OVERSEA MAILS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 3

OVERSEA MAILS.

THE PRIME MINISTER INTER' VIEWED. CHRISTCHURCH, January 16. - In conversation with a Ti^uth reporter. Sir Joseph Ward expressed himself 6trongly upon the disadvantages' suffered by the Dominion in respect to oversea mail" communication. "At present," he said, "our mail matter has to filter through Australia, the whole arrangement is one that tias *given rise to much inconvenience and vexation.Sir Wilfrid Laurier characterised the present service as a Canadian-New ZealandAustralian contract. It is not a New Zealand contract *in any cense of- the ierrft. We are not parties to it, and it is of little use. to us. This is borne, out by the fact that the mail eteamers make Sydney their final portv.of call, coming out from; Vancouver, via Victoria (8.C.), Honolulu, Fiji, and Brisbane, to Sydney. So long ac that route is continued the steamers cannot come to New. Zealand, and^wercannot get any benefit from the service. Any mail matter specially marked " Via Van-, oouver " is sent at ordinary Postal Union rates, and this is entitled to be done by any " line without a contract. ' ' • "In 1895 when I vfeited Ottawa I entered) into an agreement -with the then owners of the Canadian-Pacific railway for a 'con- J tract for the conveyance of our mails from New Zealand practically direct to' Canada, but the proposal was not ratified! '■ at tins end. This was caused by the ' regrettably mistaken opposition of the commercial world, the result of large Queens- j land interests becoming concerned in' the,] eteamers. Brisbane was made a A port of! call, and New Zealand was cut" out o$ t the itinerary. We have never, been, abler to get lit replaced. There is authority "tot expend £20,000 upon a mail subsidy stillT standing, but Ye cannot get a satisfactory,! service by the present mean 9. Queensland?! now pays no part towards the service' 1 directly for the advantage of the eteamers' calling at Brisbane. The Federal Govern- , ment pays £20,000, and the cost is spread! all over the Commonwealth. When Queens-j land paid the whole amount she was agreeable to have Brisbane dropped out as a J port of call, but would not consent ' to ib! now, and I see no chance; of getting. New} Zealand reinEta*ed. This unsatisfactory | service, of course, is gut© apart from"' the? ! "All-red" route. If we succeed m getting! that, .one of the first conditions will be /that New Zealand shall- be -first point 61 "call-* either at Auckland or Wellington. ,- Mjt" Idea- is that _one .poitfc should, be , touched . at "and-, the other 1 outwards. Thf scheme is as yet only developing!' bixt a<v it is strongly advocated . by the British* • Canadian, and New Zealand. Government* I am sanguine of complete euccesa. What Australia is likely to do in connection witX the new contract with #»a Dci»»*. line is Idifficulfc to sa^'J

-Mr -Edward Cropper, tie oldest membec "Of the Melbourne 'Stock Exchange, died on New Year's Eve, aged SI. Tli thickness of «rinoTir on modern war•hips is truly astonishing. The side arytour of a. first-class battleshii; usually varies from 16£ in thick at top of th© belt t* Sgin at the bottom. The gun turrets aTff *>ften protected ba -armour £™m ISm tj !?■•* > thick.

It is xumoured ±hat -all the bookstalls on the New Zealand railway stations will, at the termination' of their present leases in March next, be brought under Stat© management. As indicating the enormous quantity of rubber uxed the Straits Times states that the fittings- for babies' feeding 'bottles alone would us© up the whole prodr.ct from the *^?>its Settlements.

