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Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 22 May 1901, Page 2

The Grey County Council in our advertising columns call tenders for the erection of a bridge on Maori Gully road.

Attention is directed to the railway advertisement appearing in this issue, announcing excursion fares and train alterations in connection with Queen Victoria Day.

Work on the. Greymouth Harbour should ba in full awing next week. In all there are now about 50 men employed, and it is expected the line will be completed to enable stone to be sent down to the South tiphead. The Cobden quarry is now in a position to send out stone.

That talented combination —the Corrick Family—will, in the Opera House on Friday night, give one of their entertainments including a fine series of pictures of the late Queen Victoria funeral procession. This is the • first time these pictures have been exhibited on the Coast.

A number of the junior members of the Druids Lodge have started a Quadrille Assemby, which they have decided to call the "Wavcrly." They propose holding their opening dance on Wednesday oth June, and to devote the proceeds to the Martin Memorial Fund. We predict a very successful season for them. A southern contemporary says: —The Union S.S. Company are showing a want of enterprise in not placing a direct hoat at excursion rates for a run to Wellington on the occasion of the Cornwall-York festivities. It is almost certain such a trip would pay the Company well, but so far there is no movement.

The Volunteer Ball, which takes place in Kaye's Ha'.H, Bvunner, to-morrow (Thursday) evening, promises to be an immense success. Already a good number of tickets have been disposed of. A first-class floor, good music, and an efficient M. C, will be found. The refreshments are in the hands of the Ladies Committee, who are doing their best to provide the daintiest of eatables. The new uniforms have arrived, and the mombers of the corps will wear them for the first time at the ball.

An inquiry into the late fire, cause of the break down of: tie steam engine, and other matters connected with the. Fire Bi'igade was commenced by the Borough Council this afternoon. The inquiry will likely last till a late hour this evening. The result will he presented to the Council to-morrow evening.

The coal bore hole at Dobson was last night down 20 feet. A similar distance is expected to be got through to-day. We understand that after to-morrow three shifts will bo put on, the machine being kept constantly at work. It is anticipated that the coal will be tapped in about ten or twelve days. The second bore hole wliich will likely be put down at Lower Dobson is expected to go 700 feet before striking the mineral. Taking 25 feet a day as an average this bore should be completed about the middle of July.

The Taranaki Scenery Preservation Society is endeavouring to prevent the destruction of Paritutu. the chief of the "sugar loaves." At present quarrying for stone is proceeding there on a liberal scale.

About three and a half miles formation of the Taratu-Kaitangata railway line have now (says the Bruce Herld) boon completed. For some time, negotiations have been pending for the purchase of the rails for the line, but the order could not bo placed, save at " market value." The failure of the efforts of the directors of the company to place the order has, however, proved a blessing in disguise, as the recent fall in iron value will readily show.

A Volunteer battalion is to be formed shortly in Taranaki, comprising eight companies. The command will (tho Taranaki News says) devolve on a well-known and highly esteemed field officer, who will receive deserved" and substantial promotion.

The proposal to have Westland represented on the occasion of the Eoyal procession in Christchurch is now taking definite form, and by the outgoing mail yesterday enquiries were made as to space for the proposed trophy, and the mateiial available for the erection of tho bay. Tho Royal visit to Canterbury takes place in about a month's tim*.-—W. 0. Times. A Georgia judge warned his people with regard to coming into Court intoxicated, and used these words ; —" I wish to put everyone on notice that if they come into this courtroom while I am sitting on this bench drunk, they had better look out." The Hokitika Fire Brigado held a practice iast night with a view of testing tho renewed leather and clappers of tho steam fire engine. It was thought advisable to do this, owing to tho breaking down of tbs Groymonth fire engine, in any case of emergency, to give the local engine a thorough overhaul, which ,wa? done by Mr George Davidson, and last night everything was found to work satisfactorily.

