BALCLUTHA.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 207, 18 January 1872, Page 6

BALCLUTHA.

y /From a Correspondent.) . y^'lSew Year's Day has come and gone, and left us about the same, but minus

cash. Our games were a great sueas far as a good crowd of wellbeIjaved folks could make them. Some of tfte sports were keenly contested, {■specially the wrestling (won by Charlton, and ex-champion of Cumberland),^ jumping, aud vaulting. The

hack racing was excellent. The firs! event was won by Mr. Knox's Orphan, a horse that took your maiden plate nway three years ago (but why allowed to run with untrained horses I don't know). The second- race is under protest at present, T>ut I think it will ■ be given to Young Dabiuet, of the Warepa ; the third was won by Dabinet also. *^^ Mr. John Barr has again commenced he having gone into tin HjToyal George, lately occupied by BrT?s\vifrs^"nts-, — n-ho Iioj? tlxa- Ornwn at v/prespnt. Mr. Barr had a booth on the Wfcpund at the sports, and by the num / .u)erN.of eager aspirants for nips, I imagine reaped a harMklst, sfrver nnd gold lined. The Yol _ untec*' Hurdle Race was won by Private R. Mason, after a good run with Private Jeffries, who got second honour?. The Caledonian S K-iety here gave a silver medal to be shot for by the.Cluth^ Volunteers. The match took place at the No. 2 Company's butts, on Mr. M'Neil's property, and resulted in Private W. Eraser, of Tv pkitoto, being declared the winner with points. The shooting was Jfcerv bad, owin<r, I suppose, a good dpal to a atiflMbreeze that was blowing pt the time, apT 'have seen some of the

VBfflclutJia Com par y make forty-five • |ifc the aamp rans;e, with ease,

Harry Yeend's coach was so cram,nod on tho Saturday before New Year's Day that he had to charter Mr. Chaplin's coach to convey some of his passenger* to Tokpinairiro, where ho had another coach in readiness for his pxt-ra load of humans. It is currently reported here, and T believe il. is true.

that Chaplin and Co. offered to buy bim off, but Harry wisely declined, !>r>f.»«?* Messrs, C, aud Co, will never

run him off, if the Clutha people support him, which they, will, I'm sure. " Why should Cobbius be king of the road more thau Yeenfiius ? " is the cry.

Only fancy, we are going to have two whole days' racing next month, on the Bth and '9th, when I trust your cracks, will come down to this delectable township. The crops here look very bad, the only exception being a patch of wheat of Mr. M' Neil's, thau which, I have heard people say they had never seen any better iv the colony at any time.

Mr. Arnott, our pastor, has resigned the charge of his congregation, who, T am sorry to say, allowed him.

By the way. have you had a troupe of strolling players up your way yet? t think they call themselves the American Variety Troupe. They performed here to a splendid houso on New Year's Day, and were advertised for the next night also, but the "joeing" and hissing |.hey got i'or their most execrable performance intimated to them that they had better clear out with whole heads and the cash they had got out of our pockets, than attempt another swindle, which the whole troupe did, in a gig and one horso. They ought to have been brought up for cruelty to auimals.

(From our own Correspondent. )

As the year 1872 is fairly ushered into working order ; our citizens have "entered heartily into horse racing, cattle impounding, clerical and educational arrangements, enforcements, informations, and intended reformations, and at present those various in our social circle threaten a complete change of names, places, and observances.

Bulclutha of '72 is not to remain in careless silence. Draymen and wood carriers are not permitted to pass here unmolested, as in the good days of old, and the poor " coos " must succumb to the order of the day,, and henceforth remain within their owners' dominions, on Sunday and Saturday, even should there be " not a drop to drink" contained on its surface. But these sudden commotions must be extremely vexatious. Our guardians of the public peace are so frequently shifted that we almost think they must be removed by telegraph. Our railway is frosted in first its attempt to bloom ; and our local school is threatened with an effectual closer. In this last cossip it is refreshing to observe the old Adam so briskly at work with all the ardour and vehemence of his historical powers. I wonder where the " Bruce Herald " obtained its sketch of a report of the annual meeting for the election of a school committee at Balclutha. The writer of the report must have been sadly misinformed, or else, if present, he must have left the^meeting determinedly obtuse, for the transactions are most egregiously misrepresented. The attendance was not wretchedly small, and it was not decided to wait a week before investigating the then nameless complaints referred to in Mr. Hislop's letter to tho committee. The school has since been examined, and considering the ages and attendance of the scholars, the progress made during the past year is encouraging to the parents and teacher. I observe the timber is laid on the ground for the additions to be made to our post and telegraph offices, but as yet no one can inform me who the rising architect, " Burtie," is whom your contemporary refers to.

Harvest work is now fairly commenced, and although in high land the average must be considerably less than last year, yet I believe a better selection of seed has made a marked improvement in the quality.