LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10104, 16 March 1911, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

/ All the Canterbury rivers were reported to be clear this morning. I The Hon G. Fowlds, Minister of Education, was waited on by the Rev J. M'Kenzie and the Rev F. Rule to-day, and acceded to their request that he should preside at the annual meeting of the Presbyterian Social Service Association on March 27. ,\. A telegram from Sydney states that fcmong the passengers by the Arawa is Mr Samuel Turner, F.R.G.S., who is en.route to New Zealand on a mountaineering expedition. Dm-ing the voyage he put up a world's skipping record to keep himself in climbing trim. j No recent announcement of the Post-)naster-General, or of any Minister, has kroused greater interest than the statement made in Sydney, says the " Age," that penny postage will operate in Australia " within eight weeks' time." Inquiries made at the Department recently show that the intention is to include in the penny radius all the principal oversea dominions, such as Canada, South Africa and New Zealand, as Veil as Great Britain. India and Egypt will also come within the radius. | Two Wellington business gentlemen at present on a visit to Dunedin waited (on the "Otago Daily Times" on Tuesday, with reference to a report published regarding'unemployment in Weljlmgton. In this Mr Wilford was quoted »5 having said that there were 2000 applications for positions.as tram conductors on the file. One of the visitors, 'Mr James Reid, claimed that this was jiraisleading, as it might lead people to understand that there were 2000 people put. of work in Wellington. The probability was, he said, that there were p°t more,-than fifty whb really belonged Jfco Wellington among those applicants. [Even these fifty were hot necessarily .out of work, but might simplv be lookfinK for a more congenial billet. The balance of the applicants were probably {distributed throughout the rest of New IZealand at the other chief centres. Referring to the statement that applicants were going to the banks for aslutance on second and third mortgages. Mr Reid said that, personally, he could pardly imagine that people would be so ftbsurd as to go to a bank with such a proposal Both the gentlemen admitted that Wellington had not yet quite Recovered from the slump, but they per© confident that it was certainly iii a very much improved position. It was taow going along very solidlv, and the feeling.was that next summer it would' ))e back in its old position.

L. A , n ."Urease m the operations of Victorian factories manufacturing plug tobacco is shown by figures for 1910 S^ffiSJiL 7 ? xcis& offic6r s- In 1909 £,i42,1301b of tobacco leaf was manufactured, and in 1910 4,698,9951b. The amount of tobacco leaf grown in Australia and operated on in 1910 was' £™£ e^ e the Previous years. In ,3909 178 2951b of leaf was trested as compared with 166,3981b in 1910. Previously tobacco leaf which was importHi. came m stripped, but on the imposition of a differential duty manufacturers were induced to import it unstrippea. This created a wages board in Australia for stripping and refunds Were allowed according-to the amount ?L5? alfcs and otner refuse. Refuse in 1910 amounted to 1,250,0001b from the GrwXJi' a ,S, d the re funds represented fc71,000. Thei amojjant of tobacco manufactured m Victorian factories in 1910 was 5,500,0001b, and duty was rjaid on 4,562,0001b of the finished artlct Larf year the export of manufactured to* Cr acC n 0 0-, r o ea^¥ d U06,0001b, and a total M ±,216,314 was collected on the tobacco manufactured in the State. In Kort year V^torian factories used 220,0001b of leaf for making cigars, as ngainst 200,0001b for the previous year. ffhe amount of Australian leaf so used hyag about equal to the amount of 1909 Where were 69,0001b of refuse, the rel fund. reaching £B6OO. Finished cigarettes weighed 220,0001b, aaid the excise payable was £4479. In 1910 306,0001b fcreight of leaf was used for making cigarettes, which was a decrease, as phe previous year's weight was 318,000 }o-The amount of refuse was 110,0001b and the refund stood at £8276. I "Irresistibly comic," was the description that the Rev A. Stewart applied in Melbourne to a recent regulation, representing the combined wisdom of the Minister and the Postal Department, on tl;o question of Sunday work. Mr Thomas, the Post-Hiaster-General, who was receiving the deputation on which Mr Stewart was ( a spokesman, looked as though he failed to see where the oomedy came in, f The Presbyterian clergyman explained ; even when he had done so the joke didn t seem as obvious as it might have been. He explained further; and then U ray of light broke in on the Minister. "Hal" he exclaimed; "I see.'' The comedy of the situation—and of the regulation—had suddenly dawned bn him. It lay in the fact that the Department recognised "conscientious Scruples as _ a reason for the individual absenting himself from work; hut at the same time, and in the same breath, it insisted that he should tret a substitute to take on the Sunday task. This was the amusing inconsistency which moved the Scotch minister to laughter. "Is a person who objets jto work on Sunday," he asked, " any Kore moral than another person whom > has persuaded to do the work for him. ' ''Not necessarily," agreed MiThomas. "Certainly not," declared the clergyman. The deputation, by its ("Hear, hears," endorsed the view of Its spokesman. Another point of Mr Stewart's—and one which he made [without any references to the comedy aspect of it, though it seemed funnier than the other, was that a great many i"_frivolous conversations" were carried on over the telephone on Sundays, and that these ought to be stopped. An extra charge for Sunday conversations, frivolous or otherwise, was suggested, but to this, as to other suggestions, Mr Thomas had nothing favourable to 6ay. 1 Dinner Sets, 26 pieces, from 16s 9d to 358; 56 pieces, 39s 6d to £5. Tea sets, 21 pieces, from 7s 9d to 19s 6d; 40 pieces, 22s 6d to £3 10s. W. and G. Cups and Saucers, 5s 9d dozen; Cups only, 4s 6d dozen. Earthenware Cups and Saucers from 3s 9d dozen; Plates to match cheap, at Fletcher Bros., Crockery Merchants, High Street. 1

