Country News in Brief.

Otago Witness, Issue 1490, 5 June 1880, Page 22

Country News in Brief.

{Culled, from our Country Contemporaries.) It is said that a drunken man is regarded as a curiosity at Cambrians. The Lawrence Athenojum last month had a anemberehip of 120. A very successful Harvest florae gathering at Unapeka Jflat was held last wi-< k. The want of a debating booiety ia felt at Boxburgh, Town property in Gore id Baid to be increasing in value daily. Poaching is rife in the Wailcjvmiti district. A Bowling and Quoiting Club is about to be started at Baloluthu. At Wangaloa Mr James Darling's oats turned out 75 bushels to the acre. Two threshing machines were at work at Wangatoa last week A large and commodious goods yard hat just been finished ac tbe Waiweia railway station. Interest is becoming Rfneral in the country districts in tbe furilicuming road board elec tions.

A balance of £254 9s 6.1 is still due lo tbe Inch Clutha Eiver ai^d Koad Buaid lor raie&. Defaulters are about tv be tuu.naoued.

Tbe estimated receipts for th« curient year of the Invercargill Borough CouLcil are sit down at £36,008.

An entertainment at Duntroon in oid of tbe funds of tbe local school coinmitiee last week realised £12.

A night class is conducted by Mr M Coll, of Wangaloa, at Mr .Mitel cli's farm. It is well attended.

The Arrow Liberul ConnuiUee bave ju3t n ade a selection cf £51 worth, of books, equal to about 250 voluu,eu

£362 was won by residents cf Clinton iv Cameron's sneupa uu tho Dunedin Birthday races.

The total amount colli'i tedut Alexandra in aid of tbe Irish Famine Relict Fund was £100 Is6d.

Forty shareholders were 1 picecut at tbe first meeting of tbe ih-nio'oto Flour Mill Comply. It was stated tbat 1400 sbdiet bavebteu uHottia

A concert and ball in aid of tbe local Garrison Band at Queenstown, on tbe Queen's birthday, realised £23 10s.

There are now 3000 volumes in tbe library of the Oamaru Atheureum, includiug 1144 added during the past and present years. A child at Milton who was stung by a stray bee lost its sight for a while. After the sting was removed and leeches had been applied, the Bight returned. A concert was held at Tuapeua Mouth on the 21st ult., for the benefit of I). M. Scott, late teacher of that place, and whose case has excited considerable attention. £7 net was realiped.

Winter evening classes are held on Tuesday and Friday evenings at Lawrence. The Eev. G. P. Beaumont, M.A., and Mr Stenhouse (Eeotor) and Mr T. Johnston, (second master) of the local High School, conduct the classes. In speaking of the decision of the Government not to use the new post and telegraph offices at Waitahuna for the purpose for which they were erected, tbe Tuapeka Times says that, it is of opinion that before twelve months the business would increase by at least 50 per cent, if conducted in the new offices.

The local chemist at Clyde has made a. new departure, having opened a grocery store in ad dition to his dispensary. The opening advertise mont announces groceries at prices bitberto unknown in the district, and that the new grocer will do business for " cash only." Tbe Dunstan Gun Club held a successful meeting at Cromwell on tbe Queen's Birthday. Prizes to the amount of £40 wore competed for. The first prize was valued at £17 17t> There were close on 300 birds available.

An agitation is on foot in Gore for an alteration in tbe Municipal Corporations Act, to enable townships with a less number than 250 householders to be incorporated.

The goods traffic at Waiwera is stated to be rapidly increasing. A goods shed has just been erected, and a number of other improvements effected.

The Puerua correspondent of tie Clutba paper estimates that there is a deficiency of about five bushels to the acre iv tbat district, attributable to tbe dry season aud late sowing. Mr H. L. Gilbert, the well known Presbyterian Missionary is an Englishman, and is the father of the Rev Mr Gilbert, late Episcopalian clergyman at Tapanui, Fifty-five new volumes have been added to the Inch Valley school library. Two shillings per quarter is the subscription fee, and new sub?cribers are required to eleposit the value of a book. Air James M'Donald, of Crookston, baa sent a splendid sample of potatoes to the Tapanui Farmers' Club room for exhibition, They are of extremely large sizOj and the yield per acre was eleven tons.

