GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 22 August 1907, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

The stomach of a shark which was opened in a fishmonger's shop at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, contained a lady's handbag with four sovereigns, six shillings, four United States dollars, a diamond ring, and a love letter,

The Kaipara Advertiser says:—"Owing to some delay in transit of a consignment of newspaper, we had to make shift this week by using colored paper for part of this Issue. The explanation is given to prevent any of our readers who lmpepn to receive one of the colored sheets from jumping at the conclusion that the editor has 'got 'em again.'" Rather a good point as regards tho Land Bill was scored at Christchurch, in "Bluebell in Fairyland." When Bluebell wakes the sleeping King he remarks, "Ah, the Fairy punished ine by sending me to sleep for three hundred years. Tell me, is the Land Bill passed yet?" The hit was received with roars of laughter and applause.

Hon. T. Y. Duncan, ex-Minister of Lands, made a proposal the other day to give land away to anyone who will comply with stated conditions of occupation. Tlie area that may be selected by each prison of eighteen years of age and upwards shall lie, he suggests, not more than 200 acres, and not more than 50 acre 3 Uv each person under eighteen years of age, provided that no family shall permitted to select more than 500 acres.. Residence is to be compulsory within a year in the case of bush lands and six months from the date of selection in tho case of open lands, and it must be continued thereafter for :ieven years. A dwelling-house must be erected within eighteen months, and certain stipulations are made with regard to the cultivation of the land.

As all New Zealauders know, the hands of the human figures in Maori carvings have only three fingers, with something like a claw to represent the thumb. The reason why there should be only thre fingers instead of four, was discussed by Professor Macmillan Brown, in a lecture at Sydney. He has formed the theory that that the hand is really intended to imitate a bird's claw, and to indicate that the image represents not a living being, but a spirit. "We put angels' wings on the figures on our tombstones to express the same thing," said the professor. "This explanation of mine is pure theory, but there is none other; and it will have to hold the ground, therefore, till it is replaced by some better one.

Dealing with the dairy industry, the Auckland Herald says:—Present indications ale that a great number o! the factories will return tu the old order ol things aud scud their shipments on their own account, as tlie dealers are not propared to pay the prices asked. Collectively, £IOO,UOO represents the loss during tue past year sustained by buyers all over the colony, being the amount paid on Xew Zealand butter more than it was actually worth on the London market. This amount is practically what the buyers would have to make up this year, but the factories liave reaped in that money now, and they appear to be likely to keep it. This time last year practically all the output was disposed of or arranged for, but this year the difference in the buyers' and producers' ideas of the value is holding up transactions, and at the present time practically none of the output is arranged for. Tast year the buyers were racing each other in order to secure the output of the factories, but this year the factories are looking for the buyers The market indications are that the prices at Home will be up to the true values of last year, but not to the boom prices paid at the opening of the 190(1-7 season. Moreover, there are various contributing factors in connection with the world's butter supply which promise good sound returns to New Zealand. The closing quotations last season were 11'/id, but it is not expected that this season will open better than 10'/jd for choice butter. There is, however, every possibility that consignors will make much more, as the true value last year was a little better than lO'/jd. Buyers are now offering fl'/ 2 d to !>%d, and some offers for the choicest butter have been made up to llld. and buyers generally may be said to lie holding back for a good margin.