LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Evening Star, Issue 3690, 19 December 1874, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Another mining accident occurred at Bendigo last week, in the Cromwell Company’s claim. A miner named Mitchell was the sufferer. He was preparing to go down one of the shafts—a “ whip ” shaft—and putting his foot in the rope before the horse was hooked on, he fell from top to bottom, a distance of no less than 170 feet. Having hold of the rope kept him perpendicular, and in this position he descended the whole of the way at a tremendous speed. There was a collection of tools at the bottom of the shaft, and one of the ran right through his foot. It is feared that his injuries are serious.

In opening on the 14th inst. the first circhit of the Supreme Court held at Titnaru, Mr Justice Gresson, after congratulating the town on the possession of a gaol creditable from its perfect order and cleanliness, and admirably placed as regards site, observed : “ In saying this I do not mean to intimate that this, or any gaol in the Colony, is properly constructed to meet the requirements of our criminal population, but I assume that ere long 1 our legislators will see the necessity of founding the central penal establishment for the Colony which has been so long talked of and so often recommended by judges and other persons in authority.”

Mention was made a little time ago that the Superintendents of Otago, Canterbury, and Westland had agreed to despatch a survey party from Queenstown to the Haast in order to obtaiu some additional information as to the nature of the country between the three Provinces, and in respect to the difficulties likely to be encountered in the event of a road being undertaken to be constructed by the General or Provincial Governments. The two older Provinces agreed to contribute towards such a survey the sum of LI 00, while the Superintendent of Westland guaranteed LSO towards the same object. The party, which is under Mr M'Kerrow, set out on the 7th inst.

]f the Government really wish the people settled on the land, it is high lime that some alterations were made in the survey charges which as at present fixed are an emphatic barrier m the way of settlement in certain cases. Ihe following instance is related by a correspondent of the ‘Tuapeka Times’ a shut time ago the services of a surveyor from Clyde were required at Roebuck "for eight allotments, the largest of which was about six acres. The land was to be bought at L 3 per acre, but when travelling expenses for 35 miles, at the rate of 4s per mile to each applicant, and other charges were added, the land actually cost L 8 per acre. Only fancy a surveyor receiving L 56 for travelling expenses for one day’s journey, and had there been eight claimants more, it would have been L 56 more.

At a recent meeting of the Canterbury Education Board the following letter from the Secretary of the Education Board in Victoria was read “It sometimes happens that teachers who are, or have been, employed in other Australian Colonies apply for appointment here, or vice versd, and I think it would be desirable that a mutual understanding should be arrived at not to make appointments in such cases without first ascertaining the character of the applicants, and whether any objection exists— as, for instance, an applicant having been trained at the expense of the department of one Colony and not having, subsequently, served the stipulated time (in Victoria this time is four years), or any other objection Jwhatever. I shall feel obliged by being favored with your views on the subjects.”

It will be observed with great regret, by readers of the American papers, that the prospects before the working population of .New York for the win’er are described as being of the gloomiest sort. The poverty which existed in that city last winter was of the most frightful character - too great for the utmost efforts of the charitable to overtake—and tbe journals were filled from day to day with narratives of distressing cas s of suffering from starvation accidentally discovered, as well as with accounts of what was doing at the numerous soup kitchens established all over the City and Brooklyn. The summer has done nothing to lessen the prospects of the misery of the coming winter. People were leaving in thousands for Europe or Canada ; there were numerous failures ; business was very unsettled, and “the winter outlook was exceedingly gloomy.” One of the San Francisco journals concludes its remarks on the subject by observing that “ the charitable folks are preparing for the relief of unprecedented poverty in New York.”

