SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 52

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

- (Fbom Our Otvn GoebespondenKJ i lITVERCAIIGILL, January 11. [ , The/ local oat - market, seems to have ; * weakened considerably, and the best prices '< that mercliants are now "able to obtain for : "Bi'grade are 2s 64 to 2s 78 (f.0.b., sacks in), '-] ,»nd'- these • prices^ are only" " obtainable ' for 1 ismall lots going to' the lees important markets "t>f the' 1 . South Irfand. M«rahan.t». are coitse- < -.quently not at all keen to ,buy from farmers, „ -jtome samll lines -are -still changing ."3 hands- ait from 2s 3d' to 2s 4d on trucks at " r country -Btait&om. There is littie prdbabiUty ( 'oi any business of any importance . being 4 flone at- present as the northern .crop is i practically on the marketj and business is 1 .likely to languish iill our own crop is avail- < ,'«ble-. As- mentioned last t week, it is fully f expected that "our own crop _ will be .on tlie 1 jinarkot- early in February. , ' 1 \' ~lnr sympatiiy with oats, chaff ha^ declined "I jin valn« r -an"d the looa.l merchants, who hold" * 'fairly heavy stocks, are not disposed to buy I way -more at th« present . time. The' best ' -price^ .they can. obtain at ' present is\£s' (ex * 'stores), atd/iiT most oases tKeir' holdings -cost considera/Wy more tban that. - -*= , ,<■ ■No stock "sales of any . oonseqiienca Save J feen held during tihe week, tbs montfaly. sales * .it 1 Woodlands ■ a.nd' Otautau ' arf-tractiilg oalyvery, smsJl entries. - ' ,_•--" 1 .There is nab much, doing- in. sh-eep, as -the | idea that there are lik«ly-to be" sheep -"sent ' from Canterbury to Southland has* stopped s '«ll operations so far ''as butchers'* are con- 3 oerned. ■- A few lamb» aie. sti^ changing, j Lands -for " forward " delivery at 12s 6d to } %Bs, but there is not that keenness to deal 4!het was noticeable a few weeks, back. It * is very uncertain now th« fat" lamb market \ ■ftill opea. The gen<s&ai. . apinjion, seems Tto" , 1» that for ordinary lambs (361b weight) 14s n ■will be ftbont a fair prioe. "Young ewes are ( in request, but holders are not ■'very • anxious € to sell. Prices for two-tooths have Teadhed 393, and » few odd lines of two4ooths (circs -f 'and. wethers mixed) have been- selling at 14s •. to 16a. - ' "- '- . " 1 ~ For'- "beef the. raarket is,, if a * i fihade -easier, btct -wiuwt is held" in Sou'tWand « is in very firm taiiclsV'and holders are 'more £ inclined -to hold than operate c m th«'"m»rlceit < an its present, state. Best buQocks at ' the t tVTallaoetown sale last, Tuesd*y made £9 15s, ; t the average for butchers'., sorts being JEB to ' j £9 10s. Good "forward conditioned" bul- i looks ax* in strong request, prices ruling t from £5 10s to £7. Younger "cattle" showing

' breeding, ante inquired for, but -deoent-size< lines are very hard to- get hold -of in South land. v ~ - * Wool is coming in very freely, and ther< is likely to be a very large sale on tli< 27th January. At the present time then ,be close on ' 5090- bales in stores ., ii Invercargiil. The ,rice in pric© reported frorr Christohuroh has pleased farmers, and th-i bulk ol'thedr wool will come into the loca sale "this year.Kiie crops «re looking" well, »nd the littl< rain that fell on Friday night', and Saiurdaj morning will do an immense amouixt of gooc ~h'oth to- the growing crops, espeoiolly _ "to th< early. turnips aaid-'orape. ""* .