BALCLUTHA.

Evening Star, Issue 4100, 18 April 1876, Page 3

BALCLUTHA.

(From our own Correspondent)

Business here seems to bid fair toward an improvement upon the past month. Oats are spoken of as improving in price, which is much needed ; for, although this year’s product may not equal last year’s, yet there is still a large quantity of last season’s grain on hand.

The Gatlin’s River case is that of Sanderson Shields, captain of the schooner Jane Hannah, who is charged with committing an unnatural offence upon a lad named Richard Hessman, eighteen years of age. Sergeant Finnegan started off on Wednesday to arrest Shields, and found the schooner lying _ a t the big mill, but her master was misssing. lam told that the sergeant had to use a very considerable amount of stratagem in order to secure his man. In the first place the sergeant did not show up at the mill until after dark, and in order to get there had to walk two miles through mud knee-deep, As a blind he set himself to work bunting up unregistered dogs until night came, when he got two men to put him oyer the river, giving out that ho coqld make Balolutha easily, but at midnight he returned, and set out for the Heads, whither bad flown his bird who had been signalled to of thq aer? geunt’s departure, and retired tq his cabin There in the small hours of the morning the sergeant dropped upon him and found him and found h(m prepared to leave on a voyage at daybreak. Shields was conveyed to Balclutha late on Friday night, brought before Dr Smith, J.P., next day, and remanned tul Wednesday. The Clutha Times ’is not to he issued for the present, the projectors having purchased two-thirds of the shares of the present organ in winch there is to bo a, considerable change as soon as the transaction ia completed,

Ow railway bridge seems fairly under way now. The first cylinder, or portion of one, has been inserted under the supervision of Mr Archibald, who superintends the work on behalf of the contractor.