SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2955, 2 November 1910, Page 52

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

(Fbom Otra Own Coreestondknt.) INVERCARGILL, October 29. Oats.—During the past week there has b.en plenty oil inquiry fcr oats, but merchants have nor. done a great deal of business, this being' due chiefly to the fact that their stocks ;;re very !c\v. and practically nothing - is coming in from tho country. The general feeling- seems to bo that what is held in Bluff stores en farmers' account is in firm hands, and indications go to show that there is a iikelihc.od of the market improving, a* supplies cannot be got from elsewhere. In rhe meantime the Auckland marker appears to be very bare, and very few orders are left to be filled from Bluff. Current quotations rule at from Is Bid to Is 9d, «i trucks, at country stations, i'or A grade, with Id Jeas for B grade. Merchants h*vo not beon nominating f.o. b. quotations during the week, but on these values nothing 'ess than from 2s l£d to 2s 2'j], f.o.b, a.i., could be taken. OhafF. —There is very little change in the chaff market, though any lines of prirry quality offering are being bought up for local use. Prices rule at from £3 to £3 ss. on trucks, at country stations. Ryegrass.—There is ?onw inquiry for ryegrass, but merchants cannot quote to northern buy ere owing ro tlvir stocks being just about sufficient to tide them over for retail trade. There is practically nothing to come in from fh" country, and a/5 far as can be gathered current quotations ride at from 2» 6d to 2- 8d for undressed seed, while dressed seed is worfh Is per bushel more. Potatoes.— The re ere very few offering from the country, and the business doing is very limited. Price* at rhe beginning of the week were ruling at from £9 £9 10s, but report* now coming in show that the Jiarket is easinsr in Dune.'iin and elsewhere, and is not likely that these n:i<:e = will hold for any time. Sheon. —Owing to shearing hein.g -o close rerv little business is pas ing in store >hr»fn.. though a few !in°s_ are cbancr-ng hands-by private trs»oty. Kv.es -ami lambs (all according to a-.ge and size, are ruling at from : C< in 12s, ev,o hc2'get« no to 17s Ed. and store w°th/r= up to 12s Butchers' shse-i are only offermy; »n small linos, and prices rule at fr m 2Cs to 25s 6dCattle. —Beef is quoted at from 32s to 35s per lOOtto. and :« held in very firm hands. Good forward-conditioned bullocks are In request, and are readily sold at from £6 10s to £7 10s. Younger classes of cafe have been solli lg fairly freelv, esneeiallv vearlings, which are making from £3 15s to £5. Fib--e.—The market for New Zealand fjbro remains fairly steady, and a few inquiries have come in during the week at nricrr; quoted in my last week's report, without, however, securincr sellers in these narte.

J There has been a good deal of selling jex dock store in Lonoon, and i understand i that some fairly large clearances nave j ooen made during the last fortnight. 'the : inquiry during the week has run chiefly on hifjh point "fair" and " good fair" fibre, ; high n-oirit " tair" commanding 5s per ton I over the price ruling for ordinary "'fair" ; guide. Owing to tiie shortage of ''good ' fair" locally there have been no criers ■ made to London, and it is hard to say on what price business will be accepted by j .Southland millers. i Tow. —The orice for tow has improved : owing, no doubt, to the sudden rise in the 1 jute market. Closing values are on the I basis of £7 15s per ton for No. 1 grade, I £6 10s per ton for No. 2 grade, and £6 I for No. 5 grade. The fact of the Manila I market remaining staedy is a very good j sign so far as our local fibre is concerned. I London merchants report that they think i that Manila has now reached bedrock, and j that any alteration in the future will be ! towards an improvement in prices. Under ! these circumstances they advise that New ; Zealand fibre is not likely to go lower in ! price. i October 31. j Tiie past week has been a aotable one in | the history of First Church, Invercargill, j marking as it has done the closing of the \ first fifty years of the church's existence. | Preparations for the fitting celebration of I tho jubilee of the congregation nave been i in progress for some time, and on Wednesi day last the celebrations were carried out j without a hitch. Invitations had been sent ! out to former ministers of the oongrega- | tion to join in the celebrations, and the ! invitations had been accepted by the Rev. : John Ferguson, who was minister of tho j congregation for fourteen years, and is now resident in Sydney, and by the Rev. Robert Ferguson, who occupied the pulpit for five years, and is now minister of an Auckland church. The Rev. J. Gibson I Smith, who was minister of the congrega- ! tion for nine years, would very much have ■ liked to be present, but he has recently i had a rather severe illness, and his doctor advised that it would not be wise to travel so far in the state of health in which Mr Smith was when the invitation reached | him. It will be gratifying to Mr Smith's friends, however, to know that he has j greatly improved in health lately, and on I Sunday last preached in his pulpit at St. I Andrew's with all his old power and eloquence. The most important part