INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 1597, 9 December 1876, Page 3

INTERPRO VINCI AL NEWS.

sent to thje colony, for reformation, hasbeen committed for trial to-day on four, charges of defrauding the Bible Department by foregoing receipts and pawning books.

Lingards have been re-engaged for the Christmas holidays. At Mr Buckland's sale of pedigree stock from England, one roan heifer realised £336, another £461, another £452, and a bull £653.

DuifEDrs, Dec. 8. ._ The Council of the new Convention has issued a circular as follows: — "That, while the Council is of opinion that it would be highly desirable that the people throughput Otago should treat the Counties Act as a dead letter, at the same time seeing that m every district there will be found some who will give effect to the Act, seeing moreover that thelarge powers of taxation which the Act confers, and annoyance and expense to which, the ■whole district, may be subjected against their witl, at the hands, it may bej of a small minority, the Council is of. opinion that the whole of the people throughout the province should take a part, m the election of County Councillors, with a yiew to securing the return of men m whom they have. confidence, and at whose hands the powers oftheActwillnot.be abused;" A Chinese deputation waited on Mr ■McLean to-day to urge a reduction of ; duty on green ginger of 3d per pojind. .He promised to do what he could to meet their request. An official inquiry, re the Otago,, will probably be held on Monday. The underwriters have determined not to sell. the wreck until an effort to recover the. gold hasbeen made and divers sent down. . ; Emmett goes, to Inyercargill on Wednesday, under an. engagement with Mr Shepperson. Two. thousand; salmon ova have been turned into the interior, streams. . At a long and wordy meeting re the Interprovincial Cricket Match with Canterbury, it was resolved that, the usual match, shall be played. It was generally conceived that the match was . really of ■more importance, and interest than that with the A.E.E. • Mr McLean pointed out; that : there exists, no hitch re the. county elections. The, fourteen days' notice applies only, to ordinary vacancies, provision being made m the Counties: Act by which all difficulties can be cleared away for the first elections. The Association rifle, matches proceed Blowly. The second ma^ch.was completed this morning. Sergeant W. Grant took the firstprize; YolunteerStewart, second; and Willcox, third. In the third match Volunteer Anderson and Volunteer Blackie, both of Clutha, were first and second. The Hon. Mi- Bowen is on the gold fields. Port Ckat.mebs, Dec. 8. A party of shipwrights and divers left by.stpamer to-day for the wreck of the Otago for the purpose of recovering the gold, &c. iNymtcAßGiLi,, Dec. 8. A serious case of deliberate, attempt to murder, occurred yesterday;. Two men Hugh Dundy; and, Charles Calderwood, arrived here by the.Expjress last Sunday. They had been.staying at, $he, Australasian Hotel, Dunedin, where, they became acquainted. Duqdy is a miner, and Calderwood 1 is an ironmonger. The latter having informed Dundy that he hail leased the Pier Hotel, ne/ir. cargill, (a place, which has no, existence), from. Baxter of the Pier Hotel, Dunedin, induced him to go into partnership. He paid Calderwood £4 7a 6d, bei^ig. one half of the, rent, which the latter, ajleged he had paidl Calderwood then stated that he. expected £100, the proijeedsrof his bnsiness m, .Cliristchurch, which was, payable at Invercargill,. and bqrrowed£lo from Dundy, with which hepajd for the two passages , per Express. ' Since^ieir arrival they have been staying at. the illoyal Hotel here. Yesterday morning, CalderwoodinvitedDundy to go and peethe ■Pier Hotel, saying itwas only ten minutes' Wcilk. They traversed down the TJluff. road for two hours, when Dundy stooped down, to raise, a drink of. water out>of a small, creek with his hat, when he was struck a violent blow on the head; w,ith a large iron bolt. Looking up, he., saw Calderwood standing . behind him,, who said, "You. wretch, I'll murder Vjou. !" and struck him, again. Dundy thenr,an away, but was overtaken, and received ;another blow with the same iron weapon. After a.. severe struggle Dundy wrenched .the bolt, from Calderwood and ran away, being pursued by. his assailant. He reached a roadside house w^ere he ,obtained.protection. Caiderwood; came;, up to the house and asked a woman if she had seen ; a man wounded and coveced. with . blood, stating that if ; he found; him hie would murder him. She, said such a:n*an had. passed on. Calderwood. shortly af,^tecwards met one of .thesawmiliersempioyed m the neighboorhood, with whom he wflijt. to the police station and laid information for assault against, Dundy. The. siispicionS: of the. police were aroused,, apji they: arrested; Calderwood. They tji en went to Woodend, and found Duqw lying m a, house very seriously wou«4§4He gave the facts of the case as aboye. Dundy lmd m liispossessionadßpositrecaipt for £200 and upwards, £60 in.cash, ajva|j liable, gold guard, composed of nuggets, and. a silver watch. He, was removje^:^. jthe Hospital. Calderwood will be brought before the Magistrate to-day. : , . ; ". " The Wanganui arjrived at Bluff yesjpr-. day, from Diinectin. She called- at (#w- ■ land's Mistake on the passage down, and ■fquiid the. Otago holding together well. The gold ancta portion of the; cargo will, probably, bp , saved if expeditionf ,^e_ used.

