LOCAL & GENERAL.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XVI, Issue 883, 9 September 1886, Page 3

LOCAL & GENERAL.

Aw occurrence of a very painful nature happened at Ida Vale Farm a tew days since to the eldest son cf Mr James Hore. The lad was doing some carting, and in taking the dray and horses out of one of the paddocks the leading horse bit him viciously just above the wrist of his arm. The sinimal he'd on till its teeth met, biting a fair-sized piece of flesh from the unfortunate litt'e fellow's arm. A horrible-looking wound' •was the natural result; but we are glad to learn that, under the care of i>r Whittou, ic is healing as rapidly as can be expected under the circumstances.

The prospectus of theQ-olden Gully United Q M. Company, Serpentine, appears in this issue. This company is formed for the purpose of working what is known jhroughout the district as " TurubnU's Beef," at Serpentine, whence two rich crushing?, were taken a year or two since, averaging 4ozSi of retorted gold per ton. 'l'he adjoining, lease (Johnstons and party's) is al«o shrawn into the company. The purehaaejmoney aaked by the promoters is £ISOO, of : .amount theywi 1 taka £SOO in cash a'atf of £IOOO in shares paid np'-to ls'jid. ,'The capital is £IB,OOO, diviued 'into''72,ooo shares of ss. each. The calls' .are remarkably light, the application and allotment fees, as weil as the calls, only being Id per share. A speculator cm thus have a large holding in the proposed company with very little inconvenience to himself. The provisional directory comprises the names of several well-known residents ; and the secretary is Mr Brooke Hickson. We are informed that about one-half of the total number of shares in the company has already been subscribed. Particulars as to the proposed mode of working the reef, etc., will be found in the prospectus (with which, by-the-bye, a plan, shewing a longitudinal section of the lode, is published). Mb. F. J. Wilson, solicitor, Clyde, has received a responsible appointment, in ihe public trust office, and leaves far Wellington during this monih. Mr Wilson has for the past fourteen years been practising in the Northern Goldfields Courts, and has earned the reputation of being oue of the most competent and painstaking lawyers in Otago. His departure will be felt as a publio loss. Mr Wilson'* characteristics are such as to make it certain that in selecting him for the post he has to fill rhe Government has chosen a good and thoroughly capable man. •—Cromwell Jirgiu.

The reefs at Rough RiiUe look particularly promising just now. In the words of the mine manager, the Otago Central " never looked better tliau at the present juncture." The reef in the stopes i i from 15 to 20ia. in width, and carries splendid gold, the stone being estimated hi yield at the rate of Hozj. pnr ton, or m >re. As a matter of fact, gold can be easily seen right through the s:one, which is heavi y charged with the minerals generally found in Conjunc ion with the precious ore.—Mr Withers is getting the water-wheel ready for the Great Eastern Company, which will commence operatious in about a fortnight from date.—The Progress, like the Central, also promises well. The lode is from 2ft. to 3ft. wide, and continues to improve as it is gunk oii. Gold can be seen all through the ston.i, which is variously estimated to crush from 20 tu 30dwts. per ton. A small spliee or vein came in oil the hanging-wall last Saturday, ami this proves to be thoroughly impregnated with gold. It is estimated that a ton of this splice, crushed separately, would yield fully lOozs. of retorted gold. OoßLower Kyeburn correspondent writes: —An amusing case of " horse-ste iling " occurred here last Tuesday, and was provocative of much amusement to those who were "in the swim." A. well-known horticulturist who ia the happy owner of a highlybred. angular grey horse with splendid " points" was astonished on heing informed that his favorite equine had been feloniously stolen and ridden away by a stranger b.arded like a pard." Scanning (he distant horizon, he ueheld his beloved Arab speeding its way toward Kyeburn Diggings under the manipulation of some one whosa figure he could not recognise at that distance. Mr Miiisey's groom, wi h amazing alacrity, Biddled his best and fleetes' steeple" chaser j and the man of flowers and vegetables, springing into tha saddle with the elasticity of a circus rider, started in hot pursuit of his favorite horse. He galloped swiftly onward, regard'ess of such obstructions as barbed-wire fences and gulches, and very soon lessened, the distance between himself and the pursued. The latter, hear thecatter of horse's hoofs "ahint" him, pulled up and waited the advent of the new arrival, thinking to have cooipnny to the diggings. This movement had a startling effect on the horticulturist, to whose mind there immediately recurred thoughts of and he at ODce endeavored to slacken the pace and alter ths course of his fiery steed ; but before he could do so he was abreast of the sanguinary robber. Fearfully raising his eyes to the face of the suppos d horsestealer he gazed on the ruddy lineaments of a wel.-known waggoner, whom it appeared had lost his dog, and learning its whereabouts hid c-.ught and siddled the old 41 crock," with th<; object of saving himself a laborious journey. In response to several anxious inquires, I may state that the horticulturist has not yet p'acsd the matter in | the hands of the police, nor is it at all like.y Ihe will no bo. "Poor old Joe ! "

