The Clutha Leader. BALCLUIHA : THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1870.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 95, 4 May 1876, Page 5

The Clutha Leader. BALCLUIHA : THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1870.

In hist issue wh published a brief report of a meeting- of the Acclimatisation Society, containing- some item*- of information regarding pheasant shooting-, coursing* hares, &c. This is a society which undertook a very arduous and somewhat difficult work, and which it has carried out with great energy anp perseverance. It has in its varied operations had numerous- discouragements, but the greater part of these it has overcome, and, upon tho whole, has met with a greater measure pf success than is the common lot of associations of this or any other description. .No one can travel through the Province without everywhere meeting with fresh evidences of this success. English game of many kinds are now to be -found in numerous localities, these are very rapidly increasing and spreading over the country. The climate and natural features of the country would seem very much to favor this increase, and, apparently, before many years shall have passed, some kinds of game will be as plentiful here as iv the home country. Only those who have-.tr.amped the Moors on tlie 12th of August in days gone lyy, and have whipped the streams of the old country, can realise the pleasures how in prospect, resulting from the operations of this Society. We have always felt that it has never received that support which it was entitled to in the Clutha district. We do not say that the Clutha has been move neglectful Than other districts in this respect. We believe that numbers have contributed liberally -and regularly, but the great body of the people liave never contributed at all. This may not arise from any want of appreciation of the efforts of the. Society on their parr, nor from an unwillingness to cor-'aibute, but simply from the luct that they have not been called upon for subscriptions. We believe that many would give cheerfully if waited upon, and would suggest that some united effort should be made in the matter. The Society-has dealt liberaly with this district, but we, believe it would yet do even greater things were the public, in a practical and tangible manner, to shew they valued' the favors that have already been dealt out; We merely make the suggestion that the matter may he thought over by our readers. ......

T:iJi! Bank of l'/cw "again secured tho tender for the GeuorarGovernmcnt account;. It will bo observed that the Wairuna . Congregational Soiree will bo hold oa Wednesday evening. ' - ■ . The subscribers io the Widow Bain Fund will ph.uso beav in mind that the adjourned meeting laiccs place oa Monday evening, A ' Tub ceremony of inducting Professor Salmond to tlio chair of Theology wm; arranged to take place in tho .sfin-;fc Chivoh Dunedin, last night. We *andt.'V.-lai>d tho Lynch family of Bonringer;!, will pay Balclutha a visit in a few days, although tho exact night:' 'have not yet been fixed. TaE Auckland Accliuuitiaation Society have resolved to co-operate with tho Canterbury and other Southern societies for shipments' of Californium salmon. Tick total number of persons who arrived at the Port of Otago for the mouth ending 30th April was 149. ■ The departures for the samo period numbered 17b*. Tiik Colimd, with the Euglish mail, via San ■Francisco leaves Duuediu to-day. Tlio liingarooma with tho mails via , Suez, left Melbourne on Monday for Port Chalmeis. " Skolastikos," in the 'Auckland -Herald,' objects to the use of tho word " cablegram," aud suggests "Ivalogram." For plurals he would' nob havo telegrams aud kalograms' but telegrammatu and kalogrammata. A general meeting of the members of the Balclutha Cricket Club, will be held in tho Crown Hotel, to-morrow (Friday) evening, at half-past eight o'clock, for the purpose of closiug tho accounts for the past season, and making arrangements for ground for next season. Mv Gordon's bam at Chrieton, Lovell's Flat, was, with its contents, totally destroyed by fire : on Monday evening. Tlio origin of tho fire is unknown. Mr Gordon -was from home at the time. Tho loss, which was partly covered by insurance, is estimated at £150. Mr Miu-ray, M.H.R., Mr Mitchell, Mr Cuthborlsoa, and some other Invercargill gentleman, havo urged the Government to introduce a General Drainage Bill during tho next session, and tho Premier in acknowledging their con> immicition says ther suggestions ci the subject wiil recoivo careful consideration, Tiiß Press Agency telegraphed to us ('Daily' Times ') on Tuesday evening from Auckland that '•'that it is understood that tho Superintendent has written to three civil servants stating they need not coma to Auckland/" Tlio " three civil rorvartts " aro no doubt tho " three eminent civil Servants " referred to in a now celebrated communication from Sir J. Yogel, and better known as the Commission of Enquiry. At the meeting of tha Star lodge of Milton, 1.0. G.T., h'ild on Thursday ovening, tho following officers woro elected for the ensuing quarter : — W.C.T., Bio. W. J. Dyer; W.V.T., Bro. D. Gilbert- W.S., Bro. W. H. Ayre - Yy.T , Sister P. Gilbert; W.F.S., Bro. j". M'Milkn ; W.C., Bro. A. Peach; W.LL, Bro. P. M 'limes; W.I.G. Bro. A. Lwrio , W.0.G., '8r0. J. H. Russell; W.R.H.S., Sister M. Gilbert ;' W.L.II.si, Sister M. J. Bavis; AV.A.S., Bro. G-. Capstick; V7.D.7u., Bro. J. V, r uidio- P.W.C.T., Bro. li. N. Lc&jo.

