INTERPOVINCIAL. IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 32, 7 February 1908, Page 2

INTERPOVINCIAL. IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.

The Prime Minister has promised Mr. Colvin, M.P., that he will immediately have plans prepared for a new post office and telegraph office at Westport, and will have an allocation made for the work at the earliest opportunity. l Good progress is being made on the harbour wovke at Dunedin. The Ravensbourne reclamation wall is almost completed, and steps , can be taken shortly to fill in the unreclaimed area by mean& of tho Vulcan. Preparations are well forward for the lighting of the wharves and shed.s. A new era has flawned for Waikato farmers. Hitherto it has been their lot, in consequence of the neglect of drains, to possess land which might, be termed as ' greeting" in winter, while, in consequence of the lack of creeku, dearth ot water hus made stock-raising most unprofitable. Relief has now come to thsm in the shape of water, Messrs. Sutcliffe and Mounse having been successful in putting in an artesian bore for Matthew Henry, at Waihou, where, at a depth of 2660 feet, they have secured a daily flow of 4500 gallons ot beautiful water. The spot was located by Rev._ Mason, water finder. Though many trials havo been made, this is the first time that water has been struck in the Waikato. A deputation from the River Silting Association met Mr. R. 0. Clark at Paoroa last week, for xthe purpose of learning particulars of his scheme for making the mining tailings i» the river into building material, drain pipes, etc. Mr. Clark explained that he wanted the Government to gjvo a subsidy of £10,000 towards starting the works, as nn(hat sum was given the work could not bo started on a sufficiently largo 3cale to solve the tiouble of the tailings in tho river. He believed that in time there would be a sufficiently large demand for all the mining tailings in this to be utilised. Building material fiom tho tailings could bo sold at a price that would enable buildinga to be constructed more cheaply than if built of kauri. Provided the Government granted the subsidy asked for, his company would be ready to commencework early next summer. 1 Although th"c report from Mr. Wilson, of the English firm of Sir John Ooode and Son, has nof yet come to hand, the secretary of tho Gisborne Harbour Board has ascertained from Mr. Marchant that the report which is being forwarded <to the Board on tho outer harbour scheme there is practically a recommendation of Mr. Marchaut's design with Eoino slight modification thought advisable, such as moro plant than the New Zealand engineer allowed for. and a suggestion that tho sea face of the breakwater should bo flatter. The Taranaki farmers^ Murual Insuranco Association (Farmers' Union) hab accumuIted funds of £1330, and a, total valve of policies held of £204, 000. So far it hai had to meet no claim, on account 'of fire. It is reported that trout poaching on .1 wholesale rcalo is being carried on in tho Wnipoua rivsr, Bays tho Wairarapa Daily Timos, and that all manner of unuporUmanliko devices are being employed to lura Ush. •• Tho fish in the Rnnldtaiki this sea Eon are in splendid condition, and those anglers who havo cho c en Galatoa as N their ca;mp — who havo oamreel at Bird's, Murupra — havo had capital sport fr&y3 the Hot Lakes Chroniclrt). Colonel Parry and parly havo been angling thcro for; the past thrito or four week 3, and have been greatly fa crinatecl by tho sport. They havo been taking fiel) from tho Rangfitaiki ar their camp r.t Murupara, but havo now removed" to BircHi camp at Herowaknitu, where tho pport is equally good. Thofe who visit Murupara invariably return there tho following and euooessive soasons, a proof that the trout, afford 1 good sport. Lar^e quantities of trout continuo to bo taken from the lakes and streams; indeed, tho fish appear to be moro plentiful now than at the beginning of tho season. Mr. F. H. Hasolden writes to an Auckland pa-ncr : —A paragraph in last Wednesday' <i Herald stn.te.cl that it was reported that Mr. Haseldcn would stand for. Manukau at ,tbe next election." Permit mo to state that I havo no intention of doing anything of the kind. Further, I should never think of opporing Mr. Laing,,who is ono of tho best of our representatives, and on the same si do as i am." Tho flaxmillers of tho district (cays the Napier .Tolegv&ph) may be congratulated upon a marked improvement in the quality of the fibro turned out by them of lats. This advance is illustrated by the refiilts of grading operations at the Port in the etoro of the , New Zealand Shipping Co, —the gazetted grading store for this district. There were graded in all 226 baloo. Of the°e eight bales, for the first: time in the history of the flax industry in this district, were graded "superior? 1 the highest possible clas?. , Of tho remainder 96 were graded as" "fine"— hitherto looked upon as the "top notch" in flax— and 122 wero graded as "good fair." It is understood that tho Government grader not only experiences a marked improvement in quality in the fact thai he has Wen atla to grade oight bales as "superior;}' but that ho finds an all-round advance in ths condition oi tho fibre turned out. The bar at Okarito is reported to bo again closing \ip altogether, and until there is a. heavy downfall of rain, which Will enable a freah channel to bo out, there is no chance of a Fleamer getting in. In view of the recently reported discovery of gold bearing quart z in tho district, Mr.- W. Lorrigan, of To Kuiti, last weak made a tour' of portion of the district extending to south-ea^t of Te Kuiti (oays tho King Country Chionicle). ''Mr. Lorrigan, who was accompanied by a Maori guide, did foino hard travelling, and states that though quartz was met With in various place?, tha indications wero not of tho mo>t favourable character for gold. Little in the way of prospecting was undertaken, as the tour was not dona for prospecting purposes. There is no doubt that quartz exists in the district, and with a favournblo bolt of country, thereis a prospect of gold bearing ore bfeing met with.

A peculiar accident occurred yesterday on the Hutt railway duplication works. A married man named David Kay, residing at Alicotov.-n, was working on the face of a cliff, when tho ropo by which ho was suspended gave way, havix\g been burnt through by a grass fire. Kay fell, with tho result that he suffered injuries to his head and shoulders. He was taken to tlio Hospital ' and is progressing very satisfactorily. The question of fiom time to time exchanging some of the teachers of Australia and New Zeslaad with those- of I America was brought under the notice i of the Minister of Education 'of South \ Australia by Mr. S. Pearson, of Wollijigton, and the Minister has replied stating :_ "If arrangements -could be mads with the steamship companies trading between tho western ports of America and Australia and New Zealand to carry, during their slack senson, teachers from Australia and New Zealand to America at a low charge, it might, bo possible to arrange for some of our teachers to visit the Western States of America to investigate tho educational facilities and methods of -that part of America. Such an experience would prove most valuable to the teachers able to take such a trip, and to their States, which would benefit greatly from the wider knowledge which would inevitably follow from coutact with tho educational forces of another country-"