THE SCANDINAVIAN SETTLEMENT

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 231, 4 July 1872, Page 8

THE SCANDINAVIAN SETTLEMENT

The Wairarapa correspondent of .the " Evening Post " gives an interesting account of the trip of four Wairarapa settlers to the newly-formed settlement in the Fortymile Bush. He says :—": — " They were much pleased with the journey, and both surprised and gratified at the progress which had been made at the settlement, considering the short time it had been formed. comprises between eighty .and ninety persons all told, of whom some five cr six are Englishmen, and the remainder Norwegians and Danes. The cottages built by the latter have been made very comfortable, each having- a fire-place, and some of them having mats on the floors which the women have plaited very neatly out of New Zealand hemp. An apparatus for baking scones, brought by one of the Norwegian families from their native home, much attracted the visitors' attention, being so much more handy than anything which has been in use amongst us "for similar purposes. The women and children appeared contented and happy, and the men were employed in falling bush on the main line of road. They have taken the -work by contract at 255. per chain, for which small sum they undertak-3 to. fall the timber a chain in width, as well as length, and stump a portion of it level with the ground. The price is much lower than it could be done for in any other part of the province. Of the three nationalities the preference is given to the Norwegians, as the men and women who hail from Norway appear to "be more at home, more handy, and better suited for the position than either the Danes or the English ; but probably this may bo owing to the former having been selected from the country districts, and the latter from the seaport towns. It is to be regretted for the sake of these immigrants and also as a bar to the success of the settlement, that the land which is to be allotted to them is distant six miles from where they are located. But there was heard none of thai grumbling which is supposed to be a characteristic of the English, and' which would certainly prevail in an En#glish settlement under similar circumstances. When I stated in a former letter that the Scandinavians were not' fit for station hands or domestic service, T referred to the obstacle which their ignorance of the English language interposed'to their becoming such, to their ignorance of duties which as shepherds and. stockmen they are required to perform, and to their extreme desire to live

apart from the English, which characterises the Norwegians of the United States, as it does those who ha7e immigrated to New Zealand. It is perhaps too soon to pronounce any positive opinion as to tho success of the present experiment, but from the reliable teports of visitors, I infer that there is every prospect of its proving successful.

The last mail brought news of» the death of ofie of zhe most illustrious of Australian colonists — W. C. Wentworth. The event is thus noticed in. the- " Sydney Morning Herald " : — " One item of the mail news is the death of William Charles Wentworth, an ardent talented man, who played a part in the emancipation of New South Wales from military institutions that will always secure his place in history. During the later years of • his life he withdrew from the colony and took no public part in its affairs, and a new race has arisen in the politcial world that knows him only by repute ; but the recollections -of his fervid oratory will never pass from the memory of the generation that listened to it. Like many a vehement liberal who has - preceded him, he grew conservative iv bis old age, and began to doubt whether he had blessed the colony by the representative institutions that he had secured for it. His chosen protege was Sir James Martin, but whether the mantle of the elder > JJ * i prophet has altogether fallen on the shoulders of the younger, may perhaps be more than doubted. Out of respect to the memory of the deceased gentleman, Parliament adjourned over Tuesday." One of the Ballarat Jodges of the Manchester "Unity Order is entering upon a very practical undertaking. From the " Courier " we learn that at a recent meeting " a resolution wa& carried approving of the establishment of a Technical and Practical Trades School in Ballarat, for the purpose of educating bo}^ born in the town in mechanical trades.' This resolution will be laid before the next district meeting, in' June, for its approval. The prime movers in this mutter intend, as soon as the district meeting has confirmed this resolution, to invite the co-operation of all the local friendly societies, so as to make the movement a general one in the town."

Here's a true tale of woe ; all about a beautiful and abandoned wife in this city. She married a wretch who loved her money not wisely, but too well. When he got t^he money he loved somebody else, and departed for the " rolling prariries of the mighty West." His earthly possessions were burnt up in the Chicago fire, and then he came back to New York, and put up at the Astor House without a .cent in his pocket. Remorse seized him (it must have been remorse), and ascertaining the address of his lawful partner, he thus wrote her: "I am here penniless. Forgive the past and come to my arms again." This is what she wrote back : ' I'll come as soon as I can. Excuse delay. I have gone to have a loaded haad put on the cane yoxx left." He didn't wait ! Remorse seized him again and carried him off. Finis.

A Melbourne journal says: — "A curious evasion of the licensing law ia now practised at the Divan dancing saloons, in Bourke-street. To comply with the Act, they close up punctually at twelve, and turn everybody out ; but at half-past twelve the doors are re-opened, and dancing reconimniences, being kept up during pleasure. It is a beautiful Licensing A.ct, ours."

The following letter appears as an advertisement in a late number of the '•New Zealand Herald " :— " To the Editor of the 'Herald.'— Sir — We, on behalf of several of the young lady b.irmaids of Auckland, request ' Polly Plum ' and ' Sketcher,' of the ' Evening Star, 1 " to mind their own business. We are not half so badly off as they imagine — Maude Hennessey, Barbara Witdoii, Ophelia Marlel!" Trustworthy information has retched the " Gipps Land Times" that gold has been found in payable quantities in two different places between Stockyard Creek and Port Albert. The ground is being worked by a party of two, but they refuse as yet to divulge the locality. Rumour, has it that the new workings are on thp Yakakie station.

A Western girl recently discovered that her lover was about to take another girl to a ball, and, disguising herself as .a- baekman, drove them several miles out of town and left them in a dense wood, exposed to a pelting rainstorm — young lady in a low-necked muslin dress and kid slippers, and her escort in full party toggery and thin boots. They found shelter in a neighbouring house, where there hap" pened to be- a minister, who quickly made them man and wife. The disguised hackman now sits in sackcloth and ashes.

Holloway's JPills, a Safe and Effectual cure for Dropsy — This insidious disease arises from various causes, and frequently from some obstruction to the free circulation of the blood, generally exhibiting itself by a swelling of the feet and ankles, ascending gra. dually, until it affects the whole of the body. Those who are thus afflicted should immediately take Holloway'-s Pills. This invaluable medicine purifies the blood and invigorates the sy.. stem, so that many of the^ worst cases of dropsy have been -cured by their moans. Females at the. turn of life should have .recourse to these excellent Pills, being the safest and most effective remedy ever us§ed»