SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2328, 13 October 1898, Page 30

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

(Fbom Oue Own Cobbespondent.) INVERCARGILL, October 11. .During the past week Southland has had the "most severe spell of bad weather experienced jthis year. Heavy rain has fallen nearly every (day, and the £ rainfall at Redfern, Otautau, ffrom September 30 to October 8, inclusive, wa3 4in. All the rivers have been in flood, and RTe only now getting down within their banks. The mortality amongst lambs has been fearful, Bud this last week will very materially diminish the averages for 1898. Farm work has teen practically at a standstill, and all growth received a nasty _ check by an exceptionally liard white frost 'on Monday morning. The B.s. Waikare, which arrived from Hobart this morning, had good weather across, and so we may look for fine weather for November. After a day and a-half hearings his Honor JTudge Pennefather gave judgment on Wednesflay in the Supreme Court for £425 damages )fco R. L. Begg against William Gardiner for iriding over him whilst cycling. In tho case l of Maurice Gorman v. Mary Gorman, an application for a decree of dissolution of partnership and settlement of accounts between hus--band and wife, judgment was given ioi defendant with costs. W. Christie v. Owen iKelly was a cleim brought under the Employers' Liability Act for £300 by way of compensation for injuries received while working at a building at Gore. Haying heard the eviflence his Honor, while pitying the plaintiff Vary much, held that the defendant was not liable for the accident, and gave judgment accordingly. His Honor in chambers made an forder that £5 shareholders of the South New Zealand Finance Loan and Agency Company he paid back £4 by the liquidators, and then Share the same as the £1 shareholders. ! In the case of John Dickson v. D. and C. ', O'Kara and James Smith, an action foi an ■injunction restraining the O'Haras from closing up a channel on their property at Otama, which served to minimise the effects of flood water from the-Miver, evidence on. behalf of hobh. paities wa3 heard, and the case adjourned to Wellington for legcil argument. I under- | stand the reason for adjournment to Wellington is to enable counsel to have the use of tho Jaw library there, which is much, more complete than in any other town in New Zealand. ' In connection with the application for the ■custody of tha children of Anna Ulrica Twinem i — to be sent to their father's sister, Mrs Prit"chard, in Melbourne, Iris Honor stated that he would require an affidavit from a responsible person in Melbourne that Mrs Pritchard was a fit and proper person to have custody of the children. Mr Sim applied for probate of the will of 'George Printz, and Mr W. Y. H. Hall appeared for the widow, lodging a caveat. The estate is a very large one — involving over £75,000, and the widow lias only been left £100 a year. His Honor made an order that probate be granted, the executors to take steps without delay to have the will proved in solemn form, Mrs Printz's caveat being treated as a cita.tion. The September session closed late on Saturday with some unimportant chamber business and his Honor left for Dunedin by ■Monday's express. John Holland, sentenced to a month's imprisonment for assault, was released after serving 16 days of the sentence, consequent on the recemmendation of Mr Poynton. After a hearing extending over four days, Mx J. W. Poynton on Saturday committed for ;trial a youth named W. J. Staunton on a charge of attempted rape on a girl under 15 years of age. The case for the police was that .on her way home at night time the girl was met by aocused, who accompanied her along the street and threw her down. Mr J. !Macalistpr, for the defence, called a number of witnesses, whose testimony showed that comElainant had seized accused's hat from his cad and run away, and that he, following, ba:l caught liold of her, and both of them had fallen to the ground. He also tendered evidence to the effect that complainant was occasiorally seen in the* company of youths late at fright. Accused was committed for trial, bail Jaeing fixed at £200, which was forthcoming. The S.M. Court was crowded on Wednesday )norning, when ¥m. Petersen, the man who stated he knew all about the Satherly murder, Ws brought before Mr Poynton. S.M., on a

