THE RAILWAY TARIFF.

Otago Witness, Issue 2210, 9 July 1896, Page 13

THE RAILWAY TARIFF.

It is notified in the Gazette that sixpence (6d) per ton per day storage will be charged on all goods not removed by consignee within 12 working hoars of their arrival, except at country stations, when 2s per ton per week or fraction of a week will be charged ; minimum charge, 6d. Where the goods are stored upon railway land and are not protected in any way by the department, half above rates will be charged; minimum charge, 6d. All stations except those at Invercargill, Port Chalmers, Dauedin, Oamaru, Timaru, Christchuroh, Lyttelton, Hokitika, Greymouth, and the head stations on all other sections, are- deemed to be country stations for the purpose of charging storage. White lead, Cornish stone, flint, calcined bone, baryta, manganese, borax, metallic oxideß, and other raw materials used in the manufacture of earthenware, Dunedin or Fort Chalmers to Benhar, will be charged Class D. The following are changes in the classification of goods : — Earthenware, packed, not otherwise specified; owners' risk; Class C. Earthenware, native, packgjL t .»eeaajg,af.d dkgoit

from local factories, in lots of not less than 20c wt, half rate Class B. Any less quantity will be charged as such minimum or at the classified rates for Glass D. The clause requiring a deposit of 53 when ordering a horse box is abolished.

J. G. WAKD FARMERS' ASSOCIATION.

(From Oub Own Coriiesfondbnt.) Invercargili,, July 5. About 100 sharoholdors of the Ward Farmer*' Association attended the meeting on Saturday, convened for the purpose of considering the position of the company. Owing to the flooded state of the country very few country people were able to get into town, the train service in all directions being more or less blocked. This state of affairs it was supposed would have made the me&ting more unfavourable for Mr Ward, as his strongest and most united supporters come from the farming community. At the commencement of the meeting it was proposed that any who were not shareholder*, and also representatives of the press, should retire. This met with most determined opposition from Mr Thomas Fleming; of luvarcargill, who is a small shareholder in the association, and who, in opposing the motion, spoke in a most personal and bitter manner of Mr Ward. However, his opposition received the support of only six persons present, inoludiug himself.

The Chairman having expressed tbe opinion that rt was highly desirable* that the largest number of shareholders possible should be present, it was unanimously resolved, on his motion, that in view of the unfortunate state x of the country through floods, the meeting thouM stand adjourned until Saturday next, in order 69 allow of the presence of several hundred farming settlers who he and those pmenb cle&ired should be given 'the opportunity of attending, bat who on this occasion wsre absolutely debarred from doing so by the stoppage of railway oommanioation. ,

The laveroargiil morning paper h»,d come out that morning with no less than five columns of hostile matter to tho association and Mr Ward personally, including extracts from private letters produced in the case Southland Frczen Meat Company v. Nelson Brothers, comments by Sir Robert Stout, parts of speeches from Hansard, all the pist balance sheets of the association and comments thereon, besides a cumber of letters held over for the occasion, so muoh so that the publication h*d already been dubbed the •♦ Ward Edition." The ohairman briefly animadverted on these f&ots, and characterised it as a bitter and malignant display. of animosity towards himself and the association, but the tone of the meeting clearly showed these publications had not incited the feeling of distrust of the mantgement of the association ib was intended to do, but had increased the already widely expressed sympathy for himself and others it was intended to injure.

After the resolution for a postponement had been carried, and Mr Ward had given a short address, fche-foilowmgresolution was carried with acclamation :— " That the shareholders present assure Mr Ward of their continued confidence in him in the trying position in .which ho is placed, and tender their sympathy with him in his troubles, and are, assured v of his continued efforts on behalf of tho aefctlen of Southland."

The meeting was brought to a formal clpse by a vote of thanks to Mr Ward, on the motion of Mr Flaming, who at the outset had ohown much bitter opposition to him, but as the meeting drew to a finish joinad in the unaciiaous expression of sympathy and good wishes for Iho ex-Oolonial Treasurer.

THE BANK OP tf EW ZEALAND?

Wellington, July 2.

Mr P. Coffey has given notice to move ab tha nexb meebing of shareholders of (he Bank ol Now Zealand—" That ib ii not condaoive to the interests of shareholders to retain tha services of Mi: Watson and Mr H. Mackenzie."

Your Clyde Correspondent and the ladles' tinlld. TO THE EDITOR.

Sin,.— A letter was addressed to you some 10 days since by the secretary of the Ladies' Guild in connection with St. Michael's and All .Angels' Episcopalian Church here, mildly taking your correspondent to task for his untruthful aad somewhat malicious remarks there*neut (see Witness of June 11), but that Utter not appearing ' in your columns— l can thiuk only by niisadventure—l am induced to addresj you, and will ask you to kindly give me space. I would have taken no notice of his fir3t screed, it being too puerile and contemptible, but as he returns to the attack in the issue of the 25th with added venom, I feel called upon on behalf of the Ladies' Guild to demand an explanation and apology. I will quote him by your per-, mission, and you can then judge for''yourself if my demand is other than called for. He says : " That certain ladies left the guild as a mark of their disapproval of a certain unpleasantness that had its origin within the guild wai sufficient reasjn for mo s*ying what I did, an'l very probably I could say much more on the same tiibject'il • I had any desire to oppiess the tastes of my readers with ntiiutercsting matter of this kind." He then. ■ goes on to say :— " In*, a small community , like ours the guild t« as uncalled for as " !it it unpromising. Some bettor method of raising funds to wipe off the debt on the manse might surely bo, adopted by those imrae- ■ diately interested." Now, Sir, I would ask what would your corfeepojsdent infer by saying he could probably &ay much more ? and I would • < further ask what he means by saying the guiid is , wipvoinUing (the italics are mine). A.9 to the funds raised by tbe guild going to wipe off the debt on the manse, this is but an assumption on the part of your correspondent, and is evidence to me that he has no knowledge of the facts of the case, and is but tho catspaw of the ladies who left the guild.— l am, &c, Clyde, July 4. One Who Knows. [The letter alluded to by our correspondent has not reached us. —Ed.]