DUNEDIN ITEMS.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 13, 13 June 1863, Page 1 (Supplement)

DUNEDIN ITEMS.

(From the Daily Telegraph)

Governmknt Appointment. John Smith Hickson, Esq., to be a Justice of the Peace for the colony, and also to be Resident Magistrate at the Dunstan Goldfields. —Government Gazette. Government Contracts.—His Honor the Superintendent directs it to be notified in the Government Gazette, that contractors must, in future, tender for public works in one sum, and not as has hitherto been the practice, simply by a statement of prices. Tenders are required for the formation of about miles of road from Tuapeka to Dunstan, on or before noon on Tuesday the 16th instant. Fresh tenders are ako required f-»r the construction of about 110 chains of road, leading from Taieri Ferry to Tokomairiro River.

Singular Encounter.—A very strange and unlooked-for accident occurred to Cobb's coach while on its way into town on Tuesday evening, June 2. It appears that when near Greeu Isiand, the driver, Shepherd, espied two swags lying in the road about twenty yards ahead of the vehicle. Nc ar them, and apparently keeping watch over them, appeared an infuriated cow, who evinced a decidtd intention to dispute the right of way with the coach and its occupants, a? d had evidently scared away from the swags, their property, two men who had made their way down the catting in order to prevent a closer encounter with the animal. No other alternative presenting itself to avoid still further irritating her, and moreover, probable injury to the horses by goring, Shepherd determined to decline the encounter, and was compelled to drive down the bank below the road, in order to pass the cow, and then regain the road. The passengers were much shaken by this precipitate detour, and one of them was thrown off the coach, but none received any injury of a serious nature. It is probable that the animal had been maddened by eating toot, a very frequent occurrence in this colony. Loss of Gold from the Escort.—The escort, which reached town on the 2nd instant, sustained a loss, the circumstances of which have been reported as follows:—It seems that the escort left Tuapeka about nine o'clock on the morning of the Ist instant, making successive halts at Waitahuna, the Woolshed, and Tokomairiro. At the two first stages the baggage was found, on examination, to be perfectly secure, but on the occasion of the last halt a discovery was made of a hole in one of the bags containing gold, and another in a bag in which specie was deposited. From a bag which should have contained 250 ozs., 210 ozs. was found to be mining, as also a sovereign ana a half-sovereign were discovered to be short from a bag in which had been deposited 1000 sovereigns Immediately on the loss being found out, prompt measures were taken to examine carefully the ground recently travelled over, but, owing to the road being covered with a loose, deep gravel, and the shades of night coming on, such search proved unavailing. We hear that an official enquiry is about to be instituted into the matter. Coromandel.—The correspondent of the above paper says:—Our Coromandel claims, at least those which have struck gold in paying quantity are answering the most sanguine expecta-

tions which have ever been entertained of them. Kelly's claim, No. 4, Diving Creek, from which about £3OOO worth of gold has been taken, was compelled to knock off work for a time on accouut of the quantity of water. Some idea of the richness of this claim may be understood from the fact that at the time when the men left it they had just driven a tunnel through the reef which varied in thickness from five to ten inches ; in the heart of the tunnel two distinct veins of golden quartz of varying width, alongside each casing, were clearly visible; the stone in these blotchy veins would average 25 per cent, of gold. This claim is held by the six original shareholders, and will, during next summer, before which time machinery will be erected upon it, most probably turn out tons [Q l J•] °f »°ld. There are only four of these first-class claims as yet opened up, and, between the.se extraordinary and wonderful mines, and those which are yielding nothing beyond expectations, there is no medium. Sanguine people think that when the holders of the other claims strike the same level they will meet with like success. This, however, is very doubtful. An attempt was made at Coromandel by the miners, led on by a German gentleman, named Von Tempsky, a new arrival in the country, to induce the Government to arm the diggers. The Native chiefs were present, by invitation, at the meeting, and very naively, but I think, ironically, proposed that the Government should arm the Maories too, and that the arms should be placed in the keeping of one, either of themselves or of the Pakehas. As it happened, however, that one of the most stringent clauses in tie lease of Coromandel, insisted upon by the Maori owners, is that no European shall be permitted to bring firearms upon the land ; a more ridiculous request to the Government could scarcely have been made When the Maories saw that the miners were bent on petitioning for arms, they very quietly told them that if they aid so they would drive them out of Coromandel altogether, and so the matter ended.

AUSTRALIAN ITEMS.

VICTORIA.

