TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8103, 24 March 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

According to a most careful analysis made by an expert accountant, at the request of Mr W. F. Massey, M.H.K., Leader of the Opposition, omitting constituencies where contests were brought about by candidates nominated by the Prohibition party, the voting at the recent elections contains some interesting comparisons, and the number of voters in the colony who declined to vote for the Government nominees is very much larger than appeared at the time of the elections. The Government secured 185,141 votes, the Opposition 137,912, the Independents 32,047, New Liberals 6,972. and the Labour candidates 5,543. Thus the Government majority over the Opposition was 47,229, and the total of the Government votes exceeded half the number of voters by only 1,573>2-

We in New Zealand are by no means singular in our experience that along with considerable national prosperity there is an undoubted rise in the cost of living. At the annual meeting of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, held in Januaiy at Toronto, the President, (Hon. Geo. A. Cox), after referring to the healthy condition of Canada's home industries and trade, said:—"Unfortunately we cannot have prosperity, apparently, without a general inoreasein the oost of everything and in this connection the cost of building and the consequent oost of house rent should be a matter of great ooncern. When hard times comes, as oome they must, there will be a sharp readjustment in some direction, beoause clearly the wage-earner will not be able to continue to pay such large rents as are being paid now by the working men in our large cities."

The Westport News, in referring to what it calls "the absolute lack of business methods in the matter of controlling the sale of Seddon-

vllle coal," from the State mine, saya:—"The Premier must reoognise the neoesisty for an immediate change of policy and probably management. The failure of this mine is not so maoh a reflection on the mine as a reflection on the management. The ooal, if put on the market in a way that the people could get it at small opst, as is possible under good management, would find a ready sale; but if the present policy of inactivity and pessimism is continued, the sooner the State withdraws from the business the better. Some enlightened management will then be able to take the mine in hand, and run it on business and profitable lines."

A remarkable lawsuit has, says the London correspondent of the Melbourne Argus, just been undertaken against a trades union. Mr Grieg, a well-known provision merchant in Brixton, disuharged a man, named Rumins, for dishonesty. | Rumins communicated with the National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, who caused a olaim to be made against Mr Grieg for wrongful dismissal. Mr Grieg paid a week's salary into aourt in lieu of notice, and wrote to the sooiefcy explaining his reasons for the man's dismissal. The society then asked Rumins if he wanted to bring an action against Mr Grieg for defamation of charaoter on the contents of his letter to the secretary of the society. Rumins said he did. An aotion for libel was thereupon commenced, but after a time the trades union withdrew its support, and the case was struck out. Mr Grieg then claimed against the trades union for £7B, the costs which he had incurred in defending himself, on the ground that the defendants had floated the aotion for Rumins without reasonable oause. The Lord Chief Justice held I that there was evidenoe of instigation and maintenance, and gave | judgment for the amount claimed.

Prominent in the consumption crusade roae the question of insanitary and germ laden telephone receivers. The officer in charge of the Ohristchuroh telephone exohaDge told a reporter, on Monday, that a mixture of formalin was used by the Department for periodically spraying the receivers in the exchange. Previously Gondy's fluid had been used, but had corroded the metal parts of the instrument. Many the operators had taken the simple precaution of stretching thin paper over the mouthpiece. Tuis did not interfere with the efficacy of the inatrument, and reduced the ohances of infection. In Melbourne for many years past specially prepared parchment diaphragms had been issued to i subscrbers, and these oould be used |in the same way and renewed as often as required. It is understood that a similar devioe has been placed on the Christohurch market.

The poisoning of several cows and of a number of people who partook of their milk at Wangaratta (Victoria) was brought under the notice of the Department of Agriculture in that State. Inspeotor Batchelor, who visited the locality, reports that the death of the oattle was due to mycotic poisoning, and that the eight members of the family were suffering from sapreraia. Ihe histoy of the case showed that Mr John Evans, of Red Camp Plain, had engaged Mr R. Mason to out up two stacks of hay. After the stacks were out the horses and cows were allowed to eat sheaves of Algerian oats before it had been exnosed to the atmosphere for any length of time. Mr Batohelor states that there was no trace of organic disease in the animals, and they were all in flrst-olass condition. The symptoms were those of acute gastro-enterltis, engorged abdomen, paresis of the pylorus, and blackened lungs. From tnese he had no doubt that the oause of death was due to mycotic poisoning, induced by eating portions of the ' staok which were too damp to be cut. It was also noticeable that the stack was built on the ground, and not placed upon straddles.