SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2454, 27 March 1901, Page 43

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

(Fao_ Our Oyth Cobrespokdent.) INVEECARGILL, M»rch 25. Our harvest is coming in very slowly, and the "broken weather continuing entirely destroys our hopes for what at one time looked like an early harvest. In many places cutting is still to be started, and I do not think there is a district in Southland that has yet finished carting in. * , The market for oats is still in a rather unhealthy state in Southland, and at present there is no prospect tor an immediate change either way. Milling wheat is still unchanged in price, and really no change can be recorded in prices. At the clearing sale of the Mernvale stock, held at the station last Vednesday, some very high, prices were obtained for cattle . 90 for•ward cows £5 10s, 128 breeding cows £5 12s 6d, 16S cows with young calves £1, 139 calves (under eight months) £2 17s, and working bullocks £7 to £8 2s 6d were a few of the leading lines. The stock was in splendid condition. The prices ruling for sheep are again improving, I think. Last week there were several large sheep sales, and the prices were much harder throughout the week. Lambs were sold at 123 Bd, stores to 11s sd, good breeding ewes up to 20s, while several sales have rip over Ms. Broken mouthed ewes have been selling up to 13s id. • The following were the wholesale prices cur-lent-laet Saturday: For butter, fresh, -7d ; factory (bulk), lOd; pats, 10* d; eggs, Is per doz; cheese, farm, 3£d; bacon, farm, 7d; do (rolled) farm, 6S ; hams, 8d ; potatoes, £4 per ton ; fowl ■ wheat, 2s ; barley, 2s to 2s 6d ; chaff, £2 10s ; -flpur, £6 10s to £7 ss; oatmeal, *3 10s to £10; bran, £3 10s (including bag 3 ); pollard, _4. - A return published in the Gazette shows the .number of stock in Southland County, to be: Horses, 15,833; swme, 11,461; cattle, 59,840; aheep, 792,319. For Wallace and Fiord the figures are: Horses, 4693; swine, 1979; cattle, 18,036; and sheep, 438,821. It is understood that Mr M. Gilfedder, M.H.R., will be one of the teachers' representatives on the Boyal Ccmnii a ='cn set up to inquire into the teachers' salaries. During the past week fish have been very plentiful in the Strait, and fishermen have been making some large hauls. Three boats caught over a ton of cod and groper in a few hours on Monday. The rumour that there is to be a redistribution of the portfolios in the Ministry, with the Hon. J. G. Ward as Colonial Treasurer, has been well received in Southland — even some of our leading Oppositionists admitting that it •will be an acceptable change. On Saturday Dr M'Leod, late resident superintendent of the Southland Hospital, was presented by the hospital staff with a travelling case, rug, and set of razors, as an expression of their appreciation of the consideration he had at all times shown for them and also of their regret at his leaving the institution. To-night he is being entertained at a "Sinner by the members of the Invercargill Club. The football season opens in Invercargill nest Wednesday. Messrs F. G. Stone and C. S ; Longuet have announced themselves candidates for the mayoralty. A building in Tay street advertised to be sold by order of the mortgagee on the following day ■was burned on Thursday evening. Insurances — £500 on stock and £500 on building. The occupier was reading a paper in. the office when the outbreak, which had a good hold, was dis- " covered. Tenants of rented houses in Inverqargill are having an anxious time. Owing to increased 'sales of property, a good many have htd to - move, and their dimcuity is to find other places of residence. Some have failed in their quest and been compelled to take rooms m the meantime. As a large number of new houses have been erected within the last few years and building operations are still actively going on, it is evident the population of Invercargill has materially increased. — Southland Daily News. A meeting of local volunteer officers was held on Saturday to discuss the proposal to hold an encampment at Easter at Wyndham. Major Hawkins, 0.C., had received a telegram from, the authorities in "Wellington sanctioning the proposal ; but the meeting was unanimous that the notice was too short to make the necessary arrangements. Had the rep'y to Major Hawkins's request for permission been received earlier an encampment of the Southland 'companies would have been held. Major Hawkins, officer cornmancHng the Southland sub-district, was offered command of the seventh contingent, but owing to private business reasons had to decline. The two newly-formed mounted corps in Southland, through having received no word of acceptance from Wellington, aie getting through a large amount of drill. The Wyndham corps have been served with Snider rifles, and Captain M'Nab, M.H.R., has the n-jn well advanced in their recruit drill. The Wallace <Jcrps so far having only been learning squad recruit drill, but are going to have their first mounted parade at Nightcaps on Saturday. The Oreti Rifles will send a team of shooting . men to try conclusions with a team of the Queensiown Rifl.a« on the latter'e range on Easter Saturday. A judgment of special interest to those who believe in keeping the feed oh the roads down by allowing their stock to wander w?.s delivered by Mr S. E. M'Carthy, S.M., on Thurs- - day, in the case George Chewings (of the Wallace County Council) v. Alexander Smith. The defendant was charged w_ith '"allowing" five horses to stray on a county road, and the question at issue was, seeing that he was away from home at the time, and neither he nor the man in charge had any personal knowledge of the straying, whether defendant could be said to "allow" the horses to wander. His Worship stated that if a conviction was to follow, under the law as framed, in his opinion actual or constructive knowledge or negligence must be proved. To construe the bylaws in this way would, he admitted, make it difficult, if not ■well nigh impossible, to secure a conviction. 'The information was dismissed. With a Supreme Court case revealing a deplorable state of juvenile immorality m our midst still fresh in the memory of my readers, a case promising further revelations and of a more pitiable character is now awaiting trial in the lower court. A lad, 16 years of age, named James Lee, was before Mr S. E. M'Carthy, S.M., on Thursday, and admitted paternity of am illegitimate child of a girl only 13 years of age. He was ordered to pay the usual maintenance in addition to £7 4s expenses and £1 Is costs. The boy was then called upon to answer to the more serious charges, and on the application of Sergeant O'Neill was remanded for a week. , At the local Police Court on Thursday before the S.M. John Edmond and Co. were charged with on -March 11 making a false statement as to the nature of the goods delivered xipon a .railway consignment note — the contents of a case purporting to be hardware consigned to a Chinaman at Nokornai being dynamite. De- J fendants were also charged with sending by rail a package containing dynamite without giving notice in writing of the contents to the officer in charge of the railway station. To this latter charge the firm pleaded guilty. The case for the prosecution was that defendant had been warned by the railway authorities that he could not send dynamite by rail, except by special train; that in ths face of this he in•inwW4 am employee qi the cempaoj named

