GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 112, 9 June 1909, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

Tin? last steamer to leave Wellinglon for Loudon, the Arawa, took NSOz cases of ciieese and 4o(> eases of butler, and of the cheese, I'atea exported 11274 eases and Bluir 2374 eases, Wellington following with 154-J cases, and Xew Plymouth 127-J eases.

A rabbit-trapping competition took place in \'ictoria recently. Two experts were pitted against each uiner for £6 aside, and the winner was to have all the rabbits caught in the contest in addition. They worked country close to one another, and in nine days the winner brought 4401/; pairs of rabbits, tlie loser being two behind him.

At Oliakune, the other day, the School Committee refused admission to a relieving teacher who was to liill tile place of one suspended by the fl'anganui Education Board, the old teacher being reinstated. The Chief Inspector was instructed to go up and place the relieving teacher in ciiargc, and to infrom the Committee tiiat legal proceedings would be taken if they interfered. This proved effective and the relieving teacher is now in charge. Jlr. Chiozza-Monoy, aavs Britain should be able easily to afford nine millions a year for Dreadnoughts, wiien the richest million of her inhabitants are spending ten millions a year on motor cars. The five million richest Britisn people have an annual income of 000 millions. The seventeen million richest Prussians have an income of only 600 millions. Mr Chiozza-Money calculates the total annual income of the people of the United Kingdom at 1800 millions, ana that a quarter million families receive one-third of it, and one million families half of it.

A remarkable story of a railway eraployee who died because he believed that lie was freezing to death is reported from Krasnoiavsk, in llussia. While engaged in cleaning a luggagevan on the Tran.s-Siberia.n line, Mic-heal Staritsky fell asleep. When he awok ■ two hours later the train was in motion and the van door locked. There was no method of communicating with any other part of the train, and Staritsky was seized witii the fear that lie would be frozen before the train stopped. The following broken sentences in Russian chalked on the lloor of the van show the tortures which the unfortunate man suffered in imagination:—-"I am freezing fast . . . my right leg . . now my left . . . lumps of ice my last words per",laps

. . . . my heart is frozen . . the end." Staritsky was dead when found at the next halting place two hours later. The temperature'of the van was far above freezing point, ami death was due solely to fright. The wave of retrenchment passing over tlie Civil Service has put every department upon its mettle to show the 'best results for its allocation. In the

past the Xativti Land Department has been useful to many other branches of the Government, performing surveys, perfecting titles, and doing many otlwr things connected with native lancl without sending in its account. A change is now to be made, and in future any service rendvred to another department will have to be duly debited against the vote which benefits. This is a practice followed for many years by the jKftilwav Department, which got £52,327 in 1!)08 from the Post Office for services rendered, and secured substantial amounts from other branches, the total credit under this head being £184,008. Fees from the Native Land Court are paid into the Consolidated Fund at present, but then! is a probability of this practice being allowed tliad nt.wawaayrytm tice being altered so that it can be more cleanly shown what that tribunal is costing the country.