Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESSAY, APRIL 11th, 1911.

Grey River Argus, 11 April 1911, Page 4

Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESSAY, APRIL 11th, 1911.

Amongst the many momentous national undertakings that Australia is confronted ■'with in< the-" future not the least is the unification of the gauges oi all the railways of' the Commonwealth. It has long: been recognised that a work of such national importance ..must be faced some day, and the sooner the work is undertaken the sooner it will be for the % advantage of all the States. There is a favourable tide setting- in with Australia's affairs that v is of a very encouraging nature, and there is every reasonable prospect of its continuance. Australia is one of the great coming fields that is destined to 'accommodate and find homes Tor the overflowing population of the Homelanq. It will be of the ' highest importance that -a uniformity of railway gauge should obtain between the different- States. A few ' days ■ ago we published an article showing the diff.erent gauges of the railways in the various States, the inconvenience of which -'-in the transport service of the country • does not need -to-be pointed out. The decision, -therefore, of the Australian Commonwealth Government to -fix the gauge of - the transcontinental railway at 4ft B£in, is the first step towards solving a rather difficult problem. This decision will involve altering- the • gauge of 'the lines in West and 'South Australia. Apart from interstate transport, the unification of gauge, at i least v for the main lines, if nof .for every section of railway in the Commonwealth, is rendered . imperative by the national scheme of- defence; and in these stirring- days of - high national inters estsj- the rfluestion of natibnal defence has • become t one- of>. -vital .- interest everywhere,- but nowhere ; more than

in these overseas dominions. Australia's future will 'be so 1 largely affected, if not dominated, by her railway communication, that it must range side by 'side )3X importantwith the problem of irrigation in the future economy of that great country. The Trans continental line of railway has therefore been given an importance of late that was not forseen a few 1 years ago. Already the preliminary work of 'surveying the line has been accomplished. Owing, to the nature of the country, the engineering difficulties are not regarded as serious in any way. The approximate cost of the line from' Port Augusta, in' South Australia, to Kalgoorlie, ; in West Australia, 1100 miles, is estimated at about four and ] a half million pounds. The existing gauges vary from 3ft 6in to sft 3in, and in some cases the extra charges at junctions amount to as much as 3s 6d per ton. There are other charges that might almost be regardI ed as "fancy" charges, so arbitrary do they seem. After all, the strongest point that appeals to public opinion for uniformity of gauge is the problem of national defence and the ,necessity for the movement of troops and munitions 'of war. At, a public meeting held recently in Sydney, several, speakers referred to that aspect of the case. The great difficulty of course, is the cost that the unification of gauges must inevitably entail, but the difficulty is not of an in: superable nature, and arrangements to finance it ought to be easy enough. It would seem to be easier to make the broadest'gauge of sft 3in narj?6wer than to widen the 4ft 85 m, as there would not be the necessity to widen tunnels and bridges, while the cost of further construction would obviously be a good deal • less. The important fact is that the Commonwealth Government has made the unification of the railway gauges a fixed part df its general policy. It }\vsll take some time to carry it out; but the objective will be worked up to, • and steady progress made towards the end in view. Hin.urances of one 'bind and another may reasonably be expeced to crop up to impede tKe progress of the scheme; but these will disappear before the imperative necessity for the uniformity of gauge in all the lines of the diffthe people. The gauge proposed is the one in use in New South Wales. That may be an advantage to that State,; but as the Federation will '■' uenefit so largely from .the alteration no differences of opinion ought to arise over the details of so great a national necessity. If. any differences of public opinion exist now as to the advantages of the scheme or the method of giving practical eftect to carrying it out, these are almost certain to be reconciled gradually. The Commonwealth will soon ijegin to appreciate the benefits of the proposed alteration decided upon as the work proceeds.^ „ ' '

A wrestling- match between T. Cleg>g, of iPaparoa, iand J. Steel, of Dimollie, will take place on Saturday everuimg in the Town Hal for a purse ofiE2o. The usual euchre and dance will be held in the United Club's Pavili- ' on this evening 1, Further oases of failing to supply mining returns, as required iby last year's Mines Act, were brought by the Inspector^ of Mines against two parties at yesterday's sitting o.f the Warden's Court. In "both .instances, however,-'the required information had .in tile meantime, .been supplied 'by de fendants, who, in consequence, were . only asked to pay costs. It is. reported that extensive reefs , traceable for six miles, have been found at the Owen. Promoters' shar- ■ es in the /Rising Sun Syndicate formed to develop the 'Owen regions are being freely subscribed for in Mur- . chison. The discovery -has created ; considerable excitement in the district. ' . ! With a view of preserving the colour cf the Oamaxu stone used in the construction of the new Town Hall at Auckland the outside walls are now being coated with pulver silicate. The building is consequently assuming a yellowish tint, ibut this will not remain long, but will soon disappear, and the building will then present the original-whiteness. Constable Glynn, of Wellington, re cently convicted of assault, has resigned from the force. An employee of the Stockton Coal Company, Marx -by name, .recently had. one of his leg's crushed by a truck, and is now a patient in the Westpbrft Hospital. .- (It turns out that the poldce have * no intention, under present conditions to prohibit the holding'of Sunday pic ture entertainments ait Miller ton. An announcement from the stage, at MilMtoii meicejitly to \that jwas made under a misapprehension. For the-last six months of the past year ■•(■says"" the Okahune Express) ' thirty two. mills cutting in the Main Trunk sawmilling area turned out a , total, of 18,084,748 superficial feet of ; timiber," which shows a very substantial i ncrease- over the figures for the previous six months. . . Those in. the know (says a Westport ".paper-)- aver that there will he extensive mmmg 1 developments among the iMo'kihiaiui reefs this year. The Westport'Borough Council has reduced the price of gas all round to 4s 2d per 1000 feet ' Mr M.assey threatens to -produce a "platform." 'We sincerly • hope he will I—ant1 —ant I stick to it. For on ;that structuie he may possibly find matr-. rial for more satisfactory debate than he is able to discover ralciriig among Ijhe flotsam which-hitherto has absorbed'- 1 so'"-much' of his attention. — Wellington - Times.. '

