LATE TELEGRAMS

Waikato Independent, Volume VII, Issue 465, 25 January 1908, Page 5

LATE TELEGRAMS

AN OVERWORKED CABINET. (PER PRESS ASSOCIATION. Wellington, Yesterday. _ Yhe Premier, speaking to an inter* viewer on the subject of pressure of work on Ministers, said that sooner or later the question of an increase in their number would have to be faced. Daring the last twelve or fourteen years some ~a twenty new Departments had been added : to the public service, and the work of Ministers had quadrupled. He had no intention of adding to the number imme* diately, but it would have to be con* sidered soon. DOMINION FINANCES. Wellington, Yesterday. Referring to New Zealand’s finances, the Premier, in an interview, said that the Dominion was in a remarkably satis* factory financial position. It fully justified the confidence the people generally had in the Dominion. It also emphasised what he had said in a general way before, that never in the history of the country, at least during his public life, had they been upon such a solid basis as to-day, CUSTOMS DECLARATIONS. Auckland, This Day. The fact that Customs declarations cannot now be made before J’s.P., was adversely commented on by the Chamber of Commerce, which intends to appeal to the Minister on the subject. EDITORIAL CHANGES. Wellington, This Day. Mr. A. Wilson has resigned his position as editor of the “New Zealand Times,” owing to private business making it necessary for him to visit England. It is understood that Mr. Bierce 0. Freeth succeedff'Mr. Wilson. A MYSTERIOUS MISSION. Wellington, This Day. The .mysterious mission of Sir Joseph Ward to Greyraouth, is believed to be not altogether unconnected with coal-mining troubles on the West Coast, and also to obtain certain information arising out of an interview with Admiral Fawkes in Aucklarfd. BUSH FIRES. PERILOUS EXPERIENCE. Auckland, This Day. Bush fires are still raging on the Coromandel Peninsula and unless rain falls, additional valuable timber areas will be devastated. Three men working to save a dam on the Rangihau block had a perilous experience. Before they were aware of their position, they were surrounded by flames, and took refuge in a creek, where the water barely covered their bodies, crawling out more dead than alive, when the fire passed.