Untitled

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 20, 26 November 1874, Page 4

The charge for coal at Waipori is L 8 per ton. A plentiful supply of peat is, however., found m the district, and, of which laree advantage is taken by. the inhabitants., _ Two notables arrived, per the Albion, afc Port Chalmers on Saturday last, viz „ Bishop Redwood, the new Roman Catholic* Bishop of Wellington,, and the Rev. Lindsay Mackie, the new pastor of ihe First; Church, Dunedin. b» A ~ an na ™ ed Joseph Baxter accidentally ftU off the punt into the river at the Taieri Ferry on Saturday last, and before assistance could be rendered him he was drowned. '.'••''. ,' -' , The Nelson Rifles have challenged the Bruce Rifles to a friendly match on i • Monday firati The conditions * are-— Ten men on each eide ; ranges, ,200, 400, and 500 ■ yards ; five shots at each range ; Wimbleton targetß. --„...'• A Southland /paper says:— "ln this district a sheep farmer has bad 1,000 ewes lamb, and out of that number he Had only give these away to aay one having milk to rear them, on the Spuria; that the ewes are in too -low a condition and weak to do co tfaemselv€8 v (Jneof our largest ) squatters remarked the pthe? day that f L4,OOp will not cover his loss In Ibis respect.

Fortnightly Bixpenny readings have just been established at Switzers. The proceeds go towards the school funds. In another column a prize is offered for the best essay upon the Early Days of the Province. We simply call attention to the snnj-rct. Personal considerations prevent us doing more. - Mr. A. J. Smith has agreed to convey by rail to morrow evening the members of the Tokomairiro Dramatic Club from Milton to Waihela, where they are to give an entertainment on behalf of the regatta funds. We have been sent from the Conical Hills Station several samples of half-bred -wool (second shear of hoggets), and which ia of a very excellent quality, and shews -what cm be doi c by a little care and at tendon. We shall be glad to shew it to any of the neighWoring settlers who are interested in half-breds. We are informed that at the Conical Hills Station there are lrom 8,000 to 10,000 of tbia class of sheep, all washed as clean 89 tbe samples sent v?. It is expected the wool wiU this year bring from 2s 3d to 2s 6J per Ib. Smith's Combination Troupe gave performances in Barr's Hall here on the evenings of Friday and Saturday last. The attendance was not so large as the merits of the artiste's deserved, and this wai no doubt to be accounted for by the number of entertainments which have recently been given in the township. The whole performances were, however, really good, and such as to call forth irequtnt and hearty applause. In last issue we reported the occurrence of a slight buggy accident upon the road. Fort Molyneux to Fuerua. One of the gentleman named as having been in the buj»py at the time was Dr. Andrews, of Balclutha. This, although the' report reached us from a source which anyone would accept aa reliable, we have since ascertained, was a mistake, as Dr. Andrews was not in the district at the time, and we regret that his name had been connected with the matter. We have to acknowledge the graceful •congratulations of our Dunedin contemporaries, the ' Guardian' aod * Star,* upon the merits and success of the Clutha Leader, which have now necebsiiated its enlargement in 6ize. At the entertainment in the Waihola School- house oh Fridey evening last, the Chairman (M*-. G. Lindsay) apologised on behalf of the Dramatic Club for several alterations that had been made in the programme, owing to the "oaly gentleman that was any good in tbe Club being 1 -id ap with measles." A correspondent says he hears several of the members