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Otago Witness, Issue 3609, 15 May 1923, Page 3

Mr Samuel Turner, E.R.G.S., the wellknown Aipine explorer, who for the past two months has been engaged in further exploration in the Hollyford and Tut ok o V alleys, returned to Queenstown, via the Greenstone and Elfin Bay, on Friday, 4th inst. (writes our Queenstown correspondent). He reports having climbed to within 400 ft of the summit of the second highest peak in tho Tutoko region, but had to abandon any further attempt owing to shortage of provisions and the danger of floods in the Hollyford River. Mr Turner has now completed his exploration work in this wonderful region, the most important feature of which is that he has discovered a practicable pass for tourists who wish to make a complete tour of the Tutoko group of mountains from E'fin Ray, Lake Wakatipu to Milford Sound and back via the Milford track. Mr Turner purposes releasing through the N.Z. Press Association an account of his latest exploits in the region which has now engaged his attention for four seasons. He H tremendously enthusiastic over all he has seen, and what he has to tell the public of New Zealand should prove interesting reading. “Wanganui is the black spot in the North Island just now,” remarked an underwriter, in referring to pillage of cargo. An instance was given of 25 cases of whisky sent from Wellington to that port, only 22 arriving or being delivered to the consignees. Particulars were given of claims made for pillage of drapery sent to Wanganui firms. It was noticed that since insurance companies had suspended the arrangement by which they made claimants for loss by pillage or theft carry 25 per cent, of the loss there has been a slight increase in the number of claims, suggesting carelessness as to packing goods. A Dunedin resident who has just returned from the Strath-Taieri district informs us that the farmers round about Middlemarch have had an unfortunate experience this season. The harvest was one of the best experienced for many years, and operations up to stacking wore completed under fairly favourable conditions. The recent rains, however, disclosed weaknesses in many stacks, into which the water penetrated, with the result that the sheaves have had to be opened out- again in order to giro the grain a chance to dry. A report for transmission to tho Minister of Lands is now being compiled by the Otago Lands Revision Board, consisting of Messrs R. A. Rodgers and T. Carruthers, who have been deputed to inquire into the conditions of individual soldier settlers in Otago. Boards of this nature were set up all over the dominion a few months ago at the request of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, and it is fully expected that they will be of great assistance to soldier settlers who cannot meet the demands made upon them when they took up their lands. Professor W. L. Carlyle, the manager of tile Prince of Wales’s ranch in Alberta, arrived in England recently to report to tho Prince, and to arrange for Iresh stock Shorthorns and horses to bo sent to the ranch from the Duchy of Cornwall farms. At present the stock on the ranch, which is of 4000 acreage, includes 125 head of cattle, 14 Dartmoor ponies, and 20 horses. The stock is in great demand when any is available for sale. The Prince, Professor Carlyle told qn interviewer, intended the ranch to be\not merely a show place, but rather a model ranch run on thoroughly practical lines, is proposed that the professor should taka back a small irrigation plant for experimental purposes. Other experimental work is also proceeding on the preservation of green foods for winter time. The ranch is some GO miles from Calgary.

A pistol for self-defence, which a pacifist piay use without fear of killing or wound,n BT> is described in the current number of Über Land und Meer. The inventor is Dr Niemever. The pistol is loaded with a charge composed of gunpowder and a mixture of certain chemicals. When it is fired there is a flash and •' i r,-,rwit. and the person at whom it is levelled finds himself enveloped in a cloud of gas which temporarily blinds him. This gas attacks tile lungs arid makes the breathing so difficult that the person under its influence will believe that he is breathing his last. this alarming effect lasts only a short time and is harmless. h he Central Furniture Mart in the Arcade wii: entered on the night of the sth, when, in addition to a quantity of goods, £4 in Cash was stolen. The thieves apparently entered by a small window leading to the cellar. A Press Association message from Greymouth ‘sacs tint in contrast to the experiences in almost every other part of the dominion during the last few weeks, tlnwcather on the Coast has been abnormally sunny. The rainfall for the last, six weeks is only 3in. Apart from a little wind, ideal weather has prevailed during the last few days. “Man overboard !” When that, cry rouses all ranks on shipboard into action, efficiency and smart handling of the lifesaving appliances are what count if the man in the water is not to perish (says the Evening Post). Oil a recent voyage of the Union Company’s collier Waipori from Grcymouth to Wellington, a man fell overboard when the vwsel was somewhere between Greymouth and Farewell Spit. A

