FROM OTHER PAPERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 62, 6 December 1907, Page 5

FROM OTHER PAPERS.

4 ■■ ■ . A Looston ploughman, giving evidence in the farm labourers' dispute (according to the "Press") stated that ho had worked as ploughman for 10s. a week, and did as much work as the man on tho other side of the- fencoi who got 30s. "Was tho man who paid 30s. a week ruined?" Mr. Thorn enquired. "No, but tho man I worked for wont bung," said tho witness, amid roars of laughter! An unusual charge, was preferred against two hoys at tho Christchurch Juvenile Court. recently, that of stealing-milk from a cow. It appeared that tho boys, after milking tho cow, tho property of Arthur Sorrcll, hunted about and found somo hens' eggs. They procured an old tin and proceeded to boil them, preparatory to having .a, good "tuck in," hut unfortunately. for themselves they wero detected. Tho magistrato severely cautioned tho boys and discharged them. "I have seen a , sample of them, and than* God , l am not a Unionist," was a statement mado by a ploughman who gave evidence on the employers' side of the farm labourers', dispute at Leeston (says Christchurch' "Press"). "Did you ever meet a man outside tho .Union who was no-class?'. , queried Mr. Thorn. "I can't say that' I have,' , tho witness replied, amid laughter.. "You say," pursued Mr. Thorn, "that all the incompetent and no-class men are in the Union,and all tho good men arc outside-it?" "Yes. that is what I say," was the" unequivocal response. -,■-,. "If you had some moiloy to invest in land for farming, would you rather invest it in New Zealand or elsewhere?" tho director of Lincoln College was asked while giving evidence before the Conciliation Board (according to Lyttolton "Times"). "With my present knowledge of the conditions here," he. replied, "I would not put a penny into Now Zealand land. . I could do better in Australia, or in England. I .could make more money out of malleo land in South Australia, than I could oiifc.of £30 an.acre, land in New; Zealand." .' ... ' , A lad named Walter Rouse, 16 years of age, was standing on the beach near the' Bluff wharf ' recently (says the , -Southland; News), and was struck on the- left arm as if by a. stone. He thought nothing of it until a fow seconds later he noticed that his aruii was bleeding, and realised that he had been shot. The lad-went to the Hospital' fortreatment, and by means of the X rays aphotograph was- tnken, showing a small-boro' rifle bullet on tho hone. Rouso hcard.no! shot fired, and has not tho faintest idea whence tho bullet cnn:c.-~ ■ In giving -evidence before the- Arbitration Court recently in.a caso in: which'a tailor at Gore was fined £5 for employing two apprentices and no journey women, Mr. Kelly, another Gore tailor, said that from tho way the , award was working in the country the tailoring business was becoming unbearable. It was necessary to havo two journey women to! every apprentice. No girls would leave tho city to go to the country, and they word not allowed to employ apprentices and jteanh them to do the work. Sooner or later it would be come, a matter of. cither stopping tho business or breaking the award. . According.to tho "Otagp' DailyxTinies" of Thursday last, .Lionel Terry, on arrival at Lamb Hill last was hatless and;clad only in shirt, trousers, and sandals:' A resi-.' dent offered him a hat and then a cap, both of which were' politely but firmly- declined. He quietly told them who ho was; also that ho had made his way thither from Seacliff across somo rough country, including, the Silver Poaks. He was tired, he said, of the monotony of Ssoacliff, and intended to take- a fortnight's change. Tho fact of bis having traversed such a difficult stretch of country in a few hours did not seem to strike him as being a foat.. He partook of some food, and walked away up the road. Another resident, anxious for an interview,,attempted to head him off, seeing'which Terry turned aside into a gully,, anil .disappeared, as unexpectedly as he. had arrived. It' is rumoured that Terry was seen in the neighbourhood of Waipiata on' Wednesday morning.'v •■ ■ ". ■ In response to.the request of a number of ratepayers, a poll was taken at St. KiHa yesterday, (says Otiigo "Daily Times" of, Friday) in regard to tho introduction to tho ' borough ,of the system of rating on proved values.' Only a sliado over onethird of the ratepayers, of whom there are about 900 exercised .their voting-powers. Tho voting resulted as follows■:—For the proposal, .152 votes; against, 223; informal, 1. Tho proposal was accordingly .declared rejected by 71 votes. Iu one particular, tiio rejection of tho proposal is of. more import than actually appears on the surface. l:i other words, had it been. carried the effect of- the new system would have been such that Forbury Park would, we are asr sured,' havo had to undergo subdivision for disposal,- which would mean-that the possibility of obtaining -a. splendid . playground would bo lost to.the peoplo of Dunedin for ever. , Tho owners of Forbury Park at present pay in rates something like £90 per annum,, and the rating on unimproved, values system woukl have meant, the doubling of that -amount. /The payment, . thereforo 1 of £180 a year in rates ivas regarded as.altogether' out of tho question, and there-would have been no other course open but'to cut the land up and dispose of it. •'■ • ■ ■ According to Nelson "Colonist" Mr. 1). M. Chapman, formerly of Nelaon, has forwarded to.a friend a copy of the "Aberdaen Evening Press." of October 16, containing a 'marked paragraph which. is of interest locally at tho present time. Tho paragraph is as follows:—"Successful experiments r.crtho abatement of the'dust nuisance have been made at Ayr. Tho experiments were car-, riod out by the burgh sanijtary inspector'. Calcium chloride was mixed in the proportion of lewt. chloride to IUO gallons ot water, and tho mixture was sprayed on the road from tho ordinary watering-carts. Reporting to the Corporation on tho result.of. tho experiments, the sanitary' inspector states that the material served the purpose well, blie absence' of dust within "a given period being tbo subject of favourable comment by residents in the localities where the tests were mado., .The cost worked out at about Is. a,mile for chemicals only, and to cover tho watering season'lie estimated that the streets would havo'to..bo dressed five times. Assuming that the main macadamised thoroughfares in the burgh extending to about twelvo miles, wero sprayed.five times during the season, tho total cost would be £183, and against that there would bo u saving of at least £50 for. .cartage'for ordinary watering." . It is stated that' "gum- land." near a railway station, and within fourteen or v twenty miles of Auckland city, can bbbought for £1' aii acre. The best part of. the land is! gently undulating and- easily ploughablo, the soil on the rnoro level portions ranging from a light, friable brown sandy loam to a moderately-.'heavy clay "• loam, resting on a loose sandstone or a fairly free clay sub-soil. It work's easily, it responds.to cultivation in a marvellous manner, arid with judicious manuring will yield nearly any variety of farm crop... In its natural stato it is covered with manuka scrub and fern, which has boon burnt off so often in the course of years that it. presents a dwarfed and stunted appearance, it is, furthermore, scarred with the workings of gumdiggers, who, for the last, thirty or more years, , , have been potholing and paddocking.Jn every direction. Tho "New Zealand Herald" has recently tried to ascertain if this land.' which can be bought for £1 an acre, or loss, can bo profitably worked. The ; information it has obtained has led it to tlie conclusion that if "gum land" farmers had the necessary horses and implements, they could, with an expenditure of £5 an acre, make a great deal of tho land .grow excellent, crops of oats, wheat, green fodder, roots,: or grass. Quo farmer, who has had much experience with this class of land, says:—"lf it costs £10 an acre in labour, cultivation ard manure to. bring gum soil , up to a fair agricultural standard, then it is still among tho cheapest land iu New Zealand because when onco brought to a workable condition, it can ijo steadily improved,"and it has!the advantage of possessing one of tho (most climntes in the world and proximity to tho largest aiid best market in New Zeal&jcU"