COUNTRY NEWS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3764, 28 February 1874, Page 5 (Supplement)

COUNTRY NEWS.

(PROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.) : . LAWRENCE. We have had a great variety of amusements for the past week; and this, coupled with the fine w.eather we, have experienced, has caused the community to be a little more lively than usual.' In the first place, 'we had an exhibition ■of the m&dfcl stiip Plinis'pll, which was. very much admired. Then. we had the Carandmi Troupe, who gave.two performances,'which were ;.very well-at-; tended, and elicited the hearty ..applause of the audiences. , Madame Carandini is well known by many in this quarter, and she along with the whole of the Company did their beßt to revive a fond desire for firstclass music. It would• therefore be vain, to attempt to single out each individual in the tespeotive parts. ['. '.; A large influx of people came here from all directions, in anticipation of the races, which have occupied yesterday and to-day, andthe assemblage present,on the grounds seemed to enjoy the amusement very much. You will no doubt' be possessed with the result of the races from your special reporter. .' ■ ii; Miss.Clara Stephenson gave performances yesterday and to-night to good audiences, and 'another ia announced for tomorrow.' ;v ; "Mr Sheath's son seems to be recovering from: the-effects of1 his. late fall from his horse, and hopes are entertained that he will soon be convalescent. '" .. , ! '•'■';' '. ■''.■;■" ':;' ; "..swrrzEßs. ! ' : " . . The chief topic: on the boards at presont is ■ the-telegraph, which I suppose will soon, be, in workiog order, ,"aa the posts are now'being [erected in the township;..the only draw-back to our full enjoyment being i;he vexed question as to whether the terminus shall' be placed high or low, on the hill or on the flat. The new Waiaki* township will doubtless be the metropolis-at some future time; ;but certainly, until the banks and Government Offices are removed to that locality, it would be most'unwise to: place the Telegraph Station there, as it would' be" a great inconvenience to all the principal inhabitants of Switzers. The track -to the Whitcombe is, I hear, drawing near its completion.' It is well constructed, and~will be a great boon to the residents up the Waikaia. . .:, jjlixe\'< harvest;; which as' a'plentiful one, is keeping every one:biisyi and as it is the sort of labour which rejoiceth a. man's heart, we have' plenty of sniiUng face's and cheerful words.; The want-Of., labour rhas not been felt so much-with ns since the Chinese have; been utilised,for following the reaping machines., . 7 '.*.""' i > ' Our annual races come off next week, and should tiie delightful weather continue which we have at present; we may expect a! really good meeting, and two oiv three days lof enjoyment, as the .handicaps have filled well. The booth and gate were let by'tender. Mr H. N. 'Simson obtaining the former at £40, and M'Mennell and Co. the latter at £10. Our-R.M.. shewed his disapprobation of marital severity yesterday by sentencing a Hibernian "gentlemen to two months'^imprisonment, with .hard labour, for merely beginning the Sunday duties by beating and; kicking his wife. Her cries .were heard a long distance off, and after escaping twice, he still pursued,.her, knocked her down, and trampled upon her, no doubt believing in his innocent ; heart that; a<man has a right to do" as he likes with "his own, ; The want of female labour is still 5 much felt, but the ladies prefer doing their own washing and cooking," rather than, by importing one of the Mongol's passengers, •; bring upon us the scourge of scarlet fever, from! .which we, sufferedso .severely some time ago, 'and'which still'leaves its tokens in the shape of,many, a little .mound in the cemetery, and many a' "vacant chair" in the cottages.- ' Whose fault is ib that ships are allowed to leave England bearing the seeds of . disease aiid : death to our shores ? , The sooner we rebel against it the better. ' . . : CLYDE. • It is ah'axiom that'"after a storm comes a calm."