LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, 4 February 1902, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The report of the Customs returns for the month of January appears on our front page, where will also be found an interesting- article under the heading "British Gunners in South Africa.."

The students who attended Mr George's classes are informed that the address will be ready for signing to-day at the Technical School after 3 p.m. All students are requested to sign it.

■The Anglican Sunday Schools will hold their annual picnic at Maramaratotara. on Thursday next. The Presbyterian picnic will be held at the Aramoho Tea Gardens on th« same date*

Lieutenant-Colonel Watt will, be at the Drill Hall this evening at 7 o'clock for the purpose of swearing in members of the Irish Rifles. Captain Swan and the secretary will also be in attendance.

The Wanganui Highland Rifles last evening paraded for the first time in their new undress uniform. The smart white jackets of the privates and the gay red coats of the officers made an imposing spectacle. The company was taken for a. march out, after which an hour's useful work was pub in in the Drill Hall, the men being drilled by the sergeants in the firing exercise.

At the Magistrate's Court yesterday, judgment by default was given in the following undefended cases : Fitzherbert (Mr. Wood) v. Hcnare Sumango, claim £2 13s 6<1.. with costs £1 7s. 6d. Wanganui Supply Agency Company (Mr. Wood) v. D. W. Carroll, claim £12 195., with costs 30s. 6d.

Apparently the telegraph- is not on occasion the -speedy transmitter of messages that it wu« once thought to be. On Saturday, last a Wanganui resident who was on business in Hawera wired at 9.30 to his v.ife that he was coining home by the express train. Ho duly arrived home, and after dinner answered a knock at the front door, and received the telegram handed in acme four or five hours previously.

On Sunday morning the Waimangu geyser, which had beeii quiescent during the preceding lialf-week, belched an immense volume of black sand and boulders to a height of about 800 feet. Shepherd, the guide, states that the eruption was the finest he had seen. After a rest of three hours the geyser again went into action and continued from noon till twilight. A large number of tourists were present, one of whom, getting within the firing line, •jvas wounded in the arm by a stone. A much-travelled journalist states . that the Waimangu is the greatest geyser on the earth.

Mr. A. D. AVilis, M.H.R., has consented to open ~the Wanganui Guards.' bazaar, which begins on Monday, 17th instant. Ali arrangements for the bazaar are progressing satisfactorily, and everything points to the affair being a great success. One of the features of the bazaar will be the doll dressing competition, in which considerable interest has been aroused. The Garrison Band have promised to supply tho music during the progress of the bazaar. The committee desire to thank those who have forwarded donations, and wish to statt) that thrise who wish to may leave donations of produce, etc., at Messrs.. Williams and Harper's premises, in the Avenue.

Inquiries- have been made by Mr. H. C. Cameron, Inspector of New Zealand pioduce at Home, relative to the manufacture of a new article of food from skim in ilk."1 In a report which he has furnished to the Agent-General he states that the skimmed or separated milk is treated by special machinery to -great pressure and heat until it loses ail moisture, and ou'ty ii. dry substance remains. This substance h next specially treated, and a very fine white powder is the result. The powder, which is known as plasmon. is soluble in water, and can be used as an article of food in many farms. It is claimed for the food that it does not put on fat but fleshi and that in its concentrated form it is of special advantage to travellers, soldiers in the field, and invalids. The chairman of the company, which has secured the patent rights is Sir Montagu Nelson, of Nelson Bros., and Ci>. The company does not intend to sell the patent rights for New Zealand, .but may establish manufacturing plant in, tho colony.

