Local and General Intelligence.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1029, 2 April 1884, Page 2

Local and General Intelligence.

Thk Tokomairiro races take place on Thursday and Friday, 3rd and 4th instant. Thb seventeenth anniversary of the Loyal Blue Spur Lodge, M.U.1.0.0.F., takes place on Thursday, 10th instant. The Crown Hotel at Balclutha was sold by public auction last Friday afternoon, and was knocked down to Mr Carl Peters for £1500. The local branch of the New Zealand Hibernian Catholic Benefit Society has voted the sum of £5 5s as a donation to the funds of the Tuapeka Goldfields Hospital. Owing to the second Friday in the current month being Good Friday, the ordinary meeting of the Tuapeka County Council will not take place until the following Friday (18th.) The " Evening Star" quite expects that Mr Vincent Pyke, who has been keeping very prominently before the public of late, will be a candidate for Dunedin City at the next general election. ACCORDING to the Welling ton correspondent of the "Daily Times," the deficiency in the revenue is not likely to be larger than was previously estimated, and the net deficit will be from £120,000 to £130,000. The Clutha County Council have at length secured a Council-hall of their own, which was opened with a banquet on Friday evening. The usual toasts were drunk, and the gentlemen, about thirty in number, who were invited, seem to have spent an enjoyable evening. We would point out to whom it may concern that no provision is made for the public at the Lawrence Courthouse in the way of private necessaries. To people who come in from the country, and to those who have to sit out long meetings of the Court, this is a felt want. A prospecting area has been applied for near the Dumbarton Rock on the east bank of the Clutha River. Our Roxburgh correspondent says that indications of a reef exist at this particular place, but whether the reef is barren or gold-bearing yet remains to be proved. The Chairman of the Tuapeka County Council, through the medium of our advertising columns, invites tenders, receivable up till noon of Friday, 18th instant, for a number of con* tracts, chiefly road formation and gravelling in Browns Riding. It will be noticed that tenders are also invited for the formation of 101 chains of the road Lawrence to Waipori via Bung* town. A GOOD deal of work has been done on the drainage channel lately. It is now opened up to a point behind Mr Middlemiss's work' shop, and the pitching is laid along about ten chains of the bottom. Part of the side'pitching, too, has been finished. A new qnarry has been opened behind Mr Sim's, from which excellent stone for the purpose is obtained. The following are the names and scores of those members of the Lawrence Bowling Club who have played off in the first drawing for the presentation bowls, up till last night : — H. J. Abel (21), W. Watson (17) ; J. Mitchin- i son (21), J. Harrop (16) j M. M'Lean (21). Geo. ! Jeffery (20) ; Jas. Chalmers (21), H. O. Capes (19); J. J. Woods (21), A. M'Donald(9); W. C. Allnutt (21), W. Sutherland (8). Rapid progress is being made with the erection of Mr Sam Chew Lain's new hotel at the Chinese Camp. It is a substantial brick structure, and when finished will be an ornament to the Chinese quarters. There will be twelve rooms in the building, three of which are to be finished off at once.— There is also another building going up, which has to do duty as a barracks for new arrivals, and also to act as cooking-house for the annual festivities, which begin on Friday. The Gabriels Tailings Company had a very satisfactory wash-up for the past month on Monday last. Within the last few weeks, the company's workings have advanced for a con« siderable distance up the gully. The stuff now being put through the boxes is giving better results than formerly, and there is every probability that it will continue to improve, We learn from a reliable source that the company have obtained upwards of 151bd weight of gold as the result of their operations tor the last two moatba,

We learn that over £1600, being revpiuie from various sonrces, was paid to the credit of the County fund account on the 31st ultimo, being the last day of the financial year. Mr J. Fulton, M.H.R. for theTaieri, addressed his constituents at Mosgiel last Saturday evening. The usual vote o?^ thanks and confidence in the speaker was carried. At the return bowling match between the Milton and Caledonian Clubs, which was played in Dunedin on Saturday, the Miltonians scored a victory, with a majority of twenty-3ix points. The Christchurch Working Men's Political Association have invited Sir George Grey to visit Christchurch before Parliament meets. They have aho^n^ Trades and Labor Councils of Otago and Auckland in framing a general programme. Thk long-continued drought in New South Wales is producing terrible effects, and the loss I of sheep from thirst and starvation means ruin to many runholders. On some runs men are employed cutting down trees to keep the sheep from starviog. Let us be thankful, that we live in a land where water is always plentiful. A great deal of harvest-work ha? been done during the late spell of fine weather. The farmers are going ahead with the reaper at every favorable opportunity, and now considerably more than half the cmp is cut in the district. Should the fine weather hold out, a good deal of corn will be safely placed in the stack this week. At his farewell service in Lawrence, on Sundayevening, the Rev. Mr Law mentioned that during the three years' term of bis pulpit ministrations in the Lawrence circuit, he had preached over 600 sermons and had travelled over 5000 miles. The rev. gentleman, accompanied by his wife and family, took' his departure for Greymouth yesterday afternoon. Some necessary improvements have been effected to the approaches at the footbridge over Gabriels Creek; but as the bed of the