The Invercargill Times. TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1870.

Southland Times, Issue 1281, 19 July 1870, Page 2

The Invercargill Times. TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1870.

As official return, recently published, of the grain and flour trade of the colony, is worthy the consideration of the public generally, but is more especially deserving of the consideration of those engaged in agricultural pursuits. The fluctuations in the quantity of breadstuff's imported during the ten years for which the table is compiled, are not wholly accounted for by the sudden variations in the population, consequent upon gold discoveries, but betoken a marked irregularity in the yearly production of wheat within the country. Another fact is also made conspicuous by the figures before us, I viz., that we still import largely both ! wheat and flour. True enough, we export a few hundred bushels of the former — which may be regarded as simply exchanged, to sort for milling, for the harder grain of neighboring colonies but of the latter our shipments out-, wardi are not worth mentioning, amount-^j ing for the whole period to about the cargo of a moderately-sized vessel, viz., 1656 tons. Of tow total, no less than I 971 tons, or more than half, was shipped ] in one year, 1867 ; the balance in driblets during the other nine. In barley and oats, even, which can be grown in New j i Zealand to perfection, we do not show to advantage, although it is observable in the case of _the two years last; given, 1868-9, that the scales have unmistakeably turned in our favor. With regard to the former grain, we barely hold our own, while in the case of the latter, we have had to depend largely upon our neighbors. To the oats imported, we J may also add the maize, both being used chiefly for the same purpose, and then it will be seen how very far we have fallen short of supplying the de- f mand for horse-feed alone. We submit for reflection the following figures. The flour imported during each of the ten veaip stands thus, omitting fractions:—lß6o, 300; 1861, 4882; 1862, 6202 ; 1863, 14,986 ; 1864, 16,188 ; 1865, 19,801 ; 1866, 23,264 ; 1867, 8,098 ; 1868, 8871; 1869, 6347 tons, or a total of 108,939 tons for the ten years. The sudden decline in quantity from the j figures for 1866 to those for 1867; may be taken as marking the decline of the j Southern goldfields, as also an effort to j meet the demand by home growth, as is evidenced by the export columns; : There appears, however, this somewhat astounding fact, that, after deducting the whole export of flour from the above total, | there remains 107,283 tons, which at the low average of £14, shows £1,501,962 as paid away by the colony during the period in question for flour alone.. Inthe~ article ofbarlev we imported during the years given "above 473, 8956, 26,662, 35,364, 14,868, 18,904, 28,966, 443, 15,031, and 1600 bushels respectively; in all, 151,267 bushels. Against this place the exports— lß6o, 7,782 ; 1861, nil; 1862, 30 ; 1863, 3238 ; 1864, nil; 1865, 2390; 1866,392 ; 1867, 9258 ; 1868, 51,366 ; 1869, 92,557 bushels ; in all, 167,013 bushels, or a surplus of 15,746 bushels, which, at 4s, gives a balance ,j>f £3,149 4s in our favor. This is more as it should be, and it gives us some satisfaction to be aware that the result is in no small degree attributable to the industry of the farmers of Southland, who have of late years given great and increasing attention to this crop. In maize we have been customers to Australia for, in 1860, 24,102; 186 L, 18,818; 1862, 58,590 ; 1863, 195,225; 1864, 127,246; 1865, 133,975 ; 1866, 125,680 ; 1867, 114,566 ; 1868, 86,700; 1869, 107,425 ; in all, 992,328 bushels. Deducting 1350 bushels sent out of the Colony, we have had to pay for 990,978 bushels, which, at the moderate average of 4s, amounts to £198,195 12s. The imports of oata for the several yeara were, 5,973, 65,619, 207,572, 505,460,459,185, 99,295, 89,043, 65,672, 10,227, 1,606 bushels respectively, or a total of 1,509,652 bushels. The exports were, severally, 36,773, 119, nil, nil, 3,580, 19,584,27,449, 17,639, 484,533, and 342,677 bushels, altogether, 932,354 bushels, showing an excess of imports of 577,298 bushels, and adding, at 3s per bushel, £86,594 14s to the balance against the colony. The next column — wheat, is perhaps the most important one. We find the imports stated as, in 1860, 45,468 ; 1861, 61,210 ; 1862, 208,677 ; 1863, 164,022; 1864, 248,863; 1865; 331,116 ; 1866, 266,186 ; 1867, 235,473 ; 1868, 188.477 ; 1869, 183,256 bushels; and the exports for the same years at 11^168, 497, 6047, nil, nil, 3473, 4769, 131,915, 94,297, and 81,758 busheis. The totalsbeing— lmported, 1,932,748 bushels ; Exported, 333,924 bushels ; balance against the colony, 1,598,824 bushels, which, at 4s 6d, adds £409,735 8s to the money Bent out of the country for cereals easily grown within it. Putting the totals together, we find that we have paid away for bread—wheat and f10urr— £1,911,692, and for horse-feed — maize and oats — £274,789; in all, £2,186,486, during the past ten years, and that all we have to set against this is a paltry £3000 for barley. In the face of these facts, what becomes of the cry of "No market ?" How comes it that we have to depend so largely upon Australia and America for that which our own country can produce, acre for acre, in greater abundance ? Of course it may be objected that a, great proportion of the above expenditure was incurred bj a sudden, unexpected, and enormous increase to the population when gold was discovered ; but it should be remembered, that when that event occurred, New Zealand was a colony of some age, and that had agriculture received that attention which might have been expected in a country possessing a wonderfully rich soil and

