LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 32

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

During a discussion a? a recent sitting oi the Primitive Methodist Conference the Rev,. J. _Bharp (Edendale), speaking to a mission station report, eaid that some of the stations were not in a position to support a Chinaman, let alone a white man; and another speaker said there was a close connection between ministerial resignations and district; "financial deficiencies. Mr Sharp complained that he had been sent as a married man to a district which was only, numerically and financially, in a position to support a single minister, and he thought that in this and similar matters he had not beeji treated -as- he should have been. •The annual Police and Magistrate's Court Returns for Port Chalmers for the year 1907 are :— Criminal cases: Persons taken into custody, summoned, or apprehended — Xnales 220, females 7; discharged for want of prosecution or want of evidence, 8 'toales ; dismissed Qn merits, 10 males ; summarily convicted — males 202, females 7; lined— males 107, female 1 ; imprisonment In lieu of fine or surety, 5 males; perempJory imprisonment, 5 males; orders made — frnales 24; female 1; convicted and discharged with caution — males 50, females 57 jDonvictions for following offences, with 6imilar convictions during 1906 in brackets: Pbscene language, 8 (6); vagrancy, 1 (5); procuring liquor while prohibited, 6 (2); , drunkenness— males 82 (86), females 5 (2); resisting police,- 5 (5); fighting, 2 (1); supplying liquor to intoxicated persons, 2 (0); .^wnnitting; drunkenness on licensed premises, 1 (0); disobeying lawful commands (ship-" •{ping), 6 (3); indecent acts, 3 (1); Ki-aach of peace, 8 (♦)} permitting- gambling on ftioensed premises, X (0); entering hotel frhile prohibited, 1 (3); disorderly while £runk, 3 (1) f supplying liquor to prohibited a>erson3, 0 (0); indecent language, 1 (0); Damaging property, 1 (6) ;- theft, 3 (8) ; tres.rjass, 1 (0); damaging ship's cargo, 2, (01; .\ssault, 7 (5); prohibition orders, 24 (22); "to , licensed premises after hours, 0 (2) ; Maintenance, 0 (2); on licensed promises on Sunday, 0 (1). In civil cases the tota) dumber of plaints entered was 61; cases Cfried, 24. Total amount sued for, £268 •^g 7d; amount recovered* £140 7s 9d*

A difficulty arose lately between Dr Knox (the Bishop of Manchester) and the Vicar of Christ Church, Blackburn (the Rev. George Denyer). In an article in the Christ Church Parish Magazine the vicar complains that the bishop had insisted on the use of fermented wine at the Lord's Table, despite his protest that many of the parishioners were formerly addicted to overindulgence in strong drink, and might be tempted to lapse into intemperance if they tasted alcoholic* wine". The vicar contends that he has been commanded to conform to a law not 1 yet established, and to give up a practice adopted by many clergymen throughout the country and by some in the Manchester diocese, notably Bishtap Thornton, who, as chaplain at the Lancashire Inebriates' Reformatory, near Blackburn, always uses unfermented wine when celebrating holy communion. Bishop Knox, the vicar says, declined to allow any deacon to assist unless the vicar gave way, and he interprets the bishop's attitude as indicating an. intention to drive him from the benefice. One of the church officers says there aro among The 700 communicants 50 reformed drunkards. The tourist traffic to Lake Wakatipu continues (6aye the Mail) to bo very brisk. Large numbers arrive by the 6teamers nightly. Some 163 people arrived by the second week-end excursion on Saturday, 11th, Monday's steamer for the Head of the Lake took 150 passengers, and these were distributed between Elfin Bay and Glenorchy. The majority of those who land at the lat'or place make the Paradise trip. Considerable numbers have made several days' or veek&" sojourn at Glenorchy or 'Paradise. All sprak in the hisrhest terms of praise of the beautiful ««^nery "L" L T'.ir""i*e, ii the Routebuvn, Dart, and Roes Valleys. The \arious drives have also ibeen. well patronised. The extended visit to be raat>-» by the fhree members of the Otago Land Board — ' Messrs Ban-on (Commissioner of Crown Lands). Livingstone, and M'Kenzie — to the Martin's Bay district, in the north-western ' corner of Otago, is one of more than usual interest. The Martin's Bay district was practically opened up by the late Mr James Macandrew upwards of 30 or 40 years ago, I but thig venture of one of Qfcw's_eiydjj?s£_

pioneers did not prove a success, and settle- ] xnent there is now reduced to one family, j The district. contains considerable areea of excellent timber land, and as several applications have been received by the board for land and for timber areas in the locality the members of the board desire to personally insp'eofc the locality, so that they will be in. a position to deal with the applications. It is anticipated that, provided there is money at the command of the applicants, a- new timber industry may be developed there. That, however, to a great j extent depends upon the accessibility of the harbour — namely, Martin's Bay. That also will be a matter for the Government to consider should the timber industry there assume any dimensions. The local tourist traffic is a steadilyincreasing one, and o\'ery intercolonial boat brings a large number % of persons bent on visiting the scenio resorts of Otago. A conference has been, held between delegates from the Bruce and Taieri County Councils on the subject of a traffic bridge \ at Taieri Mouth. The estimated cost of i the bridge is £7000, and the Taieri Council suggested that the Government be asked to contribute £2000, leaving 1 the remainder of the cost to be adjusted by a commission. This did not find favour with the conference, and, after a number of proposals had been discussed, the following resolution was unanimously arrived at: — "That a bridge be erected over the" Taieri River at Taieri Mouth, at an estimated cost of £7000, and that the Government be asked foi* a subsidy of pound for pound to assist \ in erection of same. Subject to same being , granted, plans be prepared by both i engineers and submitted for approval of ■district road engineer, leaving the proportion of cost to each county to be fixed by commission, if not mutually agreed upon." According to the Bruce. Herald it waa the unanimous opinion that it would be impossible to undertake the work unless a considerably larger sum is granted by the Government, and unless that is forthcoming the work will be poetpened indefinitely. Mr Seandrett, Mayor of Invercargill, got I himself into trouble with his council for letting the Municipal Theatre for Mr Keir Hardies address on Sunday evening. The hall was originally let for Saturday evening, and when the promoters wished to change to Sunday evening Mr Scandrett omitted to remember that there existed a i resolution of the council forbidding the let- ! ting of the building on Sunday without a | resolution to that effect. A special meeting' to discuss tht Mayor's action was held on Saturday afternoon. The council was evenly divided, five voting for letting the I arrangement etand and five for an amendment expressing regret. As all had not I voted a second show of hands was taken, ' this resulting in six against and five for ] 1 the Mayor. Then a division was called for, | i when six voted for the amendment and five j for the motion. Then. Mr So&ndrett rather neatly outgeneralled the enemy by intimating that he would exercise his deliberative and casting vote in favour of the j motion, which he then declared carried by i 7 votes to 6. If the aim of the modern advertiser is to i be startling it would seem that a firm ! which has been placarding the roads of the I Bruce County has brilliantly succeeded. According to a statement made at the council's meeting yesterday by Cr Begg, the advertisements oi the firm aforesaid were so striking that even the horses shied. Ratepayers had been complaining, he Baid, of these advertisements being placed at dangerous parts of the road, as their vehicles, and incidentally themselves, were liable to damage when their horses took fright. The council resolved to request the firm to remove their advertisements altogether. At a meeting of the executive of the Otago Acclimatisation Society on the 13th it was recommended that the council arrange for an anglers' competition in the Upper Harbour in February. The competition is to be open to all license-holders using any legal abait, and prizes to the total value of £6 will be awarded as follows: — First prize, £3; second, £2; and third, £1 for the heaviest basket* of trout. Hours and conditions have yet to be fixed by the council. A gentleman residing on the bank of Boundary Creek, which constitutes his cole water supply, has a grievance which he laid before the Bruce County Council on the 14th. It appears that the water flowing through his property used to be as clear as crystal, but now a naxmill had been established up the creek, which, discharging its refuse into the water, has turned the once-pellucid stream into what he graphically described as "something like porter." Local industries being valuable and private rights sacred, the council seemed to find itself in a difficulty, which it solved by leaving the matter in the hands of Cr Driver and the county engineer, with power to act. That reptilian missive, the anonymous letter, again crept into the correspondence of the Bruce County Council on the 14th. Of course, it cast reflections on someone. The letter, however, was not read, and the chairman explained why ' If, he said, a ratepayer wa3 not maxi enough to put his signature to a document, the Bruce County councillors were men enough to leave such a communication severely alone. Thie stfl-f jment was received with genoral satis1 factrori. Figures recently published in British newspapers indicate that since the introduction of "the measured rate for telephone services in London, where the exchanges have modern equipment, there has been a greatly-increased demand loj igstalla-

