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Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 174, 9 November 1877, Page 5

The English mail via Scan Francisco will cose at the office here at 10 p.m, on Tuesday next. We htwe "heard of no fresh cases of scarlatina since our last. Only two or three very ini'd eases have occurred in Balclutha altogether, and it would seem as if the disease were to make no further progress in this quarter. Messrs Stewart, Bain, and Hogg were the only meroher.s present ,it the School Committee tr.eeting on Monday evening last. Mr Stewart presided. Several accounts were parsed for payment. Mr Hogg moved that the Treasurer lay a statement of finances before next meeting to enable the Committee to consider the matter of giving a bonus to the teacher. There was no other business. An application for land under tho Immigrants Land Act, 1573, came before the Waste Lands Board on Wednesday, when D. M'Cnlman applied for a grant of 97 acres of land at Oatlins River, which he hns b^en occupying for the past throe years. It appeared that the applicant had complied with the conditions of the Act as to cultivation, and it was decided to recommend the issue of the Crown grant to him. Now that Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co. have arranged to hold periodical sales at ftfataura, it becomes more than ever necessary to erect cattle yards in the locality. It would he advisable to place those as near to the railway as possible. The want of cattle yards has long been felt by the local butchers and cattle dealers, and we are assured that if any enterprising individual would canvass the district he would find no monetary difficulties in the way. Kow that the township of Matanra has increased in size and nearly all the residents have gardens fenced in, the vv<int of a pound for the accommodation of stray cattle and horses is much felt. At present there are are no yards nearer th<in Edemlalfi, about thirteen miles distant, so the inconvenience and delay occasioned by the distance, allows the owners of stray animals perfect immunity for any depredations committed by them. "We hope the Comity Council will see its way to alter this anomaly without unnecessary delay. The second session of the fourth Synod of tho Dunedin Diocese commenced in the University buildings on Tuesday. Bishop Novill occupied the chair, and there was a large attendance. The Chairman delivered an elaborate address upon the condition of some parts of Christendom ; the most important of the recent enactments of the governing body of the New Zealand province ; and upon the affairs of the Dunedin Diocese. At the conclusion a hearty vote of thanks was passed to the B'whop for his address. After some formal business and a number of notices of motion having been given, the Synod adjourned till yesterday afternoon. Great inconvenience and. dissatisfaction prevail in the Otaria district in consequence of the only available track connecting a number of homesteads with the main road being shut up by one of the settler*. We presume the land has been purchased by the settler referred to, and therefore he has a perfect right to close the track if he chooses. At the same time the inconvenience is not therefore any the less felt. The district road laid down in the map is unformed, and is so intersected by precipitous gullies that it is quite impassable even for riders. There being no Road Board in the district, the roads of course fall to be attended to "by the County Council. The settlers who require the road sho'iiM at once represent the state of matters to that body, when no doubt some remedy will be applied. Two important additions to the township of Gore, will, we understand, be commenced immediately, one being a store for Messrs M'Gibbon and Sons, of Mataura, and the other a flour mill. The store will be situated on the Waikaka side of the Mataura river, and will consequently save the settlers the risk. and inconvenience, by no means inconsiderable, of having to cross the river. Should this township continue to increase at its present rate,, we shall expect, ere long, to hear of its being proclaimed a municipality, but as some time may elapse before that can eventuate, we should think it would be advisable,, on sanitary grounds, that a combined effort be' made to drain and fill'ujp- what at present is simply a stagnant ditch, Running parallel' with the main street, and from which emanates ;a afceneh suggestive of plagues and fevers. ,

