PATEAROA

Otago Witness, Issue 2400, 1 March 1900, Page 29

PATEAROA

February 26. — On Tuesday night last our annual soiree was held in the church. The building was crowded by an audience which paid the keenest attention to the many entertaining items on the programme. The chair was occupied by our missionary, Mr J. Cawley, who was sxipported by the Revs. J. M'Cosh Smith, M.A., of Naseby, and It. Fairmaid, of ELaitangata. The chairman, in his opening- remarks, referred to the sound position in which our church stands in the matter of attendance and finance. T.ha speeches -were all good, • the ordinary . soiree exhortations being 'on this occasion plentifully besprinkled with the refreshing dew of humour; A flood . of outside musical talent being available, it ! was found scarcely necessary to dip into our j local welling spring of song. Mx F. Murphy, ! of Duhedin (relieving teacher), is the posessorl ! of a , cultivated voice of uncommon richness ' and purity, and his singing of " The last mus-7 | ter" and "The bridge" was listened to by the audience with much pleasure. The singing of Mr P. Black, of Gimmerburn, was also a treat to which we are too seldom favoured, his musi-

cal and spirited rendering of " Soldiers of tha Queen" meeting with a storm of well-deserved applause. The same gentleman also sang "Give us this day our . daily bread." ilr Bremner, of Dunedin, favoured the company with a couple of solos, in which his powerful bass voice was heard to advantage, while Mr A. Ball, of Naseby, performed well in "Thy will be done " and " The Englishman." Mrs Cawley was heard at her beat in "The gift" and " Ora pro nobis/ and Miss Jennie Black, of Gimmerbum, sang " The Better Land " very sweetly. A recitation, " The road to Heaven," by Miss Mary Bell, of Port Chalmers, was feelingly given, while Mr Cunningham, of Kokonga, in addition to reciting '" Nottman, thg Erginedriver," brought the bonnie hills of Scotland very near by his rendering of the amusing Scotch story, " Hoc- Patie Pirnie Got Hia Wife. The musical portion of the-entertain-ment was completed by an impressive organ solo by Miss Irvine, together with four anthems by the church choir, under Mrs Cawley's leadership. The ordinary strength of the choir waseffectively added to hy the inclusion of several of the visitors, and the various anthems were rendered with a skill and harmony that are rare in districts where the tuneful ring of the village anvil contests possession of the welkin with the bleat of the merino and discordant bellow of the calf. The accompaniments, with two exceptions, were played by Miss Irvine, her distinctly successful efforts being recognised by a special vote of thanks, proposed by Mr Fair--maid. An abundant supply of tea and wonderfully buoyant cake was supplied by. the ladies of the congregation during the evening. Taking into consideration the quality of the musical items, the success of the oratorical efforts of the several speakers, and the highly satisfactory number of coins taken by the busy, treasurer at the door, the soiree must be put down as a complete success.

Church Anniversary. — The anniversary services of j>ur church were conducted on the 18th inst. by~the Rev. R. Fairmaid, of Kaitangata, who preached both morning and evening to gopa congregations. The rev. gentleman's discourses were appropriate and powerful, and were most attentively listened to. Sale of Mining Plant. — The local "Victorians " party have disposed of their race and other mining property to Messrs Stewart Bros., of Roxburgh. The new owners have put on a number of men to widen and generally 'enlarge thj race. Iron fluining, I understand, is to replace a length of boxes around a roughish bluff at the head of the race, a considerable length of piping is to be laid on to the claim, and 'elevating (which on these diggings ha 3 hitherto been confined to the bucket and windlass) is to bH gone into in a wholesale way. v Prospecting. — The prospecting area marked off some time ago by a Waitahuna syndicate is being put to the test. Several holes have been put down, and although water has been met with in each of them the prospectors, by constant application of that back-breaking piece of mechanism, the ordinary spear pump, have managed to reach false bottom at an average depth of 16ft. Payable dredging prospects were found throughout the wash. The falsa bottom is composed of quartz sand. An effort to get through" the false bottom with boring rods did not meet with success, the apparatus (which belongs to the county, and " ia supposed to have been at one time the property of an extinct navigator ' by the name oi Cook) giving way at the connecting screws. It , would be interesting to know what is under and in the sand, but stout timber and a stream pvrnp will be needed to solve that question.