GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 163, 4 August 1909, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

The Minister of Justice (Hon. Dr. Pindhiy), speaking at Christchurch, said the fact that \vc ha-d year after year 5000 prisoners, of -whom 52 per cent, had .been previously convicted, was mot a satisfactory state of things. They could judge of the effectiveness of a prison system by the degree of recidivism. The recidivism in • New Zealand was only 2 jier cent, lower than that in England with all its overcrowding, its poverty, its slums, and its temptation to criminality. Our recidivism should be as lpw as in any country in the world. He hoped l}is scheme would place New Zealand in as good a position as Elmira, or, at least, as New South Wales. The New South Wales system had shown Australasia what could be achieved by scientific methods, and we had a long way to go before wc were abreast of New South Wales. Sir Charles Lucas, interviewed at Auckland, speaking of his impressions of the Dominion so far us lie had been able to judge, said that he had been much interested in all he had seen. The rich fertility of the land was obvious, and in the North Island as in the South he had been much surprised at the remarkable amount of cultivation. "I know full well what the settlers of New Zealand have been able to accomplish; that has long been known to me. But I must admit my surprise at finding such evidence of cultivation and population, s continued Sir Charles. "Did I not know the population of this Dominion, perhaps mv surprise would not have been so great, but when one remem'bers that New Zealand contains only a million people, and is the size of the United Kingdom, it is indeed remarkable to lind such wide settlement, with cleared lands, green fields, and I "houses in every part of the country." Writing to Mr. J. M. Johnston, of Palmerston North, a partner in the wellknown London 'woolbroking firm of Henry P. Hughes and Son says:—The wool market, as you have of course noticed, has been going in the right direction lately, which has proved a godsend lo growers who have shipped to London. The enhanced values will help some of them to bear up better against the terrible slump in prices for sheep and lambs. I went on the Smithficld market the other day, and the tales of losses one hears are most depressing. The extraordinary feature of the position is that the low prices do not stimulate the demand one single hit, jmd if meat were one penny a pound dearer than this consumers would pay it quite readily. It is the 'butcher who is having the pull, and 1 do not think the con* sume r really knows how cheap the butcher can buy it on Ihe market. Three are a good many New Zealanders hi London this season, most of them, as far as I can make out, wishing to raise money in this country at low rates in order to lent it on mortgage, etc., in New Zealand at high rates. lam afraid they will go back empty-handed, as investors here arc off mortgages for the time being, no matter how tempting the rates may be. Money is certainly cheap enough here, and on paper plentiful. Tlie nutTgin of surplus funds is. however, small, and if trade "were to revive a bit it would quickly disappear. It is really money which the big industries of the country cannot use" in the meantime, and they leave it in the hands of their bankers temporarily until trade improves.