News of the Dominion.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 11, 15 March 1911, Page 4

News of the Dominion.

OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

Wellington, March 11. The Rifle Championship. THE Dominion Rifle Association’s big “shoot” at Trentham range came to an end on Thursday afternoon. There was unusual interest in this annual meeting, close on six hundred competitors firing, and some big scoring; and the interest was accentuated by the fact that the old order of marksmanship is passing away, and that at future meetings the championship will not be decided by shooting at the present disc targets, but at figures with backgrounds approximating to those which would obtain in actual warfare.

The “old hands” were put completely in the shade at the Trentham meeting by a couple of youths, who, if not exactly raw, are certainly not veterans yet. The champion, Rifleman D. Roots, who comes from Kaponga, a village right under the shadow of Mt. Egmont, is only twenty-three; the runner-up, Rifleman A. Henderson, of Pelorus Sound, is a year younger. Henderson tied for second place with Sergeant Frank, an old and excellent shot from Nelson, and the youngster won the shoot-off. Fourth on the list of crack shots came Sergeant G. Sharland, of iStoke, over Nelson way. Rifleman G. Halliday, of Karori, who won the champion belt last year, was twenty-ninth on the King’s prize list this time. Tire Presentation Ceremony. 'l'hc new rifle ehampion was a very shy champion when he was “chaired” after his victory and carried off the range in conquering hero style, and into the presence of the Governor and the ladies at the dais, whereon the champion belt and other prizes were displayed. He looked just as if he wished he had never won any championship or anything else, and as if he would like to have vanished through the earth, chair and all. And he had to sit there, gazed upon much in the manner that “King Dick” is gazed upon through his cage-bars at Newtown Park. Colonel Collins had made an oration, and the Governor had made another, and Colonel Collins had made a few supplementary remarks, and then he got his belt and other trophies, and was allowed to escape, a proud but rather embarrassed young rifleman. New Zealand’s Best Shot.

Marksman Roots is not a volunteer, but a rifle club man. Taranaki, his native province, has turned out a lot of good shots, ever since the days of the Maori war; and young Roots has had a rifle in his hand ever since he was a boy—which is not so very long ago. For four years past he has competed at the rifle championship meetings at Trentham, and a couple of years ago he got up to the final 50. He has made his mark, too, at Taranaki rifle “shoots”—won the Hawera Rifle Cup four years ago, and has also won the championship of his club at Kaponga. He is a quiet, steady young fellow, and he and Henderson, who ran him so closely for the championship, are two typical specimens of the hundreds of good shots who have been produced under the rifle club system in the backblocks. But for all that a little frill would be an excellent thing for them; that was obvious when they went forward to receive their prizes. Tire Runner-up. There are a lot of smart shots across in the Marlborough Sounds country, and young Henderson, who got the silver etar, badge, and £25 cheque that belong to the “runner-up” in the King’s Prize match, is their top sawyer shot at preBent. Over at Waita ria ami Kenepuru, win-re he cornea from, there are a lot of Hendersons, pretty well schooled in bush work and in sailorising, like all the Pelorus Sounds settlers. They have plenty of room for rifle practice over there, too. Henderson only made his first appearance at Trentham last year, but he got into the final fifty. Sergeant If. Frank, of Nelson, had hard luck in being beaen by Henderson In the shoot off that followed the tie; in fact, lie was only one point below the •bampiun. Frank is a far more experi-

eneed shot than either the two young riflemen who beat him; he has frequently been in the Final Fifty at Trentham; and he has shot with some Buccess at rifle meetings over in Australia. Many fully expected him to win the championship up to a few minutes before the end. But one never knows till the numbers go up.

