OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2272, 16 September 1897, Page 30

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

The Waitaki River has never b-seu known to be so low as at present. It cau be easily forded opposite Waitangi and Te Ak&Hram* stations.

Captain Falconer, of the Torpedo Corps, left Wellington for Hie Bluff on Thursday night to survey the reef in Bluff Harbour with the view of its removal.

The insolvencies of a geueral contractor, two carpenters, a sheepowne', a labourer, a bootmaker, a "startw," and a woman are noUiied in last week's Gazette.

The export of cml from Westport last week to 4-259 ton?, of which the Westport Coal Company qontriimled 3669 tons and the Cardiff C. mpa3v's9O tons.

The Women's Fcanehise League has asked the Government to increase the capitation grant to,' education biai-ds to enable cooking to be taught in the public schools. 'The Colonial Sugar Company has applied to the Government to impose ah i-xfcra. duty of .£2 per. ton on beet sugar, on the ground that it interferes with the refining inclu^itry.

The polling for the election of three councillors.for the B Tough of B^lclutha last week resulted as follows : — John M'Neil, 137 ; George Thomson. 125 ; D. T. Fleming, 117 ; William Davie, 105.

The three members of the North Ottgo Mounted It fljg who went Home with the New Zealand contingent to the Jubilee celebrations were entertained at a welcoming dinner at Ngapara ou Saturday night.

The treasurer of the convalesc nh fund acknowledges with thanks the cum of £12 Gi lOd from the commifctes of the GUrrick Club as the result of the two entertaiumenfcs lately held in the Princess Theatre.

Inspector Pratt died very suddenly on Sunday night at Grey mouth. He came in about 8 o'clock and said he felt ill A constable ran for a doctor, but the inspector died in a few minutes. The cause of death was apoplexy.

The hospital returns for laM) week are ai follow: — Remaining f on the previous week, 104 • admitted during the wesk, 25 ; discharged during the week, 23 ; deaths, 2 (Christopaer D^lziel and Mary Ann Culleu) ; remaining in tke institution, 104- .

Tom Long, the hangman in tbis colony, receives a fee of £25 for his services in carr/ing out an execution. Having received his cheque last wrek for the despatch of the Amberlay murderer, he forthwith expended portion of it in liquor, with the result that he was arrested at Wangauui for drunkenness for -'th-j fourth time within four months

| We notice Messrs R. Ptjarson and Co., of Wailouaiti, have just landed a number of casts and bales from the Home markets ex s.s. Aolea, and from all accounts the goods' on being opened out are turning out Al value, and , without a doubt would be a credit to any town shop, let alone a CfUitry district, and we wi^h him a successful trade during the coming spring and summer season. *.*

Mr John Grigg, of Longbeach estate, having executed an order for 100 purebred Shropshire rams for New South Wales, is deeerviug of no small comoieDdation (nays the Ashburton Standard) for bis enterprise in bringing the' excellent qualities of Canterbury sheep prominently under the notice of sheep- breeders in the M«ter colonies. Ifc is only necessary to Bay that the line was the pick of- Mr Cxrigg's stock from the class mentioned to show that the sheep, without exception, were a particularly handsome lot

Afc the rt-gular meetiDg of the Dunstan Presbytery, held at Ophir last week, it was reported that returns had been received from all the kirk sessions in the presbytery strongly disapproving of the proposed basis of union with the Northern Church, and especially that article in the basis which proposes to abolish the synod of Otago and Southland. The presbytery received the returns, and instructed tbe clerk to forward the report of the same to the clerk of synod.

Some time ago the Nelson Acclimatisation Society obtained some prawns from New South Wales, and these were liberated, some near the entrance to the harbour and others near the farther extremity of the Boulder Bank. We have not heard till now (gays the Nelson Colonist) of any prawns having since been seen, but a parky of cyclist* who- visited the Glen on Saturday and searched among the boulders and rocks as the sea came in report tbab they saw what they were convinced was a prawn. They describe it as darker in colour, than a shrimp, and larger than any shrimp c&ught here, being about 3in in length. It is to be hoped that the attempt to acclimate the prawn has been successful*