Here and There.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIX, Issue IX, 30 August 1902, Page 525

Here and There.

The Department of Industries and Commerce will ship 27,500 cases of potatoes to South Africa by the Norfolk.

A sawmiller in the Daunevirke district has lately secured an order in New Zealand for 970,000 feet of white pine. Orders for the same class of timber have been placed with two or three other mills in this part of the colony.

The Government has completed the purchase of the native interests in the Tamaki block of 34,000 acres, near Dannevirke. This purchase is subject to the lease held by the Hawke’s Bay Timber Company, which has still several years to run.

A sea snake was caught by a dog Belonging to an Indian lately on the beach at Nai Korokoro, near Levuka, Fiji. It was a splendid specimen, and was striped black and white, measuring about 2ft in length.

“It is worse than being fined -£lOOO for a hotelkeeper to have an endorsement placed upon his license, on account of the enormous prices charged for the goodwill of public-houses in Wellington,” said Mr Wilford, in

the Magistrate’s Court at Wellington the other day.

A handsome monument of Sydney freestone is now in course of erection at Feilding. It bears the inscription: “To the memory of those brave men from this district who. obeying the call of duty, sacrificed their lives in the cause of their Empire in the Boer War.” The inscriptions on other sides are “Duty to God and Empire,” also initials E.R. and V.R.

The Maungataniwha forest reserve, in the far North, between Mangonui and the West Coast, has been gazetted a reserve for native and imported game. Maunga-taniwha (Mountain of the Dragon”) is a conspicuous and picturesque eminence, whose slopes and summit are covered with dense bush. The reserve contains 3097 acres.

“Volcanitis.” —This is the latest fashionable disease (says a New York paper). The atmosphere is charged with the dust from the West India eruptions; the sulphurous particles get into the lungs and affect the blood. The symptoms are extreme lassitude, constant drowsiness and indisposition. The only remedy thus far indicated by is change of air. an immediate departure ofr Europe, the country, or the seaside.

“They that go down to the sea in ships” must be altered‘to coffins in the ease of the people of SheTßhme Falls. Massachusetts. An aquatic chib has just been formed there with a fleet ’of coffin boats. The coffins, which are made of wood and tin-lin-ed. are remainders of a coffin manufactory which formerly existed in the town. When the concern removed souvenirs of its handicraft were sold at a shilling apiece, and someone recognising their nautical qualities, the first boat chib in- the hlstbrv of Shelburne Falls was formed.

The Philadelphia papers describe the recent strike of fifteen ! imdred skilled workmen in the Prill Car Works, as “One of * the most ehnrniing social events oF the season.” None of the strikers rithkrs less than £4 n week. and many ns much ns £l2. They are clad in light, flannels in the day-time, nnd the"leaders come to the w*orks in evening dress at night. Pickets stroll around the works, and if anyone approaches Hie picket he is politely informed that cim to the works in evening dress works, and if anyone approaches the picket, he is politely informed that there is a strike on. The picket asks to be forgiven for the assumption that the visitor may be searching for

work, and then offers the visitor a cigar. Most of the strikers live in their own houses. There is no question of wages or hours involved in the strike—only the recognition of the union. The men take turns at picket duty, while others glay golf, baseball, and give coaching parties. This afternoon a band and a concert were provided.

It is of a ping-pong neck players must beware (writes “Rex" of Sydney). A strained feeling of the muscles and a slight swelling of a miniature gland are the symptoms, which, if brought under medical notice, lead to the inevitable question, “Are you a ping-pong player?” The remedy is complete rest. At a wellknown tennis club the dressing-room has been fitted with a tabic and set, and now ping-pong is played between the tennis sets, to prevent players catching cold. Tournaments are all the rage, from big affairs, with prizes worth 150 guineas, to friendly, games in which girls subscribe 6d each and have a chance'for a prize.

Ping-pong is doomed (says another Australian writer). It is being knocked out by a game called “carpet polo.” It is a sweet thing is

carpet polo, and the beauty of it is that anyone can learn it in a few minutes. The hobby-horse of childhood is need —the animal with a head, long stick, and two wheels at the end. The players, male and female, get astride these, and with short-crutclied sticks start to knock a ball through goal-posts represented by chairs. It is spoken of as a most fascinating pastime and wonderfully picturesque.

