Interprovincial

New Zealand Tablet, 9 December 1909, Page 1939

Interprovincial

Iherc were 47,731 Maoris in the Dominion at last S en^ u^« and tlie land by tnem at present is .7-,401,820 acres. The .other 929/000 of, •'tnaVpopulatio'u occupy about 36,000,000 acres., - - .ThaWis^each.iMaom has ; on 'an average 155 acres and" each "European' "38 acres. * Ross" -"and 'Co.'s ropeworks at Foxton" were totallydestroyed by fire, on Saturday. The work's" close'd^dowri^'t the usual time,* but an hour -and a-half later'a^passer-by ' noticed flames coming through one of the windows at the opposite- end of. the building from the machinery. In. a few minutes the' building 'was completely' enveloped 'in' flames, and a little later- the roof, collapsed. > , Within ,half an hour of the outbreak the whole building was totally " destroyed, together with the machinery, valued at £18*000 which Avas used in the manufacture of all classes of rope and twine. The value., of the property saved doesrrnot - exceed £500. The fire will throw seventy ,' hands out 1 of work for a long period, owing to the "fact that it is' necessary to import new machir/ery L from England. The coal miners in the Westport district are cheerfully „ and , successfully seconding the efforts of , the companies to" meet the" pressure in the demands for coal. At NgakaAvau the men make no objection to working on -pay., Saturday. The Seddonville and Granity miners are briskly employed. At Denniston on Friday another daily record was established, the oubput for the 1 day for one shift lading- 1573'toiis'. The waterside men at Westport are working overtime, and it is only in one or two isolated cases 'that any objection has boon made, although a large quantity of coal is being handled. - The railway is working the -mineral smartly,- and/there has not been the slightest' congestion in shipping. The co-operation of all concerned is a gratifying feature of the rush. The -pace of 'production, haulage, and shipment, will go a "long way to' prove that New Zealand can supply all her • own- coal demands^* , r T,he output from the Westport Coal Company's mines, during November was 51,761, tons llcwt; from the Seddonville State mine, 6142 tons lewt; and from the Stockton Company's mine, 13,863 tons sewt — total, 71,766 tons 17cwt. During the month 104 steamers worked the port. "'<•'><} --. At the half-yearly meeting of tlie' shareholders' of 5 -the Bank "of New Zealand at ' Wellington, on Friday^-the-'cliair-man'said'in the xourse of his address":'— l -desire* tb'-corfi- - gratulate the shareholders of the bank, and the country generally, on the better and more promising monetary conditions that prevail to-day, and I do not think it would be improper on my part should I claim* some* credit A for the banking institutions -of New Zealand<"fbr*,,'the change^ that has taken place. A year ago\ the ' banks 'were'^ criti-" cised inside and outside n oi Parliament for not; lending: |reely, notwithstanding that the aggregate of the,ady.aiices and discounts as at September 30, 1908, 'exhibited' a/very substantial increase on the figures "of the'previous^'year. A good many people are under the impression that it is the duty of the banks to advance against, all and. every kind of security. The sooner this impressionMs' removed' the better. , That.. the bankers of the'iDominidn^pursue3 the right course during the past,t.welve,,or eighteen months is proved to some extent .-by: the easier tendency; that vjiow; prevails in. , the local money market. The .bank& ar'%jtoj day in' 1a"1 a" much * stronger, and, ofo, „! furnishing >all the legitimate banking accommodation that may be required. Mr. Will Crooks, M.P. for Woolwich in the British House of Commons, speaking in His Majesty's Theatre, Dimedin, oh "Sunday" evening," "said that Avheii Tie^left J±ome~ he ha^ieepitiMderTaiysoleliin^f^mileffypfllto indulge in any publics speajk jg, therefore- he#noped*tney* would not regard the present gathering as of the nature of a public meeting. was .there^"fiLrst^ioiv the .sakel'of Jiislhe|ltk; "sefcond,/!!! border WJ Yelali^n^s £thirH^ tJ^lelrn^and^fie was learning. He__w.as_glad that he had come, and- had been able to introduce himself, to them. They now knew him better tlmn iwJis\posj&b' le dihrough the newspapers, with their marvellous and wonderful' cablegrams. - The, cable- <* gram's \vefe'>' i n'6^4^ws l o s\VeH .as CJ tlie sc people Iwere jehfitlM^tq ; ' J they cwere'isimply. t'tras opinion's!; ofla^ few unimpoirtant c'people s{ U§Au:eJsj o theH J [gdiJi9r g Qfv^ jiswfipaperjj rliis \staff n( was,!-guiter.able .to f jexpres^ ir opijuous l{( in^ u thef leading cblumris' of^the 'paper without opinions' being/sent* out"from London at 3s a word. 'Three • shillings' aWordi ii ; too big a price to pay for some of the things you get on this