The Bruce Herald. " Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, APRIL 13, 1877.

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 897, 13 April 1877, Page 5

The Bruce Herald. " Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, APRIL 13, 1877.

Mb R. W. Capstick desires us to draw special attention to his sale of prise and superior rams, ewes, &c, to be held on Wednesday nest, when •beep breeders will have an excellent opportunity of improving their stock. We observe that la^ge additions are already being made co tha Mosgiel R til way Hotel, which was only opened about the beginning of the present year. Mb Johx Mackay still remains as stationmaster at Mount Stuart, Mr Richard Craig having been transferred to Waihola Station from Milburn. Sib Abthitb Goanov, Governor of Fiji, lias returned £2000 out- of his salary of £5000, with the objoct of helping to relieve the straitened means of the Colony. Will any of our N>w Zealand public men take a leaf out of his book ? THOSE promising themselves a trea' f rom the visit of Cooper and Bailey's monster Cite will regret to learn that their vk" to New Z«oiau^ has been abandoned. They proc. eded from Sydney «n a tour through South umerica. Wk would .» r ihid those who take an interest in the yo-.»£ and rising generation that the school child-ea of Lawrence, to the number of about 600, v»ill to-day hold a pic dc in otic of Mr Henry Clark's paddocks, near Clarisville, to which they are to be conveyed by rail free of charge ir celebration of the late opening of the Tuapeka line, when the treat was promised by the Government. When in Invercargill a four months ago, we vrere shown, in th** office of the ' Southland Times,' new translation o tv New Testament, tha work of a local Bibliciat, which was being rintcd io that oflice, the whole of the composition being the •work of female compositors, several of whom we observed at work in a portion of the premises specially set apart for their use; their employer speaking highly of their workmanship. We understand that this edition is now completed and in ihe binder's bands. SO3IE time ago we referred to the advisability of a redistribution of the Otago Goldfields' Wardensbips and Magisterial Districts, a subject which wo trust will be considered by the Convention of Wardens about to meet in the political metropolis. Mr Wood has gone to conduct the Wakatip and Oun.tan business in Mr Simpson's absence, and we wpuld seriously euggest that he should not ba again allowed to neturn to Switzers, where he can have had lifctlp or nothing to do, while other Wardens aro being aa overworked, i -'Jiunstan Times' says: — *' On Monday last 3k arden Simpson left here for Wellington, whe; c are given to under? stand, he . is to assis he framing of one general code of rules for th government of the goldfields. During his absence, which will be tor mbout three wseks, M. Warden Wood, of Switeers, will conduct tue vat..., -b of the Warden's Courts," Mb M'Owiir, Manager of the Bunk of NewZealand, Balclutha, leaves there next week to sesame a similar appointEtfint in the saaja /service at Waimate (Canterbury). Jfr MO wen will bs succeeded at Balclutha by Mr John Turnbull from Mataura, end formerly of Tuapeka and WriJahuna, whom we have knrwn personally gir J* his arrival in the Colony, and who has been in the Bank's service for many years, where be has gm»fl -Mally, by hia perseverance, industry, andeai., been advancing to more important appointments, hire wwb'plewMre {p cop^rwtulatiDjj Mr

Turnbull on 'his promotion to the Clutha Branah, Hiid that district on tho accession of a Manager so competent, st&blej and.careful, as Mr Turnbull will doubtless prove. Mr Turnbull was entertained by the leading Mataura eettlera to a farewell dinner last Friday evening, at. Cameron's Mataura Hotel, when a very happy evening was spent by the company present-, and very general were tho expressions of regret at hi* leaving a district where h<« had introduced and successfully carried ou, for so long a time, their first and only banking institution. Mb Jas. M* Donald, of the Milburn Lime Works, informs us that he has received an order from Mr James Smith, of GreenfiVld, for no less than 50 tons of lime for agricultural purposes. This will bo the first, lime burnt in hi 3 new kiln, whioh will bo ready foi lighting next week, l->c.»l coal being used on Jhe occasion instead of Kaitanguta dross, aa vbuiil. The t>*ams now employed by Mr Smith in carting to "Waitahuna the 30,000 bu.