Untitled

Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 203, 31 May 1878, Page 5

The English mail via Suez will close at the office here ab 5 p.m. on Sunday first. Henry Clark, Esq., of Tokomairiro, has been gazetted a Justice of the Peace for the Colony, Sir George Grey and the hon. J. Sheehan arrived at Wellington on Wednesday afternoon. It is rumoured that hot springs have been discovered at the foot of the Peninsula hills, Canterbury. The anniversary soiree of the Inch Clutha church ia to be held on the evening of Tuesday, June 11. Mr Macdonald, second master Edinburgh High School, has been appointed Rector of the Dunedin High School. We understand that the Warepa entertainment, which was postponed in consequence of the stormy weather, will come off on the l_th June. The Crown Hotel here has once more changed hands. The purchaser this time is Mr Alexander Mollison, of Blues and Co., store- ! keepers here. In a recent issue we mentioned that Mr George Townsend was about to erect au hotel at the railway station here. Mr "Wm. Watts, contractor, Stirling, is the successful tenderer for the building, which is to be-com-pleted by the beginning of July. The hotel will be a very neat one story building, with a frontage to Douglas-street of 55 feet, and to Scotland Street 50 feet. It will contain in all thirteen rooms ; the ceilings to he 13ft. high. The cost of the building when completed wiU, i we understand, be about £1000.

Mr J. C. Brown, M.H.R., ia to be banqueted at Waitahuna on Thursday, June 13. The hon. Messrs Sheehan ancl Stout will be present.

The Governor, the hon. J. Sheehan, and staff, were to leave Wellington for Lyttelton yesterday afternoon. The Governor will slay at Christchurch ten days.

We understand Mr James M'Neur, Inch Clutha, has been appointed to neb as Returning Officer and to do all things necessary to establish a Board of Conservators for the Inch Clutha river district.

We notice that Mr A. Houlston, the new landlord of the Stirling Hotel, Stirling, is adding a billiard-room to his premises. Tnis proves that he is determined to keep pace with the advance of the township.

We are requested to call the attention of the Engineer in charge of the main south road to a culvert which has been chocked up for some time on the Otaria hill. The consequence of the stoppage ia that the water is now running over the road, and if ifc is not speedily remedied it will soon become quite impassible.

, Although our Acclimatisation Society has not thought it advisable to introduce house sparrows, it appears these pests are introducing themselves to the settlers in Otago. The Canterbury Society introduced them some years ago, and a recent traveller in the district informs U3 that between Palmerston and Blueskin they are exceedingly numerous. It seems they are rapidly spreading south, as one was seen at Wangaloa the other day.

We are informed that three license holders iv tho Tokomairiro district last year sold one hundred pheasants each. They wont repeat the feat this year for the very good reason that a license will not he issued to them. Nu doubt this wholesale slaughter of cocks accounts for the large number of pheasant nests containing rotten eggs to be found throughout tho district. In some cases ono or two eggs seem to have hatched while the great proportion are rotten. It ia to be hoped tho same thing will not he repeated this season.

Some of those more or leas mysterious cases of presentiment still continue to crop up, although this instinct seems to be getting duller as science progresses, A case of this nature, that will no doubt have a local interest from its connection with old residents, occurred in Balclutha on Sunday last. That evening our local medical had occasion to go to Inch Clutha, and had not been away an unusual fcimo when his well-known henchman, " Doctor William," was seized with an intuitive feeling of something having gone wrong. This ho endeavoured to combat for awhile, but without effe.t. He at last became so uneasy that he determined to start in search of his absent chief, and having Baddled a horse was making his way down tlie -treet, when, to his relief, he encountered his returning laird, who was making his homeward progress with considerable difficulty, his horse having fallen and rolled over him, crushing him pretty severely, but breaking no bones. Spiritualists will no doubt make a note of this, and scientists may possibly furnish an explanation. — Communicated.

