NEW STEAMERS FOR THE NEW ZEALAND TRADE.

Evening Post, Volume XLVIII, Issue 67, 17 September 1894, Page 3

NEW STEAMERS FOR THE NEW ZEALAND TRADE.

The already large fleet of steamers trading between New Zealand and England will be augmented very Bhortly by the addition of new vessela. The New Zealand Shipping Company has in couree ot construction two steamers designed principally for ourgo purposes, with accommodation for a few passengers similar to that of the Perthshire and Buteahiro. One is expected to arrive. in the colony within a few months. The Shaw, Savill and a lbion Company, in addition to the new steamer Aotea, has purohasod the Westmeath for the Now Zealand trado. The Westmeath is quite a new vessel, having been launched in 1893. She was bnilt by Swan & Hunter, of Newoastle-on-Tyne, while the machinery was constructed by the Wallsend Slipway Company (Limited). Her dimensions are — length, 425 ft; breadth, 52ft 7in ; depth, 34ft ; and tonnage, 6200 tons. The Westmeath, on her maiden voyage from Melbourne to London, oarried over 19,000 bales of wool. She is now being fitted up to suit the requirements of the Now Zealand trade, including re-insulation, and will, it is anticipated, bo able to carry 95,000 carcases of sheep.

An attempt to destroy the Terrace Sohool by fire was made some time between Saturday afternoon and this morning. On the sohool being opened to-day one of the pupils, on going to the lavatory, found a number of charred newspapers, which had evidently been saturated with kerosene, lying in one of the wash hand basins, whioh fortunately had been left fnll of water. The woodwork around the basinß wsb also saturated with kerosene, and an empty bottle smelling Btrongly of oil was found outside the lavatory. The attempt to set fire to the place looks like, to a oasual observer, that of a foolish child who had been punished for some breach of sohool discipline, bat Mr. M'Morran, the headmaster, states that no child has daring the past six months received snob, oorrootion as would be likely to provoke suoh retaliation. The garden thieves are still at largo. A resident in Bolton-street informs us that at about midnight on Saturday last his garden was visited, and the thieves, taking advantage of the bright moonlight, literally stripped the garden of flowers, and took away a large quantity of choice anemones and oinerarias. The depredators were disturbed by the watch-dog, but got off before tho owner, who had retired to bed, got downstairs. The thieves, in thoir hnrry and greed, not only took away flowers and buds, but broke off whole plants or tore them up by tho roots, and smashed down camelia trees, besides walking over the beds and destroying the smaller plants. It is a pity somo of those flower thieves oannot be caught and brought before Mr. Martin, and made an example of ; for it is a monstrous shame that people who go to expense to raise flowers and beautify their gardens should have them destroyed in this way. It wonld be well, and perhaps act as a oheok, if people who aro in the habit of making pnrohases from flower sellers were to first ask them where the flowers came from and how they became possessed of thorn, as it is believed there is a systematic ring of these people who steal flowers and then have them made up in bunches for sale. Some admirably-drawn sketch maps of the physical features of the North and South Islands are to be soenatthe Education Board's offices, being the work of pupils at various Board schools. Maps of this disoription have been asked for by the Inspectors for examination purposes, and the work of the pupils at the Upper Hutt School, under Mr. Connel, is undoubtedly the best sent in so far. Two instances of Urge payments of bene-fit-money by friendly sooieties are mentioned in Auokland — one in whioh the Fountain of Friendship lodge of Oddfellows paid £512 to a member for an illness extending over 21 years, and another in whioh the Waikato Lodge, Thamos, paid .£746 to a member who had been ill 21 years, and ultimately his funoral benefit, The New Zealand Farmers' Dairy Union has acoepted Mr. Joseph Andrews' tender for the supply of 10,000 butter boxes, for the seasons 1894-5, for the Union's Wellington factory. A meeting of creditors in the bankrupt estate of W. A. Turner, Wellington, boilermaker, was held to-day ; but nothing was done, and the meeting adjourned sine die.