NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2213, 9 December 1920, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

— Santa von Klaus will apparently figure largely in many English homes this Christmas. The correspondent of the Daily News,at Berlin states that British linns continue to importune German manufacturers for articles of almost every conceivable kind, the cry for toys being particularly loud. It is somewhat difficult at present to arrive at reliable information as to what the freezing buyers propose this season to pay for fat sheep. It is commonly stated locally that the price will he approximately Uhl for lambs, Od for wethers, and 5d for ewes. There is evidently a difficulty in fixing the price owing to the uncertainty as to the ultimate result of the demands of the freezing workers. When these are sol I led a definite announcement will be made, and, if satisfactory, the prices will probably, be a little better than those stated above. —Wanganui Herald,

The London Sunday Observer publishes an interview with M. Camile Flannnarian, the French astronomer, in which he says that if the Martians’ civilisation is as advanced as their physical conditions warrant, they must have tried to signal to the earth a hundred thousand years ago, but, discovering that it was inhabited by imbeciles, probably decided not to bother for another hundred thousand years. It was not likely that there had been light signals, which would have been too small, and possibly the eye structure of the Martians was different to that of humans. It was more likely that vibrations similar to wireless waves had been used.

During the visit of Lord .Jellieoe to Hastings a bibulous individual made a semi-coherent interject ion while the Governor was delivering an address. “I beg your pardon,” said the Admiral. The inlerjectur was somewhat taken aback at being taken such direct notice of, Iml having obviously previously acquired courage of the variety which is reputed to come from (he Netherlands, repeated Jus question: “Why didn't you stop at Home/" “Because •His .Majesty the King sent me here," replied the admiral quietly. “And 1 repeat," continued Ids Excellency, “that it is a great pleasure for me to come here, in spite of the fuel that (looking in search of his questioner) there is one gentleman in Hastings who is not pleased to see me. Oh, I’m afraid he is gone,” (Laughter.)

A Dunedin business man, now in America, writes from New York as follows: —“Business is worse than before. One sugar relining company is faced with a loss of £lO.000,000. A large firm of meal packers is trying to borrow £0,000,000, and a large Japanese firm is holding up payments on-tlie smallest accounts. The trouble is especially severe in California, where the firms are frightened to write their slocks down, and so ascertain their tiresent position. A leading firm of motor manufacturers reduced their ears about 145 dollars. All manufacturers are fighting to make the greatest reductions. One make of motor ear has come down 1,450 dollars. .Rico, cocoa, coffee, sugar, rubber, oils, food, boots, clothing, building material, etc., are all falling, and owners of stocks are having a had lime. Thousands of people are being thrown out of work. One ear factory is employing 2,000 men three days a week, instead of over 14,000 at full lime.” The history attached to gambling from the lime, a century ago, when it was fashionable, and Prime Ministers’ wins and hisses were chronicled in the newspapers as society news, led Mr Poynton, S.M., to make some interesting comment when severely penalising two bookmakers at Auckland this week. “The contest between the law and the gambler,” he said, “has been on for

a hundred years, but I think it has approached the stage when the gambler must give up. Since the ban, the contest had been like a fight between an armourer and a gun. When gambling in the house was vetoed, the gambler used a shed; when the shed was banned, he took to the field, and when the law met (his with a definition of “place" there was a light to decide the question whether or not, a man under an umbrella was in a “place." So it had gone on until now it was a very close “go,” and he thought the gambler would have (0 give up. The Legislature took the view that young Idols had to be protected from experienced men, and that the upsetting effect of gambling on the people generally was detrimental to the industries of the community. Only severe penalties would have the effect aimed at by the Legislature.

“Unless there is a financial crisis; at Home, or a revolution, or some other great upheaval, Xew Zealand for years to come will get big prices for her meat and dairy produce,'’ said Mr J, C. Cooper at a gathering at Mastertou on Saturday evening. He considered that producers in Xew Zealand were going to have a good time. “You will get prices you never dreamt of," he said. He drew .attention to the operations at Home of Visty's, the English meat combine, which dealt in every brunch of business, from running retail shops upwards. The big American meat linns had their eye on Yesty’s, but not with a view to challenging them in competition. The big combines were out to make money, not to cut each other’s throats, and he Viewed with uneasy feelings the prospect of the big English and American meat combines coming to an understanding which would do away with all competition. Xu tiling would pay Xew Zealand so well as her lambs. The people of England did not want very fat iambs or mutton.

What was wanted at Home were lambs from 321 b. to 3Glb. weight, just fat, and no more. In mutton, England wanted sheep under s(ilb. America was going to he a very important market for New Zealand lamb, bul England would he our best and biggest market. An American recently found in the State of .Missouri, several meteoric stones imbedded in his wheat held. The largest weighs about thirty pounds, is oval shaped, and perfectly smooth. The others weigh from two to twelve pounds, and arc peculiarly marked. On the longest is a perfectly formed human vertebra, on others the skeleton of a snake, the bones of a frog petrified, and vegetation. The smaller stones were unearthed while ploughing for late wheat. The large stone was found about ten feet under the surface.