ftions. The measured rat© was -introduced j in Melbourne early last year, and, though subscribers under il receive no -better service than under the - old flat rate, "it has oaused a wonderful increase in the number of installations. The system charges only for the actual use which is made of the line, with, of course, certain fixed fees for rental, and this seems to have appealed to the public as cheaper than the old flat rate. Since the introduction of the measured rate in Melbourne 635 new subj scribers have been put on to the new city board alone. The new eystem has attracted adherents from the ranks of the flat rate subscribers, for no fewer than 1449 flat Tate subscribers on the Central Exchange have been transferred to the measured raie. This is a total of 2084 installations under the measured rate. At a meeting of the Otago University Council, held on the 15th inst. and presided over by Dr Hocken, the design by Mr Edmund Anseombe, of Dunedin, for a new School of Mines was., selected from among the four competitive designs sent in. The council 6pent about an hour looking over the designs. Mr Anseombe wins the 50-guinea prize offered by the council. The weekly meeting of trustees of the Benevolent Institution, held on the 15th instant, was attended by Messrs Talboys (in the chair), Burnett, 'and Loudon (Mayor). The Secretary reported tha death of William Harding, 88 years of age, 48 hours after admission. -A basket of fish was acknowledged from .the Seacliff Mental j Hospital, and " Patria " sent ss, to be expended in buying reading matter for tha i inmates. Accounts amounting to £201 15s 6d were passed for payment. The applicants for relief numbered 36. The chairman and the treasurer (Mr Burnett) were re-elected to their respective offices for the current year. The statutory conference of local bodies for the purpose of fixing the day on which the weekly half-holiday for shops and shop assistants shall be held during the ensuing year in Dunedin was held on the 15th inst. Wednesday was' again selected 'as the day, an amendment in favour of Saturday not receiving the necessary support. At the last meeting of the JJind Board four applications were considered .for transfers of the leases of four small grazing runs in the Silver Peak district. These runs are held by members of the Gibson family, and, it is understood, are worked as one estate in conjunction with '"" piece of freehold land. The transfers were sought to be made to members of the Turnbull family, but scpne opposition was shown by two members of the board, who stated that if they were granted -it meant encouraging dummyism. Eventually two of the transfers were granted, and the other two were declined. Those granted | were: Section 1, block V, Arthur JPetr'ie j Gibson, to • Charles Turnbull ; and section ! 2. block V, Edgar H. Gibson, to William M'Gregor Turnbull. Those declined were: Section 1, blook IV, Beatrice Gibson, to I Emma Henderson j and section 3, block IV, | John Gibson, to Fanny Turnbull. The board also declined an application for the transfer of a. pasioral license of 6ectjon 1, | block 111, in the Stiver Peak district, from | Robert Gibson to William M'Gregor Turnbull. The Mosgiel Borough Council has decided to call tenders for the erection of a concrete service reservoir at Gow's Hill in connection with the borough's water supply. At an adjourned meeting a letter was received from Mr R. Hay, who suggested that a 7-eservoir 70ft x 40ft and 9ft deep, holding about 144,000ga1, should be constructed. At present the town is supplied with water from the Silverstream, the reticulation being connected direct with the main pipe line. It was resolved that tenders be called by Mr Hay for the construction of the reservoir, quotations to be obtained also by that gentleman for pipes, fittings, and cement, with a view to the council supplying same. Two boys, eight and nine years of age respectively, .wore brought before the Juvenile Court on the 15th inst. on charges of having stolen four bicycles from various • places in the city. 'The younger lad was -convicted, and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon, and the elder boy, evidently the instigator of the thefts, was committed to the Burnham Industrial School. At the roeeting of the Christchurch Samaritan Home Trustees on the 14th Mr C. Hastings Bridge asked if a separate account was 'kept of the portion, of oldage pensioners' pensions which was not deducted - for maintenance. He reminded the board that the magistrate had said that after deducting 7s 6d per week for maintenance, the residue, 2s 6d, should be kept and handed to- the pensioner. Mr C. H. Winny stated that the pensioners were each given Is per week out of the 2s' 6d, and the remainder was spent in purchasing extra olothes and boots. The matron was called in, and stated that £1 7s 6d per month was deducted for maintenance, 11s lOd was put by, and 46 was handed to each pensioner. The 11s lOd was spent in buying clothes and boots for the pensioner, but no separate accounts were kept, chough receipts were got. The trustees decided j that separate aocounts should be kept in future. Quotations are invited by the Cape Department of Agriculture for the supply of dried locusts during the forthcoming season, in bags of not less than 751b net, delivered free on rail at the nearest railway station. The locusts must be thoroughly dried before being bagged, and the bags guaranteed free from earth or stones. Two raisers of poultry in the Capo JPenintula. «.&*© that 6§Jk npultry^j«§d_they_J