M OMNIUM GATHEBTTM. I ! A Carterton taker says if everyone, paid , cash for his bread the bakers in that town1 ' could reduce th-e ptice to 3d per 2lb loaf. It was stated in a Pittsbury (U.S.A.) breach of promise oaee that the petitioner, Miss Mkry Blanch, had been engaged 17 times. "From the bazaar in aid of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, T-emuka, which has just closed, it is expected that £500 will Tao cleared. Jr Saddles fox gentlemen came into use in. France in tHe yea.r 600; for ladi-es, infcro- • duced in England by Ann, Queen -of Richard • H> 1387. . . , It is asserted that quantities of garbage are removed from "the Sydney markets to ipickle faeto-ries, where they are utilised ifor ' food purposes. A million picture post-cards went through -th© Manchester Pest Office in one week. Many of them were mailed by Lancashire folk on holiday. The articles taken from the stomach of a shark captured at Coney Island included a piece of granite, a ship's hammer made ! «of iron, a -revolver, several boota^and iv piece of plate glass. Identified by picture post-cards of a ' train wreck, several citizens of Chatham, Ontario (Canada), were recently fined for stealing whisky from the debris. The Baptists resident in Timaru have ■ amalgamated with the Congregationalista as from January 1, 1908, and they held their first service together last Sunday. Excavations have been commenoed on the northern side of th© Godley statue, Chrietehnrch, for the underground lavatories that it is proposed to place there. Patrick Rea, a jockey, who was injured during the progress of th© Bega (NJ3.W.) races a few days ago. has received news that he Jias inherited & fortune of .£II,OOO. Several flax mills have lately closed down, owners preferring to suspend operations rather than work at a loss, while in one or two cases the mortgagees have fore- ' closed. When applying for out-relief a man and woman fell in love -with each other, and ' were afterwards happily married, related the Rev. W. Hoblas at a meeting of the Lambeth guai'dians. V It is interesting to note that the legal weight of a penny is one-third, of the halfpenny one-fifth, and of the farthing onetenth of an ounce -avoirdupois. The halfpenny is one inch in diameter. Dr W, R. Husntington, a leading New York clergyman, has compiled -statistics showing -that the life of a. murderer i» the United States is more eecure than that of a brafeeman on the railway. ' Timber continues to pour into Gisborne in large quantities. On one day recently 132,000 ft arrived in two vessels, and in th© ■course of a few flays three vessels were due to arrive with some 260,000 ft. The enormous catches of herrings at Yarmouth and Lowestoft this year seem likely to set up a world's record. Given in fish, lihe landings at the two towns reach the enormou6 total of 983,756,400. An absent-minded young lady in Cathedral square, Ghristclmrch, the other evening walked aibsfaajctedly into the side of the Linwood tram, which was moving at the time, and suffered painful facial injuries. A speaker eulogising the pupils of a. -certain school during tihe break-up -ceremony said that "so far as the truant was concerned, he Is conspicuous by his absence." Then he wonder-ed whr everybody laughed. The majority of railway oompanies nave i no fixed charges ior .the hire of special trains: The general charges are 5s per mile, plus the ordinary fare for eaoh pas- . senger, according to class of vehicle hired. The Sydney City' Council has refused the demand of. the Trades Council that the men employed in 'placing brick edging r-otind -the flower-beds in Hyde Park should • be classed &s bricklayers and paid lls a 1 day. •■ On Christmas Day the Northern Wairoa i Dairy Factory made its highest record in : butter output for any one day — viz., 50 boxe3, about l£ tons. This was the result of the former day's supplies coming to '■ hand late. ; The good dictionary word " vamp was 1 at first a slang word, meaning iurbishing i up of old boots and shoes. Now, from 1 I being % cobbler's word; it has become 3 J