Ping-pong has become a great favourite in Turkish houses, where it is played with great zest by the ladies, who are delighted with the new amusement. The Khedive of Egypt’s mother; the Khedivah, has set up a ping-pong table in her magnificent new palace on the Bosphorus, and the ladies attached to her play every day. One great advantage they have is that there are swarms of little black slaves who pick up the balls for them.

The late Mr. Robert Laery, one of Wellington’s prominent business men, whose death at the age of 65 was recently announced, was a

nephew of one of the lieutenants who served under Nelson in the Victory at the battle of Trafalgar. Tie went to sea when he was a lad. mid had seen much of the world, having served in the Chinese war. and in a Chilian war, and had been shipwrecked three times. He came to Dunedin in the early sixties, and afterwards went to Wellington.

A great hoax was perpetrated upon the residents of Temuka last Sunday (according to a Timaru paper). A rumour gained currency that a whale, 65 feet in length, had become stranded on the beach near the mouth of the Opihi. The statement was generally believed, and in the afternoon all the townspeople who could manage it journeyed to the beach. It is estimated that more than 500 went to see the monster whale. When the beach was reached the visitors realised that they had been “had.” The hoax was taken in good part, and those returning kept up the error. The whole town was taken in.

A curious automobile accident, is reported from Albertville (France). A motor car coming from Italy, and containing three persons, broke down nt. kilometre No. 14, near Chambery. When it was repaired the driver got up to see that everything was all right, and bv mistake he set the motor going at full speed backwards, the car rushing into the river Isere. The driver lost his head and jumped from the motor, which continued to go backwards at full speed for a mile. It is now lying in six feet of

water in the rapid stream. AH attempts to bring the machine from the water have up to the present been unsuccessful. .

The late General Lukas Johannes Meyer, whose death from heart disease was announced from Itrimsels lately, was member for Vryheid in the First Volksraad of the former Transvaal Republic. He was Ixini in •the Orange Free State in 1846, and his early life was spent in Natal. In 1865 he trekked to the Transvaal, settling in the Utrecht district, and in 1872 was elected field-cornet. In that capacity he served in the war of independence. and at the battle of Ingego received a wound. On the outbreak of the late war he was appointed second in command to Gonera! Joubert, and he took a prominent part in the operations in Northern Na-tai.

A Dutch citizen of Bloemfontein, when he read of Lord Kitchener’s elevation to a viscount, could not understand it at all. “Lord Kitchener is to be made a viscount.” lie remarked to an English friend. “What is a viscount?” “It is quite simple,” replied the Englishman. "You know what is meant by a dis-count?” “Oh. yes.” said the Dutchman; “I buy something and get part of my monev back.”

“Well, a vis-count is just the same, only more so. You get a reduction of 10 per cent., but Lord Kitchener gets 100 per cent., so he won’t have to spend any money at all. In fact, he will get all he wants for nothing.”

“Ah' I see now,” said the Dutchman. with a smile of gratification. “But. tell me. are there in England many of these viscounts?"

Mr Barton, S.M., of Gisborne, and Mr Mclntyre, the driver of the Wai-roa-Gishorne coach, had an experience at I’arikanapa, on the road to Wairoa. Hawke’s Bay, that they are not likely to forget. botliTieing snowed up in tliat locality. It is stated that in sonic of the drifts the snow was eight feet deep. Mr Barton says the snowfall was so heavy that the splashboard of the coach was sweeping the snow along the road.

A new punishment has been invented for recalcitrant husbands in the form of an abject apology in a public print. The following paragraph, under the heading of “Apology” — in very large letters — appears in an Irish paper: — “I make an humble apology to my Wife and Family for my past conduct, which was cruel. I beg to say that what I stated in Court was untrue, and want this to be published in the ‘Cork County Eagle.’—Signed, T.K.’’

We are asked to warn the travelling public against purchasing steamer tickets at cheap rates through the medium of advertisements in the newspapers. We are informed by the Union Steamship Company that some person is disposing of forged tickets in this manner, and that these tickets have been presented at several of their branch offices, but as there is no difficulty in their officials delecting the forgery, in each eass the purchaser has lost the amount so paid.

Arrangements for the proper celebration of Labour Day in Auckland on October 8 are being made by the committee appointed for that purpose. Tenders are advertised elsewhere for bands, side shows, and refreshment booths. Aw art union has been approved by the Colonial Secretary. which should tend to attract people, as numerous prizes will be given. Over 50 delegates have been appointed by various unions to the Celebration Committee, nnd at. last night's meeting the reports made showed that mnnv employers had signified their readiness to assist in making displays in the procession in connection with their respective trades. A strong committee has been appointed to look after the entertainment of the children, and it is hoped the schools will help to swell the numbers in the procession, which promises to be a good one.