salubrious climate, the influx of a large number of diggera would simply have created a local market for produce which otherwise would have had to be exported. Indeed, except in the remote South, it is too evident that hitherto farming has occupied only a minor place in the consideration of New Zealand colonists. The remedy for the evils at present repressing agricultural industry must be found within ourselves. ; By legislative means farmers may be encouraged to extend their operations, but we fancy their true help wiirbe found ''rrf a wise system of co-operation. , r

A child belonging to a family named Caulfield, residing in Gala-street, fell into a vessel of boiling* water on Saturday last; and got severely scalded. Dr Deck was in immediate attendance, but notwithstanding every remedy being tried, the child has since died. An inquest will be held to-day. Tenders for repairs to the One Tree Point road, were opened at the Government Buildings yesterday, 18th, as under :■ —

In consequence of the Phcabe not coming South to time, the sessions of the Supreme Court, which should have been opened yesterday, stand adjourned to Thursday, the 21st. This irregularity has arisen, it is said, through the judge having taken passage by th vessel in question. -The shortness of the notice given of the change seriously inconveniences a considerable, number of jurors and witnesses. One oaunot help thinking that ' his Honor might have contrived to come on by the Tararua, which arrived on Saturday last; ' It is scarcely possible that the Dunedin agents of the Phoebe can have refused to refund the fare ; and if they did, its loss would be nothing compared to the loss occasioned to this community by the delay. The quantity of gold exported from New Zealand, from July Ist, 1869, to March 31st, 1870, was 456,732 bzs, valued "at i £l;780;300: "The quantities exported from the several places were —Auckland, 91,308 ozs; Nelson, 114,122 ozs ; Otago, 125,012 ozs; Marlborough, 548 ozs; Westland, 123,147 ozs; Southland, 2595 ozs. Canterbury is set, down as having exported none during the period mentioned. The Stamp Duties collected during the first nine months of the financial year ' 1869-TO, from July Ist, 1869, to March 31st, 1870, amounted to £48,758 16s 4J— as follows :— Auckland, £14,355 7s 6d ; Taranaki, £510 13s ; Wellington, £4885 6s 4d ; Hawke's JBay, £1278 Is 7d; Nelson, £2958 13s 2d ;Marlbbrpugh, £406 3s 3 1; Canterbury, £7319 3s Id; Westlahd, £3166 6s 6d; Otago, £12,771 0s 91 j ISouthland, £1105 14s lid ; Chatham Islands, £2 6s 3d.' •■»••• According to the 'returns recently laid 5 , before the House, the exports and imports stand thus : — Total value of; exports from New Zealand for the quarter ending. 31st .March, 1870 (including £45,000 specie), £1,989,182 ; for the corresponding quarter of 1869 the exports were £1,628,193 ; showing an increase in 1870 over 1869 of £361,989, The imports were — for the quarter of 1870, ending 31st March, £1,377,621; for the corresponding quarter of 1869, £1,185,604 ; or an increase of tne imports in the quarter ot 1870 of £192,017. i We take the following from the report of the directors of the Canterbury Meat Export Company, and which was laid before a meeting of shareholders held, on the 7th inst;— -Up to 31st May, to which the accounts are made up, 16,656 sheep have passed through the factory, of which jmmberLiKia-havjJbMiU^lle^dpjvn^ and. 12,044 have been preserved. The total produce of these sheep, "besides the skins, has been— tallow, 57 tons 13 cwt 2qr 8 lbs ; tinned meat, 160,128 lbs ; spiced meat, 5146 lb. Aconsiderable number of the sheep sent in have been of inferior quality, and the yield from such has been proportionately small, as only prime meat is