the advent of soft, spring weather a revival—if indeed it can be called s ich in al uvial mining has set in in the district. We had an abnormally dry summer and bird winter; and as a matter of fcicfc ilie last twelve months have been anything but favorable for mining operations ; and consequently money has become very scarce among tbe class to which the community has to look for its principal means of support. In all the various gullies contiguous to claims are now in lull work ; and although no prospecting worth noting is being done, still it is hoped th-it the yield of the current season wi 1 be fully as go d, if not berter, than that of the previous summer. The Dead-level Company have erected an elevator near Mr M'Gregor's residence, and have secured splendid pressure for wo-king the ground thereabout;* to considerable advantage. A trial was made 1 ( st week, when everything worked satufac-orily. Probably, a start will be made in a few days. Lower down Main Gully, opposite the hospital, the Hydraulic Company are vigorously prosecuting the work of opening out their chira, and already large puddock has been sluiced away. Varying quantities of gold have been from the elevator-box, and from what we can lea*n there seems every reason to be satisfied wi h the company's prospects. Op posite the Hydraulic Company's claim, Ah Hung and party «re delving i.uo the block of ground left standing in the early days between Mr Petersen's residence and the old sits of the Ballarat Hotel. The party have already worked out a large paddock on the south side of the main ra.id to Clyde, with, it is S-id, highly gratifying resu ts. Thev are now on a very good run of gold, and they expect to be wed paid for their trouble. Other parties are also working lower down the gully. Iu Mulholland's Gully a fair number of men are engaged sluicing The resulEs from this portion of the diggings last season were geneialiy described as " payable" ; and we are informed that there is still a large area of countiy to go over before the who:e oi the deposit shall have be^n successfully manipulaied. Ia -Spec Gully famed, as almost everyone knows, for the litigious disputes it has given birth to—several parties have recommenced work. In this gully, some few months since, Mr Robert Donnelly—an enthusiast in matters relating to quartz-reefs—sunk a shaft about 25ft. on two or three stringers or leaders carrying promising minerals but no s'gns of gold. On reaching a depth of 251. Mr Donnelly took out several specimens from the lode and submitted them to Professor Back for an opinion. One of the minerals, the professor said, was muudic ; and, in reply to a question from Mr Donuel y as t© whether it wou d be worth while to continue prospecting the lode any further, he stated he would not advise him to do so, as in a.l probability he would gain nothing by it. The shaft was therefore abandone i and very soon collapsed, although Mr Donnelly's hopes of finding a reef iu ttie vicinity have not at all been damped by the cold water thrown on his aspi ations by Dr Black. Turning our attention to various otber portions of the field, we find that at Hamilton, Sowbum, Ityeburn, and St. Bathans much attention ia being bestowed ou the industry. At Blackstone a sm.tll prospecting party is sinking a shaft on a reef on the top of the range, just above the Woolshed Diggings ; while at Rough Ridge, as stated elsewhere, two companies are rapidly bringing stone to grass, and a third is making preparations lor pumping out the old workings, with a view to opening out the lode. Some Jitt'e prospecting will doubtless be effected on the Ridge this summer ; and probably one or two new companies may open out some of t.be innumerable reefs in the vicinity. We have heard it stated that some splendid ground has been discovered at Clarke's, on the slopes of the range falling in o the Kyeburn. An o'd miner, who worked on Clarke's several years since, asserts that from his own knowledge many of the guides on the southern of the range would without much trouble yield SJoz.of gold per week per man, provided there was a plentiful supply of water Want of water is the great drawback on this portion of the field; nnd we believe that if means were adopted for bringing in a large and permanent supply—and it is said this could be done ac an expenditure of D2OOO or L3OOO . it would afford profitable employment for 90 or 100 men. This is only one of numerous other p'acea in the district which would return splendid interest on the outlay of a few thousand pounds. German Hill, the deep lead in Ida Valley, various points under the Monnt Ida Range, and different, localities in the St. Bathaus district all afford excellent openings fer the investment of capital, and if intelligently expended we believe that any oue of them would return interest a thousandfold on the outlay.

