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South Canterbury Times, Issue 4983, 16 April 1889, Page 3

Tho Hospilal Steward desires to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of ajlargo quantity of fish from Mr J. D. Adam.

An Auckland inventor offers a new cut of lace-up boot specially suited for walking through fern, rough and wet grass, in which the upper is cut from one piece of leather and the lacing is at the back. A parade of the Timaru rifles is ordered for to-morrow evening in marching order. As a report has got about that volunteers are to pay their own expenses to the Easter encampment, wo are authorised to s( ate that such is not the case so far as the rifles are concerned all expenses being paid out of the Government grant.

At court to-day Mr Hay objected to the expenses of a witness “on the other side ’ being allowed against his client on the ground that his evidence was not material, and his client ought not to be forced to pay expenses unnecessarily incurred. There was rather too much of this sort of thing in this court, the summoning of unnecessary witnesses to make a show of making a strong case. Really ! said Mr White, this insinuation —-. Oh, interrupted Mr Hay, I do not mean to say that Mr White is to be blamed for this any more than myself. It is a weakness of the profession here, and I think the court should chock it.

The New Zealand Times has “made inquiries ” into the reasons which have led the Railway Commissioners to require the erection of central offices in Wellington, in the face of the general demand for retrenchment, and says j—“ In the first place it is an error to suppose that there is any superfluity of apace in the ‘ Big Building.’ On the contrary it has long been necessary to rent additional accommodation outside the building in order that the public service might be properly carried on. The amalgamation of offices carried out by the late management of the railways, which have effected very large economies (as shown by the published returns) have necessarily involved the concentration of several sub-departments of the railway service o,nd these have been located in Wellington. This necessitated the renting of offices in town for the Locomotive Superintendent and his staff and for other officers now stationed at headquarters. For these premises a heavy rental has to be paid and upon a careful estimate it has been ascertained that the interest on the cost of the proposed new head office will be considerably less than the amount of the rental which has now to bo paid for less suitable and convenient accomodation, Consequently the outlay now contemplated will effect a substantial saving in the annual expenditure, while promoting the efficiency of the department and facilitating further economy in working expenses.