OUR DUNEDIN LETTER.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 457, 7 December 1880, Page 2

OUR DUNEDIN LETTER.

(From our own Correspondent.)

Dunedin, November 30. Wednesday last was the d..y appointed for the election of Mayor, and the contest created more excitement than on any previous occasion. Both candidates- and supporters exercised their canvassing powers to the utmost, and by the time the poll had closed an enthusiastic crowd had assembled outside the booth. When it was . announced that Mr A. H. Ross was at the head by a. majority of 184 votes the cheering was tremendous, while the name of the defeated candidate, Mr H. S. Fish, was received with groans. Short addresses were then delivered,, and Mr Ross was cheered all along the street until he reached his shop, where he again addressed the electors.

Mr Fred. Mallard, late Inspector of Police, Dunedin, was presented with a testimonial, consisting of a handsomely illuminated address and a purse containing a trifle over 170 sovereigns, on the 23rd inst. The presentation was made by the Mayor on behalf of the subscribers. Mr Mallard, who appeared deeply affected, replied in suitable terms, and in thanking them for their kindness said that he should like to invest their gift in some way for the benefit of Mrs Mallard.

The Lingard Company are still playing at the Princess' Theatre, and draw crowded audiences. Last evening a change of programme was made in favor of " The Wreck of the Pinafore."—Sig. Morley's Opera Company began a season of three nights on Friday evening, when " Lucrezia Borgia," the wellknown opera, in two acts and prologue, was successfully performed. The attendance throughout has not boon equal to what the merits of the play deserved. It gives me much pleasure to anticipate » visit from . Hmonsen's English and Italian Opera Company, whose agent is at present in Dunedin. They will probably open at the Princess' Theatre a fortnight hence.

The Harbor Department has sustained a severe loss in the death of Cant. John Robertson, signal-master at Port Chalmers and temporary Examiner of Ship Masters and Mates. It appears that he had been paying a visit to the ship Dunedin, and on his return to the wharf, while stepping from the rail to the stage, his foot slipped and he fell into the water. As the night was very dark, his position was not observed for some time, and when his body was recovered life was found to be extinct. Deceased has been connected with the shipping trade of the colonies for upwards of a quarter of a century, and was 60 years of age at the time of his death. As a token of the esteem in which Capt. Robertson was held, the funeral procession consisted of officers of the Harbor Department, members of the Harbor Board, Masonic bodies, Court Robin Hood, A.0.F., clergy, and a large number of residents from Port Chalmers and Dunedin.

The Hon. R. Oliver, Minister for "** Public Works, has been in Dunedin for several days past, during which time he has received a number of deputations. ' The fourth annual show, under the ** auspices of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Show, will be held here on the 3rd and 4th December. So far there is every prospect of success, and a large number of entries have been received from Canterbury. The display of longwoolled sheep will be the largest ever seen here, and the competition in the dairy produce department is likely to be keen. „

An amusing case in the shape of an assault by nose-pulling came before the Resident Magistrate last Friday. The plaintiff "was Solomon de Beer, and the -» defendant Gilbert Matheson, both of Dunedin. The respective parties carry on an extensive business as glass and china merchants. From the evidence it was deduced that Mr De Beer had for some time been believed to be circulating slanderous reports concerning Mr Matlieson's business, and the defendant called on him and demanded an apology. Plaintiff declined, on the ground that no ** action of his necessitated an apology, whereupon the defendant, meetine* him a short tim°i afterwards, said, " You refuse to apologise," and then caught hold of * him by the nose. His Worship said he did not attach any importance to any slander which did not immediately precede the assault. The civil courts were open, and the defendant overlooked them and took the law into his own hands. The assault might have been very gentle, but certainly it was a great indignity. The defendant had his remedy, and he must pay for taking the law into his 1*

own linmK The . penalty would be £5, a „1 defend ,nt to be bound over to keep the peace fur three months in his own recognisance of £50. Steps are being taken for the erection of a Winter Palace in the Botanical Domain, such Palace to be used in the first instance as a building in which an Exhibition of Local Industries, similar to that recently held in Christchurch, should take place. An influential Committee is appointed for the purpose of making the necessary arrangements. The probable cost of the building is. estimated at £10,000. !