LAKE COUNTRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1555, 27 August 1881, Page 13

LAKE COUNTRY.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) August 21st. The steamer Mountaineer, which coat the Lake Wakatipu Steam Navigation Company about £7000 to place upon the Lake, was knocked down at public auction to the mortgagee, Mr M'Queen, of Dunedin, for the sum of £2400. This fact, simple as a statement, tells manifold tales, the morals of all of which may be summed up by the comprehensive verdict of " Mismanagement," to which, by way of a rider, may be added, " Sarves them right !" It remains to be seen whether the district, after having enjoyed and appreciated for upwards of two years the advantages of a fast boat, the performances of which could be relied upon, will now quietly go back to the conveyances of three years ago. It would be indeed a dear lesson to the district if after sinking £10,00.)— which amount represents the capital of the defunct Company and all of which was spent- some way should not be found to provide a means of communication upon Lake Wakatipu, between Kingston and Queenstown, that will accommodate the growing tr de of the district, and keep pace with its increasing commercial importance. The grain crops of the district— viz., wheat, barley, and oats— have proved themselves of superior quality, and as thoy become better known the demand for them will be greatly increased, and create a trade of no mean proportions. „,.,. , .... . There are also si,2ns manifest of the building stone of the district (of which there is an unlimited supply) rising into notice and importance, and already considerable difficulty is experienced in the transport of large blocks of stone because of the want of a suitable crane a*. Kingston Railway Jetty. Taking this, together with the wool produce and the not inconsiderable passenger traffic, tho question arises whether the greatest mistake made by the Wakatipu Steam Navigation Company was not the winding up of the Company. Whatever inconvenience and loss the district may suffer in the meantimo by this ill-advised step, there is sufficient guarantee in the natural wealth of the district that thi3 loss will only be a temporary one. On account of the mild and moist weather which has prevailed for the past month vegetation of all kinds is showing forward signs of life. Trees and shrubs are budding, and seeds aro shooting up. The fa!l-»own wheat looks healthy and promising, and preparations for spring sowings of the same crop and of oats and barley are progressing apace. With all vegetation nearly a month in advance of the usual experience in this district, the behaviour of the clerk of the weather becomes a matter of extreme anxiety to those interested. However, the sparsentss of snow, and the high elevation at which the larger masses lie on the mountains of the district, gives a certain amount of assurance that frosts will be neither very severe nor greatly protracted. The mild and open winter just past has been very trying to many constitutions, and on the whole there has never been such a season experienced when sicknesses and ailments have been so prevalent as was the case during the last two or three months. Death, who was formerly known here as only a fitful and rare visitor, now makes his calls rather frequently, and scarcely a woek passes but he selects a victim. Last week Kobort Holmes, the only child of Mr and Mrs Holmes, • ied, after a long and painful illness, at the a"-c of sixteen years. The deceased, who was generally liked by all who knew him, was a lad of much promise, and great sympathy is felt for the bereaved parents. The decea.ed was intened in tho Arr< w Cemetery, the funeral being attended by a very large concourse of sympathisers, including marly all the schoolfellows of the deceased, as also the teaeheis. Tho Rev. Mr Robins conducted the obsequies at the grave i an impressive manner. The Arrow Waterworks are now fast nearing their completion. All the branch pipes have been laid, and there only remain some forty chains of mains to be put down. Up to the present nothing has transpired whether or in what manner the Corporation intends to publicly inaugurate the works, but it is generally understood that the auspicious event will be commemorated in a fitting manner. Speaking of inaugurations reminds me of the measly kind of opening of the County Chambers at Queenstown. A grand ball, at which it is said nine ladies were present, and which was countenanced by the Chairman of Lake County Council, took plate recently in the newly-finished County Chambors, and being the first event in the existence of the building, the public mind is much exorcised to know whether it was a formal inauguration affair from which they were studiously excluded, or if they have still such an event to expect. With the guests who attended the ball the public and " your own " havo nothing whatever to do : our concern only lies with tho event and its promoters. It appears that a section of our aristocracy conceivod the idea of opening the County Chambers in their own peculiar style, which has a decided leaning to the cheap and nasby. The guests were left to provide their own music ; the programmes were written on the business card^ of Messrs " Going, Going, Gone," and Co., auctioneers ; the whisky came from heaven only knows where ; the public contributed a plentiful supply of snowballs ; and the fun and amusement was hilarious and abundant all round, in which, however, a few " belltop,>ers" and at leasit one Sunday-KO-to-meeting suit were somewhat damaged. The ratepayers are now anxious to know if the County Chambers were built for the purposes of a ball-room, and if anyone, whether ratepayer or not, can have the use of them ; and also if, as it is alleged, the ball was a strictly private one, who let the Chambers for the purpose, who paid the rent, and

what was the amount of it ? These and similar ques» , tions it is trusted will be ventilated for the infonua- ) tion of the ratepayers at the next meeting- of the j Council. The Arrowtown Corporation is ab"ut to be proceeded against by Mr Thomas Mulvihill for alleged ; interference with his mining privile es in Bush Creek, i from which the Corporation intends to take the new water supply. The damages are laid at £250, and the case will be heard at Queenstown on tlie 30th inst , before the Chief Jiintke, Sir James Prendergast, and two assessors. The local Press is informed that Mr Finn has given notice that, on going into Committee of Supply, ho will move that all corre3po .dence between the Government and all persons having reference to tho c instruction of the Macetown dray road be laid upon the table of tho House. 1 his is the attempt to coe cc the Premier to divulge the names of ceituin parties', which Mr Finn threatened some time ago, considerably toned down ; yet he was publicly thanked for the more absurd idea by an individual who could not resist the combined temptation of fawning upon a member of Parliament and seeing his name in print. Such a piece of abasement was not only out of place and uncalled-for, but is calculated to bring a constituency into contempt. It is certainly time enough to thank public men when they have done something, without buttering them up for their intentions ; but it is always thus : " Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."