LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 147, 1 December 1870, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Sicveral cattle down Tuapeka Flat have died within the last few days from tutu.

The proceeds from the Wetherstones Readings, after paying all expenses, amount to the handsome sum of £33.

A large and influential meeting was held at Alexandra on the evening of Monday last to protest against the removal of the goldfields officer from that place, as recommended in the report of the Retrenchment Committee.

The Mount Benger Jockey Club Races take place to-day and to-morrow. We hope to give a full report of the meeting in our next issue. The stakes are very creditable for the district, and some of the best horses in Otago are entered.

On Friday last, Mr. Reid, Provincial Secretary, presented an influentially signed petition, containing over 1000 signatures, in favour of a railway to Tuapeka, in conjunction with the Southern Trunk Line. It was refeired to a Select Committee.

We have to acknowledge receipt of the "Illustiated New Zealand Herald" for the current month. It contains a mimber of excellent engravings, the most interesting to Xew Zealand readers being a view of Lake M'Kerrow, Martin's Bay, from a sketch by Mr R. P. Whitworth, and a view of Nelson College, from a photograph by Fletcher.

We understand that Mr. D. H. Mervyn addressed a public meeting at the Blue Spur on Thursday last. We received no intimation of Mr. Mervyn's intended address, otherwise our reporter would have been present to give our re.ideis a report of it. Mr. Mervyn afterwards informed us that he intended holding a public meeting at Lawrence, but was obliged to give up the idea, as he could not find a suitable place for the purpose.

On Saturday last a case of nose biting was perpetrated upon a veiy quiet and respectable farmer in the Waitahuna district named D. Stevenson, by a man named Leslie, who, it appears, has a peculiar liking for this beastly practise. The cause of this inhuman act we have not heard, but it is reported that Leslie took an unwary advantage of Stevenson, got his arm round his neck, sunk his teeth into his nose, and held on with bulldog pertinacity. A more disgusting act can hardly be imagined.

At last, after a slowly dragging process, the case of Harrop v. Croker and another has been finally settled. The freehold estate realised £347, and the law expenses have amounted to the sum of £250, leaving £97 to be divided amongst a crowd of creditors whose claims amount to £1800. If this is all the satisfaction gained by the creditors from the prosecution of a fraudulent bankrupt under our present Bankruptcy Act, surely in the name of common s>ense it is high time an Amended Act with provisions that can be complied with at a less expense and involving less circumlocution, was brought into operation.

A meeting of the Tuapeka Athenaeum Committee was held in the library on Monday evening. Present— Messrs. Armstrong (in the chair), Stenhouse, Buck, Forbes, and Downes. The minutes having been read and confiimed, a plan drawn by Mr. George Morison for -.in anteroom to the Athenaeum Hall was submitted to the committee, but was defened to the next meeting. The new books ordered from the Education Board are expected to arrive by the Robert Henderson. Letters were received fiom Mr. Parsons, London, and the Australasian Office. Several accounts were passed for payment. It appears that Mr Hilton, when in Lawrence last week, engaged the Athenaeum Hall for two nights, and, failing to get an audience, left without paying for the hire of the hall. The secretary was instructed to write to Mr. Brown, in Dunedin, to endeavour to get payment, of the £2 25., being the rent for two nights.

The Provincial Government must be suffering greatly from iinpecuniosity when they are obliged to call in the small credit balauces of the vaiious public speculations which they lent a helping hand in forwarding. The Deep Shaft Committ?e, we are informed, has beeu requested to return the sum of £14 remaining in their hands after settling all the accounts due by them in the matter of the deep sinking speculation on the PTetherstones Flat. The committee, we believe, demur complying with this request, on. the ground that part of the money belongs to the people in the district, who subscribed so liberally towards the undertaking. They had some intention of presenting"* the amount to the Tuapeka Hospital, which course we are certain would meet the approval of the subscribers. If the Government want to save money, let them start with the Provincial Council and bring to a close the tedious and uncalled for discussions which are now taking' place in Dunedin upon subjects every one of which must come before i the new Council next year.

A meeting of the Church of England Committee, Lawrence, was held on Monday evening last in the Sckoolroom with reference to a site for the proposed new church. There was a motion and two amendments proposed, and submitted to the meeting. The motion was to the effect that the upper part of the section, the property of the church, be built upon if none more suitable could be obtained. The first amendment was that no part of the present church section be built upon, and the second to the effect that the upper part of the said section be decided as the site. Both amendments were lost and the motien carried. We understand that negotiations have been opened for the purchase of a section in Whitehaven-street, adjacent to the one belonging to Mr. Gordon, which tho committee lately weie desirous of purchasing.

A meeting of the stewards of the Tuapeka Jockey Club was held in Mrs. Potts' Victoria Hotel on Tuesday evening. Present — Mr. Heibert, president, in the chair, aud Messrs. Sheath, Low, Gooday, Williams, Dr. Stewart, and Mr. Hayes, secretary. The chief business was to arrange the programme for the annual races. The chairman suggested the advisability of the club erecting a grand stand, but Dr. Stewart thought it would be unwise to do this until the race course was vested in trustees. With regard to the vi -sting of it in trustees, Mr. Gooday stated that he had received a letter from Mr. Mount to the effect that steps would be taken at the next meeting of the General Assembly to have the matter completed, The progiamme of the races was then taken into consideration. It will be found in our advertising columns. The amount collected this year is already considerably in excess of last year, and on this accouut it may be thought that higher prizes should have been given, but the stewards were desirous of having a fund loft in hand after the laces, for the purpose of makitag the course what it ought to be. While the stakes could have been considerably increased this year beyond what they ha\e been fixed at, we would draw attention to the fact that they are some £G0 in excess of last year ; an additional handicap having been added to the second day's lacing, and several of the stakes slightly increased. Considerable discussion took place with regard to the Town Plate, but the stewards were almost unanimously in favour of handicap races in preference, so they made an increase in the District Handicap, and lowered the Town Pla*e. The entrance money, distances, &c, having been decided upon and the programme finished, tke meeting closed.

