LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dunstan Times, Issue 448, 18 November 1870, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A cricket match will be played to-day, on the Clyde ground, between eleven of the Malakanui Club and eleven of the Clyde, Alexandra, and Cromwell Clubs. The willow will be taken in hand at twelve o’clock, and, should the weather prove favorable, it may be anticipated that a great many visitors will assemble to witness the match. The dry and exceedingly hot weather, accompanied by strong blasting winds, which has prevailed for the past six weeks in this district, broke up on Tuesday night last, and was followed by an almost constant rain of thirty-six hours in duration. The crops, by this timely downfall, will spring again with fresh vigor, and our farmers and gardeners, who were beginning to despair at the withered and stunted appearance of everything, are now quite elated. Including the Wai Keri Ken Valley, Bald-hill Flat. Tiger-hill, Black’s, &c., in this district there are nearly two thousand acres of land under cultivation this season, the crops being principally oats and potatoes. In some few instances, where the farmer devotes some of his attention to dairying a good area of mangold beet, and turnip has been sown. As there is such an increased quantity of land under crop, and that principally in oats, horseowners may expect, in the coming season, to purchase provender at a very much lower rate than at present. The retail price of oats is now 7s. 61. per bushel ; chaff £9 per ton ; potatoos, 10s. per cwt. Mr. Fache has requested us to draw attention to the sale by auction of hotel property at Bendigo, on Monday next. To a steady married couple, acquainted with the business, this opportunity of acquiring a good home in a rising township is worthy attention. —See Adv. Mr. Vogel’s services as a member of the House of Representatives appear to he in request. He was spoken of for Dunedin, Christchurch and other places, and it now appears that a Taranaki constituency has been asking him to become its representative. The public are aware that he has agreed, in‘reply to a requisition signed by over three hundred electors, to stand for one of the Auckland seats. His Honor the Superintendent has received a communication from the Secretary stat ing that the General Govemmenz has resolved at once to survey a lino fora railway between Invercargill and \fataura,'and.alsojbstween Moeraki'and Wai taki. It is’intendedfthat Ihe engineer, who is to lay out the line on the Canterbury side of the Waitaki, audfthe engineer who lays out”’ the* lino bdtv.-jeh Moeraki and Waitaki avjto meet, and after consultation, to recommend the site of the Waitaki bridge. Immediately’after this, arrangements will he made for the construction of the bridge. A committee at Tuapeka having made application for a line of railway between Tokomairiro and Lawrence, and also in reference to water supply to the goldfields, the Colonial Secretary informs his Honor that the matters are under consideration. We deem it alvisable to remind subscribers to the Dunstan District Hospital, that the annual meeting of subscribers for the election of officers will be held during the month of January next, as all who have not paid their annual subscriptions at least a month before the meeting, will not be entitled to vote. At a sitting of the Warden’s Court at Cromwell on Wednesday last, Mr. George Jenour wrs registered as mining agent The applications of Mr. D. Moore and Mr. E. A. Watson were refused, the Warden stating one mining agent in Cromwell was quite sufficient. The right to occupy the Grand Stand and paddock on the Cromwell course during the ensuing meeting will bo sold by auction, on the 28th hist., by Mr. W. J. Barry. A meeting of the Library Committee was held in the library room on Friday evening last. Mr. Fache occupied the chair. After the minutes of the previous meeting were' read and confirmed, the secretary, Mr. J. U. Cambridge, read a financial statement, shewing that, after all outstanding liabilities were cleared off, there was an available balance in band of £2O for the purchase of books. A general discussion arose as to what class of works should be purchased, and it was eventually resolved, That a sub committee, consi ting of Messrs. Vincent Pyke, Cambridge, and Fache, be appointed to order from Mr. G, Robertson, of Melbourne, books to the value of £2O, and also to obtain from the Education Board books to the same amount. A vote of thank was accorded chair and the meeting separated. Mr. W. Paterson, of Lake Hayes, is again a sufferer by fire. It will he remembered that a few weeks since hehad a new thrashing machine and a quantity of grain destroyed. On Monday last the devouring element seized upon his stables, and completely destroyed thorn, as also some outbuildings. His magnificent entire horses “ Napoleon" a pure bred Clydesdale, and St. Alban’s a thorough bred that were in the stable at the time, were most fortunately got out without suffering the slightest injury.

