The Southern Cross PUBLISHED WEEKLY INVERCARGILL : SATURDAY, SEPT. 22 General News.

Southern Cross, Volume 14, Issue 30, 22 September 1906, Page 8

The Southern Cross PUBLISHED WEEKLY INVERCARGILL : SATURDAY, SEPT. 22 General News.

Mr A. J. Service, County Clerk and Treasurer, invites tenders for a number of important works in this issue. Contractors would do well to make themselves familiar .with , the various details. The Y.M.C.A. Band gave a very enjoyable concert from the Rotunda on Tuesday evening. The night was fine, and the attendance very large. It is reported that Mr I. W. Raymond has bought the Ermedale Esl- - in the Western District. The members of the Court Queen of the South, A.0.F., hold a social and dance in Ashley’s Hall, on Tuesday evening, 9th October. Tickets are now on sale, and should be secured. The ladies of this lodge are noted for the manner in which they, carry out their socials, and a large attendance is a foregone conclusion.

A very successful sale of work in connection with the Leet street Methodist church was held i in the iY.M.C.A. Hall this week.

When the Invercargill waterworks was opened some IS years ago, pessimists told us that the supply would give out in a Jew years. Time has told the tale. The works at present are giving forth a larger and better supply than ever before.

It is just five , years this month since President McKinley (U.S.A) was shot, and 18 years since the Empress of Austria met her death at the hand of the assassin. It was 54 years on the i4th inst. since the Duke of Wellington died ; and 18 years on the 19th inst. since Xew Zealand’s’ G.0.M., Sir George Grey, “crossed the bar.”

Mr W. C. Wilkins, who had been in business in Invercargill for a good many .years, died at his residence, Appleby, on Thursday. He had been in ill-health for some time, and the end was not unexpected. Mr Wilkins carried on an ironmongery ese tablishment in Tay street for a time, and afterwards devoted himself to the manufacture of dairy appliances. His,goods were sought by those engaged in the dairying industry, and speedily made a name for themselves, even far afield. Mr Wilkins was a representative of the old school—industrious, methodical, and jjunctual. Anything in the shape of “shoddy,” either in goods or conduct, was an abomination to him. In business his wal'd was his bond, his integrity inflexible, and in private life he was esteemed for his many sterling qualities. He was thoughtful and well-informed, and had the knack of writing crisply and interestingly on commercial or industrial questions. His widow and family have the sympathy of a wide circle of friends.

On Monday evening the annual musical and elocutionary competitions will be opened in Zealandia Hall. Judges have been appointed, and all details have been arranged, and the untries received will enable the management to present a full and varied programme each evening. The piano to be used is now available to contestants at the Dresden, and the organ at Begg and Co.'s.

When the Salvation Army Band last visited Mataura and gave an ■evening’s entertainment the residents were delighted and hoped they would return and give another enjoyable concert. We have pleasure in advising the residents that they have decided to visit Mataura on Sept. 26th, when a splendid programme will po presented. The proceeds are to be devoted to Army work, and a large attendance is expected. Under bandmaster Walker the band has' made wonderful progress, and is a credit to the town to which it belongs.

Eggs are selling at lOd per dozen retail, while factory butter in pats is being retailed at Is 4d per pound. Wellington butter is also on sale in Invercargill, and is meeting with ready sale at a lower price than the local article.

The Gore A. and P. Association have accepted the tender of T. Rhodes and Son. East Gore, at £6OB 8s 6d, for the erection of a grandstand.

It is suggested that Lord Roberts should be asked to visit the colony during the Exhibition, and review our cadets and volunteers.

High lambing averages' are the cule this season. Some are remarkably heavy, as high as 130 and 14-0 per cent, being by no means uncommon. These fi-guros (reports the Gore Standard) have been attained in several cases in the Knapdale district.

The Municipal Band social takes place on Thuraday evening next. The tickets are selling well, and those intending to be present should consult the secretary, Mr J. J. Mair. The last social given by the Band drew a splendid attendance, and indications point to a large gathering on this occasion.

Home mails, via ’Frisco close at Invercargill at 12.35 p.m. on Monday, and for Australia at 2 p.m. Supplementary mails for Great Britain and America will also be despatched at 12.35 p.m. on Tuesday.

Some thirteen years ago the ladies of N.Z. w T ere granted the Franchise. Some people said the country was doomed. Rather the reverse has happened, and the ladies appear to be as level-headed as their lords, and in many instances more so.

A prohibited person named John Gourlay, who had been supplied with beer by someone, narrowly escaped drowning in the Waihopai. He was up to his neck in the water when rescued by two young men. He was brought before the Court, and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon.

The big and the little. A National Annuities Bill was introduced into the house of Representatives on Thursday, and Mr J. C. Thomson was informed that steps are being taken to provide Otapiri Gorge with better postal facilities. The marvel is that some plan cannot be devised for dealing with purely local matters of this kind instead of burdening Parliament wuth them. Might as w T elI use a sledge-hammer for cracking nuts.

A worthy colonist passed away at Riverton .on Wednesday, in 1 the. person of Mrs Jane Gunn, wife of Mr William Gunn. She arrived at the Bluff in the Sir George Rollick in 1863, and had made Riverton her home for the greater part of the intervening forty-three years. She was well-knowm to the travelling public for some years as the landlady of the Railway Hotel, at Riverton. Her voyage out from Home was 1 an eventful one. While the vessel was in the English Channel it collided with and sank a wool ship from New Zealand, and a few days before the shores of the colony were sighted a sailor set fire to the ship, and there was an exciting scene before the flames were extinguished.