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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5444, 26 July 1879, Page 2

FALSE ECONOMY; WITHIN the past month we have heard of the rails laid on a newly-opened section of the Invercargill line being taken up and replaced by others within a week After ' tlio' owning- , of the lino. It is Astonishing that after the repeated osperiences of the past siiGhblundeis should still bouinadev THq tails on the Invorte&rgittiKiverton line weighed only 281b., and were barely fit for a light tramway, yet^ engines weighing 20 tons with loaded trains attached were expected to,rlin ovor Jn satfoty! .$d 6ii6 : ,will-bo Surprised to Hear that after the first day 'or two a number of the rails were found to be cracked and broken. Nothing has been more clearly proved in connection with our railway system than that it is the most mistaken economy to itse clioap and consequently light rails. Eails of at ieast 521b; Weight Should "Be laid on fill, main lines whqre tliei'e' is .heavy traffic, the 401b. ( rails being kept for smaller or branch lines, and the 281b rails discarded altogether. It is questionable whqther 721b. rails Woiild not be thd ouo'apest in the eiyi-, and. t-heir use is strongly adV^dated by Mr Conyers in his last report. The line from Invercargill to Win ton is laid with these heavy rails, while a greaf. part of the Dunedin line has b'nly 401b. rails. Tbe difference in the cost of i^ainfibiiance of these two pieces of line, over each of which there is about an equal amount of traffic, is stated by Mr Conyers to be £116 per mile per annum, which, he points out, means interest on £2320 at 5 per cent. " Had one-third only of this sitrn," he remarks, " been expended in addition on , each mile of road the result would have been an e'ndrmou,s saving in maintenance's good road, inuch higHer speed, with greater safety." In ah article on the subject which we find in the Wellington Post, it is said, in reference to the Wellington-Featherston line : — ■" The 401b. rails are wearing out rapidly, and with heavy or fast traffic yield to the pressure sufficiently to cause .a considerable vertical vibration, which greatly adds to the wear and tear of both rails and rolling stock. This was particularly noticeable in the experiments made with the new heavy Fairlie engines on the "Wellington and Peatherston line on the 11th inst., of which we gave a full account at the time. It was shown that while the engine, whose weight is distributed on ten wheels of equal size, ran with perfect steadiness and absence of lateral oscillation round the sharpest curve and on the portions of the line where 521b rails are laid, even at speeds ranging up to nearly 53 miles an hour, on the 4plb rails there was that constant vertitical vibration which we have mentioned, the difference being most marked and striking as the engine suddenly passed from the heavier tu the lighter rails," If our railways are to be made profitable there must be an absence of this mean, petty " economy," which in the end proves the most wasteful expenditure. The 721b rails referred to by Mr Conyers have been laid over ten years, and as yet hardly show any sign of wear, while the average duration of 401b rails is not more than five years, and on lines with heavy traffic considerably less. The heavier rails will wear out at least three sets of the lighter description, so that the actual cost of the material would in the end be much less, while the saving in labor for repair's and renewals would be enormous. It is not' iu the rails alone that there is a saving. The rolling-stock lasts considerably longer whero heavy rails are used, owing to the diminution of oscillation. Lastly, travelling is rendered much i more comfortable, as well as safer, while a greater rapidity can be obtained with the same power of steam. These combined advantages should outweigh parsimonious considerations, for in this case a penny saved means many pennies spent at not a very distant date. So far our railway works have necessarily been in some degree experimental, and this will account for much that is unsatisfactory, but now those experiments have become experiences, and it is for those who have the direction of affairs to see that these experiences are utilised to the utmost.

