The Arrow Observer, AND LAKES DISTRICT CHRONICLE. Arrowtown, Saturday, May 8, 1875. NEWS OF THE WEEK.

Lake County Press, Volume IV, Issue 205, 8 May 1875, Page 2

The Arrow Observer, AND LAKES DISTRICT CHRONICLE. Arrowtown, Saturday, May 8, 1875. NEWS OF THE WEEK.

A special committee meeting which was called for Saturday night by the Miners’ Association lapsed for want of a quorum. fc C • ~ • Y r

At the Golden Arrow Lodge, I. O.G.T.* on Saturday night last,-, Bto. A. Peach, S.D.D.G. W.C.T., of Crom well, gave some valuable information to the lodgjeof the unwritten work of the Order, Which has been long wished for.

Mr Lother Broad, R.M , was called.tb the Bay at Nelson on April 29th. Judge Gillies complimented him highly on'his successful examination, and said he had no doubt he would be an honor to the Bar. ' . •’ • On Monday last, as Messrs H, A Stratford, and R. M’Dougall were proceeding towards Cardrona, they were confronted by a wild bull, which rushed, at and unhorsed the latUr gent. The furious animal then made towards Mr Warden Stratford, but that gentleman got out of its way quickly, and was not attacked. We are glad to repo;t that Mr M‘Dougall sustained no injury from the fall. In our last issue, we reported that Mr U. Powell had been placed in durance vile for 14 days; but we may inform our readers that we were in error, as the next day \\ ardcu Beetham reversed his decision. Mr Powell was fined £lO. Mr Beetham gave Mr Manders a severe reprimanding for appearing in Court in a manner uufit to give evidence.

Tiieke was a meeting on Saturday night last of the Library Subscribers, and some business transacted. However, a great many are displeased with the action of the subscribers, and declare the badness done on Saturday night illegal. We consider it nothing but right that the Committee should see the public are informed of these meetings at least a fortnight beforehand, as many who subscribe to this institution, live a long way from town.

We have to chronicle the departure from among us of an old and respected resident of some 11 joits’ standing—Mr Samuel Guldston. As a neighbor and a frimd we shall mi*s biin. His many good qualities and sterling ability could not fail tq impr.ss all with the belief th>.-t he was a good man. His efforts, in many ways,have helped to place Arrowtown on the firm basis upon which it now rests. He was our first Maj or, and in the discharge of his duties, while occupying that position, he proved himself a man of wisdom. He has gone from among us without even a public acknowledgement of the respect he has gained, but this was owing to his having objected to ir. To use his own words “ He did not wish to make any outward show, nor have it done for him.” He has left behind him those who wish him every prosperity, and who will agree with us in saying, “ He was a man, take him for all in all, Weshail never look upon his like again.’’

On Saturday last, Ist inat., Dr Back, sheriff, proceidc-d to Lyttelton, and gave Mercer official intimation that the sentence of the law would be carrudoutuponhimat 8 o’clock on Friday morning next. On being visitad by the Rev. F. Knowles and J. Wills, and asked to attend prajers, Mercer declined to do so, and on those gentlemen leaving the gaol, he remarked that any one seeing the minister leaving would think he was going to Heaven quick. ..... Thel.e is a painful report about at Timarn, that Mr Hunt, the head-master of the Timaru school, who was drowned in the river liangitata, in April last, with his wife and mother in-law, had another wife still living in New South Wales. It is said that she now claims the estate of the di ceased for herself and son, and that the police at Christchurch and Timaru have been communicated with. Tho circumstances of the drowning somystenou-ly has never been satisfactorily explained. The evidence of the ferryman pointed to suicide on the part of Hunt. Li was not believed et the time,-, but is now thought more probable in view of subsequent revelations. . _

.©CRixg last week .a telegram wad sent by us to Mr Vincent I’yke, asking if he could advise us as to the intentions of the Government,. .Mith xegard to the Crown Terrace, and on Monday last we received the following reply :—“ I here is nothing definitely decided yat. Probably that the surface will be leased, all mineral rights, and righto of -fe-e»i try' Wring : reserved.— Vlncexx' Ptke.” . ufedi I J •’ : =o *o dji

l lllustrated N.Z. Herald, for the present mon£f£ contains a very fineijfssoftqmnt of plates,:,; The frontispiece is Camp* bjelltown, BljjlLHarbor, and is a very fair Pi®l ure ' Kanderanga Caeek and Gentle Annie; Fern Waterfall, S. A. ; and Voluut er Camp, Kanderanga Creek, are first-class. The illustration of Diver Putvtoiu to thewvht-ck of-’ (he Gothenburg' fpr an imtgibary affair is good. Those of the hurricane in Fiji; the N.S.W. Ministry, and tire- first eight-oared race: in Austra-lian-Waters,..are fjill page illustrations, and deserving at great The camp'of .the “German Transit Expend!on," and “After Stray Cattle" a re,very good.

