LAKE COUNTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2056, 20 July 1893, Page 22

LAKE COUNTY.

July 15.— The time of the breaking up 'of the season has come round, and with it the breaking down of the mountains. In the long, stilly night the mysterious noises in " the heart of the hoary mountains," so often remarked upon, are once more to be heard booming the dirge of disintegration on this portion of our planet with a dead, dull, all .overpowering rumble. The solemn warnings of the wearing down of the high places of our island are heard everywhere, and yet it is difficult to locate the spot whence they proceed. Nor do the places where the damage is done often disclose themselves to mortal eye. It is only now and then that one in the habit of making long tours through the mountains comes across these abrasions, which very often look puny compared with the row their slipping away made. Something, I suppose, must be allowed for the resonance of a pure air, in illustration of which I may mention that during the present week, while up about 5 o'clock a.m. watching atmospheric effects, I distinctly heard the whistle of the steamer leaving Queenstown jetty for Kingston—a distance of about 11 miles as the crow Tub Elague Spot.— The throat disease, which is as near as we c,an come Jo describing, the

disease that has cost a number of lives, is still with us. After every spell of mild weather there is a fresh outbreak, and new cases are heard of. All the time the controversy is going on about the water supply, and one thing and another, whue the real plague spot is not touched upon, because it must be supposed the removal of the slaughter yard referred to in my last letter is beset with a financial difficulty, for the yard was at the present site when the Arrowtown borough extension encompassed itself all round it, so that its compulsory removal, in ordinary fairness, should raise the question of compensation. However, in the meantime nothing but talk has eventuated, and the evil, if not checked, will no doubt burst upon us again in its full force when the warm weather comes round.

How " Not" To Do It.— A debt case that gave rise to five actions and cross actions at law, and which was heard in the R.M. Court, Arrowtown, before Mr Warden Woofl, on Wednesday and Thursday last, furnishes matter for much reflection. It is, of course, quite out of the question to give a comprehensive report of the proceedings, which ksted the better par t of two days. Sufhce it to say, therefore, that the prime mover in the actions was Mr Henry Graham, one of the merchant princes of the Arrow, and who in addition aspires to a seat in the Legislature, at Wellington at the next election; the defendant being Mr Thomas Mathieson, farmer, Crown Terrace— the plaintiff and defendant changing positions in the cross action. The courthouse was crowded by expectant listeners, whose anticipations of extraordinary revelations were not disappointed. The total amount sued for by Mr Graham was alout £160, on different pleas, which sum was pared down to £16. The bench and bar with the most exemplary patience, and with Mr Graham's assistance, tried their utmost to understand his books, but the same items cropped up with such persistence, and in suchunexpected places, as to baffle all their ingenuity ; and although the debit side of the leger as against the plaintiff showed up strong, the credit side figured like a stepchild. Another feature of the case was that of three items (against Mr Mathieson), amounting to £78, of which no trace could be found in Any of Mr Graham's books. The presiding magistrate (Mr Wood) expressed the opinion that it would require a lifetime to understand the books, which dictum means a great deal, as Mr Wood s quickness of perception is little short of marvellous. Presentation. — A goodly number of ladies and gentlemen, members of the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Queenstown, met on Thursday evening last to bid farewell to Mrs R. Ross, who is leaving the district and was a valuable member of the choir, and has often assisted at public concerts, giving her musical talents, which are of no mean order, in laid of many deserving objects. The meeting was made the occasion of presenting Mr Ross with a purse of sovereigns. Promotion.— lt is understood that Mr J. M'Fadzean, of the Queenstown branch of the Bank of New Zealand, is to be promoted to a tellership in the Chrißtchurch branch of the same bank. Mr M'Fadzean, who, previous to going to Queenstown, served his bank at Arrowtown, in both of which places he made himself very popular and highly respected by genuine urbanity and an obliging and kindly disposition, so that the good wishes of a large circle of friends follow him to his new sphere of action.