COUNTRY NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1189, 12 September 1874, Page 9

COUNTRY NEWS.

(from oue own correspondents.) tois tois. I am sorry to report a sad accident that occurred on Tuesday 25th, at noon, to a little boy named Curran, about 12 years of age, eldest son of Mrs Patterson by a former husband. It appears he was in company with another little boy named Wybrow-, each being on horseback, and proceeding to Fortrose, and when within a half mile of this place, they were passing a mare and foal which were grazing on the track, and which belong to a settler named Vincent. When about to pass, the mare backed and kicked out at them, hitting poor little Curran on the leg twice, breaking it midway between the ankle and knee. He had the presence of mind to grasp the mane of the horse he waß riding, and let himself down easily to the ground, where he lay until the other little boy came on for assistance, which ■was speedily rendered by Messrs Jones and Brown, who quickly constructed a stretcher and took the injured lad carefully home. Being so far from any surgical assistance, the poor little fellow had to pass all the afternoon and night without the leg being set, and then had to be taken this day (Wednesday), via the Bluff, over land and water, to Inveroargill, before medical assistance could be got. Every care was taken to render his transit easy, he being boated up the Mataura to the Bend five miles, thence on stretcher two miles, then boated up the Big Lagoon ten miles, then again carried eight miles on stretcher, then again boated over the ferry to the Bluff township, thence to Invercargill by train 18 miles — where he will arrive before noon tomorrow (Thursday). Great sympathy is felt for the little fellow, who is a very intelligent, well-behaved lad. A meeting of the Local Committee who have raised sufficient funds to erect a public building in the township of Fertrose, was held on Saturday evening, August 22nd, when it was unanimously resolved that the Chairman, Mr G. H. Attwood. do apply to the Waste Lands Board, Dunedin, for permission to purchase two acres of land in the township reserve for the purpose of erecting the building upon. The members present were Messrs 0. R. Brunton, J. Christie, R. M'Kenzie, J. Smith, and G. H. Attwood. LAWRENCE. We have been favoured with very fair weather for a little time, and the signs of winter have nearly disappeared. The snow has gone, and the ploughs have been kept to work in preparation for spring. The building of the Court-house and Town Hall have made rapid progress during the past week. In the former the stone walls are nearly finished, and the concrete partitions have advanced considerably. A large portion of the timber, lining, and mouldings have already been cut, and it will not take very long to give a finish to the whole building. The bricklayers have shown a good amount of work with the Town Hall. A great feeling of regret is felt here that we are not likely to have the usual judicial visits from Judge Gray for some time to come. We hope that his state of health will be very much improved by a recess from his duties, and that he may soon be enabled to let us set our eyes on him again. Mr Farrar (who has for a number of years held the position of Manager for the Bank of New; South Wales here) left last week on a visit to the old country. He has leave of absence for 12 months. A gentleman from the Clyde branch of the Bank has taken his place in the meantime. Before Mr Farrar left, some of his private friends invited him to a dinner, and there presented him with £200, as a token of esteem. Our Hospital Committee have received a letter from two ladies at Havelock (who worked hard to collect funds for the institution), complaining that commission has been charged on the sums which they had gathered up. It would seem that another complaint is made about the quantity of chlorodyne which has been used ; and one does not know where these complaints will end. LAWRENCE. The sum paid for the necessary supply of water in mining operations at the Blue Spur is considerable, and the Companies there have turned their attention to find out some means to lessen this expenditure. After the auriferous clay is separated from the large mass, a number of men have hitherto set to work for the purpose of breaking it up into small pieces, so as to allow the water to have more play upon it, and thus secure a larger return of the precious metal in the boxes. The North of Ireland party, however, have purchased the quartz crushing machinery from the Gabriel's Quartz Mining Company, and it is estimated that it will afford great assistance to the North of Ireland men, and as the clay (when crushed) will be easily susceptible to the water, they anticipate saving at least one-half of their present water rates. This idea has quite taken with a number of people, and the consequence is that shares in this Company have risen in price, and are in great demand. One cannot but regret that the Quartz Crushing Company must give up thc-iv endeavours for the present, andpartwith their machinery, which has cost a great deal of money ; and had the vein struck been a true one instead of a fault, no doubt the Quartz Co. would have been able to carry on, if not to return something to the parties who have launched their money in the undertaking. No doubt there is a true vein of quartz in the direction of the mine, and had the Company been able to keep on their prospecting they might have found it out, but they could not afford this, bo the matter must lie by for some time to

