MISCELLANEOUS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 205, 31 January 1873, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

Tlie ' Tuapeka Times ' is full of Nasoby | news; now-a-days. Our contemporary, I really, might, be a little more accurate- in .natters of fact. The following clipping, will, we think, rather-astonish the fortunate residents of Mount Ida.—Tenders for the construction of the'iNaseby Sludge Channel are called for in the lo:al paper, this work is to cost £J2,000, Avhich am Mint is to come from £ >OO,OOO, voted <or Water Supply Subsidy, by the G-erie-:"il Assembly. The channel "will be eighteen miles in length, and will be constructed under the supervision of the Provincial Engineer. A'..supply of . water tor flushing, is to be brought from the Little Ivyeburn, and will be conveyed .■.from that stream to the channel by means of a race,■thirteen miles in length. Forty heads of'water is to be brought into -Vlount Ida from the Manuherikia, at. ] .'Vhat cost we are not in a position to say. j Che value of pei\sistent■.agitation is exenir j plifiod by the above brief statement of j what Mount Ida lias obtained through the | -fxerlions of her representatives, backed u > by-.the ummimousaciion bftheresidents. ■OL'h.er districts mnghc with p'rolit--follow the example of fortunate Mount Ida. A fire took place ih Oamaru on Sunday morning early which might have proved serious.' Two small bu'ldiugs at the corner of Wansbeck and Tees streets, occupied by Mr. White,'bootmaker, and Mr. G-oodfe Ilow, : coachbuilder,;. "were burn e'd, and the sparks being blown across tlu; road by a N.W. wind, very nearly, ignited; some shops in Wansbeck street, in front; of Mr. Patterson's s-ables. A timely buc- 1 ket.' or two of water, however, prevented rurther mischief. Mr. White was insured in the lioyal for £SOO. Mr. Goodie 11 o\v was uninsured.

The Mount Benger correspondent of the 'Morning Star,' is responsible for the following. "••The visit:of "the Governor has not been without -its serious consequences. One tearful casuality at least iias occurred, to damp the general satisfaction. The unfortunate sufferer is Mr. Mervyn, the eloquent, erudite, and elegant member tor Mo'iufc Ida. • As far as I can learn, Mlv Mervyn exerted himself with an energy almost superhuman to do the amiable to Sir George and'(particularly) : Lady Bowen. The kind acknowledgement his services received led to a viole.it attack of inliamation, and finally to. his bursting a blood vessel; So serious Avas his case that removal to his station." was impossible. 1 iopes are, however, entertained of his ultimate recovery. Fears are entertained that the honorable member for Tuapeka will fail a victim to a similar complain!;. Shearing operations are over as far as this district is concerned. There was less drunkenness than usual after the settling up." In an article upon the composition of the new Waste Land Board, the ' Tuapeka Times ' lias the following " We believe we are within the mark -when we state that three-f'inrths to four-fifths of the proceedings of the Board to pertain to: the (ioldfields. Yet we look in vain among the j list of members for a solitary representa-I tive of "the interest which will he princi-! pally affected. Such contemptuous dis- i regard of the interests of'a large and irn- i portanfc portion of the community, while-on i a piece with previous Provincial Government actions, far transcends them in audt acity. It demands a strong expression'of I opinion from the various gold mining [ centres. Here is a matter Avhich falls within the legitimate scope of the district mining associations,' and one which the Central Committee ought to bring before them without delay. Prompt,- decisive action may be useful. At any.rate,, it will show that wc are resolved to kick against injustice." A crushing of 59 tons from the Caledonian claim was completed at the lioyal Standard battery last Tuesday. ~ The re-, suit, we are tokl, was satisfactory—that is to say, the yield'of gold obtained was sufficiently large to be remunerative. Mr. G. T. Stephenson is now the sole owner ■of this and the adjoining claim.—" Cromwell Argus." . We observe that tenders have atienglh been invited for the necessary fittings and furniture lor the new Court-house.- It is "several months since the builder's contract was completed, and we trust there" will be no' further unnecessary delay in making the Court-house available .for its legitimate uses.—'' Cromwell Argus.'' The Christchurch papers notice the death of the well-known -.■. thoroughbred sire, Malton. It appeared ,that he received a kick which fractured one of his legs, and it was found necessary to destro} 7 ' him. Maiton was bred by Sir Tarton Sykes in 1858, got by IvifJcman, by Touchstone, Camel, dam by Hampton out of Centurion's dam. He was imported to Canterbury in 1859 by Mr. W. H. Harris. He is sire of Belle of the Isle, Magenta, Southern Chief, Malabar, and many other successful performers on the ]Mcw Zealand turf. About four years.ago lie became the property of Mr. W. C. JYVebb, who purchased him from Mr. J.

