Rangitikei Advocate. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1908 EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIII, Issue 9141, 9 May 1908, Page 4

Rangitikei Advocate. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1908 EDITORIAL NOTES.

THE flax Industry is rapidly growing to bo ono of the moat important in the Dominion, and though the recent fall in the price of fibre has given it a severe check there can be no doubt that the business of flaxmilling has a great future. InJ 1906 the exports of fibre land were valued at more than threequarters of a million and if the cost of production can he kept at a reasonable figure there is no reason why the quantity exported not show further increase. The Piako swamp alone when the drainage works at present being carried out by Government are completed will produce an almost unlimited supply of flax for milling. Phorminm teuax is one of the lew examples of a wild plant which has become of great commercial value without any improvement from cultivation or selection. When wa consider the vast difference made in most plants by careful culture and choice of seed there seems no reason to doubt that flax would respond to scientific treatment and that the yield of fibre might be increased to a notable extent. Hitherto no experiments in selection or hybridisation have been made and it is still unknown whehter the , numerous varieties of phormium are different species or not. There has been, in fact a total lack of intelligent curiosity about the plant in the past, and it is a matter for congratulation that Government has now decided to take' the matter up and has appointed Dr. Cockayne the well-known botanist to conduct a series of experiments With a view to improving the commercial qualities of the plant. We hope that Dr. Cockayne will be given a free hand in carrying out his work and that the comparatively small coat of his experiments will be provided with ungrudging hand. Dr. Cockayne will make his investigations on proper scientific lines so that future students may continue the iwork exactly where he leaves off. His first step will be to determine whether the varieties come true from seed or whether they simply due to variations in the soil and surroundings. If he discovers that the varieties are really true species he will undertake experiments in crossing, such as have proved so valuable in the case of wheat and numerous other cultivated plants. The object will, of course, be to raise plants which will produce a maximum length and strength of fibre. It may also be possible to . reduce the amount of gum in the leaf which the flaxmiller at .'present finds it difficult to remove. Cockayne is fortunate in having such a now field for research and, though it will probably take some years to produce any results of commercial value, be can hardly fail to make discoveries which will be of interest botii to scientific men and practical millers.

IN the coarse of his speech at Gisborne Mr Massey rightly claimed that'the Opposition had exercised a beneficial effect on the legislation brought forward, and among other things had secured the benefit of the whole of the revenues of the country being brought under the control of the Auditor-General. While giving full credit for this and other reforms we consider that the Opposition should also use every possible means to have restored to Parliament the power of which it has been robbed-by the party in office—that of controlling the expenditure of the public funds. Nominally Parliament still retains that power of control, but it is really in the hands of Ministers, so much so that the public are beginning to regard them personally as benefactors, whenever a public work is undertaken. The Opposition, and all who desire fair play and justice shou ****** 'nd .that when Parliament vp,■ money for any particular work" that work shall he done without interference by Ministers, or the necessity jbf further appeal to them.

A line of "400 bushels of prime milling wheat was sold a day or fcwo agb in Timaru at 4s 6d a bushel. Oat-pain Worsp, formerly in the service of the Union Company, died yesterday at Auckland ; aged 70.

Cook Islands revenue for the year ended March 31st was £0349, expenditure £6189.

Auckland City Council has fixed the the Mayor for the year at £4OO. Sir Joseph Ward has concluded his motor tour through TYestiand and left for Reefton this morning. He received many deputations on various matters of local interest. A conference of hospital authorities with representatives of the Government to consider the proposed new Hospital Bill is to be held in Wellington on June 13th. Over £SOO has been raised to date in aid of the proposed new Palmerston Technical School. An available site has been purchased, and it is expected that two or three months will see the foundation stone laid.

In the Peilding Technical School a class has been opened for instructions in wool classing, and seventeen pupils have already enrolled themselves for instruction in this useful knowledge. Not since the July sales in 1901 were so many hales offered as in March wool sales in London. This may not matter in a booming market, but in the existing temper of the market it was only to be expected it would depress values.

