LAKE COUNTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2310, 9 June 1898, Page 25

LAKE COUNTY.

June 4. — The Lake County iCouncil held an ■ ordinary meeting on tber2sth alt., at which no' business of. any general" interest was transacted, ' only some items of minor and local concsrn "being ■ dealt with. Th« Olerk (Mr J. Black) informed the council that "the contractor foT "the Skippers -Bridge had signed the contract and paid in the required deuosit money, so it may toe expected j that the work ■will be started without much ': delay. The contractors busy making and improving the scenic "tracks at the lead of «nd about Lake Wskatipu are-making good progress. The roail 'between Lakes Wakat.ipu and To An an, upon which "-the Invercargill Land and Survey department has spent £500, is now ,as far ( completed as the money will allow, -and ihere_ is room to spend more. The gang of men is'puttiDg < the Bouteburn track in a fair starte.of repair, .and ' an effort will "be made to make a thorough job of this track, which par eminence is "the most scenic route in the district. Precipices, waterfalls, and ; grand, rugged, rocky piles vary with sylvan glades > and lovely wooded copses, where the graceful fern trees wave their stately plumes over a ground carpeted with lichfwis, ferns, and mosses, winch ■when lit up wrth flitting sunbeams glisten with a golden emerald glow that no artificial <jolour or light can hope Ao rival. If you persev«re till you jeao'h Lake Harris saddle you will .be Tewarded •with as <grand a view of a mountain parterre as the eye cam take in, bounded >to the -north by Mount Cook. An effort will, I hear, be made to form the track right "up to the saddle. The da-ay load from Pembroke, Lake Wanaka, to Matuki- • tuki has also been completed, and is one of the most pleasant drives in the neighbourhood. Be- ■ Bides these, the track to the upper .branches of I>be IShotover "has "been also ■put in a. good etate for traffic, and further improvements on it are contemplated. All this shows that our county Council is -rloing what 3& possible with the means at its disposal, and is dutifully keeping the over- ' (draft up to the full limit or a little beyond it. ' At tlit meeting Iflie day "wages question cropped i * up again, and it was ultimatelyTdecided by vote " that the wage -per day -be Bs, instead of 7s as jeBolved some time ago. St. Joseph's <I*iholiC Church, Queenstown. ' —'Sunday last, Pentecost Sunday, was a gala day for QueeßStown, as it marked >tbe consecration of the newly-iinißhed chtirch lo its holy otlices by ■the Bishop of Dunedin, /the Right Hey. Dr Verdon, assisted by the Very JEtev. Dean Burke Bad.tEfetb.er O'Donaell, local priest .of ,the .diooese.

