TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIX, Issue 8135, 9 May 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

Radioro, or radium gold, is a remarkable new alloy which, according to report, is destined to work a radical change in the metal industry. This new metal is said to be brilliant, like gold, does not tarnish, is readily melted, is as hard and elastic as steel, and so ductile that it can be made as thin as leaf gold. In casting its surface is as smooth as pure gold, ana without roughness or blisters of any kind. With all these wonderful properties it can be sold at a smaller price than oopper.

Speaking at Chriatuhuroh, last week, Mr T. E. Taylor said a matter ;hat had been before the publio was the question of seating accommodation for female shop assistants. The dcotors in Ghristchurch stated that well-known physical ailments had been oaused by women having to stand all day, and they had to carry burdens throughout their whole life, after leaving their employment to become wives. There ought to be seating accommodation in ail shops wnere the girls could sit down when requiring rest; the employers appeared to have done all the publio had asked for, and the people must make it clear that they desired to work in co-operation with the employers, so that the time would come when ladies would have no objeotion to being served by shop girls who sat down whenever possible.

There is an outory in Wellington at the increases in the property assessment for 1906-7. The capital value cf the city of Wellington for rating purposes in 1905-6 was set down at £11,330,959, and the uu-

improved value at £6,645 659. Ihe value of improvements whs figured out at £4,685,3U0. For the year 1906-7, these figures promise'to be largely increased. A well-known business man who carries on his trade in one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city, and in addition owns bouse property in the residential portions of the town, paid rates last year on a total value of £9,200; this year his total assessment on the same prooerty reaches £20,000. A firm in a large way of business in one of the best commercial parts of the city had the capital value of its property raised from £13,000 to £79,000, the owner'* interest in unimproved value from £9,900 to £14,500. and the owner's inteiest in improvements from £3,500 to £5,000.

A correspondent writes to a Timaru paper as follows—"As is customary at this time of the year, the public are plagued with invitations from so-called friends to attend the wedding of their son or daughter. During the past few weeks these ceremonies have been particularly numerous, and as an individual, I have received no less than three invitations to these functions, and in two cases the coupler and their families are comparative strangers to me. While 1 have no desire to hurt the feelings of any individual entering oii so interesting a mission as matrimony, J must, however, enter a protest against this praotioe of people sending out broadcast in vitations to weddings for no other purpose than receiving in return a present in honour of the occasion. The praotioe of late years has spread to an alarming extent, and I think the time has arrived for all states of people to take united action against the "wedding present plague."

Speaking to a Lyttelton Times reporter, Mr A. Smith, a member of an Aberdeen fish-curing and provision firm, said he had been much impressed by the quantity and quality of New Zealand flsb, especially the black sole, undoubtedly the beat fish on the New Zealand market. Theso fish were so Id sometimes in England up to 4s 6d per lb, and the colonial fish seemed quite equal to the British, so far as he could gather. The price of tisb locally was absurd. If there was a ring, as alleged, it should be broken down, for there was more than enough fish available to supply the local demand. There would apparently be an unlimited supply if the colony should be exploited by trawlers. If there waa a legitimate demand for fish in New Zealand, the only way to secure it was to establish a public market, under municipal control, or some other form which would protect the public from imposition.

During the hearing of a case in the Christchurch Supreme Court, on Monday, in whioh a man was charged with personation at last general eleotiun, the point aiose whether his Honor could order a ballot-bcx to be opened. After consideration, his Honor said that in the absence of anything to the contrary, he was justified in ordering the deputy returning officer to open the box for the purpose of ascertaining whether accused's vote was formally and properly exorcised. His Honor ordered the box to be resealed in Court. In another case a girl was admitted to probation for twelve months on a charge of theft of jewellery. In connection with this case, Mr Justice Denniston referred to a somewhat important question of practice. The evidence showed plainly that the offence in this oase was what the girl had been charged with on information. On the application of counsel for the acoused, the police consenting, th'e information, after the depositions were taken, was amended by striking out the words "stealing from a dwelling-house." To that information the accused pleaded guilty, ind was remanded for sentence. Under the Indiotable Offences Summary Jurieiotion Act, 1900, the acoused had, if she decided to plead guilty in the Magistrate's Court, to plead guilty to the offence charge, and it was for such offence only that she oould be sentenced. The effect of the alteration therefore was to limit the Supreme Court to dealing with the minor offences, and it was obvious that that was a limitation whioh should not be imposed on the Court.