News of the Dominion.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 7, 17 August 1910, Page 4

News of the Dominion.

OUR WELLINGTON LETTER. WELLINGTON, August 12. The Children’s Hospital Fund. THE extraordinary success of the appeal for funds for the establishment of a Children's Hospital in Wellington overshadows all other topics this week. It is by a long way the most popular cash-collecting crusade this city has seen for many years. At the time of writing the fund had reached close on £4,000, and it is fully expected that when all the lists are closed £5,000 will have been collected. This, with the Government subsidy, will provide £ll,OOO for the erection of the muchneeded hospital. It will be a splendid result, carried through in a very few weeks.

When the question of erecting the Children’s Hospital was before the Hospital Board some time back, plans drawn by Messrs. Aitken and Bacon were submitted; these plans provided for a building to cost about £7,000. The plans were, however, set aside, to allow of the Fever Hospital being created. It was for the purpose of obtaining this £7,000 building that Mrs. Wil ford, the Mayor’s wife, made her appeal to the public. The amount she asked for was £3,500: the Government subsidy would provide the rest. As a considerably larger sum will now be available, other plans will have to be drawn, providing for a considerably improved and more spacious building. Mrs. Wil ford’s appeal touched the public in its most sympathetic spot. But Mr. Hugh Ward’s generous assistance gave it a tremendous fillip. It is very doubtful whether the people would have shown such enthusiasm over the scheme had it not been for Mr. Ward’s oiler and his subsequent vigorous action in support of the scheme. After the violent attack made on ‘‘The Girl from Rector’s” by a Section of the local clergy, his assistance came asa sort of “sensation,” ami focussed the limelight on the Children’s Hospital. And so the money is pouring in, and Wellington has fully redeemed itself from the charges of lack of generosity and liberality that have been hurled at it in the past.

* Tlie Girl From Rector’s.” Still that “Girl from Rector’s” discussion enlivens the daily papers. The Revs. Dr. Gibb and J. J. North and Mr Hugh Ward have written columns of letters, to the amusement, if not the edification, of the public. Certainly the “Girl” is doing roaring business. Mr Ward states that during the nine nights’ season of the play nearly 12,000 people paid for admission. This is a big record for Wellington. And unto Dr. Gibb and Mr North be the credit, They certainly sent much gold into Hugh Ward’s purse, and lie can afford to look pleasant and be magnanimous over it all. The Prison Farm Reformatory.

A good deal has appeared in print this last week on the subject of the Hon. Dr. Findlay’s scheme for the reorganisation of the prison system of New Zealand, and the ideas set forth in the scheme are pretty universally approved of. The agricultural reformatory is particularly commended. The lines on which this farm for prisoners will be conducted have been already indicated: but little or nothing about its locality has yet been printed. It is to be established near Tokanui, in the Upper Waikato, and is to consist of about 1200 acres. I know the locality well, and as it is in a littleknown but rather remarkable district, something alxmt it will interest “Graphic” readers. The farm will be a portion of a large block of Government land in the Kin# Country—now a misnomer—extending from Tokanui eastwards for some miles ■towards the V\ harepuhunga range. It is just on the Southern or “Maori” aide of the Punui River, the old-time “Aukati” line, the boundary between the Maori country and the European frontier settlement, on the land which was confiscated from the natives after the Waikato war In IHO4. It is within sight of famous Orakau, where the final battle in the war was fought, and where the Ringites mads their last heroic stand. Once there wan B large Maori population aliove Tokanui and the south bank of the Punui River,

but the natives have sadly dwindled away.

The country here is open fern land, with a good deal of easily drainable swamp. Much of it was cultivated by the Maoris, and riding over it you come across the remains of old villages and ciiltivaltions, old kuinara and potatopits, and older trenched ami parapeted hill forts everywhere. It is a beautiful free open countryside, with wild pigs and wild cattle and horses roaming over it—and also, unfortunately, rabbits; these pests, however, are not so plentiful as they once were. Tokanui means “Big Rock”; it is the name of one of three round hills which rise just behind the old Tokanui settlement, and which are called by the white settlers in the vicinity the “Three Sisters.” These remarkable hills are Terraced artificially from foot to summit; they were fortified holds in the ancient days. It is close to the base of Tokanui, I believe, that the headquarters of the prison farm will be located. The land there is good volcanic soil, lying well to the sun, with a gentle slope to the Punui River, a few miles away to the north. The main road from Kihikihi—the old-time southernmost frontier township of the whites—to Otorohanga, on the Main Trunk railway line, passes close to Tokanui. The farm will be in an excellent situation—not too far from market, ana yet sufficiently far removed from other settlements to ensure the effective isolation of the prisoners.

