LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 295, 25 September 1873, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Thb next English mail will close at the Postt office, Lawrence, at 6 a. in. on th.c Ist proximo. A PABTY of bushmen while rQwing up thq Molyneux from Tuapekn Mouth, on Sunday, the 14th instant, in search of the body of William Roscow, reoently drowned at Bpaumqnt Ferry," discovered the body of a man in a very decomposed condition, lying on the bank of the river. Information of the ciicinnstance was given tq the police by Mr. Andrew M'Beath, when Inspeotdr Thompson at once dispatched Constable. GreeirW havis the body conveyed to the Tuapeka Mouth Hotel, and to take possession of any. thing likely to lead to its identification. The. constable- reported a» follows:— That be found, the remains of a man on the north side of the. river, thirteen miles from Tuapeka Mouth. The body appeared to have been in the water at least six "months. The deceased had brown" whiskers and gcej .hair, ; had on a dark; wollei. <■ scarp witb white stripes in it,' a light grey Crimean shirt, and a pair of broad ribbed dark tweed, Arofasfeis,. with a fcotamQn leather belt round hi* waist. Had cm also a pair of thick wolleri drawers, and a pair of heavy water-tight boots *— the latter had been repaired. Constable Green had the body removed to the Tuapeka Mouth Hotel, where an inquest was held on Monday, last, before .Alexander Stewart, Esq., J.P. A verdict of found dead, but from what means there was not sufficient evidence to show, was, returned by the' jury, - ' The probablifage-oF^ deceased was supposed to be from 30 to 3\ On Tuesday, the 16th inst., a very successful "W«st- of 5 or 6-ewt. of powder was fired in Garrett's claim at Wetherstones. This, we believe, is the largest blast ever fired at Wetherstones, and if the cement proves payable it is likely to be followed by many others. fHE lecture' delivered by Mr. J. P. Armstrong in Roxburgh, on behalf of the school fonds, wl> .are informed, was a success— the lecturer being frequently applauded. During the evening thei HafnAnid Society sung the following glees : - "A .Christmas- Madrigal ;" " Since first I saw your face ;" and |* The Dream." Mr. Reid sang "'The British Lion," and Mr. Coope .'sang a comic song and one of Dibdin's most popular sea songs. A cordial vote of thanks was given to ,Mr, Arniftrong, as also, to Mr. Reid J the conductor, and Mr. Burton, who presided' at thei hsrmoniuin. Mr. Ireland, M.P.C., occupied^ the chair. * The proceeds amounted to £9. Hou«r Chinamen were brought before ' Captain Bl'lCenzie, J.P., at Tapanui, a few days ago, chained with wilful •destruction cf, private property -to wit, mining on .Captain Logan's free-, hold at Leithairi Gorge. They were each fined in the sum of £1, and were ordered to pay £5 each lor damage done, or take the alternative .offourtcen days in Lawrence gaoK It is haidly, necessary to any the Chinamen elected to " take. it out "'rattier ttmn pay such an exorbitant fine. _ V7e are informed that a party of WetherstQ nes miners have taken a contract for two^ mil es oi_ihp .Lawrence section of the line of railway. We believe they started work yestertjay.- - The contractors all along the line are, pushes forward the work with great rabidity, and t Qer e. cans b$ little doubt the line between Toikom a iriro and Lawrence will be finished simultaneously with' the. main coast line to Dunedin; We oaU the attention of Horse breeders to the. advertisement in another column, of the Stud, Horses standing for service on the Moa Fiat Station, Ivanhoe in particular being considered by competent judges the beat Clydesdale horsey at present :n New Zealaud. Ma, BH2WITT, Government Chinese Jnterpre-. ter, delivered a lecture in tho Commercial Assembly Room, Lawretioe, on Wednesday, the lOtii inst., on ''The Manners and Customs ofthe Chinese.' 1 The lecture was for the benefit of ouv local hospital. -Th.e-'everiH»g was very! boisterous, dark, and stormy, preventing many, froia attending who otherwise would have, been pi esent. Dr. Halley, presided, and introduced Mr. Blewiit, whp delivered a very interesting lecture, showing an intimate acquaintance with the subjeot he had in hand. He. spoke at some length on the antiquity of tho Chinese nation, tracing its history from records and traditions, some S00!) y<<iiaback. He then, touched uporithV marriage laws of the Chinese, their public institutions, ancf their educational system, which showed an eager attention be-, stowed by them oa the education especially of their wail children!. Tb.eleptu.re wasliateued to. with arre.it attention, and at its close a hearty' vote of thanks was passed to. Mr. Blewitt. In the telegraphic, summary of the discussion, in the House of Representatives ou the Immigration Bill of the government, Mr Webster ia stated to have said that hfi condemned the Bill as having been framed by literary men, and compared editors to washerwomen. He spoke, of editors as scorch erq, southerly bursters, &c. He ridiculed the (xoidfields, members, and said the meuibersof the Ministry knew more about selling old clothes, lawyers' leiliers, and invoices, than about colonisation. The House listened in dead silence.