TELEGRAPHIC DESPATCHES.

Dunstan Times, Issue 471, 28 April 1871, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC DESPATCHES.

(PER The news brought by the Omeo is unimportant. Her latest dates are to the 21st inst. Sugars maintftiued their prices; breads were dull J flour, £l4 10s. to .£l4 15s. ; wheat 6s. ; oats dull, from 3s. Bd. to 3s 9d. Another fatal case of scarlatina'at Port Chalmers is reported. A rent has been discovered in the dock, supposed to have been caused by the late earthquake. The Provincial Council is summoned to meet on the 22nd proximo. Messrs. C. E. Haughton and E. B. Cargil] have been'gazetted Commissioners of Waste Lands. Sales of town sections will be held at Alexandra on the 16th, at Clyde on the 17th, and at Cromwelljon the 18th proximo. Sales of sections at Bendigo, Pembroke, and Newcastle will qe held on the 19th proximo. The Cerberus has at last arrived safely at her destination, Hobson's Bay. Her commander, Lieutenant Palmer, has been ap. pointed Head Naval Officer of Colonial Defence. The " Otago "Daily jTimes" is authorised by the General Government to state that the San Fra cisco mail contract has come out, and will shortly be published. We are informed that the solitary representative of the Land and Works Department, formerly employed to look after and patch up the road between Clyde and Black's, has been removed to parts unknown. The dangerous precipice at Chatto Creek has not been touched, and becomes every day more perilous to travellers. There is plenty of material for effecting the desired repairs close at hand, and one man, in a week, could, do all that is necessary. Ophir is the name selected for the recently surveyed township at Black's No. 1. The application^,of;. Messrs, M'Laren, Greig, and Co for an agricultural lease of six hundred and forty acres on their run, which was opposed by the residents of Clyde, was disposed of by the Warden on Tuesday last, when a lease tor six hunnred and ten acres was granted. Mr. Wilson, who appeared for the objectors, did not further pursue the objection lodged, that the land was wanted for a public purpose, namely settlement, as the Warden at the previous hearing expressed an opinion'that it was futile to do so. Mr. Brough, on behalf of the applicants, intimated his intention of bringing the matter before the Waste Lands Board, with the view of obtaining a lease of the whole area applied for, namely six hundred and forty acres. The news brought by the Suez mail shows France madly distracted by the struggles of factions contending for power. Intriguing and caballing seems to be order of the day, and every thing is in a wild state of confusion, the out-come of which no man as yet can telL The agents of all the candidates for the throne s?em sanguine of success, while the Beds, encamped at Montmatre, fully armed and equipped, are determined to tolerate nothing but a Bepublic. A telegraphic summary of the news, which was issued as an " Extra" ou Friday last, will be found in another column. \ A boat accident, by which five lives Were lost, took place in Akaroa harbor, on the night of the 17th instant. It seems that some settlers and their families were returning to Akaroa from the Head of the Bay in boats, and when about three miles from the former place were caught iu the violent storm which blew on that night. In attempting to run into German Bay for shelter, one of the boats, containing six persons, struck on a reef at the entrance of Lushington Bay, and its occupants, with the exception of a man of the name of James Wardle, were drowued. Their names were Mr. Hugh Dalgleish, a settler residing at Devauchelles Bay, his wife, her sister, a young girl named E. Shadbolt, and a man named George Bryon. The body of Mrs. Dalgleish is the only one that has been found. A correspondent informs us that the unprecedented dry; ess of the season has caused water to bn very scare- 6.1 Drybmi-l,' Tin-' kcr's, and vicinity, au.t uluici'ig operations 'arc soriou3,ly impeded. A fall of rain is mxiously looked for by tie miners. < ) ]

