News of the Dominion.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIII, Issue 7, 18 August 1909, Page 5

News of the Dominion.

OUR WELLINGTON LETTER. The Roar of the Young Lions. WELLINGTON, August 14. THE Acting-Prime Minister is just now occupying a large place in the public mind. Firstly, the Maori people have treated him to flowery, sententious, well-deserved compliment after the manner of their poetical ancestors; secondly, the Opposition organs have drawn attention to his successes by their consistency in predicting failures. His successes consist of punctual attention to business, industrious vigilance in all necessary directions, and the clearest method of handling all things brought before him by deputations. Scarcely has the pakelia critic declared solemnly that Mr. Carroll seems to be confining himself to Maori matters and the incidental rhetorical effects, when the Acting-Prime Minister is heard talking to the Mayor and a big deputation about a gas matter, and it is found that his words are remarkably like business, being much to the point. There is a certain very clever cartoon extant depicting the Acting-Prime Minister as “The Man at the Wheel.” The man is, of course, asleep, and the wheel is very much “on its own.” The cartoon still amuses, only because the source of laughter is the sense of cantrast. It is not only from the Maori that the ActingPrime Minister is getting praise just now.

It seems to be the fashion of these Opposition cartoons to “miss the ’bus.” There is another, which came out representing the arrival of the Prime Minister in London—a little man between- several policemen, flying for refuge to a goodsshed, very much like the shed near which he embarked from the Queen’s Wharf here. But when the cartoon came out people were reading about Sir Joseph Bitting between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, receiving the compliments of the House of Commons, and making a speech which was Certainly worthy of the record occasion. Not long ago there was some complaint among Liberals that the Opposition organising power was being exerted Without any counter-check on the other Bide. It did not matter very much, because the only result of the agitation to found a colossal league to follow Mr. Massey to victory was a social at which the ladies of the party had to dance with each other. Echoes of Masseyite thunder have, nevertheless, been vibrating through the political atmosphere. They explain the appearance on various platforms of Doctor Findlay, who is taking good care that the Opposition champion does not get the best of it. Such care is he taking that people are beginning to say nice things about him. His demonstration that the graduated tax does not fall upon the general shoulders, and cannot, is a sterling service to the Liberal cause, none the less so as he incidentally proved that the babies do not pay that tax. The shot went home, and though it made the young lions of the Opposition Press roar, it told, and is continuing to tell. So did his shot demolishing the old-fashioned idea of the “Wages Fund,” and with it the whole fabric of Conservative pleading which, if it means anything, means that you must never tax the man who has anything because he is sure to force repayment and more out of the man who has nothing. The Opposition view of these things is printed in “journalese” more or less Choice. What the Liberals think is beginning to take the definite form of a conviction that the Doctor ought to be in the Lower House. It is the very form the other side are trying to stave off. But the Doctor is making way as a platform speaker. Political circles are discussing the very Hat fall of the agitation for the repeal of the mortgage tax. The Farmers’ Union struck it with their accustomed heaviness, and the Agricultural Conference added their words of weighty wisdom, But they did no better between them than all the king’s horses and all the king’s men of the nursery story book. Why? For the simple reason that the public has been let into the whole secret, pamely, that the tax is not a special tax ■n mortgages, but the ordinary tax on