— Mr Luckie said "Wallace Wight"* — i c., Mr Webster, the member for Wallace — had surpassed himself that evening. Considering the festive garb in which he appeared that evening, there was some excuse for him. As. to the snears of Mr Webster, at the.Press, he^ asked if it was right that such sneers should; be thrown out at a class of men who had made, their mark in every Colony, and one of whom had reached the highest position in this Colony* They rose sonietitnes, no dinibt, from small beginnings, but they had the knowledge to know where to get information, and that icaa knowledge. ' He had heard also of assignees, and the cjerks of assignees in bankruptcy.* coming into, a condition of wealth, by the misfortunes of otherp, aud-he { djtd|ffot consider that anything to. boa3t of ', The first meeting of the. creditors of Duncan, M'Rae, of Ettrict, butoher, was held in the. Couit-house on the 22ud inst, Mr. J. C* Arbuckle was appointed trustee, and Messrs. Robt. M'Leod and Wm, Sutherland supervisors. The bankrupt was exapined preliminarily by, Mr. Mouat, whp Appeared on nehalf of several creditors. The bankrupt made. th*. following, statement : — " My liabilities, with the exception of- a very.sraajl amount, have been incurred within -the- last six months, and are £333; 18s. 7d. ; and my assets £57- Is. lid,, including £28 178. of book debt*. I have made, some bad debts, whioh are included in my assets. I cannot at present account for such a deficiency,. in ; «v.ch a short tiuiQ,,- I sold Homeland about twelve monthji^ago to Krancis Prijjgle, my. "father-in-law, and receive? £70 in cash. It has. not, up to, the present time, been conveyed U\ him. ".I 'consider about one hah\of,iny book debts are~good."- The 14th October was fixed* for the ne.xt~ hearing. ~ - - — Mr.' A Hill ; J«ck, Bon. Secretary'of th? Board: of Fire Underwriters, has informed tbe.Secretary. of the XjLv^rence^ire Brigade, that therßoard are. willing to giye. the 'sum of £sfr, towards tha, necessary; materials required by the Brigade. -. PnaiNC^the present year £16, 000. ia te'beexpened'on sclwol buildings. ' AYe are reliably informed- that the fallowing sums will expanded on the respective school buildings named, by the end of the 'current year :— Blue Spur 4v£1254 v £l2s ,' Clarks Elat. £175 : Evans Flat. £330 ; Waipori,' £150 ; and Manuka Creek, £200. With.regard' to the Lawrence school building, w.e believe the. Government are in favor of hivsnng a new school built on a, site removed from theprbDospd railway station, a,pd selling the present site. We trust the LBOO0 v shortly to be expended by the General Government for adjudge channel at Wajpoxi will be placed, in tile' bands, of %he Provincial Executive. Should that _body_h*ve, the management of this work, we may restsatis^. fied that it will be set in motion without delay. We have , to acknowledge, the receipt of a. oppy of the first number of th«. " Qtago Chris-.' tian Re.conl,"' and. judging fronx its contents,, it appears a journal likely to be acceptable to the, ■ religious community. It seems to be,thoroughly unaeotarian in its character. '■ . The • Wellington Correspondent of. the % j " Southland Times," w.ri^ing on the subject of' ' the Provincial Loans Empowering Bill, says he, believes that, but for the threat of a dissolu-. tion. there would have been, a majority against the Bill. 'Thjjfe are .in t^e.Assgm^ly^&t present' more than ttie average number of men who Aa\ ' not feet at all certain of re-election, or rather! I -who feel pretty certain that they will not b% 1 «<& " J ,•.•.—■*

Ira art informed our Inpal Atpateur* have' con- * Minted to repeat the concert they ,Kavp last »Thur»day fcpgut Friday fortnight for the benefit pf the Hospital. 