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Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 1969, 27 August 1869, Page 2

The New Athenaeum. —The contractors for the erection of the new Athenaeum building, Messrs Watts and Co., commenced operations yesterday. They have signed a contract engaging them to complete the work in six months time, under a penalty of LIO per week for delay after that period. It is intended to be ready for fittings within five months. The foundation stone will probably be laid during the month of September, Princess Theatre. —We would remind our readers that Mr Joseph Eayner takes his benefit this evening, when we hope to see the theatre filled as an acknowledgment of his talent as an actor. An excellent and varied bill has been provided—the who ! c concluding with the burlesque “Once upon a Time,” in which Mr Rayner sustains a leading pa t assisted by Miss Anna horde, Mrs Harry Jackson, and Mrs 8. Howard. The Queen's Present. —We are indebted to Mr A. H. Lakeman for the following copy of an address to be forward* d to Her Majesty, thanking her for her present to the Athenoeum. The address is on parchment, and has been finely executed and illu-

minated by Mr C. F. W. Joyce, a member o* the Institute. It is as follows;—“ To the Queen’s most excellent Majesty. May it please your Majesty : We, the undersigned members of the Committee of Management of the Athemeum and Mechanics’ Institute of the City of Dunedin, in the Province of Otago, in the Colony of New Zealand, desire on behalf of the Institution we represent, to tender our grateful acknowledgment, of your Majesty s gracious consideration in presenting to that Institution a copy of Your .Majesty’s book, entitled ‘Our Life in the Highlands,’bearing your Royal autograph. We beg to assure Your Majesty that-we shall pr zo the gift, not alone for its iirrinsic worth and peculiar interest to the inhabitants of this Province, but as a token that there is no part of Your Majesty’s dominions however remote, which does not share in Your Majesty’s regard and Royal favor; and placing it chief among the literary treasures of our library, wo trust it may remain to prove to generations yet unborn the gracious kindness of Your Majesty. And that Your Majesty may long continue to reign over a happ; and united people, is the heartfelt prayer of Your Majesty's most loyal and dutiful subjects.” Signed by the officers and Committee of the Institution.

The Telegraph and Stamp Departments. —lt will be in the recollection of our readers that a short time since tenders were called for the construction of new buildings for the accommodation of the telegraph, stamp, and deeds registry offices, and that after tenders had been received, and that of Messrs Hunter and Goodfellow accepted, it was intimated that the erection of the buildings would not be proceeded with at present. It appears that the Provincial Government, finding their offices too large for their present requirements, have placed at the disposal of the General Government several suites of offices for the use of the departments in question. They offer the present Resident Magistrate’s Court and the adjacent offices for post-office purposes, and propose shifting the Court to tire present police barracks in Maclaggan street. Tlrey propose to apportion a range of offices facing Bond and Liverpo I streets, for the use of the stamp and deeds offices, and the office at present used by the Secretary for Land and works, and the adjacent offices for the use of the telegraph department. The officers of the last-mentioned department and the post-office, we believe, have reported i,hat the offices proposed to be to them, are totally unsuitable ; and Provincial Government, or rather their officers, seem to think otherwise. The General Government intend fo send down one of their officials to report upon the subject.

Velocipedes.—Although the mania for velocipedes, which is now so rampant in the sister Colonies, has quickly extended itself to the neighboring Provinces, Dunedin has, as yet, been backward in adopting this mode of locomotion. There are, however, indications that ere 1-ng it will be as veloc.pede mad as any city in the Colony. Machines of various desciptions have been imported, and our local wheelwrights are busy making t!?em. Two velocipedes, constructed on an entirely different principle from that generally adopted, are now being made by Mr Charles Nunn, wheelwright, of the Octagon. The one that is in the more advanced stage of completion is a four wheeled velocipede. It is built of t}ie lightest possible material, and when finished will weigh about 561bs. As in the tricycle, the scat is paced so that anv person can ride in it; but it diHers from the other, in so far that it is placed in a slanting position, which enables the driver to have greater power in working the treadles. The behind or driving-wheels possesses a very notice tble feature. There is a do b’e wheel, or a wheel within a wheel, and from the inner 'wheel there are spokes curving in wards, and joining the axle. The effect of this is to give greater stability and steadiness to the machine. The steering apparatus is connected with the fore wheels. The whole machine resembles in appearance an invalid’s carriage, and it can be easily worked, and is capable of travelling at the rate of from twelve to fourteen miles per hour. The other machine is of an entirely novel construction, being a hycycle on the tricycL principle. Instead of the break being connected _ with the saddle bar, as in the bicycle, it is attached to the driving wheel by means of a chain passing through the centre and along the handle of the tiller the brake can be lifted or put on at will, with lit any additional trouble than the slightest pressim upon the handle. When completed the machine will have a very nice appearance ; it weighs about 4.dibs, and can be driven at much greater speed than the bicycle.

