TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 266, 19 April 1875, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

{Press Telegraph Agency.)

Wellington, April 17.

Major Palmer’s report upon the state of the surveys of New Zealand is printed as a Government paper, and occupies twentyeight pages of closely printed matter. It gives a sketch of the history of each survey separately, of the manner in which it is beiug carried on, an opinion of its worth, and a statement of the progress made. The only head office he did not visit was Taranaki. Speaking of Canterbury, he says : —“ While in Auckland and some other provinces one chief cause of the difficulties which beset the early land sales under the principle of selection before section survey was that they often had absolutely no topographical map with any pretension to accuracy as a basis to work upon, in Canterbury, on the other hand, we have the case of large areas having been triangulated and topographically mapped for purposes (if laud selection with a certain sort of accuracy ; yet so carelessly in reality,

1 yronr!. Kitol' and ■ o.iiu.M>, ui tii' usti.il ijr |>e» were inirotiuced at the very outset iu spite of a large expenditure of money, and have never since been thoroughly eradicated,” Referring to the triangulars made between 1849 and 1870, he says:—“they were not properly connected, the one with the other. Under the pressing demand for surveys, work of a rough kind was approximated as tssfc it could be, wbicb is taata*

mount to saying that errors were systematically concealed or overlooked.” He refers to the fatal system introduced in the early days, apparently under official sanction, of allowing a liberal percentage to the purchaser in the survey of his section, in order, as it was imagined, to avoid the risk of future litigation, such as pegging off 101 acres for a hundred acre section, and causing serious complications to arise out of these direct contradictions ‘between surveys and grants. He says, “it is pretty plainly established that but little trust can be placed in the work north of the Rangitata as a whole.” In a footnote, he says, “ it is but fair to the surveyors to say that they are not at all times to blame, as Road Boards and contractors do not always keep the survey lines, and besides there are other causes leading to inaccuracy.” He gives the following summary of progress. Trigonometrically and topographically surveyed north of the Rangitata, and needing revision, 1,200,000 acres; south of Rangitata, trustworthy, 500,000 acres; reconnaissance only, or section survey without triangulation, and needing revision, 699,900 acres. The total area of Canterbury is 8,690,000. The history of the Auckland surveys is described .'•.s one of lamentable confusion and neglect, and want of system and accuracy. Many of the record maps are next to useless for public purposes. Ofthe Hawke’s Bay surveys, though on the whole in a more satisfactory state than those of Auckland, the earlier work partook in a great measure of the same kind of defect. Regarding Wellington, he says that when Mr Jackson, the present chief surveyor, took office in 1865, he had an inheritance of blunders and chaos to sweep away under the new system of trigonometrical survey, but now more than two-thirds of the sold and granted lands in the province, have been laid out and mapped within small limits of errors, and may be brought under the Land Transfer Act without trouble. The general want of system and accuracy which affected the early operations in most of the provinces, seems in Nelson to have prevailed to perhaps a greater extent than in any other. In the records of the office he found gaps and overlaps of three and four, and in one case of ten chains left with no present hope of rectifying them. Of Marlborough, he says that the topographical surveys made prior to 1859 are of the same careless nature as those of Nelson, and a good deal of the work could not be replotted or engrafted in a triangulation except by surveying a large part of the detail over again. He speaks generally in favorable terms of the Westland surveys, and says that as regards the maps, Westland is ahead of other places. Of Otago, he says the surveys have been mainly carried out on a safe and steady system, and upon the whole are in a better state than those of the other provinces. There have been few errors and very little waste. It is rumoured in mercantile circles that a complication has arisen in Auckland between the Government and a colonial insurance company, which may lead to litigation. It appears that lately a quantity of railway material was shipped coastwise, and the company’s demand of 13s 4d per cent, insurance was paid thereon ; but the account being placed before the Hon Mr Reynolds, who is acting for the Minister for Public Works, he demurred to such extortion, and having caused inquiries to be made, it was ascertained that it was more than double the ordinary charge. Similar results had some time since been found on looking into the English agency’s payments for insurance, when the charges were in no case less than double and in some treble what merchants were paying for the same class of goods, Westport, April 17. An exceedingly rich stone has been struck at the Halcyone claim at Mohikinui. Twenty ounces of loose gold has been obtained in one blast of rock. The body of the stone is calculated to yield fifteen ounces to the ton. Hokitika, April 17. The Provincial Council has been prorogued. The Superintendent assented to the several Ordinances passed during the session. In his closing speech he expressed regret that important Bills submitted by Government providing for the reconstruction of Road Boards, and the amendment of the Public House Ordinance, had not met with concurrence of the Council.