Before Iprooeeding with the estimates at Rangitikei County Council meeting to-day the notice of motion by the Chairman “That the cost of maintaniing all County bridges of thirty feet in length and over be charged to the General Account,’’ was carried unanimously. A poultry breeder in a Wellington suburb sold 11 young Golden Wyandotte cockerels the other day, the average live weight, being 61b. He received 8d a pound live weight, so that his cheque amounted to £3 2s 4d, a return of 3s a bird. One seven-months-old cockerel weighed and so made os Bd. The 'public of Marton will have the pleasure of listening to an address by Mr R. Davies, a Maori Christian, who will assist Mr Curran in the Druids’ ■ Hall tomorrow evening. Mr Davies is an able speaker, and all wishing to hear him would do well to get along in good time. During its existence of twenty-one years the profits of Dunedin United Friendly Societies’ Dispensary totalled £10,687, or over £SOO a year. There are 29 Societies in it, representing 5091 members; 535,508 prescriptions have been dispensed and cash sales total £27,993. The annual levy per member for medicine has been reduced from 7s to 4s.

The Coastal Masters’ Association at Auckland unanimously nassed a resolution dissenting from the judgment of the Court in the enquiry into the Wairaua-Moonah collision, oonsiderering the master of the Moonah was harshly dealt with, and threatening to leave their ships until the owners accept responsibility for the heavy costs that might be given against them as in the case of the Moonah. The contractors for the construction of Wanganui electric tramways are pushing on with the erection of the car-shod and power-house and preliminary work. The Mayor states that he'oxpects the trams to be running by Christmas. The rails are expected to arrive in three or four weeks’ time and the work- of laying them will commence as soon after wards as possible. A public meeting of residents at Aramoho, on Wednesday night, resolved to take steps to form the suburb into a borough, and appointed'a’committee to give effect to the resolution. This will make three boroughs within the Wanganui area in addition to the town district of Gonville. The population of the new borough will be about 1300. Last evening Mr Collins gave his first lecture on Commercial Law at Martou Technical School. Tne subject was the Sale of Goods cAct. There was a good attendance of business men who were much interested in the handling of the subject. A number of questions were asked after the lecture and satisfactorily answered. The next lecture will be on Friday, May loth, at 7.30 sharp, and will deal with promissory notes, bills of exchange, and other negotiable instruments. It would appear that shop-lifting is still practised in Wellington. The manager of one of the largest general importing firms in the city, speaking to at'Times representative yesterday, declared that in the establishment under his control the annual loss from this cause was over £4OO. It was whispered to the inquirer that he would be vastly surprised if he knew the social station of some of the people who have been detected in the act of removing articles they had not purchased or had any intention of purchasing. From our advertising columns it will be seen that Mr A. Lyon, solicitor, has admitted into partnership with him in his Martou and Bulls businesses Mr A. O. Tucker, solicitor. Mr Tucker was formerly with the well-known legal firm of Messrs Skerrett & Wylie, Wellington. He is a nephew of Mr Justice Button, who lately retired from the Supreme Court Bench. The new firm will conduct their business in the offices hitherto occupied by Mr Lyon at the corner of High Street and Broadway, Marton.

A sad fatality occurred at Miramar recently, when a little girl, aged 33 months, named Dorothy Jackson, was drowned in a hole used for refuse, contaiauing about 16 inches of water. The little girl was playing about the yard, having just had a bath, aud she must have fallen into the hole, which was about four feet square aud two and a half feet deep. Her father missed her, and after a search he found her in the hole. A feature in connection with the inquest was that all the six jurors handed their allowance (4s each) to the father to go towards burial expenses. The father has a large family, aud some are sick with scarlet/fever.

Every lady contemplating the purchase of a new jacket or paletot should see the beautiful stock of these goods now on display at The Bon Marche, Palmerston. The fit, style, and finish of every garment is perfect, aud the prices most reasonable. The Ladies of this district are invited to inspect these charming goods,* No one need suffer from indigestion. Take Pearson’s Pepfco-ohlor. All chemists ls t 2s 6d and^4s.