'find dried locusts most suitable if given fit the warm mash. They then efficiently taief the place of the imported American, meat; eoraps, and are much cheaper. - I Mr Edison claims (says tua Ironmonger); to have perfected the eleotrio storage bat* tery after five years* working on tbe pro> blemr " The new battery," «aya-t&tt iixvel^ tor, "is compact and _ practically of unlimited capacity, and will bring: motor cars ! within the reach of thousands w&oj oanno{£ now afford them." That is the - sort ojj motor we have all been - looking for theflft many years, an apparatus of which th<j& first cost is the only coat* and the ooriistruction of which is *ree from any euca nonsense as the necessity for recharging^ renewing the exhausted parts,, and othfiJT troublesome and expensive details. TThforV tunately this is not the first time during*the paet_ few years that a similar olaftnj has been put forward on behalf jot MilEdison. The last occasion on- which tha& gentleman was eaid to have achieved thai unattainable was in April, 1906, the main) feature of the invention of that date being the substitution of cobalt for lead or nickel.* Then there was the battery encased ml •armour of such incredible strength. £har> besides being absolutely, foolproof, it oouldt be dropped from a fourth storey windbvit on to the roadway without injury. In. th^ circumstances, this latest "discovery" may be regarded with 6. certain amount of scepVticism. i The inquest at Port- Chalmers on fcha 16th ins't. into the sad case of drown- ' inpf by which Mr' John Taiaroa lost his! life at the Kaik on New 1 Year's, Eve resulted in a verdict of "Accidental drowned" being returned. It was evfdent that in the darkness .Taiaroa either tripped over a lino or slipped onthe wet deck when making his way froj» the stern of the motor boat to the bow, lit order to reach the landing-stage, and fell overboard, being carried awayby the strong current. It was shown that the absence of "steps made access ,"o the staging difficult) owing to its being a "considerable heigh.fi above the water. The s wharf, it may be mentioned^ is not the Kaik jetty, but is one^ constructed by the Harbour Board, for! 'use in connection, with "their quarry opera* tions. The jury added a rider that the board's attention should be called to the need for better landing facilities at tha wharf -being provided. ! The Primitive iifethodiet Conference afi its concluding sitting on, the- 16th inst. pased a vote of hearty;oongratulation to theS Hon. C. M. Luke on his appointment to tha Legislative Council. The Rev. J. Dawson^. in support of the* resolution, said he; ap» proved of the appointment, „ not ,,, entirely because Mr Luke was a representative' *of their Church, but also because he was « representative of the temperance .oajuev • The appointment reflected credit^ not upon Mr Luke himself, but also on thei Pfim^ Minister. ' The Rev. J. -Cocker stated! that when the names of those appointed! were read out by the ' Prime "Minister at w special invitation, meeting in the lobby off the House \n Wellington no name was re» oeived with so much Beneral approval andl hearty applause as that of Mr JCufce- Tfc.<» Hon." Mr Luke, in acknowledging the votey said that of all the congratulations he had! reoeived in the Dominion, from the Home> land, and the Commonwealth, there waa none that he appreciated so highly as + haM of the Conference. When the appointment} was offered to him he hesitated whether he should accept it, and "only did: so 'in tha hope tihat he would he able to do work for 1 the Dominion, in a conscientious way. ■ John B. Green, 75 years of age, ,a 4 farmer at Owaka, was found dead in ** paddock yesterday morning. In inquest will probably be held. The following resolution was passed &b Thursday's meeting of the Trades and? Labour Council: — "That this council places upon record its regret that his Worship 1 tha Mayor • declined to extend to Mr Keir Hardie 7 , M.P., an official welcome on the occasion of his visit to Dunedin." N The remains of the late Mr John HoodV Indian Mutiny veteran, whose sudden "death; -occurred on -Monday, the 13th, were interred in the Southern Cemetery on Thursday 'with, military honours. The funeral left his lata residence, Park terrace, at 2.30 p.m., 'the>cortege being led by several members o£ , the Permanent Artillery, following whom! j came the Garrison Band, which played tha ' " Dead March " .in " Saul " and the " Lastt Salute." The gun carriage followed, bear* ing the coffin, and closely after it came tha chief mourners and others. The Rev. Me Currie, of Kaitangata, conducted the services most impressively, both at the house? and at the grave; and the three salutes fired at the grave by the Artillery consti* tuted the last mark of respect shown tzha I deceased veteran. j The Otago Trades and Labour Council ' decided' jn the 16th inst. to forward qi Mosgiel travelling rug to Jtfr Keir Hardie aa a memento of Mr Hardies visit to Duneduu Master bakers from all parts of tha Dominion will journey to New Plymouth a 4 the beginning of March to attend tha annual conference of the New "Zealand! United Master Bakers' Industrial Association of Employers. All the Master Bakers' ! Unions in New Zealand are, affiliated ii> the association. The Pure Food Act and* the Flour and Other Products Monopoly Prevention Act, which were passed " last session, will give special interest to ih& year's conference. When the Pure Food! Bill was before Parliament a deputation! representing the association waited on tha Hon. G. Fowlds and requested that tihiß» new and important clauses dealing' with the sale of bread by weight should be held oveo until after the coming conference. Ifhd I Miniafe^ js6fsfrsfi to go on with tha bill

