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Western Star, Issue 335, 7 February 1880, Page 5

Mails for Dunedin now close at the Riverton Post-office daily at 2.45 p.m. The Chairman of the School Committee (Mr Jas. Reid) has forwarded the Education Board a list containing the names of 38 children who have signified their intention of taking advantage of secondary education in the event of the school being declared a High School. That number are, all .residents of Rivenon,- .and it may fairly- be anticipated that it w ill be considerably augmented in due course. ■; : Mr E. Hopgood announces that lie has entered info partnership with S. Thomson, butcher,- of Riverton. One of-the first'acts of the new firm was to forward for the judgment of the eel if oral palate, a sample of sausages of their manufacture! Having very sensitive digestive organs, we can safely recommend these delicacies to those suffering from a like infirmity. Mr J. W. Chapman has just received a large supply of annual; publications., including “ Good Words,” “ Sunday :V!a az.ne,” “ Leisure Hour,” “Sunday at Home,”‘‘Family Herald/’&c. The Upper Ford bridge is rapidly nearingcompletion, and nothing has yet been done towards making provision,' for. the approaches thereto. The settlers in .the neighborhood;are in consequence,justly annoyed at' the apathy displayed, by the local bodies in the matter, as the bridge-will not - be'.;available- for traffic'until the approaches are-.completed.-'-f The parlies ■ interested in Native-. Land claims are notified that their, claim will: be heard at a sitting of the Land'Claims Court, on Monday, 16th inst., at Invercargill. Claimants will do well to appear in person in support of their claims. If this opportunity .is not taken advantage of, claimants will have to “ for ever after hold their, peace,” as claims for the sections, notified in our .advertising columns will not again be entertained. . • Am intimation has .been before the\ public fo 1 ’ some time - past‘that the Strathmore estate, Otau(an, the property of J, Mackintosh lisq , had been cut up into farms varying-in size from 88 to • 220 acres, and would be sold by auction at Sloan's Hall, Invercargill, on Saturday, 21st inst., by Mr G. ,F. Martin. The land was taken up by Mr Mackintosh from the Southland Provincial Government many years ago, and the character which it has since borne has proved the excellent practical judgment that prompted its selection. Its claims-to-be the finest property of its extent in * he Western District, has never been called in question, and those in quest of a desirable /farm" should not- miss this opportunity,of securing one, on most favorable terms, viz., 15 per cent, cash at sale,. 15 per cent, in 12 months, 15 per cent, in 24 mouths, balance iirfive years from date of sale, bearing interest at 8 per'cent. . An idea of the capabilities of the soil may be had by an inspection of the prolific crops of wheat, barley, oats and turnips now growing th reon. None of the sections -n-e distant from the Otautau Railway Station more than one mile and a-half. At the same lime will be sold the township of North Otautau, which forma a portion of Strathmore, and adjoins the present township of Otautau. The townshio is surveyed into 143 sections, varying in size from a quarter of -an-acre to 22 acreseach, and the terms are' very liberal. Many of the large, estates .surrounding the-present towns ip will shortly be cut up into convenient-sized farms, which will give an impetus to the progress of this already rapidly growing centre. At the weekly meeting of the Land Board on Thursday, John Coneher made application to purchase, under deferred payment system, section 15,, block 5, Longwood. Granted.—The Ranger, Mr Henry G. Mussen, forwarded a report to the Board, to the effect that he had inspected the Ocaitui Bush reserve as desired, and found .some parts of it. adapted to bo cut up into small sections. The report was approved of, and it was agreed that the land be surveyed into 20-acre sections. We learn with pleasure that a brass band is to be organised at Orepuki, Mr J. B. Hunter having been requested to assume the position of bandmaster. As the 1 railway will shortly be completed, pleasure-seekers will, when the* band is in full swing, be able to enjoy a holiday at- a plane which.,has hitherto .been a terra incognita. While congratulating the residents of Orepuki upon their having secured the services of Mr Hunter, -we trust that gentleman will not altogether forsake Riverton, as his services will be sadly missed in connection with entertainments here. The whole of the machinery connected with the battery and engine