Speaking before the Coal Commission at Nelson Mr Samuel Jickoll, 0.E., said several gentlemen had been interesting themselves in the question of coal under Nelson, and a sum of £4OO bad been promised to carry out boring operations to the depth of 2000 feet. Ho ask ad if the Government would assist with a subsidy '.> but the Chairman replied that the matter was not within the province of the Commission, Mr Jickoll, manager of the Gasworks, then referred to the price of coal paid by the Nelson City Council. The price for screened coal f.o.b. at Westport was 14s, and by the time it arrived hero the pries was 28s 6d per ton. The price for unscreened was 10s 101 f.o.b at Westport and 21s here. The Council carbonised from 2,000 to 2,500 tons per annum. He did not think the Westport Coal Company would supply the City Council direct. Tho prico of coal ever since 1890 had been on the increase. The Council preferred slack coal, but could not always get it. The Union S.S. Company's vessels came fully loaded to Nelson with coal, but went on to Wellington' without discharging an ounce. ,

Tin 1 has been repeatedly put >-j is. .iro the colours of the Duke of. G( ■:■- a?" Information upon the point has been difficult to obtain, but our Australian contemporaries, in their description of the Melbourne ceremonies, gives the Duke's colours as red white and blue.

The survey of 90 acres of land at the Waiwetu, purchased from Mr S. S. Mason for workmen's homes, is practically completed. The area of the sections will be half an acre to four and a half acres. There will bo about ton sections of one acre each, twenty-five of two acres, four of three acres, and four of four and a half acres. The rentals will probably bo from £6 10s per annum for an acre section, to £23 for a section of four and a half acres, or 5 per cent, on an average of £lls per acre. The township is to be named Epuni, after the old Maori chief who once lived in the district. The sections are to b 3 thrown open for selection next month.

A conference of sawmillers from Wellington, Forty-mile-Bush, and "Wairarapa met recently and discussed matters relative to their interests. The Wellington sawmillers made a strong appeal to the country millers to sail their timber in Wellington at the same rates as the Wellington millers, but nothing definite was decided upon. It was resolved to lower the price of timber 2d per 100 superficial feet.

The scene of the murder of Hawthorne by Philpott some years ago is to be turned into a potter's field in connection with the new bilverstream brickworks.

An extraordinary situation is reported from Nova Scotia, where all efforts to j abolish the Legislative Council or Upper j Chamber, have proved fruitless. The members of that body invariably refuse to consent to any measure abolishing their oflice. In the hopes of getting a majority to oonscnt to a Bill ending the life of the Legislative Council, all the members appointed in recent year's have been pledged to support such a measure. The abolition of the Council was attempted early in April, but though threefourths of the members were pledged to support the proposal, they tookthe unexpected ground that the pledges made were unconstitutional. They were therefore unable to vote as pledged until relieved from the constitutional disability, and refused to allow the Bill to be introduced. This makes the abolition, of the Chamber practically impossible. One of the amendments which the Minister for Land 3 will seek to have made in the Land Act next session will be in the direction of removing the education endowments in the colony from the control of the various School Commissioners to that of the L»nd Boards. Mr Duncan's object in bringing' about the change in the system is to make the administration of the reserves uniform throughout the colony.

The demand for Mr W. R. Haselden's edition of the late Judgo Johnston's work ' The New Zealand Justice of the Peace, ' since the Government decided to issue it free to Justices, has been so great that the first edition is completely exhausted. The Government has now given instructions that the book is to bo reprinted as soon as possible. Stewart Island is periodically visited by shoals of blackfish, a small species of the whale, some of which (says the Southland •News) occasionally-venture too close in shore in search of food, and become stranded on the beach. The lucky finders of the captives have a valuable asset in the oil the animals yield, as there is considerable demand for it. Recently C 4 were thrown up on the beach at Mason's Bay, the largest being 17ft in length, and Mr Chatlton, of Charlton and Thompson, who diecoverod them, is taking steps to turn the product Into marketable commodity, The return should be a lucrative one, as the cetaceans are expected to yield an average of 30 gallons apiece.

The first truck of coal was carried on the Fortification Company's line near Milton the other day. Trucks are now dailj arriving at Milton from thi pit's mouth.

Dwelling houses are very scarce in Duncdin at present, and notwithstanding all the building that has been going on lately, the moment a house wants a tenant it is rushed at once.

