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South Canterbury Times, Issue 6265, 11 July 1890, Page 3

Messrs T. and J. Thomson have just opened a lot of specialities for the coming season. Mr John Jackson will bo landing a cargo of Greymouth coal ex Kawatiri on Monday next.

Attention is drawn to a notification in another column re the Jumbo brand baking powder.

A meeting of the Woollen Factory operatives will be held in the Oddfellows’ Hall, Barnard Street, to-morrow evening. The Federated Wharf Labourers’ Union will hold a special meeting this evening at 8 o’clock, in the Oddfellows' Hall, Barnard Street.

One of the latest notions is a farmers' union to keep up the price of all farm produce consumed in the colony, the producers taking what they can get for produce exported. This is an Aucklander’s idea.

Entries for the forthcoming Poultry and Cat Show close to-morrow evening at 10 o’clock. Mr F. Watson, the Society's Hon. Secretary, will be in attendance at the shop next Theatre Boyal to receive entries. The head teacher of the Hamilton East School (Auckland), writes to his committee condemning the geography and history set down in the syllabus for the upper standards, as a lot of facts and figures, pure memory work, as useful to a child’s mental development as a meal of chalk would be to his physical. The s s. A shleigh Brook, which ran ashore at the Cape, and became a total loss whilst on her way to New Zealand, was insured for the voyage out and Home at 35s and 40a per cent. She was valued at £33,500. The refrigerating machinery, valued at £12,000, was also insured.

Captain Bussell in the coarse of the financial debate, remarked that.the advocates of further retrenchment had said a good deal about the enormous amount paid in salaries in the “ big wooden building” ; but in reality the amount did not exceed £75,009 a year. Well, that is a pretty considerable reality. The Colonial Secretary says salaries cannot be reduced. For instance, as to the police service, he quoted statistics to show that the New Zealand force was paid at a lower rate than those of the other colonies, and the same remark applied to the'Justice Department. He did not think that there could be any further reductions made in salaries, and if anything like serious reductions were made all good men would be driven out of the service.—That’s just the argument condemned in another column the “ beggar my neighbour ” argument. The Tuapeka Times has the following : “On Saturday afternoon the bailiff, accom-. panied by a gentleman well known in mining circles, set out for the Consolidated Company’s claim at the Blue Spur with the object of securing the week’s wash-up of gold. A writ had been issued empowering him to make the seizure at the instance of two companies for interest overdue on the sum originally agreed on for the purchase of their properties. But the manager, learning that there was something in the wind, washed up earlier in the day than usual, and had the pleasure, while on his way to the bank with the precious metal, of meeting the bailiff on his way to the claim.”

A petition is being prepared for presentation to Parliament praying for a trial of Yaile’s scheme of railway charges. The New Zealand Times has an article condemning the scheme, in which it shows that it does not understand it, because it likens it to the Austrian-zone system, which is quite different. The Times however gives a neat-looking statement of the New Zealand railway problem, as follows : “ The New Zealand Government railways cost £682,787 to work last year on a very economical basis. The interest on their cost came to over half a million more. Mere then, we have £1,200.000 per annum that must be produced. Somebody has to find that amount, no matter bow the railways are worked. And there are two classes of people who have to find that money, whether they like it or whether they do not — the railway user and the taxpayer. If the former pays less, the latter must pay more There is no mistake about that. The question, then, is —Ought wo to take so much off those who use the railways, and so derive direct benefit from them, and place it on the shoulders of all the taxpayers, whether they use the line or not ? That is the question to which a plain and direct answer has to be given by those who favour the proposed reductions. We are not objecting to reductions. We simply say:— Let us have no pretence or humbug about the matter. Let the public know exactly what the proposal really means.” Now this looks clever and clear, but it assumes one important element and omits another. It assumes that the returns from traffic would fall off, which Mr Vai'e denies, and it omits the most important thing of all, that reduced fares and charges would help to settle the country, and thus increase the traffic and lighten the demand on the taxpayers, everyone of whom would benefit at once from the cheaper carriage of his goods.

Mr Egeson, tbs Australian weather pro-1 phet, sometime ago predicted a terrible drought to take place after tho floods. Tho i drought baa not taken place, and the editor j of a Bathurst paper says it has been postponed owing to the inclemency of the weather.

Ifc is a matter for congratulation when we see growing up in our midst an industry which employs a large number of male and female workers. The larger cur wage earning population grows the greater will be the material prosperity of the town. It is also imperative that every right thinking citizen should support such an industry to the best of his ability. All can assist the one referred to by buying the strong, yet neat, and reliable boots and shoes made at the Timaru Boot Factory. [Adyt.l The Pictorial World of May let, contains a useful advertisement for New Zealand, in a description of a trip to the colony in one of the New Zealand Company’s steamers. The article is the more useful as an engraving is given of the e.s. Kaikoura, which will show the lazy ignorant British public what fine vessels the New Zealand passenger trade maintains. There is also a good portrait of Captain Orutchley, of the Kaikoura, which shows what handsome men the Shipping Company get for officers. There is also a full page engraving of a scene on board one of the mail steamers, “ Fire Drill.” This is just splendid. There are three girls, passengers, seen on one side, and of some dozen or score sailors in the picture, engaged in “Fire drill," more than half are looking at the girls. The artist has taken this trait of the sailor man capitally. The Onehunga ironworks are the largest south of the line. The blast furnace stands 45ft high, is 16ft diameter outside, and lift at the widest part inside. Its erection oonsumed.l4o,ooo common and 60,000 fire brinks. A 40 h.p. engine works a blower which drives air through an “ oven " composed of 40 tons of iron pipes, and delivers it at the furnace heated to 600 deg. f a.h. The consumption of materials por week will be 150 tons coal, 200 tons iron ore and sand, and 60 tons limestone. The ironworks in connection with it have plant for manufacturing flat iron up to Bxl inch, round bars up to 4in. diameter, squares, angles and rails, and sheet iron of various sizes, and there is a corrugating and galvanising plant also. The import of iron in the forms hero producible last year was about 20,000 tons, and another 10,000 tons was in shapes easily added, so that there is a sufficient demand in the colony to keep even these big works going. There was a great gathering at the works last Saturday, when a charge of “ pig ” was run from the furnace for the first time. The ore used is not the famous iron sand, but rock ores obtained from various places in Auckland nrovince.