interest in land which, like any other interest, has to pay its fair share —that the only way in which it is a special tax is that it is smaller, the interest of the mortgagor paying one penny against the three farthings paid by the mortgagee—that the capital dependent on mortgages is not driven away. (1) Because it has nowhere else to go, for everywhere else it is subjected to an income tax which squeezes much more out of it than the three farthings so dramatically and so speciously- complained of here. (2) Because the evidence of the attempts of the heads of great companies to get large sums out on mortgage in the Dominion, in spite of the tax, is too clear to be ignored. (3) Because the tax has been in operation for twenty-nine years, and no one ever heard any complaint against it on the score of driving capital away until the Advances to Settlers system lowered the rate of interest to a level which made it impossible for the dealers in the capital of other people to do business in competition. (4) Because the moneys that undoubtedly have gone away did not go to seek mortgages, but wanted large landed investments, which here are not possible under the law of discouragement of monopolies of land. Understanding these things, the public endures the groans of the farmers against the mortgage tax with complacency. I find in commercial circles less cognisance of these facts than I expected. At the same time, I am struck by the fact that the representatives of the big companies, who put out moneys on mortgage, are strenuously averse to the proposal to place mortgages under an income tax instead of under the land tax. It is clear, at all events, that they know how much sharper the lash would cut. Once more the young lions of the Opposition are roaring over their railway meal. They are roaring for a return to the system of management by commissioners. This time they have made a wonderful discovery. It is that whereas the New South Wales Commissioners never pay anything out of capital on upkeep of the lines, the Ministerial management of the Dominion pays a good deal of money from capital account for the purpose. Quoting the figures for the year ending March 31, 1908, the critic declared that the amount was £243,261. These figures may be thus analysed by any one who looks them up: Rolling 5t0ck£222,978 Cranes 5,408 Gas store holders .. .. 399 Foot warmers 1,284 Machinery for workshops 12,195 £243,261 In the rolling stock I have here included a sdm of £1,475 for tarpaulins, representing new stock, not new tarpaulins to replace old ones worn out, which are paid for, as accounts show, out of the revenue. Now, the figures of the Railway Commissioners of New South Wales account for similar expenditure, and they do not call it “nil.” They acknowledge: Rolling stock :£861,641 Additions to open lines .. 191,992 £1,053,643 All paid out of capital and specially so acknowledged by the Commissioners themselves. On the 30th June, 1908, the amount of this “nil” was over £900,000, and in the year previous it was a-quarter of a million. Of course, it is true that the New South Wales men did not pay anything out of capital for upkeep. But for what the New Zealand critic called upkeep in the case of the Dominion lines they paid, not nothing, but over two millions and' a-quarter in the last three years, and their last payment of the same was more than four times the amount paid by the Ministerial management of the Dominion lines, in the year of the comparison. Oh, ■these young lions! How they roar! It is not the end of their roaring. They quote last year’s profit made by the New South Wales Commissioners at something over four per cent against our three, but they forget two things (1) that profit is not the rule as dis-

closed by Hie history of railway management in the Mother State, which has a trilling accumulated deficiency of five millions to square before it can boast of its prowess as a profit-making railway concern; (2) that the three per cent limit has been adopted here, w'hereas the charging power is unlimited there. The story is too long to follow here. Enough that debate ought to be confined to the principle question of principles without extension to the detailed consequences of the application of principles. The details may be the proper price to be paid for the correct application of principles', but they are never the proofs of the badness or otherwise of principles. As to net profits, and the power of commissioners and of ministers for exacting them from the railway system is it necessary to go to the Mother State? The materials for comparison are here. Looking over the railway accounts for the last twenty odd years, I find that ir 1886 and 1887, the two years before the Commissioners took charge, the net profit for each year was £2 6/ per cent; that during the years 1890-1-1-1-4-5 (the Commissioner period) the profits were £2 19/, £2 18/11, £2 15/9, £3 1/, £2 17/9, £2 14/6. The Government taking charge in 1895 worked out the profits as follows:—From £2 16/ in their first year steadily up by annual increments to the highest point, £3 11/8 in 1904, decreasing with less regularity to £3 6/8 of the year 1908. It is true the Commissioners did not have such “boom” times as the Government. It is true also that the Government had some bad times too, and it is true that whereas the Commissioners went through life sitting tight without putting down tariffs the Government since their taking charge have been continually in a ferment of concession of tariffs, of increases of railway facilities, and of rising wages; all the consequences of the imposition of the three per cent limit of profit. The results do not look too bad for the Ministerial system of management which suits the democracy rather than the delegation of power which is a confession of incapacity, besides being unconstitutional. The most instructive comparison is that of the passenger rates.' Take the journey from Wellington to Auckland of 427 miles, for which the first-class fare to-day is 39/1, and the second 21/2; the charge for the same distance in New South Wales is 59/7 and 35/1, and had the Commissioners remained in office here the charges would have been here respectively at the rates ruling during their time, viz., 89/7 and 59/9. Are we to set up Commissioners in a hurry just because some young lions are roaring? Australian Pensions. The Hon. J. Carroll (Acting-Prime Minister) has sent the following cablegram to Mr. Deakin (Prime Minister of Australia):—“The New Zealand Government regrets to learn by cable that the Federal Government has seen fit to exclude Maoris from the benefits of the old-age pension scheme. In New Zea-

