The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1910. THE HARBOUR BOARD'S YEAR.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14141, 26 February 1910, Page 4

The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1910. THE HARBOUR BOARD'S YEAR.

The chairman of the Harbour Board was yesterday in the happy position of being able to present to the Board a report on the year, IDO9, in. which ho had nothing of importance to regret, and a great deal about which to express satisfaction. The year passed without mishap of any kind to shipping, and not much damage to structures, the expenditure of some £18(50 on repairs to the Eastern Mole being in part necessitated by damage done in th.> previous year. Progress had been made in pursuance of the Board's duty to improve the facilities of the port, in the construction of an additional wharf, improvement of the harbour lights, addition of a fishing-boat slip; and, last but not least, the successful prosecution of the dredging work, which fortunately has not been of the nature of the dredging which occupies the plant of gome other Boards, namely, the mere maintenanceof depths. The dredges have been occupied in the more acceptable duty of deepening the harbour and the approach thereto: and the results so far have permitted the standard maximum draught permitted to vessels entering or leaving to be increased from 21 .!ft! to 23ft. Some small improvements have been made to the Board's endowment, the reclamation, private enterprise adding another in the erection of cold storage premises and plant. iro far as material possessions are concerned the Board had a good year. The treasurer's statement of accounts, summarised m the chairman's report, is also satisfactory. The revenue from business sources, £29,004, was a record, and exceeding last year's by nearly £3OOO, the increased revenue being ootaincxl from the dues on increased tonnage of goods passed over the wharves and increased tonnage of shipping accommodated. Among the latter were no less than 56 steamers and ono sailer which loaded here, wholly or partly, for England (eight of them for West of England), and seven of the steamers landed about 8500 tons of cargo direct from London. The direct steam trade with England, in wool, wheat, meat, tallow and some smaller iinc-s of exports, and in imports, accounted for about one-third of tlw total trade tonnage. The number of vessels calling here as Home-traders is certainly very gratifying, especially in view of the fact that they includrd some 12 ; 0TJ0 ton steamers. No better witness to the success of Timaru's artificial harbour could be desired in themeantime. Years must elapse beforo Lusitanies or even Malwas are required to call here. Of the ordinary revenue importers and exporters paid £15,112 as wharfage dues, and shipowners paid £12,443 under various port oharges. The only other important source of revenue was the useful return of £1077 as rents from sections on the accumulation of shingle which in the early days was feared as an. enemy to the harbour, but by suitable bold treatment has been converted into a friend. The cost of runping tho harbour, £18,805, was somewhat higher than the year before; but this is an account that fluctuates a good deal, and the amount was nearly £2OOO less than tho average of the previous five years. Some criticism was offered by members of the Board on tho practice of charging repairs to the Eastern Mole to the capital account instead of to revenue account; but as it has been the practice to do tins—and correctly until the work was completed—tha comparison of costs of running the harbour is not thereby affected. Certainly some part if not the whole of the engineer's salary should appear in tho ordinary expenses account. The year's cost of the fixed structures and iargo plant, i.e., the interest on loans, £15,270, is a large aum. The totul payments on this account 6ince tho Board began borrowing, must by this time tot up to a quarter of a million at least, or three-fourths of the amoup.fi borrowed. However, the annual payment is mad© without difficulty, from tho surplus ef revenue and a harbour rate that na one complains of. At the same time, the consideration that these payments at present have the form of a xjerpetual burden, the oftenmooted proposal to establish a sink-ing-fund should not bo forgotten. Tho Auditor's annual "tag" concerning the division of one of the loan accounts should be avoided. The tag indicates that the account is not properly made up for audit purposes. It would bo much better to make it up so as to comply with the Audit Office requirements, and put tho explanation, which after all has to bo made, in the chairman's statement. Tho history of tho Board's year as a whole quite justifies tho chairman's short paragraph of congratulation at the close of his report* The one note of sadness in tho document, the reference to the death of the late harbourmaster, Captain Chirkson, is softened by the recollection that he died deserving and possessing the respect of every-, one with whom ho had come in contact, officially or privately, and <]«• serving and receiving the Board's sift* cere acknowledgements of the value of his long service, skilfully and consciear tiously performed.