have instructed their solicitor to raise a new action at law against the said gentleman, viz , one for damages for " undervaluation of services rendered." An entertainment was given at the Waihola Gorge School- house on Friday evening last, for the benefit of the school. A .good start was given to the enjoyment oi the evening by the Milton Dramatic Club. At about half-past ten o'clock tea was served, together with an excelhnt and overabundant supply of the necessary accompani < ents, provided by Mesdames Lindsay, France, Dnthie, Dale. Sutherland, Bines, Chalmers, Macdonald, and Rait. After ward* dancing, with an occasional soot, was continued without intermission, under the very able leadership of Mr. John Du ! hie, until three o'clock the following morning, when an extnmelv pleasant and orderly meeting was brought to a close by the whole company pinning "Auld Lang Syne." About 150 persons must have attended. Writing of the recent inclement season in Invercargill, a contemporary says that cattle have been dying off viry rapidly. Captain Stevens reports his loss alone at. over 300 head owing to their poverty and the «prin^ gra*-s coming so late ; the green feed has caused them to scour to death." From various quarters we learn that larks are spreading over the country. We presume they are the proeeny of these some time ago liberated at Tokomairiro and which are now abundant in that district. Mr. R. Mason is now building a new steamer at Port Molvneux. to the order, of Mr. G. F. Reid, of Dunedin, to supply the much-felt wmt occasioned by the loss of the ill-fated Tuapeka. She is much larger in her dimension?, and capable of carrying a much heavier burden. Her timbers are of broadleaf and birch, supplied by the Maories ol Fort Molynenx, the planking being of oregon. The old boiler belonging to the Tuapeka has to undergo a a thorough repair, and will be fitted up in the new steamer to burn coal instead of woo-1 as iorraerlv. Her length over-all. is 140 f t; keel, 120 f t; beam, 21ft. The deck is fi'ted up with a small deck house, together with a steam winch for loading ahd discharging. We understand that it is the intention of the contractor to have a number of bands at once set to work for the purpose of having the steamer in proper working order before the next grain season comes ronnd. In a recent issue we had occasion to refer to the indifference manifested by the Government as to tbe style or convenience of their buildings or comfort of their officers stationed at Balclutha This had reference to the Post and Telegraph offices. There is another Government building here which is most inconvenient for the purpose for which it i 9 used. We refer to the tollkeeper s house. When built it was never intended for snch a purpose, and is situated at some distance from the gate. The consequence is that any stranger passing after the gate is shot can have no idea as to which is the keeper's house, and should the night be stormy and the wind from an unfavorable direction he may have to cooey long enough before being beard. This is not, of course the fault of the keeper, who is a most attentive and long-suffering individual. Any one but a member of the Executive would pity bim for having to be awakened so frequently, and to go so far to op *n the ga'e at all hours and in all weathf rs. Thf re certainly is a sentry-box sort of arrangement provided for his partial sheler num.! the day, but it has no fireplace, and cannot in any way be made comfortable. We believe promises havbeen uiv« n that these matters would be renedi. d. A pity it is thit members of Government* should so frequently make promises t tey have no intention of fulfilling, as in the present case it appears they have not.