‘ Tire Boys of the Old Brigade.” The youthful riflemen certainly had a triumphal innings at Trentham; the boys of the old brigade were pushed right back. But it is fine to see how some of the veterans hang on and go to the rifle camps year after year, when the ordinary tame and highly respectable city man won’t risk his valuable little carcase at anything less comfortable than bowls or bridge. Out at Trentham last week there was the father of them all, Lieutenant G. J. Dormer, from Auckland*. Mr. Dornier is seventy-two, and he still feels the effect of a wound received in the Crimean war fifty-six years ago, when he was a youngster on H.M.s. Sidon, bombarding” Sebastopol. He fought, too, in the Maori war of the sixties. But he never misses a championship shooting meeting, and he came down from Auckland this time with his rifle and liis blankets, and went under canvas at Trentham with the youngest of them. He is not the shot he used to be, of course, but he can still do his share, if need be, against the enemy. Mr Dornier is one of the oldest volunteers up in Auckland, and as Quartermaster at the Easter encampments in the “old days” he was an excellent officer. And there's a lot of life in the veteran yet. Tire Benefits of Brill. There was a sad lack of soldierliness in appearance and demeanour amongst some of the young marksmen who won distinction at the rifle meeting at Trentham last week. One or two of them slouched up in an unmilitary and quite shamefaced way to take their well-won trophies. One didn’t salute at all, one did somewhat after the fashion of a man brushing away, a somewhat troublesome fly; and amongst the others there were all sorts and conditions of half-salutes when they walked up and faced the Governor and the rest of the glittering and beribhonerl military men. Jt was a relief to vvafeh the alert and soldierly advance and salute by some of the trained volunteers. The top-seorers were fine shots, but they certainly required some training in the rudiments of drill, and that is what a lot of rifle club men throughout New Zealand lack. Advertising in the Tram-cars. Despite all criticism, and heedless of advice, the Wellington City Council has hardened its heart on the subject of street-car advertising, and is going in for it with stubborn determination. It will show the beastly ratepayers, it says, in effect, that it knows what it is about. At this week’s meeting of the Council, Councillor Fletcher moved to rescind the resolution of the Council that the right to advertise in the cars be sold or let by tender. Councillors Thompson and McLaren supported the rescinding motion, bat the protest against the disfiguring of the cars was a fruitless one. Mr Fletcher’s motion was defeated by eleven votes to three. However he said some pretty severe things about the Council’s execrable taste in allowing patent medicines and whisky odvertisements, and similar trade “puffs” to be plastered about the City's tram cars. He asked the Mayor, if he was prepared as a member of Parliament to advocate advertisements in the Government railway carriages. But the Mayor did not commit himself to a yea or a nay. So the tram-advertisement resolution stands; and citizens are now curious to gee how the scheme pans out. There is no doubt there is a strong feeling against it—except, of course, Wellington advertising agents—but the Council seems to think that it will make a pile of money out of the business; and money is everything.

Dearth of Teacher's. A statement was made by Mr. C. J, Parr at the last meeting of the Auckland Education Board to the effect that there was • dearth of teachers for posi-

tions worth from £9O to £l2O a year. The Executive Committee was at its wit’s end to till some of the vacancies, and had to accept the services of all applicants who came along. They were not all of a high standard, generally uncertifieated and with little or no experience in teaching. The Board was doing the best it could. It was hoped that the Training College would make an appreciable difference in a year or two, and do away with the existing disability. It was a difficult matter at present to make appointments. The Chief Inspector agreed that the scarcity of teachers gave him a great deal of anxiety. A country school committee, which had been consulted in regard to a teacher, requested that they be supplied with a male instead of the female teacher as suggested. The position was worth £l5O, and house allowance. The Chief Inspector reported that no male teacher had made application for the position, and apparently none was available. He considered the lady teacher recommended was eminently qualified to fill the post. She was appointed.

“ A Work of Necessity.” Whether or not it is legal for the proprietors of tea rooms and small shops to supply other people who find themselves away from their homes on Sunday with afternoon tea, ice cream, strawberries and cream, or such other light refreshment as may be available, is a question which the police sought to have decided some six or eight weeks ago. In order to do so they laid informations against a number of proprietors of tea-rooms in and around Auckland. When the cases came on for hearing on the 10th February, it was arranged that one case, that of Police v. Cross and Rahmann, proprietors of the Islington Tea Rooms in Cus-toms-street, should be heard as a test case, and counsel for the defendants, Messrs. T. Cotter, R, A. Singer, and J. A. Quinn, joined forces. Sub-Inspector Hendrey conducted the case for the prosecution.

At the hearing, Mr. Cutten, S.M., reserved his decision, and he delivered judgment last week. Following is the judgment, slightly abridged:— “The defendants are prosecuted under Section 17 of the Police Offences Act for supplying refreshments to customers on Sunday. Section 17, in aiming to prevent unnecessary work on Sunday, uses language extremely wide. There is a proviso to the section, however, which expressly exempts from its operation, ‘works of necessity or charity,’ and a number of other works specifically mentioned. It is contended for the defence that if too strict an interpretation te given to the words of the section it will lead to results that are obviously absurd. For example the work of hotels, boardinghouses, and restaurants is not expressly’ exempted, and unless the work of the e businesses is held to be a ‘work of necessity or charity,’ persons dependent upon such places for their meals will go without food on Sunday. So, too, with stables. Driving carriages and cabs is expressly exempted from the operation of the section, but the use of such must te very limited unless either horses are to work unfed on Sunday, or keeping stables open to feed them is to be considered a ‘work of necessity or charity.’ To get over the difficulties raised by these considerations it has been decided in America that ‘preparing needful food for man or beast is a work of necessity or charity.’

