Untitled

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 123, 19 March 1872, Page 5

The principal item of mining news this i week is the result of the- Heart of Oak crushing, which was finished An Wednesday last. The quantity of stone reduced was ton?, and the weight of retorted gold obtained was "2.)1 ozs 15 dwts. This gives a dividend of £13.5 par ! sixth share for the month.—Mr W. Menzies has superseded Mr Ueidas manager of theStar-and-Oak battery.—The crushing of fifty tons for the Elizabeth Company at the Standard machine will 'be finished to-night. Tho Elizabeth battery is again undergoing repairs, but will probably recommence work next week.—lt is expected that the machinery for the Nil Desperandum and : Ivobert Burns Companies will be at work about the beginning of June.—The Royal Standard battery, after finishing for the Elizabeth, will i cease work for a day or two, so as to allow of the four additional stamps being fitted up.—The ! Vale of Avoca is waiting its turn for a small i test crushing at the last mentioned battery. A tea-meeting anil bull, to inaugurate the opening of the new School-house, will take I place at Bannockburn next Tuesday evening. I The committee to whom was entruste 1 the rethe arrangements in connection with the building of the school-house, have 1 worked harmoniously and energetically, and .' must be congratulated on the success which has thus far attended their praiseworthy exertions. ' The tea-meeting, having been taken in hand by : a number of ladies resident in the neighbourI hood, cannot fail to be an unqualified success. Tho appointment of Mr George Burrows as postmaster at Kawarau Gorge (from Ist [January, 187-) is notified in the New Zealand , Gazette of 7th current. The closing of the postoffice at Rocky Point, (vTakefield Ferry,) is also ■llici.ill-: sria"''7n--"-:l.

The monthly meeting of tho Town Coaucil was held oil Tneaday ev 12th insfc., and was attended by the May >r, andCrs. Drown and Shanly. No business of importance was transacte I beyond the passing of some accounts' for work done in connection with the town ditch, j The Town Clerk was instructed to inform Mr I John Wrighj that his services would not be required after the date of thj tnaj'.iag. A grand demonstration in honour of Mr j W. J. Barry, who is about to leave Cromwell for a time in order to take possession of sen;;! valuable property in Bathurst, N.S. W, took place yesterday at the Welcome Home Hotel, Lowborn. An entire carcase of beef was roasted j for the occasion, and, together with other and choice viands, was partaken of by a large assemblage of visitors, who wore also treated to champagne ad libitum at Mr Barry's expense. .A number of athletic sports were got up, and were ! well contested. Itir J. (J. Chappie, who hap- i pened to be present, organised a handicap hack ' race, distance three-quarters of a mile, which was won easily by Mr Taggari's Pretence (9st. 101b.), beating Native (9st. 41b.) and Jackal (Sst. 7ib.) The gathering, we understand, was on j the whole very successful. •Mr Jenour has written us a letter (inserted in another column) in which he asserts that we have published a " very untrue report" of his case with the Corporation. He also: j accuses us of "persisting in trying to make out j a favorable case for the Corporation." Upon re- : | ferring to the books of the Court, we find that on | a previous occasion—alluded to by Mr Jenour—j the Corporation were nonsuited, instead of a verI diet being given in their favor ; but in our report ! we only gave it as a statement of counsel, not as a matter proved in evidence ; and what we icI ported certainly was in accordance with our impression of what Mr Jenour's counsel did say. The remainder of the report we believe to be | correct, and therefore decline to publish another j as suggested, by Mr Jcnour. We did not intend 1 to say anything more about the case, but as Mr i Jenour seems to court our we will observe that, admitting the Corporation were non- ! suited on tin occasion he alludes to, it appears ] perfectly plain that it could only have been upon some technical ground ; for when the matter is referred to arbitration, the arbitrators find Mr •Jenour indebted to the Corporation in a greater sum than was originally claims I against him, and order him to pay the cost of arbitration i which also shows they do not consider he has heI haved rightly in the matter. When the case came dually into Court, the only defence sought t>> I be set up by Mr Jenour was, that cert tin doeu[ments were not properly stamped, and that he ! was sued oil the award sooner th in he ought to I have been. Mot one p.trtic'o of evidence was i given to show that the full sum claimed was not | due to the Corporation. By proclamation dated 20th February, the meeting of the Colonial Parliament b..s | been further postponed till 23th April. The self-imposed task of the Nil De.sI perandum and Robert Burns Companies in cutting a roa I up the Pipeclay Spur is linished. 1 1 was absolutely necessary to be dune ere coals or | machinery e ml I be bro'i ;ht on the ground he'd by those compline*. I\:e cost may in round numbers be stated at £i» >l>. The gra bouts are I easier than on the old road, and only one steep I pinch remains that requires improvement: this : can easily be done at so ue future .late. A considerable amount bt rock ha I to be blasted in I cutting the roa i—thus increasing the length of time necessary for its completion. The road is now open for the public, free of cost, thanks to the energy of the miners. We shall wait with some interest and impatience to see what pressure our local Representative can bring on the JKoid Government to recoup this outlay of the shareholders, raid will note how his promise will be kept to get a grant put on the Estimates for the road at present in use and cat by the Royal I Standard Company, inless we can get nissaidc roads made, we have no use for a Provincial Government at all ; and unless our Beprcsenfu-. tive can obtain our just due as contributors to revenue, we fail to see the benefit resulting from 1 our representation. These roa is ought to be p lid for : it is enough for local people to ft'lnnm the ; money f >r so doing ; aud unless such is the ease we a fo co isciotu that gruos blaou li-i-.-" attach somewhere. The Oamavu line's, took place on the 112 th and 13th inst. Results :—Maiden Plate: 'Stella, 1 ; Blackbird, 2. -Jockey (Hub Handicap : ' liergandv, 1 ; Nelly Cray, 2. Publican's Puroc : SaladinJ ; Patch, 2. Handicap Hurdle : Maid 'of the Mill- 1; Patch, '-'. Free Handicap : j Burgundy, 1 ; Saladin, 2. Hack Hurdle : ; Paters, m's Alarm, i. Consolation: Poretop, i ; Movice, 2. i The return of Mr llallcnstein by suck a i large majority over his active opponent, Mr [Macassey, for the representation of the Lakes district in the General Assembly, may be regarded as a sign id' ttie healthy state of public I opinion in that part of the Province on the question of Education, for we have no doubt that on ! the views of the respective candidates on this matter very largely depended the result of the ■ election. Backed, as the defeated caudi lale was by the intluenee of a party holding views identical with his own, aud who cxerte I themselves I greatly on his behalf, and possessed of more than ordinary ability, as Mr Macasscy uud,>ubt|edlyis, Mr ilalienstein may cmgratulate himself all tlio more on his brilliant victory, and at the healthy state oi public opinion evinced by it. While not wishing to say one word in disparagement of Mr Macassey's lituess for the seat to which he aspired, wo are very decidedly of '(minion that the better man of the two has | been returned, aud congratulate the Lake dis- [ trict electors on their choice. The great advantages of the r.-r.v exploj sive compound, giant powder or dynamite, over ordinary blasting powder, are becoming widely known on the goldliolds of the colonies. In or.r seventh page, will be found an interesting description of some experiments recently made in ! Melbourne with the view of testing the strength of dynamite as compared with common powder. i Were some of our local merchants to import a small quantity of giant powder as an s - -:p :rir.ient, I we are confident tlmy would rind ljunv.-pui* pur-

