SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2647, 7 December 1904, Page 48

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

(From Our Own Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, December 5. Dxtring the week a fair amount of oat otisinesa has been done with Auckland, principally m f.a.q grade a* Is 6d f.0.b., s.i., less a brokerage. A few small lines of B grade have also gone to the same market at Is 7d, less a brokerage. Western Australia has been taking some O grade at Is s*d, f.0.b.. s.i.; but the sales tc that market could safely be put down to not over 1000 sacks. There has been a fair demand for A grade, arid a few small lines have been sold at Is 9tf, f.0.b., s.i. 'These are Gartons,and it is 'understood are to ba shipped to London. A grade spa-rrowbills were sold at Is 9d, f.0.b,, s.i., for January delivery, and it is understood that these are also fox the Home market. There are very few oats offering from the covintry, farmers being too busy to cart even if they were disposed to see at present prices. Merchants' prices on Saturday were Is- 2d to Is 2Jd fojj?B grade, Is Id to Is lSd for C grade and f.a.q. Several lines held in the Eastern district in. store were sold during the week a,t Is 3d to 13 3Sd on the trucks. These were, if anything, » little above B grade, and will be railed straight to Dunedin. There is a good demand from the North Island for low quality oats, and these can be readily sold at from Is 4d to Is sd, f.o.b, s.i. At the equivalent of these prices farmers will not sell except small lots which they happen to have in the B-luff stores on storage. For low-grade oats nothing over Is on trucks would be paid by local merchants. The ohaft market is a. littte easier, and it is expected that a large quantity will be offering for sals within the next month. There i 3 a lot of grain in stack in the country which, if . put into oats, would hardly come into any of the standard grades, and the only way to get rid of it would be to ohaff it, and this, will be I done as soon as the rush of the turnip-sowing ia over. Present prices for chaff range from 37s Gd to £2 2s 6d on'-the trucks at wayside stations. Ihe demand from, the North Island is very "smaill, and, unless the quality is really first class, there is no chance of making any sales. There has been a good inquiry from tha North Isdand lately for linseed, and this is selling up to £9 10s, f.0.b., s.i. Merchants are not inclined to hold any stocks, but are anxious to get it off their hands-, for the present warm weather is much against its keeping. Owing to shearing operations having commenced, very little business is passing in sheep. Young ewes and lambs can be placed at 14b to 14s 6d. ail counted ; maiden ewes and lambs 12s 6d to 13s; shorn ewes with lambs at foot have been selling from lls 3d to 12s, all counted. There is a good inquiry for hoggets in the wool, and Saturday's values were 18s to 19s. One or two shorn lines changed hands during the week at 13s to 14s 6d. If anything, the cattle market is a little easier, and though there are a large number offering, very few are changing hands. Pres:ent values run as follows: — Yearlings £2 to £2 ss, two-year-olds £3 5s- to £3 15s, three-year-olds £1 5s to £5. An extra, good line of 80 head of three and four-year-old forward bullocks was sold during the week at £5 15s. At last; "Wallacetown sale fat cattle were going a bit easier in valus owing to the entry being niiieh in excess of butchers' requirements. Prime beef can be quoted; at 22s 6d per 100£b. During the week the Tuturau Dairy- Factory sold their output of cheese up to 3ist March, estimated to amount to 50- or 60 tons, at 4Jd on the trucks at Mataura. Most of the South.--land factories have now sold, but one or two are holding out for better prices. We a.re now in the thick of the show season. Otautau l£d off on Wednesday last, and Gore fo^'owed on Thursday and Friday. Wyndaarn 2"'_?Js its show to-morrow, the Western district people have theirs at Thombury on. Wednesday, and the principal show of the district, the Southland Metropolitan, will be held in the Queen's Park on Wednesday week. Those already held, have had the advantage of magnificent weather. At Otautau on Wednesday the weather conditions were just pesfect — genial sunshine, blue skies, and a slight cooling breeze — and the same conditions prevailed at Gore on the following day. The Otautau show was, a great success from every point of view. The entries were numerous, and., for the most part, the exhibits were good; indeed, in two classes — the dratight horses aaid_jfche dairy produce — they were very good, the horses being" magnificent, and the butter and bacon a long way ahea-d of the general run of country shows both in point of number and quality. The attendance also was good, totalling probably 1800, and the management, making allowance for the fact that this is the first show for many years held at Otautau, was extremely satisfactory, the genial secretary, Mr M'Laren, and his assistant, Mx Fisher, keeping the work close up during the day and. greatly assisting the press representatives with information. The Southland Metropolitan show is expected to bs better than any of its predecessors, and there will be a buck-jumping y>; y petition as in Dunedin. •" This will add ver}' greatly to ihe interest, as Southland has quite a number of notable horsemen, and there are sure to b© good entries for it. The Supreme Court has been sitting here