“A persual of the authorities quoted by counsel shows that the word ‘necessity’ in the acts dealing with Sunday trading, does not mean an absolute or physical necessity, but a moral fitness and propriety of the work done in the circumstances of the particular case, and, further, that whether or not a particular aet will come within this extended meaning of the word ‘necessity’ is a question of fact. The question to be decided here, then, is whether, giving this extended meaning to the word ‘necessity,’ the supply to customers of refreshment such as afternoon tea, is a ‘work of necessity.’ There is no difficulty in admitting that the supply of ordinary meals to persons in hotels, boarding houses, and restaurants, is a 'work of necessity’ in this sense. Indeed, to decide otherwise would lead to results never contemplated by the framers of the Act. Is there, then, any logical distinction between the act of supplying a dinner in a restaurant, and the act of supplying afternoon tea in a refreshment foonr? For the prosecution it Is contended that the supply of afternoon tea, strawberries and cream, and such like, oannot by any reasonable Interpretation

of the words of the section foe considered a ‘work of necessity.’ On the other hand the defendants contend that the word ‘necessity’ should 'be interpreted to mean ‘reasonably convenient and needful, having regard to the methods and manners of the people.’ “So long as the work is restricted t<M the supply of refreshments for consumption on the premises I do not see, having once extended the meaning of the word ‘necessity’ to cover the supply of meate, upon what logical principal the line cani be drawn anywhere short of giving thq word the meaning the defendants eon-' tend it should have. My view of th<3| matter is, that the courts having been driven to hold that the supply of meals to persons requiring them, is a worlfl coming within the meaning of the phrasd ‘works of necessity,’ no good end will bfl attained by an endeavour to ascertain what particular meals, and what kinds of refreshment, arc needfql to people an«f what are not.”

His Worship dismissed the informal tions. -

The Red Funnel Fleet. It is understood that the Union Coms pany have decided to have built for the* Wellington-Lyttelton ferry service another turbine steamer, larger than thef Maori and two knots faster.

The Coronation. Regarding the invitations received for! members of the New Zealand Parliament' to visit England to witness the Coronation, Mr. Russell, M.P., last week res ceivod the following telegram from the Prime Minister: —“Up to the last moment I find that only one member hag accepted the invitation of the committee of both Houses of the British Parliament? to be their guest at the Coronation. Thisi being so, and as eight were asked for, I have informed the committee that it iff regretted that members will not be ablfl to avail themselves of their courteous invitation. —J. G. Ward.”

Auckland's Water Supply. Some important suggestions in coanection with the future water supply of Auckland were submitted to the Council week in a report from the Electric and Water Works Committee. Mr. W. E. Bush reported that he assumed the Council did not intend to depart from its resolution to make the Nihotupii stream one of the main sources of sup,ply, and that the figures given in Mf; Mestayer’s report of March, 1904, foil rainfall and flow in Nihotupu River can! be relied upon. There are, said Mr. Bush, two suitable’ sites for dams—(l) Some 18 chains east? of the West Cioast road, where the, stream crosses it, and where a danH across the valley, 900 ft. long, could be constructed with an overflow some 75ft. above the bed of the creek, providing) G 00,000,000 gallons storage capacity, with! a watershed of 1400 acres and a water area of 86 acres; (2) some 30 chains south! of the West Coast main road, where x dam 830 ft. long, with an overflow of 70ft, above the creek bed could be constructed of 320,000,000 gallons capacity, with a* watershed of 660 acres, and a water] area of 54 acres; recommending that construction of No. 2 dam be deferred 'because its construction is not needed afi present for storage purposes, and would! necessitate the diversion of the Westi Coast road, while its cost would be near, ly as large as, and its capacity would be only half of, that of (1). The estimated cost of No. 1 dam was as follows:] - —Clearing site of reservoir and dant £6OOO, excavation for and filling to darn (including puddle wall) £35,000, rough' stone facing to inner slope and grassing to outer slope £7OOO, tunnel and tower for surrounding draw-off pipe* £6OOO, waste weir and overflow channel £2300, cast iron draw-off pipes, penstocks an<J fittings £llOO, forming roadway on top* £IOOO, contingencies £5600, total £64,000, Including Mr. Carlaw's estimate 08 £68.000 for mains and other works down the valley, the total is £ 132,000, to which must be added expenses in raising the loan, and any payment of first? or second year’s interest. With! the storage provided by the proposed! reservoirs, coupled with Waitakerei reservoir and auxiliary supplies lower down the valley, a total supply of not less than! 8,000,000 gallons can be assured during a drought of 120 days, without making any call on the auxiliary supply at Western Springs, but every effort should be made to reduce the per capita court sumption to 40 gallons. ■*

