The Te Puke Times FRIDAY, DEC 12. PUBLIC WORKS ESTIMATES.

Te Puke Times, Volume II, Issue II, 16 December 1913, Page 2

The Te Puke Times FRIDAY, DEC 12. PUBLIC WORKS ESTIMATES.

When the Public.Works Estimates came up for consideration in the House of Representatives a few days ago, history once more repeated itself, .and the usual sessional wrangle that the country has witnessed for years past took- place. Long - hours were spent in wrangling' about roads, and bridges, and railways, It is interesting, therefore, to recall certain remarks made by the Minister for Finance (Hon Mr Allen) early in the session of j'S)i2,' when delivering his Budget speech. "It is," wild Mr Alien, "so essential that .sonic-thing should be done to replace the present method of assisting "local bodies to construct their roads t and bridges by a sounder system { of finance, that the Government has decided l:o introduce this year I a snort bill dealing 1 with the fin. j ancial aspects of the question." [ Grants were, he said, to be made j lot'public works to iocal bodies I according to their necessities and their own efforts. "These subsidies," he proceeded, ''will diminish the roads and bridges' vote on the Public Works estimates and finally do away with them altogether," Nothing has been done since; however, and we are therefore, pleased to observe that in the recent discussion a number of members strongly ■advocated the abolition of the present system of grants in aid, and the establishment of a nonpolitical board to deal with the roads and bridges question. One of the worst features of the pre. sent system is that thousands of pounds of public money are voted for works about which no one in the House but the Minister and the member for the district concerned know anything. We doubt very much if members have in' many instances more than a superficial knowledge of the localities in which they are advocating the expenditure of public monies. Under such a system it is obvious that political influence must.play an important part, and abuses inevitably creep in, no matter how honest or wellintentioned tiie Minis tor for Public Works and members may be. An opportunity for reform of a far-reaching nature presents itself, and it is to be hoped that 'next session the Government will fake advantage of it.

A well-bred mare is advertised for sale cheap. Apply this office; The tender of Haneford, Mills and Hardy, of Christchurch, has been accepted for the erection of the new Parliament Buildings.

Mr H. E. Hodgkinson has just completed a contract for shooting 600 deer out of the Hunter and Dingle Valleys for the Otago Acclimatisation Society. He reports the deer to be in fine condition, the result of an open winter and early spring. Good, well-grown heads will be the result, and stalkers will have the chance of securing stags of special merit next season. .

The Canterbury Egg Circle;, which joined in the shipment o* eggs to Vancouver, is delighted with the result. A cable message has been received stating that the eggs had sold at Is lOd and Is lid per dozen. Agents state that there is an almost unlimited demand for eggs in Vancouver. The result of the shipment recently made will mean the distribution of £705 among poultry producers.

Some time last Thursday night the Taumaranui post office was burglariously entered, probably by means of skeleton keys, as there were no signs of violence. The mails which arrived by the South train were stolen, the five bags being afterwards found in different parts of the Borough. They had been opened and,the contents tampered with. There are no further developments. "There is a type of Maori boy I have met," said Bishop Averill in an address at the St. Stephen's School at Auckland, "who is generally to be seen with his hair parted in the middle (not that there is anything very wrong in that), wearing a very high white collar, and always a short dis" tance from a billiard saloon. Such boys are no credit to their race, their country, or themselves."

Shearing operations are being considerably delayed in the South Island by the continuous wet weather. On one station in the high country there are-between shearers, wool-washers, and shep-herds-over 40 men to keep, and a professional cook and two helps in the kitchen are engaged to provide "for their requirements. On another station everything has been in readiness for shearing for a fortnight, but the wet weather has prevented a start being made.

Considerable difficulty is being experienced in getting rid of the big supplies of dairy produce passing through the West Coast Refrigerating Company's stores at Patea, and the season promises, to be phenomenal. During the first three days of this month about 5,300 crates of cheese were shipped away, thejvalue of which was about £20,000. The management is doing its best to handle the work of the port under present conditions.

An advertisement appeared in the Sydney morning papers recently to the effect that a business man wanted a typiste to tour the world with him at a good salary. The police became suspicious, and detectives were detailed to watch developments. An attractive young woman answered the advertisement, and she by the officials. As a result they instructed her to continue the negotiations and to report to them. She did so, and a man was arrested, and charged with attempting to abduct a girl under the age of 21. The Taieri and Peninsula Supply Company managed to evade strike unions in one direction. They sent a shipment of butter away for the Hawora Show, • It got blocked at Lyttelton, but a friend who was going through took one case of butter with him as personal luggage, persuadedthe stewards to postpone the judging for an hour or two. landed his case in time, and won first prize for the-company. A cheese that reached its destination in the same way won a second prize.