The New Mental Hospital Site. A few miles away from Tokanui to the west will be the new Mental Hospital establishment —the main one for the North Island. This big institution, the scope of which was outlined in t'he press some time ago, will be located near the base of Kawa Hill, a prominent and' rather picturesque volcanic cone rising from 'the plain just to the left of the Main Trunk line as one goes south, a short distance beyond where t'he Punui River is crossed after leaving Te Awamutu. It is an excellent site for the new establishment for the mentally afflicted. The district is healthy, breezy, and far removed from any town; the outlook is grand and the whole surroundings should be conducive to the recovery of those whose cases are not altogether hopeless. This Kawa Hill is a remarkable place. It is terraced from foot to top, just as Mt. Eden is, for it was a fortified “pa” in ancient Maori days, and many stories are current about it in Ngati-Maniapoto folklore. One story concerns a chief who was once besieged on its summit, and who escaped with his tribe when surrender and death seemed inevitable by means of a subterranean passage which he had previously wisely caused to be dug from the fort to a elump of bushland some disgrand, and the whole surroundings should be conducive to the recovery of those whose cases are not altogether hopeless. Police Inspector Gillies and the Capture of Winiata. Mention of the King Country reminds me of an incident in the career of Police Inspector R. J. Gillies, who has to retire from the Force. A paragraph which has gone the rounds of the newspapers says that Inspector Gillies was the officer who arrested the Maori who murdered a young man named Packer — who was a farm-servant at Epsom, near Auckland. The Maori got away to the King Country, and lived there for many years. Now, it was not Mr. Gillies who actually arrested the murderer, whose name was Winiata. Gillies was then police constable at Te Awaniutu, one of the frontier townships, and he helped to arrange the arrest; but the man who captured Winiata was a big half-caste named Robert Barlow. He got his man in a. particularly clever and daring fashion. It was in the year 1883, and the Queen’s writ did not then run south of the Punui river. The King Country was at that time purely Maori territory. There was a reward, I think, of £5OO for the murderer's arrest. lie had been living in the King Country for some years, having lied there after he killed Packer. Barlow and his Maori wife went to Otorohanga, where Winiata was living, and professed to be buying pigs. He produced a bottle of rum, and managed to

get Winiata “under the influence” in his whare. Then, in the dead! of night, Barlow, who was armed with a revolver, packed the Maori on to a spare horse he had brought with him, tied him securely with the aid of his daring wife, and got quietly out of the village without so much as a solitary mongrel giving an alarm. Had Winiata’s Maori friends got wind of the capture, Barlow would probably have been killed, in spite of his revolver. But they were all peacefully sleeping in their whares. Barlow took hie pinioned prisoner down to the nearest European settlement. arriving there soon after daylight. Winiata awoke from his drunken sleep on the way, but Barlow threatened to shoot him if he made a sound. The prisoner was handed over to the Armed Constabulary of the nearest redoubt, and then given into Gillies’ charge, and in the end he was hanged for his erimes. Barlow got his Government reward, but somehow from that day he failed in health. He was a man of giant size and strength, but he fell sick from some mysterious cause. In Maori belief, he was “Makutu’d”—bewitched. He died when still in the prime of life. He and his people believed that he had been bewitched _by some King Country “tohunga” in revenge for having captured Winiata and delivered him over to his death. The wizards of the Rohepotae had “put the coinether on him.” Barlow survived his prisoner only a very few years. For some time after Winiata’s arrest many half-castes were looked on with much suspicion in the King Country, for Winiata was not the only man on whose head there was a price. So that was how Winiata was captured —an exciting incident in those days of the early “eighties,” when things were by no means as settled and prosaic on tlie King Country frontier as they are to-day. Although Inspector Gillies—then a constable—did not personally capture Winiata, he had some rough-and-tumble work with the Maoris at various times, and he earned a high reputation as a plucky and brainy police officer. Since those old Waikato days he has gone through all ranks of the force, and it is a great pity to think that his splendid, record of thirty-six years’ service should have to 'terminate in such an unfortunate fashion.