'Last week a Westport resident gave an unusually lange cash order for £400 worth of .grass seed, the kinds { ordered being rye, clover and cocksfoot. wuld-fje wag) once, sent HamWard Beecher, the 'writer, a letter cohtaininig ;on a sheet of paper only the words. "April Fool." Mr Beecher opened if and a. .smile spread over his face as he exclaimed: "Well, I've often heard of a man writing a letter and forgetting to sign it, but this is the first case of a man" signing his name and forgetting" to write the letter!" . . As we have on several occasions taken considera;ble pains to emphasise the military scheme ds now in. the hands of the people themselves to" make or mar, and it is ito be sincerely hoped Vliat itheiir sense k>f duty and patriotism will cause them to rise to the occasion and assist in ' every possible way in perfecting 1 the system which is now entering on: its trial. —^lnvercar,gill Times/ "If I should be asked," said Bishop Wallis at the Churdh Immigration Society's annual meeting last evening, "when -I Teach England as to opportunities of settling here I shall tell them that df they have' a little capital to start cm they will do all right. I shall try and iget domestic servants, milkers, etc., to make the voyage. Professional people will not be encouraged, as they would ifind very little open to them, and might do harm to the men at present engaged in business." The magnificent surplus shown by the British Exchequer wall surprise those {who ibeli^ved the Motherland is exhausted. The revenue exceeded two 'hundred millions sterling" for the first time in the history of the country, and there Is no set-back' to prosperity or to the trade of the country. It is a .great ahcieve ment and shows' that the financial resources of the United" ' -Kingdom are unimpaired.

R. O. Schwarz, the South African cricketer, who. is (going direct .to England, was (remarks . a Sydney writ' cr) very popular on all sides in Australia. <He io a man of cosmopolitan experience, amd, as a rule, one of tnat type has no airs and igraces- that offend the sensibilities of people whom he may meet casually on a tour. He is private secretary to the millionaire, Sir Abe Bailey, who is King of Cricket in South Africa. Is at realy so? Are we actually so very unimportant? The popular cry has 'been that the average Britisher at 'Home considers us half savages more or less in the bowing-down-to-wood-aind-stone stage. Now an eminent citizen comes along- and says, publicly, that things are even ! than this— that the circle of our fame is narrower still." Dr Faulke, at the Hockey Association meeting complain-^ cd that even in Sydney it was impossible -to learn anything worth while about :New Zealand — and, indeed, all that seemed to be known about us was that we couldn't play cricket. Yes, indeed ! The motion by the Mayor of Hokltika' in regard to urging upon the Government the advisability of removing the railway station at Otira from its present position to a point in the centre of the Otira settlement with a view to shortening the coach journey to Cass and thereby enabling passengers and mails to reach Chnstchurch in time to catch the boat for Wellington, was carried by the Council on Friday unanimously. ;Tfie Land and Income-tax Department gives notice that returns of land must be furnished not later than Ist May. Mark Sprot and Coy advertise in another column houses for sale; also furnished houses to let and empty houses in the. finest locality, in Greymou.«. The 'Licensed Victuallers of Kumara challenge the Greymouth Licens ed Victualers to a tug-of-war on 1 Ma} r 6th at Greymouth. The betting is in favour of the local men. v* Gas consumeis are reminded that their accounts must be paid to-day. Mr Charles O'Donnell's tenders for the erection 'of the [Roman Catholic Church at Ikamatua has ,been accepted. . Just a little illness, Just a little pain; Just an awful, racking cough, Which goes iand comes again. Just an age of suffering, That's the price you pay, Unless you get Woods' Peppermint Cure without delay. During the flying visit of Sir Geo. Clifford and the other members of the Gaming Commission to Hokitika they impressed on the local officials the' need of strictly 'enforcing the provisions of section 4 of the Gaming Amendment Act of last session as to the exclusion of bookmakers and other undesirables from the racecourse. The Manawatu Clufb bad set a good example in the matter. Totalisator licenses might be refused to any club that did not do its duty in the matter. They said that all. courses for galops should not be less than a mile in length, and trotting courses not less than six furlongs, though it might be /impossible on fthe. West Coast. When informed that the local Club -had, equipped the Ambulance corps \v : th an outfit, surprise was expressed, as it was the duty of the Metropolitan to provide all the necessary plant. Liberal grants were made by the Canterbury Mteropolitan to country clubs. Mr Nolan, it is said, expressed surprise at the g*ood arrangements of a club like that of Holkit:;ka. Sir George Clifford* remarked tha*; the statement supplied by the •Hokitika club was one of fehe fullest sent in by any club in the dominion.