THE COUNTRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1855, 10 June 1887, Page 17

THE COUNTRY.

in order to be in time for the issue succeeding the day on which they are written must reach Dunedin by Tuesday Night's Mail.]

MANIOTOTO COUNTY. June s.— The reign of King Frost has begun in earnest, and with him who was monumented in the Octagon the other day, I think I may say, " Noo it's winter fairly." A few falls of snow, a few fogs, and now stinging frosts, and the change of season is complete. If the present state of things is intended to last, the country will be ironbound for some' weeks and all outdoor work suspended. This, following on the long protracted drought, cannot fail to be very prejudicial to mining and all other interests, and the " jubilee year " will be long remembered in these parts as exceptionally unfortunate, and probably a less happy term than •' jubilee " will be found to suit. Entertainments. — Concerts are following in quick succession. On May 20 one was held at Cambrians, to celebrate the opening of the newly erected Athenaeum Hall, and by all accounts was a great success. Last Thursday night one was held in the schoolhouse, Whitesow Valley ; and the following evening, one in aid of the library funds. took place at Blackstone. The attendance at the latter was pretty fair, and the vocal efforts were considerably above the average and were greatly appreciated. Miss J. F. Anderson, with Misses Mackin and Nicholas, gave the inhabitants of " the highest township in Otago" an immense treat, and a hearty wish was expressed that such warbling might be often heard in those solitudes, and the number of lady amateurs largely increased. ' Messrs Findlay, Jopson, Inder, Dillon, Ballard, Tomlin, Holding, aad M'Carthy added to the fun and enjoyment by sdme excellently rendered songs. Mr M'Carthy, solicitor, of Naseby, ably filled the chair, and a few hours' dancing brought the evening's pleasant entertainment to a close. Next day there were to be seen - — but I shall not say anything about next day, except that if the Salvation Army had happened to march that way they might have found a few promising recruits. Prospectors. — The enterprising party trying for a deep lead at Hill's creek have failed to develop anything of account. The first shaft had to be abandoned at about 40ft, a heavy wet sand drift presenting an insuperable obstacle with the appliances at hand, the drift rushing up from the bottom of the slabs at times as from an elevator. When I state that the layers of gravel, drift, &c, sunk through have the same angle of inclination as the rock bottom — about 45deg, this phenomena will be understood. The party then tried nearer the hill, and bottomed at 38ft, notwithstanding the presence of a large body of water. The dirt gave prospects of from 3gr to 6gr to the dish ; on going deeper on the slope the bottom became more level, but the gold was not there. After driving a short distance north and south the men concluded to draw the timber; they did 60, and the question of deep leads remains unsettled, in my opinion. The difficulty and expense are too great for an unaided party of miners, and the work was commenced too late in the season, the inclement nights of the past week or two making things very unpleasant in wet sinking. A large water race runs above the ground prospected, swamping the whole locality, which would otherwise, probably, be quite dry, and necessitating a very liberal use of timber, which is here about as dear as gold itself. If ever our deep leads are to be opened, our county council will have to display a much more liberal spirit. Although the goldfields' revenue tots up about half of the couutys annual receipts, any paltry assistance is most grutlgingly given to the industry. One would think snch matters were treated under the clauses of the Charitable Aid Act. At the next election of councillors miners will do well to look closely into past transactions and decide who are their friends or foes in the local government mill. Mining. — I am the present frosts will put another stopper on the sluicers. They are already beginning to grumble, and after the late long dry season, it is really no wonder. Reefing matters at Rough Ridge are in statu quo ; there is literally nothing to report except that the forfeiture of shares goes merrily on. Why, in the name of all that's judicious, don't the companies go into liquidation or wind up ? I believe a certain bank is "putting on the screw" to some purpose. Land Oh !— Aninfluential meeting of settlers and others was held on Saturday evening last at Blackstone to petition Government to open up a new block in Ida Valley, below the Woolshed diggings, for settlement. I believe a runhoMer has secured 2000 acres at 20s per acre, immediately below the locality indicated, and through which the coming (3) Otago Central railway will run. If such extensive alienations are continued, the settlers around there feel that there will be an utter impossibility of ever increasing their holdings or improving their position ; hence this action. Talk of the Land Acquisition Bill ! There seems less difficulty in obtaining 2000 than 200 acres of choice land in Central Otago. How is this thus, I wonder ?