PROVINCIAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1751, 13 June 1885, Page 11

PROVINCIAL.

The report that the child of Mr Reid, of Kawarau, bad been poisoned by eating phoßphorised oats turns out to bo incorrect. M'Pbee's sawmill at Longhush waa dP3troyei by fire about 730 a.m. on Sunday. The occurrence is looked upon «r auspicious. Something over £100 waa realised by the bazaar, concert, and Bruca auction, held at Clinton in aid of the Anglican Church funds. The affair passe-d off very successfully. An extraordinary duat storm occurred on Saturday night in Inverciirpril and did much damage to goods in shops. Pome rVruw, wore levelled but no other dnntage in repotted. The Southland {Education Boit-cl bavo dacided that the conversion of the Gore school into a District High S hool would not bo conducive to the best interests of education in the district.

Two stack firea occurred laat week at Mr Frank M'Bride'e farm, A.iow, by whi"?i it is reported that botween 3000 and hn,u bushels of barley and wheat have b3en de-troyed. The Balolutha Mutual Improvement Society has been merged into theClutha. Parliamentary U^ion. Mr J. W. Thomson, Mll R, wa* elected Governor ; Mr W. Dallas, Speaker ; and Mr D. Stewart appointed to form a Government.

Mr V. Pyke, M.H.R , received a unanimous vote of confidence from a meeting of his couaritwents at Tapanui on Thursday evening. There was a slightly disorderly element represented at the commencement of the adiress, but the Bpeaker plainly had the audience with him before he concluded.

The farmers of Oamaru havirg applied for space in the Elderslio in excess of that r.skt d for by the circular of tbe Refrigerating Company, the Mail Rays that when the question of the water supply has bt-;en settled it may be assumed that refrigerating works will be at once established nt Oarn&ru.

The Lake County Council at its last mooting passed a resolution asking Mr FrtKfui to visit the district before the meeting of Parliament, for tho purpose of rtcoiving a knowledge of their wants in connection with tbe pas^nge of the Local Government Bill through the House.

The Matnura Ensign states that si\ r catt'e were run over and killed by a special Waimea train on Saturday night. It is said that tbe railway gates were left open by a settler who was carting grain from a paddock near Gore ; but we have had no opportunity of ascertaining whether tbe report is founded on fact.

The annual meeting of tho Waimea Plains Railway Company was held on Monday, when the annual report and balanco-shest was adopt pd as printed. Msssrs G. M. Ba'l and G. W. Eliott, two o f the retiring dir-ctors, wore re-elected, and Mr D'Arcy HagglW wa« pleeted in plnco of Mr Horace Bistin^s, who has left the Colony.

A reward of t'3o i 8 being offered by the Railway Department for information wh'ch will lead to the conviction of the person or persons who placed a number of stones on the railway-Moo a Bhort distance south of Merlon, These offences are becoming too common, and it is to be hoped the persons guilty may be discovered and punished. A now Commission of tha Pence has been, issued comprising 80 name-!. Tho fallowing* sirp> those for Southland : — J. W Chapman (Riverton), J C. Owen (Bannockburn), S. J Deck (Stewart Island), S. G. Inst<ine (Rivarfcnn). The following ara tho new Justice for Otago : — S. N Browa (Cromwp.ll), John Paterson (Tannnui), W. Quin (Tapanui), N. Y. A. Wales (Dunedin). At the inquiry into the firo by winch six Bracks of corn wpr9 destroyed at Mowatt.'a Farm, Kyeburn Hundred, on May 20, hold at Naspby on Friday, on open verdict was returned. A rider was added to the effect that in the opinion of the jury the stacks were overinsured. The New Zealand Insurance Com puny, with whom tbo crop was insured for £290, otfrr a reward of £100 for the conviction of tho persons who set tho stacks ou firo. At a meeeting of the Seaward Bush Railway Committos at Invercargill it was resolved — "That in view of the larga area of land that will, through tho construction of the Seaward Bush railway, be rondorod available for saie and settlement, the Hon. the Minister for- Lands be respectfully requested to urere upon hia hon. collenguo th<* Minister for Public Works tho importance of the early completion of the line,"