during the lasfa week, presided over by Judge Denniston. Farquhar M'Kenzis, who has recently been running a _ hair-dressing saloon in Tay street^ was convicted of perjury in giving his evidence in a mining case in the lower court, and was sentenced to a year's imprisonment with haa-d labour. Rees Williams was found guilty of making a, false declaration under the Marriage Act, in declaring to the registrar at Winton that he was -a bachelor, and that there was no lawful hindrance to his marriage with Edith Marshall. In recognition of the fact that there were extenuating circumstances, and that he had already been in custody for two months, he was sentenced to- a further term of one month only. Chow Chok, a member of a Chinese gardening pa-rtnejfehip, was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment for misappropriation of the partnership money. The case of Elliott versus Paskell, in which £500 damages was claimed for malicious prosecution, was dismissed. The adjourned meeting of the Southland Employers' Association, held last week, was somewhat better attended than that of the week - before, and it was decided to continue the association, and make a vigorous endeavour to increase tha membership. Mr Richard Allen was reappointed secretary. A meeting of creditors of Alexander Menzies, 1 contractor, held on Tuesday, recommended the i debtor for immediate discharge, his position i being apparently due to misfortune. His j estate will probably pay about' 3s 6d in the I pound. ! The Avenal Borough Conno.il is moviner to I have the areas of Avena, Wellesley, and Gladstone amalgamated into one borough, to be called Waihopai. I At the annual meeting of the Southland Poul- [ try Association, held' on Tuesday evening, it was reported that the past year had been the best in the history of the association, finishing

XLp with a. credit balance of £50 and no lia- ] feilities. This satisfactory 'result was mainly i owing to the success of an art union held dur- I ing the -year. The folowing were elected office- | bearers: — President, -Mr G. R. Joyce; vicepresidents—Messrs Robert Taylor, G. T. Smyth, R. B. M'Kay, George Double, H. S. S. Kyle, J. Stewart, G. I. Moffett, R. Day, W. J. Noble; treasurer, Mt R. B. M'Kay; committee — Messrs W. Carnahan, Longley, R. B. Wright, James Hay, J. J. Ward, W. W. Robertson, iWm. Hall, George Taylor, D. Tweedie, W. Tullock, J. Friend, C. Cole. At a meeting of the new committee Mr W. J. Noble was appointed hon. secretary. I mentioned in last week's notes a proposal by the V.M.C.A. to. form a brass band. At a meeting held during the week it was decided to go on, and already subscriptions amounting to £50 Lave been promised, and the instruments lavs been ordered. Mr E. H. Field, late of the Austral Guards Band, is to be the bandmaster. Jamea*Stirling, a farmer at the Mimiharu, was found drowned in the Wyndham River last Wednesday. H9 was missed from his farm on Tuesday, and on the river being searched his body was found in 12ft of water. An inquest ■was held at Wyndham on Thursday, when a verdict of found drowned was returned. The members of the Municipal Band propose to 'hold a fancy fair at Easter to pay for their 'instruments and uniforms. A proposed feature of the fair is a second-class brass band contest, to be ie.ld on the Wednesday after Easter. 'At Friday's meteing of the Southland Education Board the following appointments were made: Aparima, Kenneth M'Donald, h.t. ; Colac Say, Annie M'Kay, mistress^ Otaina, Bertha Ciapp, -mistress: Gore, Elizabeth M. Wilson, second- assistant; Helen Carswell, temp. third assistant for December; Helen M'Kay, temp, fourth assitant till December 31; Eva M'Gibbon, temp, assistant, (in lieu of two pupil teachers) till 'December 'SI ; Greenvale, recommend. Miss Milne as sewing mistress ; Aparima, recommend Mrs W. S. Campbell as sewing mistress; Flint's Buah, Madalene Lind, temp. h.t. ; Crown Terace, C. T. Wild, temp. h.t. : Wairaki, Alice Wraytt, temp. h.t. ; Wendon, FloraTJoyd, temp, mistress; Greenvale, T. Egan, temp. h.t. {or additional 12 months. At the same meeting the draft plan of the proposed technical school was approved, and Mr M'Caw was instructed to prepare detailed plans and specifications and invite tenders for the. work. Mr M'NeiL head teacher of Waihopai School, •was granted^ 11 months' leave from February next to 'visit the Home Country. A m*n named Philip Flynn, employed in the Nightcaps Coal if me: when trying to board the- train at Otautau Station on Wednesday evening^fell between the carriage and- the platform; . and got both, legs so smahed that he died in the Riverton Hospital next morning. . Mr C. Savers was last week" presented by his fellow-membar* of the corporation gardening staff with a handsome tea service on the occasion of his marriage. Mr JVM'Laundres,- who has been employed by Price and Bulleid here for some years past, . and who is removing to Dunedin, was on Thursday presented by .a. number of Invercargill friends with a gold-mounted w,alking-stick and a gold-mounted cigarette-holder and case. The presentation was made by "Mr Arthur A. Paape. ■ ' , . - * ■- Mr R~W..Dyer, Land Registrar and-Deputy-commissioner ,of Stamps, , has been appointed to' the" magisterial bench, and, it-is understood, wtlLtake the Auckland district. - - - ■' ' \ ■.Constable Rasmussen, who has besnstatibned - -:'at'Winton- for- many years; ba.s been transferred . tc-Geraldine. He .will- be succeeded atWinton : by. Constable Gough, of