OTAGO.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 680, 14 May 1859, Page 3

OTAGO.

[fbom a cobeesfondent.] Dunedin, May 9.

. Our shipping business has been rather less than usual during the last month, but the following comprise the principal items :— On the Bth the Queen and White Swan left for your port, the one close after the other.—The Queen arrived from the north on the 20th, with the January English mail, which was mubh looked for, being considerably overdue ; she left again for the north on the 27th.—The Comet from Sydney,

with sheep, arrived at. the heads on the 27th, proceeded to' Oamaru and' landed them wifely, and returned to this/ port to discharge her coals-on the 30th.—On the 29th, the s.s. Pirate arrived from Melbourne via-Bluff harbour, with a full complement of passengers and cargo, having made a favourable passage ; she has also brought down a small steamer, the Pride of the Yarra. . This is an iron vessel, built in Melbourne in 1856, 75 feet long and 16 horse-power, with a draught of four feet when loaded. Her original cost appears to have been £2250, but it is said that she has now changed hands for £800.* She was brought down in two halves, her engine and boiler having been taken out; and she is now being' put together, I hear, on the beach at Port Chalmers. This vessel will be a great boon to passengers arriving and leaving, as, let Us say what we will about outupper harbour at Dunedin, it wants a good deal to make it useful; there is so little water that vessels cannot leave except at high tide, causing a great waste of time; and such vessels as the Pirate have to be put considerably out of trim to bring them to the proper draught. I believe about 10 feet 6 inches is the greatest draught a vessel can come up with, and that at high water only. A great deal has been said on this subject, and both the papers are urging^ the dredging of the upper harbour, so as to permit vessels of much larger size to come up here; but I am afraid all the money Otago will have to spare for some years to come will not accomplish this object. There is one thing entirely lost sight of, viz.,—it is not every owner who will allow his vessel to lie aground on a mud-flat, tide after tide. At the end of our present jetty, long as it is, at low water spring tidds it is quite dry. These are unpleasant admissions for me to make, but it is of no use disguising the truth, so evident to every impartial person. However, with the; Pride of the Yarra, all these difficulties will be obviated, and it is to be hoped she will pay her spirited proprietor.—l learn that there is another small steamer coming down (in a Dutch galliot) called the Victoria; what she is to do I have not yet learned.-r-On the 29th, the barque Melbourne arrived from Sydney, with a cargo of horses and coals, having made an excellent passage, with verylittle loss. — The long-looked for Lord Ashley arrived at Port Chalmers on the Ist May, about 8 a.m., having made the heads the previous evening. Of course she brought no maH, and was off again before one-half of us knew she had arrived; she was to have sailed on Monday at five in the evening, but I learn did not get away till early the following morning.—The Gloucester has almost finished loading and will soon sail.—The Geelong appears to be veiy fully/engaged running from place to place; and generally has a full cargo and many passengers.—The White Swan arrived about eleven o'clock on the 7th, and the Queen on Sunday morning at about eight o'clock. I believe the former sails this day (Monday, the 9th); at any rate the mail closes up hei'e this morning early. Education matters are still engrossing almost all the space of our papers, although there does not appear to be any new light thrown on the subject; the principal point being-who is to pay the piper, and have all the power—a point that appears likely to create some discussion at the next sitting of the Provincial Council. A sale of Crown Lands took place on the 24th. April, when 140 lots were sold, realising the.sum of £2041, being an average of about £14 11s. 6d. per section. It appears that the Hon. J, H. Harris, the District Court Judge, is also to act as Eesident Magistrate, and there is a rumour that A. C. Strode, Esq., our old Resident Magistrate, now on. leave of absence, is to come to your province. This is very much to be regretted; both our losing the services of a Magistrate well acquainted with the province and his duties, and the appointment of Mr. Harris" to any other office than that of District Judge, as it appears likely to cause .much confusion. On the 3rd, Mr. Harris took his seat as Eesident Magistrate, and from what appears in the ' Colonist' in Sanies v Jones, does not appear to have kept up the dignity of "the Court.

