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Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8866, 29 October 1907, Page 4

A return presented to Parliament in connection with the Advances to Settlers Act states that no fewer than 5,080 applications for loans under the Government Advances to Settlers Act have been refused. The amount of application fees received by the Department from applicants for loans since the Act came into operation is £29,960. The amount paid to solicitors for preparing mortgage deeds by the Department has been no less than £34,544. Of this sum Wellington solicitors have had the lion's share—no less than £10,168. Auckland comes next with £6,670, and Taranaki third with £5,691. The amounts paid to the legal fraternity in other districts vary from £397 (Westland) to £3,297 (Southland.)

It is satisfactory to know that there are no cases of scarlet fever in Masterton at the present time. Sixteen teases occurred in Carterton last week, and, ira the opinion of Mr J. Cairns, Sanitary Inspector, this may prove a serious matter to Mast?rton owing to its close proximity to Carterton. "There is always a risk of persons coming into contact with a fever patient spreading the disease," said Mr Cairns to a "Wairarapa Age" reporter. He added: "As an illustration I may say that a person may neglect to report a case of infectious disease to the authorities, and visitors to the ihou«e may spread the disease to a town a hundred miles away. There is often mystery surrounding an outbreak in a town which is generally free from infectious diseases, and it can ofcen be traced to per&oiis who k&we eome in contact with patients in another town."

Wellington has secured municipal recognition of the importance of cremation as a substitute for burial, and a society has been established in Auckland having the same object in. view. The question of whether cremation is or is not contrary to Christianity, was last week brought up for the consideration of the Auckland Synod, the object of the mover being to have the point definitely settled, as there was a belief among many Christians that the practice was "heathen and pagan.' 7 This belief was, it was declared, "a log in the path of the Cremation Society," which should be removed. The membsrs of the Synod generally saw no objection to cremation, but declined to pass any resolution upon the subject on the ground that it was beyond the Synod's purview.