SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 52

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

i (From Otjr Own Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, October 17. The oat market continues to rule at Is 8d on trucks at country stations for B grade. A few small eales are etill being made to the North Island on the basis of 2s f.0.b., s.i., for B grade, while for A grade Id more has been obtainable. As merchants do not hold many pats on their own account they are not inclined to make any large sales, though during the week there has been a steady inquiry for forward delivery. Holders on storage are still anticipating that higher prices will be obtainable before the new crop is forthcoming, and they will not sell in the meantime. As far as can be gathered, there will be very few left to come in from the countx^y till the new crop appears. The growing crop is looking exceedingly well, and farmers reckon that it is considerably, further ahead than it has been for a number of years. A very large quantity of land has been .sown in oats this yeoz* judging from the fact that merchants have had a record season in supplying oats for seed. The chaff market is weak, the quantity offering being more than, sufficient to cover local requirements. Prices .rule at £2 10s t« £2 15s on trucks at country stations for prime quality. During the week buyers of potatoes have been operating so as to secure supplies to send away by steamer loading at Bluff today. It is anticipated that as soon as ■these sales are filled the market will recede, as the new crop in the North Island will shortly be available. During tho week no stock sales of any importance have been held. Yory little private business is being done, and, taken all round, there is no chango io report. Ewe hoggets are most inquired >'or, and still rule on the basis of 15s 6d to 17s : hoggets, mixed sexes {with a fair proporI lion of ewes), 12s to 13s 6d. Freezing buyers are still operating in wethers, though it is understood that they have reduced their limits during the last week. Prices rule at from 17s to 18s 6d, and I understand that buying as being done on the basis of 3j,d per Ib. Butchers' wethers are now plentiful, and are quoted on the basis of 18s 6cl to 21s, the latter price being obtainable for extra heavy weights. BeeC is quoted at 26s to 27s per lOOib. Holder's of prime stuff are still inclined to han^ on, though regular consignments are being sent from Southland to the northern marked, There is a good demand for forward-conditioned bullock 3to finish off on grass, and these are quoted ot h5 10s to £7. Other classes of cattle are practically at a standstill. i The fibre market has been a little more ' active during the week, and a few inquiries i have c carte frcTii Londcn and tho West CcasC of Eagiacd for fibre arxi tow. I understand that ceo or two small parcels . have ehaeged hands for immediafco ship- ■ ment at pricEn wSh-Ich, although they can j leave very little margin to the producers, ,' indica-te that the- trade is on a sUghrtly baiter foewng in the chief centres. Tha latest cablegrams from London indicate that the price for " geed fair " is £26. c.i.f., October shipment, and for "fair" £22 15s, while I hear -of a J.me of " common " that has been placed during the week at £20 103. The large difference- between "fair" and " gocd fair" points to a big shortage in, the better class of fibre, and millers who are in the fortunate position of being able to turn out " gcod fair" quality are reaping the full benefit of the present comparatively high prices. A small parcel of tow has also been sold to the West of England at equivalent to £9 15s, c.i.f., London, ecrim covered. October 19. The No-license party will not be putting up a candidate for the Invercargill s*"at this election. The Political Labour League, after careful consideration, has also decided not to run a candidate, presumably because they have not been able to find an aspirant likely- to have a choice against the sitting member, Mr J. A. Tftanan. A man named Chas. Murphy, a railway tally clerk, had his ankle-bone broken at Bluff la^t Tuesday while standing on the wharf at his work. He had juat stepped I behind the 6helter of a truck to examine his. book when the truck va3 shunted, and knocked him over, the wheel striking his leg and severely bruising it. besides breaking the anklo-bono. The white pine borer does not confine his depredations to the timbor from which j ho takes his name, but burrows into all I kinds of colonial and imgorted timbers. j Not content with this, he is now trying i his boring talents on metals, beginning ' with the softest. There was on exhibition at Mr W. Aepley's carpenter's shop in Don street last weok a square of sheet lead which had been completely riddled by the little post. There is a fortune waiting for the man who will invent an inexpensive meana of making building materials borer-proof. i Voluminous evidence has been taken in the Invercargill Courthouse in connection with a case, to be heard in Wellington, in which a northern farmer is claiming damages from the National Mortgage and Agency Company. Tho company purchased the oats locally and sold to a northern firm, the line eventually passing to the claimant farmer, who was proceeding to use the oats for seed purposes, but found that he was sowing Canadian thistlc3 with the oats. It is claimed by the defendant company that the oats were sold as B grede faed oats, but claimant maintains that even as horae feed the Canadian thistle in the oats would be propogated, and that there was etill a liability on the company. The case ia one which is of the highest importance to mercantile firms, and it is l looked on by them as being in the nature of a test case.— Southland Times. 1 In the. programme for the Caledonian sports at New Year there is £25 for b?_gpipc music, £42 for dancing, £16 for wrestling, and £21 for hammer and stonethrowing. The total prize-money offered is £300, nearly one-third of which (£97) is given foi running. Tho total amount Tailed for the Kerr fund was £157, which amount it has been decided to hand over to Mr* Kerr without reservation. An arrangpment ha* been made among tho town churches to begin the Sunday evening services during tho summer months a-t 7 o'clock in&tead of at 6.30, 13