The question whether Mr Seddon Mas been offered and refused a title •t the hand* of the King is causing considerable speculation among his political opponents, who would regard his acceptance as a stepping stone to political death. The vagueness of this Inference, however, consists in the fact that a title waa offered on the occasion of the Jubilee and declined, and probably the same reasons as influenced him on that occasion would be equally active now. It is believed in well-informed official circles that the Premier waa offered a baronetcy. The “Times,” in a semi-in-spired editorial, hints that the distinction offered to Mr Seddon was the new Order of Merit created by the King. At present indications point to Mr Seddon returning as plain “Mr” to continue the same enlightened policy as in the past.

The popular idea that judges assume the black cap preparatory to pronouncing sentence of death in order to mark the tragedy of the occasion should be Anally dispelled by the fact that they wear the same sable headgear at Coronations. What the coronet is to the peer the black cap is to the judge—the finial of his official costume. Until 1635 the habits of judges were governed by individual tastes, but in that year the occupants of the Bench met and solemnly ordained their attire. It was decreed to consist of a scarlet robe, with an ermine tippet as now. and “a coif or cap of black cloth.” The judicial wig is a later innovation, and the black cap as an essential part of the official must be worn on all State occasions, of which the passing sentence of capital punishment is only one.

The late Thomas McShane, who died at the Old Men’s Home, Wanganui, lately, served in the 70th Regiment through the Indian Mutiny, for which he received the medal. He was on duty in Peshawar, and witnesses the execution of the ringleaders of the mutinous 55th Native Infantry, when Sir Sydney Cotton had thirty-six of these men blown from the cannon’s mouth. McShane left India for New Zealand in 1861, landing at Auckland on .Tune 19th of the same year. He went through the Waikato war under General Cameron, and also through the Taranaki wars that followed.

When the Anglican minister, who is of the very strict, high-and-dry kind, visits a certain country district, he always lives at the station, and the manager and all hands are on their best behaviour till the ordeal is over. While he was getting lunch a few Sundays since, the manager’s little boy (not admitted to dine with the select company) ran into the room, and the following ensued: Boy—“ Father, are you going?” Manager (hurriedly)—“All right, my boy. I will be out directly.” Boy—“ But, dad, are you going out?” Manager (sharply) — “Run away, my boy; I’ll be out in a minute, I tell you.” Boy is going out silenced and perplexed, and manager smiles, when in rushes still younger son. “Dad, is oo doin’ out fishin’ today?” Manager (boldly meeting this unexpected flank attack) —“Certainly not; don’t you know it is Sunday?” At the same moment he rose and hustled the children out of the room. Parson High-and-Dry looked as if he was thinking a great deal, but he said nothing.

The late Mr. .T. M. Jury, of the Glendower estate, Wnirarapa, who died lately, aged 88. of whoso stirring career we gave some particulars lately, arrived at the Bay of Islands in 1830 in the whaler Thetis. Here he and another boy deserted the ship. They put their clothes in a tub and swam ashore, pushing all their worldly possessions in front of them as they swam. After several adventures they fell into the hands of natives, who had been offered a cask of powder for each of them by the captain of the Thetis. However, the ship had flailed, so the Maoris determined to keep the boys and trade them to the next ship that came along. The boys ran away to Mr. Mair's mission station. Jury shortly afterwards went

to sea again in the missiop vessel Columbine. After many other adventures he took charge of a schooner, trading along the Wellington coast for corn, pigs and potatoes, in exchange for gur.s, muskets, powder, needles and clothing.

