THE SHOTOVER.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 156, 26 October 1864, Page 2

THE SHOTOVER.

(prom our own correspondent.) An incident worthy of notice occurred here on Saturday last, in the presence of several men, whereby an amount of £3O, in notes, was recovered from some plundering rats, which had taken a liking for the Thread-needle-street paper; and thereby caused, under the following circumstances, the destruction of a whole family of the above mentioned genus. A miner, living with some mates on the west side of the river from Charleston, lately placed six five pound notes under his mattress, below which some dry firewood lay on the ground. In the course of a week he looked to see if his property was safe, when, to his astonishment, the money had disappeared. He searched about, knowingthat his mates would not touch the " plant," and found that his bed of mountain grass, had been eaten through by some rats; and on looking more dilligently, found their place of retreat. Calling some men together for a hunt, they dug away, until two enormous sized fellows bolted from their holes, and became sport for the dogs. On rooting out to the end of the run, they fouud a nest of twelve young rats cuddled together, unconscious of the costly material of which their bed was composed. When, without a moments hesitation, their blankets, sheets, and counterpane —consisting entirely of the five pound notes, perfectly whole, were taken from them by the joyful owner of the moner of the money; and the two dogs quickly transferred to their capacious stomachs, the whole of the young rodents. Some miners had the temerity to suggest that there ought to be a polling place at the Maori Point Court-house, so that they may have an opportunity of recording their votes at the election of a goldfields representative. But I answered that the Governemnt had appointed the polling place at Frankton, twenty miles from this court-house, and more than forty miles from the up-river miners, that they were so short of cash; and, consequently, those miners who can afford it must waste a day or more from their occupation, for such an unimportant (?) affair as that of appointing a member to represent them in the Council of their adopted country. Otherwise they must work away and raise the precious metal, so as to keep their directors going, or else they would be left like " babes in the wood," to the mercy of some baigaud, who would compel them to work the mines for the pleasure of having something to eat, whilst their masters, luxuriating in wealth earned by the miners, would be riding in their carriages along the well paved streets of Dunedin city. After further talk they went away from me grumbling—and good reason they have for it. Gold is being obtained in remunerative quantities wherever the miners can get to the bottom of their paddocks; and several parties, after many months of unrequited labor, are about to reap the benefit of their perseverance. This applies to Millan and party, who have got their newly erected wheel—the "Vigilance"—at work at last; and to the two other parties who have an equal share in that long piece of ground below the Maori Point bridge, known as the Sailors' claim. The Perseverance party at Stapleton's, divided £260 between them, instead of the rumored 300ozs. One of the mates in this party, named Davis, had an action brought against him in the Warden's Court, by Messrs Thome and Burn, of Queenstown, to recover a half sleeping share which Davis, when drunk, as he said, had agreed to sell to one Smith for an acre of land. Smith had not conveyed the acre of land, nor was he now in the Province. Thome and Burn swore that they had given Smith £l2 10s for this document, and thought to recover as third parties who had given value for an untransferrable instrument. Mr Shepherd appeared for Thome and Burn; and Messrs Campbell and Luscombe for Davis. Warden Aylmer h ard the arguments on both sides, and regarded the affair as a transaction entered into by Davis whilst on a drunken spree, and therefore dismissed the case. Another splendid enterprise is now successfully brought to a close at Skipper's; and the christening of one of the largest and most costly races in the district will shortly take place, when I hope to see some of the Queenstown ladies as well as gentlemen pay us a! visit. Messrs Savage and party have now the water leaping over the face of a mountain, some five hundred feet higher up than the Aylmer Race; and the sight is truly grand. The Aylmer Race company are proceeding with their sluicing, and will soon wash up. They took out some twenty ounces from their boxes a few days after they first commenced to wash, and this appears to have lodged there contrary to the wishes of the proprietors, who say they must have lost considerably in consequence. The gold must have washed over into the river, owing to the boxes being too close to their work; however, the proper plan for sluicing was soon carried into effect, and we shall shortly hear of the result. Denny and party took out thirteen ounces from one paddock near the Defiance, last week; and I regret to say Wm. Harvey, a highly respected miner—one of the party—\ met with a serious accident yesterday. _ In adzing away a portion of their timber framing, the tool struck against a pump, and glancing off, entered the instep to a considerable depth; he is now laid up unable to leave his bed.

