THE COST OF ROAD METAL.

Motueka Star, Volume II, Issue 97, 18 July 1902, Page 5

THE COST OF ROAD METAL.

According to the following paragraph, clipped from last Saturday’s Wanganui Herald, the Borough of Motueka is not the only Corporation that is complaining about the cost of road metal-The difficulty of procuring good metal at a reasonable charge is a matter that is engaging the serious attention of . the Wanganui Borough Council and the adjoining Councils of Waitotara and Wanganui. The Borough Council has been endeavouring, unsuccessfully, for some considerable time to secure a gravel pit, and the other Councils are in a similar position, though the Waitotara body has the good fortune' of having within its boundaries the famous Nukuuiaru shell rock deposits, which have enabled them to make their main road the envy of 'adjacent . bodies. At the Wanganui County Council meeting the chairman stated that the County was paying ‘2s per yard royalty, which was quite a serious matter, and one that the local bodies would have to face sooner or later, as they were ‘‘paving through the nose” for their metal. Mr Neilson added that it would cost 7s 6d per yard to get the shell rock from Nukumaru. The clerk mentioned that at present the royalty was a heavier charge on the Council than haulage.

A digger whose claim is on the Shotover river, Otago, the other day perceived a. dead cat buried in the gravel, and lifted it with a sluice fork to fling t away, when a perfect shower of gold fell through pussy’s decaying ribs. Without much delay the remains were' deposited in a tin dish, carefully dissected, and the result a yield of 15>z ,f nice, water worn go Id. . When the crevice where pu-sy had lain—for no one knows how many years —was cleaned up, 31oz were obtained. The editor of the Havera Star piously remarks; It is part of the satisfaction of a reporter’s life that if he fails to correct all a speaker’s era* >rs, he sets the blame for those which do get into print,-’ Selah. Some days ago an exciting chase took place at North Adelaide. Ab \y of 13 years of age, Norman Munro, saw? two men in his father’s office, and ran home to inform his parent. In the meantime the men had made off, arid the boy, equal to the occasion, borrowed a bicycle and gave chase, soon overhauling them. Seeing that the youth was determined to- follow them until assistance arrived, one offered him 8s if he would go away. The boy asked that the money be put on the pavement. This w r ns done, and the silver promptly pocketed, but the boy continued iu pursuit. Further negotiations resulted in the transfer of 2s more. Eventually the attention of several others was attracted, and the thieves, who had got a way with ,£1 odd, were cm pin red. . During June 811,430 bags of oats and 6137 bales of hay were shipped from New 7 Zealand to South Africa, on behalf of the .Imperial Government, since the declaration of peace. A family in. Christchurch had a rather startling experience a few evenings ago (says the Pres). They were sitting round the sitting-room fire, when an explosion in the grate sent live coal and ashes out int-f 1 the room, covering the hearth rug and carpet with red hot embers. Fortunately no one was hurt, but the carpet and rug had holes burnt in them before the astonished people could sweep up the ashes. On search for the cause a dum-dum bullet was found, and the query is how it got into the fire, none of the family having previously seen it. Subscription to MOTUEKA STAR : Three Shillings and Sixpence a Quarter which may begin anytime