Harm a to have it packed in a case, enclosed in another case, and sent as hardware. It was so consigned, received by the railway authorities, and sent by passenger train in an ordinary waggon. The case was opened by the constable at Lunisden, and he found five packets of dynamite and some percussion caps. Detective M'llveney called on defendant, and the latter said the case contained powder, but the former replied that the explosive was dynamite. Defendant then said that, if such was the fact, it was due to bungling on the part of the employees. A large number of witnesses were examined For the defence it was submitted that the firm gained nothing by consigning it in this manner, as the purchaser paid the rail. If it had not been a case of uigency they would not have forwarded. On the charge of sending dynamite by rail the S.M. inflicted a fine of JE2O and £3 2s costs, and convicted and discharged them on the other charge. The rash manner m which small tradesmen speculate in mining and dredging scrip with money really belonging to the firms supplying them with goods is a practice which should be treated in an exemplary mannex- when the chance occurs. Only last week a small country, tradesmen who had started business exclusively on the wholesale man's goods called a meeting of creditors. Speculation m shares had taken not only flic profits but all the takings of the business as well, and his creditors are asked to be contented with assets nil for liabilities about £200. The Southland Technical Classes Association, whicli has done such good work during the past five years, has ceased to exist ; but the work is to be carried on by the Education Board, who will extend operations. The final report of 'the association ohows that they closed with a credit balance of £15 15s 6d. The following table shows the classes, and how they were attended: —

At the last meeting of the Invercargill City Council a letter was received from the Dunedin Queen's Memorial Fund Committee asking the council tc take steps to raise funds for the purpose. The mayor, in speaking on the letter, said his opinion was that if any action were taken to mark the late Queen's reign it should bo with a view to providing a memorial in Invercargill. A fountain at the intersection of Dee and Tay streets wotild, lie thought, be appropriate. I agree with the mayor's remarks, but surely it is time now that some .action was taken in Invercargill in collecting the funds if they are going to erect any memorial. The abattoir inspector reported that during ths fortnight ended 16th March. 104 cattle, 638 sheep and 3 pigs weie slaughtered. Of this number 6 sheep were condemned. A peculiar accident happened at Avenal on Saturday evening whereby a horse in one of the trams was killed. It apears a man named "Whitelaw, riding into town rode right in between the two horses attached to the ear, and fell just in front of the car. In the tangle up one of tlie car horses got its neck broken, and at the time it was feared that Whitelaw had been run over; but he must have just fallen clear of the wheels, as'he was only badly shaken and bruised. The conductor was considerably cut about the face, as his head was jolted through a window. Whitelaw, who was taken to the hospital, was well enough to leave again yesterday. Early on Sunday morning some pipes on tha Southland Implement Company's engine burst and set the steam whistle going. As the blowing of the railway engine's whistles is always a sign tbtit there is a fire, some one, mistaking the whistle for that of one of the locomotives, immediately rang the firebell, and as long as the whistle kept going he kept the bell going. Both brigades turned out smartly, but no file could be found, and when the cause was found out the many people who had turned out expecting to see a huge fire from the warning they had received, returned to bed, vowing vengeance on the runaway whistle.

From Greymouth last week the Blackball Coal Company exported 1E29 tons 17cwt coal and the Brunner Company 1203 tons Scwt coal, 35 tons 18cwt bricks, and 26 tons 12cwt coke. The coal output from Westport last week was 9848 tons 18cwt, of which amount the Westport Coal Company shinped 9365 tons 18cwt and the W«stport Co-operative Company 483 tons. The Urewera Commission, consisting of Judges Butler and Scannel, with Mr L. Eledon Best as secretary, were to have commenced their sittings at Galatea on Saturday. The first block to be brought before the commissioners is Te Houihi, containing 65,000 acres. Afterwards the commissioners will adjourn to Te Whaiti, it being a more suitable locality for the winter. At Woodville on Wednesday last the proprietor of the Examiner wa3 fined £5 and costs on a charge of a breach of the Gaming and Lotteries Act, consisting in publishing an advertisement referring to the eight hours' art union in Melbourne. A similar fine was imposed on a defendant at Pahiatua the previous day.

CbM. ft Kuglirh 7 Bookkeeping ... 15 Ekctricitv 9 Arrhic'ral drawirg 12 Merbtnical „ 15 Frcehapd A rncdel driwug 7 Drefsmakirj; ... 11 Wood carving ... 27 Carpentry 7 Shorthand 6 Total Jl6 %i O O 66 141 7"ii 97 i:j-3 61 9« 24 7 6 6 S's 101-4 6ei S3* «H 9 11 8 12 17 7 14 23 8 3 1:2 a* . 2§S so-10-0 68 !•« 15-4 60 11-5 210 80 24 997