Don't go home to-night all out of sorts —with a headache, brain in a whirl. Take Stearns' Headache Cure, \nd eo home care free* 8

On tho application of Messrs Powley and Keast, Dunedin (Mr Beswick), A. J. W. White, a debtor, was this morning adjudicated a bankrupt by tho registrar of the Supreme Court (Mr A. W. Hawkins), acting in the absence of the Judge. The adjudication was made by consent. The successful candidates for the surveyors' examinations for Australia and New Zealand are as follows: —J. D. Jack (Wellington), R. E. Fry (Auckland), W. P. Black (Dunedin), J. P. Larkin (Te Kuiti), R. M'lver (Christchurch), H. M. Thompson (Hokitika), H. R. Young (Westport), and R. M. Mouat (Wairoa, Hawke's Bay). The Hon G. Fowlds, on his arrival in Christchurch this morning, found waiting for him a handsome volume of photographs, sent to him by the directors of the dynamite factory at Mcddersfontein, which Mr Fowlds and the Hon Mr Fisher, of Australia, visited when he was in South Africa, The volume was addressed to Mr Fowlds at Christchurch. and reached the city on the same day as his arrival on this present visit.

At a sitting of the Juvenile Court this morning three little girls were charged with having stolen £5 8s 3d in a purse belonging to a school-teacher. Mr H.'W. Bishop, 8.M., cautioned the parents of the children very severely, and spoke strongly of their responsibilities in making decent citizens of their children. Mr Alpers, who- appeared for two of the offenders, said that the parents would send them to the country to get them away from bad associates.

A business man recently waited on the Federal Minister for Home Affairs with a calculation to show that when the railway system is built through Turkey in Asia, and ultimately connects ' with the Indian railways, and when Ceylon is connected by bridge or otherwise with the mainland, and tho transcontinental railway is built to Kalgoorlie, the postal distance between Eastern Australia and London will bo cut) down to twenty-one days. Mr O'Malley expressed his entire satisfaction at learning the prediction, and thought it an argument for pushing oil with the western railway, so as to be in time for other projects. This morning at about 9,30, while a milkman named Joseph Gray, of Dallington, was mounting his cart at the corner of Winohcombe and Durhanr Streets, a small child who ran suddenly out of a gate startled his horse, which immediately bolted. The man was thrown off the cart, but fortunately escaped unhurt. The runaway continued its career until it reached the Caahel Street bridge, where it crashed through the railings along the river bank and ended its bolt in the river. The horse seemed little the worse for its escapade, and the cart was but slightly damaged. The horse was extricated and led away, but the cart remained in the river for a time, while the milk-cans went sailing gently down the river. The search for new coal seams carried on by the Victorian Mines Department _ has not lately led to any discoveries of importance. At Sorrento a bore was put down 1700 ft, and as no deposit had been met with, the plant, was shifted to Cape Schanck, where the ground is now being tested. About nine machines are at work in the Powlett district, and most of the boring has been done within an area of about two square miles almost immediately adjoining the State mine block, on the south side. Some testing has also been carried out in the direction of Inverloch. Between forty and fifty bores have been put down. In one case a 3ft seam and in another a 2ft 6in seam were passed through, the latter at a depth of 1014 ft. Before the value of the deposits in these areas can be determined more boring will have to be done. At present only one of the machines will go below a depth of about 1000 ft, but a second machine for deeper boring is being forwarded to the district. As the Post Office clock struck eight o'clock on a recent morning, says tho Melbourne " Age," a van daaned out of the yard, and a few minutes later drew up at the State Land Tax Office, at the Flinders Street station. In the van were 22,500 letters for the Land Tax Commissioner. After regarding the box marked " Letters'' the two officers accompanying the mail knocked at the door, which was opened, by the hall porter. The postmen struggled up two nights of stairs with the enormous mailbags, and eventually dumped them at the office door so that the Commissioner might "see" his mail on entering. When the staff arrived they cast awed glances at the bags, but soon thirty men were set to work opening the land tax returns. There was no time to talk, and with shirt sleeves rolled up they tore at the envelopes, and piled form upon form. By noon about 20,000 of the letters had been opened, and the remainder of the Commissioner's post was locked away until this morning. The correspondents of the Commissioner now aggregate 112,000. Bourke Street, Melbourne, on the northern side, just above Swanston Street, was impassable all day on Friday by reason of an enormous throng ever crossing and going in front of the store of Bussell, Robson and Bussell, where two ladies in harem skirts walked to and fro in a large show window. At.one time the pressure was so great that the plate-glass gave way under it ;i,nd broke. In the evening the crowd grew so huge and clamorous that urgent telephone messages were sent for a strong force of police. Tho models, two tall and finely-formed young women, were masked. One wore green satin trouserettes, which hung full and fitted close round the ankle, displaying the whole of the A black kimono-like cloak, with wide green revers to match the trouserettes, covered all to three-quarter length, and a black silk turban, with an osprey adorned the head. The other was similarly attired, except that the trouserettes were black and the coat of coronation blue. Later in the night the crowd grew so dense that for a time traffic was entirely suspended. Seeing that the presence of mounted troopers would be needed to keep the crowd bnck, the police informed the manager that unless he withdrew the young women from the window the firm would be prosecuted for obstructing'the roadway. They were then withdrawn, and the crowd dispersed.