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Evening Star, Issue 3466, 1 April 1874, Page 2

Mr J. Beany has become the purchaser of Mr Redwood's Spritsail, for L3OJ. The number of applications to be placed on the electoral roll received at the Dunedin office is 560. There are now 5,000 miles of wire in New Zealand, and over 500 persons employed in connection with the telegraph department. The Mongol keeps up her reputation for rapid steaming. Her run from Auckland to Kandavu was done in three days and twentytwo hours, and the return trip in a little over four days, while the contract time each way is five days. • The onlyl civil case at this session of the Supreme Court is Macassey v. Bell, in which the former seeks to recover LI.OOO damages from the Evening Stab for an alleged libel, re Chinese petition. The trial is set down for the 13th inst. The Lily of Killarncy was repeated last evening, and the excellent singing of Miss May, Messrs Templeton, Hallatn, and Rainford gave evident satisfaction to a tolerably numerous audience. To-night, “Barbe Bleue ” will be played for the first time in Dunedin.

Mr Chilcott, the lapidary, of Maclaggan street, died suddenly last night. He bad been sitting before the fire with his wife, and suddenly fell down. Dr Burrows was called in, but found life to be extinct. Death resulted from heart disease, from which deceased has been suffering for some time past, having been under Mr Hooken’s treatment.

We are informed that a petition was presented to his Honor the Superintendent today, praying that the present puntage moae of crossing the Matau branch of the Molyneux river, at Inch Olutha, be substituted by a bridge.. The petition is signed by upwards of 2Dt) landed proprietors and settlers on the island and surrounding country, and was presented to his Honor by Mr W. Dalrymple, jun.

The ‘Observer* understands that the census returns of the Arrow district are made up, but « divided for convenience of collection will not give, until completed, a correct view. The following is a partial return of the population : - Arrowtown, 255; do, district, 615; Chinese, 175; total 1,045. This does not include Gibb■ton Flat, or Lake Hayes Flat, the population of which latter place would probably be 130. These included, the total population of the Arrow district would be about 1000 Europeans, and 200 Chinese.

The performance at the Queen’s Theatre last evening wag for the benefit of Mr South, and there was a good attendance in all parts of the house. The first piece was the “ Rough Diamond,” in which Miss Stephenson and Mr O’Brien appeared to advantage An interlude followed, Miss Blanche and Mons. Hamew executing some clever feats on the flying trapeze. The pantomime passed off satisfactorily, but the burlesque was not as successful as hitherto. Miss Raymond, who received quite an ovation on making her re-appearance, danced a couple of hornpipes in capital style.

The civil business of the Resident Magistrate’s Court is alarmingly on the increase. Mr Bathgate sits on an average six hours a day, and is unable to exhaust the daily list. To-day several cases, which have been adjourned from time to time during the past week, have been further postponed for a week. We believe that Mr Bathgate, with a view to giving as much of i H 10 ® ** possible to the civil business, has asked gentlemen in the commission of the peace resident in the City, to relieve him of some of the criminal business.

The Oamaru breakwater is making very satisfactory progress. A length of 18 feet was added during the past week, making about 35 reet m little more than 9. fortnight. On Saturday (says the 4 North Otago Times) some heavy pneumatic apparatus, for the Waitaki Bridge, weighing in all about nine tons, was landed on the wall by the steam crane from the surfboats, which lay in smooth water, although there was a considerable swell outside the breakwater. We learn that a cargo of coal will be discharged at the wall a few days hence. This is the beginning of better things for the port.

The following is from the * Arrow Observer 5 : Some person in Dunedin, knowing that one of our merchants was at present on a visit to that City, has apparently seized the opportunity of making use of his name, with a view of hoaxing our worthy Mayor—at least that is the construction which the matter bears to us ; as, although some persons may find fault with our representative, we are not aware that anyone was deputed to ‘ arrange ’ with Mr T. L. Shepherd, or, indeed, anyone else. The following is the telegram ‘ Dunedin, March 24th, 1874. —Mr Goldston, Arrow.—lf you can get Clarke to resign, have arranged Shepherd to stand good for district. R. Pritchard.’ It has been suggested by some that Mr Shepherd has, with his customary vanity, cheated himself into the belief that the district would jump at the proffer of his services, and with that idea has got hold of our two townsmen in some weak moment. We beg Mr Shepherd to disabuse his mind from any such idea onee and for all. When a vacancy occurs, there is no doubt that a local man will be found thoroughly competent for the post.” Mr Howell, whose tasteful and accurate workmanship is well known through the beautiul specimens of cabinet work exhibited when ie resided in the Octagon, has just completed, aider direction of Cap ain Hutton, a very handeoipe cabinet for preserving entomological apecimfetiß in the Museum, It is made pimvl'