Two or three letters addressed to the "(jape Times" by German residents in South Africa last month, just when the outburst of Anglophobia. wa>* at its height in their native land', throw some interesting light on the way in which public opinion is manufactured by Continental newspapeiw. One correspondent, replying to a suggestion that German settlers at the Cape should set their country right with regard to the South African question, says it would be impossible to get a fair hearing in the Berlin Pros. "Generally speaking," he says, "German newspapers will not insert communications that arc sent to them by one who is not one of their regular subscribers. Then, even, they often object to insert letters that do not suit them, and if they <lo insert them, their reader.-', not knowing the writers, will not believe them." In illustration of the prejudice of the stay-at-home German, he tells how he was severely taken to task by one of his correspondents for dating his letters from Capetown instead of Kapstadt. But all the writers agree that the greatest help to the pro-Boers on the Continent has been the pt'isistent miweprej-eiitation of the proBr;.eis at ome. The Germans cannot imagine that a man can be ho curiously constituted that when his countiy is at war he can take .sides with the enemy, and they not only credit all the abominable libels that Mr. W. T. Stead and his friends have published, but actually believe that the British "atrocities" are worse than they have been painted. "Even their own newspapers." they vay, "admit it; how much worse must it be in reality!" One writer, who professes to have been on intimate terms with the Boer leaders before the war, says there would have been no resistance after the occupation of Pretoria but for the encouragement given to Mr. Kruger by his British friends. Thin i# something for the editor of "The Review of Reviews" and hir: admirers to think over. Nine-tenths of the horrors of the war have occurred since Lord Roberts entered the Transvaal capital, and to that extent the noisy individuals who have been crying for an impossible peace must take tire responsibility for the great sum. of bloodshed and, misery. It is a burden which few people would care to bear.

■Says the Wellington "Post": For the freehold block of land in Moleswortli street taken under proclamation by the City Council in connection with its scheme for widening Frasur's lane the Corporation have agreed to pay Mrs. Abbott, of Wanganui, £7375. ,

New Zealand poets may be interested to learn that the editor of "Good Words" is offering a prize to colonials for the best Coronation ode.

"A lady," says Colonel Staepole, in- a recent interview in "M.A.P.," "wrote to me. 'Dear sir, I hear that the soldiers in South Africa suffer very much from thirst. An old soldier in our village, who is now a total abstainer, told me that sucking a pebble is a very good thing under such circumstances. I enclose twoi pebbles, and shall be very pleased indeed to collect sacks full of them to send to the men in South Africa if you call make arrangements for forwarding them.'"

Empire exacts its toll with melancholy severity, and the sadnets is accentuated when the victims fall in the performance of a peaceful duty to no bright accompaniment of glorious and warlike circumstances. A party of Royal Engineers, consisting of six officers aiicf, twelve non-commissioned officers, recently arrived at Cape Coast Castle in order to survey the colony. Within a few weeks, the "Navy and Army" stated, three of the non-commissioned officers had died. The Gold Coast still lives up to its ghastly reputation as "the White Man's Grave."

An amusing incident arising out of the recent wreck of the Danish barque Alexandra at Hatter's Beach is to be chronicled. In close proximity to the scene of the disaster there resides an old miner, and the sight of a large vessel ashore on his beach claim in the morning aroused a curious sort of feeling within the breast of" the old pioneer. Summoning all his wits iiygether, he came to the conclusion that his claimi had been "jumped" by a party of dredging experts, and he went off in hot haste to order them off. However, when he reached the ship and discovered what was really the matter, his anj,vr quickly 'vanished, and he cheerfully gave all possible assistance to the'ehipwretked captain and crew.

The "Oamaru Mail" is informed that the potato crops in the North O-tago district are suffering considerably from an attack of blight. This is what is known as the greenfly, and is found thickly upon the shaws, which, as a result of the attack, wither away prematurely before the tubers are properly developed. It is feared that the yield will be greatly diminished, and one practical farmer has ventured the opinion that where the pest has made its appearance there is hot likely to be more than a quarter^ crop. The fly has been known to attack potatoes in previous years, but in those cases the injury was confined to the earlier varieties. This jrear, however, the Derwents are the r'traerers, and as these constitute the main crop the loss is likely to be ..very serious.

I'he six clays' cycle race, which was concluded at iNew York on December 14th, did not come up to popular expectations either in the matter of the ground covered or in the exhibition of horrors which previous races have afforded (.says the London "Daily Express." The winners—Walthour and MeEachern—were 178 miles behind best previous time, and all the competitors finished in fair condition. The majority of them, indeed, gained in weight from two to four pounds. Julius, who had previously, fallen asleep and had to be taken off the track, in attempting to continue fell and broke his collarbone. That was the worst accident. During ,the final efforts the rid-, ers had recourse- to drugn, cocaine and strychnine being used to stimulate their flagging energies. The promoters of the race made a goud thing out of it. The attendances amounted to 100,000, and the receipts to £15,600, yielding a net profit of £10,000. The riders take in prizes less than £1000.

