ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 43211, 6 August 1907, Page 1

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The expenses of the defence in the ThanV trial, which amounted to £50,000, have now ibleen paid. Mr Delmus haa received £IO,OOO, while another of the defending counsel, whose name is ~not disclosed, has received £20,■OOO, and it is reported that he asked ’for £20,000 miore. The Waihi Federal Band has entered for the band contest at. Thames. This makes the fourth hand for the , '-“k” grade contests, the others being Thames Battalion, Hauraki and Auckland 'Battalion. It is probable that ;twq additional entries will be received malting the. total six in the "A” grade and, five in. the “B” grade— a splendid 'entry. The Rotorua Band may comrpete in, b6th the “A” and “B” grade competitions, as it is eligible for both, v Mr W. R. Blow, local manager of /the Government Tourist Department, leaves' to-morrow for a three weeks holiday. 'Mir Blow proposes to Visit Rotorua and the. Hot' Lakes district, . thence to , Pipiriki, and Wellington via Wanganui River, returning viai New. Plymouth, after visiting Palmerston North. During his 'absence his work will be undertaken )by' Mir Saunders,. of the Christchurch —(Auckland correspondent.) Our Paeroa correspondent writes: “The Paeroa Social and Debating 1 Society held! a, debate on the subject. “Do Netw Zealanders devote too 'mulch time to the pursuit of pleasure?” 'Mir Rbbertshaw led in the - affirmative, and wias supported by Mi Searle. Mr Grimstone led the negative, and was supported by-Mr Meredith. Ota a vote being taken the question was decided in the negative. According to . a jeweller who interviewed the Government, the chief purchasers of greenstone in New Zealand! Are the tourists, who, according to one account, take away '. fully half 'the greenstone that is sent abroad for cutting and returns to this country. For some time past tin sale of greenstone has been deereasi*l?- It is much dependent on th( fashion, and the fashion apparently goes another way (at present. It has been forcibly pointed out that New Zealand is much indebted to the Chief Jusitce and his colleague on the 'Royal Commission for a com prehensive and intelligent report oi “the Augean Stable,” which is con ' needed with Native land administba tion. The net result of their labour.' so far seems to, be that 217,000 acre: of Native lands -are available for leas jng and 36,822 for purchase or leas- , mg. This means areas sufficient foi ' the establishment of ai thousand new .. farms of a moderate size. Such a re suit will be generally acclaimed. Miss Browning speaking on “Our Duty to Others” at a meetiner of the Theosopbieal Society in Wellington .said that a belief in btotherhood o was the only belief demanded of any . member, and pointed out how a, real belief would alter ;existing social conditions, most of which were founded on a selfish and individualistu Conception of life. Brotherhood invo?

Ved (j) a common origin, (2) common interests, (3) common duties; all c r these conditions held between man and man. No one could live a perfect Jv isolated life in. r> eivilisedl oommun ity. ■: i . '. •

Mr' Hogbep, Inspector-General of New 1 Zealand, in oonVersatipgl>. withiin; London correspondent ...sft not think any douutrv . represented: at the conference, except ; one or two parts of the Canadian Dominion, has ia system more complete -.or, so : complete, as we have in New .Zealand. It does not follow that ive .harp reached s perfection, buft the var- , iouS. parts of our system are in co- \ ordination with one another. I do not ..think any country could have a better system. One or two parts of Canada,, as I halve said, have got a fuller provision; for the several parts of the system.-than anybody else, and we have co-ordination between them which is quite as important.” , ’ to ‘inquire into the affairs of the District Grand Lodge of North Island, Dhitedl, Ancient Order of Druids, have reported to the Registrar-General as follows: '‘References were made to the financial .affairs of two lodges, discrepancies’ of errors being discovered wfittab ’should never have escaped the''lodge auditor's investigation. We thinik fins is a suitable opportunity to urge -upon all dodges the desirability of availing themselves of the services of a public auditor for inspeo and audit of the annual balance sheets... We are aware that custom and the provide for this work being done by members of the lodges, who may or may not be competent r for the yVork; still we would urge - .that, in view of the large sums of money Accumulating, and the nurner- / ftt® securities requiring examination, /.the members should avail them selves of. t&q .authority granted • by section 5; suhsetitlon 6 of the Friendly So deifies -Act, and have a thorough ; Audit hr. ai puiblic auditor at least an-

The annual meeting; of the Manawu Conoperaltiye Dairy Company showedl a profit of £B4 for the year, and an increase for the season’s operations.

At tihe Auckland Police . Court Joseph Coles was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment with hard labour, without the option of a. fine, for sly grog selling. It is telegraphed from Wellington that Mr Hugh Poland, M.H.R., has presented the petition from S. Laughlin and 770 others, praying, the House to take steps to prevent the silting of the Ohinemuri and Waihou rivers.

The Gisborne Herald Says: A man living in Seaward Bush was going to shoot a hawk with a pea, rifle on Sunday week. His wife caught hold of the weapon in the belief that it was not loaded ; 'but it was, and the bullet passed; through her thigh and into the abdomen. Tire injured woman Was boated down to Fortrose, then driven to Wa,iinahaka_ for medical attention.

Mr Colin Gilray, Rhodes scholar, who leaves for Oxford (says a Dunedin Press Association telegram), w r, as presented by the Rugby Union with an inscribed sovereign case, in recognition of his sterling services to club football in Dunedin. Mr Gilray is the most popular player in, Otago this season. He was entertained at a farewell dinner by the University dents.