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Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 1961, 18 August 1869, Page 2

Waste Land Board. —The Waste Land Board met to-day. The business was unimportant. Princess Theatre. The Theatre was but poorly attended last evening, when the “ Lady of Lyons ” and the “Two Gregories ” were repeated. On Friday evening Mrs Harry Jackson takes a farewell benefit previous to her departure for Melbourne. From the position Mrs Jackson has hell at the Theatre, and the excellent manner ;n which she has invariably filled it, she is entitled to the warm support of the publ c. An excellent programme is announced, am , with tin kind assistance of several wellknown gentlemen amateurs, the house ought to be well filled.

General Assembly.— The following Wellington telegram, dated Monday, is published in yesterday’s Oamaru Tunes .-■•-In the House of Representatives on tndajq the Privilege Committee reported that Mr toss letter to Major Brown was not a Reach ot privilege. Mr Mr M‘Lean’s amended resolutions were reunited to the House. They all passed without opposition except the Ghoorka clause. The introduction of Ghookas, and also the proposal to give the Commissioners power to expend L7 t! ,000 beyond the sum required for Imperial troops was strongly opposed by Messrs Stafford, Hall, and others. On a division, the resolution was carried by 32 to 29 votes. beveral members have left; the session is not expected to last long. A considerable portion of the departmental estimates has been passed The remainder has be: n delayed by the illness of Mr Yo. el Another telegram in the Bruce Herald, dated Wellington, Kith August, says :—The goldfield leases have been extended to 200 acres. The (itago bettie rent Act has been assented to by the Governor. The motion for the establishment of a telegraph station at the Mataiua is being canvassed by every Otago member All approve of the proposal, fhe petition from the Tokomairiro settlers against the Hundreds Regulations Bill, will he presented to the Governor, through the f oloni il beepetarv to-morrow \ but it is feared that the obtaining of His Kxcelleiicy’s consent to the prayer of the petition will be inipossible.

Deputation. —This afternoon a deputation from the City Council consisting of Councillors Fish, Simpson ami Dods, had an interview with his Honor the Deputy.Superintendent ; the secretary of Land and Works being i resent. The first subject referred to by the deputation the culverts in Grea l King street. With refer nee to th< m, it was explained that on a pvev ous occasion a deputation from the Council saw his Honor on the subject, the result being that the Government replied that th y could not make the necessary alterations The deputation now waited upon his Honor with the view of ascertaining whether the Government would alter their previous decision. It was pointed out that in times of a heavy rainfall, the roadway and the adjacent properties were flooded, in consequence of the culverts not affording sufficient outlet fur the storm water. The Government kept the street in repair, and the Corporation thought that they were hound to keep the culverts in proper order. The coat of the enlargement of the drains would bo about LBO and th< Corporation were willing to pay half the cost. After some further discussion his Honor promised to bring the matter und< r the notice of the Executive and give it sup port. Councillor Simpson also brought under his Honor’s notice the practice indulged in by the workmen in the employ of the Government in scraping the mud from off the centre on to the sides of the road, His Honor promised to see that the matter was remedied. With reference to the subject of the widening of Princes street, South, the explained that the Corporation had already voted LIOO for the purpose, and they desired the Government to supplement it by giving LIOO worth of road metal. The The work would cost altogether from L 350 to L4OO. The Secretary for Laud and Works pointed out that as, on the completion of the work, the street -would he handed over to the Government, and have to he maintained by tln in, it would be necessary that it should be carried out under the superintendence of their Engineer for Roaiis and Works. I he deputation explained that other daily works would he carried on conjointly with this one ; and it would not be politic, therefore, that the suggestion of the Secretary for Laud and Works should he acted on. The Corporation, however, would have no oh]action to submit the plans and specifications for the approval of the Government, and allow the work to he done under ,the supervision of their Engineer. His Honor, thereupon, stated that the Government would supply the metal, as asked for. His Honor, in reply to a r quest of the deputation, promised to bring under the notice of the l xeentive the necessity for the old bridge at the Water of Leith being removed, in order that the Corporation might erect a footpath instead. The deputation then withdrew.

