DUNEDIN.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1267, 21 August 1872, Page 3

DUNEDIN.

[from our own correspondent.] August 10. Mr R. S. Cantrell, the representative of the Caversham District, both in the Provincial Council and the House of Representatives, having fallen into bad health, has resigned, and a new election has thus become necessary. The writ for the Provincial election arrived first, and the nomination took place on Tuesday. Three candidates were proposed and seconded, viz., Messrs Fish, Leary, and Stout, all of Dunedin. The proceedings were very lively, plenty of joking and chaff going on all the time. Fish spoke first, and deprecated all personalities, which he had hiirdly said than he indulged in them to a great extent against his friend Stout, which led to a sharp passage of arms between the two. He was followed by Stout, who defended himself from sundry aspersions against his religious belief, and explained various things said about him. Leary brought up the rear in a rather humorsome speech, slightly turning the tables on his opponents. All three answered numerous questions. At the close a show of hands was taken, when there were held vp — For Fiah, 12 ; Stout, 13 ; Leary, 13. A poll was demanded by Stout, and was fixed

gold.

for Thursday next. For the seat h^ the House of Representatives, there areas yet only two candidates— Messrs Tolmie (Deputy Superintendent) and Cutten. From the peculiarity of the names of the three candidates, Stout, Fish, and Leary, there are any number of funny electioneering squibs flying about, some of them very clever and provocative of - much hilarity. The first meeting of the City Council since the recent election took place on Wednesday evening. There was a full attendance, all the members being present The first business bronght forward was the Mayor's salary. With liis uaual want of delicacy the Mayor kept his seat during a very animated and prolonged discussion on the subject. It was. moved and seconded that the sum be fixed at L4OO as in previous years, which was met by an amendment that the sum be L3OO. As I have said, the debate was loug and sharp, and the salary eventually was settled at L3OO by five votes to three. There is thus a pretty strong intimation that the Mayor is not to have it all his own way in the Council during the municipal year just begun. Mr Fish is to be entertained to dinrter by a number of his friends and supporters on Monday evening. This is certainly feeding the man's vanity, but unfortunately it is too greedy ever to bo satisfied.

Another of our little big men— who has frotted his hour on our little stage — is abait to leave us. If we may believe a paragraph which appeared the other morning, with a very authenticated look about it, the Rev George Sutherland, of First Church, has got a call to St George's Church, Sydney. I have no doubt there will be but small sorrow on the part of the majority of his congregation if the rev. gentleman accept the call and leave Dunedin and his troubles for good. But he will be missed for all that. I admire him for his indomitable pluck and independence in fighting, almost singlehanded, for what lie, however wrongly, thought his right ; as well as for the outspoken way in which he used to treat any Sublio question with which he had to o. The Committee who are engaged in •getting up the Scott scholarship intend to celebrate the anniversary of that writer's birth next week by a conversazione, at which the Choral Society are to give a selection, and several readings from Scott's works are to be delivered by various gentlemen. Every endeavor is to bo made to make the affair go off well. The Rev. Alexander Reid lectured on Spiritualism before the Society for the investigation of this queer science on Thursday. There was a good attendance. The rev. lecturer confined his remarks chiefly to the lectures delivered by Mr Smith, of Melbourne, and showed how utterly untenable was the position taken up by him. He also directed the attention of his audience to the utter absurdity of tho doctrines of "Mr Smith, as well astheir foolishness and frivolity, and total want )f proof, the whole being merely his ipse dixit and unsupported by testimony of any sort. A warm discussion took place after the lecture, in which most of the leading spirih in the Society took part. A rather important public meeting took place at Port Chalmers during the week, at which resolutions were adopted urging on the Government the importance of pushing on the railway from the WaitakiMoeraki Bection to Port Chalmers. The resolutionists affirm that if the railway be not continued south, the result will be, that all the traffic of the northern part of the province will gravitate towards Canterbury instead of coming down here— a very likely thing. But the immense engineering difficulties in the way between this side of the hills and Waikouaiti will prevent an early solution of the problem ; beyond Waikouaiti tbe Hue is easy. One of the long-sentenced prisoners lately received into the Dunedin Gaol from Auckland, Pluinmer, the notorious prison-breaker, managed to make his escape on Thursday. He, with a number of other prisoners bad been employed in making several alterations on the South Road, at the Hillside toll-bar, and had been so employed for several days. No doubt he had had his eyes on other things than, his work, for on Thursday he went to a convenience, something like a sentrybox, placed on the ground for prisoners' use, and taking advantage of the Warden looking another way, leaped over an iron fence, got into the Cemetery, up th© hill, across the district road at the top, and down into a tangled patch of thick scrub in the Glen. Here all traces of him were lost. As a matter of cuiirse he was immediately missed, and chuso given on a cue furnished by some children who s.iw a man pass answering hi 3 description. But although a large posse of police aud others were engaged, up till this morning he had not beeu re-captured. Any amount of rumors are in circulation about Plummer having been seen at different places, but are mostly myths. However, a resident at Caversham observed a colored man walking about near his place during tbe afternoon, in an apparently purposeless manner, and carrying something which he tried to conceal. This man, it seems, had been a prisoner, and only liberated a few days ago, and is it supposed that this escape had been a preconcerted affair, and that the man was waiting about, on the chance of the plan being successful, with a change of clothes for Plummer, aud who thua avoided recapture, otherwise certain, as he is not supposed to know anything whatever of the country around town, but to be in hiding somewhere in the city.* A reward of L 25 is offered for his re-capture. The Escort arrived on Tuesday night, bringing the amount of 12,722uz of gold from the various districts. Water is Elentifnl, and everywhere the miners are usy, with good prospects of a continuance. Quartz reefing is looking up, and favorable accounts are received from some of the claims. The battery at Christin, seven miles from town, will bo at work in a fex days, and the company have a large amount of stone at grass to keep the machinery at work. The weather has been pretty good during the week, fine bright days and a little frost at night. After dark last ovening, there waa a bright aurora for roveral hour?. It was mostly in the southeastern sky, and was of three or four culfire — red, blue, green anil yellow, the red being brightest and most easterly. The rays at times reached quite up to the zenith, and the red glare was just as if there were a great fire at the other side of the Peninwnla hills.

The Masonic ball at Melbourne, on July 19 was attended by about 900 pawns.