PROVINCIAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1602, 5 August 1882, Page 11

PROVINCIAL.

/ Cromwell District Hospital is without a single patient. The Alexandra bridge over the Clutha haa cost £18,360. Anew grandstand is to be erected at the Oamaru racecourse at a cost of £1500. A bibulous Gore resident has, under the provisions of the Licensing Act, taken out a. prohibition order against himself. Mr Duncan Sutherland has presented the Livingstone Sabbath school with 25 primers. The books are on a variety of subjects suitable to young readers. The residents of Hampden presented a handsomo silver watch to the local station and postmaster, as a mark of tho esteem in which he is held in the district.

A very successful concert was held at Naseby on the night of the 27th in aid of the Burns Statue Fund. The nee proceeds will be about £15.

A man named Andrew Horn, at Queenstown, has been fined 10s, or seven days' imprisonment, for hitting Sergeant Gilbert with a snowball.

Sergeant Morton, whilst travelling from Winton to Invercargill, fell off the train, and received such injuries as will prevent him resuming Ins duties for a considerable time.

The Chamber of Commerce at Invercargill is having a memorial to Parliament prepared, praying that the Bluff be made a port of call for the now line of steamers.

The total amount of customs collected at Oamaru during the month of July was £1204 Is 2d. The amount received during the corresponding period of las>t year was £1534 17s 7d.

On Saturday morning a man named John Dunlop, from Rocklands Station, was admitted into the Hospital suffering from a fracture of the left leg, caused by a waggon passing over the limb.

Vincent County Council has liabilities to the amount of £7344, and an actual overdraft of £5502. The bank has intimated that in future it will not allow the limit of overdraft (£5000) to be exceeded. The North Otago Times understands that a contingent of the Oamaru Hussar troop will be formed at Kakanui, and that a gentleman who has had experience in a cavalry regiment of the line will perform the duties of instructor in the meantime.

Our Naseby correspondent telegraphs:— "Frost has set in very hard here, and curling and skating are in full swing. Advantage ia being taken of the moonlight to keep up these amusements, which now proceed by day and night. The ice is magnificent,"

Mr G. F. Martin, Inveroargill, reports the sale last week of 1035 acres of the Seaward Downs Estate at prices ranging from £2 to £7 10s per acre. Mr Martin also sold 600 acres of Mr John Morison's Dipton property to Messrs P. and J. Laing at £4 per acre.

The Mt Ida Prospecting Association have called for tenders for sinking an additional 50 feet. The shaft is now down 225 feet, and the indications are promising. Nearly £500 has already been expended, and Government have promised to subsidise to the extent of £300. The weather in the Mt Ida district continues changeable, but mining has been but little _ interrupted, although there has been sufficient ice for curling and skating. There is some talk of the Dunedin curlers coming up shortly to play the annual match.

Messrs Ronayne, Lintott, Moss, Johnston, and Dodge have been appointed a committee to draw up the prospectus for a Plumpton coursing-ground at Oamaru. It is proposed to establish it at the racecourse, the lessees of which will be asked to grant terms.

A resident in the Hawea district informs the Cromwell Argus that last week there were seen near Timaru Creek, Lake Hawea, nine red deer, four bucks and five does. This information will doubtless be gratifying to the Acclimatisation Society, as indicating that the deer turned out many years ago at Morven Hills are multiplying and spreading over the back country.

Griffith Griffiths, a boarding-house keeper at Queenstown, has been fined £5 for sly grogselling. The information was laid by Wong G-ye. Chinese interpreter, who described himself as "a police constable for Chinese, but also supposed to look after Europeans." He added, "My duty lies all over Otago; and I will take up Europeans as well as Chinese, if I can manage it."

What their mountain tracks are like in the Wakatipu district is exemplified in the case of a patient recently conveyed from Skippers to Queenstown to the hospital. According to the Mail, 65 men wore engaged in attending and carrying the man (whose name was Morton) from 'Skippers to the Saddle, and after that some 40 men to bring him into Queenstown, He has since died in the hospital.

A case of sudden death is reported in the Wakatipu Mail from Skippers. A young girl, aged 13, named Helen, eldest daughter of Mr Egbert Sainsbury, was found dead in her bed one morning. She had gone to bed about 10 the night before, apparently quite well, e.xcejjfc that she complained of a slight pain in her stomach. A younger sisrer found her dead at 7 the next morning. It is thought she had ruptured a bloodvessel, as her mouth was filled with blood.

A coroner's inquest was held on Monday before Mr J. N. Wood, R.M., and a jury, at the Lake Hotel, Waihola, upon the body of David Kirkness. The deceased, who was a fisherman and resided at Caversham, left his home on the 19th of June, and on reaching the Taieri Ferry borrowed a boat to go fishing. Two days afterwards the boat was picked up floating down the Taieri River ; but nothing was discovered concerning- the man until his body was picked up on the 28th ult., near where the boat had been found. The Coroner's Jury returned a verdict of " Found drowned." The deceased has left a wife and family in very poor circumstances.

