E LAKE COUNTRY.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 103, 19 October 1863, Page 3

E LAKE COUNTRY.

inxjio* own- cbßEß^iwi!HTi|f; ■:;:;.■ flt sen sation Vas^re^ted>' here 'J t he arrival -of Dr. Hector^ who I ei»p'°y e^ on * M Geptogicai Jsurfihe Otago/ Gby^nn^nt,y^a the P ast The fiooiqf was ' e»^ route to; £'but before he went, a meeting of bitanta was convened :fbif the pur- • Llcoming lura^on his^saf&atrivai; .' unknown .traft^^unfrj^'tif » ffd s rumored' he was the success* orcr. Pr. Hector? very properly - thai he could notianticipatejhis pwn; by divulging portioas/of itat^ the time —that he was-startingi in an 1' f or Dunediri, from whence he 'M r l m immediately io^ the West 1 From Dr. Hectors conversation, J m> . ; ng facts have I»een=; gleaned,:— M,nd the entrance' of-a rivers iying aßuilford Haven and^Jacksoh's In- r Wt T which he brought, his schooner^ 9' ten fee fc water oiri f the bar. This IK tra versed ; for : aboutsi^ite'eht:miles Hf ita source v wlien ;he: jcameJntA a_ Kke at the head .of which r he MLa • Here 'he met a family of K 'consisting 'of a*' patriarch- his Kllwo daughters; who very hospi«nvided food -for the. voyagers. Tne. IE raauty" amongst -other things HVhat the lake j beattngthe r nameof Kj D -as known to. the " pakeha" is <»real Wakatip, but that <name in ■^■belonged to the lake .whereon. .Or. 'M had anchored his schooner. From md Of this lake, the explorers traveling!! a valley, which lead fVr about, iCles »« the direction °t the Wakatl P 9 lt is stated that the. journey might. m*en accomplished in three days, but ■ to the obstacles met with in the mf scrub and underwood, which had ilcut through in many parts, seven m ere occupied in -the .passage. The ftern-ed a t Van Tunzleman'a Station,' M^oi ilie Lake to Q,ueehstown. -As -H^j)^ Hecior returns, he will make Vest Coast accompanied by packm Of course these will <le corrected by the legitimate reporf imwhicli will not be long in forth-. ■Mn • but at present, we are obliged to , MtU with what we can get. Thus ■ikely that a seaport for tne district lei on which, should the discontented* V D j of the Lake district choose to act, : ■n-ay under the Constivuiion Act Reparation from Otago. and reso he Sfcvesiuto a now Province. Already m are talking of taking up tracts of K n the West Coast, aoid not only for ■elves, but for houses across the water, BJofess gieat belief in the future of I West Coast, ■ s information instead ot acting as ■ck on the exertions of >the people of ■land, should rather operate as an in■e to leave no stone unturned to faBe communication with lnvercargill; air their roads and to push forward r Always; not running their main Jines id or rail miles out of the way to one party or another, but establishdirect a line as is attainable to that, whence they expc -t> enhance ifle of the Province. Let this be anf done with 'a will;' the trade will: in the hands ef Southland in spite of 'wg that may happen on .the West I where a«raall bar harbof-and a lee ' will always against the Ishnient of any very important t, and, in any case, milch time must ibeforc anything conaes of it. c Otaijo Government liaVe latterly behaving in a mariner little conducive isfaction te this district. The dismance of the passenger traffic by ,con3rauent on the withdrawal of the ]y for the mails, will ,causi people anxiously to' look forward to the when thelnvercaLgill coach will pass gh in a day's time. The mails which irlywere received four times a week Dunedin, are now announced as being red but twice, and strange to say, that ugh three -mails are despatched, y from Invercargill,.they are only . sred twice in that time in Queens- , It is quite obvious 10, all. that Inr rgill is the great -oen ire whence : ought to emanate. This is thetaken of it by msrehants and eepers here, but unless private prise in Southland . seconds fee 9 exertions of you-r /Governin its endeavors 'to forward llerests of the Province, the operations : i latter will be futile, and the interests (former go to the wall. Yi.t at the lit time, such in reality is the case» Governmen t are exerting themselves moat creditable manner,-, by the contion of Toads and railways to further Jmmercia'l interests of the Province, your merchants and -sloreiire'epers who tlready deriving substantial beneßts the traffic of the Lake : district, are igcitllous to tli eir own future interests hose of the colony.geherally, by the iy they display in matters where theests of that traffic" are involved. It. general complaint amongst business here, that their orders on Invercargill either unattended to or neglected to a degree that they are put to .«erious ' ivenience apd -e? pense by such neglect. stated also, thai charges there are extant, and. 'considerably ir^ excess of sin Dunedin. I have had an opporty of examining idocumenls bearing ; his subject, in the possession of a ing member of business here, and the seharged- and the neglect and carets exhibited in a long continued ection with [nvei'cargill. quite warrants ;in declaring .that, he will for the re have no further transactions with place. With this determination he orJeied upwards of on,e hundred tons •ods from Dunedin, via ibe Molyneu. iis only a solitary instance of real loss four mercantile community.-^ many ' c exist— and it is a subject worthy of Weraiion, whether it would not be sable to alter the style in which busiris conducted, rather than submit to loss of an important branch of trade, F once lost, will by ho means be easy Nring. A careful consideration for ■T^Jnteresls would dictate a desire to K'vfle warns of of the people here, r at any price, for rely on it,' active Petition will ensue in the traffic, via Moljneux. Present success., may te your traders careless, of anything Mie present, but it says little for their Sment and foresight, he recent postal regulations are defec- ;. and should be altered. The mails are wed . to, close for Invercargill- on dnesday ana Friday nights. They ,"ot therefore despatched from Queensf& until Thursday "and Saturday rndrnh A party receiving a letter by Frir s . mail from Invercargili, unless he 8 in town and looks sharp about it, has

