CURRENT TOPICS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11303, 22 December 1898, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

There is a decidedly amusing sui« t'i a cor- :. respondenuo betwosc t»' Hon. cool vans W. J. Steward, Jl.H..'--. >-nd FOE the railway authorities, w'nii'B STRAW- he has forwarded so '■'» W'U BEBitIES. mate Times for publiivjjiou, ■■.on the subject of cool mm 'or the strawberry.■•. trade: Th« rtr&wlierry growers may not enjoy the, nurnour of the correspondence, but.it is there.. The correspondence has its instructive sido Jeo—it is instructive in the revelation it gives of the red-tape practised in the Railway, department

and of' the slowness -of: the -''department to--move. The industry! 'of 'strawberry culture at Waimate lias, it sseniß,; attained' liiiok. ':du mansionsi that it:now gives 'employiri«frf oyri, ing the season .to from 150 to' 200 hands, Mid, provides on ah average five, van loads ofifreight per/day for three months. That being; so, Mr Steward asked \he Minister for Railways in the" House if he would "arrange: for cool vans to be provided for:, the. conveyance. : ci£ tho fruit to the Christchurch and Dunodiu..markets. Mr Cadman replied -that epeosal fruit vans could not be constructed, >R it would not pay to go to.that, expense, but that <iyol vana would be provided as fn,r as ays Pablo. Mr Steward subsequently interviewed Mr1 Ronayne, the general manage.1 of nu'l>v";,ys 1 mid he represents that tho latto'-' sad ■ l»H eight ordinary covered vans ou'ulcl !■", cisverted in a fortnight into, ventilated *r\,it vans, such as are used on.Oalifornian rail-, ways, by fitting in louvred panels, and t'nat ho gathered from Mr Ronayne that the york of nonverting tho yans would.bo put '.p band at once. That was,when Parliament w.'is in 'session.' Having returned horn? to Ash'tmrtoii,. Mr Steward wrote on November lf> -to the railway engineer's office 'at' Ohrist.t:hnr':h to inquire if tho vans wore ready. The "district engineer replied that: the letter had beMi sent to the locomotive engineer. To I.hat official Mr Steward addressed himseUtn !movi£ tho vans were ready, nnd the, mimlipv thai had been fitted vp1, and the reply was that his letter had been forwarded '■' tr> huarlquavters." .On ' receipt :of this :Mr Steward telegraphed :, to Mr Ronayne, who replied by wire practically .'n terms of Mr Oadman's statement in (l>o House. " Completely astounded "at thir., Mr Steward at once wrote to Mr Ronayne and to " dear Mr Cadman" asking that that should be done which liad been " clearly promised." Mr Ronayne's answer was thai, at th* interview with Mr Steward ]ia merely went into the question of what tbn.oost of providing vans would be, and ho certainly rlid not intend it to be understood that the department would fit up vans for the purpose, as he could not, of course, undertake sUfiK expenditure without the approval cr the Minister. "Dear Mr Cadman'' dia not.jfiyr much satisfaction to tho faithful member for Waitaki. In a letter, couched in the usual olFieial language, he had " tlu>. honom i"o inform " him that cool vans could no*' "t)B buili. but where they were available every %oility for their use would be given. As more than a third of the season has now passed the strawberry growers are unlikely to benefit much by that undertaking, but the unccm-, plaining Mr Steward, in his letter to trie Waimate Times, directs attention to the rnlewal of this promise. The humour of the aorrespondence? This consists m the disclo sure of the way in which the most obedient., fol 'owera of the Government accept almost withnit protest curt and evasive statements from .liuisters, and also the r revelation that Uie .^neral manager of railways cannot incur s-.n ".fienditure of a few pounds without obtain:w£ the Minister's sanction.

