LAKE WANAKA.

Alberto wn, August 30.— The weather has been fine, but late hard frosts have been the rule till the past week. The days have been bright and sunny, but at present a change seems imminent. Court Day —List Monday whs our quarterly court day, and seemed to be looked forward to with a larger amount of interest than usual. It will be remembered that after the action for damages brought by Messrs Ward and Flatman in Christchurch in connection with the iiax mill fell through] the mill , shortly afterwards started operations in the name of Buchanan and Co. Finally none of the wages men were paid for their last month or six weeks' work. Mr R. M'Dougall bought the remainder of the dressed flax, and at this time by virtue of a judgment summons in the case of W. Monteith v. H. A. Flatman the bailiff seized a quantity of this dressed flax. Mr M'Dougall took the usual means

for its recovery, ' and as ttie ,case wa3 to come off on Monday, a flood of .'daylight was let into the affair, principally with the view of showing who Buchanan aud Co. really were. jTlie case was, however, abandoned, and Mr Monteith's judgment summons is therefore paid for. Possibly on next court day, which will be in two months' time;, some of the wagesl men will sue for their dues, which will doubtless be tho the means of ventilating the matter. I may remark that "Buohanan and Co." sent from Christclnuch a gigantic signboard bearing their name and occupation, which was nailed.up on the mill buildingsj inspiring wise men with the belief that there was a " move " on. By some accident, or otherwise, a quantity of Buchanan and Co.'s correspondence fell into the hands of the public, and will be produced in court, and will, itissaid, cause a sensation. —The defendants' evidence in the case of William Jones of Denbigh v. Russell, Ewing and Company, claim fer L 65 odd, washeard, but it is. not of much importance, though it is a ciso essentially colonial in which ! money is. often dispensed with, and a system of barter substituted. Jones engaged as cook six and a-half years ago, and there was no "squaring up" during that period, the accounts seeming to run on all the time. Jones kept the accounts in his head. Mr J. B. Ewing, the managing .partner, showed a set of well-kept, neat and tidy books, showing that Jones had overdrawn his account, tlt appeared that Jones indulged in regular periods of gentle colonial recreation, to raise the jvind for which he gave orders on his employers," and "forgot to take note of them. They, of'CO'ifrse, didn't, but produced them in ' courts /Jones claimed to begin cooking operations- several, days earlier than the linn's books showed. One item in Jones' account caused a- bland x smile to pervade the court when it ,was read out, and a which speaks eloquently for itself without any comment :— "To matches for lighting the fire, 6£ years at 8s per year, L 2 123.'' Judgment was deferred, lhis case reminds me of a rich little incident, too good to be lost in oblivion. In the early days a hotclkeeper engaged a " flash " Melbourne , youth to do > odd jobs, and one morning, after some trouble, woke him up and sent him to light sundry fires. Presently the youth came back to the hotelkeeper asking for -matches, and sleepy voice from under the bedclothes remarked that lie sold him some matches the night before. Then quoth tho youth, "They are my matches. I am not going to light your fires with my matches!" Tableau.— A couple of cases in the Warden's Court terminated " the proceedings. Sundry cases were settled out'of court. Caiuuage to Cromwell.— Some of tho Cromwell tradesmen are in trouble with reference to the cartage and railage .of goods to that town. Instances have occurred in which the railage on parcels via Kingston were exorbitant, much beyond the slow and cumbersome horse and waggon rate. Then there is tho very old grievance of the coaches bringing up parcels that were intended to come by the waggons, and consequently charging shillings instead of pence as freight. Wedding Bells.— Marriages are in vogue at present. The latest celebrants are at Cardrona, Mr George Ward to Miss Mary .Little, and at Hawea Flat, Mr Robert Gray, late of Wakatipu, to Miss Agnes Haugh, lato of Fortrose. Rumours are rife that there are more to follow. ' - Cemetery Trust.— Last Saturday night a public meeting was held in the Pembroke schoolhouse for the purpose of forming a cemetery trubt, with the utimate view of getting it fenced in and planted, <fee. The attcnaance was small. Mr Thomas A. Russell was voted to the chair. It appeared that the remaining members' of the old trust are Messrs Ewing andM'Dougall, and that it would be necessary to add three new names to fill the vacancies. This was done:in the usunl manner, the new members being Messrs W. Allen, 1. G. Pearce, and John Ironsides. These names are to be forwarded to the authorities for confirmation in the usual' manner. It. was decided to get up an entertainment in aid of the funds at an early date. A subscription' list was laid on the table, and LlSodd was soon placed on it. I have a clear recollection of an entertainment being got up two or three years back in aid of funds to fence in the cemetery, and it was rumoured that tho netting of several pounds was the result, but on boing casually brought up at the meeting it was remarked that the entertainment in question did not-pay expens.es, and tho matter dropped. Votes of thanks to Mr J. B. Ewing for calling tho meeting, and to Mr Russell for presiding; terinuiated the proceedings.—Doubtless ere long we shall hear from the .Athenaeum Committee. Nothing has been made public for years past— ever since, in' fact, two of tno principal rosidouts had 'a fight during one of the meetings. .a

