LAKE COUNTY.

Otago Witness, 14 December 1893, Page 22

LAKE COUNTY.

December 0. — Crops of all kinds are coming on amain, favoured by lino weather and the advancing season ; a?id though the harvest maybe .slightly later than u^ual it comes with a very fair ptomibe &o far as quality and quantity are concerned. Prices for giain arc, of couroe, another thing, but so far as can be judged the price will rise above the average. 'I his, of course, must have an effect upon business in the right direction—a consummation devoutly to be wished. Farming in this district can rcarcely be said to be progressive. It is true our farmers are not behindhand in tbe employment of labour-saving machinery, but with this their efforts to improve their land and the returns from it cease, although most of our local farmers claim to carry on "mixed " farming. When we are importing oats, Hour, fat stock, butter, bacon, and so forth, something must be wrong somewhere, and every thinking man ought to ask himself where that wrong is to be found, and when found how it is to be remedied. During the recent election every one of the candidates spoke strongly in favour of the formation of farmers' clubs or farmers' associations. Such associations may, and no doubt will, do a certain amount of good. However, looking back upon the past, too much should not be expected from such institutions. For several years a farmers' association was in existence here some 18 or 20 yea r s ago, and when it broke up it was a pretty widespread opinion amongst the more intelligent apf the farmers and settlers that more harm than good had been done. That, however, was in the good old times when land and produce were at their highest figure, and the rabbit and the small bird pests were not dreamt of. Things since then have altered, and Time has plied his levelling hand, so that now there is a greater need and more general application of the usefulness of co-operation amongst the farmers —the real drawback being the scattered nature of the farming community. Were it not for the Farm columns of the Witness the world would hardly know that farming is carried on here on a tolerably large scale. Or to go even a step further, it may be stated that local residents directly interested in farming would not know anything of the developments their industry is undergoing, but for the news and comments disseminated by these letters. It was only the other day it was made known in these notes that roller-dressed flour" imported from Gore was gaining a slow but sure footing in these parts The thing had been going on for some time, and when the fact was mooted it was treated as a matter of course.

A Change. — Mr John O'Meara, one of the local candidates in the recent general elections, who has been a resident at Queenstown for nearly 30 years with a few intermissions, is about to leave that town for Greymouth. Arbitrary Conduct.— The deputy returning officer at the general election at Cardrona took a rather high-handed course by declining to issue voting papers to 14 " persons," whose names were on the roll, because they were aliens and not naturalised subjects of her Majesty the Queen. It is said that something more is likely to be heard of the matter.

More Work ov the Same Sort.— Much dissatisfaction is expressed by parents at the appointment of a young lady as head mistress at the local Government school, Arrowtown, over the heads of many much better certificated applicants. Besides this, there is a violation of the rules of the Education Board regulating such appointments, in bo far that the successful applicant has not served the required term in any school. What makes the affair look worse is that the father of tbe young lady is a member of the local school committee. A petition asking that the appointment be cancelled is talked of.

Seismological. — Once more have we been reminded that our district has the distinction of belonging to the seismological belt that braces the world. On Tuesday evening last, about 7.5 o'clock, a short, sharp shock of earth tremour was felt at Queenstown and Arrowtown — doing, however, no harm.