There have been thirteen bankruptcies in®the Palmerston district during the present year, of which Feilding is responsible lor firs, Palmerston. Foxtoiyaud Halcombs two each, and Bongo lea and Bulls one each.

Joseph Cartaux. who threw a at a young man named Sheen* whilst liie latter was enueuvouriug to stop a quarrel in which Oartaux was engaged with another man, the stone fracturing Sheen’s skull, pleaded guilty at Gisborne Police Court to assault and was committed for trial. A witness at the Arbitration Court, Auckland, yesterday afternoon, says a Press wire, expressed his confident opinion that the minimum wages hnold be £5 per week. “For f every man?” queried Mr justice Sim. “Every man in New Zealand,” said the witness, married or single, or that they could build houses for themselves.” H. E. Kerr, the champion walker, who is leaving for London by the Toaganro to-morrow to represent New Zealand in the Olympic games, was entertained this afternooon at a gathering presided over by Dr. Newman, president of the Wellington centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association. Kerr has been entered for the English Amateur Athletic Championship Meeting, as well as the Olympic games. The Secretary of the Wanganui Education Board has been advised that a parcel of 15,200 Dominion Day medals are being sent to Wanganui for distribution. This number is estimated to bo sufficient to meet the requirements of the public schools, high schools, and private schools situated within the boundaries of the Wanganui Education District. The Minister for Education hopes that the presentation of 'he medals will be made with some degree of formality befitting the occasion.

Messrs Horton, of Pahiatua, and Weightman, of Awahuri, who have just returned from Tasmania, declare that apple growing in that country is 'conducted on lines far ahead of those followed in New Zealand. Orchards are cultivated, the trees pruned and only four kinds of apples grown, those most suitable for export. Jonathan is everywhere recognised as the most paying kind. Cleopatra, Scarlet, Nonpareil are favourites in Tasmania, but are failures here, and Messrs Weightman and Horton’s pick for this country is Jonathan, Sturraer Pippin, Mnnro’s Favourite and Cos’s Orange Pippin. Occasionally, says the Taranaki Daily News, one hears of the trials of the baokblocks settlers. Recently beyond Omona the spectacle was to be seen of one man harnessed in the lead to a wheelbarrow with a companion at the rear. The cause was a cooking range, which, being too cumbersome and heavy for packhorses, had to be taken out in the manner indicated. During the progress of the journey, a number of miles, the barrow was repeatedly bogged and halts had to be called to lift the conveyance clear of the mud.

In to-day’s issue Messrs J. B. MacEwau ’& Co., Ltd., announce that they have opened a branch office in Palmerston North. Tins progressive firm who have head quar. ters at Wellington, also have branches at New Plymouth, Auckland, Dunedin and now “at Palmerston North. The firm are well-known as being agents for the celebrated L.K. G. milking machines, the Baltic Separator, Humble & Son’s freezer; in fact, they are agents for anything that is required in the dairy factory or by the dairy farmer. The dairy produce business is also one of the firm’s leading lines. Mr Ernest Runuersfeream, who has gone through all the practical parts of the business such as Matter and cheese-making, both in the Old Country and here in New Zealand, and who has been travelling for the firm for some years, will be in charge of the Palmerston branch. An usual and unequal contest took place on Monday at Hawera, where stone is being broken for the metalling contracts. A stone napper named J. Whitoombe, for a wager, endeavoured to break a two-yard heap of metal in less time than three other nappers, all experienced hands at the work. The three men broke their heap in two hours and ten minutes, and their opponent then required about a quarter of an hour to finish his metal. Another stonenapper who witnessed the contest said that it would undoubtedly have resulted differently if the quantity of metal®to be broken had been three yards"instead of two.