’ The waterworks engineer reported that for the first summer in twenty years he has had no fear of the supply of water being equal to the demand not.withstanding the consumption on warm days has reached 5J million gallons. He recommended that the second portion of (the permanent scheme reported on by Mr. Mestayer and adopted by the Council, should be commenced without delay, especially as the condition of the steel pipes on the Nihotupu track might cause the gravitation supply from this source to be entirely cut off. He proposed laying a 24in. pipe between Nihotupu and Titirangi to carry the Huia water between these points. Mr. Carlaw pointed out that as the capacity of the existing pipes is only a little over 1 million gallons in 24 hours, he proposed to supplement them with an 18in. one, thus increasing the delivery to seven million gallons per day; that from Titirangi reservoir to the dam he proposed laying a 24in. main to deliver 7,250,000 gallons per day, sufficient for Nihotupu and Huia. He estimated that this portion of ithe work would cost £59,820. The reports were referred to the Finance Committee.

Bible in Schools. 7 .The East Christchurch School Committee recently took a vote of parents On the question of whether or not they (Wished their children to attend Bible lessons, and sent out 1200 voting papers, ®23 being returned in favour of the proposal. To-night a conference was held between the School Committee and the Ministers’ Association as to the best (method to be adopted. Bishop Julius spoke in support of lhe proposal, and Baid his own clergy would be ready to give what help was asked of them. Other ministers thought that the time proposed, from 3.30 to 4 p.m. on Friday, was (not the most suitable, as the children Were looking forward- to a holiday after the week’s work. Several teachers concurred in this view, and the meeting adjourned to allow the Ministers’ Association to confer, and decide on a suitable (time for the lesson.

Three Kings’ Tolle ( .'Grimly, the Three Kings are in league (with a treacherous sea at the North of (New -Zealand, to take toll of shipping if they can. Year after year they were aided and abetted in their menace by an (error in the chart. It was not enough that fog and darkness, tempest and cura'ent should help the Kings in their strategic position, not far from a great ocean track; additional assistance came from the map. The recent survey made by H.M.s. Cambrian has proved that the islands are really over two miles south of the position assigned to them in the old chart, and their longitude has been corrected by nearly a mile. How much mischief has the Old mistake wrought, and how many lives have to be debited to the error?

(When a diver went down in quest of the Elingamite treasure, he found relics ipf another steamer at the West King, (where the Huddart-Parker vessel crashed to ruin. Bo the ribs of other ships strew the bottom by the West King, the Middle King, or the Big King, on the .east?

Captain Watson, secretary of the local branch of the Merchant Service Guild, said yesterday that many sailing ships bound from Newcastle to the West Coast of South America had vanished utterly from men’s eyes. Did the Kings share in any of them? Between 10.30 and 11 o’clock on the morning of Sunday, 9th (November, 1902, the Elingamite, from (Sydney, slowly feeling forward in a dense fog, stopped for all time against ithe iron cliffs of the West King, and sank in deep water. Captain Attwumrs course should have taken him over two piiles clear of danger if the islands had actually been in the place assigned to rfheiu on the chart. Practically he discovered the error detected over eight years later by the Cambrian, but it was not suspected at the inquiry that the chart was at fault. Here is a summary of the finding : ‘ The Court stated that Captain Attwood had been guilty of grossly negligent navigation in driving full speed through the fog till 10 a.m. on Sunday, when he must have known that he was near land, in neglecting to sound before and after 10 o’clock, in altering his course without sufiicieut reason, in proceeding at 4J knots or over without sounding, in not (carefully estimating his speed when going slow ahead, and in guessing his speed at noon on Saturday at 12 knots

when everything pointed to a higher speed.” The captain’s certificate was suspended for twelve months, and he was ordered to pay £5O towards the expense of the inquiry. At this time Captain Attwood was a young married man just thirty-five years of age. The court’s judgment swept him from the sea and he has won his bread ashore ever since. Members of the mercantile marine claim that the Cambrian's exposure of the erroneous chart puts a very different complexion on the Elingamite disaster. They submit that (if the chart had been accurate no wreck would have occurred. No wreck, no inquiry, no punishment. Captain Attwood himself asks that his name should be publicly cleared by the authorities. What steps can be taken? At the time of the inquiry there was no provision for appeal against the findings of nautical courts. This provision was furnished by the Act of 1905, but the new law was not retrospective. It appears that the request for redress must go before Parlia-

