MISCELLANEOUS.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 29 August 1919, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

A former resident of this district, now farming in Kio Kio, Waikato, in a letter to Levin; friends, says that the Waikato has a great future as a dairying district, for the Waikato Dairy Company and the jST.Z. Dairy Association have joined forces and are going in for dried milk. At present these concerns collect the cream from the farmers in preference ~To running creameries, which is a big saving of time to small farmers, who have more time on their farms. Feed appeared to be much earlier than in the Levin and Ihakara districts, and the prospects for the coming season seemed very bright.

The Post and Telegraph Department expects to have overtaken the demands for telephone connections before the end of the year. Applications accumulated during the later part of the war owing to the shortage of equipment, and some of the people who are nowbeing provided with telephones havo been waiting a year or more. The growth of the telephone service in">. T ew Zealand has been remarkable, in spite of the temporary check inflicted by the war. Since 1910 the number of direct connections to telephone exchanges has increased from 25,212 to 57,572, the number of miles of telephone wire in us has increased from 35,233 to 105,926, ami the receipts have grown from £144,29S to £273,169.

Before many days the Government will be compelled to make a declaration on the proposals of Sir James Allen for the amendment of the scheme of training Territorials. Sir James Allen has stated on many occasions that the scheme is his scheme, having had the approval of no one but himself, and that it has never been submitted to Cabinet. But at the time that suggestions were made by him he was Acting-Prime Minister, and the public do not draw fine distinctions in these matters. Many people insist on regarding tho scheme as a Government scheme. This,question will have to be settled at once, and there is not a shred of doubt as to how it will be settled. Tho Government will not adopt the whole or any essential part of Sir James Allen's scheme. No one doubts that the adoption of Sir James Allen's ideas would make for greater efficiency, but there are other reasons, besides those advanced by the religious bodies who havo tondemued it, which politicians will consider quite strong enough to justify the rejection of tho scheme. > •* -^j|

Says tho "Wairarapa Age":—One of the most extraordinary proposals in Sir Joseph Ward 's policy is that relating to the taxation of the revenueproducing departments of the State. If such a proposal were given effect to it would mean a very substantial addition to the burdens of the people. For instance, tho taxation of the coal mines and coal depots would result in an increase in the price of coal. If the life and fire insurance profits were taxed, there would, of necessity, be an increase in the insurance premiums of ! every office doing business in the coun- ' try. If the profits from the railways and post offices arc taxed, the cost of these services to the people will be immediately increased. Sir Joseph Ward prO|)oses taking the Customs duties off articles of food and raiment. But he will make up the deficiency by placing an indirect taxation upon the people through the various departments of j State. He is pursuing the course of the Irishman who, with the view of lengthening his blanket, out a piece off one end and sewed ir on to the other.