preserved. Taking four lots which were all good enough for preserving, and' calculating the price of tallow in London to be £42 per ton, and of meat 6d per pound, the following is the nett result, after deducting factory and all other charges : — Lot 1 — Average weight, 41 J lb, price of skin, Is 6id, 5s ll|d per head ; Lot 2— Average weight, 38£lb, price of skin, ljd, 5s 5d per head; Lot 3— Average weight, 36£lb, price of skin, Is Id, 4s Hid per head; Lot 4 — Average weight, 41ilb, price of skin, 9d, 4s lOfd per head. Up to the present date, 100 tons of meat have been preserved, and as soon as it has been shipped the directors will claim the. bonus of £10 JO offered by the Provincial Government, which they have already applied for. . The Fiji Cotton Company recently projected at Auckland, has - been successfully formed, all the shares having been taken up. The pioneer vessel , of the Company will shortly leave for Fiji with ; stores, &c : - ' " ; The third crushing of the Nelson Perseverance Company, Collingwood, has yielded at the rate of 3i, ounces to the ton. .',+.. ■ A petition has been presented from Major Kemp, asking for the release of 'the Maori: prisoners now in Dunedin, . and for their being placed under his charge: In the House of Representatives, on June 29, Mr Stafford asked the Premier when the Government intended to move for the appointment of a select committee to consider the subject - of sericulture — a subject to which considerable attention was directed at the present time. The papers laid on the table of the House indicated that it was the intention of the Government to move for such a. committee. Mr Fox, in reply, said the Colonial Treasurer had just informed him that he had a resolution on the subject, which he intended {to bring forward. ■ In concluding his remarks on the financial! proposals of the Government, Mr Cracrofb Wilson said. he could imagine a future historian writing as follows . — " The Yogel bubble. — • This ruinous scheme was instituted by Julius Vbgel in 1870, and exploded in 1880, ruining thousands of families, and Mr Smith, the cashier, absoonded with £100,000. (Laughter). Brown paper manufactured in Melbourne from New Zealand flax is far stronger than the paper manufactured from ordinary materials. A correspondent of the Tuapeka Times, writing from Fiji, says: — By-the-bye, we have several settlers from your part of Otago — Mr and Mrs Fenton and family, and Mr and Mrs Fulton. Among them I saw Mr Fenton lately, who told me that though he had met with many difficulties at first coming here, "It beat New 'Zealand hollow," and that he had squatted for life. His vessel, the Dantzic, has gone to the Line on a trading voyage. It is of rery little use persons coming here without £300 or £400 at command. If they have that, and are hard- working sober people, they must succeed. The bane of poor men (taxes) findsjao lodgment here j and may it long be so. ; ; ' " Political Gossip," the JBvening Post remarks, is extremely Bcarce this session; both parties seem singularly reticent, and very little of their intended proceedings leaks out. The latest rumor which has found its way to this end of the Beach j is to the effect that the Auckland members have \ formed themselves into a party, under the leader- 1 ship of Mr Thomas B. Gillies — after the manner, of the Caye — pledged to oppose the Ministry at all points. Mr -Creighton is said to have! abandoned his chief [Mr Vogel], and his position; on-his chief's newspaper, and .- accepted the office; of Mr Gillies's lieutenant, with an , eye to the' future. Rumour does not say that the, new party: has assumed <&. namej possibly. , ".The. Pen"; might ba appropriate, the description of den being afterwaroVpaf ticularised. j

