Tuapeka Times. AND GOLDFIEJ.DS REPORTER & ADVERTISER SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1873.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 314, 20 December 1873, Page 2

Tuapeka Times. AND GOLDFIEJ.DS REPORTER & ADVERTISER SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1873.

"MEASURES. NOT MEN." %ow\ Jtttellipm. TpE railway sub-pontract of Mr. Qrundy, between Lawrence and Waitahuna, h,ag been knpeked in the head, the contractors, we understand, having refused to advance as n^uch money as he demands. The exact cause of dispute we have not ascertained, but we. bp ljeye Mr. (Qrundy alleges that ho has more rook to Qonfend against th*n was' represented. When ho took the pontract, it was generally considered that he had accepted it at a price that would hardly pay him. Owing tq this circumstance, a good number of men are for the time being thrown out of employment.

A petition is being signed in tlie "Waitalmna district against the sale of the leases, of part of the commonage.

We are informed that the lowest tender for the building of a manse in connection with the Presbyterian congregation at Waitahuna was £642 185., and a» the architect's estimate was only £400, the congregational committee do not feel justified in proceeding with nfe, work. If the subscribers tq the man.se. fund, are agreeable, we learn that the committee will allocate the amount towards building a place qf worship.

ON Thui-sday evening last, a considerable number of people congregated on the racecourse to witness an exciting nice between two of our local hacks. The horses engaged w^re Mr Grieves eh g Sunbeam and Mr, D. Qavis' b g Steelboy j distance, two miles. Both horses have been under careful training for the last lqpnth-the trainers being Messrs. Davisqn and KeUo

respectively. Mr. M'Jjean, who acted as starter, got the horses away on veyy equal terms. The chesnut jumped away immediately -fi ou\ the stnrt, and ina^ntainexl \\\s ground, about four or fivs lengths, from start to finish, winning hands down, hard hold. We are infoiuied that a large sum of money was aPstake, anil the p,versanguine backers of Steelboy were th t orou j gh l y > disappoints^ with his pei-formance. Sunbeam was ridden by Monnghan and Steelboy by Ivelso. As we surmised in ov»r pre^viot^s issue, the fi-uifc trees throughout the, d^istric.t huve steered c.onderably by the recent h,e«vi: gnles of wind. Mr. Thos. Treloar, of Tuiij)eka Flat, informs us that he has lost an immense quantity of apples., $c It is a great pity th.it some means aie not levised in order to chepk the violence of the wind from committing such destruction after fruit has attained such progiess and development towards maturity. Nothing but belts of trees planted roijMid an. orchard will ever prove a sufficient hve^k for the gales o,f wind ylhiah are so pre^lent in this part of J{ew Zealand.

His Honor Judge Gray (who, we are glad to perceive, seems to, be restoied togood health) sat in the. District Court on Thursday, when the case 0^ JBtlward Vernon, bankrupt, which we fulljr reported^ some weeks ago, was called on. X Herbert, the trustee, stated that he 4 as one of the opposing creditors, now withdrew his opposition, as Yernon and his party had satisfied his claims. His Honor ordered the trustee to produce a report, which the trustee said he would have produced, at this sitting had he known that his Honor would have presided. Later in tlje day ths report whs duly filed, a.ml certificates of discharge w^re granted to Edward Vernon and Matthew Lyons. In the latter case, there, was, no, pressure of creditors, but the bankrupt, although in good work, had a family of five children, and. was not permanently in receipt of wages.

A WOOLLEN factory is about being started at Castlemaine. Castlemaine is "an inland goldfield, and not a rich one. It already has two tanneries, the best brewery \a Victoria (there are about fou,r brew^es tjhere). two, foundries, which do mining and even nautical engineering, and now a woollen factory is proposed^ although there are neither rivers, lakes, or coal§eld& in Castlemaine. Surely, this one fact should encourage Tuapekans in the laudable hope that Tuapeka likewise, should invest some of its. surplus^ capital in, reproductive manufactures, which would not depend for their support on •nerely local patronage.

