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Dunstan Times, Issue 317, 22 May 1868, Page 2

The Escort on Monday last took down the following quantities of gold Cromwell ... 3otoz. Odwt. Dimstan ... Tofioz. Odwt. Alexandra ... '229 0z. Odwt. Clack’s ... 3020z. Odwt. Dunstan Crock 81i)oz. Lnhvt. Mount Ida ... 1 TOOoz.s Idwt. Total 1,1700z odwt. A public mooting of (lie inhabitants of Alexandra was hold on Tuesday last, at the Royal Mail Hotel, Alexandra, for the purpose of forming a Local Committee in connexion with the Dunstan District Hospital Mr. Robert Finlay, the Mayor, occupied the chair. Hie attendance was very saatisfactory, and an evident desire was manifested to forward the interests of the Institution. A Com* mitteo was formed, consisting oat cssrs Finlay, Theyers, Beresford, and Rivers, with power to add to their number. An inquest was he'd on Wednesday last, at Frenchman’s Point, Alexandra by 11. W. Robinson Esq., Coroner, on the body of a woman named Sophia Louisa Last, who died rather suddenly on the preceding day, supposed from the effects of intoxication. John Lord M.D. who made a post mortem examination of the body, deposed that, de ceased had died from congestion of the brain, together with a disease of the valve of the heart, death being accelerated hy intemperance. It will he seen hy our Advertising columns, that a meeting will he hold j at (he School house, Cromwell, on ! Monday i veiling next, for the purpose of fo-mlng a Local Commi'L e in ' conncxio i with the Dunstan District Hospital j

i The consumption of spirituous liquors at the Dunstan District Hospital must be on a scale equal, if not larger than in any Hotel in the District. From a parcel of invoices left in our Office by a member of the Com mittee ; and which, as guardians of the public weal, we took the liberty of looking over : we subtract the following, which will no doubt be interesting to the subscribers, as showing them how their money goes. —December accounts, under the heading of wines and spi-its, or as they are vulgarly known (medical comforts) —C. Ziele and Co. £2O 7s (Id, J. Hazlett, £l6 (is Od ; January, C. Ziele and Co. .£3 4s Od, J. Hazlett and Co. .£ll 15s Od ; March, C. Ziele and Co, .£2O 10s 2d ; (this should have been a February account, only that it was rendered Ist March) J. Hazlett and Co. £7 10s Od, ditto t'7 19s od, making the nice little tota' of.£S7 lis 2d for four month's wines and spirits consumed by an average of eighteen patients, which being divided, gives an expenditure of £1 17s 3d for each, equivalent to 359 nobblers, or rather more than three per diem Reckoning the cost of a nobbier at 3d., which, considering that the Hospital purchases wines and spirits at wholesale prices, would be a fair estimate. In these accounts are included two barrels of Colonial Ale. A numerously attended meeting of miners was held on Wednesday night last, at the School-house. Cromwell, for the purpose of calling the attentio i of the Provincial Council to the importance of at once proclaiming to be aGoldtield, all that portion oi country known as the Upper Clutha District. Mr. Badger was called to the j chair—After explaining fully the object of the ineeti g, and pointing out the inconvenience at present attending mining enterprise, and the insecurity of tenure to mining property in. that district, a Committee was appointed to draw up a petition, and obtain signatures to the same; the pe- | tition to be transmitted to Mr. Shepi herd M.l'.C. for presentation. The i other Goldfields' Members will be requested to co-ope ate, in support of I the prayer, and urge upon the Government the importance of immediately extending the Goldfields in the Upper Olutha District as recommended by the Goldfield's Commission. The ■• Gipps Land Guardian ; ' says that last week a-squatter on the Mitch ell sid- sold a (lock of sheep :;t the rate of one shilling and six-pence pi r head ; (he same journal says,—" On Saturday last the butchers in Sale opened a place for the purpose of selling mutton and underse ling Mr Mae arthur, who had the previous week in traduced a system of selling carcase meat by auction. . Over sixty sides were exposed at the rate of one penny per pound, and were eagerly bought up. Despite of this, the auction sale at the yard realised from one penny to three half pence per pound. The rivalry between the butchers and the auctioneer practicallv illustrates the old proverb, ' It's an ill wind that blaws gnid to naebody. ' We understand that next Saturday upwards of two hundred sides of mutton will be ottered for sale." The Forester's Fall, at Richards Bannockburn Hotel, on Friday evening last, was a very great succe.-s, about 120 persons were present ; the company apparently enjoyed themselves amazingly. The ball was the most successful that has ever taken place i i the Cromwell District. A case of some importance to mi ners, was heard by his Honor Judge Orey, in the D strict Court, at Mount Ida, on Wednesday, the loth instant. One Duffy sued Mr. Nugent Wood, Warden of the District, and Connolh the Bailiff for £IOO damages, value of some gold, which he, Dully, alleged to have been wrongfully detained by defendants, as Warden and Bailiff It appeared from the evidence, that Duffy was the owner of three, out of ten shares in a sluicing claim at Hyde, known as the " Homeward Bound, " Duffy had these three shares represented by three working men, who held, each of them, a "miner's right" himself only holding on-.! "miner's right, " and being also the owner of oilier claims. The " Homeward Bound" Company had not washed up fi v about twelve months, in til the Ist April last, a considerable arrcar ofwa gos was due to (ho working n i n, who represented Duffy's shares, for which tli \y claimed lie s, on the ground represented by them, under the seventh section of th? Goldfields Act. IS Ifi, which provides that " If any person

