SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 50

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES

(Fhom Our Own Correspondekt.) I INVERCARGILL, September 4. i ' A very small quantity of oats has been • offering from the farmers during the week, and prices have been ruling at Is 5d to Is 54d for B grade, with id more \ for A grade. Merchants are not at all : keen to buy, as there is no business passing, either with the North Island -or with < London. The demand that was coming 1 from the latter source seems to have stopped, though there are still some very heavy shipments to go. During the week < close on 80,000 sacks will leave the Bluff. ' The total quantity of oats shipped from Bluff to date runs into 600,000 sacks. ' From country sources I learn that there * are very few stacks left in the different ( districts, and it is not likely that a very large quantity will be available between < now and New Year. Several North Island merchants who bought early in the season s have been offering to resell at prices < j slightly under what local merchants arc £ iat present offering to farmers. This is > easily done, cossidering that a number c of sales were made to the Auckland market for extended delivery at Is s£d f.0.b., ' s.i., and this price in some cases allows J I for a broker's commission. ' I Chaff is very dull, and a large quan- , tity is offering. Prime quality is quoted at £2 on trucks. i j Potatoes have been offering very freely, j. but merchants are shy, and do not care to buy in any quantity. Present quota- ; tions rule at 45s to 47s 6d on trucks at i country stations. r There is still a good demand for rye- t grass, and it is understood that a fairly \ large quantity is being shipped to the i Home market, this being very heavy, welldressed seed. Merchants have very little s more than sufficient for vheir own requirements, and the prices being paid to farmers rule at 2s to 2s 6d for heavy seed. 6 Very little is doinsr in sheep, the dull- v ness being caused mostly by the plenti- a ful supply of feed. Holders in most cases c have enough to carry them over till shear- a ing. Ewe hoggets have been in demand v at 12s to 12s od, mixed sexes at 11s to t< 123, and small hoggets 9s to 10s 6d. Young V. ewes have been selling at up to 17s 6d, I and fat wethers are offering fairly freely t at from 14s to 15s, while store wethers d are making up to 12s 6d. v Fat cattle are selling at up to £11 for s prime bullocks. this~ being on the basis of * 23s 6d per 1001b. Good forward-condi- s tioned cattle are worth £5 to £7, and P younsr cattle, for which there is a very r strong demand, have been selling as fol- . lows :— Two-year-olds £2 10s to £3 10s, j yearlings from £1 lCs to £2 10s. t The market for fibre has remained very w firm during the week, prices having im- 0 proved, if anything. This may be attri- w buted to the absence of sellers and the n scarcity of supplies. Very little actual business has been booked, but inquiries com- t ing to hand early selling is urged on the I part of the Dominion to secure the benefit r of the present good prices. lam informed c that a small parcel of " fair " grade ° changed hands during the week at a price ? equivalent to £21 Is 6d f.o.b. Bluff, and L this must be considered very satisfactory , when nomparid with the prices ruling a . few months ago Several millers, I under- f ( stand, are on the eve of commencing c< operations, a-.d have been busy duving the past month in making things ship- ti shape and in securing the necessary n labour. Hopes are entertained that the w industry may b» revived on a more solid i; basis than was the case during the last n boom. Farmers with stocks of green flax ?* will, of course, have to accept lower p royalties to enable milling to t< be conducted profitably, and if some c alteration could bo effected in the way 'of reducing the cost of labour, there can be " no doubt that a fair profit could be made. ° At present prices London reports a slightly better inquiry for tow, but no definite price can be quoted in the meantime, owing to the total absence of seller^. September 6. The quarterly silting of rhe Supremo j Court held here last wok was short, his ' Honor Mr Justice Williams arriviner on j Monday --frernoon and leaving on Thur«- j dov. Th^re was an entire absence of | oitninal business, the occasion being o°le- fi brated hv th« rires^ntntion of a pair of it white orlovos to the judge. ' A Mr G B. Nicholls, organiser of the New s Zealand Alliance, makes the above fact A a peer on which to bong- a lone statem^nr £ in the Southland Times, bringing into C strong prominence the absence of crime in v Tnvercargill. Sinep the passing of no- j 1 license in Invercargill the criminal calendar has been extremely light, so much so that &' at 'ilmost pvery sittiners of the Supreme C Court held here the judges have had ocoa- o sion to congratulate the district on the s ] li?ht criminal calendar, and the almost t! total ab&ence of crime Mr Nicholls admita that for \ears before the passing of no-license the criminal cases coming before ~ llio Supreme Courr were cciupaiauvely . "