At the Magistrate's Court, _alcTuthaV yesterday, F. Baseett was fined L 25 on a charge of sly- grog selling. A full report of the proceedings will be given in our next. Mr. Wm. M'Cullougb, proprietor of tlie 1 Evening Star,' Grabamstown, has accepted the position of Deputy Provincial Grand Master of the Scottish Constitution for New Zealand. So far as the general public is concerned, Tradesmen's Races have, in our experience, proved more successful, and have afforded much more enjoyment than tbe regular " meetings "of the sportiDg " clubs." We are therefore pleased to know that such races, interspersed with ether sports, will be held here on New Year's Day. A meeting to arrange the matter is to be held on Monday evening first. After a fortnight's vacation, caused through the measles epedemic, the school here was opened on Monday last, when a goodly number of scholars put in an appearance. It is expected that in the course of a week or so the whole will have returned to their studies. Judging from present appearances, tomorrow (Friday) will be an enjoyable and busy day in Balclutha. The event of the day is, undoubtedly, the Agricultural and Pastoral Association's Show, which has ever been an eventful occasion in the annals of the Clutha district, and which, from the entries already received by the Secretary, promises to be, as usual, a decided .Success. Our WeslCyan friends have wisely taken advantage of the number of settlers, who are always present on the show-day to hold a bazaar in aid of the funds of the church, and if the ladies of the congregation meet with but half the reward due to their energetic efforts for some time past in this matter, we venture to predict that the bazaar will be one of the most successful ever held in the district. A dramatic entertainment in the evening will conclude the day's programme, and if length of programme, variety, and a worthy' object , bave anything to do with the success of an entertainment of this description, we have no doubt but that the Club will be in a position to hand over to the widow of the late Andrew Bain (on whose behalf the entertainment is to be given) a very handsome sum indeed. It is to hoped that the weather will be all that could possibly be wished for on the occasion. As an evidence of the inconvenience occasioned by the absence of a river steamer, we may mention that 2000 tons of plant for tbe new railway bridge here bas to be sent round from, Dunedin by coastal steamers. These only come up the river the length of Kaitangata, and the whole of this plant will have to be conveyed by waggons thence to the Kaitangata Junction. Had a river steamer been plying it would have been landed by her at the site of the bridge. This will of course entail a considerable additional expense upon the contractor. Besides, between the traffic in timber, coal, produce, railway and bridge plant, &c, the traffic upon the swamp road will be much more than it can Sustain in its present condition, and the cost of maintenance must prove heavy. The ordinary meeting of the Balclutha Town Council was held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday evening, when his Worship the Mayor presided, and there were present-— Messrs. Kilgour, Mason, Stewart, and Dunne. After the minutes of the previous meeting had been confirmed, a resolution was passed to the effect that until further orders the dayman devote his whole time to his duties as Inspector of Nuisances, so as to put a stop to the straying of cattle and horses upon the public streets. The Council resolved to meet on the evening of Monday first, specially to adopt bye- laws for the Corporation. There was no other business. The settlers in the Warepa district are at present actively engaged getting in their turnip seed earlier this season, in the expectation that the briard will get well up before the drought sets in ; but unless a plentiful supply of rain sets in shortly, apparently there will neither be turnips nor oats. The grass, however, has much improved during the past week. A Warepa corresnondent writes: — "Last week there were liberated in the Kaihiku strtam some hundreds of trout. No doubt in a year or two we shall have some good fishing. In the New Zealand bush we have a plentiful supply of rods suited ior fishing purposes, but the fly hooks are a- wanting. However, I presume our importers will secure them in good time. As to pheasants and various other kinds of game, we have them in abundance." The. meeting of the Caledonian Games Committee, Warepa, held at Mr. Crawford's store on Friday last, was well attended. Mr. Christie was elected Chairman. The Treasurer reported the state of the finance for the past year, and from his statement it appeared that the receipts had amounted to L 27 10s, and the expenditure to L2l 7s 3d, leaving a balance in hand of L 6 2s 9d. The programme for the ensuing New Year Sports was then prepared, and six extra events were added to the progtamme of 1873 ; the prizes also were considerably increased, and it is expected a large gathering will take place on the occasion. The Committee agreed to meet again on the 11th December. A correspondent, who has a friend of the usual " unimpeachable veracity," supported i by the usual witnesses of " undoubted j credibility," sends us (Argus) the following story about a wonderful dog. The dog belongs to the veracious friend, who has made use of him during these last three years to find out the winner of the Melbourne Cup. A number of slips of paper are prepared, and the names of the Cup horses are written on them. The slips are then ranged in a row before the dog, who takes them up one by one in his mouth, dropping all but one, which he holds on to_ with great vigour. The sagacious animal has gone through this performance three times, and on each occasion the retained slip has proved to contain the name of the Cup winner — The Quack, Don Juan, and Haricot having been M tipped" in succession. This year, we are informed, the proud proprietor of this canine prophet won LSOO in backing the dog,s tip. Our readers will of course understand that we do not vouch for the strict accuracy of this story, but we have no doubt that our correspondent^ veracious friend's way of finding out tbe winner of the Cup is quite as good ai any other.

