CLUTHA NEWS ITEMS.

Bruce Herald, Volume LV, Issue 64, 21 August 1919, Page 4

CLUTHA NEWS ITEMS.

(From Clutha Leader.) Owing -to the unsettled weather and , other causes the -Victory; Ball, arranged for to-morrow night, has .been iiwlefi- '. nitely postponed. The river steanrer-procccdcd to Olydevak yesterday. It will return to Begg's to-day,'remaining there till Friday, then returning to Balclutha. The' peace eeM>rations in Balclutha cost £ll2, the. principal items 'being souvenir: booklets for the Balclutha school children' £22 10s, and flags, bunting, ete. K £29 odd. At the Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, Mr Thos. Gage (Mayor of Kaitangata) was sworn in as a justice of the peace .by Mr K. D. Mosley, S.M. Sir Andrew Russell has withdrawn his ■candidature from the Ha who's- Bay seat. Mr H. 31. Campbell announces his* intention of standing. The Oamaru Presbytery has nominated Rev. S. W. Currie, M.A., of Balclutha, for the position of 'Moderator of. the next General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. There was a big yarding of she«p at Friday's stock sale. The market was not as firm as the.preceding fortnight, all'-clas'ses of sheep, excepting wethers, ibeing down about 2s a head. There were several buyers after good forward wethers, and they retained their values. Store cattle- were difficult of sale. Our Kaitangata correspondent writes: .There passed away on Sunday a .very old and esteemed resident of the Kaitangata district in the person of Mrs Muir, aged 86 years. She had been ailing for some time. The deepest sympathy is felt for her daughter, Mrs Binnie.

A correspondent writes:—'Anyone driving to Balclutha from the south last sale day would have seen an interesting Bight—an elderly lady driving her own sheep to the salcyards. Sometimes she was at, the back of them, aided 'by her trusted dog, and then, again, "like the shepherds of old," in front of them, plodding, steadily on. One could not help admiring the shepherdess, and thinking how independent she was of man's aid. A petition is .being circulated, praying Parliament for State assistance to the blind. It is suggested that the blind should be placed on the same footing as the indigent old in regard to pensions, and there is much to commend the proposal. There were 566 totally .blind people in the Dominion in the 1016 census—324 males and 242 females— a'nd the financial burden entailed in providing for these unfortunate .people would not 'be a. heavy one for the State. 'Mr Charles A. Bloomfield, of Inyereargill, is taking round the petition, which is being, numerously signed in Balclutha, and it is hoped on humanitarian ground* that that will be the general experience.

L\ .meeting of the committee of the .rccentlv -formed Balclutha Trotting "ciulj was held on Friday night. It was stated by the secretary that nearly all the lists* of members were now in, and the membership totalled at present about 220 names. At £1 Is subscription this provided for satisfactory funds to commence with. It was stated that the borough council was in communication •with the Minister for Railways relative to the use of the reserve for a trotting track, part of the area being railway property, and expected a reply within a few days. The committee resolved to register the club '■■ forthwith, ami. a deputation was appointed to wait on the member for the district requesting him to bring before the 'Minister of Internal Affairs the club's claims to a totalisator permit. t