A storm at Woodend (Victoria) was responsible for the incarceration of the local police constable in the lockup tinder his charge for the night. Constable'McKane had arrested a drunken man, and was assisted by a youth named Tavlor to get thh prisoner and his swag to the lockup. As the tramp was ■supposed to have money oiv him. the constable wished to search him in, the presence of a. witness, so Taylor was required to hold the cell door;ajar during the search. The wind proved too. strong for the lad. and the door slammed, locking all three in the cell. They coo-eed again and again through the night, but as it was known that a "drunk" had been "run in" no heed was paid to the noise, further than maledictions from the neighbours at the unseemly disturbance. Relief came in tho ■morning, about 7 o'clock, when tho coun- , cil's day labourer happened to pass and j released the prisoners. .

The following circular has been issued to the. Education Boards of the colony in relation to the operation of the Teachers' Salaries Act of last session—As the returns required under "The Public School Teachers' Salaries Act, 1901," will not be available in time to enable the amount*! payable to'Edu-. cation Boards for thi« month- to be accurately ascertained, each Board will receive on account of the month's services a payment of which the items are as follows: (1) A sum equivalent to the amount paid to the Board last month as capitation at the rate- of £3 15s. (2) A sum equal to the average monthly rate paid to the Board during 1901 for additions to teachers' salaries. (3) One-twelfth of the payments authorised by sub-section (b) of section 5 of the Act (£250 per annum, together with 11s 3d per annum per average attendance. In the computation of the latter the average attendance for the September quarter will.be taken). The amount indicated will enable the Boards to pay teachers approximately the sums due to them for the month, subject to adjustment when the exact sums are. known.

One trooper in the Eighth Contingent was so disappointed because he did not get a sergeant's stripes that (says the Wcstport News) he went into town and "pulled a wire"' so effectively that' he returned to camp with an order to "give this man his stripes." "Well, Bill, how did you get on?" asked his tent mates when he returned. "Oh, I got on all right in town," ivas the reply, "but what sort of time did you have with the CO.!" The men were curious to know what happened at the interview with the Officer Commanding the Garni). "Bill" obliged with the story. "Well, when I presented the order, tfie .captain looked me up and down in that steely-glitter style. 'So, my man,' he said, 'you've been to see some of your friends of influence in town.' I didn't say a word— the paper spoke for me. 'Now, look here,' said tho captain, 'you know very well that I if you had been any good you would have cot the stripes. Isut> you loafed around whilst other chaps grafted 'for their stripes, and they won them on their merits. Don't you imagine that you are going to get on without merit to back you. You can go!' And I went," concluded Bill, "and I'm blest if I know whether I'm going to wear them stripes after all my enterprise! "Serve you right!" was the chorus when ' the tale was told. I There is something pathetically amusing, says the Lyttelton "Times," about the Chinese proposal to engage Lord Charles Beresford as Instructor to their Imperial Navy. It is interesting to inquire what Lord Charles would do with the navy if he had it under his control. There was little of it left after the Japanese War, nine German-built cruisers, two British-built and half-a-dozen gunboats only escaping, but some additions were made in 1898 and 1899. The Allies ' crippled some of these vessels, but the Chinese Navy is now much in the condition in which Lord Charles Beresford found it in 1898. It had a few god msn 'trained by British instructors, but it was terribly un-der-manned, and extensively starved by the authorities, so that it was far from effii cient. "Many Chinese authorities," says Lord Beresford, "asked my advice ns to the fleet. I recommended them to put what ships they had left in order for police purposes, pointing out that such vessels should be able to stop the piracies at and about Canton. I strongly recommended them not to expend any more money for naval armaments, since the work of protection which devolved on them demanded rather a* military than a naval development. In my opinion, the first thing they ought to do is to provide that security for trade and commerce which only military and police can u'ive.'"' The waste of nwmey in the Naval Department, as in all other Chinese Departments', is appalling. Hundreds of useless war-junks are kept along the coast, the Viceroys and other officials-- receiving large , sums of money for maintenance and for the payment of crews. The only dockyard is at Poochow. and here, again, money has been noured away. The one dry dock is cajjable of h/ilding a. cruiser of about 3000 tons, but the sides are cracked and broken, and the .foundations far from secure. No one -but a Chinese captain would let his ship be taken into it. Lord Charles Beresford's frankness in criticising these arrangements did not increase his popularity

among Chinese officials, but it has evidently impressed their masters.