Two hundrpd <\nd fifty persona attended a conwt at ShHtf Point in aid of the Mineis and Mtrht; ies 1 J sti'u^e, The giO'S proceeds anjdun ed fen £17

A cones^omleut iti ihe P and W. Times pays th.it 30 years f«o lie formed tbe opinion ta,>6 Wbiknuniti Bay was tbe oaly fit place whote tb<i^ 11 cu-ii ha bour could be formed on ihe eifi cua fc of Otago, and tbat he is of the same oph iou s ill

The T<tpanui Prcsby eriun congregation resolved at a meeting by twenty six to five to introduce the Presbyterian hymn book. It also determined to plect two elders and &ix deacons.

The lowest tender for the new play yhe ! in connection with the Ttpanui school wn« £48 10a. It. was accepted, nn<l it w<s dtcid- J u> „ot up a<i t-nteituini. ent to rui-'P funds.

The rendiug room uf the Tuapeka Alhoi as mi is well provided wi b the Home aud O'lmidl paper?, is also well li«h fd and warm- ', and has in »di)itiou a libiarv nf over 2000 volumes

Tbe Wetherston^s C-'inent Coinpivw luivo declared.!, divide d of 3d dach ou 800J »huroa for the month's work

Tbe Tunpeki County Council estiri' '* p- its expenditmo for tbe eu-uin^ jear at £21410, of which £700 is to bo given to the tw > Ro.id Bonds

The Wuikouaiti Pl"ua;binir Ma'di A t -'K'i,i ion have a rwirfupe over from last >6'ir of £9 La:t year their balinc fioui the previous m.i eh uhs £12 or IJ'3.

The Tiwpt'k.i Tim s tbi k* that Mi» di-tpr<ri-natiou <'t the V>iu-ont. O u^iy C' until to wublish a Cuiuv \ Nut«tT}isa 'model' re-<>]uthti, and one whiih (>tb» i r councils wou'cl do wpII " when found, t<> m k-> . n< to of."

A " Jer<my D ildler " bn-< lj(vn pavinc n vi«it toNaß^by, ai d viutnui-irgt' c local sho'iki'fpfirs and > u^iic.iUb. As a de.-cripfciou of bim bus been lelegiaplied up cniuuy, he i likely, unless be uicudu In wu\& 10 fiad hiou.uf iv thu hands of the p.>! oe ere lon a . TLere are said tv be .-)ixt,y feet of .vitter at tbe entiance of Wnik"iiaiti Bay, which >f 0 ly distant about one "nd a half miles from Wiiilcmaiti railway station, with a la^on intetvonin? that simply requires to bedredjjed to ei<ahle the largest ye sel in tht woi Id to come right up to the station to discharge and take in cargo Tlie c is certainly a ehanee here for some en'erpris in# millionare to increase hia ii tie storo. The nomination t f candidate s f^r the vnonnev in the House of Representative' midpred vacant by tbe resignation o* Mi" t'. W Hismp, tbe member for Waitaki, taken place on tbe Bth, and the poll on the 16th. The contest appears to be between TVJr Georgo Jonp?, proprietor of the Oamaru Evening Mail (Liberal), and Mr John Reid, of Elierelie (Ci.nsi rvative), the second Liberal candidate ( vJr Rubens) being apparently out of the ruuuin^. The bazjar in aid of tbe Church of England building fund at Gore w s opem-d on tbe Queen's Birthday 'I he I cal paper mentions tbat it was particularly noticeable that during the t ro o days it was opened, no clergyman belonging 10 that denomination was present. Tbe takings amounted to £75 Other articles *o be disposed of by auction, together with some livt< stock pi evented by settlers, were expeoted to bring 11 it the gross proceeds to £100 Tbe following motion was passed at n recent meeting of the South Mclyueux Roid Board : — r hat the Olprk cominunicafpi with the difffrent Road Boaidsin the Clutha County lecoiumeu.l iu)z the levying <if a r^te of one sbiiiiuu^ in tbe pound, so lb.it they aiiglit act together in p-t ttioMug the Couucii ro restrict tLeir ra 0 t-o t >.v o^nco iv tbe pound ; and fuither reminding tbe Board tha. tbe County Council couki diet to rrceiw tbeir subsidy on either tbe County or Road Board rates, which prove to bo highur.