LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 86, 2 October 1869, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Taranaki steamship, which was wrecked come time ago, lias been successfully raised. Mr. G. C. Chapman has been appointed Deputy-Begistrar of births, deaths, and marriages for Gabriels district. The "Daily Times" is authorised to contradict the report that Mr. Weldon, SoutMand, Las been appointed Commissioner of Police in. place of Mr. Bramrigan. A peivate assembly, got up by members of the Quadrille Club, was held in the Athenaeum Hall on Wednesday evening. "We believe the attendance was excellent. At a meeting of Waste Land Board held on Tuesday. Mr. .Mitchell's application to purchase 10 acres, being the site of the El Dorado Hotel, Waipori, was referred to the Government. We learn that Mr. M'Coll has sold out all his interest in the Tuapeka Mouth saw mills, also Sn cis timber yard, Lawrence, to MrW.D. Morrison, Blue Spur, who will in future carry on the business. The gr^&i scarcity of oais in thla jisirici is severely felt by all owners of horses. The price has been steadily rising for some timej and may now be quoted at froid 3s. 9d. to 4b. a bushel, with an upward tendency. The usual Atheneeum readings came off on Thursday evening. M. Hay, Esq., M.P.0., occupied the chair, and did the honours to an excellent selection of our best-known local performers, The attendance was quite as large as on former occasions. The funds of the Benevolent Asylum are benefited by the Blue Spur M.I.S. entertainment to the amount of £3 125. The novelty of the programme no doubt prevented many perBouu attending ; next time we trust to hear of a mow complete success,

Wl Tamanaro, a Maori, convicted at Wellington Of murder, committed suicide on the 29th ult. He hung himself with a saddle-strap he wore as a belt, making it fast about three feet from the ground ; he threw himself forward, his knees actually touching the ground. A block of 2500 acres, being portion of run 215, held by Mr. W. J. Clarke, now known as block 11., Benger survey district, has been taken by the Provincial Government, in accordance with the terms of the Goldfields Act. A proclamation to tbat effect, dated the 14th ult., appears in the last issue of the "Provincial Gazette." Albhough Tuesday was a most unpropitious day as far as the weather was concerned, a considerable number of buyers attended the sale of Mr. Thomas Lees' stock, held at Mr. Eobertson's yards. Cattle fetched from £3 10s. to £5 per head, the largest purchaser being Mr. M'Clusky, Wetherstones. The same animals would have brought in twice or thrice the money twelve months ago. Ac a meeting of the Wetherstones School Committee, held on the 25th ult., votes of thanks were passed to the ladies and gentlemen who bo kindly assisted at the late entertainment in behalf of the School ; to Mr. M'Swiney for the use of the Sport&man's Arms Hotel ; to Mr. Mackney, for the efficient and liberal manner in which, he bad carried out his contract of alterations in the school building. Mrs. F. Marriott was unanimously elected as sewing mistress for the school, at a salary of £35. Some persons about Lawrence appear very careless in the use of poison, and the result is that several valuable dogs have been recently been destroyed. Were it the miserable curs who constitute ninety-nine hnniredths of our earine population, and who render night hideous by their incessant yelping, that suffered from this cause, no one would grumble ; but unfortunately the loss has not been altogether confined to the mongrels. People who pay dog-tax are surely entitled to have their property protected. We have been favoured with a copy of the following letter, addressed to Mr. E. de Carle by Mr. Jas. Macassey : — Dunedin> 23rd September, 1869. DEAR SlB, — Will you kiudly communicate to Mr. Buchan, and the other gentlemen to whom I am so much indebted, my grateful acknowledgement for the handsome souvenir with which they have presented me. Wholly unmerited on my part as I feel the testimonial to be, it will, 1 need not say, be ever prized and cherished by me — cherished as one of those things which tend to make the battle of life worth living for.— l am, yours faithfully, Jas. Macassey. In the lately published lists of the Acts I passed during the late session of the Assembly, there is one noteworthy omission, viz., that of the Act to allow vote by ballot. Regarding the cause of this omission, the "Nelson Examiner says :— There is a strange history about this measure, if it could all be told. Ministers, and particularly the Premier, professed themselves its warm supporters, yet when a defect was discovered in it after passing both Houses, they resisted the attempts of its honest sapporters with the most frivolous objections to get the measure amended. The truth is, the election for the Superintendents of Auckland and Otago, must presently take place, and it did not suit the views of the present holders of these offices to have the ballot in operation within the next few months, and so the Bill was dropped.

a meeting of the Trustees of the Lawrence Cemetery was held in the Secretary's Office on the evening of Thursday last. Present : Messrs. Bastings (in the chair), Walsh, Donovan, and Eobertson. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. The tenders for fencing the Cemetery were opened. There were two tenders— one from Messrs. Walker and Errington, and one from Mr. Michael Ryan. Messrs. Walker and Errington's tender being the lowest, was accepted, contingent on their complying with the specifications. The Secretary was instructed to procure from Oliver and Ulplx, Dunedin, a nine-feet iron gate, also a small gate to match, about four feet wide. It was decided to advertise for a sexton for the Cemetery. Messrs. Donovan and Eobertson were appointed to supervise the erection of the fence. The meeting then adjourned till Thursday, 14th October.

The result of the Wallace election lias been the defeat of the popular candidate, Mr. Brown, by a majority variously stated at 6, 14, and 15. Our own telegram gave the numbers at—Webster, 64, and Brown, 58 ; but a previous Diessage had stated the result as a tie. To increase the confusion, a. message recerv^cL in X<£Lwz*exicO on Tuesday giving the results at the various polling places, increased Mr. Webster's majority tb 15, the numbers being 64 and 49. Altogether, there appears to be a good deal of uncertainty and confusion about the returns, and a scrutiny may cause the tables to be slightly turned. The defeat of Mr. Brown is solely attributable to his own inaction and to the small number of settlers and miners who have put themselves on the electoral rolL The following are the revised returns from the various pollingpplaces in the Wallace district : — *\ Brdwn. Webster. Switzers 30 14 Tapanui 11 11 M'Nab's 2 6 Cowan'B 0 10 j Butler^ b 5 [ Aylmer's 0 4 Tuturau 15 13 Tolalß .„ 58 „» ... IT One telegram gave the Switeers returns asBrown, 21 ; -Webster, 14, but this prdbably I arose from an error in transmission.