THE COLONIST. Published Daily—Morning. Nelson, Monday, July 23, 1906. SUMMARY NOTES.

Colonist, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11686, 23 July 1906, Page 2

THE COLONIST. Published Daily—Morning. Nelson, Monday, July 23, 1906. SUMMARY NOTES.

During the month of June the sunshine recorded in Nelson was equal to a daily average of very nearly seven hours, but the present month has* till now, been markka by variable weathoi'|Jlocally,Pand „by Scale's and flooded rivers overja large portion of the Colony. Some damage was done by gales at, Invercargil! and at Gore, while at Dunedln a woman was killed by a branch of a tree that was, torn off by the wind. In the North the Manakau signal station waß struck by lightning, and vessels had a bad time on the Tasman sea. The steamer Indraghira took all but ten days in crossing from Dunedin to Sydney, and in addition to being knocked about by the heavy 89as, lost. one of her crew. On the coast, too, the weather has been tempestuous some of the steam services have been interrupted, and a number of vessels, including steamers, found refuge in Nelson Bay at Totaranui and Tonga. At Wellington th;e gale was very severe, and a little steamer, tbe Piafeo, was driven ashora. Floods have been experienced in North Canterbury, in the Maha^atu district, in the vicinity of Hastings, Hawke's Bay, and at Gisboi-ne, whdre human life was endangered, and the inmates of a house that was wrecked by a landslip were injured. One settler in the last mentioned locality is reported to have lost 1200 sheep. On the east coast of the North lslaad two schooners have been wrecked, and all on board the unfortunate vessels were drowned. At Karamea, too, in the Nelson province, four occupants of a boat, who were engaged in taking soundings, on the bar lost their lives owing to a breaker swamping their boat.

During the first six months of the current year the value of the gold exported from the Colony was £1)070,434, which was £59,111 io excess of that sent away in the corresponding period of last year.

The revenue of the Colony continues to advance, that for the June quarter having totalled £1,625,871, or £118,064 more than in the June quarter of 1905. As showing the progress that is being made in New Zealand it is worth noting that whereas the railway receipts in the year 1895 amounted to £1,150, 501, they had increased to £2,349,504 in 1905, which, in round figures, is equal to two pounds ten shillings for every man, woman, and child in the Colony. Progress in the way of production is also indicated 3by the fact that in the year ended with June last 415,380 bales of wool were exported, which was 28,172 ba1es more than the quantity shipped away in the previous twelve months.

* The wool returns for the last year, especially those of tne careful farmer, were such as to gladden the heart, but when the fall in prices at the recent Antwerp sales was succeeded by a decline at the London sales equal to from a halfpenny to a penny oo crossbred© there was an appreciation of what this would mean should decline continue till the new clip is on the market, and particularly should the decline increase. By those most competent to judge, however, the opinion is held that a serious decline in value is not to be expected. In connection with the too frequent fires on board wool ships, it may be mentioned that the Government has resolved upon the appointment of a Royal Commission to investigate and report on the matter.

Of late a considerable number of immigrants have been arriving in the Coolny; the e.s.Paparoa brought 107, the s.s. Corinthio 373, and the 8.8. Devon 114. The workers in various parts of the Colony are raising their voice against overstocking the labor market, and we feel that a mistake has been made in bringing a number of people into the Colony in the middle of winter, when, owing to the partial, and even complete cessation of work of various kinds in consequence of the season, employment is not easy to obtain in the country, and labor is, generally, more plentiful than the demand, in the towns. With the advent of spring we hope that there may be no idle hands, but in justice to those already in the Colony, as well as to those who may elect to come hither, those in authority should be most careful how and when they introduce new comers.

Explorations in Taranaki Province indicate that the petroleum area is very much larger than was at first thought, but no further actual developments have taken place. There are great expectations relative to the mineral belt in the Karamea district of this province, and while extensive operations are soon to be in progress at the copper deposits in Aniseed Valley, further attention is being directed to the huge deposits of hematite at Parapara, also in this provincial district.

The election of a representative in Parliament for the Westland seat, rendered vacant by the denth of the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon, resulted in the return, by a substantial majority, of Mr 'V. Y. Seddon, second son of the late Premier, and who was persuaded to become a candidate by a number of his father's old friends and constituents. A proposal to establish a memorial to the late Premier has been takeu up warmly at the seat of Government.

As a result of the recent census a return has been compiled showing the increase in the population of each provincial district. The greatest increase during the five years and one month since the previous numbering was in Wellington, viz., of 38,339 so 179,693 or 27.12 per cent. Auckland came next with an increase of 35,9X8, to 211,856, or 20.42 per cent, ilawke's Bay showed an in-

crease of 6514, to 41,938, an increase of 18.39 per cent: Taranaki an in crease of 5549, to 43,404, or 14.66 per cent; Canterbury an increase of 16,010, to 159\06i, OrILJSJj peb.ce.nt; N/ejtepn .an Incjr&ise o&'Wft, to M,768, pr jp.,l?. PP r cent; Marlborough an sjnerieaste of 1030, to 14,356, or 7.73 pojcent; Westland an increase of 92X, to 15,427, or 6.35. per cent; and ,Ot9go,an||increase of 7789, t0180»944j or 4.50 per cent.. Tiie North island, which has been^mpiD: recently opened tip, is s natur^y jati;factiij| larger additions .to its population than^the well settled portions of the South Island, but with the exception of Canterbury, which has the advantage of railways in every direction, Nelson has saown the largest comparative increase in this Island) and that in spite of its isolation, This fact goes to prove that when railway communication between Nelson and the South is established this province niust; advance by leaps and bounds, especially In view oi the immense areas of^Crown land's in the province which continue unoccupied for want of moans whereby markets may be reached.

Oh the first o! he'xfc month the railway extension to Tadnior is . to be opened, and that will give us a working line of 42 miles in lengthalmost equal to some of the branches in other provinces. When . the line is extended through: the.Buj^ler, and a ( minerajL and : timber traffic commanded, great changes are certain to follow.

It is : satisfactory .to notice that Ne\v Zealand hemp .is commanding very, sAtiefdbtory prices. in the Home market;, the latest quotation being £te 5s for Jsly-t3eptember shipniSßta. A new system of preparing the fibre was recently announced as being very promising, and with the good returns now being received there is every encouragement for iMproved methods ;of preparation, and also for cultivation o£ the plant, We hear $hat settlers in this district are plan ting flax roots, the treatment of which promises to provide employment for many;

Sir Joseph Ward is expected to arrive in the Colony very shortly now, as he is a passenger by the San Francisco steamer, which is on her way to Auckland, and arrangements are in progress for according him a welcome in the Northern City, and also at Wellington on his reaching the capital. Amongst other things we expect to hear his opinion concerning the encouragement of commercial arrangements with the United States of America, it has been reported that the first steamer of; a new line from New ; ¥ork to New Zealdnd is to sail from the first named port next month, and that her despatch will be in consequence df Sir J.G. Ward's visit to the United States. The Minister will also, doubtless, have something to tell us about the new Australian mail service: