THE LAKES.

Dunstan Times, Issue 278, 23 August 1867, Page 2

THE LAKES.

(FROM A CORRESPO3J»EXt.) Queenstow.v, Aro. 2'i. The disagreeable stormy weather which, for a fort light, rendered everything so uncomfortable, and made the prosecution of all out-door employment impossible, has now given Way to sunshiny clays and bright moonlight nights, and, except a slight hindrance from frosts during early morning honrs, there is nothing to interrupt the labors of the gold miner or agriculturist. The rivers have very much decreased in volume lately, and Wakatip is also low, so I should imagine your modern pactolus, the Molyneux, would be in a similarly satisfactory position. The large yields <4

.-gold from the Frenchman's Beach, a •Matiuherikla, is all the talk up here. Even -the quarfe reefs at Skipper's sink into insignificance before it. Speaking of quartz *"reefß, there is very little doing wnongst Tl then>. Even the 'returns from the celebrated Scandinavian are small, but that is "owing to the want of water, and in the frozen region of Skipper's a sufficient supply of water is not to'b'e expected dining the depth of winter. -The Criterion elaim> at the Arrow, is to be let on tribute. Messrs Robertson and Co., of Queenstown, the present; proprietors of the mine -nnd plant, -offer the sole use of the property on most favorable terms, and the Wonder is that their offer still remains unaccepted. ™%The Brunswick Flour-mill, at Frankton, l is in full work, and answers satisfactory the expectation's of its enterprising proprietors. The flour is of first-rate quality, and the same may be said of the wheat. The soil- and climate of the Wakatip district is 'most favorable to the growth of this cereal, and now that the farmers can ?get a ready sale, at remunerative prices, ; 'for their produce, the district has acquired an element of wealth almost as valuable -as the opening up of a new goldfield. The '"■ mill is a splendid affair, and has cost upwards of .£5,000* and to the enterprise of -its proprietors, Messrs Robertson and 'Hallenstein, the inhabitants of the district should feel themselves vastly indebted. By-'the-bye, you people of the Dunstan ought "to bb stirring yourselves in the matter of a flour mill, and not treat such a means of increasing your wealth with indifference. Never mind that there is not sufficient wheat being grown in the district to keep 'the mill at work, or that it will not pay at •first. Both these *di!fecu4ties presented 'themselves at first to Messrs. Robertson "and Hallenstein, and they made calculations accordingly, knowing full well that : nobody would grow wheat till there was a mill to grind it into flour, and that, although the actual working of the affair would not be immediately remunerative, still, as business men, they knew that it would pay in an indirect manner by the increased prosperty of the district. Never'theless the-desired result of a profit will 'be attained, it being only deferred until the capabilities of the undertaking have sufficient time to develop themselves, and so inspire the farmers with sufficient con- j fidence, when they will have no hesitation ] in growing the necessary supply of corn to j keep the mill at work. On Wednesday last a verv important •mid interesting case to owners of sheep I 'was heard at the Court Flouse, Arrowtown, j before Lowthor Broad, Esq, R, M. Messrs. Haines and Vv'illiamson sued one Henry Cook, a storekeeper on the Kawarau, in the sum of £2O, the value of fourteen sheep and three lambs destroyed by his (Cook's) dog, between the 14th and f3th of July last. Mr H. J. Cope conducted the case for defendant plaintiffs appearing on their own beha'f. A shepherd named M'Gregor, in charge of the sheep, proved -that defendant's dog, in company with another, had been worrying a flock, defendant's'dog being caught in the fact by witness, who captured it, and delivered it over to his employers Witness a'so went to defendant's store, and him that his dog "was worrying sheep. Other witnesses were examined, and two sheep were proved to have been "actually killed ! by defendant's dog, while the finding of seven bodies of dead sheep, six of which had been baldly bitten, was shown to be an unmistakable fact. For the defence it was u'ged that hungry 'members of the dog famuy were c -nstantly in the habit of visiting the Crown Terrace 'to satisfy the cravings of hunger, and that they-huntcd and killed -sheep at pleasure. This statement was borne out by the evidence of two witnesses, one of whom deposed to having been in company with "one of the plaintiffs when he shot ft large black dog that had been worrying his flock. Evidence was given as tb tlie value of the sheep, which was set down at 15s. per head. The Magistrate gave a verdict for £4 10s., the value of six sheep.proved to have been bitten by dogs, at the same time censuring the practise of persons P. king their dogs to be at large destroying other people's property. Abstinence from intoxicating drinks appears to be likely to take root up here. A temperance association has already been 'formed at Queenst&wn, and a large number of adherents promise 'to enrol themselves. The value of such societies-cannot be too highly appreciated by the miners, and it is a subject of much wonder that they were not introduced long ago. However, better late than "never. A poor shepherd named White has been "lost in the ranges at Moke Creek, while tending Ins sheep. The enormous accumulation of snow prevents any successful sfeearch being 'made to find the body.