TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8154, 8 June 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

At the unveiling of a troopers' memorial at Nelaon on Monday an incident asserting the right of public entry to Queen's Gardens aa a public recreation reserve caused some excitement The City Council had decided by a majority of one to exclude the public, except by sDecial permit, as it was supposed that they would injure the grass and shrubs. Several citizens presented themselves at the gates, demanded admission and secured it, inducing others to follow them. Owing to the number who thus asserted their right the order of- the Council could not be enforced, and it was varied, admitting the, public to the ground after the Volunteers had filed In, but by this time most of the publio were in. The Hon. A. Pitt said that had he known that there was any intention to exclude the publio he would bave refused to unveil the memorial. The viotory of the upholders of the publio right to admission to their own grounds is very popular in Nelson.

For some time past an endeavour has been made to revive the practice of teaching trader by means of apprenticeship, after the ancient manner, but che result so far is far from encouraging (writes a London correspondent). Boys refuse to be indentured to serve a number of j ears without wages, or for merely nominal wages, and employers, for obvious reasons, are also unwilling to deal with the question in the manner of their forefathers. The oonsequenoe is that in place of expert stilled workmen we have smatterers little better than labourers. ■'.'•'From a report issued by the County Council, it seems that a. total of little short of £24,000 a year has been left in trust for the purpose of apprenticing children, and of this £5,700 is still available for the purpose. But this money remains unused, to a large extent, owing to lack of candidates anxious to be indentured to skilled trades, only about £25 a year being snent, and it is suggested that, scholarships carrying free tuition shall now be substituted for the old system.

Speaking at a meeting in Auckland the other day in reference to the question of railway communication between Auckland and Gisborne, Mr J. W. Whinray, of Gisborne, stated that the Puverty Bay people wanted the railway extended from Gisborne to Mot a as soon as possible, because there were 900,000,000 feet of timber on 20,000 acres of land, and that was only a small areaj of the bush to be tapped by the railway. At 2a per 100 feet freight it would produce £910,000, which would make the railway to Motu three times over. The line would pass through the most pari. of the colony, not only Motu, but right on to Opotiki and Wbakatane. Last month's receipts ou tho ,20 miles of railway already constructed was double tbe expenditure, whioh was evideme how the railway in that district would pay.

Soeaking at Adelaide last week Mr Seddou referred to his national annuities proposal, tils proposal was for the people to pay into a fund at the post office when they got the chance weekly, monthly, at the enr' of one year, or five years—in faot, when they could—and for every £1 they contributed tbe Government would find a handsome subsidy. The single man would get so much subsidy. A married man would get a further subsidy—more than a single man. It was a means to promote matrimony. Then a married man with three youngsters would get less than a married man with six children. In proportion to the number of children the greater the subsidy would be. One part of his proposal, whioh was recently submitted to a conference of friendly societies, was that, in addition to the subsidy he had mentioned, they should givo a special subsidy to members of friendly sooieties. What brought down friendly societies' finanove was the large number of aged that came upon their funds. Under his proposals they had subsidies to tbe extent of 90 per cent, out of the public funds to meet such cases.