A simple labourer from Albury, named Carl Bergan, had hardly emerged from his carriage on the Sydney express on Saturday when he was pounced upon by an impudent swindler. As Bergan stepped on to the platform and gazed up and down with a bewildered air, the cheat spied him, and bore down on him rapidly, with a businesslike air. “You are wanted for an assault and robbery in New South Wales. I am Detective Hunt,” said the stranger aggressively, twisting his moustachios and glaring fiercely at him. “You had better come to the watchhouse and be searched,” he added, and accordingly Bergan went to a waitingroom. Here the “detective” exhibited his skill as a searcher by removing everything of value from the countryman’s pockets. The contents of his purse, amounting to £2, found their way into his own pocket, presumably as a searching fee, and Berfan, with a severe admonition not to o it again, was temporarily released and allowed to take up his quarters at the Falstaff restaurant until he received a further intimation from this pretended detective regarding his attendance at the court. Bergan waited throughout the day in vain, and at length it dawned upon him that he had fallen a victim to a clever ruse. He then reported the occurrence to. the police. ,

The real degree of Australian interest in the late South African war can be accurately measured now that the struggle is over, says the “Sydney Bulletin”; and no facts are more valuable in assisting accurate judgment than the recent transport incidents. The Drayton Grange set out from South Africa to Australia with 2000 Australian soldiers penned-up on her decks, and a markedly-infectious and dangerous disease on board, with no proper hospital accommodation, with but a slim medicine-chest (and that wrung from reluctant authority). The Britannic was despatched to Maoriland under conditions of crowding almost as bad. The Norfolk was forced to carry an appendicitis patient on from Adelaide because South Australia refused a landing to a soldier who had not been one of her State citizens. All these incidents are significant. If tlie war against the Boers had been one for right and liberty; if Australian participation therein had been a necessary duty of patriotism; if these returning soldiers are heroes who risked their lives to preserve the Empire and to ward off a possible tide of invasion from these shores —surely Australia would not be so infamous as to allow what, in the Drayton Grange case at least, was tantamount to the cold-blooded murder of her soldiers. To send an overcrowded troopship to sea with an epidemic of measles on board, and with practically no hospital accommodation, is to condemn a certain number of them to death. The English War Office did that in the case of the Drayton Grange, did it apparently out of unnecessary and reckless cruelty, for there was no reason, except the saving of a few pounds, either to overcrowd the transport, or to send her away pesti-lence-laden. Yet there has been practically no Australian protest, a grumbling word or two here and there, but not the indictment—prompt, relentless, vengeful—which a nation should frame against the murderers of half a score or so of its “heroes.” But, alas for the men who went away with the beat of drum and the great throb of cheering throats, it is quite palpable that they are not regarded as “heroes”; that all the talk of politicians and papers to that effect was flam; and that now, having served the purpose of the merchants who had butter and oats and meat and horses to sell, and of the politicians who had titles to gain, they can go bang. They’re done with. All the War Office orders have been

placed, all the titles gathered in, all that was to be made out of the war by the interested Jingoes made, and now they are anxious to forget the men who volunteered to do the killing and the farm-burning. If the Drayton Grange had kindly sunk with her 2000 souls on board ere she reached the Westralian coast, there would probably not have been a sincere tear in any representative Jingo eye. And the wore men who die of pneumonia or appendicitis or overcrowding, the fewer there will be to limp about after the promised tramway billets which they won’t get, and to look reproachfully at the men who had promised to enshrine them for ever in the grateful hearts of the nation. The Australian representative Jingo attitude towards the returned soldiers is that of a man towards the women whom he has dragged on to the streets., He wants them above all things to keep out of his sight. They’re done with!

Pilot White tells this yarn. *1 went out fishing one day,” he said, “with Captain Taw, and he told me that once at Devuka he caught a shark, cut it open, and threw the Internals’ overboard. Then he chucked the body over, and that shark swam round and found its ‘internals’ and swallowed them.” I said to Taw “T hat’s a.pretty good shark, but I had a better one. I caught him at Tryphena; he was 9ft long, and I hoisted him aboard with block and tackle. Then I cut off his head, and chucked the whole concern over. Well, do you know, that head swam round till it came to the body, and then swallowed it holus-bolus.” The two sharks mentioned were no doubt a cut above the average shark, but we have it on good authority that there is at present living in the Waioeka gorge a settler who had a tame shark which used to trim his corns for him.

The telephone girl is rarely credited with either suavity of manner or gentleness of voice. Nevertheless, bland young ladies are not an absolutely unknown quantity. The bride of a wealthy American, at present enjoying a European honeymoon, won the adoration of her husband by the sweetness of her voice as she followed her occupation at the exchange. The marriage was almost arranged before the parties most concerned saw one another. San Francisco was the scene of this modern romance, and history has it that ever since the gentlemannered “hello girl” became not only a happy, but a distinguished bride, other female operators have cultivated a charm of conduct which has sorely puzzled the uninitiated public.