The two Cornishmen at Skipper's—Pearee and Co—are still obtaining as large quantities of gold as ever, and I hear that they have already cleared over £IOOO. More rough gold has been shown to me, taken from Londonderry Terrace. Two parcels of about a pound weight each, contained pieces from a pennyweight to two'and a half ounces. Out of the whole there was not an ounce in which the pieces were less than a pennyweight. This was as course a~ lot of gold as was ever taken from the Adelaide Gully, or from any of the hills about Mount Alexander, in the earliest days of Victorian goldfields. Miners who have rushed to the Pelorus or Grey, never dreamed of the treasure which their feet must have passed over. Skipper's seems to be the cradle of a gold country; and there is any amount of unworked ground yet to be oUained there. The new track from McCarthy's to Maori Point is now open for pedestrians, but not for packers. There are only a few places yet to be cut, then a horse with a load may come through. Another ten days will see these obstructions removed, and then as good a track as it is possible to obtain, will be formed. This work deserves especial mention, as, to my judgment, it is the only part of the road where any engineering skill has been required, for nearly the whole way rock cutting has been necessary; and look which way one likes, there is not a better line to be found than that chosen. It is rumored that a great change and reduction in the staff of officials is to take place here. If so, considerable regret will be felt for any loss of officers who have been so long in this district.

WARDEN'S COURT. (Before Richmond Beetham, and Justin AylMER, Esqs., Wardens.) October 24. Roger Bell was complained against for having his licensed house open at 1 a.in. on the 20th October. Constable Mulloy was called and deposed that he had been instructed by Sub-Inspector Percy to go into the house, and ascertain the names of those present. The bar and the bar door were closed; but he (the constable) warned Mr Elliot, who was present, tbat he should summons him for keeping open his house. The constable also deposed to having gone in a second time iu consequence of the representation of a man he did not know, who had informed him that he had been struck inside. The defendant stated that his house was closed at the usual time, and that in the private part of the establishment gentlemen were giving a parting supper to a friend who was leaving the district. Mr Beetham dismissed the case, remarking that as the house was not open for public business, and the bar was closed, the charge had fallen to the ground, of keeping the house unduly open. As to disorderly conduct, there was no charge laid, nor had Mulloy adduced any evidence beyond a statement of some man who said something to him. As long as a publican complied with the law, he had a perfect right to entertain his friends on a special occasion like this, in the private portion of his house, and he should therefore dismiss the case. (Before Richmond Beetham, Esq., R.M.) October 25. Nuisances.—J. H. Horn was informed against for leaving his late premises in Beach-street* in a dirty condition. Mr Inspector Mulloy stated that the nuisance complained of consisted of bottles, old clothes, &c. The defendant pleaded that the bottles belonged to former neighbors, named Walker and Sugden; and that as he did not buy the land he was not liable for the nuisances. The Bench, however, told Mr Horn that as he had occupied the premises until within the last few days, at least under a business license, that he was really the responsible party, and would, as he had allowed his neighbors to make a convenient use of him, not fine him, but order him to abate the nuisance, under the supervision of the inspector. William M'Larn was charged by the same authority with having a dead horse lying on the beach. The evidence both of the inspector and the defendant was conclusive, the latter averring that he had only drawn the horse to the beach at the end of Beaoh-street, at the instigation of a mau named Bill, in the employ of Hill and Jack, Sutherland's and Big Beach. The party who had employed him had not buried the horse as promised, but had left it on the beach. He (the defendant) did not think that he should be held liable for the nuisance that had been caused. Mr Beetham—You were, according to your own statement, employed for a purpose, and yon carried out the object you were employed for j it is ridiculous for you to say you only know a man named Bill. Mr M'Larn —Your worship—He came to me, and I think I possess the only horse in town fit to pull it out. I never took any payment, but did it voluntarily, as I considered the loss of the horse sufficient. Mr Beetham—You are too old a resident in the township, and also too old a carter not to know that you are responsible for taking a nuia* anee to a locality it should not be placed in. As to burying it (here, you shonld have known that it was illegal to have done so. To say yon were asked to do an illegal action and did so, and was thereby justified, is offering one of the excuses children do, when they allege as a reason for a

