General News

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 7, 13 May 1893, Page 9

General News

The first instalment of Mr W. H. Mathiegon’s travel notes will bo given next week. A mail for the United Kingdom closes at Invercargill at 3.15 p.m. on Tuesday. ■ An'article dealing with Southland in the sixties will appear next week. Parliament is to meet for the despatch of business on June 22nd. A report of an interview with Mr J. Hatch, •who recently returned from a visit to the Macquarries, is given in another column. The salaries of the Charitable Aid Board Officials have been reduced to the former rates. Sir Andrew Le Fleming will give an exhihibition of his horse-taming powers in the . Criterion Yards on Friday, 19th Inst. The estimated population of the colony on 31st March was—Males, 348,670 ; females, 307,509- —total, 656,179. Mr Gr. Carson is to stand in the Opposition interest for Wanganui. He is the proprietor of one of the local newspapers. The Imperial Institute was opened by the Queen on Wednesday with great pomp and ceremony in the presence of 200,000. On 29th June seven sections of land in the TTokonui district, ranging from 269 to nearly 2000 acres, will he open for selection. The services of the First , Presbyterian Church will ho conducted in the Theatre Royal to-morrow, owing to the Church building being under repair. The Southland Land Board has decided to recommend the Government to declare 143,950 acres at Stewart Island open as unsurveyed land at 5s to 10s per aero. Only one tender was received for the construction of the post office clock, and fresh offers are to be invited —the time-piece to be made in the colony. ‘ An interesting communication in reference to a discovery which will probably draw the eyes of all the “ scientific gents” in the world upon Invercargill appears in another column Under the heading “ Moa Matter.” At a well-attended meeting of the Fortrose branch of the Seaward Bush railway committee, held on the sth inst., resolutions were passed urging the continuation of the line to the eastward and across the Mataura river. Scott, who poisoned a man named • Thomson at Waikomiti, Auckland, is to he hanged. The convict was somewhat anxious when called 'to receive the news, but on learning his fate soon recovered his self-possession. Mr J. McMaster, of Bimu, while riding borne from Invercargill on Tuesday last, was thrown from his horse, and subsequently became -unconscious. He is believed to be suffering from internal injuries. It is feared that those will prove fatal. Mrs E. Kogers elsewhere publishes an intimation in reference to her dancing classes. Pupils who wish to avail themselves of her skilful and careful tuition will require to join early, as the classes will close sooner than usual this year. At the annual meeting of the Southland Building Society a dividend of 7 per cent was declared. The President in the course of his address stated that 16 properties had been sold during the year, leaving only £4OOO worth of property on the Society’s hands. The fourth annual dinner of the Star Sailing Club takes place in the Albion Hotel on the 31st inst. The yearly gatherings of this club are among the most enjoyable of the many socials locally held, and therefore very popular. Tickets may be obtained from the secretary, Mr F. J. Hatch. The successful tenderers for sleepers for the Hew Zealand railways in the district arc—for sawn black pine, Small and Co. (Eiverton), 2s 3d; Massey and Co., 2s 6d; F. Henry (Otautau), 2s Sd, and T. Koff (West Plains), Is lid each ; the latter for 5000, the others for 2000 each. F. Henry supplies 2000 totara sleepers at 3s 5d each. It has been suggested to us that it would he a groat convenience to the settlers taking up allotments in the Waiau district if the mail which is now despatched to Eastern Bush on Tuesday could be extended to Clifdcn, which -s only four miles further. This would give j-hc Waiau people two mails a week, the pres ent one closing at Invercargill every Friday, It is understood that a gang of twenty of the unemployed will shortly he put on to the work of road-making in the Waiau district.

Mr Freeman-Kitchen is the name of a gentleman who made some stir in Dunedin a year or two ago. He left there for Australia, and the other day it was reported he had died in Tasmania. This announcement was followed by the appearance in Invercargill of a gentleman calling himself Temple Vane, 8.A., and acting as manager for a fortuneteller. His likeness to. the presumably dead man was noted, but '"be denied all. knowledge of the latter. On reaching Dunedin, • however, his identity was again challenged, and he at length admitted that he was Mr Kitchen. It was stated that a warrant was issued for his arrest for wife desertion, he having left a wife in Wellington, and thereupon Mr “ Vane”. disappeared, but was ■ arrested in Dunedin, and brought to Invercargill by Detective Maddern by yesterday’s express. The Glenurc station was offered for sale by the N.Z. L. and M. A. Company yesterday, but failed to find a buyer. A number of sections, comprising part of the Wellesley estate, were also submitted, but wore not disposed of. t Miss Waterhouse, who is about to visit. Britain, was entertained at a social in the schoolroom of St. Paul’s Wesleyan Church on the sth inst., when the lady, who has done admirable service in various departments of church worK, was the recipient of no end of good wishes and of a handsome writing desk —the latter the gift of the young ladies of the Wednesday Bible Class. At the last meeting of the Land Board, Warden Rawson reported that he had made inquiries re removal of reservation from lands between Riverton and Orepuki. The general conclusion he had arrived at was that it would not be to the public advantage at present to withdraw any portion of the land from the goldfields. So long as land was payably auriferous it would appear that cultivation on occupation license was the best method to meet the interest of both miners and agriculturists, and to that system of occupation the mining community raised no objection. A letter was also received from the Warden signed by W. P. Mirrielees, chairman of a meeting of miners, who had suggested that the land should be disposed ©f on occupation license. Mr Mclntyre expressed the opinion that settlement was being retarded through the land being looked up. The Chairman said that until a public movement took place, he did not see how they could put the Warden’s report aside. He advised Mr Barry, an applicant for a section, to call a meeting of the residents, and test their views on the subject.