hitherto. It is expected that this change " will result in better atter dances. 1 The Kaikorai Band, en route to the Ballarat band contest, came up from Bluff on Monday, 12th inst., and gave a concert in the band rotunda for the benefit of the Invercargill hospital. The morning was cold and wet, and there wa3 not such a good crowd as was expected, but the hospital nurses, who canvassed the audi;nce with collecting boxes, took the fairly satisfactory sum of £13 13s, which carries a Government subsidy of 24s to the pound. The Mayor (Mr Scandrett) showed nis appreciation of the visit by meeting the band at the station and afterwards entertaining them at lunch. Both the inward and the outward expresses on Saturday afternoon were delayed for over an hour through the breaking down of a goods train at Mill road. Tho bowling, season opened in Invercargill on Wednesday afternoon last, when there was a large attendance of players on both the Northend and Te Rangi greens. I learn that Mr T. M. Macdonald, Crown Prosecutor, and Mr W. Lewis, the wellkiown draper, are both seriously ill at present. Dr Hastings Young, who left here recently for Napier, has bought into a very good practice in Gistcrne. Mr A. M'Donald, at one time accountant of the New Zealand Agricultural Co.ripany at Riversdale, who has been on a holiday visit to Scotland, returned to Invercargill on Tuesday last. Mr Justice Gilfedder, of the Native Land 3. Court, arrived in Inrercargill by Thursday's express, and sits at Riverton on Monday to hear a numbei of cases. Mr A. Carmchael having decided not to stand for Wallace seat in the Hor.pe of Parliament, tho contest lies between the sitting member, Mr J. C. Thomson, and Mr Dugald MacPherecn. Another candidate is spoken of — an Otautau man, — but he is not regarded as being fceriously in the running. Mr MacPherson opened his campaign at Nightcaps on Friday evening when he had a large and enthusiastic meeting, and wae accorded a vote of thanks and confidence. Mr MacPherson's friends think, that he will give Mr Thomson- a very good run this time, if he does not beat him. is regarded as safe for a very large vote at Nightcaps, Otautnvi, and Orepuki, and expects to poll Uwgoly among sawmill hands, with whom he is popular. Mr Thomson commences his campaign this (Monday) evening Mr Walter Taylor, agent for the National Mortgage Company at Winton, "as last week entertained at a social by representatives of the \arot:s stock and station agents operating in Invercargill and the district. and presented with a silver tea and coffee service from the staff of tho Tnvercar>j:ll office, and a handsome gold alberl from the auctioneers, agents, and <*.c,iki\s. At the last two elections i:x Wallace and Awarua the No-license party h;^ madt, piogr€&3, especially in Awarua. where at la,t election a very considerable Increase of votes was obtain-d. The party is this \car iimkmß Kreatev efforts taai\ ever to c"Arr^ no-licensa in those two western electoral es. and profess to /be very sanguine 01 tie results. They 'are watching very kecnlv all additions io the electoral re!.?, md at their instance a gocd rr.any names aro being struck off. In Awarua 304 naime were objected to and struck off and at the Magistrate's Court on Friday **v Sutherland, chairman of tho Licensed Victuallers' Association, applied for the issue of an order directing the registrar of electors for Awarua to reinstate a number of these, which, it was stated, had been wrongly struck off. Mr Cruickshunk vnll give h'i3 decision in this matter to-cay. An application by the registrar Io have the names of 34 sailors on the Uhmaroa struck" off the Awarua roll, on the ground that the vessel is not registered in New iZealand, was nob opposed, and the order was granted. On the other hand, an application originating with the No-hcense party to have the names of oight .men belonging to the Tara-wera struck off was not granted, these men really belonging to the Maheno. The grain traffic returns up to 30th September of the present season show a very large increase on last year's figures the total being 646,494- sacks, as against 440,83/ for the corresponding period of last year. 4.ngloi\s have been busy during the past week. and. in spite of the unsettled weather, a numbe,- of srood baskets na\e been got. Mr G. Gorton, of Makarewa, i« reported to havo caupht 30 fish, weighing up to 31b, in the Makarcnva Riv*>r with [he fly; and in the Ore: i on Wednesday Messrs Ingram brothers landed 11, the largest A?*lin«? 4*ll>. One day la,h week Mr R Robson, of In\erciririll. obtained ;i~ht nice fish from the Aranma. lno largest weighed 6Jlb, and the bait used was "Green's" minnow. . . Two Southland Bnwlr-— the Dominion (Invoicar K ill) flit] Blu* Natal— took part _ U tho /witest h?l<l at Tinwin on Tueeday and Wednesday last. Since ii» formation about t^o years ago the Domm<on Band has come rapidly to the front, ami w now considered by a arood number to be tlie Sin Invercavgill. In the .te*t flection ; at Timaru tha Dominion tied v,«h tin ; Dunedin Citizens' for second place, ar.<i w*r* planed third in the quickstep coinnetit^on. Their soloes were alro gucee.^ful, winning tho BB flat ba^ competition, and saining second prize 111 the^ Laa iromtones, tenor horns, and flugel horn-, and third in B flat trombones and trombone trios. Mr R. Brown, who won the BB bass solo, was complimented by the iudse for h» fine performance The \> Cat cornet solo was won by -Mr A. .v a-h. of the Bluff Naval q.