' It will be seen from an advertisement that the Banks here will close to-morrow at 1 o'clock; and during the whole day on Monday first — it being St. Andrew's Day. The following appointments have been gazetted— Dr. J. MB. Stewart to be Public Vaccinator at Tokomairiro ; /Messrs. J, Drysdale, Thomson, Taylor, and Wm. Thomson, J.P., to be members of tbe Licensing Court at Port Chalmers ; Mr R. H. Leary to be Provisional Trustee in Bankruptcy at Dunedin. < The Melbourne ' Herald ' says that a number of chimney ornaments in the shape of caricatures of leading citizens are now being prepared in plaster by a local artist. These at present finished are exceedingly well executed, the likenesses in each instance being capital. It it stated that there are 20,000 000 sheep in the colony of New South Wales, to be shorn before Christmas, a work which will require 10,000 men, and entail an expense of over a quarter of a million. Allowing 4lbs of wool to each sheep, at 1 * 6d per lb, tne total value of the clip will amount to LSOOO. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Dunedin, W. Andrew Jarvey was charged, on the information of Detective Shury, with having at Forr Molyneux, on November 13, stolen from Richard Allen two fivepound notes, three one pound notes, and a watch of the value of L 5. On the applicai tion of Sob-Inspector Mallard, the accused was remanded for seven days. Mr. T. W. Reid. in a lecture delivered at 1 Croyden, in . England, spoke of the dodges resorted to by uuscruoulous persons to secure -prizes at cattle shows. Amongst other improvements made in their animals by exhibitors, he mentioned a prize bull at the Ayrshire Agricultural Association's Show, which was afterwards found to have false horns, and an Ayrshire cow was bought which proved to have a guttapercha tail. On onf occasion be saw three men pouring can after can of water down a cow's throat the morning of the show to give the beast's ribs a better spring. At Penniwiuk an exhibitor had painted the noses Of .his black- fac*rd sheep so successfully that he would have got second prize if someone, in examining them, had not been made as black as the ace of spades. It may not be generally known that the Auckland 'Evening Star' bas long used carrier pigeons in preference to the telegraph for short distances. These l winged 1 messengers' accompany reporters to cricket matches, race, agricultural, or public meetings at any small distance from the city, and return to their quarters at an average speed of nearly a mile a minute. Birds are also placed on board outward bound home ships, and are despatched with the "latest intelligence from the good ship ," as the pa-sengers take their last look at New Zealand." A "Bohemian," who contributes to the * Qteenslander,' is sorry that the colony is about to lose the services of the Marquis of Normanby. He says that " the Marquis is a gentleman, every inch of him, ju9fc as much as if he bad no title and had to work ao hard for bis bread and cheese as a Bohemian." He crotmues that the sort of which the Ma-guis is is a rare one. " Without forgetting for a moment that he was a nobleman, and the biggest man in the colony, he could and did always make himself comfortable, and everybody he came io contact with. He never lost his dignity, yet never patronised anybody, nor was rude, nor haughty, nor stuck-up, nor. had the least tinge of the prig nor cad about him. It's a real pleasure to have a man like that to represent the Queen out here." Such testimony to the high qualities of onr future Governor is not without its value. Mr. Hollo way thus bids farewell to New Zealand in the ' Southern Cross' of the 14>h iDstant:-—" To the Editor.— Sir,— Asl^hall be leaving the colony in a few days lor England, will you kindly allo*v me through the columns of yonr piper to tender my hearty and cordial tkanks to the inhabitant*? of the colony in general, and to the General and Provincial Governments in particular, by whom every whore I have been accorded such a hearty welcome, and provided v ith every facility for carrying out tha great object for whioh I came out to New Zealand. That object was to ascertain from personal observation the advantages held out by the colony asuitabl. fi Id for immi I gration from E -gland, or settlement' of some of the hundreds of the toiling masses of my fellow countrymen, who are underpaid and underfed, and who are really anxious to • improve th<-ir circumstances by removing to more suitable fields of labour, where thtir services will meet with a fair and proper remuneration. Perhaps few! individuals have had such means placed within their reach for acquiring a general knowledge of the cdony as myself. I am indebted to the Governments for these favours. I have been under their direction and control. All my movements have been directed by either the Gt-neral or the Provincial authorities; but while they have provided tbe means they have not sought to unduly influence my mind in favour of any particular part of New Zealand, but have left me to draw my own conclusion from my own observations. Now that my tour is accomplished I take this opportunity of publicly acknowledging, through the Press, that I have formed a very high opinion of New Zealand, taken as a whole, as a most suitable field for the -settlement of tbe sober and industrious farm labourers ot my own country. New Zealand wants no coloring, no puffing up. Its genial climate, its fertile soil, ite salubrious air, its large mineral resources, its magnificent scenery, and its civil and religious institutions, are alone sufficient to recommend it , as a most desirable locality in which to settle down. As my mission is not so much to impart information as to collect it, I think it wise to reserve my report upon New Zealand till I reach England. I shall there meet my constituents face to face. I shall endeavour not to betray the confidence tbey have reposed in me as their delegate. I shall represent to them simply — but faithfully and honestly, and forcibly—the opinions I have myself, as a practical man, formed as to the inducements and advantages held out by this Colony of New Zealand as a suitable field for settlement of men of the right class— the sober, the industrious, and the persevering. Without trespassing farther on your space, I desire only to add that I shall ever look back with feeling of very great pleasure to the nine months I have spent in New Zealand. — I am, etc, C. Hollowat."

