BANDOM NOTES.

Western Star, 31 January 1922, Page 2

BANDOM NOTES.

11l Invcrcargill .last Wednesday it was a pleasure to see how pleasant the sellers, of wool' appeared. The sales were on, and those "in the know" were confident of a big improvement in. prices. And so it turned -out- There was a distinct improvement, evidence of the fact that the corner has been turned. An advance of only one .penny a pound means one million pounds more iiir come to the Dominion. Wool is -our chief staple product, and the welfare of the grower means the welfare of all.

Undoubtedly The Rocks is a Health Resort, and the other day one of Invercarg.il l's pretty cashiers gave it a good advertisement. Said she to the departmental head, "You must give raft a holiday to go to The Rocks, Riverton, to recruit my health. My beauty is beginning ,to fade, and all the girls, who have been there* come bacS simply lovely." "But, why do you think your beauty is beginning-to.fade? " queried the head. "WhyP" came the .reply; "because the men are beginning to count their change!" » * » f

One of the questions' set at the recent Public Service Examinations was—lo 66. Did- William the Conqueror introduce feudalism? The student, no doubt having that morning read in the paper about the public service retrenchment, , replied to the question av follows:—l922. William I introduced frugal ismi. Students should not Teadl the newspapers when sitting, for an examination. The curious thing about the matter, however, is that while, numbers: of men are being .given their walking ticket, ones sit for the examination which"" is the Open Sesame to tne public service, as well as the the street.

A! wrangle is at present in progress regarding missing houses in the Southland Power Board's district. It is a ver} 7 * important matter, because the estimated income of the Board, when the rarrcnt has been turned on, is based on the numheT of dwellings likely to use it. It appears there are two estimates, one; giving a fewer number than*.the other. With the merits or demerits of tlie controversy I am not concerned. Suffice it to say that one of the returns was based on the Census figures. The question naturally arises: Are tlie Census figures absolutely accurate ? The work of a Census sub-enumerator, marvellous to say, is the one thing in this Dominion that is net inspected ! Everything else appears to be. The cow, the byre, the bin, the boy in the school, the apple in the shop, the meat on the block, the workroom and; factory, the defaulting taxpayer's books, the weights audi scales of all who use theto, scenic reserves and resorts and sheep, school fire appliances, boilers, boats and ships, refuse lieaps and sinks 'and a lot of other things too numerous to r particularise, as the bargain advertisers phrase it. Rut the sub-enumerator's work is not inspected. His figures are 'simply checked. One can hardily credit a Census sub-enumlerator with infallibility.- For instance, it 113' recorded of an enumerator in Ireland that one of his duties consisted of the compilation of a return of the poultry and eggs produced in 'the' country. On comparing the total of poultry with the total of eggs in one certain district, he made the surprising discovery that every cock, hen and chick in that part of Ireland had laid six eggs a 'day for an entire twelve mouths! The chief's attention was drawn to * the matter, and that particular return was' pigeon-holed. No wonder there are some missing houses in Southland. Probably next Census, when the ebb sets in on the high tide of retrenchment, another inspector will appear on the horizon.

Southland sent up thirty-two candidates for the New Zealand branch of t!>o Navy, but only seven had the necessary physical qualifications' for a naval man. M.any more applied, but were turned down on sight. This does not speak well for the .physical fitness -of young New Zealand, who ought to be the fittest in the world. What .ir> wrong? Whore does the trouble lieH Would a Royal Commission solve the question? Are they over or under inspected? "Proba-bly they over-do the physical training business. One caff train too much.' Discussing the three volumes of Pugilistic:! in his book "Through the Magic Door,'' Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle shows that while pugilistic exercises—to take one form of exercise dear to a young Englishman—may produce an ideal physique, they have their drawbacks. Sir Arthur says the latter days of the fighting men were often curious and unexpected, though, as a rule, they were short-lived, for the alteration of the excess ,of their normal existence and the ascetiscism of their training undermines their constitution. Jem Belcher died at 30, Ejoopcr at 31, Pearce, the* Game Chicken, at. 32, Turner at 35, Hudson at 38, Randall, the Nonpareil, at 34. Young New Zealand should take warning, and not .overdo any forto of excrci.se. Too much is as hadl as too little, and that is what a Royal Commission Avould report were it set up to-morrow to enquire into our national, wcllbeing.

A 1 San Francisco cable reported that the Sonoma, on which a sensational robbery of gold had -taken place on a previous trip*, had had serious trouble with the stevedores at Pago Pago. The Sonoma, which arrived with a cargo of gold and other commodities valued at many million dollars, stopped at Pago Pago to load coal and other stuffs. Convicts were used as Stevedores. Suddenly they stormed over the vessel in an attempt to break into the treasure chests, and tlie entire crow were needed to 1 hold off the invaders at the point of the revolver. Nothing was lost and no damage was done. The invaders were successfully driven off.

The theft of five boxes of gold valued at,-£25,000 from the Sonoma brings to mind several other ship rohbories which have- taken place in

Australian 'waters in the past. When the TN T elson was lying in Hoibson's Bay in 1852, gold bullion valued at £24,000 was removed by a gang of _ thieves, audi it was never recovered, in August, 1877, when: the P. and O. steamer China was on a voyage from . Sydney 'to Melbourne,. 5000 sovereigns, the property of the Oriental Bank, were" stolen by a ship's car-' penter named tM'art'in Weiberg, and lie also accused the first officer of being concerned s in the robbery. After doing a term of hard labour, Weiberg was accidentally drowned in a Gippslancl lake. - When the Iberia was about to leave Melbourne , for London in, 1889, a >ox containing. 5000 sovereigns disappeared. The captain, second officer, and purser were called 011 to resign, not on account of suspicion resting on them, but because . they could give no explanation of the robbery. Every attempt to trace .. the lost money failed!, and the au- ; thorities ceased to think about it. . One clay two boys playing; at Williamstown saw a mouse run into b, hole under the platform of the-rail-way pier. One of the boys started, to dig the mouse out with a stick,'* and, to his surprise, unearthed a nuass o'f sovereigns. The boya gathered up between them 282 sovereigns', andl hurried home to report their. y luck. The police were informed, and before the day was out 3742 Sovereigns were ' recovered. This still left a balance, but neither balance r.or robber has since turned up. In 1907 - the Oceana lost £SOOO at or near Melbourne, but investigation failed" to unravel the mystery. —DOSA.