land tne Maoris enjoy equal pension* and legal privileges with the European population. Therefore, the exclusion seems an unfair restriction, especially as we do not place any restriction on Australian native-born, and, hence, an ab original native Australian would be entitled to a pension under our law. The characteristic disinclination of Maoris to permanently reside outside their own land reduces the prospect of any call on your pension fund on their account to a minimum.” Maori Tonring Troup. The Acting-Premier has received word that some of the members of the Maori performing troupe engaged to play at the New York Hippodrome were refused admission to the United States because they were suffering from eye trouble. Mr. Carroll was asked to intercede, but was reluctant to interfere with the health regulations of any other country, and declined to do so. Information has been received that about seventeen of the Maori entertainers were stopped at San Francisco. The whole of the troupe underwent a medical examination before leaving New Zealand, and a number of candidates were rejected, but the requirements of the United States Health Act are apparently more severe than the promoters of the tour were aware. Dominion Day. Dominion Day (September 26) this year falls on a Sunday, and Cabinet has fixed that day for its observance. It also expresses a wish that volunteer church parades shall be held, in accordance with which the chief of the defence staff (Colonel Robin) has ordered officers commanding district® to arrange for church parades, to include all branches of the defence forces under their various commands. The afternoon has been suggested as the most suitable time, to enable suburban corps to parade with the garrison troops. A New Wood Preserver. A feature Of the tenders received at the last meeting of the Wellington City Council was one from the Powellised Timber Company, near Ohakune, for sleepers for the Lyell Bay tram line. . This process consists of injecting molasses into timber, and is largely used in Australia and other parts of the world. The tender of the company was for white pine, and was not accepted by the Council, as there was no absolute proof extending over many years thrit this class of timber would stand as well as other timbers. It is stated that had the tender been for Powellised black birch, or rimu, the fate of the tender might have been different, as the Mayor and a number of Councillors would prefer to use New Zealand wood for Bleepers and other purposes, thereby keeping the money in New Zealand, instead of sending it to Australia. *lt is possible that the Powellised Wood Company will be tenderers for further works with wood other than white pine, and the fact that

ff this process enables the city to use a quantity of the timber, employment will be given to a large number of men in the district will no doubt carry weight. The Powellised process will probably have an effect on a number of woods in New Zealand, which are not very durable owing to their being grown in moist country, but which are rendered as durable (by the new process) as the well-known jarrah and black butt. In Victoria and New South Wales, a number of soft timbers have been made as durable as the hard woods by the use of the Powellised process. Death of Mr. Samuel Brown. Mr Samuel Brown, a leading citizen of Wellington and representative of the employers on the Arbitration Court for several years, died on Saturday morning, after a brief illness. He was born in Ireland 64 years ago, and had been in New Zealand 45 years. He settled first at Invercargill, and came to Wellington in 1864. He was for years a contractor on a large scale, and up to his death was head of the firm of S. Brown, Limited, coal merchants. He was a member of the City Council for several years, twice mayor, and was the first president of the Industrial Association. The cause of death was an internal complaint. Mr Pryor, deputy-representative, will take Mr Brown’s place on the bench at the Court which sat at Wanganui on Tuesday- next and then proceeds to Palmerston North and Napier. AUCKLAND. Game Butchers. In a letter to the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, Mr. R. T. Corkran, of the Thames, made some caustic comments about "game butchers.” In expressing approval of the proposed introduction of the red-legged partridge, he said the fact that it was a runner, so far from being an objection to it, was a great argument in its favour. Genuine sportsmen, he Baid, would, no doubt, be delighted if the society succeeded in establishing the "Frenchman.” "The butchers, pot-hunt-ers, and the cads who shoot for sale,” as he expressed it. "need not be considered.” These people, he said, had done a good trade in pheasants in the Thames district during the first two months of the past season, and of all the enemies that the pheasants and the honest shooters had to contend with these men were the worst.” Riflemen on Rangitoto. At the meeting of the Devonport Borough Council last week, a letter was read from the foreman of the Rangitoto Island Domain, stating that he had been etruck on the leg by a bullet one day recently while working near the beach. He could see no smoke, nor anything else to indicate wh'ence the bullet came. He suggested that the Council bring the matter before the Board, and that they make it illegal for any-one to land on the island carrying firearms. The matter was discussed in the Council, and one or two Councillors mentioned that as things were at present it was extremely dangerous for people to go there on holidays, owing to the number of people who fired promiscuously with service rifles. The Mayor mentioned that although there were opossum and wallaby- on the island, there were not too many of them, and the Council ought not to allow tfie public safety to be endangered for the sake of such sport as they- might afford. Eventually it was decided to erect a notice board warning the excursionists and others against the danger of the careless use of firearms, and further to refer the matter to the by-laws committee. Gisborne High School. Arrangements have been practically completed by the governors of the Gisborne High School and the Auckland School Commissioners for the exchange of the Stanley-road reserve and a portion of the Ngatapa Block, which is now being eut up. It is expected that.this Ngatapa property will bring the Auckland Commissioners in about £6O per annum. The governors of the High School have decided to proceed with the erection of * large school building.

