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Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2346, 8 October 1870, Page 2

The S liter int endencv. —ln some of the up-country papers the name of Mr J. B. Bradshaw, M.H.R., has been suggested as a probable candidate at the forthcoming election for Superintendent. We have authority for stating that at present Mr Bradshaw has no intention of offering himself for the office. The Evergreen. This celebrated work of art continues to attract considerable attention. We notice that, with a view to shew it to greater advantage, the premises in High street (late Cob 1 ) and Co.’s coach offices) have been secured. We would recommend such of our readers as have not yet see this curious work of art to do so without delay. Princess Theatre. There wus u very fair attendance at the theatre last evening, when “ Blow for Blow ” was repeated. Those who like to see a well-written and acted modern play should not lose the opportunity afforded them, as after this evening “Blow for Blow” will be withdrawn. Rihertson’s celebrated play of “Caste” is in rehearsal, and will be produced ou Monday. From the reports and criticisms of the London papers, we may fairly expect to see in “Caste” one of the finest productions of modern writers for the stage.

Publication. —We have received a copy of a poem entitled “ Awake ! arise ! ” addressed to Christians, It is in blank verse, and published by Mr William Baird, George street. Of its poetic merits wc can say nothing,’ having hail no opportunity of reading even so much as a single page’. It is neatly printed, and well intended ; and on the Eider ground we commend it to the attention of those to whom it is addressed.

Concert. The concert at tho Masonic Hall last evening, in aid of the funds of the Citizens Cricket lub, was very well attended. Miss Webb was the pincipal vocalist, and a number of gentleman amateurs gave their assistance His Worship the Mayor presided. After the concert the hj all was cleared for dancing, which was kept up until an early hour this morning. Gaol Upturn.—Tho following is the suite of 11. M. Gaol, Dunedin, for the week ending the Sill October, 1370 : Awaiting trial, 5 men. 0 women ; under remand, 0 men, 0 women ; penal servitude, 02 men, 0 women ; bard labor, 51 men, 15 women ; in default of bail, 1 man, 0 women ; debtors, 4 men total, 153 men, 15 women. Received during the week, G men, 5 women; discharged, G men, 1 women ; died, I man. Death of a Maori Prisoner.—One of the Maori prisoners sentenced to penal servitude for high treason during the rebellion, and confined in Dunedin Gaol, died in the Hospital this morning, at live o'clock. The deceased, whose name was Hakaraia Te Ngobi, belonged to the Ngatariiiniii tribe, and arrived at the gaol the Gth November, 18G9, under sentence of three years. He was an invalid on arrival, snfiering greatly from asthma, for which complaint ho had twice to be removed to the Hospital. His age was about 70, and he was a member of the Wesleyan Church. The Volunteers. —There vvrs an inspection and battalion parade in front of the Custom House last evening, under the command of Major Bathgate. '1 ho attendance was very small, and comprised : No. 1 Company City Guards; 1 captain, 1 ensign, 1 buglar, and 10 priva'es; Waikari Bangers and South District Kifics : 1 captain, 17 privates ; Dunedin Naval Brigade ; 1 captain, 1 lieut nt, I ensign, 2 scrgeanls, and 16 privates ; band: .1 sergeant, 10 privates. Dissatisfaction with recent appointments to the force was the cause of the small turn out, and wo hear that tho matter is likely to form tho subject of legal proceedings, ordu s having, it is said, been re cived from Wellington to proceed again-t abseutc*es.

Harbor Reclamation.—The Provincial Government arc about to proceed with the work of reclamation between the Stuart and Rattray street jetties. It is intended to till up the lagoon near the latter jetty, and cany out the earthwork as far as the proposed jetty extension—over 200 yards, we believe—and alternately to the end of the training walk The whole of the work will he done by prison labor, under the superintendence of Mr Cairns, Government Inspector of Works ; and the material will be taken from Bidl Hill, which it is intended to reduce to a permanent level on the northwestern side as far as Guthrie, Asher, and Co.’s coal yard, and on the western side as far ns the Old England Hotel, The earth will be conveyed in trucks to the place where it has to be deposited. The tramways are now being laid clown.