1 labourer in Wellington who sued a tmi.M

ing contractor his eriiployr.r, employers' for damages in respect n* in liability, accident whereby one ot hh tuc

was broken, has failed iv >■■;■- ---.c.lidn because he was unable to prove to Uj" "".t-isfaotion of the court that any apparav.r •houid have been provided by the defendi'.:"', or the performance of the work in which in vas engaged &t the time he met with tKa in. Miry. The plaintiff was employed with an other man in shifting iron rails,'each, «f which >vas 24ft long and weighed between 3cwt and ic.wt, out of a cart and passing them hrough a hole in a fence for uso in the con-, ■■truetion of a building. While one of Us ails was being moved an «nd dropped oj> ■he plaintiff's toe, which was broken. " The Employers' Liability Act, 1382," mititles :i ■'orkman to recover compensation from hi* employer for personal injury caused by re*. 'on. of any defect in the condition of ihe ■\'ay«, works, machinery, or plan'; rannficfei' ",-itb or used in the business of the employe-.-, defect existing in consequence n fte 'segligence of the employer ot his aupev:"----i indent or overseer. It was materia1 to i'av.

i ■■•< third of. T.he season has now passed, tlienegligence on his employer's part scd t.lip negligence'alleged wasthat proper appliances / were not. provided, for the sai» '•■?.rri?,Ko of 'ha rails. It was con tended tha". wbsi ;:- echnioally known' as ! " Ssaison " o; rOstt block and tackle, should have 'ofiat. supplied; md i* was asserted ' Uia* a '' KaoiEor. " v.'s." Mked for and refused. The. c-.s* was hoard in ilio Supreme Court before Vr ifusifoa T.'l--plaintiff's caea to show thai the~© had beeii ■ 'it the manner *in .wflio'i, tiv accident 'if.r, i.«ned. the evidenue of th« plEintifi1'? fttlsov.--■i orkraaii. who stated ths.t vh*> rai' ws? '"! ■ ■ill ir> the usual way, ar.d *feat in viiisw•;uenco of its beini- shpthtly''>Bn* ■'* fcrne:l iver and fell on the plaintiff's Jot;.. '"lip Honor did not, however, .consider it. ■aec:e:. jary to determine exactly an?.- r.i-f. accio.ef i 'uippened, for ho %vax satisfied froui trie •(-;'■ denca on both sides t'nat no apparv.tns i< r si'v 'find was «ith.sr usus-u' o- nseeßsary io<- {,'■* performance of. auob'vvork as that 'jpOD.-wMi.;. •'h« plaintiff was1 engaged whyr the f-:ceiuoT*t .incurred. The dasf. did noi,, 'oheratort, ';om« within the scope of the Bmployers 'jitiiiiiitj ■,ot. and judptmeni wmi* for the defendant. A. dividend at. the fate ">f 30 per ".Rnb. pp>annum ;p fir. exuepliooai 'h>v'. FAT it can well hf> imsisrirsef! DlviriKSTOS. a BQiisatioi.. was created ■w-libh v» low weeks ago -the doctor manufacturmg ijnmpany snowr. as J. und . T. Oi.ats. Limited, dfjclaroo a dividond fo> 'ho wond half of the year at the rain of 4" per j conk, which, with the interim dividocd of 20 I a»,r cent, dfinln.iecl tin. months.previously, -o j iwHsentcd art actual return of 30 j'fir t«nt. fm Luo y«ai. So highly quoted.' 'lowevej',' a^e

.'«.< KiiarnH in tht> company. that ti>» cKsiriinition 'or I,he uecmirl Suill yrau gave o. inhirn of about 4* pfti- <■<«•;,. <m'.y on tho price' c.t thf share* prnr t» tlif> rler.hra'.iov. Tim .nuctnation In the prices of Coals'H sham? liav htm- smnowiia'-. r6ina.vka.ble. In lM'-'O the prices ranged from £12 to £1?. las: the?' mcreased steadily T<v tho few sv-nnefiding; f.narp, until in T896. in s.VTr.nafhy with t.hn jiv.resFnd dividends, thfi highns' figure quntnrt for Uiort' war £59. Early ias<- year i;iip prien tnuenod £77 10s, but there was a drop after that, and tho shares were quoted at £60 10s prior to the declaration of the last dividend, but subsequently rallied to £65. In the earlio: '"nineties" Coals ranked as an 8 per cent,, stock, but in 1896 the annual dividend jumped to 26£ per cent., to drop to 20 per cunt, in the first half of this year, end eclipse all previous records in the second half. When .the interim dividend of 20 per cent, was an.nounced seven months ago tho price* foil £12 in an afternoon, so speculative had become the, stock. That was a sore point with the board, who did their'best to keep the scrip out of the hands of speculators, and those most intimately connected with the firm seonred no little satisfaction from thfi severe nip these reckless operators received at the time. On the latest dividend declaration the price 'rose £4, which on .the favourable nature of the announcement was by no means rv-ctravsiKa.n;, but went lo show that the stock' lias thrown off lriurf. of the speculative element. ■ Th e huge rhprantev of the Coals Coin■ natw'fi business;is evident from tho fact, that fli.a capital is £7,498,680. The reservf fund ■flandu v. ).ho -mormons figure of £1.140,000. Apart frni» '.hr 'amoua Anaoond? Conpe,-

