SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES,

Otago Witness, Issue 2292, 3 February 1898, Page 31

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES,

« j (Fbom Otjs Own Correspondent.) j iNVERCATtGiM,, February 1. j The overwrought memory of Robert Burns has j had to thole another celebration. These are on a par with certain lines of enterprise that sprang up amongst goldfields barmaids of the early days. When trade got slack they issued invites to " birthday spreads." Getting confused about^ dates, inquiry was 'mad<», and it turned out each lady claimed the privilege of a birthday at least once a month. The evil of this overplus is that presidents and presiding geniuses have exhausted the vocabulary. In that dilemma they have set about manufacturing a Burns after no particular mods. I— leastwise, after the model furnished by Burns himself. As a sou of the Gael and blither Scot, you know that as well as I do, aed nothing more need be said. The Southland celebration was a decided success. Instead of the peck o' niaut that Willie brewed, Andrew Rayside, confectioner, who was purvevpr-general, gave us coffee neat. In fact, we claim to have improved on Bui us, and shown him, in memoriam, a grand moral example of total abstinence. Iv the course of the evening the president, Mr Kobert Gilmonr, cast new light on Burns's moral and intellectual character, which we are taking time tocoiiiider before passing on for the benefit of all whom ifc may concern. An ingenious blacksmith has shown me a model apparatus designed for prospecting river -bee's. With a test it seemed to -work very well. On a large scale I have little hesitation in saying it will raise ;ho ordinary-sized boulders found in thete rivers. So fsfr as silt, eand, gravel, and -pebbles are concerned, there can be no doubt. The machine could be worked in conjunction with a barge of whaleboat dim&nsions, and should not cost mora than, say, £50. Tor reasons tbat are obvious, the inventor is disinclined to have much said. He contemplates patent tight?, otherwise I believe I could prove on the spot the invention supplies an important adjunct to gold-dredging. Theie are, for example, 60 miles of the Waiau tha beaches, banks, and exposed parts of which are proved richly auriferous All that is nwessaiy is to show the bed of the stream is timilavly goldbearing. Were that done, an immense impetus would be given to dr&igiug. I know something about ir, and my co< tention is these beach deposits are ."-imply cviterions of the river bod. Under flood conditions the beach gets occa-ional accumulations, whereas accumulation in the bed goes on perpetually. Oh the bank the go!d ii fine ; down the beach it gets coatse -the coarbesfc and I heavUst of all bei»g at the water's edge. That I iak« to b« the finger of Nature piiutirjg to the bed for the heaviest aud best depo.it. A contrivance to settle that question on a cheap and economical scale is one \ou will admit of importance. Aueat the ancient history and territorial estate of Invercargill, cotipled with unearned increments accruing therefrom, let me tell a tal«. In 1862 a gentleman, long ago iion est inventua to Southland, invested a sum* of £30 in an acre of tewn land, having three fn.ntag«.s. Like the talented autbor ef WaverUy and other lofty mm *s of that ilk, he conceived the idea of founding r, grtat I governing famvly in territorial revaßUos. He had ' the acre Uil-inale-l and otherwise batUned down, so that theie might be no broaching c<u-go if he could prevent it. Fortuna favoured the enterprise, and next year this corner allotment spurned the ii'ea of changing ownership for tho trifling consideration of £10,000. Subsequently,' however, i'j let at a ground annual rent ot £10&0. Before the second half-year's rent became due the lessee went " bung," and tbe land reverted back to the owner There it vemaiued till laet week, when the tail-mJe being cap&ized it passed into the hands cf a local nun for £1200 Ido nob happeu to know whether it is in accordance with the eternal fitness of things to congratulate or condole the seller. Ho bas multiplied his 30 quid by 40, and pocketed the difference ; but then if he -had left "the tail-male saveiely alone and multiplied by 335, I fancy he might have been a richer if not a happier man. Poverty is a crim6 — there is no gettiug over it. A poor unfortuaate individual, to wit — abairister — appeared before the stip udiaiyrz>agi*tra*ecba>ged with neglecting an order to provide adequate sup- : jjort for lm familj'. The domestic relations of j defendant, as disclosed at a recent trial in tha Supreme Court crimiixal jurisdiction, were simply revolti»g. Beyond his poyerty nothing, \ however, waa shown to connect him therewith. To the charge of neglect be pleaded poverty, and no attempt was made to controvert the plea. Dd&pite thereof ba was given a fortnight to comply ■wir.li the order, failing which sentence of threo raonfhs' imprisonment iv.-is passed. The time was when % case of hardship and mistul venture like this would recommend iUelf to public sympathy

and relief. Thete day.-i have gone. We have bow, -seemingly, become tot >o highly educated, too deeply devout to care for individual distress, and unless the individual is prepared to don the livery of the poor law, we are quite content to leave him. to perish for lack of food. I cast no reflection* on the administration &f th* law. Tbe brutality does not rest there ; it rests wish the law itself. Bluff Harbour Board, p*r ita able energetic chairman, Mr J. W. MU»hell, J.P., has bten enabled to render another sati»factoTy annual account of itself. The year (1897) started with a

