Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14th, 1909 POLITICAL NOTES.

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 October 1909, Page 2

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14th, 1909 POLITICAL NOTES.

At length tho report of the Timber Commission has emerg«d from tin- pigeon-hole :iti*l become public property. The Commission, ufter an exhaustive investigation ul' the |K>sitii>i) in which they found the timber trade, came to the conclusion that "the effect of the importation of Oregon pine on the building industry has been of a beneficial character ami in' the interests of the public." Vet there appeared to be little doubt t" the Commissioners that these importations had helped to intensify the depression in the sawmilling industry. The Commission conceives that the balance would be held fairly between the public ami special interests involved if the duty were increased 50 per cent on small sizes (12in x 2iu): remained the same as at present on timber of other dimensions, except lengths from 25ft to 35ft (on which the duly should be reduced by 50 per rent), and abolished altogether oil lengths in excess of 35ft. Beyond these recommendations there are several other suggestions which it is hoped will improve the outlook for the sawmiller, who. however, will gain but small comfort from the deliberations of the Commission, which has. like many similar institutions, made plentv of smoke, with but little after-effect. The New Zealand Times puts the matter terselv. when it remarks that the one obvious 'thing about the Timber Commission is the very large sum which it has cost the country. It i:: painful to think of the money which has been thrown away in the compilation and record oi huge masses of worse,l han-nseless evidence. Of the lindings it mav fairly he. said that a mountain in labor has brought "forth a ridiculous mouse. The sawmiller will have to work out his own salvation.

JunuiNri liy a return presented to Parliament on F'ridav, the public must he very careless. The I'ost nnd Telegraph Departnicnfs Tojxnt for 1908-9 shows that the undermentioned articles of value were found in letters opened in the Dead letter Office and returned to senders where practicable: 699 post office orders, £I4OO 3s 7d; 60 bank (hafts, £5019 9s; 510cheques, £3493 7 S 10Jd; 37 dividend warrants, £lls 12s sd; 13 promissory notes, £294 2s 4d ; postal notes, £320 7s 6d ; British postal orders, £56 12s 6d; stamps, £46 15s Id; bank-notes. £374 8s 4d; gold, £SO 10s; silver and copper, £lB 5s 5Jd ; representing a total of £11,189 14s Id. Amongst other things, there were dealt with five gold, twelve silver, and eleven metal watches, 19 gold rings, 23 gold and other brooches, ten greenstone pendants, eleve" watch-chains, eleven gold tie-pins, vnc Royal Geographical Society's medal for Antarctic discovery 1902-4, and a Kin't's medal for the same expedition, in addition to cloven Tattersalls tickets; 2531 letters were posted without addresses, and 58 letters with libellous addresses wore intercepted; 46,744 other articles were returned to foreign countries • 18.720 were returned to - senders through the Dead Letter Office; 210,247 were returned by chief postmasters 5 i 1 total of 269,621 book-packets and circulars, as compared with 267,500 in 1907; 11,911 letters were discovered to have been posted with previously-used stamps; 4978 unclaimed registered letters t were dealt with. No doubt the Opposition will institute enqujne* to iiscGrtiun Whether the oWflrt merßwM tickets *<tet»«w m\m Ml wk'.ihflt'' im umwmfc writ u\ iwnU'tfm mueh-bi»jmt,«d "mm wm&r

A substantial loss of £5707 is apparent on last year's operations of the State Fire Insurance Office, but from this should not be deducted the idea that success has not been achieved. The loss was mainly due to bush fires and the Christchurch conflagration, besides which it has to be remembered that the State has been instrumental in reducing the exorbitant rates which were once charged for fire insurance. The premium income for the year amounted to £26,557, against £23.194 for 1907, being an increase of £3462. The claims, including those unsettled at the end of the year, totalled £18,903, an increase of £6202. The necessary proportion of premiums reserved as unearned has in the past been fixed at 33 1-3 per cent. The general manager does not consider this to be sufficient; and, in accordance with the best insurance practice, the proportion has been increased to 40 per cent. The reserve for unearned premiums now stands at £10,663. The expenses were £10,146, against £8355 for 1907, and include contributions to eighteen fire boards amounting to £5Ol.

Tmi Immigration report for the year ending March 31st last shows that the number of adults who received passages to the Dominion at reduced rates numbered 41414. equalling 4953 souls. These were distributed over forty-seven trips, an average of 105 souls for each steamer. The capital of those who had been assisted amounted to £96.055. and in addition to this a few were in receipt of small incomes which totalled to £462 a year. The number of souls that w?re nominated by relatives in New Zealand during the year was 2289, and the money received from the nominators towards the cost of the passages amounted to £18,484. There were 2191 completed applications for re-duced-vote passages which were declined by the High Commissioner. The number of persons" who arived from the United Kingdom during the year and who had made their own a nan cements with the companies was 7121. " The immigrant wanted in New Zealand is the small farmer. Unfortunately, this class has not been sufficiently attracted to our shores: it is the unskilled laliorer. clerk, etc., who have invaded the Dominion. The Government some months ago promised to alter this .but this promise has been flagrantly disregarded, for over four hundred immiants arrived by the Tainui the othei day. They will 'swell an already well supplied labor market. We trust that re presentations will be made in Parliament to induce the Government to only assist the small farmer, who can go on the land will be a real acquisition to the Donn nion, and whose presence will not disturl the local labor markets.

Alex. Lennie is still at trie Club.—Advt The monthly meeting of the Lodge Mawhera No. 136 will take place this oven ing in the lodge room. Werita r-trect. In order to clear at any cost. A. W. Yarall is selling good web hand-sewn braces at 2s. strong enough to last a lifetime.

