LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dunstan Times, Issue 432, 29 July 1870, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The nomination of Auditors and of candidates to fill the vacancies in the Council, caused by the retirement (in rotation) of three members of that body, took place in the Public Library, on Wednesday last, at noon. From the number of candidates brought forward it is evident that a lively interest is taken in municipal matters and, though the feeling was Unanimous that Mr. James Hazlett was the most fitting of our citizens to fill the civic chair, opinions appear to be divided as to who are most fit to sit in the Council with him The following are the names of the candidates and the respective wards for which they were nominated South Ward—Anthony Brough, George Clark, and William Atkins ; East Ward - Joseph Hastie and David M'Connochie; West Ward —Samuel Welsford, Dr. A. T. Thomson, and Alfred Moore. The Mayor stated that the poll would take place on Monday next, the Ist of August. Messrs C. F. Johnson and R. Barlow were elected Auditors without opposition. Messrs. Clark, Plus fie, and Moore briefly addressed the meeting, and the proceedings terminated. The nomination of candidates for the office of Councillors to fill the vacancies caused by eflnxion of time too place at the Council Chambers, Alexandra, on Wednesday last. Mr. Beresford presided as Returning Officer. Mr. John Allen was proposed and seconded as Councillor to represent the Manuherikia Ward, and Messrs. Robert Finlay and George Ratcliffe the Clutha Ward. There being no opposition the above-named gentlemen were declared duly elected. In the House of on the Bih inst, Mr. Mervin moved, That, in the opinion of this House, the provisions of clauses 2 and 7 of “ The District Court Jurisdiction Extension 'ct. 18GG, ” whereby the Governor is empowered to extend the powers of the Judges of the District Court be extended to the various Courts in Otago presided over by Mr. Judge Grey. He (Mr. Mervynl was surprised that there should have been any necessity for his placing this motion on the notice paper. Owing to the Act in question not being extended to the District Courts over which Judge Grey presided, many people sustained loss, as they were obliged to reduce their claims to 1007. with a view to bring it within the jusisdiction of the Court, and avoid having to go to the Supreme Court, Mr Fox feared the honorable member’s constitueets would hardly think he gave that amount of attention to their affairs which, by this exhibition of zeal, he tried to make the House believe he had bestowed upon the question before them. If he had taken the trouble to inquire, he would have found that what he wanted had been already been done by the Government. He had heard it said that, “If you conceal anything from the, public, put it in the Government Gazette. If the honorable member referred to the Gazette he would find that the Act in question had been extended to the Courts presided over by Judge Grey’. Mr. Mervyn said he had been mislead by the last papers received from Otago, and he would therefore withdrew his motion. The Lancashire Bell Ringers gave their popular entertainment at the Town-hall, Clyde, on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings. On each occasion the hall was well filled by an appreciative audience. The pieces of music were rendered with most artistic skill and elicited well-merited applause. One most noticeable feature was the chime of ei"ht bells, which was given to perfection. Mr. Daniels, the accomplished baritone and Irish comic singer contributed much to the amusement, even though lacking the advantages of instrumental accompaniment, and Mr. Burton caused most uproarious laughter Jby his comic delineations of Negro character. The opportunity of enjoying a national evening’s amusement so seldom presents itself at Clyde that the advent of the Lancashire Bellringers was an undoubted treat. The company played to a full house, at Alexandra, on Wednesday evening. They proceed to Cromwell and the Lake Distrct. On their return, is is, we understand, their intention to give, at Alexandra, an entertainment for the benefit of the Dunstan Hospital. The pedestrian Austin, now in Dunedin, attempted, on Saturday last, to run eighteen miles within two hours, on the Caledonian Society's ground. After completing a little over thirteen miles in one hour and thirty-seven minutes, Austin gave in through exhaustion, induced by the muddy state of the course.

In the House of Representatives, Mr. Mervyn moved for a return of the area of country in the Province of Otago, within and without goldfields ; the quantity of ground in each part suitable for agricultural settlement ; the quantity ot land already thrown open, either under the Hundreds system or otherwise; the amount of land alienated from the Ct-wu in the various Hundreds in the Province; and also the quantity «f land sold or leased under the agricultural lease system on the goldfields, sVich return also to state the amoutat of land now available for settlement, and the area of country (stating locality) Over which freeholders or leaseholders on the goldfields have the privilege of depasturing their stock, by paying the usuual .assessment.

