At the invitation of the government, a parliamentary party, which included several members of the ministry, recently journeyed to Loxton, a township on the River Murray in South Australia, where three events which markedly illustrate the rapid development and settlement of the agricultural lands south of the river were celebrated. Chief of these events was the opening of a railway running to Loxton from Alawoona. Other lines already constructed will, it is anticipated, give rich returns. The new line to Loxton is twenty-two miles in length, and will serve an area of about two hundred and ninety-six thousand acres, most of which is good wheat-growing land. Second in importance to the railway was the opening of new waterworks designed to serve the town and surrounding districts. The third ceremony was the official opening of the new post-office, which has been erected at a cost of nearly two thousand pounds.

In the current issue of Land Values, the official organ in England of the movement for the taxation of land, appears a vigorous leading article dealing with Mr. Lloyd George's recent pronouncement on the subject at Glasgow.

The working men are ready, says the writer, for the chancellor of the exchequer to take as his text the statement he made at Glasgow,—that there is one great underlying principle of all sound land laws, namely, that the land in all countries exists for the benefit of all those who dwell therein, and that any privileges, rights, or interests attaching for the time being to the ownership of land that are inconsistent with this great right, ought, in the interests of the community, to be ruthlessly overridden. This, the writer declares, is a principle deep-rooted in the minds of the Scottish people. They are determined that the land shall be used for the equal benefit of all men.

Prince Erik of Denmark, the youngest son of Prince Valdemar, and a cousin of King George V., will soon return to Denmark from England, where he has been making a practical and theoretical study of agriculture on a farm. The prince has always taken a great interest in farming, and this pursuit is his own choice. He first of all went to an agricultural school in Fyen, but as there was a considerable sensation created when he was seen plowing, or performing other menial tasks on the farm, he asked the permission of his father to study in another country. This was granted, and the prince has since taken part in all the ordinary work of a farm. It is thought that he will shortly settle down to farming in Denmark.

An agreement has been entered into between the harbor and land commission of Massachusetts and the state forestry department for cooperative work in reclaiming the "province lands" on the tip of Cape Cod. The shifting sand-dunes on the cape have constituted a problem for state and federal authorities for many years; the theory that the sand can be harnessed by beach grass and trees is on trial. The grass will bind it to some extent, and if the trees can be made to grow in it they will gradually establish an effective shield against the prevailing northwest gales that have been whipping the dunes into changing drifts and hollows for centuries.

Development of adequate dock facilities at Havana, Cuba, is of such a character that ample accommodations for traffic will be provided, giving the sort of equipment for shipping which has been much needed. The concession for constructing docks, which after fifty years would become the property of the government, was given to Sylvester Scovel and his associates by decree of President Tomas Estrada Palma in 1905, and after nine years the second of the docks is now about completed. The Port of Havana Docks Company, present owner of the Scovel concession, is an American corporation, having, however, many stockholders in Cuba and elsewhere.

The recent anonymous gift of five hundred thousand dollars to the building fund of the Washington Episcopal cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Washington will enable the building committee to proceed at once with the work of laying the foundations in their entirety. It is assumed that the structure will ultimately cost about five million dollars. The cathedral is to be about the size of that at Salisbury, and larger than the cathedrals at Gloucester, Durham, or Lichfield in England. It will stand four hundred feet above the Potomac, covering an acre and a half of ground.

The sluiceway in Foley's dike, connecting Cape Cod bay and Buzzards bay, was opened April 21 and the waters intermingled. The actual destruction of the intervening dike will not take place until late in June, as there is still a small section which is not dredged down to the stated depth of twenty-five feet. It is hoped that on July 4 the canal may be opened for ships drawing not more than ten or twelve feet of water.

The Conservative party in Chile comes out squarely in favor of the sale of the dreadnoughts which that country is having constructed abroad. La Union, the organ of the party, says that it is extravagance unwarranted by existing economic conditions; that it is not necessary to have large battleships as complements of the fleet, and that instead of being messengers of peace the additions to the navy will prove irritants elsewhere.

The Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin says that a group of capitalists in London, interested in plantation rubber, now declare that they have secured a process whereby the latex can be brought direct from the trees to London and treated upon a scale which will give evenness of grade and quality. Hitherto it has been considered impossible to bring the unprepared latex direct to market without deterioration.

Reorganization of the work of the United States department of agriculture is proposed in an amendment to the agricultural appropriation bill, reported by the Senate committee. Under this amendment the secretary would be instructed to submit to Congress a plan for the complete reorganization of the department, and to prepare his estimates for the fiscal year 1916 along the lines of the recommended plan.

The imperial assent has, it is stated, been given to a bill which will do much to elevate the status of women in Russia. Until now the law made it impossible for married women to hold property, to enter any business, or to be employed for a wage. It also forbade them to hold a passport separate from their husbands, and afforded the married woman no sort of protection from domestic wrongs.

The world's output of coal in 1912 reached the total amount of one billion one hundred million English tons. The output of the United States was greater than that of any other country, being four hundred and seventy-seven million tons; the United Kingdom was second, with an output about half that of the United States, and Germany third, with an output of one hundred and seventy-two million tons.

The Chinese government has secured the services of Professor Anderson, at present director-general of mining in Sweden, as adviser in mining questions and undertakings in the republic. The authorities of China are really desirous of securing foreign capital and profiting by the advice of foreign experts in the development of the mining resources of the country.

In northern Arizona, Utah, Nevada, southern Idaho, and western Wyoming, the fires on national forests set by campers have decreased in four years from nearly a third to approximately one fifth. Fires caused by lightning have increased from less than one fourth to nearly one half. The relatively larger proportion from lightning, however, is due partly to decrease in other causes.

Great sums of money must be expended to improve the rivers and harbors of Massachusetts if the state is to utilize adequately the opportunity for the development of water transportation that will follow the opening of the Panama, Cape Cod, and New York barge canals. This is the conclusion of the harbor and land commissioners of that state.

As Huerta, president of the de facto Mexican government, did not give the unconditional salute to the American flag, President Wilson, acting under authority of Congress, ordered the seizure of the Mexican city of Vera Cruz. American marines were in full possession of the city on April 22.

A consignment of eggs from China recently arrived at Vancouver on the steamship Empress of Russia. The shipment, weighing one thousand tons, contains 6,792,360 eggs. Most of them are consigned to points in the United States.

The Union Pacific railroad has placed an order for nearly one million dollars' worth of locomotives for delivery before the opening of the San Francisco exposition. Fifty-four locomotives are included in the order.

Imports of paper for use in printing newspapers and books aggregated two hundred and thirty-seven million pounds in the first five months under the new tariff, doubling the total for the corresponding period a year ago.