SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2675, 21 June 1905, Page 41

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

I SOUTHLAND GRAIN AND PRODUCE MARKET ' Gfxoii Ode Own CoasESEOimsjfiTJ IiVYERCARGILL, June 17. There is now a decidedly healthier tono in I the local oa,t market than there has be=n ' for sorae time. During the last week there has bean a fair amount of business passing v:ith the North Island, and Western Australia, and it will I>2 safe to say that from 12,000 to 15,000 sacks have changed hand 3 ; These were principally B grade, and were sold ' for Is 3d (f.0.b., sacks in). At this price merj chants are not able to improve on la3t week's i rates to farmers, and on Saturday any lines that were ofieirng could not command more tiian Is 5d on trucks at l ail way stations for B grade. Very few have been offering during the week as farmers a.re not inclined to sell at anything- under Is 6d on trucks. The Bluff stores are hard pressed for room, a laigt qi antity of oats being stored there on farmers' account. Liocal merchants also hold fairly large stocks, which have cost them from Is s£d to Is S|d on trucks at country stations, which is equivalent to Is 3d to Is 9>d (f.0.b., sacks in. Bluff; From this it will be seen that on present prices merchants are practically putting the business through at bare cost. There is siiU no word ol a reduction in freights io London, and, according to a cable that has been received during the -week the best price obtainable is ISs 3d per quarter (c.i.f., London) for prime A grade. This, on the basis of 25s freight, is equivalent to not; more than Is 9d (f.0.b., sacks in). If the freights would coni3 to 20s merchants would "be prepared to do business, as on 18s 3d it would run out under la lOd, which is equivalent to Is 6d on trucks. The bulk of the bught oats are now in store, and any lines offering from the country will just go B gradn and no better. There are several steamers to ) come on the berth and load for London before the end of the present month, but -so far the shipping companies a.re firm on 25s freight Merchants had recently art inquiry for 1000 tens B grade for shipment to Africa, and it is understood thi-y quoted Is 9d (i.0.b., sacks in, net), but so far no business has be«n -done, and the general impression is that Victorian oats can be obtained at fully Id undieT this quotation.. During the week a line of 300 bags of Sutherlands were sold on the -trucks at Mataura at Is 7d. These weTe bought for milling purposes. There is no change to report in thic chaff market, the best price obtainable at country stations being J2 5s for prime quality. There is a fair demand from Auckland, but at this price merchants cannot quote under £3 15s to £3 17s 6d (f.0.b., bags included). The wheat market is very firm. Very little is offering, but any prime milling quality that is available is readily sold at 3s on the trucks. Fowl wheat is very scarce, and the price is from 2s 6d to 2s 9d on -trucks. There is a strong- demand for the latter quality, especially from "Wellington Merohanfcs cannot get sufficient to fill requirements, and the moss of the business at piesent doing in this line is being done frcm Canterbury The barley market ' remains "unchanged, and sales during the -week at G-nrsixm and Nokoniai stations have hean at- 3s 3d to 33 4d on trucks. There is a steady demand from Auckland at 3s 9d to 3s lOd (sacks extra). F&ed barley is fetching from 2s 3d to 2s Gd on. trucks at country stations, and a fair quantity is bein^ sold to the North Island at 2s 2d to 2s 3d (bags extra). ITiere has been no linseed offering from the country during the week, and merchants' quotations of ±13 remain unchanged. A large quantity of potatoes is offering, but local buyers are all complaining of the quality. A large quantity will not keep, and these merchants are iiot inclined to touch at any price. Prime Derwents ore readily sold at £4 10s, and the local market is being supplied at £5 psr ton (ex stores). Not a great deal of business is being done in the stock market. There is a strong demand for fat sheep, and prime wethers have been changing hands at as high as 225. Ther=. aie net a great number of these obtainable, and farmers who are holders are not inclined to sell at the above price. Fat lambs, which are now getting vea-y scarce, axe still' selling from 16s &3 to 17s. Forward-conditioned catt'.* are still in good, demand, and a few large lines have changed hands at £5 10s to £6 ss. A large number of farmers, with splendid crops of turnips, are buying this class of i cattle in preference to bothering with sheep, j Sergeant Bowden's many friends will be pleased to learn thai he has returned to his duty with his health restored. Sergeant Fleming, who filkd th-p position dhiring SerI geant Bowden's illness, has returned to | Qiiee-iistown Mr A. W. Dickson has been appointed canvasser to the recently-formed Southland \ branch ot the British and Foreign Bible 1 Society. ! At the annual meeting of +he Southland i Employers' Association last week the Ghairj man, Mr W. R. B'ddell, deplored that so I many traders held aloof from the associaJ tion, enjoying xhe fruits of its labours with- ' out bearing any of the expense. A determined ■effort is io be made to increase '.he membership At a meeting of -Hio Bhiff Harbour Board, held last week all the- positions or- the board's r.ew dreoge Murihiku were filled. For zhe sine positions there werei altogether about 160 cprlicahts. Most of the «ucoessful applucatits are residents of BJuff. They are as I follcws: — SeconJr engineer, J. Finlay; sailing mate, J- M'Neilag©; boatswain, Cb-as. Brad ?h aw; greaser, Thos. Sh.epv2.rd ; fireman. Chas. Sandilands ; ladderman, -E. Morrison ; head v>inchro>an. Geo. Erieson ; deck hands, C. G-oonies H M'DonaM, and R. Ladbrook. The "Winton A. rind P* Society he'd their annual winter show on Wednesday last. The show was a. v,=ry satisfactory on© for a. sma.ll country place, the exhibits being on tbo whole good and entries fsxrly numerous. A deputation from the Invercargrill Borough Council will v.-ait on Sir Joseph \Yard today to xtrge on him ihe n&ed of increased Felice protection for Ihe L<nvn. This evening Sir Joseph gc-as to 'Wiiitjn to addi-ess his constituents, arjd he will leave Invenrcargill for the north by to-moriow afternoon's express. , The Mataura Ensign repoiig that on Thursday large masses of ice carried down the Mataura River blocked the raoe at the freezing works, and threw the turbine out of f.ction. Another case of burglary occiirrad Isst week, I the office of Johnston's Foundry. Leet street, . being broken into, anl a few siull'ngs stolen I from a desk. From fact that the> safes in the roam weie not broken into, it is supposed that tho robbery was the work of an

