GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2216, 16 December 1920, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

The Taranaki Herald says: “At present a haehelor and a man with half a dozen children receive the same wages. This may he justified on the ground that they arc equally efficient workers, hut when the cost of living is taken as the basis lor fixing wages, as it is at present, no arrangement could he more unjust.”

The Maoris in the Taihape dis-, tried are predicting a very dry summer and autumn, on 'account of the profuse flowering of the cabbage palms. Some years ago, when the conditions were similar, the Maoris predicted a dry summer and long autumn, which proved to be the driest ever experienced there.

/‘We spiritualists not only preacln the truth as we see it, but we are able to show objective signs of the truth, as the whole Church will, one day he able to do. We are filling up the map of the human mind as regards religion, giving it a backing of solid knowledge, instead of the mere call to faith, ‘You must believe.” — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ■

A young gentleman named Stanley Wallace Green look a run through the Wairarapa recently, and paid his expenses by issuing valueless cheques. A local paper says; “The row of publicans who appeared at Court, and who had been victimised, looked as cheerful as they would have done at a Sunday school picnic.’’

Saturday was the fiftieth anniversary of the Prime Minister s landing in New Zealand. .Mr Mas>c,v, who came out with his parents, was then fourteen years of age. They arrived by the City of Auckland, a vessel of less than 800 tons. Others aboard were the Rev. W. -I. Williams, one time president of iho Methodist Conference, and Captain Bone, superintendent of (lie New Zealand Shipping Coiigmny.

Jt i- rumoured in Napier that the benzine market is overstocked, and it is staled that the price has fallen 10s per case. One Napier syndicate, it is reported, has lost over ,£5,000 oti it shipment. Recently another buyer who ordered 300 eases of benzine at a certain price was informed that the price had gone up, and he promptly eaneelled the order. Since then he has been besieged to take orders at a much lower figure. — Tribune.

Although he received 2s (id nett for butter-fat at his milking sited, a dairy farmer at Te Iloro has just leased his property without the buildings to an industrious parly ot Chinese gardeners tor a term of years at £l7 10s per annum. This would appear to hi 1 au extremely high rental, hut the Chinese say they will lake £2OO per acre each season for cauliflowers.

In 10.10 the total shipping entering and clearing from the port of Vancouver amounted to 10,(501.411 net tons, of which 3,177,087 tons were foreign-going, (he remainder being coastwise. f l he total numhei of deep sea ships entering the port was 308, their combined tonnage amounting (o 048,102 net tons. In the same year tho total cargo tonnage passing over the wharves in the port amounted to about 2,500,000 tons, of which approximately 1,150,000 ’wo re i'o reigi i.

The'estimated average lambing in the North Island for the current reason (computed from estimates furnished by the Inspectors of Stock in the various districts) is 87.05 per cent. On the basis of 5,838.704 breeding ewes in the North Island, Us' shown in the last sheep returns, the estimated number of lambs works out out at 5,135,524. The estimated percentage in 1010 rvas 81.57, and the number of breeding ewes (5,311,707, South Island ami Dominion estimates tor the current season will he published in next month's issue.—Journal of Agriculture.

How many wives do uol go through thoir hushand’s pockets and vice versa ?" asked a lawyer in lho heat of an eloquent address to (lie jury in the Supreme Court at Kew Plymouth last week. The virtues and failings of husbands and wives were under consideration, and counsel failed to remember the scarcity of pockets in the allire of the wives. Germany’s new spirit is symbolised by a monument which has been unveiled at Frankfort, the work of the young sculptor, Benno Elkan. The monument has been erected in memory of the victims of the wai, and represents a mother prostrate over the dead body ol her son. It is placed in front of the symbol of the war of 18/G - —Bismarck holding Germania’s stirrup. Speakers at the unveiling ceremony pointed out that this site had been purposely chosen to indicate the difference he-' tween the spirit of that time and 4‘bis. . “We are not always going to get 2s Gd per lb. for our butter-fat, so don’t run away with that idea.” said Mr S. A. Broadhelt, at the meeting of shareholders of the Levin Dairy Company this week. Air Broadhelt was referring to the necessity of the farmer getting the best returns out of Ills farm in the future, as the present value of butterfat would not last. If necessary, he would be in favour of file company undertaking some scheme that would enable suppliers to increase the returns from his holding in face of the more stringent times ahead. Over 1,000 tons of chocolate are consumed in London every week. This quantity approximates to the daily output of some of the biggest coal mines in the country. “It will give you an idea of the amount of chocolate sold in the city," said the manageress of a well-known sweet and general store, “when I tell you that the shops I am connected with

dispose of 140 tons a month.” The reason* given for this tremendous run on chocolate is that the price of food, especially cooked meals, is prohibitive to those of limited means. ‘‘l disagree,” the manageress added, “with the recently-pub-lished statements that women workers are eating heavy lunches. Generally speaking, women who work ahout here have a considerable difficulty in making both ends meet. They have to he well dressed, and their food and lodgings and laundry costs them so much that they have not sufficient money left to go to a restaurant and buy a substantial meal. What they do is to bring a sandwich or two and then buy a bar of chocolate. Ex-service men, 100, buy a great deal of chocolate for their midday meal, and they tell me (hat they can work on it quite well.” Not very long ago a well-groomed young man blew into the Wairarapa. He was travelling for the good of his health, upon capital furnished him by a generous father, who owned scrip in South African mines of sufficient value to buy up the .North Island, exclusive of its politicians. He hit a township Avhere it is not a crime for spirituous liquors to he exchanged for silver, and recited his pedigree to a selected tew. Quite incidentally this polished henlleman with a frankness and sincerity ot (one becoming one of his social standing, mentioned the fact that he had omitted to fulfill a promise made to his father. It was a mere nothing, though. Only to insure his life in an office of some repute lor £20,000. In less than fifteen minutes hq was being cautiously overhauled from top to bottom by a medical man, and in another five minutes all the papers were signed. Iho company blew the froth oil a lew more. The overjoyed agent was called aside. Would he he insulted if asked for a temporary loan ot £5, as father was a day behind viih bis remittance. Not him, it wa* a pleasure to hand over a “liver’ to one .-’O richly endowed. They parted to meet next morning. That was the eml of the stranger so far as Wairarapa was concerned.—-Age.