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„ WJS it stood, but promised to give full confederation to any recommendations which ihe conference might make. The " sliding Scale" according to whioh the price of j bread rises and falls with the price of flour will also come up at the conference for review. The gathering promises to be of j more than usual interest. Dr M'Arthur, S.M. at Wellington, is not particularly partial to the probation system ' ,in connection with offenders, either adult <>r juvenile, brought before the courts. The Magistrate, pointed out to a 97imeS reporter that' a probationer^ is'- p'raxstically" a. marked person, 'fox it "is essential that" - ihe shall report periodically to the probation'officer, and he -has 'to -call at the police BtatioJLi-^to <do' 'Sof& Sometimes the police -met probationers >halfway, but all the same the probatioii -system had a hardening influence. The probationer- must not leare the district containing -the court at which he charged/- and, should! he obtain permission 'to d<£ a -<so for any -reason, he must report to the police in the new district. Dr _ M^Arthur believes that if it is not necessary to mete out actual punishment it is more humane and effective, besides being much more likely to be reformative, to convict an offender and order him to come up for sentence when called upon. A specimen of a fish that was once plentiful in T?ew Zealand riverSj but is now almost jextinct, was' caught the other day by one' of a party of Anglers in the Upper Otaki. ' It k- (says the Evening Post) ths native ; grayling, *or upokororb, as the Maoris' call itu In appearance it is a cross between a herring and a kahavai, but the most peculiar characteristic about it is the odour it emits — something like cucumber, the party cays. The weight was about a pound and a-half. The smelt and the grayling are the only two fishes tha*- ex- - hibit the peculiarity of odour. Not know- i ing what a Taluabie catch they had taken, - the party cookeel and ate this survivor of old time. 'A'photograpH, however, was , seouf cd 1 , and & now on viey? at TJsdall's, ob ( Lambton quay. Mr ~~ J EsSair ' himself ' aj^r i- _, butes the disappearance of / ifoe"gra.y£ng''to -- the encroachment of the acclimatised "brown trout, and supports his statement lay pointing oiit that the party of three during a week'-s fishing were unable to get more than four -fish.^ The almost totai-absenoe of the brown trout -would* explain the .survival of the grayling in these head -waters of the Otaki among tihe mountains. Mr Bruce Morison was "the successful angler, and Mr - H. H. Ostler -secured the only brown trout that were oaught.Maniototo -had ihe -worst possible weather . 'for its -show on- Thursday," but -4he best 'possible -for -the farmers,- who have ieen in despair about their crops, as Ifee grain J -had Ishown "on signs of ""swelling." The i downpour is <expected to save ihe -situation,- .and agriculturists at lie show congratulated each other with dripping -clothes ' but, 'beaming faces. The rain lasted -well \ into lie night, -which subsequently turned extremely cold, so that no one was surprised to >ccc the mountain tops enowy next .morning. There is every prospect of means ofcommunication between the business portion of iihe city and Qic land on the harbour side of the Railway Station being at last provided. , Sir Joseph "Ward yesterday personally .surveyed the position, and subsequently, in referring to the matter, stated to a Times reporter that he fully , recognised that come provision must be made,' and the matter would receive consideration on his return to Wellington. Th» following is the fnl^ text of the memorandum of the Arbitration Court j attached to the award it made on the 14th | .. ult. in the case between the Westport Coal i Company (Limited) and the Granity Coal Miners 3 Union of Workers^ — "The court has reserved -power to itself "to vary all or any of the provisions of this award in" the .event of any change being made by legislation in any .of the conditions regulated by lie award. This -will enable the jjourt to remedy the hardship ' that might otherwise result from Parliament altering, as it has done in some cases, some of the conditions of .an award, while leaving the partks bound by all the other provisions of the award. The court has do desire to suggest that Parliament "should" not exercise its privilege of legislating with regard "to all or any of the matters that may •be dealt with in an award of the court, but it seems desirable to point out that if an award fixes the hours of -work ' and wages in connection with -any particular industry, any alteration in the hours of work really means an alteration in wages in all oases where the wage fixed is a daily or weekly one, •and that in such a case Parliament, while professing to ' deal only with hours of -work, is really legislating with regard to wages." The experiment of sprinkling -water-gas tar in Bond street as a preventive of ike. ilnst nuisance ma.y be :reesir<led as B. success, x but further tests are to be made { before the tar is used to any extent In giving judgment in a sly grog-selling $ase at the Police Court on Friday morning, in which the defendant, a woman, ' was fined £25, Mr Widdowson, S.M., Baid ife could not -understand why the 6ub- ! stantial fines inflicted in the past for such j offences had not acted as &. deterrent on others. -He also -could not understand •why,- ior the Bake of a few shillings or pence, jpeople, indulged in this practice. A -well-attended meeting was held last "week- -of representatives of - the -Otago Early Settlers' Association and the Otago Motor Association ior "flic purpose of discussing the advisability of holding a floral J fete, . gymkhana, and motor sports at an j early-.-date for the purpose, pf increasing]

1 the building fund of the Early Settlers' Association. Sub-committees representative of- both bodies -were set up to go fully into the matter, and-the whole proposition was taken up "with »• great .-deal of enthusiasm. It -was finally resolved to hold the function at Talrana Park on Saturday, [February -29. . The aub-committees will meet again next week to arrange details. The folly of addressing an Asiatic in a sort of baby talk was condemned by Mr H. G. , Blackie, speaking at Mornington last night, and it is difficult to 6ee why the, person 'from' foreign parts should comprehend English any better for iss being put to him in a sort of nursery jargon. The lecturer, in order to collect funds for the Indian famine sufferers, was lecturing in Victoria. To serve his end he paraded the streets garbed as a rajah, with his face blackened with burned cork. A friend iniroduced him to all and sundry as "a gentleman from India." They one and all asked him such questions as, "You talkee talkee English," etc.i, to which he solemnly replied, " Hum Bengali Admi." They attended his lecture in force, and were tremendously astonished when he removed his turba-rf and talked London English for half «.n hour. Although entitled by the regulations to have three lieutenants, the Port Chalmers Navals have up to the present only appointed two. Having decided to bring up the list of officers to its full strength, Mr Alexander M'lntyre was unanimously appointed to the position at the morning parade yesterday. Lieutenant M'lntyre was formerly connected -with the 3rd Lanark Rifle Volunteers for some years, ajoA being an expert in naval construction and an enthusiastic Volunteer his appointment is a distinct acquisition to the company. Mr R. Cowan, general secretary of the Curling Province of Tsfew Zealand, who is at present in Dunedin, informs us that he , has received a reply from the secretary of h .the Royal Caledonian Club, of Edinburgh, ;;,st&iHng that he has pleasure in forwarding, .as- a. . for cx fipm_petitipn^ among the*. clubs. forming the province,, a cup presented by the mother, club. Mr Cowan al6O states that in the ice districts of Otago there is a growing interest in curling, the membership of clubs is steadily increasing, and the annual bonspiel ,is reckoned one of the redJetter events of the year. The Royal .Caledonian Club presentation cup will be opep for competition this winter, and will be contested quite as keenly as any championship in Otago. In a letter written from New Zealand to his wife in Sydney, Professor David, | who went to the Antarctic with the Nimjrod, said :— " If our ship .doesn't turn up in- March or April, please don't be anxious. A wealthy young New Zealander has pracj iically (and actually by financing it) under- ' taken to send a xelief expedition at the end of this year if there is any need. Lieutenant Shackleton, however, says that the chances of the Nimrod being detained in the ice during the year are extremely .small, as it is his fixed intention to send ! her away with Captain England in good time before the sea is frozen." " When seeing off the last party of New South Wales settlers," writes the London xorrespondent of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, "I heard a, pleasing order given by the captain, and one which says a good deal "for the class of people that is being selected for New South Wales. After saying a few .friendly -words to the 'emigrants ' the captain " called some of his ■officers aside, and said: — 'It must be clearly understood that the -word " emigrant " is not to be heard on this ship. These young people are "settlers" — "new settlers," not emigrants.' There is always a. certain amount of opprobrium attached 'to the term 'emigrant,' and 'new settler' «eems a happier term." For the first election to - the Southland Land Board under the new act, which gives Crown tenants the right to elect a member, the following gentlemen have been ' -nominated : — Messrs John M'Lean (Caroline), Nicolaus Alexander Niederer i (Gorge road), James King (Clifden), Neil !M*Leod {Brydone), Jacob Alsweiler ! (Awarua Plains), and Colin Robertson j (Waikaia). The nomination of the gentleman last named has been declared invalid [ because it was signed by two persons who -were not Crown tenants. New Zealand, especially .Otago, knows a good deal about Scotland, "but according ! to a lecturer at Mornington on .Friday this [ knowledge is not reciprocal. To illustrate [ this astounding fact he related how one of Scotland's schoolboys, asked by a visiting New Zealander if he knew where Wellington was, replied : "Well, sir, I can't tell you where he is, but I rather think he has "been dead some time." The new Methodist Church at Island i 33ay, " "tlie foundation stones of wjiioh Tver© laid this week, is to be built in ferro-con- | orete, the first church in this material in ! New Zealand. It will have a length of 60ft and a -width of 36ft, exclusive of the ' porch end vestibule. The section, which " has been given to the church by a donor l^who desires to remain anonymous, is 60ft | "by 150 ft." The building will be of Gothic architecture. N When .New Zealand evolves her Wordsworth he will find it worth while to -visit the little cottage bom© of 4. patriarch on the outskirts of Naseby. Wild cherries, Ted a*id Black currants, pears, plums, raspi berries, gooseberries, and apples, vegeI tables, shrubs, and flowers grow together | in almost matted profusion in the little I .back, garden overlooking an. old -sluicing [ claim. "Ihe rear portion of th« cottage

