INTERPROVINCIAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 59, 7 September 1909, Page 4

INTERPROVINCIAL.

For some time past a number of young fellows along the coast, covering a radius of twenty miles, have amused themselves at what they call practical joking, and have done it in such a way that they have escaped the penalty of the law (says the Opunake Times). The | average larrikin or individual who indulges in senseless tricks- is a good deal like the monkey, having plenty of mischief in him but very little brains. The I bursting of a cannon at the flagstaff on Saturday night was a foolish and dastardly act, which may have been followed with the gravest results. The fact that missiks of iron were flying over the town through the force of blasting powder is too serious to dwell npon, for had a piece struck a house or a person it is almost certain that human life would have been lost. It is to be hoped the police will be successful in finding Out who the culprits are, and endeavour to put an end -to all the hoodlum acts which have /been perpetrated, and if men have so little sense as to find amusement in what they did on Saturday they wottld do the community a service if they sat "ton an exploding cannon the next time they want a scare. • l?or a piece of unconscious humour the remark of a German prisoner during a recent gaol enquiry will be hard to beat, says a Ne~w Plymouth paper. The question was asked of him whether he had any 1 complaint to make of his treatment in the gaol. "Well," he replied, "garn'd gomblain." Then, evidently fearing the court might get hold of the idea that ho was perfectly satisfied to remain there, he added in doleful tones, "but it vas gaol." He turned and stolidly walked ' off to his cell, leaving the court in a state of hilarious collapse. The recent wet weather has turned the roads of the Upper Wyndham Valley into a perfect quagmire. Tho settlers in this district have suffered for years under the disability of bad roads, owing, according to the Mataura Ensign, partly to there being no good road metal in the locality and partly to the fact of most of the land being educational endowments. Various Government grants have been made, and these were expended to what was considered the best advantage. Whether this was the case or not is open to doubt, as it~ is maintained by some of the settlers that the most persistent "battlers'* have had bits of road made for their benefit to the neglect of the main thoroughfare. Be this as it may, the writor thinks that thoso at the head of the Valley are deeorving of better treatment than thfcy have received in the past. Some amusement was caused in the main street of Waipukurau the other clay by tho unusual spectaclfe of a 'Calf pursuing a telegraph messenger. After vain endeavours to ride away from the animal, the messenger was brought to the ground. The calf then went in pursuit of a medical man, who was in his motor-car, and he was obliged to take refuge in the post-office. The calf, weary of waiting for the doctor to reappear, followed in tho -wake of the AVaipawa coach. Tho Greymouth livening Star reports that Mr. Colvin, M.P., in an in regard to slackness in coal mining, stated that next session he would; urge tho Government to impose a protective duty on imported coal ; he believed oiisting legislation would be sufficient td prevent the New Zoaland companies taking advantage of such duty to proporti&nately increase their prices. As a member of the hflrbour board, he would not support any proposition- to reduce the haulage rate on the Westpoi'tMokihinui railway, as the board's revenue was hypothecated to pay interest on past expenditure and' to provide for future pledged outlay. The unusual occurrence of 'bees swarming in early spring .was to be witnessed on a section in Gore last week. No doubt (says a contemporary) >nany of the weatherwise will say this augurs a dry summer, but there is this certainty about the happening : that it is an indication of the mild weather experienced recently in the South,Telephone construction is still going on in tho Rakaia district, and a line of- potes running eight miles on tho north elde of the railway bridge through the CVteada settlement has just been completed. The correspondent of the Ashburton Guardian understands that a petition has been forwarded, asking for an additional office on this line to be located near tho schoolbouse. Tho new line will bring about thirty residents in touch with the Rakeia telephone exchange. A local resident, when driving to the Tarras, saw some novel tactics on tho part of a hawk (says the Cromwell Argus). _ Tho bird kept following some shags in the Clutha River, and when one of them came up, aft6r a dive, with a trout, the hawk darted down and seized the fish. This is th.6 first instance I known of hawks developing this trait, bnt the writer states that there Ls not the slightest doubt of it being authentic. •It is stated that the building of the Waiawa Bridge will absorb 161,(X)0 super feet of totara, 378,000 ft of jarrah, 12.000 ft ironbark, 10,000 lineal feet of piles, equal to 120,000 super feet, and 202 tons of steel. The totara is being milled in the Auckland province; the jarrah is duo lo arrive at Lyttelton in September; and the steel work is all being made in England. The durability of kahikatea is often questioned, but an exemplification of its lasting powers is to be seen at DaTgaville (says the New Zealand Herald's correspondent). Some thirty-five years ago the late «Mr. J. Dargaville instituted a trade in baulk timber between the Wairoa and China, and some fine shipments of kauri 4nd kahikatea spars were exported by the barques Glen, ■Glimpse, tuid Ada Wisswell. On one occasion two white pine spars, each 40ft long and lEin square, were rafted down 100 late for shipment, and were then utilised in the construction of a landing slip.' To-day the slip is still extant, and the kahikatea spars at a recent investigation wore found to be as solid and serviceable as ever. For thirty-five years they have been tide-covered twice daily, and although several times redecked, and punctured by various means, their soundness is indisputable Probably this timber was grown on a hillside, not in swampy ground. Swamp pine is not durable, but that grown on the hill Usually is. Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M., was last week, at Auckland, called upon to decide a claim for maintenance, the claimant being a- native woman, and the defendant her alleged husband. The question at issue was whether the marriage of the parties after native custom was binding at law. The defendant was represented by counsel, who argued that tne union of the parties was not & legal marriage. Tho magistrate held that the case was one oi great importance to the native race, and at his suggestion the case was adjourned to allow a telegram to be sent to the Minister, asking that counsel be engaged to represent the applicant in thy ouit, tha applicant being a destitute) person.