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Evening Star, Issue 3527, 12 June 1874, Page 2

In the Provincial Council tuis afternoon. ;he Provincial Solicitor gave notice that the Government would propose the names of M 1 RrM and Mr Davie as their representatives at the proposed Utago Dock. Board. The Provincial Government now grant to newly-arrived immigrants one Free pass to any of the railway termini—in other words convey them, on their receiving em doyment, destination, if it is approachable by In speaking this afternoon to a vote for the improvement of Kakanui harbor, Dr Webster stated that the New Zevand Meat Preserving Company intended lo establish a sugar manufactory at Kakanui, if the facilities for shipping at that port were increased. Waitahuna is beginning to reap the benefit of the labors of the Acclimatisation Society. A covey of eighteen partridges was flushed between Mr Stewart s and the Waitahuna river last week, and a day or two afterwards another of eight birds near Havelock township. the Phoebe, which left yesterday, Mr W. H. Cutten and Captain Boyd proceeded on a visit to the Northern Pro* vinces, as a deputation from the Colonial Hank of New Zealand, for the purpose of co-operating with the several local committees of the Bank already at work. A man named Jerry Hutchison was drowned on Monday in the Molyueux, at the Island Block, near Patrick’s, while attempting to swim his horse across. The deceased had lately been engaged ploughing for Mr Honner, of Miller’s Pl.t, and was described as a vtry respectable and deserving fellow. , ° We understand that the authorities are considering the propriety of running morning and evening trains on the Port Chalmers railway, to suit the hours of working men and others living in the viciuity of the line. Such a step is calculated to confer a great boon on many who, through motives of economy and health, desire to reside outside the town. The land fever has broken out in the Alexandra district, applications having been nearl y vacaQ t sections on ° a j Plat, and a memorial has been forwarded to the Government praying that another block may be thrown open for settlement between the present block and the Gorge Creek. Muh of the land applied for (observes the * Tuapeka Times’s’ correspondent) is only fit for grazing purposes, but the settlers find that to carry on farming successfully it is necessary to combine stock breeding with agriculture, and a fear t ; >at the price of land might be increased has probably induced them to endeavor’ to increase the size of their farms at the present time.

A very serious accident befel Mr George Gray (second youngest son of Mr William Gray, senr., of Canada, and formerly of vNouthbridge) at Mr A. S. Begg’s -lenomaru Flax Mills, on the 30th ult. The lad was, in the absence of one of Mr Begg’s sons, persuaded to give a few day’s help at flax dressing While feeding the flax cleaner or dry skutcher his left hand was drawn into the machine, and before the water power could be turned off auu the machine stopped, his arm had literally undergone the chopping process to a considerable extent, as far up as the middle of the forearm. The ‘Bruce Herald says it is very probable that the boy’s arm will have to be amputated.