ment. Captalin Watson is exerting himself to discover the best method by which Captain Attwood’s appeal for justice can succeed. From time to time mariners have urged that a liglit should be placed on the west King. This request is described as impracticable by Mr. Allport, Undersecretary for Marine. He says that even on a still day, when the outside sea is flat, a swell rolls up the steep jagged face of the island, and makes landing almost impossible for any creature less agile than a cat or a monkey. Tne little middle King is almost as forbidding. Any attempt to put a lighthouse on either ot these islands would be enormously costly, and even if the tremendous difficulties were surmounted, the subsequent landing of stores or other materials would always be a grave problem. According to Mr. Allport, only the big King lends itself to lighting, not an easy matter, and the light would be five miles at the back of the danger at the west King. The question then is, if it is possible to have a light only on the big King, is it ad-

visable to put up a station there? Is it advisable, too, to have a powerful fog siren on the big King? Master mariners have an opportunity to frame answers. Captain R. E. .Smith, of the Union Co.'s steamer Mokoia, is emphatically of opinion that Captain Atwood should be publicly exonerated from all blame for the wreck of the Elingamite. When the above telegram was placed before him. Captain Smith said it was quite correct to state that so far as the chart showed Captain Atwood was steering a perfectly safe course when the Elingamite struck. He realised himself that his course was a good one, and he became firmly convinced that the. Three Kings were not properly marked on the chart. At the time, of course, he was not in a position to prove this, but now that a resurvey has shown them to be considerably out of the position indicated by the chart, the whole position is changed, and he will be able to insist on his name being officially cleared in the public eye. In January last Captain Smith wrote

to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce pointing put how Captain Atwood’s position with regard to the wreck of the Elingamite had changed, and urging that he should be exonerated. “1 am fully convinced that Captain Atwood’s position is one of hardship,” he said, "and I am certain that his is a ease for redress. The statement here that had the chart been correct there would have been no wreck, I quite agree with. The matter is now in the hands of the Masters and Officers’ Guild, and no stone will be left unturned to bring about an official and public announcement of Captain Atwood’s vindication. Mariners throughout New Zealand are convinced that Captain Atwood is in no way to blame for the wreck of the Elingamite, and anything that can be done to remove the stigma resting upon him will meet with their universal approval. “No rest, no rest, for two years past, has been allowed employers in the catering trade,” said the employers’ representative at the sitting of the Arbitration

Court, Wellington, on Tuesday. Ths new Act, he said, had whittled away the hours and imposed unworkable conditions, and on the top of it the union now came along with fresh demands. The 02 hours could not be worked because of other restrictions. Overtime rates were fixed in the Act, and holiday pro visions and daily hours were also in eluded. The employers felt they were entitled to have the continual harassing to which they were subjected brought to a termination. He asked the Court to refuse to grant an award, and thus show its disapproval of the tactics of the union in see-sawing to and fro between the Court and Parliament, with the avowed object of getting a 42-hours' week. Mr. Carey had stated ill the Court on a previous occasion that that was the objective of the union. If the Court now issued an award, there would be no rest so long as that objec tive remained, and this was amply evidenced by the action of the union in making these demands immediately after the passing of such an important measure as the .Shops and Offices Act, 1910. Domestic servants were now getting higher wages than formerly, though they had no award. The trend in all employments was towards higher wages, and if the Court did not fix the wages in this case by award, the employers would give fair wages. If the demands were granted, some of the employers would be driven out of business. There had been bankruptcies in the business, and some of them were due to the re etrictions imposed on the employers. The private hotels were handicapped by the clause in the new Act, which made the hours of their female workers five hours, shorter than in hotels. The employers also were subjected to injustice in that they had been compelled to reduce the hours from 65 to 62, but had had to go on paying wages assessed on a 65 hours’ week.

Doctors for the Islands. The appointment of Dr. W. C. Percival, of Cambridge, Waikato, and Dr. C. H. Schumaker, formerly of Gisborne, as medical officers of Rarotonga and Niue respectively, was referred to by Mr. F. Waldegrave, Undersecretary for Justice, when speaking to a reporter last week.

The appointment at Niue, he said, was part of the scheme which was referred to by the Minister in charge of the Islands (Hon. Jas. Carroll) during last session, to provide further medical assistance for our outlying islands. Dr. Schumaker is a New Zealand bov, a

graduate of the Otago University, and he has practised in the South Island and Gisborne, and more recently has been surgeon on the R.M.S. Aorangi. Hitherto there has been no medical man at Niue, and by the appointment of Dr. Schumaker to this post it is expected that a good deal of benefit will arise. At Rarotonga there is a medical officer, and with the appointment of Dr. Percival, who will have his headquarters at Rarotonga, it is surmised that he will take up the position of assistant medical officer, leaving Dr. Percival free to visit all the north islands, which are badly in need of medical attendance.

