The Daily News MONDAY, JANUARY 17

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81904, 17 December 1906, Page 2

The Daily News MONDAY, JANUARY 17

The Postmaster General has just authorised the construction ef an'additional 1500 miles of telephone line-, chielly in the baekblocks.

ft is reported at the present time a weaithy syndicate is being formed —Auckland being stated as the headquarters—to secure and exploit all the native lands of the colony.

It is stated that of the 572 immigrants brought by the Corinthie last week, nearly the whole of that number have found employment of some description.

Utago fanners have evidently given whole-hearted support to the mutual lire insurance business in connection with the New Zealand Farmers' Union. Since the date of formation, 20 months ago, some 400 policies, covering properly to the value of £IOO,OOO have been issued.

The latest advice in connection with the claim of the Uavvera Electric Lighting Company against the iiltham Borough Council is that it is to be heard at New Plymouth on Jlst January. Mr Skerrel is to ap> pear for the company, and Dr i'indlay for the Council.—Star. The Papakaiho murder case is set down for hearing to (day (Mondavi when it is expected that the Crown will be ready to go on with it, it in (Understood that some additional evidence has been obtained since the case was before the Stipendiary Magistrate.

It is stated (says the "New Zealand Herald") that the Maoris are making preparations for representatives to visit iingland to lay their grievances before the Kmg. l'etitions are in course of circulation, and a meeting was to be held at Xaniahere on December loth to complete arrangements.

The " Hawera Star" says: "On Saturday an elaborate card came to hand inviting the editor to the ' opening' of the (Jhristcliurch .Exhibition, which took place on .November Ist last. According to the post-mark the ' invite' was posted at 11.50 a.m. on December 11th. Somebody has been asleep." A similar card reached the .News the same day.

Great sympathy is felt for Miss Martha Grace, the charming lusS-caste young lady who is known as 'the Wairarapa Princess." Bv a hard stroke of fate, the estate of Mahu-, puku, of which she is the heiress, figures as an unsecured creditor in 11. S. Izard's liabilities for the enormous sum of £IO,OOO. Miss Grace only returned from England three weeks ago.

A conference of Esperanto enthusiasts and wellwishers will be held in Christchiueh on January 1. .Many important matters will come before the meeting, including the questions "I arranging lor the publication of a New Zealand Kspeninto journal, textbooks, and u colonial circulating library, and terms of alliliation will: other societies.

The scarcity of potatoes in this colony just now is clearly shown by the exceedingly small amounts being exported. Last month the total quantity sent out reached the impressive ligure of two tons. Auckland had the honour of exporting this consign meat, which was valued at Mti. |,i November of I'JOj things were a little better, as we expoi'ted live tons, va lued at .Uij. According to these ligures (supplied by the Customs Department;, the value of potatoes has dropped from .CI3 per ton in 11)03 to CII IDs per ton in l!)0U. Tin- Hawke's Bay Herald says that in his Napier speech Sir Joseph Ward did not add anything to the argu incuts in favour of the Government.V land proposals. On the contrary, it si ruck us that he seemed on one or two occasions to adopt an apologetic tone, which indicates a realisation of their weakness. lie repeated more than once that the question of tenure on which the million and a -half acre's' of availaok Crown. h'.yl was to be held was of small importance com ■ pared with the settlement of the live and a-half millions of available native land.

I From the beginning of next your letters issued from Government oiliccs wili cease to be franked as at present, instead, they will be stamped with postage stamp* similar to the ordiu--1 ,iry stamps in every respect except . that they have the word "official" stamped across them. The various departments will be by this means deluted with the cost' of tiie service they receive from the Post Office. ''Oflieial'' stamps of eight or nine dill'erent "denominations'' are now being prepared at iliu Government Printing Ullice. The work i.f preparing them lui* created a pic->ure of work at the Printing Office. Hie Xew Zealand Insurance Company, which was the iirst office to resume business in temporary premises on its own site after the Sun Francisco ' earthquake and conilagration, lias made rapid pi ogress with the settlement of its losses, and a very dose approximation of the total amount can, the .New Zealand Herald says, now be made. It is estimated that when all payments are- completed the total net losses will not exceed JWBj,(JOU. The prompt manner in which the settlement of of all just losses has been niiiße has ■ phtced the name ot the company in the front rank in America, and' the directors have- received many spontaneous tributes expressing the highest praise at the way in which the company has met all its liabilities. At a meeting of the Jioard ot Guardians of the Ipswich t'nion (says an Ipswich paper of a recent date), the master (.Mr Jones) reported that in accordance with the resolution of the Board he made an experiment with a carcase of Xew Zealand mutton and a carcase of English unit ton, with the following results:—The .New Zealand carcase weighed 72lbs uncooked and oblbs cooked; the English carcase weighed 771bs uncooked and alius uncooked. This showed that in the matte? of .waste there was J,ibs in favor of X'cw Zealand mutton on the carcase. This report was referred to the Work house Committee and the St. John's Home C< littee for -U -vii'!»ti"!l. it living pointed; out ,ii.:i Hi,.,',' w.ti u real difference in lire matter of price.

