ROUND ABOUT THE COLONY

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8, 25 August 1906, Page 37

ROUND ABOUT THE COLONY

Ft actice Volunteering. The old style of ceremonial drill in lonneetion with the Volunteer system is rapidly giving way to a more practical method of instruction, the present winter course including musketry, knotting, hurdle and gabion making, and mat making (says the “Mail”),. At the last parade of the Uamaru Rilles, Sergt.ilajor Kibblewhite instructed the company in the making of mats, and for the purpose rigged up a loom. It consisted Of two rows of stakes attached to the floor (in the open they would be driven into the ground) at a distance of several feet, according to the required length of the mat. A crossbar is fixed across the top of one. of these rows. Several lengths o f spun yarn, a few inches apart, are attached at their .middle to this crossbar,'leaving two free ends. One of these' ends is fastened to the opposite •take and the other to a bar that is manipulated in the process of weaving. JU yers of str&w are pushed in between the yarns, and the bar, being alternately raised waist high and lowered to the ground, and passed inside and outside the eml pickets, forms what is known as the Malay bitch. By this means a mat flft by 3ft suitable for shelter or sleeping purposes can be made in a few minutes. As an aid to musketry instruction peigt.-Major Kibidewhite lias devised an ingenious arrangement of disappearing targets; representative of cavalry, artillery, transports ami infantry. These targets are matte to scale, and in the JJrill Halt appear to the eye at respective distances as they would appear if engaged in the open at the several re<mlalion military distances. Range-find-mg. which can only be done in the open, will also receive consideration as the daylight increase#. A Xiterary Competition. 'lhe various committees of the forthcoming New Zealand International Exhibition are covering the ground with admirable thoroughness. The schedule for the Home Industries Department, which should lie seen by all Australians, is a small volume in itself, and covers a wide range of prize competitions, from the writing of an invoice to the cooking of a P'e. And though entry for many of the contests is only possible for New Zealanders, there are others which are open to the world. The section that' will perhaps interest most readers is that covering the writing of short stories. In this department eight prizes (gold, silver, bronze medals and a certificate) will be awarded for the best original stories (3000 words) based on colonial life. This department is subdivided into—(al For competitors under twenty-five; (b) for competitors or any age, and is open to the world. Four prizes will be awarded to the winners of each setion. A registration or entranee fee of 1/ is Clia rged I o enter for this contest is a simple ’natter—provided the competitor can first write the story. A 1/ postal note must be sent at once to the Secretary, New Zealand Exhibition, Christchurch, or to any one of the following commissioners: A. B. Robinson, “Age” Office, Melbourne; W. 11. Croker, 84, Williamstreet. Melbourne; I'. W, Jackson, Union Steamship Co., Sydney; E. Owen Cox, care Messrs. Birt and Co., Sydney. The intending competitor will at once receive ” receipt and an official number in the form of a label. The label must be attached to the story, when completed, and posted to one of lhe addresses given above hy October 24, 1 DOC. When sending in *h<. shilling, the competitor must write BH .' ing. “I wish to enter for Section 11, Home Industries Section, Class 1 (under twenty-five) ; Class 2(over twenty-five),'’ •a Hie case may be.

On no account must competitor’s uiux appear on MS. The name ami address may lx- enclosed in a, separate envelope, and sent with the entry, endorsed only with official number supplied.