aniactur. At the District Court last week the dis-

charges of Mr Christie, liotelkespcj, and R. Blackley, farmer, were suspended, Chmtie's for 12 months and Blackley's for IS months, the reason in the first case being that no proper account* books war? kept, and in the other ca=e bscaiue the juclgp regarded the applicant a« having abused ths ciedit allowed '■a him by tlu auctioned s»

Volunteers will regret to hear that Sergeantmajor Knse's condition shows no sign of improvement. Captain Watson, of the Mercantile's staff, is laid aside by illness, and, under doctor's orders, has to keep to his bed. His friends thought that rheumatic fever had laid hold of him, but it now appears that it is not so serioiis as that. The Bluff Oddfellows' annual social and dance will be held this year on August 10. Roller skating, which has caught on here, promises to do the same at the Bluff, where a. rink is being opened on Tuesday night in Sutherland's Hall. Gravel is being taken to Stewart Island from the Bluff by the ketch Anna for the concrete retaining wall fo v the road approach to the jetty. The work in connection with the Town Hall and Theatre goes on steadily. The part of + he building next Tay street, where the Town Hall portion of the building is, is roofed in, tiles having been used for that purpose. In the theatre part, the walls are fa.st rising to the desired height, and before long the roof will be over all the vast building. The foundations are laid down for the Arcade from Esk to Tay street, and -extend back at prseent from Esk street to a distance of 113 ft, about a third of the distance between the two streets. After the present building is completed the remaining part will be put in hand at ,once. The other business premises in Esk street, ai present baing erected, are the iwo-storeyed brick one for Smith and Xiaing, 'A'hich has reached its height, and the ■plasterers are busy putting on the outside finishing work; also the building between the New Zealand Clothing Factory's and the A.M.P. buildings, also in brick, for which the .foundations have b&en down for some time, and now the walls are being proceeded with. In the residential area the building trade is also very brisk. Dwellings are going up in -all parts of the town; "sections are always being sold, and at a, considerable advance in prioe, compared with some months back. Mr A. Cooper, who was shot through the fingers while marking at the Grasniere rifle range on June 7, died in the Soiithland Hospital yesterday. Although the second and third fingers were broken by the bullet, close down at the hand, the injury was not thought to be serioUS, till symptoms of tetanus =et in, and although the fingers were removed the unfortunate man succumbed to the injury. Mr S. E. M'Carthy, S.M., returns here in a- few days to resume magisterial charge of this district. The Gore Dairy Factory, owned by MiBacon, won the cheese championship at the Dunedin winter show. At a meeting- held at Gore last week to consider the proposal to biiild a railway to "\Vaikaka, it "was reported that 350 of The required 500 shares had been taken up. Another canvas of the Waikaka Valley district is to be made. Mr Andrew Burns, who has for a year or so b&en teacher at the Native School "at The j Neck. Stewart Island, ha,s, J understand, been j transferred to a. summer school in Taranaki. Mr Angus Cameron, stationmaster at Fairfax, has bean promoted to Dipton. Before leaving for his new position, Mr Cameron was entertained at a social in the Fairfax Hall, and presented with an easy-chair and a goZdnlounfced umbrella. The Invercargill Poultry Show promises to be a great sxiccess this year, the entries so far baing over 200 in excess of those of last year. Competitions_ on pretty much the same lines as those he'd in Dunedin for some years past are to be held here in August. v ' "