NEWS AND NOTES.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 27 July 1901, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

While in London attending the Coronation ceremonials the colonial Premiers will hold a conference on Anglo colonial questions, including Imperial commercial relations.

While the Hioemoa was at the East Cape last week a survey was made of the passage between East Island and the mainland, and a good cable bed was found. It is hoped that the lighthouse in the island will shortly be connected with the telephonic system on the East Coast, which will be a great advantage to the shipping community’. It is said that a well-known clergy" man in the colony not long ago received 22s 6d conscience money from an annoyraous person, who averred that he had cheated him at cards years ago—before the recipient entered the church.

King Edward has authorised these changes in evening dress at Court functions :—Silk stockings, velvet kneebreaches, velvet clawhammer coat, biack satin waistcoat, shoes, and buckles, "bis, ho thinks, is needful in order to distinguish guests from waiters. Probably Mr Seddon holds it better to bo a king in the hearts of the people than a peer in Burke, Lyttelton Times. The Auckland Fruitgrowers’ Union have decided to protest against the introduction of any legislation affecting the suppression of the codlin moth this session.

Since the beginning of this century no loss than fifty-two volcanic islands have risen out of the sea. Nineteen of that number have disappeared, and ten are now inhabited.

Earl Bussell will do his " time ” in Holloway gaol.

Many scientists now believe that the at" raospherc is not less than 100 miles deepA country teacher told her troubles to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board the other day as follows; —“ My house is almost a lake this morning, so bad that I am going to town to spind a comfortable Sunday. The leakage is from the chimney in the centre of the room. Yesterday morning I got wet while cooking breakfast, and lest night I could not face the same again, so went out and begged tea. ”

At the Police Court at Tapanui on Wednesday last the Inspector of Stock for the district of Tuapeka sued David Haugh, of Dunrobin, farmer, and Allan M’Lean, of Dun din, farmer, for failing to send realms to the Stock Department of the toial number of sheep kept by them on the 30th day of April then last past, as required by subsection 3 of section 8 of “ The Stock Act. 1893, Amendment Act, 1895.” In both cases the defendantswere convicted and fined the minimum penalty under the Act (Tl) and costs. These arc the first informations laid by the Stock Department under the above mentioned section of the Act.

The new Counties Bill contains a provision that Councillors will be liable to a penalty up to £SO if they sanction the laying out of roads of less width than 6Gft. A laugh was raised when tho clause was under discussion at the Counties Conference by a proposal from Mr J. Mackay, of Stratford, that the penalty should be raised to £SOO, with alternative of ten years’ penal servitude. They might just as well, ho said, go the whole hog, as it was the evident intention of the framers of the Act to penalise Councillors as much as possible. The Conference struck the whole clause out of the Bill.

The poll taken in Gore on the proposal to rate on unimproved values resulted in 122 votes being cast in its favor, 67 against, and 5 informal.

The Government has decided to effect considerable improvements at the Morerc hot springs, Poverty Bay. The proposed works will include the enlargement of the present baths, and the construction of a swimming pool, a new bathing house, and a large reservoir. The Government made a present of a pair of paroquets and an albino woodhen to the Duke and Duchess of York, but, owing to difficulties of shipment, they had to be sent after them, going by Sydney and Melbourne A message of thanks was received yesterday that the birds have arrived all right at Adelaide. A shocking accident is reported from Tyabb, near Frankston (Victoria). The two-year-old daughter of Mr Meldrum, while playing with a dog, had her nose snapped off, the vicious animal swallowing it. lie then bit her on the cheek, and from the effects of this second bite it is feared that she will lose the sight of one of her eyes.

A few years ago some opposums were turned out at Wairoa Gorge, but until lately nothing was seen of them or their expected progeny. Within the last few week, however, one or two of the marsupials have been seen by Mr W. Best near his homestead, and one of them was killed by some boys in a tree in mistake for a stoat or weasel. Some opossums have also been noticed in tho Takaka district from time to time. Tho Minister for Education, in moving tho second reading of the School Attendance Bill, s del that the Bill did not van grta ly from the existing law, except i hat the school age was extended from 13 to 14 years, mainly to meet the requirements of country districts, and that the required attendances was raised to three days and a half out of every five. With regard to exemptions from attendance, a distance of two miles from school was sufficient to exempt under tho present Act. Under tho Bill, for children ovvr ten years of ago the mileage distance was extended from two miles to three. Ho had known of many cases at Home where children walked more than three miles to school and were glad to do it. The Bill provided for a non-attondanco penalty on parents—maximum 10s, and minimum 2s.

All tho newspapers in the Federal States (Tasmania excepted, because the cable is not State-owned) arc to receive telegraphic reports of parliamentary debates at the rate of Is 6d for the first 10b words and Od for every additional 50 words. News relating to departmental business will bo transmitted to the Press at ihe same rates. Tho Victorian Government some time ago invited applications from persons for 1000 vacancies in tho railway service. There were 14,000 candidates.

The Admiralty is developing a School of Naval Strategy, and creating corps of naval volunteers, who will serve anywhere wi'hin the Empire in war time. The Catholic Union of Great Britain strongly discountenance any agitation among Eoman Catholics against ihe King’s Coronation Declaration, but rely on the good sense of Parliament to deal equitably in the matter. The licensing law is enforced very strictly in Capo Town at present, probably because of the war. A publican was last month fined £ls and costs for having served liquor to two soldiers in uniform. It was held by the Court of Appeal that a defamatory libel is no longer indictable in New Zealand unless it is alleged and proved that the publisher of the libel published it knowing it to be false. Mr Justice 'Williams said the result was eminently unsatisfactory. The difficulty of proving actual knowledge i f the falsity of the libel was obvious. A. man who was not worth suing civilly wou’d bo at liberty to publish the vilest calumnies against men or women, and would go entirely unscathed, unless it could be proved that h n actually knew that his statements were false, •‘finch a state of things,” added his Honor, “does not. I believe, exist in any civilised country. Nor, looking only at the interest of the public peace is it desirable that it should continue ;o I exist.” Mr Justice Edwards regreted that I the offence mentioned in section 5 of Lord Campbell’s Act could be committed in this colony with impunity.