The Wellington correspondent of the Dunedin Evening Star, writing on the 7th inst., says : — ■" The financial statement of Mr Yogel has elicited expressions o' admiration from men of all parties. The large and comprehensive measures, the mastery of finance, and the moderate and convincing tone of the language employed in his elaborate statement, have drawn forth from even his bitterest opponents the acknowledgment that it is the most complete and ; statesmanlike financial statement ever made in the House. , Indeed, up*- to the present time, the Opposition seem fairly flabbergasted with it. Some of the. Opposition members loudly declare tnat it is copied from the Stafford party, while others as stoutly contend 6h£t it is_original . and. extravagant. Some say that it is unintelligible and sophistical, but they cannot themselves' point out anything ■ that is obscure, or cpntrpyertible, but wait till Mr Stafford or Mr Fitzherbert demolishes it. Certain it is that never was statement so closely scanned, and you will see members with praiseworthy earnestness making appointments with each other for reading it over together for their mutual improvement." ':'.'.'".'. A committee of the Provincial Counoil of j Hawke's Bay have decided that a " feed" is one , gallon of maize or oats. Mr White, ' of Queenstowh (aays the Mail), has shown us some raspberries, which are equal to anything plucked in the summer season. The fact that raspberries can be grown here in midwinter speaks favorably of the climate. No extra care was given to the canes', but their roots were watered by the Town Creek. Many of the trees and plants in the lowlands about Queenstown have put forth second buds this year, but they may be nipped by next month's frosts. Nevertheless, a second crop of fruit is something out of the -way. i Gease ar.e usei- instead, of watchdogs by some of the settlers in Fiji. They aref said to be a very : efficient substitute. A scheme for bringing a supply of water to the Thames, both for mining and household purposes, has been drawn up by an Auckland engineer, and will' shortly be carried out. - ' ' ' The Queensland natives have taken to destroying the telegraph poles and making fishhooks out of the wires. The destruction of two stacks of oaten hay by fire, which originated spontaneously, is reported from Morton, (says an Otago paper) and no doubt the origin of some, at least, of the fires in stackyards which happened a -short time ago may be attributed to the same cause. It seems that a neighbor informed Mr M'Neil, on whose farm the fire took place, that smoke was issuing from a stack, and on going there no'fire was seen, but a crackling noise was heard from the centre of the stack. Mr M'Neil mounted to the top of the stack, which on that part was very hot, and moved some of the sheaves, . when the flames immediately burst forth from the centre ; and the stack, with another adjoining it, was soon consumed, the loss being about £200. The oats in this stack and three others were rather green when cut, and after the heavy rains which occurred about a month ago, it was found necessary to open them, for the purpose of drying them. The boiling-down establishment at Featherston, Wairarapa, will shortly be closed, the boil-ing-down season being nearly over. The Mercury believes that' about 20,000 sheep have been converted into tallow at this establishment, the j average return from each being about ss. The same journal .states that tallow sent to England in casks realises £3 10s per ton more than that packed in boxes. The settlers at Patea are agitating for the formation of that district into a County, and a ■ petition to that effect is now in course of signature. The proposed boundaries are the Waingcngoro , 1 river on the north, and the Waitotara river on the south, extending inland to the boundary of 'the confiscated land. The Mount' Ida Chronicle is responsible for the , following :— On Friday week last, while a French- ' manWmed "^abttel'DuboiSj-well-kno wn~ at -Waikouaiti, accompanied by William Brown, a Swede, were shooting ducks on the banks of the Taieri River, between Dr Buchanan's station and Hamilton, a real live alligator was observed. It appears that Gabriel, when he made the discovery, was in the act of shooting a duck, and that at a ; distance of several yards from his cover, he first . saw the alligator lying on the bank, with its lower jaw dropped or hanging down. He immediately gave it the contents of his gun, which he had intended for smaller game, aiming for the eyes of the monster, which he describes as being full and of a red color, resembling those of a bullock, and the teeth something enormous. On receiving the shot the animal gave utterance to a loud yell and rushed into the river. Our informant, who has seen alligators in .Queensland rivers, states that it must have been at least 10 or 11 feet in length. The animal must have been severely wounded — '■ tne spot where it rushed into the river being colored with blood. Our informant speaks so positively as to the truth of the above statement : that we give it insertion, even though it appears , to border on the marvellous. Nevertheless, we [ do not hold ourselves responsible for its veracity. I According to the Wakatip Mail, Mr Simpson, : for some years' road engineer in the Lakes district, ■ has been appointed Government Inspector of the Port Chalmers Railway. The Canterbury Government appear determined to push on .with greater vigor the extension of their railway system. A bill has passed its second reading in the Lower House. The line proposed to be made, is to the northward of Christchurch to Kaiapoi, a distance of 14 miles. The greater portion of the required capital is already in hand ; and the Provincial Government are anxious to proceed with the work during the present winter. . Mr W. A. Murray, writing to an Otago paper, gives the following inform ition on the subject of papermaking : — The late Mr Robert Grieve tried to make New Zealand flax into paper in Scotland, but the gum had hardened and set in the flax, which was dry like sticks, so that the paper, though very strong, was " specky," and of mll ferior quality ; and the pulping of the flax here into " half stuff," and drying, packing, and exporting it to Britain, made it too dear to compete with the Esparto grass in the manufacture of paper, and I found it to be the same at Messrs Ramsden's paper-mills in Melbourne. ,The halfstuff cost too much, and the dry flax did not suit. The Esparto in Britain has risen to £10 10a per ton, and as 30s per ton on Esparto is about equal to id per lb on paper, the best printing paper mußt now therefore cost nearly 7d per lb, and, of course, more here. . Four correspondent's estimate that £20,000 would be required to Btart a flax paper mill seems more than ample ; for though in some mills in Britain near five times that amount has been invested, a homely affair will suffice for: us, and in a favorable situation, with water-power and other advantages, £10,000 should be enough. It is essential that the flax should be used green; before the gum and woody fibre harden, so that the machinery and chemicals may act effectually, otherwise a good paper can scarcely be made ; but_ without railways, or good water communication, it will be difficult to secure a steady and sufficient supply of trash flax. Without experiments, it would be difficult to arrive at even an approximate estimate of the cost of production, but I think ( that formachinery, maintenance, interest, wages, ■■ fuel, chemicals, size, dyes, &0., £20 would be sufficient per ton of paper ; and suppose it would require about six tons of good green flax, costing, say, £4, and we could make and readily sell ten tons of paper per week, the cost would be about £24 per ton, for " good news," or abomt half the price of a similar paper if imported from Europe. Perhaps, for an inferior paper, some of our coarse native grasses might be added, also .ropes,, sails, bagging,, rags, &c. _your..cdrres-: pondent suggests that waste paper could be got; and. wrought up again at a small cost ; but I fear that the quantity of that would be scarcely; appreciable, the more bo, as it is probable that " parochial ordinance factories" will ehortly be abolished ; ' v_ ,; ;_ [