of the ceremonies on Wednesday was the laying of the foundation stone of a new brick church, the funds for which nave been ! accumulating for over twenty years. This ! ceremony was set down for 2.30 on Wednesday afternoon, and the Rev. R. Ferguson just reached tho church grounds in time, only arriving in Invercargill by the 2.20 p.m. train, his boat naving failed to connect at Lyttelton. On Wednesday morning Invercargill was visited by one of the most terrific gales and downpours of rain experienced for a long time past, and for a while it iooked as if the celebrations wore doomed. The outburst, however, only lasted for about an hour, and the afternoon was beautifully fine. The foundation stone was ■ laid in the Ythan-Tay street corner of the church grounds, and on a platform in front of the structure were the officiating ministers, the Mayor and Mayoress, and - others, while round about were grouped about, five huni dred persons, mostly members of the conj gregation. Tho Rev. R. E. Welsh, of • Arrowtowri, Moderator of the Southland j Presbytery, was in charge of the whole | proceedings, and the laying of the foundaj t ion stone was done by the Rev. John ! Ferguson and the Rev. R. M. Ryburn. j the present minister of the church, these I gentlemen being each presented by the I treasurer of the church (Mr R. W. Porter) j with a silver trowel as a memento of the j occasion. Mr John Findlay, chairman of I the Now Church Building Fund Comj -nittee. gave a very clear and concis" hisi tory of the growth of the Building Fun:!, and then the Rev-\ John Ferguson and R. M. Ryburn and Mr Ott (tho Mayor) j gave appropriate addresses, a dedication r>rayer being offered bv the Rev. James I Baird. the father of Presbyterianism in I Southland. Suitable hymns were sung by j the assemblage. led by the choir, who i stood on the church steps, and a number i cf photos, for the Witness were taken by i Mr M'Kesch, of Tbornbiiry. A conversazione, held in the church in I the evening, was ft huge success, there i being a larrre attendance arid an attractive j programme. The Rev. R. M. Ryburn ! gave a short history of thr> church un to j the time of tho advent of the Rev. John I Ferguson. Mr Ferguson told the storv I of his experiences himself in his usual ; breezy manner, and kept the audience in a I simmer of merriment with his inimitable i rales of the old worthies. The Rev. R. | Ferguson was at his best, and got off some i new iokes from his apparently inexI liaustible store with great effect. Among other speakers were the Revs. Griesr, I Cumminsr. and Fairmaid: and the choir i and other friends 'rave-a number of musical items. The collection at fcbn laying - of I the foundation stone in the afternoon was j over £SO. which is not at all had for a I peonle who have aireadv nrxjvided. in cr.sh and 'iromisns. about £9OOO. The nn-v I ehurch w'!' not be very pretty oiitside, but j it will b? a most commodious church. j solondidlv leisV-H inside. It is held bv ! the R--v. John Ferguson 'who has -een ! something of the world) tl'at it will he | Mr l most eomnaet and up-to-date church building outside America. Two prisoners—-A. E. M'Queen, 23. and ! Henrv Gordon. 20 °seaned from th« [ neijrhbeurhood of the Tnver.mirs'il' Oaol on : Friday afternoon, and although closclv j ruirsued across the Pari- and thrcu«rh -'ire. and still '•"■r 1? : n at lar<ie a! the lime of writing 'Monday morning-), ■■)>o pr'-op'M'- - and tb"i> - oursuers snlashed ' throucrb the Waihooai Rive- (severaljfimes nnil trot tborot'<rftlv "»«t Th n cba'se had to h" abandoned on Prida* nitrht throtioh th« darkness of coroine; en. and the •m i-'>rvr- wer-> l«->f; In rhe hush *o shiver throughout *h n da v k hours. They are, moreover, thinlv clad, having on nn!v trousers and sim-'ets =o th~v must fee! i-erv <o!d indeed. Thev had thrown off their l->oots to ( nabl-e them to run faster, and this would add to their hardships. It was a very foolish «f»ape for CJordon, who-" sentenc" would have exnired in ahout two months. Mr IT. E. Vivn. "ho has been nrnnfr j of Messrs Wright. Stephenson, and Cc'* branch at Edend.i'e, has ••osicrn'd ; n order to de'vot? himself entirely to dairy factory worlc. and Mr C-sorore Dempster, r ormer!y of and Edendale. has been appoints manager in his A f*w weeks ago. the Rev. J. A. Rvburn left Invercargill for the Indian Mis-

sion field, where he will be the repre-. sentative of the Southland and Matauia Presbyteries. On Friday evening. Miss ii. Wright, who is to represent St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in the Canton Villages " Mission field in China, was farewelled by the Stv Pauls congregation, and presented with a pursa of sovereigns. Suitable addresses wore delivered by the Revs. George Lindsay, R. M. Ryburn. and J. W. Shaw, and also by Mrs Baird. Miss Wright was ordained at St. Paul's Church on Sunday evening. An Inveroargill business man. who lest £4OO in large notes on Wednesday afternoon, advertised that the finder would bo liberally rewarded on returning the money to the" News office*. In the meantime, every endeavour was made to trace the lost money, but without success. The loser, who made up his mind that tne money was irretrievably lost, had the pleasure of learning, on Saturday morning, that the money ind pocket-book containing it. carefully