Local Intelligence.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 324, 24 January 1874, Page 2

Local Intelligence.

The Lawrence Grammar School childjren's treat took place yesterday* The mus.ter of children in the school was not leas than 200. Considering thn,t the weather was wet all day, and out-door sports, could; not be taken advantage- of, the children en joyed themselves remarkably well The quantity of. sandwiches, cake, tarts, gooseberries, currants, lollies, &c, &c, consumed; during tha-diiy was something amazing. In the afternoon, addresses were delivered by the. Rev. Mr. Menzies, and. Mr. Jam^spn, on, behalf of the School Committee, and, by Mi;. A. 8.. Matthews, on, behalf of the parents, Between the hour,s. o.f four and five o'clock, the child-ten were dispensed,, after, en joying themselves. ej;ceediiigly. ye]}.

Tj'HE Manager of the Guhriela. Keef informs us that th.c ruinoi published in our last issue to the effect that the lode in, the lower level hud rapidly increased in size, &c. , proved, to, be w,ithout foundation. In our next i&sue w;e, will, give further, particulars.

An accident, which, has terminated; fatally, happened to. Mr. Adam, resident engineer, on Wednesday, evening last, in the vicinity, oj; his house on. Tokomayiro plnjn. The deceased gentleman, was. found,- lying at the roadside quite insensible, and apparently in a dying gjtate. Shortly before this, lie had gone to, a paddock for a horae, and i,t is supposed, on his return, he had jumped on. the horse's bacjk in. order to c^oss Salmons Creek and bad' been thrown off: This supposition, is borne oat by the fact that, in reply to.a rejuar,k th,at was, made to biro, that he would require tp walk alt the way, there, not being a saddle, on the horse, he said he. would at least ride through, the creek. The available medical. skill within c'nmiyand was in a shppt time obtained*, but all to, no purpose. The unfortunate gentleman, lingered- in a state of-- unconsciousness- until yesterday morning about §< o'clock, w.hen, life expired. Mr. Johnstone's, career has been a very short bu,t very honorable, one.. He, was a thorough master of hi? profession, and his, ability- had- been rewarded by his. recent promotion to the rank of resident engipeer ? His lops -will-He greatly felt a.t the present time by the public, He was 35 years of age,, and; leaves, a, w.idpw and, <jwo qhilihren.. Qvn Dunstnn correspondent semis us the following :—" Little more need be .added respecting, the late- visit of the Governor than has already- appeared in, yon.r columns through, the aid.cjf, the, wire. The visit was short, and 1 nothing of a.ny: particular public moment tranapired on the occasion, sjo I nwy-be pardon^di if- ray. remarks be alsp. brief.. O£ course, wa made sufficient demonstration to show that we were, all good and loyal subjects, and were, thanked by, his "Excellency for the welcome accorded to him as the represen,ta.£!Ve o£ royalty. The. hurried manner, he. passed; through quit, neighboring towna — Alexandra, and Qrom well— showed; that to get publiq recaptions kab not the object of the. visit. The other objects are doubtless best kno,wn to. himself ;_ but it would* indeed; ta.ke. a keen observer of men and things, to. gain much practical knowledge of a, country like- this by performing a hot haste journ&y.like the la.t&one. In ofcbor matters. there is little but ojia. warring with, the other. There. is,, first the. dou-ble application for a coal raining lease, which has been occupying, the attention alike of- tha, District Board of Inquiry andi the Dajjedin, Waste Lands Board for. some time ; bat, as the niatte.r is, still in, the. tj.«)d& of the, powers that be, I will ren^n from. auy. wuticakra at present! Next I may. nation our. doctors, d> w r men tioned in. my last, the Qoinmxttee have, *»„,!„ w^iy t 0 &&*. number, of subscript:^ e _aßiJy, fQIf Ql t hear

that the Secretary has enrolled a large number of subscribers ainoe last eleotion, and each party are quie^y preparing for the coming struggle.

OK Tuesday last Mr. JDavid Hunter, contractor the Waitahuna section of the Tuapeka Railway, met with, an accident near Tokoraairfro. H* was driving homewards in a buggy when the king bolt came out, throwing him &tyd another gentleman who was iv the buggy yti\h him out qn tpe road, Mr. Hunter held QA to. the reins, and by this means managed to pull up the horses, but not before he had received several bruises on the face and head by coming into co,u,taot with the road metal. We are glad to learn that he is recaveirng from the accident as well as pan be expected.

The opening services in connection with the new Congregational qhurch in Whitehavenstreet, which has just been completed, will be held to-morrpw, a$ the usu»l hours.— ll morning nnd 7 evening. Th,e Rev. Dr. Roseby, of Dunedin will qonduct both, services., On Tuesday a soiree in connection with the opening of the church will take place the AthenaeumThe tickets for- this soiree, we are informed, have sold exceedingly well, and it is. expected there will be a large attendance, The Rev. Dr. Roseby, of Dunedin, the Rev. Air. Maxwell, of Port Chalmers., an<j other gentlemen, will take part in th,e proceedings. The music, we expect, will be above the average, aa thee h,oir b,as been practising far the ocoasion,.