classic, and—we now talk of revamping the language. Agitation has been started in England for the abolition of the Tbarmaid. There axe 98,000 licensed houses in England and Scotland, and the lowest averages will be one barmaid per house; so that there are at least 100,000 barmaids. Twenty-six assisted passengers Are on board th© Papamii, which is almost due from London. Amongst the number are five farmers and their families, and five domestic servants {three* for' Port Chalmers and two for Auckland). The Milton Borough Council, .having selected Saturday for the weekly half-holi- , day, aaid the Bruee County Council Wednesday, the position is now somewhat peculiar, Saturday, xeigning in the borough Mitd Wednesday in the An elderly -woman 'wio "came before the Wellington Benevolent Trustees made the point that she was entitled to State relief of rent and rations, "seeing that her two sons were at present compelled to - work for -the Government -withoot pay." A cashbox containing' coin, cheques, and jewellery, to the value of £400, was stolen from the bar of the Old England Hotel, Btmrke street, Melbourne, about closing time the other night. The empty box was found Tiext morning in a right-of-way. : Property in Geraldine is bringing high 1 prices. For about a quarter of an acre, ■with four small .shons, in the main street, ; nearly £2500 was given, and for » small; shop with 21ft frontage no less' tlian £850 was the purchase .money — over £40 a foot. The Milton potteries aTe far from being a moribund industry (cays the BruceHerald)- Just now tie orders iff .are in excess of the capacity of the staff, "to fulfil them, and the output is in excess of what has been experienced for a number of years. The common battery switchboard of the telephone .system has now been -completely installed at Hobart (Tas.), and is giving ' great satisfaction. . Inter-State visitors have expressed their delight with the prompt and silent xneans of communication provided. ', The reoent gambling disclosures in connection with several Atlantic liners have led the steamship companies into a resolve ito place pnotographs of s all .fche known oard-sharpere in the various ticket offices, with a view of preventing them from securing berths. A railway regulation, has been in force requiring owners of goods, --wlk> 1 do tfcear own loading of trucks, to "provide labour for sheeting them. This has now, beep amended by adding that if sheeting is done by th© department Is per tarpaulin will be charged. Accor-dinsf to the Nation, Mr Fisher Unwin, who recently published an v illustrated edition of " Romola," received a letter addressed "G. Eliot, car-e of T. Fisher Uxiwin, '1 Adelohi terrace." Tfoe letter invited " George Eliot " to subscribe . to a oress cuttinig agency. Philip 1 Maine, aged 41, a barber, who died -at Bath Hospital, had been arrested 1 on the charge of embezzlement, and while in the police -cell he «et alight to lus clothes with matches. He was terribly Burned I before the police noticed the smell of barn-. j ing and opened the cell. . - I At the Scalcoates Workhouse a seaman, named Samuel Lambert refused to xk> hie task, and he was given into custody. Whilst passing throuorh the gates of the building he threw himself in front of a steam roller. Tie was crushed to death, the body being unrecognisable. During 1907 43 inqtiests' wer« held fa Broken Hill. Of these 20 were on men. killed in mines. Two of the fatalities resulted from the after-effects of injuries. Three inquasts were on fires, and six on suicides. The past year gaye Broken Hill its record in self-dlestruction cases. One of the holiday sensations at Willsher Bay during last week 'was th© washing ashore, in a more or less helpless state, opspoSrte the old Bawmill site, of a see lion fully 10ft in length. A- orowd quickly gathered, someone put -the- lioo- out of pain, and he was carted away on a sledge. Constable Connor, who was stabbed by a ■drunken man at Palmeraton North, has bad a. bad run. He was a short time ago struck on th© head with a bottle while asr?ss^ig an , inebriate, and on another occasion he was" bitten on the arm by a

