Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-22
Insight Into Possibilities.

Mr.. Buchanan had wonderful insight
into the pastoral possibilities of Aus
tralia Not even Tyson had a keener
eye for good station. With him stock
raising was an instinct. He had more
than half a century's experience of the
life. In his time. and up to his death.
he owned many big sheep and cattle
stations in different parts of Australia.
Buchanan would lay out without the
faintest fear of consequences hundreds
of thousands on station properties. Early
in his colonial career he was infected
with the gold fever. but he very soon
decided that there was good deal more
in beef hides, hoofs and horns than in
nuggets Life in the saddle and in the
bush made hard nails a frame natural
~ robust and Buchanan died as a pas
toralist should, at an advanced age, De-
ing at the time of his death cighty-nine.
The complete returns OF the census
an increase in the population as was
looked for They show the total popuia-
ton Of the dominion to be 1.oo1.sll, an m
crease Of 1923 over the total shown
in the census OF 1905 the percentage - ~
increase during the five ears being l".4i
as compared with 14.9 during the pre-,
vious quinquennium. The North Island
has shown greater progress. Its gain
being S7.1OO, as against ".oo7.
For many years the South Island had
a large preponderance over the north
but latterly the scale has turned in the
other direction. and the North Island
has. roughly speaking. ISlVO more in
habitants than the South. As there Is still
a very large extent Of good land in the
North Island practically unOccupied,
while most Of the available land in the
South Island has been colonized. there
is no doubt that the balance Of popula-
ton will continue to incline in favor of
the former AS a redistribution of rep
resentation takes place after each CEN
sus it follows that the North Island also
will grow in political power. The repre-
sentation commissioners are about to en-
ter on their work. and 1t is anticipated
that on the present occasion there will
be a gain of two members to the North
island. while two celebrates will be
taken away from the South Island.
Many Recruits Rejected.
Another decidedly disquieting item of
news from the dominion is that of the
large proportion of reflections for defec-
tive physique of the would-be recruit for
the navy. It appears that last year, out
Of 145 applicants. only forty were re-
ported to be medically fit. This year, out
of forty lone applicants, tWenty-siX had
been rejected. About one-third of the re-
jections are due to insufficient chest
measurement, more than % per cent to
bad teeth, a proportion to scoliosis. or
curvature of the spine, and the rest to
various defects. The surgeons laid par
ticular stress on the number of young
men with bad teeth.
The Otago Times of Dunedin celebrates
this year the fftieth anniversary of Its
career as daily newspaper. 1t claims to
be differentiated from other newspapers
which have recently reached the distinc-
ton OF a jubilee number, in that 1t has
never at any time been issued in any
other than daily form, having published.
except on rare holiday occasions, six
times a week since its inception.
The Times rose out of the gold dis
and its commercial manager was the late
B. L. Farjeon, the novelist. who had
come to Dunedin from Victoria, Joining
in the gold rush. 1t was while he was
on the Times that Mr.. Farjeon wrote his
first novels, <ShadoWs on the Snow" and