'In additional the concert, we < art informed ia grand : B4ty.v will ■ al*o ' take place, > . •, , > Sx one of tho»e mistakes yhich will pcour (nrenwith the greatest care," ojir last w^ek't * parteIof TtJABSKA*TIMB8 I f6i'Tapanui was sent to Boxburghi 'and we suppose; although we have not yet bee,n able to ascertain, pqr Roxburgh parcel was sent to Tapahuf, ' We trust oar subBoribers would get- ft Dopy' of .the: paper even although -it did hot biar their, own. name, andaddress. , ••_••■ ,^HB auction sale in connection- with the Jiawrence Wesleyan Church tb'oVplaee,' as a'd^ vertised, on Friday afternoon, d The weather,, which had been extrenjely c»ld;jand .yet Iqr pome days previous, cleared up, "and consider.ably lightened the hearts v-bf!v -bf ! tiros'* laiiies and gentlemen wio wereimmedia&ly oonn'ected.yith , the gift auction. The. live, «tool^ cpnsisting pf ■, dairy cows and many kinds' of poultry, -tote disposed of hr pttblic auction in Mr. John. Airy'syard.rat ivery fair prices!, ', The s&le; flt , fanoy . goipd; commenced in the Athenseupi about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and continuedwithout intermission till close upon 10 at night.-. The attendance during the- whole of the time was- excellentH-in the evening especially the hall was crowded. " j!s might therefore be expected, the result was a~~kee.n competition for thjia numerous articles' offered and fair prices realised, yfe inspected the- goods before the, sale commenced, and were gratified to find that the friends of the church had' so. liberally con-. inbnte4. towards the sale. The stalls were ppvere4 with a vast number of articles, hotn pf a fanciful' and of a plain description— too numerous, as the auctioneers r say in. their ad-. yertisementSj tp particularise ;- indeed -if we attempted this task, we would' not find room for any thing else in 'this weeVs issue of the paper. A ' refreshment stall, presided over by Mrs. ?urns, was situated in a convenient part of the |iaU. and from all appearances was well patronised. The ' various refreshments, we are informed, were supplied gratuitously. By the. -* hour of closing aboye mentioned, all the miscellaneous stock was sold, and the Committee's expectations far more than realised. The net' proceeds, aftfc paying all expenses, amounted to the handßome sum of LB4 3s. sd. \The ■whole of the arrangements were carried out by Messrs. Matthews and Fargher, assisted by Mr. Coverlid, and the success which, attended their, exertions, we have no, doubt, will be to them an ample leward." Mr. Hay, 'who actei as salesman on the occasion, performed his arduous duties gratuitously, an(i with l^ia. wonted energy and tact. 008 Havelpck correspande.nt informs, us that |he recent hea.vv rains have caused a stoppage' of mining and cither work there; Most .of the claims are paving very well, axjd show every prospect of continuing to do so. ' A fifth share in Bush and Party's claim was sold last week for' the- Bum of L 52. Thia party now employ horses and drayfi inwoiking their claim. - Thp EoY' J. .Menzies has fonyarded us the following letter with reference, to an interesting fossil discovered by him in ,a 'piece of lignite:— •* An interesting find in the -way pf a fossil fish fell in ' my way last Saturday, which yo\i -will. favor me by reporting in yo\ir journal. Inbrea.king up a piece of lignite o^ir lio.«se, the clear outline of a fislt conl^ Toe traced on ilie one side, find the half matrix on i/he other. In addition to the usual form, of a lisli, the head, with the eye digtiQctly marked, tha tail," and a radiation on" the Itaqk, -which might be taken for the dorsal fin, were more or less Refined, Tke length o.f the fossiil was about 7 inches ; the "head somewhat prolonged ; $he tajl rather broad, $nd the tin sloped. Inlrying to disintegrate it for the benefit of pf the local museum, it was unfortunately smashed. Still, the' pieces exist, anil some Expert might put., them to^ethe^. The half matrix exists intact, and can be inspected, at my house. lam not aware that any thing of the sort has been found in any' of our local carboniferous formations previously, and I write this w^th a view of suggesting to those employed iv excavating our lignite to look out for snob, specimen,^ and wlien found, rather to preserve them in the mass than jnake any attempt at disintegration. It is bo. difficult to reduce a piece of lignite without, smashing the very part you mean to -preserVQ.'”- ~ From th,Q Melbourne.. papers w,e observe that' a great sensation. w,as caused in" Melbourne on the discovery in the Yarra of the body of R.^- Wardi!l,'\vho,as an accountant for the Victoria Conjpany, had coniessed to having embezded ijh&'aum of £7000 of their money.' From his disappearance on the 18th of Met montk, when he must have .committed Suicide as, X?' previously signified, •np'to the time hj.^. boiity.-was .discovered, .>many were the surmises as, to the f %te of this . Unfortunate gambler. It appears, th^e deceased ; kept a diary, which has been 'secured by ; ' |he police, in,wbacli.lie recorded afthis losses -at unlimited 100 and poker, and the names: of ' the persons .with whom-, he had playeci. The ' losses und^.tjxat heading- alone are set down by hitn with gyeat precision, and' they amaunt withiiL the compasa bf one yea; to the sum pf £2ooo.^ '•'■ -- "- ' I . r."> '