TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8219, 24 August 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

Private cables shave been received in Sydney recently from London advising that English, Swedisji, Italian, and other Continental manufacturers of wax vestas have agreed to combine to put a stop to outting tactics that have been going on in the trade for a long time past, when matohes have been selling at under what it really cost to produce them. Some of the Continental manufacturers have, it appears, been able to cut rates very fine |owiug to to the sweating and starvation rates they have been paying their hands, but now an agreement has been aranged whereby priees will be fixed, and the tiade placed upon a better footing. A sharp rise in prices has taken place at Hume, and local values are expected to advance.

It will be remembered that Professor John Milne that the disaster at San Francisco was oaused by the earth getting a little off its aixs, and causing disturbance at points of weakness in the effort to get back. The opinion of Dr. Woolnough, of Sydney, on the subject is interesting. He says:-—"There is a great volcanic zone encircling the earth, though San Francisco is outside that belt proper. The zone of voloanio activity extends from Central America down the western coast-line of South America, including some of the most magnificent mountains cf the world, the .volcanoes of the Andes, (under which Valparaiso lies), many of which are over 10,000 ft in height. Southward the magnitude of the mountains decreases, buc the zone passes down through Patagonia into the South Polar regions, and is continued theire by a well-defined line of volcanic activity, reappearing on the other side of the Antarotic, including the voloanio zone of which Mounts Erebus and Terror are two uf the most important peaks. The zone, therefore, passes very close to the south of the south Pole. There have now been three great and destructive earthquakes on the zone of which Dr. Woolnough speaks, viz, that of Columbia in March last, tnat of San Francisco in April, and that of Valparaiso on Thursday Inst.

[ Men may differ as to the compara- ' five merits of the freehold and lease [ bold tenures, but there can he no difference of opinion as to tne deeiruiiility of getting rid of the potato blight. Yet it is only now that steps are being taken to earry out what we nope will be exhaustive experiments a 1; one of the State experimental farms for the purpose of ascertaining how the blight may beefc be controlled. If this is one of the first fruits of Mr McNab's appointment as Minister for Agriculture we oan all approve of the change, says a northern contemporary, for there has been something really pathetic in the demeanour of the Agricultural Department while a destructive pestilence has raged among our potato plants and almost quadrupled the cost of our uheapest food. When fires break out in Homeward-bcund vessels, steps are immediately and properly taken to sift the matter to the bottom and to discover by scientific investigation what starts these fires and bow they may be prevented. But while our potato grounds reek with blight and while hundreds of thousands of pounds are fost by our farmers and by the consumers, the Government does net even take the trouble to suspend the duty. The Agricultural Department has published a few leaflets, issued a few vague instructions, and then sat waiting for the blight to get as tired as it did in Ireland. There is no excuse for this negleot. Modern soieuce does noi wait for diseases to die out, but investigates ana conquers them. Mr. MoNab, an educated man, must be aware of this; and we hope that he will put a little life into a Department which ought to be the mcst in fluentiul and imoortantin the public service, out has certainly failed to

afford any particular light and leading to our blight-pestered potato growers.

According to the Australasian it is freely stated that the Prime Minister has expressed his desire to retire from politics if tariff rectified this session, that he "may make way for Mr Isaaos, who would be appointed lead-' der of the tiny Government party; that Mr Isaaos will be promoted to the High Court, that Mr Deakin will thereupon be a candidate for the Speaker's chefir; that SirFreieriok (Holder will abandon the Speakership in order to lead a new party, to be formed by a union of the moderate members on both sides of the chamber; that Mr Deakin will remain in office and fight the elections single-handed in the hope that he may patch up an alliance with the Labour party in the next Parliament under the title of the "Progressive party;" that Mr Deakin will surrender the position of Primo Minister so that Mr Keld may lead combined anti-caucus party in and out of Parliament; that Mr Reid will go to London as High Commissioner or be made a High Oourt judge. All these and more things are being said and eaoh of the three leaders stoutly assorts that there is no foundation for any of them. Mr Deakin brushes them aside as "good jokes." Mr Watson expresses admiration for "somebody's fertile imagination." Mr Eeid asserts that be is well satisfied with his present post and particularly -?ith the ouHook.