creek is silting up so rapidly, nothing short of a .new bridge will be effectual- The crossing below the bridge is such a Slough of Despond during winter time, that we wonder there has not been an agitation for a traffic bridge over the creek before this. A vjbrt good suggestion is thrown out by the " Morning Herald," and the idea might be carried out by some philanthropic individual in Lawrence. Our contemporary says :-We would remind those of our readers who have cast-off clothing on hand that they cannot put such garments to a better use than by forwarding them to the Benevolent Institution for the use of the inmates. The purchasing of new clothing is a considerable item of expense, especially at a time like the present when there is such a large number of out-door applicants for relief. Contributions of old wearing apparel would be acceptable, as such gifts would enable the Committee to apply a greater portion of the funds at their disposal to the purchase of provisions." Parleying has been carried on for some time between the British and French Governments aboutjthe BecidivisU scheme of the latter. Considerable pressure has been brought to bear upon the French Government lately, and, as might have been expected they have given way in deference to the expressed desire of the British, and have now stated their intention to send the bulk of their Jtecidiviates to Cayenne, and that only a small number of manual laborers will be sent to New Caledonia. This promise scarcely goes far enough, and if a united protest were sent to the English Government from the Australian colonies in Pan liament assembled, we believe that the French would be induced to give a guarantee that no confirmed criminals would be let adrift amongst us. The case of Margaret Weir, who was arrested in Wellington on a charge of abandoning her illegitimate child »fc Dunedin, is, in many respects, a sad one. The instinct of a mother's love is universally one of the strongest, even among inferior animals, but this human mother eeems to have been almost devoid of the feeling. To hide her disgrace from a young man who intended to marry her, she made this desperate move, but alas ! for human duplicity, her disgrace will now be published abroad, and the young man of her choice will likely turn away in disgust from such a heartless creature. If the ban of society, which falls upon an unfortunate woman when she becomes the dupe of a designing wretch, drives her to such desperate means, it is a thousand pities that herdestroyer cannot be compelled to share her shame. The rebellion in the Soudan is either quelled or else the Soudan is to be handed over to the tender mercies of the Mahdi. The aeries of defeats inflicted upon the rebel forces by General Graham must have broken the influence of the Mahdi, but still it will be difficult to erase the belief in his Divine mission from the minds of the numbers who so recently believed in him. Unless the Mahdi himself has lost heart, the rebellion will break forth anew. However, the British troops are leaving for England, and whether there is wisdom in the course the British Government are adopting or not will soon be known. The peculiar policy of the Gladstone Government in Egypt has called f»rth a good deal of adverse criticism, and we think justly so, as there is no other way of dealing with these people but by showing determined firmness. AT a sitting of the R.M. Court on Monday, before J. N. Wood, Esq., R.M., the following cases were disposed of :— Police v. James Rutter: On the information of Constable M'Carthy James Rutter was charged with being drunk and disorderly in a public place on the 30th ult. The accused was convicted and discharged. — Herbert and Co. v. James M'Corkindale: Claim of 19s lid; judgment for the plaintiffs, with £1 11s 6d costs.— Charles Clark v. Charles Sproule : Judgment summons for £81 15s. Extended till 21st April, 1884.— Francis Ross v. Donald R. Hunter : Claim of £65 Adjourned till the 28th April, 1884.— Hill v. Francis Ross : Mr Hunter for plaintiff ; Mr Gooday for defendant. No appearance of plaintiff. Judgment for defendant, with £1 costs —J. N. Wood v. John Fielding : Claim of £18 0s 3d, dishonored promissory note. This case was heard before J. Harrop and J. C. Brown, J.P.s. Judgment for plaintiff for amount claimed, with costs (195.) We are indebted to our Roxburgh correspondent for the following items of news:— The warm weather of the past few days has been very acceptable to the owners of late crops, which are now in stack. Very little damage has been done either to wheat or oats by bad weather, and the harvest generally has been gathered in good condition. A heavy yield id anticipated.— The breach of promise case has been settled, causing disappointment to some members of the community, who anticipated a treat in the shape of a little local scandal, although, to many who are acquainted with the surroundings of the case, it would have been anything but edifying.- -I believe our Roman Catholic friends intend to hold a pic-nic on Easter Monday. It will be similar to the one held last year, which was a very extensive and enjoyable affair.