Page 3 Advertisements Column 4

Taranaki Daily News, 27 October 1920, Page 3

Mrs. R. Couplnnd Harding lias presented* to the Turnbiill Library a box of eld Mission Press type, loft to her late husband by the Kev. \Y. Colenso, together with Mr. t'olenso's composing stick-, and three blocks used for illustranons in the Mission Press. The type is part of that belonging to the old missionary press, which arrived at the PaiJ"a Mission Station on the 30th December, 1834, and was landed in the early days of the New Vear, The under-see-vetaries oi the Mission House in London had sent the material for (he Press, hut not having consulted a practical man. not even their printer-elect, many necessaiy articles were omitted, including cases and composing stick. The former Mr. Colenso had made at Paihia. and foi tunntely he had himself brought a composing stick two years before! This is the slick now presented to the library, and it is (hick with rust, having lain in an outhouse at Napier for many vcar* before passing to Mr. Harding's' possession. With this type were presented Many of the first Government proclamations by Lieut. Hobson, the first Governor. and one of the proclamations printed, the one with the error in the Ir.fitnde, is also in the library. A short account, of the introduction of the Press appears in The Visitor, or Monthly Instructor, for 1S3I!. Mr. Colenso writes: . ■ . when the Rev. W. Williams gave them (the Maori) to understand that 1 was a printer, and come to print books for them, they were quite elated. No hero of olden time was ever received by his annv. with greatpr eclat. On Saturday, 3rd January, 1835, 1 succeeded in getting the printing press lauded." After a loss of nearly 8,000,000 tons of merchant shipping during the war, Great Britain's commercial tonnage is now about: 20,500,000, almost equal to the prewar tonnage of 20,534,000. Of the present merchant fleet, 1,334,000 tons are former German ships. A number of new shipping companies, both large and small, have been registered in the last few months.