In an article on the new Executive, the '• Southland Newa" writes of Mr. M'Arthur in the following terms :—"The fourth member of the new Executive, Mr. Duncan M'Arthur (without office), is a gentleman so well known—to borrow an auctioneer's pet phrase, as to require but little comment. Prior to his election, we wrote —'Mr. M'Arthur's experience can scarcely be said to have been political, but he has for many years, in one official position- or another, under every Government, had spiendiil opportunities of study.' At the same time we expressed a doubt whether ho would long feel at ease in a representative capacity, and hinted, that merely from the force of habit, he would be likely to prefer some non-political appointment, requiring a man of great experience to fill it. The position accepted by Mr. M'Arlhur is certainly not non- political ; but it is nonofficial, and may pave the way to something of a more permanent nature. How he came to bi selected over the heads of other Southland membors more favorably known for their public services in the past is one of those things capable of explanation no doubt but very abstruce. A peculiar meritthat of singular consistency and tenacity of purpose—it must be admitted Mr. M'Arlhur possesses. His politics are like the religion of the Vicar of Bray, which changed with that of the reigning monarch, the jolly incumbent freely confessing that his guiding principle in life was a settled determination to Lve and die "Vicar of Bray. So with Mr. M-Arthur. No matter what\Govermneirfe, may hold the reins, it is plain that he means by hook or by crook, to live, if not die, in the genial atmosphere of a Government office." Speaking of the report on a Federal jmion of the Australian colonies, and of that'portion of it more particularly which deals with the question the "Dublin Nation" indulges in the following tall talk :—The statesmanlike view disclosed in the scheme reveals its author. The impress of Mr. Duffy'3 name pervades the whole document. The federation of the colonies of Australia, and the adoption ,of the report of the commission as the basis of the future constitution of Australia, is only a question of time. Nemesis pursues_English.politics even at the antipodes, and uses as her instrument the Irish intellect,', which ever_has been the one ,thing—unconquered and unconquerable—which shehas failed to subdue at home. It is something to be proud of when the expatriated race checkmates the English policy in the Western hemisphere, and at the same time directs the growing nationalities who repudiate her selfish control beneath tho influence of the Southern Cross. Af.the sitting of the Waste Lands" Board on Tuesday, tee 18th .instant, the application of George M'Donald for a lease for of three'acrcs of laud on the*west side of the lianuhcrikia, about two miles faom Alexandra, was granted on the usual terms. The plans of the t..wnship of Ophir.;, (Black's) and of the additional sections surveyed in Cromwell, were approved of, the Surveyor to' fix the upset prices of the sections at Black's, with'valuation'for improvements,'and submit"them to the Warden. The application of Messrs. James Nicholas, John Jenkins, and T. L. Edwafds'for a t lease of ten'acres, mthe'town of Cromwell, for coal-mining purposes, was referred to the Secretary for Lands and Works, to obtain the Warden's report upon it. The" sale of the Wairuna and Cookston. Hundreds, as resolved upon by the Executive, was approved of. Mr. Warden Borton, writing on the 14th inst., reports to the Secretary for Land a- d Works regardingTthe state of the district under his charge (Mount Benger) asfollows : 1 have the honor to report that during the last quarter this district has been visited by that terrible scourge, scarlet fever. About fourteen or fifteen persons have been attacked, and three deaths (all children) have taken place. lam glad to be able to state that the disease seems now to be dying out, and I am in hopes that if proper precautions are used ihe coming winter will eradicate it altogether. Since my last report, the Hercules Water Race Company have been vigorously prosecuting their work under every disadvantage, both in regard to the ground through which they are talcing the race, and also the road over which they are obliged to cany their timber, &c. The company anticipate a completion of their labors in a few months' time, but I doubt their being in a position to avail tiemselvcs of the probable low state of the river during the coming season. The crops in this district have all been harvested in capital condition, and the yield on the average is better than in most of the down country districts. Considerable interest is still evinced by all classes in the throwing open of blocks for settlement under the Agricultural Leasing Regulations, and the choice parts of the land so opened areapplied for almost as soon as declared open. The population still remains steady at about a thousand but probably a considerable number of Chinese will shortly arrive from other districts to cradle along the banks of the river, From some tables appended to the report, we gather the following information :~-The number of miners in the district is five hundred and thirty four, of whom three hundred and ninety are Europeans and one hundred and forty four Chinese- They are all engaged in alluvial minings They employ twenty two sluices a d toms, twenty water-wheels, twenty-four pumps, and one thousand and eighty sluiceboxes, the approximate value of which is L 23,890. There are also in the district one hundred and eleven water races, valued at L 13.850 ; eighty-eight tail races, valued at L 2755; fifty-six dams, valuod at L 3195; eight ground sluices, valued at L 370. The num. of square miles of auriferous ground actually worked upon is forty six, and the price of gold per ounce is L 3 15s. The weekly 3-ifp. n" wages tor miners is L 3. A bazaar held at Greyniouth, in aid of the Roman Catholic Church at that place, realised tho handsome sum of i.700.

