SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 56

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

(Fbom Our Own Corbespokdent.)

INVERCARGILL, August 15. The oat market continues on the basis of last week's quotations, prices to farmers ruling at Is lid on trucks at country stations for ordinary feed oats. No outward sales of any consequence are being made, but prices rule at 2s 2£d to 2s 3d f.0.b., s.i. Holders are now very firm, and are not likely to sell at "present market prices, the general impression being that there should be an upward tendency in the oat market from this time onward. Though there is etill a fairly large quantity of oats in Bluff stores, merchants are not holding any great quantity on their own account. Fanners who have oats on storage are determined to wait a while longer in the hope that the market may improve. A few small lines have been sold to Australia, and inquiries for larger lines have been received, but no large deals have been passing. Seed oats are now., going out freely from the stores, and for* these merchants are charging 2s 9d to 3e for dressed samples. The chaff market continues very firm on the basis of £3 10s to £3 12s 6d on trucks at country stations. The local market is being supplied at £4 5s to £4- 10s, but there is only sufficient offering to keep local needs supplied. Several sales of de-cent-sized quantities have been made to Sydney for shipment next month, but merchants, are not very keen on this class of business owing to the- risk. The potato market is not quite so good, and there has not been so muoh. inquiry during the week, but prices still rule at £3 10s for prime quality. All classes of store sheep are exceedingly firm in price. The sales held during the week have not had very large entries, but a good deal of private business has been done. There is an exceedingly stioner demand for young ewes, and these are now selling at up to 255. Ewe hoggets are in keen demand at 17s to 18s, and mixed sexes from 14-s to 15s. There is very little doing in fat sheep, buyers not being able yet to operate in wethere at prices satisfactory to the holders. Fat lambs are practically finished. Butchers' 6heep are quoted at from 18s to 21s, the latter price being obtainable only for extrb heavy wethers.

Beef is quoted at 26s per 1001b. There is a good inquiry for both fat and " for■ward" bullock 3, but the business done is limited, as the holders are few, and they are strong in their opinion that the market is not likely to alter for some little time. Younger cattle are also inquired) for, but are not offering in any large lines. Th* general feeling seems to h& that all classes of cattle are likely to improve within the next two months.

A large number of Southland farms continue, to change hands, aad prices are still on th« rise. As indicating the incre-asmgf values of Southland farms, it may be mentioned that one farm of 300 acres purchased in June of last year afc £12 10s has just been resold at £17; and another farm, bought for £8 per acre in July, 1907, has just been sold for £14 5s per acre.

There has been very little li£e in the fibre market during the week, and prices remain unchanged. Very little inquiry ha© come forward from London, and one or two millers who contemplated starting have not been able to get offers at a price which will »pay them to manufacture, and consequently they have in the meantime abandoned their projects. I hear of one or two millers in town during the week endeavouring to sell on the basis of £19 10s on trucks. Merchants are quite unable to pay this price, and the industry looks to be in anything but a hopeful condition. From what I can learn the millers who hay« been more venturesome than their fellows have made up their minds to cut only what is absolutely necessary, and to go very slow indeed with their manufacture, so that they may have any opportunity that comes later of obtaining increased prices, and having their mills ready to work. A small parcel of tow has been nicked up during the week, and, considering the state of the fibre market, the price realised must be considered very satisfactory, although small in comparison with what was ruling in the early part of last year. Offers to London on the basis of £24- 10s o.i.f. for " fair" have failed to make business, and it seems as if we would have to wait till more confidence is established in the London market before getting anything like satisfaction out of the industry locally

Ausrust 17.

The funeral of the late Hut?h Car-swell, •who died last Sunday took place on Tuesday last, and was largely attended, Sir Carswell being one of the best known and most highly respected gentlemen in the district. Invercargill business nien were present in large numbers. The farmme community was well rep-r-esented, many old frienda from Mataura Island, Wyndham, and Pine Bash being present, and the office-bearers of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, with which Mr Caravell had been connected for a great many years. Among many letters and telegrams of sympathy received by Mr Ca-rawsell's family were messages from Sir Joseph and Lady Ward.