The Maniototo County Council have voted £25 to the funds of tho Otßgo Benevolent Institution. The Lake County councillors, in discusFing the application for aid, thought it was very well to be charitable, but the Council was not in a position to afford aid. They were in debt and, moreover, had two hospitals to support, whilst Dunedin had ouly tbe Institution to kepp up. Tha clerk was ordered to reply accordingly. A stable containing three stacks of hay and two of oats, of the total value of £360, the property of GelHbrand and Co., of Cottesbrook Station, Strath-Taieri, were burnt down on the night of the Ist inst. George Patterson, a groom, had been using the stable, and it is supposed that the Btraw was ignited by his carelessly throwing away matches without properly extinguishing them. The property destroyed was uninsured. At the R.M Court, Oamaru, on Monday, Edward Moore and Margpry Poole, the father and stepmother of a small boy named Edward Poole, were charged with having neglected to provide for the lad, who was lately found iv an emaciatedf and a filthy state, and had to be sent to the Hospital, The case, which seems a very bad one, waa adjourned for* a week. Alfred Lovegrove, charged with an indecent assault on Mary Canton at Kartigi, was also remanded.

An attempt wa« made last Thursday evening to wreck the 5.15 p.m. train from Dunedin to Moegiel. It appears that some person put a railway sleeper across the rails, and the train coming along in the dark ran against it. Fortunately the engine kept the metals, and no damage was done. The perpetrator of the act has not yet been discovered, but the police are makiner inquires throughout the district, arid tk defective prooeoded to Moegiel o>i Frid y in coinection with the affair.

The Invercargill Chamber of Commerce have resolved that the member for the town be rrquflsfed to use hii influence to have the Bluff made a port of call for tbe Buboidi«ed South S.*a Islands steamer ; and that Rhould this nrivilngo be granted, the same gentleman be asksd also to obtain a free p?sn by the ateamer for a delegate to report to the Chamber on the capabilities of these islands for trade and commerce witji the Southland district.

At tbo annual nieetisf? of iho Balcliiiha branch of thi liductinnal lustiiuto lha following ani.jrct wan forwctii dtd for conslderiitjori at tho annual con?erpnco «f tho 1 nßlitnto : — " Th-U tha Education Board bo rrqupctcd «.o confiao ,i L".ir poporti^n of tbo JupHor Sch^'arphi[i3 re cr.!3did.itc-a from iho sni.uior tci'oois." It wati »ov. id.'it.'d uulalr that th*w fhculd '-"'' requivrd to comp"to <)s;aia.st r:>aij.<s.viP' J i fs'^Jti tho H^h School.", niivi otL-r 'aJgo cchooii, whr.ro tho faoiJJticß for thorough tiaaring wore so rriuoh Ri'p.itcr.

Our W&iborro c^j'i'er'ponneni writes tho'. At the jHoeiiu^ of tivt Gneu Pchocl Committee a, cirnulrr from '■ho nocy«<ti'.rv of tho Benevolent Institution was received, ckiag tho cii&irra&n of Comr r .ittoe to collect ixmdn in tho disTicu for tho benefit of the Institution. Tim chairman intimated that tho Burn (.£ £1»J 11? 6i had bstin snbpcribod by tho ponpla of tho disfrich, including tho Shag Vallpy station ; and it was rosotved that this amount ha forwirdeJ by tho chairman to tho secretary of thu Bones olent lactitution.

