SOUTHERN ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9490, 20 April 1894, Page 2 (Supplement)

SOUTHERN ITEMS.

The Wyndham Dairy Company intend " building" a half-ton cheese for the winter show of the Obago Agricultural and Pastoral Society. Several settlers round about Ekatahuna are suffering severely from partial blindness, caused by the smoke from bush fires. Ib is feared that in one or two cases the blindness will be permanent. A settler's wife ab Alfredton could find no water when her house took fire the other day. She ran at once to the dairy, and, promptly seizing the pans of 0001, fresh milk, quenched the flames. A little seven-year-old girl in Nelson declared her intention of stopping any approaching train, and forthwith laid down on the railway track. She was seen by the driver, who was fortunately able to pull up in time, and was removed from the line. The Timaru Milling Company's (Koyal Mdl) annual report shows a loss of £3000. On account of the low prices ruling for wheat a year ago, a large stock was laid in, an advance being looked for. This was not realised, and, with keen competition among millers, resulted in a loss. The Christchurch Press states thab Mr, Fyfe has succeeded in ascending unaided to tho summit of Mount Malte Brun—known amongst mountaineers as " the Mabberhorn of New Zealand." This peak is the finest rock peak in the Tasman district, and is 10,421fb in height, being the fourth highest in New Zealand. The accounts of the Dunedin Savings Bank for the year endiug December 31, 1893, showed a total fund of £152,640 14s 6d, of which £140,683 19s 3d represented the sum owing to depositors. The accounts also showed an excess of assets over liabilities of £11,953 15* 3d. Of the funds in hand £102,252 10s lid were lent on morbgage. At the meeting of the Lyttelton Harbour Board on March 30 a letter was received from Admiral Bowden Smith, stating that on the recent visit of the Orlando to that port the depth of water was found to be less than that shown on the chart supplied by the Board. The Chairman said that the soundings had been taken only a few months before, and it was evident that the silt was coming very rapidly from the reclamation works undertaken by the Government at Sticking Point, which had nob been faced as stipulated for by the Board. It was decided to forward the letter to the Government with the intimation that the Board held it responsible. A rather peculiar case came before the Chief Justice and a special jury of twelve at Wellington on Tuesday, the 17th April. Mr. G. W. Smart, pawnbroker, sued the Phoenix Assurance Company for £235, the value of five pictures insured in the defendant's office alleged to be by such artists as M urillo, Gainsborough, and others. Shortly after insuring them a fire took place in the plaintiff's premises, and the pictures were burned. When the plaintiff was examined, it came out thab he had smuggled the pictures into the country by taking two of them out of their frames and putting them into furniture. He had bought 33 pictures.. including the five, and one other which was nob burned, but was insured for £40, in London for £300. He also admitted thab the artists' names were fictitious. Several witnesses were called, who deposed that in their opinion the pictures were valuable, one of them placing the figures as high as £860 for six of them. After a couple of hours' consideration, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for the full amount claimed, and His Honor entered up judgment accordingly, with costs. At St. Peter's Church, Wellington, on Thursday afternoon, March 29, a large party had assembled to witness the union of two young people pretty well known in the city. The marriage service was being conducted by the Rev. W.C. Waters, and all went as ib ought to until the clergyman asked the lady whether she would take the man at her side as her wedded husband " to have and to hold." To the surprise of all presenb, the bride-elect briefly, bub distinctly, replied "No!" Thinking thab there must be some misunderstanding Mr. Waters went again over the previous few sentences of the service. Again came the refusal, short and sharp. The lady's father nudged her and urged, " Bub you must say I will." Bub she was determined. "No,'' was her reply, "I won't, I won't have him." Thereupon ab the suggestion of the lady father the whole party retired to the vestry whore a short consultation was held, the result being thab Mr. Waters had bo advance bo the altar rails and announce that owing to the indisposition of the bridenelecb the marriage had bo be postponed. The ceremony was performed next morning at ten o'clock, the bride having relented. The young lady's name was Miss M. J. Hare, [ and the groom, Mr. Herbert Edmonds.

A New Plymouth paper records that. byTe VVlSlti r0 " pO3,ted£B0 ' 00 ° hoarded The late storm at Napier was the severe ever experienced within the memor* living inhabitants. J 01 'I he recent ball in aid of the Welling Hospital funds is expected to show a crertih balance of about; £200. t-reuijj The directors of the Mosgiel VVonlu™ Factory Company declare an interim dividend of 8 per cent. ,nteria » The other day, two horse?, valued ibout£3(> each, belonging to Mr. C Lolh l Napier, ale 201b of wheat between them and died. u » At Newj'ly mouth Aprilo was observed as a holiday, postponed from March 11 which was the fifty-third anniversary nf tVsettlement of Taranaki. 7 the The Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Com pany has declared an interim dividend fr£ the six months ending March 31, at thera°n of 9 per cent per annum. At Lyttelton on April 11, Ada Emm Flavell was fined 20s and costs for signing a declaration for a claim to vote when Th. was under the age of 21. ' An important; land sale took place at Gora on March 20. About 8000 acres of the Green vale Estate was sold in 35 allotments The sale realised nearly £29,000. " ' There is a rhubarb plant in a mill garden at Milton (Otago) that measures eight feet across in one direction and aboufsix feet the other. One of the leaves is four feet across, and the stalks are enormous, weiirh ing 31bs to 41bs. ° a ' It is stated that the port charges at Dunedin are such that the trade of the place is being diverted to Invercargill. & boat like the Hawke's Bay has to pay about £115 for entering and clearing outwards from the portWhile on the Hinewaka Mountain, in the Wellington province, the other day, Mr Donne found a number of Urge leg bones of the mou. Sir James Hcctor inteiids to exhibit them at the next meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society. Some of the Auckland ratepayers are a trifle long-winded in paying up their rate? but they can show a better record than Napier, where a list has just been compiled showing out of 873 ratepayers in tho Borough of Napier 578 are defaulters. The Oamaru Mail remarks that the unusually wet summer has not been an altogether unmixed evil, for while it has had a serious effect upon the harvest, it has been productive of a material diminution of the rabbit nuisance, many of the young Giles having been drowned in their burrows. The annual meeting of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company was held on March 29. The report stated that, after writing oS £3000 for depreciation, the balance at credit of tho profit and loss account was £2447 148 2d. A dividend of 8 per cent, was recommended.

