On our first page will be found some interesting reading matter. A man. for cutting something out of a book -at the Christchurch Public Lib rary, was Jinod £2 and costs. The Federal Cabinet, has decided to offer a prize of 475 for the best design both for a national flag and a seal. The Woodville Band has imported a new set of instruments from Home, liawkes and Son are the manufacturers. Thirty thousand sacks of oats will be shipped from Oamaru to South Africa shortly. The steamer Nithsdale is ex pected to call for the oats. The Tasmanian Government decided to proclaim the Duke of York's birth day a publio holiday instead of May The ground is so hard through tho long-continued dry weather that far mers in the North Otago district can do little with the ploughing of lea land. ' The Observer says that a number of the cattle of Mr J. Strang, of Glen side, have been found shot. It is thought that they have been wantonly killed by deerstalkers. The following are the bookings for the. Wanganui Municipal Opera House to date- — May 2nd and 3rd, Montgo mery's Kinematograph; May 9th, Gar rison Band; May 23rd and 24th, Neil sen and, SonVßiograpb. The Greymouth High School pupils are sending a pretty gold matchbox to Major-General, Baden-Powell in recog nition of his defence of Mafeking. It is a very pretty little keepsake, and contains loz Bdwt of West Coast gold. No less than "five charges'of the mur der or attempted murder of their fel low countrymen are to be preferred against coolies at Fiji at tho next ses sion of the Supreme Court. Twenty-two ' persons are charged with the crimes, 17 being 1 accused iv one case. At Baloluthai last week Mr H. Lees, who has been guard on the Owaka branch railway for the last If) months, was presented .with a, handsome silver mounted meerschaum pipe, subscribed by tho railway staff at Balclutha, on the occasion of his transfer to Wanga nui. A Christchurch resident the other day received a pleasant uurprise in the shape of a letter containing. 