The prospectors' claim at Mt. Lyell, Tasmauia, has oe -n jumped by Jones and party. AvEßDrccfor defendants, with costs on the highest scale, was the result of the libel action brought bv Sir Julius Vogel against the proprietors of the Weliing on Evening Press.

The time for receiving applications for taeposiiim of mine manager of the Otago Central Cnnp;my has been extended to Oe'ober 20. The same company is now inviting fenders for driving the adit-level along the line of reef a di-t-mce of 150 ft.

The monthly meetii.g of the hospital trustees wis held last Friday, but the only business for transaction was the passing of accouu:s.

At the Warden's Court last Monday another iuj'inctiou wasgrintpd forsevendiys aiainst h. A. Norman, further restraini'ig him from acting as manager of the Progress Q-.M. Company. Section 54, block lit, Lauder, containing 309 a. lr. 6p , has bean sot apart on deferred payments, at the upset p ice of 25s per acre. Sections 46, 47, 50, 52 and 53, block nr, Lauder, have been set apart for perpetual leasing uuder the provisions of the .Land Act of 18S5.

Sir Jflius Yoobl has given notice that he intends to move for a new trial in the libel action brought by him against the Wellington Evening JPress. Thehe is great excitement in the United States and in Central America over numerous discoveri s of gold which have been made in Honduras. Eve-y creek, gully, chasm, arroya and canon is found to contain the precious metal—sometimes in poor patches and sometimes in rich pocke s. Quartz-reefs are ulso abnn lant, and as more than twotbirds of the republic is virgin territory, there is ple ity scope for the prospector. Opals. eme:alds, asbestos and cinnabar are likew.se fouad, but the drawbacks and difficulties are numerous and sjnous. The c imate in p aces is very unhealthy, and the gold-seeker must make up his mind to days of severe foil and nights of exposure in a tropical region, with very uncertain results. A company of Chinese miners working at Howland Flat, Sierra County, California, unearthed on July 25th a mi geet of gold weighing loSlb. and worth 35,000 do'lars. It ranks third with the biggest nutgets found in the world. The fortuuate Chinese had recent y purchased the claim fo- 300do:s. A good sto y is toid of the late Mr Baird, of Gartsherrie, Scotland, who gave the princely doiation of L 250.000 to the C/hurch of Scitland. The first time after the >;ift that the d">nor met his old friend, James Merry, Jamie is reported o h»ve said : " You re ig!OUB simn-r, I see you hae lefi a lot o' siller to the kirk. Noo, I' ll wager you a hundred pounds that you canaa even say the Lord's Prayer." "Done," replied the munificent girer, and the money was tabled. Mr Biird sa: scratching his head a little, so Jamie said : "Cone, say awa." " GH'e me time tae think for a moment." In a few minutes Mr JBaird s'arted off with a triumphant chuckle : " The Lord's uiy Shepherd. I'll not want." " There's the siller," said Jamie ; " I didna think you could say't 1" A GISBORNE paper has the following intereslir g it--in :—lt ia rumored that the " Fifty barrels u day " oil-we 1 has turned out to be on private ground, and that the South Paeifio Company has been philanthropic enough to expend a fen thousands of rounds in boring a well for other people ! We knew that the company was diitmed for great things, but were scarcely prepared for euch a magnanimous display of disinterested benevolence and self-abnegation.