vicious woman whom he was escorting tef prisonNew York (says the. Jewisn World) con« tains a remarkable Jewish centenarian ia the person of'Barenf Volinski, who lives) with his 6on at 258 Thptford avenue, Brownsville. In epite of his 105 years ha is -still vigorous, and recently danced &. " Camarinska " at th© wedding of one off his great-grandchildren. Messrs Vickers, Maxim, and Co., thegreatf warship-building firmi are negotiating with the Russian Government for th© construe* tdon of two battleships, 20,000 tons ' each* The vessels are to Tjo constructed in "Ruesian yards by Russian workmen under the snpervision of British engineers, and are to attain a speed of 21 knots. Particulars of a "strike" of tramps *A Hitchin workhouse were given at Hitchia Police Court. Seven tramps were driven! to the police station in a brake in chargd of three constables, and charged with refusing to perform their tasks because they had to -sleep on I3ie floor of the receiving wardj the casual wards being full. The growth in the population and industrial activity of Melbourne has brought? the city within measurable (distance of ai deficient water supply, and it will ha Ttiecessary to greatly extend the present scheme. An increase of 70,000 in the population of the area served by the scheme would bring about a water famine. „ At an inquest -at Tottenham on. T Short, 21, of Peabody Buildings, St. Luke's 1 , whose decapitated -body was- "found on the railway near 'White ' Hart lane "Station, a verdict of "Felo-de-se" was returned. Ia a diary found ujpon him % there was - this entry: "The smile that once -was- on *ny face has gone,- God alone knows where." ,An especially interesting feature in connection with the Southbridge Hortacultaraf Society's exhibition held recently" tras"the success obtained in -file cookery division by a boy competitor. H©^gained first prize for jam tarts^ and first prize lor seed--cake, there being no fewer than five lady, competitors against ' him in •t2ie seek-cake class. , Chicago is suffering from an epidemic 06 juvenile ■crime. Scarcely a day passes onf which -Ehe police do not emptnre one off more boy burglars. After dealing with scores of these cases the magistrates have arrived! ' at the conclusion that trashy plays^ in winch! bandits and' desperadoes' are depicted, as heroes, are responsible for the prevalence of boyish crime. At Thursday night's meeting of the' Invercargill Borough Gounctl m, Teguest -was presented for the use of the theatre stag<£ Jn order to inflate a . balloon. Severall members, including the Mayor, saw visions oi possible risks, "but when it was explained that what was desired was merely to inflate the balloon with air, so that it might ta varnished and dried, the requisite perm^s? sion was granted. The eight deer now awaiting liberation) at vthe ienclosure.-near .the Works Office 1 ,. Rotofua, are to he liberated at Galatea! -«hort4y. This -batch- was \«wfc -iiMported—fey the Tourist Department, but- by privato enterprise on the part of a, gentleman wha takes a great interest in sport in the_ district. As each o£-&ese: animals, represents a cost _of t £10 by the -time it reaches Rotdrua this interest is a, practical one. Two Chinese -stowaways escaped from Hl6 steamer Ben Nevis ai Wallaroo, South Australia, on the night of December 23. The:* had stowed away when the steamer leT6 China, and 1 the captain had Buocessfuliv kept them in custody when^tonching-^atj other Australian ports. Th© police took action, and one was -captured '-in a mangrove swamp, having hidden in a hole '6f.fr deep, and covered himself with bushes. Neither could speak English. A joke at Greymouth, of three years" standing, has been" whether the .Greymouthi Post Office or -the -railway tunneß would be first completed.'.:' -The formec has been under construction for nearly threat years, but at last the Public Works Department has -taken over the- contract, .and hopes to finish joS th© building by the middle of February, when ifc'is" expected "the Prime Minister will pay"'~€rreymi>uth < a' visit foe the .purpose of formally -opening it. .. A fatal accident occuiired- on. the Motmii ■ Perry railway -at Oakrwood, Queensland, the other night. Two men — J. C. Corday anol Daniel Dowling, — who were walking from Bingsura, where they worked during .Sift season, iay on the line to sleep. The special train from Mount Perry passed "the spot t£ midnight. Corday wae lying .across th» line, and was out to pieces. -.Dowling escaped with, slight .injuries to his legs* Corday was a native of Gympi©. Th© Rev. T. J\ &udd iad rather ani unusual' experience on a recent Sundayy being unable to hold service in i;h£ Metho* ' dist Church at Lerida, New South Walesy owing to the fact that a number of rabbitait that iad been -poisoned had died ÜBdetf the floor of the ohnreh. - The odour waa altogether too strong for the minister ana th© congregation, and the shade offered •by some trees was taken advantage of, and the service -held in th© open air. . •' A verdict of " Accidental ' death " was returned' at an inquest held In Sydney onj th© body of Thomas Joseph. O'Sullivan, .» boy of aisrht years of ag-e, who died ots Christmas Day from the effects of injuries to -th© lead. Two days -previous to his death the deceased endeavoured to sepaaata two boys who were fighting near his homo a.t Balmain, and -in doing so was knocked down by one of "the combatants. In fallinK he struck bis head on the footpath; »nol the injuries which restated in nis death. x . " , a .borough rovmivs DirrirjJLTTFS. - - .. PALMERSTON N., January 17. \ An extraordinary situation .has occurred m the Palmersfcon JSTorfch Borough Councrl owin^ to the Mayor flflr R. Essex) refusing to neeepi a resolution pwpbseck'by Gr 3*s* don,' on the ground fihirt it reflected on tna Mayor- The meeting held. last. ,To^da,X closed with affairs at a deadlock, and to* day tbfe Finano© Committee refused to sift, and no money was passed for payment with tS© result tnafc all ih© "borough ens* ployees hays Teoerved bo wa^es. /* The 'Mayor addressed "fit© -empoyees,, SSg plaining fhe aitroiEction^ emd it is loped "tt^S affiaia will right themselves «jfc a speciaJ meetiog' on Tuesday next. LESISLA.TIVE €OUSCII>. MR IiOCDISSiaiSr'S RBAPPQINTMEN^../ • WELLINGTON, January 17!. - The Times understands that Mx Charle« LouMeon, of Christohuroh. "wtoa© term 0* office as •» liegislativ© Counoillor - expw&w , 'ast mont^ *& U*\e r^appointed.

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