A TRIP DOWN SOUTH.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 260, 14 January 1879, Page 2

A TRIP DOWN SOUTH.

{"Contributed.) Having just returned from a visit to Dunedin and the Lake district of Otago, it. occurred to me that some readers of the Mail may like to have a short accout of my travels." I left Christchurch on the., 18th December (one, of the hottest days we have bad this summer) by the mid-day train, as I only intended going as far as Timaru that day. The bustle at a railway station in a large town has always had charms . for me. When a boy it was one of my greatest de- • lights to watch the arrival' and departure of trains, and I find I am as childish as ever in that respect. ... The newsboys are quite an institution at the Christchurch station. Their persuasive eloquence is almost irresistible, and they are tolerably precocious. I was much amused with one of these boys, who had been importuning a. gentleman in the next carriage to buy a paper, said. gentleman was evidently just starting for his honeymoon trip, and having declined to take either Australasian, Argus,. Home News, European Mail, Punch,. &c, &c, the boy said, with a sly look, when he was at a safe distance, " perhaps you'd like the Wedding Bells, sir." I was very much pleased to find "that Mr Forest was going to be a passenger in my carriage as far as Ashburton. Old Forest is capital company ; he has seen men and things. At last we are off, and as usual there are one or two who arrive oh the platform just in time to be too late. As an interesting account of the through trip to Dunedin has so recently angieared in your columns, it will be quite nnnecessary forme to describe the country .through which we pass. _ '■'"■ The most noticeable object during the first twenty miles is the Burnham Industrial School. ...This was built injE.be days of Provincialism, and there are 1000 acres

of land belonging to it. *The late Supermr tendent, Mr. Colee, has done a great work here; he was eminently adapted for the position he'held. ' *' The crops on each side of the line" are verypoor; in some places farmers were reaping them for hay. Forest has a very nice farm at Dromore, just a mile or two from Ashburton.

At Timaru we stayed at the Grosvenor where our old friend Meikle is the genial host. This is really an excellent hotel, quite equal to any in Christchurch. The breakwater here is just commenced. The people appear to be very jealous of Christchurch. I heard a Timaru man say that Christchurch people did not know what they were about in opposing the breakwater, for he said— " If we do not have a breakwater Akaroa will be bound to have a railway, and that will affect Lyttelton far more than our breakwater will." Timaru appears to be a thriving town, and . thei value of land is something enormous. We left Timaru on the 19th, and proceeded by express to Dunedin. Waiinate is beautifully situated at the foot of the hills, and connected with the main line by a branch. The fire has made great devastation here. We stayed a few minutes at Oamaru, a very pretty town, and as most of the houses are built of stone, it has a very substantial appearance. A lady had just returned from • Hokitika after an absence of four months. She shewed me some beautiful ferns she had brought from the West Coast, and also some specimens of the Mountain Lily, which she had got on the Southern Alps, at Browning's Pass. Dr Van Blower was in the carriage with us, and I, quite forgetting what a heavy scientific swell he was, handed him this flower, and asked him if he had ever seen it before. He answered with majestic dignity—" Sir, I was the discoverer of that, flower 1" I forgot to say that the fine weather left us at Timaru. ' We arrived in Dunedin at about eight o'clock in a perfect downpour of rain. We tried Watson's instead of the City this time, and have no reason to regret the change. Tho cabmen here are no exception to the general rule. Thinking we were strangers, our jehu tried to extort 2s 6d for driving us 200 yards. Ddnedin, Dec. 23. We have now been here since the 19th, and despite tha execrable weather which has prevailed ever since, have managed to enjoy ourselves greatly, and see all that is to be seen. Young Fitzmuggins, of the Twine and Sealing-wax Department, expressed himself horrified on learning the hotel we were staying at, said it was " low, you know, and that sort of thing." All the " fellahs " he knew went to the " Criterion or the City, you know." Well, all I can say is.tbat, as an old traveller, I wish there were a few. more such " low " hotels to be "found throughout the colony. We have met with civility, comfort, and good fare, and an air of freedom pervades the place which you look for in vain in many more pretentious establishments. I had a long chat with one of the proprietors the other day. I understand that the bar door is never shut, day or' night, from one year's end to another. In Christchurch of course we are far too moral for that. Every siught at eleven, and all day on Sundays the doors, of our " pubs" are carefully closed. I have heard adventurous spirits declare that in the secret penetralia oi these establishments liquor is to be obtained during these prohibited periods, but then nobody is supposed to be aware of such a thing. Here it is quite different. The bar and reading-room are open on Sunday just as on any other day, but an air of quietness and decorum prevails which was as surprising as it was gratiifying. Our host informs me that this same room costs him nearly £200 a year for periodicals and lighting. As I before remarked, the weather since we have arrived has been simply execrable. There have not been two hours' consecutive fine weather during the whole time. Before leaving Christchurch, as the weather promised to be exceptionally hot and dry, I got myself up in correct summer tourist costume—dust coat, pith hat, &c. However, it.was as well that I had a supply of very different clothing with me, or the garments in question would soon have been reduced to pulp. The weather reminds one of the old . English maxim— "When it's fine/ take an umbrella; when It rains, do as you like." All lovers of the Virginian weed are, of course, acquainted with a name which appears on so many packets of cut-up tobacco —Max Mendershausen. He has a very nice shop here, but nothing very grand to look at. I was introduced to him by a musical friend, and found him such a nice genial gentleman. What astonished me most was to see the large business he •carries on in such small premises. He showed me telegrams from all parts of the colony containing orders varying from .50 to 300 pounds of his "Fruit and Flowers" tobacco. He has a hydraulic machine for manufacturing it with, and it is wonderful how simply it works. He •also makes snuff on a very large scale. On tbe day after our arrival here, I took navy travelling companion up the Water of Leith Valley, intending to shew him the reservoir, but by some mistake I missed it. We lost nothing however by the -change, for the scenery fu -her up the valley was exceedingly beautiful ; just what* Akaroa used to be fourteen years tago." I saw my old paper-mill " Mirror of the World " friend Clifford. He seems to be getting on very well with the paper business. During one of the many showers that morning we took shelter in a little cottage just off the road, where was an old woman (a Swede), who seemed very glad to see us. Sbe spoke English pretty well, acd I found out in course of conversation that she come from Robinson's Bay. She was there when the late Mrs Saxton died. She has a daughter named Hilda, whom she is very anxious to hear about. This firl, it seems, married a man named John erry. The old woman has never heard of them since she left. The shops in Dunedin are not anything like as good as the Christchurch shops, •though the wholesale, houses are much :grander. - The Messiah .was performed on Friday mght.at the Knox Church. It was a very great treat to me. The solos were beautifully rendered, and the chorusses were pretty good. I suppose the Knox Church was chosen because it is the largest building in Dunedin. The loss of the organ, however, was very noticeable. There has been a law case going on ever since we came, which has caused a great ■deal of excitement among the Dunedin people The case is Stanford ■ y. Gillies arid others (Daily Times). It seems the rev. gentleman was. a shareholder and a contributor to the paper at the same time.