The following Napier scandal is supplied by the local Telegraph :—Many mouths ago a young tradesman of the place was keeping company with one of the charming girls of Napier. He was young in years, only 19 ; and the father, getting a wrinkle of how the land lay, got an introduciion to the son's sweetheart, and (to make a long story shortj soon succeeded in displacing the son from his position, and eventually married the fair one, About ten days ago the husband hud in the course of business to spend some time in the country, and took his departure, leaving his wife and sou in charge of the household goods. His back had not beera long turned when, as if by magic, tne old attachment between the son and his step-mother levived, and the husband had scarcely reached his destination when the pair packed up their belongings and made tracks South, where they now are. What, the upshot of the elopement may be wo know not; but a divorce Buit with a sou as co-respondent would be a decided novelty. The strained relations of a teacher and a school committee were recently considerod by the Wellington education board, the case being one in which the committee expressed a desire that the teacher should be allowed to remain with them a little longer, with a view to seeing whether they could not get on together better. "The teacher has been married lately," explained one member of the board. "Ah," said Mr Bunny, "you never know what effect that may have on a man. Let's give him another trial." The board agreed to this.

It may be interesting to some people to hear a few statistical facts about the hu ,T e territory of Western Australia. Its area is 1,060,000 square miles. The estimated population on 31st December, ISSS, was 19.959 males and 15,197 females; to'al, 35,186 The reTenue for the year 1885 was £323,213 and the expenditure £308,849. The indebtedness of the Colony is £1,283,100, being at the rate of £36 12s 2d per head of the population. The principal export is wool, of which 4,968,0001b5., valued at £248,400, was exported during the year. An offer has been made to the New South "Wales Government to exterminate the rabbits in the Colony at a coat of £5 a day, the result to be demonstrated in nine months ; but a condition is imposed that the investor of the process shall have the exclusive right to its use alter the trial has been completed, i-he&overnmeutuannot giye suchaguarantee, but propose to introduce a bill securing to any making known a process for the extermination of rabbits tbe exclusive benefit of it without patent rights. Concerning the Bulgarian difficulty Keuter informs lisThat the North German Gazette is of opinion that peace will only be secured by allowing .Russia to intervene in Bulgaria and advance on Stamboul; that the Austrian journals complain loudly of Prince Bismarck s disregard of Austrian interests ; that Princs Alexander's servility beneath the Czar's brutality has occasioned great surprise and made him the olvjees of much contempt ; and that the prince has abdicated the throne of Bulgaria and a regency of five appointed.

A late issue of the Scientific American contains an account of the velcanic eruption in Ivew Z aland, in which some astonishing statemer,ts are made. It is said th .t "laid for a'i extent of 130 miles in length by 120 in breadi h was one mass of flames and hot crumbling soil." It is stated that the cold weather lately experienced in ihe South Ishnd has had its advantages. The snow on Molesworth Run in Cauterbury, has done good execution *¥itb the rabbis. A shepherd there has killed over 200 with his waiting-stick. The rabbits were weak and starved by the snow. The sheep, however, are in good condition, and good work is being done in the destruction of bunny by the owner. .W Habdk li.-ensee of the Pioneer Hotel, Dunedw, has been fined £3 and costs, the conviction to be endorsed on his licence for permitting Yankee grab to be pl ay ,d in his house. His Worship, in giving judgment, said the evidence disclosed that dice was kept in ihe liouse, and no games in "which dice was used were lawful, excepting backgammon.

OEFlciili reports of a satisfactory character are published regarding the Kunberley district, where "201)0 men are stated to lie working. Private telegrams from Cambridge Gulf stile >hat th- roads from there to Kimberley are impassable. Tub Roman soldiers who built such wonderful roans utid carried a weight of a m >ur and iugguge thai would crmli the average farm hand lived on coarse bread and B'iur wine. They were temperate in diet and regular and constant in exercise. The Spanish peasant woris every day and dances half the night, yet eats only his black bread, onion and water-melon. The Smyrni porter eats only a little fruit and some olives. He eats no oeef, pork or mutton, yet he walks off •with his load of SOOlba. The coolie, fed on rice, is more active and can endure more tlian the negro fed on fat meat. The heavy work of the world is not done by men who eat the greatest quantity. The fastest or longest-winded horse is not the biggest eater. Moderation in diet seems to be the prerequisite for endurance.