The Photographic Society's exhibition was opened at Dunedia on April 14 by Dr. Roberts. There are about 400 frames, many enclosing sets. There are contributions from Auckland, Nelson, Christchurch, and Invarcargill clubs, which greatly assist in making the collection an interesting one. There was a fair attendance of the public. The Poverty Bay Herald records the finding on the Waikanae beach of a strange reptile two feet in length, more like a snako in appearance than an eel. It has a flat head, the skin being a beautiful golden colour on the belly and black on the back. About six inches from the tip of the tail are mottled black and white marks. There are no feet. The reptile is alive. A large concourse of people assembled in the Recreation Grounds, New Plymouth, on Thursday, April 5, to witness the ascent in a balloon by Miss Leila Adair. They were disappointed, as the balloon caught fire during the process of inflation, and was burnt to atoms. Miss Adair apologised for the disappointment occasioned, and hoped the people would not think it was done purposely. She stated that she would have another balloon constructed, and make the ascent in about a fortnight. The clock and chimes in the Invercargill post office tower were started formally on April 4 by Mayor Raeside. There was a large gathering of notables, and several speeches were made. The clock was supplied by Littlejohn and Sons, of Wellington, the Corporation paying £250 towards it. Mr. Littlejohn says that the chimes are the most perfect, musically, in the colony. Unfortunately, the tower is too low, and the dials are not readily seen, and for the same reason the range of the sound of the chimes is much less than would have been the case had the elevation been greater. The four bells were casb by Cable and Company, of Wellington, and their tone meets with general approval. A special meeting of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, to which citizens interested were invited, was held on April 16 to consider the position of the lower harbour. There was a large attendance. It was resolved, " That the Chamber regards the keeping open of the deep water channel from the Heads to Port Chalmers as a matter of most vital consequence to the trade of Dunedin and the surrounding districts ; and that a depth of not less than 22 feet at low water spring tides should be maintained ; and that the Chamber will support any feasible schema for carrying out this object." After a long discussion the motion was carried. It was then proposed, " That the meeting approve of the scheme of the Board to raise revenue by an ad valorem duty, and asking the Government to forward the necessary legislation." An amendment was carried by the casting vote of the chairman declining to express an opinion, and it was decided to hold a special meeting to deal with it.

A case has been heard at the Wellington Supreme Court, before Judge Richmond, which is of considerable interest to importers. A. E. Grimm and Co., of Hamburg, sued John Manttan, of Wellington, to recover £55 123, amount of a bill of exchange accepted by defendant in favour of plaintiff in payment of a shipment of Austrian chairs. The defence was that the invoice sent with the chairs for Customs purposes did not disclose the true value of the goods in the principal market of the country of export, and, in consequence, tha goods were seized by the Customs authorities. The Customs Act provides that if invoices sent for Customs purposes give undervalue to goods the price of the goods cannot be recovered. Mr. Justice Rich mond said the invoice was not fraudulent, but ib was clearly artificial Section 51 of the Customs Act did nob fit the present case. Judgment would be for the amount of the bill with costs, execution to be stayed for fourteen days, so that a counter claim might be tried when the question of the costs of the counter claim would bo dealt with.

In Chambers, at Dunedin on April 13, a draff l order for the appointment of a receiver for tha Oainara Harbour Board was approved after argument. In giving judgment Mr. Ju.'tice Williams thought there could be no doubt that the security of the debenture-holder does extend to the surplus proceeds of the rate authorised to be levied by the Acts of 1882 and 1887, after the interest and sin*ing fund, if any, on the loans authorised to be raised by these two Acts have been satisfied, and that he has a right to appropriate ib bo the satisfaction of his claim in respect of his overdue interest. Apart, therefore, from any question of convenience or expense, and looking at the position of the present debenture-holders as second mortgagees, it is impossible in law to refuse their request that their receiver may have the right to receivo the rate of which they are thus second mortgagees, as well as the other property of which he must be admittedly appointed receiver. At a meeting of the Wellington City Council, the Finance Committee reported thatitna year's transactions were satisfactory. a receipts generally had been up to the estimates, and in many cases exceeded them. The amount due to the bank on general account had therefore been reduced rota £10,167 at the end of March, 1893, to £99 '^ at the end of last month. The estimates for this year allow a larger » mou " b usual for general street works, and *- for the extension of the water mains, committee added that it would not M necessary to increase the rates, as although the special rate for interest on loan will re quire to be increased from Id to ljd, ttte amount for charitable aid is somewhat les than last year, and will allow of that rate being reduced from 3Jd to 3d. T1 • mates of the receipts for the year nre:-* Water rate, £19,250 rate for interest on sanitation loan, £9222; city.mprovmen» rate, £8490 ; charitable aid, £4245 , libra, y account, £1505. The estimated ex^nditure for general account this year is £33,4-0, principal items being: — Street « £7800; interest on loan, £7600 ; scaveng g and street watering, £2500 ; ie d destructor, £2400. The Council carried the recommendation to prevent advert! on electric light and gas posts.