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Dunstan Times, Issue 964, 8 October 1880, Page 2

! Our Cromwell contemporary is very angry, i ami in his great wrath he makes use of very unmannerly language, as vulgar persons always do under similar circumstances. The cause of his ire. is to he found in our exposure of his incorrect report of the County j Council proceedings, touching which we repeat what is a matter of public notoriety, I that the representative of the Cromwell | Argus was not present in the Council Cbamher during the greater part of the two | day’s sittings. And indeed there was much | discretion evinced by his absence. What I then becomes of the attempt to gloss over i the fact that the report in the Argus was i furnished by soore person other than the , reporter of that papei ? In truth ever, our cou--1 temporary seems 10 have some dim and in- ! distinct sense of the existence of rectitude ■ in others—as much indeed as can bo expec;te l of him. Tims, after charging “ the Clyde paper” with “mendacity” “deception”—the utterance of “ lies" and the publication of “ ba r efaced” and “deliberate lalsehoo.ls” (these choice and elegant phrases are not ours, but those use 1 by the Argus), ho makes no attempt whatsoever to disprove a»y of our assertions, hut proceeds to cast dirt at all and sundry—a much more o mgenial occupation, and more suiteil to his mental catibore than the promulgation of truth. But some of the mud must of necessity cling to his own hands. To use the patois wh'eh our coutemp irary understands so much better than “ Engli-h uudetiled ” : “Facts are duels that winna ding.” i And in the present case the facts are decidedly against the Cromwell Argus. A very pertinent story—dating back to the time “ when George the Fourth was King” —recurs to our mink A braggart duellist j conversing with an objector to the now obsolete but satisfactory method of settling differences which then prevailed, cxclaime I ! - “Bat if a man called you a liar what would I you do ?”—“Do, sir?” replied the non-duel-i list, “ why, I’d tell him to prove it— prove | it, sir ; and if he couldn’t prove it, he'd be ■ the liar, ami not And this is exactly j the posit.on as between ourselves and our I blustering contemporary.

On Thursday afternoon last his Honor District Judge Harvey took his departure from Clyde, and if the programme of the Government as shadowed forth with regard to the future conducting of the District C mrta is to he carried out, it is to bo as- [ a imed that in his official capacity we have a.-eu the list of )T ; s Honor. A few personal friends met His Honor on the eve of leaving, and wished him God speed. The Alexandra races come off to-day, and the Clyde races next Friday. Entries for the handicaps and Trial Stakes for the latter meeting appear in our advertising columns. As there are only two entries for the Trial Stakes, according to the conditions tho race will fi.ll through, but we hope the Stewards will substitute another race for it. We are informed on reliable authority that Colonel Header, permanent head of the Constabulary, who is making a personal inspection of tho country, will arrive at Clyde on Tuesday next, tho 12.h instant. In reference to this d epavtment of the pub. lie service some sweeping reductions are to bo made, rumor having it that the offi 'es of lusprct r -rs and Sub-Inspectors arc to be entirely abolished. In Otago the name of Mr Inspector Mallard is tho only one mentioned as yet as having received his conga. In Canterbury, however, the names of tho whole of tho Sub-Inspectors are mentioned. The first match of tho season will ho played between tho Cromwell and Clyde Cricket clubs, on the ground of tho latter, on Saturday, tho 16th instant. Our Cromwell contemporary is in trouble if tho following extract from the Morning Herald is correct “ Tuo Commissioner of Railways for the Middle Island has demanded an apology from the Editor of tho Cromwell Argus for a libellous paragraph i concerning the nnnagsmmt of th i l)i,i trti meat, published recently in tho Argus as furnished by its Dunedin correspondent," This is only another illus ration of the oil prove.ro that tue pitcher that goes often to the well, will some day come to grief, espo- . cully when truth lie* at the bottom.

