LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 83, 11 September 1869, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Wetherstones Readings were a great success this wee£. "We learn that Mr Gillies' report of his Goldfields tour has been printed and circulated. Wild pigs 1 flesh is a standing dish at Tuapeka Mouth. The hunters have of late been very successful. "We have to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of Parliamentary Papers, and " Hansard " of August 28th. The well-known dipper ship "William Davie arrived at Port Chalmers on Thursday evening with 145 passengers on board, among whom are a number of assisted, including about 35 females. A claim on the Tuapeka Creek, near the Mouth, recently yielded three men five pounds of gold for three weeks' work. "Were there a plentiful aupply of water brought to bear on all the spurs between Mr Fitzgerald's and the Mouth, this case would not be the only instance of large returns for mining in that district. Htdraudic mining has many advantages, and we should be glad to see it more generally adopted. Messrs Recce and M'lntyre and O'Shaughnessy and party, Tuapeka Month, use this method in their claim, and the results are conclusive of its advantages. They are working at present a patch which is yielding great returns, but where sluicing would be both laborious and unprofitable. Vert general satisfaction is expressed in the Tuapeka district at the throwing out of the Otago Loan BilL Had it passed and become law, it would only have given our Superintendent another opportunity, when demands foi land were made for settlement, of repeating his old song of his hands being tied. It is amusing to watch his attempts at fettering them himself. A meeting of the Deep Shaft Committee was held on Wednesday, when it was decided to call a public meeting of the subscribers and others I to receive the report and elect a new Commit. ' tee. This meeting, as will be seen by advertisement, takes place on Tuesday evening, in the Sportsman's Arms, at seven o'clock. The importance of the meeting, we trust, will draw a large attendance. At a meeting of the Southland Provincial Council, hold on the 31st nit,, Mr Johnston obtained leave to move— " That in the absence of : any recognised authority or government to carry on the business of the provinoe, the Speaker be requested to lay the state of affairs before the Colonial Secretary by telegraph." He gaid it was clear his Honour's resignation had not been accepted, or the Speaker would have heard of it, and thought it advisable the Colonial Secretary should have the urgency of the case brought prominently under hjs potice. The motion was carried, and the Council adjourned,

It is with mingled feelings of pleasure and regret we announce tha* our rfespeoted towngman Mr H. W, Barber, who has ably perforjw^d. the duties of Postmaster and Telegraphist' for' the last three years, is about to leave Lawrence,' having received the appointment of Gold Re^ ceiver at the Tf eat Coast. Mr Barbor has "ta^fe many friends and no enemies in Lawrence, aria we believe the good wishes of all who know him will follow him to his new sphere of labour. One of -tjhaiaost unprofitable Sessions of an Assembly notorious, for its incapacity to legislate in a manner suited to the wants of the public, oame to a close on the 3rd instt The last act of the Council wffiTto !;BfSw B dlit.We: <t O!ago and Southland Union Bill," by 14 votes to 6, a result very favorable to Otago. Then Sir George Bowen read his dying speech, which was nothing but ' a flattering review of the Session. The released legislators then rushed away to pocket their honorariums ami face their constituents. Mr James Smith, of ill the squatters, has shown himself the most liberal in his dealings with the settlers,- and on that account we feel sure he is not aware of the injury his stock are inflicting on the settlers at Tuapeka Mouth. For some time back, the cattle reserve there has been, as we can* vouch for from ocular demonstration, literally covered with sheep, The result is that the Spring grass will not get a chance to rise, and consequently the various cattleowners will be compelled to sell their stock at a disadvantage. Mr Smith, we have no doubt, will do his best to remedy this evil, whether it arises from carelessness or insufficient number of servants. An accident which has' resulted fatally, occurred on Friday the 3rd instant at Waitahuna to a miner named Uono De Carlo. It appears that while working in his claim a heavy fall of earth came upon him, by which he sustained severe internal injuries which paralysed the lower parts of the body Medical assistance was at once sent for, but owing to some cause which we cannot explain, the resident practitioner could not attend, and it was late on Saturday before either Dr. Halley or Dr. Stewart could find it possible to be in attendance. The poor fellow was brought to the Hospital, but medical skill proved of no avail ; he died on Tuesday last, and, we hear, has left a widow and family to mourn his loss. i