The Eev. C. "NY. Rigg. of the. Ayesleyan Church, Dunedin, and Chairman of the Wesleyan Southern Circuit, delivered a lecture in the new Wesleyan building, Whitehavenstreet, on 'Wednesjlaji- evening. The }$cy x . W. H. Be$ A njps/ded, the llev.F. W. Uitt openeji tß^prbceeuings vv^ith prayer. Tl\e s.ubjeot of the lecture was— "'The ancient Britons : their customs, religion, and, origin." Our notes of the lecture, if expanded, would occupy two coluius of our paper, which spa.oe we cannot give, on. account of the. pressure of- other matter. The cjiief purpose of i^l^e lep<;ure was the correction of very vague And verjr erroneous ideas about our fore ivthers of ancient Britain. They were not savages. They did noj paint their bodies, and their religion was pure. They attributed to the Deity attributes which were in accord with, the ni.ost pure creeds of the prespnt d«y. Their religion was v not bloodthirsty, An ignorant* jifioplethey • were, not, because t lie-, Druid priest and priestesses were, well learned in theology; geometry, astronomy, physiology agriculture, And. the Bcisn"c.s. of government.' The Druids conducted both, spiritual and tetupojal affairs, and demonstrated that they had| ability' as well as ambition ft>r this union of power." But although they were far from, being, barbarous, the restriction of, education t<? ope intellectual priest c^iste could not bo. good for the qomuion weftl, it whs not sufficiently^diiEjiisivß..' Tile assertion tljat the Druids^ w^re- even polite, and Ikeic subjects polite also, ia evidenced by the historical f-ict that - tlvd ancient Britons trailed W;ith Spain, Greece, and Rume, whioh countries were at the very height of their civilisation at the time referred to, *t» this lecture, c.very Assertion was supported by ample and lAost reasonable evidence-, and, as a sample of excellently con- v densed-reasoiiinjj. it w,us most admirable. We regret our inability to published the lecture in extenso.

Mr-. Kobt. M'Leod purchased ths booths far the MwXnt Benger Jockey Club meeting' for the sum Qf £2o 10a 6J. Mr. Robt. got the refreshment stalj, for £3 10s.

TttE first instalment of timber for the Beau* mont bridge, has arrived froßfc Tapauui. No dotbt t^ wntraiptor will majeft rapid Dotgtess.

The contractors for the approach to the Millers Flat punt are proceeding rapidly with their work, and the punt will be got to work as soor. as the eofitiact is completed.

The grain crops on Moa Flat are looking maenificent, surpassing anything in the Tokomairiro distriot, although this is a countiy said to be above all others, unfit for the plough.

A GAOL for the reception of prisoners has been built at Roxburgh some time since, but no custodian has been appointed as yet.

Mr. Patrick, of Moa Flat, is making large additions to his premises, in anticpation of obtaining a spirit license on the next licensing day.

Mr. J. Bennett's farm, at Crookston, is well worthy of inspection at this season. The grow ing crops are unsurpassed. A new residence is being built on the farm ; Mr. D. M'Donald is the cqntptptqr. Other extensive improvements are alqo being made. A considerable quantity of virgin land has been broken up, and is being fenced in, preparatory to cropping next season.

If is notified that 5,000 acres of land at Waipahee are open for application on the deferred payment system • as are also 3,636 acres near Tapanui. All applications for land situated to the south of the Waipahee River must be made at Dunedin-, and for the north of the said river at Invertfarglll. For the land near tapanui, application must be made at the District Land Office, Lawrenoe j and all Applications must be accompanied by a deposit of Is 3d per acre, that amount being the first half -j ear's qooupation fee. ». ' - „ '„

The sharp list pf ithe Standard Insuranpe Company will be kept open till the 24th instant. In Otago, 28,300 applications for shares have been received. A few weeks ago, we pointed out that the selfish opposition which, for a few days, existed to this Company was ridiculous, as aII opposition whioh attempts, to niter the the current o,f demand and supply, must, sooner or later, ooiue to nothing. The Company have acted wisely in appointing Mr. H. L. Squires as their agent in Lawrence. He is, we consider, the right u^an in the right place.

From advertisment in another column, it will be seen that Messrs. Bastings and Kofoed ars tasking farmers to, forward them an estimate of barley grown this season. It is the intention of Messrs. Bastings and Kqfoed to erect a malt house to be ready for the incoming harvest, and they wish to ascertain the quantity of barley grown in and about the district, This will add another to our list of local industries, and it is the duty of the fanners to foster it as much as lies in their power, as it will be the means of affording a ready market for tjhejr produce. We would recommend growers to immediately forward the required information.

