THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1902.

Grey River Argus, 23 September 1902, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1902.

The repatriation ©f the Boers is a more gigantic task than many may imagine. It is a task that will require .'ome lit'le tinie and a good deal cf circumspection. It is nofc to be expected that all the exiled Boers can be marched out of their various paces of detention, placed on shipboard and at last dumped down on South African soil to shift for themselves. Thafc would only be a second sentence of punishment in a new form, but a penance and a purgatory all the same. What would the poor creatures do in a country where fche majority ara poverty stricken or completely ruined 1 Wifch no money themselves and fcheir friends in a similarly impecunious stab-', .it. becomes a sheer impossibility for fchem to reinstate themselves on fcheir old holdings. As Mr Chamber'ain said, in discussing the matter in the House of Commons, a more tremendous task than that which faced the Government could not easily be imagined. They had to evolve order out' of chaos, *o bring the country to a c ndition of prospeiity, to establish a new administration, to repatriate a great part of the Boer population, to restore the refugees to their homes, and to devise a system ©f taxation which should be just and fair. This puts the position in a nutshell. It is of no use bringing back the Boers until some preparations have been made to house them nnd give them some sort of a starfc in life. It must be remembered thab the country was made practically a desert. Net only were nine-tenths of the farm houses burnt, but a very largo proportion of the cattle and sheep besides those used for army purposes were deliberately slaughtered. It will be readily seen in i these circumstances what little chance there would be of the Boers being abe to settle themselves down again without assistance. "We at c not disposed to contend that ihe Bears are entitled to such benevolent consideration as they are receiving, or that they have ever done anything t© deserve it. But what is to be done ? Tbe war has en tailed of itself hardships and misery enough without adding further to the wretched tale by leaving, the Boers to shift for themselves in. the broken

down, dispirited and helplesss condition they aro in now. We are optimistic enough to believe that all will come right, that with the he ! p of a little patience and earnest endeavour the Boers will be'gradually reinstated upon thoir farms and become better citizens than they ever were be - fore. Thoßoerhasnota good reputation for honesty of woid, so that one seldom feels quite safe to accept his most earnest promises. Although the Bo>rs were joyous to a degree over tho peace j terms signed at Vereeniging, their leaders startled us the other day by trying t/» reopen on 11 different points an agreement that had been closed for ever. One ef the conspicuous features ofthe Boer character is thafc he has no sense of shame or modesty, and possesses such an inadequate sense of proper tion bhat he never thinks he can ask for too much. Even now they are trying to ignore Mr Chamberlain and obtain a decree of assistance beyond what the Colonial Secret* ry has promistd them, and we scarcely think that anyone can say that the Boers are not being treated mosfc magnanimously in all respects by their conquerors. Part of the schema of repatriation is to appoint local committees wh© would ascertain what the needs of the people were, and how much seed, stock, &c, ought to be provided. Upon their recommendations would dej end to a great extent the progress of the prisone<!> 5 repatriation. We a> e not inclined '0 criticise too shaiply the hard wer<s that occasionally fall from the lips of thei:- former Generals or such a? Uofcha used in ttddressiug the burgh-rs afc Piiail : South Africa now stood under one flag. What were they to do now ? Were they to s-iy. "We Lave been vanquished?" No. There was darkness in front, but hopa and faith would lead ■■ hem through. This is sufficiently enigmaiical and may mean much or little. But despite sujh embers of dis content as are still srnould'- ring, we im 'give the Boers will soon learn to appreciate the generosity of the British and the care they are bestewing on the Boers' wellfare so as to make them comfortable nn I happy once more, and gradually settle down and get rid of any remaining bitterness in the feeling of comfort engendered by a happy houif' and pleasant surroundings. Mr Chamberlain assured the House of Commons thafc the terms granted to the Boers would be kept in the spirit as well as in the letter. Under the conditions of surrender Crown Colony G. vernment ofthe striotestkind is abs >- lutely necessary ; bufc Government havo declared thab along fchat hereafter the elective element would be introduced, to be subsequently followed by full self-government. With regard to tho taxadon of the colonies great progress has n-.;t been madf, and the Gov! rnment has still before them the ta*k of drawing up a wholly new tariff for tho Transvail and Orange River tenituries. The mines are not to be taxed oppressively in order to punish the c ipitalists. This would ba a futile policy and would d ter people from investing in the mines, and so arrest their development. The Governmont will clo nothing that misrhn intoi f. re wifch the prosperity of the country generally. As Mr Chamberlain explained, Government expect to secure a large share of the indemnity from the nsw mines that will inevitably ba opened instead of pressing unduly upon the old mines tha' suffered so heavily in consequence of the war. Besides, they are at present paying a profit tax of 10 per cent. I JHHLII.II I ,l|]Jf