charge of vagrancy. Sergeant Macdonnell suggested that aa he had " already been some time in gaol, the man should be convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon to do so. It was amply proved that the (man's story with regard to the murder was entirely imaginary. He is known to the police under many aliases, and had threatened to knifa several members of the police force dur- j ing his confinement in gaol on remand. The following story is told of a prominent member of the force who arrested a Chinaman a few days ago : Two men stood on the bank of a Southland river. One was a policeman, and big and burly at that, the other was a. Chinaman, his prisoner. '" John," said the man in blue, " there's no use in both, of us getting wet. You'll have to carry me across." " Allee same j me no cally you — me catchee cold." "It won't do, John," said the other, " you can't get out | of it in that fashion. ' Then John changed his tactics. " All lightee ; me callv you, but me fall in water and both get wet — me no stlong. That settled it, the hint was accepted, and the two waded in and reached the other side in Bafety. INYERCARGILL AMATEUR OPERATIC SOCIETY. The Invercargill Operatic Society has been ver, T busy for some months past rehearsing Gilbert and Sullivan's opera " Ruddigore," and on Tuesday last and the three following nights they produced it in the theatre to good houses. Unfortunately for the finances of the society the weather was very bad — in fact, the worst we have had all the winter — and must have seriously affected the attendance throughout tb,e season, and they now have to face a loss of about £35 on the venture. However, the opera is to be played for two nights during the present week, and it is to- be hoped that the loss will be made good then. Mrs Blue, as Ross Maybud, acted well. The character suited her. and all through the season she was in good voice Her duet with Mr Grenfell, " Poor little man, poor little maid," was quite the gem of tho evening each night. In all her solos she was also heard to advantage. As Mad Margaret Miss A. Smith again showed the Invercargill playgoers the sacrifice she is making in not adopting the profession she is so well fitted to adorn. The part was a most trying one, but in every move Miss Smith was equal to the demands of the character, and in the second act her acting with Mr Mackay was brilliant. Miss Hishon, as Dame Hanna, sang sweetly, but lacked animation in hei acting, the character evidently not suiting her. Mr A. Grenfell, in the role of Robin Oakapple, was not so much at home as he has been in former characters. There was no song in the opera that really suited him, and his inability to make love made che part unnecessarily hard for him. Nevertheless, he infused all his natural good humour into his singing, and in the duet with Mrs Blue, already itipntioned, lie thoroughly deserved the encore. Richard Dauntless was taken by Mr W i« Smith, and his acting was good. He sang ais nrusie in a mirth-provoking manner, and in the duet with Mr Mackay, " To shirk the task were fiddle-dc dee," he was irresistible. Besides the onerotis duties of stage manager, Mr B. B. Mackay took the part of Sir Despard Murgatroyd, and his acting revealed powers hitherto unsuspected. His singing was good, and in the second act his acting with Miss Smith was certainly above Ms previous efforts, and kept the audience in roars of laughter. Miss Organ had little to do, but her voice was heard to advantage; while Mr W. B. Gladstone sang his trying song well, and his duet, " There grow a little flower 'neath a great oak tree," with Miss Hishon was deservedly encored. The choruses all thfough the piece were good, and were well balanced, but the music occasionally seemed too fast for the orchestra. The dresses and scenic effects were good, and nothing lacked in the stage management. The dancing — a hornpipe by Mr Geddes, and a gavotte by the bridesmaids and swains, enhanced by colotued lights — was gracefully done, and each night had to be repeated. Mi Geo. Double is to bo complimented on the ''make-ups" of the principals, but Mr W. E. Gladstone, with the faces of the others, was not successful. The staging of the tableau " Britannia " was very effective, and Mr W. V. Siddall again proved himself a capable conductor. " Riiddigore "is full of music that will improve on acquaintance, and though rather a heavy opera for amateurs, the production by the Invercargill amateurs must be considered a highly meritorioua performance. MINING NEWS. The return of the steamer from Preservation ' Inlet on Sunday to the Bluff was awaited with the keenest interest by the many shareholders, both in the Golden Site, Alpha, and Morning Star claims; but by far the greatest anxiety , was to Tmow the actual returns from the firstmentioned claim, owing to various reports which had been brought into Invercargill by persons who had come through the track frpm Preservation and had circulated most glowing accounts of the future prospects of the mine. Consequently, when it became \nown by the interested collection of sbaipholders who had gathered at the railway station to learn the results that the Golden Site Extended had only obtained a small cake (or rather button) of gold weighing 7oz 19dwt 12gr from about 130 tons of stuff put through the battery, it was at first believed to be only a practical joke, but when such proved to be the real state of the case, the disappointment of those who had, perhaps, just become shareholders at a