A beautiful trout about six inches in length, was brought into-Arrowtown the other day by Mr J. C. Jones, of Butel Bros , millers, Hayes Creek. It was caught in the sieve placed under the supply pipe to the trout pond ; \Vhich was intended to prevent the entrance of the native fish, the cockabullaa, which are in great’numbers. Although it is to be regretted that even one triuit should prein;.surely perish, still it is one more substantial proof of the experiment of trout introduction, and those who may be inclined can see the interesting stranger preserved, at Mr Scoles, New Orleans Hotel. It is of a beautifully light silver colour, the .characteristic scarlet spots are; plainly shown, as the colour of trout is greatly influenced by the quality of the water, , even, when transferred from one locality to another, they change their tints, but there is no doubt but this is the real river trout, sahno fario. the Briceiu of the Highlands. The front can easily be Seed any’time in Messrs Kiel's mill-race, they are from 6'to 8 inches in length, and feed readily on raw meat ; it is noteworthy that the trout first turned out, are much larger than those confined in the pond. _ We hope to hear good account of the salmon ova lately imported, hut cannot help thinking that it was a great oversight to import in pine trays ; the first care of the gentleman who undertook the trout ova'hatching here, was to be certain that the box used contained not the slightest smell of resin, and more care was certainly required, where the ova were to be confined for months. IV e extract the following from' the leader of our Cromwell contemporary : It is matter for congratulation to be able, to announce that the Cromwell Waterworks debentures have been negotiated, the buyer being the recently established Colonial Bank, a branch of which institution has been established hero. While congratulating the residents on the successful issue, so far, of the much-needtd waterscheme, praise is likewise due the banking corporation which thus gives evidence that its name is no misnomer—that its assistance is freely accorded to aid in carryingomt works which have a local as wall as colonial importune •. Of course the transaction will bs a profitable one to the Bank, but none the less does it relieve the Town Council,-and those a horn that body represents, from the apparently far off chance of securing the funds nec-asary to carry out a public work, the want of which ha- each succeeding year been intensified It is but just to mention, however, that another Bunk made offer to take up the debentures, but not on terms so liberal as those secured. These terms a word or two will make clear. The debentures have a nominal value of £SO each, and are forty in number, thus representing a sum of £2OOO. These debentures run for a period of 60 ycara, and, as negotiated,; carry interest at the rate of seven percent, one per cent, being allowed to cover all charges. The Corporation having accepted 43 1 10s for each debenture of 50/—payable m thirty years—at seven per cent., is buying money actually at eight per cent, as an annual payment of 70s for the loan of 43/ 10s is almost equal to’a payment of 8/ for 100/ borrowed. Of course, there is th's difference to be borne in in mind—that at tbs expiration of thirty years the Coi p-ration will have to pay 60/’for what it is now parting with for *43/ 10a. The O'-.nneil may, :f ii has the means, buy up any or ah •;!' th- scurities before the expiry of t e t nn tor which they are issued. It niuy he thought by some that it would have been btt.er to use the compulsory power* given under the “ Municipal Corporations Waterworks Act,” and leave the compensation to arbitrators; but the experience of a neighboring town shows this is not always a politic or profitable, though apparently easy, mfethod to adopt, dt” does not necessarily follow that because an Act of Parliament confers certain powers, therefore they can be tyrannically or unjustly exercised ; and those here referred to are probably only meant to apply to cases where no equitable aarangement can otherwise be arrived at.

Landmarks and dummyists have found their way into- the Uteti district, and for protection against them, the Settlers there have 'formed' themselves into a*' Land Settlement League, the objects Of which are “ the prtmotioh of settlement "nhder the system of deferred payments by the organisation of a dtf«nce scheme aiid fond, fgr the purpose of aiding selectors of.land, on deferred payments, in, the.,prosecution and delence of their claims against opposition to ihiir acquiring the legal tenure ot their land, Except that which, maj. b«f raised by the Government ou the ground, of non-fulfilment of the conditions of occupation,”

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. Tha thirty-fourth. session of the Prqvincial Council of Otago was. opened on Monday lattby His Honor the Superintendent. We make the following extracts from his address :