The Timaru Taxi-cab Company, after trial cf one car for a short time, have cabled for several more cf them.

In reply to a question at the meetina of the Harbour Board yesterday it was said that the Board pays oj per cent, interest for its debit balance.

MrD. Mahony is calling for tenders for the Masonic Hotel, St. Andrews. Tenders have been extended till Mondav next. Details are advertised.

1 The solicitors to the C.F.C.A., Messrs Perry, Perry and Xinnerney, hav9 taken the preliminarv steps to nnpeal in the case C.F.C.A. v. D. Lindsay, recently decided by Judge Sim in favour of the defendant. The Timaru Harbour Board yesterday accepted the tender of Shillito Bros, at £647 5s for the erection of a house for Captain Tait, harbourmaster. There were eight tenders, the highest being £736.

A Gisbome employer obtained judgment for £ls and costs £2 6s : against a blacksmith of Cbristchurch, for failure to comply with the terms of an engagement to come to Gisbome. Counsel said the case was brought out of a sense of duty to other employers.

The "Otago Daily Times" says that a, meeting of the leasehold members of Parliament called for the purpose of considering their future attitude on the land question, has been fixed to take place at Cbristchurch on March 10th. It is anticipated that the gathering will be a very representative one.

We have to aeknodledge receipt from the Government printer of a copy of the Statistics, of the Dominion for 1908, wih those of local bodies to March, 1909. ,It is a volume of 7SO foolscap pae;es of small figures, so that it contains a vast amount of information. The index alone fills ten and a half pages.

We remind all who are interested that the sale of Mr Proden's oil paintings takes place at C. Jonas and Co.'s auction rooms at 2 o'clock this afternoon. The pictures have heen on view throughout the paflfc week, and have received much attention from the public, so that a large gathering is expected at the sale.

Mr Justice Edwards, at the Auckland Supreme Court, this week, on two occasions, found fault with the methods that had heen adopted by the police to secure evidence, and said that he would make some representations on the subject, with a view that instructions might be issued to police officers as to what they should do, and what they ought not to do.

The post office officials held an eniovable evening in their social room «ast night,- all branches of the service being represented and the girls from che telephone exchange acted as hostesses. Vocal items, some of them of more than passing merit were given, and the instrumental numbers were particularly enjoyable.

Guinness and LeCren, Ltd., will sell hy public auction to-day at 2.30 p.m., two modern dwellings situate in Waiiti Road, and two building sites adjoining, also a good building section, Grey Road, and a cottage and land on Hobbs Road, Waimataitai. Easy terms can be arranged, and the fullest information will b« supplied on application. /

Captain Tait, harbourmaster, reported at yesterday's meeting of the Harbour Board that one or two concrete blocks made for the original breakwater had worked their way from under the Main 'Wharf until they had made their presence known in the outer .berth at the Main "Wharf. They had, however, been blasted and cleared nway by the dredge, and there was no longer any danger of accident from them.

At the Magistrate's Court yesterday mornina. "before Messrs "D. Stuart and F. Smith. Jusfices of the Peace, one first offender was fined ss, or 24 hours' fT drunkenness on the railway station. Donnelly, for drunkenness, was fried 10s or 24 hours, and Alexander Cochrane received a similar penalty for disorderly conduct in Stafford Strict. For hreach of a prohibition order the last-np.Tc.ed was remanded till February 26th.

The annual treat of the Cricklewood Sunday School was held at Kingsbury, the "residence of Mr H. A. Innes Jones, on Tuesday last. A large number of friends was present to assist the children in sports and games, and there was an abundance of good things, including; a very useful gift to each. On behalf of the parents the Rev. Mr Roberts in a eulogistic soeech, thankp'T the teachers, Mr P. Wills, and the ?-T:sses Nellie and Ivy "Wright, for their services.

