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OUR LAUNCESTON LETTER.
[From our own Correspondent.]
LAUNCESTON, Thursday Evening.
By the s.S. Tamar, which left for Melbourne this
afternoon, Mr. William Field, the well-known breeder,
of Enfield, shipped a number of magnificent purebred
young Leicester sheep. Those consisted of 130 very
heavily and finely fleeced ewe and ram t Leicester
hoggets, seventy ewes and sixty ramB. This'makes tho
third lot of this description of sheep sent by Mr. Field
during the past six weeks, tho two former lotB consist- ' '
ing each of 120 hoggets owe3 and lamhs equally divided.
These sheep command high inices in Melbourne, and
the lots sent to-day, which I had au opportunity of
inspecting, are as line a lot of puro sheep as ever left
tile colony. They aro consigned to Messrs. Powers,
Rutherford and Co., the salesmen at Melbourne, and
will bo submitted for public sale by them, and judging
from the eagerness with which the lost lot were taken
by Victorian squatters, thÍ8 last consignment should,
' Tho man Massey, charged with perjury, and who
wits recently captured after a long concealment in the
bush ¡it Viper's River, and arrested on a charge of per-
jury, anil who was brought up a week ago, and re- ?
uinnded owing to the absence of a material witness,
was brought up again to-day at the Police Court, The
evidonco for the prosecution was completed, and the
prisoner having no defenco to make, lie was fully com-
mitted for trial at the ensuing Criminal Sittings of the
Sunroma Court, to take place on the 4th January next.
Mr. Swifte, the manager of the Tamar Hematite
Iron Mining Company, lias received the bronze medal
of the Melbourne Intercolonial and Philadelphia
International Exhibition, with the accompanying
certificate, for excellence in ¡ron oro manufactured by
that company. ? "
Mr. Toni Coker, the willow sporting host of the
International, is, with Mrs. Coker, at cresent on a
brief visit to Launceston. Ile is as genial and good
humoured as ever, and has been heartily welcomed by
his sporting friends.
Although dull in the matter of amusements of late,
we are threatened with quite an embarra» de richesse*
during the Christmas week, to which ^our 'enjoy-
ment-loving and holiday-making townspeople are
already beginning to look forward. On Boxing Day
there will bo the minimi regatta on the Esk, the
enjoyment of which is always immensely enhanced,
owing to the picturesque scenery of the locality in
which the contest takes place, and the vantage ground:
supplied by the high and sloping banks which line the
course of the river where the races are contested.
Then again the votaries of the willow will have on
opportunity of witnessing an interesting match, the
playing on Boxing and the following day, of the Ballarat
against the Launceston Cricket Club, and as our local
men have lind no opportunity of gettingmuch practice,
owing to the very inclement season we have experi-
enced, they aro sure to get a sound thrashing, which I
hope they will boar with their customary good
humour. Besides the cricket match Boxing Day is
also chosen for numerous race meetings in the country
townships, such as Deloraine, Carrick, the Nile,' aim
other places, so that all classes of pleasure seekers are
to have their amusements ready to hand. ' ' "
? Mr. Bennett, proprietor of the Royal Marionettes
and avant courier for that company, is at present in
Launceston, and has not been idle during his brier
stay in giving every publicity to his unique enter-
tainment. The spare hoardings are covered with
pictorial posters, illustrative of the various specialities
embraced in the entertainment, and the well executed
and gorgeously coloured posters aro eagerly scanned
by Htreet pedestrians. The entertainment has been
lunch lauded by the colonial press, the eminent critic
of the A lutmlaiian having spoken thusly in its favour :
" If the audience thought I was mad, I am content to
rest under the imputation of lunney for the pleasure of
having had such a laugh. I laughed till the tears ran
down my cheeks. Everything is worked so patly ;
