Local Intelligence.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XI, Issue 756, 16 March 1878, Page 2

Local Intelligence.

The San Francisco mail arrived at Auckland on Tuesday afternoon. The mails may be expected to be delivered in Dunedin on Monday next. The outward mail closes at Lawrence on Wednesday, 27th instant. The Rev. J. Copeland, of the New Hebrides, will preach in the Lawrence Presbyterian Church, at 11 o'clock, to-morrow morning. We direct attention to Mr Hayes' sale of furniture, consisting of chests of drawers, eheffoniers, commades, chairs, &c, which takes place at his rooms at two o'clock this afternoon. The- furniture may be inspected previous to the hour of sale. A concert and ball, in aid of the funds of the Tuapeka Hospital, will be held in the Athenaeum Hall, Roxburgh, on the evening of Monday next. A well-arranged programme has been prepared, and an effort is being made to render the concert a grand success. It is to j be hoped that the attendance of the public will be large, and by that means show their appreciation of an institution which deserves encouragement and support.

From an announcement which appears elsewhere, it will be seen that the Banks in Lawrence will be closed on Monday (St. Patrick's Day), and from 12 o'clock the following day. A Cbioket match — Old Chums v. New Chums — will be played on the recreation ground on Saturday, 23rd March. A committee has been appointed t j select good and true j men to do battle for both sides. The weather during the past few days has been very changeable. A heavy rainfall set in at an early hour yesterday morning, continuing, -without the slightest sign of abatement, up to the hour of our going to press. We fear that the farmers in this neighborhood will suffer severely from the continued rain. We are informed that no fewer than sixteen carriers have signed a document binding themselves, a& soon as the wool season is done, to go direct to Dunedin for loading. The reasons they give for adopting this extreme course are said to be— first, the delay they are subjected to by the railway in the transit of goods ; and, second, the high price charged for packages ranging between 501bs. and two cwt., all of which they say are charged at the two cwt. rate — that is to say, a parcel .weighing 511bs would be charged as much as one weighing two cwt. We regret very much that the carriers have found it necessary to take this action ; at the same time we do not think they would have done so had they not had a very strong grievance. We trust Mr Grant will make inquiry into this matter. We are told that already some of the waggoners have gone to town for their loading. Those possessing the necessary qualification, and who are desirous of having their names placed on the Electoral Roll, should take the earliest opportunity for registration. The necessary forms are easily obtainable, and require to be filled in, signed, attested by an elector already on the roll, or by a Justice of the Peace, and forwarded to the Registration Officer before the end of the present month. In connection with the cricket match played on Saturday last on the Recreation Ground between the youths of Lawrence and Milton we inadvertently omitted to mention that His j Worship the Mayor presented Master Roscow with a bat, he being the highest scorer in the match. Messrs Hunter and Party are reported to have struck a "patch" in their claim at Wetherstones. A few days ago they washed up, and obtained 185ozs. of the precious metal. We understand that the ground at present worked by the party was formerly in possession of an old miner, who resided upon it, and disposed of his interest recently for the sum of fourteen shillings. At Thursday's sitting, in banco, of the Su. preme Court, Dunedin, Mr Smith (on behalf of George Clark, of Clyde) moved for a rule nisi, calling upon the Rev. Joseph Larkin, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, lately of Lawrence, to show cause why a writ of habeus corpus should not issue, calling upon him to produce the body of Alice Maud Mary Clark before his Honor Justice Williams, atj his Chambers, immediately after the receipt of the writ ; and further, why