Hakuob Defence. Aii experiment, very fortunately on a small soalc, was exhibited to-day to his Honor the Superintendent and the Provincial Treasurer, by Mr Lumh, shipping agent, tending to show the effect of a small quantity of powder when exploded under water, and its applicability as a means of harbor defence. Though <o> late to witness it at the Provincial Buildings, Mr Lnmb was liul enough to lepcat it in the presence of severs! gentlemen. Mr Lumh was with the British fleet in the Baltic, in the Crimean war, and personally assisted in fishing up some Russian torpedos ; so that ho has had every opportunity of witnessing their construction and the necessary arrangements. In the experiment to-day he lucd a blast of 2,i gains of gunpowder, which was ignited by a fuse unquenchable by water. That small charge pr. veil sufficient to lift 301 bs. of water sufficiently high and with sufficient force to suggest what would be the consequence of the explosion of half a fon or a toil of gunpowder under a ship>’s bottom. Mr Lumh considers, with very good re son, that the harbor may he defended at a small expense. We quite agree with him. His Ifonor and the Treasurer expressed themselves satisfied with tlie experiment, hut pointed out that the General Government were responsible for the harbor This is no doubt tiue, hut we would at the same time point out that when an enemy comes it is too late for requisitioning the Government for torpedos, and if they will not move, the Provincial Govcrnmc t must and trust to Parliament for reimbursement.

Southland, — From tiro Times of the 4th inst. we learn that a serious destruction of growing iiax by fire took place at the Lower Mataura on the 25th ulf. In this district was what was considered to be the finest liaxlield in the province. The Tnturau hundred bordering on the Mimihau river, and extending for four or live miles north of it, was for the most part covered with heavyflax of remarkably fine quality and luxuriant growth. Two mills arc already at work, those of Messrs Shanks and Messrs M'Lean, and ho; cs were entertained that several more would be started this summer, and that the district would become a busy centre of the flax Industry. On Sunday the 25th, a fire broke out at the head of the valley, and raged during the whole of that and the following day. It swept rapidly the whole of the 51)0 acres recently purchased by Messrs Calder and Watson, and over Messrs Shanks’s land, destroying almost all their best flax on the south side of the Mataura. By great exertions the fire was prevented from spreading to the sites belonging to Messrs H. L. Squires and Brown, Kwing, and Co., Dunedin. As it is, over 1000 ''acres of magnificent flax have been ruined. If on the Monday there had been a good turn out of the settlers to heat down the fire, all Messrs Shanks’s loss might easily have been averted, and nearly 1000 acres of grass land saved besides.—lt is reported that Cobh and Go. propose running a line of coaches between Winton and Queenstown. — The election of seven of the Provincial Council to represent the Province in the Otago Council, takes place on the 2(Ch hist. Ouu Native Flop a.— Wo Like the following from the Canterbury Time* .—ln a lecture recently delivered at Christehnr hj on “Changes elicited by civilised man on the natural features of New Zealand, “Mr Travers makes the following remarks on thp

change of the flora of the colony —“The watercress introduced into the River Avon in Christchurch has spread to such an extent as to obstruct the flow of the river and greatly to raise its natural level, evils only counteracted by the annual expenditure of largo sums of money. The Scotch thistle is spreading all over both, islands, and has already entailed upon the farmer and squatter a serious addition to his expenses. So far as New Zealand is concerned, there can be no doubt that what is taking place must be at the expense of the native flora, and must, even alone, have sooner or later led to the extirpation of many of the native plants. But when, in aid of these operations, wo lind the whole country roamed over by man himself, and by countless herds of animals which he has introduced, wc may feel assured that the na'ive life has but littlcchance against the invaders. Whenever we fire the forest or cut a track, wc make room for the invader, and where the hardy European vegetable once begins to grow it usually obtains its hold. I noticed recently, at subalpinc elevations in the Middle Island, that trifolium pratense was gradually displacing herbaceous vegetation a process the more certain in proportion to the treading which the soil receives from cattle and sheep. But perhaps one of the most noticeable facts is, that along our lines of highway, especially in the Canterbury province, you scarcely see, for miles together, a single native plant in the lie Igegrows or fences ; while the familiar way-side weeds of Europe are found as abundantly as they arc in the mother country.”