The township of Stirling is gradually extending and to all appearance vv'ilL f.'toitiy bo a town of considerable importance. Ji already boasts of tsvo blacksmiths' shops ; a second- hotel is about to bo erected in tha immediate vicinity of the Railway Station, by Mr Richards of the Balclutha Hotel. 'The timber for the building is now being laid down. New dwelling houses are also springing up. , The erection of the bridge across the Matau branch at the spot will no doubt give the progress of the township au ad-ditional-imnetus.

Our readers will see a notice in our advertising columns of a meeting to take place on Wednes-i day evening first, of all those interested in tho! Matau annual ploughing match. Tbis match has : been. very successfully carried out for a number-! of years, and as it is the only ono now held in the Clutha district, settlers and others interested iv ploughing matches ought to encourage the efforts of those.taking a leading part, by attending the meeting on Wednesday evening. Now that we have railway communication bo the Clutha district, we have no doubt many will take advantage of ib froni Tokomairiro' Taieri, and Dunedin, and bake a trip out bo see the'match. We would therefore like to see a good turn out of competitors, and we have no doubt the prizes offered for competition will be on the same liberal scale as in former .years.

It .would appear that the goods train tc per railway from tho Clutha district is much greater than had been anticipated or provided for by the powers that ho, and the result is that no little inconvenience is sometimes occasioned. For example, yesterday forenoon fourteen trucks loaded with grain were standing at the Stirling station, and twelve drays wore waiting to be unloaded, but there wore no trucks in which to discharge the produce. Some of these had waited from six o'clock in the morning, and may bu there yet for all wo know, aud ab midday there was no appearance of the arrival of trucks. This we presume is only an occasional occurrence, hut tho prices ruling for 'grain this season will not admit of settlors having thou* men and horses kopb waiting in the in-inner referred to. We should thiuk tho Government has now had plenty of- time since the railwoy' was opened to have provided* aiiTieionb rolling stook for tlio traffic. Wotru'b no time will now be lost in giving attention to the matter. . ' •

It will be^-gratifying to somo to know that the Bud of Hopo lodge of Juvenile Good Templar.-i, Balclutha, is in a very piosnerous state..' It now includes in its membership tho great proportion of the juveniles of bhe township and many from the surrounding district. The business, under the superintendence 'of Mr Ivi'gour, is conducted in a Very orderly manner- indeed inuoh. more harmoniously and efficiently than is the case iv many 'assemblies of -seniors. • On Tuesday evening the officers elected '-for the ensuing quarter were installed. Thoy are as follows,: -Bro. O. Brace, C.T. ; Sister Jessio Ross, V.T. • Bro. "ty. Pieming- 0.; Bro. Coghill, ,P. 0. • Bro. Jas. Sievwright, S ; Sister -Mary .Ban*, A.S. ; Bro. John 8e11,", E.5..*. Bro. Geo. .Stewart, T. ;■ Sister . Annie Ross, M. ; Sister Magsjie Ross, D.M. ; Bro John. Ban-, J. G;..' Bro. W. Bain, 0.G. ; Bro. 4 Dunne, "R'.H'S': -'Sister- Annie' M'Neil, L.H.S. .Several-new members wero initiated the. same •evening. After the ordinary business had been-disposed-of a number of readings" wore given and hymns' sung ih a most creditable manner. Tlie; lodge was closed with the usual . ceremonies by.; ■the newly installed /chief, /.shortly; after; sev^n.o'clock; . The hour of .meeting 'is jialf : past five on , Tuesday evenings.