We beg to acknowledge the receipt of the following subscriptions on behalf of tho distressed family in the Makaretu bush settlement, ou whose behalf MiHill m.ado an appeal in yesterday's Herald :— Mr. H. S. Tiffen, £1 ; Mrs A. M. Randall, 10s. Mr G. M. Alpine, of Emerson-street, has also generously sent three pairs of boots. With reference to the fight between the Alabama and the Kerseage, as represented in Eainor's diorama, a gentleman who was an eye-witness of the engagoment, positively denies that tho Alabama's flag was ever lowered. She went down with colors flying, and that this was admitted by her adversary is proved by the feet that tho boats of a noutril yacht wore allowed to pick up tho crew as they struggled in the water. Had sho surrendered her crew would have become prisoners of war, and the Korseago would not have permitted neutrals to aid them in escaping. At the time our informant was an officer on board the Hector, English frigate, then lying off Chez-bourg Harbor, where the engagement took place. At the sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday Annie Dowd, a woman young in years but old in crime,

was sentenced to two months' imprisonment for stealing two pairs of stockings; value os» the property of Mr GK Kenisley> and two basins and a salt-cellar^ the property of Mr fl> Oohen. — John Hill Ourtis, dook 6f the schoonor Sarah. Pile, was charged -with absenting himself without leave.. Captain Highfield gave the man a very bad character, sayiiig that during the time the vessel had been in port he was constantly drunk. -That morning he liad not; prepared breakfast. Prisoner was sentenced to a fortnight's imprisonment, v and td forfeit twb Says' pay\ — Btirhß Redman, a sailor on board the same vessel, was brought up on a similar charge. He said that he went dri. shore to get sonle breakfast, as therfe Wai none' .prepared on lodard, owing to the absence or the cook, and as Captain Highfield gave him a very good character he was discharged. Owing to the wet weather last night the drill of the Artillery Volunteers was postponed until 3.30 this afternoon. It is particularly requested that members will make it a point to be present, for dismounting drijl under the instruction of , Sergt. -Major Hyde. The battery order appears in our advertising columns. We are glad to learn that the chief Renata Eawepo is somewhat better; though, not yet out of danger, there is a marked improvement. At the Theatre Royal last night Rainer's panorama of the American war was again presented to a large audience, and passed off as successfully as on the previous e vehin g. During the interlude Mr Stanley sang in very good style a comic song concerning the Invercargill ball given on the ocoasion of the opening of the railway, and made some very good hits. At the conclusion of the performance Mr Stanley intimated that a matinee would be given this after^ noon at 3 o'clock — doors to open at 2.30-^-for the convenience of schools and children, at the exceedingly moderate price of 6d. There were then several useful articles given away, the most foi'fcunato recipients being Mrs Begg, of Thompson-road, who obtained a silk dress, and Mr Johnson; of Port Napier, whb won. a silver hunting-watch. We notice that Mr Roope Brooking has been appointed Hawke's Bay agent for tho Transatlantic Fire Insurance Company of Hamburg, an institution which is acquiring a large business in tho colonies. The Olive Road Board have appointed Mr August Nicdermayr their rate-col- \ lectoh Mr A. M'Lean intimates in an advertisement that he intends to open the Porangahau smithy early in August. Tho Rev, F. Whitmore Isitt does not appeat to have beenn particularly impressed with the Poverty Bay Artillery, for in his letter to a Taranaki contemporary, previously noticed in our columns, he says: — " In these warlike times, though, when our,, eager sympathies are drawn tojjfai'ds.Taro nakij it is bdrrifdrting id know that there is onp effective corps of colonial forces .that, niight be induced to throw themselves into the breach, and would certainly save the country. lam credibly informed that the Poverty Bay Artillery Corps possess a terribly eflfeotive Weapon; Consisting ,6i a piece of six-inch stove pipe, .mounted mi, wheels, and that tlie'y manoeuvre; Sponge; } .rauHj find do everything but fire the deadly instrument, in a manner, that would inevitably strike terror into the breasts of any number of natives, I eonimend the suggestion, that tills piece of ordinance and its directors should be brought to Taranaki at once, to the attention of the authorities." Funny .mistakes, says! J&6 P'6si\ ii'Q sometimes made by the bailiffs and constables whose duty is to "cry" the various cases in the law courts. At the Resident Magistrate's Court a gentleman named Owen Lord was interested in a case, but in order to save time, no doubt, his name appeared on the official records as O. Lord. Said the clerk to the orderly, « Call O. Lord." " Oh, Lord," shouted the orderly. As Mr