Burned to the Water-lino. The Northern S.S. Co.’s steamer KapaBui wu practically gutted from amid•hips aft by fixe on Wednesday morning.

while lying at the lower wharf at. Warkworth. When the alarm was given, about five aan., the flames were shooting out of the engine-room skylights and saloon companionway, and so great a hold had the fire when discovered, that all efforts to get to the engine-room proved futile, thus preventing the use of the pumps. Owing to the lowness of the tide, scuttling was out of the question, but all that could be done by a bucket brigade was done. Fortunately there was little or no wind, otherwise nothing would have saved the vessel from being burnt from stem to stern. As it is, the whole of the after-deek, boats, cabins, etc., have been consumed, together with the bridge-deck. Forward of the hatchway the vessel is intact. The fire was discovered by the chief steward, who at onee gave the alzxi'n. The flames were then breaking through into the saloon from the engine-room, which was separated only by a thin bulkhead. The officers and crew managed to save their immediate effects, but the steward and his assistants were not so fortunate, losing, besides their cloth.?-, a ca®sidcrable sum of money. The cause of the fire is unknown, but from all appearances it commenced in the engine-room. This is the second serious mishap the Kapanui has experienced. The first was on Christmas eve, 1905, when five lives were lost owing to the vessel sinking after a collision with the steamer Claymore, off the North Head, Auckland Harbour. At that time the two steamers, which are now owned by the Northern Co., belonged to rival companies, and each was making special trips to cope with the holiday traffic. The Kapanui was inward bound and had consequently a large number of passengers on board, while the Claymore, being outward bound, had not a great complement. The Kapanui sank close inshore on the north side of the harbour and remained on the bottom for several weeks. She was then swung between two scows and carried across to Judge’s Bay, where her gaping hull was temporarily patched up on successive low r tides, permanent repairs being afterwards effected in dock. The fire which occurred on board the Northern S.S. Co.’s steamer Kapanui at Warkworth wrought such havoc that it is considered the hull of the vessel has been destroyed beyond repair, and the company have decided to remove the boiler and machinery. What will be done with the hull has not yet been decided, but it is understood that it will be either sold or destroyed. The Kapanui was towed to Auckland by the s.s. Paeroa. and was taken round to the Hobson-street W’harf extension to have her boiler and machinery lifted out of her. Formerly the greyhound of the gulf steamers, she is now a derelict. From the forepart of the engineroom aft there is complete devastation. The deck and cabin have been eaten out of the vessel, and the debris suggests little of what formerly existed. Cabin fittings, decking, and all have been scooped out, and all that is left is a small heap of charred remains, with half-burnt walls rearing up on either side. The iron work round the deck remains, but it is so distorted that it only accentuates the distorted condition of the wreck. A cursory glance at the .engineroom does not suggest much, but closer inspection shows that the copper work and soft metal fittings have been eaten away: while, of course, the compartment itself has been reduced to a skeleton. The fire also extended into the after part of the forward hold, charring the sides and decking. The cargo, amounting to less than a ton, was discharged at Warkworth, and it has not been ascertained so far that it has been damaged. Utilising Kauri Heads. The utilisation of some of the many thousand kauri tree heads that lie over the old forest lands of the North for railway sleepers was recently suggested to the Minister by the Kaihu branch of the Liberal and Labour Federation, as a scheme that would be both profitable and a source of employment. In reporting on the suggestion, Mr. Kavanagh, timber expert for the Auckland Land Department, stated that even experienced bushmen would find considerable difficulty in obtaining sleepers from such a source. A few years ago a use for these great limbs was desired by a Kopuru contractor. who contrived to extract an oil which was hoped to be particularly serviceable for bridges and other structures, •nd wilieh received a aatislactory trial