<_ " ' During- tJie-Hst lew days there has -bsex a somewha-t better inquiry -for- nbre.' and on< or two smaJtt^pffircels have-cKanged Ihands^ai "prices' -sligKtly fetter "than last" week's rates, which -seems to indicate a slightly healtiiied feeling. " In the ' London and American . marijeits "the - inquiries have, not "been- -f 03 large pajfcelsP amd ii may, "b® that fie London ,'meroh.Junts sue simiply feeling their' way and eßdea-vouKing to get into touoh with colonial sellers.' The ~s.s. ''Ma.ta.tu* took away cAost on' 1000 bales .of flsuc, and the s.s. Wakn&te, loading' a", few days arterwards/. took nearlj 3000. * These - forgi©- shipment should jus! about' represetut all the fibre held by Southland merchants, 'and should leave their hands freer to deal with the new season's business, Tow is stall feeling the depression.- and there .hks been'-iio further- inquiry fox either, prompt .or future shipments. - » .^ Tstnuary 14. • 'On Tuesday last - Sir - Wilmoi Fawkes " - (Admiral of the ■ Australasian Squadron) and Lady "Fawkes Were entertained at lunch by the "Blufi Harbour" Board. Admiral and, Lady Fawkes arrived in inyer: cafgill- by •" the -express' on Monday' -evening, and --Tuesday - morning/ were/.- shown over Jnvercgrgill .by the Mayor " (Mi: Scandret€).= ''During the forenoon. Hfo'ey ;pioceeaed to Bluff.-': where theyT were" entertauied 'by Sir Joseph Ward" on "board,, the, Governmen-t -steamer Tutanekai. " The" lunch -.took -place in Sutherland's Hotel, -and was -attended by the Bight B^jn. Sir* Joseph _W,ar<l -and Lady -Ward, the chairman and members of the "Bluff Harbour Bo'ajd,;.' and' a -nunioer of other Business people. • < ~1 . : In the course* of his speech "Mr J.- E. "Watson got off one of his 'feppaiently in- . exhaustible stock of yarns. ' Speaking -of the -general desire to maintain . tHe supremacy of the -British " Navy, he - suggested that provision might ' be made in' the Naval Reserve for worn-out members of the "harbour boards, for "whom -even a use might bs found. His story was of a mate going -up for his master's certificate, and being badly"' badgered' by the examiner. - " Suppose^' ;said , the, examiner, " you 'Were being driven"', on ■■a lee shoie, what- would you' do"?" '. "Take in' all sail," said -the mate. "Yes, "v^ry"" good;. -and suppose you - Were still ' being -driveii ashore, what would you do ?"." - The mate • was becoming irritated," but- managed - to"- control himself - sufficiently to .say that he -"would let down the -anchors.- "Yes,'*> 'said -the examiner, "but- then ,what 'wouIS you do?" The '"mate, now .thoroughly , out of -patience, "said, ""Then I would ?_pen±' the funnels." Mr- "Watson did not think that -members "of the harbour boards would be- of any par-ticular-use •in^the^Wayal Beserve,'but thought they ,nu"gh.t-_WI trusted, to . "nent" the funnela. . * - \ , -, ', • Tsi"s'.pu£s"nw"in\miiid' t of' a couple of- Mr .Watson^ ' yarns on "His ' leturn * from a visit to _ the Home ~Oountry .- gome ' , time " *go. - One old' PreßbyJeri*n "veldier, "-meeting "another, asked - hinr^what he thought" "or* 'the ".trouble in~ £He church. " "-Men,"- 'said'^lie^ " Awm ' Beck »'t — fair^-'seek^ o'ir; in ;facV*awm J thinkin' o' fein up " releegin affiegiihet " an' jinin "" the '«eskypalians." -' - ' . ' - N r - A droughty individual met- a fellow sufferer in the' early, morning. ' -" Weel,- G-eordie, > hae' ye had -yer .breakfas' ?" Geordie: "No' a bloomin'- _di«p." . . ; According to the Southland Times ,the Southland Bacing Club "will make 'a profit of ov«r_£s67, fronv the" Eummer meeting. Some annoyance lists been "caused 'to members of the = Invercareill"BoTough-:Council by ihe action of" the "Major (Mr Scandreft) in promising the ToWn " Hall for 'an addess by Mr Keir Hardie" on "Sunday "evening;* not co jnuoh. it- is supposed, otrt* of f antipathy to Mr Keir Hardie, ,ag because of the fact that it Was some time ago arranged- that any proposal to •rent the }nall for