very heavy sea was raging at the time, but within a few minutes of the alarm being given a boat was launched and the man picked up. Actually, only 11 minutes elapsed from the time the warning cry was raised until “Full speed ahead!” was again rung down to file engine-room. The epidemic of plague in India has led the Health Department to notify local bodies that measures for the extermination of rats must not be relaxed. The local health authorities are taking every precaution, especially in regard to ships arriving from India. An Invercargill Press Association telegram says that a young man named Edward G. Barker was charged with escaping from the Roto Roa Inebriates’ Home, and was remanded to Auckland. Accused is a dope fiend, and when arrested on the steamer he had drug appliances. Counsel alleged that the conditions existing at Roto Roa. were disgraceful. There was no censorship of letters, and inmates received drugs and hypodermic syringes through the post. Accused was sent to Roto Roa to be out of the way of drugs, but found that he was in a worse position than ever there. In Korea a boy-may be 40 years old and a man a quarter of that age. This was one of tile peculiarities of the Korean customs mentioned by Commissioner Haggard in the course of his lecture last night. He explained that an unmarried male wore his hair hanging down his hack until he got married, when it was “bobbed,” and kept together on the top of his head with a silver pin. A man with his hair worn long was addressed as a boy no matter what his age, and the youngest boy who had taken unto himself a wife was addressed with the fullest respect.

The Maniototo branch of the Farmers’ Union has adopted a remit in favour of approaching the Railway Department to ask for a train with a passenger car attached to leave Ranfurly at 6 a.m. for Dunedin, returning on the same day from Dunedin at 4 p.m. That would enable farmers to attend the weekly stock sales and return home the same day.

A Press Association wire from Christchurch says that at an inquest concerning the death of Finn Roy O’Donnell, a labourer, 33 years of age, who met his death in the recent Railway Hotel fire, the coroner (Mr 11. Y. Widdowson, S.M.), in returning his verdict, said death was due to suffocation along with shock and extensive burns. These the deceased had received when endeavouring to escape. Deceased was a, man of good physique, and could easily have used the rope fire escape from the window of his room had he noticed it, but he had evidently became confused by the effect of the dense smoke when he was awakened • suddenly from his sleep. The licensee of the hotel had done all possible to see that everyone had escaped from the building, and was not. aware, that anyone was in the room which deceased occupied. The executive of the Otago l'ipension League met on Wednesday night, Mr Charles Todd presiding. Notifications were received from the Tourist Department agreeing to bear a share of publications referring to bear a share attractions of Otago Central, and steps will be taken to utilise the olfer made. The league’s representative on the Empire Exhib.tion Committee reported that the committee feels that it is simply beating the air and doing no good of any kind. The refusal of the Government to adopt any recommendation or suggestion makes the work of the committee a redundancy, and the fear is expressed that if things drift much further Otago will be practically unrepresented as far as most of the great primary products are concerned. The committee proposes to interview Mr Massey on the subject during his forthcoming visit and if no satisfactory arrangement is made the committee will have to consider steps to bring the whole position prominently before the people in an endeavour to see tliat Otago is not left stranded.

Mr C. C. C’ape.ll and party (six guns in all) has returned to Balelutha from an expedition to Lake Te Anau in search of paradise ducks on Thursday night. In conversation with a Free Press representative. Mr Cape 11 stated that the trip was somewhat disappointing from a sportsman’s viewpoint, in that the party did not get nearly the shooting they had expected, and none of them killed the. full quota allowed under the game regulations—in the case of paradise ducks 12 head a day. The party’s headquarters were at The Key of the Lake, 17 miles from Te Anau, and they made the discovery that they had arrived just two weeks too late to get a big bag, as the game had shifted further back owing to the feed being finished. Three weeks earlier as many as 2000 head of paradise ducks had been seen in one stubble paddock, and the farmers had complained that they were becoming a. nuisance. The harvest had been earlier than usual in the Te Anau district, and as it was later down country it was stated by residents that some of the birds had gone there and others had sought the back country. Be that as it may the birds were only to be found in stray lots, and the sport was rather poor in consequence. The party did not see any pukeko. but the signs were plentiful that great flocks of paradise ducks had been feeding on the stubble some weeks before the opening of the season. Messrs A- Buchanan and party (four guns), who visited the Central, report, a bag of 27 paradise ducks and some swans.

