NEW ZEALAND: GENERAL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 33, 14 August 1902, Page 19

NEW ZEALAND : GENERAL.

Ma. Seddon leaves England for New Zealand about the end of August, but has not decided by what route he will travel.

At the instance of the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon, Mr Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonieß, has arranged to isBU« letters patent creating King's Counsel for New Zealand.

Patrons of the General Assembly Library are just aa absentminded as other folks, aa there are 710 volumes missing, one-third of which are works or fiction. The yearly growth of the library is set down at over 2000 volumes.

On the arrival of the troopship Orient at Wellington it was discovered that one of the troopers was suffering from smallpox. The vessel was ordered into quarantine, and the men were Bent to Somes Island. The men who were landed at Dunedin aDd Lyttelton have abo been quarantiued.

Acoobdino to a Westport paper, Mr P. J. o' Regan reoently received a communication from some of bis old coustituenti inquiring if he would accept nomination for the Buller electorate, and promising him active and enthusiastic support. Mr O'Regan replied, however, that for private reasone he could not possibly spare the time necessary to contest so large a district.

The Kaiapoi people do not take very kindly to itinerant lecturers, as the young German, with the unpronounceable name

who it is alleged is cycling around the world for a wager, had for audience the other night a solitary citizen, the local policeman and two firemen, the latter attending apparently with the object of seeing that the ball was not overcrowded.

The revenue of the Colony shows an increase of £60,000 fo the fir-"t four months of the financial year as compared with th April-July period of last year, notwithstanding that cash land sales had fallen £8000 in the same period. The railway revenue fo r July was £5000 above that of July last year, despite the abnormal traffic following the Royal visit.

Milton celebrated the Coronation on Saturday by laying th c foundation stone of a new town ball. Several loyal and patrioti 0 speeches were made on the occasion. Among those who spoke wa s the Rev. Mr. Small (Anglican) who in the course of his remark 3 mid he was sorry that they could not have Father O'Neill with them, as patriotic functions were those in which the rev. gentleman had excelled himself.

We have to thank the editors Our Alma Mater, the organ of the students of Riverview College, Sydney, for the June number of their admirable magazine. The number before us is taken up mainlys with school happenings, and records of the prowess of the students in the athletic field. It is copiously illustrated, and on the whole it is well up to the standard of former issues, and reflects credit on the editors.

Speaking of the extraordinary long flights -which blackbird hfcve been known to make, Sir James Hector at the Wellington Philosophical Society eaid that he believed they were not imported to New Zealand, but came without invitation about 1860 or a year or two earlier. They spread immediately over the whole country, and began devouring the fly that was killing the cabbage and turnip.

O» behalf of the Central Society of the Women's Suffrage League, London, Lady Frances Balfour and Mrs Henry Fawcett presented an address to Mr Seddon, acknowledging his services on behalf of woman's suffrage. Mr Seddon testified as to the effect of female suffrage in New Zealand. The Tallow Chandlers' Company, one of the London livery companies, conferred its freedom on the Right Hon. Mr Seddon.

Thb Pharmaceutical Association of Canterbury have received a letter from the Canterbury Medical Association stating that the matter of dealing with commissions on doctors' prescriptions rents with chemists themselves. One member of the Pharmaceutical Association, at a meeting the other evenirg, suggested that other similar bodies throughout the Colony, as well as other branches of the Medical Association, be approached with a view to having legislation paeßed to abolish the practice of gi\ing ttminibbioi c, but no steps were taken.

The usual weekly meeting of the Ashbuiton Catholic Literary Society took place on Wednesday evening of lafit week. In the absence of the president, the vice-president, Mr H. McSherry, took the chair, and after routine business wt»s transacted, the programme set down for the evening was proceeded with, and took the form of an ' Editor's box.' Several really good questions of general and local importance were put in, which evoked a considerable amount of criticism and long speeches from some of the members. It is worth mentioning that some of the junior members showed specially good form on this occasion.

We have received from the Government Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, a pamphlet containing the Budget speech delivered in the Legislative Assembly in April last by the Hon. Mr Prentice, Minister of Finance. The Estimates of revenue for the province for the year ended March last were 2,140,750 dollars*, but there was an apparent deficit of 350,000 dollars. The Minister showed that the per capita wealth of the province waß 1710 dollars, against Australia, 1229 dollars; United Kingdom, 14.">0 dollarn ; and Canada, 775 dollars. The trade during the year amounted to 180 dollars per head against 169 dollars in Australia. There are 1450 miles of railway in the province, which cost about £12,000,000. The Minister, after naming the splendid assets of the province, contended that there were no grounds for the attacks made by the opponents of the Government on the financial credit of the province.