DUNEDIN.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1379, 31 December 1872, Page 2

DUNEDIN.

[prom our own correspondent.] December 21. '< We are all agog making ready for the reception of the . Governor, who is expected to arrive early this afternoon. A fine triumphal arch has been erected at the junction of Rattray and High streets, opposite the Custom House, and there the ceremony of reception: is to take place. A very judicious arrangement has" been niade ]oy the committee to whom the management of the affair has been handed over, namely, there is to be only one address delivered from the whole body of the citizens, instead of every; little Bection coming forward with a y special address, ringing the changes uporr ! the same dreai/ verbiage,' and inflicting on the unfortunate recipient an amount of weariness and vexation of spirit impossible to estimate. . The various public bodies are to form in order of procession at the arch and precede His Excellency through the streets to Fern Hill,. opening out to let him and his suite pass through; the children of the various schools, &c, are to • Bing the National Anthem .when Governor reaches the house, and then to, return to be regaled with buns, &c, the"..' procession returning by the way it came. The arch is rather a natty; affair, consisting of one wide span and four small ones, two- on each side, constructed of strong scantling, to be filled up with colored cloth, flags, evergreens,, foliage,. &c. All ■ the principal streets have undergone a thorough overhaul, repairs being effected where needed, and all rubbish and other obstructions cleared off, 30 that, everything is very clean and tidy. All that is now wanted is a fine day. The Executive and Waste Lands Board are getting into very bad odour among the miners up country, on account of their having sold lately several sections of land either auriferous or wanted for mining purposes' iii one "way or other. The latest instance of this has occurred in the Waikerikiri Valley, in the Dunstan". district, when a section has been disposed "= of to aMr Ferand. This section acts' as a complete block to mining, prevents water coming on to workable ground, arid"' stops the^flow of the tailings. What to do, the miners are puzzled. • An indignation meeting was held, and the result,' after some telegraphing, |is the sending of a deputation to Dunedin, to remonstrate with the Government, and to try t) have the'sale cancelled. As the result of their labors, the" Mining Conference have published a report, containing a number of very valuable suggestions, of which I append - the following heads :- Occupation of land, residence areas arid sites; diversion and pollution of stream, provision for discharge of tailings; right of entry on leased land ; local legislation, administration of justice, revenues; gold duty* reserves, commonage, leasing and sale of land ; minister of mines ; a mint, &c. All of these subjects have been deliberated on, and the result given. As a rule, the i the Conference has looked at Ahese aub- ■•'• jects solely from a miner's point of view, • which was perhaps natural; but it* is a . pity they did not take a wider basis,' and not overlooked the fact, that, there are other interests settled on the gold fields than the miners. The farming class is large and influential, and there i 3 gradually forming a manufacturing body, which already claims a share of the water coming down the streams, and, moreover, wants that water to be clear, and not a thin mud, as it now is in some places. -. All expectation that the Anglican Synod would show more willingness to co-operate with the other Protestant bodies in the Province, in the way of Church extension or union, has been concluded by the opinion expressed by the Bishop in his closing address. They decidedly object to mix themselves up. with any other body, even for suph a Christian object as to the sharing the pulpit in an outlying district where the population is few and scattered; The decision of the.:. Synod in the matter has given icause for a-' good deal of regret among those good people who were sanguine enough to hope better things from the advent of the Bishop, and has done a good deal to lessen his popularity. A good many letters have appeared in the papers on the subject. The muddle into which our mail affairs have again got, is productive of only'on§ sentiment, viz., that the sooner new boats are got for the Frisco service, if it is to be continued, the better. Withall this gassing about these boats, the result is the same— a break-down. . And the ge- i neral .feeling here about . the whole 1 thing is that of disgust, and a preference for the old Suez Jine. •■?■ A large sunfish was caught below Port Chalmers the other day^ and has been exhibited in town during the week. It measured 6ft 7ir.from nose to tail, ijft din from. fin to fin across the body, ami weighed nearly 14 cwt. A valuable oil * is extracted from the livers of these > animals. H.M.S. Dido returned from the south on Thursday, and was placed in the Graying Dock to' have her bottom cleaned. While there she has been visited by a number of people, professional and others, who have all expressed admiration at her fine Hoes, clean run, &c. A photograph of the vessel has been taken as ahe lies in the dock. There has been quite a crop of accidents this week. On Sunday, our worthy magistrate, Mr Strode, while riding into, ;own, was thrown from hjs horse and severely hurt.— On Tuesday a little girl tried to drink from the spout of a tea- , kettle and was terribly burned. — On ' Thursday, a lad working the points- at the Railway Station, by some mishap, sent the train the wrong way, and smashed a truck and the wall of the goods shed.— On the same day, two boys riding horses on the Belt, were thrown and injured slightly ; and another lad, in the bush; fell down a steep bank and broke hisarnjf —On Friday, a lad shooting in Pine Hitf Bush, let his gun go off at the wrong time,' and shot himself, thqugfy ngjt " fatally.— The coach fa Tokqraairiro, wh|le. running down the hill from Look-out on Friday morning, was upset through one of the horses falling, and the Rev. Mr Williams, Baptist minister, had his •: arm broken in two places, and other passengers were hurt. — During yesterday afternoon, too, the orderly sergeant at the D,rill-shed, while manipulating one of the Armstrong guns for the purpose of trying the strength of a small charge of powder, forgot that there was already . , full one in the gun, and on firing it off *' by means of the friction tube was rather astonished at the effect produced. The discharge blew out all the windows, split

l*at)d carried a number of woatherboards K from tha end of the shed, and generally ? wrecked the place. Though a number of were playing about the outside Kat the time, fortunately no one was in|F jured. The weather has been very warm all . week. There have been a few thunderstorms flying about, but the amount of that has fallen has been very triflinsr. Yesterday it thundered for about a couple of hour«i, but' the nearest peal vas at f least two mjlo* off, and only a few .-.. showers fell. The ground hardly showed any had fallen. | Before you receivo this, Christmas Day L will have come And gone, so I concludo |p by wishing you and your readers A Merry m Christmas and a Happy New Year.