-hsds of wheat purchased by Mr P. McGill will have the linn? a? back loadin?. The fact of a farmer of Mr Smith's well-known experience using lime upon his lands, which, are as yet comparatively new compared wi'h much of our over-cropped lands in the older and more settled districts, speaks volumes for the fertilising powers of lime in cultivation. Mr M'Donald has erected this second kiln specially with a view to be ablo to supply cheap lime iv quantity for agricultural purposoe, and we a r e confident that its use will rep.iy farmers well over a series of years, during which its benefits will be palpably experienced. Wr have paid our accustomed yearly casual (?) visit, to Mrs P. Cunningham's vin«ry, and have much pleasure in testifying to the aimual inorense in quantity of the really excellent grapes which ripen beautifully i-i Milton, without tho aid of artificial means, further than that the plants arc enclosed uuder glass. We should imagine that this season not leas than one cwt. of grapes has been yielded by tho six plants in the vinery oC a very superior class compared with imported grapes. Mrs J. E. Brown has a vinery of the same kind to hold 8 plants also under way, which we shall also be glad to visit ia future seasons, and report upon the nature of its fruits. We have also our oye upon another single plant vinery hereabout. The dangerous state of Hasbro' Eoad, Balclutha, has been illustrated during the weak, but very fortunately without the loss of human life. On Tuesday, a lad, in the employment of Mr John Maher, was driving a hor3e and spring cart ; he had beon to Stirling, and was returning with a load of chaff. In passing the railway station the horae bolted, and cleared the bluffs up to tho last one, when he capsized the cart, throwing the lad from the top of the load clean into tin river, the horse and apring cart following, The lad sank twice at least ; shortly after his dip, Mr Matthews, inspector of the railway bridge, being near at hand, descended the embankment, and aa the lad cume up instructed him bow to act. This ti:nely encouragement, no doubt, was tho means of saving his life. The lad did as he was bid, and, after a short struggle, made the edge of the rocks, where he was secured, being in a very exhausted state. The horse and ort were lost. Mb Hibbabd, a recent arrival from England, has introduced an in rent ion to the notice of the residents of Oamaru, which we cannot but think would meet with much greater appreciation elsewhere, as no township in the Colony is more favourably situated for cheap mid gooo supplies of building stone, for which Mr Hibbard's patent concrete brick is a substitute, end a very cojiimendahlo ono almost sny wh°re c's« than Oamaru. The new Oamaru brewery, lately completed by Messrs Lintoit and Otterson, is built of this material. When we visited the buildin', brewing operations had not be.'n commenced, but tho nfccssiiry machinery for a first-class establishment, with nil the newest and most apprqved plant, was placed in position so that the brftks, ultho"gb not half dry, had then to support an es-tinmted weight of nfc lenst 60 tons. The bricks are composed of small g_ vel cemented in a concrete form by pressure within wooden moulds. Tho bricks each mensiire lSin. x 9in. x 6in, but can, of course, be made of any size required. Circular drain pipes can also be made of the same material, 6ir. pipes costing ls 3d per foot. The Balclutha Town Council have again had the extreme danger of leaving Hasbro' Road in its present condition, brought under their notice by Councillor Hogg, who in reply as to how they were to obtain funds for Va being rendered safe suggested that threepence of Ihe anticipated new rate about to be struck should be devoted to that purpose. Councillor Hogg merits the approbation of not only every resident in the town of Balclutha, but of the entire travelling community, as the road is—^although very short — one of the most if not the most dangerous in the province. It is to be hoped that the Balclutha Municipal Council will not wait for tho sacrifice of a fow lives before thpy tako steps to remedy what 13 well-known to be a gigantic trap. If any lives hare to be Jost prior to this work being taken in hand, the most appropri&te we pan suggest would be an opposing councillor or two, then we presume the work will be done with all despatch. A YB1& aad and distressing death by drowning of the second yoytjgest child of Mr John Powley, of Milton, took place yesterday afterucqn about 3 o'clock. Th) mother was in child-bed, having been conflned of an infant on Sabbath hist, and the baby boy, aged 15 months, was at the time under the charge of the elder children of the family, who left. Ijim playing in tho front o f the house while they run round to ttv 3b v 3 back to feed a hen and chickens. On their return the child was UQH'here to be seen, and on making the fact known tbe body was then found, quits dead, beyond chanco of resuscitation, lying in the open ditch, afc the foot of tbe section, and quite close to the Fairfai Hoad, where it must hiive been seen had anyone been passing af tho time. The ditch is about 18iu wide by less than a foot in depth, the water being kept back by want of full onwards. — This is tho ditch which the Works Committee of the Town Council th" previous evening recommended to be cut. to the river, by which means any back yeter would be prevented from gathering, aud such danger avoided as that which has caused the melancholy dflitfi of t^ig young ckiid— (fop twentieth in number of Mr Powley's family, which has thus in all numbered tweuty£>no. We observe that a well-known Lunedin landmark to £o»thern pTsrp}leTi for many yean ptfft

