THE WORLD'S PRESS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7976, 1 March 1906, Page 7

THE WORLD'S PRESS.

_ + TEIE TOURIST HARVEST. travellers who make holiday on the Continent are estimated by a French authority to spend at least £30,000,001) a year duriug their trips abroad. The three million tourist 3 who visit Switzerland annually leave at least £6,000.000 in that country. Veixov visitors «o to the Riviera, Italy, and Suain, and are estimated to spend over £12,000,000 during the winter season alone. The three oaDitals (Paris, Vienna, and Berlin) receive at least £9;000,000 a year * from foreign visitors, while the amount Bpenfc at Continental spas totals £3,200,000 a year. DEAR MONEY IN NEW YORK. The followiug interesting paragraph, headed, "Money in New York," is takeu from the "Statist" of December 30tb:—"There has been no very decided movement, but what movement is apDarent has been in the direction of greater stringency. Lirtst week day-to-day money was quoted from 4 per cent, tp 16 per cent. During the past week money has been worth from 100 per cent, to 125 per cent. The banking difficulties in Chicago have been followed by banking difficulties in Memphis. In spite of this, business in Wall Street has been not only very large, but prices have been well maintained. The last return of the New York Associated Banks showed a slight improvement, for though the loaos and deposit's were both higher, there W»b also some increase in the actual reserves held, a loss in legal tenders being more than offset.by an iuoreaee in the specie. There is still a surplus reserve, though small, of £831,000.»' GERMAN ORPHANS. The municipality of Berlin (says a correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, London) has decided on an interesting alteration of the method of treating Berlin orphans. Hitherto these have all been seut to orphanages on a large scale, conducted on the rigid lines usual in such institutions. Berlin orphans are now v to be distributed out in suitable families, where, they wiil have the advantage of family life, and only those children afflicted with mental or bodily disease wiil be retained ip orphanages. The municipality has decided to build no more institutions of this oharaoter. THE CHAMPAGNE HARVEST. An expert who has just returned from Reims tells Mr H. W. Luoy there is no longer doubt that the exceptionally longrun of champagne vintage years will be broken by* the record of 1 1905. The storms and heavy rainfalls that befel in the aritioal months of July and August apoiled what, up to the commencement of July, was the promise of an excellent vintage. As matters have turned out, the champagne of 1905 will be small in quantity and poor in quality. On the othor hand the vintage of 1904 is fully realising expectations, promising to complete the record of half a dozeu memorable vintage years during'the quarter of a oentury. As champagne drinkers know, the good years were 1880, 1884, 1889, 1892 and in a somewhat less degree of perfection 1898, 1900, and 1904. When the 1893 vintage was first sampled it was accepted as being of superior anality to the yield of 1892, and sold accordingly. Twelve months later the 1892 wine developed qualities that placed it in the first rank, which position it has sinoe held; 1893 was a fine vintage, but, according to the taste of connoisseurs', it cannot compete with its predecessor. HABITUAL CRIMINALS.; At the quarter sessions, at Sydney a few days ago, Judge "Murray sentenced three men. whose criminal records extended over a number of years, to short sentences, and then under the powers conferred upon him by the Habitual Offenders Aofe, deolaredeach to be an habitual orimlnal. In each of the oases dealt with, the men were advanced in years. One was desoribed as an inaorrrlgible sneak thief and pick pocket, who haunted the drapers' shops where bargain Bales were being held, and abstracted purses , from women's pockets, another had larcenous tendencies, of a somewhat similar oharaoter, and was referred to as a hopeless case, and the other bad a record of thefts from the person, whioh showed his thieving proolivities to have been constantly dis

played. All the prisoners pleaded hard (for another chance, the new law, which Judge Murray considered to be a most useful one, acting uoon them as a decided scare. The men after serving the terms to which they have been sentenced, will be detained in a plaoe set ipart for the purpose, and made to work for their own monetary benefit to some extent, and when, in the opinion of those who have charge of them, they are safely returnable to life amongst free men, they will be released. The Sydney police state that the new law is having the effect of driving a number of the old criminals out of the State.