IN THE DOMINION.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 1, 6 January 1909, Page 8

IN THE DOMINION.

The vital statistics for the Whangarei district show the following figures: — Births for 1907, 233; births for 1908, 258 (123 males and 135 females); deaths for 1907, (52; deaths for 1908. 86 (59 males and 27 females). The following were the numl»ers of deaths between stated ages: —Under one year, 11; one to five, 20; five to ten, 2; fifty to sixty,

5; sixty to seventy, 67; seventy to eighty, 14; over eighty, 4. There were, in 1908, 58 marriages, am increase of 4 over last year. Wild cattle on Mount Egmont are reported to be doing a good deal of damage A settler who has a holding of 700 acres close to the Park wrote to the Egmont Park Board at its last meeting stating that the wild cattle were continually coming down and destroying his fences as well as enticing his own cattle away. He wished to know if ho could destroy the wild cattle. The Board resolved that the matter was one which the settler himself could decide. He was also referred to the Impounding Act. An attempt to apply that Act as suggested should furnish an exciting -experience in droving.

Of 433 immigrants who arrived by the Wakanui from the Old Country. 338, of whom 109 were children, were assisted by the Government. The capital of the assisted immigrants amounts to £6641, a large proportion of this amount belonging to farmers. It is interesting to note that the Wakanui's passengers included 58 farmers, 16 farm labourers, and 40 domestic servants. Of these latter six are taking up employment in Auckland, and nineteen in Wellington, the remainder being distributed over other Southern eenrtes. The immigrants also included 14 married women with families, who have come out to join their husbands who left the Old Country some time ago, and have established homes in this Dominion. of the

As a result of the enterprise of the Napier Socidty of Professional Musicians a public meeting was held in the Council Chambers last week for the purpox? of promoting musical competitions similar to those held during the Carnival of last year. The Mayor (Mr. J. Vigor Brown. ALP.) occupied the chair, (in the motion of Mr. Harston, seconded by Mr. Briasco, it was decided to hold a contest, and that, the judge should be chosen from outside the Hawke's Bay province. His Excellency the Governor. Lord Blanket, will be asked to act as patron of the festival, and the following officers were elected:—'President, the Mayor of Napier (Mr. J. Vigor Brown. ALP.): vice-presi-dents, the Mayors of Hastings, Waipawa. Dannevirke. and Woodville, Messrs. W. Plowman. < . Hol>en, T. Tanner. H. Gregson, R. I). 1). Melman. T. St. L. Toner, J. A. Rosewarne. H. L. Harston. H. I). Spackman. E. V. Hudson. Herr Misses M. McLean and F. Williams, and Mrs. Rosewarne, junr.; secretary, pro tern, Mr. A. E. Eagleton. The Mayor promised a donation of X’s 5/- towards tin* funds, and it was decided to approach the Napier Borough Council w‘ith a view to obtaining a subsidy. Raising the Maori, A conference of past students of the. three Alaori schools in Auckland — St. Stephen’s, Three Kings’ College, and the Victoria Girls’—was held in Auckland last week to establish a Northern branch of the Young Maori Party, which has been doing good work since its inception at Te Auto. Amongst those present were the following. Thu Revs. \\. Gittos, J. 11. Simmonds, 11. A. Hawkins. J. T. McWilliam, Wiki tc Pao. Hauraki Paora. Piripi Rakena. H. R. Hoke, Hone AL Hare, and 11. M. Ruarangi. Dr. Buck, Messrs. A. Wilson, of St. Stephen's School, RapePuhipi. John McGruther, John Moetara, W. IL Tana. G. G. Pau, and many others. 1 he meeting was an enthusiastic one,, ami the branch was formed to farther the following objects, which have been adopted by the Party: — 1. To aid in the amelioration of the condition of the Maori race, physical J v A intellectually. socially and spiritually. 2. To assist in the scientific study of the anthropoeogy and ethnology of the race. 3. To promote the intercourse of those