The prolonged drought is having the alarming effect of enormously increasing the salt content of the water in the Murray River in the valuable irrigation areas right up above Renniark, near the junction of the three States of South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales (writes our Sydney correspondent). Even in 1914, when the river fell in about the same low level as it is now, the salinity was never so high, and it is feared that it is becoming more a danger than a help to the orcharclists. The famous Murray cod and lobsters are being severely affected, the cod having become thin and almost lifeless while the lobsters are crawling out of the salt water and dying by hundreds. The Irrigation Trust officials are advising growers not to irrigate their blocks, or, if they take the risk, to be very sparing with water. Tests taken reveal that the stream holds 56gr salt to the gallon. The position has created alarm, particularly among citrus growers, who are faced with the alternatives of going without water, and probably losing portion of their orange crop or else of taking the Water at the risk of mining the trees. It had been hoped that the 50,000 acre feet of water released from the Lake Victoria storage basin would have made the irrigation position secure for all the settlements; but beyond freshening the stream for a few days it has been of little benefit. The river is very low, and although a small sheet of water is still coming down from the lake it is not sufficient to hold up the stream, and more, water is running out than is coming down. The pumps at Ren-m-ark are still operating, but are finding it difficult, to raise the water owing to the shallowness of the river. The growers depend on the irrigatWn water for domestic and stock supplies. The secretary of the Otago Acclimatisation Society received advice from the Under-Secretary, Department of Internal Affairs, advising that there will be an open season for the taking of opossums during the month of June in the Otago district. No one is allowed fo trap or take opossums without having previously taken out a license. A Press Association message from Christchurch says that a profit of £I2OO is disclosed by the balance sheet of the industrial exhibition held at Christchurch at the close of last year. A donation of £lO6 has been made to the war memorial and £IOO to the Canterbury A. and P. Association.

“There are more graves of missionaries and Christian leaders, for the size of the country and the number of missionaries, in Korea than in any other country in the world,” stated Commissioner Uoggard during his lecture last night.

“I have seen—this is not- a yarn,” remarked Commissioner Hoggard in the course of his lecture on Korea last week. “I have seen a Chinaman in Seoul take a live rat through which he drove a nail, pinning it to a piece of wood. The next operation was to pour kerosene over the animal,

roasting it alive. That done, John sat down to one of the banquets of his life.” A Press Association message from Dargaville says that at the Magistrate’s Court on the 9th Robert Coe was charged with, receiving 15 sums of money, amounting to £B3 8s 3d, on conditions requiring him to account to the Provident Life Assurance Company, and that he did fraudentJy omit to account for the same, thereby committing theft. Accused pleaded guilty, and was committed to the Auckland Supruma Court for sentence. Bail was allowed.

A press Association message from Wellington states that Sir Maui Pomare, Minister in charge of the Cook Islands Department, and Mr J. D. Gray, secretary to the department, sail for Rarotonga on official business by the steamer Maunganui on May 22. Owing to the limited time at his dispoß.il, the Minister will spend only six days at Rarotonga, returning to Wellington by the mail steamer Tahiti, which is due on June 9- It is now some years since the Minister paid his last visit to the group, and there are many matters requiring his personal attention there.

The annual meeting of the Clutha DistrictReturned Soldiers’ Association, held in the Dalton Hall, Balclutha, on Wednesday night, had a special significance, in that the question of winding up and transferring to the Dunedin Association was one of the principal subjects for consideration. During last year the association's ciubrooms were given up and the billiard tables and equipment sold, in consequence of lack of interest, and the annual report stated that owing to so many members not paying their subscriptions the revenue had hardly been equal to meeting the necessary administration expenses, even without the ciubrooms and the expense thereby entailed. The majority of the financial members circularised on the subject had declared in favour of winding up. Mr A. C. Laing, secretary of the Dunedin R.S.A., who was present, while sympathising with the position the Clutha Association had fallen into, advised facing the position squarely, and pointed out that by joining up with Dunedin they would enjoy the benefit of a properly-con-ducted clubroom, administration expenses would be cut out locally, and the local business could be carried on by a small committee. Ultimately it was agreed that the association go into liquidation and that all financial members be transferred to the Dunedin Association. Air J. T. Walter was appointed liquidator. It was further decided that the surplus funds of the Clutha Association, amounting to £ll9 14s lid, be placed in trust with two members of the association, with the recommendation that the money be utilised for the purpose cf endowing a cot in the proposed- South Otago base hospital at Balclutha, it being understood that the money would go to the Hospital Board for the benefit of returned soldiers in the hospital. It was decided to hand the association’s roll of honour board over to the Borough Council with a recommendation that it be placed in the Carnegie Library. Afterwards an enjoyable social was held, at which the Mayor (Mr White) presided over a good attendance, and a lengthy toast list was honoured.