Mr William Goodie* ("Wully") for seventeen years Laboratory Assistant to professor Black afc the Otago University, but for the "last three years in charge of the electric lighting plant of the Otago Daily Times, leaves for Dunedin by the overland route this morning. He came to visit old friends and scenes on the Coasfc with the object of recruiting his health, which had evidently rundown. A week or two of the climate and old associations proved quite sufficiene for the purpose, for " Wully " leaves the looking ten years a younger man than what he did a fortnight ago. A large percentage of the medical and other professional men en the Coast are exstudents of the University and they one and all glad to see the genial "Wully again and did their best to make his visit a pleasant one. Mr Goodlefcb is nothing if not energetic and certainly he put his tim* on the Coast to useful purpose. He re- visited Rimu where in pasfc years he discovered fche ruby rock "Goodletit"." this being the only locality where the ruby has been found in its matrix. At Reefton he delivered at the School of Mines a valuable and instructive lecture on tlie explosire g<sses of mines, and at Hokitika he arranged and reclassified the museum mineralogical collection. Mr Goodlett is a great favourite with the miners, fc.he sound practical knowledge thafc he obtained while linger Professor Black both at the University and in goldfields work special'y fitting him for imparting instruction so that it can be readily understood and assimilated by the practical worker. In past times many efforts wore made by the miners to secure Mr Goodletts services in connection with the mining and mineralogical work of tho Ceast, and if made now the appointment would be one of the most popular and useful that the Government could make lo benefit certain branches of mining work. The fury of the oquinoxial gales yes- , terday proved too strong for Messrs Boucher and Lighbfoot and their workmen, who are engaged in building the Hnrbor Board punts. Whenever one "of the long planks was lifted the wind took possession of it and for a few minutes their followed gy* ations which would have deughted the heart of a ballet master. Ultimately all hands had to sit on the timber to keep it down, and w hen the wind had so far abatted that the live weighb could be removed with safety, work was stopped for the day and all hands went home. Pending consideratien of the ratepayer*' petition re establishing asphalt works in Raleigh street, the Borongh Council has notified the petitioners that all work in that direction has in the meantime been suspended. The Blackball liners Petone and Dingadee are overdue, but this causes no alarm, as they are probably in safe anchorage riding out the fury of the gale. Ytsterdry the Pukaki Flaxmill sent in 24- bales for shipment to Welling-

