Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1901. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 29 August 1901, Page 2

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1901. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

It behoves our local Board of Health and Borough authorities to be on the alert in order to prevent a possible visitation of the dreaded bubonic plague and every precaution should be taken in regard to the sanitary condition of the Borough, or it will be too late when the wolf is at our door. A little wholesome preparation is worth a host of remedies. That the plague is expected is evidenced by our late cables from New South Wales, which had costly and fatal experience of the last visit of this terrible epidemic. Already it has commenced a crusade against the fever-spreading rodent and rats are to be exterminated wherever found.

The Hon. E. Beeves has introduced a Bill into the Upper House, in which he proposes to license lotteries and sweepstakes and make them legal, the fee for such license being £25. Every ticket is to be stamped in proportion to the value of such ticket. The license is to be granted by the Colonial Secretary and is only available for the specific purpose for which it is granted.

In an article on the shoaling of the Westport bar, the Otago Daily Times of Monday states that the total expenditure on harbour works, etc., at Westport, between January Ist, 1885, and December 31st, 1900, amounted to £1,033.283, of which sum £620,000 was borrowed at 4 per cent under Government guarantee and £413,283 provided out of revenue ihe actual amount spent on harbour works was £569,198. The balance was expended on the purchase and construction of railways, interest and sinking funds, and management, the last-mentioned item alone accounting for £53,772.

Prior to 1885 the amount spent at 1 Westport probably amounted to £20,000, and last session power was given to the Board to raise a further sum of £50,000. The revenue for 1899 was £41,000 and the expenditure of the board £30,000, leaving a credit balance at the close'of the year of £II,OOO. Last year the excess of revenue over expenditure was £12,000. Our contemporary strongly urges the necessity of immediate steps being taken to abate- the evil causer! by the silting-up of the bar, as it was of the utmost importance that the harbours of coaling ports should be workable at all times as far as possible.