THE SOUTH.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1111, 4 September 1871, Page 3

THE SOUTH.

A gentleman named Douglas, an engineer from Otago, has recently invented a boat lowering apparatus, intended to be "used when . vessels are under weigh. The Evening Post says:—lt was tried today on board the Welling ion, as chat vessel was leaving the wharf. A boat containing Captain i Campbell, Captain Boig, Mr Boig, and Mr Douglas, was lowered the Wellington was going full speed ahead, with perfect success. The boat containing the apparatus then went alongside ; the Basilisk, and the apparatus, which ; is of the simplest description, was again tested in the presence of Capt. Moresby, j who highly appro* ed of it, and, we believe, ordered one for one of the Basilisk's boats. Mr Douglas will patent his useful invention at once. According to the Evening Post, it is rumored in political circles in Wellington that a well-known member of the House of Representatives will, at an .early date, ask Mr Fox what reasons the Government had for granting leave of absence to Mr W. L. Buller, 11. M. of Wanganui, to allow that gentleman to yisit England for an indefinite period, .on, as it is said, pay and travelling expenses In Canterbury and Otago the Catholics are making great preparations _to oppose any purely secular education bill introduced during the present sesrion of the Assembly. The Evening Post, August 29, says : : —The picture of Sir Charles Clifford, received lately, has been fixed in .the Chamber of the House of Representatives, in front of the Council gallery and directly opposite to the Speaker. The likeness is excellent, and the paint ins an ornament to the as its living representative wa* whilst he held a seat in it. The Evening Post, 30th August, saVb : _We have learned, on what may be* deemed competent authority, that the office of Chief Registrar .under the J .and Transfer Act, vacated by W. S. Moorhouse, Esq., has not been filled op, .and that it is the intention of the vernment as soon as certain disabilities have been removed, to reinstate the former occupier once more. The ap pointment at first was rather a singular one, and those who failed to see either what claims Mr Moorhouse had upon the Colony for a provision of ,£I,OOO a year, or his peculiar fitness for an office, the duties of which he was notoriously ignorant of, and which he was unable from private reasons to hold, will be equally at a loss to discover why he should" be reinstated after arranging with his ci editors. The recent disagreement in Willing ton between the Reporting Debates Committee and the Hansard printers has apparently come to an end. The Evening Post, August 30, sa\s :—As far as we can learn, the dispute seems to have terminated in an equitable man ner, and we are sincerely pleased to find that whilst the Legislature has maintained a dignified position, the artisans have been met fairly. The details of the agreement are of no public importance, but when all parties are satisfied, we may fairly imagine that "all's well that ends veil." According to the Mail, the state of affairs in the agricultural districts of Nelson at the piesent moment is anything but a satisfactory one, and many of the farmers are looking forward with gloomy appreheusions to the future that awaits them.