The Western Star. (PUBLISHED BI-WEEKLY.) SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 1881.

Western Star, Issue 430, 26 March 1881, Page 2

The Western Star. (PUBLISHED 81-WEEKLY.) SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 1881.

' .Since our lust issue, wo iiro glad •to ,bs> ,ab ! e I o report that the weat her has been 'everything that could bo desired to coiiiplete harvest operations, and full advantage of it has been taken by the settlers for that purpose. A iip-gf quantity of grain is still ii( stockthroughout tlie district. Threshing, as fur as weßiaye been able to learn, lias not yet been commenced.

Tbo open season for cluck shooting lias been largely taken advantage of hy our loc'al sportsmen,ami “ through the wheat and stubble is heard the frequent gun.”, The game, however, is very scarce, and many sportsmen have returned after a day’s outing without getting a “ sight.” Many of the birds are still too young for legitimate sport, and it is the general opinion that the open season commences at least a month l oo soon.

The Riverton “colt" cricketers, not to bo behind the adult, “knights of the willow,” have arranged to play u match with an eleven chosen- r m the Union Jack and -other jn senile clubs in Invercargill (q-day. ( , ; -Messrß Gilchrist arid Havelock, late of Riverton, have commenced business at Hanlati as. blacksmiths, wheelwrights, <%c. The firm have the reputation of being thoroughly competent tradesmen,■ and having a complete plant for the execution of work in every branch of their business they should, command success.

C Troop of. Hussars hwill,. parade for mounted drill on Monday, at 4 p.m.; sword exercise and foot ’drill in the evening at’ half-past; seven o’clock ; sharp. , Instructor Thompson proceeds to Oropuki on Tuesdays when (die newly formed 1 Contingent there will be exercised in mounted and foot drill for the first time.

Tin* annual meeting of subscribers to the Groper’s Bush Library will be held in the,; eelioolhouse, on Friday evening, April 1, "at seven o'clock, tor the purpose of electing a committee, 4c.

The volunteer demonstration at Queenstown Ims been abandoned, principally bn account of the Dunedin volunteers, who are in favor of the Oainaru encampment, refusing to join therein. It is probable that the Southland Hussars will be represented at the Oainaru demonstration.

Sittings of the Assessment Court lake place as follows : —For County of Wallace and Aparima Road District, at Tbornbuvy, on Tuesday, 29th inst., at 3 p.m.; for Municipality of Riverton, on Wednesday, 30th March, at noon. Tenders as follows were dealt with by the County Council on Wednesday :—Contract. No. 137 (erection of bridge over Centre Hill creek) —E. Simpson, £l7l 5s (accepted) ; Riddell and Co., £173 15s; Bailey and Co., £193 4s ; D. M'Leod, £250. Contract N . 108 (erection of. bridge over Purakino river) —Miners and Parry, £54 16s 9d (accepted) ; Bailey and Co., £62 10s ; J. P. Young, £OS ; A. M'Naugliton, £65 14s; M. S. Duffy, £OS 10s ; D. M‘Lcod, £l2O 10s.

It is stated that the Now Zealand Meat Preserving Co. are pr-pared to give 4d per head for full grown rabbits delivered at the works, IV oo.Hands. • The; must lie trapped, snared, or dug out, and xuual.be i'o. warded clad v.

Air M. W. Green, evangelist, of Dunedin, will preach in the Temperance Hall cn Monday next, at half-past seven pm.

