The Feilding Star. TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1892.

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 19, 2 August 1892, Page 2

The Feilding Star. TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1892.

The following telegram from Dunedin gives another instance of the " fearful and wonderful way " in which the laws of New Zealand are made and carried into force : — " At a meeting of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association it was unanimously resolved that the attention of the Minister of Agriculture should be called to the fact that under the Factories Act a woolshed, barn, or any building on a farm where three or more persons are employed, must be registered as a factory and made subject to the provisions of the Act, and that dairy and cheese factories are similarly treated, so that the Act. can be made to apply to women and boys milking cows ; that the application of such an Act to the agricultural industry is vexations and unneccessary, and that the Minister be respectfully asked to take steps this session to have the Act amended so as not to apply to the agricultural and pastoral industry. It was pointed out that in clause 35 chaffcutting and shearing were specially mentioned, making it evident that barns and woolsheds came under the Act. It is " a consummation devoutly to be wished" that this troublesome Act will be amended this session.

By cablegrams received in the colony on Saturday evening, we were informed that the year's profit of the Bank of New Zealand amounted to £60,000, and that a further dividend of five per cent has been declared. Fifteen thousand pounds were placed to the reserve fund, and eighteen thousand pounds carried forward. This news must prove a source of great satisfaction to the shareholders of the Bank at Home as well as in the Colony. It shows that not only is the Bank being weir managed and its affairs carefully administered, but that the colony is also ia a prosperous condition, notwithstanding the many drawbacks she has had to contend with.

Many complaints having reached us of surcharges made on open letters at the local Post Office, we made certain inquiries and find that the Regulations have been in each case strictly complied with. The fact of the matter is that it was proved to the Department that through the recent liberal concessions on certain classes of commercial documents the public had been posting all kinds of commercial correspondence at the reduced rate, thus depriving the Department, unfairly, of revenue to the extent of many thousands of pounds per annum. In consequence of this the Head Office gave special instructions to all postmasters to lay aside and examine all open correspondence. We may be permitted to point out that the instructions given in tho Postal Guide, pages 79 and 80, are extremely clear in showing what may or may not be posted at a lower rate than letters ; also that these are not New Zealand, but Postal Union Regulations. From the foregoing it will be seen that the officials ia the several post offices have only done their duty iv obeying orders. The persons really to blame are those who failed to make themselves acquainted with the regulations, and posted letters insufficiently stamped.

The following are the traffic returns for the Napier-Taranaki section for the four weeks ending 28th June 1892 and tho corresponding period in 1891 : —

£13,170 9 <i £11,-180 3 2 This increase is very satisfactory especially as the items showing an advance arc chad", wool, limber, ami grain.

1892 1891 Passengers 5,722 10 2 4,891 0 0 Parcels 614 11 1 ouu 1G 4 Goods G. 515 9 5 5,7 1G 13 8 Miscol'oous 317 18 8 286 IS 2