I The weather was fair, though wintry. At about ! 11.30 a large gathering of members of the church ! and other denominations had collected'to witness 1 the ceremony. -JDrVerdon celebrated Pontifical High Ma3s, after which Dean Burke spoke -in touching terms of hia former connection with Queenstown, 'and complimented the congregation on their efforts to erect for "themselves and their ' descendants so beautiful and substantial 'a build- ' ing. 'This was followed "by the first service and sermon held in the new building, Dean Burke ; choosing for his text Acts i, 8—" And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all j Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost" part of the world.'" At the end of the sermon Dean Burke exhorted the congregation*_to make an effort to clear off "the small remaining debt that day. The appeal "was responded t-o by a-cim-tributioa amounting to about .£2OO, which it is understood will cl'iar the church of aU lialrilifces. 'The choir rendered excellent service daWng <ihe 1 ceremony, doing full justice to T,V impassive | nausic rendered on the occasion. Mvs J. Black, j Miss Robertson, and Mr Gudgeon oeaerve Bpecial I praise as soloists, as al-o do Mr O. XL Eobertson i as conductor, and Miss' Gudgeon as cgairi&t. The 1 music, as well as the -preaching:, showed the fine . acoustic properties '■■f the building. In th^evenI ing there was 'ona'cher service, Bishop Verdon officiating at vespers and pronouncing the bene- ( diction, while the Hey. Father O'Di nnell delivered an address, in which he said 'the 'congregation were indebted to Mr John Black 'for piofetsional service? rendered gratis and 'for the statue of the Sacred Heart ; to Mr J. T. Lynch and his sister (Mrs Kevin) for the pictures of «the Stations .of the Cross ; to Mr P. Butel, to Mr M. 'O'Meara, i and to Mr P. JSl'Carthy for a stained glass window each ; to 'Mr F. M'Bride for the altar and sane- : tnary ; to Mr O. >Gudgeon for the baptismal f f-rrt ; \ -io Miss it. JBntler for the sanctuary lamp ; to St. ! Patrick Sports Association for the stens approaching the jmuio entrance ,; to the Very Rev. Dean IBurkefor the .statue .of :St Joseph jplace'l In the rfagade of the church. The Rev. Father O'Donnell | i 'has presorrted tbe statue uf the Virgin. and Child. I The .building is a substantial and magnificent Inrili of 'local stone facsd with Oama/ru stoB«. The style in tho Gothic, but in a few instances itihe sevtre grandeur of thiß styleiias been ircdievad by sthe introduction of Boman -arches, which Tather accentuate the tout ensemble. The > -dimensi'ms >of the .building are :— Length 90ft, , Tvidth of nave 33ft., at the transepts 47ft, while the fiont .elevation is 50ft. From these 'dimen- , j ssions it will be seen that the church .is a sferucbure , ! of no mean proportions for an'up-country tow.nehip, and it da pronounced the finest -Roman ■CiVholic Church in Otago next to St. Joseph's, | Dunetfin. Mt Petre was the architect, and "Sir Yt. W. Woods, both of Dunedin, the contractor. ! 1 'The price was £1400, but when the | liberal donations in labour, carting, stone, elib „ and the vory-handaome 'Contributions, 'such -as the ] baptismal font and stained glass windov/e, are . added, the total cost of the building exceeds ;pro"abiyj£2Goo. WAKATIPU ' LICSKSING COMMITTEE.— A& W,aS it anticipated, the iordinary meeting iof this body, ; held yesterday at -Qu«enstown,-was a "very .extraordinary meeting. iFull accounts are not yet to hand, but judging .from -what has leaked out the J affair appears to have been anything but credit- _ able to the members. However, it is always thus ' when temperanoe people get intemperate in their temperance. It will be remembered 'that a few , weeks ago I mentioned that the chairman of the committee -refused to feign conditional Jicenaes, •although all the reßt of the members were agreed ; that such, licenses should be issued, and "that when the chairman stood up for his decision the members^f the. commitree addressed the Colonial i .Secretary on *he subject. Things were thus brought to a 'deadlock .between the chairman said , the and no business was proceeded "with, the ine&ting being adjourned for a Jiort--niKht;. , • ' ViCTORT —The prize 'for a warded at, the ! Dunedin Winter show has again come this way. ' ■Mir J?rancis .M'Bride, .of JPrankton, 'has once inoi-e .pulled off the laurels for his 'barley. So persisently .successful has Mr M'Bride been with his barley that he is now .locally known as .the ' "Barley King." Sucbjsuccess makes his produce niuch sought after, and for years past Messrs ; Speight and Co., of Dunedip,, havfe been the purchasers at very handsome 'figures. It as (the ( unanimous verdict of expert 3 that <the Waka- ' tipu is eminently 'suited for the production of ' this cereal, without the .total production heing increased by the favourable conditions.

Death.— Mr John Mathieson, a very old resi- ! dent at Whitechapel Flat, .Arrow lliver, who had ,been ailing for some time back, died while on the road to the Arrow Hospital. Deceased had been in ; the hospital until a few weeks ago, suffering- from , ! a complication of diseases, which at 78 years of ' | ,age meant a .general breaking up of the system. .Deceased had been mining at Whitechapel ITlat for upwards of 25 years, and of late had cultiI vated paxt of the mining .reserve in the locality with a fair degree of suecens. He was of a -quiet, inoffensive disposition, ;and died a bachelor. The ■funeral took place yesterday, and was numerously attended, especially by the old resident?, ' of whom there Are still a ,goodly number to ,the ' fore. j