considerably enhanced value in price of shares was very demonstrative, and their expressions ol opinion were anything but favourable to mining in general. Matters are getting more feeitled down to-day, however, and sensible people are looking at things in a proper business light, and refer back to the actual reports received prior to this excitement from the mine manager, in which he does noi hold out any of the glowing prospects that had been inchilged in by many. Had they looked carefully into these reports, they would not feel a bit disappointed at the present results, as, so far, the mine has not been properly tested, and in the opinion of experienced miners the Golden Site will yet turn out one of the best in the district. It is much to be regretted that irresponsible parties arriving through the new track chould circulate reports which too often contain no real foundation of truth in them. Tho Morning Star keeps up its regular returns, and although the cake of 2220z 12dwt | was expected to be larger, the mine manager reports that he is coming on to richer stone, and therefore larger cakes of gold may be anticipated. The Alpha crushing from 60 tons for only 290z of amalgam may mean that it is only the first rubble put through. Despite the present returns from the mines, new claims ate receiving attention and support, showing the confidence the public here have in the future development of Preservation Inlet as I a large mining field. Encouraging news has arrived from the Last Chance and Monarch claims, which were taken up a few weeks back by a small syndicate. A 3ft reef with good gold has been struck in the latter property, and specimens of the stone are now in town, in which gold ia freely to be seen. At the last meeting of the Invercargill Borough Council it was decided to inform Mr H. Bastings that his proposal to lease the Market Reserve in connection with the exhibition project would not be entertained, an Amendment by Councillor Aitken to hold the matter over for a, fortnight being lost. — At the instance of Councillor Watson, seconded by Councillor Roche, the engineer was asked to report on the best means of providing the borough with an ample supply of pure water from the Oreti river, and the probable approximate cost pf the same, including the cost of

settling tanks or ponds, and to furnish any other information on the subject which he may think will be of service to the council. The Park drain question is still an unsettled one, and is now becoming a serious matter. At the last meeting of the Avenal Borough Council, that body decided not to take any responsibility in connection with it. The Town Council, County Council, and Avenal Borough Council have now all declined to have anything to do with it. At the usual monthly meeting of the Southland Chamber of Commerce on Friday it was decided, " That representations be made to the Postmaster-General, the Minister for Railways, and the Union Steam Ship Company to have a special train run from Invercargill to the Bluff on Melbourne steamer days, leaving immediately after arrival of the express with mails and passengers, and that the Christchurcli and Dunedin Chambers be informed of the action taken." — It was agreed to urge that legislation be passed that would indemnify licensing benches and all justices of the peace against any cost incurred in the performance of their duties. The wire for the telephone line between Colac and Round Hill is now on the ground, and the construction of the line will be commenced at once. The wire cables for the bridge over the Waiau are now being carted up to the site of the new bridge. To give an idea of their strength, I might mention that 16 of them weighed just over 24 tons. Train travellers in Southland will be glad to learn that the carriages on the Southland section will soon be lighted with Pmtsh gas. The cylinder has arrived, and is at present 'n the shunting yard. A Stewart Island correspondent, writing to one of our local papers, gives a description of the first football match played on the island between a local team and a team from Ruapuke Island, and ventures the statement that it was the most southern football match ever played. The gap in the Crescent between the National Bank and Wright - Stephenson's office is to be built upon in the shape of a handsome addition to the National Bank. I understand the U.S.S. Company will occupy part of the new buildings. Mr R. W. Kane, lately manager of the Bank of New Zealand at Adelaide, succeeds Mr R. A. Chisholm, of the Invercargill branch, who retires on his pension after about 35 years' service. Owing to ill-health, the Rev. A. H. Stobo, formerly of First Church, Invercargill, and lately of South InvercaTgill, has forwarded his resignation t othe Presbytery. The reverend gentleman was considered the father of the Presbytery, and is a very old settler. His resignation to the Presbytery. The reverend land. Mr J. M'Caw, missionary at Forest