges which include the passing of counterfeit com, attempted arson, and in three instances of breaking and entering two residences. The boys confessed and were remanded till this afternoon.

Aecordng to the "Fiji Times of OcuobeT 24, " Messrs Cross and Kennedy, two residents of Napier, New Zealand, for the past few weeks hare been - • spying land m Fiji, and have selected at least one block of land at Wai Doi. It is further , reported that- th«y have selected at leacb ono other block. It is stated that the properties will be utilised for rubber, it should be. added that the Government has placed every facility at its disposal to assist these gentlemen in making their selection, whatever it may comprise."

Dr J. Restell Thomas, who receirtly examined the nursing class instructed by J)r, Alice Moorhou6e. under the auspices of ihe-St John Ambulance_ Association, reports that the following members have qualified for the certificates of the Association :— Misses Eleanor Baxter, E. L. Bowker, Emily. Hazard, E. M. I Herriot, J. Mt Irving, B. V. Julius, E. M. Lee, F. L. M'Evoy, Henrietta Moir, B. M. H. Pedler^ D. A.. Rogers; and Janet Rogers. In a note, Dr Thomas especially mentions No. 8 (Miss Herriot) whose paper was very good.

'It is announced (says the London "Standard ") that orders for structural steel for the reconstruction of- San Francisco and Valparaiso, representing an aggregate value of some £500,000 ,to £.1,000,000, have been submitted ii.r quotation to Midland firms, but with disappointing results, owing to the- extraordinary methods adopted by -he American steel trusts. It appears that these powerful syndicates, taking Advantage of their, unlimited capital and immense capacity of production, have offered to supply the steel, not on.'y more expeditiou sly than English houses, but to accept payment in twelve months, an extension of credit which English firms declined to entertain. .

For some time past (says a Brisbane telegram), reports made by the police in the Dalby districts have contained references to the presence of a white child in an aboriginal ca.mp in the district, and, in consequence of certain aborigines visited the blacks' camp near Bunya Mountains, and • succeeded with difficulty in inducing the aboriginal woman, who claims to be the mother of the white child, to permit the latter to be brought to Brisbane, on condition that she and her three, other children also were brought down. The little girl, who apparently is about six years of age, is perfectly white, with golden hair arfd blue eyes. She is to be sent to a home.

The Indian Government is oonsidering a remarkable scheme for reclaiming the Rann of Cutch, a work which, if carried out, will be similar to that undertaken by the Dutch in the Zuider Zee. The Rann of Cutch is a waste, at sonie seasons water, at others land, and it is proposed to reclaim it by closing the inlets from -the 6ea'j which, are narrow. TJie water, which is everywhere shallow, would then evaporate rapidly, leaving heavy salino deposits. These, it is thought, could be , .trashed out and drained away by 'a great canal, to be constructed from the Indus. The application of scientific agriculture to the reclaimed land, and the construction of a railway linking Karachi and Bombay, would complete the proposed scheme. The question, "Is there % New Zealand flag?" was raised by a correspondent in the " New Zealand Times." The answer is that "an Act to establish and define an ensign for New Zealand" was passed in 1901. As long ago as 1865 the Colonial Defence Act provided for a distinctive flag for ah vessels belonging to or permanently employed in the service of the colony. The Government four years later decided on the blue ensign of the. Royal . Naval Reserve, haying'on the fly.thereof the Southern Cross, as represented by four five-pointed stars, with white borders. This was generally used for the purpose provided, and also as the recognised ensign of the colony, and it was established as such for use on shore and afloat by the New Zealand Ensign Act of 1901. By the Shipping and Seamen Act of 1903 it was declared to be the flag for British merchant ships registered in New Zealand. ..'. ■ An enormous shark was recently -eaptured by the Natives at Tekaha, Bay of. Plenty, after a desperate fight. The Natives, who were engaged in towing into the bay a whale they had captured, found the 6hark following .them, . .,. and making great efforts to get at the whale. Finding the shark getting into very close proximity to the boats, a harpoon was thrown, which fastened into the shark's side. When the "iron" was fejt by the great fish he made a tremendous effort with hie jaws to rid himself of the trouble, but without avail. The boats then made common cause, and surrounded the shark, and, after a most exciting fight, during which the whale spears were brought into requisition, the monster was killed and landed on the beach. The contest had lasted nearly two - hours. The shark, when measured on the beach, was 32ft long, and the teeth varied from 3in long, 2Jin wide, down to a small size, all being of the flat type, with a eaw edge. The establishment of a. factory for making _rifle barrels was foreshadowed by the Commonwealth Minister of Deience (Senator Playford) in dealing with. ihe> appropriation for hie depart- '■• -meiitv"- Exclusive of land ' and buildings, such an establishment would cost £6300, and its staff o£- thirty-eight would turn out 100 barrels a week which would be sufficient to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth forces. Afterward© the manufacture of shells' could be added and operations otherwise extended as local requirements grew. This would form the nucleus of & Commonwealth arsenal. A complete small arms factory was . .put; of the. question at present. The smallest plant would cost £66,000, and the maximum requirements would soon Be met and the employees thrown out ojf work. The local manufacture of cordite presented the same difficulty. Present requirements were twenty-five or thirty tons a, year, an amount, which the smallest available plant would turn out in two months.