from Wairoa builders. As the oil did not get advertised out of the district, however, its demand was limited, anH ultimately the inventor gave up its manufacture. It is estimated that as matters stand there are many millions of feet of kadri timber rotting on old bush areas. Schoolboy Marksmen. The names of the schoolboy marksmen who have been selected for the New Zealand representative rifle team of eight school cadets in the Lord Roberts’ Trophy Match have been announced. The selection was based on an examination of average rifle scores submitted from all over New Zealand, and it is rather a coincidence that each of tire four provincial districts of Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago have secured representation. The team is as follows:— Average Name. Score. Corp. Allen, King’s -.Aland 61 Corp. Combs, King’s < o..egAuckland .. . . .. . . . . 61 Pte. J. C. Williamson, Wellington College, Wellington . . . . 60 I’te. H. C. Polson, Wellington College, Wellington . . . . . . 60 Pte. R. Munn, Rangiora High School, Canterbury . . . . . . 60 Pte. Foster, Rangiora High School, Canterbury . . . . 57 Bugler Sams, Timaru High School, Canterbury . . . . . . 57 Pte. McDougal, Dunedin High School, Otago . . .. .. .. 58 There were no scores from the Nelson district. The team will shoot off at Polhill Gully on Friday, August 27, and will assemble in Wellington on Tuesday, August 24, in order to undergo some preliminary practice at the range under Major Cresswell (Rangiora High School) and Captain Matheson (Wellington College). Captain S. V. Trask, of the Headquarters Staff, will superintend at the shoot-off. The Lord Roberts’ Trophy Match is an annual Imperial competition, open to representative teams of British (Imperial) schoolboys who are not over 16 years of age on July 1 of the year of competition. In addition to the principal trophy, the captain of the winning team will receive the C. B. Fry silver medal, and each of the other members of the team a bronze medal. The firing conditions prescribe that the ranges will be 200 and 500 yards, with seven shots and a sighter at each range. An Enthusiastic Visitor. An American visitor to New Zealand, Professor George A. Gates, formerly head of Pomona College, California, went back to his own land full of vivid impressions of the success with which many social problems have been handled in the Dominion. Speaking at Los Angeles, he said one thing more than anything else he had learned was that upon the principle of “The People versus Everything Else” their civilisation had been built up. No slums were known, he said, and one evening he stood on a street corner to watch the working people go home. “Not one that I saw looked jaded and worn, but all appeared happy and wholesome. The girls especially looked happy, trim, and neat. They were not tired out, as most of our working girls are when their day's work is done, because they had been treated with kindness and consideration, which is necessary under the strict labour laws in Australia and New Zealand.” The professor, of course, met the man who railed vaguely at progressive legislation, declaring that capital was leaving the country, but he was not impressed with this. “I just asked those who made the statements if they could give me the name of just one capitalist who had left the country because of the labour laws. I have not yet heard one name!” A Punitive Expedition. News has been received by mail from the New Hebrides that H.M.S. Prometheus had made a cruise through the group, landing a punitive expedition at Santo. It was at this island that the Greig family were massacred. The warship had previously made several arrests in connection with the massacre, and the offenders were dealt with by the High Commissioner’s Court. The remaining tribesmen, however, had taken refuge in the bush, but on the recent visit of the warship, the commander was successful in capturing two chiefs who were implicated in the terrible tragedy at Santo- They were taken on the cruiser and deported to Fiji. At one oC

