Tuapeka Times AND GOLDFIELDS REPORTER & ADVERTISER. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1872.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 209, 1 February 1872, Page 4

Tuapeka Times AND GOLDFIELDS REPORTER & ADVERTISER. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1872.

"MEASURES, NOT MEN."

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The mail arrangements between Switzers and Tapanui seem to be unsatisfactory. Mr, Mackay, the mail contiactor, leaves the Dunrobin Hotel at noon on Thursdays, ai riving at Tapanui at 3 p.m. On Saturdays he leaves Tapanui at 10 a.m., returning to the Dunrobin Hotel at 1 a.m. At that time the Switzers coach arrives with a mail for Tapunui, but there is no means of forwarding it to its destination till the the following Thursday.

We are informed that immediate steps will be taken to thoroughly establish the school at Evans Flat. The Committee at their next meeting will decide upon the master's salary and other business of importance. In the list of members of committee the name of Mr. W. Ramsay was inadvertently omitted'

Harvesting js now general in tho Mount B/nger district. It is'believed- that the yield will be fully equalvto any_ former year, and the quality, especially of the wheat crop, is excellent.

On Friday, the 19th ulfc, at the Resident Magistrate's Court, Roxburgh, a person of the name of Benn was fined 40s. and costs for committing an asßau.lt on Mr. John Beighton.

During the race week four foot rnces were run. The first came off on the race course on Thuisday morning. It was between Maidment and Coppin, distance ISO yards, for £5 a side. Both started from scratch, and after a very well contested race Coppin was declared the wiuner. On Saturday morning Maidment ran Hudson 150 yards in Ross place for Li a side and beat him. On the same morning Maidment gave Mullan of the Blue S;iur 11 yards start out of 150 for L 2 a side, ai.d be-tt him also. O'Biien ami Maidment then hud a Sj,iu of l"0 yards for L'd a side, the latter again proving victorious.

THE Hercules Water Rncc Company hate commenced sluicing operations on the baaks of the Molyneux. The race has taken over twelve months in construction, and the shareholders appear sanguine of success.

We understand a petition to His Excellency the Governor is being prepared, praying that the sale of 12,000 acres of the Moa Flat Block be disallowed. It is believed it will be numer« ously signed all over the province.

The annual public meeting for the purpose of electing a commit tee for the Moa Flafe side-school, and receiving the financial statement and annual report, tvr.s held in the schoolroom on the evening of Monday, the Bth alt. There was a fair attendance of parents and householders. John Kerr, E-*<] , was voted to the chair. The secretary read the minutes of the last annual meeting, which were confirmed. The financial statement, of which the following is an abstract, was rend and adopted :— Receipts - Balance on hand, 31st December, 1870, £20 Is sd. Expenditure —Repairs of school premises, 10s ; fuel, £2 ; prizes, £2 2s 6d ; lanips clock, &c,, £6 4s 9d. B:i lance on hand, December, 1871, £9 4s 2d. The following gentlemen were elected members of committee for the ensuing twelve months :— Messrs John Kerr, George Kerr, Walter Miller, Robert Patrick, Timothy Sheehy, Samuel Grognn, George M"Lay, John Eady, and Dr M'Rae. A vote of tharlks to the chairman closed the proceedings of the meeting. The membets of the new committee present remained for a few minutes" to elect office-bearers, when Mr John Kerr waa unanimously elected president, and Mr M'Rae, secretary anil treasurer.

