APRIL 13.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 765

Notice to Mariners, No. 12 of 1899.

Marine Department,
Wellington, 7th April, 1899.

THE following Notice to Mariners, received from the Portmaster, Brisbane, Queensland, is published for general information.

WM. HALL-JONES.

CAIRNS HARBOUR, TRINITY BAY.—DEPTH OF WATER IN ENTRANCE CHANNEL.

Notice is hereby given that the available depth of water in the dredged entrance channel to Cairns Harbour is 12 ft. 6 in. at low-water springs.

The depth available at any time is to be obtained by adding 12 ft. 6 in. to the height shown on the dial of the tide-gauge at the Fairway Beacon, instead of 13 ft. 6 in. as hitherto.

Charts affected: Nos. 2924, 2350; Australia Directory, Vol. ii.

T. M. ALMOND,
Portmaster.

Marine Department,
Brisbane, 21st March, 1899.

Tenders.

Public Works Department,
Wellington, 11th April, 1899.

THE following list of successful and unsuccessful tenders for additions to Police-station, Lambton Quay, Wellington, is published for general information.

WM. HALL-JONES,
Minister for Public Works.

Accepted.

James Bruce, Wellington .. .. .. 886 0 0

Declined.

M. Murdoch, Wellington .. .. .. 895 0 0
Jas. Trevor, " .. .. .. 969 0 0
E. J. T. Price, " .. .. .. 977 5 6
D. McLean, " .. .. .. 982 7 0
W. H. Bennett, " .. .. .. 998 0 0
F. Hunt, " .. .. .. 1,144 0 0

Bonuses for Encouragement of New Zealand Hemp (Phormium tenax) Industry.—Notice No. 535.

Department of Agriculture,
Wellington, 13th February, 1899.

BONUS NO. 1.

A BONUS of £1,750 is offered for a machine or process for dressing New Zealand hemp (Phormium tenax) which shall be an improvement on the machines or processes now in use, and which shall, after trial, be found to materially reduce the cost of production, improve the product, or increase the quantity of dressed fibre.

The following are the conditions:—

1. All applications for the bonus must be sent addressed to the Hon. the Minister for Agriculture, Wellington, and must reach him not later than the 31st March, 1900. Each application must be accompanied by a description of the machine or process, particularly stating improvements on present machines or processes, and also the cost at which the machine or process can be supplied.

2. The applicants must be prepared to submit their machines or processes to examination at such time and place as the Government may direct.

3. The Government shall appoint a committee of three or more experts, to whom all applications shall be submitted. Such committee shall, after perusal, state what machines or processes they deem worthy of consideration, and may inspect the same at any place within the colony; and, having so inspected the whole or any of them, may direct that the whole or any of them be brought for further trial to such place as they may think fit.

The cost of bringing the machines or appliances on to the ground, from within the colony, supplying the necessary shafting, motive-power, and buildings, to be defrayed by the Government. If any machine sent from beyond the colony is awarded the bonus or part thereof, then the cost of bringing such machine shall be borne by the Government.

The following shall be the basis of the test:—

The committee shall supply a sufficient and equal quantity of green hemp to each machine or process as a test.

The committee shall take into consideration—

The time occupied by each machine or process in the operation;

The cost of labour and time required after the fibre has left the machine or process before it is ready for baling;

The percentage of dressed fibre and tow produced by each machine or process;

The cost of producing the same;

The cost of the machine, and the simplicity and durability of the working parts.

On completion of the tests the committee shall furnish a report to the Minister on all the machines or processes which they have examined or tested, and shall state,—

(1.) The machine or process which they consider on the whole the most efficient and economic.

(2.) Whether they consider that any machine or process tested so materially reduces the cost of production, or improves the product, as to be worthy of the whole bonus or of a part only.

(3.) Whether, in the event of no one machine or process being entitled to the whole bonus, they deem any machine or process worthy of a part of the bonus, and, if so, how much.

BONUS NO. 2.

A bonus of £250 is offered for a process of utilising the waste products of the hemp.

The first three conditions of Bonus No. 1 to apply to this also.

The committee shall supply a sufficient and equal quantity of the waste products to each process as a test.

On completion of the tests the committee shall report to the Minister, and shall give the following particulars of each process: (a.) The nature of the article made. (b.) The quantity produced, and the cost of production. (c.) The value of the product. (d.) Whether any of the processes are of sufficient importance to warrant the Minister in giving (1) the whole, or (2) any part, of the bonus; (3) if a part only, how much.

JOHN MCKENZIE,
Minister for Agriculture.

Bonus on Mineral Oil produced from Shale obtained in New Zealand.

Colonial Secretary’s Office,
Wellington, 29th October, 1898.

NOTICE is hereby given that a bonus will be paid for the production of mineral oil under the following conditions:—

1. A bonus of 1s. per gallon (£5,000) will be paid on the first 100,000 gallons of mineral oil produced from shale obtained in the Colony of New Zealand, the oil to be of a quality approved of by Government, and to be sold at a price not exceeding 1s. a gallon at any port of shipment in the colony.

2. Notice of intention to claim the aforesaid bonus must be given in writing to the Colonial Secretary not later than the 31st December, 1899.

3. The claim must be made before the 30th June, 1900.

4. The first claimant who proves to the satisfaction of the Government that he has fulfilled all the conditions to be the recipient of the bonus.

5. The other conditions—as to quantity, priority, quality, and value—to be fulfilled to the satisfaction of an officer appointed for the purpose by the Government.

J. CARROLL.

Bonus for the Production of Quicksilver.

Mines Office,
Wellington, 17th February, 1898.

NOTICE is hereby given that a bonus of fourpence (4d.) per pound will be paid on the production of the first one hundred thousand pounds weight (100,000lb.) of good marketable retorted quicksilver, free from all impurities, from any mine in New Zealand, on the following conditions, that is to say:—

1. That at least one-third of the quantity is produced on or before the 31st March, 1900, and the remaining two-thirds on or before the 31st March, 1901.

2. No bonus will be payable until the whole of the one hundred thousand pounds (100,000 lb.) of quicksilver has been produced as stipulated to the satisfaction of an officer to be appointed by the Minister of Mines, and on whose certificate alone the bonus will be paid.

3. In the event of more than one person producing the required quantities of quicksilver before the dates named, inquiry will be made by the officer above referred to, when, if it is found that each applicant is equally entitled to a bonus, the amount will be divided in proportion to the quantities produced by each applicant, but in no case shall any bonus be paid until at least one hundred thousand pounds (100,000 lb.) of quicksilver has been produced in the aggregate.

A. J. CADMAN,
Minister of Mines.