The Silenced Whirr. For some time past New ZeafTnd manufacturing engineers and ironfounders have found a steadily increasing diffi culty in obtaining sufficient remunerative work to keep their machinery occupied, while the slackening off of hands has caused a corresponding exodus of workmen with their families to Australia and other more promising fields of employment. Some time back the Associated Engineers’ Society of Employers and Employees made representation to Government asking that investigations be made into the causes of the slump, with the idea of introducing such measures as might be calculated to remedy the trouble. One of the chief causes which the representatives of the Association advanced for the depression was the tariff, which they declared was at present too low on the class of goods they manufactured to enable successful competition against the imported article. In response to the appeal the Minister for Customs promised that something should be done during the recess, and in pursuance ot that promise Mr. M. P. Cameron, Government Customs expert, was appointed to make exhaustive inquiries throughout the Dominion, and to draw up •

report for presentation to Parliament next session.” Mr. Cameron has already been through the South Island collecting data, and he has now liegun hie investigations in the North Island, starting at Auckland, ■where he arrived at the end of last week. In the course of a conversation with a Pressman on (Monday, while naturally reticent concerning the result of his inquiries in the South, he expressed the decided opinion that a depression existed, and that an inquiry into the cause of it had started none too soon. “I also have little doubt,” went on Mr. Cameron, “that the depression is to a great extent responsible for the present scarcity of boy and girl labour in the Dominion. Iron and kindred workers are just now finding a bigger field for employment in New South Wales, and a large number of workmen have accordingly gone over there, which means in many eases that their wives and families have gone with them.” “You don’t think, then, that the scarcity of boy and girl labour is so much due to the increasing demand as to the diminishing supply?” “No, I do not,” replied Mr. Cameron. “I honestly believe that the diminishing supply is a greater cause, and that this decrease is largely due to the exodus of workmen in the engineering and kindred trades. You must remember that there are a lot of other trades hanging on the engineering trade, sue', as brassfounding, pattern-making (in'which a lot of carpenters are employed), and malleable and steel casting ‘radfe, and lio end of others, which together mean the employment of a big number of meh, provided the manufacturing engineering trade is in a flourishing state. But with the slackening off, these subsidiary trades also slacken, and the consequence is a much more serious depression than really appears at the first glance. It is well known that New Zealand" has lost a lot of her population to Australia in the'last year or sb on this account, and the loss of young people is perhaps more serious than the loss of their ’ parents, because it is numerically mitt'll greater.”

Mr Cameron declined to express a direct opinion as to the cause or causes,, of the depression, reserving that for his report, but it is generally conceded in the , .Spilth that the great falling <jlf of the gold dredging industry is at the least a pretty big contributor, although up here in the North such an argument cannot be advanced. What iron'founders and engineers complain about, however, is that gold mining, dairying and agricultural machinery is allowed into the country free of duty. They argue that, industries which are able to invest so much in expensive machinery could surply contribute .towards the, general prosperity of the Dominion in the way ofi a reasonable protective duty to so important a.n industry as the ironworkijrg an;) . kindred trades. Mr Campbell himsplf, while: ,silynt on this vexed, point of causes,, is, bpw.e‘vet>. hopeful that the ilepression may ip .some respects, turn out to be .;),, blessing in disguise, in as much as the scarcity, of work is causing manufaitillers to turn round and look out for other avenues of manufacture. “ There lias already, in fact, ’been a progressive development in that respect which certainly would not have taken place had the old sources of activity remained undistunbed” he remarked. “And once those new avenues are started, they will continue For instance, it is only since the general depression that our manufacturers have turned their attention to oil and gas engines, the motor chassez, even the fraction engine, while many other lines, so soon as inducement Is offered, will undoubtedly receive attention “Yet,” be added, “it must be admitted that there is at present far too much expensive machinery lying idle on the engineering shops throughout the Dominion.” Mr Cameron makes a point, in the course of his inquiry, of going round the engineers individually, instead of meeting them in a body, as he believes that by so doing he will arrive at a better and much more comprehensive knowledge of the position. He has already collected a lot of very valuable information, which, however, is entirely confidential, and cannot Is* divulged until he makes his report to the Government. The report was to have been presented by March 31, but so far as he could see there would have to be an extension of time in order to enable him to complete it, he said. V His lalrours in Auckland will keep him here about a fortnight, after which he wiH work hi* way through the island to the capital.

