RANDOM REMARKS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 121, 11 January 1909, Page 5

RANDOM REMARKS.

[Contributions to r!i>s r >it;nin_ a:v always wflnimc frnni ,inv part of flic district. The Kdihu- if. .<••■; im' v<r ; -|, for the authentuatv of rlu- .nnes, n-..r is he responsible- f'"f the iTitins-is. j The new Ministers arc appointed. 8l»ny h'<rh hones have beer ■ trt.-h.-d. and fears realised, but a''ter :\\\. any. thine its better than sn.-.r.cv.-ic, and ■■.!>• country is able to settle down to .v.o new order of things. We should h.wr settled down with much greater s.itisfaction had Mr Jennings b'-'n appoir, t - td Minister for Lands, but appar-rtb Southern intifl.-n.-c was too strong. Th»- North has still to be dominat, d l\y men who have little understand in,? ot its needs, while Ministerial sympathy. like all other bmnds of the article. ;■•■ expended naturally in the direction of "* Ministers' own constituencies. A gl--am of com fort is derived from the fart that • North Islander has charge of the roads and bridges department, ami the Kmj Country may not be overlooked after all. Sir Joseph Wan! evidently is a believer in Scotsmen as administrator J. judging from the constitution of the new Cabinet. As the person responsible for the finance of the Dominion. he is perhaps impressed with the fact that North of the Tweed it b a criminal offence to part with a bawbee until there are two to take its plate. Besides, parntrh and earritch as a diet

are calculated to imbue a man with thrift, ami a desire to make Other people exist, on similar fare. The writer always htd an idea that the combination referred to was chiefly instrumental in colonising new COUntrie«. The Scotsman as a colonist is universally famed; when he cannot get away by any other means he even braves the .-stoke-hole or engine-room of a steamer. He has my sympathy. Porridge ami catechism may be endurable separately, but taken in company they are certainly calculated to populate the colonies. There has been a remarkable dearth of rlsh stories this season. Possibly this is on account of the recent general election which is popularly supposed to have an exhausting effect on the public imagination. There may be other causes exercising a depressing effect on our imaginative anglers, but the deplorable fact remains, though it is possibly confined to our own district. Salt water, or sea air, or fresh sea zephyrs combined wich the holiday

mood, however, exercised mellowing effect on a King Country resident who spent a holiday at Raglan, and a tale

is told in connection with a monster shark. The details a C present are rather hazy but will doubtless be furnished as the story circulates. The King Country man twin if accustomed to taring the giddy and harmless trout with a fly, is a firm believer in the merits of a rod and line over the ordinary method adopted by salt water fishermen, and sallied forth one morning with his rod to show the seacoast residents how to use it on the harbour. For a time his efforts were fruitless, and the enthusiasm of the party waned. The angler sat with his feet m the water, regaling himself with the luscious cherries for which Raglan is famed, and his thoughts wandered. Exactly what followed is shrouded in mystery, but * there was a disturbance in the water, and a broken rod. ;i wet. angler, and a

bottle of chervi.--.-4 are so mixed Up with

the remainder of the story, that it is difficult, to disentangle them. Some of the party talk of r>, seventeen-foot shark with open mouth, tentacle* like an octopus, and a smile of welcome; others aver that the sea-serpent was spending a buy holiday in the shelter of Raglan's famous harbour, while an ill-natured and envious resident was heard to advance the ridiculous theory that Christmas pudding, and a too liberal supply of cherries, acting on a (drowsing imagination supplied the key \o the mystery. Further details are awaited with interest.

The Mokau-iti Annual .-'p<->r--.s take place at Aria on February ! Itii., 1'.)09. and a full programme of the events Will be published r-e-vt vvecX. The nominations are to be in the hands of the Secretary by January -'Kb. and the handicaps* will appear ;n the "Chronicle" on Monday. February ■■'th. The surveyors of the Lands Depar*ment are pushing on with the n-irveys of Crown land, about Xw men being engaged on thi* work in various parts ( >r the Dominion at. the present time. The land purcha.se officers of the Government have lately purchased considerable areas of Native land in th'Clifton. Ohura. and Whangamomona districts (Taranaki). Waitorno (Aucklancf). and Taupo West. The surveys of these land, which will be offered under the optional system, are now being proeeded with.

Messrs Palgety and Co.. Limited. have received the Wowing cablegram from their London office under of the 7th inst. : Wool: We expect ;that prices for crossbred wool will rule ."> p„r cent, to 10 per cent, higher at the sales on Wednesday next as compared with the closing rates of last sales. Tallow is unchanged. The demand is chi«fly for inferior deceptions. Very small demand for the best qualities. Frown meat: Beef is very dull. Any change in prices is in favour of buyers. Mutton Poor demand at unchanged prices. Lamb Very dull. Prices are unchanged except for heavies. which are id lower since on.t last cable-