■An:a6, TWais Sulphur son Onpper Company, and <irumi«r, Mond, and Co., no industrial 'oo.nowii r,rt* »«■>«" sun1*1 huge profits for its suaiß.holdera.

In accordance with our usual custom, there will be no publication of the Daily Times on Monday. next. Advertisers will therefore'require to make their holiday announcements in Saturday's issue. ,- The Moana, with the inward mails via San Francisco, reached Auckland yesterday. The southern portion of. the mail is expected to reach Wellington this evening, when it will bo sent on by the ,s".s. Oonali about 11 p.m. for Lyttelton. ■ Through some cause or other the ongine attached to the 9.20 train to Mosgiel broke clown last evening before Caversham was reached. The train eventually had to be cancelled. , A special train from the Lawrence show was, in~ consequence of the mishap,,detained for a long : time at Bur'nside. It left Lawrence at 5.15, and did not reach Dunedin till a, quarter to lL;:.;--::;,:;;-_;•■• -;;.•■..:;-.,.■/. ;'. „ .■-■■-

MrW.; J. ;Birigham,; agent f Qivthe; New; Zea-: : land Electrio"lJightl;:arid", TradUbriSCbmpariy,' :last night submitted; proposals ..to; the':.i City. Council for. the acquisition of the. city traipsj; to' be. worked by: electric:tra'cti6rij; and for tlie simultaneous introduction of eleotriplighVahd power intdl the.city. ■• The proposalsvwere;referred to,the General Committee, for.a report.

Mr Ronayno, .general; manager of railways, aocompaniod by Mr Arthur, the district traffic manager, paid a visit to Port Chalmers yesterday. iThey were .met on arrival r,by..a, | deputation from the Municipal Counoil, consisting of his Worship the Mayor (Mr,J. | Mill), Councillors Murray, Inverarity, and I Wilson, who ' called -Mr Ronayne's atten-. tion'to the necessity which existed:for an in-> crease in tlie number of lamps at the entrance to the station and to the piers, also to other matters of importance to the. town, all of which Mr Ronayne promised to" take into Consideration. After thanking him, the deputation re; tired. : ■. '. . .'- ..,. A young man named Robert Shearing was ; committed for trial at Tapamii yesterday, on a charge of shooting three sheep belonging to John Edie, a farmer, of Crookston. Mr Hanlon appeared for the accused,' and Detective i M'Grath conducted the prosecution. Mr R. S! Hawkins, S.M., before whom the ease was tried, admitted accused to bail in his own recognisanceiOf £20 and one surety, of £20.* ;

During the fortnight ended onlthe 17th inst. 332 cattle, 3360 sheep, 980 lambs, 82 pigs, and 39 calves were'slaughtered at the "City Abattoir, o£ which three cattle, two sheep, and five pigs were condemned. Owing to repeated acts of damage, it has been decided •to lock the gates at the old Cemet'ory reserve in Rattray street, the Triangle in High street, and the 'Market, reserve in Princes street south after 7; p.m. in summer and 5 p.m. in winter. The City Council invito the co-operation of citizens in preserving the reserves. .

,' The ordinary meeting of . the Dunedin Pliotographio Society was held last night, when there was a fair attendance of members. The chair was occupied by the president (Mr C. W. Kerr), who drew attention to the coming monthly competitions, as announced in the Budget. He expressed the hope that every member of the club would send in prints for competition. Owing to the unavoidable absence of Mr F! B. Stephens, the " Gum bichromato water-colour process" demonstration had to be postponed. The evening was devoted to putting a large number of slides ildndly lent by Mr Jt. A. Ewing) through the lantern, the character studies and snow and cloud scenes being greatly, appreciated.. A number of comic slides, such as the "Adventures of Mr Snapshot in Search of His Wife " and. "Faithless Nellie Gray" caused much amusement. Field days nave been postponed until January. • :