is hidden by a mass of hops*. The kitchen is old-fashioned : the fireplace being, as it were, in a little room by itself, with just enough room for a cosy armchair on each side. , A strip of ivy is trained inside along the wall as a safeguard against flies, and the plaster is hidden by coloured pictures cut from journals as old as the claim. Only one of the armchairs is in use, for, alas ! the old man dwells there alone, "the rest" having "followed each other to the cemetery," as he sadly states. Their pictures hang in the- parlour, rarely opened, and he sits solitary and ruminates upon the past. H« has not been to Dunedin for 42 years^ and is always " going to pay the old place a. visit." If he ever does, how changed he will find it ! A lecturer in Duredin last Friday had something interesting to say about the prospect of successful growing of tea in Victoria. In the Gippsland mountain slopes the ! land was just the thing, and the rainfall was 35 inches. That was the trouble. J Between 300 and 400 inches of rain annually was necessary for the proper production of tha ■commodity so popular in the colonies. It may be mentioned that the rainfall in the Himalaya tea gardens of DarjeeMng is from 350 to 400 inches. Miss Lois Bryant, who recently left Sydney by the R.M.S. Aorangi on a visit to San Francisco, relates a pathetic incident in the course of a letter to her relatives in Lithgow (says the- Sydney Morning Herald). She describes two bright young Australian girls, Rita and Ada Sharkie, aged 12 and three years respectively, who were fellow-passengers with her on the voyage across, and who were lost before they reached their destination. The girls were accompanied by their mother, and all were proceeding to San Francisco, where ■ the breadwinner fcad secured a permanent position as a carpenter in ' connection with the Pacific railways. Mr Sharkie .met the Aorangi at British Columbia, and the meeting with his family, from whom he had been parted for acouple of years, was an affecting one. The reunited family taanshipped from the Aorangi to a coastal steamer named the President for San Francisco, and on the second day out a terrdfic sea broke on board and swept the two children overboard. It was impossible to heave the vessel to on account on the heavy seas, and the girls were never seen again. Dinizulu is 37 years of age. He is physically a, big man, subject to the natural corpulence 'which characterised his father's family. He has a high, brainy forehead, a long head, and strong -clim. He does no*t shave, but -wears a full-sized beard. His expression is thoughtful. One of his remarks was: "Truly, a heavy burden is theirs whose duty ii is to speak for the' people." He is careful to tell you always' that it is "the people" who thihk so and so; and th»^eby -what he says carries the weight of the- people. He »peaks English, though not an English scholar. He- is,' however, a perfect Zulu scholar and a fluent writer in his own language. Tn : correspondence, as shown in a recent letter, - his instincts towards European ladies are also thoroughly 'polished. The Zulus, before becoming demoralised 'by Europeans, are gentlemen, in their conduct, in their deportment, in language, and in everything. It is the European -who makes them otherwise To his guests Dinizulu is most hospitable and generous. He keeps a ep'ecial brick building, apart from oiJhers, for them, and at once, on arrival, an English-speaking native valet is told off to look after you. The valet sleeps at your door at night; day tmd night you are cared for. But -unless you know him or you axe properly introduced Dinizulu is, of course, inaccessible, as obviously he has to be careful of "his friends." At night you can have his gramaipbone, with all the latest English tunes, or, if he is well, he will play to you on an English organ— and sing to you, too, in the English language. His favourite air is "Home, sweet home." He learnt 't when in exile, and: will never forget it. An apparatus has recently been experimentally in use at the Cologne (Germany) Central Railway Station for the instantaneous printing of third class railway tickets, which renders the provision of a stock of ready-printed tickets unnecessary. Not only Aoee this machine work with the utmost speed and simplicity, and deliver any required ticket more quickly than one could formerly be .sought for from the rack and date-stamped by the railway clerk, but it also furnishes a safe and valuable check on the sale of tickets and the cash receipts. The machine has been inspected by the Imperial Minister of Railways, and if the apparatus is pronounced satisfactory it is intended to fit up similar machines in Cologne and other large stations. The Birmingham Assay Office has lately taken a step of considerable importance to the public (says London Truth) by proposing -to fiv a. TviTTiinrt-M-m gaui?© for silver bearing the Birmingham hall-mark. Of late years, with the growing demand for fancy goods of all kinds in silver, the metal used has, under stress of competition (chiefly foreign), grown thinner a-nd thinner, -until the quantity of silver used seemed almost to have reached the proverbial " irreducible minimum." This very thin metal is known in the trade as " phantom silver," and the name aptly expresses it. It can, of course, only be UEed ao a covering for some other substance. It is spread over such articles as photograph frames, or filled in with cement or 'some other material to make " silver " handles for umbrellas, button-hooks, and , such-like goods. The public takes the hallmark to be a real guarantee, and so it ought to be, "but it has come to be used on goods which h«a» really a slighter