The weekly meeting of the Waste Lands Board, held on Thursday, was attended by the Chief Commissioners and all the' members. James Thomson applied to purchase a block of about 22 acres, being section 114, block 1, Paterson's District, Stewart Island. Granted, at 20s per acre. —J. Yarcoo asked to be allowed to transfer his interest in a deferred payment section at llokonui to his brother, sialing that ho was not able to work the land, having a large family, and being unable to get work. Refused, the brother in question being already a holder of an allotment under the deferred payment system. He was advised to Try and get soma one else. Applicant: If I can’t do so, can I leave the| land for a year or so in search of work ? It was suggested that ho should keep his family! on-'.:the land. He was also told that, if he threw up the land, he would get 75 per cent, of the value of fcho improvements.—Gustavos; Morion applied for leave to take in a partner in working, his , deferred payment section in the Wairio district. It appeared that applioi'nt was in arrears -with hi? ..rent, but :hej stated that if the request was granted, ho, would be in a position to pay The amount due.. Granted, conditionally on all arrears being, paid: before, the next meetings of; the Board., — J. Hobday’s application to complete the pur- ' chose of section 1, .block T, Makarewaj 1 was granted.—The want of a cemetery in the' vicinity of Wrey’s Bush having been' brought under the notice of the Boord, in a letter ; from the set tiers' there, it was resolved to take the necessary ,steps to hay» a reserve of five acres set apart for the purpose.--J. Chalmers wrmte, offering an annual rental; of £lO for .t?n. .years, for run 302 b, Eyre district. Ordered to bo advertised for Tease ati art upset price of Id per acre. —“ Southland Isews.” ; , Governor, and party, passed through here (writes our Lumsdert correspondent) on Sat.urday, at noon. As we are so thoroughly satisfied with everything that is done in the Government line, there was no need of any deputations'.—'T : rtm Sorry to say that Mjr Martin; our late stitidnmaster, lost Ins eldest daughter rather, suddenly.-—The subscription lists to assist in fencing and boaulilying the cemetery will be issued in a day 05 two, and I trust tlie public will see the necessity of the wo»k and open their .hearts. —Mr H. Howell?, the popular host of the Elbow Hotel, celebrates the completion of extensive additions id' the building -by a “ Rouse’.wflrining” on Friday, which, judging from the preparations being made, promises to be a successful affair. —At a meeting of Presbyterians it’was resolved to moderate in a call to the. Rev; J. H. M'Kenzie.

T. Jones was charged before If. Hirst and T. Daniel, J.P.’s, at the court,yesterday witjh 'having maliciously “broken ’two ■ lamp's' 'and la water jiig in the Carriers’ Arms Hotel,,the property of J. Vaughan,,, A fine,,of. £2.was inflicted, and costs £1 12s ; in default 14 days imprisonment. ‘ Accused went to gaol. Eleven applications for the position of teacher were received by the Ghiratnie’s Bush School Committee oh Thursday evening, It was decided to recommend .Mr H. Young, of Olaria, and formerly i pupil teacher in the Riverton school, to' the Board for appointment.

The mutch' between the combined team from the Riverton and Orepuki Cricket Clubs and the first eleven of the Invercargill C. C. will take place at Invercargill to-day. ; j

A commission of enquiry is investigathig charges against a Property Tax Assessor named Firth,at Blenheim, for having, while assessment documents were in his possession, "become drunk, and also for having offered'to alter,a certain iSsessmeh-t for a side;of bacon.

Mr Weoden, who has been slationmaster at Riverton, since the opening of the line, lias bsen appointed chief goods clerk at the Dunedin railway station, and will proceed there in a day or two. His management of the railway business, here has been characterised by P ■ • '■/ -i •••• i-J •{» f -,.t L I ‘promptitude, and his intercourse with tlje public lias been marked by courtesy—traits which liaVo been greatly appreciated by (lie. public. Mr Buck, of the Dunedin station, succeeds Mr Weederi.

