BEE, TO MR. JOHN SHEPHERD AT INCH CLUTHA. (Communicated.)

Otago Daily Times, Issue 236, 22 September 1862, Page 5

BEE, TO MR. JOHN SHEPHERD AT INCH CLUTHA. (Communicated.)

fnch Clutha, 12iu Sept., 1862,

A few days ago our little island world <I<mi here, wa« startled out of its hitherto quiet propriety, by its inhabitant* indulging in the luxury of getting an a grand ploughing match. In these gold stirring times such rural innocence may bo fotaewftat sneered at and looked upaa ly the great man of jour readers, as too slow ; sn a(T;ir far their consideration. Still there are the thinking few in the land who, not yet tinged with the auri sacra fames, and foreseeing the reactions that are ever sure to occur in countries convulsed by gold fields, rather prefer to limit their ambition to the mare moderate profits that arise from, agricultural nnd pastoral pursuits, than diving into the bowels of the earth, after gains that are both, precarious and uncertain.

The ploughing match to which, allusion i* now made, besides being tho first that has occurred in the Molyneux, was in thw instance attended with circumstances of a peculiarly j^-atifying nature. The settlers in the locality, wishing to show their good will and respect for their neighbor (our ci decant faithful Government servant, Mr. John Shepherd) agreed amongst themselves to give him a day's ploughing, in order to start him well in hia new avocation as a tiller of the Boil. The occasion was therefore seized upon to inaugurate our first ploughing match, and which went off with the greatest possible eclat. The scene of action waa on a beautiful eight acre field, belonging to Mr. Shepherd, which had previously been cleared and properly marked off for the different ploughs. The number of ploughs that mustered on the occasion was eleven, namely, 5-horse teams and 0 bullock teamg in harness, and which, in fact, comprised the total number of ploughs on the Island, with one solitary and rather eccentric exception.

It would not be right for the " cockatoos" to draw upon the patience of your readers, by entering too much into details, suffice it therefore to say, that one and all performed their work well, and what is more, with that hearty good will, that must have beea very gratifying to Mr. Shepherd. There were fire prizes competed for, which, by competent judges were awarded in all fnirne&s to the " lucky diggers,1' whose work displayed the greatest amount of skill. The first priz<! was gained by John Noble, servant to Mr. Pillans; the second by George Guild, servant to Mr. Bowler; the third by Alexander Johnston, servant to Mr. Anderson; the fourtn by Francis Lees, servant to Mr. Willcock, and the fifth by Mr. John Darling, with his own plough. Some time before sundown the whole eight acres were broken up and ready for the harrow?, and no doubt all who took part in that neighbourly act, wish Mr. Shepherd all euccess in tbc gathering of his first harvest.

Cynics and your would-be go-aheads^ have tried to make out that the settlers down in this part of the country have not kept pace with the agricultural districts lying to the north of this; but to whatever extent this may be true, it ought also to be borne in mind that the Molynites have not had the same advantages as regard the proximity of markets, nor have the means of communication been bucli in the early days of the settlement as to induce the extension of farming operations beyond what was considered a prudent point. Now, however, that the Government driven on by the all-potent miners here, cast their eye upon ibis noble stream with a view to developing the resources of the country by running steamers on it, besides contemplating the making of roada that ought in all fairness to have been made long a«o {inter-alia the one leading from the port to the die pings), there is some hope that this garden of the Province will ere long take its front rank as a cultivated district, as it now does for possessing the richest soil, the final scenery, and a river second to none in Ntw Zealand

Oahgnani reports" a raid made by the Parisian police on a bjgh-olara gasabling-house :—The poliro ivo nights back made a descent on a splendidly furnished apartment in the Rue da Hanovre, belonging to a Mme. D , aud in which clandestine gambling was earned on. On the police entering, a number of persons of both sexes, professional gamblers, and-women of the demi-monde, with a few foreigners, their dupes, were discovered seated round a green baize table at play, and from the amount of tbe stakes before them it was evident that a heavy game was being carried oa. One of the ladies present was bo surprised at the sudden apnaration of the police that she went oil" into a violent fit, and on another was found the following curious letter of invitation :—" Dear Uttle friend,—Mme. Cognotte will give a dance thia evening. There will be music {the clink of the money) immediately after dinner. There will also b3 this time some excellent llnsssian partners and others; no one is to be feared from the offices of the Pout-Neuf. (Nothing is to be feared from the police, the olHce3 of which are near the Pont-Nent.) Ido not require, little dear, a grand toilette; but if you come again in your mauve morning dress, pnt on I beg you a corset" (spelt corcfi). The woman who kept the honse was taken to the Prefecture, and the stakes and furniture seized. * "