MISCELLANEOUS.

Otaki Mail, Volume XXVIII, 7 June 1920, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

Mention is made in a London paper ' of the last afternoon party at Buckingham Palace. A lady guest remarked that 'it was very pleasant, and a ease of the vanished pomps of yesterday." The-tendency of Royalty today seems to be lessen formality while still keeping true dignity in view. It ia certainly a lessen to lesser dignitaries of the world, and one that will go far to bring those who exercise wise judgment nearer to the heart of the people. In pursuance of the campaign launched at the ladies' meeting at lunedin, volunteers stationed them- | ■elves in the streets to receive sign a- [ Hires to the pledge promising to prac- ■ ise rigid economy and to refrain front | buying luxuries until the cost of everyday necessities is reduced. Their ajurage in facing a somewhat thankless task in bitter wintry weather was, wo are informed, well rewarded, the , pledge being widely signed by ladies ! of all classes and ages. "The hunger for all classes of land is still unsatisfied," staled Mr J. G. Herdman, president of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, last week, "and at present there is no sign of any fall in values. Statistics recently j issued by the Government show that the total value of land in the Dominion j increased between 1010 and 1919 by | £107,009,000. By far the largest part of the increase is accounted for in the 1 North Island, only £1(3,000,000 being assigned to the South .Island."

!The. Wanganui "Herald" has freluentlv referred to the delay of the Valuation Department in revaluing the %H and:- of the Dominion, and has cited '£ Hie Gonville and Castlecliif Town Dis-' Sp (rids as cases in point where valtlit- §J iiens made nearly ten years aye have |* held good until within the pas! few jp months'. In these districts sections gj which have changed hands up to £-00 « per (|uarter-acre or more since the in- -si stallation of the (ram service have p until quite recently appeared on the g i valuation roll at their original value j« | of about £lO per acre g<

A Taranaki paper says it has been ■! i mentioned that a dairy farmer in the • ; Kaponga district had made £l7 per : I acre out of his land, and he had no special advantages over his i'ellow- | fanner.-. .11 was also stated that a | supplier to the Rivcrdalc factory, Mr I Griffin, had done considerably better. il(; farmed 48J acres of first-class land, am! from it he was paid for 12,804 lb of fat. which at 2s per lb equalled j £2819. Allowing even a small margin for pigs, calves, etc., this worked out at roughly £27 • per acre. Mr Griflin, of course, farmed intensely, and farmed well, but it only again demonstrated that from small areas of first-class Taranaki laud, whereon lucsrne, root crops, etc.. were grown, and where a good class of dairy cow Was kept and properly- managed, a very good income indeed could be made. It is contended that with butter-tat at Is <id per lb, and good land at £IOO tier acre, a farmer could do well if he farmed judiciously. The best dairy land in Tarauakj is now- selling at over £lO9 per acre.

■, . % . . i Tor every 100 votes cast ia favour of Mr Ma--cy. his colleagues and his party in the House, more thin 2-10 votes were cas't against them. For | ev.-ry iwj votes in favour ni Reform t candidates, successful and unsuccess- j ful. 175 votes were registered against them. One-third of the members of the Reform Party hold 1 beir seats against the wishes of the majority of their constituents. More than onethird of them received fewer votes in 1919 than in 191-1. Legally and constitutionally, of course, the Reformers are established in office and power; but morally, from the standpoint of true representation, and actually, according to an analysis of the voting throughout the whole of the constituencies, the Masseyitcs have no mandate from the people and they rule because the inherent faults of the electoral law operated in favour of the Reform Party.—"Lyttclton Times." The Eskimo language is so polysynthetic that one word is able to express a whole sentence. Tor illustration, the word "Uotivoq," which means '' The. hairy side of the ski;: is getting loose.'-' A large number of Japanese obtain a livelihood by eatchin; fireflies. These insects are used as ornaments at social festivities. Sometimes they are kept caged, sometimes released in swarms in the presence of the guests. If you want to break off a glass bottle or jar quite evenly, soak a piece of string in turpentine, tie it round the jar exactly where you want to break it. and fill to just that point with cold winter. Then set fire to the string, and the glass will snap off all along the j heated line. I