TAPANUI.

Otago Witness, Issue 2818, 18 March 1908, Page 39

TAPANUI.

March 16.—Last week we had a foretaste of winter, and a cold enap extended over a. oouple of days. Cold sou- west wind and heavy rain prevailed, but yesterday it cleared, and the day was beautifuly fine. Harvesting operations were suspended, but there is every appearance of work being quickly resumed. The grain is being saved in splendid order, and the general verdict is heavy crops and bountiful yields of first-class sample. Many stubble paddocks are now to be seen, and very soon harvest will be over. With the shortening days there is a, perceptible change in the temperature at. nights, with an occasional touch of frost. Lecture.—Mr James H. Edgar, who is connected with the China Inland Mission, and at present on a. visit to hi 3 parents and relatives in this district, lectured to a large audience in the Presbyterian Church on Friday evening last, the Eev. R. Waugh occupying the chair. Mr Edgar dealt with his travels and experiences in Thibet, where he spent th© latter years of his service, explaining the nature of the country, its people, and the possibilities of the future. The conditioiis existing in the "closed land" can hardly be realised by dwellers in our highlyciviliaed country, and it is evident that there is much work and hardship to be endured before the priest-ruled Thibetans-are elevated from their almost animal state of existence. Mr Edga-r exhibited his Chinese and Thibetan robes, and also a number of curios brought home with him. At the close of the lectuie several questions were asked and answered, but the audience were quite incapable of following the lecturer when he read a. portion of the Scriptures in .the Thibetan language. It is notable that Christian literature is widely circulated throughoxit Thibet, and it is only a matter of time until mission work will be carried on with the success that has attended it in ail other countries. The lecturer was thanked by the chairman for his address, and it was intimated that he would deal more fully with the subject on a future occasion. Mr Edgax is accompanied home by his wife, a-nd the hardships of mission work

| on frozen soil do not appear to have made ' any inroads on his constitution, as he looks well and healthy. Pomahaka River. —Local people are up in arms against a proposal to lift practically the whole of the Pomahaka and divert it to VY ailcsil£» for sluicirag ptixjpose^. Tlxe proposal is to take 45 heads of water, and it ha 3 been estimated that during the past two dry seasons there has not been anything like that quantity of water in the stream. The anglers are, of course, especially concerned, as the Otago Acclimatisation Society ha.s spent a very large amount of money stocking the river with trout. A recent English tourist who visited here pronounced the 1 Pomahaka one of the finest fishing streams J. he had ever seen, but making gravel beaches of its present ripples would mean an end to the angler's sport. The application will therefore be strenuously opposed, and no doubt land-owners interested will also lift their voice. Death. —The death of a youthful sufferer occurred at Tapanui yesterday afternoon, ■when Elliot O. Rodger passed a,way at his mother's residence. The circumstances attending the demise are exceedingly sad. Some four years ago he was a messenger m the local post office —an intelligent and promising lad Whilst out duck-shooting early on a. winter morning he contracted a cold. This led to an attack of typhoid fever, and a succession of complications resulted that caused the sufferer great pain-. All that medical skill could do failed to produce recovery, and death gave relief on Sunday. • Sickness. —A mild 1 form of scarlet fever has attacked a number of people in this district lately, and it is hoped that it will not become epidemic. All precautions are being taken, and I understand Dr Robertson will isolate patients if the disease becomes prevalent.