Mr Carswell had been breaking up for about two years, his trouble being creeping pai'aiysis-, and for months past he had been in an extremely feefcfe condition. Mr Carsw.sH had been about 10 years farming in the Pine Bush district, carried oa buaifness as a stock and station agent and grain merchant in the- Crescent for about 16 years, selling out to Sir Jo-eph Ward, a/H 1 . took up the position of Chief Valuer in the Advances to Settlers Department, which he held «omc 10 years. Scon after his retirement from this position he declined in health, and" for a long tim-e past has been practically confined to his house.

Mr J. Hanan, M.H.R. for Invercargill, has been for a week'amona- his constituents hers in InvercargilL and "the Minister of Lands (the Hon. R. M'Xab) put in Thursday and Friday m Invercargill. returning to Gore by the 4.30 train on Friday afternoon.

Tlie 5.6. Invercargill, which ieft for Preservation on Thursday, took over a number of gentlemen interested in the development of the grokl-mining, including Mr J. Holloway, one of the p-roprietors of the Morning Star Company, and Mr J. Storrie, mining expert from Wellington. In view of the revival of mining in th© inlet, the post office has been reopened at Te Oneroa Cromarty. Extensive alterations have been going on in the local Governaie.it Buildings for some time past, and these are now completed. A few months ago the Customs Department shifted its offices to the Arcade, Esk street and the rcores formerly occupied by the Customs N offic<rre x have been transformed and th© JKney Order and Savings Bank Department shifted to them. This change will give much-needo-d room to the counter clerks attending to letter delivery, telegrams, and stamps. During the week Mr J. K. Logan (Super'"te.^ent of TVlejuaphs), Mr Buckley (Chief JMeetrician), and Mr Orchiston, of the Dunedin office, were in Invercargill on official business. It is understood that extensive additions will soon be made to the Government Buildings on the vacant ground facing the railway station. William Keldariff, who" was arrested for assaulting- Constable Heriihy at Waikaka was brought before the court at Invercargill on Thursday, but as th© ronstable was not able to attend Keldariff was remanded to appear at W*ikaka next Tuesday. At tbe Oreti Rifles' social last week Sergeant Jacquiery, who was recently married was presented by the members of the corps with a teasot and. an easy chair as tokens oi esteem.

At a meeting of land-owners and others residing in the neighbourhood of the Waikiwi Creek,, held on Saturday last, the desirability of having a River Board for the district was. affirmed, and Mr A. \ Paape was appointed secretary. An explosion at the Muddy Terrace Company c water-race on Saturday, Bth inst., resulted m the deaths of James Lindsa-y a native of Zeehan (Tasmania) and Joseph lownezzy, who belonged to Daylesford-(Vic-toria) while two other men.— James Henry ?w T^" 111 ? 1 Cra -wFoird— we*e so badly hurt that they Jiad to bo removed to the Invercargill Hospital. At the annual meeting o f the To Sangr Bowling- Olub, held on Wednesday evening last, Mr J. Cunningham was elected president for tihe year, and Mr John Wau-h secretary and treasurer. Mr John Findlay who ™ + bee * n .? f gi : e t l service in the establishment of the club, was ejected » life mem-

Mrs Besant, the celebrated Theo=ophical teacher, parsed through Invercargifl on Monday ksfc on her way to Melbourne by the Maheno. She was met at the InveroarAt Dunedin last week Mr Justice Wjldissolution of marriage on the ground of misconduct on the part of John Steer tion ??T TCl ' y , P 1 " 0 *"' 1 * for bado publical tion of the evidence Mr Scott-Baker, who has been Southland agent of the Temperance and General Insurance Company for the last six years has been appointed superintendent for Otago and Southland, "*n,icm loi The Hon. R. M'Nab, Minister for Lands formally opened the railway atotkS at River-sdale on Wednesday, and a tanoutt was afterwards held intte PabftS when about. 150 persona were present. lhe footpath along the East road has always been regarded by cyclists as a cydins- track, and used accordingly, and cyclists were greatly pleased when the asphalt was carried towards the cemetery, i&eir joy was, however, short lived, as the County Council resolved that riding on the footpath would not be allowed This is such a deprivation to the wheel-men— especially affcfer ram— that they are anStXlrawn ° UnCiJ tO *"

