TOWN EDITION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9643, 19 January 1903, Page 3

TOWN EDITION.

1 A grant of £2500 has been made by '< the Government, for the purposes of erect- ' big a technical school at Invercargill. The Wanganui Chronicle states: — We heai' that still another medico has de- | cided to take up his residence hi Wanganui, the gentlemen m question being Dr Craig, of Auckland, and lately of Gisborne. It is intended to celebrate- the Liberal victory at the general election with a "social" m connection with the various Wellington branches of the Liberal Fed- , eration. The gathering will take place ron or about 6th February. All the * Ministers are expected to be present. 1 Exports of butter from Victoria for ' ' the year which has just closed show a 5 veiy marked decrease. The actual short--1 ace m exports amounts to nearly 12,000,---l 0001 b, representing a money value of {. £500,000 due to tbc protracted spell of j dry weather which recently ended. E From inquiries made the Sydney Daily Telegraph finds that, approximately, the ) principal unions embrace a membership f of upwards of 26,000, and the country unions a little over 27,000, total of about t 53,000. To this must be added upwards j of 2600 - maritime workers, covered by tive s Federated Seamen's and the Stewards and . Cooks' Unions. c The Clutha Leader states that some. - time on Friday evening a cash-box, cona taining a small sum of money and three y cheques, was abstracted from beneath the r counter of Mr E. Breeze's .shop, Waiwe-ra. . s The cash-box has since been found m the p Waiwera stream, near- the old hotel, the a cash and cheques being abstracted.

While a party of blacks were compel on the beach near the Endeavor River m the Cooktown district, Queensland, : large alligator emerged ironi the river seized ti piccaninny, and swallowed tin child m the presence of its mother. The Dannevirke Advocate states thai practical}' no cocksiool will be saved ii the bush districts this year. There is oi upward tendency m tlie cocksfoot him rket, and every prospect that seed will realise high prices this season. In New .South Wales, m the Richmond River district, the thermometer stood al 115 m the shade, and no fewer than lei; deaths took place as the result of the heat. These included four little children; tin others were all men who were struct down by heat apoplexy. At Nyngan fom Infants died, and three at Warren. According to the Review, the Eternal City is to have a bright future as a manufacturing centre. It is stated that "ever ill Rome, although thei>e. are no outward signs of manufacture, yet, from the Ti voli Falls, some 15.000 electrical horsepower Ls brought into or near that cit.j for manufacturing purposes. It is almost impossible to dissociate m idea a imi.nufacturi.ng city from, dirt <uid smoke, but with electricity all this trouble disappears, whilst natiiuiiaJ monuments will not bo disfigured. In the Alban Hills will be found power enough to rake a lU.-W Rome from the ashes of the past." Mr John Bale, some eight or ten years ago, secured certain rights from theN'ew South Wales Government to found an experimental coffee-growing- station at Wolbin Island, on the Clarence River. There he planted out several acres ol young coffee trees, which are now m full bearing. Already he has harvested 30,0001 bof berries, and has still another 10,000lb to gather. This means that each tree's yield is from 501 bto 601 b, or 15 lib tins of the prepared article. Retailed at Is per tin, the revenue represents a handsome income as the trees are planted iv rows about 20ft apart. On the tost Sabbath morning of the year of grace 1902, a rural congregation m a certain Southland parish, situated less tluiii. 100 miles from Invercargill, assembled for service. The preacher was "supply" for the day, and possessing, therefore, a freer . mind to ventilate the subject Mum the regular minister, he proceeded without compunction to remind his hearers of their lack of assistance to the church coffers during the year that was about to close. The good folk were told of their financial remissness to timestenthly, yea, even to fourteenthly, until considerably past the usual, hour for such dispensation ; but at this stage a veteran member of the kirk, who had been moving uneasily iv his seat for .some time, could stand the harangue no longer, an id the remainder of the congregation were astonished to hear him exclaim aloud: — "Man ! I'll gie half-a-croon for a. start, if tine, rest o' ye can. raise eneuch tae stop him frae lecturin' us any ma,ir." The parson took the hint, and very shortly the Benediction was pronounced. The dust storms m the Victorian interior last week recalled m intensity those of the famous day m November, when even Melbourne was under the pall. Here is a report m the Argus from Kerang, which Ls a very fine wheat-growing centre, not far from the Murray border: — "All day a heavy and persistent duststorm raged, and the Swan Hill to Bendigo train, due at noon, did not arrive until 4 o'clock p.m., owing to the line beiug blocked with dust. From Swan Hill to Luke Charm men were required to clear the sand off the. mils at every crossing before the train could pass. A staff of 10 repairers lias been kept at Lake Charm the last- fewmonths to clear away the dust. On this occasion the train brought down extra hands from Bogia to assist. It was found after leaving Lake Charm that the line was m places 4ft deep m shifting sand, tuid, owing to the force of the wind, only a train's length could be cleaned at one time. This employed the combined energy of 14 men, as well as the assistance of passengers. On reaching Kerang, m the unoccupied carriages dust over jin thick lay on the floors mid seats. The stoi'm continues unabated. The train took three hours and a-quarter to travel four miles from Lake Charm." In several towns business had to be suspended and the lamps to be lighted ; and the fowls were even cheated into going to roost.