Lake Wakatip Mail. QUEENSTOWN, FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 1887.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1581, 18 March 1887, Page 2

Lake Wakatip Mail. QUEENSTOWN, FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 1887.

Th» next outward Home mail ria San Francisco w ill close at the (Queenstown post-office on Wednesday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Reports of Warden's Court anil remainder of R.M. Court proceedings, as well as of concert last evening in a'd of the Burns' statue fund, are iinivoi.la''lv held over. The latter was a nvst enjoyable affair, and the talent lispUyed (thanks to the kind assistance rendered by ladies and gentlemen eiiiniug from a distance) was considerably above the avenue. Considering all circumstances it was also a financial success, the gross proceeds b dng about £1 I. Mr Warden Hickson, at the R.M. sittings on Monday, was rather rough on our legislature in his wholesale condemnation of the First Offender* Probation Act passed last session. The in -asuie involves a new departure in the treatment of offenders and ib..».se committed for certain indictable offences, and we prefer to take the charitable view of supposing that his Worship has not reallv had Mi. ■ to carefully peruse it, otherwise he would not surely have passed sncli extraordinary strictures on an enactment which is drawn up on tiie lines of one which has lieen found to work so bcneticia'lv in the United States, and the adoption of which the Imperial Parliament are seriously considering as a means of preventing crime. Attention is drawn to a sale of eligible freehold sections and house property in Queenstown and Fraukton (in the estate ot E. Norrington, deceased), tenders for which are to be sent ill not lat»*r than noon of Tuesday next.

We have been requested to call attention to the post|Nmemrnt of sale of freehold projierty, horses, etc., in the haukiupt estate of W. J. Powtll, Queenstown, till two o'clock on Tuesday, the 29th instant.

Mine host, Mr D. Whytock, the new landlord of Lake Hayes Hotel, invites one and all to rejoice with him in celebrating hi* new enterprise by a free Inland supper this night week. The Gazette contains application by Mr J. Aspinall, of skippers Point, for two patents—one for an improvement in rivet ting circular joints in pipes or other inrtcrial difficult of access, and the otuer for " AspinaN's Rock Drill."

We hear Missrs Rom ins and Co. are making fair projics.- with the (tlcudhn-Bluff road, Wanuk.i. l»nt that, although they h ive only a few chains of the liiutf to g-t through, it will take a feu weeks to complete tin- contract, owing to the hardness of rock to be blasted. The announcement in another column of racps on Arthur's Point terrace, reminds one of the golden days, wlnn the residents looked upon sue!) an event a-? an ordinary occurauce annually. Of course big prizes are not expected, but we hear tiiat they are likely to be sutlicient attiaction to bring together a good gathering of local hoiseflesh. Mr Fergus' meeting on Tuesday night, although fl itteriui', was rather disappointing 'u one re9p».c-t. It would have added spice to the proceed : \<a had the lion, gentleman ken put through his facins/s a little by a few questions on requirements of a local character, such as completion of telephonic communication with the Head of the Lake, more rapid transit on our slow-coach ftore-Kingstoii radway, completion of that important work the Queenstown-.Skippcrs road, etc. We are inclined to believe that Mr Fergus rather expected something of the <*ort, ami have no doubt he was in a position to throw light ou matters of tiie kind. At Arrow tow n things were a little more lively.

