NEW ZEALAND : GENERAL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 50, 14 December 1899, Page 20

NEW ZEALAND : GENERAL.

di-^ofththeaS: 0 ' M ' H ' R ' fOr ° teki ' di6d ° U MV*™" <* w «ll T^u ember i n J m^ r J f J*** P ° pular The Triad, is well up to its usual standard of excellence. The reading matter is varied, and comprises articles on music, literature, and science. t t» T S BB1 H? Harbour o B ° ard on Saturday accepted the tender of J. P. Rennoldson and Sons, of South Shields, England, for the tt^SS^X^Zi^* 1 ** I**"*1 **"* *c vessel to

«™J^2, f * k I Bla ? dare lookin * BP^ndid, and there is every prospect of an abundant harvest, according to reports received by the Agricultural Department. The dairy produce export for 2l < 2itWni" llti< !i P *? ed ' wili greatly exceed the quantity sent out out of the Colony during any previous year.

s^Lw distribution of prizes to the pupils of the Convent of the Saored Heart, Timaru, will take place on Tuesday next at one o'olook. His Lordship the Right Rev. Dr. Grimes has promised to preside. A retreat for ladies, oonducted by the Rev. Father Colgan, S J will IISm?*? £ nn i Mond * yy * cV l nin f Januar y 8- Ladies desirous of attending should apply to the Rev. Mother. TT-'fSS 8 JMJ Mu t° f ° I ct^ er * the Commercial Appeal of Memphis, United States, has a leading article on the destruction of forests in the district, and the consequent evils which result from Buch a course. The Appeal basia i its comments on an editorial on the destruction of STSti 11 i B SS??! whirtna PP e »'cd a few months ago in the N.Z. Tablet, and which it! quotes in extento.

If virtue is not always its own reward then the virtuous in SSKJhf^ rU^ th ? t ri . Bk of eoing unrewarded (remarks the S^i m °" It w stated in support of tnis that last fSwKi-SSfIS T°J c Sumner tramß foand a * old watoh ?£%£% V^ven&ant, valued at £15. and restored it to the owner, 2KX rt^J 08 !^* b °/- 7 he w «l°y«d owner of the valuables offered the boy a shilling for his services, but the boy, in declining the proffered guerdon, remarked, ' Keep it, mister, until it gete „„*> ? BBDO . H and miners should be very careful that foreign substances do not get mixed up with their gold samples. Through some unaccountable means a small quantity of brass filings got fSS^Sti Sfi^T 16 °J£°!? at a Ohinaman «old to a bank in Cromwell the other day. The bank official being under the impres£JSfS* J? 6 TWT W P Mchase bra9fJ &l ™«* at a cheaper rate than gold jnvxted the Chinaman to explain the matter at the Magistrate's .SC'.r/fl SS e in Xp^2f tlon WM nofc w»«M«wd satisfactory the seller was fined 10s with costs.

