Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, November 3, 1874.

Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 266, 3 November 1874, Page 5

Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, November 3, 1874.

The Sweep on the Melbourne Cup, to be drawn at Starkey's hotel, closes this evening. A telegraph station was opened to-day at Blacks, —or Ophir, as the township is called. There are 109 telegraph offices in New Zealand altogether. Of this number Otago alone possesses 30. Last week, the Elizabeth Company sent in a cake of something iike 70 ounces. The amount crushed was 80 tons. In consequence of the holiday on "Wednesday first, the meeting of the Miners' Association at the Bannockburn stands further adjourned to that night week. To-morrow evening, the Oddfellows' Ball is to Vie a fitting wind-up to the day's holiday. This Ball promises to be an exceedingly brilliant and successful affair. Mr Varcoe, the newly-appointed working manager of the Carrick Race, has arrived in Cromwell, and will at once step into his new position. Work will begin on the race next week. A Brisbane telegram of a late date says: —" Advices from the Palmer goldfields report that the miners are starved out, and are leaving in hundreds. A famine is feared next winter unless the Government open regular communication with the diggings." The Jockey Club held a mpeting on Friday evening last. The programme was submitted and approved of. Mr MacKellar was chosen as a member of Committee in the room of Mr James Cowan. The matter of rules for the Club was taken into consideration, and the rules of the Dunedin Jockey Club adopted, with trifling alterations. We are glad to hear that the reef in the Starof the East has been found to widen out considerably within the last few feet driven. For sometime, they have been driving on a thickness of only some six inches, but within the last day or two a great improvement has taken place, and the width now averages from twelve to twenty inches. The machine is at present stopped, while new cams are being fitted, but work will commence again in about a week, when the Company expect to turn out some very good cakes. Smith's Combination Troupe are advertised to appear on Tuesrlay and Wednesday evenings, the 10th and 11th instant. This troupe has been performing in Invercargill, and there the houses at every performance have been crowded. Val Vose, the renowned ventriloquist, is a member of the troupe, and he is a prime favourite wherever he appears. The performances of Airec on the trapeze are described as something wonderful, and the singers are also far above the average. In Dunedin, the troupe had a great run.

Tho Melbourne Cup 'is to be run on Thursday first, the sth instaut. Attention is directed to the fact that the place of the sitting of the Licensing Court for the Car Irona district has been altered from Cardrona to Peinbrc ke. Judge Chapman has given an important decision in re Messrs G. M. Bell and Wentworth, who, in June, lodged applications with the Southland Land Board for land at 20s , the day before the proclamation raising the price to £3 was gazetted. He holds the applicants are entitled to the land. If the decision is upheld, it means a loss of £20,000 to the Province. Dyer, the murderer of Klizabeth Battersea, was executed at Auckland on Friday morning. He died without a struggle. Before the execution he made a statement that, on July 9th, when excited by drink, but not intoxicated, he poured kerosene over the woman Battersea, with the intention of frightening her into confessing certain matters. He had no thought of causing her death. To screen him she did say that the kerosene was accidentally spilt. On Monday, the 26th instant, the Dunedin Supreme Court was the scene of excitement. Mr Dodson, advised by Messrs Macassey and Stewart, sued the Superintendent for £IOOO damages for ejectment from the Port Chalmers refreshment rooms some time hack. In spite of the eiforts of Messrs Smith, Haggitt, and Stout, all engaged for the defence—almost justifying Mr Macassey's remark, that such an array of legal talent showed a bad case—the jury found for the plaintiff £2OO. The post-office authorities, we are informed, have decided to accept the lowest tender for the mail service between this town and Clyde We understand that the tender of Mr M'Nulty ha,s been accepted for £52. What service we are to expect for this ridiculously small sum we do not know. The smaller the contract the smaller the amount of bond we suppose that will be required. The smallness of the tender should, in our opinion, cause the Post-office authorities to look at it with greater caution. It is only right that substantial guarantees should be demanded that the mail service shall be properly carried out. We remember a mail service being performed in a most indifferent manner by Mr John M'Dougall, and with which mail service one M'Nulty was in some way connected. We should be sorry to see a repetition of the service like the one alluded to. On behalf of public interests, we must ask the department to exercise proper foresight in this matter. We have no desire to prejudge the contract, or to dictate to the office, but merely point out that which prudence suggests.— Wakatip Mail. Mr Ef. J. Cope lost all chance of contesting the Wakatip election through a strange mischance. In Queenstown, on the day of nomination for the seat, there was also a nomination for a municipal election, and Mr Cope made his way at noon to the Town-hall, the scene of the latter nomination proceedings, instead of to the Courthouse, the scene of the former. Mr Henry Manders, the only other member, was therefore declared duly elected. Mr Cope, at a meeting in the Arrow, attempted the task of satisfying the electors there, who, having put him forward, were annoyed somewhat. The Arrow Observer says, iu relation to this meeting:—"The scene was amusing as the apology was pitiful, and we did not envy the apparently disappointed candidate, nor the manner in which he attempted to find consolation in a mishap of a similar nature which befel Mr Manders when he was 'lost in the snow.' The audience present felt that the action of Mr Cope was, under any circumstances, a breach of his supporters' confidence, the more especially as he had been in Queenstown in plenty of time for nomination, and treated his utterances accordingly. 11 is scarcely probable the issue of election would have been different than it is, but M r Cope having accepted the request of a number of electors, should have made it his duty not to be ' one minute too late.' "