ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVI, Issue 43089, 7 May 1907, Page 1

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

In answer to a deputation the Hon. Geo. Fowlds said he was very favorably disposed towards the. establishment tqf miniature rifle ranges for cadets, as calculated to give oppor-

tunities to gain skill in marksmanship. He thought where thle sohoo’

grounds -were large enough it waf ' well to put the miniature ranges hi them.

Thiere seems to 'be no end to the kauri gum deposits, even in part' where it was supposed to have been worked out, or non-existent (saws a Northern Wairoa correspondent'). A patch, approaching a ton in weight, is reported to have been found at Redhill, not far from ai house which had been standing many years, and in ground which has many times been trodden' over. The find is said to bo wforlth (about £IOO. Substantial deposits are being found at a depth of loft under the surface.

Speaking to an interviewer with, reference to the School Journal, the Hon. G. Fowilds (Minister for Eduen t'ion) t said: “The first issue is prac tiioally finished. I have seen a proo of the first number, and the Schoo’ Journal mil be issued on the Ist of May, and, as far as my opinion goes it will, convey information to the°ehil dren in an attractive formi. I thinlthe Journal should prove of great value in school work, and entirely meet the need for a general reader, which will mean the saving of a good deal of expanse to thie parents. The Journal deals with historical subjects. -There are ajocounts of the voyages tof Tasman and Cook, and notes °on hygiene. The intention is to issue the Journal monthly to every school. There will be one copy for each scholar.

The Domestic Immigration Society of Sydney has been working steadily •for some months in completing arrangements for a constant supply of “domestic helps” from Great Britain, and one member of the society, Mrs Chamberlain, was to leave Sydney last Saturday to endeavour to select the best obtainable - for domestic .ser--viCe in Nietwi (South Wales. Mrs- Chamberlain, who goes to England at her own expense ini the interests of the Domestic Immigration Society, is hopeful of success (says the Herald). Those ladies who have become members of the society will be the first to be sunnlied with the new arrivals. Mbs 'Chamberlain has letters of introduction to the Agent-General in London, as Well ah to the leading ■women’s -soeftetitesi in ,Grelat Britain and on the Continent. The society expects the first selection of domestic -servants to arrive in Sydney about the end of September.

(Slection i of “The Animals Protection Aict Amendment Aiot, 1889,” state® that “no person shall kill or destroy arr- game or native game, or shoot at or attempt to shoot at any game or native game, with any swivel gun or punt gun, or with 1 -any instrument other than a shoulder gun of which] the bore does not exceed' the size known as No. 10 at the muzzle, and- the .barrel of which does not expeed 36 inches in length, or with any gun exceeding ten pounds in

mmmmammmmmmmmmmmmKmaaammmmmmmmmtmmmmmmmmmmmmm - Mayoral elections at Thame® nowadays are somewhat different to the elections ini the early days of the field. At Wednesday's mayoral installation Mir Wmi. McCullough, who was Mayor of Thames in. the wear 1878, gave some interesting reminiscences of the strenuous days of the goldfield. 'At the Mayoral election it was not unusual to serve out pick-handles to the supporters of the respective candidates probably to accentuate the moral suasion! What a sensation would be caused now should Mayor Burns rpnuirte to requisition for several hundred' pick-handies julst to seie fair play. And if voters had to make their way through an avenue of friends and supporters, thla latter endeavouring to facilitate the progress of a friend to the booth, and the opponents trying their best to close up the gap, what la Dbnnybrook fair would be Caused;! And the secrecy of the ballot. Well, it was inviolate apparently, but the candidates knew a good deal of how the election was go-1 ing, It is even said that the Waving of various colored flags at windows by the scrutineers was thlei means of silent telegraphy by which the state of thie poll was m'ade known. In . the good old days municipal matters were a good deal more livelier than under present conditions!