LUGGATE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2728, 27 June 1906, Page 34

LUGGATE.

June 2L — Foir so late in. the season tka weather is exceptionally fine. We have had some pretty hard, frosts, but so- fax by st ait ing a. little later in the: .day when there has been an extra hard frost, farmers who have had need have found Ho difficulty in keeping the plough steadily at work. The late rain, did a, lot of good. It caused the grass to spring * little, and brought on the turnip crop wonderfully; so if the weather continues fine wemay yet pull through the- winter fairly well. | Xhezfi hay* beea aotas good falls of suaw oa

the hills, but so far we have had" none on the low-lying laEd. Railway Extension. —The railway tc Hawea is all the talk at present, and if the public do what they ought they should, fight until they get ifc. If we asked the Government to give U3 time to pay our rent, and then at the end> of the time we asked for we took no more thought or bother about it what would the Government say? Why, simply tell us to pay up or lose our land. Well x then, the farmers and the rest of the public who have been promised the railway so long should stick out and say if we don't get the railway we will throw up the sponge, pay no more rents, slave no more for nothing, but leave the j country and ga to a- country where the Government keeps its promises, and where a few thousands ure not so hard to get —to a place where a- man can get a little more than food and a few clothes all his life in. return for slaving from morning; till night; to a. pJace where we are not buried aJive for the sake of a few thousands to- make 12 miles and 30 chains of a- railway. If there is such a difficulty in raising the money to make the railway from Clyde to Cionrreell, why not com.menge at this end and carry on down to Cromwell, and leave this very difficult piece till the last? It would be better than, keeping us shut up here in the back blocks for another 30 years. If Bomsfching- is not dons soon the persevering farmer will be a thing of the past Already we have lost a number of good farmers, and land is going down in value instead of improving. I know of several farms now that would be gladly sold for far less than the improvements cost. This is a very bad state of affairs, and we have no one to -thank but the Government. Vexy few, if any, of ih& farmers who hold land up this way would have settled here if they had dreamt that the railway would not have reached even Clyde jet. The Late Premier. —lt was a- great shock to everyone up here when it became known that 'the Premier had died- suddenly. The working man has lost ft friend indeed. Even his political foes will grieve at his death, for noone can. say but that he fought hard for what he. considered right, and it would not do for | every man to have the same political views. He has gone to his grave to-day honoured and respected by all. 1 Obituary. —We have had some other very painful deaths since last I wrote. The first was that of Mrs Thos. John Meadows, of In- ' vercargiH, who was on a. visit to her mother and other relations.. The chief reason for the poor young lady being in this district was the marriage of her sister, which took place on the ISth of April. It was her hands- that i decorated the roonr so prettily for the dance in the evening. She seemed well and happy that day, but she caught cold or influena- a short time after the wedding, the complaint being very prevalent at Pembroke, the Forks, and Hawea at the time. The disease must have weakened her heart, for she died quite suddenly —just whea her mother thought she | was recovering. She will b© greatly mourned. : not only by her husband, hei mother, and other relatives, but by her true friends, many of -whom have sent letters of sympathy from Invercargiil and other plates. She was exceptionally clever. When only a little girl she could draw pictures from, books and paper illustrations in a very exact manner. After she was married she commenced learning painting-, and just from, a little teaching from I her cousin as to how to mix colours, etc., she became an excellent oil painter. Had she been undec a good master I believe she would have l«ffc a> namta behind her that would never have been forgotten. Her sister was given, by her a beautifully painted mantel drape, and her brother taxHt hia Wife, who were married* a short time before, a landscape picture. There is no need to- say ho-vr valua-M© those gifts — her last work—will be to them now. She was only 23 years of age. —Another very sad death was that of Mr William Ford, son of Mr Ford, of Pembroke. The poor young fellow met his death while at work in the hills, for he was a shepherd. He slipped on some frozen ice and fell over some rocks. Soma of his dogs went home without him, and on a search being made he was found through one of his degs remaining beside his dead body. Great sympathy is felt for his bereaved parents and other relatives. —Then the sad news came that Mr Minnock had died in the Cromwell Hospital. Mi Minnock was one' of the old identities. He had been working 1 for years on the Midrun, near Luggate, hoping to drop on a patch cf gold that he never found. —Again, news of another death came to us from afax —that of Mr R. Halhday. Mr Halliday left here fox South Africa some years ago, when quite a. 3'oung man. He was when here a fin© healthy fellow, and it was with sorrow I hear of hia death. The Weather. —Saturday is the snorte-sfr day, and wo hare dust blowing at Sandy Point to-day, as though it was gum.- ' mer, but the sky is overcast aud I should not , be surprised, although it is far from a cold day, to see a fall of snow before long. | ! . . , , .