without the issue of the said writ he should not, upon the rule being made absolute, deliver the body of the said Alice Maud Mary Clark to George Clark, the applicant. His Honor granted the rule, and made it returnable in banco on Friday next, the 22nd inst. It is pleasing to record that continued interest appears to be taken in the necessity that exists for the erection of a more suitable building in our midst as a hospital. Recently we chronicled the fact that munificent donations were received from Mr Smith (of Greenfield) Messrs Cargill and Anderson (of iTeviot Station), Mr Humphrey (of Lawrence), and Mr Drummond (of Waipori) on be. half of the building fund. The example set by these gentlemen has also been followed by Mr J. Cormack, who has signified his intention of forwarding a cheque for the sum of Llo los as a donation towards the same object. At the meeting of the Waste Land Board on Wednesday, Mr Connell argued that the upset price of deferred payment lands was 30s an acre, and not L 3, as was stated in the opinion of His Honor Mr Justice Williams. He also submitted that the Board was not bound to follow the opinion of the Judge, as it was the interpreter of the Act. In the discussion that took place, Mr Bastings said that if it could be shown that the Board could put up deferred, payment land at 30s an acre, he would give such a proposal his assent. It seemed to him that the effect of charging L 3 an acre would be to stop all settlement for the next 12 months. The Chief Commissioner promised that the Board would give the matter consideration. The Tuapeka Jockey Club annual races are advertised to take place on Monday and Tuesday next. With fine weather, there is every prospect of a large attendance of spectators. As will be observed by reference to our advertising columns, the manager of the Otago Railways has granted a liberal concession in the way of return tickets at single fares, avail" able from to-day and Monday until Wednes. day. In all likelihood, there will be a large number of visitors from Dunedin and intermediate places. Yesterday afternoon two or three horses that are to be engaged in the principal races arrived, and others, we understand, will reach here to-day. Last evening a meeting of the Jockey Club was held for the purpose of receiving general entries and" also the acceptances for the Jocky Club and Flying Handicaps. For the Maiden Plate four entries have been received; five for the District Handicap ; and six for the Novel Race. At a recent meeting of the Borough Council the question was raised "whether the present Mayor could act on behalf of the former Mayor (Mr Fraer) in discharging the duties of a Commissioner of Crown Lands within the town of Lawrence, iinder the Crown Lands Act, 1862, and the Waste Land Amendment Act, 1876 ?" As there was a diversity of opinion regarding the point, the Town Clerk was instructed to write to Mr Maitland (Chief Commissioner of the Waste Land Board) enquiring whether the said authority could be exercised by the present Mayor. In reply, the Clerk received the following communication :—"I: — "I have to state that as the Acts referred to are repealed by [the Land Act, 1877, the authority is no longer in force ; and, instructed by the Commissioner of Crown land, I have to inform you that under the last named Act there is no power to grant a similar authority to Mr R. Williams, as Mayor, but if you consider the matters to be dealt with of sufficient importance, I shall recommend the Governor to appoint Mr Williams a Ranger of Crown Lands within the town of Lawrence, to enable me to issue the authority requested under the 17th section of the Land Act, 1877. —I am, &c.,~D. M'Gown (pro Commissioner Crown Lands.)" — This matter will doubtless receive consideration at the next ordinary meeting of the Borough Council. It will be observed by advertisement that the Rev. J. Copeland will deliver a lecture in the Presbyterian Church, Lawrence, on Wednesday evening next. The lecture is on the " New Hebrides Islands," and will have reference to the manners and customs of the natives, and the present mißsion, A collection on behalf of the mission will be made at the close of the lecture.