«A fatal mining accident occurred in the Crown mine, Karangahape, on Thursday lapt, when a miner named Alex Woods, a single man aged 40, was killed. It appears that Woods and a mate named Ritchie were stoping, and were standing on a quantity of broken quartz, which rested on some timbers over the quartz shute leading in No. 5 level. The timber suddenly gave way, precipitating. Woods.and his mate into the ievel, along with some 14 tons of quartz, which completely buried Woods, while Ritchie \m buried to the armpits. Two mineiv, Ryan and. Olsen, made frantic efforts to get the men out. Ritchie was rescued, but Woods was dead when recovered. '

One pound reward is offered by* Mr T. Jenkins, TeMatai;for the; return of a black cattle dog. ~; A meeting of the Te Puke Hack i Racing Club will be held Montgomery's Hotel this evening at Bp.m. '■> : }':/'■ A good waggon, to carry M cwt., and large tip dray, is advertised for sale by Mr J. Phillips, Pongakawa. .. Two or three crops of oats in the vicinity of Te Puke have already been cut, and are now in stook, where they' are likely to remain until we get, some dry weather. ' ' ! \" . Mr Horace Lingard, a waterdiviner, notifies that he- is prepared to visit properties out the district, and locate the exact spot to sink in order to obtain a supply. Communications' may be addressed to the Times ■ Office. ■.-:,■ • : ; ■': ;,;.: " V V; . The Public Works Department notifies that from Monday, December 22nd, to Monday, sth January inclusive, trains ,'■ j will: run daily to the Mount, leaving Te Puke at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and returning at 10.5 a.m. and 5 D.m. On Boxing Day and New Year's Day excursion rates will be charged, v - : : '- : .'''■ '"■■■■',; The dates of sales to be held by the Farmers' Auctioneering Company in the Te Puke yards during 1914, are published as follows :— Tuesday, February 10th'; Tuesday, April 7th ; Friday, May 22nd ; Tuesday, June 80th; Tuesday, August 11th; Tuesday, September 22nd; Friday, October 23rd : Tuesday, December Ist. ■ The charge against \ Robert Semple of having wilfully incited on October 30 divers persons to resist or assault police in the execution of their duty, and also to resist special police in the execution of their duty, will be. heard in the S.M. Court at Auckland to-morrow. t ; F ' ■ : :

The New Zealand Sulphur Cora?: pany has approached the Government with a request for the- establishment of a wireless station on White Island, towards which the Company is willing to contribute. , The Company.has also askedJfor preference, over : imimported sulphur, and the Minis-, ter has given his promise to include preference to New, Zealand Sulphur in his next Budget. • '

..Mr Wilford, S.M.- in speaking on 1 the Gaming Bill introduced by Mr Hunter, M.P., into the House of Representatives, declared himself a strong supporter - of the Bill, going to the extent of saying that he would increase the number or' permits yet-fur-ther if he had his way. He then proceeded to say that every time he got an opportunity he' would '' badger these kill-joys." !He did not believe the people of New Zealand in the bulk were "wowsers," but were sportsmen. •■'lt is understood that the Bill will be dropped, and that Mr Hunter will introduce it again next session. V

The hanging up of transhipments in Sydney, says the Wellington Post, has seriously affec-; ted the Christmas retail; grocery; trade.. Business in this direction is absolutely paralysed by the strike. New muscatels, currants, sultpas, figs, dates, and almonds are all ready in Sydney for: the New Zealand market,, but it is felt cannot arrive here until after Christmas. From Canada, the Cape, San Francisco, new sal : mon, seeded raisins, Californian tinned fruits, dried fruits., and other lines were received,, and opened up in excellent order. For the rest, old stocks have been cleaned out in order to meet the usual trade demand for the new goods detained in Australia.

Included in the programme of the weekly pictures of ihis week l was a true and life-like series' of the Great Napoleon on his way to' St. Helena and his final days on the island. The pictures first portrayed the emperor and his small band of faithful followers taking farewell of their country, the landing at St. Helena, and then the historical quarrel with the governor, depicting how Na- : poleon evaded the guards in order to obtain more liberty and look, about the island, and after being sought after by the guards, managed to return to his room unobserved, being found on the bed reading when the governor, arrived. The picture also showed the great soldier recalling visions, of former glory during the sleepless nights, giving 1 utterance to his last words, and the last phase, death, , V"..-;-y'

i , A good cow, close to Drofitis ■> advertised for sale. Tenders are invited by the -, Tauranga County Council for tu \ drainage on the Papamoa No. 1 §-• road. Tenders close at noon on . Tuesday, January'6th. A meeting of members andadj herents of the Te Puke Presby- ," 'terian Church will be held next **V Monday evening in the Mission lllfjEEall, in order to receive the ve£p;port of the Building Committee. " v It is hoped that there will be. a ' large attendance in order that a , full discussion may take place on any proposals brought forward regarding the erection of a new church.' The tender of Mr J. R. Tait at ■ £2 W per annum has been ac- ■ cepted for the lease of an educational reserve 'in the Tauranga County, viz section 7, block 5, Te , ,Tumu, containing 14a lr 85a. -.- , A mnholder at Glenorchy, at 'the head of Lake Wakatipu, ' i states that during the past twelve 1 ' months the,number of rabbits taken on the station ( exceeded . 100,000. ' ' The distance between the two , headings in the Ctira tunnel is two miles 48 chains. The work * 'has been six years in hand and is not quite half completed. On Thursday evening next the . ' Rev; A. H. Nome, late Home -Missionary in this district, and now stationed at Ross, Westland, ' will give a limelight entertain-. > , ment in the Mission Hall in aid of * the Presbyterian Church building > fund. One hundred beautiful views of South Island scenery will be shown.