The M Croiuwell Argus " ventures to conjecture that tli a bank's reduction of the price of go,ld applies to Gromwell only. We are authorised to state that the reduction referred to applies to the whole province. Yesterday h,is Honor examined Duncan Macrae, sheperd, of EjtricJc, in reference to his 1 a.nkruutoy. His Honor, decided to postpone the granting of the usual aecr.t\fion.te of discharge till the ne^t sittings in bankruptcy. Meantime, the bankrupt axicl the creditor's trustee were ordered ta consult as to tbebest method of realising the bankrupt's assets.

M^.- Ohmoxd's Hotel, at Roxburgh, l\ad ft narrow escnpe from fire on Wednesday afternoon. Some inftunm^hle patter caught fir§, and was extinguished with difficulty. A MEKTING will be held in Roxburgh Schooll^ouse this evening, for the purpose of adopting means for wising sufficient guarantee from the inhabitants to enable them, $o ftbtain the services of ft medical wan. A deputation of Teviot residents, waited on Messrs. Hastings and Turubull, during their late visit up country, respecting the necessity pf. placing a bridge for dray traffic across the Mojyneux, BptU members of the Executive expressed themselves favorably to the matter, but did not hold, out any immediate hope of a bridge being constiucted. The election of five persons to wb as a Board of- Wardens for the- Tuapeka depasturing district wajsi to. have taken' pjiace to-day, but 43 no more than the number required were nominated, they were duly declared elected. The names of the Board for the ensuing yea^ will be fou.n<\ y\ Pftr adverting columns. It) may he said with good cause that sufficient publicity has not been given to this matter? The advertisement appeared in the Government ''Gazette," and, we referred, to it iij, a paragraph last week. An inquest was hjeld at Ayling,^ Coal Creek, on the body of Agnes Smith, who died in childbirth on the Monday evening previous. W. L. Simpson, Esq., was coroner. Several witness were examined, but we refrain, fvoiu publishing their testimony, as the case is adjourned for threa weoks to allow a witness {Mrs. Luke) to be brought fimui Tuapeka. Thj: examination of the Wetherstones School took place, yegterdajr. There was a large attendance of parents^ and others, interested in the welfare of the School. Ths ex;aininati9p was, conducted by Mr. Johnson, the teaehee, assisted by the Reys, BJqssrs. Mejjzies and Beaumont. Tbe.children. went through their> various tasks in a vijry creditable manner. The prizes were determined upon, but according to a custom, which has been in force for some years, they will not be awarded till the opening of the school next sessipn. We shall publish a Hut of the prize-taker^ in a future issue of this journal^ Mr. Mv Hay reports having sold the whole of Mr. \V. M'Beath's furniture, household effects, horse,?, saddles, &c, on Friday last at high prices. Tbfcre was a large attendance bf, buyers, and. hiding was very brisk. . Tw Postmaster-General is. of Opinion that it is undesirable at 'present to establish a moneyorder and savings bank at Maerewhenua. The Governor, while in Oamaxu, will be the guest of "Mr John- McLean, M.P.C. Mr G. 6. Russell has made a munificent gift of £50,tq the Oamaru^ Hospital. The Biverton Caledonian Society siafce that they never contemplatjjcfcholding a baby shout, as has been erroneously- rumoured. - , Owing to the abundance of clover, the Taranaki honey harvest promises to.bte plentiful. Poultry thefts, which are not, always paltry thefts, are now; prevalent in Dttnedin. A large seaside hotel is now in coarse of completion, within a few yards of the Pelichet Bay Kailway Station. The greatest w^nd and dust storm of the season that has, occurred in Dunedin, was experienced on, Tuesday. The pebple of - Christchurch, propose to erect, a. Residence. A tfA^Eft manufactory is proposed for Auckland. 1 T»EifcE ; aretwoy,ejEy old vessels afloat— one, the Tnljj Love, which-some months ago arrived from Greenland at Philadelphia ; th&other, the Icene. The for.rn.ef. was built in 176£, and is supposed to be the oldest ship, in the World ; the Irene was built in 1779. Oke. Drainage scheme, proposed for Dunedin, it is estimated w^ill entail an expenditure of £100,000. A few months ago a^cafgt) of women add girls was .brpught from Chink to SanFrauciaC 6, and. disposed of at public auction to the highest bidder**, Mr. G. Y. Rggp has airaagedv fof the coh>-