coating of silver on them thaJi the best electro-plate. The Hon. Dr Findlay, Attorney-general and Minister of the Interior, accompanied by Mrs Findlay, arrived in Dunedin on Saturday night. Dr lindlay has just returned from a trip to Mount Cook, which was undertaken for the purpose of selecting ' a site for a new Hermitage, as the accommodation house there is called. The site selected is about one mile and three-quar-ters from the present house, and is at Governor's Bush, commanding an excellent and comprehensive view, taking in the Sefton and Hooker "Valleys, while Mount Cook is seen in one of its finest aspects. The Attorney-general is of opinion that the locality should prove attractive to others than those at present provided for. Under existing-con'ditions the visitor to the Hermitage, who is without the physical stamina essential to mountain cMmting, is not catered for in any direction, and yet here is perhaps the finest recreative district in the whole colony — the ideal 1 retreat for the business man, ran down with city .cares and bustle. Therefore, Dr Findlay intends! to advise that the Government lay doyen tennis and croquet lawns in the vicinity of, the new "accommodation house, and. that" outdoors, and -indoors the place^should be rendered attractive 'to »U, whatever their ' physique. — Tihen he is of -opinion that ih4 ', journey should ,be facilitated, the roads and fords -being improved to •s'ueh,-an "extent that thg -Hermitage will be reached in one day's journey from Tjmarji, "The tourist traffio as a whole 4hroughout<=the -colony is, he says, becoming enormous, and the Government is fully 'alive to the fact that the visitors' requirements must be., so_far as is humanly possible, gratified. The' Hon. Dr Findlay will probably return north to-nlbrrow. ■- ■ > """ During last week 21 patients were admitted to the Dunedin Hospital, whilst £0 were discharged. There were three deaths — Ah Kirn, Rose Ward, and Andrew Gillon. The institution 6tarts this week with 112 inmates, as against 114- at the beginning of last week. George Perry, four years of' age, was admitted to the Hospital on Saturday afternoon suffering from seve.re wounds on the head caused by a kick from 'a horsje. It appears some children were playing -in a paddock in Leith street and Perry went up to a horse and pulled its tail. The horse lajhed out with both feet, kicking 'the lad on the head and inflicting very nasty injuries, which, however, are not expected to lead to serious results. The Port Chalmers Navals have the knack of keeping remarkably cheerful under difficulties, and though the bell tents in which they are encamped leak like sieves, they have made no fuss about it. The officers are as badly off in this respect as the men, and a certain lieutenant on a recent rainy night had to sacrifice his pyjamas to.^etop leaks in the camtas roof that converted his -bed into a kind of dismal swamp. This is hardly the way to encourage men to learn to serve their country. Many companies accommodated tinder leaking canvas would have- voted soldiering not good enough and have gone home. At Sunday night's meeting of the Progressive Society Di_ Hocken lectured- on> " The Discovery^ and .Early History, of New Zealand " to an audience which comjpletely filled the Trades -Hall. The lecturer described in some detail the early voyages of Tasman and Captain Cook, and terminated his deeply interesting\ narrative with a graphic description of the Key. Samuel Marsden's residence in New Zealand. Dr Hocken related many amusing .anecdotes as well as gruesome stories of murder and rrjissacre. At the close of the address a vote of thanks was proposed and carried by acclamation. S : The behaviour of certain inquisitive white people at the Maori funeral on Sunday contrasted most unfavourably with the dignified and reverent attitude of the Maori spectators. Strange to -say, the offenders were .for the most part women, some of whom persisted in regarding the weeping and melancholy rites going on in the whare runanga "as a huge joke got up for their especial benefit. The door of the house of mourning was closed against them, but they kept putting their heads in at the windows and giggling and pointing, till a Maori woman within struck at them with an mnhrella, when they retreated out of range. \ At the Police Court at Lawrence on Friday, before Messrs Pilling and M'lntosh, J.P.'ts, Walter Goodman and William Constantine Hunter, both of Dunedin, were charged with obtaining by false pretences £b from Martin Ryan, of Waitahuna, by representing to him that the money was to be put on the totalisator on the horse Toney, in the Bixth race. Ryan's story was that Goodman asked him if he wanted a

tip for the Stewards' Handicap, and recei*." ing a reply in the affirmative, took £&, •which he handed to Hunter, with £6 ©y his own, giving instructions to put th£ money oirthe machine. Toney was left at the post, and Ryan went to Goodman and asked to be Bhown the tickets, -which GoocB» , man could not produce. The defence waft • that the money was put- on with a licensed bookmaker, instead of on the machine, an<J the two tickets on Toney wer<j^ produced. They were issued by Jame( M'Eldowney, ,a licensed " bookmaker There was no entry of the tran© action in his betting-book, and he ha^ told the detective on the previous evening that he had not issued them nor knew »ny» thing about them. In giving their decision, the Bench said they had given the* matte* careful consideration, and had, come to, the conclusion, as there was a doubt in theifi minds, not to convict. The whole business, in their opinion, was surounded by cir« cumstances that ivere far -from creditable, but there was no getting at the back v of the -tickets ' produced. The money might hava -been lodged with M'Eldowney. Mr Ryan ■fwas 1 ' not,, in their opinion, entitled to much sympathy, for he admitted Goodman was a stranger and to give his money to .him while- he was himself capable of putting it Jon the totalisator was an extremely foolish thing to do. They complimented Detectiva ■f -Hun* on the manner in -which the case had j/been placed before them. .. I Visitors returning from the funeral of ' John Taiaroa on Sunday were -electrified 'at what promised to be a repetition ■of a similar drowning accident. The steamer -was just putting off" from the jetty, ' crowded with passengers, when a man in attempting to board •» dingey from fSe plex .head stepped on to the gunwale and cap'- | sized it. Fortunately the tide had ahatex 1 I and the man came quickly^ to the" surface, and was able, being" a good swimmer, tC reach the 6teps When the accident 'hap pened a most ill-advised rush was ma*de t< the side of the little steamer, Tfriiich heeled <so dreadfully that it seemed «he must turn turtle also; Stentorian shouts from i&H captain soon restored order and equilibrium, ' Only "one, maggot extremely wet, and had 1 good reason -to congratulate "himself on get- . ting off so easily. Mr Thomas Wright; a. farmer of Waimumu, who died on "Wednesday last, left by will £500 for the maternity ward and £500 for the children's ward of the "Gora Hospital. - Ml- Wright was a bachelor, 67' years pf ege, and had iived ' at Waimumu for many years. -,The bequest carries th« Government subsidy of pound lor pound. A schist-rock' obstruction .extending mid--way along l Bluff wharf an' "estimated distance of 70ft and, say, "80ft channelwards, is now being operated upon under th« supervision of Mr William Eacey, ;an expert in explosives from Auckland. Mr Pacey r who arrived early last week, is not unknown in these parts (says the Southland Times), ha-ving been previously engaged on simila* work for Bluff Harbour. The first of series -of gun cotton charges was -exploded yesterday, at noon, and is reported to hava made "a. splendid shot in the way of breakdown. The detonation was not much j greater than that~of an ordinary shot gun, ' with a surface disturbance correspondingly slight. The depth of water on the rock at present is 23ft, which will be increased <o 30ft by its removal. The Western Star states that Mr J. O. Thomson, M.P., has to -the Hon. R. M'Nab, Minister of Lands, mentioning that recent fires in the Longwooti forest have destroyed cut-out bush on land it if intended to open for settlement after next session of Parliament, and suggesting tha( in order to prevent the growth of fern, weeds, etc., the burnt area should be sown with grass seed. If this course is adopted it will make it much easier for those who eventually get the land, and the results o! past experience should induce the Minister to lose no time in having effect given to the good suggestion. An Invercargill tobacconist was charged before Mr S. B. M'Carthy. S.M., on Friday the News) with selling a packet of cigarette tobacco to a boy aged 14- years and 11 months. Defendant -denied selling the tobacco. Sergeant Mathieson said that the lad purchased the tobacco on Ghrkt-ma-s Eve. The boy, in evidence, stated that he asked for a packet of long cvi' tobacco and received it, handing asovereign in payment and getting 193 change. It | was the first time he had purchased tobacco. He went into a right-of-way to make a cigarette, and when in the act ol— doing so a constable approached. Defen« dant, in evidence, denied receiving • sovereign in payment of tobacco on Christ* mas Eve. The boy was called by ih^ magistrate to ascertain where he had ohr tamed the sovereign, and he said that hH. father gave it to him in order to .go for < holiday. Hie Worship said defendant had denied to the police selling the tobacco, but

