General News

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 46, 10 February 1894, Page 8

General News

A general election makes money flow at Home. The 1,3. 7 aspirants for Parliamentary honours spent nearly a million sterling last election.

Tbits the Dunedin correspondent of an exchange : —“ While we have been pursuing a selfish, suicidal policy Bluff has been going ahead with giant’s strides.” A temperance conference is to be held in Invercargill, opening on the 27th. Mr Waddel has been elected chairman of the Bluff Harbour Board. The matches between Southland and the New Zealand Bowling Association, played hereon Thursday, resulted in decided victories for the Invercargill players. Another scene in the Legislature of New South Wales. It’s about time the Parliamentary crew were made to give place to better men. The old, old story. News" is to hand of dissensions among the settlers of New Australia. Many of them are shoeless and in rags. The hearing of the charge of perjury preferred against R. B. Boss, of Dipton, resulted in the magistrate dismissing the information. Mr George Clarke, addressing a meeting of bankers in London said the debt of the Australian colonies amounted to two hundred millions sterling, which was larger, compared with the population, than the debt of any other solvent nation in the world. The estimated population of the colony (including Maoris) on the 31st December was 724,258 — males 390,496, females 333,962. r l lie excess of births over deaths in the year 1893, was 11,420, and the total increase in the population during the year was 21,822. The estimated Chinese population, included in the above, was 4,044. A mail for the United Kingdom closes at Invercargill at 3.45 p m. to-day. Wednesday next is St. Valentine’s Day. The missives appropriate to the date are far less in evidence in our booksellers’ windows than they used to be. Wool is very firm at late rates is the latest report from London. Prom the report of the J. G. Ward Banners’ Association, who sold all they submitted, we learn that at the Invercargill sales on Wednesday for good crossbnd and halfbred prices were fully equal to the January sale and so were Lincoln, Leicester, and Eomney. Merino, which was of poor quality, was rather lower. The profitableness of the recent Myra Kemble season in New Zealand was affected by electioneering excitement, “ but really,” says Miss Kemble, “ the colonj* is rather a worked-out field theatrically just now.” They have a society for the prevention of cruelty to children in Britain. It is needed. Last year 5,509 little ones who died were insured for the aggregate sum of £27,148, or an average of £4l 8s 6d per child. The charge of criminal assault against J. P, Weir, of Thornbury, has been dismissed, his counsel (Mr Macalister), successfully raising the point that as the information had been laid on the 30th January the case must be dismissed, as by “ The Offences Against the Person .Act, 1889,” the same should have been laid within one month from the date of the alleged offence. Weir has since been committed for trial on a charge of attempted assault on a subsequent date. He was admitted to bail tall the sittings of the Supreme Court, which open here on Taesday.

According to the’ chairman of the Riverton. Hospital Trust, Mr Perkins, secretary to the Southland C. A. Board, leads the members br the nose and wants to catch the members o*f the Riverton Trust by the heels. We always knew the secretary was remarkably active forhis years, but scarcely thought him such a Hercules as all that. He’d be invaluable to a i circus proprietor. It appears that once upon a time he had the audacity to characterise an explanation of the Trust’s as strange and improbable. The great pianist, Paderewski, is being paid for his performances in America at the rate of £3 los a minute for the time he is actually at the instrument. Machines for making boots have been so highly developed that in New York a pair of boots has been actually made, from beginning' to end, including the sewing ou of the buttons and the packing of the pair in the box, in the almost incredibly short time of less than 16 minutes. That’s nothing. A man in Invercargill some years ago “ made ” a pair of boots in less than a minute, and his ingenuity was rewarded—six months in gaol. Why this thusness ? Last November Government jjut every possible facility in the way of getting people “ on the rolls,” even to the extent of authorising the employment of horsemen to deliver enrolment forms at the houses of would-be electors. The licensing elections come off next March—same districts. The other day in a country electorate a temperance organisation, thinking to save Gfovernment all this trouble and expense, made a modest request for several hundred enrolment forms. Returning officer said he had not so many on hand. Then the Colonial Secretary was wired through the local member, and also declined the request—“ didn’t feel called upon to supply so many forms.” Emboldened by this “ official utterance,” local official “rubbed it in” by stating that the request was “ most extravagant.” And yet it seems only yesterday that enrolment forms, supplied by a paternal Government, flooded the laud—the difficulty was to dodge them. Again, why this thusness ?

The old controversy as to the merits of the London working man has been 'revived by a paper read before the Architectural Association. From this it appears that the grumbling of the general public is backed up by the cool judgment of experts. There is a falling off in the work done, especially in everything connected with the building trades, and a decrease in quality is by no means made up for by the increase of quantity. Everybody (remarks the London correspondent of the Sydney Herald) with half an eye to such matters could see that the bxacklaying in the thousands of new villas which aro rising in all the London suburbs is about as bad it can bo. The general public blames the jerry builder for this, and supposes that the express speed at which the houses are run up is mainly responsible for the deficiencies. But from the architect’s point of view it is the want of even decently competent bricklayers Some years ago the average bricklayer would lay nearly a thousand bricks a day, and do the work well; now the unskilled “ hind,” who is in most cases alone obtainable, lays only from 400 to 500, and does this badly. Yet wages have increased about 40 per cent, within the last decade. Joinery work is reported to be bad, and to be getting worse, but phimbing i s supposed to bo holding up its head and show distinct progress. The Stock Inspector at Balclutha has arranged to have a paddock of wheat in th£ Tokomairrio district reserved, wherein to liberate the natural enemy of the Hessian fly, which is to arrive by the s.s. Gothic. The members of the old Invercargill firm of Messrs Wilson, Taine and Co., have recently started in the auctioneering business in Wellington, as A. G. Taine and Co., and are alrcad}- putting new life into the district trade in stock. The annual show of the Wyndham Horticultural Society, held on Wednesday, was scarcely up to the Society’s usual standard in point of the number of exhibits, the falling off being due, probably, to the recent week of had weather. The management, notably Messrs Fraser and Pauli, worked well to make the show a success, and a large number attended in the evening, when Black’s orchestra enlivened the proceedings. Messrs Lennie (Invercargill), and Richardson (Gore) were the judges. The hot fly is causing some anxiety in the country districts just now, and several specimens cf the fly and its larva; have been brought into town this week. Farmers and others will no doubt be glad to learn that the Southland Chemical and Manufacturing Co. are preparing a remedy to destroy the larYfe or eggs of this undesirable pest, which they advertise in another column. Mr Richards, the Company’s manager, also recommends that more careful attention should be given to brushing and grooming horses. The jaws and forelegs of the animals, where the eggs are deposited, should be examined every day. Finding Sovereigns. Several of Mr E. Meredith’s customers have had rather pleasant surprises lately, upon opening packets of the Sovereign Brand Ceylon Tea. One sovereign (or rather an order upon Mr Meredith for one) is enclosed in every 100 lib packets, and all purchasers should look for the order when opening the packet.