The Daily News FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1904. NOTE AND COMMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 282, 2 December 1904, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1904. NOTE AND COMMENT.

Mr D. McCaßklU, of South Canterbury, who has just THE WOOL returned , from a TBADE. visit 'to the Old Country, informed a Press reporter that during his tour 'he endeavoured to find out, if possible, if any reason could be found to account, for the uncortaiitties and fluctuations in wool prices, and ho has' now come to the conclusion that we on this side of the world know nearly as much as they do at Home, ami that is certainly not saying much. The main reason why crossbrods have advanced so maternally whilst the position ot merinos'has weakened (and this in the face of such small supplies of the latter), is the fact that manufacturers, knowing that merino wool would he scarce, turned their attention to croasbreds, which were much cheaper, thus increasing the demand cm the latter. The American demand for bright lustrous crossbreds, which toad been very quiet for some time, also strengthened the position, they having bought lairge lots during the May and July series of sales. It may not be generally known that the duty on greasy wool going into America is ojd per lb. Mr McCaskill says it is hard to say how prices will fend when our »ew season's clip arrives Home, the market, toeing ,so sensitive to outsidfe influences; .The general feeling at Home seems to be that prices are about the top.' He is quite satisfied that New Zealand sales are run on lines quite up-to-date, and clips are shown to quite as great advantage in the colony as in London. He points out, r however, that instead of showing a few bales of a large line as a sample, as is usually done in New Zealand, every bale is opened in London, no matter how large the line. It is wonderful bow well scoured, slipe, and bright crossibrcd greasy wools open up in London, but merino wool, earthy fleece, pieces and locivs look very shabby indeed. Mr McCasbill was much struck with the iigh pricesi obtained for Tasmanian merinos ; ■ they were selling freely at 15d and lfki in the grease, while good merinos from North Canterbury were going at Sid to lOd. The former wools were much finer a nd cleaner than our own. From time to time, writes the London courespondIMPKOVED ent of the New TELEGIUPI-IY. Zealand Herald, I have sent you information regarding the very satisfactory progress which was being made by Mr Donald Murray, formerly of Auckland, with his high-speed telegraph invention,. The following notes are published by one of the London, papers :-"A remarkable aign-speed telegraph instrument has been invented by.Mr Donald Murray, who claims that it is as great an advance upon • the Morse instrument as the Morse was upon its predecessor, the single needle. For 112 niomths tho post office have had the instrument working far experi . mental purposes between London and Edinburgh, apparently with promismg results, for they have now decided to test further a perfected instrument that has been devised by Mr Murray during that period. If the Murray transmitter ever becomes universally adopted, it will mean that telegraph clerks will never have to put pen or pencil to a telegram, beyond, nerhaps, marking! upon it the I time of handing in." The working of the instrument, which is said to be four or live times as fast as the Morse, is then described at length and i n conclusion the writer says : 'One of the effects of the use of the instrument-provided it be found ultimately to come up to expectations —would be a great saving of time, aa a wire would bo capable of carrying] four or live times the number of words as at present, aud fewer persons! would consequently be required to perform the work." The system is described as being in some respects "Biiuilar to the Wheatstone, but it differs inasmuch as paper tape, instead of being! hand punched, is perforated instead if being marked by dots and dashes; land, above all, this taiH> can be placed upon another machine, which converts the perforations into printed words direct onto telegraph form's at the rate of about 120 to 150 words a minute."