DUNEDIN.

Dunstan Times, Issue 684, 28 May 1875, Page 2

DUNEDIN.

*—o (from our own cokrfsponden r.) The past week has been one almost continued round of excitement. His Excellercy the Governor and the Fakirof Oolu were appearing to have things all their own wav —the one held levees, drawing-rooms, and attended bazaars and theatrical performances, while the other mystified and err c an'ed the people with his clever sleight of hand tricks and mechanical illusions and contrivances. Things were thus proceeding quite comfortable, and the Members of the Provincial Council seemed to work so anreably together that a short Session v as fully calculated upon, when down comes Mr Horace Bastings with a want of confidence motion in the shap° of a general find fault with everything, the Gold-fields’ department and the Gold-fields’ Secretary mn-o particularly. One of the grave charges against the Government was their neglect of the interests of Southland, which according to Mr Bastings had been most insufficiently provided for. There was nothing very strange in this, provided it came from a Southland member, because ns a ru'e every individual member of the Council even Dunedin ones are never sati fled with their share nf the plunder, hut the mystery was how a Gold-fields’ memhercould satisfy the qualms of his conscience by assuming the nnsitimi of espousing the cause of the Sou hland cockatoos, nevertheless this was done, and the anomaly may he explained by the supposition amounting to an a’most absolute rertamty that Mr Horace Basrings wants a billet, and greediness and intr-g m carried the dav by the narrow juniority of two votes. T t, ere can be no doubt about it lut that Mr Donald Reid's government was the beat and strongest one we have bad for some time past, and so far as tbfi estimates were concerned, the appro, priatir ns wore very fair and equitably divided between all parties. The hng-bear of the Government was evidently Mr M‘Hollar, but there really was no valid reasons for objecting to him. Mr M‘Kellar was very painstaking, and fulfilled the duties of his office to the satisfaction of everybody, which notwithstanding all that has been said about Mr Horace Bastings, he never did the work of the gold-fields as well s Mr M'Kellar. If Mr M‘ Kellar had any fault it was that he was foi unassum ng4 had he made a noise about what he did, ho would have been better appreciated by h's opponents ; his living at Cromwell mattered but little, besides it was never suppose 1 that a Gold-fields’ Secretary could live in ( Dunedin upon a salary of L4OO per annum. When that office was separated from “ Works,” it was thoroughly understood that the head of the Gold-fields Depart* ment might re ile wlnr; he chose. However, as Mr M‘Kellar is not a place hunter, it will he rather a relief to him to bo allowed to return home when the business of the session is over and look after his own affairs instead of that of other people. Those who have no business of their own to look after may, now congratulate themselves upon having a job found them, and veiy possibly they needed it badly. Another Escort robbery was rumored on the last Escort day, but it turned out to bo a very harmless affair, a parcel of cancelled notes of the Bank of Now Zealand was missing, and which wore afterwards found stowed away in a gold-box the following afternoon, when ell anxiety was remove!. The Fakir of Oolu continues to draw exceedingly good houses, his sleight of hand tricks are very clever, but the same has 1 em done before by other professors of the magic art. His lion trick, the beautiful on tranced lady, and the magic fountain, are the gems of the entertainment, and they are really excellent. To witness this last trick is worth the money charged for admission. The inquest on the man Borland whoso leg was caught in the cow catcher on the Port Chalmers railway at a crossing at Pelichet Bay and held there when he was run over by a train, dying a few/ days afterwards from the effects of the accident and shock to the system has boon much commented upon. These cow catchers are most dangerous contrivances and consist of a sort of elongated wood grating with square bars set at an angle, and placed longitudinally with the railway lino. They arc not to

catch cows but to prevent them walking on to the railway, the tooting being bad for cloven footed animals they are consequently kept hack, they declining to tread on such uncertain ground. With bipeds the case is different, and the present is not the first case whore one has been similarly held by the leg asßorland, although thanks to timely relief no fatal result followed. Man catchers should bo the proper name for these clumsy contrivances. Cannot some Dunedin genius invent something better.