debit balance of £3655 Jsi 2d and closed with, that 'indebtedness reduced to £1487 6* 3d, tbe difference (£2IPB 8s ll«i) being the exce.« of receipts over expenditure, which is evidence of the board's prudMit administration. 'J he receipts for 1897 were £12,202 3* lOd and the expenditure £10,003 14s lid. Wharfage dues, as usual, were the largest itMn of income, amounticg to £3)06 7s lOd. A m»mo. of the board's receipts for the past

five years showed that the income of 1897 exceeded that of tbe previous year by .£312 12s BJ. On the expenditure side it was noted that close on onehalf—the exact amount being £49731 1 &— waa of a permanent character, and therefore not reducible. These were coupon interest and exchange, £3038 Us., and ? al»ries £1?35. Under tbe heading of steam tug the outlay' was £918 4s ; receipts under the same heading £971 17s 2d. A profit of £53 ]3s 2d had been made. Amongst the expeaoiture on works and maintenance, amounting to £2793 17s lid, were two items calling for special remark— vfz , £907 6a 2d, for which the board b£d secured a thoroughly substantial approach to the wharf, and £423 lls 9d for the breaking down of rocks on the margin of the channel at the western reef. The cost of that work was only about half the estimate given, and this was due to the unusual structure of tho rock and its consequent

eaiy removal.

Maintenance and repairs, neces-

sarily a heavy item, had entailed an expendituie of £1144. Consequent upon these details the chairman in tbe course of his speech pertinently remarked/that while a proper spirit of economy pervaded the board they bad not besitated to spend money necessary for the maintenance and progress thereof. lie the of Southland dairy produce, the Bluff "Harbour Board had the following communication, written in the interest of Wyndham, the Island, and the Seaward Downs factories, under consideration :—": — " Your active co-operation is solicited in bringing pressure to bear on the shipping companies, so that we may obtain tho privilege cf shipping dai/y produce from Southland factories at thp port of Bluff by such steamers as make that port prior to departure for the United Kingdom. It does appear ridiculous our produce should be railed to Port Chalmers for shipment by steamers which either have called or are booked to call at the Bluff. Forins'ance, the Banffshire is expected to ship 240 tons of dairy produce, a very great proportion of which will be sent from Southland. Why should it not be put on board at Bluff instead of Port Chalmers? The natural outlet of our district is the Bluff. We tried bard to fret the shipping companies to allow U3 to do so, but they were as adamant. There is no earthly reason why this should not be granted, and we trust, for the good of your port and the benefit of Southland factories, you will use your influence in the proper quarter to obtain this concession, which in no way iucurs any increased expenditure to the ship-owners." Ccmmenting thereon, the Hon. Mr Ward said he believed the absence of a grader had to do with the complaint, and that he had wired the Minister for Agriculture inquiring if there was any reason wbvsuch an officer should not be stationed at the Bluff. The suhie&t would he bioueht, under the

notice of the Cabinet. A copy of tbe communication was forwarded to the shipping companies ■soliciting ledress of the grievance. Liv-ly interest is beii g taken in the projected Southland Woollen Factory. A woll-aUended meeting was held recently at which it was resoKed to foini a company with a c«pital of £15,000, in £orf shares, and that the company be regidieied oa 10 000 beicg allotted. A good working committee was elected. Oi.e *peaker sralert that the quantity of woollen goods of colonial manufacture consumed in tbe district would amount to £20,000 per annum. the pioposed factory would turn out about £12,000, yielding a profit of £18G0, equal to 15 tier cent, on the calledup rsipital after allowing" for depreciation, &c He did not favour stylish buildings. Ife would take about £2000 worth of yarn per annum providel it w."s sold at the same rate as he cuuld pur. ha?e elsewhere. The Survey department has despatched five men to work on i be tivck between Hill's Siund aud the west arm of Manapouri. A good &ci viceab'c boat will be placed on Lake Haukinaon, by which tbe track is intercepted, retailed particulars ff this track as a through route for tomist traffic have already appeared iv your column*. l>r Roberts, of Dlw edin, and party propose exploiting it^early this month, and the roadmen have receive! instructions to look out and give them all the ass'&tance they ran. -It is r»ow generally apprehended Te AassU traffic this sea-ou will be a failure Until the question of steamer and other conveniences i 3 taken in band, or 3t all events encouraged, by the Government these lakelands cannot pos-ibly fulfil the purpobe of tourist reports. So far as Wakatipu U c ncerned the traffic ia ieXurted exceptionally bttek. Mining f-till keeps well to the fore. Two goldbearing lodea are repoited to have been discovered along the tiack iv course of formation to Preservation. One is said to be a leader showing good gold ; the other a cement conglonn- ration also auriferous. Kiwi Burn is tha locality indicated. A scratch party was got together to progpecb the fiuds. Monday last the discovered, two roadmen, properly equippud, were defp*tc>>ed to bring in sufficient stuff for testing it* *alue. They will swag it to Cromarty, whence it will be btought to Invercargill by i=tea\nsr._ The lon^-despi-ed Golden Site is again looking up. Its shares are worth 3s 6d. The reas >n is that the Site reef bus been struck in the Luck Shot, faither south on the same line. Cuttle Cove i-, also shakiug itself together Had its mines been propfrly h&ndW), the acknowledged richness of this neighbourhood \i ould long since have b >en an established Lict. Rowallau, webt of the Waiau, ia making good progress. Avrangemeutj for floating it as a private comjismv art; well forward, aad its prospects are generally good.