LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 225, 23 May 1872, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Two mails from San Francisco are now over due. Up to the hour of our going to press neither had arrived at Auckland. Tbb Wetherstones Readings take place tonight. Sittings of the District Court will be held in Lawrence on the 11th of June. The Horseshoe Claim have ordered a friction break from Messrs. Kincaid, M'Queen and Co. MESSRS. Mouat and M'Keay, Solicitors, have I removed from Ross Place to the office formerly | occupied by Mr, Gooday, in Peel-street Mb. John Obaddook desires us to state that, having disposed of all his property in Lawrence, he is ahout to go to England. An extraordinary general meetipg of shareholders of the Phceuix Water Race Company, to take' into consideration the offer made to lease the property by $he Gabriels Gully Quartz 'Mining C0.,- is convened for the evening of Saturday, the Ist in§ta,n,ti

An art union, in aid of the building fun\ of the; Church of England, Roxburgh, will be drawn on the 20th July. There will be &0 members at ten shillings each, and 100 prizes, nqluding several works of art will be distributed The anniversary of the Loyal Boxburgh Lodge, M,U.1.0.0.Pt, will be celebrated on the evening of Thursday, the 2Qth prox., by a ball and . supper, at Beighton's Assembly Room, Roxburgh, when, we have no doubt, there will be a large gathering of the brethren, their friends, and their wives and sweethearts. Sunday last was a gsla day at the Tuapeka Chinese Camp. A large number of Celestials assembled at the Chinese Eippire Hotel to com. pliment Mrs. Chew Lain on her marriage (which took place the previous Tuesday), and these ' compliments, as is customary with Chinese on such auspicious ocoasioqa, took the tangible "orm of presents either of cash or articles of value. It is stated that the lady received presents to the value of between £200 and £300. The ball to take place to-morrow night at the Lawrence Athenaeum promises to be a great success. We may state that arrangements have beenmade by the Committee for the services of excellent musicians, and that the refreshment department will be conducted in a style that will leave no room for adverse criticism. The proceeds are to be devoted to the aid of the funds of the institution. At the Teviot all the miners are busily at work. The river is low, and there is every indication that it will remain so during the winter. The plan of using trucks on the claims is becoming general. Courts for the revision of the Electoral Rolls of the Waikaia and Tuapeka districts, will be held by Mr. W, M. Hodgkins, Revising • Barrister— for the former • at Roxburgh, on Monday, the 17th prox., and for the latter at Lawrence, on Tuesday, the 18th proximo. At these Courts will be heard and determined all claims to have names inserted on the Electoral lists, and all objections to the names of persons being retained or placed upon the Electoral Roll. The Chinamen on the Beaumont Flat, judging from the large quantity of ground they are turning over, must be getting plenty of golil. On the same Flat, a party of Europeans have set in to open some ground. Great improvements are being made upon the celebrated Island Block. Eight ploughs are at work breaking up the ground, and 14 men are engaged in various other employments. A ditch 10 feet long by 6 feet wide has been made through the whole block for drainage purposes. About 300 acres will be sown in wheat next year. Haselmayer the conjuror, appeared in Bastings' Assembly Room, Lawrence, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, and on Friday afternoon. The attendance on Thursday evening was exceedingly good, but on the other two | evenings the room (was not well filled, and on Friday afternoon there were very few present. On each evening the Chinese mustered in force, and formed a large and[appreciativepoi" tion of the audience. The various clever tricks performed by Haselmayer created much wonder and amusement, and elicited repeated plaudits. The goblin drum which answered correctly all kinds of questions, and accompanied the piano without the apparent aid of human agency, was especially and deservedly an object of admiration and amazement. An enumeration of the various wonderful things done by Haselmayer would convey no information and scarcely interest our readers, so we will merely state that all his performances were marvellous and entertaining. Leithfikld, a country village in Canterbury, j that a stranger passing through might perhaps think had a dozen inhabitants, has a public . library comprising 1000 volumes. Chinese without miners' rights have hard times of it at present, as Mr. Blewitt, the Interpreter, is actively hunting them up and compelling them to take out the requisite document, j Owing to his unavoidable absence at Dunedin, Mr. Adams has been unable to commence the survey of Mr. Squires' race at Waipori. ' We hear he proposes to start the surrey, weather permitting, next Monday. We understand that the directors of the Phcenix Water Race Co. have agreed to the terms of a lease of their property to the Gabriel's Gully Q.M. Co. ; but finding that they could not legally lease the company's property for so long a te,rm as- proposed, have called a special meeting of shareholders to obtain special ' authorization. IN the Provincial "Gazette" it is notified that section 3, block vi., Rankleburn district, containing 97a. lr., will be offered for sale at the Survey Office. Lawrence, on Monday, the 10th June, at the upset price of 10s. per acre, with survey expenses added. ; The " Wakatip Mail " makes the gratifying announcement that a sermon delivered by the Rev. Mr. Ross at Queenatown was " free from cant." The prospectus of the Shag Valley Quartz Mining Co. has been issued. The capital Is to be £12,000, in £1 shares. The election for a member to represent Waikouaiti in the General Assembly is causing great excitement. Sir David Monro, late Speaker of the House of Representatives, "is a candidate, but it is not likely that he will be returned. "Cameo," in the .Auckland "Weekly Herald," remarks :— " I have been eye-witness to what an advanoed state of civilisation some of our Maori women are reaching.* It was only yesterday I saw one of these, a young, and,- for a Maoriess, not a bad-looking girL She was very tipsy, aud. she was having her boots polished at the corner of a pt"blic thoroughfare by one* df the street shoeblacks. Would this woman have been any worse 3F any better if she had never~seen a white man ? Missionaries and philanthropists, answer me' this question,

