DUNEDIN NOTES.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 186, 3 June 1873, Page 6

DUNEDIN NOTES.

By 0. P. Q. In view of the approaching elections, the ] various constituencies throughout the Province—unless I except Kawarau— will have y the pleasure during the next two or three weeks of listening to addresses from their 1 Provincial representatives. The ex-honour-able member for Kawarau will doubtless keep i up his already unenviable reputation by i maintaining a dignified silence as to his proceedings, and will no doubt again sink into - the congenial obscurity which he was so ill- ( advisedly induced to leave. Oil (lit that the honourable member for the Dunstan was ( heard to say that he intended to bring for- ] ward a candidate to step into the shoes of your late member—no doubt relying on his ; immense influence with the Kawarau electors - to bring in his nominee at the head of the poll. 1 give your readers the rumour for ; what it is worth, my informant being a mem- , her of the Council. I suspect, however, that i Mr Shepherd will have enough to do in attending to his own constituents. Among the j candidates who are coming forward to solicit • | the suffrages of the city electors are Mr J. ■ Davie (of the firm of M'Landress, Hepburn, and Co.), Mr G. K. Turton, and Mr C. S. | Peeves. None of these gentlemen have yet , been in the Council, although Mr Turton 1 and Mr Reeves have Loth been candidates i at previous elections. Mr Stout addressed ’ a large meeting of his constituents at Caversham on Tuesday evening, and received an . almost unanimous vote of confidence. He confined his speech entirely to a review of the crisis, and of the constitutional aspect of the question, reserving his remarks on provincial affairs for future meetings. So far as one can judge from the remarks of the general ; public, people seem to care very little about this question of unconstitutional procedure which lias been made so much of ; and candi- , dates who avow their intentions to act inde-; pendenlly as representatives will have abetter i chance of election than rabid supporters of either Mr Macandrew or Mr Reid, provided that they are in other respects suitable. I do not believe that party considerations will j | have any weight with the majority of the I electors in their choice when voting. It is sincerely to be hoped—and I trust there cannot be much doubt on the subject—that the Council will be relieved of the painfully nni intelligent looking physiognomies which have | hitherto gazed vacantly from the depths of the comfortable chairs at Mr Speaker’s left j hand. It must have been a complete puzzle ( to any stranger entering the Council Hall | how persons possessed of countenances indieating such a dreadfully low intellectual \ standard over induced their fellow creatures I to elevate them to tiie position they occn-| : pied. j Among the telegraphic news which reached j j us by the Tararua on Wednesday, is a para-j ! graph notifying the loss of the Fidelia, a fine! ! steam collier purchased in England by a| Dunedin firm, and which it was intended to j | employ in the coal trade between Newcastle, i and Dunedin. Notwithstanding the opening i | up of our Provincial mines, our coal trade j | has very materially increased, and the Fidelia I i would have found most profitable employment | ; had she reached her destination in safety. I j Mr John Barnes has publicly announced j i his intention of contesting the next Mayor- j j aity election. That he will receive a good ! few votes is certain, but perpetration of such a burlesque as his election would be, is a very : ; remote contingency. As a councillor his ac-1 j tious have been less outre than might have | j been expected, but air John Barnes as chief citizen and magistrate is a picture that one I can hardly imagine. Messrs Mercer and iThoneman are also mentioned as probable j candidates ; and doubtless, if presented with la requisition, Mr Fish will again come to the fore with the “circumstances alter cases” levy, and solicit the suffrages of the citizens. Another consignment of Chinamen, nmni boring 170, has arrived by the barque Black | Watch, which reached Port Chalmers yesterday after a passage of about 40 days from ; Batavia.. The celestials left the Flowery | Land in the Whirlwind, which vessel proved : j unseawovthy, and put in to Batavia, where she was subsequently broken up. They present the usual “new chum” Chinaman ap- | pearanco, but will no doubt soon scatter ' themselves over the Gold-fields, and assume ' I less peculiar looking-apparel. Certainly their ! thin dungaree garments are not adapted for II the weather we are at present experiencing. ’ j There is to be a novelty exhibited here [; next week in the shape of a hairless horse, ' ian import by the Tararua from Melbourne. The interesting quadrupeds, name is “ Caoutchouc,” and he hails from Queensland. For L the information of those who, like myself, may at first sight feel some doubts about striking 1 1 the right pronunciation of this collection of , i vowels and consonants, 3 may state that it is , pronounced “koochook.” i| Messrs Geddes and Willis’s dramatic comi pany make their re-appcaraucc at the Princess j Theatre next week, after a sojourn of a few 11 weeks in Christchurch, so that the legitimate (! drama will in a few days be in full swing at ; i both theatres. That, however, cannot last i for any length of time, for if Dunedin sup- ! ports one theatre tolerably well, she does not j do amiss.