THE COLONIST. Published Daily—Mornings. Nelson, Tuseday, February 15, 1898. SUMMARY NOTES.

Colonist, Volume XLI, Issue 9097, 15 February 1898, Page 2

THE COLONIST. Published Daily— Mornings. Nelson, Tuseday, February 15, 1898. SUMMARY NOTES.

In the Nelson district the bulk of the grain is now harvested, and, in view of the dry season, the yield generally is better than was expected, and this year the barley ought not to be discolored. The hope is that the market will be in the farmers' favor, and present indications are in that direotion. In Canterbury, hot, fierce winds did a great amount of harm at harvest time, and from the South accounts vary considerably as to the yields that may be looked for after threshing.

A (.beat deal of loss has been sustained in varioua parts of the Colony by bush and grass fires. In the neighborhood of Pahiatua alone, 41 houses, one ohurch, and a creamery were destroyed by fire, and in addition to great areas tbat were covered with valuable timber having been swept by fires, feed has been destroyed off wide stretches of country. A number of settlers in the Nelson district have suffered very severely, some having their barns burnt, and one farmer had his staoks of newly-harvested grain burned. In the bush oountry a difficulty faces the settler whose land is swept by fir*. Timber trees that are not severely burned may bo converted to use if tha trees are felled without loss of time, and sawn up, but if allowed to stand for any length of time, they become valueless. The felling of the trees and the ereoting of sawmills, or conveying of the timber to the mills, necessitates an expenditure that it is not always convenient to provide, and if the lands be far from roads, and difficult of access, it is impossible to utilise the timber. Under saoh conditions, the only prospect of turning the land to account is by clearing the land by a more complete burn. Then, if grass seed is not sown almost immediately after the fire is out, fern will spring up and cover the land to suoh an extent that it may take years of labor to eradicate it. The grassing of the land of course oosts money, and many a settler can only effect improvement gradually. To these a bush fire may mean something approaching ruin, while in other cases it may assist in the olearing of land, and actually result beneficially. It may be taken for granted that strenuous efforts will be made to grass the lands that have been swept by fire, and that consequently, though some suffer seriously, there will be more land available for grazing in the near future. It is not only in New Zealand that muoh damage has been done by bush fires. In Tasmania, great loss has been sustained, and in Victoria settlements have been wiped out of existence. Both in Tasmania and Victoria, as well as in New Zealand, have people been burned, and many have barely escaped with their lives. Bt sparks from a bush fire that was raging in Aniseed Valley, the maohine sheds of the Champion Copper Oompany were ignited and destroyed, but, fortunately, the damage done to the smelting plant, the steam engine, and other plant was far less serious than at first thought. Tbis fire was a most unfortunate one, for negotiations have been pending for some time for the sale of the property to a wealthy syndicate. Of course the machinery could be replaced, but that on the ground cost fully four thousand pounds, and its destruction wonld have meant a severe loss. It is hoped, however, that the fire in question wifl not seriously delay operations, and we trnst that before long the ore, which con- : tains gold as well as copper, will be worked to profit. Thb gold exported from New Zealand last year showed a falling off of 61,2240z, , the amount exported in 1897 having been 980.204<_z, as against 1,041,428 in 1896/, There is reasen to hope, however, that the , deficiency will be mora than made good during the year. •________—__. We learn from West Wanganui ihat the < Taitapu Company'! battery is now practically ready for operations, it having been set going to test its running powers, It is <

