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Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 268, 29 December 1874, Page 5

The Christmas washing-np of the Cromwell Company was brought into town on Saturday last. The cake weighed 318 ounces, a magnificent result considering the short time of crushing. The amount of stone put through, ■we are informed, was about 200 tons. We hear that a man named George Owens was burnt to death at Brybread on Sunday night, while sleeping in his hut. The first thing known of the occurrence was the finding of the hnt in ashes in the morning. The Star of the East washed np last week, with a result of 277 oss. 16 dwts., from 200 tons of stone. There will now be a little dead work to do, and it will be the middle of January before the mill will start again. The reef just now is running very irregularly in some places it makes a good width, while in others it pinches up to a few inches ; but the stone where thin is very good. The contractors for the tunnel are pushing it ahead as fast as possible, but the rock just now is pretty hard with them.

The Mount Ida Chronicle aaya “a correspondent from Maerewhenua informs us that the squatters are jubilant about the dirty water case, and are open to bet any amount that the case goes against the diggers. If so, good-bye to sluicing ui Otago.” We heme received No. 1 of a series of song •books*-—“ The Now Zealand Songster, by name,—to be published by Mr Joseph Braithwaits, bookseller, of Dunedin. It is a neatly, printed little book, and contains a very fair selection of popular songs, including some of the renowned Thatcher’s compositions. The price is sixpence only. We understand that it is the intention of the Cromwell Kilwinning Lodge of Freemasons to hold an invitation ball on the 20th proximo. The sale of Mr Wright’s stock began "yesterday, and it is to be continued to-day and to-morrow. For the race evenings, we need hardly remind our readers that the great attraction will be Mr St. Vincent’s entertainment, which is well spoken of by down-country papers. The Mount Ida Chronicle says it is one of the most pleasing performances ever given in the country districts. The last day for receiving tenders for the purchase of the Corporation debentures is Friday, January 8, The case of Malaghan c. Wenkheim, £IOOO damages for slander, is set down for hearing at next sitting of Supreme Court, viz., -15 th January, 1875. Mr J. Holliday was the successful tenderer for the Heart of Oak tunnel, at a price of £1 14a. fid. per foot. Judging from the perseverance with which he stuck to the contract for driving the United tunnel, there is every probability of his completing his present contract to the satisfaction of the company, A billiard match was played at the Empire Hotel last evening between Mr W. Weston, champion player of Australia and New Zealand, aad another professional wielder of the cue. The latter received 550 points out of 1000, but after an hours play the game was called—Weston 502 to 087, the former playing in good form and rapidly overhauling his adversary. The game at the successive hundreds stood as follows :—Weston 601-693; 800-751; 901—759; 1000—784. Mr Weston therefore won the match by 216 points, scoring 1000 to his opponent’s 234, and the time occupied was a minute under two hours aad a half. The winner made several breaks of over forty points, the highest being one of fifty-seven.— Evening Star , 24th insfc. The following item of business was transacted at ,the last meeting of the Waste Land Board ;— '* Mr George M‘Lachlan applied for extension of time, and protection to prospect for coal near Bendigo, on Messrs James Cogle and Co.’s run. Extension granted for three months.” His Honor the Superintendent was to publicly open the Turkish Baths in Dunedin yesterday. The Garrick Race Company have brought their water nearly to the end of the race, and the manager reports that a week’s work for five men will bring it on to the saddle. The water has lieen ran up to within a mile of the end for some days. There have been a few small breaks, but nothing of any consequence. The great difficulty at first will be to prevent loss by soakage, as water travelling such a distance over loose, broken ground unavoidably loses a large quantity. This of course will gradually remedy itself, by the bottom getting silted up ; but in the meanwhile, it has to be remedied as well as possible by padding the worst of the places, and sodding it altogether when too open. Messrs Williams and Edwards’ machine will be completed in about a fortnight, before which time the manager expects to get the water to them to allow them to commence crushing. The Acclimatisation Society has received further satisfactory evidense of the successful naturalisation of the salmon trout in New Zealand waters, a fine specimen of that fish having been captured the other morning in the Lower Harbour by Morrisey, one of the Port fishermen. The fish measured two feet in length, and measured seventeen inches in girth, and weighed seven pounds. The smallest post-office in the world (says the Kew Zealand Herald) is kept in a barrel, which swings from the outhanging rock of the mountains overhanging the Strait of Magellan, opposite Terra del Fnego. Every passing ship opens it to place letters in it or take them out. Every ship undertakes to forward all letters in it that it is possible for them to transmit. It hangs there by its iron chain, beaten and battered by the winds and storms ; but no locked or barred office on land is more secure. It is not in the track of mail robbers. The Good Templars of Auckland and the Licensed Victuallers are vicing with each other in deeds of charity. The Auckland correspondent of the Guardian says:—“A novel gift was made in a novel manner on Saturday evening last. At the recent annual dinner of the Licensed Victuallers’ Association it was proposed to make a gift of a cow to the Industrial Home. This generous spirit worked up by wine was, however, allowed to die out, and in the meanwhile their natural enemies, the Good Templars, took the matter in hand, procured two cows, christened them Faith and Hope, decked them with garlands, and processioned them to the Home, where the Worthy Grand Master, in a speech appropriate to the occasion, made the presentation. It has been suggested that the Licensed Victuallers shall supply an important omission. The Templars have only represented two of the virtues, Faith and Hope ; the publicans are now asked to supply the third one, that of ‘ Charity.’ This was a queer omission on the part of Good Templars."—A telegram in the Evening Star has the following in reference to the same matter;—“ The licensed victuallers were stimulated to make a subscription of £32 towards the Auckland charities by the Good Templars making a gift of two- cows to the Neglected Children’s Pome, challenging the victuallers to do likewise.”

The Clyde Corporation advertise for tenders for the erection of a wire suspension bridge over the Molyneux at Clyde. Tenders are to be received until January 25,

The wool clip this year is universally pported to bo turning out well. The Walealip Mail says that throughout that district it has been much larger than was expected. The Upper Taieri cot respondent of the Waikouaiti Herald also says “It is gratifying to report that the present clip of wool is turning out much better than its predecessor. From all parts of the district we learn that it is far superior iu staple and weight to last year’s. Taking into consideration the fact of experiencing a very stormy spring, and other minor matters relative to the subject, the flockownera may be congratulated upon securing such a splendid clip in the face of the many drawbacks in the early part of th ; season.” A facetious writer iu the Christchurch Press , in one of his contributions, says:— “ There’s a kind-hearted old gentleman lives—well I forget where—but not in Christchurch anyhow. He lends money. He can’t help it, he says. He likes it. He makes a rule never to ask more than forty per cent., and that only to personal friends. He makes money out of his business as a rule. He has a loss now and then. I’m going to tell you of one of them. He was sitting in his office when an old dried-up man about seventy-five years of age came in and said he had just got £SOO left him, and, being a childless orphan, he said he didn’t expect he could last much longer, and had lost interest in things generally. The lender of money said he thought he might give him a hundred a year for his £SOO, and they closed the bargain. Now most people would have played fair, and died after a year’s comfort, but this dear old cripple did otherwise. It is now fifteen years since he bought his annuity, and he still lives. Year after year does this meek, childless old man walk into the office of the money-lender and draw his cheque, and then that money-lender prances round the room, and blesses the man who invented annuities, and throws ledgers about, and makes it lively for his clerk, and the meek and lonely old orphan goes a-Way down street, and feels every year mote and more that he has not lived in vain.”