has been removed 'to Clarksville, where it is about, to do duty a3 s ation master's residence. There were few better known buildings in Otago than the Hillside Toll Bar, which will bo very generally recognised in its new position, for which we should think it will provo very suitable and convenient. A meeting of the Balclutha School Committee was held on Wednesday evening for the reception of tenders for tho painting of the school. The following tenders were received : — CUdie, Balclutha, £29 lis; Gilbert and Son Milton, £27 14s ; Cotton, Kaitangata, £2;> 10s ; Mitchell Brothers, Balciutha, £17 9s. Mr John Dunne proposed, and Mr Hogg seconded, that the la.-'t tender be accepted, which was carried. A meeting of the Macandrew Testimonial Committee was held in tho White Horse Hotol oi> Tuesday evening, when notes wero compared by the goodly number of collectors present, and it was found that from promises received and funds already in hand fair results wero likely to be realised in this district. The final meeting was arranged for that night fortnight, so that no time should now be lost in pushing matters to a successful conclusion hy securing all available funds without loss of timo. Kb®beb_n<_ to our notice of the forthcoming opening of Mr Duane's now hall at Balclutha by tho Church of England concert, Mr W. Lloyd writes. — "Sir, this notice of yours is not correct, as Mr Knowles has arrangod with me for the concert at Bnrr's Hall, not Dunne's New Hall." With all duo deference to Mr Lloyd's opinion, we have good reason to believe that our announcement is to be depended upon, although we by nu means affirm that there may not also be truth in Mr Ldovd's statement, as we have known of a g'jo'd fow Church of England coucex-ts at Balclutha since tha establishment of that religious body there, and doubtless, if not already arranged, thoy will gladly favor the owners of both Halls with early concerts, although we think it extroinely ! unlikely that they will lose the chance of the special draw offered by the opening of Mr Dunne's new hall. Howovei", any further notice on the subject will be gladly received in advertisement form, which, by rights, Mr Lloyd's contribution should have assumed. He who writes for the 'Age' from "Under tho Verandah," relates thn following incident in tho experience of a thirsty juryman :—Anticipating a prolonged sitting in the jury room, he was rather unhappy on leaving his house in the morning. " I'd take a flask of brandy," Baid he to his wife, "but the other men would sco me drink it, and perhaps report it to the judge." Tho lady told mo to wait far two or three minutes, and at the end of that time returned with two babies' feeding bottles filled with stiff brandy aud water. " Put one in each breast coat pocket," she told him, " and when you want a drink all you have to do is to quietly take out tho tube and have a draw. You can drink while tho judge is looking at yo i if you do it carefully." The jury were out much sooner than was expectd — a little after seven o'clock iv the evening — but the lady assured me that whpn her husband returned ihere wasn't a drop left in either of the buttles, though she had calculated on their lasting tili midnight. • Tiie Victorian Parliament has voted £1500 for preliminary expenditure iv establishing an experimental farm at Dookie. The object is to show farmers what wheat crops are s^itabld to certain climates, aud in what rotation the crops should be grown. It is held that such farms would raise the standard of cultivation in Victoria by establishing a system or systems of rotation whereby lands might be cropped without fear of impairing their fertility, and at the same time at a profit to the occupants ; while experiments coud also be conducted upon these farms on the growth ai.d after treatment of many products, the cultivatiun of which was little understood by the majority of farmers in Victoria. Tho cost of conducting the purely experimental portion was estimated at £1200 per annum, of buildings, £3000 ; and t'io expenditure on the general farm at £6CO to £700 per annum, until it was brought under cultivation, when tho returns from this portion would probably cover the outlay on the experimental grounds. The odilor of the ' Rockhampton Argus' testifies as an eye-witness to the authenticity of the following natural history anecdote A thoroughbred game cock was busily engaged with his wives picking a bono which was lying on the grass. About fifty yards distant was a brigalow tree, and on ono of its branches was seated a large hawk, watching th? fowls very attentively, and apparently envying them their food. Tho game cock ou his p:irt kept hia eye upon the hawk, occasionally crowing and showing symptoms of wanting a fight. Suddenly the hawk flew up in the air, described a circle, and with the speed of light shot down among the frighfonod fowls. But blood was to the fore, the cook stood his ground, and as the hawk approached him he (low at hit,} and hit him *o hard that ho brought him to tho ground, and before those who