the villages visited, the naflVto had anticipated the arrival of the men-o*-war there, and taken to the bush The village was destroyed, as were also some pigs which were found running about the place. Altogether the officers of the Prometheus arrested ten natives for various offences, and they were all taken on to Fiji. The Prometheus left Suva on August 9 for the New Hebrides, where she will be relieved by H.M.S. Pegasus. Then she proceeds to New Zealand.

Onehunga Drainage. The Onehunga Borough Council have been advised by cable that a financial firm in Ixmdon will grant them a loan of £42,500 for the drainage of the borough. Mr. 11. Metcalfe, Borough Engineer, has now a staff’ of men surveying the town of Onehunga to obtain the necessary levels. When these are completed, and the plans and specifications prepared, tenders will be called, and if found satisfactory, the drainage scheme will be put into operation forthwith.

WAIKATO. Ancient Glaciation. At last week’s meeting of the Otago Institue, Profesor Park made an important announcement with respect to the recent discovery of evidence of ancient glaciation in the North Island. The Hautapu Valley for a distance of 26 miles was, he said, covered with a sheet of andesitic rocks and debris delivered from Ruapehu, varying from nought to a 60 feet track. The blocks are of all sizes up to eight feet in diameter, the largest oeeuping the southern limit of the deposit, which spread over hill and dale, lying on a deeply denuded surface of the papa of the Pliocene age, and rising up to a height of 300 feet above the railway. The Professor expressed the belief that further evidences of glaciation would be found at Johnsonville and Karori, near Wellington, and in the Wairarapa, near the Tararuas.

Wanted—A Court-house. The long-felt want of suitable accommodation for the. holding of the monthly sittings of the Magistrate’s Court at Taumarunui was again very much in evidence on the 10th and 11th. inst. (writes our correspondent). The Magistrate and members of the legal profession, as well as witnesses, took their places, after which was the seen© of what could well be termed a disreputable sight of squalor, in which these people were compelled to abide for the time being. An auction sale had been carried on the day previous, and the remaining goods had been gathered together, placed in cases, and piled up at one end of the building. Posters were on every wall, advertising the same, and paper, sawdust, and other rubbish was on the floor in abundance, giving it the appearance of a filthy stable. The forms, tables, and every article meant for furniture were, if not broken or maimed in some way, strewn with’ candle grease. Sparrows flew merrily through the building, and the lack of a fire, as well as the chilling wind which swept through the whole building, made the place, one in which business had to be done, almost intolerable. The amount of business done in this particular town now justly merits a decent building, and it is hoped the Department will give this very important matter immediate attention.

HAWKE’S BAY. “ Takitimu.” HON. J. CARROLL’S ANCESTRAL’ CANOE. e Following is the text in part of the address presented to th e Hon. J. Carroll, Acting-Prime Minister, at Papawai, by the Maori tribes of his ancestral canoe “ Takitimu”: — To you who are now as the Prime Minister, yes, to you O Son of Fame; May blessings guard your soul! Be thou watchful and guard the fort on every side lest disaster come to oub people and country. Be not as the eel-fisher, who nods is •unconcern, but as the war sentinel, who must ever wakeful be. Climb thou to the higher altitudes Of action, to the twelfth heaven, to ths heaven that was readied by your god-WS>

ancestor, Tawaki, who sought anff found Maikuku Makaka and took Hapai-o-Mauri to wife. From them you sprang to our land of life and light. Do not forget but turn thou now and again to the shadowy land from whence we came, to the homes of our ancestors far away, to Great-Hawaiiki, to Long Hawaiiki, to Hawaiiki-of-great-diatance, to the Place of Spirits, the land where man was formed from the Earth by Great Tane-of-the-Sky, and had life first breathed into him. Give forth our genealogies and see that we hurt not by evolution.