Mr Speaker and Gentlemen, —Since I last addressed you, the Provincial Legislature of Otago has attained its majority, it being now 21 years since it was called into existence. It then met in a small building which stood upon the spot on - which the Cargill monument now stands. 1 had the honor, Mr Speaker, on that ' occasion ‘ to occupy the position which you at present’ hold. It is worthy of remark that of those who then composed the Provincial Council, only two' have a seat in it now. Although opinions may differ as to what extent our past progress may have been due to the action of the Provincial Legislature, I apprehend that there is little difficulty in predicating bow much further advanced the Province would have* Been, hau it been an independent colony, or indeed, had it been allowed to exercise that control over its own affairs and resources which, in common;with all the Provinces, the Constitution Act contemplated. I am convinced that if the people of Otago would study their own interests, either the one or the other of these alternatives is that which should bo persistently aimed at even now. In 1854, the Public Revenue of the Province amounted to little more than £6,000, while during the past year the sum contributed to the colonial and provincial chests, amounted to close upon one million sterling. It is a remarkable fact that there are only four colonies in the British Empire, the amount of whose revenue, trade, and commerce exceeds that of this Province, and yet there are some among us who think that the Province is unfit to manage its own affairs. Gentlemen, 1 would now desire to allude some of the leading facts which serve to illustrate the position of'affairs during the past financial year. The consolidated revenue of the year Has been 515,584/ 16s. as against £436,147, for the previous year. Of this amount the Province has been credited with £65,887, as capitation allowance, the whole of which has gone to pay the interest and charges on the consolidated loins of the Province. The gold duty shows a considerable deficiency as compared with the previous year, the figures being £11,502, and £17,504, respectively. This deficiency, however, is not to be attributed to any exodus of population from the Province, or to any perceptible diminution of its auriferous resources, but to the circumstance that many of-4he miners have been acquiring and turning their attention to agricultural leaseholds, and many more have been availing themselves of remunerative contracts on Public Works. The consent of the Governor to the Bill passed by you last session for a partial reduction of the export duty on gold was withheld. I understand, however, that the Colonial Government has lately intimated to the Otago Miners’ Association that it has now no objection to the duty being reduced. I have written to the Colonial Government to the effect that if this be so, the Provincial Government is prepared to relinquish either a portion or the whole, if the former will indicate the pa.tcular modus operandi of accomplishing this, which will meet its' concurrence.

the area of land taken up during the past year under the Gold Fields Act as Agricultural Leaseholds, has been 17,405 acres, distributed among 186 individuals. The area of land acquired on Deferred Payments has been 37,276 acres, by 219 individuils. The area sold for cash amounts to 164,157 acres, to 534 purchasers. ...

‘The amount deposited in the various Savings Banks throughout the Province has been £244,766, being upwards of £31,000 in excess of the deposits for the previous year. As it will become necessary to assimilate the gauge of the Bluff and Winton Railway to that of the colonial lines, the requisite rolling-stock has been ordered from England ; so soon as 1 it arrives the guage will be altered. It is hoped that the value of the existing plant, which it has been agreed to dispose of to the Government of New South Wales, will to a certain extent cover the cost of the new stock.

In dealing with the educational requirement* cf the Province, the General Education Board has had frequently forced upon its attention the necessity of maxing provision whereby those districts which may desire to tax themselves for the purpose of supplementing the Government allowance to schools might be enabled to do so. With this view a Bill will be submitted for your consideration and approval. . Last session you voted a sum ut money as the salary of a Mining Surveyor; I accordingly placed myself in communication with the Government-of 'Victoria with the .view of obtaining an experienced man ,for the office. It was found, however,that the sum voted was insufficient to secure for one year the services of Mr G. H. F. Ulrich, Consulting Mining Geologist, of Victoria, the gentleman who was recommended. His report will be placed before ■ you. . s<i Uiw

In conclnsion, hesaid—lt is proposed as you are aware, forthwith to abolish the North Island Provinces, on the slea that they can no longer perform the functions assigned to them by the Constitution Act, that is to say they that they are unable, without the aid Of the colony, to provide for the maintenance of peace, order, and good government within their borders. The present condition of the Provinces might be very aptly illustrated by comparing them to a mao who has been bound'hand and foot by one stronger (ban himself and then told that, because, he

cannot .walk he is a cumberer of the ground. * Of I am certain, and that is, that twite can be no partial but that 8p long as New Zealand is one coloby/ the Provinces, both North and Sopthimust stand or fall together, unless in "so far as thtym'ay mutually agree to a voluntary fusion as in the case of Otago and Southland. It is useless to disguise from ourselves the fact,- that abolition of the Provinces implies that the whole favenue of the colony is to be appropriated by the Colonial Legislature, and that Canterbury and Otago which • now conr ; tribute the lion s share of the consolidated revenue, are to be called upon to supply still thdre.