Mr Richard Oliver, has ' resigned hit seat in the Provincial. Council for the re • presentation of Mount Ida. * * • ■•■

Ripe strawberries and cherries, of local growth, are now being sold in the various fruiterers' shops in Canterbury.

The ' Wakatip Mail ' gives on ditthtA a requisition calling upon the sitting member for the Wakatip io the Assembly to resign his seat is about being circulated.

From Wellington, we learn that the Rogistrar of Births there ha 9 been taking sf eps to enforce the vaccination clauses of Public Health Act.

It is intimated in a * Gazette' notice that the Hon Mr Reynolds has been appointed to have charge of the administration of the Naval Training Schools Act.

Mr Thomas Logan, of Bendigo, has collected the sum of Ll3O in Dunedin towards the funds of the newly established hospitsl at Cromwell.

Amongst the passengers going Home by the Halcoine' from Wellington, are Lady and. Mrs Fergusson, the Governor's family and suite, Dr Hector, Mrs Hector, and Mr Holloway.

The local paper says that as soon as other engagements are fulfilled, Captain Hutton, .the Government Geologist, will Teport upon the coalfields of the Mount Ida district. . .

As mustering proceeds for . shearing** it is found that tbe lambing season has been a frightfully .bad one. Complaints reach us from various quarters. Early half-breeds suffered most severely.— 8 Southern Cross.'

Here's a chance for Mr Smythe and his companir>ns ! An « enterprising "furrier and taxidermist," of Wellington, advertises that he is open to purchase moa skins and feathers in any quantity. He dots not, however, n.ime the price he will give, although he might have offered a long figure.

The ' Post 1 * suggests that the Government should arrange with Mr Holloway to act as a lecturer and sub-agent in the agricultural counties/arguing that otherwise his expenses paid by the Government during the past nine months will be unproductive.

A vessel named the Victory has arrived at Sydney after a passage of 145 days from Manilla. Natarally enough everyone interested ha-i given her up for lost. Such a passage is, we believe, almost without parallel in. these later days.

We observe that in the last number of the l Waka Maori,' a Maori writes a sarcastic letter in reference to the achievement of Mr Smyth, in catching two live moa birds. He remarks that if tbe birds have escaped, Smyth would at least have had some of the feathers 1

Upwards of 40 summonses were taken out recently against parents who had neglected to comply with this notice. With one exception, however, all the charges were withdrawn, the children having been vaccinated and the necessary certificate lodged. In one case, where this had not been done, a fine of 40s and costs' was inflicted.

Tbe ■* Wanganui Herald ' says it is generally supposed that law is the refinement of logic, but thinks the fact questionable, since, after long argument and refer ence to musty law books,, it was decided by the local court that, although it, was larceny at common law to take apples off the ground, plucking them from the tree did not amount to that offence. It is said the decision was received with delight by all the schoolboys of the district.