It*was shown in evidence at the Auckland Magistrate’s Court last week that a man named William Peter Smith stole £3 form a fellow consumptive patient at the Oostley Home while the last-mentioned was dying. Smith maintained that the dying man made a gift of the money to him. Mr Kettle, S.M., said he did not believe accused’s story, and considered he had committed a most contemptible theft in taking money from a dying 'man. “Pie is not here to speak for himself, he has gone beyond recall,” said Mr Kettle; “therefore your action is doubly contemptible. And what was it ail for?—drink. You will be sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.” The Hon. Ralph St. Leger, whose death [has been reported by cable, had been some years engaged in pastural pursuits in the” Poverty Bay district, residing at Tiuiroto. The deceased was on his way to England, and met with an accident at Colombo. He had gone ashore from the steamer Bremen with a large party, and they were staying at the Queen’s Hotel, Mr St. Leger sharing a room with Mr John Whyte, of Sydney and Loudon. Mr Whyte was awakened in the night by a hotel servant, who stated that Mr St. Leger had fallen from a window. Mr St. Leger was found to be unconscious, and was taken to the hospital, where it was found that his back was broken and his skull fractured. At the inquest a verdict of accidental death was returned. The deceased was forty years of age. He was the eldest brother of the sixth Yisconnt Doneraile, and heir to the title, and since 1893 had held the rank,., of a viscount’s son. PIo was a son of the Rev. T. A. St. Leger, who died in 1881. His mother still lives, and ’besides the Viscount there are -a brother, the .Hon. Hugh St. Leger, a solicitor, of London, and twin sisters, the Hons. Ethel and Edith St. Leger. The Bon Marche, Foilding, is famous for millinery—ladies’, girls’, and children’s—and tins winter Messrs Spence & Spence have a larger assortment than ever. For head gear of every description the Bon Marche is unsurpassed for value and variety.*

Pearson’s Popto-chlor worth gold per bottlo to dyspeptics. All chemists Is,',2s Od & -is.

A good reason was given by an applicant for relief to the Chairman of Wellington Benevolent Trustees in explanation of her shifting to another house. The Chairman :.“It will be a long distance for your girl to go to work. Why are you leaving your present place?” Applicant: “I owe ten weeks’ rent for the place where I am now. ” A member : “Who wouldn’t be a poor landlord?”

Edwin Howe, instructor in woodwork to the Wellington Education Board, was charged before the Magistrate to-day with assaulting a boy by beating him with a cane. Evidence for complainant alleged that the boy was brutally beaten. Howe stated* that he considered the punishment reasonable and necessary in tne interests of discipline. Judgment was reserved.

A curiosity in the shape of a cross section o£a rimu knot is on 'exhibition at Hnntly. The fully formed face of an austere-looking lawyer is apparent in the wood, the features being remarkably clear and well defined. The face, which is in profile, shows an eye , a long nose, two lips* and a chin, covered with a pointed beard, the head being surmounted with a well-shaped legal wig. The section is still in the rough, and polishing should develop the features and make the freak still more curious and interesting. THE PRIZE ADVERTISEMENT. He’d sent for his lawyer and witnesses three; His relatives marked him a dead certainty— But one thing „ they’d forgotten, it knocked them for sure : ’Twas the latest and bast “ Universal Cold Cure.” It cured the “ Old Boy,” he’s living today, And likely to live—so his relatives say ! One guinea has been posted to Mrs W.P., Maida Yale Road, Roseneath, W ellington. J.M., baker and confectioner, Havelock. Each week a Guinea is awarded for the Best Original Conundrum, Apt Essay, or Humorous Verse on the Merits of THE UNIVERSAL GOLD CURE, . Contributions must not exceed fifty words; must be accompanied by Coupon and be addressed ‘ Universal Cold Cure—Too Latest and Best—< P.O. Box 7X6, Wellington.” FEED FOR OLD HORSES. Horse owners. Be merciful to your old horses. Feed them on SUOROSINE. It makes old horses young again.—Gives them life and vigour. Obtainable from Brice, Broad & Go., Ltd., Marton. For Children’s Hacking Cough at night Woods’. Great Peppermint Cure. Is 6d and 2s (id.