Our Island Dependencies.

In Parliamentary circles one hears approval of Mr. Frank Lawry’s suggestion that the Cook Islands, our dependencies in 'the Eastern Pacific, should have representation in the New Zealand Parliament. The islands in this group are of great importance to New Zealand, commercially and in other ways, and legislation affecting them is passed by Parliament. Now, very little is known by members about our tropical isles; only one dr two, such as Dr. Buck (Te Rangihiroa) have spent any time there, and have any real acquaintance with the conditions of life there. The native population of the islands is about 13,000; and, in addition, on Niue and Savage Island, there are more than four thousand natives. The total white population of the islands is somewhere about 150. The native islanders are sufficiently numerous at any rate to deserve representation in Parliament, and possibly legislation may be introduced empowering them to send a member of their own to Parliament. Probably provision could be made for a white member to represent both natives and Europeans, if desired.

The Young Person and Her Riding Costume. That telegram from Auckland about the Agricultural Show Committee desiring to put long skirts on the skittish young ladies who ride in show competitions, or, rather, on one particular young lady, caused a good deal of amusement here. Masculine, or semi-masculine, rig is becoming so common amongst horsewomen that the Committee’s attitude seems an excessively prudish one. To talk of its indelicacy is only to provoke ridicule. I remember seeing some time back a feminine horseback costume which ought to fill the bill for show competitions. It was worn by a young lady from England—no less than Miss Gorst, the daughter of the celebrated Sir John Gorst. It was khaki-coloured, and consisted of a long coat, trousers, and leggings; a Cossack costume, its wearer called it. It was a neat and becoming costume, and would not have shocked even Mr. Teddy O’Rorke. And certainly it was a safe and comfortable riding rigout, and that is a big consideration. The old style riding habit may be picturesque to some eyes, but it is dangerous. Now

that so many women are adopting tKe same “astride” seat as man, they should be allowed to select their own costumes. To talk about masculine costume on a horsewoman as “shocking” is surely antiquated and Puritanic in this age of feminine emancipation. A Model Farm for the Maoris. A Wanganui man well known in Wellington, Mr. Gregor M’Gregor, has bee® appointed manager of the Native farni at Ranana (London), some distance up the Wanganui river. No more suitable man could have been found to launch the new scheme for training Maoris in farming. The farm consists of about 7,00 Q acres in the Morikau No. 2 Block, and comprises fine easy country. Part had already been cleared, but some is in manuka, and the balance in light bush, so that it is an admirable selection for the purpose. Mr. M’Gregor proceeds uf| the river on Saturday to take a preliminary survey of the place, and will commence farming operations at the earliest moment. His intention is to employ all Maori labour if possible, and do all In his power to develop farming instincts in the young Maoris. The object of the scheme is to prove whether or not the young Maori can l>e madq. a farmer. Hence this farm will be watched witll particular interest. Mr. M’Gregor was the officer in charge of the Maori “pa” at the New Zealand Exhibition in Christchurch in 1906-7.

New Prison System.

At the reformatory farm at Tokanui, near Te Kuiti, according to the Hon. Dr. Findlay, there will be accommodation for between 400 and 500 men. There would, he said, be a system of associations as a, reward for very good conduct, and prisoners would also work separately. A’ systematic training would also be given in all agricultural and pastoral work, including training in general branches of agriculture., with specialisation as well. It was intended to turn out thoroughly; practical farmers in a course of two of three years. Those sent there from the lower courts would be there long enough to take a short course. In concluding, under the head of prison reform, Dt< Findlay said that the Sherborne system would be applied to women. They would be trained in the domestic arts on a scientific system, and on lines parallel to the farm training which the boys would receive.

Prison Diet.