who cultivate a knowledge of, and take an interest in, the general progress of the .Maori people. Clergy for the Anglican Church Bishop Wallis, who returned to Wellington by the steamer Warrimoo, states that machinery has been set in motion for the promotion of a big mission that is to come to New Zealand, this year in connection with the work of the Church. A strong committee has been formed, and the Archbishop of Canterbury is taking an active interest in the project. While in England Bishop Wallis arranged to bring out six new clergymen to take up parish work. A Banana Boycott. The banana shippers of Fiji have started the boycott of Dunedin. They refused to sell or ship by the Manapouri for Dunedin, the immediate cause being the difference in 7 J and 10 per cent, commission charged by Dunedin fruit commission agents on Fiji produce. The Dunedin fruit merchants say the boycott will have no effect on market supplies or prices, as the direct service from Rarotonga and Tonga will come into operation on January 3. It is suggested that the increase of commission effected by the Dunedin fruit brokers will be early adopted throughout New Zealand. Next month the local demand for bananas will be limited, owing to a heavy crop of soft fruits in Otago, which are already being placed on the market. Electric Tramways Compared. An informative summary of statistics showing the extent of the various tramway undertakings in Australasia, and the volume of business transacted has been supplied to the “Post” by Mr Stewart Richardson, city electrical engineer. Wellington. Sydney, with . 89.95 miles, tops- the list, Christchurch is next with 46.09 miles, and then follows in turn—Brisbane, 32.50 miles: Perth, 19.7 miles; Auckland. 19.2 miles; Wellington. 16.71 miles; Kalgoorlie, 14.75 miles; Hobart, 9 miles; Fremantle, 7.039 miles. The steepest grade is at Brisbane, where a track of one foot rise in eight is laid down. Sydney comes close with a maximum of 1 foot in Bj. Wellington, with the exception of one short gradient, has adopted 1 foot in 12 feet as the maximum. The narrowest gauges are 3ft. Gin. (at Fremantle, Perth, Kalgoorlie, and Hobart). The widest are 4ft. BJin (at Sydney, Christchurch. Auckland. Brisbane, and Dunedin). Wellington has the happy medium of 4ft. In respect of electrical energy, Wellington is best supplied of all the Australasian cities save Sydney. Expressed jn kilowatts, the figures are:—Wellington. 2’250; Sydney, 9775; Auckland, 2125; Christchurch, 1500; Brisbane, 1300; Perth. 1175; Dunedin. 900; Kalgoorlie, 750; Hobart, 675, and Fremantle, 300. In compensation for accidents during the respective 12-inonthly periods of the several services, Sydney paid £11.713; Christchurch, £ 1272: Wellington, £757; Perth, £592; and Hobart, £7. Fremantle, Kalgoorlie. Dunedin, Auckland, and Brisbane supply no returns under this head. In the twelve-monthly- periods, there is a variation of dates, but the figures regarding passengers carried are but little affected by this, so far as comparison purposes go. For convenience of reference they are tabled below:—-

Policing; the Dominion. In the metropolitan cities of the Dominion. particularly as regards Auckland and Wellignton, the cry has been raised that the police force is undermanned. The Commissioner of Police, however, is convinced in his own mind that the towns are well policed. Conversing with a reporter in Wellington on the sub-

ject Mr Dinnie (Superintendent) said the people of New Zealand had nothing to complain of on the score of police protection. Statistics proved we were better off in this respect than most parts of his Majesty’s empire. In Wellington, where the recent discovery of a ease of garrotting had caused the suggestion to be put forward by a section of the Press that the police strength of the city is insufficient for its needs, thirteen constables had been added to the force which now constitutes 1 in 700. as against 1 in 1300 for the whole of the Dominion. Mr. Dinnie does not see in the recent occurrences in the city any occasion for alarm. Such things are always liable to happen in every centre, and occasionally they occur in places where they are least expected. It is the general belief that the criminal ranks of the Dominion have been largely added to of late months by persons from oversea places, and the influx of immigrants from the Old Country is thought to be largely responsible for the present undesirable state of things. “New Zealand has now- come to be the dumping ground for the worst criminal class.” declared a police official to the “Star” representative “and unless more stringent supervision is exercised in the bringing of immigrants to the Dominion we shall soon have the gaols tenanted to their fullest capacity. It is a heavy- handicap for the police to get a close grip on the movements of new-ehum criminals, but old hands at the game in New Zealand can be kept under fairly close supervision.” The Mining Crisis. The miners of Hikurangi Coal Company and the Northern Coal Companyassembled at the mines at eight o’clock on Monday ready for work, but declined to submit to the medical examination required. Consequently, the managers refused to allow them to go into the mines. About 250 men are idle. Regarding the difficulty occurring re the medical examination of miners in view of the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act. so far as the Thames position is concerned, the companies are insisting on the men being examined. Although operations were resumed in the Waihi mine on Monday, very serious developments are expected within the next few days. Pursuant to the decision arrived at on Saturday night Reef ton miners did not turn up to work on Monday, and all the mines are virtually idle. The only miners who are working in the Greymouth district are the tributers of the Golden Fleece. The mines affected are the Progress, Globe. New Big River, Keep It Dark. Energetic, Wealth of Nations, New Ulster, Blackwater, St. George, South Welcome Syndicate. Battery hands will also not go to work. Official statements show- that nearly 870 men have been rendered idle at Greymouth, chief mines being the Progress (320 men), Consolidated (230), Blackwater (150), Keep It Dark (60), Gig River (60). The smaller mines make up the total. In connection with the miners trouble, Hon. J. A. Millar, speaking to a “Post” reporter, said—“ The Government can do absolutely nothing in the matter. It is a question purely between mine-owner and the men. The men are practically asking the Government to give a blank cheque to every miner in the country-, who is suffering from disease. We, could not do that without authority of Parliament. The Christmas Post. Christmas business at the principal telegraph and post offices of the Dominion shows a considerable increase on last