Colonial girls have always been handier than their English sisters, and every effort ie being made in educational circles to make them more so. For instance —Mr. Coxon, the laundry expert, who has been givingthe ladies of Wanganui some valuable instruction in the art of ironing, gave a most interesting and practical lesson to the girls of the upper* standards of the Wanganui Girls’ School. Mr. Coxon initiated the youthful students into the mysteries of starching and ironing gentlemen’s shirts and collars of all shapes and sizes. He not only demonstrated and (explained t every step of the proceedings, but insisted on some of the young people doing the work themselves; and it was

most pleasing to see what, with a little expert teaching, could be done by a small child. The class met at Mr. Sherriff’s Studio, and the children cannot fail to have gained some advantage from his simple way of explaining and from the actual work being done before them. Miss Bly th desires that her thanks should be publicly conveyed to Mr. Coxon for the very valuable instruction he so kindly gave the girls.

If you go to an auction, and purchase a block of land, cun you afterwards declare that you bought under a mistake, and repudiate the bargain? All depends upon the circumstances. If you were misled through anything ■aid or done by the vendor or his agent, the auctioneer, you are not bound, even though the vendor or the auctioneer was perfectly innocent of any intention to mislead, for the Courts will not allow a vendor to make an advantage out of his own wrong, or permit a purchaser to be trapped, though guilty of no fault. Of course, if there is any fraudulent misrepresentation on the part of the vendor or auctioneer, the contract goes at once, if the buyer wishes to avoid it. But take the case of a mistake, for which the purchaser alone is morally responsible. What then is his legal position? Here is a recent illustration from the Court. An auctioneer advertised for sale, on a given day, three separate and distinct lots of land. In front of his rostrum the order of sale was announced in large letters, and it was stated also in small handbills. Before selling, the auctioneer read out the conditions appropriate to lot 1, and this was duly knocked down to a bidder at about the reserve. The auctioneer sent his clerk to find out the buyer’s name and address, and in the meantime began the sale of lot 2. Then the clerk told him that the buyer declared that he had made a mistake; that he supposed he was buying lot 2; that he was deaf, and did not correctly hear the opening statement of the auctioneer; that he was a builder, and wished to buy lot 2 for speculative building purposes. The auctioneer, however, declined to stop the sale of lot 2, and informed the buyer that he must abide by the bargain. The auctioneer then signed the contract as agent for the buyer, the latter refusing to carry out his purchase. In an action against the purchaser for specific performance of the agreement, the Court held that the bona fide error of the defendant was no answer to the claim. If a buyer were allowed to set up his own mistake as a reason for not completing, there would, as the Court pointed out, be great temptation to purchasers to commit perjury, if they repented of a bargain. So the builder had to take lot 1. It may be noted that under some conditions the Court will so far recognise honest mistake on one side only as to alter the kind of relief given to the vendor. If it would be unconscionable and unreasonable for the purchaser to be bound by his bargain, the Court will order him to pay damages, in lieu of having to accept the property. For instance, if the buyer had given twice the reserve price of the lot, or had in some other way made an extravagant and ridiculous bargain, so that it would be pretty obvious that the vendor must have guessed that the buyer was under a misapprehension, damages only will be awarded, and these would, of course, be assessed on the

basis of the actual loss to the vendor, and not any fancy valuation.

According to late American. experience the municipal authorities need cudgel their brains no longer in searching out a means of dealing with the dust flend, which Is the source of so much discomfort and vexation every summer. There can be no two opinions that the present method of keeping this pest down is not only expensive, but also entirely unsatisfactory, so it is time we tried a better method of coping with the evil. The latest method adopted in America is the use of crude petroleum oil, ■which not only settles the dust, but is algo cheap, and makes the roads firmer and more durable. It has had a thorough trial in many American cities, including San Francisco, Los 'Angeles, Sacramento, Calton, and Redlands, on the Pacific Coast. In other places it is still on trial, being used on roads which were formerly very expensive to keep free from dust. In many large towns, however, oil is an accepted institution, and is not only used on the streets, but also on country roadways leading to the city. Americans claim many advantages for the use of oil over the ordinary system of street watering. It does away with watering carts and the expense of keeping horses; the streets only require a spray of oil twice a year to keep them entirely free from rising dust; it has a hardening effect on the roads, and gives a smooth, firm surface that allows either an increase of load or greatly decreases the strain on horseflesh, while the cost

of maintaining the roads is considerably lessened in consequence of the ■binding and strengthening effect of the oil.