A matter which requires alteration, in the opinion of the Hon. Dr. Findlay, is the prison dietary. A prisoner, he held, was entitled to a sufficiency of plain, wholesome food, but our prison fare was the same day after day, every month of the year, and this provoked dyspeptic troubles. The diet was: Breakfast—« bread without butter, a cup of tea without milk; dinner —meat (never vafried)] and vegetables; tea —a piece of bread and tea, without milk. On the tree-planting camps the men had porridge and tea of bread and tea for breakfast, and took with them for lunch bread and cheese. The combination of keen air and strenuous work made this diet insufficient, and he proposed to give prisoners a plaindiet of meat for breakfast, with porridge and tea if they wanted it. The whole of the prison dietary was under consideration. He did not mean to err on thai side of indulgence, but he did not want to err on the side of a painful and sickening monotony which induced dyspepsia.

Industrious Inventors.

The alphabetic list of inventions issued quarterly by the New Zealand Patent Office is always an interesting document. During the present year inventors have displayed remarkable ingenuity and activity (says the Wellington “Post”). Naturally, with the flyingmachine in the air nowadays the aeroplane and airship are well to the front in the list. There are about a dozen patents issued for various brands of flying-machines. Boot manufacturing machinery takes up a good position in the list, -but apparently most of the inventions arc those of outsiders, not New! Zealanders. The difficulty of securing proper treatment of flax has led to a. large number of inventions—over 30. Of different import are ten patents dealing with hat-pins. Among the inventors is Mr G. M. Thomson, M.P., with” a devies to protect hat pins. Most numerous, however, of all are the inventions which deal with the dairy industry. There are 28 milking-machines and eight other appliances for the treatment of milk IB

butter and cheese manufacture. Of iomewhat out-of-way significance are the (following: —Obtaining fermented drink from banana; drawing off box for soiled linen, calf-feeder, child-holder, clothesj>eg, condiment container, drink habit Cure, fishing line and fish plate, frothprevention, geographical game, harbourichannel sweeper, hock boot, mono-rail, demonstrating value of musical notes, pest-box, (orrery, nabtjit trap, Hcrufll■destroyer, scrubbing-brush, swimmingteaching method, trousers, whip thong. Life is Wealth. During the year ended 31st March, 1910, the number of persons who arrived from the United Kingdom totalled 9,250, consisting of 7,569 adults and 1,681 children. These figures include (those who made their own arrangements and those who obtained fares at reduced rates. The number assisted by the High Commissioner amounted to 2,672, The number- of domestic workers assisted Was 615. The number of souls nominated by relatives in the Dominion during the year was 1,241, and the amount of money deposited by the nominators towards the cost of tire passages of these persons was £11,339. A proportion of the nominations are received from husbands, on behalf of their wives and families. These men come first and see for themselves whether they are satisfied with the conditions existing, and obtain employment. Three hundred and sixtyeight wives, nominated by their husbands, and accompanied by 672 children, embarked during the year. It was decided during the autumn of 1909 rthat the time when the approved agriculturists should arrive in the Dominion be restricted to the early summer. By adopting this procedure, every facility was given to the farm worker to get accustomed to his new surroundings before farming operations were discontinued for the season. The medical examination of the persons who pass through the High Commissioner’s Office is more rigorous than for those who make their own arrangements with the shipping companies. The examiner for the Board of Trade, being concerned only in excluding from sailing all persons suffering from any infectious disease, to discover whether such persons are constitutionally sound, is left to the medical inspection at the port of arrival. There have been cases where Some member of the family has been suffering from consumption. This has been concealed until the inspection on board the vessel, and it is very trying to all persons concerned that the people should be turned away at the last moment by the medical inspecting officer acting for the High Commissioner. Cheap Marriages. The Hon. D. Buddo, replying to Mr T. E. Taylor, said a marriage before a registrar cost £2 2s fid, made up as follows:—Notice of intended marriage 2s 6d, certificate authorising the marriage £l, solemnisation £l. If these fees were abolished the revenue would suffer to the extent of £ 10,090 per annum. Our fees compared very favourably with those of other British countries for similar services. There were nearly One hundred registrars of marriages paid by fees, and provision would have to be made for remunerating them in some other Way. Moreover, it was doubtful if the giving of further facilities for marriage by civil contract would meet with general approval. Our Mineral Wealth. “Never in its history were its prospects more promising than they are at present,” says the Hon. R. McKenzie, concerning the mining industry, in his annual report. He goes on to say that it is essential that generous assistance and fostering care should be given in developing our mineral resources. “This industry,” he adds, “has, since 1853, contributed approximately i£ 108,000,060 to our national wealth. Every encouragement should be granted to the prospector and the pioneer miner in their arduous and strenuous efforts in discovering and developing new mining Ventures. I anticipate substantial progress in developing our mineral resources during the present year, and can assure hon. members we can look forward with confidence to the future expansion and prosperity of the mining industry. Several tnlncs have already installed or are installing electrical machinery to traction, lighting, pumping, and other purposes, and as soon as some of our easiest exploited- water power* are utilised, con-