)ad made the remark at 'the time that it jeemed as if someone had done it as a pap, a statement that bore the imprint of ;uilt. Defendant was fined ss, with 11s .osts, including the boy's expenses in ittending ooui't. Tha phenomenal heat-wave that, rolled 'down from the north-west on Monday even,ing brought residents of Dunedin to Verandah and garden, which, however, were joon found to' be warmer than indoors. sPeople ascending to their homes after business found the heat growing and more intense as they went higher. The wave tiaving' topped the hills > behind the oity, slowly descended on the hither side, and iby 7 p-.m. had enveloped Dunedin. A idense haze obscured ~ fche view of the sea, iind blotted out the harbour ; and later the i-.treete were filled with a stifling miasma, which, occasional puffs of hot wind blew quantities of dust. The construction of the new dock at Port JDhalmers has now reached a stage from tohich its completion appears to be within kneasurable distance. Operations at the - entrance and inverts will, it is expected, be' completed within a few days, and a Start is to be made this week to construct [he caisson, the material for the latter t>elng all ready to rivet together. The fexcavation work at the shore end is rapidly Bpproaehing completion, and it is confidently expected that another 10 days will the last of this heavy work completed |nd readiness., to receive the concrete oundation. A commencement will pro- : >ably be made this week to prepare the oundations for the engine house and pump- ' fng plant.. There is a large stock of metal ' n readiness, and with two concrete mixing {machines at work -there is excellent reason ho believe that the new dodk will be an yjccomplished fact by the end of June or ,v the following month. Representations were made to the Otago •Acclimatisation Society recently by the Vort Chalmers Borough Council concerning \he depletion of trout in the local reser,*ir, which had previously afforded 6ome -"pod sport to anglers. A request that some .Joung fish should be liberated in the reserJtoir was favourably received by the society, TJhicli instructed Mr F. Deans to forward.

6ome young fish for liberation. These were forwarded on Monday in four large cases, each well filled with, yearling rainbow trout, ■which were duly liberated in the reservoir by the borough inspector (Mr Lunn), and as all the fish are in exoellent condition bheir future development will be watched with .■interest. On Monday a message came to No. 2 Company of the Ambulance Corps, encamped at the Central Battery, to the effect that a carpenter ' had severed two arteries in his forearm, when working with a chisel. The sergeant-major and a sergeant mounted their bicycles, and, taking their surgical haversacks, stopped the bleeding until the arrival of a doctor. By their knowledge and promptitude these two members of the Ambulance Corps saved the wounded man from bleeding to death. This is another instance to show that the oorps not only is well worth its capitation grant, but can be of most valuable assistance in cases of emergency. An outbreak of fire occurred in an eightroomed house in Roxburgh early on Friday morning. About £25 worth of damage was done before the flames were got under. The house, which belonged to Philip Broad, a boardinghouse-keeper, was insured ! for £200. It is stated on good authority that the present scarcity of labour with respect to clothing and other factories in Kew Zeaj land is not by any means due to lowness of wages. Inquiries show that the hands have nothing to complain of in that respect, but there are so many other ways of earning a ' livelihood that ' the number of applicants for factory employment is waxing less and less. A leading firm in the city states that should 100 suitable tailoresses land in Dunedin to-morrow it could employ them all immediately. In reply to .certain questions put to him concerning fehe scarlet fever cases now being treated at the Dunedin Hospital, Dr F. Ogston, District Health Officer, on his return to Dunedin on Monday, said that the oases could not be transferred to any other hospital (such, as the one in King Edward street) without the permission of Dr "Valintine, Chief Health Officer, beinjjj first obtained, aa under existing regulations Dr