The second trial of Mr George Proudfoot's case was concluded on Saturday last, when the Jury were discharged, th«y having been unable to agree upon a verdict. The accused was released on the same recognisances- fo appear at j the next criminal sittings of the Court. i A large extent of virgin land is being ' brought under the plough in the Otaria district this year, Mr Anderson alone having broken up over 1000 aores. The major part of the large blocks that have been broken up in this and the surrounding districts are being sown in turnips. The Tolcomairiro annual show takes place to-day. Being a general holiday, the attendance in all likelihood Will be unusually large, but we fear from the early date of the show, the recent unfavourable weather, and the parched condition of the grass, the stock will not appear to the best advantage, A new industry "has just been started at Mataura, viz., rope-making, by a man named Wright., brother of a setrter in the district. This we hope and fully anticipate will turn out a success, as an unlimited supply of the raw material can be procured from Messrs Shanks and Bmff's flax mill in the immediate neighbourhood: Messrs Pollock and. Hall, of Mataura, have removed their saw mill from Mokerita to Maori bush, about a mile from the township. We understand the orders at present booked will keep them busy for six months. These consist principally of sleeper? for the Clutha-Clinton section of the railway. Now that the roads are getting into fit condition for repairs, we would direct the atten tion of the Southland Count}' Council to the necessity of expending some money on the main road between Matanra Bridge and Otaria. We should also recommend, as being perhaps the most effective mode of having their requirements attended to, that the inhabitants should sign ft petition drawing attention to this matter, and have it laid before the County Council without delay. The following officers for the ensuing quarter of the Lodge Hope of Balclutha, were installed by the Lodge Deputy, Bro. IX P. Mackenzie, at the meeting on Friday evening: — W.0.T., Bro. R. Hogg; W.V.T., Bro. Allan Stewart; W. 5.,. Bro. A. H. Kilgour; W F.S., Bro. W, M'Kenzie ; W.T., Tivo. Greo. Thomson ; W. 0., Bro. R. Craraond } W.M., Bro. P. Caddy ; W.1.G., Bro. Harvey: W.OvG., Bro. Lister; R. and L. H.S., Sisters Hislop. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the W.O.T. a.Mresserl the members, thanking them for having again elected him to the chief place in the Lodge, rerm'nding them of the grand objects ■ for which Good Templary had been established, and making some practical suggestions as to the efficient and harmonious working of the Order. A hearty vote of thanks was psissed to the retiring officers, and there was a large amount of ordinary and extra business gone through. Our Waipalii correspondent says that the settlers are much disappointed thai the Go vcrnment do not open tho Telegraph Office there, and although the room has been built some time, there is no sign of the wires beit.g carried across. The distance to. the main line is only 30 chains, which could even bo dono away with by straightening the course of the main wire, and now that the political friends of our M.fl.R. are in power, he might try to do something for this neglected district by getting tho Telegraph Office opened. The Government are certainly speiiding a few pounds in a far less useful way at the railway station hj digging a large bole on the flat, and putting the earth round the goods-shed, and forming under the shed a large pool of water. The sand-hole will also be very useful when full of water to drown either the children of the settlers or poor benighted travelleis. Though perhaps it is ultimately intended for an ornamental duck pond ! At the meeting of the Waste Lands Board on Wpdnesda}', Ewen Dnnean, lessee of Run No. 5, Wakatip, made application to have his license cancelled, as he found, it impossible to carry it on except at a loss. The application was granted. This is the highest of all the Wakatip runs, and the whole of the rent due has heen paid. Prom a statement made by the Chiff Commissioner it appeared that with two exceptions all the arrears of rent for the Wakatip licenses had been recovered. The two exceptions, however, made up a sum of L2IOO, and the Warden did not think that an attempt to recover tho iimoiint would be attended by any financiHl result to the Government HN opinion was based on the fact that one of tlie licensees had sought the protection of the Bankruptcy Court, while the other had been reduced' to a state of impeI euniosifcy through having become the proud i possessor of a IWakatip run. It is expected the Board willca'ncel those runs also. As Shewing the present traffic in this quarter, we may montion that it required twelve coaches drawn by forty horses to bring through the passengers from Clinton to Baldutha yesterday. Of course this was somewhat in exess of the ordinary passenger traffic, in consequence of a number of the Inveren.n>ill volunteers coming through to attend th*» review at the Forlniry today. The coaches all entered the township in close, order at half-past three o'clock, the volunteer band playing lively airs. " Our noble defenders" having refreshed themselves at the various hotels, *' fell in" at 4 o'clock, and, preceded by their band, marched to the railway terminus. Much credit is due to Mr K. Williams for having successfully coached through so many passengers?. About 140 men in all were brought through, and not a single mishap of any kind occurred. This gives some idea of| the axtaaij and efficiency of Mr Williams' plant, and we understand he was prepared to bring other forty . had it been necessary. Thursday last week will long b_e remembered in Clinton as the day on which the first railway to tho district was opened. In last issue we gave a minute description of the section theo opened