The Scotch concerts in aid of the Burns Statue Fund are evidently gaining in popularity, no loss than three having been given last week — one at Naseby, another at Lawrence, and a most successful one at Balclutha. At the latter one, which took place on Friday evening last, the local performers were ably assisted by the quartette party of the Dunedin Burns Statue Fund Choir — Messrs T. Stewart, A. D. Donovan, W. Morrison, and W. Packer —who contributed part songs and solos, Mr Denovan in addition reciting "Tarn o' Shanter." The concert was admitted on all hands to be the most successful ever given in the district, and must have resulted in considerably augmenting the fund.

The Southland News gives the following account of the recent accident to Sergeant Morton:— "A sudden jerk pitched Sergeant Morton frpm the platform of the railway carriage on which he was standing. The effect was to throw him head-foremost on to the side of the line, when ho struck the gravel or? his open hands with such force that the palms are reported to be literally split open, This

would have been badenough.but unfortunately Ihe -did not clear the rails in the fall, and a wheel of the next carriage caught ono of his feet, completely crunching off a portion of the boot and the big toe. As he was the only passenger in the carriage, his disappearance from it was quite unknown to those in charge of the train, and he lay in this disabled condition till his cries fortunately brought assignee."

Messrs Murray, Munro, and Kennedy waited on Mr B. R. tTssher, district engineeron Saturday as a deputation from Upper Shag Valley relative to a siding at Inch Valley Farm, or Brown's store, near Murray's road, Mr Ussher received the deputation very cour. teously, and pointed out on the plan to the deputation that a siding at the place indicated could only be worked as a "back shunt," which those who had the working of the line had a very decided objection to j but a looplino could be put iv about 20 chains lowftr down than this point. The deputation^ however, urged that the back shunt at the place referred to would be preferable to the loopline farther along. Mr Ussher eaid that he would consult with Mr, Lowe, the railway engineer, and see if he would have any objection to the working of a back shunt, and he would let the deputation know in a few days ; in any case ha would place either a loop-line or aback shunt near the place indicated. Mr Murray thanked Mr Ussher not only on behalf of the deputation, but also on behalf of the settlers whom they represented.

On Monday afternoon Constable O Lcary, stationed at North Invercargill, was called on by Thomas Brandford, who informed him that a tenant of his named M'Watt was lying in a house in an apparently dying condition. The constable went and found M'Watt dead. There were no marks upon his person to indicate foul play or accident. The 'house was, however, entirely destitute of property ov food, with the exception of a portion of a turnip, which had evidently been bitten by someone— presumably the deceased. It is said that M'Watt was last seen alive by Goodsir, an undertaker, who was in the locality on Monday forenoon, and called at the house in search for Brandford, with whom he had business. The dead man is a mere skeleton, and the police are of opinion that he died from starvation. M Watt has, it is said, been fqllowing the vocation o^ an insurance agent or canvasser for some time past, and in that and other capacities was pretty generally known about town. A public meeting was held at Messrs Canning, Green, and Souness' office, Gore,,on Saturday to fix the place where the new Agricultural Society should hold its show. Mr R. M Robertson (president)wasinthe chair, and Mr J. fc>. bhanks (vice;president) was also present. A motion was proposed by Mr Canning, and seconded by Mr Henderson— "That the first show be hela at Mataura, the second at Gore, and so continue until the Committee in office deem it advisable to include one at Riversdale." An amendment was proposed by Mr Chisholm, seconded by Mr Diiguid— " that Gore be the centre for all shows." There voted for the amendment 11, and for the motion 15. The Chairman declared the amendment carried, which caused considerable dissatisfaction. The Chairman being then asked to take a division deolmed, stating that several had left the room, and that the voting was 11 for the amendment and 9 for the motion. A protest was lodged against the ruling, and was immediately signed by 13 who had voted for the motion. An effort will be made to have another meeting to test the case, for it is felt that if the Mataura people do not obtain recognition in the matter it will militate against tho successof the show. A meeting to promote the Seaward Bush and Toi-Tois railway was .held at. the Theatre Royal, Invercargill, on Tuesday night(lstmst ), under the presidency, ,of the Mayor. The floor of the building was packed with citizens and ' settlers. A resolution expressing surprise and disappointment at the omission of the railway from the Government proposals to construct public works out of the new loan and rcspectfullv asking the Government to make provision for its construction, was carried unanirrously. A further resolution was also carried, reminding tho Government that their act in placing the railway on the schedule of public works to be executed, and subsequently sending Commissioners to report on the route, gave an implied pledge that the railway had the full sanction of tho Government, and would be undertaken as one of the first works out of any new loan ; and a third resolution calling the attention of the Government to the fact that the people of this district have in no way abated their desire to have this railway promoted as one of tho first importance to the district. The resolutions, of which the movers were Messrs Denniston, W. H. Hall, Wade, J. L. M'Donald, Lumsden, Smyth, Carswell, and J. T. Thomson, are to be forwarded to the Minister for Public Works and tho district members of Parliament. The proceedings were characterised by decided unani niity and earnestness with regard to the business in hand.