TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIX, Issue 8139, 14 May 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

A Berlin paper has discovered that Germany's holding of foreign obligations totals about £800,000,000, or four times the amount of the Frenob war indemnity—a striking instance of the enormous rate at which the wealth of the Empire-haa accumulated in recent years. This figure has been cited as a reply to the contention that financial stress would restrain Germany from a great war owing to the difficulty cf realising all this money. It is forgotten that the Empire has a war cheat fund of £6,000,000 sterling, wnioh was set apart from the French milliards aaainst the coming of another evil day. This enormous sum of gold has been lying for the last 35 years in the Julius Tower at Spacdau. '

A great deal of attention is being excited in Bradford, a Loudon press correspondent writes, by a new method of treating seeds, etc, in wool, mechanical moans having recently been perfected which, practically speaking, remove all this objectionable matter without heat, fluids, or chemical treatment of any kind. A correspondent was shown samDles of Australian merino, New Zealand crossbred, and card waste which had been treated by the new method, rapidly be coming known as>the Youla process; and wbeu samples of the original material were placed side by side with the new products whioh had been obtained, they were "a per feet eye-opener." The result had been achieved without subjecting the wool to anything but meobanioal treatment. Those present expressed amazement which was generally shared even by the principals of many of the largest wool houses in Bradford, some of whom had poiutblauk refused to believe that the results had been accomplished by purely mechanical means.

Pew people (says the Star) would be prepared to believe nfl!-hand that Dunediu has been visited by a military spy. He is still here, for that iratfcer. The story was received with much incredulity when it was first reported, but inquiry showed that it was oorreot. The Defence Ottioe people were reticent, however. The man, they said, had done nothing so far, and they meant to "keep him off" as long as he was here. So far bis energies had been direoted to the Ocean Beaoh, and the projeoted small-arms magazine ac St. Clair was the object of his first -attention. As the building has not yet been begun, there was nothing for him to see when he went there. It has always been a sort of "open secret" that information as to the defences of all parts of the British Empire is furnished periodically to Continental plaoes through sources whioh be nameless, but the latest development i 3 something new. The notion of our little forts finding a place in the military dossiers at Berlin and St. Petersburg is also somewhat amusing. That it is so is a fact, however.

The immense bridge now being thrown aorosa the St. Liawrenue River a few miles above Quebeo, will be in some respeota the most remarkable in the world. It will have a single span of I,Booft clear between towers—-90ft longer than equal nantilever spans of the Forth Bridge. The depth of the river and the necessity for keeping this important waterway nnobstruoted made the construction of piers impracticable. The importance of the bridge will be gathered from the fact that the river is at present unspanned until Montreal is reached, 160 miles higher up, and below the city of Quebeo She bridging of the river is impossible, owing to its great width. There are very important lines of railway on either side of the river, which will inter-communicate as «oon as the bridge is completed. '• The structure consists of a giant cantilever on either shore supporting an immense central span at a height of 150 ft clear above the high-water mark. The total width will be 75ft, providing space for two steam railroads, two trolley roads, two highways and two sidewalks, which last are to be placed outside the trusses. The structure will be formed entirely of rolled steel girders, not a single casting being used anywhere upon it.

Europeans who are in a position to know axe agreed that there will be considerable distress amongst the Maoris in various parts of the colony daring the winter. The Rev., rf. A. Hawkins, Anglican missionary to the Maoris in the Auckland district, inofrmed the Waikato Times the other day that the potato crop had proved a complete failure, and although the natives were not actually starving, yet the shortage of their usual food supplies was shown by the fact that turnips now form * very large proportion of the diet in moat of the settlements. The young and abl« bodied men are to a great extent in emDloyment. In many oases this involves living away from the settlements, and one may sometimes see Maori men who appear to have plenty of money to spend, '•it is easy come, easy go," said the missionary, "and you know we ought not to expect the Maori to be a very much better man than tbe pakeha." Mr Hawkins added that there would undoubtedly be very bard times for tbe natives during the winter months, and especially for the women and children and the old people. However, they had their representatives in the House, and he was sure tbe Government would readily take any necessary action. it was understood tbat a large number of Maoris would be put on the railway works. If private charity were needed, Mr Hawkins had no doubt it could be organised.