The " Wellington Independent" says :— " 80. July next about 200 miles of railway line will be under contract, either with Mr. Brogden or others, for construction." The Chinese Government is going to send fifty students a year for the next ten years, to study at Yale College, U.S. The Old Testament Company of Bible Be. risers are progressing at the rate of a chapter md a-half a day. Tue *' Auckland Herald " says : — "It is petty- well known that a few eminent civil engiieers are of opinion that in our principal lines of mil way there is a great waste of material, power, and expense , and that with light railways and completely filled trains there would be more profit than at present. It should be understood that a light railway is not necessarily a very narrow gaige ; it is light in construction and in rolling-stook, as may now be seen in an example in Buckinghamshire. There a line six miles in length conneots the Duke of Buokingingham's estates at Wotton with the Aylesbury and Buckingham Bailway. The guage is 4ft. BJin. : there are no heavy engineering woiks ; the highest embankment is not more than 12ft. and the deepest cuttiug 10ft. All the turnpike roads ahd lanes are crossed on a level, which saves the cost of bridges ; and, with exceptions, the only fences are the existing hedgerows. We are Informed that the estimate for this line was, exclusive of cost of land, not more than £1,400 a mile. It is obvious that a single line of railway, sach as here described, worked by horses, would in many distrlots prove a most valuable feeder to a main line, and would be at the same time sufficient for the wants of the inhabitants." Captain Baldwin, agent for Government Life Insurance and Annuities, may be shortly expected in Lawrence. We have been informed that the last crushing of the O.P.Q, Company, Waipori, yielded 73 ounces. Sevebali parties have recently 'set to work in the vicinity of old ground on Mitchells' Flat, Waipori. The prospects have been highly satisfactory. There is a large quantity of ground of similar quality in the Waipori 'district, which only requires the presence of population to yield np its aqriferons treasures. BottNETT AWD PABTir, in Long Gully, Waipori have boon washing during the last six weeks, and expect to ' finish in about a fortnight. From indications, the result is expected to be more than satisfactory. Silver is exceedingly scarce at Switzers, and great inconvenience is thereby occasioned. Every new arrival is pounced upon and compelled to disgorge whatever "change" he has in his possession. It is to be hoped that the scarcity of silver is amply compensated for by a plentiful supply of gold. It is said that Mr. James Macassey, of Dunedin, has issued a writ in the Supreme Court, against Mr, Warren, the proprietor of the " Wakatip Mail " for libel. The alleged libel is contained in the last issue of the •* Wakatip Mail," and refers to the petition from the Chinese for the removal of Mr. Warden Beetham. Speaking of the San Francisco service, the '* Nelson Colonist," a thick nnd thin supporter of the Government, says :— " If the regular irregularity of this service were to continue much longer, the population of New Zealand would rise as one man and denounce it." The same journal also says that "confessedly the boats employed are unequal to the service." The following extraordinary notice appears in the " New York Times " :— ' ' Lawyers who are acquainted with facts tending to bring home charges of misconduct to any of the Judges are requested to ooinrrfunicate at once with' the Judiciary Committee of the Bar Association. It is to be hoped that no one will refuse to assist this committee in their investigations." The half holiday movement Is still in satis*, factory operation in Lawrence. A RETUHN, ordered on the motion of Mr M'Glashan, has been laid on the table of the Provincial Council, showing the area of laud opened for sale during the year ending on the 31st of March. The total area of such land is stated at 128, 361 acres 2 roods 13 poles, but the items come short of that amount by twenty thousand acres. These figures include Mr Clarke's purchase. The average sold daring the financial year is stated at 24, 915 acres 3 roods 38 poles ; or, including Mr Clarke's purchase, which was paid in April, though properly belonging to the previous year, 73,322 acres 1 rood 5 poles. Tee following return has been made to the Colonial Government of land in the colony suitable for agricultural settlement:— Nelson, 336,000 acres : Auckland, 16,640,000 ncrea ; estimated area over which nat ive title has noj been extinguished, 10,200,000; provincial, available for settlement, about one-fifth of which is suitable for agricultural settlement, 749,061 acres; Hawkes Bay, 1,050,000 acres; agricultural landa ia the handa of the Government, 210,000 ; agricultural land over which the native title has not been "extinguished, 85,000 acres ; Taranaki, under Government control, 700,000 acres ; County of Westland, 175,000 acres suitable for agricultural settlement ; Otago, 834,783 acres; Wellington, purchased from , natives, 4,840,000 acres ; under the control of the Provincial Government, agricultural, 931.000 acres ; Canterbury, 922,233 acres suitable for agricultural settlement. The Kji Ministry are determined to carry out their laws tn et armis. A lato number of the " Times " says :— By the arrival of- the Vivid, cutter, from the Windward, lslands, the Government have received a reinforcement of twenty-three Tonguese troops. This is a valuable addition to the brigade already in Levuka, and swells the force at the command of tne Ministry to such extraordinary dilnjensions that they will be able to take the Government of the"c'o\\htry into their own hand a.nd e,niar.ce the laws of the realm. ...-*'