firalt, having been told to do so and so by some other party. MrM'Larn thought he had a right to put the horse there to be buried, or else he should not have done so; and he would be careful for the future. Mr Beetham—lt is a serious offence, and I will give you the benefit of having acted under the wrong idea—that you could deposit filth wherever you liked. I hope the town committee will recommend to me some place I can approve of in which rubbish can be deposited. He should alwavs be happy to receive assistance in matters connected with the public good, from a representative body, and it was necessary for the health of the community that offeusive smells should be abated. Mr Manders said that the committee intended at their next meeting to nominate or point out a place, and that in supporting this conviction, it was done on behalf of the interests of the town, as the breeze that blew down from up the lake, carried these dangerous odours throughout the town. Mr Beetham would be happy to receive these suggestions, but in this case, though deeming the defendant liable, he should fine hiui in the mitigated penalty of 20s and costs ; and order that the nuisance be abated, under the supervision of Inspector Mulloy. Mr M'Larn protested against being compelled to remove the dead carcase, as no horse would approach it; but his worship remained firm in his decision. Gaylor was also charged with having an overflowing watercloset. The particulars are such as cannot appear in print; but the charge was conclusively proved, and the defendant fined 10s with orders to abate the nuisance, under the inspection of Mr Mulloy. Mr Gaylor—l have no means of removing the nuisance, and no carrier will undertake the task. Mr Inspector Percy—l think, your worship, if parties who have places of this kind desire to consult the public health, nightmen will soon spring up. He had, however, to call the att ntion of the Bench to cases like these, and to point out that penalties had been previously inflicted, and also that the defendant and others who would be called upon to appear, had received sufficient warning. Mr Gaylor—l am sure I can get no one toremove it. The Magistrate —Then, you should not have allowed the closet to overflow. Miss Lamus v. Griffin. —A charge of assault; and same v. same,a debt case, were both called, but the parties did uot appear. One of the happiest reunions that we have had the pleasure of recording took place in Queenstown on Monday evening last, at Powell's Hotel, on the occasion of T. Horton, Esq., late manager of the Bank of New South Wales here and * ho is about leaving the district. A feeling of regret is expressed at Mr Horton's departure from among us, not only for his aptitude in business, but also for the able manner in which he has always endeavored to promote the welfare of the district generally. The position of a bank agent does not admit of his taking a prominent part in the advancement of any public or local measures, but this gentleman has done much unacknowledged service in the cause of Queenstown. A large number of the principal merchants and others assembled to do Mr Horton honor. The chair was ably filled by Mr Prosser, who presented Mr Horton with a purse of fifty sovereigns, and in a very appropriate manner proposed his health with good wishes for his future happiness and success in life, which was enthusiastically drunk, with musical honors. Mr Horton, after thanking them in a feeling and touching address, reviewed the rise and progress of Queenstown and the dristrict, the friendships he had cemented, and expressed his regret at leaving a place which only comprised three dwellings when he entered it, viz.Rees' Woolshed, Bracken's Hotel, and the Bank of New South Wales. Other toasts were proposed and responded to, and the evening was agreeably diversified by some excellent music. Everything parsed off with the greatest harmony, and the party did not break up till an early hour. The Moke Creek track will be shortly completed. Several persons have predicted that this road will be a very had one in wet weather, and so it would be if it remained undrained, and without culverts. The same remarks and opinions were expressed about the Maori Point track, but a better one can now hardly be found since it was drained and culverted. Mr Cochrane informs us that this new track will be efficiently drained, and culverts made in the proper places. Much credit is due to the contractors, Messrs Cochrane and Airth, for the energetic manner in which they have carried out their contract, and converted an almost impassable road into a comparatively pleasant and easy route. The want of a porch to the court-house was severely felt yesterday, as the boisterous wind that blew down the Lake, scattered in every direction all the paper and forms that the court desires to accumulate around its agent Suitors were placed at equal disadvantage with the unfortunate cl°rk of the bench, and the magistrate seemed to have enough to do to collect his ideas. The inspector of nuisances, who occupied the oourt for some time, was unable to abate this partieokr nuisance. A porch, oosting only a few pounds, is absolutely required, on grounds of public convenience.