SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2258, 10 June 1897, Page 30

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

(FnoM Oub. Own Correspondent.) Invkrcargill, June 8. The weather during the_ past week has been VOrj" mixed, with much wind, varying from nor'•fvest to south and sou -west. When southerly it ■ has been very cold, with frequent rain showers, but not sufficient to stop seasonable out-door occupations, such as ploughing, whioh is beiug pushed on very vigorously, and. weather permitting, we shall boo an exceptionally large area put into crop in this district during the comiug season. One noticeable effect of this is the keen demand and high prices paid for good draught horses in all parts of the district. The sheep market is again in a normal condition, and values are not so high by an all-round average of Is 6d to 2s per head as they were a month or six weeks ago. Oats and. wheat, of which there is yet a coneiderable quantity in first hands, show no abatement in values. At no time since harvest has the supply ever saemed in excess of the demand, though the yield, as indicated by the railway returns, exceeds that of any previous season. With all this apparent prosperity in the country our tradespeople say money was never scarcer than at present. Most of the profits are, I fancy, . being put back into the land in the shape of perjnanent improvements, such as drainage, buildings, etc , and in many instances the acquisition of additional acres for the younger men of the family who are prepiring to leave the old hive, .and whose parents are desirous of seeing their Bons settle as Dear the old homestead aa possible. When this is the case much economy can be practised by a co-operative system of use of plant, etc., between the new and the old farms. j In conversation with the manager of one of the ' large loan and agency companies of this town r the other day he told me that his company aloue had sold upwards of 20,000 acres of agricultuial i land during the last three years in lnndium and useful-sized farms, and of what used to be the big estates of Southland. You have already dealt with the purchase by the Land for Settlement Board of the Otahu estate, of about 6000 acres (situated between the Eastern Bush settlement and the Waiau River), • but I do not think you have mentioned the pur- , chase of a block of about 9000 acres of Captain , J3tevenn's well-known Beaumout estate. Neither Df those purchases is viewed favourably by the ' 'general public, and notwithstanding the fact that ' ihe land policy of the Government is very popular throughout the countrj*, most of their selections ' For settlem?nt and the administration therewith . tome in for strong condemnation by their other- | ii'ise warmest supporters. j Mr Ritchie, chief inspector of stock, ia now on | X visit to thi« district. He has stated to inter- , viewers at Gore and Wyndham that he believes ' Ihe rabbit-freezing business militates against the EuppreEsion of the pest, which he thinks will never be appreciably lessened by the system of trappiug .Jiow beiug carried on. He points out that the ' department cannot compel poisoning, and will be ; satisfied so long as in its opinion the rabbits are ; Joeing kept down. Experience has taught Mr > JRitchie that in those districts where trapping had j 'been stopped, the factories closed down, and poi- i soning extensively and systematically carried on ' the rabbits have been greatly reduced. This I iresult has been obtained in a marked degree in ' (the Marlborough province, where poisoning is ' flone both in winter and summer, and no other ' system being now adopted there. Mr Ritchie said it was possible that there would be mtro- j duced in the cornin* session a bill empowering j the formation of rabbit districts and the advanc- > ing of money to a board (to be appointed) for the : -arection of wire-netting fences. Hs is firmly of ; .opinion that a system of netting fences in con- ' junction with systematic destruction all the year ■round would very soon solve the problem. He thinks there is absolutely no danger in the *hicken cholera experiments now being conducted 'by Mr Gilruth. , The Record Reign should be long remembered , »y the children who are in town on the 21tt inst. I 'It is intended to ap-nd at least £100 in cash j in procuring refreshments , for them, and, ! Jbesides this, each of the dairy factories ! Ss to be asked to give a supply of milk, ' 'butter, and cheese for distribution along with jfche other things that are expected from exhibitors at the Metropolitan A. and P. show. It 1s estimated that about 3000 children will be present in Victoria Park, where they will be admitted free of charge, and where a good programme of . tports will be carried out. The Metropolitan A. i and P. Society have given the use of the butter i Ibuilding as a depot from which the good things [ Will be distributed. j ' Up to date the sum of £1083 7s 6d has been contributed to the Invercargill hospital extension funds. At a meeting of the Extension ' ' ■inmittee yesterday, Mr J. E. Wataon report e rhat the Bub-committee for that purpose ha- selected a marble foundation stone for the Victoria wing of the hospital, and a suitable inscription was submitted to the committee and approved of. The son of Mr William Todd, late of Inver- ' •cargill, has returned here from Western Aus'tralisi, and expects )r- to follow him in tlv •course of a few weeki A farewell social to MrM'Hutcheson and family Vas given in the Presbyterian Ohurch, Bluff, on .Wednesday evening. Mr M'Hutche3on takes the J>;sifc:on of chief clerk in the Dunedin Post Office. ! It was resolved at the last meeting of the Inver- j cargill Borough Council : " That the council take i ,£tepß to procure the necessary authority from the i (ratepayers to borrow a further sum of £5000 for ' ithe purpose o| carrying out and completing the p/ater purification scheme ; the balance, if any, to }I>e refunded to the borough fund ; such loan to be secured on the ordinary revennea of the borough iind to bear interest at a rate of not more than 4 joer cent, per annum." At the same meeting Mr A. E. S Carr, secratary of the Invercargill Club, asked permission to erect a temporary building of wood and iron on the reserve adjoiningthe Club, in which to hold a ball j in celebration of the Queen's Jubilee. The application was granted. ' At a meeting of the stewards of the Southland {Trotting Club held on Friday night re the persons ' charged with misconduct at the late meeting (the evidence being contradictory), it was decided to caution the offenders, with the intimation that a second offence would be severely dealt with. The Becretai-y Avas instructed to place all defaulters jTipon the forfeit list after giving due notica of the Same. I A farmer named John Grant, 71 years of age, a {bachelor, was found dead in his hut near Fairfax «n Sunday week. An inquest was held on the ijody, the evidence adduced showing that practically death was ■ caused from insufficient nourishiment. Notwithstanding this it is reported deceased was possessed of upwards of £1000 worth I ■ bf property, which he has bequeathed to the Riverton Hospital. ' t On Friday night the friends of Mr John Sintslair, who unsuccessfully contested the Invercargill seat at the late general election, presented i snini with-a purse of tovereigns. In acknowledgSqg the presentation Mr Sinclair declared it was Jais intention to again stand- for Invercargill. .For the vacancy announced in the Education SBoard, caused by the decease of Mr James Malikintosb, it is undeistood that Mesrs W. B. Scandrett, G. R George, and Gilfedder, M.H.R., "will be candidates. t Mr Walter Keay, lately proprietor of the Clutha fCounty Gazette, was the recipient of a purse of (sovereigns from the residents of Clinton on WedSnesday last, prior to his departure for Winton, .where he has decided upon establishing a paper. 3?he first issue will appear on the morning of the •Record Reign celebrations, and the journal will "he known- as thfrAVinton Record. i The Mataura Paper Mills are now making paper Irom wood pulp, 80 tons of which they recently Obtained from the old country, i A number of business men of Invercargill met »t the Crescent Hotel on Saturday afternoon to say good-bye to Mr P. L. Gilkison, who is about .to start on a visit to Scotland. Several of those spoke of Mr Gilkison's admirable qualities fea a merchant, a citizen, and a. friend, and all 'wished him a pleasant voyage and a speedy reluru.

Mr Arthur Clothier, of the Land Tax Office %v Wellington, has been appointed clerk to the Superintending valuer in Otago.