LAKE COUNTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2308, 26 May 1898, Page 25

LAKE COUNTY.

May 21. — Fine open weather, which, though coldish, favoursTabbit-trappers and farmers who have land to break up, still prevails. This is the season when clouds in most fantastic shape wreathe the mountains, and almost every day the Remarkables may be seen adorned with ribbons of fleecy vapours that add wonderfully to the height and general appearance of the rugged pile. Setting off the projecting points and throwing back the receding points at about half the elevation of the mountain, these cloud masses add sv magic to the scene that is atili fuither enhanced by their noiseless and graceful evolutions as they pass through their movements.

Ibiprovements.— The Borough Council of Queenstown arc bestirring themselves in further beautifying their town by tree-planting, constructing walks, and so forth. It has been mooted to ask the, Government for some assistance, and quite rightly.. The work already done entitles the town to some consideration from the Government, ■while the result attained is a guarantee that the money will be laid out judiciously. I"uw towns in the colony have done more than Queenstown in the way of improving the aspect of the surroundings, as anyone with eyes can see for himself.

Centenary.— The Irishmen of the Wakatipu have decided'to get up a sj^monstration to celebrate the centenary of 1798. The meeting was Jield at Mr M'Carthy's Mountaineer HoteJ, Queenstown. There was a good attendance, and Committees were appointed to arrange what form the celebration should take. Macetown.— The want, of a public hall large enough, to accommodate the growing requirements of Macetown and the neighbourhood has Jong -been felt, and steps were taken some time ago to fill the want. A series of entertainments ■was go.t up, the last ot which wa* held last Saturday, for the purpose of raising the necessary funds, which have now reached the respectable t urn of £110. The Glenrock and Westralia miu}ii£ companies at Maeetown have contributed £50,' thus "raising the total amount available to £IFiQ. This enables the committee to proceed a call for tenders, and it will very likely not be many months before the new building can be opened. The Macetown people deserve much praise for the energetic and liberal manner they have gone to work in raising the funds in so short a time.

Still They Come !— Rabbits ! rabbits ! is all the talk. Young and old are full of it, and the man with one idea has something to say on the subject. In the daytime you hear of it wherever you turn, and at nights you see the hills glimmering with the wandering lights of the rabbiter attending to his traps. The other Saturday 6500 carcases, weighing eight tons, were sent to the freezing works, and there is no end yet. The finest samples come from the head of the Lake and the Shotover and Kavvarau Valleys, some of the animals turning the scale at 91b per pair. In fact it i 3 no longer a question of rabbits, but a question of traps, the traps being scarcer than the' rabbits. If this goes on, what will become of the rabbit inspector* ? • ~ The War. — There is something unsatisfactory about the American-Spanish war to disinterested onlookers", as we colonists are. You cannot enthuse on either side, In the first place, the provocation for America taking up arms is not very- convincing ; then there is the fact that America has a soft thing in Spain, a strong resourceful young nation pitching into an old decrepit weak one. On the other hand, Spain has. flown in the face of our civilisation with a tyrannical and harsh governmental system, and a waking up must do her some good. From a Yankee jingoistic .point of view all this is differont, as tho following headings taken from an , American paper- shows :—"' Let Loose tho Dogs of War ! Bellicose: Senator Plays to Gallery. With Impassioned Oratory Shrieks for Blood ! " This is how the jingo is affected by the state of affairs.' It is said scratch a Russian and you find a Tartar ; this may easily be paraphrased into " Scratch a Yankee and you will find a Jingo I" Of course such headings as quoted above must not be read as flying in the face of civilisation— they simply express a sort of jingo Jin de siecle civilisation of a peculiar kind And so the world moves !