TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIX, Issue 8122, 19 April 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

A shipment of 840,000 ft of Oregon pine was received at Wellington by the barque Wektbersfled last week. Such a large importation, it was thought, would prejudicially aft'eot the Wellington timber trade, but inquiries made go to show that any fears on that hand are unfounded. A representative of a big timber firm in Wellington states that shipments of Oregon pine have been coming to Wellington for some time past via Australia, it being chiefly used for long and heavy timbers. It is wearer than bauri and red pine for ordinary building purposes, and is not required for those purposes. There is an import duty of two shillings per 100 ft on sawn timber. as to the timber trade in Wellington, he stated that it is at present a little slack and not quite so gooi as formerly. The obange was orobably due to the fact that there were not so many cottage properties being erected now as there were some time ago.

Two new oversea steamship services are to be inaugurated shortly. The steamer Bucentaur, 6,000 tons, is now due at Auckland from Bast London, South Arfica to load cargo for Canada. The service will be a six-weekly one, and will be carried on under a joint contract between the New Zealand and Canadian Governments and .Messrs Alley and Co., of Vancouver. This is the first time since the Vannouver rrtail steamers were withdrawn from New that an attempt b,as been, m,a.d,q to,

open direct trade between tbis colony and Canada. The other new development in our trade is the decision of the Federal; Boulder, Shire I'nes to enter into competition with the other lines in the direot trade from New Zealand to London. It is proposed to dispatch steamers at frequent and regular intervals from Now Zealand to London direct. The boats to be employed have accommodation for saloon and steerage passengers, and reduced fares have been arranged. The companies at present in this, trade are the New Zealand Shipping. Company, Shaw Savill and Albion Company,, and the Tyser Line. Up till now the Federal Honlder, Shite lines,, have competed only in the West Coast of England trade.

A competition promoted by the proprietors of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, and said to be the first of its kind ever carired out in the worll, took Dlaoe recently at the Export Depot of the New South Wales Government, at Pyrmont, Sydney. Some 800 head' of cockerels, capons and were exhibited in export crates ready packed and frozen for shipment to London, whither they were despatched as the final stage of the enterprise. Ai competitive show of dead poultry had not previously been in Australia,, and it was the prevalent idea that people could not be induced to interest themselves in dead: poultry. The large ana keenly-interested attendance at the exhibition,, however,, dissipated this assumption, and no live poultry show in Sydney has attracted more patronage, and none has been ac* corded a more critical or appreciative insoeotiou.

The Chri&tohuroh Press; roundly condemned Mr Seddon for taking a course' which, obaraoterises unprecedented' annals of Government finance —namely, announcing: "specific reduotiona to Customs dutiea which he intends to propose when. Parliament meets." What particularly strikes it is "that it is an altogether new and objeotionable practice'to announce such' reductions in an: up-country, address instead of in the Financial Sta'ement made before Parliament. As our readers ;are' aware* when Buoh reductions are made known inithe usual way in a Budget they take effect at once, and are immediately , levied until! otherwise ordered by Parliament. The result of thie informal way will: be to; disorganise the-course of trade and deprive the country of a great deal of revenue which it would otherwise- havegaiaed;"

Mr J. a. Giiruthv Chief Government Veterinarian., in his last annual report,, says that in must not he understood that he hopes ta ever completely etainp out blackleg: in ;the Taranaki district. The spores of the most resistant to all ordinary and even many extraordinary germicidal influences, and are capable of persisting in any soil for years, so that it will be necessary for a considerable period to vaccinate the young cattle on farms where the disease has already appeared*. The Stratford Post states that failing a Royal Commissioin being set up by the government to inquire into the matter as requested, a Parliamentary inquiry will probably be asked' for.

'Flaws-ia the much-praised fortyeight hours system recently inaugurated in the railways appear to have been' found by at least one oritic. The chairman (.Mr'J. Dawson) at a gathering of railway servants at Ghristohurob, on Saturday, remarked that he had been told that to cele brate the inauguration of the new system was premature, beoausa the society had not received what it expected in accordance with the promise of Sis: Joseph Ward. It was found that there were considerable modifications, and that the new system interfered with existing privileges. For instanoe, shunting gangs would have their meal nime stooped, and third-class signalmen and yorters were not included in the change, while there was a system of "speoial jobs," under whioh some of the men were worse off than under the fifty-four hours system. There were sets-off, of course, but the men generally were very,j much disappoined that Sir Joseph's promise had not been given effect 1 * to, although it was believed that I on his return to the colony the j matter would be set right. j