The Vfuiwera annual school sriree takes place to-morrow night. "J'fc h;v; always been a-.jrbf.fc success hitherto, and-'we- havo no doubt lb will bo tho s,;mo on tlie preseirt Occasion. The ' Daily Times' reports -that within tlio past few clayy thoro have been no less Chan ten children suiroring from soarlofc fever admitted to the A? ever Hospital. The institution.- haa now 2;s patients, - - Mr W. M. Maskeli has resigned tho Proviso':Secretaryship of Canterbury in order to accept the appointment of' Registrar of the "Sew Zealand University, the salary attached to which is iJ-iOU a year. FARMSE9 upon Inob Clulha are busy thrashing. Messrs Sinaili's mill is doing all the work, aud is giving every satisfaction. The grain is turning out well, and had the prices been at all reasonable, the settler* would ha-ve had good returns for their labor. A. good extent of ley. and stubble gruiiud.has already been turned over, and. .sowing will commence aa soon as the weather 'shall havo cleared up. *W7is understand that at a meeting of- tlie Committee of tho Clutha Property Investment and Building Society held on Monday evening it was resolved not to entertain further proposals to borrow during the next three months— chat is till the Ist September. This will be regarded as . a wise step, as it will tend to check the spirit of reckless speculation which sometimes is manifested even in- house building. A telegram: from Tauranga says that' an information lias been laid by a man named Joseph HigMey against Captain Reid himself, on the ground that through, his agent, Major Pitt, he gave certain monies to Horaiugafci, in order to indue- him to procure votes for Captain Reid during the East Coast election. Au affidavit has likewise been sworn to by T. AY. Honshu w, tv tlie effect that Major Pitb was Captain Rt-id's accredited agent.

Mr Hugh Bowfh, of Hillend, showed us yesterday a bird caught by his children iv a ditch near his place a few days ago. It has a hook bill, is wobb-footed, is of a dark slate color, and is of the size of a large pigeon. Whatever may bo its uame we beliovo it has but seldom been seen iv this district. Ib has boon forwarded to Captain Hutton by Mr J. P. Maitland, R.M. Tho Captain will very likely be able to tell us all about it.

A UFJLUNG oi the Tapanui Hail way Co:nn.lile3 was held at Tapanui, on April 29th, when various reports referring to the operations of the Committee were read. This committee has been working for oyer six months with a perseverance which deserves success. It was agieed, among oilier matters, that Messrs M'Xcliai, Poynler, and IToiviit should be requested to obtaia such information as would 'enable Mr Bastings, the membar for the district, to inform tlie General Assembly as to the prospects of the Waipahi aud Tapauui Railway proving a fiu;vncial success.

Now that the fruit season is over, the Balclutha larrikins have apparently turned their attention to different objects from garden robbery. Door knockers arc no longer safe from their attacks. On Saturday evening the knocker on the door of the private entrance to Mr Hutchins" house was wrenched off aud taken away. It U generally diilicult t© detect these midnight prowler.-, but they sometimes aro entrapped, and we trust our Balclutha larrikins shortly will, so tha; thoy may receive, ihe punishment they so richly deserve. IN another column will ba found tho report of tho twenty -ninth half-yearly general meeting of the "Bank of New Zealand, disclosing a stato of affairs which cannot fail to proye highly satisfactory to the shareholders. It will be seen that after making liberal allowance for all debts considered bad or doubtful, a dividend of 15 percent is declared, and £70,000 added to thb reserve fuud of tho Bank, which should be fully ample to provide for any rough times. All must" be pleased to see this truly Colonial Bank still up- . holding its prestige as a thoroughly safe institution in which to deposit any of our surplus, cash. It appears the reports of the famous -Palmer rush had an alluring effect upon the miuds of some here, same as in other districts, and it is to be regretted a number of men had left their situations and sailed, before the arrival of the Government telegram, intimating the complete failure of the rush. The threatened exodus from the proviuce has apparently now been arrested.. A Dunedin contemporary says tho news ssnt by the Government has had the effect of sending the Easby away without a passenger for that favored district. So great was the probable demand for passengers by the E\sby, before the ' telegram referred to was received, that the agenls of the Easby had intended to have the 'tweendecks fitted up for steerage passengers.