The trial and acquittal of Reichelt, charged with setting fire to his premises in Princes-st., Dunedin, will be fresh in the memory of our readeis. The insurance companies in which Reichelt had insured his premises were not satis_ fied with the verdict of the jury, and refused to pay Reichelt the amount of their policies. Reichelt instituted proceedings in the Supreme Court to compel them to do so, and the first of the cases, by the result of which all the others agreed to abide, w«is commenced last Wednesday. It was conclu led on Saturday, when the jury returned a verdict for plaintiff. A new feature in this celebrated case appeared in theselast proceedings. It will be remembered that Reichelt accounted for his presence in the shop at the time of the fire by stating that he went there to procure some medicine he was taking for diarrhea, which he alleged ho was suffeiing from. In his examination on Friday and Saturday last, he stated that he visited his shop on the night in question to keep an assignation he had made with a Mrs. Wright, who was stopping in Miss C-ine's rogisfciy office, and that tho fire commenced while he was with M,s. Wright i.i Mis 3 Cane's kitohex Mrs. Wright denied this story point blink, but the jury, from their verdict, seemed to believe Reichelt.

The Heart of Oak Company, C.irrick Range, finished crushing last Fiiday. 104 tons of stone yielded 338 oz. lOdwts. of gold.

Owing to the scarcity of water in Wellington caused by the want of r;>in, tha supply of fresh water to steamers for sfce>wn purposes, h.is been stopped by the Government.

The Star of the E.ist Company, Carrick Kanges, cleared up on Thursday last, the result being 224 ounces 9.1 wts of gold from 104 tons of stone.

At the Waste Land Board meeting of Wed* nesday the 24th ult., Smith and Anderson gave notice of the intention of Mr. Clarke to appeal to the Supremo Court aga : nst the decision of the Board on his application for 45.500 acrps, and requested that a caso ia writing might be stated or settled by the Board pursuant to section 18 of the Ofcngo Waste Lands Act 1866. It Was resolved that as soon ns a case ia laid before the Board, it will exercise its functions in terms ef the 18th section, but that unless the purchase money is paid in terms of the 47th section, the application will be deemed withdrawn, cancelled and void, and tiie deposit forfeited.

Messrs. Holly, O'Brien, and Cowle of the American Excelsior troupe, appeared befo:« crowded houses in the Commercial Assembly Eoom, Lawrence, on "Wednesday, Thursday, and Fiiday. The programme was varied each evening, and judging from the enthusiastic bursts of applause- which greeted the performances, they were highly appreciated by those assembled.

Lawrence was last week honored by the presence of the illustrious Jock Graham, ediior of Graham's Review; Mr. Graham combined business with pleasure, and on the race course succeeded in disposing of a number of copies of the journalistic gem he publishes.

The anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns was celebrated under the auspices of the Caledonian Society on the evening of Thursday last in Dunedin. Robert Johnston, a laborer working on the Pott Chalmers railway, was killed by a frag* ment of stone from a blast striking him on the head. . • The Cagli Opera Troqpe are playing in Dun-edin-to good houses. Daring the present dry weather it is extremely difficult to obtain water for drinking pr culinary purposes in Lawrence.

The bridge at Tuapeka Mouth is so dilapidated as to be almost impassable. The flooring is cmni'letely rotten, and the beams are in a somewhat similar condition. We believe that the Government are willing to give £1 for every pound collected by the inhabitants to wards the repair of this bridge ; but the population being so exceedingly limited, there does not seem to be any chance of raising the required sum. Some steps should, however, be taken by those interested, as, if the bridge is allowed to remain in its 'present unsafe condi tion, the occurrence of accidents is inevitable.

The Rev. Mr. Morrison has declined to accept the call of the Presbyterian Congregation of Lawrence. The reason which induced the rev. gentleman to decline the call, we learn from a private source, was that, were he to leave Switzers the congregation there might find it difficult to get a successor, whereas the Lawrence congregation will have little trouble in securing the services of a minister.

One day this week a resident in Lawrence ■was waited upon by a new chum Chinaman, who asked him to procure a miner's right for him.

