Mr Ward Interviewed.

Temuka Leader, Issue 3559, 13 March 1900, Page 3

Mr Ward Interviewed.

At Timaru on Friday the Hon. J. Gr. Ward was met at the railway station by a deputation consisting of His Worship the Mayor, Messrs T. D. Young, D. Stuart, H. 11. Kirk, and Air Tennant (secretary Harbour Hoard). The deputation laid before the hon. gentleman a few .things connected with railway matters which they .considered needed attention. Replying to the separate speakers at once, Mr Ward said he fully recognised the importance of this district, and the great extension of export business that had taken place ; and that as tho district progressed there must bo extension of the facilities for transacting its increasing bnsine ss. With regard to tho clay cliil' at tho foot of the Moody wharf, ho knew nothing of the intention to stop the work, and the work would uot bo stopoed. As to trucks a large number were being made, and ho hoped in a short time by the efforts they were making to meet all demands; they were turning out trucks as fast as possible. Tho suggested new railway approach to tho wharf would require a recasting of tho whole 1 of tho station yard, and removal of the sheds—a big job, ami they must bo con. 1 tent to do what was most pressing'. A tor improving the passenger platform, he would make inquiries, but it did not appear to be very pressing need compared \ with the other matters referred to. An ‘ alternative was to restrict the use of tho f platform so far as visitors wore concerned, as was done at the larger centres, i<y issuing platform tickets. As to the harbour j railway siding, to give access to the Board’s * ructions, where a siding was to be a public f convenience or for tho use of tho railway the * Department should pay for it; hut whore * it was for private use or the benefit of any 1 institution, those benefiting by it ! should pay for it, and in this * case it appeared that the siding was wanted so that the Harbour r Beard could let their sections. That was 11 no argument for the .Department payiugfor £ it. If the .Lyttelton Harbour Board had been able to avoid paying what they should IJ have paid in the past, they had been very v fortunate. He had had some experience of paying for sidings himself, and had not 1 been so fortunate. The Board had a mun- - ber of sections to lot, and spread the cost of tho siding over them. However, it was not a hard and fast rule, and he would look into tho matter, and if it was a fair thing for the Department to pay for it, he did not want to put the burdens of tho railway upon anybody clse’s shoulders. The old railway carriages were being “ converted ” as fast as possible, and ho was anxious to see the last of them.

At Timaru on Friday Ellis mills, a butcher, was fined £2 and costs for killing a calf in a butcher's shop, next door to ilallantyne’s. He pleaded that the calf, which had been brought in from the country, was very wild, and he had to kill it at once. Harvest in Southland will soon bo general. Oats are coming on quicker than was anticipated. John William Pickersgill, aged about 50, employed at the Bank of Australasia, Wellington, died suddenly on Friday afternoon.. No cause was assigned. An inquest is to' bo held. Samuel Baxter, one of the victims of the boiler accident at Western Springs, Auckland, has made a claim for £520 as damages for the injuries which he sustained. The widow of the man killed claims £2OOO. I

Charles Richardson, aged 19, fell off sleigh at Miller’s Flat, Southland. Th horse bolted, and the man was kicked an n . killed instantly. A younger brother wh j g , was with him was unhurt. p_ Brent m’s boardinghouse at Pongar; A ’ Wellington, was destroyed by lire on Frida’ r’ Tho property was owned by Dwau Broi Insurances .£750. ,' v t A- man named Thomas Stone, a labours he residing at Grey town North, committe suicide on Monday morning by hangiu 11 , himself to a tree with a wire clothes lin< [ IB He leaves a widow and three children. ns A decree nisi was granted at Dunedin oi jo . the ground of desertion in the case Eliza beth White, petitioner, v. J. I. White, or sai!or - Under tho heading “Marvellous En 0 (; durance ” tho Ashburton Guardian re j. cords a painful and very serioui ie accident that happened to a youn< ie man named William Kerr, employe! L . s in a brickyard. He was oiling tin c . pugxuill machinery and his shirt sleeve wai 3 . caught in the cogs. Almost before tin 1( j young fellow had time to think, the liml r . was dragged in, mangled off above tin elbow, and lay on the ground before him w He coolly stopped the engine, and tber 10 called to his mates he had lost his arm n He was taken to his whare. One man , 0 posted off for a doctor, while the others, d with twine, formed a tourniquet on tho n shattered stump and stopped the bleeding, q Throughout tho painful operation young -j Herr sat on a chair, and, though the twitch--16 mg, quivering muscles showed what ho jj was enduring, not a groan escaped him, ,f Ho said no one was to blame for what was a pure accident. His sole concern was as to the effect the shock would have on his mother, of whom he spoke several times. His father, who had been seat for immediately, arrived quickly, and the sight of the shattered stump proved ._ almost too much for him. The lad endeavy cured to cheer him up, and spoke bravely q of how he would face the consequences of ■ the accident. Dr Bolger was very smartly . on the spot, and when he arrived young 3 Kerr simply asked “ Is this going to kill . me, doctor ? ” With such an exhibition of 7 pure grit before him, the doctor had no hesitation in giving' a cheerful negative, and tho young fellow accepted the situation . like a Stoic. He was removed in a cab to . the hospital, where it was found the limb , was horribly shattered, necessitating ampuI tation at tho shoulder. Ho is doing re- . markably well, and his bravery and i spirits are phenomenal. It may be men- . tioned that young Kerr recently volun- . teered for the Transvaal, but his services [ had to be declined, owing to his being , under age. When the accident happened , on Saturday, he remarked “ They would . nob take me for the Transvaal, and now I . can’t go.” Turning to his employerjhe said “ If you’ll take me back when i’m better, I’U do tho work with one arm.” It may be a slight consolation to young Kerr in his troubles to know the whole town is proud of him. So long as the empire can breed lads of his slump, there is no fear of England being driven to tho wall. The term “ wounded ” will soon cease to have the fearful significance which it once had, says the editor of the Polyclinic, in some notes on the surgery of war, and those coming under it will hardly be counted as “ losses ” when it is recognised that twothirds may probably bo back in the ranks , in about a fortnight. Now that it is found to be shot through the lungs involves but tittle risk, and that bullet wounds of the limbs count for almost nothing, while those of the abdomen, tho liver, and oven the head, are far from being necessarily fatal, it seems possible that some return to defensive armour may be practicable. The region of the heart is the part which remains mortally vulnerable, and it may, perhaps, bo found practicable to contrive a breastplate which may be worn without encumbrance, and yet conduce much to tho wearer’s security.

It is said that the skin of an elephant usually takes live years to tan.