NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13160, 25 April 1906, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Westralia left for the South. Waipori due from Westporfc. Kumaxa due from the South to-day. Manapouri due from the Islands tomorrow. Indradevi due from London and Australia, | to-morrow. ° Some Invercargill tradesmen refused to cash the new Union Bank notes, thinking they were possibly fraudulent. ; By carrying out the drainage works by day labour, instead of by contract Carterton estimates to bivo saved £954. ; Tub Valuation Department is to be urged by Mastat-on Borough Council to complete the new valuation of the borough as soon as . possible. J The sharp frosts during the last few mornings have played havoc with the late garden crops and winter feed in the Kopauranga district. ■ Two more large wool stores are about to be erected in Wellington, one of threeutoreys for Murray, BobertSj and Co., and the other (two storeys) for Abraham and Williams, Ltd. The Crown lands available for selection in the Wellington province total an area of 49,037 acres. This area includes 29,603 acres of unsurveyed rural lauds and 12,328 acres of small grazing runs. The Full Court of Victoria has decided that natural grass cannot be called a crop, and for-this reason quashed the conviction v. of a man who had been convicted of hav- (■<; ing maliciously set fire to a crop of grass. It is reported, says the Christchurch Press, that the State Fire Insurance Department can boast of having about £3,000,000 ( of insurance on its books, while the losses up to die present amount to les;i than ■\. £1000. ' 4. cowardly assault and l robbery is reported from New Norfolk (Tasmania). A man- named Nicholson was set upon by two ruffians, who, after breaking his leg and fracturing his jaw, robbed him of all his money. , 7 A movement is on foot in Wellington to establish a Consumers' Defence League, the object being to secure a reduction of duties . on necessaries and to oppose a further increase of direct taxation. The league, will be non-political. The dry weather is causing the milk supply at the various creameries in North Otago to shrink very fast. At the Awamoko Creamery the milk supply, which at Christmas time was 1000 gallons daily, lias declined till it is now a. little over 400 gallons. The Timai'U Harbour Board's dredging plant is to be augmented by the addition of a twin-screw hopper dredger, constructed by Messrs.-Fleming and Hedley, of Paisley. The new vessel will l>e capable oi carrying 1000 tons of dredged spoil in her hoppere. vJ The Palrnerston police state that a num- «>' ber of complaints have been made of late " 1 respecting the blocking of the footpaths jp, opposite some of the hotels in town by members of the betting fraternity, who congregate in these localities to pursue their avocations. Australians express surprise at seeing the i . lantana given a place in Napier gardens (says the Herald). They know what a pest it is in Queensland, and believe that, being a prolific seed-bearer, it might easily become ,■ 'troublesome in the warmer parts of the f[ North Island. A Master ton settler, who has occasion to be a good deal amongst sheep, states that dipping this season throughout the Masterton district has been particularly effective, and sheep are •'cry clean. In the bush districts the results from dipping have not been so satisfactory. Deer are particularly plentiful about Kaiwltaike, on the*»Vangariui River, this year, and many fine specimens have been obtained. A magnificent buck, with no less than 17 points, was shot on Mr. F. H. Allen's property by Mr. George Anderson, of Long Acre, last Tuesday. About 500 miners, engineers, plumbers, and others turned out on a Sunday to assist in the work of laying nearly a mile ■;»<u water main to the hospital at Co bar, New South. Wales. In three hours water was available at the hospital, where there are 51 cases of typhoid fever. Victoria, proposes to obtain the services of an American engineer specially qualified to deal with the conservation of water and irrigation. Mr. Swinburne, the Minister for Water Supply, is about to visit the United States with the object of securing I* highly-qualified and experienced man. One result of the. shipping war, according to the Timaru Herald, may be the shipping of a considerable quantity of grain to England, although the price" will not be k jifected, the reduced freight merely enab- ■. ling the com to l*> placed on the 'London i. market profitably at tin- existing quotai! tions. j,' Signs of the approaching shooting seai", »on are visible in gunners' huts or lading . places built out in the Washdyke lagoon, V Timaru. Duck shooting must be rare sport ■when' it leads men to construct such things $ and stand, all night thigh deep in water |i. ; and knee deep in mud, even though in i? •;indiarubber "waders." vP. The severe hailstorm which fell over the Bruce district, Otago,. last Friday week pt caused a great amount of damage to an --extensive crop of turnips at Messrs. Cad"wallader Bros'. Coomb* Hay Station. The drop was an exceptionally heavy one, and Ipt-lk station manager, it w said, estimates . : ' tiler loss at £400.— Herald, ' ' 1 . . . f'l. ' ,■ ' ■ ■