TELEGRAMS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 27, 1 February 1912, Page 3

TELEGRAMS.

AUCKLAND EXHIBITION. [BI TILEGaAPE— SPECIAL TO THE POST.] AUCKLAND, This Day. In referring to the proposed Auckland Exhibition, the Star says: — "Our opinion is that the Exhibition project »8 well worthy of public support, and that every effort should be put forward to make it a success. It is certainly unfortunate that- Canterbury should have conceived the idea of holding a similar Exhibition in the same year, but if our Southern friends and rivals do not acknowledge our claim for priority, we can hardly be expected to make this concession to them. But whether there is competition or not, the people of Auckland must take their Exhibition seriously, or it will inevitably prove a failure. Enterprises of thie kind always cost a great deal more than anybody expects, and it is not only financial help, but public sympathy, that the promoters will need to canty them through. .It' is, therefore, imperative that from tho outset every effort should be made to arouse public enthusiasm in Ui6 causa.'* PBESS ASSOCIATION. SEAMEN AND POTATOES IN THEIR JACKETS. AUCKLAND, 31st January. The seamen of the steamer Barawa caused some trouble just prior to the departure of the vessel from Onehunga for New Plymouth yesterday alternoon, intimating that unless something was done with the chief cook they would strike. Mr. Eooney (stevedore for the Northern Company and secretary of the local branch of the Seamen's Union) was summoned and the seamen, firemen, and chief cook went into conference, passengers in the meanwhile awaiting their pleasure. It was explained that the cook, in supplying meals, gave firemen peeled potatoes, while the seamen had to content themselves with potatoes in skins. After a great deal of discussion a temporary arrangement was arrived. at and the steamer sailed. AN OVERDUE STEAMER. AUCKLAND, 31st January. It is now time that the Australian Mail Line steamer Croydon, which left San Francisco on 22nd December for Auckland, was reported, and her arrival ie looked for daily. She should have put in an appearance at the beginning of last week, but she is-now forty days out. Enquiry made in regard to the vessel from the Island steamers that have arrived has elicited nothing as to her whereabouts. The local agent* state, however, that the vessel's non-appearance is causing no anxiety. Steamers of the Croydon!s type come down under easy steam, and a day or two one way or the other was not a serious matter. The vessel was to make calls at Pago Pago, Apia, Vavau, and Nukualofa, and, in view of the hurricanes in the islands, it was expected that she would have difficulty in effecting discharge. The Croydon' has a large general cargo from San Francisco, 600 tons of which is for New Zealand ports. _ FIRE AT AN HOTEL ' GISBORNE, 31st January. The occupants of the Tatapouri Hotel, which was burnt to, the ground this morning, including several boarders, had a narrow escape. The licensee, Mr. Warn, had a policy for £350 on the furniture and stock in the Sun office. The owner is Mrs. W. Bailey, of Auckland, who kas an insurance of £700 on tho building in the State office. NEW MEAT WORKS. ' INVEECARGILL, 31st January. A function which attracted at least 400 people to Makarewa to-day was the opening of the Southland Frozen Meat Company's new meat works there. The worjks aire probably the most up-to-date in the Dominion, and cost over £30,000. The company possesses 500 acres of freehold z which it proposes to enrich as a farm with fertilising agencies from the works. Mr. 3. C. Thomson, M.P., ia the course of a speech, urged shareholders to retain their shares, as he foresaw the introduction of American methods into New Zealand, and he warned those present' that if the'capital of such institutions got into the hands of one group fchtey would havfe producers at their mercy. AUCKLAND GOLD RETURNS. AUCKLAND, 31st January. During the year 1911, the returns from the gold mines in the Auckland district represented a total value o* £1,137,965, thji being a decline, of £197,716 on the output recorded for 1910, when bullion, to the value of £1,335,682 was won. The decrease is accounted for by the unsatisfactory nature of the development in the Waihi mine, necessitating a curtailment ia the quantity of ore treated. This has Tesulted in a decrease of £252,456 in the output from the mine last year, as compared with the output for the previous year. The returns from the Waihi Grand Junction, Talisman, and New Zealand Crown mines show substantial increases, and thus materially lessen the deficit caused by the falling off from tho Waihi mint. PRICE OF MEAT IN AUCKLAND. AUCKLAND, 31st January. Another reduction in the price of meat has been decided, upon by the Auckland Master Butchers' Association. The January price-list contained an all-round reduction, and February quotations indicate further reductions on certain lines — Jamb and mutton— while the price of beef, veal, and pork remains the same. « GIRL'S BAD RECORD. DUNEDIN, 31st January. A girl aged fourteen was brought up at the Juvenile Court this morning on remand on a charge of stealing clothes and money from a boardinghouse at St. Kilda, where she was employed. The Magistrate remitted her to the care of the city missionary until the return of the Rev. Mr. Axelsen, in charge of the Presbyterian Orphanage, to get her into a situation. There were six previous convictions against the girl. SHEEP FARMERS UNFORTUNATE. CHRISTCHURCH, 31st January. Sheep farmers in the back country of the Amuri to have passed through a very severe winter last year, and the shearing tallies, which are not yet quite completed, bear this out. On two of the stations in the country mentioned it is estimated that each has lost about 15,000 sheep, and the lambing average is down to about 40 per cent.