DIPTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2663, 29 March 1905, Page 35

DIPTON.

March 27. — ~W& have had rather a. favourable month for harvest operations, and every advantage has been taken) of it. Very little grain remains to he cut, and mnch is now m stack, and all in grand condition. Some -who have not stacked are talking of threshing- from the stook, which, however, is rather a, Tisky 'operation for Southland. "We have been experiencing some -windy weather during the> past week, which is very drying, but does an amount of damage to ripe standing crops, and has been levelling the stooks.

Schools' Picnic. — On the 2nd inst. the Benmore, Dipton. Riverside, and Caroline Schools combined in a trip to Qu-eenstown. They left here at 7 a.m., and returned at 8.30 p.m., making rather a long day for the little fo-k. They had glorious weather, however, and a.ll enjoyed themselves. Over 200 took part in the trir>.

Ajmisernent-s. — Williams's Dramatic Company staged " East Lynne " on tK& 21st in6t. to only a medrani house. People are far too busy with their harvest to patronise plays just now. Otherwise they would have done- better ; and, besides, it blew exceptionally hard all that day, and did c-onsiderable damage to standing crops. Gored by a Bull. — Mir R. English lost a good hack on the 20m inst. His son Jim. together with a neighbour, lode to Messrs P. and T". M'Donald'q to assist them with their harvest, and turned their horsesi into a paddock m which a bull was running- at large-. On going tc catch their horses in the evening Jim found his had been badly gored, and it dropped dead soon after he caught it.

Accident. — Mr James Ross, eldest son of Mr Robert Ross, met with a bad accident. He was carting coal on the 24th inst., and while going round the cutting on the south of the railway station some of the coal slipped, and Jim fell from the load. The horses started off, ?nd, the nearside wheel going up the bank, the dray capsized, and caught Jim by the ankle. Dr Green is> attending him, but owing to the swelling is unable as yet to tell whether any bones are broken.

On the Mend. — Mr J". Healy, -who -was so much knocked about last month by p binder, is slowly recovering. He is now fit to be out, and it is hoped he will soon be all right again. Wedding. —Mr Joe Conley and Miss Emily Varcoo were mairied on the 16th inst. at the house of the bride, the Rev. W. C. Wood performing the ceremony. Joe is an old Dipton boy, and has the good wishes of a large circle of friends.

Political— Mr J. C. Thomson, M.H.R. for this electorate, addressed his constituents here on the 23rd inst. ir the hail. Mr H. Brass was voted to the chair, anc! consideizng thai so many are busy at present with the harve&t Mr Thomson had a remarkably laige audience. His address was an excellent one, on the lines of those already given in other centres of his electorate, and he held the attention of his audience throughout for over an hour and ahalf. Mr James M'Donald proposed a hearty vote of thanks Jq him for his address, and a

vote c£ continued confidence in Mr Thomson as our representative. Mr It. Kos.=s seconded the mo-ions, which were carried unanimously.

Bazaar — There is some talk of the English Church Lazaar about Easter, but, po far, arlangemcnts are lathei backua.id. The womenfolk, no doubt, are quietly preparing. ancT, I suppose, in due time it will eventuato and be a1;a 1 ; great a succeso as ever.

1.0.G.T. — The Good Templars nre growing stronger every day Their number here is moie than "ever, a-nd they seem to be gaining much popularity. I hear they me talking oi a picnic to Castle Rock some tiirrfe- about Easter. It is not yet decided whether it is to be confined to tho Templars alone or made general. Quite probably it will be the latter, and if Iho time chosen, be a slack one for the faimers there should be a big muster. Angling.— Very little fishing has been cione of late— mdeed, the river is almost too low to sustain fish life, and I fancy the large fish have all gone seaward 1 .