other v than religious entertainments must -be passed by a majority of the council: * Sa^s the Gore Standards" "Farms on the one-time cfespised Morion Mains Sstate have recently, been % - changing hands at £8 to £9 per £cre'. Ten years ago the "block 'mv, purchased at 25s' to 30s -per acre. \but a marvellous 'change has-been effected*- Qa its productiveness by a generous" uee- of 'liiaa, whichhas made Morton ' Mains excellent grazing country. - ' - Two daughters of" Staff-captain Dixon, "oi the Salvation Army- left last week ior the Training. Home in Melbourne, .with a view to taking up Army work. - • - \ "Mr >B. MThail, who lately severed his j connection with the, firm- of Murison and. ; M>*Phail, the engineering firm at Bluff, with ] a view to 'soinp into the fruit-growing :busi- i ness at Roxburgh) was ■ faxewelled before j leaving -Bluff on -Tuesday last,- arid presented j with .a travelling bag" and a travelling rug. { .. Messrs D. W. M'Kay and.E. E--'Godward, . if. Invefcargill. who_ left for and' 1 America, in "July, 1906, return -Tjy -the "Wim-~; caera'on'Mond'ay." - .' " # " * - - . 1 At a iheeting of- the Southland s County i Council ' on -Friday the .county engineer took " ixception to the rider" of the corpiw's jury in regard' to the motor accident- a"t iTie iron . Sridge on Chris-tmas "Day. The rider ffpoke if approach to the bridge as a bena and j i sharp" angle.' " The engineer held that the ingle was not a sharp one. and that the bridge was 16ft wide — one of the widest in ; She county. .He, .however^ recommended that , the approach, to ' the bridge' should be made-j 3ft wider, 4 and. that, a notice board should se put up restricting the speed "of motors ; ipproaching the "bridge to six miles an' hour. t "Bush fires were^raging iH various parts 1 of. Southland, on-; Thursday and. Friday, but the-, rain- of Friday night -and' SatuTday^morning ippears to have arrested -.their extension. A Gore deputation: waited on; -the Souihand Education- Board *on Friday last with . v Tequest.that-a-High School should be es-« ;ablished in their^ town,-". instead of "tlie preient .District High J3cHo6l. * The, matter .was ! referred! to" the .^executive. ' • , , police Court records' show.' that during ;he.last eighteen montlis, in which, time noicense has" been in forge iri Invercargill, t&'e sonvi-ctions for . drunkenness Have fallen off juite 25 per-eeifh, and "that- nearly- -all. of ;he 149 convictions during the last 18 • nonths, ,weie *_.. traceable •to .-purchases'" of", ifiuor outside -the nd-liceiise area, the. falling- . >ff in the " total" conviction^ for crmie in "^eniral in the-^PoEce Cotttt is equally striking. { Mr A. MTDowell, late" Collector of Gus:om«. Invercargill, ,who- has "retked after 40 rears' service, -w«s- f ar^welled by the. business nen of Invercargill. in Allen's Hall on Tues-"j lay last. .There were about 50 persons jpre- j sent, and many who were unavoidably absent rant apologies. Mr W. T. Hazlett. -president . »f the Southlandr Importers'' Assojsiation, preiided, and-jOn. behalf of the business people >£ Southland presented ,Mr M'Dowell with s case of silver, in recognition of "the cour»sv 'with, which he had filled the rather lifficult position. " I Mr Keir Hardie arrived here by the after- }

1 ' noon express on Saturday, and was welcomed .- on behalf o. the citizens by the Mayor (Mr -Sca-nQrett), and on .behalf of the Southland c Trades and Labour Council by Mr Alsweiller. B There was a large crowd at the station to b see the man who has bulked so largely in ■x the labour question in England, and whose i reported utterances on British, rule in India a has recently given us so much newspaper I correspondence^ x . v -