Thi anni'.nl mewting of the East Taieri Athens? 'im Cominit f eo wan held ou the 30th May. when tii« luii'is wore reported to be in a B&tisfiu'i-ory stato The c?."h bnlanco on hand waa votp(s fur now books. Tha following 1 wn*o chopoii ivri i i!ic°rfi tor the jpnr:— Mr VV". L, f.hri-tie, cliaivman : Mr William luplie, libr.'irJPti ,■ Sir .lohn Nimmo, treasurer; Mr J, r .irp« /ol.^ri v, secretary; C»mmiUee — Mnf.:i.-5 .f.'ha Wi.'iisiPK, JRobert Finnic, Willirm J.vffr'ivy, John r^h'^f 1 - J^mes Frftser, G. O. Ca!tv-xi>K-r, John Af'K^y. At a :i;;rr:!'i''~>n:''y attended meeting of the city fiuo '-tibu'-biin mayorß, held on Friday night in lha Town H^li Buildings, consideraliufi of f.b(j nuvfltion of public abattoirs for city unrf suhnrVjs was resumed. Alter lotiothened delibrratiou, tha following resola'ion was niiaairaonaly ca/ricd :—": — " TJi»t thii modinff is of opinion that ifc i& deeirablo puiilin abattoirs be eatablishod for tho ci^y and suburbs, and reßolve to recommend the reßiiPctive Councils to support public abattoirs to be erected and managed by a public company under regulations to be agreed on by tho Councils j .sntly."

A vory successful entertainment was givon ni PaJmcrfitoD on Friday laei; in aid of tlie funds nf tho Ofca^o Benevolent Institution, Tho performers whn volunteered their asrvicpa nud acquitted thpmselvps with great credit were — Messrs Hftllivvell, Stilling, Crowe, Huphf"<. Hall«y, Maxwoll, Summers, Levi, M, Guthrie, A. Lawxon Mi«<3 Jessrtt, and f-wo larJy nmateura, Tha P.iimerston Band »Iko ]«nt. their assiFtanco, and played a buoi bnr of Bel"ctior.s in capital style. It is expected t-hat, together with the proceeds of cha entertainment and sale of donations, tbn local Committee will be able to hand over fully £60 to the Institution.

A number of fislißrmen mewling at the Lower Ha -hour c"> I'ed -n\ thf>D ■ ily Timer- repi eien tativo at Port, Chaltntr? ou Saturday, a'ud coir plained of tha conduct of tho pereonß in charge of the defence works at South Head, who, when blasting the rocks, are utterly regardless of passing boats. Although the fisbeimen bavo repeatedly remonstrated, they havo only met with abuse. The men in going out and returning with their boats are compc-lled to keep clnsa in shore to avoid t.ho tip of tha tide, and th^y state that their Hyps are endangered by tha blasts being fired without wartaing of come kind being given, If a danger flag were hoisted in some prominent place it would bo the mnans of giving warning oi wbat appeavs to he a great danger to passing boats

Tha Governmeut intend to finish the Winds ir-L'tvingafcon branch railway immediately in one contrac*", which wiil include permanent way and formation. Tbe line, as is well known, has been in pragresn during four or five years past, advancing slowly by means of unemployed labour and ona or two contracts, and it is good news to learn that it ia at last to bo completed off baud. Tho work will probably be advertised as soon as Rome necessary mirveys can be made and the Department are able to prepare plann and specifications. Tbo t/ital lGncrth of the line to be completed from Windsor Junction to tho Ngapara branch line is between 11 and 12 miles.

An inquoßt war, heid Ijeforo Mi" I. N. Watt, R.M., and a jury on (Saturday, on the body of George Gib»ou. Evidence was given by Dr William N c luon, aisiatant medical officer at the Seacliff Lunalic AKylum, that rfi caased v/as an inmate of that institution ; that ho wa^i received thero on the 28th March last ; that at 2 p in, on the 3rd in^t. ho was ceizjcJ with an epilnptic fit, and remained unconscious until ho died, at il p m. ou tho same dato. A wardGV also gavo evidence At the timo of decaaEsd'a comrr.ittal to tho Asylum he was undergoing imprisonment for vaßjatiey. He wiia about; 32 of agp, married, and a brick layer by occupation, — A verdict, was returned in accordance with the medical ovidenco.