ton. This is the largest quantity yet sent in «ne week. The mill is now installed with the electric light and work is being carried on day and night continously. Owing to the Wanganui cattle boat being stuck up in Westport there is a great scarcity of stock and at ths cattle j sales to-day and tomorrow there is ' every indication that record prices will ; obtain. At the last sales hulloeks averaged 45s per 100 lbs, aud it is thought by many that this week's | sales will average 20 per cent higher. Messrs Mark Sprott and Co will sell on Friday a valuable block of land near Lake Mahinapua and known as Maher's. Sawmillers and speculators should inspect the property prior to the sale, as it is on the line of the Grey-Ross railway, and there is a splendid lot of timber on the block, which frontages Mahinapua Cie»k and commands a large area ef timber country at the rear. A large portion of the ourchase money can lie on the property at 4£ per cent interest spread ©ver many years. Full particulars from the auctioneers. Owing to the strong fresh running in the river, the bye-wash of the Nga-here-Blickball lord was yesterday unworkable by-boat. During the sitting of the Magistrate's Court yesterday, Mr Hawkins notified counsel that he would hold a sitting of the Compensation Court this morning at 10 30 a m in connection with the case of ths Public Trustee v fche Harbor Board and thit the attend** ance of witnesses would not be required. This is taken as an indication that the case will be decided upon the law points raised in the opening of the case, and that the decision will be adverse to the Public Trustee. Mrs Todd, who for three years had charge of the Moana Hotel, in another column desires to return her sincere thanks to tha re-iideuts of Moana. During her stay Mrs Todd has made many friends, who* wi'l miss her fer the runny acts of kindness. Prior te her departure the residents gave her a i'"al royal send off, and she carries with her the best wishes ef the entire community. Mr Low iy has again resumed control ef the Moana Hotel, and will be pleased to welcome his old friends. Visitors will receive every attention and courtesy. | Tymons and Co's Public Works' j Statement appears on our fourth p c, and is worthy of perusal, as it sets forth fche policy te be adopted by the firm in carryiug on their gigantic work of catering for the public taste and welfare. Mr Alexander Campbell, the mauager of the Mount Paparoa mine, came to town yesterday and brought with him about ten pound weight of excellent specimen stone from the Coy's Croesus reef. Some of the hand specimens are literally studded with gold. During the last few feefc of driving the reef has widened out to three feet aud is hard, compact, and iis strongly defined. The heavy fall of snow on Saturday has temporarily suspendfd further operations and it is doubtful if work can be resumed for a few days. The development work at the Mount Paparea and Garden Gully mines have now definitely proved thab the reefs are true fissure lodes and maintain defined courses and improved gold contents in depth. Tbe mining community of the Coast can realise what this will mean in the near future. The Paparoa range still shows a good coating of siigw on the top of the range. There has heen a heavy fall of snow on the hills near Hokitika, and the fall was unusually low down on the hills. "A heavy fall also toott place at Kokatahi between Diedrick's and Lang's. Mr John Kilkenny died at his residence, Buller Road, about four o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Deceased waa wellknown and much respected throughout the district, and was a universal favorite with his fellow miners. He had worked in the Globe mine for many years and latterly had been employed as shift boss there. Miners' disease was the cause of death. Mr Kilkenny, who was a native of County Galway, was 43 years of age, and leaves a widow and five 'children to mourn his loss. An old resident of Seddon Terrace, Mr j Thos Dowling, passed away suddenly on , Sunday evening at the age of 86 years < The deceased had been in failing health j for, some time, and intended coming to the hospital, but death intervened as stated. The sale of work in connection witli the Ladies' Sewing Guild will be held in the new Trinity Church schoolroom to morrow week. There will be one large stall for the disposal of the useful and ornamental work of the Guild, which will be in charge of Mesdames Easson, York, Robimon, Batchelor, Henry, Moffat, Parfitt, C Kettle, Burrell and Jas Petrie. The refreshment "tail is iv the capable hands of Mrs H W Young. To a-jsisfc these principals are a ' host of young ladies and many, if net of the matrons of the congregation. Two Piag-Pong tables will also be provided and the bran tubs, trees, etc, that delight the hearts of children will also be in evidence. In this matter the ladies of she congregtion have been working for months past with heart and soul, and the result of their aefcien should be a clearance of tha debt upon the new schoolroom. Mr John Hayes, Chief Inspector of Mines, left for Westport yesterday afternoon in connection with the work of opening the Mikonui State Coal mine. On Friday Mr J Fitzgerald signed the contracts for the KokaUhi and Inangahua road and railw»y bridges, the time alb wed for their completion being 12 and 17 months respectively. On Monday Mr H Bignell signed the contract for fche Ngahere-Blackball bridge, the time allowed being 19 months. Mi Tom Dillon is in Hokitika making arrangements in connection with the railway bridge at Kanieri. A shipment of ironbark piles is expected immediately and the work of pile driving will be at once gone on with. Judging by tlie energetic way in which tha work is being pushed on with, the bridge will be finished well within the 20 months allowed by the contract. Who hasn't been attacked by Grippe, And languished in his hold ; How many give thia life the slip, Neglecting cough or cold. Gaunt men with cough and hollow cheek Whose death seems almost sure, Can pick up health if they but seek For Woods' Great Pjbppermujt Cure. — Advt. If those troubled with Dandruff, or Dry Scalp, or Falling Hair would only try a bottle of Parker's Hair Tonic, the results would surprise them, All chemists sell is 2s 6d ; posted. 3s, — Advt. Still at the top of the tree with bargains (you can't knock him out). Men's Strong Watertights, 12s 6d for 7s lid ; Men's Strong Watertight Bluchers, 12s 6d for 7s 6d ; Children's Slippers, 6d a pair; Ladies' Evening Shoes, Is lid; Children's Patent Slippers and Shoes for j i

Is a pair at Christopher Smith's, the "Up-to-Date" Wholesale Cash Draper, Clothier, and Boot Manufacturer.— Advt Giant Monarch Rhubarb Roots, Choico Seedlings, Prime Cabbage and Cauliflower Plants, Potatoes, Ouions, Sth allots, etc, to be had at Griffen and Smith's Beehive and Union Stores.— Advt Dress well! We are now showing a superb range of Gents' Ties, Shirts and Straw Hats. There are special lines bought at special prices and selling at special prices; value unapproachable.— Advt.