LAKE COUNTY. , " August 27."— Delightfully fine weather has been the rule up to the present; ahd'muchgo,od use has been made of it, alike" by farmers .and miners. Fall-sown wheat look? exceedingly well, and the oat crop will be all sown in time to insure a good harvest, so far as this can be ensured by early sowing. It is the fashion to indulge in weather prognostications at this time' of year, covering the next six or eight months, .and in,-spite of innumerable past failures in "this respecb, the majority agree that a hot and dry,' summer is m store for Arbor Day.— Last -Wednesday Arbor day was observed with considerable" eclat at^Queenstown, where, owing to the frost, the observance^ of the day was postponed when the rest of New Zealand went mad over horticulture; . In connection with the affair reference may be made'to the contention between Mr George- Wood ward, of Wellington, and Mr A. Bathgate/of Dunedin, as to whom belongs the honour and credit of having brought about an Arbpr Day,' as the '•' honour, and credit of this district is involved in the matter. So long as two years ago— in 1890-the Queenstown School Committee, moved .by Mr L. ,Hotop, one of its members, urged the {-Southland Education Board to institute the movement, biit the board did not lend a willingearatfirst.-However, by persistent reminders from the Queenstown committee a, day wasappointed last year, and tree plantjngon Arbor Day became an established fact, and whatever Mr Woodward or Mr Bathgato may have done by writing and talking abdut it, the children and their friends injihis district went straight to work and made the' tiling an accomplished fact, which was duly recorded by " Your "Own" in your columns, all of which should certainly settle the question so fat as Messrs^Woodward and Bathgate are concerned. If any honour and credit are due to any one for having introduced an Arbor Day in New Zealand they belong to MrL. Hotop. The affair last Wednesday was witnessed by about 500 people, the ,day,b&irig observed as a public holiday. A piocessidn, headed by Mr S. Dewar, chairman of School Committee, and' Mr. MehafFcy, head teacher, and the Queenstown' Brass Band, started from the school, the body of the procession being mado up by children to the number of 200, the various local friendly societies and the general public. The scene of action. was,the " Children's Park," and holes having been already marked off and dug out, everything was in readiness. Proceedings were opened by,a speech fr.oni the mayor of the town, Mr Ir. Ilotbp, after which Mr Dewar invited those present to lend a hand in the work of planting. About 6,00 trees we're soon placed in position, properly planted and protected, after which those • present '- gave - themselves # up to diversions; which- with d,he younger portions involved lollies, cakes, 'fruits, and other things that delight the youthful heart. This is the third occasion such ah event has been celebrated at Queenstown, and the second time that it has assumed extensive dimensions. Last year 300 trees were planted, of which 90 per cent, are doing well and are coming on capitally. In the face of this statement it is certainly amusing that there should be any doubt as to- whom honour is due for the initiation of Arbor Day. Draughts.— A draught tournament between Queenstown and Arrowtown players came off reccutly, iv which the latter made a win of live games. There were six players ou each side, every couple playing six games, the result being Queenstown 13, Arrowtown 18, draws 5. Narrow Escape.— Mr John M'Kibbon, who only recently was a loser by a fire, was attacked the other day by a horse rearing and striking out with its forefeet, Hitting Mr M'Kibbon on the head, and inflicting a rather severe wound. Dr Donaldson, of Arrowtown, had to be called in to attend the wounded man. Fortunately for him it was found that the injuries were confined to the scalp. Mr M'Kibbon is now in fair way towards recovery. "» Accident.— A rather serious mining accident happened yesterday to Mr John Beal, of Mace.

town, while working in his claim. A quantity of earth fell upon him, badly injuring him about the hips and head, the injuries taking the shape of bruises of a somewhat extensive and serious nature.