Mesmeric Tests.—The following is the report of an extraordinary scone at a mesmeric seance, taken from a Bendigo journal One incident not set down in the programme occurred at Madame Sibley's seance at Huntley, on Thursday evening, which is worth recording. The subject was mesmerism, and the fair lecturer was about to illustrate her remarks as to the insensibility to pain on the part of one of the youths then mesmerised, by thrusting a long pin into his arm, when an independent clccI tor advancing to the stage, in order as was supposed to have a b tier view, took advantage of the opportunity to seize with bis j tcct.li Hie baud of the unfoi.lnnate subject of | the proposed operation and bit him most ! savacoly. .Madame Sibley immediately I s tipped off the ftage into the body of the I hall, aed advancing to the sceptical elector, hit out direct from the shoulder, both light and left, in a style woithy of a Sayers or a Heenan, “ painting ” both the ojitics of the offender in the most scientific manner. Order was restored after this exhibition of muscular Christianity, hut only temporarily, for on the delinquent again appearing in front of the stage the other subjects that were under the influence, numbering six or seven, in obedience to a wave of the hand from Madame Sibley, rushed at their prey like a pack of hounds, and went straight forward, regardless of all obstacles ; and the upsetting of seats, the screaming of females, and the crying of children, created a scene of confusion such as is not often witnessed. Fortunately for the pursued, some of his friends succeeded in impeding the onward course of the enraged subjects until he made his exit by a b ;ck door, otherwise he would soon have been past praying for. Pca.ec having been once more restored, the lecturer indignantly denounced the individual who had caused the disturbance, and promised, in addition to the punishment already inflicted, to horsewhip him suddenly at the very earliest opportunity. Shipimnc Statistics. —The information which the Ragi-trar General gives in Clio published volume of statistics for 18(59 about trade and interchange is very complete, and wc wish wo could say it was satisfactory. During 1869 the total number of vessels cleared inwards was 761, with an aggregate tonnage of 250,731. As compared with 18(58, there was a falling-off of 87 in the number Of vessels and 26,37-i in the tonnage. Tlic outwards clearances show a similar dccre.vc. They amounted to 771 in 1860 as compared with 778 in 18(58, and the falling-off in tonnage was 39,94(5. Some interesting particulars are given in a table showing the number of registered vessels belonging to ports in New Zealand, 'the vessels arc classified as being of and under 50 tons and above 50 tons, and are of course divided into steamers and sailing vrg-els. At the end of 1369, the Colony owned 881 vessels, with a tonnage of 25,990. They were distributed among the various ports aa follows : —Auckland, 181 vessels of 10,118 tonnage ; Wellington, 24 vessels of IS9G tonnage ; Napier, S vessels of 364 tonnage ; Nelson, 25 vessels of 11(57 tonnage ; LyttTtnn, 66 vessels of 4772 tonnage ; Dunedin 60 vessels of 74(51 tonnage ; and Invercargill, 8 vessels of 217 tonnage. It will probably be found that a large number of the vessels registered as btdonging to Auckland arc really owned in other ports, though in saying this we have no wish whaievor to dcjtr.'ict from the enterprise which the people of Auckland have always shown in the matter of ship-building. The total value of the imports of the Colony during 1860 was 1H,97(5,126, as compared with L 4,985,748 in 18(58, being a decrease of L 9622, < r about ope-fi/th per cent. The following tab'o exhibits the increase or decrease in ea.'h province : Auckland, L568,15(5 inc., or 79.25 per cent. ; Taranaki, LS2BS dee., or 80.01 per cent. ; Wellington, L146,80l dec., or 28.58 per cent. ; Hawke’s Bay, 1.3092 inc., or 4 per cent. ; Nelson, L 87,535 doc., or 19 26 per cent ; Marlborough, LSS4O dec., or 59.13 per cent. ; Canterbury, 1,63,117 dee., or 10.84 per cent. ; Westland, L 102,989 dee ,or 17.1(5 per cent. ; Otago, LI3S, 151 dec, or 842 per cent. ; Southland, L 28.211 dec., or 15.(51 percent. Mn Mansfield will address the ratepayers of Bell Ward at the British Hotel, George street, this evening, at S o’clock. The members of the Dunedin Mutual Improvement Society meet at the Athenaeum on Tuesday evening at 8 o’clock, when the adjourned debate on “Temperance v. Total Abstinence ” will take place.