The usual monthly meeting of the Tuapeka Hospital Committee was held in the Commercial Hotel on Tuesday evening. Present — Mr. Bastings, president, in the chair, and Messrs. Harrop, Keen, Smith, Thompson, Abel, Simpson, Dr. Stewart, and Secretary. The minutes being read and confirmed, the president read the correspondence, viz., a letter from Mr. J. Bulfin, the sectretary of the Assembly Room Committee, Waitahuna, enclosing the sum of £6 4s. 6d., beii'g the proceeds of a benefit to the Hospital ; also a letter from Mr. J. M'Kellar, Tapauui, enclosing a cheque and cash for the sum of £32 65., being his subscription list for the Hospital. He also sent a patient who had unfortunately got his leg broken. The secretary was instructed to acknowledge the receipt of these remittances, with the thanks of the committee. There was no report from the Visiting Committee, Dr. Stewart, on behalf of the matron of the Hospital (Mrs. Duncan), tendered her resignation . 11l health had induced her to resign the appointment, and she wished to be relieved at the end of the month. Resignation received. Mr. Jamos Smith thought that Mrs. Reynolds, the wife of the warder, would be a very suitable person for the work. Dr. Stewart drew attention to the rule which existed that applications must be called for by advertisement. It was then .agreed to advertise the vacancy three times in the "Duuedin Times," and in the local paper, up to the date when applications would lie received. Mr. Keen was appointed a member of Visiting Committee in the room of Mr. Harrop, who retired by rotation. There being no other business before the chair, the meeting broke up.

A meeting of the Cemetery Trustees will be held in the secretary's office this evening, and the usual monthly meeting of the Building Society takes place to-morrow evening.

The District Coroner, W. L. Simpson, Esq., held an inquest at Waipori, on Monday last, in the Waipori Hotel, on the bodies of Ann Tighe, wife of John Tigke, bullock driver, and his child Fiances, who -were both found dead in his house on Sunday morning. The verdict given in the case of the mother was, "died from apoplexy," and in the case of the child, "died from suffocation, by pressure of the mothpr'i body upon the child." From the evidence adduced, it appeared that Ann Tighe on Saturday night was somewhat the worse of liquor. Her husband came home at 12 o'clock at night, and finding her in this state, he took charge of the child and sat up with it till 2 o'clock, when the mother appeared to be better. He then gave her the child and went to bed. The deceased also retiri'd to another ted in the same room --a single bunk— in front of which was placed the cradle with the child in it. It would appear that during the night deceased had been attempting to suckle the child while in the cradle, and in the act of stooping, was seized with a fit ot apoplexy. When her husband awoke on Sunday morning, he found her lying across the cradle with the upper part of her body pressing on the chest of the child — both dead.

The volunteer movement has now extended to Tapauui. where we learn steps are about to be taken to form a corps. . It is thought a muster of 40 can easily be made.

We learn that Mr M'Kellar, of Tapanui, has collected the sum of L 32 6s towards the funds of the Tuapeka Hospital.

We have much pleasure in drawing the attention of our AV.iipori readers to the announcement by advertisement that the Lawrence Dramatic Club will repeat the entertainment they recently g.ive at Wetherstones, at Waipori on Friday, the 9th Decembei\ As the proceeds of the entertainment will go towards the funds of the Tuapeka Hospital, we have no doubt there will be a good attendance. In addition to the object being a good one, we can testify that the performances of our Lawrence amateurs are of no me.in description.

TnROUOH very bad management no intimation of the dispatch of the European Mail was made public by the chief postmaster until a day or two before its departure. We were therefore unable to give our readers the usual notice of the closing of the mail in Lawrence. We observe that the Airedale with the mails for the United Kingdom sails fiom Dunedin to-day.

Mr. Yogel, following the footsteps of the Premier, is expected in Dunedin in a few days to make an attempt to raise some politics.! capital.

Our advertising columns present a formidable requisition to Mr. G. F. C. Browne, to stand at the forthcoming election to represent the Waitahuna district in the Provincial Council.

We are informed that W. L. Simpson, Esq., R.JI. and Warden for the Tnapeka district, has been supplied by the Chairman of Committees of the Provincial Council with a list of questions, answers of which are to be taken as evidence with regurd to the Tuapeka rail way.

Mb David Evans, as will be noticed in another column, offers prizes for the two best foals of this year's stock of "Young Wallace."

Dr. Oaru has been fined a farthing, for an assault on a Winton resident, named King.

The Provincial Retrenchment Committee have issued their report. They recommend a reduction of salaries to the amount of L4SOO a year.

Mr John Bathgatc is reported to have consented to coma forward aa a candidate foi Duuedin at the enduing election for the General Assembly.

We learn from Dunedin that two offers have been m.ule to constrnct the Southern Trunk Railway, one from a Tasmanian contractor, and another from Mr Cootes on behalf of an English capitalist, at a guarantee of 5i per cent for 35 ye.ira.

We are informed that the Commission in re suitable Hundreds to be declaved under the new Act, will be in Lawrence this week to repoit upon the Bsaumont and the Tapanui Hundreds. The Commission consists of Mr Cass, a retired Canterbury sqnatter, Mr Wain, retired Otago squatter, and Air W. Carr Young, who may be classed with the others. Our country is indeed in the hands of the Philistines.