LonQE W?STE9>f P^onkeh 1.0. Q.T. olaimsthe honor of uumbering amongst its members^he firs_t Maori who has joined the order. The native Tem.pla,r is Solomon Paitu,. and. through his influence and example several other Maoris and half-castes, have joined the crusade against King Alcohol.

Af pBjMjNAt information was served by the police on Wednesday upon Edmund Joseph Johnson, for th,at he, on the Ist January, 1874, whilst master of the British sh,ip Surat, did "unlawfully and by reason of drunkenness, omit to. do certain lawful acts., proper and requisite to be done by him iv preseirv^ the said ship from destruction, tp M»}t, that the said ahip being then in, a, leaky cqntUtion. and iuak.ing much water, and having th,en, much water in her hpld, and the stea.mshjp Witngamii being within such a dista,nce.o.f the said ship that the said Bd«\und Joseph J.ob,nso.n might have sought assistance from, the said steamship, which he omitted to do, po.utrary to. the form, of the s.tatu,te in such case made a.n&, pro.v^ed.'-' Oap*M n . Johnspn st^ll remains iv custody. The above cha,rgo. will be heard at th.c DjUjiydiu, J^esjiden,t, Mag^a.trftt's. Court tp-day.,

A BATHER amusing question (says the " Guardian "), was. asked: his. Honor <$he Judge by the foreman of the j;ury, in the case of $oas v. Keith and o,th,ers. The evidence was cancluaeoawout % o'clock, »nAtk#»iuiy dismissed tp. the. consideration, ol their verdict, previous ta leaving the boi, the foreman asked his Honor whether the Court would allow the jurymen to. have, ref resli^ents., as they might have to be put of. Oouvt a, considerable. tim,e, Hia, H,onor remarked that t^ey s,u,relv could, not be hungry seeing that they fyid gone to, the^r lftnch a,t 1 o'clock. The foreuvm {^X- Cutten}, placing his hand upon h,is waistcoat^ sa,id it was getting near his dinner, hour, a,nd tha.t Na.tuje woidd assert her. s,way. His E^onor replied; that the the l«iW took no cognisance pf dinners, a^.d; iadeed strictly foi;bade jurjuien. to have either food or §re when, they yicer^ locked, up. to, consider a verdict. The jprym,eu then retired, and, as it was, nearly 12o'cloc.k before tl^ey on me to a decision, Ijliey mu,s.t have by th,a.t tim,e bocoji),o very hungi y— particularly the foreman.

ia steadily advancing in thja d;iatrict, although np.t as yet in full swing. The grain crops, generally are np.t remarkably- heavy, nevertheless, there are exceptions. We refer, to a magnificent crop o£ w,hea,t we observed, on Tuapeka Flat this week, which wea,re informed, is considered, the. best in, th.c dstriijt. The energetic! farmer who, o,\?;ns thiS;Crop assures us tlutt h,e is confident he, will have a yield of over 40 bush,pl4 to the. acre of really ti,rat-cla,ss erain. The atraw, in soioe places is 6 feet height.

Minisg, on the. ba,n.ks. of the. MoJyneux^ i 8i 8 almost auspeud,?d, ttye high Iqvel of the river and, the scarcity of. wa,ter for sluicing purposes being the principal reasons. The Public Works and harvesting operations iv the province are drawing away a,ll the. miners who have not been getting much, gold of late, It the minei-s are not careful they will ijnd the auriferous ground locked, up. by the agriculturists pn their return. Several portions! of the. mining; reserve on, the b,inka,of Ijhe, river haye beenalr^a,dy fenced and cultivated,, and, for w.hibh, in. ijimq to. come miners w t il\ have to pay h.eavy compensatiipn for the privilege of. working.

As much as £3. iV week and fou,nd, has been paid, aa wages, for harvest work in tiie Oau^aru district, £2 10 a, per week and, found, has. been refused.

I TaiN<?&anpea.r.to ) ke.ra a prosperous s^ate at Bay of Plenty. %f we may judge by the following paragraph extracted from, the "-Bay of Plenty Times." :.-"• The. $elds,of wheat in, the district a,re now, in the language of Scripture, nearly- '-' white u.nto i har.ves.tj,." and, a mere\)enedceut seasop lv).s, never been previously experienced, years gone by the Mapries ha,vp grown much, grain^ w.ith. which the Auckland, market has. been, supplied;. Xbis. industry, has bpen resuiu.ed^ Contcacts, have been en.tered into be- : tween, Tauransja. storekeepera and natives for delivery of wheat at harvest time, and there is no doubt <jhat the yield o? this, year will be in excess, of anything known before.. 1$ ip gratifying to. witnes'a the energies of the. native people ; diverted i.n, a, pacifje. and wl>,oleso.u}.e direction, in place of, as. formerly, tbje perpgtuation of a useless, strife wi,th, the pakeha, resulting only in bloodah.ed,. and, the. ultimate extermination of fcheir race. No people more than, ourselves and our Maori neighbors can. have, greater cauae to rejoice tha,t the time has. come when aworda axe turned into Ploughshares, ar.d speaks into pruning hppks.