By an advertisement which appears in another column, it will be seen that a publie meeting is convened, to be held at Hawthornes" Clyde Hotel, Clyde, at 8 o'clock on Saturday night, for the purpose of considering the object of the proposed mining conference and selecting a candidate for the i representation of the district as delegate therein. We remind the members of Hospital Committee that the important question, adjourned from last meeting, will bo considerel at the meeting on Monday night, when it is desirable that there should be a full attendance to allow the matter to be properly ventilated. Drybread has been added to the list of polling places for the election of a delegate to represent the Dunstan District at the Mining Conference. Mr, Barber, proprietor of the Union Hotel, Hamilton, left that place for Linburn with the mail on Saturday last. On Saturday night he was found lying dead on the road having been thrown out of his buggy. Mr. J. T. Chaplin has filed a deed of arrangement with his creditors. Mr. Chaplin explains that his reason for so doing is to protect his estate from the Bank of New Zealand, which he says is unduly pressing him for a debt due by another person. Our Bendigo correspondent inj<>rms us that the Aurora Company have made final arrangements with a party of tributers for the lease of their plant, claim, and race. The tributers will commence operations immediately. Colclough's Company are still crushing, with satisfactory results, the average yield being sixteen pennyweights, the stone maintaining its thickness. The Alta I Company, owing to the scarcity of water, are not making such headway as could be desired. The stone that is being put through the mill 'shows well for a good yield. The Cromwell Company's claims and batteiy are in full operation. Good reports continue to be received from the Thompson's Gorge reef. The assay returns of the gold obtained from the trial crushing have been received and show the gold to be worth four shillings an ounce more than that obtained at Bendigo. The assay of the gold from the Alta Betf, shows a fineness of twenty two carats. The mails not received last month, and supposed to have been destroyed in a railway accident in America, have arrived in Wellington. They arrived in San Francisco the day after the mail left. Mr. Branigan arrived in Wellington from Auckland on the 21st April. His mind was greatly disordered. He insisted upon rcsumiug the command of the Colonial Forces, and behaved in such an extraordinary way that the Government laid an information against him, under the Lunacy Act. He will be sent to the Dunedin Lunatic As>lum. Mr. Fitzherbort has been elected Superintendent of Wellington by a majority of five hundred. We direct attentien to a notification, extracted from the Provincial Government Gazette of the 19th, which appears in another column relative to the holding of a Mining Conference. It will be seen that no time is to be lost as the nomination is fixed for Monday next the Ist proximo. The poll, if necessary, will be taken on the 4ih proximo. Vigorous exertions are being made by the Committee to resuscitate the Clyde Public Library. The collectors, Messrs. Barlow and Hueston, have been very successful, having raised nearly £SO. We hope, now that the Committee have at last woke up, that they will make the institution as useful to the subscribers at it ought to be. Attempts to establish a ready communicition between the beleaguered inhabitantsof Paris and their relativ s and friends beyond the German lines have given rise to many contrivances which are not unlikely to make a new era in the history both of aeronautics and photography. Among them may be mentioned the ingenious device by which the matter of two whole pages of "The Times" has been transmitted from London to Paris, This has been accomplished by photography. Those pages of the paper which contained communications to relatives in Paris, were photographed with great care by the LonStereoseope and Photographic Company on pieces of thin and almost transparent paper, about an inch and a half in length by an inch in width. On these impressions there could be seen by the naked eye only two legible words, "The Times," and six narrow brown bands representing the six colums of printed matter forming a page of the newspaper. Under tbem icroscope, however, the brown spaces becomes quite legible, and every line of the newspaper was found to have been distinctly copied, and with the greatest clearness. The photographs were sent to {Bordeaux for transmission, thence by carrier pigeon to Paris. When received there they were magnified, by the aid of the magic lantern, to a large size, and thrown upon a screen. A staff of clerks immediately transcribed the messages, and send them off immediately to the addresses indicated by the advertiser. By an advertisement which appears in another column, Mr. Joseph Mastic, of Clyde notifies that he has on sale flour from Gilmour's flour mill, Arrow, which he guarantees equal to the best Provincial. Competition, it is said, is the life of trade. If so, we hope the vitality of the flour trade will not decrease, and our hope we are suro will be eihoed by all consumers of the " staff of life." Mr. W. J. Parry offered at auction, on Monday last, at Goodger's Yards, Cromwell, nine colts and fillies. Only four were disposed of, the purchaser being Mr. James Hazlett, of Clyde. A Kidderminster carpet-maker has given the whole of his mind to the production of a carpet " emblematical of the auspicious union" between the Marquis of Lorn and the Princess Louise. This artisticTailegory con- sts of a groundwork of Argyll (which has somewhat the appearance of a magnified rag carpet), with the "Rose of England" sprinkled over it at intervals.