stated, too, on good authority that tbe company is now getting out some very good J stone. A short time back rich stone was c found on the adjacent claim, the Pioneer, 1 and a low level tunuel was put in to strike _ the reef at a depth, but without the success _ anticipated. The auriferous stone, we hear, i is now being sunk upon, and it may be that . the reef has flattened out at a depth, but < of course it is abo possible that it may have . pinched out. We expect to hear in the course of a few day3 that the Taitapu bat- { tery has commenced crushing, and our hope' . is that the results may prove gratifying, and ] long continue so. ] It transpired that the reported gold dis- < covery in the vicinity of Starveall was really < at Top Valley Creek, a tributary of the Wairau river, and that the ground thereby j had previously been worked. Whether or ■ not the expenditure of capital on the bring- \ ing in of an adequate supply of water is ( likely to lead to profitable result is a question that is worthy of consideration, and ■ that matter is being gone into now. I ] The mild excitement that was occasioned i by the report that a considerable percentage 1 1 of platinum had been obtained from metal < produced by Mr Jacobsen from ore upon his property near Puramahoi has not wholly ■ died away, although Mr Worley, after submitting some of the stone to three rigorous tests, failed to find a trace of platinum, and Mr Skey, the Government Analyst, on testing stone of similar appearance from another claim in ths same locality also failed to obtain platinum. Mr Jacobsen continues very confident, and some think with him. We should have been very pleased if the experts had been able to report favorably, but, if Mr Jacobsen's hopes are fallacious, it is well that the fact should be known as speedily as possible, to prevent waste of time and money. The" last London wool sales closed satisfactorily, an advance of 10 per cent on Merinos and of 5 per cent on Crossbreds having been reported. It was stated, however, that the improved tone of the market was due to short supplies, and not to increased consumption. We may hope, however, tbat the advance will be at least maintained. Throughout the colonies great interest has been taken in the matches between the English cricketers and those of Australia, and the cabled reports have been eagerly awaited. The successes of the Australians have been remarkable, winning three out of four test matches—the last by eight wickets while the victory of the New South Welshmen, who beat their rivals by 239 runs, is even more remarkable. As Mr Stoddavt said the Australians have the advantage in their bowlers, though their batsmen are not to be despised. In matters political, it may be mentioned that the Premier has just returned to Wellington from a visit to the West Coast, where he was very heartily received at eaoh centre. The Hon. W. Walker, Minister for Education, has been on a visit to Nelson, and he opened the Golden Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Show on the first instant. By the resignation of Sir Robert Stout, wbo purposes devoting more attention to private affairs, a vacancy has been caused in the representation of Wellington City. Mr Duthie is definitely announced as a ! candidate in the Opposition interests, but the champion on the Government side has ; not been positively agreed upon. I '— Death has removed another of the prominent settlers, and one who held Minist terial rank a generation ago, in the person of the Hon. J. C. Richmond, who for a number of years resided in Neleon. [ The Westport Coal Company has declared ; a dividend at the rate of 6-J per cent for the past year, and oarried forward a substantial balance. In regard to mining, too, mention must be made of the fact that a company has been established in Canterbury, with a capital of £-50,000 to work the asbestos deposits in the Takaka Valley, Nelson. I The Colonial Bank liquidators estimate that in the event of certain eases being decided favorably, there will be a dividend - payable 'to the shareholders, but that, in any event, no further call is to be feared. In connection with the Midland railway of New Zealand, the debenture - holders have paid the £13,000 due to the Govern ment in respect of extensions works, and consequently the land is still being locked ) up. The hope is general that the line will ; be pushed on with, so that when the lands J are thrown ©pen settlement may proceed t apace. [ On the other side of the Tasman Ssa the question of Australian Federation has been I absorbing interest for the Federal Convent tion is in session. Some rather unexpected ) questions however have been brought up . such as the rights of respective oolonies with regard to rivers flowing through more than one, and the question of Old Age Pensions, i financial questions, the choice of capital, and the matter of the trunk railways, are others that have been discussed, but so far there does not appear to be any great deter- ' mination shown to brush away difficulties, | and bring about union. : As to New Guinea, the contributing Aus- ' tralian colonies have arranged to continue ; to provide a portion of the amonnt necessary for the administration of British New Guinea, which has now become a Bishopric, the Right Rev. Stohe-Wigg having been ! consecrated first Bishop of New Guinea. 1 The loss of the s.s. Mataura, bound from New Zealand to London, in the Magellan Straits, with her valuable cargo was a heavy one, but fortunately it was unattended by loss of life. By a collision near Auckland the barque Waiternata was sunk by the s.s. Stella, and this morning we record in another column recent terrible shipwrecks on the coast of New South Wales. It is only necessary to mention here that news with respect to the perilous state of affairs in the Far East, as well as particulars of Britain's engagements in India, the Soudan, and West Africa, is daily awited with eagerness, not unmixed with some concern, for rumors have arisen more than once that war had actually broken out. | ' ] • ' ; ' 1 ( 1 '