Our contemporary the Mount Ida paper, not living in a glass house, evidently thinks itself at liberty to throw stones at the adjoining County. In its last issue it has an article entitled 11 The 1 Model County » in Adversity” (meaning Vincent County), and ridiculing the fact that our Council has seen fit to reduce the salaries of its officers. It also states that the liabilities of Vincent County are L 12.672 18s C I, and the assets L 1703. It should have gono farther and quoted all the figures given in the report brought down by the Fimnco Committee, showing that the estimated assets up to the end of March next would about come un to its liabilities for thesamo period. It winds up by saying—“lt is fortunate fur Maniototo that it is not in quite such .an unfortunate state as her sister County.” Then follows an account of the M.anintnto Council meeting, from which we gather that that County his

actually been reducing the salaries of its officers, which now stand—Chairman, L 100; members’ travelling allowance, 21s per day, under 10 miles 10s 6 1 per day ; the offices of Clerk and Collector now united, 1.270 ; Engineer, L 370 with travelling expenses, he a'so being Road Inspector and valuer ; day labourers. 7s G 1 per day. A Committee was appointed to enquire into the printing and stationery accounts (and, we presume, advertising as well). And quite time, too, if the latter item is to form the subject of investigation. We wonder that none of the Maniototo County Councillors have not long ago noticed the style in which certain advertisements are inserted in corn pat i.soa with those of the same class in Tuap'k.a, Vincent, and Lake County papers. Had they done so they would prob ibly have saved the County a heap of money. It’s nice to be a—County Clerk and Newspaper Proprietor. We shall await with interest the report of the Committee.

Them was a large muster of the sporting fraternity on the Cromwell racecourse on Saturday last, to witness the match be* tween Mr M'Kt-nna’s Clyde and Mr Kane’s Maori Chiet. The distance was one and a-half mile, 9st. up, and the stakes LlO a side. The race is easily desciihed. Maoji Chief took the lead from the start, gradually increased it, and won with the greatest of ease by six lengths. A good deal of money change 1 bauds qver the event. The Toapoka Times of the 6:h instant has disgraced itself by an absurd and false at-

tack on the officials of this County Evidently the article in question has been inspired by or has emanated from Cromwell writers. This is sufficient to account for the numberless misrepresentations (to call them by no more forcible name) of which the Tuapeka Times has been guilty. There are 39 entries for next year’s Dunedin Cup, and for the principal handicaps the entiies are almost as numerous. The Tlev Mr ITohhs, of Nasehy, has been app./iatcil to the vacancy in the curacy of I Gladstone, occasioned by the death of the j Ucv John Dcwe. | On October 3rd, Inspector Thompson and i Constables Green and Townsend seized an illicit still and worm in full working order, about thirty gallons of whisky, four hags of malt, and a quantity of other material, in abut occupied by a man named Marlin Power, at Green Valley, Waihcuio. Power is in custody. It is reported that L 2090 has boon ro- , : fused for a fourth share iu Learmout’s 1 claim at Vinegar Hill, St. Bathaus. 1 We admire fine writi'g when wo rrrot with it, and we arc consequently smitten i I with admiration at the following description | of sunrise on the Dunstan, as pictured by a j writer in the Saturday Advertiser. break toe next morning the o ach started, and as the sun rose the top of the Knobby Ranges, over which the road led, was reached. All round lay the scores of small peaks, from which the range takes its name, bathed by thcearly sunbeams D nvu below, on the fi it which they had traversed in tho dark, the townships of Dunstan and Manuherikia were sending their smoke to the ! clouds, whilst across the river the ferry boats were already crossing to and fro with ’ passengers. On the right the Old Man Range, from behind which the su.i rose, lay shrouded in darkness, with the M dyaeux river curlmgand seething along at its foot." Such a wonderful sight was enough “to mako the river “curl ’ and “ seeth.”—lf ■ we had seen it wc k iow we should have ' “curled” and “seethed” tremendously, i But we never had a chance. We have lived ; here, in view of the Oil Man Range, for