THE CENSUS. The following, on the authority of the " Otago Daity Times," is a tolerably correct statement of the population of the different electoral districts of Otago, not including Southland : Dunedin City 14.851 Waitaki 6218 Waikouaiti 3011 Port Chulmera 2876 Koslyn 3277 Caversham 3383 Taieri 4152 Bruce 3850 Clutha 2770 Tuapeka 4374 Dunstan 3305 Mount Ida 2457 Wakatip 4384 Wakaia 2234 Part of Mataura 450 Total in February, 1871 CO, 597 „ December, 1869 48,<j"7 Increase in three years 12,020 The following shows the population and increase itt Dunedin and a number of the country townships bince the last census was taken in 1867 :

The population of the following places was not given in 1867. The following is the result of the last census : Naseby 534 St Bathan’s 203 Hamilton 109 i \ Arrow town 208 Waitahuna 311 Havelock 193 Roxburgh West 104 Macrae's S3 Palmerston 368 Hampden 170 Herbert (Otepopo) 70 Balelutha 333 Tapanui . 231 THE CHINESE. The following is a statement of the number of Chinese in the different Electoral Districts of Otago (not inducing Southland), as ascertained by the recent Census :

The number of Chinese returned in December, 1867, was 1185. The increase during the three years is, therefore, 1392. As upwards of 300 Chinese have arrived direct from their native country since the Census was taken, the number now in tlie province is not far short of 3000.

1S67 1871 Increase. Dunedin City 12,093 14851 2153 Dunedin Suburbs 5345 0000 1315 Cam am 1377 1657 208 Port Chalmers 977 1186 209 Lawrence 473 620 117 Milton 527 797 270 Queenstown 241 563 322 E & W Hawksbury 481 571 90 Clyde 308 363 55 Cromwell 103 207 134 Alexandra 215 230 21

Males. Female. Wakatip ... 1179 0 Tuapeka ... 504 1 W aikaia ... 282 ( 0 Mount Ida ... ... 172 ' o Dunstau ... 151 0 Taieri ... 143; o Waikouaiii ... ... si 0 Dunedin City ... 39^ 0 Waitaki ... (if 0 Bruce 0 Port Chalmers 3 0 Roslyn 2 0 Totals ... ... 2G76 1