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Evening Star, Issue 3633, 14 October 1874, Page 2

The Tararua succeeded in catching the mail as she arrived in Hobson’s Bay on the forenoon of the Bth.

The Superintendent has delegated to the Otago Harbor Board all the powers vested in him under the Harbor Boards Act, 1870. A line of cylinder idles has now been carried across the VVaitaki, from bank to hank, and it is possible to cross the river on the temporary staging. Preaching on intemperance at Oamaru on Sunday last the Rev. Mr Todd stated that the licensed houses iuthis Province average one to every 129 of the inhabitants. At the end of last week the Superintendent telegraphed to Queenstown that the Provincial Government had made arrangements for the s s. Maori to call off Martin’s Bay once a month At the Kesident Magistrate’s Court, Port Chalmers, this morning, before MrT. A. Mansford, R.M., Charles Campbell and Thomas Jones were each fined 10s or twenty-four hours’ imprisonment for drunkenness. It is notified in to-day’s ‘ Gazette’ that Mr Alexander Gray has been appointed a ranger under the Protection of Animals Act, with supervision extending over a radius of twenty miles from Dunedin ; and Mr ti. A. Rout to be assistant clerk in the Lands Office at Invercargill. The runaways from the Industrial School —Gately, Smith, Peake, and Bloxham—have been taken back by the police to their old quarters. The. two first-mentioned were captured at Blueskin, the others at Oamaru. They assigned as their reason for running away that they had too much work to do at the Institution.

At this morning’s sitting of the Waste Land Board the scarcity of surveyors in the Province was referred to. Mr Strode said there was a “terrible” want of them, and the Chief Commissioner remarked that although he had often reorganised the Survey Department, some of the best men were continually leaving it—several finding their way to Victoria. An inquest was held at the Hospital at noon to-day, before Dr. Hocken, coroner, on the body of the prisoner John Hartley, whose death was recorded, in our previous issue. \fter healing the evidence of Mr Caldwell, Governor of the gaol, Mr Torrance, gaol chaplain, and Dr Hulme, Provincial Surgeon, the jury returned a verdict of “ Died of disease of the heart and paralysis. ” The Provincial receipts for the quarter September were L 189,033, and the expenditure L 139.466. The principal heads of revenue—Crown lands L 145,117, L 101.251 representing the land sales in Southland ; gold revenue, 14 98d ; sale of government buildings, &c., L 4.160 ; harbor dues, L.1,379; jetty dues, LI, 132; railways, Lll, 193 ; tolls on roads, L 2,900 ; and payments by General Government, L 11,806. A man named Caleb Butters, in the employ of Mr James Bcbertson, Chain Hills, Bast Taieri, was killed by a bull this morning. Deceased was employed in attending to cattle, and Jjtt seven o’clock this morning, as he was taking ip the cows to milk, a ball rushed him, crushing in his side and breaking one of his arms. Dr Inglis attended de"ceased, but he only lived for two hours. This is the second instance tbjs month in which a man. has bsen rushed by a bull at the Taieri.

Witnesses’ names are not the only things that receive a complete transformation at the hands of a constable or Court crier. During the progress of Dodd’s trial at the Supreme Court to-day, the Crown Prosecutor, wanting to have the belaying-pin produced, asked the constable at the door to get it; and the latter apparently thinking a witness was wanted, proceeded to the outside of the building and vociferously called out “Bill Hayes three times. As may be imagined this caused no small amusement.

The local paper reports that things begin to look like business in railway operations at Oamaru. The earthwork on the north line is made all through, with the exception of tome six chains of a small cutting on the esplanade, between the manse and the lagoon bridge. This line is a splendid straight run, there being only three curves in it.* Plate laying on the Awoomoko branch is going on rapidly, the rails being laid as far as Peattie’s, and the contract time for the main line is—to the junction—seven weeks, and the whole distance to the river iour months. So that there should be rail traffic through to Harris’s in about two months.

The trial of Dodd, the second mate of the barque Oneco, for the murder of John Green, a seaman belonging to that vessel, was commenced to-day. At the outset, application was made by Mr Stout to have the trial postponed, in. order that proper proof might be adduced of Dodd’s assertion that he was a naturalised American subject, but his P onor declined to accede to the request, he being of opinion that the fact was not material. The examination of witnesses proceeds more rapidly than in the Lower Court, because so far prisoner’s counsel has in most cases refrained from cross-examining. The Crown only bring forward one fresh Vitness, Mrs Campbell, the wife of the steward, who had. not been examined up to four o’clock It is expected that the trial will conclude to-morrow. The Court was crowded during the whole day. From the official meteorological report for September, it appears that the mean height of the barometer at the Dunedin observatory was 29.496 in., the highest reading 29,856 on the 14th, the lowest 29,212 on the 29th. The mean temperature of the air was 50.8 the greatest heat in shade being 60, on the 26th, the greatest cold at night 32, on the 21st. The total range of temperature in the shade was therefore 28.0, the mean daily range being 13 3. The maximum solar radiation was 128deg. on the 11th ; the minimum terrestrial radiation 23deg., on the 15th. The extreme range between the reading of the exposed thermometers was thererw n total rainfall was 5.454 m. It fell on no fewer than nineteen days, the maximum rainfall in any twenty-four hours being 1.300 in., on the 29th. S. and S.W. winds mostly prevailed. The mean diurnal horizontal movement of the air was 134 miles, and the maximum velocity for the month 378 miles, on the 29th.

The thirteenth annual meeting of the Galedoman Society will be held in Wain’s Hotel, on I) nday evening, at 8 o’clock.