NENTHORN.

Otago Witness, Issue 1970, 22 August 1889, Page 11

NENTHORN.

August 20.— The effect the Nenthorn reefs have had already upon trade will be seen when it is .stated that not only local dealers but even Donedin wholesale houses like P. Hayman and 00. have been completely cleared out of pocket compasses and magnifying glasses, and now we hear that dynamite and other Wasting compounds are nearly exhausted. This Barely speaKs well -lor the impression made by the Nenthorn reefs and the interest that is taken in them. Compasses and magnifying glasses are essential aids in prospecting, and many parties ate put to a disadvantage for the want of them. Postal Items. — It is quite a sight to see the eager crowds that besiege the local post office •upon the arrival of the mail upon Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. The coach is due here at about 5 p.m., but as the roads are generally very heavy between here and Palmerston through being cut up by the heavy traffic, the mail reaches Nenfchorn after the orthodox office hours ; but Mr W. Eggers, the local postmaster, who in his desire to do all he can for his patrons sorts and delivers the mail every evening upon its arrival with untiriDg kindness. As soon as the mail is sorted Mr Eggers' store is crowded to bursting, and to oxpedito the delivery of letters and papers he is driven to what is perhaps a kind of irregular expedient, bat which answers the purpose very well. The letters are called out in alphabetical order, and those present take delivery of their epistles as their namea are called. Leaving the question of the regularity of this modus operandi altogether out of the consideration, Mr Eggerß is certainly deserving of much praise for the attention and civility with which he attends to his duties as postmaster. Apropos of postmasters. In 1856, when the great Dunolly rush broke out in Victoria, the nearestpost office was ab Inkerman Flat, a distance of three or four miles from Dunolly. Before the tush the postmaster was not overworked, and •fell into the easy way, when applications for letters were made to him, of placing the whole contents of his office upon the counter, inviting the applicants to help themselves, as the writing upon the envelopes prevented him making out the names of the owners. This system continued for months beforo a Government office was opened at Dunolly. Our paternal New Zealand authorities are certainly much more alive to the requirements of new communities, and though they move cautiously, still they move on. They way they have of asking for subsidies before proceeding with the establishment of a post or telephone office is, however, ridiculous. At present there is a delay in the construction of the telephone, pending the residents here guaranteeing a subsidy of £30 for five years. The thing would be right enough if, on the other hand, the Government were prepared to declare a dividend out of the surplus, which there is sure to be. Roads and Ways.— Tho Waikouaiti County Council, which'has already largely benefited by the Nenthorn reefs in a very substantial form, has done very little towards opening the field by roads. An intended track, chipped 61 fc wide, from Waikouaiti is so far all the return made for the large increase the reefs have made fco the county's revenue. The position of the neighbouring counties tends to complicate matters very much. Thus while the Waikouaiti Council reaps the dollars, the main approaches' to the field lie through Waihemo Couuty, which has to keep them in repairn for the benefit of its neighbour, at once a thankless and profitless job. Under these circumstances the interested ■counties may well take a leaf out of Lake ■County's book, and get the general Government to make the roads for them. The only drawback to this proceeding would be the slowness with which the Government moves in these matters. Thus the Macetown dray road was completed just in time for the people who were leaving the place, and the Skippers' road, now finishing off, was even later, and will not be completed till the Skippers and the; Upper Shotover have been deserted. Tha two roads have cost the colony approximately £25.000, and practically lead nowhere, neither the Shotover nor the Arrow valleys, through which they pa9s, containing arable land of any extent. At Nenfchorn things are very different. Besides the vast mineral resources of the place, it abounds in excellent agricultural land, promising to distinguish the neighbourhood as the garden of Otago, and which will carry a large population for all time to come. Another instance in which the Waikouaiti County may imitate that of Lake is the procuration of a set of cheap boring rods with tubes complete, which alone for the boring for water 'and coal would be invaluable, to say nothing of boring for gold. Impeovembnts. — Prospectors are now out in many directions, and there is some probability ■ that Dunedia itself may be pegged out before long, the southerly direction evidently being the favourite one at present. In the meantime the Nenthorn reefs proper are all fast proving themselves as both permanent and rich, while the township itself is steadily growing in extent. Not only are private residences and business places going up in great numbers, but large extensions to the older establishments are being made, showing that business is healthy and on the increase. Buildings are running up in such numbers that the supply rf timber is not nearly equal to the demand, and though their are frequent interruptions, the progress of Macmillan street, as the main thoroughfare of Nenthorn is called, is eiraply amazing. The clatter of the carpenters' hammers is heard from early morn till dewy eve, and men for this trade are in much demand. Ecclesiastical. — Rev. Mr Todd has paid a visit of several days' duration to Nenthorn, and held divine service, which was well attended and duly appreciated by the congregation. A detachment of the Salvation Army has also laid seige to the place and declared war upon the übiquitous devil. The Sanitary Condition of Nenthorn leaves much to be desired, and a pure water supply is urgently required. A Progress Committee, to consist of a few energetic people, to meet weekly and discuss any matter of local interest, would do a great deal of good. Thh Weather has been rather rough and broken. Cold gales accompanied by rain and snow, and keen frosts every morning are still the order of the day. But taken altogether the weather haa been seasonable, and justifies the hope that in a few weeks' time it will settle down to regular summer rales. Heaven Save Us All,— -It is whispered that

the Goldfields department, or that of Jt&tic6; or Bome_ other equally ephemeral power, is contemplating the appointment of a young lawyer as a kind of sub-warden to aid the over-worked gentlemen who now administer the mining law in the Wakatipu, Dunstan, and Taieri goldfields. What on earth can the miners of these fields have done to deserve such an infliction? Why, the steady cry and aim has been to keep the administration of mining law as far separate as possible from the mummified form of jurisprudence and jurisdiction. This surely 'n another outcome of the brain of some one who has conceived it his mission to "develop the mioiDg industry," a phrase as elastio as it is hackneyed.