pally of New Zealand red pine, highly polished. It is three feet six inches long by four feet high, and fitted with plain but handsomely finished folding doors. Within axe thirtytwo drawers, with neat brass handles, shutting flat with the face of the drawers. The fronts of the drawers are neatly polished. The arrangement within each drawer is very complete. A floor of cork is laid to receive the pins, with which specimens will be secured in their places; m front is a strip of perforated zinc, so placed as to admit of pieces of camphor being put between it and the framing of the drawer. By this plan the odor of the camphor is diffused throughout the drawer, and thus attacks by insects are guarded against. Over all is a glass slide, neatly and accurately fitted. We have not seen a neater cabinet, nor one better adapted for the purpose sought, than this handsome specimen of Colonial workmanship. As a proof of what good the Ballarat School of Mines has done, we may relate the following, which should certainly command special attention :—“ Some miners of Elaine were able with the appliances at their command to test their idea, and having satisfied themselves that they were right, they sent a quantity of tailings first to the Llauberris battery, and subsequently about 91bs., when dried, to the Ballarat School of Mines for assay. This was tested, and the assay showed that in the 91bs sent to the school there should be over 2£oz of gold. Messrs Clai ke and Baldy then desired that the assay should be reduced, which was done, and the result was a lump of good gold weighing 2oz 14dwts. Mr Elude, the assayer at the Ballarat School of Mines, on a former occasion obtained by assay from some quartz which was thought , to be worthless, and in. which not a speck of gold could be seen, gold at the rate of 30oz to the ton. These instances, says the ‘Australasian,’ tend to suggest to the mind some idea of the enormous waste that is taking place in our mining operations where they are entirely undirected by science, and merely guided by the rude 4 light-of-nature ’ methods of the uneducated miner; also, what an immense saving could be effected if mining work were carried on in accordance with the practical teachings of science. They also prove the great good that is being effected by our sebools of mines in

placing the results of the scientific theory within the reach of the men under whose oversight this important industry is conducted.” It appears that the Presbyterian body in the City have had under consideration the advisability of abolishing the Fast Days, which are held twice in the year. “Hitherto,” remarks the 4 Evangelist,’ “ all sects in the community have paid marked respect to the day by suspending business operations, and the Provincial Government has recognised it as a holiday. We are well aware that there are many Presbyterians greatly attached to the day, and we ourselves are deeply sensible of its importance when properly observed; at the same time we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that a very large number of our body, instead of attending religious worship, make it a day of enjoyment and amusement. Now, we hold that unless the day is mote generally observed, especially by members of the Church, it ought to be abolished, or, at all events, we should not ask or expect the members of other denominations to keep a day which a large number of our own people not only treat with indifference, but openly disregard. We should be sorry to see the day abandoned, but unless some very decided improvement takes place in the observance, we are apprehensive of the result. Why is one day not observed throughout the Province? It appears to us that such a course would greatly tend to the better observance of

the day; and, moreover, would prevent disappointment to persons coming to town, or going to the country, for the transaction of business on this day. We trust that the whole subject will receive the consideration of all the members and adherents of the Presbyterian Church, and that a satisfactory arrangement will be come to and heartily carried out.” Mr Buckley, who was a member of the last Provincial Government of Canterbury, in addressing his constituents at Waimate last week, referred to the Waitaki bridge in the following terms When I first addressed you, I stated that I thought one of the most important works of the district was to get the Waitaki bridged. I stood almost alone in my support of it, no one opposing more strongly than the Superintendent, but who, however, has since changed his mind with regard to it. Otago was most anxious to get it done ; but Canterbury held aloof, until at last a Bill passed the Assembly authorising the General Government to do the work, the cost to be equally divided between the two Provinces. As soon as the Bill was passed, the Government sent Home for short iron girders, with the intention of making it a timber pile bridge, but in the interval it was decided to send Home for solid iron piles, the reasons for this being that the spans being short, solid iron piles would offer obstruction to the water, and they would have to be put up in about six months. The engineerat Home must have altered it, however, and with the consent of the Agent-General (but without reference to the Colony), substituted cylinders for the iron piles, without a knowledge of the nature of our river beds, and entirely forgetting also that owing to the shortness of the girders just double the number of cylinders were required, and doubling the time and expense of erecting it. Time was allowed to pass, and although the contract had been let, I think the difficulties to contend with are very much under ettimated, and I hardly expect to see the bridge available for traffic for at least three years to come. Had the original plan of timber pile bridges been carried out, although it had only stood for twelve or fourteen years, it would have bean finished at least a year ago, and the Province would then have been in a position to have built one of a more permanent nature, instead of having to do without a bridge at all for these three years. However, when the bridge is finished, I hope the Superintendent of Otago will not be forgotten, for I can testify to his untiring exertions to forward the work. The branch line of railway to Waimate was authorised three years ago, and no one is paore alive to the advantage of having the bush within reach of the railway, than the Minister of Public Works, and he assures me that as soon as the progress of the bridges warrants it, the line will be commenced toward Waimate. It will take some time to get the work now in hand completed, but he thinks the railway will be commenced at Oamaru and Tima.ru simultaneously. A bridge should be thrown over the Waitaki at once, so as to connect the Otago side of the river with this. The two Governments are now corresponding with respect to the bridge, which I have no doubt will be agied to, and then it will be only a question for the engineers. I have heard say that a bridge might be placed over for 106,000. I have examined the site and think that it would not cost more thanLls,ooo or L 16.000.” —At the close of the meeting, Mr Brace, as one of the contractors of the Waitaki'bridge, said that not only would it be finished within the contract time, but they intended to take about L 2,000 from the Government by way of b<?nus, and wished Mr Buckley to urge on the railway. The Artillery Band will muster at the Drill Shed for practice on Thursday evening at 7.30.