In cinniftiini with ih,. complaint '.T' I '' ''-V. »'ncs|,on,lenl in las! lMu>days n-ardin- the tual"''•"i "f 1 lie In-1.-H-...,.! Iland n.einhcr, I" publish the Mh'wiin; 'leiter.''sV-n----eil liy the scciviarv „f the Imdowood llui.l and addi-,-ed t„ i!„. (Tnrri-si.u f.i'll.l : -(;<. tlr,. |,.|ier thai appeared ',"' two njiii iv ihe treatment of M ,' v mi-iilion thai the leder'did' notTa'd- '""" "■ '!"■ Hiirid. Mr C011i,.,- ( '"' ! '!" emp.M-ies at 11-e hand ,■„„,„ evenni- ami mad,, other eiioni,-- »' mid he is ,|,n!.. satislied that n„ ' >:■ "■■ '■'!'. 1.. .:,■<: ,■;.',,■ ih,. eiivlmi'i;,;;."";;;;; ,v, . !l i '-" vm. «™'«"ii k 'io , 1 ,',"; I""-- :n..l Sons.' sclplors. ■ •-:'.i.H, 11 ,l masons, etc.. X,.„- ~;,, I" ■■<•" Unworn: Dear Sir.--\Vo i; " ' : "' --eruees of ..iir-trnivliim. ■-■■■'■"'• "• «e iind that the ireiieral oob I'' li- 1 '" ll'e idea thai thev he,., j,,'.,,, .''"' !.!' l-n-lliii.L' Ih- dislrici. which, l!' ! i : j ! ; r ' "■ ''■ -'i- <liir cn-lomers will '; : '' ''>-i cniiKi-si.,-. as we liad'thal ""' 1 «-..|.1.- prefer to deal will; Ih,. heads '■i ■'■" lii'.n. theivhy si, he; a traveller's <•>:„:,.,- ion. Trust,m; Unit hefore von phi,- y,.nr order y,„! will wait to ' " r ' i '- I^l - '""I P.i'vs (Which 1:11-i-r «c Kirov arc liie i.n.-.L reasonable 1,1 tiie dislriV,.,, and that we shall be favoured willi your ...-loomed older.--|V,', iviiniiii, yours faithfully, T. Knsscll and Sons. Xew riymoutli and Hawem—Advt, (

Thus n. witty Scotch speaker nt a recent shivoo: "I can't make a speec 'i for ivvo solid reasons. One is thai I cannot find words to express in. ideas and the second is that I have no ideas." Which was a better idea than most banqueleers get hold of. The imposition of a toll on flic Wortley road has had the desired ef I'ec.l of diverting; the cattle (rallic from .South Taraiiaki to Waitara freezing works by way of the main road, liven if there is not a shilling revenue, the. settlers will be satisfied, as the loss of the cattle trallic is a great gain to the road.

II is often stated that the average -New Zcalander is better versed in politics than the average man at Home. A gentleman vviih considerable experience in the O'd Country and in the colony deni's the statement emphatically, and states the Britisher is more intelligently interested in politics, in that lie knows what he wants. Mr G. Bertrand, of Urenui, writes: —"ln your account of the attack on the pah, Waitara, on the 17th March, itibO, after giving an account of the death of Trouper Sarton, you state that ,'.'! force was commanded by Colonel Todd. 1 think this should lie ■ -Colonel Gould, who was in full command until General Pratt arrived from Melbourne in May or June following."

in order to ail'ord facilities for tiansmission by telegraph of Christinas and New i'ear's greetings, special forms may be obtained at the locai telegraph oilice. These forma will be available from 18Ui lo 2itli inst inclusive, and from 2itn to lilst mst inclusive, and will be transmitted under tne following conditions: A uniform charge of sixpence for such message will be made, provided the .idurcar. and signature do not contain more than eleven words. 11, However, the text as printed is varied in any way, or other words auueu inercio, tne message will be trcaieu as an ordinary one and. charged accordingly.

Contrary to expectations, the number of tourists who have arrived in the colony so far this season show a falling off compared with the past two or three years (says the New Zealand Times). It was conlidently noped that the Exnibilion would act aa a magnet, but this has not been the case, and people interested in the trallic are net at all impressed by the prospects of the season, it is slated that the intiunal tourist trallic is below the average of the past year or iwo, and the number of bookings for Home shows a falling oil. In view of the "good times" in Australia it was hoped that there might be an inilux of Australians this summer, and though there is yet enough of this season left to leave room for a moderate realisation of that hope, the returns so far are discouraging.