Blackfellows' Present to the Prince of Walls.—At the late rejoicings in Melbourne, a detachment of the aborigines attended at the levee held in the Exhibition Building, who had travelled many miles to present an address and a basket of characteristic gifts for the " great mother," and her eldest son. Where the big wigs are concerned levees are very monotonous and similar affairs, differing only in the number of the presentees; but it is not always that the wild children of the bush spontaneously come forward and as far as they are able do homage to the throne; so passing over the earlier part of the levee as a twice told tale, I shall devote a few lines to this novel and interesting affair. The proposition arose, it appears, from the tribes on the Upper Yarra, and so soon as the Central Board were apprised of it they rendered the blackfellows every assistance in carrying out their views. The natives arrived at the Building shortly before four, and were received with uproarious cheers by a mob of the great unwashed, to whom the idea seemed to be a source of considerable amusement, The natives were then conducted to the presence of the Governor, when the chief of one of the tribes presented an address written on vellum in the native and English languages, and bordered by appropriate drawings. The following is the English interpretation of it. As a specimen of composition it is, perhaps, unique in its way ' Blacks of the tribes of Wawoorong, Boonooroni? and Tara-Waragal send this to the Great Mother Queen Victoria.

" We and otlier blackfellows send very many thanks to the Great Mother Queen for many, many things. u Blackfellows now throw away all war-spears. No more fighting, but live like white men—almost.

44 Blackfellows hear that your first son has married. Very good that! Blackfellows send all good to him, and to you his Great Mother, Victoria. u Blackfellows come from Miam and Willum to bring this paper to the good Governor. He will tell you more.

" All blackfellows round about agree to this. " This is all." The Governor, in reply, said how much the Queen was interested in their welfare, and with what pleasure she would hear the news of the cessation of warfare among them. After this they spread their presents before the Governor; these consisted of spears, opossum rugs, waddies, and the like, and formed perhaps the oddest ollapodrida for a wedding gift that a Queen ever received, Many of our readers will be familiar with the unfortunate affair that took place in Gipps Land some time since, in which a squatter of

the name of Leonard Mason, in a dispute about land, shot the overseer of a neighboring squatter, for which he was tried for manslaughter, and sentenced to several years imprisonment. The Governor has intimated his intention of remitting the remainder of his sentence on condition of the prisoner leaving the colony. Mason will leave his place of confinement much debilitated both mentally and bodily. Coal mining at Cape Paterson has received a great impetus from the fact of a seam nearly three feet thick having been discovered at a depth of nearly 111 feet from the surface. The seam is rather faulty in some places, but it dips inland, and there is every appearance of its improving as it is farther opened up. The colonization of the new country, though long delayed, will shortly take place, the 12th of June being now fixed for the departure of the first vessel, the Jeannie Oswald. The movement in Ballarat has taken an apparently firm root, with every prospect of success. Overland, a well equipped party has already started, and this will probably be followed by others so soon as news of their success is received. Cases of embezzlement and defalcation have of late been very common. The latest affair is that of one of the officials in the Colonial Bank, Sandhurst, Mr. Goodwin, the accountant, having been arrested on a charge of feloniously abstracting two acceptances. Mr. Goodwin was taken from off the Gothenburg just previous to her departure for Otago. The remainder of the capital requisite for establishing a woollen factory here has been subscribed, and operations will be commenced so soon as the new company can be registered under the new Liability Act, which will become law most probably this session.

NEW SOUTH WALES. Three men, supposed to be Gilbert, Lowrie, and O'Meally. were captured at Nelligen on Saturday, the 23rd ult., while waiting for the steamer for Sydney. A portion of the plunder of the Cooma mail was found on them. A special police escort has been despatched to bring them to Sydney.—Daily Telegraph. Uninvited Guests at a Marriage Party.—The " Burrangong Star," of Saturday, the 9th ultimo, states that on Monday evening, during the celebration of the weding at Howell's (the Bribery station)-his son having been married that day; likewise the sister of his wife, whose nuptials had taken place that morning—Gilbertand Johnny O'Meally appeared, well armed at the house; not, as our readers may imagine, as invited guests their absence being preferable to their company. Hanging up their horses, they went into the yard, and Gilbert proceeded to the kitchen. When Mr. Howell was informed of the honor his unwelcomed guests had conferred upon him, he left his friends and the house, and had an interview with them. They gave him to understand that Gardiner, whom they called the * Darkey/ was up on the hill near the house, but they mentioned that they had no intention of interfering with his guests. We may here remark that Patsey O'Meally, who was then in the house, was included iri that number; he also was self-invited and we believe a very unwelcome guest. Mr. Howell gave them some grog, wedding cake, and a ham, and after a time they went away, without interfering with or annoying any of the company. We can imagine this was a great relief to the invited guests, whose feelings during the time these desperkte ruffians were on the premises must have been far from pleasant. Some of our townsfolk were present by invitation, and we have no doubt they were very glad to get home in safety, without being stuck up and robbed by these desperadoes.