An Australian —Mr. T- Shaw Fitchett, editor of the well-known home journal, ■’The New Idea,”—has been appointed judge of this section, and the prize-win-ning stories will be published, in that journal, for which the competitor will be paid by “The New Idea,” in addition to receiving the prize awards from the Exhibition. , Washers in the Slot. There was an element of humor connected with the ease brought against a local tradesman for Sunday trading, at the Magistrate’s Court (remarks the “Oamaru Mail”j. It arose this way: 'The tradesman has in his doorway what is known as a penny-in-the-slot machine, which automatically and generously “sells” to anyone who is speculative enough to risk the necessary coin a bundle of sweets. On ordinary working days this was right enough, ami had the owner been content to “put up” the shutters late on Saturday evening probably no one would have had anything to say. It appears that the Sunday School children were suspected of investing the pennies given tliem by their parents for the Sunday School collection in too liberal patronage of the machine in question. and complaints were made to the police by the Sabbath School workers. The magisterial countenance clouded greatly 'when it was pointed out to him in sympathetic language how the heathen in many lands were thus being deprived of spiritual and temporal comforts by the aid of this Sabbath-breaking automaton. "But when some 50 iron-washers were produced as being the gross takings of two Sundays’ illicit trading the sad countenance somewhat relaxed, and there was an evident feeling that the lollyyielding instrument had been imposed upon, greatly to the detriment of the owners’ profits. It appears that the Sunday School workers will have, after all. to look for some other cause for the diminished state of the Sunday afternoon collection. d* A Postal Puzzle. A letter received by a lady in Wellington from England was addressed "Miss — , Potatoe-street (for Murphy-street >, Windy City', God’s Own Country.” The London Post Office officials had written across the face of the letter, “Try NewZealand.” JX Racing and Gambling. In an editorial note on the subject of gambling the “Lyttelton Times" says:—“lt is a great pity, we think, that the good people who are agitating for the abolition of the totalisaior will persist in confusing the sport ot horseracing with the viec of gambling. We believe ourselves that the nation's love of sport is still stronger than its love of speculation, and that there are thousands of regular racegoers who wotdd lie glad to return to the conditions that prevailed before the introduction of the machine. Twenty-five or thirty years ago not more than a tenth of the people who visited a racecourse ever thought of having a serious bet on the results, and yet the contests were just as keen as they are now, and the public enthusiasm was just as great. There were fewer horses and poorer stakes, but the public went racing for the love of sport and enjoyed themselves without any regrets. Our complaint against tilt totalisator is that it has enormously increased the number of gamblers, without

removing the evil of bookmaking er improving the character of the sport. . . We should like to know how much the clerk with £lOO a year and the head of a family- with £3 a week ran afford to lose. These are the sort of people who are sulMeribing the great bulk of the money collected by the racing elubs and tilling the pockets of a little army of bookmakers, and it is quite time the Legislature took steps to save them from their own folly.” A Mile * Year. Some outspoken comments on the way in which certain publie works are carried out were made by Mr. R. McKenzie, M.H.R., at the opening of the Tadmor section of the Midland Railway. It had, he said, been a big struggle to get so far. Twenty miles of extension had been done in twenty years—a mile a year. This rate of progress meant the throwing away of public money, and beat anything on the face of the earth. (Laughter.l A contractor would have completed the extensions for a third of the money they had eost in one-tenth of the time. (Hear, hear.) The fault was at headquarters. ,< J* Overburdened. While an application for sick leave by a female teacher was being considered at the last meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board, Inspector Hill remarked that during the whole course of his experience he hail never known so many lady employees of the Board to break down absolutely in a similar period as during the last 12 months. This he attributed to the over-exacting demands of the Education Department's new syllabus. Ministerial Te Kooti. Evidence accumulates to show that there is a little beneath the surface of the fraternal letters which passed between the Premier and the Hon. C. 11. Mills, M.H.R. (remarks a Southern paper). The "Pelorus Guardian” says: "'Among the hundreds of wires and letters the Hon. C. 11. Mills has received expressing sympathy and anger at his not being included in the new Ministry, there were some very peculiar ones, of which the following is a sample: "Hon. C. H. Mills. Wellington. When Te Kooti wanted a fair wind on his way from the ('hatham Islands he threw one man overboard, so now the same occurs io you. Accept my sincere sympathy.” To give the world a telegram which compares Sir Joseph Ward to Te Kooti is pretty Tough. J* J* The Session. Speaking to a "Christchurch Press” reporter, Mr. Hanan. M.H.R. for Invercargill. said he was looking forward to a useful working session, as the result of which the Statute Book woidd show quality rather than quantity. The days of long hours and "driving the House” were, he. considered, a thing of the past, and he believed that under Sir Joseph Ward's regime more business-like methods in the conduct of the work of Parliament would be adopted. Private members would have a much better hearing than they had obtained for some years past, and in this connection a good deal of satisfaction would be felt among all sections of the House. Ou the subject of the Chairmanship of Committees, Mr. Hanan took the view that, as Sir Joseph Ward had chosen the strongest men available for his reconstructed Cabinet, he would give his influence to the appointment of a strong man to preside over the House when in Committee. In Mr. Hanan's opinion, the lilial choice for the position would lie between Mr. W. W. Tanner and Mr. T. M. Wilford, lioth of whom had strong claims to the office. Loyalty to the party should weigh largely in making the appointment, and Mr. Hanan expressed strong disapproval of any party renegade receiving the position. JU J* The Captivating Chorus Girl. It will lie interesting to see if Mr Williamson's decision not to allow his chorus girls to marry till they have finished their contracts with him will prove an effective remedy (remarks

