ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVI, Issue 43087, 2 May 1907, Page 1

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Hew thief drought has affected the milk supply of Otago is well illustrated 'by the difference in the amount paid to milk suppliers now being made as compared with that of the same time last year. For March of this year the total was £15,506, as against £21,543 for the corresponding month of last year —'a decrease of £6000.:'

The oyster season opens on Wednesday. None of the 'beds in the Hanraki Gulf will be opened, as they have been depleted of oysters, and will take some time to get. back into their former condition. Natives, however, are allowed to pick oysters at all times in accordance with' one of the provisions of the Treaty of Waitangi. A prospector named Hunter has applied for a protection area for gold and silver near Dordanup, on the west, coast of Western Australia. He states that he traced the lode, which is 200 yards .wide,., for a distance of 25 miles, and that an assay from the surface

gave as high as 3gz-Bdwt- of gold and 14oz of silver to thei ton. Practical miners acquainted with the district are inclined to be sceptical. Uniformity of- instruction for all volunteers is 'being aimed at by the Council of Defence, and to secure that end a class of instruction for the permanent staff of the Wellington volunteer district is now in: progress at Wellingtin, taking drill in detail from squad to company. The amending of Certain irregularities in the

drill manuals of musketry in all its 'branches, and the construction of

artificial field shelters for field forces

are amongst the subjects which! are 'being dealt with. The Council is desirous of extending the scope of volunteer instruction, especially with regard to making the work of infantry more interesting. The class in Wellington is likely to terminate at the end of the week. Classes for ajll other volunteer districts in the colony arcin contemplation, and subsequent to these, instructional classes for volunteer officers and non-coms, will be arranged for. A correspondent- of the Chine Morning Post, who arrived at Port Darwin a few days ago, calls atten tion to- Japanese colonisation in For mosa-, which shows that Japan is exhibiting immense resource and energv in evolving schemes for the develop mant and' civilisation of the island. great area, of fifty miles square, occupied by a fierce- tribe called the Aiyu and including a camphor forest, o’ ' 100,000: full-grown treeis, has- been brought under law and order lr strong administration, which execute-'" all who rebelled after having bee-' given abundant opportunity to subrinf peaceably, and assisted all who sub mitted- Railway development pro coeds apalee, and the harbour o-f Kcp long is being deepened and improved Formosa, Which is rich in mineral an ’ other AVealth, is being thoroughly exploited 1 . •

“The future prospects of the TI-;-rak miuin,? district, must depend large ly upon the utilisation of those enorm ous reefs or lodes—popularly tenvuv barren or buck reefs—which exist i’

many places between Coromandel a

Te Aro'ha. Tlvr.se so-oallnrl bar barren reefs will vie’d from 3dwt*

*dwts.of cold to the ton, with the po c sibility of open ; n<r no some rich lead ers, such as those which in the pas' have been found in the neigjhbourhoo ' of the area,t Tokatea reef, at Coroman d^t”—T"ken from the New Zeal am' Mining Handbook, published in ISS7. A proposal ait the Sydenham (Christ church) householders’ meeting to mak f . ai recommendation to the School Committee or the Education Board was scornfully objected to by a household-

er. “Go straight to the Minister of Education,” he said. ‘The Boards would like to see all thie committees down the river and they are powerless. School Committees are only sweepersup and dusters for the Education Board, and as for powers, they have none.” “Thou shalt not kill—war against war,” is the heading of a circular issued -by the recently formed Wellington branch of the International and

Peace Association. “We have days dedicated to all sorts of things—some important and some not,” it. is stated. “Why not a day dedicated to Peace. The idea, of a peace .Sunday throughout the land ought to commend itself bo everyone. - The Sunday preceding or following the assembling of the de-

legates to the International Peace Conference at the Hague would be most appropriate.” , The record amount of £.5000 has been offered by the New York National Baseball League for the ‘purchase’

of two players, Jordon and Lurnley, from the Brooklyn Club. The market prices for expert, baseball players have risen steadily in recent years Die two men mentioned are regarded as such! Valuable acquisitions by the Brooklyn Club that the officials of I,he latter threaten to* resign if the dub accepts; the offer. The highest :< priee” ever paid in Great Britain for % football (association) player was feliOOO,

Felix Tanner has completed 150 hours of his self-imposed task of fasting, for 5041 hours. His weight, and measurements are falling off. He will be subjected to a* medical examination on completing the tenth day of Ins [ fast.

■ At the meeting of householders at the West Christchurch School a resolution was moved urging that all new schools, should be fitted with single desks,, and that.all existing ones should be fitted with single desks as soon as possible.

| From a speech by a delegate at the j Poor Law Conference, Hoi born ResItaurant: —“What we are striving for i is what our. forefather's have striven i for, and what our ancestors will continue to strive for. (Laughter ) You know what I meam —what our pedii gree will strive for. (More laughter.) That is, them that follow us.” Philatelists will he glad to learn that a design has been approved for a stamp' for the Solomon Islands, and probably this will fee issued within the course of ai few months. At present (says the Brisbane 'Courier) the New South Wales stamp is current in the group, but the Solomons feel they arc getting big enough now to have a distinctive badge of their own. The' design favoured consists of a Solomon Island canoe and cocoanut trees.

F YOU WANT fine Potato Ci ps w don’t forget to spray your t ?:'s I Bith SHARLAND’S POTATO f LIGHT EXTERMINATOR. It j s atal to Blip!: Y j