Hill under the Synod's Extension Committee, has also resigned. He has accepted an invitation from the church at Pahiatua. For the bands contest to be held in Dunedin on Boxing Day both of our town bands have entered. Tho following are the mine managers' reports : — Golden Site. — During the fortnight the intermediate level liad been driven 6ft 6in north, making a total length from No. 2 crosscut of 26ft 6in. For some distance no quartz was showing, but as the country was kindly looking, black slate making towards the east, they drove at right angles for a distance of 23ft 6in, and about that point striick pug and slate with stringers of quartz, in which gold was seen 'occasionally. At the eastern eiid they met a well-defined hanging wall, going rather flat, and drove along it towards the north. A few colours of gold were seen in the thin lenders. Then they came on a blank. At present they had a well-defined foot and hanging wall underlying east about 45deg, with a little quartz in the face. To keep the mill going the manager started to stope out from No. 2 uprise, but on the top of the intermediate level the 3tone petered out. In stoping towards the No. 3 crosscut he came into a lot of sandstone boulders with a few stringers of quartz between, in which gold could be seen. To the south of No. 2 uprise the stone appeared to be better defined. Owing to this initial work and rough weather ho had not been able to keep the mill running full time; in fact, since it started only 23 full shifts had been put in — which was loss than eight full days. On account of the weather there had been some trouble with the water race owing to big floods, and they were also stopped through the screw of the pellon wheel valve being stripped. About 130 tons were put through the battery, but the greater part of it was practically barren, while there was a large quantity of mullock from which it was impossible to separate the payable stone. The clean-up resulted in 7oz 19dwt 12gr, and about 35 per cent, of the gold was coarse, being got in the boxes, some pieces weighing Jdwt each. He was now working two shifts at the battery, and intended to put on another as soon as possible. Twentyfive men were employed on the mine, and with 27 or 28 he expected to keep things going full time. By the arrangements he was making he thought he would be able to work the mine with" anything like a body of stone and make both ends meet on sdwt per ton. Mor-iing Star.— No. 2 level has been driven 47ft 6in. The walls were still there, but no stone in the face. However, they had not far to go until they were under the stone of No. 1 level. This level had been diiten 38ft. The resf look-id as strong as ever with perfect walls. No. 1 stopes were driven 28ffc from the back of No. 1 level, and the reef was still making over to the ground stcped by tLc previous mar ager. There was not far to go until reaching the stone that the previous crusliings were obtained from. No. IA stopes continued to chow nice stone though Barrow. The cako was somewhat less than the last, the poor stone encountered in the dead work being responsible for this, but when they got further along it was expected that plenty of good stone would be got to make up for this. Judging by indications and the information obtainable a couple of fai- cakes after the next one might ba looked for. The battery was crushing for R0 days, and put through 432 tons, yielding 222ca 12dwts, valued at £928. This brines the total up to 10,051 tons, from which 10,9120z of a valua of £44,246 had heon obtained. Fifty m^n are employed. Alpha. — Driving on the reef from the shaft south towards the battery had been continued. The total distance from the shaft is now 40ft, and the reef is 4ft wide, fairly well defined, but the stone was of a low-grade quality. He was now timbering the drive, and had started stoping when he expected to have a better quality of stone. All the stone that had been raised and on the surface, about 60 tons in all, had been crushed, but the cleaning up would not take place until before the next steamer goes round. The number of men employed was 14. Shareholders can see a copy of the full report at Mr Longuet's office. Jessica. — Owing to an unfortunate accident by which Mr John Williams, who is in charge of this claim, was rendered unfit for work, very little had been done on it. A week before the arrival of the steamer he slipped on a fallen log and broke two of his ribs, but is now progressing favourably. Sunrise. — During the past three weeks the long_ drive has been driven 42ft, making a total of 420 ft. There is very little change in the country, but it is improving slightly. Monarch. — On this claim, which adjoins the Morning Star, and on the east side of it, some nice-looking quartz was found in a creek near an outcropping reef, running parallel with the one in the Morning Star. Some of the quartz was brought to "town, and colours of gold are visible in. ii