GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 6 April 1907, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

•J'hi' Dunedin Evening Star, always well-informed on political matters, referring to Labor representation In the L?gifiVtive "Anyhow, as regards ;he alleged inadequacy of the Labor representation, there is reason to believe that a further change will be effected before lons'. lu the course of a few months the seats of two Councillor; ;who wove originally appointed as Labor members, but whose status in that respect hii* undergone a change will become vaeant, and representative industrialists from Auckland and Wellington will then probafily jn'n Messrs Paul and Ban'.'' This is a very pointed indication that the Hons. Rigg and Jenkinson may not be re-appointed.

Sacco broke Ms long fast at Olympia, London, on February 9, to the great relief of the management, who had become alarmed at the man's condition. lie had been forty-six days and four hours without food, thus beating his previous fasting record of forty-live days. After leaving his '-hunger-house'' Sacco took half-a-dozen sips of cocoa and fainted, but he uuiekly recovered, and was aide to eat a little cutlet. &mi weighed 2021bs when he entered the "hunger-house.'' On Saturday he weighed Mollis. Forty thousand people have paid to see hiiu.

Dr. W. Ten ICyck Khnendorf is dying in Bellevue Hospital. New York, because of the love he inspired in a child patient. Dr. Elmeudorf became deeply interested in the case of a girl, tell years old, who was suffering from cerebrospinal meningitis. He received the child on her admission to the hospital, and carried her to her bed in a ward. After that he practically took over the nursing, when he was not engaged with his medical duties. The child became deeplyattached to him, and a few days ago she awoke from sleep, and threw her arms round the doctor and hugged him. In doing so she scratched his neck slightly. Some of his colleagues noticed the scratch, and applied antiseptics, but blood-poisoning developed, and the doctors have very little hope of saving their colleague's life. Dr. Elmendorf demands daily reports of his little patient's condition, and when he was told that she would recover he declared that he was quite ready to die, adding that a. young life was of more value than an old one.

Full returns iu connection with the Victorian general election show that the total votes polled by Ministerialists were 72,149, as against 42,901 recorded in favor of Labor candidates. In the country districts the MinWcrJ'' polled 39,255 votes, while 18,671 were cast for Labor.candidates. There were 32,990 votes "east for .Ministerial candidates for the metropolitan constituencies, and 24,291 for Labor candidates. In the event of Parliament meeting during the absence in England ot Premier Bent, his old colleagues, Mr Swinburne and Sir A. Peacock (the Cabinet's new accession, representing the old "third party"), will act together as joint leaders of the Legislative Assembly.

With the object of getting a definite settlement of the controversy as to whether imported birds are a nuisance, the Agricultural Department engaged Mr James DrumuionJ, of Christchurch, to collect evidence. Circular* were sent throughout the colony, and the result now appears -in a bulletin issued? by the Department:—"A mass of evidence is brought for and against the company of small birds as a wholes, apart from individual species,'' states Mr Drunimond. "Most of the information on this point is supplied in answer to the eighteenth question: 'Generally speaking, have thsf introduced birds done more good than harm, or more harm than good?' A reply is from Wairere, Wairarapa North: 'As with most aliens it. would be better if they had stayed at hoincf.' The same sentiment is expressed in other words many times. One correspondent says that the introduction of English birds, taking them altogether, was a terrible) mistake. Another says, 'for goodness' sake don t make it any worse by importing more of them.' A fruit grower «n Fatutahi. Poverty Bay, refuses to givo his views, a>> the space left in the circular for the reply to the question is far 100 limited to onable him to say all he) wants to say." Many farmers, however, mod fy their condemnation by expressing that if birds are kept in check they won-. be converted from enemies to friends. "I cannot help thinking that that is the proper attitude to adopt," concludes the author. "The birds are far from being altogether bad. A forgetful generation may have a short memory, but great services given in the past must not be ignored when the birds are on their trial."

Laud speculation is at pirsrnt rife ou the route of the Main Trunk Railway. At Waioura, situated on a bleak, desolate, tussock-covered plateau, within a few miles of tlic liaae of Kuapehu, and over 2000 feet above sea level, where the present edifices consist of an engineshed, cement shed, store, and accommodation house, sections a quarter-acre in area are being disposed of for over £4O. In many cases these sections have been purchased by absentee speculator*, who know nothing of the locality and surrounding conditions. One such speculator, who in ignorance had become the possessor of one of these £4O sections, came up to see his future town site, and then sought the advice of a local friend on his purchase. ''Well," replied the latter, "if f were you f would erect on it an (adjective) asylum for the (adjective) fools who have acted as stupidly as you."

According to a return compiled by the Registrar-General, the number of poultry in New Zealand at the time of the last census, was ascertained to be 3,191,604, which is an iucrease of 1,001,534 on the number for the year 1901, this last being 1,590,070. The poultry owned in the North Island numbered 1,538,847, so that the total number for the colony was almost equally divided between the North and South Islands. In the year 1901, the State of Victoria, in Australia, with a population of 1,201,070 persons, had 3,819,938 fowls, 257,204 ducks, 70,853 geese, and 209,823 turkeys.

The Registrar-General has compiled a return giving the extent of the beekeeping industry. The number of persons returned in April, 1906, as keeping bees was 15,390, and the number of hives (of all kinds) was 74,341. Further information was obtained as to the quantity of honey and wax made in the course of the year. The figures show that a little more than one-half of the year's produce of honey came from the North Island, of which by far the greater part was from the Auckland provincial district, Auckland produced 378,4491b, Canterbury 250,030. Otago 250,030, Wellington 89,148, Ncisou 45,913, Hawkc's Bay 34,380, aud Taranaki 30,107. The total amount produced in the colony was 1,003,9401b*, Iwsides 31,0821bs of wax. Taking 5d per pound for the honey a|ld lOd per pound for the wax, the value* of the output for the year would amount to £22,235—viz., £20,915 for honey and £1320 fur wax. With a population of 1,210,304, Victoria, in 1905, showed a yield of 1,90G,0831bs of honey and 28,0351b.s of wax, and New South Wales (population 1,490,050) 3.023?4G81bs of honey and uS.OIOIbs of wax.

Interviewed by a Dimr-liii "tstar'' representative the lion, ilillar Stilted that he intended at (lie beginning of May to vpic Tauranga. Thantcs, \Vhangarei and Auckland, where liei will deliver political addresses. l)r Findlay w,-.= likely to assist Mr McNab in the Otago iand campaign. Mr Millar feels satisfied that a Land Bill in which the main features of tin- measure now hefore the country will be. maintained will .find its way nn the Statute iinok next sesion. This will be the lir.-t measure proceeded with after the Ail-drijfss-iu-Beply is disposed of. and thereafter a few necessary Bills will be introduced, after which the House will be called on to consider thfc tarill'. It was his intention to try and get certain glaring anomalies removed. Sjiealc3ng as Minister for Labor, Mr Millar said he was having amendments drafted to the Arbitration liill which experience had shown were necessary. The delays in getting disputes dealt with would lie avoided under the proposed scheme. I'arliament would be summoned for despatch of business at the end of June, just about the date Sir Joseph Ward returned to the colony. As the sessional business include* thci Land Bill, tarill' reform, and native land legislation, Mr Millar did not disguise his belief that a long session was inevitable,