— The members of the Brass Band and the Dramatic Club have promised their assistance for an entertainment to be held about the Queen's birthday, in aid of the Benevolent Asylum. A meeting will be held this week to decide definitely as to the kind of performance to be given. At the last monthly meeting of the Vincent County Council, a resolution re the proposed road to Waikaia bush was carried as follows : — " That the Chairman communicate with the Government, embodying the Engineer's report, also letter from Tuapeka. County Council, and urging that the money be handed over to the County to expend." The Engineer (Mr Macgeorge) reported that, as already bullock teams had carted heavy quartz-crushing machinery along the proposed route, and that without anything at all having been done to the road, the difficulties were not such as might be expected in mountainous country. The proposed track was to commence at a point" on the Teviot- Alexandra road, about half-a-mile south of Shingle Creek,' and to follow a leading spur to the top of the Old Man Range. The total distance to be formed would be about fifteen miles, and the estimated cost £2,290. The extent of bush rendered available by the proposed road would be not less than 40 or 50 square miles, covered with good timber, a large proportion of which is red birch. The opening up of the road to the bush would greatly facilitate the working of the quartz reefs in the Old Map Range, the existence of which in payable veins was now an assured fact. In the event of the road being made, it was also probable that one or more saw-mills would be erected for the supply of sawn timber, and at a cheaper rate than that now charged. This would conduce to the prosperity of the lower end of Vincent County, as well as a part of Tuapeka County,

Yesterday being All - fool's Day, the usual round of jokes and sells were indulged in, some of them being very amusing and others very annoying. It is astounding what a number of people can be " had " on the Ist of April, who are, on other occasions, shrewd enough to be on their guard. It was intimated by Mr M'Coy at the R M. Court, on Monday last, that be was instructed, on behalf of the plaintiff, to withdraw the ap> peal against the Resident Magistrate's decision in the case of the creditors' trustee in Campbell's estate versus the Norwich Union Insurance Society. At the hearing of the case in December last, the plaintiffs were nonsuited. It is notified in the " Gazette " of the 27th ultimo that the following 'roads' in Tuapeka County, have been declared main roads for the purposes of " The Roads and Bridges Construction Act, 1882 " — viz , Lawrence to D.ilhnusie via Tuapeka West (16 miles) Clarka Flat via. Grundy'a towards Clydesvale (8 miles), past Havelock to Dalhousie (5 miles), Havelock to Waipori (18 miles), and Kelso to block v., Green vale (6 miles.) SUNDAY list being a fine day, advantage was taken of it by some of the farmers of Tuapeka West to harvest their c ops. Evidently their motto is — " Make hay while the sun shines," irrespective of the day. We can hardly conn mend this practice; for though the weather has been trying to the farmerß, still never yet has a harvest been lost in Otago ; and if the I farmers will only have patience,all will be safely gathered in in time. As a set-off against the unfavorable harvest weather, the crops this season are unusually heavy. The inquest held at Kaitangata on Saturday, on the death of Sara Ann Cuthbettson, present! a revolting case of malpractice on the part of the medical attendant (Dr Parry), who, at the conclusion of the inquest, was committed for trial for manslaughter. This is not the first case in which valuable lives have been sp«rlficed through the drunken incapacity of di et >rs, and it is a painful fact that the very men who should best know the evils of drink are often the firat to resort to its abuse. The concession to the Press, in the shape of a season-ticket at half-rate, .made by the Minister of Railways, in lieu of the free passes formerly issued, is virtually nullified by the stupid provision requiring the ticket to be taken out in the name of a particular reporter. This has been pointed out to the Minister by Mr Bracken, but, with characteristic official obtuseness, the Minister declares that he is unable to alter the regulation. We hope that the passes granted to M.H.R. 'a will, in future, only be available for journeying to and from Wellington during the session of Parliament, instead of entitling them to a free pass over the New Zealand railways at all times, as at present. Mr W. F. Downes, formerly manager of the local branch of the Bank of New South Wales, and who was transferred a few months ago to the charge of the Bank's agency at New Plymouth, has acknowledged in the following terms the address and testimonial lately for« warded to him by his friends and well-wishers in this district :— "New Plymouth, 21st March, 1884: Gentlemen,— lt is with feelings of the greatest pleasure— not by any means unalloyed with regret — that I acknowledge receipt of your kind,complimentaryaddres3,and the very handsome present accompanying the same. Whiis exceedingly pleased and gratified at this grateful proof of your friendship and esteem; I can* not lose sight of the fact that it betokens a severance of those companionships and happy associations which have so long existed between many of us, and which have always been of the most social and cordial character. Oa this score I feel regret, and feel it more keenly, than otherwise perhaps, through the exigence of business having prevented my return to Lawrence in order to bid you a final " Good-bye." At no distant date, however. I hope to b« privileged to visit you for a few days, when the pleasure of again meeting you will go far to compensate for my past disappointment. Accept my most sincere thanks for your generous gift, which is appreciated for its intrinsic worth, but very much more highly prized as an index to the favorable position which I have apparently been fortnnate enough to secure in your esteem and good-feeling. Tour kind wishes regarding the future prosperity and happiness of myself and family are much valued ; and in again thanking you, both on their behalf and my own, let me assure you that, whatever Providence may decree our future lot to be, your friendship and good wishes will ever be remembered and continually esteemed. Trusting tbat greater prosperity may be in store for your district, and that every happiness may attend you all personally, believe me to be, gentlemen, yours very sincerely— W. F. Dowses.— To Messrs P. Miller, S. P. Craig, and all contributors to the testimonial and address."