An important announcement was made by the Hon. J G Ward in the course of his address in Inveroargill last week. After enumerating the substantial reductions in railway rates made by tiie present Government, he stated that it was intended at an early date to reduce passenger fares to lsd per mile first class and Id second class ordinary single. Under this scale it would cost only 17s 4d nwt class to go to Dunedin, as against 29a under the existing rate, and lls 7d as against 19s 4d second olass. These liberal conoesMons, he remarked, were to be granted irrespective of low fares for special purposes, such as sohool excursions and holiday trips, which would, of course, still remain in operation. The intimation was received with cheers by the crowded meeting. *"•»»«» . It appears to us (Oamaru Mail) that one of the regrettable episodesin connection with the election just past was the rejection of Mr. O Regan, who had represented Buller in two Parliaments mere may have been some special circumstances to account for the preference given to Mr. Colvin; but Mr. O'Regan is a strongman whose heart is m the right place, and his Parliamentary career has S!!?M? r ™ y Wamejessness and ability. It is a pity, however, 6^ 811011 *^ 1^ 90 " 0^ hiß rejection. The same misfortune has been suffered before now by the greatest and best of A W is e "JV y ° a ? e M well M ***<*«"", there is no reason why he should not at some future time occupy a high place amongst the statesmen of this Colony if he will only be tolerant and pSnt A highly interesting lecture was given at Waihao, near ?m V6 S' JJ ° ant 6S vr y' on Tuesday night, by the Rev. Dr. Kennedy, 8.M., 8.A., leoturer on natural science at the Meanee Seminary! Dr. Kennedy is an enthusiastic entomologist, and has devoted a great deal of his time to the study of injects and insect life consequently his remarks were full of interest. He is also a praotioal photographer and an adept in microscopy, and the views with which the lecture was illustrated were taken by him with the aid of a microscope. The various 'subjects' dealt with included pictures of the common bouse fly, spider, butterfly, moth, <tc. The lecture was highly enjoyed, and being delivered in plain language 2321? 68^! 8 u th< ? more tfco^ehly appreciated by the thfcevenin " re wUI be r^** ted in Waimate of Flax which have been cleared at great expense by owners of land and dissipated in smoke would now be worth more than a dredging claim in Otago. Wherever there are a few acres ?iS eg^ cn M ad . c l6ft in *•*«•*»* «»d RangitikeiCouS (writes the Marten correspondent of the Wellington Post) a mill has been started or is about to be established. The price paid at present for fibre evidently provides a sufficient margin to Kw of millers sending far afield for the raw material. Small oaWLof flax are being cut in the vicinity of Feilding, oartedlT the stftfln and railed to mills near Foxton for cleaning. If the enhanced fKif P / J 2°, maoh P" fit ' *»> " must pay to transport the green leaf for a considerable distance. One miller near Foxton jurt previous to the boom was selling fibre at £14 10s per ton, while at present he is executing a contraot at £27 per ton

w «ting after the General Election the Otago Daily Times said : The Colony as a whole, however, is manifestly disposed to entrust Mr. Ward once more with the oontrol of the Treasury department. We are not inclined to join in the chorus, of alarm with which this prospect has been received. Mr, Ward rhas retrieved his position to a very large extent, and it is most unlikely that he will repeat any of his former mistakes. Ufa financial ability is undeniable, and the grasp which he has of jthe state of tee finances of the Colony is unequalled on his own side in politics. His administration of the Postal department, -when he was formerly in the Government, was admittedly most successful,, and there will hardly be a dissentient voice to his again returning to it. When he does, a new period of progressive management will be inaugurated, and amongst his earliest acts will probably be the institution of the system of inland penny postage.

In the November number of the Austral Light it was announced that that magazine would cease publication at the end of tins year. We are pleased to notice by the December issue to hand that this is not to be the case. A new psoprietory has been formed, with his Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne at its head,-for the purpose of continuing the Austral Light in. a new and improved form. It will be considerably enlarged, and will be issued directly under ecclesiastical authority. It is intended also to have two or three pages of illustrations, so that it should command that support which was denied to it in the past, and without which it is impossible for a magazine or newspaper to be a success. The old proprietory was severely handicapped for want of capital, but still it did remarkably well, thanks to the gratuitous assistance received from nearly all the contributors. We hope the Austral Light will be a great success in the future, and that it will long continue to illumine the minds of its readers.

How temperate and orderly the great bulk of the people of this Colony are was shown by the manner in which the General Election was conducted last week. There were immense crowds in the Btreets of Danedin on Wednesday night and up to the early hours of Thursday morning, yet there was not a single individual locked up for drunkenness in the police cells. In a word there was not a single arrest for drunkenness in Dunedin from the Tuesday evening before the election until the Thursday evening after At the Christohurch City Police Court on Thursday the presiding magistrate said that there were 40,000 people interested in the late election and not one of them had been brought up for drunkenness. This was a complete answer to the prohibition party ♦ and showed clearly that Christchurch was not a drunken community. He expected that at least one dozen might have overstepped the mark. Sub-Inspector O'Brien said the eleotion was a most orderly one. He did not hear an angry word pass between two persons all day. He agreed with the chairman as to the sobriety of Christ churoh.