ALEXANDRA.

Dunstan Times, Issue 461, 17 February 1871, Page 3

ALEXANDRA.

(from our own correspondent.) On Monday night last, Mr. Donald Reid addressed a meeting at Mason’s Royal Mail Hotel. Shortly after the hour advertised the room in which the meeting was held became inconveniently crowded, and the proceedings commenced by the election of Mr Theyers, Mayor of ' lexaudra, to the hair. Mr. Theyers having introduced Mr. Reid to the meeting that gentleman came forward. He requested the electors not to believe the insinuations contained in a letter which appeared in a supplement to the last issue of the Dnnstan Times, but to believe what be then «aid was the truth. Mr. Reid then at considerable length expressed bis views, and drew a comparison between his acts and those of Mr Macandrew and Mr. Vogel. In answer to questions put by Messrs. Chappie, Low, Rivers, Jack, and or,hers he stated that the Hundreds Regulation Act prevented settlement; that election purposes had nothing to do with the. throwing open of 00,000 acres of land since November last.; that the Vogel administration had the sanction of the Provincial Council to dispose of the unsold portions of the Hundreds at 10s per acre; that on one occasion ss. per acre compensation had been paid to a squatter, under the Goldfields Act; that the Government bad acted upon the advice of the Provincial Solicitor in cancelling the depasturing license over a block of 17,000 acres at the Beaumont; that he did not think Alexandra had enough commonage and would endeavor to see it obtain its just rights in this respect: that he was in favor of deferred payments for land ; that he considered that the vote for water supply should be altered to one for general Goldfields’ purposes ; that he was not in favor of the abolition of the Provinces as long as they had £400,000 a year to expend ; that he ■was in favor of a gradual reduction of the gold duty, the reduction of mi ners’ rights to ten shillings, and the establishment of a mint and a Bank of issue in the colony; that money was spent in road making in winter on.account of public clamor, and that lie was in favor of the establishment of Road Boards; that he ws not aware that Mr. Warden Pyke visited Alexandra only once a month; was not prepared to say that goid receivers at Alexandra and Cromwell with, powers similar to that of Mr. Burton of the Teviot might not do away with (he necessity for a Warden at Clyde ; that he could not' say whether it was durable to abolish the Clyde pound or not, and that he was not aware that impounding on the goldfields is illegal ; that he would place a sum of money on the estimates for the erection of a Courthouse, at lexaudra; did not know whether the members for the Middle Island “ sold ” their constituents by passing the Loan Al- - Repeal Actor not; that the amended Hundreds Regulation gave the squatters compensation for fencing only. Mr. Webb proposed and Mr. Ivcrsen seconded a motion that Mr. Reid was a tit and proper person to be e’ec f ed Superintendent of Otago. Mr Chappie moved and Mr. Brown ■seconded as an amendment that Mr Macandrew was a titter person than Mr. Reid to be elected Superintendent. Th'* original motion was carried by a large majority amid loud cheering. A vote of thanks to the chair brought the proceedings to a close.

There is great division of opinion regarding the Superinteiulencv, but there is no doubf but that Macandrew wdl poll a majority. Until the Sn peiintendency-is decided, Provincial matters hvillremain in the background Should Shepherd come forward, however, bo will be well supported.

1 have not heard the result of the la' ors of the dredges last week but I 1 elieve it has been satisfactory. A' Butcher’s, Messrs. Wi kinsand Murphy have washed up with fair results At Conroy’s, Messrs Iversen and party are busily engaged working at their reef. At a depth of fifty feet they lost the reef, but put in a drive and struck it ag 'in They then sank a blind shaft adept!) of about twelvefeet carrying gold all the way. The water however compelled them to desist, and they are now working the fifty foot level. The excellent pn>s pects obtained have induced the Company to call for tenders for machinery, which will be decided upon on Monday next. C. Iver«en and Dawson and parties have just repaired damages caused by the flood, and are now in working older.

The heaving of the Tichborne case lias been postponed till February. The point in dispute between the litigants is no longer one of identity, but x hat the plaintiifhas been called upon to prove his title, which, under the circumstances, he may find it very difficult to do, being called upon to go back two or three hundred years. According to report, all hough he landed in England, almost penniless, he has contrived to inspire in others such confidence in the justice of his claims as to have raised already nearly £IOO,OOO for the purposes of their prosecution. It is said that the attitude now taken by the legal advisers of the party in possession will entail an extra outlay on Sir, Roger Tichbovne of some. ,£0,000., ,

BLACK’S. (from our own correspondent.) The General Assembly elections passed oft’ very quietly here, but after the poll closed a little excitement was ceated by the refusal of the Deputy Returning Officer to make known the result. A public meeting was called, and Messrs. Worth, M‘Endow and M'Combe appointed a deputation to wait upon Mr, Harvey and request him to make nublic thenumberspolled, but he still refused, stating his instructions forbade him doing so. Mr. Macandrew waived here last Sunday evening, and announced his in. tendon of addressing the electors at eight o’clock the following morning. Owing, however to the unpropitimis state of the weather and the earliness of the hour, very few people put in an appearance, and consequently no meeting was held. Mr. Macandrew left shortly afterwards for St Bathan's. Mr, Donald Reid addressed a large meeting at the Shamrock Hotel, on the evening of Wednesday the Bth instant. Mr Worth occupied thechair. Mr. Ki id who was well receive 1 spoke for two hours, hut did not advance anything new in the course of his address. This main object seemed to be to condemn all Mr. Macandrew’s schemes, without, however, providing any substitutes therefor. At the conelusion of Ins speech a vote of confidence in Mr. Reid, proposed by Mr. M‘Endow and seconded by Mr. Glass, was carried, and after a vo'e of thanks to the chair, the meeting terminated. Mr. S. C. Worth, a. candidate for the representation of the Dunstan district in the Provincial Council, addressed a large meeting on Friday evening la>t, Mr. Spain in the chair. Mr. Worth touched on most of the principal topics of political interest, and expressed himself in favor of the gradual abolition of the go’d dutv : a •system of deferred payments, wirh improvement clauses, for land;and the formation of roijd boards throughout the province and stated that, if elected he would work faithfully and honestly tor the interests of the district generally. A motion that Mr. Worth is a lit end proper person to represent the Dunstan district in the Provincial Council, proposed bv Mr. and seconded by Mr. Glass, parried with acclamation. The (usual '.vole to the chair brought |he proceedings to a close, j 1 11 the Resident Magistrates Courc a case of some interest—Worth v. Blackadder iV Co., —was heard last week. The facts, of the case were that plaintiff ordered a reaping machine from defendants,, who forwarded a drawing of a machine they intended to send. On the machine arriving, however, it was found to be hot according to the drawing sent. Plaintiff and two witne-ses stated that the machine had been fairly tried, but would not work properly. ITo claimed £SO. d images for loss of time and crop while putting up and trying the machine. The defence was that the machine was according to plan, and that it would work it properly put together and fairly tried. The Bench suggested that the case should go to arbitration, but defendant declining to accede t:\ereto, a verdict was given for plaintiff’ for £l3 and costs

In mining there is nothing fresh. Very little is dmugat Black’s No. 1. but at No. 3 things are looking rather brighter. The Deep Lead Company have bottomed their shaft and in their drive have st» uck some good gold. It 3 reported that their prospects average one to three pennyweights to the dish, ut whether this is correct I cannot ay. However, I will be in possession of reliable information in a few davs. I hear tiiat another lease has been applied foi’.