Page 3 Advertisements Column 2

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 781, 27 March 1905, Page 3

A Rriii-h cruiser touched alone of the Fr.iirh r lauds in the WcM Indies and the captain went, ashore to return tie- m-H ni the I'.r.tish Cou:ail. On his arrival, he belie'd one of the senior' petty olticers of his ship, I to whom he had granted eight hours' I ave, in a luxurious chair on the verandah, pulling at a big Havana. The explain as!;e I him what be was doing there. The petty ollicer blandly retort.d that he was on a visit lo Kill. "An i who the deuc:> is Bill?" snapped the skip|c:\ " Wh,v, the consul here—him as I allow you've come to pay your respects to." "How dare you speak with such familiarity of one of His Majesty's consuls!" thundered the captain. " Oh, Rill's all right," explained the petty officer. " He's my son." And, as the captain fell back breathless with indignation and incredulity, the con nil himself came in, and exclaimed, "Ah, captain, I'm glad my old man was here to receive you ! " The Sydney Morning Herald says that the values of sheep penned at the Homebush fat stock Kaleyards are very high, in fact as high as at any time since the record prices during the drought, when sheep were imported from New Zealand, and in a lesser degree from Victoria and Tasmania. At the safes on Monday week merino wethers sold up in 2fls od. and crossbred ewes up to 2<:s 7d per head, while many pens, though not reaching si.eh hiith figures, were sold enual in :i;,| ,;,.,• n>. The fact that high price.-; have been ruling for some time past, and ;,l supplies remain light, se.-ms to Imlicalea paucity i.f the wether sheep i>, ihecounlr>. Kxpe.-is ettiiir.it.. that of the H.'i', million sheep in the Siale oiilv one million or thereabout are oi aged wethers, the balance comprising about l."i million ewes, sewn million hoggels. 10 million lambs, and half a million rams. As there have been no general rains this season, some parts of the country are dry, and pasture barte ; consequently stock are being moved, and the prospects for the coming winter are for a scarcity of fat sheep and clear mutton for the consumer.