On Thursday a cricket match was ployed at'Waimate between Geraldine and the local club, Waimate proving +'ie winners bv 14 runs. Waimate 79 (Hodges 19, McDonald not out 16, Weir 13, Goldstone 10), Geraldine 65 .(Morrison 34, O'Callaghan 16, Temple 10). For Geraldine Temple with 6 for 23, and for Waimate Fraser 6 for 28, wore the most successful bowlers. Afternoon tea was kindly provided by Mr and Mrs Rutherford". At the Waimate Police Court on Thursday, before Messrs Atwill and Graham, J:P.s, Thomas Collins was charged with tittering a counterfeit coin. After hearing evidence, the Bench remanded the accused till Tuesday next to enable the S.M. to deal with the case. On Friday, before Messrs Francis and Black. J.P.s, on a charge of disorderly conduct whilst drunk m Queen street, a first offender was fined 5s and severely cautioned against future transgression.

By falling in a fit at the Empire Hotel corner at 5 o'clock last evening, an aged man drew a crowd of persons, causing part of the thoroughfare to be impassable for traffic. * The first opinion on the matter was that the man, whose face was bleeding profusely in places, had collided with a vehicle, but this was dispelled by the explanations of some ambulance men, quickly in attendance. After attention by Dr Gibson the man was-re-nioved in a stretcher, and seemed to be gradually recovering his senses. A collection will be taken up at the Hospital to-morrow afternoon, when the Timaru Marine Band will render the following programme j— March, "r?? 10 ", °f ■ Honol »"; Anthem, "Sun of My Soul'; Intermezzo, "Ye Merry Monarch"; March, "The Exalted £™er;'' Cornet Solo, Lost ?r o i,, 3^? 113 ? "Sandon," "Sun of My Soul"; March, "Istria"; God Save the hJng. These collections are used by the Board to obtain invalid furniture, etc., for the patients' comfort end it is, therefore, to be houed that the public will respond with their usual liberality.

Timaru audiences have grown quite isccustomed to excellence in the picture programmes presented by the Pathe management, but the new series ehown last evening was of outstanding merit; and a fairlv numerous audience noon recqgnised.this fact. A film that depicted the last Italian manoeuvres was one of the best of its kind that has been seen here. Grey warships, fast -THise's and deadly destroyers took part in manv spectacular movements, cutting through the dark, fon-n-fleeked waters, gliding round roek-crirt coasts, and at.last finishing lip with an inspiring procession round the Bav of Naples. The other SJme were also food, nnd the whole programme will be repeated this afterr.aan and this evening. '

Mounted-Constable Osborne, of the ! iimaru police force, left Yesterday for the south on his annual holiday. ~ to tie visit of the. Besses o' th Barn Band, the Arts and Crafts chorus practice is postponed to Monday, March 7th. annual swimming competition, of the public schools will be held at the I Century Baths this afternoon, com- I mencmg at 2.30.

4.1. » two cases in wnicn members of the Arawa native tribe are claiming from the Government the ownership of Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti will be" removed to the Court of Appeal for argument.

It would appear that the last has not yet been heard of the SelbieManchester motor-car collision case. The defendant Manchester has now given notice cf his intention to appeal against the decision.

Some wheat which was shown in town yesterday for. sale was so badly sprouted that millers Would not give it a second lock. One miller of long experience said it was the worst sprouted wheat he iad ever seen.

The Rev. A. MacAulay Caldwell conducts services in Chalmers Church to-morrow. Morning subject: "Happiness and Religion";' children's address, "A Temperate Life"; Evening subject, "A Peculiar Transformation." All seats are free.

The Rev. AV. T. Aldridge, recently of South Africa, who has come to reside in the dominion will conduct the services in Wesley Church to-morrow. Mr Aldridge will also preach at Kingsdown in the afternoon. At Waimataitai Mr Rogers will preach in the morning and supply in the evening. The Wellington Cadets have had a bad time. There were 3500 in camp on Thursday (500 more expected), and complaint was made that the Glengarry caps they wear are insufficient head covering on a hot day. Several boys had to fall out during the day, overcome by the heat. Then at night, for a change, they were nearly flooded out.

