TIMARU.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5953, 25 March 1880, Page 6

TIMARU.

_ '; jjaoil OTTB OWH COEBB3POTOKNT.J , . , Wednesday, March 24. ’ The Toother in South Canterbury has been’ TeiyqWjßpttlpd ;bbe, ipaefc -jnotrthj. and fanners have had great difficulty in securing their grain in anything like good marketable, condition. With the, exception, of four fine days in succession during last week, it has rained here more or leas nearly every day. for the past six, or seven weeks. In the southern portion of the Geraldine County, in the ■vicinity of Timarn, and in the whole of the Waimate County, the. crops were very late this year, and consequent upon the unusually broken weather experienced, many fields of grain are even now out in stook; while in the vicinity of the Upper Hook and Makikihi districts a few Tartarian oat crops are still ■uncut and not thoroughly ripe. In several £elds I have observed wheat sprouting in the stock, and quite unfit for milling purposes. The work of stacking was pushed on rapidly lastweek, bat a resumption of wet weather this week haa caused farther delay in securing the grain. Those who were fortunate enough to possess early wheat crops this season have good sound grain to offer, and they will do very well, as the grain has threshed, and is threshing, fully up to the estimated averages giyen in this year’s Lyttelton Times report of the crops in South Canterbury. As a rule, the quality of the grain this, year is not firstdans. The wheat berry is not so:,full or plump as one would expect to see, and 1 regret : to say that many samples offering in town are too damp for shipment without first being subjected to a kiln drying process. If .Hew Zealand wheat is to keep up the premier position in the London market that it has gained of late, grain buyers and samplers will have to be careful as to the condition and quality of the bulk they pass for shipment; and in order to do justice to themselves and the farmers, they will require to exercise a great deal of discrimination and care in,pass* ing/ grain ; through their hands in South Canterbury and Jfprth. Qtago this year, I do not suggest this by way of placing an extra Weapon: df ’oppression in the hands of 4he grain buyer,'for briny experience that individnal,:or his agent—and we have a good deal of the latter here—‘is 1 exacting enough in Ms demands on farmer, without Urging him to increased vigilance. My solo objeot-is to impress upon the farmer not to do anything himself tbstK?’' 1 *h.e effect of injuring