holding a " miner's right " shall hire himself for wages to an employer, the light to hold and occupy, and claim by virtue of such " right " and to any i gold therein shall be vested in such employer, provided always, that in the even! of non-payment of such wages any person so employed shall be deem ed to have a lien upon the cla m where in he has been employed, to the extent of the amount of wages due to him." The working men had obtained judgment aga.inst Dully, under one of which, a distress warrant had issued, and a levy was made on Duffy's share of the gold in the claim. The whole of Duily's gold was seized, a mounting nearly to i'GOO worth, and proved more than sufficient to satisfy this particular levy. The other two workmen however without taking out distress warrants, put in claims for the amo'int of the r wages, as liens upon the residue of the gold, and the Bailiff acting by direction of the Ward -n, recognised these liens, and paid the gold over to the Complainants; Duffy contended that the Warden, without some special proceeding, had no right to recognise these liens, or to pay the money over to the men who claimed them ; he therefore sued the Warden and Bailiff for the money so paid over. Evidence was then gone into on the part of the defence to prove the liens, and the Judge held, that the liens being satisfactorily proved before him, the defendants had showed themselves justified in paying over the amount to the claimants, and that it was not necessary for him the Judge t • give any decision as to the right of the Warden to make a binding order in the particular form of proceedings that had been adopted when, he the Warden ordered the money to be. paid He therefore gave judgment for the Defendants. The case was a very complicated one, the above are the leading facts. A man named Hewson was sentenced by Mr. W. 11. Robinson, R.M. to one month's imprisonment for assaulting Police Sergeant, John Cassells, at Cromwell, on the 18th inst. The Punts at the Arrow and Nevis Ferries were in consequence of the Hood impassable for vehicles yesterday. Mr W. Smitham, the Mai Contractor to Queenstown, was obliged to leave his passengers behind, and come on, on horse'ack with the Mails. 'Hie approaches to both punts are in a horrible state. Messrs Owens and Edwards have offered to make them good, for the small sum of .{.'CO, so that vehicles could cross at all timer, but the Government refuse to expend that small amount. There were no cases in his Honor Judge Grey's Court on Monday last. There was some small amount of busi ness in the District Court connected with the filing of a report by the Official Agent, in the matter of the Shag River Water-Race Company In the Resident Magistrate's Court, Mr. W. 11. Robinson, P.M., heard some debt cases on Tuesday, but they were not of any special importance. A Correspondent writing from Cromwell sends .us the follu\vin«: At Potter's Gully, four miles from Cromwell, the miners are doing sufficiently well to induce them to make timely provisions for wintering in this locdity During all former winters this place was deserted except by two "hatters", all'other miners having left for a more genial climate. Several substantial and comfortable huts have lately been ereeted, and. to add to the convenience of the miners a commodious store has been built. Old ground that was in former times hopelessly a ba idoned, is at preso t yielding satisfactorily, and the miners at Old Potter's have every reason to believe that they will be as well off there, despite the. inclemency of the weather, as in any other place in the Cromwell district. Last Saturday week an event much to be reg ettcd took place here. Mr. Burnie the on'y married man in the Gully had lately placed a new roof on his abode, also lined the building, and made everything comfortable for the Winter, A considerable quantity of stores had been stowed in the building and grim-visaged Winter war challenged to do its worst. However on the day mentioned one of Mr. Burnie's little girls was playing with a toy wind mill and by some uuaps or ot-h >r (he article caught fire, and ignited the lining of the building before Mr Purine observed that anything was on (ire" In a minute or so the smoke drove all out of iho domicile and all that was saved were a few bod clothes rr.d u ady's saddle.