Anyone making the West Coast trip to Auckland just now (says the Wellington “Post”) cannot fail to be impressed with the progress the North Island is making. In Auckland suburban property grows steadily more popular, and the light volcanic soil in Mount Eden and adjacent districts, though full of the volcanic stones that are used for fencing, is wonderfully prolific of fruit and garden produce. The city itself is in the transition stage of the tramway conversion, and the most noticeable feature of the streets is the “yard-arm erections” for the overhead trolly system. Queen-street has recovered from its recent eruption, and is now a handsome broad thoroughfare, asphalted throughout, except on some of the footpaths, which make inferior walking to the main road. North Auckland the roadless North”—also finds itself a little further ahead. Dairying is advancing, and the new native grass, d'anthonia, is proving a valuable factor on the poorer lands of the kauri gum peninsula. Lands that will not take the sown English grasses do well under danthonia, and ths demand for seed is said to exceed the supply.

A great hoax was perpetrated upon the residents of Temuka on Sunday. Early in the morning (according to the “Herald”) a rumour gained currency that a whale, 65ft m length, had become stranded on the beach near the mouth of the Opihi. The statement was generally believed, and in the afternoon all the townspeople who could manage it journeyed to the beach. It is estimated that more than five hundred went to see the monster whale. Among the conveyances that left town were several drags full of passengers. When the beach was reached the visitors realised they had been “had.” The hoax was taken in good part, and those returning kept up the error. It might truthfully be said the whole town was taken in. Numbers of Timaru cyclists were among those who went to the scene. A large crowd assembled at the post-office corner and greeted the visitors with ironical cheers as they returned borne-

Young girls are always to be found amongst the Brough audiences, but many parents decided that “Iris” was not a young person’s play (says an Australian exchange), and forbade their daughters to see it. Some girls

who had been promised a visit to “iris” mentioned it, alter Bible clans, to the clergyman of their parish, with whom they are on terms of familiar friendliness. The clergyman went to their parents, and persuaded them not* to let their daughters go. It may be impossible to whip people into the theatres when they have no partaculnr desire to |v]ieit them; it is at least quite as impossible to rope them out when they wish to go with the fervent wish of the theatre-loving Australian girl. These young persons said that they wished to “take the air” on Wednesday afternoon. They then collected all they girls they knew who were “not allowed to see ’lris’ ” and went to the matinee in a large party. “Iris” is a play which, though painful, is of powerful interest, because the actors seem to be real people, living and moving in a real drama. One scene, where the lovers wait for the dawn, is quite Shakespearian. The piece is beautifully staged and played by the Broughs. All the girls were, of course, in love with Mrs Brough (Iris), and greatly concerned at her unhappy end, Iris being discarded both by the lover she cares for and the one she does not. “Let us hope,” said one “young person,” who was in tears, “that Laurie will take her baek when he hears that the Spaniard has turned her out.” “I’m jolly well sure he won’t,” protested another. “Beast!” added a third. They carried their indignation and distress to the clergyman, who was much moved by their recital. Mr Brough cruelly took off the play before this clergyman had a chance to sample it for himself, but he preached a sermon the following Sunday. He condemned authors who wrote and managers who produce such plays, ending with the sweeping statement that it is almost entirely owing to them that men of the world treat women in the way they do. He is now hoping for two things—a revivel of “Iris,” so that he may judge for himself, and, next, that the season will not end with a problem piece, for the girls in his class have told him that they will attend the last performance, even if they have to put up with standing room only.

There is nothing more damaging to fine oratory than a few cold figures (says a writer in the “Australasian”). Mr Seddon has been telling them in England that . Australasia can supply them with all the meat they require and Sir Edmund Barton, in a play upon words, said that Australia wished to become the nation’s butcher—the aspiration being, of course, strictly peaceable. Now, England is in the matter of acres a very small country, yet in her small and fertile fields she has just about half as many sheep as all Australia; and England’s sheep, taken head for head, are about half aa- heavy again as ours. If the whole of the stock in Australia—sheep and cattle—were sent to England to-morrow, they would be just about sufficient to feed that trifling island for some three months. When we get this sense’ of proportion fairly brought home, we realise that the man who is content to talk of Australia’s flocks and herds just now, instead of doing his best to breed them, is wasting time, talent and energy in the wrong direction.