We have before now had occasion to call attention to a dangerous practice that prevails of leaving by the road sides portions of loading calculated to frighten horses. Through this cause a dangerous accident occurred on the main road near to the top of the hill above Farn Hill on Monday morning. Somo individual had left a few bags of grain or other material covered over with a white cloth, close to the road side. A lady and gentleman came along the road in any express, and neither the horse nor the occupants of the trap noticed the bags till close upon them. The horse suddenly shied, capsizing the exprebs and the lady and gentleman into the ditch, and then bolted down tho hill taking the trap with it. On reaching Mr Tosh's steading it turned into the yard where it was secured. Isoth shafts of the machine were broken and other damage sustained. The lady and gentleman escaped comparatively unhurt. We do not know who had laid down the hags hy the road side, but we understand they will be presented with a bill for the damage. Should this result in legal proceedings it nii>.y probably have the effect of putting a stop to tho dangerous and heartless practice referred to.

The most noticeable instance of the perversion of plain English language that has come under our notice for some time occurs in the name of a railway station botween Waihola and Henley on the Balclutha and Dunedin line. The name given to tho station referred to is Titri. Upon making enquiry as to the meaning or origin of the name, we found that in an adjoining gully there at one time grew some manuka scrub, to which the early settlers had recourse in the case of their congou or pekoe running short. The scrub and subsequently the locality thus got the name of Tea Tree. The individual whose duty it was to find a name for the new station had heard the name Tea Tree pronounced, but had never seen it in writing or print, and presuming it to be a Maori name he spelt it Titri. Passengers by any train will notice that the guards still further augment the perversion by calling out the name Tytra 1 For tho benefit of the future historian who may be critical in such matters, we now record the fact that the origin of Tytra ia simply manuka scrub. A few years hence it might necessitate some research to discover this important fact.

We have had numerous complaints of jate regarding the night train from Dunedin. It appears passenger carriages are only brought the length of Milton, so that all travellers for the Clutha have to do the remaining part of their journey in the guards van. The reason of this we believe is that but very few passengers travel to Balclutha by the night train, and, with such cold weather as we. at present experience, most people would, if possible, avoid travelling over night by a goods train which did not arrive at its destination till between 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning. Another reason is that at the present time a very large amount of grain, coals, etc., has to be hauled per railway from the Clutha, and the power of tho engine of the goods train is so severely taxed by this traffic alone that it is undesirable to take carriages further than they are urgently required. The public will see the reasonableness of this, and may perhaps feel inclined to excuse a little discomfort for a short time during the pressure from the grain traffic. At the same time, perhaps the Manager might authorise the guard to bring on a cai-riage from Milton on occasions when there are passengers by the night train to Balclutha. This would remedy matters during the present emergency, and until per* ; manent arrangements are made.

We regret to learn Mr James S. Anderson, of Otaria, has lost several stacks of oats by fire. No suspicion of incindiarism is entertained, it being traceable to spontaneous combustion. We understand thoy were partly covered by insurance.

A few weeks ago we announced the gift, by a lato resident in the neighbourhood, of a bell tor the English church, Clinton. This, ifc appear?, was rather premature, bufc may have had a slight influence on subsequent eveuts ; for wo have now to record the present of a very fine hell with fittings complete, by an anonymous donor.

It is averred that an hour before leaving home to be married, Lord Rosebery received from his bride a small packet and an envolope. The former consisted of a gold box, and the latter contained the key. When, opened, the box was found to contain a cheque signed, for the last time, "Hannah de Rothschild," the amount for which ifc was drawn being £300,000,

We notice that Mr W. W. Holmes, of Caversham, will deliver two lectures in Barr's hall on the evenings of Monday and Tuesday first upon two very interesting subjects : " The Kingdom of God relative to human affairs political" —2nd, "Peace or "War." His -worship tbe Mayor will preside on both occasions. As tbe admittance is free it is to be hoped there will be a large attendance.

Two large buildings are at present heing erected in Balclutlia by contractors from Mo.«gi?l and Milton. These confcractois havo brought tlieir own men from the towns named to cany out the works. This'no doubt has considerably relieved the pressure upon our local builders, but it appears that even yet a sufficient number of men cannot be had 'to meet local rcquireinools, and one builder has recourse to our advertising columns with a view to securing a few more carpenters. We do not know of an unemployed workman of any kind in the township, • and if more are to be introduced new dwelling-houses will have to be provided, as thero has not been an empty one here for many a day. The hotels are crowded, and we know of private parties who have been induced to give up part of their houses to accommodate others who could not find a place ot shelter for themselves and their families. "No doubt the supply and demand in this respect will gradually get equalised, but in the meantime it is quite apparent that the great progress now being made both in the township and neighbourhood indicates the necessity for a considerable influx, of population to the district.