LAKE COUNTY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 974, 17 December 1880, Page 3

LAKE COUNTY.

(FROM OUR OWN - CORRF„SrON - DF.N - T ) The heavy rains of lata have much impeded traffic between this ami your County, the flooded state of the Ka'waran River rendering the punt at the Morvcn Kerry all but useless. .■ Mr. M'Oorm ick, the contractor for the new bridge, very generously permits the mail coach and light" traffic to pass over, but loaded teams wdl not be allowel to cross until the bridge is passed and taken ove* - by the County. It is expected that the (hushing stroke will b • put upon this really handsome structure in the course of a very few days, wlpm 1 hope to send you some particulars of this extensive undertaking. The girder liridoo built hy Mr Mackenzie across the Arrow River has been finished for some time, but its uses are merely of a local order until such time as Mr M'Cormack’s suspension bridge is finally completed, and the m dii road to Vincent County opened for traffic. The late mayoral election at Queenstown has been disputed as invalid by M r Warren, the defeated-candidate, Upon no 'leas than fifteen dif{eient counts, which Would t.e •far -too numerous to papicnhi rise luce. Tim only clatter which finzt'cs hie is that - hon tbejTown Clerk, who is also-lie turning Officer,! after so ipany offences of commission and omission, can" find it in his heart'.to ll’ve arr.l sKow'himsdf about the town, when a pluuge off the j;tty iota the

cool waters of Lake Wakalip would end all his troubles, lie will surely waut somethin;' to cool him should Mr Wallen vanquish Mr Daniels, and become the occupant of the civic throne. Municipal honours at Arrowtown are by no means held in such high estimation The non reelection of Mr Jenkins to the mayoralty, combined with the election of a Councillor to that exalte I position, has of uece-aity Caused a vacancy, Imt no one was willing to olfer himself tor the aacrifioe, and it was only by dint of considerab e pressure that Mr il. D Owens, the new host of the New Orleans Hotel, consented to be nominated, an I it is almost superfluous to remark aas duly elected. The passenger trails; on bake Wakattp has considerably increase 1 of late, ft is really wonderful where all the people come from. There are of course a good rainy tourists bent on exploring this ‘‘land of mountain and of 11 aid,” anil who make Queenstown their head-quarters, the hotel accommodation there being unequalled outside of Dunedin. I hear that private boarding establishments for the especial use of tourists are about to be instituted-, where all the comforts of private life may lie secured by quiet pe iple. At the head of Lake Wakatip there are two really firstclass hotels, where tourists can view Mount Karnslaw, its glaciers and giant mountain neighbours, together with the finest Wood and water scenery imaginable, without even going out of the house. The annual meeting of subscribes to tbs Arrowtown Aihome.im and Library was held in the had of that institution on Saturday evening last. The number present was not large, the members of Committee and some had-dozen subscribers composing the entire assemblage. The annual report as read by the Secretary was a most grandiloquent affair, showed things to be in a highly flourishing condition, an 1 like of course with all local institutions in small and remote'up count)y towns,, a wonderful state of progressiveness was pointed ont. The balance slnet was of course rea l and adopt' d with'considerable applause, an I the Committee as a matter of course was re-electe i upon a vote male and seconded by their august selves. Doubting the genuineness of the statements put forth f male a few notes,, and I find that instead of the Aihemcnm go ng ahead, it h.s been going by the tail. The roc dots for the year en ling 3J,;h November, 1879, from all sources of ordinary revenue, sh iw a to al of L22G 14s 41, while for 1889 it only amounts to Ll7O 14s 41, making a deficiency of 1.57. A second report, called ,au Extension fund, shows a balance in

han lof 1.11 1 15s 91, ami it was upon hav- i ing this" large amount to creilit that the Committee s night to throw .last into the eyes of the subscribers. The origin of this fnml was that the County Council had promisnl Lot) for Athenaeum iinprovenientsif the Committee couhl raise another 1,5 ). ’l'hey set to work accordingly ; ihe Borough Council gave LI9, an 1 the l>a!ance, wnieh is Lsl los 9 I, was male np from the proCecils of an auc ion bazaar; so that in reality, in the absence of County and Burundi subsidies, the total receipts are 1,4 4s 9 I leas th ui the preceding year No statement aa to the number of subscribers , was made, but I li el that the subscriptions i show a deficiency of LI far ahe current I year. As to the condition of the library I ! and reading room, there exists the reverse ' of any improvement ; ihe hall itself is in a ! | sorry s'-at; of repair, in fact it is the in ist ; i neglected an I dilapidated public hall on j the voMfiel Is, and is by no means a credit t • Arrowtown. £•• m ii'ng .! it‘ers at M ustown tort is ; not much to report Too Tipperary, Home- , Ward li -uud, and iJlalsbmo arc bosy crushing, and preparing for their Cnristinas oak s. The Maryborough have called for tenders for the construction of a tainI way, but, it cannot be constructed within the time allowed. Some Done li i visitors ma le an inspection of the mines here dar- , : ing the last week, an I exoresse 1 themselves as being highly pleased with the j prospects of the place. A dray road to i ’ Macetown would prove an immense ad- ] vantage, an I strangers only express themi selves lost in w u lor hj uv such an imp irt- | ant adjunct to so pro nising a field of mining enterprise has not been made lung since.