TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8166, 25 June 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

"We have," says the annual report of the South Island National Dairy Association, "been paying great attention to tbe 'manufacturing and marketing of our dairy produce, also to seoure reductions in freight, and many other most necessary and useful matters have been most' carefully attended tc, but for years we have negleoted the proper breeding and rearing of young stook, and our herds have deteriorated steadily. Had we for years past attended to these matters properly our export of dairy produce would have been thirty per cent greater than it is now. , . . . For about 18 years

we have been neglecting breeding, and have been rearing oalves with skim milk as the main food, and the result is as above stated. It will take some years to get the matter put right, but the sooner it is gone about tiie better." Pealig with the application of these remarks to the West Ooast of. I the i North Island, the Taranaki Herald remarks; "Roughly there are 110,000 dairy cows in the province, and we do not think the average earnings from the factory are much more than £6. There id uo reason, beyond the indifferenoe and neglect of the farmers, why the average yield should not be £8 and more, and this would bring *rom £150,000 to £200,000 more money into tne distriot, an end worth striving for."

• The question of the Government of New Zealand undertaking the edu-, cation of the native children of the Cook and Northern Islands is being considered by the Government (says the Oook Islands correspondent of the Auckland Star), and a report on the matter has been prepared by Mr Hogben, the New Zealand Ingspector-General of Schools. Up to the present the education of the children has been undertaken by the London Missionary Society and other religion" bodies throughout the group but only in Katatonga and Aitutaki is English taught. A grant is made by the local administration to the Tereorora boarding school, whicn ! .s under the auspices of the London Missionary Society, but so far that is the only assistance made by the Government towards the cost of eduoation in these islands. The new scheme as outlined by the Inspector-General is a very comprehensive, but expensive one. The Resident Commissioner is of opinion that the same would be greatly modified, and he is sending <i report on the matter to the Minister.

A private letter from Hong Kong, dated April 30th, reports the arrival there, a fortnight previously, l } of Mr Alexander Hamilton, who is travelling in the East in the interests of the Westport Coal Company. From Bong Kong be proceeded to Japan. The writer of the letter (according, to the Westport Times) thinks the chances of working up a coal trade in Hong KoDg are very reoiote. The great competition would come from Japanese coal, which sells on w average from the steamer's side at about 22s per ton. Westport coal, the correspondent thinks, would never compete at that figure, even allowing for it being a very superior coal. Mr Hamilton visited Canton. At the exeoution ground there, four criminals had juHt been beheaded, but the executioner allowed Mr Hamilton to photograph him sword in hand. The Westport Coal Company's representative was to be back again at Hong Kong in a few weeks, and was then to go on to Singapore. His prospects of business were considered to be better outside jf Hong Kong.

The War Office report on the last promotion examination for junior officers of the Regular Army shows that a slight improvement has undoubtedly taken place. Of the 653 captains and lieutenants examined 110 have failed to show themselves qualified for higher rank. A comparison of the results at Home with those of examinations held abroad, where there are fewer dia-

tractions of the sooial kind, shows that only 2 per oent. of the captains stationed abroad failed, while at Home there were only 86 per oent. who passed. The Roynl Engineers did best, and of their 42 candidates only one lieutenant failed. There were 19.5 and over 20 per cent, of failures in the infantry and cavalry respectively, and 44 per cent, of the lieutenants of the Aimy Service Corps failed. There still seem to be some officers who would let men work in December for an hour at a stretch in water that varied in depth from 4 feet to 7 feet.

"We must class a potato now as a luxury," remarked a witness solemnly at the Auckland Court, at Auckland on Wednesday. The response was elioited in reply to a question as to the cost of living for a working man. Living in Auckland as compared with six years ago had in many cases doubled, and in a few cases trebled, or a general average of 80 per cent, increase. It was suggested that a working man did not require what was called luxuries, but this roused Mr Slater (the workers' representative on the Board) to remark: "A working man | requires the test dinner, seeing that ihe has to work hard." The witness I (a restaurant keeper) replied: "The working man does not get the best class of food. The man who pays the most gets the best food. Previously I used to give my customers half a dozen oysters with their Is meal, as a sort of aopetiser, but I cannot do that now." Among other things the price of meat was declared to have advanced most, and was now about the most expensive item.