Dredging on the Molyneux.— The dredges on the Molyneux between the Dunstun and Alexandra arc still doing remarkably well, as wuch as £7O per man having been realised by each of the owners of one of them for the last week’s work, clear of all expenses ; end should the river continue to remain at the present level, there is every i probability of their even doing better from j prospects obtained. \ Supposed Discovery ou Minerals. —Wo arc informed that the Ashburton mail carrier has brought some crystals to Christchurch, which he believes to in hide a diamond and several rubies, and which he avers | to having found in the Malvern district. The one supposed to be a diamond is said to be viry cl ar and lustrous, emitting rays of li.ht in the dark, and possessing a good appearance. It has been tried on glass, which it cuts very easily, but it has not the sharp irregular facets which diamonds possess in their natural state. It appears to be worn in some places quite smooth ; and in the absence of tests by an expert, this is deemed reasonable evidence of ils being only an ordinary crystal. The supposed rubies cannot be judged with any degree of certainty, and it is scarcely expected they will turn out genuine. —Lyttelton Times. The Marine Department. The Report of Mr Balfour, of the Marine Department, just issued, is a very valuable document —so valuable that wc scarcely like to do more than mention it until we ha\ e greater leisure. The safety of our soa-going po' illation is in the keeping of the officers ot this department; the insjiection of vessels, adjustment of their compasses, enquiry into wrecks, harbor and quarantine regulations, lighthouses, beacons—and last, but not least, the correction of the coast survey. It appears that the wreck record for the past year shows a much sm dler number of casua ties than during the year previously. In ISG7-S there were no less than 55 wrecks, while in 18G8-9 there were only 33, covering a total loss of 3,736 tons, and the temporary injury of 518 tons. These hisses were not, as a rule, attributable to any remarkable gales ; some few of them were, but the large majority arose from want of proper moorings, thick weather, and other incidents common to a sea co «st. Of the total—33-there were 4 in July, 3 in August, 5 in September, 8 in October, 1 in November, 2 in December, none in January, 5 in February. 1 in March, none in April, 3 in May, and 1 in June. Comparing thes returns with those of previous years, strong westerly gales may Vie looked for in September, October, and November, while easterly and south-easterly gales are to be expected in February. We should therefore advise those who are not hound to voyage during those months to eschew them in favor of less boist rous ones. The loss of life is comparatively small only twenty-eight during the year, of whom twenty belonged to the ill-fated St. Vincent, wrecked in Pallisor Bay. Evening Post.

The Auckland Goldfields.—The following extract from a letter written by a gentleman in Auckland to a friend in Christchurch, on the subject of the Auck and goldfields, will be read with interest “The excitement here is intense, but three-fourths of the claims in which shares are selling at fabulous prices are nothing else but swindles, perpetrated by the directors of the who are going in and selling out in nearly every claim. There will no doubt he a >.reat crisis yet in the share market. Of course there are several splendid claims, but the prices obtained are altogether fictitiu s. The fact of it is a reg lar gambling mania has seized on the public. R s and & —e from Christcbu! ch are here, and are getting 1 itt 'ii by the sharebrokers, if I am not mistaken. Hunt’s people are all selling out. I fancy the cream of the claim has already been obtained. A large amount of capital was expected from Melbourne, but very little came, much to the annoyance of the sharebrokers. The Melhournitts are too “fly of the Aucklanders little game. Just caution any of your friends from investing here, unless they can be on the spot to sell out should a profitable opportunity occur, as if they hold for dividends they will find it almost impossible to get their money hack from that source. Of course it was different three months ago, as shares were then selling for a few pounds, that are now put into companies, and the scrip) is selling for as many thousands.” — Press. Another reported Gold Discovery. —Within the last day or two, specimens of quartz have been brought into Timaru, supposed to contain a large per centage of the precious metal. We have been shown some of the best pieces, which are certainly very likely looking. Although the metal visible on the surface stands the test of aqua-fortis, yet opinions vary considerably as to its being gold, some asserting that it is gold beyond a shadow of doubt, whilst others hold strongly to a different opinion. T rom certain particulars M'.o have learnt, as to the locality and the nature of the reef from where the quartz came, we are inclined to think that it does contain gold. The exact locality is kept a secret by the prospectors, who are sanguine they have hit on something good, and who at pnesent decline to make public their discovery. All we know is, that the reef, running north and south, is abruptly, as it were, divided by a river, and the specimens before ns have been taken from the cap of the reef which shows itself denuded of earth on the banks oy rhanging the stream. The gravel of the river has been washed, and the men declare they find gold in nearly every pan of washdirt. If tin's he so, then a bona fide goldfield may shor ly be opened ip the district, for we are aware that the locale of the discovery is not more than a good day’s journey from Timaru. —Timaru Herald.

A Meeting of the Fraternity holding under the English, Irish, and Seoth Constitution, arc requested to attend a meeting this evening at the Masonic Hall, at halfpast seven, to consider a subject of vital importance to the interests of the crafts.