OUR NEWS LETTER.

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 211, 18 August 1893, Page 2

OUR NEWS LETTER.

Arrivals 1,170. departures 929 are the population returns for the mouth of July. Victoria and New South Wales being the chief contributors to the increase. The long standing Behring Sea dispute has been settled by arbitration, and in all the main points the decision has been in England’s favour. The Commission consisted of seven arbitrators—four named by' Great Britain and the United States and one each by France, Italy 7, Norway and Sweden. Mr James Graham, formerly a pupil teacher at Aratapu, is now in charge of the Huia school, which seems to have made substantial progress under his guidance. He went there in 1892 and found a roll number of 19, the school an old wash-house, and no committee ; now there is a committee, a new school which cost £250, and a roll number of 41 scholars. At the examination held recently there were only two failures. Since 1873 the export of kauri gum has steadily increased in quality and value, and last year 8,705 tons, valued at £517,678 were exported ; the figures for 1892 being higher than those of any- previous year. The total exported for the twenty years amounted to 108,57 S tons of the value of £5,511,807. The average price per ton in 1882 was £47 and in 1592 it was £59 9s 5d ; the average price for the last 20 years is £4B per ton.