Atjoklanb, Dec. 8. Mr Broomhall left for the .gputh-.,to-day.. . . . . . ' ': ; ■■■■■:■■■ Female servants are still scarce.

Mr Pritchard has complied with the^ conditions of the. r Wa^tejLapda f senduig m fuller proposals.' ' I Ednpjjfod \Draper, student of Oxford, I'fciid. Veil connected at home, who was

any number of massacred partridges. It seems that m the Trans-Vaal the lion during the hot months betakes himself to thoso "dry river-channels, where tall rushes tell the water was wont to go warbling, so sweetly and well." These "gulches," as they are named m California, or vleys, as they are called m the Trans- Vaal, are simply dry river-beds, or, rather, ravines, choked with, reed and underwood. When the scorching summer sun withers the herbage on the plains the lions take to the vkys, and then it is that the sport really commences. The modus operumli is excessively simple. It consists m what English sportsmen would call a drive. The direction of the wind ia carefully observed, and the vley is fired from windward. As the flame rushes and crackles along through the dry sedge and underwood, it compels the lions to fly before it. Shooters arc stationed along each side ; and at the end, where the last burst ib to be expected, a perfect battery is drawn up equal to any charge, however furious. Lions are not preserved m the Trans-Vaal, and firing a vley is an uncertain business. There may be nothing m it, or the party may bag a dozen lions m the day's work. All is matter of chance ; and it is chance, after all, that gives sport its relish. " Inkosi Mbomon " tells his story, exciting as it is, m the most simple and unaffected manner. He started m the early morning with a party of fourteen gunß, all told, of whom three were detailed off to each side of the vley to fire the reeds and to head back anything breaking out ; three were posted at the end of the drive ; four more were to act as general skirmishers ; and one veteran fired the vley at its head. Before long the whole vley was being swept by a fierce flame, which drove the brutes before it without chance of heading back, and m a few minutes a large lioness broke for the open. A ball m the shoulder brought her up witli a "clop" and a snarl, and three more finished her. Meanwhile, on the other side, a grand old male had been bowled over, and the fun began to get fast and furious. The narrator of the tale tells us that tho next incident of the day was that a young male lion burst shelter a few hundred yards ahead of him. "I fired," he continued, "and missed him clean, but my friends were cooler, and, as he was making back into the reeds, stopped him. He jumped up on three legs, roaring, and showing every tooth m his head. I fairly shouted with excitement, and had forgotten to load, when Willem came alongside and handed me the heavy rifle. That steadied me, and I rode towards him, m spite of warning, until Blueskin refused to go any nearer. I took steady aim and fired. The moment I did so Blueskin was round like a top and off, but I soon pulled him up. The heavy ball had crippled the brute's shoulder, but he roared most fuziously. Another shot by my friend at close quarters finished him. Both my friends gave me a blowing yip for going so close ; they said it was quite unnecessary, as perhaps it was. They said Blueskin was a perfect picture when I was aiming, with his ears cocked, and his front feet planted like a statue. I should like to have seen him. I rode the young horse, after some coaxing, up to the dead lion, though he trembled m every limb, and sweated a great deal ; but he took it all for granted when he saw it dead. It was a young male, nearly full grown." The vley, however, is not yet burnt out, nor has the writer ended his story of the day's doings. Before long another gigantic lion came out, saw the party, and turned m again, rushing back through the fire. The flames had spread, and there were but a few acres of reeds untouched, when out came a huge full-grown lioness and trotted calmly away over the open. " I gave a view halloo," says the writer, " and set Blueskin after her at his best pace, Willem keeping stride by Btride alongside with me. Being better mounted, we soon distanced the others, who had all joined m pursuit. I gained on her every yard, and was soon riding parallel to her. Willem shouted, and begged me not to go closer, as she meant mischief from the way she was looking round. When I got within forty yards I pulled up, dismounted, and fired, the ball hitting her near the hind leg, and breaking it. She was round m a moment, and came towards mo open mouthed. Blueskin stood to me, and I got up just m time, as she had charged to within a few yards of me. Dan had bolted .with Willem, and my horse followed him. The others fired a volley at long rauge, one shot hitting her, when she gave an appalling roar, and started off again on three legs." Again chase was given, and a second volley knocked her over, upon which she turned, like a cat driven into a corner, and charged her hunters m silent fury. A third discharge, however, drove herback for the second time, andshe hobbled into some reeds, leaving behind her a long trail, telling of more than one deadly wound." The last moment, however, of the day's excitement was yet to come. " I was mad wtth vexation," we read, " and blood-mad into the bargain. I jumped off, loaded the heavy rifle, and started for the reeds, when my friend rode m front of me and peremptorily stopped the way. I said she was so badly hit she could never charge again, whereupon my friend emptied the vials of his wrath m every language spoken m South . Africa. He said if she had . a charge left it would be a deadly one 1 ; that he -would not stand by and see a madman. rush upon certain death; and that he never expected to see me behave like this, adding, we should find her stiff enough m the morning. The Boers had vow come up, and stood all round staring at me. I felt very small, and deeply hurt at my friend speaking as he did, as I concluded I had made a fool of myself before the Dutchmen — »which I would not hove done for anything. Willem brought my horse up, : and I mounted and rode off slowly m. the direction of the burning vley." So ended the day's proceedings.