On being requested to-hand over the inevitable

20 shillings, the "heathen Chinee" replied, " No money, you pay, me pay you by and bye," The biirbariau unfortunately didn't see it, and the Chinaman departed surprised and disgusted. Had John been reading the notices in reference to the Lxnd Transfer Act, and concluded that if

the Government gave credit for the hind Re-

gistration fees, they ought also to give credit for | ruiueis' rights? W The usual monthly meeting of the Tuapeka Athenwum Committee was held in the Library on Monday the 22nd ult. Present— J. C. Brown, Esq. (i«i the chair), and Messrs. W. D. Morri- •■"■ F Hastings, ArWuckle, Abel, Forbes, and Humphrey. The minutes of the previous meiting weie read and confirmed. It was decided to gee a case mnde for the geological specimens received from Dr. Hector. The Secretary was i.istructed co writs to Dr. Hector for specimens

of Sax. The following accounts were passed

for payment :— Messrs. H>rbert and Co., £4» .and the Secretary's salary The Secretary was tlao instructed to write to the proprietors of those newspapers published in the colony not now received by the Committee, asking them to furnish tho Atheujeuni with copies. A conver" iation took place about the necessity of obt:i nKig a legular supply of new works by popular " authors lroru England, and ifc was agreed to get Mr. Pin-sons, of London, to select new books to the value of £10, and forward at intervals of vwo or three mouths. The list of magazines and periodicals was then overhauled, when the following were added to the list :— the " Scientific American " and the " Alta California." A vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings. On the establishment of telegraphic communication between London aud the cities of Australia, Me33rs. Greville and Co., intend to supply to the press of New Zealand weekly budgets of European news. In the '"Gazette" of the 17th ult., th** Superintendent announces that it is intended to stop up certain roads, amongst others a large number iv the Waitahana We3t district, and several in the Glenkenich district. Objections to the closing of such roada must be sent in to the Superintendent within 60 days of the first publication of the intention to do so.

At midday on the 22nd ult. a fire broke out on Mr. Barlow's premises, Clyde. Fortunately there was an ample supply of water immediately Bt'hand, and the flames were prevented from epreading. Before, however, they were subdued, the back portion of the premises was consumed. 4.t nine o'clock the same evening flames were observed issuing from the stables of Mr. Parks' Hartley Arms Hotel, and on the alarm being given, a large number of the inhabitants

proceeded to the scene and endeavoured to stay the progress of the- devastating element. I Dispite the most strenuous efforts, however, the stables were consumed, but the spread of the fire to adjoining buildings was fortunately prevented..- A brisk wind was blowing at the tirae, and had there not Wn a large quantity of water available, great destruction would have been unavoidable, as the buildings in the town are composed of highly inflammable materials. Till the 3 1st March, applications from persons desiring to register their names on the Electoral Rolls of the Colony, will be received b^ the officers appointed for that purpose. The duty of all possessing the

necessary qualification of enrolling themselves

on the list of voters, has been so often pointed out, that it is unnecssary to again advert to it here. Forms of- application can be obtained at this office, gratis. A fire occurred at Tuapeka Mouth last

"Wednesday morning.

About 8 o'clock,

flames were observed proceeding from the house occupied by Dr. Maiiler, "and before assistance could be obtained the whole building was in -flames, which speedily consumed ifc. The fire is supposed to be the work of an incendiary.

Between lhe new mining regulations and those previously in fovce, tho only important differences appear to bo that no deposits ore required on applications for gold-mining or agricultural leases.

Th«« " Mount Ida Chronicle " states, on what it considers reliable authority, that the Government intend to remove the judicial police headquarters of the Dunstan district from Clyde to Cromwell.

A splendid peach grown by Mr, Jeffery, Ress Place, was last week forwarded to our office. It was fully ripe and looked as tempting as peaches grown in Australia. It did not belie its looks, for it tasted deliriously, and the flavour was exquisite. Mr. Jeffery has grown a "quantity of this fruit beside his house in

Roe 6 Place, which proves that the olituate

here, is aadpted therefor. Mr. Jeffery's euffiMß should encourage others to follow, bis

fjapple, :