Port Chalmers appears to be in much about the same state it was years since; no improvements to speak of going on. The inhabitants there, if they wish to see their town improve, should certainly take steps to make some sort of roads, as they are much as they were 8 or 9 years ago. A good jetty certainly (with steam communication) ought to be carried out. They certainly have one advantage over us at Dunedin, as I am informed on good authority that at a jetty as long as ours here, a vessel like the Pirate might always lie alongside afloat. However, as the shipping increases I suppose all these things will be attended to.

Tenders are advertised for the erection of the New Graol and Court House, a want very much felt by many, but the former, no doubt, not wished for by the few. TKere is a difference of opinion existing as to where they should be built, but I believe it is decided to erect both near the site of the present building used as a gaol; it may be rather far off the centre of the town at present, but buildings are constantly being erected that way, and before many years the town will be much in that district. It is a pity that all the government buildings are not built of stone, and more together. There is( also some probability of our having another Church built soon;- the Rev. Mr. Todd being on board the Mariner, and more accommodation being much wanted. A Church of England Minister, the Rev. Mr.- . Edwards, is also on board that vessel on his way to take charge of the Episcopal congregation. The crops for the season appear to have been pretty generally harvested, and the account", appear to be very favorable; wheat in some places yielding 50 and even 60 bushels to the acre, oats nbout the same; but the general average .will be about 20 or 30 to the acre. Some little barley has been grown, yielding about 50 to 55 bushels per acre. Hay? a very good crop —giving 35 bushels of seed and 1-^ tons per acre. The turnips are looking well, but ' will not be taken up till about June; the promise is from 20 to 24 tons per acre.' Potatoes will average about seven tons per acre, and from what I can learn will be pretty abundant. The weather lately has been raiher showery, and we have had two severe gales, accompanied with hail and snow, on the 17th and 28th April. Business does not appear to be very brisk just now, but still there is a good deal doing quietly; and a _ great many of our storekeepers are importing their own <K)ods, in place of buying from the merchants; a good trade seems springing up with Wellington and a large one with Melbourne. The markets are well stocked at present, but sawn timber is in demand. Sheep imported continue to readily command good prices, and cattle in the Province are fetching from £8 to £12 per head, a demand for stock being created from the necessity of filling up the runs taken, to prevent their forfeiture. The Pirate is expected to sail on or about Tuesday next, for Melbourne, and a full cargo is waiting her. ' P.S.—The new Education. Ordinance has raada its appearance in the papers of last Saturday, to which I must refer you for information. The Revival has been sold, but what sho fetched I cannot at present say : I have heard that the hull and spars sold for £70 or £75, without anchors aiid chains. A melancholy affair occurred here yesterday. I have not obtained full particulars, but suppose that an inquest will be held. One of the firemen or stokers of the Pirate was found dead in the engine room; ho must have fallen down there sometime

*jarjy «v the -morning, being- warm when discovered, A)iitquite dead. The mail per White Swan now closing, I must "^conclude. ■■■■<■■■

From the paper-s we take .the following items. ' The scene .in ;the Kesident .Magistrates-Court to by our correspondent is thus described -mnd commented on in the 'Colonist:'—

:SESIDEXT MAGISTRATE'S" COURT,-DUIfEDIir, MAY 3. Barnes o. Jones.—This was a claim for arrears oF wages, due to plaintiff, one of the crew of the Industry, also for the amouiit of -a proniis*sory'note for £10, given by defendant to induce -'the plaintiff to assist in getting the vessel off the -rocks at the '-Bluff, and for the value of certain -clothes which had been "retained on board. The ■-circumstances-of this case have recently been pub•lished.in connection with a charge against the 'crew for disobedience of orders, under which they \h;id been sentenced to imprisonment. «

