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Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 514, 8 October 1868, Page 2

We observe that Mr Dugard, Clerk of the Court at Arrowtown, has Dot only been appointed Returning Officer for Hampden, but also for the Lakes, in lieu of Mr Broad. It will be observed that the members of the Municipal Council have passed an important resolution in the matter. We do not for a moment suppose Mr Stafford will accept of dictation in the matter of appointments, but the part of the resolution which refers to the importance of Queenstown as the capital of the Wakatip district will no doubt receive attention. An advertisement in another column calls a meeting of the shareholders in the Wakatip Flour Mill Company, Hayes Creek.

A Committee meeting of the Wakatip Cricket Club was held in the Town Hall on Friday, when there were present—Messrs D. Weaver (President), Eichardt, M'Guiness, Warren (hon. treasurer), and Worthington (hon. secretary). Although this meeting was held in accordance with resolution at a previous meeting of subscribers, the Committee found they had Uttle business in hand except to take steps to strengthen the Club by enrolling members and collecting subscriptions. The hon. secretary stated he had written to Dunedin for requisite materials, which might be expected to arrive in Queenstown in about three weeks. It was resolved that Messrs Eichardt and M'Guiness, at Queenstown, and Messrs Yeulett and King, at Frankton, be requested to collect subscriptions. The hon. secretary was instructed to write to one or two. parties at Arrowtown, asking them to render assistance in obtaining members to the Club. The meeting then adjourned sine die.

We have just received the following telegram: —" Clyde, 3.30, p.m.—The water-race and claims of the Otago Pioneer Sluicing Company, near Clyde, was sold this day, under a writ of Fi. Fa by Mr Frazer, bailiff, for the sum of .£lOl. Purchaser, Mr G. Fache, for the Dunstan Flour Mill Company." Lord Burghley, a scion of the noble house of Cecil, and its corelative branch, the " Marquisite of Exeter," paid the district a visit on the sth inst. His Lordship was waited upon by Mr

Shepherd, member for the Gold fields. The distinguished visitor, in the company of Messrs Shepherd, Powell and others, made a visit to the Head of the Lake, in the steamer Expert. His Lordship, after his return, found himself so bored by one or two persons that he was obliged to leave the town on foot some days before he intended to leave. The townspeople are indignant that such a slur should be cast upon their good sense as " the servile hunting after a real live lord." If the Lake is to be made a tour, officiousness must pass out of the question, and our visitors must not be insulted.

A very unsatisfactory reply has been received from the Chief Postmaster regarding the continuation of mail service between Invercargill and Queenstown. The question (as will be noticed by the last paragraph in the followirg extract from Mr Ban's letter) is remitted to the merchants of this district. If it is to become a mercantile arrangement, the Invercargill houses will no doubt join. Evidently as far as the P.O. is concerned, no further concessions will be made : —" I have now the honor to inform you that it has been decided by the Postmaster-General to maintain the weekly service between Athol and Kingston, but that the correspondence will not justify the increased expense involved in subsidising a mail service across the Lake. I am, however, authorised to pay a sum not exceeding ten shillings for every trip (both ways) when mails are carried between Queenstown and Kingston, and vice versa, once weekly. And should this not be sufficient, I am instructed that the residents themselves must make arrangements for the conveyance of mails between those places."

At this day's sitting of the R.M. Court, before R. Beetham, Esq., a case of Shepherd v Boyes was heard, being a claim for £7 7s, professional expenses. The defendants paid £3 into Court. Soon after hearing commenced the case was adjourned, to allow particulars of demand to be supplied. On resuming, a bill of particulars (characterised by the Court as an attorney's bill) was handed in for £8 19s 6d. The Bench gave judgment for amount paid in and costs of Court. This case occupied nearly the whole day.

Some time ago, our contemporary, the ' Dunstan Times,' suddenly changed its views. From being a warm advocate of Provincial Institutions it has become a virulent abuser of them. Our contemporary, on the 28th August, wrote—speaking of the proclamation of 15,000 acres of sandy soil—as follows:—" The announcement, therefore, that such large blocks of land are available for cultivation, has no shadow of truth on its side, and must have been purposely intended to mislead. The act is well worthy of those composing the Government of Otago, and adds another to the many reasons for the abolition of this detestable form of Government," We hardly thought our contemporary was then sincere, but we find in its issue of the 25th ultimo it returns to the charge. Let our contemporary speak for himself:—" We have oftentimes heard a great deal about the division of labor, but it appears to us that the Provincial Government, composed as it is of imbecile old women, have hit upon an infinitessimal division of labors of their servants in this district thac they must cease to be useful." This is very strong language indeed. Language which—opposed as we are and have been to the lengthened continuance of Provincial Institutions —we should nevertheless, refrain from using. We hope such strong language does not indicate too sudden a change of opinions to become asting. The Lawrence correspondent of the ' Bruce Herald,' after complaining of the mal-adminis-tration by the Provincial authorities of the Land Act, states that " A few influential individuals in this locality are about forming a land league. They have sworn eternal hatred to the land laws of the Province, and will not cease to agitate until they get them abrogated or so far altered or amended as that they will be in consonance with common sense and the advancement of the Province."