A Chinaman of, dilapidated appearance, c'lme to the Wbolshed some days ago and was taken in by some of his countrymen. hen they returned from work the day before yesterday they found him completing preparations to hang himself on a rafter. They stopped him, and then discovered that the rope with which he was about to seek hereafter (a stout new clothes line) had been lately broken, and that his neck was a good deal torn and frayed. He confessed to havin-/ just done his best to get into the next life, but the rope had broken They took care of Ah in (that is the Chinaman’s name) and sent for Sergeant Smyth, who fetched him down to Tokomairiro in a spriug-cart yesterday. Bob Roy ” was played at the Princess’s Theatre last evening. There was a large attendance, particularly in the lower parts of the bouse. Mrs Walter Hill, as Helen .acgregor, the uncompromising and determined of the Lowlaudera, enacted the part magnificently, and has seldom appeared to so much advantage. Miss Lucy Ashton’s Diana Vernon was rather tame. Miss Marion Willis and Miss Martineau, as Eo*s®rt and Beamish respectively, performed their parts very creditably, danced a reel in Highland costume, and were vociferously applauded. The only male characters worthy of mention are Mr Steele’s Rob Roy, which was decidedly successful; Mr Keogh’s Bailie, and Mr Musgrave’s Major Galbraith. “ the Lady of Lyons” will be produced this evening, with Mrs Hill as Pauline and Mr Steele as Claude, In a communication to the chairman of the Invercargill Railway and Immigration Committee, the Premier writes:—“ The only vessel for the Bluff of which there is at present any intimation is the Carlick, which sailed during April with 300 souls. I have never failed to recognise the importance of direct shipments to the Bluff, and since February, 1873, the Agent-General has been frequently communicated with, by telegram as well as by letter, on the subject. In a letter dated 19sh February, advising the sailing of the William Davie, he said that he won d, as directed, endeavor to send vessels to the Bluff at intervals of six weeks, but that the shipping companies all demined to supply more than two vessels for the bluff during the next six months. In reply, 1 info me-? the Agent-General that if the shipping companies will not meet his requirements, it is his plain duty to make ar angemeuts irres oective of them ; and I hope soon to be able to inform you that ships for the Bluff direct will sail at stated short intervals.” The existence of payable ground in the deep ground ao the Blue Spur is now proved beyond a doubt. The fact of dirt averaging loz. sdwts. to the ton having been found extending over an area of ground that will take years to work out, owing to the ground being leased in large block claims, would in many places create a little excitement; in fact such a discovery at a distance would inevitably cause a rush. But the osly little excitement in connection with this discovery has been a Court case about the right to a small piece of ground in Gabriels Gully, and the application for another small block that had been abandoned on the Munros side, by a party of men who have already some eleven acres under a mining lease. In several of the claims' sinking operations have been eommene d. The Otago Co. have a shaft lown 100 feet, and have not yet bottomed. I he North of Ireland party, on Munros side, are also sinking, he Nelson Co ,to whom great credit is due for first making known the payable nature of the bottom, will also be the first to practically test the ground by crushing the cement, the machinery for that <urpose being ordered from Dunedin. The “Asiatics” who have found their way into the country districts are maintaining their character. From the Tuapeka paper we learn “that a woman named Blackie —a candidate, we believe, for Good lempiar honors—on the afternoon of Friday last amused herself by robbing the honey rom a hive of bees situated in Mr Fressley s n rsery. She performed the feat in a most skilful manner, evidently showing previous knowledge of the treatment of these social and industrious little animals Instead of ifting up the hive, as a novice might do, she carefu ly removed the top from the box, and extracted all the comb containing honey and made away with fit. All this she did, be it observed, in broad da* light. Mr Pressley, who had been in Duuedin, arrived home the same evening, but knew nothing of the matter till Saturday, when on making inquiry he found that “my lady” had departed for Dunedin with her jir of honey by coach. After the necessary formalities were completed, a warrant was issued for her arrest, and the police set on her track. \ o doubt she will get a free passage back to Luwrence. And in to-day’s ‘ Bruce Herald ’ appears the following ‘ • One of the Asia’s immigrants got a job, stone-breaking, at .Last Taieri. A man lent him a whare to sleep m. There were several cases of spirits stored in the whare. The immigrant was found one day fast asleep in the whare, a case broki n upon, and many broken and empty bottles knocking around. The immigrant accounted for these inconveniences by saving that a dog ha i come into the house, opened the case, knocked the necks off the bottles, and drank their contents, and this extraordinary thing had stupefied him. Nothing more has bean done in the matter,” At the Otago Institute meeting last night Captain Hutton read an important paper, entitled “Preliminary Remarks on some New Zealand Birds,” by Dr Otto Finsch of Bremen, hon. member of the New Zealand Institute,,&c. Captain Hutton said he considered it one of the most important cont»ibutions to New Zealand ornithology since the voyages of the Erebus and Terror He mentioned a few oases of birds which he considered were not placed in their proper families ; but this paper of Dr Finsch’s was the first which gave a critical view of birds as rewarded their specific character, and which, if it did not quite settle, very nearly settled the position of a great many of them. In the smaller birds he had made a great number of alterations, which ns doubt would all turn out correct; and that was certainly doing more than any description of new species. This paper was merely the forerunner of a work by Dr Finsch, to appear in a year or so, and which would contain a full account of New Zealand birds, A paper on comets was read by Mr Skey; Mr Thoiiison exhibited ferns collected during the past season by the Field Naturalists’ Club; and m accordance with Captain Hutton’s previously announced intention, the following objects, presented to the Museum, were placed cn the table for inspection by members of the Institute :—Paper made in New South Wales from maize ; specimen of paper pulp from the red tussock grass of New Zca land, presented by Mr M'Glashan ; and a sea-snake, presented by Mr J. Small. The chairman (Mr J, T. Thomson) said he believed the New Zealand material produced was that from which the company now being floated intended to manufacture paper at the Mataura