come unless the Government lend a helping hand. Ifc is anticipated that such may be the case during next session of the Assembly. Our "land mania" has not died away yet, and when news arrived that the Tuapeka Hundred was to be declared, many enquiries were made at the Survey Office here, and plans were examined of every corner, and some had made up their minds to purchase the whole in one piece. A public meeting was held, however, and resolutions were passed to the effect that it would be non-politic to adopt the leasing system on the goldflelds. Whether the Superintendent will accede to these resolutions remains to bo seeu. We regret to hear of the death of Mr Hunter, one of the contractors for the railway here. He wis very iruch respected by all his employes, and his great tact and good judgment tended very much to the progress in a satisfactory manner of the various works in which he was engaged. _We have, unexpectedly, the pleasure of a visit from Judge Gray, who sits in the District Court here to-morrow. The Supreme Court sitting will be held on Tuesday, the 15th. *' There has been a great deal of sickness in this district during the winter, and ample work for a third medical man. This is a large district, and a steady, respectable gentleman would be well encouraged. A lecture on Phrenology and Mesmerism was delivered by Dr Carr on Saturday evening, and last night he gave a popular lecture, subject: "The Grave, and after." The lecturer is evidently a man of no mean attainments, and he has good elocutional qualifications. He rendered his subject on Sunday in a very taking and impressive manner, and many appeared to wake up to thought. It was one of the best-delivered lectures we have heard here for some time. CLYDE. The Pneumatic Company's punt has been successfully raised, and is again afloat. Little or no damage has been done to the hull. She has been hauled on to the opposite side of the rher, near to the Clyde coal pit, where all the necessary repairs will be done. The pneumatic tubes and portions of the machinery are lying on the beach where the accident occurred, and there will be no difficulty in again shipping them, so we may presume that she will be fit for work in a short time. I hear of several washings-up taking place on the west bank of the Molyneux, the results of which are most satisfactory. 1 was told that one party had half a pannikin of gold, and had good reason to expect getting a full one ; -however, this must be taken cum cjrano salts, as parties are at times liable to exaggerate a little. Application is buhig made by M'Nally, Hastie, and party for a special claim of 20 acres on the fall of the terraces of the Wai Keri Valley. The reason given is that they are bringing iv a head race 27 miles in length, at a cost of between £6000 and £7000. The Clyde coal pit is now in full work, after a considerable number of mishaps of one kind or another. The quantity of coal in this lease is said to be something enormous, there being several seams, one of which is 30ft in thickness. There is now daily raised sufficient coal to supply a population far larger than ours. The quality of one of the seams is said to be nearly equal to Newcastle for steam purposes, and is used for the engines of the Pneumatic and Salamander Dredge Companies. The latter is at work again. • They had the misfortune to break the crank of the engine. This has been put to rights, and it is said payable gold is being obtained. It blew a tremendous gale on Wednesday night, or I should say early on Thursday morning, and a heavy fall of snow took place and continued till midday on Thursday. It does not appear to have been a general one, but coming from the south 6truck across the Knobbys towards the Dunstan Ranges, which were covered to a considerable depth. I Wehaveamonument of follyand red-tapeism, a Court House, with its doors locked and no furniture and fittings inside, hence just as i useless as though it had never been built. How much longer will it be before our Courts can be held in a decent place, or are to be doomed to that rabbit hutch which has been doing duty for a Court House for years ? His Honour Judge Wilson Gray sat in the District Court onThursday andFnday. There were no cases of importance for hearing. The Secretary of Goldfields passed through here this evening on his way to Cromwell.