CATLIN'S RIVER.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 28, 21 January 1875, Page 6

CATLIN'S RIVER.

A recent visitor has kindly supplied ns with the following :— The Education Board has voted Ll6o for the erection of a schoolhouse, and a local committee. baa been formed. Tender? for erection of a building have been invited, nnd in a very short time Catlins will share in the benefit of our educational system. Button's saw mill is Btopped. it appears bis lease expired at the end o f the year, but entertaining some grievance or another, he n fuses to give up possession. It looks a kind of " dog in tne manger " proceeding, eeeing Mr Dufon's patch of timber is all worked out Mr GF. Reid, the proprietor owrs 170 acreß adjoining, and I believe could negotiate a good lease to a responsible firm, but for the reasons mentioned must resoit to the npual course to obtain possession. The other mills .a r e in full swingr— the " big " mill especially turning out a tremendous quantity of efuff Mr M'Phee has. just launched a tidy craft for the coasting trade, and ha* another on the stocks— The road is formed all the way through to Catlin's. A large quantity of metal is ready to be spread, and no doubt the contractors who have rn far prosecuted their -work bo Buccfßsfully, will have .^a lining of metal on the formation before winter fets in. The progress of the township is marked by a mumber of com fortable d*ellirg* recently erected, as well as a ; butcher's shop, opened by Meptr.a M'lnljre, and a bakery by a Dunedin tradesman.— The foundations for an hotel are completed, and the ,woik favorably progressing, on a site immediately beiide the Owake bridge. The proprietor is Mr Duttbn.— The Rev. Mr Withey of tbe Church of England, p id a visit lately to the district. .He called at all the mi' l?, and is reported to have been moßt courteously received. He likewise visited the families and in .some cases administered the ordinance-, of baptism. — Mr Hungerford, the pioneer Bchotlmaster, is waiting patiently the decision of the School Committee for appointment of teacher. If bis candidature i« unsuccessful, be intends goiDg to Dunedin. Certainly gome consideration nbonld be shown him, as be has had many d : fflcu)ties to contend with, not the least befqg the miserable accommodation with which he has been provided. « WAREPA AND KAIHIKU, Oar correspondent writes:— ln these localities tbe crops are acknowledged by the, oldest eettleis never to have looked . more promising — at least for the past four or fi.ve years— tbaa at present. A more favorable season for the growth of all depen ptione of crop could not well have been described. The wheat and oats on the ridges are, if possible, heavier than those on the low lands.. As usual, the principal crop in these districts is oats — only evffi dent wheat for family purposes haviop been^own by the settlers. Turnips and -ffttaioejs are scarce, and cover only a moderate extent of acreage. 1 A rather better crop' of rye, grass has been sown this year, which isjnow being cat. We .observed a crop^of liiisted in full bloom in the vicinity of y^arepa, the extent bang about balf-an4 acreJ—The pastures thiii season are overabundant.. Native graß9 is very plentiful; wfailst'pn^uh grats and clover, oaten hiy, €cc7,^ita r be «een io quantities- on every piece -of atailabie fenoed-in land. Indeed there -is every 1 promise »of an .abundant enpp^y of wmteMeed of every description: Far'merfl'ate' how-' tisgaged. cutting .and stacking the feed, aad ia consequeoce are busy. R^e< grass is the principal

>nstnre .-xrep- of ilie ;»eaj?o^— -The g--*s* "■' wppcf ha<* 8.3J0 made »ts ftppeVrahce. _' As iet,.coropafaii?t)y. little it j iry has been lone to. either market crops or pastures ts ill. it in evident, this p^st is causing our A'arepaand Kaih'ku friends cohsidt rable mxiety. At this season of the- year it is •atber too young to affect ibe. crops to any joneiderable extent, but from the ; swarms >f young grasshoppers ever> where visible, .b ere is reason. t>,.fear they will yet cause !ome considerable damage.. — The orchards ire locking remarkably well ; the tree? t>ei p loaded with fruit. A goodly quantity if it is being preserved for market purposes I>ORT MOLYNfiUX. Our local correspondent^, whose communication wai unavoidably held over from Ja*t issue, writes to us oa the 12th inst : — Another year has passed awsy and in looking back upon the events of the f,ast twelve months We find good cause for jougra'ulating oureelvea on the progress »nd improvements that have been effected in our miilst. We can now hoist of a fine new schoolhouse. wish .a comfortable and :otnraodi nig residence for the teacher, and the grounds attached thereto ploughed up and enclosed. Toe jetty which was at one time in such a disgraceful state, has now b- en got. into order. ' It is true that a want exists in connection with the jetty, viz . the want of a shed for storage purpose?, but I cannot acquit the agent for the steamers ot blame in the matter, Had the thins heen properly represented to the owners of the eteamers, it is my opinion the shed would have been long since eup-pli-d. Good progress is also being made with the building of the new river steamer, under the able superintendence of Mr R Meson. Hands have beeu very scarce, despite tbe (act that the highest current wages have been offered. A ereat many new roads have been made throughout the district. The appointment of Mr James Patterson to a commission of the peace will supply a want much felt in the place. TOKOMAIRIRO. A committee meeting of the Tokomairiro Farmers Cluh was held at the Cauncii Chambers, Milton, on the 15 h -instart Present— Mr J. Scott, president, in the chair, and Messrs Duthie, Fra<er, Allison,Murray, Gordon, Goodall,M'Liren, Ilislop, and Paton. Minutes of the previous meet injf were read and confirmed. Tenders for the supply of medals were opened from Messis hisiop and Geo Young, Duoedin. Proposed by Mr Duthie, seconded by Mr Fraser. that Mr Geo. Young's tender be iccep'ed. — Carried It was resolved on the motion of Mr Fraser, seconded by Mr Girdon, that the silver cups be engraved with the name of the donor, &c, along •*ith the medals. A note was read from Mr William Black, (ffeiing to accept L3 hi lieu of two meda's won ty him in 1873 Pmposfd by Mr Diithie, seconded by Mr Allison, that his ofTr be acceptec'.— Carrud. tt was agnel that the butter cam. tetinar for Messrs Soutter, Hisiop and G ay'prize be lodged on Ist March, and that 'be competition be advertised twice iu the of February. On i be motion of Mr Allison, Becondtd by Mr Gordon, the Secretary was instruced to pay the L4O bonus ti.'the horse " Southho ne," as sown as the season h*d been finished. Mr Fraser proposed, and Mr Allison seconded that a vote of thanks be recorded to Mr Geo Young and Messrs Capstick, Duthie, and Co., for their handsome gifts of silvei cups. The motion was canied. Woikola Gorge. — Writing an date th> 19rh inst, a correspondent says> : — The crops at this end of the Tokomairiro Plain look well. The winrer-sown crops are nearly ready for the reaper, but what was spring sown will not be ready for some time owing to the wet preventing farmers getting their seed sown as early as usual. Mr John France has conirn need cutting, and t-o has Mr M'Laren, a field of splendid oats at Mr Dyer's. Mess-r^ Strain, Gra), Dutbie, Sutherland, and others have large fit Ids which will be ready for cutting in a few days. — With tre exception of a few isolated cases, miasles have disappeared here. Svoitzers. —A local correspondent writes : With the close of the holiday?, as the liver was sufficiently low, the greater part of the claims had commenced work; but last night it began to rain heavily, and has continued to do so uutii noon to-day. There is now a great freshet in the river, but as the snow has nearly all left the ranges, should it turn out fine and dry it will he down again in a few days. . Although the rain will cause a few days lots of time to those on the river, it will be a b.nefit to the minerß at the Whicecombe, Timber, and other gullies, who were beginning to complain of the want of water. One of our oldest and most enterprising miners (Martinelli) has just sold out to bis mates for a good round sum. , Rivertyn — The earthwork on the Riverton Otautau Railway will be completed in six weeks when the laying of sleepers, rails, and t allasting will he proceeded with sitnul taneously. The opening of this IFne is much needed,., it only to obtain a much required supply of' timber. Referring to the scarcity of this article in the district, a cor» . respondent of tbe 'News' mentions that "an order came down from Mr Alexander Cairns for piles and beams to