A letter appears in the " Daily limes " of Tuesday signed "Veritas," and written by a digger -who had been three months at ,wcrck on the Marewhenua goldfield. He complains of the reports of this field as given by the TOamaru Times," as being egregiously erroneous! From his own confession, however, the ground is likely to pay well when sufficient water iB brought to bear upon it ; and we obsefve from the " Oamaru Times " that " a joint spek company, withaoapital of £2000, of wb :h £1600 has been already subscribed, is in couffie of formation, for the purpose of bringing ill a waterrace, some twelve miles in length, f/r sluicing purposes at the Marewhenua. We aso had the other day the pleasure of inspecting i sample of gold from the proposed locality of tli i company's operations, which showed that a ver handsome return may be expected." Last week we directed' attention to the numerous open shafts within the tdvnship, and the danger to life and limb caped thereby. The subject is one which the Tovw Council aye in duty bound to take up, to prejent the occurrence of any serious accident, L horse of Mr Tuckey's was killed last week/by falling into one of these holes, and this reek a valuable horse belonging to Frank Dale; waggoner, very nearly shared the same fate, hjting fallen down a shaft fourteen feet deep. *r the energy of a few willing hands the horse las dug out, fortunately without; suffering nock injury. The Chinese who are digging witmi the municipality should be more strictly watdied, and compelled to fulfill their engagementsrith the Council to fill up every shaft they abafdon ; and we do not see why they should not hfmade to place a temporary covering over thelhafts when they are not working them. / At the Resident Magiirate's Court on Monday, H. Bastings was ficd 2s 6d and costs for riding on the footpath. /Ah Gong, for damaging M'Alpine's fence ; ver it, £2 and costs. John Michael fined 10s andjeosts for furious riding. Thursday. — M'Beath j Leslie ; settled out of Court. Same v. D L Bedel— Claim, £10 6s ; verdict for £9 17s w and costs ; failing payment, distress. Sara v. Donaldson— Claim, £3 6s ; no appearanceif defendant ; verdict for amount, with costs Same v. Dicks— Claim. £7 8s lOd ; no apperanoe of defendant ; verdict for amount, with cits. Same v. Cahill— Paid into Court. Same/. Grut— Verdict for amount with costs; HerbemndCo. v. M 'Queen — Claim, £21, amount of a/eptance ; no appearance of defendant ; verdid for amount, with costs. In Warden's Courwlackay v. Cormack, who was charged with allrfing 560 head of sheep to encroach on the aja set apart for large cattle ; dismissed, Pole v. several Chinamen, for mining withoufhaving miners' rights; fined 10s each, costs, nd Interpreter's fee ; they all pleaded povertj THEnominapn of candidates to represent the Wallace (flinty in the House of Representatives, took *cq on Friday the 3rd instant' ai Hokanui. TI squatters ■ mustered in strong force. Mr. JJO. Brown was proposed by Mr, James Rodgef, and seaonded by Mr.- William Strean, as a * and proper person to represent the district, flfr. George TTebefer* rui>holder, was propoß</by Mr. Cuthbert Cowan, and seconded bgdx. Alexrj M*Neill, as a fit and proper perst to represent the district. The show of hats was in favor of Mr. "Webster, and Mr. Beers consequently demanded a poll. The eleetii t&lres place, on Friday next at the various pang places advertised. We believe the Tapa.n and Switzers electors will vote for Mr. Browfto a man, and we are certain that every setfr whose name is. on the electoral roll will .find Ito his interest to return to the -&- semly, aintleinen trqe and tried, and who hag,

well earned tnepopularitjrlie hM gained amongst the settlers and miner* of the" goldfi«ld«- • A gentleman who accompanied Mr Brown to Hokanui on the day of nomination, hai related to us the magnanimous manner in which Cuth. Bert Cowan, Esq., ex'xnember for Wallace, on their ftrrivalat Hokanui. After travelling that morning fronrtne Mataura crossing to tli place of nomination, over 40 miles of some fit the wildest and most broken country in New Zealand, they could not prevail upon that august personage to giyejh^ejr hones » bit* of oats or My for love or money!. Tor themselves they cared not, but remembered their - hones had thejjame homeward journejMto &«• complish; Cuthbert Cowan, Esq., warn also aware of the fact, but what was' that to the humane squatter. ■

We. have been favoured with the following extract from a letter written by a young man engaged in the Constabulary force at the Front. His letter is dated Urenui, July lltli, 1869, and will be read with interest .— " We have got half the Taranaki storekeepers at our head quarters. There is no drink allowed to be sold in the camp now. We are humbugged about fearfully -with the officers at present. We were getting ready for an expedition to intercept Te Kooti and Teto Kowaru, with about 130 men, and after being served out with five days' provMons, and just making a start over the mountains, the order was countermanded. The nights are very cold here at present, and many of our men go on the sick-list and get their discharge. I don't think we shall see any active service until the spring sets in. We are encamped in a very romantic spot. Fifty yards fiom us there is a large ilfaori pah, inhabited by friendlies, I get all my washing done by one of them. You can'fc go a hundred yards but you are surrounded by old Maori positions. We have just had one of our captains cashiered for being drunk. The camp waa in a fearfuj state of discipline before the canteens were closed ; our men and the Maoris would go and get drunk together, and they were sure to fight afterwards, the Jfaoris using their tomahawks in a fearful manner. We have got one or two of them in the hospital through it at present. The Government provides us with plenty of doctors. This will be a splendid place in the summer time ; there will be plenty of fruit."