There is on exhibition in Messrs Wilkie and Co.'s shop, in Princes street, a copy of a, famous painting from the brush of the late.Captain Thomas Robertson, of Port Chalmers. The original was painted for the late Mr ''eorge Dodson, and until 'that gentleman's <lecith it occupied a prominent position in the Provincial Hotel in the Port. The picture represents the clipper James Baines, the bolder of the record in the early goldfields 'ays between England and Australia, under Mieflag of the celebrated Black Ball Line, "his clipper hn.'l, and has, the honour of flying ■he .white (or St. George's), ensign, although ib.. present she is utilised as a store ship nt The copy is an excellent one, •Mid is the work, of Mr D. O. Robertson, late if Port Chalmersj whoso skill as a painter of marine subjects is well known.

An attempt is.to be made at Breehin, Scotland, to municipalise the liquor traffic. The Breehin Advertiser of a recent date says; — '■' At a publio meeting a committee was ap pointed to organise a limited company, who. as openings occur in the trade, will apply for the license—and get it, for only magistrate 'will be elected who are, favourable to the scheme. The,surplus, profits t will; go to reducing the rates or other desirable objects. 'The teetotallers, object of course—on principle they refuse to derive benefit from the weakness of their fellow citizens; but they received' precious little sympathy from the meeting, and they were plainly told they could pay the rates themselves if they did not agree, for they would never get total prohibition. When the trade has been municipalised there will be no bad whisky sold; and off the huge profits the rates will be reduced, and, in fact, the place will be converted into a' little Utopia .(limited)— wherein no tramps will.be admitted."

The death was announced the other day by caj>lo of Mrs Keightley, who, in the early clays,, was concerned in a bushranging experience. Keightley and his wife were then living at a place called Dunn's Plains, near Eockley, Yew South Wales, and one djty in October hey were in the yard at the ' back of their house when they saw five horsemen leap a fence some little distance away. Keightley immediately recognised them as the bushrangers, and he and his wife at once made for the house, which they reached in safety, though not before several shots had been fired at them, two or three bullets entering the door post as tho farmer was entering. Having socured the door, Keightley went up to a barricade he had constructed on the top of the house, from which he is supposed to have shot the bushranger Bourke. Finding they could not get at Keightley, Ben Hall and his mater threatened to burn the house down unless he surrendered. Eventually he did let them in. No sooner had he done so than Hall seized him, and was,on the pointy of taking him out into the paddock to shoot him in revenge fo; Boiirke's death when Mrs Keightley begged that her husband's life should be spared. Hall consented, onicondition that he. and hiegang were paid the. £500.. reward offered, for the arrest of all or any of them by the Government. Pending receipt of the money the bushrangers retained possession of their cap live.. Mrs Keightley at once set out for hei father's house, some miles away, not riding, but being driven by a Dr Peaehey, who war staying with them. The story of her lonely ride to Bathurst for the money seems to have been a pieeo of imaginative writing, with no claim to truth. Her father drove to Bathursl, drew out of the bank 100 £5 notes, of which all the numbers were taken down, and then set out for tho Dog Rocks, whore the bushrangers were to be met and tho. ransom of their prisoner offected. The bargain was faithfully, carried out, and except for tho loss of the money, the only permanent result of tho incident was'its effect on Mrs Keightley's appearance. Her husband, aftor his releaso, stayed at Bathurst to give particulars of the affair to the superintendent of police, while her father went home to tell her tho nows. As it happened, she was watching with a'telescopy for her husband's return, arid, recognising her father a mile and a half away, and noticing' that Ke was alone, she received such a shock that she fainted, and her hair turned grey.

Mr Riekards's Tivoli Company repeated the programme of the previous evening at the Princess Theatre last night, every Horn being well received. Mr Eickards himself was in groat demand, as also were Mr Albert Bellman and Miss Lottie Moore, while the remarkable lightning changes and clever .impersonations of Ugo Biondi heartily amused and, at the same time, thoroughly amaaed the audience. To-night the company make their last appearance here, and as they aro really one of the most talented variety companies that have visited Dunedin, they should liavo a 'bumper house on the occasion. A special feature of the performance will bo three new songs by Mr Kickards—-viz.', "Tho difference between east and west," "It must have been," and Chevalier's celebrated coster song, " Tho little nipper.".