. Jhe Provinci il (Jovornuieiit, recognising tin j, l.isabihty »f fostering an.l promo.iig la i-.uiuing, have i- in viesv to erect a small baitery for tiial orushings on the reclaim? I portion of tiie Dunediu harbour. V/e are informed fcli it an acrs sluiciagcliim on the eist bank of the Kawarau, a short distance above (Jruniwell, together wich a si.dh share in the Westmoreland Company's race, recently changed hands for JL'.'M). Extraordinary sounds issuing from the interior of Her Majesty s Oaol, Duuelin, about midday on Tuesday last arrested the footsteps ui passers-by, and caused no little speculation as to their origin amongst the uniiiiiiale 1. Evidently produced by human beings, they fell upon the ear in a'! the various degrees of eresando and diminuendo which musical critics could describe. Now pouring torch in a deep volume of sound, as of many vojcjS, anon dying away to a subdued breathing a 1 most, and then I being diversified by the introduction of a shrill falsetto shriek, evide.udy emanating from some in livi iual in a hie]] .state of excitement at something or another, speculation was rife as to the meaning of this extraordinary display of musical . taient. On enquiry (writes a correspondent) i ascertained that the accomplished vocalists were the .Maori prisoners who hr<vo been the guests of Mr Caldwell for the past two years. They had received intimation from the Defence Minisi tor (the lion. I). M'Lean) that they v/ere to rei ceive their liberty, and they held a tangi (the musical melange we have just spoken of) upon being inf nine i of the fact, and in order to testily their joy at meeting with some of their old .North Island .Mam friends who have accompanied Mr M'Lean in his visit to the South. I'hcy have since been walking about the ■city evidently highly gratified at hiving regained their liberty, and seem highly delighted with our Southern city.