Mr. Howorth appeared for the plaintiff, and the circumstances, during which he was "■frequently interrupted by defendant. Bnmes, the plaintiff deposed that he signed •articles at Melbourne to ship onboard the Industry, •to coino to the Bluff or, Ofcago. On anchoring at -the Bluff, the vessel's keel -.touched the ground. 'It was blowing too fresh to allow of' a kedge 'anchor Being taken out. The Geelong steamer 'soon after, arrived, and . defendant came on hoard from her, and requested'the crew to assist in shipping the cargo forward, promising them £'5 each, ■ "which they did. The next morning the Geelong -towed the vessel out, and it was ihen discovered that there were seven feet of water in the hold. "Defendant again came on board, and gave the pro•missovy note for £10 which formed part of the •subject of the present action to induce the men to ■proceed with the ship. With great difficulty the 'Vessel was brought to Otago, the crew constantly 'working at the pumps in obedience to:the captain's orders. The crew were- afterwards taken -out of 'the ship, and imprisoned,- on -a charge of disobedience to orders.

■■The defendant, beiug sworn, stated that oh discovering the vessel to be on shore he went on •board from the Geelong. He found the master the "worse for liquor. He remonstrated with him for making no exertion to save the stock or the vessel. The captain replied that the crew had refused to work, stating that their voyage was at an end. He then induced tliem to go to work by giving them the promissory note, knowing that, as it was "given imder compiilsion,''he"was not; liable for the 'amount. -When "the crew were i;aken "to prison, men were hired to discharge the ship, who were paid at the rate of 10s. per day, and this amount he ■had deducted from the arrears of wages said to be <lue. The wages of the crew were at the rate of 3s. •per day. He knew nothing of the clothes said to have-been left on "board the ship. 'Mr. Howorth addressed the Court on the defendant's evidence, commenting very severely upon his conduct in giving a promise which he now publicly acknowledged he had no intention of keeping, which Mr. Howorth characterised as disreputable, and unworthy of a man in Mr. Jones's position.

The Resident Magistrate decided that the plaintiff was'entitled to the full amount of wages claimed; and explained at considerable length the law as bearing ttpon the obligation to pay the promissory note, for which no legal consideration appeared to have been given, and could not 'therefore be enforced, although his Worship strongly condemned the immorality of giring a,promise which there was no intention to perform. There was no proof of the clothes'having been undei*'the co'ritrol of the defendant, and therefore he could not be held liable.

Mr.;: Jones, in an excited manner, asked his Worship if he would not have made a similar promise, in order to save a ship under the circumstances mentioned; and on the magistrate giving ji decided negative, lie loudly protested against " pettifogging lawyers" being allowed by the courtesy of the Bench to plead in the Court, which he said they .had no right to dp. - Turning threateningly to Mr. Howorth. he told him. that it was only his age and his blindness that protected him, and dared him to send one of his sons to plead in the manner he (Mr. Howorth) had done.. No notice-was, "however, taken of this outrage and the parties left the Court.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. To'the Editor of the 'Otago Colonist.'. Sib,—l have often" heard with incredulous ears stories of the lax manner.in which justice is administered in Otago, and particularly 'of the undignified method of conducting "business both in its courts of justice and public board rooms ; but the scene which I witnessed in the Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday last, and which was allowed to pass unreproved by the gentleman who presided, has removed all'doubt in my mind of the truth-of ~fche tales referred to, and which have rendered our Province a "by-word of reproach in all the neighbouring colonies.- As I presume you will in your report of the-proceedings give a statement .of the scene which took place at the dose of the case Barnes v. Jones,'it will not be necessary for me to recapitulate it here ; and I shall only observe, that the Magistrate who allowed his court to be disgraced by such an outrage without committing the offender, and thus vindicating his own dignity and the sanctity of his court, proves at once'his incompetence for his office. Had the offender been a man of small means and limited influence,"instead of the most opulent merchant in the town, arid in flic presence of the judge of the court had used half the threats to a legal 'gentleman opposed to him which Mr. Jones indulged in on this occasion—to say nothing of clenching'fists at Mr. Howorth —the culprit would have been instantly committed to gaol; but the magistrate shrutik from, performing his manjt'ast duty when the offender-was a wealthy influential man. •This is a very, very bad"beginning of Mr. Harris' career on the'beribh, and makes it look doubtful whether the General Government have not made a mistake in appointing .him to the important offices he holds. . ,1 am, &q., • "A Looker On. Dunedin, May 4