Ogston has no authority to order suoh transfer. Dr Ogston at present does not think it desirable to treat 6carlet fever cases in a general hospital, but if^thero are up-to-date means of isolation available there it may be the means of altering his opinion. Having only just returned, he has been unable to go thoroughly into the matter, but immediately on his arrival he arranged for a consultation on the subject with the chairman of the Hospital Board. The evils of overtime were dwelt upon by certain of Dunedin's leading manufacturers in the course of a series of interviews on the 20th. Overtime, it was urged, was no good to anybody, being merely the lesser of two evils. An unlimited amount of work and a limited number of hands to do it left only two alternatives — overtime, or leaving the work undone. It was pointed out that it was costly to the employers, and that the employees were unable to do their best work after hours ; also, that working late had the effect of making the hands listless next day. One local firm has been working to the full limit of overtime for the last eight months. Mr P. C. Neill, who has held the position of honorary vice-Consul for France atDunedin for a period of" 32 years, has received pleasant recognition of the service he lias rendered to the Republic" in a letter " from M. Boeuf ve enclosing a diploma and a large gold medal for merit, which the President has conferred upon Mr Neill for his long and faithful services. The medaljwas conferred by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who expresses the hope that Mr Neill will continue to fill his Consular office for many years. The weight of the medal is 6oz, and it measures 2|in in diameter. On one side is a female figure representing " La. Bepublique," holding a laurel crown, with the words "Au merite," and on the reverse, within laurel crown, the dedication: "A Monsr. Percival Clay Neill." Train, post, coach, and newsboy all contribute to the circulation of a newspaper, but this journal may claim the novel distinction of being in one instance delivered^, by a dog. This creature, or rather its owner, resides in the vicinity of Naseby. The dog watches by the side of the road for the passing of the coach. The driver throws out the Times, which the animal takes in his mouth and trote solemnly up the hill with it to his master's house. This, it appears, is his daily task ior, six days a week. On the seventh, it is stated, he does not go down to ;wait for the coach. The gusts of wind that' added discomfort to the heat prevailing on Monday were responsible for the demolition, at about halfpast 11 o'clock, of a large plate-glass window in Mr H. J. Kitt's shop ■in the corner of the Empire Buildings, Princes \ street. In. falling-, tihe window smashed into a thousand pieces, but fortunately no- one was passing at the time. The police on duty watched the property untiL Mr Ki£t appeared on the scene to look after his interests. x - In a letter in the Auckland Star Dr Bakewell, of that city, states - that l^e offered to come to Lyttelton and give up all his time to treating the leper patients on Quail Island by Beanperthug's method. The Health Department declined the offer, but asked Dr Bakewell if he would instruct somebody else in the matter. " This," says the doctor, "is about the coolest thing I ever heard of. Dqes Dr Mason suppose that I can impart ;^Hr another the skill I acquired by years of study and .practice, in a place where leprosy was indigenous? Why, one application improperly made, as was done under the direction of the late Sir Erasmus Wilson, F.R.S., who did not understand the method, may lay the patient up for a month, and entirely arrest the progress of the oure. I promised Dr Mason that if at the end of six weeks he was not satisfied with the patient's progress I would give tip the case. And all I get is an impertinent refusal. And the unhappy patient is left to linger on without hope of a cure." A charge of smoking 1 on the platform of a railway carriage on 23rd December was brought" against' John Newhouse at Wellington before Mr Riddell, S.M. It was explained that the defendant had been smoking a pipe on the platform of a nonsmoking carriage. Hq was warned two or three times (says the Post), andi refused to put his pipe out. It was very offensive, as the smoke blew into the carriage through the open windows. The defendant pleaded that the second class smoker was full, and he had to get a smoke elsewhere. His Worship laid it down that when a- smoking carriage is full up those who require to smcike must wait for their turn. That was the only remedy' in eases of this kind. The defendant was convicted, and fined 10s and costs of court (7s), or in default 2* hours' imprisonment. According to the Sydney Shipping List, private advice received in Sydney states that Huddart-Parker's new steamer Ulimaroa, which left Dundee on the sth inst. for Australian ports, grounded when on her trial trip on the 2nd ult., and remained fast for nearly two days. She was then^ towed off and taken baok to the builders' yard under her own steam. If the new tariff has not yet started new industry (says the Post), it has revived an old one which fell into desuetude soon after the tariff was altered on the . previous occasion. This consists of the exportation from New Zealand to Australia of previously imported goods for immediate re-exportation to New Zealand. A number of warehouses were unable to quit their stocks of certain goods -within the few months of grace given them before the tariff alterations took effect, and the£ nrji now; exporting these io Australia

so as to receive the customary rebate of duty. When reshipped_^f-romi3;|s3^istealiJef-they are allowed to conie^in «$ tne-TOduced. Idxity. * ft^is estimated^ that" in;:' the i lasfr, few months the - Customs * Department : has ' paid out between £40,000 and £50,000 in rebates upon such shipments. ■ In the" quarter from October to December between £6000 and £7000 was paid out in Wellington alone. The German police authorities, especially those at the ports of Hamburg and Bremen, have been . ordered ;to -keep t a sharp look-out for the Mormons who recently arrived in England from Utah. If any attempt to conduct proselytising or propaganda operations in Germany, those who are not German subjects will be promptly expelled from "the country, and those who are Germans will be punished. The president of the " Latter Day Saints' " j Mission in London stated when the above information was published that a mission of eight members had been sent out to, Germany and Switzerland, "but there certainly was no intention of intensifying the propaganda in any way. There ~ are, he said, large numbers of Mormons in Germany, and the numbers, are daily increasing, many*more converts being made/ than in this country. In England the number of Mormons has decreased , greatly since 1849, when it was highest. • _ 4 ! The following instance of the existence of the homing instinct in cats is from the j Palmerston and Waikouaiti Times : — "Captain Breen, of .the-s.s, Delphic,- who i has been spending a "short holiday^ J Palmerston, relates a curious instance "'of animal sagacity which recently came under his notice. Just prior to the Delphic leaving London a cat, which had been aboard the vessel for a couple of years, suddenly disappeared, and although all likely parts of the ship were searched no trace of the animal could be found. On the day. following the arrival of the Delphic at Wellington the man in charge of the gangway was surprised to see the" missing cat walk along 1 the wharf and calmly march aboard. Inquiries . elicited the fact .that ;the>i£at had gone,«ib|a¥d tlU* s.s. Matatua in Tilbury Docks and. had made the voyage, to Ne\fe • Zealand that vessel. "The Matatua arrived at Wellington a few days before the Delphic, but as €oon as the latter „ vessel puti n an appearance 'pussy' seized the opportunity of returning to her old quarters." ' According to an Auckland Star correspondent an. ojd man named Harry' Brierly has determined^ that the Government shall maintain him for the rest of his life. He turned up at Cambridge' a few'days ago' after a spell in Mount Eden,, Gaol. He has evidently kept his word, and intends not to do any more labour, for as soon as he has exhausted the generosity of his country friends 'he immediately goes to the police station and demands to be locked up. He was brought before J.P.s and sentenced to . three months. He thanked the Bench, and said he was very comfortable in gaol. He makes three demands to be locked up, and if he is then refused he to report the constable. In a Marconi wireless telegram of December 3 The Times' New York correeponden says: — "The firm establishment of athletics in American colleges is apparently not to be dislodged. Miss Anna Jeannes, of Pennsylvania, a Quakei*ess, bequeathed £200,000 to Swafthmore College on condition that the institution gave up all inter-cc^ejgiatei-spwfes, fc %f a million dollars •3wo.SthvJnof^>ithani^braw'n'?” was'^be question. ' After consultation with the heads of a number of other colleges, Swarthmore seems not to think so, and hesitates to surrender its rights for such considerations. The college is disposed, however, to accept the gift' and try to observe the condition experimentally, but this compromise Miss Jeannes's executors decline. Twenty years ago the condition of the bequest would probably have heen complied with." "Noj. no Imperial or foreign complications have arisen as the result of our permitting Lieutenant Shackleton to establish a post office- at King Edward VII Land," the Prime Minister said laughingly to a reporter on the 16th inst. "Nor do I think there will be any trouble. It is ridiculous to suppose that there should be. Why should there? There is no one governing those cool latitudes, and New Zealand has as much right as any country to grant tem-pora-rv postal facilities. If France or Germany sent expeditions down there no one could reasonably object to their establishing post offices during the stay of their people. It was a compliment that none could take exception ,to our paying, and none can say it was not deserved.