few, but point 3 out thai of recent yean they have been still less in number, anc of a comparaitively trivial nature, and few and trivial as they are they were in most cases committed outside the no-license area, or resulted from driuk brought from without. At Friday's meeting of the Southland Education Board the following appoint ments were confirmed : — Waimahaka, Petei Schroeder, sole teacher; Waikouro, Mars Orr, sole teacher; Myross Bush, Charlotte C. Ingram, temporary sole teacher till the 31st December next ; Ferndale, George II Beilby, temporary sole teacher; Avondale, Aileen O'Donnell, temporary sole teacher; Waituna, Annabelle Chisholm, temporary sole teacher; Colac Bay, Bertha Clapp, temporary mistress; Waikaia, Jane C. Duncan, temporary mistress It is always pleasing to hear of the success of local inventors, of whom we have had a prolific crop. I understand that Mr Jamas Hanna has sold his recent improvement in seed-dressing machinery to one of the foremost New Zealand firms on very satisfactory terms. The advent of Mr Epstein, an Esperanto enthusiast, in Invercargill has led to an increase of interest in this international language. Not only have there been considerable additions to the membership of the Southland Esperanto Club, but a class has been formed in connection with the V.M.C.A. and also a ladies' class, both of which start with a very satisfactory membership. At the annual meeting of the Southland Esperanto Club last week, Mr Reginald M'Kinnon was elected president, and Messrs E. Webber, James Hendry. and J. L. Field vice-presidents, Mr Rowlands being again elected secretary and treasurer. It must be very gratifying to Mr M'Kinnon and Mr Webber, who have given a great deal of time and labour to the propagation of 'Esperanto, to see it coming into such increased prominence. When the case Irwin v. Pollock, a claim of £150 for alleged slander, was called at the Supreme Court last we-ek, the solicitor for the defendant intimated that the case haA b&en settled by defendant paying £25 and making an absolute withdrawal of hi 6 imputations, and a satisfactory apology. It is estimated that the 12 new dairy farms that will shortly be cut up on part of Mr Donald Macdonald's Edendale Estate will bring 900 more dairy cows into the district. This number is sufficient of itself to supply a good-sized dairy factory. — Southland Times. I understand that Mr R. Gibb, formerly schoolmaster at Tuturau, and for some time past a Government inspectoi of ipiaries, has resigned his position with a view to going into bee-farming at Eden3ale. There has, during the week, been a revival of the air-shin excitement at Gore, ivhere a number of persons insist that they nave again seen this extremely elusive trisitant. Not only has a moving light been seen at night, but something, which ivas variously described as cigar-shaped and boat-shaped, has been seen in the evening before the disappearance of daylight. An Anglers' Association has been formed n InvercargiH for the purpose of conservng the interests of anglers in every x>ssible way. and particularly with a view :o promoting fishing competitions, which lave for many years past been so popular in Otago. The interprovincial hockey match, Wanranui v. SoutLland, was played on the Queen's Park on Wednesday afternoon ast, and resulted in a draw, each team scoring one goal. In the evening, the nsiting team was entertained at Raesides's, wid a very enjoyable evening spent. An elderly man named Williams, who same down from Dunedin to Invercargill tbout five or six weeks ago, while on his vav from the Railway Station to the Crierion Hotel, slipped off the kerbstone, creaking his arm. The break was a pretty bad one. and he only was able to leave he Hospital a few days ago. On the very lay of leaving the Hospital, and again vhile walking along Deo street, he was eized with a fit of giddiness and fell on he asphalt, again beraking his arm — the | ame arm, — and had to return to the Hos- | >ital, where he will probably have to emain for several weeks to come. Mr J. B. Forde, the well-known conractor of Waikiwi, met his death on the rtakahouka road on Thursday night hrough the overturning of the trap in vhich ho was driving. He apparently went >ver the bank in the dark, as his body vas found on the roadside on Friday mornng. It is very gratifying to be able to record hat the Government has agreed to the nvercarsrill Borough Council* proposed eclaniation scheme. The question of the consideration has still to be settled the ouncij thinking a maximum of 500 'acres >t the reclaimed ground ample, while the government suggests 650. According to the Gore correspondent of he N>ut hland Times, a probable explanalon -of the much-discussed airship is to be ound in enormoue flights of starlings >ome of those on the watch for the airnir> at Gore on Wednesday evening had heir attention drawn to the compact [?♦"£" °i[ii thos *',-, birds rhins and fa)li "g nth a balloon-like movement, and there s a pretty general agreement that the nystery „ explained. As to the light tfars is particularly large and red at >resent. and to the casual observer appears Kplan°at-on. NO ""M^'the Tho Southland Trotting Club had its reneral rreotin* on Friday evening, and ppo.nted Mr Thomas Timpany president. )r Fullnrton treasurer, Mr A. W Paunders «™tary. Mr A. Jones handicapner. and nLj' Pre " dp v r ce a st judge. The first race noting w:ll bj» held on November 17 on he Invercargill Racecourse