The " Scotch Chinee" named Wang Sam M'Pherson, has, written to the Invorcirgill Co.porafcion, offering todestroythe Southland rabbits upon certain terms, but the Council replied that thej have no jurisdiction in the matter. Wang's proposal is as follows :— " We, the undorsigue-!, will undertake to destroy all the rabbits now infesting bhe district of Southland, on considei'ation of five thousand acres of land, in four blocks, oh which I-intend to settle my countrymen. Time .required' foi killing off rabbits to be three years, when title of land to be given. But wo aro to havo uso of laud in meantime. 'The contract to bo considerad {rushed when you are to send out mon to prove same, give us one rabbit for every hunter you s cad. out foi\ a day's hunt. Should any more than one rabbit be caught per man per day, our contract to go for six months longer, and so on, I- am myself a naturalised Bribish subjee';, born hi Hong Koag, and would ask that niy countrymen, who will settle oii tho kind be, made British Bulvjccta'.""'.' . ' ' ' AA

It will- ho seen from a notice elsewherc'that the day of. the publication of the 'Ciutha. Le.-VDSU is to be altered from the Thursday to 'tlio' Friday.' The change will "be made next Week./ Wo av&' sure our readers will see -the propriety of the change when we explain oiu- reasons, s :. which aro as follows :— lst. The : local mails all leavethe office hero on" the, Fridays, find thus our subscribers will have their papers on the day of ; pub- 1 licabiou instead of the' day after as heretofore.-; !2u"d. Much important business _is -lone on Wieclnesdays, reports ol which we have hitherto* been obliged to omit or unduly abridge , in consequence of tho paper haying to he published on Thursday ' momiugi ..'Tor, example,' the meetings . of the WasteL ands 'Board, the Duriediu mai'keb' the" •Readout' Magistrate's Court herb. "We ''know ' .our readers want to have full -reports' oAtheso/ The change- will enable ns to "stfpply them -for *tlie I future. There are-other reasons of a minoi*'.)na-7 bure which need. not be meribionod, Enough.hjis. tieenaaid bo. shdw,-ihat the7 alteration is nee'essar/: for publie,ueoQmmod!ibi6n s .andiwiU enable -us to. '.make the DhuyvHA Leader still more useful atid, aceepbflble to the greab body of our readers.

Mv G. E. Barton, of Bi.no.'in, lias gone to venido permaitenby in V/tliington, where he h-;---entered into partnership with Mv II. .S. Khali.•.berfc, son of the Supoti-ifcenduntof that Provide - - Tna -'Bi-uco H.-ivAl* siys that Mr J*-,.!, Maekiiv, the proprietor of that journal, ie iibout (••o raise sin action of damages against the Matiouil Buik for £1 5,000. lie nr,i -t nT.ve sufT-sred d, e.uifully — but we will not juvjudge tha cvtse.It will be observed from an aflv.riisemeiit that another watchmaker has commenced business in Balolutha. Mr A. Wiihelm, Lite of Messrs Conrad, Falsing, and Sous, watchmakers co the Emperor aud Prince Imperial of Germany, is now doing business iv Bur's Hall till be can prqeure suitable premises. A number of now and substantial dwellinghouses have lately been built, upon tho flat iv front of the Wesleyan Church, between T,he main south road, and Inch Clufcha. This open, space is fast getting filled up, and a marked improvement is being made upon the external appearance of tlie township. . A telegram from Melbourno says :— " Sullivan was brought up on a writ of habeas corpus on il onday, and discharged from custody, as it has been found " The Influx of Criminals Prevention Act " does not apply to his case." The old gentleman will thus have to shift for himself. Tt is to be hoped he wilLnot seek to reiiew his acquaintance with New Zealand.