Lord did not answer at once, the 1 orderly went outside the ddof, and yelled" " dh, Lord," three times. Altogether the Court was convulsed with laughter; the orderly could not see that there was anything wrong, and simply contented himself with calling " Silence !" in stentorian tones. A well-known legal gentleman who was entering the Court when the orderly was calling "Oh, Lord," was amazed, and made anxious inquiries as to the mental condition of the orderly. Referring to the most recently appointed Minister, the Wellington correspondent of the Auckland Herald says ; — "Mr Thomson sometimes causes fun bv his broad Scotch accent and dry humour. On one occasion he was discussing the financial statement, and called the attention of Sir J. Vogel to a serious error in one of the tables. Sir J. Vogel rather pooh-poohed the matter, and said if the ton. gentleman, instead of carping about an error in tables, would just refer to table B he would see that the whole matter was clearly and correctly put. Said Mr Thompson, ' But I have looked at table B, and it's a' wrang thegither.' Sir J. Vogel, after scratching his head, had to admit that it was " 'a' wrang thegither,' and that Mr Thomson had scored a point." Some Maoris at the Taueru have done a foolish thing this week, says the Wairarapa Daily. In the absence »f the gentleman who has charge of the estate of the late Mr Gilligan they drove off the land all the horses, and impounded them. We believe that they were put up to this little trick, but wo feel sorry for the putter-up, for the natives, and for the poundkeeper who received the horses, when we remember that the trustee for the estate is the c ' Angry Travers." They find it rather difficult to keep the correct time in Fiji, and a measurement has had to be introduced into Parliament Ito meet the emergency. The meaning and purposes of the Uniform Date Ordinance, 1879, is explained by the follow-' ing message accompanying it: — "The colony of Fiji being crossed by the meridian of ISOdeg. reckoned from the meridian of Greenwich, that part of it lying to tho west of this line is, according to the ordinary rule of noting time, nearly 24 hours in advance of that lying to the east — so that, for instance, when at the town of Vuna, in the Island of Taviuni, it was noon on Jan. 1, 1879, it was, properly speaking, only a few seconds after noon of Dec. 31, 1878, at Naiselesele, situate only a few miles distant in the same island." Mrs Hardinge-Britten, lecturing at Dunedin on " Life in the Spirit World," gave some information regarding the varions spheres of the spirits. The third sphere itj;appears is occupier! by " our little children," and in tho fourth sphere there dwell " all those who have rejoiced in intellectual life in this world." The fifth sphere is the sphere of lovo, and the sixth sphere is set apart for love and wisdom for those who have fitted themselves to be " our guardian angels." Speaking of the " gathering together of the eagles " at Welliugton, the Patea Mail says : — Mr Barff has taken his old room, which has been scrubbed and aired. Tho well-worn Bible and. the Prayer-book ho forgot, in his hurry to catch the steamer last year, were dusted and put within easy roach, but us ho had brought a fresh supply, ho was going to pack the old ones away carefully, when he thought of his follow-members. He spent all Friday morning seeing them, but found they had all provided for themselves except Dr Wallis, who accepted the gift with tears in his eyes. An amusing instance of juvenile humor has come under the notice of the New Zealand Herald, A I»<*7; who was

present with her two children at a church ' in Auckland, -riras devoutly engaged in the 1 Litany service/ The boy, whose orthodox . behaviour' is; most unques tionable, uttered the responses with commendable accuracy and fervour. The clergyman came to onefparticular clause, and on the boy responding,' " WebeseetJh Thee to hear us, Good Lord," his. little Bister, of five summers, who had been to see the opera of "H.M.S. Pinafore," ldoked up 1 arid Sftid> with great empresseiHedt, "And so do our uncles, our cousins, and our aunts.". The effect was literally electrical— ttiatts t'p 1 say; ttie jJarbxysnis of suppressed laughter And spasmodic Shaking 6f thd^e in tlie vicinity resembled the result produced by a . series of galvanic shocks. Fortunately, 1 this impromptu.addition.;lto( the Church sqryice" was not audible to the clergyman, or even his gravity might have been upset. , A n3w and rather singular substance to replace oil and other machinery lubricators is mentioned by the Correspondent, ; oalled " metal me." It is described as "a .pure dry metal composition, compressed from a hard steel form to a fine cylindri-. cal powder, and inserted into holes made into the solid substances or parts requiring lubricating." It demands no attention for years, -will not melt, and will bear a temperature of .450 degrees Fahr. Unlike oil, it will not soil j but its pride is rather high. • ' . '