Thb hearing of t he Timaru poisoning case has been further adjourned till Monday next, for ihe examination of Mrs Ball. Bail ha 9 been again refused to both the prisoners. The Wellington Evening Press publishes notes of an interview with Mr .Robert-ion, one of the contractors for the iia.it and Weit Coast railway. Mr Robertson states that the difficulties atto. diug the formation of the line have not exceeded his expectations. It could not bo expected that the iine would be completed for Bome considerable time. £he rat e of wages for navvy labor will have to .be lowered if the undertaking is to be a gaining one. No mention was made of any intention to employ coolie labor, a» had been rumored. Mr Robinson gives it as his opinion that the line would be the means of opening up valuable auriferous and mineral country, as w*ll as a very fair quantity ot fine land for settlement; but he said those who went in for settling along the r>ute would have to be in a position of being able to wait for some considerable time for adequate returns from the land, as a tremondoui quantity of labor in clearing, etc., would have to be expended before it could be put m farming condition. As to whether the company would carry the work throngh, he could merely say that the undertaking was of such a naiuro ihat itß progress could only be gradual, but he balieved the line would he made throughout, though by wuom he did not know.

Tklegbams have been received at Hobart, stating thut payable gold haß been struck north of Mount Tyrell, about a mile north of the prospectors' cl»im, near M icquarie Harbor. Work has been going ou in the vicinity for three years, the prospectors being protected by a prospecting order. Wfaie prospecting has been going on, somn alluvial ground has been worked, yielding 500jZs. of g"»ld. Only twenty people are interested in the claim, and £2OOO has been refused by one of the proprietors. A cubious rival to the enp that cheers but not inebriateß is being gradually introduced at the five o'clock teuß of English fashionable society. In Germany there is in general use a drliciius aromatic beverage known as mai-trank, composed of Rhino wine, suyar. a slice .of orange, with a bunch of tiny waidmeister plants swimming on the lop. A writer ;n Life states that a famous German poet, residing for years in Kngiund, could so litiie forget his mai-trank associations that he had the dear little waidmeister, or woodruff, often sent to him from the bankß of the Rhine. Wow, a botanical connoisseur in Germany has adopted the happy idea of carefully drying the leaves of the plant (the stalks being detaohed) in the midday sun on sheets of paper, until the leaves shrivel up and become quite blank. One day in winter he used the leaves as if they were tea. The result was a splendidly-aromatic decoction of golden-brown color, tasting like the beat tea, and that pioduoed no ill effects as a Btimula.ii'.

The ladies of Paris, tired of wearing dead birds, are now spending fabu'ous sums in procuriug all sorts of creeping thiugi—such as spiders, beetles, etc. —with' which to adorn their hair aud dresses. It seems the idea originated with Mdme. Judic, who, during her trip in South America, was presented by a deputation of feminine admirers iu Brazil with some Brazilian beetles, which, it appears, cau be trained, and are tethered by thin gold chains to a hairpin and allowed to wander ahout her head. In Brazil ladies capture fireflies and enclose then in long tubes of musl ii, with which ihey trim the fronts of their dresses. The effect after dark is magnificeul.

The health-giving properties of rain are not appreciated by she general public. Raia is an essential to physical vig.r in localities that have an extensive population; Man aud his occupations lade the air with countless and unc.assified impurities. The generous, kindly rain absorbs them, even as a washerwoman extracts the dirt from soiled clo'hes. The ammsoiacil exhalations, the gases resultant from com bus lion and decay, are all quielly absorbed by a brisk shower. Peop.e talk about a " dry climate," but it is a snare and a delusion. There is nothing in it. A very dry c'iuia! e will never support a large population, for it would soon become so poisoned that it would be fatal to the human race. A scattered few might inhabit it, but not the multitude.