“Mismanagement of mining companies” is the heading of an article in the last issue of the ‘Wakatip Mail,’ and its strictures apply to the compenies in that district which are governed by a Dunedin board of management The Arrow Kiver and the Sbotover companies are cited as instances of “ Dunedin paralysing.” Of the first-men-tioned, it is said that “the local surveyor know the cause of non success well enough. They have advised the Dunedin directory and been snubbed for their pains. Shareholders have written and informed the legal manager in Dunedin what was wanting ; he has pointed out the right course of action. If Dunedin boards would leave to local direction the management of affairs the position o f this mining comp my wouid have been different.” nd of the Shotover Company that “they have been sued in public Court for wages due, and which amounts were paid in. ."till claims against this company are hawked about fur sale at a discount of 30s upon Lls 15s, and find no purchasers. e he-drate not to say that' this expose is brought about through non confidence in the local directors.” The Centennial Industrial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1875 is likely to be carried out after all. San Francisco correspondents of the Auckland journals state that New South Wales has arranged for a large display of the products and manufactures of that Colony. They urge the importance of New Zealand being well represented. They write ;—“ Your wool, flax, gum, aud cabinet woods ought to be exhibited. If ever the phormium tenax is to become the great staple product of New Zsaland, you must look to the States as your legitimate market America, so far, is not a flax-producing country. The fibrous plants indigenous to it are comparatively of little value. Ha l they the New Zealand flax, the people of this country would long ago have found some way of cleaning it and raising it to its proper standard. There are many beautiful woods in this country, b t I have seen none tba 1 surpass the m tiled kauri ot your North island, or the nmu of the South All your furniture woods ought to be • xhibitedl Practically, New Zealand is yet a terra incognita to the average American. An exhibit of Seuffert’s cabinet work in Philadelphia would open the eyes of the Quakers, and lead to inquiries aoout the country which produced such beautiful workmanship Even here, in San Francisco, there is very little known as to the resources aud climate of New Zealand.”

The dearth of labor appears to be pretty severely felt in the neighboring Province of Canterbury, as in the •Press’ of the 14ih instant we read of “ married couple* being very much in demand, so much so that in one instance L9O was given, with house to live in. Female servants of all descriptions are very much in demand, and the next shipment is anxious y looked fur.” The same cry comes from coma of Australia,

Accounts from South Australia show that, with the near approach of harvest, the difficulty of finding men for necessary work is ca sing much appreuhension. “It is not,” says the Adelaide correspondent of the ‘ Argus, ’ “a mere question of wages, the fact being that the labor is not obtainable.” And this in a Colony which is importing immigrants, although, as the result shows, at a rate far below the requirements of the community. From New Sou hj Wales we learn that the railway works in the direction of Albury are much impeded by the absolute impossibility of procuring the men who are wanted. <»n works where 1,500 are required only 300 can be got, and on other railway works in another part the contractors want 6,000 or 7.000 men, and are unable to get them.

I he Waitepeka settlers are inarms against the proposed deviation of the Clutha Kailway by way of Four-Mile Creek, and Mr Tnompson, M.H.R., on their behalf, writes to the Minister of Public Works “If the Government do not see their way to adopt the Waitepeka route, I would take the liberty of suggesting the desirability, in calling for tenders, to call for tenders for the Waitepeka route as well as that recommended by the Engineer-in Chief, leaving it optional with the Government to select either the one route or the other. So confident are the settlers in the district mentioned of the merits of the Waitepeka route, that they are convinced that, besides a better gra lent, the cost of consrruction wid be little, if any, in excess of that recommended by the Engincer-in-Ghief. I may also state, that so zealous are the settlers in this matter, there isapropnsal amongst them to pay the interest on any extra expenditure that may be incurred in adopting the Waitepeka route. I may instance as an apparent proof of the few engineering difficulties in the Waitepeka route that the survey staff was engaged on this part of the line only one month, whereas the survey staff at present at work have been engaged two months, and are not yet completed.’’—Messrs M‘Neill, Henderson, Thomson, Somerville, Begg, Tolmie, and Banks have been elected a deputat on to wait upon the Hon. Mr Reynolds, with the view of enlisting his aid on behalf of the proposed deviation.