In the District Court, Clyde, his Honor Judge Grey gave judgment in a case that materially affects the mining interest. We refer our readers to the full account in another column. A correspondent, writing us from Black’s, says the summer is passing away and not a thing has as yet boon done towards repairing those portions of the road that during the past winter were perfect quagmires. He says a few hundred pounds judiciously expended just now would render the road passable whereas, if nothing ig done till the winter sets in, the money then laid out would bo as well’thrown away. »• We had presented to us yesterday a small plate of cherries and strawberries, we believe the first of the season,'from Mr. j Westwood’” gar ’en. The fruit was a fair size and of full flavor. Accompanying the fruit was a 1 ouquet of roses, comprising eleven different descriptions, including the moss, damask, variegated, and white. Mr. Westwood informed us that in both of his gardens, the one at the rear of Sunderland street and the other contiguous to the race course, the fruit treesareoverburthened with fruit, especially the plums and apricots, and throughout the shew of fruit promises to exceed in quantity that of any previous season. Mr. N. Salomon, of Dunedin as will be seen by advertisement, is making a tour, with his magnfieent stock of jewellery, and to those who are in want ’of) an elegant ornament we would recommend a visit of inspection. He will be at Alexandra on I Sth and 19th inst, at Clyde from 21st to 24th at Logan Town on 25thand 26th, and at the Kawarau Hotel, Cromwell, from 28th to December Ist. A meeting convened by Mr. Drummy of Alexandra, the inventor of a machine for raising water from current rivers for sluicing purposes was held at Eames’s Hotel, Clyde, on Thursday evening the loth instant. About twenty gentlemen were present, J. Hazlett, Esq., in the Chair. Mr. Drummy said, his object was to form a public Company, and he had convened the meeting for the purpose of exposing the practicability of his invention, of laying before it the cost of construction, he then fully entered into details, and explained that the motive power was an undershot wheel, to be fixed in the current of the river, between two barges, to work three lifts of pumps of from eighteen to twenty two inches in diameter, the connection between the wheel and the pumps, 'which which were on the banks, and at the require 1 height, say sixty foot from the surface of the water, was a light, but strong framework, which supported the connecting rods'from the'axle of the wheel to the pump cranks, and the quantity of water he estimated that could be raised that height was about five hundred cubit feet per minute, or five Government sluice heads, and the cost of the whole, from estimates he had obtained, woulu be about £2,300. He had convened a meeting at Alexandra, at which it was resolved to apply ta the Superintendent tocllow the Government engineer to examine the model, and report as to its practicability, and further to invite the co-operation of Clyde. A number of questions, respecting the invention, and the estimate of construction having been asked, a general discussion ensued, the prevailing opinion being that, upon a favorable report being obtained from the Government, no difficulty would be experienced in Ho iting a Company to put the machine in operation. The following gentlemen were then appointed a sub-committee to act with Alexandra Messrs Hazlett, Feraud, Holt Tyrrell, Barlow, and Fache, (Hon. See). The meeting then dissolved, with a vote of thanks to the Chair. The committee then sat, and empowered the Secretary to meet the Alexandra committee, and to draw up a memorial to His Honor, the Superintendent. On Tuesday last, a joint meeting of the committee was held when a memorial was drawn up, and handed to Mr. Drummy who on the following day left for Dunedin with his model. As the supplying the goldfiel Is with water is a subject that is attracting the attention of the whole country. We doubt not the Government will grant the prayer of the petition, and allow their Engineer to inspect and report upon the model. From our own knowledge, and from the expressed opinion of a good few practical men, we opine a favorable report, the which we will lose no time in making public.