It is reported that a strong effort will be made to bring out Mr R. Chisholm, the late Mayor of Dunedin, as a candidate for Parliamentary honours at next election. The Auckland Harbour Board has accepted a design by Mr Charles Arnold for the proposed Admiralty House on which it is intended to spend JESOOO. Whaling operations in the North are being prosecuted more vigorously this season than heretofore. Messrs H. P. Cook and Co. of Whangamamu, the proprietors of the whaling station at that place, have decided "to employ a sream launch for the purpose of towing the captured whales to the station, and the boat has been launched from the yards of C. Bailey, jnr., Auckland. A lady teacher who gavo evidence in Christchurch before the Salarie's Commission, said that probably in the next century the people would look back on the dark ages, when womon were paid less than men for equal work, but at present that dark age existed, andjwomen had to suffer. The residents of Nelson and district are preparing a petition to Parliament praying for the construction of a railway from Nelson to Motuoka.

When the Coal Mines Commission was sitting in Nelson, Mr Samuel Jickell, C. E-,, said several gentlemen had been interesting themselves in the question of coal under Nelson, and a sum of £4OO had been promised to carry out boring operations to the depih of 200 ft. "Hullo! Dick," greeted the Premier at the Oamaru railway station on his way northwards by train last week, and "Hullo! boy," was the right hon. gentleman's quick responseMr A. Henderson, who wont to South Africa as the special representative of the Farmers' Co-operative Associaiion of Canterbury and Timaru, to report upon trade prospects there, has been asked to come from Sydney to give his opinions personally, and will arrive shortly. Tlie Taranaki High School Board has agreed to join the Education Board in requesting the Borough Council to set aside pari; of Poverty Plat, as a site for a technical school, .school of art, and museum.

The Lovells Flat Co.'s coal mine is now being worked "full time" (says the Bruce Herald), the daily output averaging over oO tons. The ■" dip " coal has turned out most satisfactory, and Mr Carruthers, the mine manager, is confident that the output, in the near future, will he double the quantity mentioned.

To illustrate the extent to which the rabbit-trapping industry is carried on in Southland, on a day recently live tons of rabbits were forwarded from the Maudevine railway station to the freezing words—a day's catch of about 3,733 rabbits.

The Westport News states that a fish said by those who found it,to be a schnaipper was picked up on the Mokihinui beach. It measured 4£t;6in in length, and weighed 501 b. The record for a fish of that species was 351 b.

The Government has decided that the permission which it has given for the soaping of the Rotorua geysers twice a wock is not to take effect until after, the visit of the Royal party to the district.

To illustrate the est' it to which therabbit trapping industry is carried on in Southland, it maybe mentioned (says the Bruce Herald) that a few mornings ago five tons of rabbits were forwarded to the Mandeville railway station by the local trappers, under consignment to the freezing works. This represented a . day's catch, wo are informed, and assuming that the average weight of a rabbit is 31b, would give a total of 3733 rabbits. Herr von Buri, who has been appointed by the German Government to be Imperial Consul-General at Sydney for Australia. Tasmania, New Zealand, and Fiji, assumed office on the Ist inst-

As illustrative of the peculiarities of theNew Zealand climate the Wairarapa Duily Times states that a resident of Masterton gathered a handfull of ripe' raspberries last week. The same resident' also has strawberries out in flower.

Dobson dredge is closed down, and the dredgmaster has received instructions to pay-off all hands, and put the dredge in a safe position.

The adjourned annual meeting of the Grey River Dredging Company will take place at the Company's Office, Maekay Street, this evening at 8 o'clock. A meeting of membei'3 of the Wairarapa Racing Club recently held to consider the advisableness of applying to the Racing Conference for a permit for a steeplechase meeting at Tauherenikau in July next year. The following resolution was unanimously passed : —' That application be made to the Conference for a permit for a winter mooting in 1902, the stakes not to exceed £1000." WADE'S TEETHING POWDERS for babies are soothing, reduce fever and prevent blotches. Price 1/Having secured the services of a lady who has gained her experience in some of the best houses .in Melbourne, Messrs McKay and Son have much pleasure in drawing attention to their millinery department, which is now one of the most complete in Greymouth. We guarantee all orders entrusted to this department to give satisfaction. A complete stock of Mackintoshes, Jackets, Capes, Underclothing and Corsets, just to hand.—Advt. It's football that works up the muscle, And gives a man plenty of dash, It's kick, it's scrum, and it's bustle, And a general looking for lash. In tho good old hunt for the leather, If a cold you should have to endure, You will soon pull yourself altogether, With Woods' Grfat Peppermint Cure

WADE'S WORM PIGS are more effective and not unpleasant; ch most thrive after taking them. Price lildren.