New Zealand Landholders. The London correspondent of the leading Wellington journal, writing on June 12, says “The flight, as I am informed, of a certain Mr T , a sheepfarmer of the Middle Island, caused a great sensation some time ha k to tho-e whom he had honored with his custom. He was reported to be in Portugal, but this apjjeara to have been a ruse. It is now stated that he is at pre-ent in Liver Plate, South America. It is said also that he" borrowed I 5.000 on his run, of a London firm, and decamped with it. This has seriou-ly damaged the prospe ts i f New Zealand laud-holders who wished t borrow in Loudon at six or eight per cent, on mortgage of their estates in your Colony.” The above, we presume, refers to a “Mr T.” who was recently a member of the Legislative Council, and who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from the Northern part of this Island.

Arms fob the Colonial Forces.— In a debate on the subject of the best arms of the Colonial Forces, Major Brown alluded to useful arm introduced by the Bushrangers at Taranaki which was very efficient, and that was a bush-knife about eighteen inches long, with which they could clear their way very rapidly _ through the undergrowth. It was also available at close quarters as a sword, and if it were only fitted to oo on the muzzle of a carbine in the same way as the sword-bayonets of non-commis-sioned officers in the army, it would be a good substitute, and the bayonets could be dispensed with. The men were constantly losing their bayonets they were so top-heavy. Col, Haultain said that the late Government had sent Col Boxer to England to select three samp esof the best breech loading arms, and these would soon reach th - < 'olony. Mi Stafford remarked that War in New Z aland was a very different thina from Conti ncntal warfare, whe e large bodies of men approached one another on open ground, and where, consequently, a weapon of long range aud rapid firing was required, and where, as

in New Zealand, men fought in the bush, and combatants hardly saw each other, he thought that a double-barrelled gun was the best.' 7 ’ Mr Kelly suggested the adoption of a weapon of such a description that the rebels co-dd not use them if any fell into into their hands, without the ammunition specially made for them. Mr Fox said in the course of his speech that “ he thought it was a great pity that after nine y ars of war we shoal I be left in this Colony so badly supplied with arms as wo are—the long Enfield, which is the principal weapon, being very unsuited for bush warfare.”

Flax Report.— The following report on New Zealand flax, forwarded to a gentleman in Tim iru by Messrs A. and D. Edward and Co., of Dundee, is of consul rable public interest “We have examined the New Zealand flax. It is nearly thirty years ago since we wrought some of this flax, at the r.quest of Government. We had it nude into sail canvas, and sent to the Government, but we never learned what was the result in the wear of the canvas. It was feared it would not wear well, being hard. In the condition of the sample hale the flax is almost useless ; the woody matter has no; been separated from the fibre, apparently the r, suit of imperfect steeping or want of scutching. If it can be properly cleaned, the material would have a considerable value, say L 45 or thereabouts per ton here. Enclosed is a sample to show the condition in which the lowest mark of Russian flax is received here. There is no doubt, if_ the New Zealand flax can be cleaned in a similar manner, that it can be largely used here.”

Gold at the Waiiio. —Late news from the Waimate states that two or three prospecting part es are contemplating a visit to the country at the head of the VVaiho gorge, the supposed locality of the ‘‘find” reported in this journal recently. The piece of quartz which, at the time of its exhibition at the Waimate, was said to contain no less than 50 per c nt. of the precious metal, was no doubt over-estimated in its richness ; but that it did contain a very large per centage of gold there is not the smallest doubt, as the specimen was fairly studded with gold. As far as we can learn, the quartz was picked up in the bed of a creek, which, being “likely looking,” was turned by the prospecting party, and it was on washing the stuff that the specimen was found. The quartz showed signs of having comparatively recenTy been broken from a reef, as it was but little water-worn, and the gold points were very sharp and distinct. The men who found the sp eira- o at once returned to the ground, and we believe are still working there, and they are sanguine that the day is not far distant when the discovery of a payable goldfield in the Waiho coun'ry or neighbourhood will be accomplished fact. • I imai u Herald.

This evening the annual meeting of the D.G. Lodge of Otago, K.C., will be held in the Masonic Hall, Moray Place. The meeting is announced for 7.50.