By advertisement in another Column it will be seen that Dr. Can- (the Prince of Mesmerists) is now on a professional visit to this district, and will hold a seance at Alexandra to-night and to-mOrrow night, and at the Town Hall, Clyde, on Monday and Tuesday evenings next.

The Mayor has convened a public meeting, to be held at the (Hyde Hotel to-morrow evening, to take into consideration the advisability of memorialising the House of Representatives relative to waste lands. Perticulais in advertisement. The attention of the Masonic Brotherhood is called to an advertisement in another column, announcing that the R.W.P.G.M. Brother Pyke, will deliver the second of a series of lectures on Craft Masonry,; in the Masonic L dge, Clyde, on Tuesday evening, the 2nd of August. The Daily Times says : —Search is being made for survivors from the Matoaka in another direction besides the Auckland and Bounty Islands. We learn from a private letter from home, quoted by the press, that “as some fires have been seen in the South Georgias, by the William Duthie, the Government, at the instigation of Messrs. Shaw, Saville, and Co., have sent a steamer out, thinking that some of the Matoaka’s crew might be there. The South Georgias are situate in 58 degrees Somh latitude and 38 degrees West longitude, end are nearly due east from Cape Horn.” We take the following from the Daily Times: —“ The Lake district of Otago has long been celebrated for the magnificence of its scenery, and will, doubtless, at no distant date, become as favorite a ground for artists to t ravel as are now the Highlands of Scotland, and the valleys of Switzerland and the Tyrol. For bold massive groupings of forest and mountain, for deep and precipitous gorges, for vast expanses of water, and rapidly-flowing rivers, we venture to say that, from an artistic point of view, it cannot he excelled anywhere. We are induced to make these remarks from having seen a series of six photographic views of the scenery in and near Lake Wakatip, which have just been published by the proprietorsof the London Portrait Rooms, Princes-street, Dunedin. As specimens of the photographic art they are admirable; as pictures of the exquisite sceueiy of this magnificent district they are charming, and do equal justice to the skill in taking and the taste in choosing of the artist who photographed them—Mr. Richardson, of this city. They comprise a view of Q censtown from the northeast, showing the township, Magazine Point, a portion of the Lake, and the Remavkahles in the background. A view of M‘Bride’s Point, looking up the Lake, and showing the je-ty of Robertson and Co.’s saw-mils, and the thickly-timbered bush beyond. A view of Cosy Bay, a charming little indentation in a large island in the upper part of the lake. This is a very pretty picture, the shingle beaches in the foreground, the birch scrub beyond, and the dim and distant Richardson Range in the background, being admirably shown. Two views of Emerald nr Here Lake form a beautiful pair of p'ctures, the rugged ranges bounding a long and deep gorge being finely toned down until they fade away in the distance. The most striking and characteristic picture of the series, is, however, a view of the glaciers of Mount Bonpland, a peak of the Hurabouldt Mountains, over eight thousand feet high. This view is taken from the east side of the Lake near the entrance of the Rees River, and show? the mouth of Rees, the Dart, and the shingle flat, and a portion of swampy and grassy flat which lies between the Dart and the ranges, the'Woolshed being distinctly defined. The ranges themselves, covered with eternal snow and ice, form the background to the picture, and give an excellent idea of the character of these rocky and precipi tons fastnesses The views are excellently printed, and well mounted, and degerve an honored place in the albums or on the walls of every one having a taste for the picturesque and beautiful in nature, or a love for the wild and sublime scenery of the Lake district of the land we live in.” Nuggets, says the Ballarat Star, have been frequently picked up from the quartz metal laid down on our streets; but on Monday a bigger piece of luck than usual fell to some boys in Rubicon-atreet, near Winter’s Freehold. They were shying some quartz stones from the street at an old boiler by the road side, when one of the boys picked up a mass of golden quartz containing ten ounces and a half of pure gold.