Grasp firmly the famous paddles of your ancestral canoe, “Takitimu,” the paddles “Rapanga-te-Atinuku,” and “Ra-panga-te-Atiranga.” With these paddles you should conquer the vast and powerful waves that may beset us, the towering crested wave about to break, the swirling, foaming, broken billow and the huge wave that rises like a mountain may menace our fortunes. Be skilful in the use of the paddle - plunge it quickly on this side and on that. Let its flashing and its spray shine to the far horizon. All is now propitious. We appeal now to that soul and spirit that has come to the soil, the national breast, to' hold fast to us, to guard us, and do for us that which will be for our good. Be firm. Our greetings to you, O Titni Kara, who have now attained the honourable position of Acting-Prime Minister of New Zealand.”

A School Burned. The Wairoa district school, accommodating over 200 scholars, was burned to the ground last week, the fire being fanned by a gale. The pupils and teachers sustain a good many losses in books. Only the school records, organ, and a few desks were saved. The fire arose through a defect in the chimney. Home for Girls. A large building in Priestly-road, Napier, erected by the Frandc Trustees, and occupied as a home for girls, under the control of the Hawke’s Bay Children's Home Committee, was formally opened this afternoon by the Mayor of Napier (Mr J. Vigor Brown, M.P.), in the presence of a large attendance of ladies and gentlemen. Salmon in New Zealand. Mr. L. F. Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, interviewed at Napier, said: “ There is no reason why within a few years we should not be ourselves exporting salmon in large quantities. New Zealand is particularly rich as regards rivers, especially those which derive their flow from snow-clad mountains—and it is in this description of river alone that these fish can flourish. There is no reason why we should not have a salmon industry in time equal to that of America. There is certainly a great future before the fisheries.” WANGANUI. State Pioneering. The Rangitatua scheme of State pioneering, by which 10,000 acres of beautiful forest on the banks of the winding Waitotara were to be cleared under the auspices of the Government, was a noteworthy experiment in national enterprise. It was intended to meet several needs—the need for employment, need for land, the needs of the worker and the settlers and the State. It was inaugurated in June last amid great expectations, and the enterprise is now on its trial. When it started, a -representative of the “Post” visited the Rangitatua, and reported fully on the scheme, the nature of the country, and the kind of men who were there to look after the working. It was un attractive scheme, and it promised well. Of course, the main work had not been begun. Some of the parties had commenced their under-scrubbing, but most of them had just arrived and pitched camp. There were all sorts and conditions of men there, the majority being men of previous experience. These men will play the game out and do well, but the last six weeks, with the severe test of winter in the bush, have found out many men. Numbers have proved to be quite unfit for bush work, which is far different from unskilled labour, and so about 40 all told have left the Rangitatua, and there are a hundred still there.

In a word, the grand expectations have not been realised.

A reporter, re-visiting the bush, found not the same spirit of hope that characterised the earlier stages. Some of the gangs—the real good men, first-class bushfellers—are making good money, but they have to work hard for it all day and every day. Others are doing fairly well, others passably, while some are just earning tucker, and, again, some have left.