! A. Douglas. Mr.-Webb lias several most promising young ones from him, three of which arc nominated, for this year's -.Derbj'y and fiye for the Derby of 1874. ; In this district Mal ton's bests took included Abbess, Merrythought, Novice, and a liost of useful, fast hacks; -

Some idea of the efficacy of the "..cat" as a mean of punishment for hardened ruffians might have been gained bv any one - who was in the Supreme Court, Wellington, at the time when his Honor sentenced Thomas. The man evidently did not care for imprisonment. " Hard labor " is no novelty to him, and the red shirt* a customary dress. To sentence him to these was to do him no harm. It could not degrade him. He had no feeling to be hurt by such a course. He, had made up his mind tor a term " in the jug " and the jury would onty have earned his contempt had they given ' a S'erdicfc that would have prevented his incarceration? But the "cat" is another matter. Atits mention he turned pale, and the feelings of his mind were very clearly expressed on his repulsive face. Like every ruffian of such a type, the man is an utter coward, and the mere thoughts of the bodily paiu he wouklhave to su ffer-turned him sick.

It.Avas plain his Honor had not only sentenced liim, but ordered him to be " punished" in the only way such, a brute can be made to feel. ' ' ~ KS. Naseby has been proclaimed a municipality, after a fierce struggle between a party who wanted lhat stop taken, and another party wlio did not seem to appre- ; ciate Hie inestimable and inalienable right of every Ih'itisher to tax himself and his

neighbors. The contest for first Mayorality, is creating a .good-dea lof ex-, citement, and the candidal es for that honor seem likely to be well '"roasted," after the approved manner of meetings of ratepayers. —' Tuapeka Times.' Tuapekaites can now enjoy the hitherto almost unknown luxury of a swim. Areservoir has been constructed in Gabriels Gridly, AA'hicli combines the advantages of seclusion, extensive swimming and clear water, plenty of that liquid, a-nd easy distance from the town. The lesV:. sees of the Phoenix Company,,have kindly given AvateiMo fill the reseiwoir, so nothing now stands in the wav of those who have the .inclination"'so to. do to refresh themselves by having a, pi un go. Fo rthesa fe ty of boys, Ave may state that it is intended to stretch a rope across a shallow part of the batlis.

"Reilly, who in company with Hartley discovered the Duns tan Goldfield is a-fc present in Dunedin. Thmng'the pa*t few ' years, he has travelled over a great pqr-' tion of America, and visited all die 'gold-' mining districts of Australia. lie'-ex-presses his opinion that-New Zealand is a far better country for an enterprising colonist than any part of the world he' lias visvtrd, and that rich Goldfields yet to be worked exist iu it. Mr. TJ ei lly con torn-, plates giving practical proof of his faithin his belief of th.e existence of undiscovered auriferous deposits, by starting on a prospecting tour. What part of the country he intends to devote his attention-to, -wedo not at present- know.

Clevhr Removal. —A . contractor at Westport lias successfully removed I hive- into.another street, some hundreds oE-i feet distant, Gilmour's Hotel. consisting,:; ■of forty; bed-rooms, ahi 11 bird saloon,"com-; mercial room, public hall, &e.

A bugcry wont over the bridge at-- IVla.n-. •. uka Creek, and fell ■forty, feet.: The occupant, Mr. ICeiso, was badly injured. .. •.

The late Capfai.v G-hayof the Great vBritain. —The ' Argus'' says : —The exact circumstances under which the taleCaptain Gray met his fate can"never be - known, but the further particulars whichi: ■ at our-request, have been transmitted to us by telegraph from London, show that the nature of the sad occurrence was correctly described in the original tele-' gram.' On Ihe evening- of the 24th ]N Tovember, Captain Gr,iy complained of feeling unwell, and retired to his cabin, and, it would be naturally supposed by those on board the vessel, to rest. Nothing more was heard or seen of him, and the ; - nexr; morning- the cabin was vacant. The - stern windows were Avide open, and' therewas no oilier-conclusion to arrive, at than that the ship's commander had been lost .overboard., The strictest examination which could be ■■made failed to throw any ■more, light oiv the affair ; and although it - would be a melancholy satisfaction to think that -the gal iant seaman, whose . loss, is so,decplj r deplored by this coinnmnit.y, met his death through some strange mishap., and not by his own aet, the evidence- • only points to one conclusion. Standing • on the bulwarks.or in some exposed position on deck, Captain Gray mi git t havebeen lost overboard by accident, bift under the circumstances no such theory cart be set up. Everyone would gladly be-' lieve otherwise, but in the light of the , fuller information we have received, thereis no disturbing the .conviction origiii-ill.y iforced upon tlie rain/d tnat Captain Gray,? i during a temporary aberration of intellect. \ put a period to his existence.