The annual meeting of tho Ptninpuln L ; cfln«ing Committee was held in the Ander sr>n's Bay s ■hoolhiiu"e at noon on Saturday. There w( re prest nt : Messrs A. Stuart; (chairman), A. F, Blfttch, and T. Bepg. It was resnlved to ask the Minister of Justice to gazette Owen Dntbio clerk to the Corrmittee. The police report for the rast year was read, and thf> same was conaidered highly satisfactory. No complaints of any kind were made against any licsnaees. Renewals of 10 o'clock publicans' licenses were granted to Hugh Ross, Anderson's Bay Hotel ; Tcm Smit.bson, Shiel Hill Hotpl ; and Robert Mercer, Highcliffa Hotel The Chabman intimated that unless something unusual turned up he did not consider it would be necessary for them .to meet until the annual meeting next year. No applica ; ons for new licenses were mada A vote ot thfmks was paRSPti to Constable Hartnett for bis able superviiion of the licensed housea in thfi district.

Mr James M^Connchio, manager of Mr Gow's farm, met with a nasty accident at the Taieri en the evetjipprof tbe 3rd. It appears that whilst, riding from Outran) to Moppiel ha met a two horpe bupgy, containing Mr James Fulton, M.H.R., and his daughter, and juet then his horse shied, and the pole of the bugey came in contact with his leg and fractured it. Mr Fulton's horses also took fright, mabiupr off with the pole while the trap itself was capsized over an embankment, a height of about seven feet. Mr Fulton and his daughter, however, escaped with only a alight ohaking ; and the former procured another trap and drove Mr M'Oonachie to the hospital in town, where his injury was attended to. A lad named Callon, who was employed at the Hoada on one of the Harbour B^ard contracts, was aIBO received into the Hospital the same evening, he having met with an accident by getting one of his feet j imbed at tho pointf( on a tramway. Two empty trucks were passing at the time, and before he could git his foot out of the points they passed over it, and cru&hert it very much

(>n Wudnosday mominpr lasfe, between 12 and 1 o'clock (says Friilay's PatmPinton Tinier), a Rtivck of straw belonging to Mr P. Arnott, Shng Valley, wan diocovGred to bo on fire, and before asaii-tancn could be rendered the Qiirries ppread to =onm bags of wheat stacked 5n floso proximity, which also canght. Fortunately, however, the wheat, of which there were some 350 bags, was not seriously injured. Tbe Carnage \a estimated by Mr Amott $

Wo understand tbnfc Mr Arnott does not smtl'icfc :>nyone, and reerai'da the fire as accidental. Tbe mill hsd only Jeft off throbbing the day [ji'ftvion.i, and a nun b r of the men working tit it wero blerping «v the premises, and it wa3 Ibivm^h bhvlr oxurlicns ihit the fire was got r%nd* v end ««>or:j dafaga proveatrd. We also l."fiin that Wr Geridnt', who wan absent at tha time wirh hie threshing-mill, had tho misfor- | tsuio to buvi two 3if*tl\3 of oats dsst^oyed oa Monday. 'Tho fire is supposed to havo oripinafcci troin a lighted match thrown among some Hrssockr!, from which ifc spread to the •ii.u'fcc, Wo Jv.vo not heard the amount at which Mr r cades nstimatcs hia loss. With ret, t jcet, (o Mr Arnoti's lire, we may state that Hp.rgeanb Conn visited the place, and from :uqnlrica made ho could discover no grounds t» oa«go Lim to bUßpect that it was otherwise than accidental. niiii 1 1' | LJ I ' i%i. ■ll'. ll' II I 111 1 \m HI>HI I i<H'l II) MM I lfc 'I If— > I Wll 111 liiiiilW IB|