LATEST.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XI, Issue 574, 9 November 1880, Page 5

LATEST.

Tuesday Evening. Weather wet for holiday. A Melbourne cablegram says the Victoria Racing Club has decided to disqualify Mata and his jockey for ever for " dark" running in the recent races.

Forfeit in the Cromwell Derby be declared uot later than,to-day, A Cromwell eleven engage in a cricket match to-day with a'local team at Alexandra. , The local Volunteers have some shooting for prizes to-day, and a parade in the afternoon at three o’clock, „r. ,| Messrs A. H. Ross and H. S. Fish are. announced as candidates for the Dunedin Mayoralty. The Loyal Arrow Lodge of Oddfellows, Register No. 119, held at Arrowtown, has been dissolved after an existence of about eight years’ The leading Chinamen in Dunedin refused to see Ah Lee while he was in;prison, and none of his countrymen would witness his execution. . Our Queenstown correspondent wires that the body of the man Butler, who was drowned at Frankton Falls on Thursday last, has been recovered. < . ■ i An art union of five pictures from the brush of Mr Huddlestone will take place in the Town Hall on Saturday evening. Tickets can be obtained from Mr Hotop, chemist. The pictures are very handsome, and embrace views in the Wanaka and Hawea Lakes districts. At last week’s Land Board meeting forms of mineral leases from the undermentioned persons were approved, viz. ;—James Lawrence, section 7, block i., Bannockburn ; J. L. Moore and J. Pryde, section 16, block i„ Cromwell; and William Clucas, section 28, block' i., Bannockburn, Labor throughout this district is very plentiful, and every day sees fresh batches of swaggers passing through the town, en route for the various stations, where there is prospect of work during the approaching shearing season. Already most of the runholders are fully supplied, and disappointment will be the fate of a good many unemployed now travelling the interior. Rather a sensational accident happened here on Sunday afternoon, and the wonder is that more disastrous resulis have not to be recorded. Our townsman Mr MacKellar was driving a young mare in a light buggy along Melmore-street. At the foot of Sligo-street something startled the animal and she swerved off the road. Just at this point the bank of the Kawarau River—running some 60 or 70 feet below—is unprotected, and the driver was powerless to restrain the horse, which, buggy and all, bounded over the precipice. Happily, Mr MacKellar had sufficient presence of mind to sp.ing from the conveyance a few yards from the edge, otherwise it is difficult to see how he could have escaped with life. The strangest part of the affair is that the horse was recovered with little or no injury notwithstanding his terrific leap. The trap of course was utterly demolished. Steps should at once be taken to fence off this ugly and very dangerous gap, Ah Lee, the Kyeburn murderer, paid the last penalty of the law at eight o’clock on Friday morning. He met his fate with the characteristic indifference of his race, the only evidence of emotion being exhibited by slight muscular tremor when on the gallows and just before the falling of the drop. The night previous he passed in unbroken sleep, and partook in the morning of his usual breakfast. Bishop Nevill, whose efforts on behalf of the criminal have been, as is well known, untiring, withdrew from his final interview with him a few minutes before 8. Without needless delay Ah Lee was pinioned, and at once conducted to the gallows in the prison yard, when Mr Torrance offered up a prayer, having previously asked him if he had anything to say regarding the murder. Ah Lee, however, again asserted his innocence. Precisely at 8 o’clock the drop fell, and without a struggle or convulsion of any kind Ah Lee ceased to live. The condemned man was about 24 years of age, a native of the neighborhood of Canton, and a Confucian by religious belief. The return match between six men aside of the Cromwell and Bannockburn Volunteers was fired last week, and resulted again in favor of the Bannockburn team. In one or two individual cases some remarkably good scoring was made. Opposite the name of Lieut Jolly stands the magnificent total of 77 out of a possible 84. We are not aware that this shooting has been excelled in Otago. Vol, Aitken is credited with the fine score of 73 point's. No less than eight out of the dozen competitors have made 60 and over, which shows that the hands of the Cromwell men have not lost their cunning with the rifle. The complete scores are—

In, connection with the Kyeburn murder (for which Ah Lee suffered the extreme penalty of the law on Friday morning) there is a very singular circumstence related by the Morning Herald. Mr Andrew Marshall, father of the boy who gave evidence at the trial, owned some land near Mrs Young’s house, and on the morning of the murder his pitchfork was found stuck in the ground outside the door of Mrs Young’s house. Mr Marshall was one of the jury at the inquest. He became insane shortly after the murder of Mrs Young, and was received into the Lunatic Asylum at Dunedin on or about the IBth August. The hallucination under which Mr Marshall suffers is peculiar. He says that he committed the Kyeburn murder, and he thinks that the Police are after him.

Cromwell. 200 400 500 T1 yds yds yds Lieut Jolly .. 27 26 24 — 77 Vol Thomas .. 23 26 19 — 68 Capt Brown . 22 23 15 — 60 Vol Henry .. 19 22 15 - 56 Vol Gudgeon .. 21 19 11 - 51 Sgt Graham .. 20 22 6 — 48 360 Bannockburn. Corp Aitken .. 25 23 25 — 73 Sgt Story 23 25 20 — 68 Vol Pryde 23 21 18 — 62 Corp Menzies.. 22 22 18 — 62 Col-SgtCrabb.. 22 23 16 — 61 Vol Scott 19 17 17 — 53 379