there is no hitch, no break in the fun, and you
como away feeling that if the proverb be true
about laughing making people fat, you ought
to weigh many pounds heavier." I hope the
Australasian critic is a truo prophet. In our
prosaic town, what with the wretched weather, thti
soup tureen" cable broken down, ns I heard"ii loofl
Mrs. Partington express it, 'and other 'depressing oír
ourastancqs.we aro 'sadly hard, up for something to
make us laugh heartily, and in this' connection tint
ni rival of Mi Bennett with his merry and Royal
Marionettes, will bo a loyal rebof to om dulness The
entertainment is stated to abound with mechanical
(bóllenos accomjihshod by figures, and accompanied
w íth wonderful v enti lloqmal offoots These consist of
Christy mmstiels m a vaucd and amusing |ieiformance,
follow ed by tho comic rantoccmi in which many well
kuowiidiveiaionsuiobiulesqued The comic pantomime
of " Little Rod Riding Hood " follows, mid a gi and
pantomime with haileqmnado transformation scene
and all the usual accessoues performed by the
mirionottc figmes concludes the poifoimance The
company open on Satin day evening at the Mechanics'
Instituto and if tho opinions of tho colonial press are
to he idled upon om townspeople have a rare treat in
Htm e
I must confess that to speak plainly I don't like
baiiiats I liavo a hvelj i ecolloction of ono I attonded
Homo months n,n when I was unmetcifully plundered
hv tho fan ttaffickeis in smolung caps and slippers,
mid lind to put my name and money down ni i allies,
of which I subsequently heald nothing I, however,
wont to a ha/our last night, winch I model itely
einoyod 'Iho ladies behaved adinbably , the utotlrar
being wet had pot haps damped the spirits of tile dear
ci catines, and I positiv oly took my notes of tho pi oi
ceului-c« iputo uiimolestcd I still i cunnii m the
niiHoinillo stato of bacholnidom, mid was much
lohoiojl by not being piossed to buy baby
flocks and pincushions Then thoro wore beautiful
lllmiiiuated lamps m the gai dens goigeous fiiewurkji
" impôt tul specially by tho AMIUIUUI," und a (CH.1 fire,
bidloon and dm mg tho mtoi vals bot« eon the showers
tho pi omeiiiide was not unpleasant Tho ba/aar was.
maid of tho funds of tho Launceston C'uoket Club, but
I legtet to say that tho tineutoiung woathet in tho
emly ¡nut of tho ovoniug, militated very much against
tho success of tho ontcitammoiit, and I am afraid tho
fimilB of the club will not benefit much thereby
Thursday evening.
Tho uovvs from tho tin mines nt Mount Cameron
and Ringarooma continues of, a satisfactory oharaoter,
and what is better tho tin oro is coining in steadily.
Tho kotch Corliiolla which arrived to-day from the
Ringarooma rivor, brought 211 bags, made up as
I follows :-70 bags from tho Globe Company,
Ringarooma, 40 from 'tho Garibaldi Company,
Ringarooma, 10 from Smith's claim. Mount Cameron,
3 from Gibton's claim, Mount Cameron, 10 ifrom
Campbell's claim, Mount Cameron, 8 from the
Dorsett Company, 24 from Boll's ulnim, and 24 and »'
bag of specimens from Mooio's, theso threo lost
mentioned claims being also situate' at Mount
Cameron,
The nows rocoivod this aftornoon that tho Tamar
tug had succeeded in grappling tho submarine cable,
and that those engaged had succeodod in communicate
ing with Melbourne, and ascertaining that the English
¡nail had arrived, mid the Dei went loft, was received
bei e about 4 p.m. to-day, and was hailed with union
satisfaction, as tho stoppage of télégraphie commun!-,
cation has occasioned much inconvenience to our
shipping and commercial interests, and the community
generally.
The Launceston and George's Bay Tin Mining
Company, a co-operative company cousift ng of BOIUO
twelve shareholders, who had already spent a con-
siderable sum upon their mine, and obtained somo
thirteen tons of tin from the mine, have disposed of
all their right, title, and interest in the claim to
Messrs, Newman and Ditchburn, two Victorian Specu-
lators, who will, probably, form it into a public
company. The amount of the purahase money has
not transpired, but it is stated to be a sum whioh will
give the present shareholders a handsome profit,
$