The Titnara paper say 3: — " On the Bfch inst. a number of gentlemen met at the stores of Me3sra Gk G. Russell anl Co. for the purpose of tasting some tinned meat, preserved by the New Zealand Meat Preserving Company at their establishment in Southland, near Invercargill. Two tins were opened, one of mutton, and another of tongue. The contents were not only good, but they were really appetising, and the mutton showed a feature not usually seen in tinned meat, by its containing a quantity of clear and most delicious jelly. The Company's works at Invercargill have been in operation about eight weeks, and during that tiitfe they have turned out about fifty tons of preserved meat of exactly Bimilar quality." I Dr Deck was called out to T-ong Bush yesteri day, 18th, to hold an inquest on the body of a man named A. M'NeiL The following facts were brought out at the enquiry. M'Neil left Mr Dawson's, near Long Bush, where he had been working, on Monday last. On the followingFriday he was seen on the ridges near Mr Vallance's flax mill . on the north side of Long Bush, and on Sunday he was found suspended by a rope from a rafter in the stable of Mr Crombie, a settler on the plains between Long Bush and Rakahook, dead, j None of Mr Cmmbie's people had been at home | for several days, and made the discovery when they returned at the time stated. From deceased's behaviour for some time back, and from letters j found on him, it was plain his mind had j been wandering, and the jury returned a verdict to the effect that he committed suicide while temporarily deranged. In an article discussing the Colonial Treasurer's Scheme, the Lybtelton Times says : — We ' shall probably be told that •Mr Voxel's proposals amount; to practical abolition of the provinces. He will doubtless be taunted with having adopted the policy of his adversaries, and it will be said that the scheme he has propounded, or something like i it, would hare had to be brought forward by any ! Government. Mr Yogel, in common with every other reasonable man, see's that the present Constitution of the colony is not eternal and immutable, that, as the circumstances of the colony alter, its political institution! must alter | also. The difference, however, between Mr Yogel and- his opponents is, that the former wishes to utilise existing institutions to the utmost and to maintain them so far as they do not stand in the | way colonisation and progress, while the latter wish, first of all, to sweep away the provinces and ' to construct a fire new Constitution. When they have done this, they will talk to us about immigration and publio works, unless indeed their chivalrous instincts should lead them to indulge in' a Native war. In this latter and not improbable case, we may put off our publio works for another to decide. Of course, this recognition, and utilization of existing circumstances and institutions will be very distasteful to Borne of those theoretical politicians with whom we are afflicted, but it will none the less commend itself' to the rough' common aenße of the community. Should our theoretical friends attempt to interfere with the Treasurer's proposals, we trust that at the ensuing election they may be relieved from Parliamentary cares, and be suffered to enjoy tha delights of meditative retirement. The great Tasmanian will case was resumed on the 29th ult. at the Supreme Court sittings at Hobart Town in Banco. The preliminary evidence having been closed, the trial commenced. Mr Allport spoke in support Of the will. The Attorney-General, 'Solicitor-General, and Mr Isaacs, addressed the Court for the next of kin, against the will. The Attorney-General said "that the Rev Joseph Sheehey, Roman Catholic priest, by marrying the testator on his death bed to his servant, so late at night, committed felony under the colonial act, and was liable to fourteen years' transportation. The hours of celebrating marriage were limited to between 8 o'clock in the morning and 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

R. Powell £175 0 0 Wm. Brass & Co. 165 0 0 Jaa. M'Menamia ... .;. 154 19 6 Wm.Moffett 143 0 0 Jaa. Stott & Co: (accepted)... 110. 0 0