( lui.il«4tur<4i “Tnith"). But we are inclined to think it won't. The girl who has nothing to do but strut about the stage in a uiaghifiecnt (if at times somewhat abbreviated) costume and lock pretty, has long been notorious for cajH tivating the elderly Uit affluent gentln* man with the shining head in the flout row. This is only a fiction, however, for a pretty chorus girl has no need to marry a bald headed man with a big income; there are many young ones with luxuriant loeks and much money who are ever ready to do her bidding. It is quite unfathomable why the male animal is so persistent in falling in love with the girl whose beauty is in many eases put on and washed off every night in the dressing-rooni. But we suppose he will keep on doing so till the end of the chapter, and, as love laughs at locksmiths it is pardonable to assume that so Mr Williamson's chorus girls will laugh at his manager's stern decree. The Discontented Visitor. “I went into a Wellington boot shop, 1 * says a recent arrival from Australia, “and asked the price of a pair of boots like those I had on. They told ine 26/*. ‘Why,’ I asked, ‘do you know what I can get them for in Sydney’’ ‘Yes,’they, answered sweetly, ‘foe 1276.’ And that is a fact. The people in the shop said the difference was caused by the duty. I went .into the next shop and bought a. grey felt hat for 16/; it would cost 10/6 in Sydney. They want £lO to £2O a foot for land near where I live at Island Bay. You can get land in the best part of Paddington, on (he tramway line, for £IK a foot. And this is ‘Rod's Own Country.’ ” J» ■* Making Sure. The other day (says the “Vahiatua Herald”) a pakeha. was watching sonw Maoris planting potatoes, and noticed that they planted them very thick, putting in about three times the usual quantity of sets, lie asked the Maori why this was done, and received the following answer:—-“One for the pright, one for Got, one for te Maori!” They were evidently going to make assurance trebly sure. jf Poorly Paid Clergy. In support of its plea for better resnulieration for the clergy, the Marlborough “Press” says: “Teachers, even with the increased salaries they now enjoy, cannot be considered any too well paid, and. arc in many cases wofully underpaid for their responsible work. But they are infinitely better off than the clergy, who are scandalously underpaid. Many of them are infinitely worse off than the pick and-shovel man on the roads. Ho does get 7/ or 8/ a day, can wear any old clothes, lias a lower standard of comfort, and consequently no style to keep up, no outside demands on him, and a definite eight hours day. The clergyman, in some cases, gets less than 5/ a day. We know' of a clergyman now in this diocese of Nelson whose salary last year from all sources was £B5, and shows no sign of increase this year. Is he inefficient’ VVe have no reason to think so. We know that he is a hard worker. He conducts services at nine different centres regularly every month, and takes three, and often four, services a Sunday, involving a good deal of rid ing or driving, for the centres of ministration lie Wide apart. He takes, on an average, two week-night services regularly in outlying portions of his wide parish, and has besides, of course, the visiting.” JS State Farms at a Discount. A suggestion was made by a commercial member of the Charitable Aid Board that the Board should carry on farming and kitchen garden operations on a small scale at some of v.>e institutions. The Board is largely composed of farmers, and one after another rose and objected to the proposal, saying that it would never lie a financial success. The idea of growing potatoes and other vegetables to advantage was seouted. and the keeping of cows was said to be hardly worth consideration. When it was suggested that the farming work might be clone by, some of the old men in the Homes, Mr Wolfe said that the mon would nevi r l>o got to work. “It's because they won’t work that they’re in the Home/' he stud.