. A case which excited a «rood deal of interest throughout the Lumsden district waa heard before Mr Cruiekshank,- S M on Wednesday last, when T. Dyer, stovekeeper, and Alick Pater^on (his assistant) were charged with stealing 12 sheepskine,' valued at 255, the property of Mr Jenkins. Ihe charge -was a specially grave one in view of the fad. that Dyer was caretaker oi the local goods sheds in which the ekins ha<l been left. That Dyer had sold tho skins to an InvercargiH firm was not den-ied but the explanation was that a number of parcels of skins had been left carelessly lying about the goods Fheds, and that on t.he day when he was packing his, ho was called away to the store and left Paterson to finish the job, and he supposed that Mr Jenkins's skins had inadvertently been enclosed in his .parcel. A good character war; given fc both Df/M- and Paterson by various witnesses and the police, and Mr Cruickshank decided to dismiss the cas«. It was clear, he that the skins had been converted, but the thought, that felonious intent had not been proved. The hearing of the case against Frank Poff and Rose Poff. for illegally selling whisky at the Farmers' Arms Hot-el, on 18th July last, (resulted in Poff beinc sentenced to three months' and Mrs Poff to one mouth's imprisonment. Tho Southland Football A--.ociation is entering a Southland team for tho Brown Shield Tournament, to be played in Dunedin on September 9, 10, and 12. In ardor to do this, the association has to separate from the parent body in Duneclin and become a. full-blown association for ifself.

At a meeting: of the Park School Committee, held JaAi week, !Ur M'Kenzie, third assistant at the Middle School, was chosen as successor to Mr R. A. Stenhouse, and Miss Jessie Harknese, of Clifton School, to succeed Miss Wilson.

At Thursday's meeting of the Invercargill Borough Council it v. a« ro-olved to 6cnd letters of sympathy to the families

of che late Hugh Carswell, and the late Hon. H. Felchvick, both of whom had been prominent in the business and public life of the town for many years past. Mr Janies vVatscn, of Titiroa, who has been buying sheep iv conjunction with Mr James Taylor, for Borthwick Bros, during the last three years, .goes again to Victoria as buyer for the firm this season, leavin°-

in about a fortnight. The Wyndham congregation are consickrmg a pi'oject to build a new church at a cost of £1500. A sito alongside the existing church has aljready been secured. The principal case which came before the Arbitration Court during its sitting here last week was a demand by the members of the Sawmill Workers' Union on the employers for increased wages, averaging about Is per day all over. They also asked that overtime be counted on each day of over eight hours ; that pay day should be on every fourth Saturday; that dismissed men should be paid on the day of dismissal ; and suitable accommodation be provided at the mills. Mr Reardon, who appeared for the workers, said that 750 men were concerned in the award. The prices of timber had increased enormously, while there had been no increase in the minimum wage, although the cost of living- had gone up. Evidence went to show that 30 or 40 per cent, of the men employed in the mills were at present being paid more than the minimum, and this, with the belief that employers were making big profits, was the basis of the claim. The defence of the sawmillers was that profits had not increased, the cost of producing timber being much greater than formerly. There had also, in consequence of the tightness of money, , been a falling off in busir.ess, and all the mills were now heavily overstocked, so heavily indeed, that the sawmillers had ben discussing the advisability of reducing time or closing down altogether. A great many witnesses were examined on behalf of both parties and at the conclusion of the case, the President (Mr Justice Sim) intimated that the court would take time to consider its decision.