Tenders are invited in our advertising columns for the suply of 700 cubic yards of shingle for the Arthur's Pass tunnel, .{pad advertisement for full particulars. The Dresden Piano Go's (Ltd.) piano and organ tuner, Mr H. M. Phillips, is now in Grevmouth. Please leave all orders with Messrs Hariey and Co.—Advt. In connection with the Liedertafel concert, it is explained that the piano was tuned on the day of the concert and was in perfect order. A pair of boots was taken away from the Oi'era House last evening, particulars of which may be obtained from the advertisement ill another column. New lines of embroideries just opened up at Saraty's in Boundary Street. Ladies would do well to call and inspect the new trimmings. Prices are right.—Advt. Elsewhere will be found an advertisement from Broad and Whiley. who offer for sale for one week only a hotel doing a large bar trade. The bargain price of this property is only open for one week. In connection with the erection of the new gasometer at tho Municipal Gasworks tenders for the necessary excavation of the site will be dealt with at to-night's meeting of the Greyinouth Borough Council. The hockey match played at Hokitika yesterday between the West Coast representative" team and an eleven from the Hokitika clubs resulted in a win for the former by one goal to nil. Good luck is apparently attending the

efforts of local fishermen, as quite a number of trout have been caught lately. Yesterday Mr J. Blackmore caught a beauty in the Teremakau River, its weight being' lllhs. The fish was exhibited in Duncan McLean's window to-day :uid attracted much attention. The following incident is Paid to have occurred at dinner in a country house not far from Auckland, the diners being shepherds, stockmen, commercials, etc.—Commercial (to neighbour): "Mind passing the serviette, please?" Neighbour passed the cruet. "The serviette, I said." Friend of the neighbour: "Pass 'im the rag, Bill." "I remember in the old days constables who had whiskers down to here," said a witness before the Police Commission, placing his hand near the middle of his waistcoat, "and they never arrested a drunken woman. They kept out of the way to avoid having their whiskers pulled." Remarks the New Zealand Times on the Police Commission: "The really helpful evidence concerning the points at issue has been in proportion to the whole about one per cent. Mr Arnold pitched his revelations in too high a key, it is true, but he must wonder nowadays what became of them. They seem to have taken an entirely subsidiary place to the constable who'thinks he should be a sergeant, and is convinced his inspector is a dolt." East evening a horseman . from Larrytown reported to the police having seen a leg of a human being on the sea beach, near Point Elizabeth. The )X>liec went 'own this morning, but could not find the 1-g though a little further up the beach they discovered an arm and collarbone. \wither search will be made at low water to day. This discovery is regarding as confirming the worst fears respecting the man Andrew Steele, who has 1h!0H missing for three weeks. An Austrian, who proceeded against a countryman in the Auckland Police Court for using insulting language to him, stated in evidence that he (complainant) had never used bad language in his life. The opposing counsel (Sir W. P. Endean) opened his cross-examination by interrogating, "You're a saint?" The'Austrian did not understand. "You're a saint fit to go to heaven," elaborated Mr Endean. The Austrian thought a minute, reports the Herald, and then he said he was not sure of that. How could he say where he would go, any more than where counsel was going. A storv is told by a northern paper

about the party of Maoris who had gone for a tour of American theatres. An old Maori is said to have gone ashore at Raratonga to have a look round. The heat was very oppressive, but despite this fact the old'Maori mustered up enough energy to purchase a cheap thermometer, and, after addressing it to his home at To Aroha,

asked a postal official how much it would cost to send. The inquisitive man asked what the parcel contained, and received tho startling reply that it was a thermometer he was sending to his people to prove how hot it was in the Cook Islands! The Mine Manager's report for the week ending 12th October, 1909, of the NewAlpine mine is as follow*. No. 4 level was extended 18ft, making total footage 228 ft north from crosscut'. The stone mentioned in the last report widened out to an average of 2ft 4in, but during the last round or two fired it has pinched and will only average 18in in width. Assays taken every day show values to be decreasing. In the stones the reef is lying exceptionally flat, both as regards underlie and strike, and will average 2ft 6in in width, but gives good assay values. One hundred and fifteen tons were paddocked for the week, making the total Lonnage to date 397.

Leuthy accounts were published in the New Zealand Press regarding what was thought to be the strange tcrminotion of a South African murder case. An elderly man named M'Laughlan was extradited from Australia on a eharee of having shot a man in one of the South African States. McLatighlan was taken on board the Waratah on the occasion of her last trip, ami when her mysterious disappearance with ill hands was recorded it was taken for granted that ho had gone with her. The latest papers from South Africa show that he is in safe custoc]« at Durban, and standing his trial there on the capital charge. Durban was the last port at which the Waratah touched, and McLatighlan and his custodian must have gone ashore there.

This year's issues of the Xmas numbers of the Auckland Weekly News, Christchurch Weekly Press, Otago Witness and Auckland Graphic are due here on October 18th. The illustrations and general get-up of this issue will surpass anything yet brought out by the publishers." The price will be 1/- each, postage extra. Order your supplies now from B. Dixon, bookseller and stationer, Tainui Street, next door to the Public Trust Office.—Advt. Those ladies who have yet to select

spring millinery will find a most beautiful and exclusive selection awaiting them at C. Smith's Limited. When you're wanting a smart, plain hat for morning wear or a lovely model for more dressy occasions, you'll' find one to suit you in becomingness and price here. We invite you to come and see this choice display now.—Advt. On account of its light character, purity and age. Usher's is a whisky that will agree with you.—Advt. A FORTUNE FOR AN INVENTION A slight improvement to an article in every ilay use may put. a small fortune in your pocket. If you are of of an inventive turn of mihd write for book "Advice to Inventors' 1 Posted free of. ftnst. TTONftY ttUOHfeS, pfttant A!#i, ui Wwthmum Bkw>t, Wellington eftUbltahod % (