Dunedin, April 17. At the Police Court, J. Sullivan, a seaman, was charged with sticking up Andrew Hill, in Melville street last night. Sullivan tried to decoy Hill into a house *of ill fame. The latter refused, when the prisoner threw him down and nearly strangled him and rifled his pockets and stole his hat. The prisoner has been committed for trial.

THIS DAY’S TELEGRAMS.

Gbeymouth, April 19.

A prospecting claim will be applied for by Kilgour and Chesterraan for ground about a mile south of Greymouth, on the Marsden road. It is reported that there is a prospect of half a pennyweight to the dish of coarse gold. Geahamstown, April 10. A trial crushing from the prospectors’ claim at Tairarua of 603 lbs of stone gave 13 ozs 3 dwts of melted gold. ■Wellington, April 19. Arrived —Taranaki, from Lyttelton. The New Zealand census for 1874 is .iust out of the hands of the Registrar. The general population of the colony on the Ist of March, 1874, was 209,514, of whom 4816 were Chinese. The males numbered 170,981, and the females 128,533, The provincial returns are—Auckland, 67,451; Taranaki, 5465 ; Wellington, 29,790; Hawke’s Bay, 9228 ; Marlborough, 6145 ; Nelson, 22,558 ; Westland, 14.660; Canterbury, 58,775; Otago, 85,113. The population of the chief towns is—Auckland, without the suburbs, 12,755 ; with the suburbs of Parnell and Newton, 21,590; Wellington, 10,547; Napier, 3514; New Plymouth, 2044; Wan ganui, 1134; Nelson, 2806; Hokitika, 3352; Greymouth, 2551 ; Christchurch, without the suburbs, 10,294 ; including the suburbs, 16,959; Lyttelton, 2974; Timaru, I 960; Dunedin, 18,499 ; Port Chalmers, 1535 ; Invercargill, 2479; Oamaru, 2819; town of Thames, 8073.

The Edwin Fox made a long passage of 114 days from Gravesend; she brings 215 statute adults, equal to 205 souls. One adult died on the passage, an old man of sixty-eight, through breaking his leg; four children also died from bronchitis and catarrah. There were six births.

Blenheim, April 19, A very smart shock of earthquake was felt at twenty-five minutes to two this morning. The direction of the shock was north and south.

Dunedin, April 19. A murderous assault with intent to commit a robbery was committed on Saturday morning upon a German stonebreaker named Haldy Timai, who was living in a tent on the roadside about four miles from Balclutha bridge. The man who is in the custody of the police charged with the offence is named Denis Angler, and is a sailor who came out in the ship Scimitar. He entered Timai’s tent, and told him to give up all he had, Timai refused, and upon proceeding to dress the prisoner kicked him violently in the face. Timai escaped, and sought shelter at a farmhouse close by. Soon after daylight he informed the police of the occurrence, and Sergeant Finnigan arrested Angler at Stoney Creek, five miles from Balclutha, two hours afterwards.

It is understood that Mr E. J. Upham, lately of Wellington, now inspector’s accountant at the Colonial Bank, proceeds on Wednesday to Napier to assume the managership of the branch of the Colonial Bank opening there.