r some eighteen years, anil we never once • saw the "an rise behind that mountain. As 3 a general rule the sun never does rise in ihe r west up here. It generally sets in that direction. The writer must have been an • exceedingly favoured individual, and ho e. has seen what no other man ever yet did [ s ie. It is not surprising that ho should ask t *’ Is it not grand ? What glorious sights are to be had in this country. I wonder i. can Kurope beat it much. 11 To which we ~i reply—certainly not. No man ever saw f the sun rise in the West in Europe. Wo can “ beat ” Europe “ much” there. r The present Ministry is supposed to le composed of very gentlemanly men—tho

creme i/e la creme of colonial politicians m 8 fact. No person of refined taste could sup- • pose them capable of doing a mean or tino gentlemanly thing. Nevertheless we take 0 it that to dismiss a Judge with a month's '> notice, and to do so without the simple Courtesy of a ic'ter—merely by a telegram c in fact—is about the meanest and most ung | gentlemanly thing any Minister could do. r Ami yet this is what the Jlou. Mr Holiesi- ton has done. His Honor Judge Harvey 0 has in this unceromoui ms fashion been inh formed that his services will not i>e required af er the 31st of ibis mouth—just as one s uiigh . give an inefficient hmseai dl,or an ” | insubordinate groom a month's notice to 1 quit. Verily the pre*cut Government will i be able lo plea 1•* Not Guilty ”if tiioy are i- over charged with being even oruinauly | courteous to public olfisers.

MrJ. Holt, the owner of the now coal lease in Cooper’s gully, adjoining the French man’s, and who has been sinking for some time, has, at a depth of nearly 150 feet, got strong indications of coal. Wo wish the spirited proprietor success, perhaps from a selfish point of view, as with his success there may probably be a reduction in the price of that desirable article With cheap coal, the number of consumers might possibly be increased, and that would be no unmixed blessing. We hear that Mr Holverson is still getin' go r d prospects in his tunnel, which he has driven in search of the rich lead he woiked last year. A pennyweight to the dish is easily obtainable where he is now driving. It is evident (says the Mount Ida paper) that he is approaching nearer to the lead of which he is in search. He has perBPveringly spent a large amount of money in this effort. In this he has determinedly followed his own idea, notwithstanding the adverse opinion of the mining public that he was simply throwing away both time and money.

Some of our contemporaries have been exulting over the display of ruffianism at Timaru, when “Captain Jackson Barry’’ ess iye Ito address the inhabitants of that enlightene I township. Our own opinion, and it is the opinion of the majority, is that a more cowardly and disgraceful outrage never occurred in a presume lly civilized community. There is much souse and truth in the remarks of the Saturday Advertiser which says : —“The development of brave and warlike qualities is as much pursue I in Timaru in the p-erent day as it was in Laconia under Lyeurgus. It is true that the Timaruffians have not as yet figured at a Thermopylae, but they have distinguished themselves on diffirent occasions after a most valiant fashion. The gallant bombardment of a cottage in Stuart street, Dunedin, is still fresh in the memory of my readers, and the siege of Timaru is an affair that can never die. But the crowning glory of the Tiinarnffiins was gained a few’ evenings ago, when a brave band of ga'lant fellows attackad a poor old man of three score and ten with showers of rotten eggs. Such a noble dee 1 do’erves to bo chronicled and treasured in the archives of the nation. The dauntless daring exhibited in the attack on that harmless old colonist “ Captain Jackson Barry ” deserves recognition, and the “R itlen Egg Brigade,” of Timaru are deserving of now colours—ou their hacks with a cat-o’-nine-tai s.

Considerable surprise will be felt at the news of the death, on the 23rd September, of Mr O. F. Grao‘, the well-known Gloucestershire cricketer, and brother of Mr W. G. Grace, the Champion The deceased gentleman played in the All England match against the Australians on the 7th, Bth, and 0 hj instant, but diil not score in cither innings. Ills death must therefore Lave been rather sudden. He was a tine all-round player, and his presence will he greatly misse 1 from the cricket field.