The Record in Immigrants. The distinction of carrying the largest number of immigrants ever carried by one vessel to the Southern Seas belongs to the Rangatira, which arrived at Port Chalmers last week from London via Australia. A week before leaving London orders were received to provide accommodation for 1000 immigrants, and when the week was up she sailed with 1020 men, women, and children on board, eighty additional stewards and twentyseven extra deck hands having been employed for the voyage to Australia, where they were afterwards paid off. The ship carried twenty-two additional lifeboats. The weather proved fine, and all went well save for a slight outbreak of influenza and German measles amongst the children. These outbreaks proved insignificant, and this the ship’s officers attribute to the promptitude and attention of Dr. Fergus (of this city), who was ship’s surgeon, and who, having no assistant, had to personally supervise the health of 1000 travellers. Captain Lowden was called on to dispense some of the more pleasant functions of priest as well as attend to the duties of ruler of his floating community. One extremely young lady in the hustle of emigrating had left the land of her birth without being christened, so the captain, with due ceremony, baptised her Daisy Lowden Rangatira Watson. Shortly afterwards two parents on the ship were rejoiced at the arrival of a little queen, and upon her Captain Lowden conferred the name of Indiana Lowden Argyll-Beckworth, the first name indicating her birth when crossing the Indian ocean. There were eighteen babies on the ship before the sea-baby arrived. The captain was so popular in his priestly capacity that a love-sick couple of immigrants besought him to heal them with the holy rite of matrimony, but the law prevented the amiable captain from exercising his obliging disposition in that direction, so the aspirants had perforce to remain twain. The most pleasant feature of a pleasant trip was that everybody arrived safely at their destination, there being 534 adults' and 170 children (under twelve) landed at Melbourne, and 493 adults'and 151 children landed at Sydney. The immigrants, with the exception of seventeen' Danes, came from various parts of England, Scotland, • and Ireland.

A Year’s Exports. The Agricultural Department gives the grand total of the principal products exported, during the 12 months ending February, 1911, at £20,128,096, compared with £19.768,880 for 1910, an increase of £359,116. ; Boxing and Batting. There was a not very creditable ending to the boxing tourney he'd in the Opera House last week, under the auspices of the Wellington Boxing Association, for the benefit of the fund to send athletes Home for the Empire Festival competitions. One of the star attractions of the evening was a fifteenround bout between “Doss” Burns and “Archie” Leckie, two well-known Wellington heavy-weights. This was the third occasion on which Burns and Leckie had met. In Octobei- last they tried conclusions at the Opera House, and a hard, but cleanly-fought, ten rounds resulted in Leckie getting a decision on points. Both men are wellbuilt, and both rely as much on their slogging power as on their skill as boxers; A fortnight ago they met again at Petone, and on this occasion Burns got the verdict. The third meeting, in the Opera House to-night, was, therefore, of the greatest interest to the local boxing fraternity, and throughout the contest there was much excitement.

From the first sound of the gong it was evident that the public was to bi treated to an absolute slogging match. Without any sparring preliminaries, the two combatants straightway began to mix things, and Burns, who is the bigger man, had far and away the best of it up to the fourth round. Leckie, however, was in the best condition, and after the fifth and sixth rounds, during which he sparred for breathing space, he came up fnll of fight in the seventh, and in the succeeding rounds astonished Burns’ supporters by punishing the Petone man unmercifully. In the tenth round Burns was tiring, and Leckie, who has a straight left, which drives home

like a battering ram, was getting in no end of solid work. Towards the end of the round, Burns was seen to butt with his head most distinctly, while the pair was clenching. There was some hooting, but apparently the referee saw nothing. In the eleventh round Burns gave Leckie as good as he got, but again resorted to his butting' tactics, and did it sb palpably that the audience rose and hooted loudly. Leekiie’s seconds demanded that the contest should go to their man on a foul, and Leckie himself, as ha clinched with Burns, loudly protested to the referee. When the gong went, the uproar continued, and Burns, shaking off his seconds, went from his corner and. declared that he had had enough. “Give a decision!” cried the crowd, amidst loud •cries of “Foul! Foul!” and “Haul out the referee!” Ultimately, that official, who was by this time 'being “tackled at” by a crowd on the stage, came forward and declared Leckie the winner.