no opportunity of answering his correspondent until the next' Thursday.* »"• It is likely, from "pressure from wilh out, I ,' that the Otago , Government will,again subsidise the^line *of -coaches from Dunedin tia the Mataura ; r bat it is mtini~fest that your 4 ' .Governtrient will avoid keeping in repaiv ,tlial Jine of ' road over which the coach has to pass, lying- be--,tween"tlie crossing of-the Mataura and the Elbow," as that portion will not' be used byjyoat Pi'pvjnee tfhen. the ffprthlinre is opened' u^;' ■•'""*;';■' >; '^■^''■ v " '. r f *\ , . ',','."£/ '-• Thei- fc&i^&Xfttp'nths tvill decide what' .pniitipi^lnyerca^ii^ gard ?tpi these gold^fields^i and -whether thdt'position' is 'to-be bne'of a high' order or jbi6\o/;me i dibißntyi'Tem'ains'«hU^ei ; )r'. in :tjh6 of ypoV Itfqyinc^fclf decide. ■p-u'bilc ! : 'energy "and" ; private enterprise, slaould not be. wanting at the>ptesent;time,j if the first conditionisitobeattainedL i " ' The advent 'of- summer weather Thas i been favorable to the cpmmiercial and mining interest's, o^^^ .general liveliness in : the totsrii'is ' e&jiibi.ted, whicii contrast strongly with 'the depressed .? state of affairs during the winter months. ! ri An absence of .minerafrom the town, and ' tlie| number", of pack horses -crowding around the stores, denote that mining' operations have again been resumed ex-., -tensively. The octward appearance of the town is rapidly changing for the better.; The.sites formerly occupied by tents, have now . substantial and ornamental wooden : houses erected on them, and shops with handsome fronts and plate glass windows, are numerous. Two breweries are in course ~o"f, formation, at one of which ; "inspiring, bold John Barley Corn," lias made an appearance, in the shape of some not to be despised beer. Linendrapers' shops> tobacconists, hairdressers', bathrooms, and hotels of a respectable class are 10 be seen almost in ev^ry street, giving an air of importance to the town, soircely to be expected, from its recent formation. At night lime, the sounds of music, may beheard from different' places of amusement, ancrthe loveis of the Terpsichorean art, Tcgatd less of the absence of the fair sex, kick their heels about, indulging in thp " mazy,"" in a manner that would be gratifying to Mr Spurgeon himself. The Masonic Hall, built of stone, presents a very mean appearance, and its low ami dark inside, by no means comes up to the anticipations that were formed of it when first commenced. The Church >of England and Roman Catholic Church stand almost side by side. The latter is a handsome wooden banding, and does credit to the builders. The Wesleyan . Methodists are laying the community under contribution for the erection of a chapel, bnt that sect, I believe, is not a, very numerous one in this^place Much satisfaction has been expressed at" the arrival of Mr Warden Beetham, who, with Mrs Beetham, arrived a few days sini-e from Wellington. Mr Warden Broad has been unfortunate in being generally unpopular, and therefore his removal to the Arrow will not be regretted, except by the gentleman himself, who, I fear, is jumping " from the frying pan into the fire," he beins: no favorite of the miners in the latter place. A re-survey by the Wining Surveyor, Mr "Wright, is being made of the town, and it'is to be hoped on its completion, that the Otago Government will take immediate sieps for the sale of sections, thereby not only securing the householder in p >ssession, but enabling him to put himself on the electoral roll. This latter right, however, it is imagined, is not relished by the Otago Government, anil hence the delay that ha* transpired in the sale of town allotments. That Government is fast losing the prestige that itat one time enjoyed and that a sympathy with Southland is beginning to exhibit itself in many quarters, is evident. Let it be hoped that this good feeling will be fostered and heartily responded to by your merchants and traders, ,who should afford every opportunity for the furtherance of the commercial interests of the Lake District. It is probable that the Southland escort which has, in a measure, been in abeyance 'during the wintermonlhs, will now run fortnightly, thus offering every opportunity to the miner for the transmission of his gold to Invercargill, whence it can be exported to Australia, at least a •flay sooner than by way of Dunedin. It would be superfluous in your Government establishing a receiver's office at the Nokomai or Switzer's, unless private purchasers or your Banks were to establish . offices there also. Then your escort mi#ht readily call for the gold on their return from the Lake.