TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7970, 22 February 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

The assertion of the London Globe that the Motherland baa a chance, while the New Hebrides question is being discussed with the French mission, at Downing Street, to reoover the reputation lost by previous negligence in safeguarding colonial interests, is one for which all colonists will be grateful, eaya the Auckland Herald. We must hope that the Frenchmen will not find the Ooljulal Office as ig>

noraut of the question as' the Colonial Offioe habitually has been of colonial matters, and that the new Imperial Government will not consider the harden of Empire to ba already so great that it should be reduced whenever aa opportunity, offers. But, however frieudly the Colonial office may bo, however desirous of protecting our interests any Imperial Government may be, we do not think that auy great satisfaction can be given until an Imperial Council is instituted, at which all our claims 1 can be formally brought forward aud intelligently discussod. . Meanwhile, however, the Imperial Government ought to know that the Attstralasian colonies objeot unanimously to any extension of foreign occupation in the South-west Pacific, aud to any unfairness towards British settlers in the New Hebrides, as long as those islands remain under the Dual Control.

Prices are now being paid for flow era that recall those of the tulip maula in the seventeenth century. Then the world went mad over the gaudy floi-bl chalice, and single oulbs fetched fortunes. For instance, it is recorded in the register of Alkinner, in Holland, that, in 1639, 120 tulips with the off sets sold for 90,000 florins, and the bulb of one, called "The Viceroy," fetohed 4,203 guilders. Bulbs were quoted on the exchanges as corn is now, and speculators found riches or ruin in the tint of a petal. At last the States stepped in and stooped the ruinous traffic. Now it is the turn of the aarnatisn to make the guineas jump. A telegram from America recently aunouuced that a Cincinnati florist has just sold a new carnation seedling called "The Aristocrat," for 40,000 dollars. This roughly is £B,OOO, and tops the record hitherto held by the "Lawson Pink," for which Mr Lawson paid 30,000 dollars.

The main*' point in the AustroHun;arian dispute, to which a great deal of cable space has lately been given, at present, is the language employed in military commands, and the Hungarian demands that their recruits shall be taught to understand all the words of the Hungarian military orders. The Emperor's first definite refusal to acoede to this request eame on September 23rd, 1905, and be has consistently maintained this attitude ever since. Mr Emil Reich holds that the Fejervary Government's suffrage and other reform schemes were introduced merely to -bribe them to desist "from their demands for the most and the least negligible reform now required by Hungary." With that Ministry's downfall Dr Reioh foresaw the beginning of the end, for the Kiug would either abdicate or give in. "A greater prinoe than he," says the writer, "has given in to his nation, over whom four centuries of Czars had weilded unbounded aristocratic power," and he consequently anticipates an early Hungarian victory. The interesting feature of the situation is the Austrian support (with the exception of the Emperor) of the Hungarian claims.

"The number of bankruptcies in the Taranaki district has increased slightly, assets have and • dividends have been very ,small," said Mr E. Gerard, Official Assignee, to an Auckland press representative recently. "Dairying bas bad every chance of flourishing, favourable seasons and high prices in butter and cheese prevailing, but artificial inflation of land values in Taranaki has spoilt it there." The chickens are coming to roost, and, in the opinion of Mr Gerard, it will take a good while before things oan be cleared. "Hundreds of small hold ings and a few of the larger ones are mortgaged up to the hilt, and mortgagees who can afford it are very indulgent just now. They are refraining from pressing too hard for interest, lest the dairymen mortgagors should throw up> the sponge aud let the land go to waste. Many adjustments must take place, and every one of them means hardship to a number of individuals and forfeiture of the whole results of several years of hard work in many oases." A gentleman haviug extensive business transactions with laranaki, speaking on-tbe same subject, said that "in reality Taranaki is as solid as ever it was~one of the solideat spots iu New Zealand, tfhe failures of the past have been mainly confined to small storekeepers who started with deficient capital or allowed the book debts to grow too fast. The outstanding aocounts are out of all reasonable proportion with the smount of trade done, cash sales being almost niHn some concerns."