Telephones and Telegraphs. Mr. T. Buckley, Chief Electrician to the Telegraph Department, left by the Union Company’s Maitai last week for San Francisco. Speaking to a reporter on the boat, before his departure, Mr. Buekley said his tour was for the purpose of inspecting the telephone and telegraph systems in the United States, England, and the Continent, to see if there are any new inventions that might be of advantage if introduced into this country. Of course in making his visit he had to bear in mind that many of the appliances used abroad were suitable to the conditions prevailing there, with the millions of population, but here might not be of advantage. He would be, gone about eight months, and on his return hoped to have a report that would justify bis visit. In reference to the Government accepting the tender of the Australian Wireless Company for the erection of the wireless stations in New Zealand, Mr. Buckley said that the Postmaster-General (Sir Joseph Ward), had said that a station would be erected in Auckland if practicable. In connection with this, Mr. Orchardiston, Director of Electric Lincs, and Mr. Moens, engineer for the Australian Wireless Company, were visiting Auckland; and werte to-day inspecting the district round - Helensville, with a view to ascertaining the suitableness of the country there for the erection of a station.

Taking the Census. Arrangements for the taking of the census on the 2nd April are nearing completion- The list of enumerators appointed to the several districts will be gazetted lin a few days, and the appointments of sub-enumerators and of the persons to distribute, and collect census papers will then be made. Altogether about 1160 people will be employed in carrying out this part of the work, that number being necessary to ensure the greatest expedition and accuracy in the important work of numbering the people. The Census paper looks somewhat formidable, and iis to some extent of a searching character, but it should not present many difficulties to the average householder, who has an hour or so to spend in making himself familiar wiith the task before him. All he has to do is to set out in the various columns the names of the people who passed the night of Sunday, 2nd April, under his roof, or arrived there on the Monday morning without having been included elsewhere. He must also state their sex, age at last birthday, whether married, widow or widower, divorced or never married, how long he or she has been married, the number of children lliving and dead, the occupation of the various inmates, whether they are employers or employees, if they have been unemployed for more than a week, if he or she is totally blind, deaf and dumb, imbecile or feeble-minded, the country of birth, the length of residence in New Zealand, the degree of education, whether receiving education, and, if so, at what class of school. As to religious denominations the householder is told he must not simply describe anyone as a Protestant, Methodist, or Catholic. For instance he must give the exact title of the denomination to which he belongs, and write against the name of each child the religion in which it is intended to be brought up. If the person is a Freethinker or of no denomination or religion, he must say so. If he objects to state to what religious denomination ho belong* he need merely write "object."

The householder, who is responsible for the filling up of the form, has also to give a description of the dwelling, the amount of rent he pays, the number of geese, ducks, fowls, turkeys or other poultry that he keeps, the number of beehives, and the honey and beeswax produced darling the year. Finally, he has to sign the. declaration “I . declare that this schedule is correctly filled .up to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

East Coast R-ailrszay. Ever since the construction of an East Coast railway to ..connect Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty ports , with Auckland, Rotorua has been energetic and ceaseless in its advocacy of the benefits to be derived both for the settlers and for the railway revenue from connecting the future line to'Auckland by way,of Rotorua from Paengaroa, rather than by linking tip Tauranga and Waihi to connect the’two termini. A deputation waited on the'Minister for Public Works last' week', and, through Mr. W. D. S. Macdonald, M.P. fell— the district; laid their argument before him. • > ' The member urged that when the West. Coast line reached Paengaroa, a spot .about two miles from Teteko and twenty-eight miles, from Rotorua, the obvious advantage was to connect the line with the Auckland system by bridging the small gap, rather than by constructing the section between Tauranga and > Waihi, which, he said, would not tap anything like the same rich country, nor would offer' inducement for anything like so speedy a construction. In short, he. argued that if the East Coast line were connected with the Auckland via Rotorua, railway connection between thei northern capital and the important pastoral and agricultural country in the Gisborne and Bay of Plenty districts would be realised ten years sooner than if it were decided to stick to the Kati-kati-Waihi route. The Minister, he understood, had a perfectly open mind in connection with the matter of route, desiring only to get the best one to serve for all time. He also understood that nothing definite could be decided until the route from Opotiki to Paengaroa had been definitely fixed. In addition to the immense possibilities of the country in the way of settlement, the Paengaroa-Rotorua route was also urged! from the scenic point of view. The Minister replied that, so far as railway connection with the East Coast line was concerned, the people of Rotorua need have no fear, for, whichever route was decided upon first, both Rotorua and Waihi would be connected ultimately with the East Coast line. It would in his opinion, however, be premature to start to make communication with Rotorua at present, when so much survey work had yet to be done over the sections of the proposed line. He certainly, could not understand any reason for friction between Waihi and Rotorua over the matter, although one of them must be connected a year or two before the other. Which way the railway from the Tarawera river to Tauranga would go could not be determined until the survey work was completed. The coastal route was certainly the easier one for constructional purposes, 'but the inland one would tap ian (infinitely superior class of country, although considerably, more expensive.