GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 199, 12 August 1908, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

An uit,.)v»tiii g return kid Imforu tin ' m eonlonnity with an order is just to hand showing tin? terms of service ui' the various member;-; yi thi of which shows Mr \\. Jukes Steward to be tJio pu-.-cut • lather ol tile IJuus( k -' J He wae Uvst sworn in on 11th August, 1871, lias sat ill Lou l'arhaments and attended 37 sessions. J. lu? Hon, X, y. Duncan, c«inc.-j next with nine I'arlianienls and tiiiav-iwo sessions, loiiowcd by the Hon. A. i\ (Iniuuc.-jH with eight Tarliai\M\U and twenty-nine sessions, uien follows Tama l'arnta with eight Parliaments and twenly-eigihc serious. The Hon. Carroll, ilr. La wry, .Sir Joseph Ward, .Mr. .lames Allen, and the Hon. \\. Hall-Jones liave each seen seven Parliaments, but have not been so regular in tbeir session attendance. >Six of the present members liave seen six Parliaments, twelve have seen live, nine lour, thirteen three, nineteen two, twelve one, and three have not yvt .seen ' Hie death of any Parliament. \Yal- , ler Synics lias seen four Parliaments i through, -Mr. Jennings two, and Air. (Jkey is now ill his lirsl.

Ihcre is no reason why the income tax should not be subject to adjustment in lavor of the married man in iNew Zealand {remarks the LyUeiiun Times), it would be a reasonable proposal to reduce the exemption limit to -UoU a year and lo regard ire income oi ir married man as being the income of •two persons. Instead of paying on £4OO a year, til>e married man and his

wile would each pay income tux on C-jitjO i( year less the exemption. A further concussion hUould bo made in iavor of each child. Moreover, ii sliuuld be tliu aim of tlio (State to relieve married men and families of all special burdens. At the outset, the man who marries is called upon to pay ,C 12s (id before lie can obtain a: marriage license. .Surely tiliis is a most illogical and undesirable tax? The Slate does provide education that Is nominally free for the children, out in practice" even education involves .some expenditure for each child. The State, moreover, could, by providing doctors and free dispensaries, do a great deal to relieve poor men of the expense I attendant upon the birth of a child,' the treatment of its ailments, and so forth, 'lilie problem of. adjusting indirect taxation and local tuxes is wow difficult, but we do not bciteve that it is insuperable. If Kir Joseph Ward is anxious to earn fame for llimiidf, and, what is of more consequence, the gratitude of th« poorer people, lie will devote his next Budget to this question. Mr. W. 13. Kendall, an old-time Wellington rowing man, referring in the Hiuurwatd Times to recent reports as to the illness of .Mr. W. Weill), the champion sculler, opens up a question which he has long thought worthy of investigation, as being perhaps of national importance: Does athleticism conduce towards health anil longevity'! From a cursory view of the matter lie is inclined "to think it does not. He recalls the number of brilliant athletes in New Zealand who have succumbed to heart and lung trouble, and says:—Athletes in New Zealand who may read this will be able to recall hundreds of cases within their own knowledge of brilliant footballers, oarsmen, and runners who have nuicklv succumbed to comparatively trifling attacks of illness; to name those belonging to New Zealand would lie to reopen old wounds, but in Australia we have lost Searle, Koran, '"Griffo," Peter Jackson, Sprang, Cummins, and others will occur to the reader. How many cf the famous Maori team which toured Km'land some years ago are still living? lJid not nearlv all of tliein die of lung trouble. These were all men of magnificent- physique, and their early demise is in marked contrast to the long life enjoyed b.v their old warrior fathers, who'were, often subjected to pnvalions, but never, 1 believe, to the necessity of testing their powers under high tension to the point of exhaustion. . . . It would be reassuring to athletes in general if a commission were appointed to take statistics, by which an average number of old athletes could be compared with non-athletes in regard_ to health and soundness of constitution, etc. Secretaries of clubs would -perhaps be able to trace their old members, anil also supply details of the cause of death of deceased members; which would bear on the matter. While the result may not be.pronounced enouiib to declare one wav or the other, still it might tend o -how that athleticism is apt to be overdone and should not be entered upon by all and sundry without medical examination and advice periodically.