Clutha News Items

Bruce Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 41, 26 May 1910, Page 4

Clutha News Items

(From the Clutha Leador^ Mr Goyen, Chief Inspector, inspected the Balclutha District High School yesterday. As Mr Goyen retires at thfe end of August the above will probably be his last visit to this school. At the meeting of the Kaitangata Borough Council on Wednesday evening last the Mayor submitted a small acetylene gas lamp for street lighting and explained that the lamp, fitted complete would cost about 30/. After the matter had been fully discussed the Council decided to erect one at the railway crossing as a trial.

A few months ago there was a feeling amongst some of the settlers up the river that the River Board should not put on a second steamer, as by doing so they might hinder the railway. The unanimous cry now is, however, "Give us a second steamer as quick as you like—in time for next season certain.'' In eight months' time we hope to see aOO ton boat that will reach Clydevale in about half the time of the present boat. All the sheds up river are filled to the doors with grain for transit to Balclutha, while huge piles are stacked outside, and large quantities are still piled up in the fields where it was threshed. Mr Toiit alone has 2,000 sacks oats ready lor shipment, while fully 1,000 tons of chafT are to come down. The steamer has three months work in sight. At present she is making three trips a week, a onerday trip being made to Bcggs' and back. The steamer Clyde went up river on Friday with between 65 and 70 tons of general cargo for Whitelea, Beggs', Greenfield, Clydevale, and Tuapeka Mouth. On her return trip on Saturday she loaded with 620 sacks, wheat at Tuapeka Mouth from Mr Goldsmith, 100 sacks wheat at Clydevale from Mr Sriushall and 140 bags chaff at the same place from Mr B. Bunn, and on the Greenfield side 70 sacks potatoes from Mr Karlson, besides four crates fowls, several lots general cargo and eight passengers. "I would have no hesitation in putting money into the steamer traffic on the Clutha river," said Mr W. Scott, of Dunedin, who went up to Tuapeka Mouth with the members of the Clutha River Board on Friday. "I can see what 'the freight traffic is like and what its probabilities are, and I am certain that in the summer months a profitable passenger traffic could be developed. You could land them at the Blue Mountains the same day as they leave Dunedin, and leave there after mid-day in time to get to Dunedin the same night. lam certain that if the people of Dunedin only, knew that you would get hundreds of them every year."

The opinion, so far as we have heard it expressed by the settlers up river, and we have heard the expression of a fair number, is that whatever prospects the Clutha Valle,y railway had of favourable consideration in tne near future they have been seriously discounted bv the meeting at Greenfield on the 7th inst., ,by the threats that were made that if they did not get the railway from the Government they would go to the Opposition. The fact of the members for the district not being invited to this and other meetings of the league is also not favourably commented upon. We asked several settlers their opinion on the proposed District Railways Board under which the provision of the State Guarantee Advances Act would be extended so as to permit of a local Board borrowing money under State guarantee for the construction of the railway, and their reply was that if the Bill would be a means of pressing the claims of the railway on public attention it might be worth consideration, but as a practical solution of the difficulty they had not much faith in it. Granting that Parliament approved of District Railway Boards, which is hardly likely, the defining of the boundaries of the district that would provide the guarantee is beset with difficulties that cannot be realised until an attempt is made to deal with them. Many of the settlers do not see why they should have to guarantee the interest on the cost of this railway while at the same time as general taxpayers they are paying their share of the interest on tbe cost of other railways which are only paying a few shillings per cent.

Among the 8000 applicants who are anxious to join Captain Scott m his expedition to the South Pole are a ] l sorts and conditions of men—dolors, engineers, Civil servants, clerks, Army officers, soldiers, seamen, railway porters, and men of private means. The Special "Empire" and "World" issue of The Amateur Photographer and Photographic News, published on March 8, is a remarkable production, and one that no amateur photographer should fail to obtain. It is full of fine pictures on art paper, printed in two colours, and contains a mass of practical, useful and elementary articles for all camera users in all parts of the world. Particulars of cash prize competitions an'd items of interest for all who are photographers or interested in photography, both elementary and advanced, will be found in this notable number. The new leader of the Salvation Army, Commissioner Hay, has just launched what is described as the Anti-Smoking and Gambling League. The purpose of the league is to combat these practices amongst the young people of New Zealand, and vigorous efforts are being put forth by Salvationists up and down the country in order to secure the greatest number of signatures possible to the pledge. The pledge reads as follows"Believing cigarette and tobacco smoking and gambling amongst lads must be harmful to tbeir moral and bodily wellbeing, I hereby enlist in this legion, promising by the help of God to do all that lies in my power to persuade others from gambling and using tobacco in any form ; also to have nothing to do with the habit myself. The members of the league will wear a neat celluloid badge about the aze of a button, on which is inscribed the purposes of the league in monogram. It is nicely printed in crimson and yellow. We understand that a movement of this description t was launched in Great Britain some time ago, and the latest reports reveal the fact that upwards of 70,000 members have been secured. Branches have also been started in TJ.S.A. and Canada, and other Continental Countries with Squally marked tuccosa.