Hawke's Bay Times. MONDAY, MAY 18, 1868. THE NEWS FROM THE SOUTH.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XIII, Issue 578, 18 May 1868, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times.

MONDAY, MAY 18, 1868. THE NEWS FROM THE SOUTH.

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|The u) p ■ arrival on Saturday afternoon from Wellington of the s.s. Almriri, has pul us in possession of our usual files of papers from tire Southern Provinces, from which we are able to glean several items of iiutdllgones, ti.o most important of I wliicli we proceed to place in a con- «, .r m 1-r-t rfij Atir t.~ t,l nv:

The Hon. E. AV. Stafford lias met ills constituency at Nelson, and in a speech of some three hours" duration lias vindicated, or attempted to vindicate, the course of policy he has pursued during Ids last term of office. We think that although he seems to have cleared up satisfactorily some points of a doubtful character, there are others, and these of primary importance, in which he seems to have signally failed to satisfy his expectant auditors. Perhaps the most promi neat of such relates to the passing of the act for the consolidation of provincial loans, better known as the Public Debts Bill. On this subject the Examiner remarks : —“ All the trite truisms which Mr Stafford spoke on Saturday evening were wholly beside the mark, —all the got-up virtuous talk about the evils that would spring from provincial bankruptcy and repudiation is only so much dust thrown in the eyes of those who are unable or! who wish not see the true character of the transaction. As far as the Public Debts Act is concerned Mr Stafford entirely failed to satisfy his constituents of the necessity or wisdom of the measure.” We will endeavor to give a succinct abstract of Mr Stafford’s address in our next. Air Luckie ably replied to much of Air Stafford’s deu ..ee. Erom Wellington we learn that the memorial to the Governor from the I’utiigitikei settlers, requesting that a fun her inquiry might be made into the case of Walter Trieker, has been summarily disposed of—such committee of enquiry being refused. We give in another place a leading article from the Wellington Independent on this; subject. Air Fox, also, who was a! member of the Alinistry that recommended a commutation of the original, sentence to Sir George Grey on ac■\m.nt of the doubtful features of the| case, lias written a powerful letter on I the subject, which we regard as uoans wet able. A local fire insurance company has been started in Christchurch in couse;;:i mcc of the exorbitant rates charged ’ey the old companies. The project;

promises to prove a success. From Otago we learn of the safe arrival of the Celestial Queen with the' ova of salmon, trout, &c., packed in ice. This venture seems to have perfectly succeeded so far as it is possible to judge at present. The contents oi the boxes have been carefully deposited in hatching boxes belonging to the Acclimatisation Society; and in a carefully contrived hatching pond on the! Water of Leith. The principal portion, however, were conveyed to Molyneux river, where they have been safely deported. These comprise TO boxes.l which turned out about 8,000 ova in first-rate condition. The success which has attended similar experiments in I Australia gives good ground for the hope that a short time will suffice to see the rivers of this Colony well stocked with the favorite fish of the old country. The expense of this experiment is borne by the Otago Provincial Government. Eleven boxes of salmon ova and six tons of ice were, iloft on board the Celestial Queen, and forwarded to Canterbury for the Acclimatisation Society of that province. They were received in Canterbury on the Gth iast.