The first heat of the rowing match between W. Boniface and G. A. Harrington takes place at twelve o'clock to-day ; the second at 5.30 p.m. The stakes are £lO and a belt, the latter to bo held by did. winner'against all comers for' a period of two years, when it becomes private property. y man named. Thomas Graw was found drowned in the Oiamete Creek oh Wednesday. The recently formed Volunteer Band made its first, public appearance on Thursday evening. Considering the short time the band has been in existence, it made a creditable display. Amongst the decorations of Queenstown which seemed most to astonish his Excellency during his visit there was one erected by tjie local monumental - sculptor, consisting of ! a headstone garlanded with .flowers, &c., and placed on the lino" of road. The Governor stopped to it| thinking probably to read a laudatory ,wolconie bqt, seenlbd somewhat “ mixed up” on finding instead an epitaph to one Maria Welch,wjtp “departed this life, &e.” Considerable amusement was creatde by the incident. During His Excellency’s recent visit, in compliance with the request of Major Thomson, who'had,'by a fortunate’ esincideiioe, receircd the documents just prior to the vSoverhor’s arrival, the commissions-of Major M'Caughan, Captain Burwell, and Lieutenant Brce, of the Southland Hussars, and SubLieutenant Haddock, of the -Invercargill Rifles, were presented by Sir Arthur to those officers. In doing so he mentioned that be bad been a colonel of one of the .first volunteer regiments formed in Britain some twenty years ago—and had always since taken a deep interest in the. welfare of the movement as one of the highest national importance. Addressing the officers personally, His Excellency expressed a hope that the movement, which had readied already a most satisfactory stage of development, would continue to, progress, adding that, although it was to be hoped the day was far distant when their services would bo actually required m the field, it was well to be prepared for emergencies.— “ Southland News,”

The Foxton paper tells this rough yarn : “ A most singular accident occurred a few days ago to a seven-month's old child at Otaki. By some means it placed a two-shilling piece, which had been converted into a brooch, into its mouth. This eventually passed into the child’s throat, to remove it from which all efforts proved unsuccessful. AlVr some time a quick-witted matron devised a fishing lin“ on a. *nnill scale, which, on being lowered into (lie little one’s throat, hooked on to the obstruction, and ic. was then easily withdrawn." A new church in course of erection “at Blenheim lor the Wesleyaiu was destroyed by fire on Thurs lav.

A. sfns;i(.ion ’was created at Cambridge on Thursday morning between Ibe tribes at present located in Cambridge. A member of one tribe appropriated the previous night a married woman belonging to a member of another? At daybreak on Thursday morning the aggrieved tribe, largely supplemented by rather natives, armed with spears, axes, &<•., marched through the town to the camping ground.of the other tribe. Residents ia (he township, were nearly all asleep, but were aroused by the tramping of foot. They turned out of their beds, an I great consternation prevailed. On the tribes meeting a good deal of hostile demonstration was indulged in, and a long and animated discussion ensued conducted in the native tongue. Eventually, however, a compromise was agreed to, the offending tribe t ndering compensation in the shape of money, blankets, greenstone ornaments, pigs, horses, dogs, &c.—all heaped in a pile between the two contending parties. The wrath of the offended tribe gradually became appeased in. proportion us the pile accumulated, and at length the tender was accepted in full satisfaction. The money value of the compensation is roughly estimated ut £3OO. This was deemed sufficient retribution, and the injured husband returned with his tribe, leaving the woman undisturbed. The proceedings created a good deal of uneasiness until the effect came, to be understood.