finish a wharf at Dunedin but only one of the mills would take it, and then subject to the condition that not a stick would de delivered under three months. Other large orders from Dunedin and Christ church have been refused. With the railway, timber can be supplied 2* 61 per 100 feet cheaper than now, for they will only have to handle it once instead of four time. 8 , as at present done by tbe Longwood mills." CromwelL— Accompanied by the Goldfields Secretary, Mr Ulrich has been visit-'., ing the Bendigo reefs, and we karn . from tbe 'Argus' that he has ..the highest, opinion of the district aa a field for raiding, enterprise, although he considers that ir many instances tbe same enterprise ha3 not. been altogether wisely directed. . Of the, Cromwtll Company's reef he speaks very highly^ It was as well defined a reef as had ever; yet come under his notice, and in every probability will be found at. a great, depth.from the surface., Of the Euckno< Mr -Ulrich ;s»ya : very little, but that little.' has already resulted in a change of pro-, programme, so far** the methodof.Work-V is concerned. The Aurora is. spoken .hope-', fully. of« and astonishment expressed at the. w*.stgj4-;£nethQd.,pf- working jWhicb' „W.as' adopted TJw ßeliance . Cpnipa^a ingi were also somewhat" puzzling, hut-they* were encouraged to proceed in a slightly

n'Ver ed diVVc*'ioW •' Ocr the '-whole; ■ Mr UlYich' tfan surprised af'the'vaßt amou«tof work which Eadheeri^ done at Bendigo, leaving the C^mwell Company's operations out if account;, and *ufprUed at* the amount of work which had ben done use lessly. Particularly, he condemns r - the sjs.tm under which so much haa been and is being spent without accurate and reliable plans of the projected and actual workings Dems' made. Wakatip— The mail coach On the in^t, between the Arrow and Queenstowrs,' driven by Mr Th >p» Parsons, through the bolting of the horses, and the sudden col lapsing of one of the wheels, wan capsized • The 4 Wakatfp Mail' says :— 1 * The vehicle, was smashed to pieces down the embank men*, while the horses ran a steeplechase over the fences^ with the fore -carriage at their hee ls, until they were brought up at a I stj-ong five-wired fence, and afterwards j secured about two nvles away. The mos 1 unfortunate part of the catastrophe is, the fact that Mr Parsons "received a severe bruising, besides a serious cut on the bead, and injury to the ppine." : Oamaru. — A telegram received in Dunedin on the evening of the 18th' inst. announces a sad and fatal accident, which rook place at the Wairski River crossing. on Saturday. It appears that Miss JVnnie Andtrson, the magicunoe; Mr Frank Verten, vocali-t ; Mr L. Thorn*?, harpist ; and Mr Greig, with histwo performing dog* were crossing the river. The mile members of trfe party went over by the bridge, but rhe driver of the express, whvhad Miss Anderson with him, attempted to ford the river and got into deep water. The vehicle upset, and the driver escaped by catching the piles of the bridge. Miss Anderson was drowned, though Mr Verten nearly succeeded in swing her. One ot the express hnraes and both the dogs wert drowned. The company, ol which the unfortunate sirl was a member, were per forming in Dunedin a short time ago, and were on their way from O?msju to Tirnaru at the time of the accident, to lulfiT an engagement, there. They have lost all their property by the mishap, and are now on their way <o Dunedin. Miss Anderson came from Auckland, where she had a very narrow escape from drowning some years ago. She got into deep water whilst bathing, and wrun brought ashore wa-> .jnven up far dead by a medical man. By the txertions of some friends, however, animation was restored. Moreaki — A topsail schooner (name unknown) had a narrow escape in the Mo^eaki Harbor on Saturday morning. She arrirtd some time in the night, and anchored of the jetty. A strong b'eize sprang up early in 'he morning, accompanied bv a heavy swell, and at about 9 a.m. she began to drag, drifting nearly a mile in ten minutes. When with ; n a q-iarttr of a mile of the shore, one of her cables parted, and, seeing ihere was no chance of holding on, fhe sMpped the other and set all pail. . At one time she was almost amongst the breakers, but after about ten minutes hard work, the captain succeeded in petting her put about, and gained safer wafers "*