We hear on apparently goad authority (says the Mount Ida Chronicle) that the Chinese have subscribed LlllOO lor the defence of Ah Lee and Lee liny Co’h ctors have been appointed in every part -if Otago. The Chinese say if the accused men are hung Europeans will not in the future employ a Chinaman, and therefore they combine to get their countrymen off. We fancy tint they would he consulting their own int .-rests better if they, while subsciibing to the defence fund, assisted to bring- the guilty' men to justice. So fir they have put every pissibloohitaolo in the wiy of the police. In fact one is led to the belief that they are determined to shield the guilty from justice.

The Melbourne model lodging house continues to be a commercial success—3-5,429 lodgers, 10 per cent, dividend, L2OOO to the reserve fund, and 1.G2 cash balance, is not bad for a half-year’s work.

Concerning blight in app’e trees, a correspondent in the Australasian writes If it he any bim.fit to those growing apples, I will give yon a cure for the same, taken by me from the “ Farm and Garden,” published iii the South Australia. I have tome trees still fruit-bearing, dressed but once 10 years since ; and only last week a gardener to whom I gave the recipe says it is the only cute he has found. Ic is very simple and inexpensive, and is as follows: Lay bare the rooti of the tree most affected, lot them lie open to the weather a few days and nights ; then sprinkle a good dusting of sulphur over them, and cover them up again, painting the whole of the stem and branches with castor oil. This, as I have said before, I have proved effectual, and do not know ono who has tried it but with success.

A whale, 70 feet long, of the “sulphur bottom” species, has been captured at the Thames. No harpoon or other gear was to ban'*, and the killing of the while was a hard job. It was shot with bullets, and speared with a sharpened bowsprit, upon which a deluge of hot blood poured out, covering the man who was attempting to kill it. The whale's si le quivered (says the Advertiser) and he commence 1 to groan in a rumbling manner that was pitiful to hear. Still the whale was not dea l, and at intervals kept spouting up a cl.mdlike jet ol steam, with a noise like a bullet striking the water. The sharks, attracted by the smell of blood, were soon about, and acted in a very bold manner, but occasionally got a rap on the nose for bei"g so rapacious. When the whale fiist got aground a steamer towed it off, the crew being under the mistaken impression that it Was dead. It took the steamer a cruise of four miles, diving twice underneath her but without doing any damage. It was then got ashore again, and finally killed.

During the gaol enquiry lately held at Nelson, the ex-Warder Atkinson, referring to tlm treatment of the prisoners, said : “ Sooie of the prisoners are at times allowed to leave the gaol, and have woik to be admitted again.—(Mr Shallcrass :

There is no cruelty in that, your Worships.) L have often heard them kicking at the door for admittance. They could go down to town and get drunk if they liked, and perhaps the warders would be discharged for allowing them to do so. I have let a prisoner out at daybreak, and locked the door after him, by order of the matron. The male prisoners can converse with the women. The prisoners wore the prison dress when they were allowed to go out. There were no officers allowed with them then."

The following fishy story is from the Galveston News;—“ The schooner James Andrews, while sailing between Sabine and Catcasiu, encountered a field of green turtles, some of them being as large as an ordinary sized round table. Strange to say they were all on their backs. The schooner was lying off and on, ami Com observation it was estimated that the water covered by these turtles formed an area of eight miles in width and ten miles in length. They were of all sizes, and not one was seen in a natural position. The water was literally covered with them.” The Pall Mall Gazette says that the English army is teaching the Afghans the art of wat, the value of breechloaders, and the use of rifled artillery. Napoleon found a Europe trained to antiquated maxims and maxims of war ; ha defeated army after army till a school of generals arose who had learned through defeat to become victorious. Then at las*- the master fell under the blows of his pupils. It is not impossible that we may be gradually teaching the warlike tribes how to resist the might of civilise I armies. When the odds are five to one in raeu and six to one in guns against us ; when the gunners turn out to be well taught, ami many of the infantry are armed with breechloaders which they know how to use, the question may well arise whether wears not strengthening the Afghan nation without renderingit frien'ly.