LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11646, 25 August 1905, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The subscriptions for the new medical ward for the Dunedin hospital already amount to .£2462. At a Town Hall organ recital in Sydney, the city organist tried with success a, new mechanical music-turning device, the invention of Budge; a New Zealanderv.' ' The Premier has received cable "advice that a large' number of prize- medals' have been awarded- New Zealand exhibits -at'tho Crystal Palace Exhibition*- Londpn. : ?J t uU - particulars will be, cabled" to the Premier as soon as possible. " ■."'''*• T „ At the coursing meeting -of Palmep«t6n "-* North yesterday, Queen of Clubs; Jbeat Lord Cardigan, in the final of the open stake. The Ganger beat House Girl, in. the final of the Supplementary Stake," and Marquis beat Nobleman in the final' of the Local Stake. . • -v>, ," The Builders' Association at Dunedtn'haa refused to accept the Conciliation Board's recommendations in'the general labourers' * dispute, and -the matter will now come before the Arbitration Court. The members. of the Arbitration Court proceed" to. Irtver--cargill on Saturday, and will . ait Ahere. next week, when further ;evidence'.will '!>©• taken -.in the' sawmillera" ftspute,'*^"' 1 ?^

. Four old ago. pensions were renewed at th.c Police Court this morning, and one new one was granted. Members of the Council of the Wangahm Highland Rifles ' are reminded of the meeting to be held to-nigbt in the orderly room at 7.30 o'clock. In connection with the forthcoming tug-of-war the members of both teams are particularly requested to meet at Swan's malt house at 8 .o'clock 'sharp. A coach will be in attendance. Some three yeairs ago, when Mr Scherer, Australasian representative of the Winchester Small Arms Company, was travelling by the steamer' Sonoma from Sydney to San Francisco, . he threw overboard a bottle containg a card, giving his address, and promising to reward the finder with. a". 1902 model Winchester rifle. llr Scherer, who was in 'Brisbane', recently received his card, the finder being the skipper of a small, island trader, .who had picked up the long- journey ing bottle near Fiji. ' , At a meeting held at Palmertson North" last' evening, a Country Workers' Associ-' ' ation was formed, , ttie head-quarters >of which"' for the North Island are to be at Palmerston North. The main objects of the "'Association arc the f'stablishment of "bureaus in different parts of the colony to afford inform atiou regarding the work obtainable; the promotion of legislation for improving the living- accommodation for - country workers, and the improvement of the social standing of the country workers. The Association will keep clear of the wages question.

The Pesti Hirlap of Vienna states that a band of twenty Gypsies has been arrested at Jaszberency, • Hungary, on a charge of cannibalism. Some of the prisoners have confessed that eighteen, children have been eaten. Several times recently members of the band have been charged with stealing children who disappeared from the neighbourhood of- the . Gipsy encampment, but the charge was always dropped as no trace of the children could he- found. The police now state that they, have found the remains of* a cannibal feast in one of the Gipsy yans.

Considerable interest is' being taken in a couple of .football matches to be played ori the Recreation Ground to-morrow, .viz.,

that between the Kaicrau and Wanganui juniors, which starts at. 1.30 o'clock, and

the Wanganui-Pirates Senior Cup contest, at 3 o'clock. The Junior Cup match is

likely to prove a splendidly" contested one, and as both teams play capital football, the display should be a very interesting and attractive one. The senior game between the Pirates and Wanganuis also promises' to be full of interest, as both teams are evenly matched, and are confident of winning. Intending spectators can look forward to" seeing a. closely contested and most exciting game, and one well worth seeing in every way. The Government of Canada have entered into &. 10 years' contract with the North Atlantic Trading Company, of Amsterdam, to. embark upon an extensive plan of cmi-

g'ra'tion work from

Holland, Denmark,

Norway, , Sweden,- Russia, ' Finland, ' Ger- \ many, Austria-Hungary, Luxemburg, and \ Switzerland. The Government will pay a , bonus of £1 for every man; -woman, and levery domestic servant' over 18 years of lage, arriving in Canada from" ally of the countries named. From Galicia^ Bukojvina, and Poland ''the number' of immi- - f rants in any one year "on 'which a bonus kill be .paid is restricted to 'sooo. ' For jpeciftl work in Norway, Sweden, and ,Finand the company receives an additional frantof .£7so ' annually for three years. ! The farmers in the Guyra portion of the few England district. New South Wales, lave finished potato digging. The crop has een the, most prolific for years,-, and to rown thisj the tubers have br,o^gh.t an. ex? eptionally high price. On' one occasion inly have farmers obtained a higher price' /han that- ruling this year.' It is estimated that the district has produced about 5000 tons, which, at £5 per ton, which has! been" about the average price, means a return -of .£25,000 to the pockets of the 'producers. Nearly every farmer in the j district had a crop. The largest . con-. I tributor' had 17dO bags. There are a, good 'many tons of potatoes' still in the district | unsold, seUers evidently holding on in an- ■ |ticipation of a further rise in the market. 'Encouraged by the success of the season jjust closed, farmers will have a larger i area .under, crop next year, for, as they assert,, it is .the most .remunerative^ crop - When a fair market prevails. It seems that in the domain of New Zealand's industries the Japanese invasion, 1 has really commenced (says the Otago | Daily Times). On Friday the log of "the | cardboard-boxmaker women workers, was i tip for consideration by ,the Arbitration i Court. The operatives ask 4s 6d per gross 1 for making "cigarette boxes with shoulders." For this line, Mr Otto testified that

his firm had been paying 4s 3d, and that (the boxes could be obtained from Europe at a cost, including duty, of 5s lid. But now, he said, the boxes were offered from Japan at 2s lid. The Court- was assured that, a Japanese_cpmmercial man was already' in New Zealand, introducing dyes. Under ordinary circumstances it would be folly, to expect New Zealand, girls, demanding 4s 6d, to stand permanently against Japan pushing the same wares. at 2s lid. The invasion to be feared apparently is not, as the White Australia party suppose, of Japanese artisans.but of Japanese manufactures. In his own country the Japanese worker can" live at an extraordinarily cheap ,rate, and a tariff that* would shut out German and Belgian goods may prove no permanent bar to Japanese factories. These adaptable and insistent Mongols, with their genius for assimilation and their lust for national and commercial prestige, are steadily building " w-hat may prove to be the most gigantic problems of the white rases the day after to-morrow.