Avoro locking on and wondering could reach tho spot, the hawk was as dead as Julius Caesar. We have heir I of a sparrow-hawk killing a game cock by lying on his back and ripping him up with his talons when his enemy spurred at him, but wa are of opinion that the above tragedy is without parallel. The following characteristic story is told by the ' Tribupe ' of Mr Cjeqrge p. Freeman auctioneer, and livery stable keeper, Waimate. ,( Some eleven years since, Mr George Freeman, while working on the Waimate St ition, • had a discussion with his employer, Mr M. Studholm — so the report goes — as to the probability of a train running through this district, and tho result was that the spirited funpl^i/e offered to lay a wager of a stick of tobacco (Barrett, twist) that 'a train would run in or through Waimate bsfpre that day fifteen years,' which the employer topk up. Th© circumstance, probably, slipped Mr Studholme's memory long since, but G-corgc proved not so forgetful, for tho day after, the op' njng of thp Waimate Branch Railway, the , king of tho whjpa,* seeing his formev employer driving a buggy through tfyo town, brought the trap to a standstill, and claimed his stick of tobacco. The loser, on having the little afßair brought to his mind, immediately jumped out of the conveyance and went into Mr Grascoyne's where he purchased tobacco, and presented the winner with three Eiicjis o( the ' weed.' It is said that Mr Studholrr.o was highly amused on being informed of the bet. and very likely will often enjoy a laugh at hie heavy loss, Mr

Freeman purposes, we learn, framing one of the stcks of tobacco." Thr ship Duke of Sutherland, from Sydioy to London, on Wednesday sought the shelter of Port Otago, under distressing circumstances, the result of a gale experienced in lat. 43.43 8., long. 171 W., on tho 2Sth ult., thus described by tha Limes : — At 630 p.m. a tremondous wave came curling up astern, and n^xt m iment pooped her fair over the taffrail. It was a wall of water that fairly covered the after section, and rolling forwards filled the main deck rail high. There wero two men at the wheel, both able seamon, one a Ru»sian Finn, a fine young fellow named Prank Korkler, the otho r mimed Alfred Davis. Captain Lout tit was also on tho poop at the " conn." Tho sea washed all three overboard, smashed the wheol, carried away the binnacle, atovo in the skylight and companion hatch, swept tho hencoops overboard, and carried away the port rail and port poop ladder. It also stove in tho stern lights and gutted tho after-cabins, ond, the water rushing forwards, flooded the saloon two or. three feet deep, and then, meeting the backwash from the volume of water on tho main deck, stove in the port side of the poop where the chief officer's cabin was situated, and gutted it of its contents, including all his clafches, the ship's log book, log slate, and a small bag of mails ; all these things [ went overboard. This happened within the period of a minuto. Oppressed under the weight of the fearf'd body of witter that had overwhelmed her, tho ship lay like a log and seemed inclined to settle down, but by a mighty effort recovered herself, shook herself freo of the water that psured in torrents over both rails, through portholes, and the smashed bulwarks on both eiiies near the front of the poop, and once moro rodo the seas. For a mo nent or two it was impossible to ascertain what had becomo of the captain and two men who had disappeared from the poop. Preaeutly Davis was seen on the poop, tho backwash of the sea that had carried him overboard having washed him on board again. Captain Louttit's escape was even more narrow, as he was washed over tho rail ; his oilskin coat caught the main brace bumpkin tuid held him there, and then he was dashed back by the tea into the port Fcupper, and lay there senseiess. Tho third man (Korkler) was carried array and never seen afterwards. As tho terrific rush of water subsided, tho chief officer and some of the hands rushed aft to the wheel and found it gone, but relieving tackles being in place tho ship w»3 soon under command again, and was at once brought to the wind on the port tack, and hove-to under lower topsails. All hands worked with a will. Tho captain, who had in the meantime recovered consciousness, was removed to the cabin ; the stern light openings wero plugged up and tommed off, and, ns far as practicable, the damage done was temporarily repaired. Whilst tho ship washy the wind, with her helm a-lee, the carpenter managed to rig a wheel, and a binnacle was also improvised. When th" captain was carried to his cabin, it was evident he was seriously hurt. As ther? was no doctor on board, the chief officer played the part of ono, and rery successfully, too. Examining the captain, he found him to be suffering from a broken collarbone and one or two ribs broken — all on tho left side. He was also frightfully bruised about the limbs and body. The mate set tho broken bones, and so skilfully that when Dr Drysdale made his examination he said a medical man could have scarcely done better.