At the railway station yesterday afternoon, Mr James Craigie, SI.V , hrought under the notice of the Minister for Railways, the necessity for providing hetter facilities for country passengers, who often when express trsiins are approaching, have, to cross the main line to get to the llow trains. Mr Millar replied that he had approved of a plan of a new dock for slow trains, and that the work would be taken in hand shortly.

A total of 713 tickets was issued on Thursday for the Temuka High School picnic, at Oamaru. The outing was a success in every way and no mishap of any kind occurred. The school committee speak in glowing terms of the treatment accorded the visitors by their southern friends. Though the howlers suffered defeat they made a good Btand against their more experienced opponents. The Timaru Harbour Board have been wondering for some time on what basis the Government intended paying for the reclaimed land which it is proposed to take south 6f Messrs ftiill and Co.'s stores. A representative ol the "Herald" yesterday put the question to the Minister of Railways at timaru and his reply was that if land \»ere taken it would be under the Act which provides that reclaimed land can be taken at the cost of reclamation.

A deputation, from the Farmers' Union was to have waited upon the Minister for Railways, Hon. J. A. Millar, as he passed through Timaru yesterday, and to have given liim ti.eir views on the question of the weight of grain sacks, but owing to some nusunderstanding the delegation djd not turn up. It was explained afterwards that the deputation only had ten minutes notice that the Minister was passing through by the 1.30 p.m. train.

The Life Boat Lodge, No. 101, 1.0. G.T., last evening held an "open night," and invitations to old members and sympathisers accounted for a large attendance. The C.T., Bro. J. T. Ellis, occupied the chair, and in extending a hearty welcome to these present, explained that the purpose of such meetings was to increase the mem-; bership, which would result in increased work. He spoke also of the -endeavour to open a lodge at Waimataitai, and asked for help in this effort. A special programme had been prepared, which was of a varied and-most enjoyable nature. A special item was an address by the Rev. T. Stinson. who was enthusiastically received, and thanked the Lodge for their invitation. Basing his remarks on the narrative in the Old Testament of the battle of David and Goliath, Mr Stinson gave a most stirring address, comparing the incident with'the great fight for no license. The entertainment programme was then resumed. During the evening a plentiful supply of refreshments was handed round, which added not a little to the evening's enjoyment. The C.T. thanked Mr Stinson for his helpful address, and the visitors for their attendance, and tmost successful open session was rought to a dose by the singing, of "God be with you till we meet again."

THE GUINEA POEMI A CHEQUE FOR £1 Is has been sent to the writer of this verse— Miss W. M., 93 Bealey Street, St. Albans, Christchurch. "They tell me, "said Lord Kitchener, "That you want to see me smile: Just pass the Flag Brand Pickles, And you'll make it worth my while." There are various-kinds of pickles, But you'll always 'find you're right, If you only purchase Hayward's: Flag Brand whets the appetite. . WIN A GUINEA! Prize Poem published every Saturday. Best original four short-lino advt. Verse about "Flag Brand Pickles" wins each week; Forward verse, embossed metal cap from bottle, and full address to Hayward Bros., P.O. Box 613, Wellington. RED CROSS OINTMENT. is, as you know, the marvellous skin cure you_ hear so much about at the present time. One lady writes: It was iriy mother's stand-by for years back, and for my own part I ain- never without it in the house. Many is the time I have had cause to bless your mighty healer, as it is correctly called.-V Sold by all grocers and chemists at is 6d... NEW ZEALAND AGAIN is the phrase appearing in all' tlio "English papers at the present time. A London daily, in its leading: article, writes of New _ Zealand thus:— "A country abounding in scenic wonders of every description. Everything is as Nature intended it to be. In the Hot Lake* district man finds the' marvellous hot springs, which are famous for the curing of 1 rheumatism and kindred ills." and we. might further add that in Dunedin can be found the splendid laboratories of Messrs A. Murdoch and; Co., where Red Cross : Ointment is ' manufactured.