Tbb u,sual weekly tgeetrng of the^ Waste Land Board w.a& held on Thursday, last. Th.ere_ wer,e only- a. smajl number of applications. These were chiefly- protesta made against the Waste Land Department for, having refused certain applications £>nde thiough, agents, tjo purchase •lnn,il on defenred-paynieuts,. Tlje Bp^d^ however, decided; that seption. 49, of the OtagO. Land, Act made, personal application imperative in such, instances, that those wlio. w.ish ip obtain. la,nd on deferred payments, would do ■ well tjo, remeiij.beK tha.t, there, w ijfi. liiS - e ' their emplqyjng an, agentj in the matter. Mr. Clark mentioned t,hat he did, nob, think there, was anything, in, th% Waste Laiul Act to prevent L»r.ge blocks, of landi, w.hen, procjainied, being so. proclaimed that yar.i* of thei>jj mjgh-t b^ sold on deferred payment ivnij. noj> for ira.meilia.te payments. He seeraf d. tQ. think that a measure, such as. tljis w.ou.ld p.reyen,fc what, has been often the. case, some of thp.ie. bjocks. of lands passing entirely into, the h.md.s ot oue individual, Mr. Strode, was a,lsp, of, tlue. saint opinion as. Mr. ©lark, that there was. nothing, in the Act to prevent Mr.. GWjkXauggestion being carried. ot*» As Mis. Bashings. «^as absent, the further consideration, of the~ mattoK w,as poatponed uatil the ne^t meeting of the Board-.

Professor. Agassi^, defends, bis r,ejjectioPi of the. Darwinian, theroxxof evolution, op. the ground, that, "'Hs, opponents a^e. presenting view.B qu scientific principles which are not even, leased' on r.eal observation ; ; that they have, not shown, eyolutiop, oij- the power,- of evolution in the present day> and. hence are | not entitled, tip. assume it in the past." 1 He. further characterises the theory as a " mire of mere assertion,,"

The following telegram, from Riverton, appears in the " Guardian," of the 23rd inst : — A Great feeling of indignation regarding the Governor's visit. The Governors promised to be here at 1 o'clock, but did not arrive till after 4 o'clock. The town was shut up as on a holiday. 4- cavalcade of farmers assembled at Waimatu.na Bridge ; many rode 20 or 3,0 miles to be present. (Previous to leaving Invercargill, the Governor said he would not attend lunch, or have cajalacade accompanying him. Stopped 20 minutes in Riverton. People thoroughly disgusted, and consider the Gavernqr has wantonly insulted them. His health was conspicuously qmitted from the- programme at the lunch, as it would have been hissed. After the programme was over somebody proposed it but the people refused to driqk it.

The Mayor o.f Ohristchurch is reported to have worn on a recent auspicious occasion a robe composed pf purple velvet, with train of eighteen inches, trimmed with ermine, and lined with amber-colored silk, and large open sleeves. The band or collar was of black velvet edged with handsome gold braid, and four gold stars on breast of same, and attached to the point was the c;ty coat of arms, embroidered in gold and silver, with gold border. The first link, pf a eh,ain was also appended to the co^t of arms, the intention being to add the links of tho preceding Mayors. The cap was made of the same velvet, with gold button and ermine border. The "Grey Eiver Argus." trusts it will he a long time before the Mayor of that town thinks it needful to, support his dignity by the adoption of similar, gaudy trappings, an,d adds :— " It might have been fairly presumed that in whatever other respects colonists, would display a lack of wisdom, they would at least not have perpetuated such old-fashioned fooleries as that of allowing] a public oi^cer to dpn, a mountebank's rig,"

Thb Taranaki News regards the change of Governors with much satisfaction. }t says ; — " S}r George Bowen wa.s, diatingished by a super-abundance of cheap urbanity which h.© freely dispensed to all comerSj and by a cacoethes scribendi which would have insured him at least a competence as a penny-. a-Jinerfor the London "Telegraph ;" business was either above ca below- his menta^ capacity, and consequently he paid no. attention to it. In place of him we have Sir- James Eergusspn, a, shrewd aciive man, who will allow no, measure to. receive his approval un-. til he has made himself thoroughly masterof its details. The public service will gain largely \>y> tko o^dhange^ and the dispatches to the, Colonial Secretary, if less, garnished with pillaged pASsages from former writers on New; Zealand, will at least convey fu.ll and .truthfull derails of the capabilities and requirements of the Colony, and. the actu,a.l state of public affairs."'