Referring to the late hue and cry about the intended sale of the pastoral blocks, the ' Lyttelton Times J has the following pertinent remarks : " the fact is, that the time is ripe for a party cry. Public opinion so lately pronounced iv Otago must bo educated, and the land question offers tho best method just now. Until we find out whether the whole, or only a portion of ' this Otago agitation is a niero political manoeuvre, wo nrust pcrforco refrain from expressing any opinion on the subject."

During the month -several drafts of fat cattle havo been removed from the inch Clutha district. From the main land, Smith Bros, sent a lob of sixty head of really good beef, for the Northern markets; Watt Bros, also placed a lob of thirty, for tho Dunedin market. And from tlio island' Messrs M'Lean Bros, sent a pvimo lob of forty head, for Dunedin also. Fair prices have been obtained for the above lots. A pleutiful crop ofc> turnips shows everywhere, so that fat catlle can bo had during the winter from tlie distric'', .out at advanced prices. ■

Mv Geokgt* Wilson scorns determined to make the most of the time ho has for cutting down ami removing the timber from Mr Mosley 'ss iv.ish, which, expires about ten days hei.ico. He has a great strength of men, horses, and bullocks at work, and the saw-mill is kept going night and day. At present about 500, 01)0 fcofc of' timber is stacked near to tho site of the now bridge, and during the time sawing has been going on, — about twelve months, — something liko ono million feet of timber has been cut down. No wouder the bush now presents a somewhat dilapidated appearance, . Mr Wjlsox. the contractor, has nob yet got a start mads with tho permanent structure of the bridgi) across tho Matau branch afc Stirling. As out' readers? are aware, tlio delay has been occasioned by the unexpected necessity of procuring the timber for tho piles from Victoria. The timber, however, is now ou its way, aud upon its arrival the conslrucLiou of the budge will be proceeded with and pushed on to .completion with all haste. Had' it been finished now, it would havo boon very convenient for the. settlers getting away their pro lube' but as it U thoy must exercise the virtue of pafcieneo yob a" litble longer. A laugh: number of . the members of tho "Kaitangata Lodge, 1.0. G.T., met together in the School-room on Wednesday evening, for -the purpose of making a presentation to Mr Jesse Coates, railway contractor, on the occasion of hip leaving the district. Mr * A.:.N. Hislop, who occupied the chair, explained -that . they had met for the ' purpose of making a presentation to Mr .Coates,, arid spending a social, evening, together. So..ne excellent songs were- then, sung by Bros. John, ston, Bandeen, Sprightly, J. Hislop, CoafcosMuir, and A. IST. Hislop, and readings were contributed by Bros. Muir aud Steven. Thereafter Mr Coates was presented with a magnificent third degree purple regalia, as a token of esteem aud appreciation. Mr Steven, who mado the presentation, referred to the energy and .enthusiasm with which he had filled tlie office .of W.C.T. in the Kaitangata Lodge during the. past two terms, and expressed .the hope that .Mr Coates might long bo spared as aa .ornament tp the temperance canse. , . ,

MR DUNCAN Campbkdl . of. Mmie Creek Station, requests us bo correct a paragraph which appeared in last issue, in which it was mentioned that he had purchased the i;acehorse, Young Leamington. Buch, ho says, ,1s not bhe.ca.se, and that he has no intention of entering the turf. Upon requesting au explanabion from out* informant, ho says,—'* Add junior to "Campbell, and you are right." Wo have to apologiso" to Mr Campbdl" for the slight mistake which had the effect- ot connecting his name wibh such ,i very questio..ablelob as hoi'so'-racersjhorse-jockeys^.and obher kindred '' gentlemen" of the turf. To Mr*oamp-, bell, junr., wo have bo apologise for.giviug to,another bho credit of his spirited enterprise. We trust his will be a .brilliant career in conueefci m with our, groat, national sporb, which has bom eucouraged aud.tu|con part in by kings, lords 'and commons, men of learning, dignitaries of' t,bo church, and otheVs, in all ages and all cotinfcri -a. Tho foreaoing statements may read sojhewh'ib . " lni.Ad;', bat ib was the' only w.ly we could' sou out of a double scrape. ; ; - :,: " ■■-■■■

