Interprovincial

New Zealand Tablet, 15 April 1915, Page 36

Interprovincial

’ What is probably, a record in Oamaru for a plot of potatoes has been achieved (says the Mail) by Mr. J. R. Hill, Newborough, who has taken seven and a-half bags from a piece of ground ten yards square. This is in the proportion of 30 tons to the acre. , Mr. W. G. Pearce received the gratifying news by cable (says the Fail cling Star) that his wool (Romney), 51 bales, realised an average of Is 6d per lb for the whole clip, unskirted. Mr. Pearce’s first clip from Colyton in 1885 realised 6d per lb, and the proceeds had all to be taken out in goods. Deerstalkers who have returned to Timaru from the deer country at the back of Albury report that deer are very plentiful there, so plentiful indeed, that they are doing a great deal of damage to turnip crops and grass. Mr. T. C. Palliser, one of the stalkers, secured a very fine 18-pointer. The weather at Fairlie continues warm and dry, with sharp frosts at night (says the correspondent of the Timaru Post). A good soaking rain is now being anxiously looked for, and if it does not come soon the prospects for a good supply of winter feed will not be very bright. Mr. William Platt, water diviner, has visited the Pongaroa district and located water on a. number of properties. A good supply was located on Akaroa Hill, at a height" of about 450 feet, above the township. A supply suitable for town purposes was also located on another property. When applying for 30s costs against a- ‘ helpless drunk ’ who had been in ‘ his Majesty’s boardinghouse ’ for twelve days at 'Napier, Sergeant Gumming said; The tariff at the gaol has been raised.’ In' the past prisoners kept at the gaol for medical treatment have been charged Is 6d a day, but recently the amount was raised to half-a-crown. The delicate question was raised at the luncheon to the Japanese visitors at Wellington, as to the particular complexion of the Massey Ministry. ‘ Is it Liberal or Conservative?’ inquired Dr. Miura of the president of the Chamber of Commerce (Mr. C. W. Jones). The question was turned on to the Hon. H. D. Bell. His response was: ‘"Oh, Sir Joseph Ward can tell you.’ On the Leader of the Opposition being appealed to, he said: If Mr. Bell cannot tell you, I don’t know who can.’ Mr. J. C. Thomson, M.P., recently requested the Minister of Mines to have a report made upon the best method of saving platinum in the Orepuki goldfields, and in reply the Minister states (says the Southland News) that platinum, being heavier than gold, is very easy to save by any system of concentration, from the primitive cradle to the elaborate Wilfley table. He was advised that the platinum contained in the sand at Orepuki was not sufficiently plentiful to warrant the erection of mechanically-driven concentrators, and the only commercial method was that by which the fine gold was savednamely, on matting or in cradles. The Waimangu geyser, which has been quiet since 1904, is again in eruption, mud and stones being thrown to a height of 400 feet. The following is a copy ‘of a telegram received by the Secretary of the General Post Office from the postmaster at Rotorua: —‘Guide McCormick reports that the Waimangu geyser, which has been dormant for years, broke out at 2 p.m. and gave a. brilliant display lasting over an hour, the highest shoot being about 400 ft. A round-trip party had been examining the crater a few minutes previously, and were not very far away when they were startled by a terrific roar. All the debris fell in the opposite direction to the party.’ Up. till Saturday morning the amount expended by the. Government in the purchase of meat for export was £532, 00Q. Commenting upon this fact the Prime Minister said that exports from New Zealand during the financial year ended March 31 last had been abnorm-

ally large. They had amounted in value to . over twenty-seven millions sterling, nearly four millions more than for the preceding year*. ‘There is no doubt,’ he said, ‘ that this accounts for the prosperity which the country is enjoying, and the fact that money is probably more plentiful in New Zealand just now than in any other of the Dominions of the Empire.’ . A shortage of supplies of butter, in New South Wales and Victoria, owing to the drought, has created a quick demand for supplies from New Zealand and other outside sources (says a Press Association message from Auckland). ' As a result the value of butter has been increased, and the Dairy Produce Committee has decided to advance the local wholesale price from Is to Is 3|d per lb from to-morrow. During the past few days parcels of first-grade butter have been purchased for shipment to Australia at rates considerably higher than the export value fixed by London rates. A shipment of 1500 boxes was made by the Riverina to-day, its value being estimated at Is 3d per lb f.o.b. Representatives of the leading dairy companies state that the local price now fixed for standard brands is hardly on a par with the export value, as the cost of moulding into pats and of distribution is considerably more than |d per lb. In a recent issue the London Grocer says:— ‘The shipment of eggs from New Zealand to Great Britain is an enterprise which is likely to be developed as one of the consequences of the shortage of supplies from usual sources on account of the war. One such shipment arrived in London this week, per s.s. lonic. They were collected and forwarded for the use of New Zealand troops who are assisting us in the war, by the women of the Motueka district in New Zealand. They were carried on the boat in chill chambers, in a temperature of about 40 to 42 degrees, and were landed in Tooley street in first-rate condition. The quality was very fine, and could be sold in any retail shop as equal to “new laids.” The size of the eggs was about 151 b per 100, nearly all white. ' The eggs were packed in oat husks, and very little breakage occurred. They were offered, for sale, and bought in by a city grocer. The proceeds of tlife sale will be devoted to the necessary comforts for the New Zealand troops now in Egypt. Actually, this is not the first experiment of New Zealand eggs sent to the London market, as the Dominion Government sent a consignment in 1913, and the goods realised a satisfactory price.’ A mild warning to the people of New Zealand that serious calls are not unlikely to be made on their resources in the not very remote future was given by the Prime Minister in conversation with a reporter on Tuesday (says the Wellington correspondent of the Otago Daily Times). ‘We have had many suggestions regarding a war tax,’ he said—‘ all of them interesting and some of them instructive. I cannot help thinking, however, that there are a good many people asking for a war tax now who will be sorry when it arrives. But come it must when Parliament meets. New Zealanders have been wonderfully generous during the war period. The patriotic fund, the' Belgian fund, and all the other funds have quite properly been contributed to very liberally, but I must say that I should like to see more being done to meet the cases of distress that are certain to arise later. The Government will do its duty to the relatives and dependents of soldiers who may be killed or disabled, but in addition to what the Government may be able to do supplementary provision may be welcome, and even necessary, in many cases. I am confident that the probability of such cases occurring has only to be mentioned to remind our patriotic and generously inclined citizens that the time is opportune to do something more in this respect than has been done up to the present.’ ‘Do you think our present prosperity will continue?’ Mr. Massey was asked. ‘ Principally on account of the war,’ he said, ‘ the prices of our staple products are at present particularly good, and in consequence the country is exceedingly prosperous, but sye cannot expect such prices to continue, and now is the time to prepare as far as we, possibly can for what is very often referred to as ‘ a rainy day.’