A few months ago a cash box containing £25, a cheque and an old age pension voucher was stolen from the Scanner post office. Later on £22 of the cash was returned, but the perpetrator has never been discovered. On Saturday, however, a man named James Maffey found the cash box in a clump of broom on land belonging to the Church Property Trustees, opposite the Council Chambers. The box contained the cheque and the old pension voucher, but nothing else. It gives no indication as to who committed the theft.

Apropos of the open air cure for consumption here in New Zealand considerable criticism and ridicule was launched against the proposal to house the patients in tents. It is of interest, therefore, to learn that at Boston the same scheme is being adopted. One learns from the “Transcript" that consumptives will be housed in “camps” composed of arranged

in a circle around in open-air fire, and surrounded by a wall of duck eight feet high. Each of these tents, says the “Transcript,” will be a consumptive’s home. He will sleep there, even through the coldest weather, with no other protection than plenty of felt blankets, felt boots, and a jug of hot water. The tents are to be made of 12ounce duck, and are to be only seven feet high, with four-foot walls, boxed in around the bottom a foot from the ground. They will be lined with weather-paper. The flaps will open towards the fire, the tents making a little circle about a clean gravel court. In the duck wall which will surround the whole will be a single entrance.

The people who live there will wear one heavy suit night and day. Each of them will take one quick, soapless bath a week, and will eat three hearty meals a day, with coffee in the morning and hot chocolate any time of the day or night. Their bill of fare will include milk, eggs, vegetables, bread and butter and meat—chiefly beef, mutton or pork broiled’ on spits before the fire, or roasted in the embers, or boiled down into soup. This open-air life is expected to cure them of their disease. The method is the result of experiments made last winter by a scientist whose name has not yet been divulged. This gentleman pitched his tent during the coldest part of a January, which was more than usually cold, and stayed in it until the early spring.

“Such a life,” he said recently, “quickly fortifies a man’s bodily powers, sending him back to ancestral or wild life. The skin, nails and hair toughen and thicken; pulmonary catarrh stops; hemorrhages cease. A man becomes insensitive and fearless. All his energy goes to nutrition, all his powers are concentrated in building and repair. He falls asleep at twilight and wakes at dawn, ready to eat. Incidental disaster affects him little; he changes from a hothouse plant to an oak.”

At one of the Sydney clubs last week an elderly and a youngish man were sitting side by side watching a tournament game. When it had finished, the elderly man inquired of his companion if he’d like 50 up. He said he would, and his challenger proposed to play for half a sovereign. This was declined, as the challenged one “feared he might lose it.” They finally agreed to a five shilling wager, the senior player to break, which he accordingly did. He took off his coat, and chalked his cue, and that was all of his portion of the game, as the younger player ran out the

50 with an unfinished break. The challeuger put his coat on, paid the wager and table, and then asked the marker who his opponent was. “Memmott," was the reply.

Dust reigned supreme in the streets of Wanganui last week, and, as usual, the shopkeepers suffered considerably. One irate business man, commenting in the absence of the watering cart, attributed it to Mayoral foresight (says the local paper). “He (the Mayor) knows what he’s doing,” said the injured one; “he thinks if he gives us a real good ‘doing’ we’ll all vote solid for the water loanl”

Where did Solomon obtain hit gold? This has been a Biblical problem for many hundreds of years. Mr M. Cohen undertook to give a possible solution at the Feilding Poultry Association dinner on Wednesday. Several of the speakers during the evening had held forth as to the ability of women in the poultry yard. Talking upon the theme, was it not possible, indeed, highly probable, asked Mr Cohen, that Solomon had his wives poultry farming? That was how lit became so rich.

M. Leoncavallo, the well known Italian composer, has ust left Paris in despair. He came here to write the music for an opera, in which, as already announced, he is collaborating with the Emperor William. His Majesty has composed two acts, and proposes shortly to complete the five.

The subject is the famous story at Roland, embodying the atmosphere of the Charlemagne period, of which the Kaiser is known to be particularly fond, and several French and English critics, who have seen the Emperor’s verses, say that they have great literary and dramatic spirit.

M. Leoncavallo, however, has been so imprudent, as to let the Kaiser know his address, and he receives so many telegrams daily, making changes and modifications of various kinds that in despair he rushed off to an obscure part of Italy, where the •Imperial librettist will be unable ta reach him by wire. The opera is to be brought out in Berlin in Italian next winter.