The Commissioner of the Waste Lands Board, at the ordinary meeting of that body, held on Wednesday, said that he had received a telegram from the Under-Secretary for Crown Lands, stating that the Governor had consented to opening lands on deferred payment and agricultural lease at Table Hill, Waitahuna, and Tuapeka West. It will be noticed by advertisement that the land referred to, with the exception of that on deferred payments, will be open for application on and after Friday, sth April. In Tuapeka West two sections have been thrown open in block VIII. ; seven, in block IX. ; one in blocks X. and XIII. In Waitahuna East, seventeen sections in block V. ; and in Table Hill, four sections in block IV. We have been favored with the following "interesting" item by an occasional correspondent at Tuapeka Mouth :— The fifth of March will long be remembered as the day on which the first marriage was celebrated here. It was understood that the Rev. Mr MeJtaaes would arrive early in the afternoon to unite Mr Samuel Parsons and Miss Marion Pullen in the holy bonds of matrimony. All the roads leading to the farm were lined with people going to witness the ceremony. At three o'clock, the rev. gentleman made " one flesh " of two persons for the first time in this locality ; and for the succeeding fifteen minutes all the guns available were brought into requisition. Luncheon was then provided, and the company endeavored to satisfy the cravings of nature by doing justice to the good things provided. Shortly afterwards, Mr Bailey summoned them to the green in front of the house by playing "Wood, and married, and a." Dancing was kept up till dark, when an adjournment was made to the Town Hall, where singing and dancing at intervals were continued until daylight. During the night, however, the larrikins were abroad, and notwithstanding all that Mr Parsons had provided (and I am sure he had enough to do with those who partook of his hospitality) they entered his dwelling, ransacking everything available in the eating line. They also paid a visit to Mr John Taylor's garden, where they de» molished a couple of bushels of apples. At a special meeting of the Dunedin School Committee, held recently for the purpose of nominating nine gentlemen as members of the new Education Board, the following were chosen — viz., Messrs James Fulton, R.M., West Taieri; Donald Reid, M.H.R., North Taieri; Keith Ramsay, Dunedin; Professor Shand, Dunedin; James Green, Blueskin; Henry Clark, Clarksville ; Horace Bastings, M.H.R., Lawrence; Adam Rolland, Blackstoce Hill ; William Jukes Steward, Oamaru. The Education Office has issued circulars to the clerks of the various School Committees for the purpose of obtaining information, on the following points :—l.: — 1. The number of children your school can comfortably accommodate. 2. The number of children in actual attendance at school or at temporary school premises. 3. The number of children who have been refused admission since Ist January. 4. As approxi" mately as possible the number of children between the ages of five and fifteen in your school district. 5. Whether, in the event of school accommodation being provided, the committee would be willing to bring into operation the compulsory clause of the Education Act, 6. The date of the first establishment of a school or schools in your district under Education Ordinance, 1856. 7. The number of scholars the school first opened with. 8. Enumerate any additional schools established with the district, either by subdivision thereof or otherwise, subsequent to the date referred to in query No. 6. Elsewhere it is announced that Cooper and Bailey's "grand consolidated menagerie, museum, aquarium and circus " will appear at Milton, on Saturday, 23rd March. Special excursion trains will run from Lawrence to Milton the same day at reduced rates. The company arrived by the Claud Hamilton at Port Chalmers on Wednesday morning. In refer, ring to the fact, a Dunedin paper mentions that the ship's manifest showed perhaps the most varied assortment of live stock ever imported into the Colony. It was as follows :— Six elephants, 3 lions, 2 lion cubs, 4 pumahs, 1 bison, 1 elk, 4 leopards, 2 jaguars, 2 tigers, 2 ostriches, 2 camels, 2 baby camels, 6 dromedaries, 1 grizzly bear, 1 cage monkeys, 2 orangoutangs, 2 horned rhinosceri, 12 ponies, 30 horses, 1 zebra, 2 sea lions, 2 fur seals, 2 silver-striped hyenas, 2 spotted hyenas, 1 armadillo, 1 prairie wolf, 2 do dogs, 2 educated pigs, 1 den of boa constrictors, calliope, 10 baggage wagons, &c. The adjourned inquiry touching the death of the child whose body was found recently at Blueskin, was continued at the Hospital, Dunedin, on Wednesday afternoon. The person known throughout the former inquiry as Mrs Cantor was present. The fact was elicited that her name was De Costa, and that she was a widow 'residing at Timaru. The statement she made has put a new complexion upon the case, which is, as the Coroner described it, a most extraordinary one. The Jury were of opinion an adjournment was necessary, with a view to the proper sifting of the matter. Monday next, at two o'clock, was the time fixed for the resumption of the inquiry. We clip the following from the "Evening Star":— "A stupid mistake in the transcription of a telegram has cost the 'New Zealand Herald' very dear. The message contained amongst other things a reference to some prbceedings in Chambers, in which, it will be remembered, Mr Calcutt, as trustee in a bank, ruptcy estate, was summoned to give evidence ; and in the process of transcription this part of the message underwent alteration in two essential particulars which gave Mr Calcutt great annoyance, and, as he was advised, good ground for action. The ' Herald ' admit they were entirely to blame in the matter, and, besides apologising to Mr Calcutt, pay the law costs he has been put to, and make a donation of LSO to the funds of the Benevolent Institution."