- \Thia. appears to apply to the state of affairs here. Since the election, during the first part of-the week, everything wore a quiet appearance. ! t. , (.The farmers are busy getting' ;the balance of the crop in. Rain is beginning to be-sadly wanted, as the grass *is getting burnt up. The shearing at the stations in -the vicinity of the Dunstan has nearly all finished, j The miners are all- steadily at work: in many places the water is getting short, andjsome are only able toswork about four or five hours a day. ' , ,■ t ..■-.. < The Donstati Mining Association held a meeting "on Saturday, for the purpose .of electing officers, and to niake arrangements for the meeting of delegates, which is to be held at Clyde on" the 2nd of March. ' Mr Thomas Sims was chosen to be the delegate to represent the Dunstan Associations at the conference. ..-~ : , ; . ~< : The- Kennedys'gave1 us their Entertainmentj Hours at Hame." They had a good house, and, judging from the applause of some of our Sc'dtch friends, there cannot be a doubt that it was highly gratifying to the sons and daiighters of old Scotia just to get a wee ,crack, jLE only in imagination, of; days gone by. ! ' "! I told you in my. last "that there, was riot a single applicant for the Hawea block, this cannot be said of- the Teviot block on deferred payments, as will be seen by the; list hereunder of the_ applicants, who have in round numbers applied for 1300 acres. Applicants for. Block*. 111., Teviot:—Sections 12, 14, 16, 18p, 200 a. 2r.. 12p., William Ashmore, Otakia, farmer ; sections 19,1 21, 22, 24, 199 a. 3r. Bp.j Alexander M'Donald, Teviot, miner ; sections 15/ 17, 18, 20, 199 a. 3r. Bp., Thomas M'lntosh; ■ Teviot, miner; sections 11, 19,-20. 22, 199 a. 3r. Bp., Adam M'Kenzie,. Long-Valleyj settler; sections 19, 21, 23, "149 a. 3r.lGp., George Courtier, Teviot, labourer';; section 4i-49a. 3r. ;2p., Andrew Young, Teviot,. miner ; sections: 10, 8, 9Ga. Or. ,4p.,'Francis. :WoodWuse, TeyiotJ miner ; sections 14,12, 100a.-Sir. Bp., Thomas Ellis, Roxburgh, miner; sections 14, 12; 13, 11,.202 a. 2r. 12p., James,Woodhouse, Teyiot, miner. There being more than one applicant for many of-the sections, a day will be appointed to decide who,are to be the fortunate possessors. A man named Wpspn,;a miner from the Gorge, was brought to the Dunstan Hospital with a broken leg, caused by a tall of earth. He was promptly attended by Dr Thomson, the resident surgeon.. What makes:the case more lamentable is that the unfortunate man's'wife is in the Hospital; suffering from derangement. •.'," ,: ; i, -; ■■ The Albert Music Hall, Sheffield, was formally opened on 'December 15th. The hall has cost £20,000. The organ is said to ; be the finest in England. ■•; ," ' : Belgian journals relate that as Mademoiselle Andree, one of the singers of the Theatre dv Pavilion at Liege, was about to leave, the stage after haying sung a romance, she was struck in the face by a stone thrown from the left-hand gallery, but was not seriously injured. The police were unable to discover the delinquent. The famous M. Regnior has written a remarkable letter to The ;Times, in which; he announces hisihtentiori of coming to England. He propoao3, in order to do away with the aspersions cast on his reputation", that an enquiry should be instituted by the editor of The Times and two other editors into his conduct. He promises to answer all questions addressed to.him, and expresses his confidence of a favourable result.. In the event of a decision against him he will wander away like another Cain. The Liverpool Albion's Wigan, correspondent writes :—-" A smart-looking boatman, early on Monday morning, passing over Marsh Green, Pemberton, near Wigan, encouraged his favourite bull pup to draw blood from, the leg of ■ a young woman who was following her :usual employment; The ferocious brute had literally to have its jaws forced open from the dainty grip, and the poor girl, with a leg torn and lacerated in nine places, sent to a neighbouring surgeon to procure the requisite surgical assistance."