The reporter questioned three men on their way back to Waitotara as to tne trouble. They had been five weeks in the bush, and were coming out with hardly a penny. Not a word of complaint had they against the overseers individually or collectively. One put forward the excuse that the weather had been against them; another complained of the system of measurements; while the third member put the trouble down to the under-scrub-bing. A few more questions satisfied the reporter that the real trouble was that none of the men were expert bushfellers by any means. Nirte-tenths of the men who have left the bush, or who are not doing well there are inexperienced men. The work is essentially skilled labour, and to put the prentice hand there where the craftsman should be is to court failure. The Labour Department is held to be largely to blame for the class of men they have sent up. Only experienced men should have gone. Had the scheme contained side plans for the making of roads and tracks, so very necessary as a means of access, where at present there is only the river, all this surplus unskilled labour, and all these amateur bushmen, might have been employed profitably. The Government, it is urged, should seriously consider this point, otherwise the great Rangitatua bushfelling scheme will only end in disaster. The Minister for Lands, seen by a “Post” representative in regard to the progress of the bush-felling scheme at Rangitatau block, Waitotara, stated ifjhat the works were going on. The engineer has just reported favourably to the Department, the employment of the men working there showing satisfactory results. Fair average wages would be earned, while some of the camps w’ould do well. He intended to employ 50 per cent of the men clearing and opening road lines after Ist September, with a view to having the block ready for settlement. There had been no complaints. About sixteen men had left the works since the commencement, not for reasons in connection with the work. Cabinet has not yet decided whether to open the block to settlers in December next, or leave it till February, when after the burns it would be sown with grass by the Government. SOUTH ISLAND. Officer’s Training Corps. The latest addition to the strength of the officers’ training corps is that from Canterbury College, where the Professorial Board has decided to notify the Defence Council that the institution is prepared to furnish two companies, in accordance with the regulations, subject to certain alterations to fit the local requirements. It will be remembered that corps have already been established at Victoria College (Wellington) and Otago University, that in the capital city having been also formed under certain altered conditions. The alterations proposed by the Canterbury College Board provide that the graduates of the University of New Zealand, or those who are, or at any time have been, members of the Canterbury College Students’ Association, shall be eligible for membership; that each member shall be enrolled for a period of two years, or until lawfully discharged by the. officer commanding; that capitation shall be earned by attendance at not less than 30 instructional parades or exercises during the period between December 1 and August 31 in each year, attendances at camp on six consecutive days to count as attendance at 16 such parades; if the eamp extends to ten days, two parades may be counted for each day of extension. A committee of the Auckland University College Council is at present considering the question of forming a corps in this city.

Bold Hold Up. An old Chinaman called at the Christchurch police station last week, and presented a receipt for a considerable sum of money. He received receipt previous night from two men in apparent police uniform, armed with revolvers, who searched his

house for opium, and found none, bat came on the old Chinaman's little hoard of silver money. This they took, giving the receipt mentioned, and telling the old man to call at the police station for a refund. The police are now looking out for the bogus constables. Education Conference. Speaking to a Christchurch reporter, the Hon G. Fowlds said that he was making arrangements to hold an important educational conference at the beginning of next year. The school inspectors held a conference every fourth year, and a big conference would take place a few days before the inspectors met. Definite arrangements had not been made yet in regard to the personnel of the conference, but, besides the inspectors, it was probable that teachers would be present to represent the different branches of school ■ work, such as secondary, primary, and technical. University colleges would, probably, also be represented, and they would be asked to discuss the co-ordination of all branches of educational work. The programme had not been drawn np yet, but it was likely that further funds for education, extension of the hours of instruction to children in the higher standards, and other questions of the hour would be dealt with. Touching on the Hon. C. C. Bowen’s suggestion that the time has come when each university college in New Zealand should have separate control, Mr. Fowlds said that he did not think that the time was ripe for the scheme, but it must be adopted later on, when the country showed greater growth than at present. Before it was adopted, however, he thought that the New Zealand Uni-

vei'Slty would conduct its own examinations, instead of sending the papers to examiners in England. Mr. Fowlds spoke very enthusiastically of the work that is being done for defective children at the school at Otekaike, near Oamaru. Large numbers of applications for admission to the school are received, and it is overtaxed now, and steps are being taken to supply more accommodation. British Journalists. The “Dunedin** Star understands that British journalists who are to be guests of the Commonwealth Government during their stay in Sydney in connection with the Chambers of Commerce Congress of the Empire, have been urged by Sir Joseph Ward to extend their itinerary to New Zealand. Woman Killed by Her Son. At 2.30 on Friday a Chrsitchurch boy named Thomas Crasbery, aged 15, fatally shot his mother with a pea-rifle. It appear,; that Mrs Crasbery had occasion to reprimand the boy for some trivial duty he had omitted, and he took up a pearifle, and pointing it at the mother, said : “I’ll shoot you.” The weapon went off, and the bullet entered her right cheek, worked downwards, and out at her left jaw. Assistance was forthcoming, and she was removed to the hospital in an unconscious condition. She died an hour and a-half later. The boy stated to the police that he forgot that he had inserted a cartridge in the weapon in the morning for the purpose of shooting sparrows. He had also pointed the rifle at his married sister the night before and playfully said that he would shoot her.