NEW ZEALAND: GENERAL

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIX, Issue 37, 12 September 1901, Page 19

NEW ZEALAND : GENERAL

. m Post Office orders, bank drafts and notes, cheques and gold, teH the value of £4174, were found in the letters opened in the NewV Zealand dead letter office last year. V The Loyalty, an ex-French gunboat at Noumea, whioh has been lying at Sydney for ?ome time, has been purchased by the Miramar Ferry Company, Wellington. No less than 2867 acres of land in the Auckland province have been planted with forest trees during the last year, at a oost of £8583, or within a fraction of £3 per aore. It is understood that Colonel Penton, when his term of office as Commandant expires next month, will leave for the Cape, and take charge of the Sixth Contingent. Colonel Banks has received another command, and the Sixth are temporarily under Major Andrews. Iv the current isiue of the Triad there is a new feature introduced, viz , the reproiuotion of cartoons from the German comic papers. We have seen similar pictures iv other magazines before, but they were so badly reproduced that a very erroneous idea of German art and humor wa& conveyed to the readers. During the hearing of a c-v?e in Wellington the other day it was stated that a train running to Cape Foulwind was stopped ou one occasion to enable some money to be recovered whioh had b^en thrown out of the train by a drunken man Mr. Wilford supplemented general knowlelge on the subject by stating that recently a train was stopped in the vicinity of Mangaweka to enable those in charge to winner a dog-fight. The numb t of men employed ou co-operative works for the Government during August was .1334, of which 2289 were engaged under the Department of Roads, aud 304r> on railways and roads and defence works under the Public Works Department. Those engaged under the Department of Road.s were all laborers, while those working under the Public Works Department comprise 2809 laborers and 236 artisans. Of the total number 620 men were employed in Otago. A testimony to the success of the land settlement policy inaugurate i by the late Sir John MaoKenzie is furnished by the success of the Cheviot estate. The returns given in the Lands Department report this year show that this settlement continues to nourish. The rents have been well maintained, £14,166 having been reetivel during the year, and the arrears are only £688 17a 2d, owing by 33 tenants. The interest earned on the net cost of the estate at the end of last year is .> 7 per cent., and there is a profit on the transaction for the year of £5228.