TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7961, 12 February 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

Certain concessions in fares are to be made by the Railway Department. These embrace a reduction in the ordinary season ticket rates for distances up to 200 miles, and in the annual sectional tickets for distances up to 150 miles. Commercial travellers holding annual sectional or "all lines" tickets, will in future«be able to obtain season tickets for their samples for ' the lines for which ■ their passeucer tickets are available and at, charges considerably less than those that are now ruling for excess luggage. Kates on the carriage of Crown coal for distances over 75 miles are being reduced. A valuable concession is also to be made in the carriage of ground phosphates. in Copenhagen, a few weeks ago, in the presence of a large gathering, including the Crown Prince, Prince Waldemar, the Ministers, and many members of Parliament, Mr Mylius Brichsen described his plans for the expedition he intends to lead to explore the north-east coast of Greenland, between the 78th and 83rd degreos of latitude. The expedition, whioh will number 21 men, will start in the middle of June next on a ship to be christened Denmark. After wintering at the 75th parallel, 12 men, divided into groups of three each, will begin a sledge expedition to the northward. All will again meet on board the Denmark. In July, 190*3, the ship will return south, and will winter on the 73rd parallel, whence 12 men will start on an expedition over the inland ice of Greenland.' The expedition, whioh is expected to return in the summer of 1908, will cost 200,000 kroner (£9,000). In a speech at Leeds, in December, Mr Balfour said:—"l would venture to point out to all my friends throughout the country that, considering that the colonies have never themselves put forward, so far as I know, any plan, and considering that a duty on corn, however capable it may be of solving part of that question, cannot solve the whole of it, inasmuch as we do not import corn from very important colonies, and inasmuch as our relations with our oolonies are far more uomplex than this simple consideration of exchange of commodities seems to show—considering that we give them, practically for nothing, the whole maritime and most of the military defence, considering that there are other methods by which we can greatly aid the interchange of commodities between the Mother Country and the oolonies, it is not wise, certainly it is not always wise, to talk as if a duty on corn was the one thing which this country ought to consider." The case of a man who lost his legs on a Welsh railway, a*nd failed to obtain compensation because the jury were satisfied that he deliberately offered himself for mutilation, is not an isolated one, remarks a London paper. Dozens of instances are on record o J people' who try their utmost to live out of unjustifiable actions for damages for alleged injuries. Did not a well-known City man not long ago claim a large sum from a railway company on account

of injuries which be alleged had neen sustained through their negligeooe at a suburban station? Instead of compensation, he got time—soon afterwards—for oerjury. He was an old nand. So was a man picked up dead a year or two back just outside a station in the North of LondonHe had won two claims for compensation already. In his third attempt he made a mistake—he stood between the metals instead of by them. Whenever a person enters a claim for a big sum as compensation from a railway company a private detective is sent,to investigate the matter. The revelations thus obtained are sometimes startling.

Medical men in ir'aris are occupied with the case of Gustave Nordin, the hardy Swede, who paddled his own canoe from Stockholm to Paris, and reached that city in robust health after his long voyage, during which he lived on apples, a small supply of milk, water and some bread, According to the correspondent of the London Telegraph, the Swede states that be undertook his dangerous and arduous voyage to show what could bo done by a man who has given up meat, tea, coffee, wine, beer, spirits and tobacco. He prides himself on eclipsing the vegetarians, and on returning to the system of what is termed natural alimentation. Nordin has agreed to allow the doctors to draw some blood from his legs.and arms for the purpose of analysis. He states that when in America at the age of 18, he found that he could aot digest any of the ordinary food by which mortal? are sustained. He was suffering so he began his regime of fruit, prinuipally apples, on which he throve and became the robust person that be is t^'day.

Captain Walker, representative of the Marconi Company, returned to Sydney by the Maheno, from New Zealand (says the Sydney Morning Herald), and left later in the day by the Yoneaal, for Melbourne. " While iu New Zealand Cantain Walker had several highly satisfactory interviews with the Postmaster-General (Sir Joseph Ward), who expressed himself desirous of securing for New Zealand the benefits of the wireless system, and he is atking the Federal Poamaster-General (Mr Chapman) to agree to the adoption of the scheme submitted by Captain Walker for sending messages over the Tasman Sea. Up to the time of Captain Walker leaving Wellington, Sir Joseph Ward bad not, received any definite reply from Mr Austin Chapman; "but," added Captain Walker, "I think there is no doubt that as both Ministers have expressed,a desire to adopt the system, a definite forward movement will be taken at an early date." Captain Walkar is visiting Melbourne to push on the work of arranging a demonstration between Victoria and Tasmania.