NEWS ITEMS.

Motueka Star, Volume II, Issue 59, 7 March 1902, Page 4

NEWS ITEMS.

In the districts a few miles out of Masterton many splendid fields of turnips are to be seen. The tons of the turnips in some instances are 2ft or 3ft high, and completely conceal the sheep when turned in amongst them. There are also many excellent rapes' crops throughout the district. John Norton, of Sydney Truth, begins an open letter to Mr Barton, the the Federal Premier, thus: " Sir—Presuming that you are now, as 1 am, thank God, sober, I hasten to address you yet another Open Letter, before you ielapse into the shikerry state in which you have been so often. Perhaps the longest sail on record of a disabled steamer is that of the recent case of the Strathrnore, which 'made'her way solely under canvas for 1,500" miles, occupying a period of forty-three days in doing it. It appears that the breakdown was a hopeless one, the main shaft breaking, and in doing-so tore up the stern tube, the consequence being that the tunnel filled with water and the ship began to leak very badly- With the characteristic resource of the seamen, a remedy was found, and the saving of the ship ,vas due to a most ingenious plan which worked out successfully, and which reflects the highest credit on those concerned.

Patriotism pays. A Wellington firm of butter dealers has received advice from its London agents that its consignments have gone up in price of late, in the provinces principally, because the war has advertised the fact that there is a place called New Zealand, and consumers have come to differentiate between the brands coming from New Zealand and those imported from elsewhere. The result will be to put a lot of additional money into the packets of the shareholders of the firm referred to.

Johnny—" Papa, why are poets horn and not made ?" Papa—" Because it's much cheaper, my son." The Timaru Borough Council is making an experiment in the improvement of the main street by rooting up the surface to a depth of eight or twelve inches or more, and then re-forming with the old material, thus saving the cost of a new coat of metal.

An example of successful sheep:raising comes from ELumeroa. Mr W. Peart, wlv se farm is on the banks of the Mauawatu. states that his flock averaged 101 b soz throughout. Mr Peart goes in for the three-quarter bred Lincoln.

After a visit to Sleepy Hollow, a Timaru butcher expressed the opinion that the Nelson abattoirs are the best in New Zealand, and that when abattoirs are erected in Timaru they should be built on similar lines with certain modifications.

A fine steamship named the Sheridan has for months past been employed by the United States .Government in bringing back from the Philippines the bodies of thousands of American soldiers who have died whilst serving their country, in order that their remains may be respectfully.laid to rest in their native soil. The Sheridan has a loud siren, and as she comes up San Francisco harbour, with her flags half masted, the "Dead March in Saul" is played on it the weird shrieks of the whistle having a most inournsul sound.

The various labor unions on the West Coast have nominated one of their number as a mining representative for the Legislative Council. So far, Mr Foster has been nominated by Denniston, Mr Harvey by Westport, and Mr Qoppe'rsmith by Brunner. Blackball, Reefton and Greymouth are all expected to nominate one of their members. When all these nominations are in, it is pro-

pot>ed that the-Council--of the Union shall select one (if the six nominees for the position. : " Ping Pong«" is quite out of date now. Smart people in London have got tired of rooting round under furniture in chase of recalcitrant balls, and have taken up with, fervour the new name of Slap Bang-Bang. It is like that popular board ship game, where a ball is suspended bn a long string from the top of a post, and four players with racquets endeavour to twist the string around that post by making wild slaps at the ball. Two, of course want it to go one way and two the other. The Slap bang-bang post is fixed on a bar-, which reaches across the table and is screwed on. . -The sttady retreat of the sea-at Dungeness. Point, in the English Channel, caused by the eastward drift of the shingle, continues and has necessitated the erection of another new lighthouse, The building, which will cost £9,000. is to be begun at once. This will make the third lighthouse on the point. The earliest, built about sixty years ago, is now about a mile inland, and the second is at least half that distance from the shore. ..,"?, A 6in quick-firing gun recently arrived by the steamer Tekoa—the largest gun of its kind in the colony—and was taken to Fort Ballance, Wellington, last week. The gun is to be mounted at that fort in place of an older pattern recently removed. In bis Lenten pastoral, Archbishou Redwood condemns divorce, and says : —"The social plague of divorce calls for a radical cure, and the remedy can be found only in the abolition of our mischievous legislation regarding divorce and in the honest application of the teachings of the Gospel. If persons contemplating marriage were persuaded that once united they were legally debarred from entering into second wedlock, they would be more circumspect before marriage in the choice of a life partner, and would be more patient afterwards in bearing the yoke and in tolerating each other's iniii mities." The Archbishop goes on to say :—"Nor is t, e Catholic Church, in proclaiming the absolute indissolubility of marriage, open to the charge of cruelty. She merely enforces the observance of the law of her Divine Founder, and His law, however Vigorous, is mercy compared to the consequences of easy divorce. It is spurious philanthropy and false philosophy for legislators, in their insane endea-

vour to improve on Divine teaching, to lose sight of the interests of the race and of society while devising means to alleviate the hardships of individual cases." The proposal to build three steamers with a length of 825 ft each for a fast mail service between Canada and the United Kingdom is so bold (writes the Daily Graphic) that it almost disarms criticism. At present the largest running to Canadian ports are only just over 10,000 tons, and it .has always been contended by the owners of the Canadian mail lines that it would be dangerous to run large and swift steamers through the shoals and currents and fogs of the St. Lawrence. But a steamer of 825 ft in length, if she were of the same proportions in other respects as the swift Atlantic liners of the present day, would be at least 25,000 tons. If the powerful syndicate which has taken the matter in hand is able to produce a vessel of this size and she proves a success, she will revolutionise all our ideas about ships and docks, and underwriters will be invited" to undertake risks which would have been thought impossible only 10 years ago. TO THE CITIZENS OF MOTUEKA.We have just opened a parcel of Spectacles. A first class pair for ss. No fancy price charged: Your eyes ■■ tested free'of charge. — BßO WN &* KERR. »