The first meeting of creditors in the estate of W. J. Powell, Queenstown, bankrupt, was held at the Court-house, Queenstown, on Monday afternoon. Mr Turton presiding ou liehalf of the official assignee, about half a dozen proved creditors were present. The list of liabilities (incomplete) was bet down at about £270 And the assets were £96, exclusive of furniture (£20.) It was resolved to adjourn the meeting for a week in order to give bankrupt an opportunity of making an offer to the creditors. Another old and re«pccted resident in the pf raon of Mr J. B. Keir, of the Terminus Hotel, Kingston, has very suddenly passed away through injuries received under very peculiar circumstances. It appears from the evidence at An inquest held on Tuesday, before Mr C. C. Boyes. coroner, that on Sunday morning lust, deceased went for a stroll on the rail nay pi*-r, and whilst walking along slowly between the .rails (as though in an abstracted state of mind) a strong wind, which increased to a gale for a few moments, set in motion an empty covered Inegage van a few yards behind him—although it had the brake on. The van, unobserved, overtook deceased, knocked him across one nf the rails, and one of the wheels went over bis body. Some persons at or near the station raw the accident and immediately went to his assistance but the injuries received were so serious that the ntifortunate man expired very shortly afterwards. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, and a rider that they did not eorsider any iilame attachable to Government. We believe Mr Kerr was a native of Dumfries. Scotland, and about T>7 years of aire. He wast brought up to a seafaring life, and was for some years boating on the lake. After pacing through many vicissitudes, he died in poor circumstances, and great sympathy is felt for his family a wife and nine children, the majority of thorn quite young. Mr Black, County engineer, re'nrned on Monday from his inspection of the Martin's Ray road formation. We nnderstaud that Mr J. Biker, the su'-cf-srfnl tenderer for Xos 13and 14, has completed the firstriamed contract; also that he is vigorously pushing on the other, and expects to finish it in the pniirse of a month. Mr George, contractor for No. In section, the Martins Bay end, expects to bo through with the Work in about three weeks. Inconsequence of information received from Ltimsden. Sergt. M'Leod, on Wedesday, despatched Trooper Downey to Mount Nicholas station in search of a shepherd named W. Scott, who was reported by the manager, Mr Nicholl, to be missing. We believe Soott was last seen at Centre Hili, when it is stated that he had been drinking heavily, and afterwards left for the station. Trooper Downey, shortly after artiv.il at the station, accompanied by some of the station hands along the Von River, and about five miles from the starting point -and ten miles from the lake—they found the body dead in the stream under a waterfall, and in a perfectly nude state -death having probably resulted from exposure during a tit of delirum tremens. Mr Roves will hold an inquest at the station on Monday.

We were promised a full account of the soiree at Skipuers Reefs on the sth instant, in aid of the Wesl-yan mission, but through some mislrp or another it has not reached us. Another correspondent. how»ver, Ins kindly furnished us with .". short account, in which he states tlr-t the soiree or tea meeting was a most enjoyable affair, at which about l."0 persons' sat down to one of the best laidout tables any connoisseur could desire. The large new hall of the Miners' Institute was neatly decorated, and also brilliantly lit up by electric lights. During tea the I'll mix Rrass Rand discoursed some really good music. After refreshment a public meeting was held, when Mr Fred. Evans, as chairman, delivered a good practical speech on Wesleyan Methodism, defining its rules and principles. After this the Rev. .Mr Blight ami others addressed the meeting. Alwit a dozen ladies mid gentlemen came from Armwtown and rendered great assistance in sMiging. The Misses Reid. Johnston and Sutherland helped greatly in that direction. Mr Stubbs (of the Reefs, sang "Consider the lillies" in tine style. Mr Evans said, as institutions were growing up. it wis nearly time they had a school established at the Reefs, and he hoped it would not be long before one was there. The ju Igmetit u-en by the Court of Appeal in the Ha I poisoning case re the late Ciptnn Cam is exceeding')' unsatisfactory, and v.-e do not wonder that throughout the length and Ir-adth of the colony both the Press and public have he< n unanimous in condemning ; t. In saying this wc do not mean to east the minutest refl-cti'»n up >n Unlearned judges, hut. in conjunction w i. the rest of the palters, to prot-si. against the la.vof evidence being allowed to remain in this most unsatisfactory st,»te. Perhaps the worst feature of the case is tint, unless the law is remedied, a man by admitting a lesser eiime may, undei certain su'rounding circumstances, escape the penalty d ie for his wotst i'fTeiice3. To carrv the argument a stage f»ith<r, it may also be said that the lives ami persons of none of us are properly protected ; and tint a man or woman can poison and murder with impeeitv. knowing 'here aie always odds in ravor of an e-eape from pii'iishmt'iit through legal technicalities. It is not, therefore, a matter of surprise that some of the leading panels of the colony hint that Hail's c.ise was one for Judge Lynch, ami that should si'ch another flaurat.t instance of miscarriaue of jus'ice occur, it would be the duty of the public to forcibly take up sib-s against law and order.

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