year. The sum of £22,398 was received for stamps, against £ 19,856. The mail bags handled numbered 52,315, against) 46,707. Forwarded telegrams show an increase of over 5000, and messages received of nearly 6000. Telegrams transmitted numbered 146,444, against 134,051 in the same period of last year. The * Misers' Complaint" Deadlock. The secretary of the Employers’ Federation, Wellington (Mr W. Pryor) discussing the position taken up by the Auckland, Otago and West Coast mine owners, said:—“The mine owners find themselves, on consideration, compelled to take this attitude, as those mine owners not insisting upon examination, will probably find themselves saddled with the rejects from other mines, and possibly with under.sirables from Australia and South Africa.” A New Pass to Mount Cook. A new pass to Mount Cook district from Lake Tekapo, over the Liebig Range to Murchison Valley and thence to Ball Hut, a distance roughly of 42 miles, has been discovered. Mr. G. E. Mannering, the well-known alpine climber, and author of “With Axe and Rope in the New Zealand Alps,” who for a good many years has believed that an easy pass could be found in the Liebig Range, in addition to that at present used for reaching Mount Cook district, decided to put his belief to the test, and w-ith Mr. T. C. Fyfe as companion, left Tekapo on Boxing Day, on the following day reaching the head of the Cass River. The Murchison Glacier, which is the second largest in the Dominion, was reached in about three hours. The descent was comparatively easy, excepting the final stage of 1900 ft. But for this portion, doubtless, a better route can be found for the terminal face of the Murchison Glacier. Ball Hut was reached in four hours, thus making connection with the usual tourist route. Mr. Mannering describes the view from the saddle of the Liebig Range, which he has named Rutherford Pass, as being second only to that from Mount Tasman, in point of magnificence and grandeur. Marine Mishaps. The Northern Company’s well-known steamer Ngatiawa, while coming, out of the Opotiki harbour last week, on her voyage to Auckland, was stranded on the bar, which is a very shallow one, and is not expected to get off till the high spring tides at the end of this week. During the night the master (Captain Stein), a well-known and greatly esteemed mariner, was missed, and in the morning his body was discovered washed up by the tide. There-_w-as no other loss of life. Operations are now- in progress for re-floating the Ngatiawa, and no difficulty is anticipated. The cargo steamer D.tldorch mistook the channel w hen going out of the Auckland Harbour last week, and ran to the bank inside the Bean Rock lighthouse, where she remained till high tide, and was then floated off undamaged.

Population Passengers carried. Svdney ... 471.320 .. 159.379 969 Auckland .... 75,< MM) 22.474.537 Wellington ... 70.000 .. 2i». 105.723 Brisbane ... 125,000 .. 12,675.065 Christchurch . 6S.92O . . 10,615,465 Perth 47.000 N.083,313 Kalgoorlie ... 23.000 . . 3 052,24’ Hobart 39.000 . . 2’504573 F rerun title ... .... 22.000 .. 2,291,055