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Otago Daily Times, Issue 117, 1 April 1862, Page 4

The settlement for the Races took' place last evening at the Provincial Hotel. Everything went off with the utmost satisfaction. The only protests , hat had been made against the Judge's decision were made against Jack, the winner of the Hack Hurdle race, and Brunette the winner of the Hack Race. The Stewards took evidence-and decided that Jack was not a trained horse, as had 'been objected, and therefore, adjudged ■ him the winner. In the case of Brunette, the ground of protest was ; that she was entered in a "wrong name, and' as it appeared that.she had been entered for the Maiden Plate in the name of Kate, the stewards gave it against her and adjudged the prize to Momus. All'the prizes and stakes.were dulypaid over __ to the winners,, and a , large amount of money lost and won in betting also changed hands. We believe there were very few defaulters. After the regular business of the eveningewas disposed of, Othello was put up to. be raffled for for £350 by 70 members at £5 each. One of the first to throw was Mr. Hy. Driver, who threw 45. Mr. R. Jnlhis at once offered 1 him.,£so for a half share. This was accepted by ' Mr. Driver. The throwing then proceeded and although there were.'several' high throws) (one person even throwing 44) there was nothing to beat Mr. Driver's, and Othello thus became the joint property of Messrs. Driver and Julius.

The comic drama of the " Crown Prince " or the "Buckle bf Brilliants," was produced at the Princes Theatre last night for. the first time.

The piece, ia a very lively and amusing little

thing", and " took " exceedingly well. The plot of'the piece is flimsy, in the extreme, Frederick Stork (Miss 11. Gordon) is- a young gardener, who ulso officiates" as a night watchman, and who

is in love with Katherine (Miss St. Clair). The " Crown Prince," for a freak persuades the watchman, on a masquerade night to change .dresses with him, but in the Prince's hut is a buckle ,of brilliants, which leads to the peasant- lad being taken far the true Prince, and he, lending hira-= self to the fun of the. thing, gets into a series of scrapes, and manages to lose' the Prince, his lady, love ; to send off the wrong'man as an ainbaslsa~ dor—to. disgust .the Ministry, and finally to discover a plot to assassinate.the Prince. It is aU most .needless to say that the villfans are thwarted, and virtue rewarded; and that the good people live happy ever afterwards. Miss. H. Gordon made the most of the part, and made the audience laugh heartily at the ludicrous embarrassment of the pseudo-prince, who is delighted w t ith all the bowing and scraping, but wonders " who the deuce he is," and is even more flurried when, he discovers that he is, or rather represents a Crown ■ Prince. Mr Hydes, as ,the real Simon Pure'was moderately successful, but we cannot compliment him on possessing the air noble of those who are born great,*' The other characters were respectably performed, but the parts were not such as to afford room for any considerable display. In the previous piece of Nan the Good for Nothing, Miss St. Clair had her share of applause, and in the double Highland , Fling Miss Ada Hart and Miss Kate Corcorau were loudly applauded. The burlesque of the Honeymoon, which concluded tlie evening's entertainment went off vciy well, the.: difficulties of, the first representation bad been got over, and the actors had the oppqrtunity of studying how to make the points, which told much better than on previous occasions, the songs and dances also were better managed, .and the whole piece went off with inorc vivacity. Bej tween. the pieces Mr. Jfaiycett announced from the stage "that on the following evening (to-night),' a gentleman would for a wager leap a horso over a five-barred gate on the stage ; also that "the Provincial Cup won by Kaurie Gum would be presented by Mr.'Jones (the donor) in person to Mr. It. Julius the owner of .the winning horse.

A very interesting prospecting expedition has lately been made in the direction of Catlin's river ■'which empties itsolf into the sea some distance south of Duneclin. By a reference to our shipping column,' where the result of the expedition'is stated,'it will be, seen that the river mentioned af-' fords easy, access to a fine country of which hitherto little has been known. . We observe, : that the " Government has notified that M all persons Having- unstamped or' light weights ,', in their ■ possession, after the 14th April will be "prosecuted as by; law'pro,vided. The tradesmen will do well to see to their. Scales and weights, and to communicate with the

A serious accident ocenrred on Saturday night near Taicri Ferry which might have been attended with fntul results.' Mr Howe, a farmer in the neighborhood whilstridiug down a steep hill was thrown heavily against v fence, the horse falling .upon him. He was at once removed to Mr. Adams' accommodation house where lie was soon afterwards attended by Dr. Hockcn. It was then discovered that lie had sustained fracture o*" the thigh and leg bones with severe injury to the knee-joint and head. He lies in a precarious state. ■ ■ •

Messrs. Smythurst & Hill, at the Wire Bridge,Waitahuna, have taking the contract for the raising of coal on the Flat, which they are carry- ■' ing out in a first-rate business style, under tiie . management, of Mr. K. F. Curtis, the working' foreman of the party employed. There are about ' 900 tons now already raised, and a store is in . course of erection to contain it. The workmen only strip seven or eight feet before they come to the coal. The vein is nine or ten feet deep, ■ and leads across the Wnitahuna River. It looks to be a very good quality, and is taken up in ' large blocks, which are full of chrome. It is to be hoped that a company to work the coal wil be formed at Waitahuna as well as ia Wetherstone's. . •

A very considerable trade in timber has been established between Otago and Auckland. Scarcely a week elapses without one or more , vessels bringing large quantities of \ limber. Within the last few days we have hud tliu Rita, v' Albatross, and Salcombe Castle,' the latter vessel r arriving yesterday with" 120,000 feet timber," for " Messrs. F. Moss & Co., of this city. ... - '

The following staleraonf shows the condition of ■■" the gnol' on Saturday evening last:—Awaiting-1-trial before Supreme Court, 1C mules, 1 female ; for trial before magistrates. 9 males ; under sen- i tence. to imprisonment aud. hard labor, 46 males*---4 females ; imprisonment, only 3 females ; luna. - tics, 3 males ; debtors, 4 ; total ia gaol lon, Saturday evening, -78 males, 8-females. Discharged - during the last week, 37- ' Received during the'" same period, 32.

A foot race between two gentlemen amateurs . will como off to-day, at tho Diggers' Best, en the _ West Taieri Road. The distance selected'will Jjo^, 100 yards, and considerable interest is manifested-'''

as to the"'result of the match]

At a meeting of the Town Board, held yesterday evening, one of the members present expressed his'opinion that £100,000 would be required to' construct main sewers in this city, and whence, ' asked he, "is that money to come from?" • It was J' stated,'further, that the sewer in- Kattray-street l] cost £800, and that, for the present,'the Town ; Board could only turn their attention to the forma-; tion of side drains. ' , ,_ '"'''„"-

The Resident Magistrate's Court sat yesterday1' until past 4 o'clock, the business.of the day being...; of an unusually important nature, arising, in two ? or three instances, from felonies and misdemeanors; committed'at with the races, which'have just ter- ', initiated. . ',