for Printz’s claim is now on the ground, and preparations for its erection are well advanced. The difficulty of conveying the machinery through the bush was not nearly so great as anticipated, and instead of taking a fortnight Mr Mclntosh completed the work in six days ; Good judgment and pluck were necessary to secure this end, and Mr Mclntosh showed that he is possessed of both those quali-' ties. Tenders are invited by the Long.vood Co, for the supply of 200 cords of firewood, for the advancing in value, and as high as at the rate of 13s per . scrip has been paid for a share in the claim. It is not, we understand, the intention of the proprietors • to dispose of more than a very limited number of shares at . present, and their object in registering the company as a limited liability one under the Mining Act of 1872, is not with a view to rushing scrip into the market, but merely to put the present shareholders on a proper business relation to each other. To give an idea of the value .put upon the mine by the shareholders, we may mention that one of them, who holds a very large interest in the mine, before leaving Kivertou a few days ago commissioned a gentleman to dispose of a small part of his interest at the rate of 19s per scrip. On learning the result of some prospects washed hy the party who accompanied the Hon. Mr Rol- ■ lesion to the claim on Thursday, he forwarded instructions to the gentleman to whom he had confided the sale of the interest not to sell even if £l2 per scrip should be offered. It is confidently expected, from the value of prospects obtained, that the reef, as far as yet proved, will turn out an enormous amount of gold. Driving is being pushed on with vigor in several of the other claims, notably the Geelong, Fossicker, Prince of Wales, Grant’s Glory. The proprie- . tors of the Australasian and Sunbeam claims are about to throw these properties into a company with a view to raise money to work them. It is stated, from bearings taken, that the line of reef runs through these claims. Not long since it was considered a good joke for anyone to state that they purposed taking a passage in Johnny Horr’s coach to the Longwood. It has been truly said that the most likely thing to occur is that which' is least expected, and as proof of this paradoxical statement, “ Johnny” has actually commenced to run a trap, if not up to the reefs, at least to the" Pourakino bridge, from where he packs supplies to those engaged at the claims. Mr Yowall, District Engineer, will shortly make a survey of Mr Edward’s sludge channel from the beach, at Colac Bay to Round Hill. The magnitude of this undertaking proved too heavy for MrJEdward’s resources, as after expondon the work he found it necessary to

have a professional survey in order to obtain tlie utmost possible amount of fall. The value of this work to tlie Round Hill workings is well known, and the efforts of the member for Wallace, to whom the authorisation of the survey is due, in endeavoring to stimulate private enterprise in this matter, is deserving commendation. Tlie following tenders were lodged with the County Council on Saturday last for contract Ho. 68 (works on Otautau and Merrivale road) : —J. W. Forde, £9ll 10s (accepted); J. Forde, £930 16s ; J. MTntosh and Co., £1072 10s ; Gallagher and Oavanagh, £1072 12s; Howell and Guppies, £I2OB 95,5 d. Contract Ho. 69 (Winton and Wrev’s Rush road) ;—■ J. Gallagher, £136 (accepted) ; J. W. Forde, £lO7 11s (deposit forfeited) ; Duncan and M'Leoci, £l5O 7s 2d ; Power and Co., £l5O 16s; Michael Hogan, £155 Is lid; J. B. Forde, £157 11s 8d; M. Dcvaney, £l6l 6s sd. Contract Ho. 79 (Hamilton Burn and Centre Hill road)-: —T. Power and Co. (accepted), £196 13s 6d; T. Hogan and Co., £197 5s lOdj-J. B. Forle, £2OO ; J. Gallahar and Co., £222 3s 4d ; D. MTntosh and Co., £227 11s; M. Devaney, £233 Is 6d; J. ,P. Young, £272 10s; W. H. Smith,-£3OO 14s; G. Howell, £306,25. Contract Ho. 71 (Fairfax Station to Collie’s Ford, bridge) : —Sheridan and Go. (accepted), £lB9 Us 9d ; J. Calder, £200; J. B. Forde, £202 2s 8d ; G. Howell', £202 11s 3d; A. M‘Haughion, £212 10s 9d ;, D. MTntosh and Co., £219 17s. The Rev. T. Higgins will celebrate Mass in •Riverton, on Sunday, 15th inst. The members of Wallace County generally and the representatives of Apantna and Otautui ridings in particud/r, will on reading the following paragraph (which we clip from a late number of the “ Wabatip Mail, and which by the way has been copied by one of our Invercargill con temporaries, evidenty as a “ sweet morsel ’’) will be glad to learn that by a little ■judicious squeezing, sufficient funds may be obtained from defaulting ratepayers