At the Governor's banquet in Christchurch, “ 11.M.5. Pinafore” came “quite permisou-' ously” into one of the Colonel Brett «j characteristic speeches. In replying to the, toast of the “ Army, Navy, and Volunteers,”; the lion, gentleman expressed the thanks of ; the British army for the distinguished honorj conferred upon them. It must be a source of great, gratification to every so'dier to know Thai'the*services of the army, were appreciated. It was True (hat the British arms had recently met with three serious disasters, but the cause of these was the rotten system existing in Groat. Britain and Ireland. The Parliament elected civilians to rule the army and the navy. It would be ridiculous to appoint to the Bench a lawyer who had never had a brief; to make a bishop of a man who had never preached a sermon ; or to employ a doctor Who had no diploma,- permitting him to physic you to- death.— (Laughter.) I 'C cause of .the,disasters was. lobe traced ;lo the appointment of offi -ers who had never commanded a regiment.—(Applause.l A Mr Smith, a bookseller,—{laughter.)—:of trashy railway hovels, had been made High Admiral of England and Ireland. —(Laughter.) Look at that vile play “ Pinafore.” —(Laughter) In the Horse Guards interest alone led to preferment, and merit was nowhere. The blame of the disasters should no' bo cast upon the. officers and men, but upon the commanders who had disgraced the British flag which had waved a thousand years. — (App.uuse.), Jf the’volunteers were called Out to-morrow, and a dozen Goliaths were among the enemy, •.a dozen J)avids would be f..und--'ready To do' battle' with them—■(LaTight. v.) He would say no more. Brevity i/tho soul of wit.—(Cheers and laughter.) , I A meeting of gentlemen favourable to tlje formation of ah export meat company wds held in the Southland Club Hotel, Invercargill; yesterday. There was a good attendance. From the “Nows” »e leant 1 that,the following motion was passed : “ That with the view of obtaining full information, and data a committee be appointed to collect from all likely sources information as to the probable cost of floating and working a company, and to ascertain, by circular or . otherwise, the amount Of support iu the stupe of stock supplies and shiiios Taken up, likely to bo givan in the district—such Committee to consist of Messrs Elies, G. F. Martin, Dalgleish, Prentice, Hall, Slmiiil, Brodriek, James' Mackintosh, Shanks, Galt, Have, M'Kinnon, H‘Nuh, M‘Leon, M'Kellay Cameron, Gardiner, M'Arcleli, J. .M‘Arthur, Gilhmders, J. il. Smith, Cowan, Carmichael,, Tutfiibufl, Carswell, Menzies, Taylor, ! Rogers,’ Trotter, Bassiian, sen., Hiy (Edendale), Stevens, Aitken, J. T. Marlin, and' Itflpherson, with power to add to their number.” It was resolved that a prospectus should be drafted by the Committee, and submitted to a general meeting to be convened by the. chairman.,. . ,

•:A sitting of tlie District Court took place yesterday in Invercargill, before His Honor Judge Waril. 'Herbert Small was found guilty of stealing £lolss from C; H. Howard, at InVerca rgill, during the progress of the ericket 'match with the Australian-Eleven. Sentence was deferred. In the case of Frank Lee, charged with stealing £5 from Julia Maley, sentence was also deferred. Thomas O’Brien was found not guilty of committing a criminal assault upon a girl named Nina M:Honzie, at Mokomuko, in January last.

A rural Presbyterian congregation agreed that, though their pastor was a learned, laborious, amiable and excellent man, he was exceedingly prosy and uninteresting as a preacher. It , was,.resolved therefore that, a .deputation should he sent respectfully to ask him to remit his charge. Two elders were induced to go and talk with the minister about the matter. He listened quietly to their hesitatingly told story, and at once acquiesced in their desire that he would re-ign. All were greatly gratified at the prospect of such an amicable arrangement, and feeling some sense of gratitude to the minister for his many years of service, they determined to present him with an address and purse. A public meeting of the congregation was held, at which the pastor fvas invited to he present, an address was read to him containing strong expressions of appreciation and gratitude for his manifold labors, and.of strong personal affection for himself, and the purse was handed to him as a token of their continued esteem. On rising to reply, the pastor was deeply moved, and spoke with a faltering voice. He stated that, influenced by the statements of the elders who had called on him, he had resolved at much 7oxpense of feeling to himself to resign his charge. Pausing for a minute, as if overcome with emotion—not ,a few tender-hearted . betrayed their sympathy with him—he went on to say that, in view of the affectionate anil touching address he had just received, and accompanied by so generous a gift, he felt constrained to abandon his purpose, and would therefore remain with them, and devote his future life to the best interests of a people who were so warmly attached to jhim, The minister is still pastor of the same parish.-