for traffic. Unfortunately the weather on Thursday was unfavourable for pleasure-seek-ing, and therefore the number of passengers by the first-train through from Ihvercargill was not so large as was expected. The train left Invcrcargill at 7.30, reaching Waipahi at 11.13 and Clinton at 11.51, where the passengei's . were received with cheers, given witjh a hearty good- will by the inhabitants of Clinton. Throughout the afternoon tho " lions" of the township were fully inspected, and the several hotels* we're crowded i by good humoured holiday-makera. In the evening the event of the day was celebrated by a ball, given in Mr Allan's hall, where from „60 to 80 r danced till 3 o'clock the following morning. The , ball arrangements had been .carefully, made— . thanks to the exertions of Messrs. .Barlow and Lpw — and were carried out to the satisfaction of . .ail.-". ■ " •'= ' '"*: ■ /"" '"' ■'-'' " ./ :-:

Whooping-cough is very prevalent : in the Mokerita and Wyndham districts, an unusual feature being that several adults are suffering from ifc. We understand Mi* Bannerman will conduct divine service at Ahuriri and Owake Flat on Sabbath first ; at Ahuriri at 11 o'clock, and. at Owake at 2 o'clock. : From all quarters reports reach us of the unusually severe weather which has prevailed for the last few weeks, and from the effects of which crops of all kinds are already suffering severely. ; A cricket match is to take place tomorrow at Kaitangata between the Clutha and Kaitangata Olubs. The Clutha team is to \>e composed of the following players ; — Barr, Campbell, C. Hawson, Turnbull, Keasley, Loudon, Mackenzie, Moore, Smith, Todd, aud Winton. The team leaves Balcltttha at half-past twelve. Howeyer prosperous business may be, it is scarcely to be expected but' that some one will be heard to complain of " dull times." Our local medico positively declares he never experienced such stagnation in business during the whole course of bis professional career. He has not had a single " case " or call for a week. We are sure the public will sympathise with him in his adversity. An accident occuiTed at Gore on Tuesday by which a valuable horse was drowned. It appears that on the approach o f the train from Clinton about 5 o'clock a team of horses yoked to a dray belonging to Mr Edge, of '.Vaikaka, took fright and bolted into the river, which was rather high for crossing. When at the deepest part of the river the dray overturned, and the shaft horse was drowned. His value was about L4O. In another column will be found a list of some of the subscriptions collected in Balclutha and surrounding districts towards the Indian Famine Relief Fund. It is to be hop^d no no one will take the trouble of adding up those collected in Balclutha alone, as the result would scarcely be creditable to the township. The canvass, however, has not been quite complctPd, and it is to be hoped the amount will yet be considerably increased. Mr Turiibull, Treasurer to the Committee, yesterday forwarded the sum of £8? 18s to the general Treasurer in Dunedin. A meeting of the Show Committee of the Clufclw. Agricultural svnfl Fastonil Association was held here on Wednesday evening. Messrs •Tames l'etrie (Vice-President), Dunne, Mason, Cossens, M'Neil, and the Secretary were present. Tt was moved by Mr Dunne, and seconded by Mr Cossens, that the show beheld in Mr A. M'Niel's paddock. Mr Tosh moved as an amendment that it be held in Mrs Barr's paidock ; seconded by Mr John M'JTeil. The motion was carried. The Secretary was instructed to advertise the booths for sale, and carry out all necessary arrangements in connection with the show. We have to call attention to the Picnic* of the Friendly Societies, to be held in Mr Watt's bush, Inch Clutha, on Friday next week. We believe this will be the largest gathering of the kind ever seen in the CluMia, and wo understand it is likely to be an annual meeting at the Island. In consequence of scarlet fever having of late been prevalfint at Lawrence, whence a number of the brethren come, the attendance thU year will not be so large as it oth9rwise would have boon. But for the fevor, a holiday would no doubt hnve been given the children attending the Balclutha and Inch Clutha schools, so that they might attend. From the precautions that will be taken by the Lawrence Committee, we do not think there is the slightest fear of infection, but if any here feel nervous or alarmed upon the subject, they should certainly remain at homo, for they may rest assured they are in the best possible condition for " catching" the contagion. The members of the local Societies will observe that they meet at the Athenaeum buildings at half -past 9 o'clock, from whence they will march in procession to the railway terminus. " Inch Clutha " writes a long letter upon the subject of scarlatina and the picnic. We can only give the following extracts i— It is a pity some people have not got something else to do than to *c constantly endeavouring to get up an excitement and opposition to whateve; the pxiblic may determine upon. In their case it seems that unless they either themselves suggest a certain course or are taken into confidence, and are allowed to have