Since completing the publication of tho" story entitled. " Victor ' Mo rb. taunt'," which app&ared' soiti'e time ago" in thb Gr.DTHA'LEAt»iIR, we'ltaVu' •had many requests,' ■ that we should "give another :" tale of a -similar 'character. Wibh much ; of " tho ; liglit litentfcure of the. ; preseht.^day.we'haye no sympathy, and would not' - pollute our pages with " .mauy.of the. tales now being given to- tho public. . -Tims,' while-nob. averse, to comply with what wo.' > knevy tobe/a general desire on the part,. of our readers, we experienced great diQhJulty in finding a, story altogether to our minds,, and such as' , would pro.ye an acceptable* successor to' ' 'Victor iuoredaiinb." AWe explained' our 7 difficulty fe>Ta valued- literary brother. in7Sco7blahd,7 and lie "at ' once came 'to ' bhe reseuor [Being' personally ac-' quaintcd with Tniauy of our" readers* ahd .knowing their literary preclilec '.ions,- he selected iorfiistiie^ Scotch" story, ''ThoDisfuption.*^.. Haying glancjed' lb' oVer,. all our; hesitancy and J diffic»lti^aj i at ; -.o^cet , vanished, land . we: .have -simply ; ? to'|ay,tJiat''(ve| shall {make a commencement-wii-b^fe^ of thoTstpry /ngxtr'W.e')^ ex?! /plained in another cqlumh^i^ jsatisned.it .will ,be. read v/ith,7nleaiura:.by/ My „thi; Q iighoub the v'"u ' " '--?•• '^ '* .' e M

Vv r !*u);" rstand th-ifc the Tapamir coach from '• ■1.'.-li V!;' ill di--c.nitiniif>d during the winter, ;a ■:.-:. s. The present w--i_k will be the last in the .-■■•• m .i. c. ..... A • la i.'i! bo *h}.-.i-vod,tlia!>7ihe Rev. Mr Knowle?. viii \j.-ii luut Divine service at Waropa on Wed"? le.vl.y evening, and at Port Molyneux ouThura ? day evening next. „ y .' ' •,.A '- , ' 7.7, Ie will be observed by an ' advertisement thaij ile.se™ P. and J. A \yson ; and Wilson,- have coni : mencod a butchery business in Mason's buildings, Bdlelofcha. v/e have no doubt the new firm will be v- i'y heartily supported in this quarter. Th ; •wrtn.>rs are so well known hero that i.he fullest eonrUonce will at once be established in the respectability of tho firm and the stability of the business.

The ordinary monthly meeting of Uioßalcluth* School Committee was hold* in the" school room on M md.vy evening. There were preieu!- Mc'-si\-j Cramond (chairman), Hope, Rt> >erls-.ii, Bain^ Stewart, and Fleming. The miuut-.es of previous meeting were read aud confirmed. It was re'solvcd that plans and specifications bo prepared for repairs to chimneys, closets, &a,, and that fceuders be called for the same by advertisement. Mr .Robertson was appointed inspector of the works. Atteution was called to the filthy state of the street in front of tlie school, and the pools of water which lay ripon the footpaths before each gate. The Secretary was iju*»..r acted to write to the Town Council upon the subject. Tho Secretary reported that lieT had. written to the Government as to insuring the school buildings, and had received a reply that the Govern.ment had not insured school buddings . for some* years past, but strongly recommended that the committee should do so. It was nuved ov Mr Fleming, seconded by Mr (Stewart ond carried--, that the .buildings and furniture be insured for iiSOD, the Secretary to ascertain from fcho various insurance agents iv the township the lowest riit«* afc which fcho same can bo got do/io. The meejr ing then ati journod. . .'■)