sider&ble expansion in electrical energy for mining purposes will certainly follow, and mineral areas which are at present useless will become valuable. Our present legislation,” adds the Minister, “practically prevents advance being made by the State Guaranteed Advance Board for the development of mining enterprises. Several applications for advances were received during the year, but all had to be reluctantly refused, owing to the legal objections referred to. That there are many excellent mining ventures worthy of State financial assistance is invariably admitted. I propose to submit legislation this session to remove the existing legal obstruction.” Land for Settlement. The Land Purchase Inspector (Mr. J. J. Ritchie), under the Lands for Settlement Act, reports that during the year there were. 122 properties, containing 231,852 acres, offered to the Government, of which 14, containing 48,287 acres, were purchased, but four had not yet been taken possession of. The actual expenditure tor the year was £260,793, making the total £5,407,792 paid since the commencement of the Act as purchase money for estates containing 1,238,096 acres. The balance to the credit of the fund at 31st March was £202,497. A sum of £10,216 has been paid under section 177 of the Land Act, which gives the right to the owner of a lease-in-perpetuity to purchase the feesimple, and £1,457 under section 191 of the Act which gives the owner of a renewable lease the right to pay 90 per cent of the capital value. Ward Co. as Street Singers There was an extraordinary outburst of enthusiasm on Saturday when Mr H. J. Ward, whose dramatic company is playing here, put into execution this novel scheme for collecting money for the Children’s Hospital. Miss Grace Palotta and other members, led by Mr Ward, who had been lent motor cars by private citizens, sang popular songs and choruses in various parts of the city. Immense crowds followed, and the lady collectors reaped a rich harvest. Vehicular traffic was almost disorganised. Money (lowed in from all quarters. The last stand was in Post Office Square, where 3,000 or 4,000 people stood in the pouring rain. So much money was showered that the collecting boxes soon filled, and umbrellas were inverted to receive the coins thrown from all parts of the crowd. Mr Ward received a severe cut on the eye from a coin hurled by one of the enthusiastic men. Already £OOOO is in sight, and, with the Government subsidy, there will be £12,000 or £13,000 available for the Children’s Hospital. Skull Fractured in Trap Accident, During the Children’s Hospital collection procession on Saturday, Geo. R. Fail, proprietor of a restaurant in Lambtonquay, was thrown from his pony cart in Willis-street, through the animal slipping on the wet tram rails. One of the wheels of his cart passed over his head, the skull being fractured. He is in. a serious condition. Abolishing the Bookmaker, In the Legislative Council last week, the Hon. J. E. Jenkinson, on behalf of the Public Petitions Committee (which had reported on Wednesday that a number of anti-gambling petitions referred to it had been found to lie n’importe for various reasons) moved that nine of the twenty-seven petitions should be referred to the Governor for consideration. Most of the petitions were from the Auckland province, and recommended the suppression of gambling and the abolition of the bookmaker. Tire Committee thought it would be wise to refer the formal petitions to the Governor for the purpose of having something done. A committee did not usually make recommendations on petitions when their subject matter was before Parliament, but in this case the question was only before the House in an indefinite way. The petitions, which were not irregular, would be dealt with later on, probably the following day.

The Hon. W. Beehan thought people should know that one man could not sign a petition on behalf of a number of people, as appeared to have been done in some cases. The habit of pasting one sheet on to another, and leaving on the printed heading was also wrong, and constituted each sheet as a separate portion. The erasing of names was another informality. Much trouble and expense

could be saved if the public knew these tilings. The Hon. G. .Tones urged that the motion lie amended by the insertion of the words “favourable consideration.’’ There was. he said, really nothing to show that the petitions were not quite genuine. There was a huge movement against the great vice of gambling from one end of the Dominion to the other. The motion was carried as amended, the petitions named being referred to the Government for favourable consideration.