the English market; fpr NeW;'Zealand wheat by producing a sample" inferior in quality to American, Australian, or any; other foreign production, as self & |ho Ohd, ! and 5 will indirectly bOtire okuse /61 decreasing the ; prosperity "pi the 1 Colony ■ generally. .It .»... true that the farmers cannot control the Weather, .but it is equally trae that .they can farm their land and eathef their grain in such a that ordinarily severe weather wilh not materially injure the g**a*n iteelf. -,for i ; stance,'in a constantly changing wet and dry season like the present, .the exercise patience m getting-into, stack, although the Work of stackingshonld occupy a week or a fortn.ght longer in completion. Ho should not, as 1 have m dozens of cases dunng the Mrt tge OT ; four weeks, go on stacking m a dnzzlmg rala or put the grain into stack when it W wet and totally unfit for main in the stack, tberC.is a prospect, Of it drying, but common sense ought to suggest that it will never dry in the stack. It u Jepr irritating and expensive, no doubt, to haye; a large number of men and teams waiting On 'from day to day. watching for a ( chance ,01 gathering ih llie grain, but it more irritating; When the farmer finds that, through hii bwn folly in ruehihg tho into the stack,; tlie grain merchant rejects the sample, and the,owner has to hawk it all oyer ' the country and ultimately submit to a reduction of from 6d ;to 8d per bushel on the | price ruling for sbund, dry wheat. i Several: i instances of: thjs'Mddhave come under' my> ; notice this year, acd l have drawn attention: sto the subject in thehope’that, fn’thd ; future, ■ more; i s care .will *'*' ibo 'exercised m gathering the :grain, ■ .nine-tenths ! bf which * Imust of necessity be exported ttf England.' JThe threshing aro'hpw all Infulf work, but os yet deliveries* of■■ grain have been; 'small, and the-pressure on the railway. haS not [commenced. .<r: The prices ruling for ’good samples of whea tran ge ■at fro nr 8 s 6dto3a 8d dollveredin Titoarti, and fori small parcels of -' ■good i early'delivery, fi fts' tnuOh: os 3s ,9d ; and 3s lOd has been paid; 'SaleS'of joists ;havo taken place at from Is 2d for feed fto Is 5d for-good' milling. ■ \ Prices for barley range at from' 2s' 3d to 8s 6d, according 1 to 1 jqnalityv ;'p wit a H’’ t The Timaru Borough' Cbtmcilhas made all the preliminary arrangements for floating the , Waterworks loan in jtha English market, and there, is ho w a ; prospect of the'work '.being, commenced'within ( the ‘next six months., Until ‘ the loan is' 'floated and the‘Council is m a petition 'to off ' its pyeijdraft at the ißank, no public works of •any magnitude can he carriedpht. ui;t Coiihcillorß, However, meet as usual: and discuss ‘tanitkry inatteifsi pass. tinder Regulations, t and 'httehd i! f6'.anything that does • hot necessitate the; of, money. : TTithHrt/iy' thmW giteflt" 'fpi'ib ' has" been to dis- | cusspro posed 'modifications ih the Building', ! Regulations,. apd pas* resolutions either cen- i soring or ’ &oneiwtin , g persons .who have not ! strictly' eoih]|Hdfl ‘ %ith ‘itifllse,' Regulations j | but' fin I Monday night themselves into a Bdara of Dibtatoirs tothe;Bpnth Canter- : the dictatorial business by referring tpanarticle ( which' had inj ohd ,of the evening i papers; i fairness on the part of one’ Of the examiners ' i of • the'oandidatak'fbf iniihe oift • ofthe Board" bfj.Rdul»^h/md.'ed!ded,thab, i as direct complaints' oh I ,the’subject had been I inode to his, dp%jtp ( ! j bring the matter hefore lhe Council. Coup- j cQloir.'&^'^oOSvincliV 1 stating that, the, > Complaints h spapdal,, He j eoi^dbn4.''^« > CJhi^' wdhld ho wantinejin' i its duty ff it didnht seh’that they * to" jibe ye&y 'Ma,y6^prdce6,d,ed r ', j to say that he j papbrai' i were tabie fitted 1 ' fob ah' j M.A, degrbe, child of 13 years, of• < ’sge;./flh\' i^di nbt'iMiy{ j that the charges,made against the.examiners were true, but; if they were the citizenß Btpidd , impress upon the Board pf necessity foir;h4ting' ‘at fresh examination.' ‘Bfj' had, spoken to; the . Qhahjuan of ,the Rperd. of Edubatibn ion .the, I teld that nothing could be dbne jUnless a .com-,' plaint were' forwarded ObtmeiUor Jones tlie Mayor;calling j a public meeting'tbjdiscuse but this; was suchan&bsnrd'BUggestion'thal.eye j the Mhyoe atid douncillor , icpuli^ r ' japt, j support it. I CoubciUors Ross and Gibson jopk j the only BenSiSleyfewdf; : thejquestioh,By'Bfa|- ~ <ing that it rfas a 'lmatter with >vhich the jCouncil. had -no = interfere. The. ilatterih a yery cOminbn sense epeechsrgnified J his Willingness to assist as a pnVatb citizcri in idiscoveriijg-whether the.fact .of- the BeV; G. s Earclay heing the examiners had ianjf- ' thing'to do with his abn securing the principal-, 'scholarship, and added;what appears to me ; !to have been intended - as-a quiet piece bf sarcasm, “the examination in arithmetic;"js i certainly beyond the capabilitrei' of children ibf the age of 13 ;'ui fibtrit’ wbtild jpnzzled the Cduncillprß thbmkelvetf to ' jwbrk' iout'the‘question.’,’ - ids the latter; statetnent; ;was “ a use' a tporring'phrasb; 1 the, meaning of Which- h ' jury''Will 1 sooti ; called upon to decide in a certain libel : abtion'' —it is not to bb wondered at that Obtmcillbrs ' .themselves ‘ should have' deceived the state-' iment With laughter;; I suppose' /that futinfj; jsjchokrship examinens 'in. anthmibtic will;he: I careful in setting thb hnestionsV So' that they •wiU not even'be cajKible of-puzzling such a ! learned body Council,: jor that “ITOat tanUpt nuirzlB I 'the Timaru; 'Borough Obuncili” Will *W : set dbWn as *h! j standard by future arithmetical; CxainineVs for; Bcholarships. Heayen save ■the nlark. The' fact of the matter* isthat thffTimarußow)ugh ; i; Council deal with : aiibttpf' quite; j outside their province, and in ■ doing 0 so thejy only made themselves'tidicajbns' in the eyes : of the pirblib.' *■' PubUbp'edncktibfaj; ’ and' ‘more' I especially of ftieferidng to Goyerii-' ; ment Schplafshkis, is baybnd'.the depth of the’ Bbtbiign ,CouiiCiJ, ! j''who •’‘ ffibnld' v nayb' ; )Ud : i the' good ’ sense L to 1 ’ reinernbeif 1 theiy position' I and the pnrpbsel for^l^bh ‘they were eleytbd;' ilf anythihgL l i! the 'sbholaifship' examinatibrf w«iB iJ cbndTOted ' unfairly. ' the I Board of Education; shbUS'‘hh?;the judgCS, 1 ;and a siinpld cb'mplaint, ih 1 writing J the effect "bf i mqiiiry to he! | made. It does not look well,,on the fabb.bf jit, that ;&0 father bf qdet pt ‘ the'skndxdiatefi| should act ; as an br be atked to prepare the but /itjis i positively un?bi|'' Ji tbtpOb l -'uppn' pni 'ex 'f&rte statement and u condbmri, ,tne gentleman; iii question because his*' soh’ inaynappenj tbj J bo j cleverer than any of the othCr candidateS brho presented themselves: at thb' : biaminatibn. ( However, nbw that‘the ' question' has'bCen ! fbiabd; T cbhsidbf.the'iptferestß'Of public j catibri 1 and "thb; pefsons ! ‘concerned demand 1 inquiry at the hands of thb Board p£ EduCation or a Cbmrbittbe'.bf Abh appointed by thc Bo^d;. 1 ’ ’’i The South' Canterbury jockey Club Races, Which take place , pn E and 9, arc likely to he very jsucCessfm,.’ nominatibiis are much larger than bn any former occasion and they contain pf.nearjyair thehest horses inj the jlfid dje island. 1 ( ’coui;Be is in bxcdleabj' great 'improvements have beenj made tbvth'e ratroj and saddling paddock. ‘ The weights will be declared bn April 1, and acceptances' and general entries wih'closoonAprilsiatßp.m; , j