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Dunstan Times, Issue 217, 22 June 1866, Page 2

We hear that steps are being taken to form a Forester's Lodge at Clyde. A considerable number of the members of that Order are resident in the district, which number will doubtless be very much increased immediately that the intended The Alexandra Local Committee for the Dunstan District Hospital are setting about business earnestly. They have already held two meetings, officers have been appointed, and the district will be canvassed for subscriptions immediately. The ball to come off on Friday next at , the Royal Mail Hotel, Alexandra, in aid of the School funds, promises to be a great success. Immense exertions are bein>* made by the Committee and inhabitants generally to ensure a satisfactory result. Mining matters at Alexandra are exceedingly prosperous. Drummy and party have just washed up, the result being rather over six hundred ounces. The Alexandra Mining Company, at Butcher's Point, will have their new water-wheel and pumping machinery ready for fixing j on Monday next. Butler's party, at the same place, will have their gear fixed about the same time. This long-neglected locality will then once more become a busy scene of labor, and should anything like the anticipations of its productiveness be realised the energetic speculators who have opened the ground will be handsomely repaid. The Clyde coal-pit, thanks to the iudominatible perseverance of Messrs Holt and Dakin, is once more in working order. A very fine seam of excellent coal has been struck, and within the next three or four days the township will be abundantly supplied with fuel at a cheap rate. The new pumping machinery works most admirably, and every precaution has been taken to prevent anything occurring to interfere with the successful working of the mine. A telegram in the " West Coast Times" states that, on the night of Saturday last, the office of the Bank of New South Wales at Nelson wa3 entered by burglars. Ingress was effected by lifting one of the window sashes. The thieves had, however, a fruitless job, for they found nothing they could carry away. A Court for the revision of the list of voters for the districts of Manuherikia and Goldflelds' Towns, will be held at the Court House Clyde, before Mr A. W Smith, on "Wednesday, the 27th inst., and for the district of Hampden, at the CourtHouse, Arrowtown, on Saturday, the 30th i list., before the same gentleman. s

1h) fine water-rate of the Perseverance Company at Drybread, wa3 christened on Monday last. The event was made a grand gala day. Mrs J v Clare christened the race by making the usual sacrificeto the water gods. Mr J. Connelly, the manager, and under whose supervision the race was constructed, made a capital speech, which was loudly cheered. The whole of the works connected with the race have been admirably executed. Its completion adds another additional source from which the wealth of the district is derived, Mr Warden Stratford gave his decision on Friday last, at the Kawarau Gorge, in the case of Perriam versus Kitchingham. The case was of rather more than usual importance, and settled a very knotty point between an applicant for an agricultural area and a mining party who required the greater portion of the area applied for, as a site of a dam for storing water for sluicing purposes. The objector based his objections on two points, viz.: — That he had marked off and occupied the area as. a residence area since October, 1864. That on the 11th May, 1866, he mode a re-application under thj new leasing regulations, for the same site, and that his application was dated three days prior to the ground being applied for by Kiichingham and party. A cross-examina-tion by defendant's counsel elicited the following facts : —That the objector never received a certificate for the land from the Warden In the first place, he merely held a plan stated to have been made by the Mining-Surveyor, but such was not authenticated, and no notice for occupying the land under the new regulations had been posted. Mr Warden Stratford overruled the objection on the following grounds. That he could not recommend the laud being leased to the objector, it being so much more valuable for mining purposes. Kitchingham and party had spent £7OO in the construction of their water-race, and the site was the only one without an enormous expense, that could be de\ oted to the purposes of a dam. He would, however, allow compensation for the value of produce that might be contained in the ground, and for the three da/o' priority of right of objector. The amount of compensation to be decided by arbitrators—one to be chosen by objector the other by defendant, and one by the arbitrators ( themselves should they not agree in arriving at a decision. A weeting If gentlemen entrusted in the formation of a llifie Corps, was held on M nday evening last, at the Union Hotel. Clyde. Mr W. Hull occupied the chair. It being unanimously agreed that, as soon as sixty members—the number sufficient to constitute a corps—could be obtained, that the enrollment be proceeded with. A committee of the following gentlemen were elected to carry out the object of the meeting, viz. :—Messrs Stratford, Bate, Coate3, Hull, Austin, Smitham, Robinson, Morice, and Fitch. The names of forty persons were given in as willing to become members. It was therefore resolved that "drill" should at once commence. Contingents from Alexandra and Cromwell will no doubt swell the number of the Corps to a very respectable amount. The rumor that Mr Warden ton of Waitahuna had made tracks for lands unknown, taking with him Government monies to a considerable amount has been verified; a warrant having been issued for his apprehension. The deficiencies are supposed to amount to nearly £IOOO, although only about half that sum is all that can be traced at present. The delinquent, it appears, had obtained leave of absence to visit the North Island ; his not having returned at the expiration of his term of leave, naturally excitedj suspicion. An investigation into his affairs which resulted, soon discovered that Government monies had been mis-appropriated; the system of peculation extending over many month?. We understand the Government are determined to secure the person of the runaway at all risks, and will follow him even to England. This is another specimen of the mis-management of the Goldtields by the Provincial Authorities, whose incapacity to conduct the business of one of the most important interests of the Province has so long been proverbial, that a remedy can only be provided by the management of the Goldfields being entirely undertaken by the General Government. The town of Hokitika has been proclaimed a Municipality under the provisions of the Municipal Council Ordinance. The Municipal Council will consist of nine members presided over by a chairman, elected by themselves. We trust soon to announce that Greymouth has received a similar privilege.—' Grey River A rgus.'