wrapped up in brown paper, had been found in the News office letterbox, the finder (?) having apparently been too modest to claim the offered reward. Mr Jack Lilico, the popular assistant auctioneer of the National Mortgage Co., | Inveroargill. has bc?n promoted to a i somewhat better position in the company's I Christchureh branch, and left for his new ! post on Friday. Before leaving Invercar--1 gill he was farewelled by the company's j staff and presented with a gold albert, j the Invercargili stock agents also making I a presentation consisting of a pair of I field glasses and a gold sovereign case, ! while business friends gave him a very I handsome pipe and tobacco pouch. Mr Lilico has been in. the service of the I National Mortgage- Company here for ! about nine years, and has shown marked ! ability, especially since he obtained the I responsible position which ho has just left. The people of Orepuki now regard the opening of the shale works at an early date as a practical certainty, the boringoperations having been extremely satisfactory, not only in proving that the shale exists over a wide area, but that it is of a much greater thickness than was at first supposed. Even at 4ft oin thick it was estimated that 15 years' supply had been proved: but it now turns out that the overlying stratum, which was supposed to be a poor ccal, is very valuable shale, and that the total dieptih of the seam is really about 27ft. Mr Johnstone, the expert from Home (whose visit 'in the- interests of a Home syndicate which proposes to buy the shale works has been looked forward to), went to Orepuki last Friday week, and was net only entirely satisfied with the extent of the 4ft 3in seam of hard shale, but also realised and revealed the fact of the great value of the overlying deposit. It is now regarded as unquestionable that the shale in the arsa tested is of far greater value than j anyone had previously supposed, and there I is a very general impression that the | deposit extends over a great distance j westward and seaward. Another fact on I which great stress is laid is that the i stratum above the shale is of such a I olid character that the" cost of timbering j will be very small indeed, and this gives j the impression that the shale can be mixed !at a fraction of the previous cost. In I view of the fact that thin seams of I shale have been worked at Home, and payI ing very large dividends, the prospects I of Orepuki are now exceedingly bright. i As no more bores are required at Orej puki to satisfy the would-be purchasers, I the boring rods are now about to ! shifted to Birchwood to test the coal roea- ! sures there. The coal on the Wairio sice j of the spur, now being mined by Messrs j Mackenzie Bros., is recognised to be a verv fine household coal indeed; but there is I another, niinfe about four miles distant in I the Morley Valley, which is being deI vclop:d bv Mr Moss, and' the coal from ; this is also* of very fine quality. It is sup- ,' rosed that the seam which crops out an ! several points in the Morley runs eastward I rowards the valley between Wairio and j Birchwood Estate and if the proposed i boring operations prove this to be the : case and the coal is found to be of tfh" "■■ame quality as Mess's, steps will be taken | lo develop it. The annual meeting of shareholders )f the Southland Farmers' Co-operative Association, held in Allen's Hall on Saturday, passed off more peacefully than was anticipated. The loss for the year was £3916 ?s sd, and the directors propose to write off another £2OOO to cover bad debts and depreciation in store furniture, etc A number of members present deplored th*i existing state of things, but none of them regarded the case as hopeless, the general impression beinfc that if the institution was proj>erly supported by the existing members, it would soon be on a profit earning basis. Even if it never earned any profit, the chairman held that, it deserved the hearty support of all farmers, as it was the means of keeping dovwi charges, and getting them better prices for produce than they would otherwise have. The proposal to close ih:> Otautau and Riversdale branches did not .neet with universal approval, but it is probable that this will be done. To strengthen the hands of the manager, the meeting recommended the directors to consider the question of appointing «, Committee of Management, consisting of three of then members, and I understand that at a subsequent meeting of directors this was done. The directors. I have reason to believe, are determined to do their utmost in supplementing the efforts of their manager to make the institution a success during the ensuing year, and I have no doubt whatever that when the next balance sheet k produced it will tell a more satisfactory tale than that of to-day. The directors who were elected at Saturday's poll wm-o : —Messrs William Watson (Heddon Bush). 587 votes; John Graham (Mataura Island). 582: '.I. D. Trotter (Woodlands), 580; A. F. Blatch (Clifdcn), 526: and W. Reid Pyramid), 499. Mr (Jraha'Ti and Mr Reid are new appointments; the others are re-elected. A Taxicab Company has been formed in Invercargili with a capital of £IOOO. The company has already two motor taxioabs running on the streets of Invercargili for some time, and have now added two more.