Glenavy, Sbrfth Canterbury. ■- * t vMr Windsor^MiKenzie," on leaving the railway workshops for Hillside, was -presented by his ehopmates -with a Gladstone bag. and silvermounted umbrella. Before* leaving Aparima School for Wyndham, where shs takes the positon of mistress. Miss . Dickie was presented by tiig- people of the -district and her pupils with a, pretty brooch and necklet and a silver-mounted purse. -Mr Fraser, of the Bank, of New Zealand, left, IWyndham for Mosgiel on Thursday. On Wednesday evening he -and his family -were en-, tertained by the residents of Wyndham and the surrounding district at v a farewell social in the Zealandia Hall, when Mr Fraser was presented witb. a valuable^gold chronometer suitably inscribed, and Mrs^'Fraser with a beautiful gold bangle set with rubies, pearls, and&pals. A large number of speakers testified to the very high esteem in which Mr Fraser is held throughout tHe district, in which he has resided for the last 3A years, where, as manager of the Bank of New Zealand, presi- ' dent o& the Horticultural Society, an officer of the local Presbyterian Church; or in any of the many public positions which he held, he has" proved himself an extremely valuable man, and his wide interests — for besides taking part in public affairs he lias been a keen ' sport with rod and gun—have made him pro-.. ' bably the best-known- man in this part of Southland, and among all classes he has been recognised as a man of sterling merit. The presentation was made by Mr'W. J. Currie, chairman of the Town Board. Mr Fra.ser will be succeeded by Mr Porter, from Queenstown, ■ who comes with, a reputation of also being a public man and a keen sport. -The Gore .Rifles entertaxn-ed. two departing comrades on Tuesday evening — Sergeant M'Kay (who is leaving for 'the Chutham Islands) arid. Private Grant (transferred to the Bank of New Zealand at Queenstown). Mr W. J. Walsh, of Port Chalmers, has been appointed to ' the position of postmaster at Gore, rendered vacant toy the death of Mr Dewar. The appeal esses Sergeant M'Kenzie v. John Whittingham, brewer, Gore, and John Whittinscham v. W. B. M'llveney. oame before Judge Denniston on Saturday. In th© first case the police- appealed against the decision of 'Mr X3r. Cruickshank, -S.M., dismissing an information against Whittingham for sellng s?al of beer wit Kin tiie no-license district of 1 Matauro. In the other case Whittingham appealed against a conviction by Mr Cruickshank for selling beer at Mandeville without a license. In both cases his Honor reserved his decision. - The Teachers' Institute, in Teply to a peti~^don recently sent to the Colonial Secretary urging the establishment of a, superannuation scheme^ for teachers so as to render the teaching profesion more attractive, has received a reply that he is in sympathy with the movement, and will do all in his power to support it. The town schools close on 16th for the cummer holidays, and remain closed for six weeks. ; At Lady Barkly, on Friday night, a social and dance was held to mark the closing down of -Messrs M'Kenzie and Son's sawmill. This local' industry, if I may use the term 1 , had been running* for over 30 years, and although not A time far merry-making, the people thought the best way to mark their appreciation of tJie owners was to meet them in this way. Yet another mill is nearly cut out. Messrs M'CaJJuni and Cp.'s mill at Forest Hill will be «ooh a thingof the past, as the busk is finished there. As' these mills cut out, otters are ©rected farther back, in maiden country, and then the cry is for railway*. _ The building trade continues brisk, and bouses are going up in all parts of the city. Uhere is not the same difficulty experienced (now in renting a. house as was the case some little time back, and, from the number of empty houses, it is evident that tbe building boom must be about over. There are some Iwdandid buildings being put up at present in

the business part of the town, and a. lot more arc on the tapis. The theatre walls aa-e now up to a height of 9ft. and already one can get a very fair idea of what the building will be like. In Leet street the Farmers' Co-operative Association are building a large store in brick. The Technical School, in Tay street, will be another fine building when completed; the brick walls are now up to the height of the first 'floor. The Catholic Chapel already impresses one with its magnitude, and, when finished, must' be a decided acquisition to the architecture of the town. Plans have been prepared for the erection of an arcade, extending from Tay street tcj Esk street, in line from Messrs Herbert Haynes and Co.'s to Briscoe's old building. In Esk street the wooden building between, the A.M.P. and Raeside's has been pulled down, and a brick building v/ill take its place, and will be used by Messrs Smith and Laing for an ironmongery^ establisihment. Plans have also been prepared for a <iirls' High School in brick. During the recent fine weather some fine catches of blue cod have been landed at the Bluff. The local Swimming Club, although only opened a little over a month, has a membership of over 200. The water is kept slightly warmed, and this is much appreciated by the bathers. The first tournament of the season conies off on Monday night. The skating season is over, and the Volunteers have now resumed drilling in the Garrison Hall, although during the wool season, when the hall is used for storing wool, the hall is not much used for drilling.