PRISON FARM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 376, 29 April 1910, Page 8

PRISON FARM.

CAI!I.\ET VOTES .CI 1100. PRELDIINAHY EXPENDITURE ON .NEW INSTITUTION. Authority was given l>y Cabinet on Wednesday for tla 1 expenditure of .t'looo upon tin' now reformatory farm at Tokanui, near Te Kuiti, 011 the main trunk lino. This action of tin* (iovernment marks another practical forward step in tarrying out the prison reform ideals of tin lion. D. Eindlay (Minister of Justice). Here will be provided the very best opportunities for reform, and Tokaiuii will probably save hundreds of oll'enders from returning to a life of crime. The farm on which work is now to be commenced is situated on Crown land, not far from the central mental hospital site, and its area is about a thousand acres. It is not the best variety of soil, imt it is just the material which will

snow good resiias tor jaoor tviseiy directed. The intention of the scheme is to provide for those detained a training in all branches of the farming industry, including agriculture, sheep-farming, and dairying. The prisoners will also get an elementary training iu such trades as carpentry, so that after passing through the period of detention they will iho as fully qualified as the 'best free labor, and have 110 difficulty in obtaining work at good wages. The class of prisoner to be taken at Tckanui is that of young men whose reformation seems most likely. They are committed to prison for minor oil'enccs, arid under the old system, returned at once to their virions habits upon being liberated, their short detention being insufficient to cause a break in their bad habits. As already indicated by Dr. t'lnaiay some legislation will he required next session to empower judges to impose, instead of a short sentence of detention in gaol, the committal of the oll'ender to the reformatory farm upon an indeterminate sentence, with a maximum. Wellington Times.

I The Dominion says that in accordance ; with his instructions the Crown Prosecutor at Christciiurch will proceed with the remaining income tax cases against Messrs. Bowring Bros. The Greymouth correspondent of the Lyttdton Times states that a sensation ' was caused in Greymouth the other day by the Star's announcement that Mr, David Ziman would return to the West ■ Coast in June, having o'taino.i •: largo, 'amount, said to 'be nearly £2,000,000,J for systematic development ot Westland oilfields. Some 25,000 acres have been secured at lvotuku, where operations will be chiefly conducted. This i move, it is understood, luvs received a <rreat impetus through the decision of , the Admiralty to use oil fuel for war- ' ships. J Old soldiers who have claims pending I against the Government have long J awaited the announcement that some procedure would be available by which the matter could be finally determined. It has already been stated that a number of Stipendiary .Magistrates will l.e asked to .hear claims. The Justice Department has completed is arrangements, <liut awaits the -preparation by the Lands Department of extracts iroin old Acts relating to the pensions and grants. This work involves a good deal of search, and when complete it will be 1 a valuable aid to the Magistrates who hear the claims. It is expected that the preliminaries for action will be complete .by the end of the week. Mr. Newton King held a most suc- | cessful sale of pedigree Jersey cattle at Stratford on Wednesday on account ' of Dr. Harrison and 'Mr. H. J. Yalenthe, JM. A. Buchanan (Palmerston North), Mr. W. H. Booth (Carterton) and utile. I vendors. The top price of the sale ; was realised toy Golden Gem, a six- | year-old cow bv Golden Brown from young Mulberry, which at fifty-one ■ guineas fell to the bid of Mr. P. 11. E. Surrey, of Waitara. Other sales on j account of the same vendors were: j Campanile's Hose Qiufe-n, an eighteenj month heifer by Campanile's Sultan , from Royal Rose,' thirty-six guineas, j Mr. R. J. Linn, Normanby; Riverlea : Spec, a two-and-a-half year cow by j Gold Dust 11. from Florence, thirtyfour guineas, Mr. J. Kissick, Cardiff; j Mona's Pet, a five-year-old cow by I Golden Finch from Mona, thirty-three guineas, Mr. J. T. Belcher, Cardiff. Twenty-six lots were sold at prices ! ranging from fifty-one guineas to seven guineas.—Post. i In its money article, the current j number of the Trade Review, refer-1 ring to the banking returns for the ! 'March quarter, observes that the radi- ! cal change in the relative volumes of New Zealand imports and exports awl in their proportion to each other does not constitute the only factor in the striking mvements of the bank advances and deposits. Loans to a totaJl of a million or more were negotiated in the London market durin 1900, through the banks, on behalf of various New Zealand local governing bodies. The .moneys thus raised have, it is believed, affected both advances and deposits. Advances granted in anticipation have been paid off when loans were raised, and expended balances have been lodged on deposit pending completion of works. The Review admits the existence of a feeling of want of confidence or absence of enterprise in the Dominion, which is not easy to explain, probably the aftermath of the recent financial stringency. The improved conditions now existing, with further amelioration in view, ' should -before long briny about healthier and more active conditions.