to pay, for, bridges and roads for the next twelvemonth :—• “The County of Wallace, which has a'popu(ation equal and levies an. ordinary rate amounting to about the same as Lake ‘ (some £ISOO annually) has £3OOO worth of rates standing on its books. Considering that the Council has only been in ex* istence three years this would imply that only onethird of the ral es have been collected since its constitution. As the Financial Arrangements Act only allows of a Government subsidy of pound ior pound each year on the annual value of rates,.the Government will be as. much a gainer as the Wallace County will be a serious loser.” Before entering into contracts for works bn. the strength of this statement, the Council will perhaps make inquiries as to the-truth thereof; if so, they will be sally disappointed. We have undoubted authority for stating that the arrears of rates for the first two years do not exceed £IOO, and that the present year’s rates, whioh are in course of collection, are coming in freely, and there is no reason to assume that at the end of the .financial year (31st March) the arrears will amount to more than the usual proportion. The statement published by our Queenstown contemporary is an. extraordinary one, and should have been received only after due inquiry. The trustees of the Aparinaa Rabbit District tret at Thornbury on Fsiday last. Present — Messrs MTntyre (chairman), Lyon, and Johnston. The balance-sheet for yetfcr ending December. 1879, duly audited, was submitted.—The bahuieesheet was approved. A letter from the Chairman of Trustees, Oreti Rabbit District, submitting; suggestions for the amendment' of the Rabbit Nuisance Aet, T 876, and requesting, tlie co-opera-tion of tlie trustees in carrying out the proposed changes, was read. —It was resolved to approve of the suggestions made. Attention was called to the extraordinary fecundity of rabbits, this season, as many as fourteen young ones being found in one nest. —It was resolved that a general effort be made to get them cleared but, and the clerk was instructed to give notice,'requiring the occupiers of land to destroy the rabbits on their holdings, and if they fail to do so, that the rabbits will be destroyed at their cost. Attention was called to gorse fences as a great harbour for rabbits. The inspector stated that the Road -Board' had let the cutting and clearing gorse off road-lines where the owners’ failed to gee it done and the owners would have to pay. —Resolved, That tlie Chairman of the. Wallace County Council be requested to get the gbrso overhanging the _ County Toads cut away, as they are a harbour for rabbits ; in particular,, the fences at Messrs Mills’, Instonels, and Stuck’s land near Riverton, and James Deacon’s at Flint’s Bush. ■. A meeting of the Western District .Agricultural and Pastoral Association was held at Foster’s Junction Hotel, Thornbury, yesterday afternoon. Present—Messrs J. MTntyre (chair), Hopcroft, FuUarton, , Murchio (secretary), W. Johnston, M. and R., Instone, W. Walker, Daniel, W. A. Lyon,. R. and W: K. Hazlett, Baird, Turnbull, .J, Gumming, > Hamilton, A. Hall, R. Foster, and Jarvis. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. On the motion of Mr FuUarton, seconded by, Mr Hopcrof, the by-laws, as read, were confirmed. The President spoke of the advantages possessed by the Western District over other districts, and hoped the members would work together for the purpose of getting up a show of stock about the end of the year, and initiate alternate shows between Riverton, Invercargill, and Mataura. Messrs M'Caughan (M.H.R.), M. Instone, and W. Walker were, at their own request, unanimously appointed life members of the Club. Accounts amounting to £ll 17s were passed for payment. The by-laws were oidered to be' printed. The secretary was authorised to get the necessary seal and members’ oickets. Mriustone kindly offered a section of land at Thornbury for tlie Association, and Mr R. Hazlett"also offered one in exchange for-the •. lub-house. ■ Some discussion arose as to certain restrictions which might debar the Association from accepting tame. It-was moved that the secretary write to Messrs Instono and Hazlett, asking them to put their offers in writing, stating the locality, area, and conditions upon which the offers were made, and the same to be submitted to the Committee for their consileration and adoption. Mr Lyon handed in some useful papers regarding the cost of (wire Jbinders, which were thought of use to the Association. Mr Cummings moved, Mr W. Walker seconded —That Mr Instone’s verbal offer of a section be accepted, and that he be asked to put the same in writing.