# The medical profession, state _• that I tight boots is the cause of a red" nose; j What risks you run, in wearing illi fitting boots If you trade at the store where only the best makes iif hoots are stocked, you run no risk. Souter'n Shoe Storp-specialise in gPod nt.titic boots. ' Half sizes stocked .^ty for your;next rtafr of booti. . You will'be satisfied; whv we hold thp i 2V T, l' nr T>o s it'"Ti in the boot' trade "of 1 South.Canterbury. ... ''•?.-"--a- ':::,

On Sunday morning in the Primitive Methodist Church, Rev. J. Olohert will give the first of a series of ad- ; dresses on ""The Land of promise and | Spiritual Blessedness." Mr Olphert ! will also preach at Waimataitai in the evening. Mr Boothroyd will conduct the evening service in the Barnard Street Church. Another party of 600 picnickers from the Asjbburton district visited Timaru yester/jTiy, and spent a most enjoyable Caroline Bay, the weather, being all that could be desired. During the afternoon the Mayor visited the scene of the festivities, and saw that all wants were being attended to, Mr Gibson, the Bay caretaker, lent them every assistance, for which they were very grateful. The Marine Band, engaged by the visitors, played a good programme of music from the rotunda. A number of representative labour men held a meeting in Timaru one night this week, and it was decided to form a South Canterbury Trades and Labour Council, whose dutv it will be to watch the interests of labour. Officers were elected, and they were asked to draw up rules and report to n general meeting to be held on March Bth at Hutchison's rooms. There are fifteen Labour Unions in Timaru, and it is expected that all will throw in their lot with the newly-formed Council. Over thirty awards are at present m operation in South Canterbury.

At the last meeting of the Temuka Board of Managers of the Temuka -technical Classes, Mr McLeod presiding, accounts amounting to £6 4s 3d were passed for payment. It was reported that Mr B. H. Tripp, in accordance with his promise 'to the association, had forwarded a rmrebred merino rain fleece for use as an exhibit in the association's class room. He was ac= corded a vote of thanks. A discussion ensued on the starting of classes for this session, and it was decided to commence as early as possible in April, and that the following classes be formed—Cookery (2), dressmaking (2), Commercial, painting, millinery, woodcarvmg, blacksmithing and agriculture. A suggestion that shorthand should be added to the list of classes was held over. The fees for the coming year were fixed at the same as for last year. A discussion on the basis on which certificates were to be awarded took place. Mr Thomson urged that the same be made known at once and the meeting terminated.

Self-reliance is a good thing, but when it induces an inventor to' venture alone into the mazes of the patent laws, it is apt to come expensive. Take your ideas to a keen, straight agent. Messrs Baldwin and Rayward, Christchurch and Wellington, know all about the Law of Patents' and have agents everywhere. Skilfully guarded and adroitly placed, there might easily be a fortune in a simple idea. o

A little roretnought may save vou no end of trouble. Anyone who makes it a rule to keep Chamberlain's Colic, Cholera and Diarrhoea Remedy at hand knows this to be a fact. For sale everywhere...

-There is no need to suffer with torturing corns. Baxter's Ruby Corn Cure is n. certain and painless cure. It is easily applied, preferably at bedtime, four or five applications being sufficient for any ordinary corn. Be sure you get Ruby Corn Cure. Price one shilling, post free. Baxter's Pharmacy only. ... Are you overworked or dragged down by worry? Do you feel all tired out? Stearns' Wine of Cod Liver Extract will put new life into you. It brings back your strength and gives you a clear, thinking head. 23 James' Concentrated Vinegar Essence. The contents of one bottle added to one gallon of water will i /educe splendid vinegar: for table, use : ud for pickling purposes. It will he found unsurpassable and we guarantee it to be absolutely pure and of suf>2:''or" flavour. Specially prepared in £■:?. land for L. B. James, Chemist, Timaru. Price lo 6d a bottlo .. Save your temper—Stearns' Head-: ache Cure stops headache quickly. Many a cros word would never have been spoken if this remedy had been used a few minutes before. Is a. box. 2