The gash, or slit, had extended right up to his n-strils, but the vauuity was successfully filled by flesh cut from the surrounding parts. °

The difficulty of the islands appears to be as f,tr offsettluuieat as ever, and our worthy Mayor (Mr J. T. Itetts;, as lessee of Lorn? and Pig islands, two very beautiful and romantic spots about midway up Lake Wakatip, instead of experiencing pleasure afc being lord ..f almost all he surveys ha* experienced nothing but trouble and v-x.ntu.ii. it appears that they coutain some 1500 acies of rather questionable grazing country, and he purchased a lease of them by public auction, for a term «.f 14 years, ut a rental of £80 per annum. But it was subsequently discovered that as 500 acres was the greatest area of land that u»u\d be granted, us a Corporation endow ment, Mr Belts oouWnot therefore be given :i title, except from year to year, the Govern ment only tain.; ablu to jjrant the Corpora tton an annual occupation license. Mr Eefcta, th-reiore. refuses to pay the ve»t, giving as his reasons that unless he can be secured in the term agreed upon, it would be of no use his improving the pasture of the lands, and u-ilesd this was done they are not worth the money. Hence a squabble every time the To.vu Council meets. Auother difficulty in t'.e way of Mr Betts'a occupation is that on Loog Island thore lives an ogre, in the shape ot 0..c Patrick Vail, or more familiarly known as the " Fenian." Mr Vail is a wood •ih"pper, and has inhabited the Island mostly living by himself, for thy last tea y ear*, and being pretty comfortably housed in a ro mintie hctlu nook in a well-sheltered bay, re fuses to bs ejected, although summoned re peatedly by the Mayor and Corporation. Mr Vail ileclinw to leave his Island home upou the very reasonable grounds that he innst ba compensated for the loss ot bis business, as well as the abandonment of his homo and stands up-m the dignity of his Miners' Right, the virtues of which the civic rulers of Qiiet-nstovvn cannot set aside, and the "Fdnitui" remains mister of the situation, much to the amusement of everybody, except that augusfc body who seek his eviction. 