Henry Wergman Robinson, Esquire, has bjen appointed officer for the revision of the Citizen's List for the Incorporated Town of Clyde, and Henry Aldborough Stratford. Esq., for the Incorporated Town of Cromwell. A ceremony of unusual interest lately took place at St. Luke's Church, White Hills, Bendigo—the baptism of a Chinese Convert named A'Ying. The sponsors were the Rev. Mr Hayward, Mr Sanders, and Mrs L'Oste, while the officiating clergyman was the Rev. Mr Stevens. A'Ying is the same man who gave the Benevolent Asylum the proceeds of the benefit of the Chinese circus, which he hired for the night for the purpose. The conversion of a man of A'Ying's importance amongst the Chinese will be likely to exercise much effect upon them, and affords an apportunity of furthering the interests of Christianity. The "Grey River Argues" say: —"We learn that so many attempts are mode by unprincipled miners to impose upon the gold-smelters that the utmost precaution needs to be taken to guard against them. It has become a practice with them to t .ke amalgam known to be exceedingly adulterated, to the smelter, and after it has been retorted and smelted to make a disturbance about the smallness of the return of gold. In some instances, also, they have, by means of threats of prosecution, extorted from the victimised smelter more gold than they were entitled to. It is suspected that spurious gold is being manufactured somewhere in the district, so that it would be well (or gold buyers and smelters to be on their guard." From the "Tuapeka Recorder" we learn that last week a most diabodical attempt was made to derange the winding gear at the Deep Shaft on Weatherstone's Flat, which was just discovered in time to prevent serious consequences. The facts * f the case are these: —At one o'clock on the morning of Friday last, the fiist shift had arrived at the mouth of the shaft and were preparing to lower one of the contractors (Mr. Gwynn) to the bottom, when it was by the merest chance discovered that fortytwo piles of one of the ropes had beencut through, leaving a connecting link of only three piles. The cut was made at a point about eighty feet from the coupling of the bucket, which would have given it a fall of two hundred and fity feet to the bottom. Information of the occurrence was forwarded to the police, and it is to be hoped that the cowardly miscreant will sfcurlly be brought to justice. « The following amusing anecdote appears in a little volume of " Life in the Chatham Islands." " An old man-of-war's man, tired of war's alarms, came to this island for the purpose of laying his bones up in ordinary, and to solace his seclusion he selected a Maori woman for his partner; she was generally known by the familiar name of Jenuy, and so far as her gifts went, proved a thrifty plodding soul, and a valuable acquisition to the retired warrior. But increasing responsibility brought additional care; poor Jenny was visited by that troublesome scourge of her tribe, the ' hakihaki.' In great consternation, her partner solicited my advice, making out a woeful case for his old woman ; in fact, she was in Job's plight, covered with sores from head to foot, and might have scraped herself with a potsherd. At that time few remedies were attainable in this part of the world, but my impromptu prescription was to wash the sores with a solution of gunpowder. Alas! little did I dream of the explosion which was to follow. The directions were certainly clear and concise—a liquid solution '. unfortunately, however, poor Jenny made the gunpowder into a tolerably thick paste, put off all her clothing, cut the hair from her head as short as possible, and then commenced rubbing on the paste layer upon layer, leaving no part of her body untouched, thus presenting the appearance of an animated squib. She then crouched over her fire, turning round and round until the application became pretty well dried in. All at once, however, she came in contact with the fire, and the explosion was instantaneous and terrific ; a flash like lightning illumed her body, burning off and searing every wound and excrescence —peeling her, in fact, as one would peel an apple. With a terrific yell, the poor creature fell upon the ground writhing in indescribable agony. ■ The news was com" municated to me amidst shrieks of laughter by some Maoris, who were eye-wit but I could not sympathize in their merriment; so, mounting old Toby, I rode round to visit the suffering patient. At the doorway I was very roughly accosted by the old veteran, in phrases neither choice nor refined—' By God,' said he, 'you have done a d—d nice thing ; you have bio wed my old woman's hide off.' Such, in fact, was the case, although they had to thank themselves for the mishap. Poor Jenny lingered for some time in great pain, but ultimately she came forth quite restored, with a bran new epideribis, most effectually cured of the abominable ' hakihaki.' This little anecdote may be of some service to the medical profession, and furnish hints for the treatment of this disgusting disease."