A purchaser-w*Bifound for.the paper, and •Mr.. S. - somehow or other got- •'£ 1100 as compensation' for losing his employment as editor, ; the paper having changed its opinions. Stanford, however, afterwards gave up the £1100 because he heard all sorts of rumor, nl-i-nt the injustice of the thing. To clear'hi* character he brought this a.cti<>ii,<and I hear tli.it he has got a verdict, except'that a point of law is reserved., It has been rather amnratig at the public tahle to hear ihe pros and cons of the case as advocated by ihe Standfordit.es j on the one hand and thone who favor the shareholders on the other hand. In spite of the rain on Saturday, I took a friend for a drive as far as Blueskin. It was raining off and on nearly all the time, but the buggy had a hood, and we were well protected from the weather. The scenery on both sides of the road is most beautiful. Blueskin, or Waitati as it is called, is about thirteen and a half miles from Dunedin. It is, of course, a hilly road, but the gradient is so good that you can drive the whole way without a brake. Almost every visitor to Dunedin pays a visit to Guthrie and Larnach's timber factory, if they can get a letter of introduction. I spent a very enjoyable morning, making the round of the place. Everything is done on such an extensive scale there. A fleet, of over thirteen vessels keeps the place supplied, with timber, and six mills are kept constantly, at work to feed these vessels;. The first thing I noticed was the huge cranes for moving the logs into position from the. timber yard. Then there are four vertical saws, which can be set at any. distance apart They all cut into the log at the same time. There are also lathes of every description, machines fcr mortising and making* tenons. Doors are made entirely by ma'-| chinery, even to nailing the moulding in.\ Among the numerous articles turned .out are window sashes, churns, tubs buckets. Many doubtless find their .way to Akaroa. Spokes for weele, made of ironbark, naves, express waggons,'fretwork for cabinet pianos, &c, all dofte by machinery. Chairs and drawjng-room suites all made on the premises.' Carving done even by boys. The top story contains the French staining and finishing departments. Here are planing machines, glass, paper machines, and hydraulic lift, _fel *• _>teß_r- is utilized all over the plac_ —The engine-room contains an engine pi~7o-horse power. : Only shavings from the, .establishment are used as fuel. Aitpgeterab|.out4oo persons are employed. l *The firm was originally Bell, and Cross, thelatter of ,whom is well known in Akaroa. Then Mr" Guthrie had it for some years; then' Guthrie and Asher; Guthrie and Larnach; and now it is a company (limited). On Sunday we attended St. Paul's Church in the morning, when Archdeacon Edwards officiated. Mr Towaey, the organist, has since left for the old country. He has certainly been at great pains with the choir. In the afternoon I went out to Caversham, and paid a visit to the Industrial School.. Everything was. beautifully clean and nice. The children had vivid recollections of the magic lantern exhibition that? was given them when I was last here. Went to All Saints (Mr Stanford's Church) in the evening. The Rev. Lorenzo Moore is doing duty there until a permanent clergyman is appointed. There are the makings of a good choir, but for want of proper training the boys are allowed to bawl out to the utmost extent of their voices. After the service there was a choir practice for Christmas Day. The Delivery Clerk at the Dunedin Post Office has a good memory for old faces and names. I went in on English mail night to see if there was any letters for me. The place was thronged, but before I cpuld reach the counter, he' said, to my astonishment, " nothing for you." I said, " you hav'nt looked yet, and you do not know my name." However, I found that he remembered my name quite well, although it was nearly four months since I had been asking for letters. We leave to-mcrrow for Invercargill and the Lake District. . On my return I will forward you a few jottings of this part of the trip; '