CAMBRIANS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2504, 19 March 1902, Page 31

CAMBRIANS.

March 7 —The miners still keep con ?. the water tapply Leering up remarkab'y well, corsideiuig Hie time cf the yepr. In my last i.otes 1 slated that it was finely rumoured Mr O. Hughes was about to take rver the who'.e of Mr J. Ew ing's Vinegar Fiat inoperty. It now fap"ms, however, that theie were others negotiating for the property, and they outbid Mr Hughes, t>nd get the whole of the property as it stood, the successful tenderers being Mrs G. O'Haia and P. M'Caithy. I hear they are l'kely to meet with seme difficulty 111 rpmovuig the elevator from its piesent position. Vinegar Hill Sluicing Company —This company la making the Lest of a plentilul s-uppl\ of water to drive away the useless fetuff that overlies the golden layers. This coimiany, it is stated, have no intention of wash .g up till the *nd cf May . if so they should ha\e a fair amount c,' gold in their tailiace by that tinif 1 Ihere h^ve bee»i some changes 111 the comna jy c ince i*s formation, Mr W Mills, who held an i:itTc = t in the comppnv, ha\i;ig sold out to Mi W. M'Connrchie, of bt. Bathan<-.

Hur\e?tirg.— lf tlie v.pathpi keeps favourable by the time this 11 in punt harvesting will bo pretty general throughout the district. I notice that Mr T. D. M'Le\ie aiiJ Mr Keen a 1 have both veiy pcod crops of oats in thrupaddocks alongside tie mnm road to St liathvMis. Th's is or.other ludicatio.i ci viiau th.s tlistriL't can <jrov,-.

Boycotting Local Men by the Government — There has been a good deal written of late about the wholesale d.scharge of local men by Ihe Go.-ernment o^i the dift'errnt line*. The first move on the Otago Ceutial was tho d:~ehar^c of the s'.'igle men with the exception of those who were foi lunate emjugh to have influence behind them. They, of course, were kept en. and aie on still, but the other peer unfortunates had to go, and v.hy 9 — simply to make room foi others who had some n.fluence behind them. lhat move w.is bud enough, but thcie was v.orso to follc.v. The local married men uerc next to go, urespcctive cf their wiv?s and little ones, and they, too, -nu«-t make room for others from other part" Now, the cjuction is Is it right, ju-t, or f? a to turn off men whose homes aie m tlv- rtistrat to make room for thc-c wl'o 'me in the towns, i\ho lia\e had the be ( wl of thf < o-epcrati . c tysttia e\er sine? it w«s u.tio'iucd b\ il'c »ieI llt GovcrnniPiit ' If the Gover'iinent nifrfii to deal fair with tbrir subjects, why not treat them all alike, and rot show fa-. our to the toivn in,pn and tho=e of the right colcui o\c-r the hard-working, sober, honest local man ' The writer of these notes is a Libeial, but not one of that stamp. I know that some of the married men have made appeals at diffoient times to get on again, but to no purr>o=e , yet thu Government say they aie not short of money 1 If not, what other rea=on can be asSigned foi the refusal to rc-cmp'.oy thr- men > bt D^-.tf's Spoits and ricnir —This affoir v.as he'd in the school gro« id on the 2Sth ult., the day being an idea! one for such an occasion, and th"re bei^g a fan sprinkling of the fair ccx present. The rrfrepliine-iits which v ere a gr^at impiovemeut on tho=e of 'ast year. v.-ere in the carab'i handrs of >fpsd.unps O Dungey and T Morga.i a. id Mi; c t-- JHugh"=. E. Willmms, A. CoUirj:<=, ard M. M'Gnckin, who did their work v.-c!l Xot '-elng in po=so3s.on of the progiammc, I din unab'e to give details of the events. Entertainments. — We (have had entertainments Without number Hip last month or six weeks. Thoiiitou Stewart's Concert Coinpaiiy paid n% ? visit; then Mr David Thomr.s, .1. professional sn.ger who ie?idc3 nt Herbert, gave a veiy mteres'aig concert, and it ig safe jLs #fe* ibat tke »udjeace rjvax^ nuih, s. treat

as they never suspected. Mr Thomas was ably assisted at the organ by Mr J. Allr.n, the school teacher. Both Mr Thomas and Mr Alan were accorded a vote of thanks, a compliment not often paid to any visiting perfoinier. Mr Thomas sang in tbe four different languages— English, Irish, Scotch, and Welsh