Such is the sport which a man can get who is bold enough, and fond enough of rough hard work to turn his back upon the stubbles and gives himself eight good months abroad. The sole obstacle m his way is the time which such a trip inevitably demands. The expense, when all is said and done, is inconsiderable. A thousand pounds will take three Englishmen to the Trans-"V"aal and back, and give them all the sport they can possibly want during the winter season, tt has been often said that for twenty shillings a day anybody can go leisurely all over the world, so long as he adheres to well-known routes. For thirty shillings a day. he can go anywhere, if only he can get oue or two others to join him, and thereby : shift from his shoulders some portion of the burden of the general expenditure. A bullock-waggon, for instance, is necessary m South Africa even for one, but can be made to accommodate half-a-dozen. For those, however, who can afford to visit South Africa at all, a hundred; pounds or so this way or that i« not at all likely to prove a consideration. Indeed, lion-hunting m the Trail s-Vaal ji3, m any case, far cheaper than pheasant*

shooting, or deer-stalking, or yachting — pastimes m which hundreds of Englishmen every year engage. The only wonder is that there should be so little left of the old spirit of adventure which m times long gene by was the life of England. Steam has brought South Africa practically much nearer to us than was the Mediterranean m the days of Raleigh and Blake, and yet strong young Englishmen whose time is then- own, and who are blessed with more money than they can contrive to spend, unless it be upon racehorses and all sorts of follies, are content to stay idly at home, taking pot shots from twelve yards' distant at hand- fed pheasants, when there are kangaroos to be coursed m Australia, walrusses to be harpooned m the northern seas, elephants to be shotin Ceylon, lions m South Africa, and hippopotami up the Nile.