everything according to their ideas anrl for their own interest, they immedi* \ ately attempt to stir up an opposition, and go I about about making a row like a hen when she has laid an egg. They only go an>ongst a certain class of people, nervous females and weak-minded men, and unfortunately they too often succeed in getting up a little hysterics. Their present cry is that all our children are to be infected and probably die from fever, because a number of Lawrence people have arranged to have a picnic in a bu"»b here on the loth. Are they not aware that the same fever has been in this district for mouths past, and that from twenty to thirty casfs have occurred in the, Kaitangata and Inch Clutha districts? Has it not also been in Bdclutlri for sove>*al month 1 ?, and no excitement has been occasioned ; in fact nothing h.is been sud about it? This does not suit tho temperament of some people ; they live in excitement, and would like an "alarm" article weekly. Let them agitate until they get up an excitement, a panic, and then they shall have fever to their heart's ontent. I quite agree with the spirit of the paragraph in your last issue, that all anxiety, excitement, or nlarm should be avoided, and as there is little else for any fever to live upon in the Clutha district, it will soon run its course It seems to me a monstrous absurdity, under the circumstances, to attempt to nise a feeling against the Lawrence people holding a picnic in a bush upon Inch Clutha. Why are they allowed to go to Dunedin, to Tokomairiro, or to travel in railway carriages, to enter shops or places of business in any town but Lawrence ? Should not the goldfields city be walled in, and the inhabitants prevented from stirring abroad or holding j 'any intercourse with the outside world until tho i disease ha-» left them ? I am told that some parties, in Balclutha have been agitating to have the picnic not only postponed, but ultimately to be held in that township instead of upon the Islaud. They have such a regard for us that they i».re afraid we catch the fever ! They would not object to the picnic if once the railway were opened to Balclutha. The motive 'for all this is veiy apnarentj and equally contemptible. The people of Lawrence were surely entitled to select what place s they thought ! . best for their phnic, and in ohoosiog the Island I think their selection has been a, very, happy one, ,1 am sure the public 'here will give .them a.most hearty reception, and wish them many returns of the trip, ., ■■. : ;

Our Wyndhum .correspondent informs us that the Road Boarrl has commenced befcimeß this year with the formation and repair of the district roads. This was urgently needed, as during the past winter they became absolutely impassable. Like many of the Government buildings .throughout Otago, tho Police buildings at Mntaura Bridge are little better than ruins. Now that a new Government ia in power, the inhabitants should lose no time i» making application to have new buildings erected. The new building for the Bank of New Zealand, Wyndham, is fast approaching completion, and promises to be an ornament to the town. On the principle, wo suppose, ftf f.he advisability of competition, a petition has been forwarded to the Colonial Bank praying for the establishment of a branch in the district. Captain M'Kinnon has succeeded in clearing th© river for navigation upwards as far as Totara T aland, and has now gone down to Inverfcifil, where some very large anags have been taken out within the past few days. The river has been high during the past week, but is again falling, and it is expected the numerous obstructions at Bowler's will be removed before the river rises for the season. A commencement has now been made with the erection «f the railway station buildings at Balclutha. A considerable quantity of timber is now on the ground, and the piles for the passenger station have been placed. The makiug-up of the ground at the station is approaching completion. Apparently a considerable portion had been raised upwards of a foot too high, and for a week past the workmen have been engaged reducing it and spreading the material over a greater surface. This of course will very much lessen the quantity of stuff it; was at one time thought would be required for the whole. The viaduct in the lower reserve was completed yesterday and the pile-driving for that at Glasgowstreet'will be commenced at once. "With every-' thing favourable, it is expected the viaduct maybe finished in about a month or six weeks. The laying of the sleepers has been commenced upon the bridge, and were the viaduct referred to completed, the laying of the raila should not take more than ft few weeks. Another work requires.! to be done before the trains can be brought info' Balcluthn, via., the lowering of the line for a few elmins at the eastern approach to the bridge— the present terminus, This is rook cutting, but should not take long to accomplish. J/'roru all that has yet to be done, there is not the slightest probability of the line being opened to Balclufcha before the new year, while many affirm that the contract cannot be completed before some months of the new year shall have come and gone.