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Otago Daily Times, Issue 257, 16 October 1862, Page 4

The Escort from the Dunstan and from the other diggings is expected to arrive in town today. The quantity from the Dunstan is G2400z 19 dwts ; from the Teviot, 115 oz 8 dwts. Tim amount from Tuapeka is 3464 oz, 10 dwts. ; and from 1159 ozs 5 dwts. We are not informed as to the exact quantity to come from the Woolshcd,. but it will be between 300 and 400 07.5. This will briiuj the total to over 11,000 ozs. Wo understand that there will in future be an alteration in the times of departure of the ' scorts from the gold fields. It is intended that the escort shall in future leave the Dunstan every alternate Tuesday, and Tuapeka every alternate Thursday. It wjll thus arrive in town on Fridays, instead of Thursdays, as hitherto.

There was a moderate attendance at the Concert; Hall, High-street, last evening. On the whole the performances of the artistes who ure engaged at this hall, arc of a higher order than has hitherto been provided for the Dunediu public, and we trust to see their efforts widely supported. Madam Carandini continues to delight her hearers with her singing, and the rest of the company ably support her. Mr Small's local allusions are a great feature, and seem to elicit the sympathies «>f his hearers, to judge from the peals of laughter with which they were received.

Buckstone's three-act drama, " The Flowers of | the Forest," was produced at the Theatre Royal last evening. The plot mainly turns on the loves and revenges of the gipsy tribe, there being representatives of the " Italian school," as well as of the old English stock—there being a clever intertwining of the fates of both branches with the aristocrats of the drama. Mr and Mrs Holt played Ishmael and Cynthia, an old chief and his daughter ; the passionate, yet hopeless love of the latter, being most powerfully pourtrayed. Mr R. B. Dale " pattered" wry unctuously as Cheap John ; and he was well backed by Mr Chalmers, who hit off capitally the odd humor of the Kinchin. YVts were glad to see Miss Ada Hart on the stage of tiie Royal. She has always elsewhere shown a •' thoroughness" in what she has undertaken, which is the best possible guarautes for present success an 1 future advancement. She played Lemuel, the gipsy boy, who takes an important part in the action' with force and earnestness, and she looked the character she was playing. In the fine scene of the gipsy's camp, the mem hew of the Buckingham Family sang very nicely ; and the rollicking dance which followed was maintaincd'with so much vigour and fun, tbatit completely" brought down" the audience, or their appl.in?e. The drama went smoothly and successfully throughout. In the interlude, Little May sang "Annie Laurie," and Miss Ada Hart danced the Highland Fling, in which she was twice encored. The farce was "The Railroad Station." This evening the Buckingham Family take a benefit.

The burlesque, " Cinderella," at the Princess Theatre, is a " palpable hit," as evinced by the roars of laughter and the rounds of applause, with which it is nightly greeted. The jokes and puns come trippingly from the tongue of nearly all who take part in the performance ; the singing, whether in the parodies on nigger melodies, or in that of the fine duefe from " Lucia di Lammermoor," is spirited ; and some of the dances are exceedingly comic and clever. No wonder, therefore, that the burlesque is a great success. Last'evening, "Cinderella" was preceded by two pieces—the popular " screaming-" farce of the old school, " The Wandering Minstrel," in which Mr John Dunn was the representative of the vagrant hero ; and the operetta of " The Alpine Maid." In this Mr George Eawcctt played Yon Swig, a stolid.lover and Miss Neville took the part of Rosetta, his coquettish tormentor. It passed off well; the best musical effort in it being Miss Neville's singing of the pretty song, " The early morn."

We notice that in answer to a complaint from a resident in George.street, the Towu Board have instructed their Inspector to see to the disgraceful condition of the footpath in that street. It is . surprising that it should require direct complaints from the residents Lefore the Town Board think themselves called upon to look after the streets George-street is a lasting disgrace to the Board: Apart from the bad state of the small portion of the road that has been metalled, the footpaths, and the space between them and the centre of the road, are "in a frightful condition. If a pedestrian wishes to escape from the soft spongy pathway he ruus the risk of being stuck in a quagmire in attempting to reach the small belt of terra firma on the centre of the road. Considering the immense amount of money that has been expended, in George-street, it is a burning shame that it should be in the state it is. It is a momraent of incompetency and neglect,. We should like to know of what use the Inspector is, it it requires 'public complaints to be made, before the Board can take official notice of these things.

The attempting to browbeat a judge, although a favorite pastime in some places, has not been permitted in New Zealand, and Mr. Barton would do well to bear the fact in mind. Twice has this gentleman by his pertinacous objections to the dictum of the Judge brought on himself the threat of committal. His excuse is, his duty 1o his clieut; but he should remember that duty to a client does not require the sacrifice of the etiquette of his profession, one of the characteristics of which is submission to the ruling of th Court.

Another day has been occupied by the Supreme Court in disposing of a single case- the indictment against James Harris, for perjury, at Tuapeka, in March, having lasted from teu to half-past four o'clock yesterday. He was found Guilty, and sentence was deferred. This morning, Fratson, charged with the murder of Andrew Wilson, will be placed in the dock; and the, cases of rape and assaulting with intent to kill, at Tuapeka, originally fixed for Friday, have been postponed to Monday.

There were yesterday 355 men at work for the Government in cutting away Bell Hill; parties of them being engaged at various heights along the hill-side, from the point where work was originally commenced, to very near the Courthous3. The sight was picturesque, and the scene very bustling ; but a walk along that road to the Court-house was not particularly pleasant, partly because the newly-made ground was little other than a mass of mud at the surface, and partly from the chance there was of being struck by a stone or branch as' it came bounding down the slope. On Tuesday there were only 232 recipients of the 53 a day.

We commend to the attention of the vendors and purchasers of bottled beer in Dunedin, the following extract from the Bcndigo Advertiser :— A curious instance of the tricks, or rather in some measure, frauds of trade, came before the Municipal Bonch yesterday. A woman, the keeper of a refreshment place, was summoned by the proprietors of a brewery in Sandhurst, for a debt due for supplying hr with bottled porter. In the course of the hearing of the evidence, the plain- - tiff admitted that although the beer ordered and supplied was colonial, ifc was put into bottles and labelled in some instances as Byass and Company, and in others as Guinness and Company's, and added that not only were the labels procurable in Melbourne, but were manufactured in Sandhurst. The Police Magistrate took a novel, but at the same time a just view of the case, by holding that the defendant having ordered colonial beer, the plaintiff had no right to supply her with what he, by tho labels on the bottles, represented to be British beer. He dismissed the case, iraking some forcible remarks about the liability of tie Libellers in such cases laying themselves open to an information for obtaining money under fake pretences. What makes the matter more curious is the circumstance of the following NB. being added to the spurious labels:—"ln consequent c of numerous forgeries, this in future will be tie label used by 11. 15. Byass aud Company, Ist October, 18-38," the label bjing signed with what purported to be a fuc ■simile of 'the signature of 11. B. Byass and Company.

The following from the Talbol Lender illustrates in a striking manner the working of tho new land selection system in Victoria : " Our Maryborough correspondent informs us and our readers that about two hundred applications have been lodged in tho Maryborough Land Office for one allotment in the agricultural area of Evansford. We much regret that he could not in addition give us the number of this allotment on the plan. We have a strong suspicion, however, justified by the number of applicants, that the allotment is situate at no great distance from the private properly of a certain squatter in the neighborhood, who has for a considerable period been longing to obtain possession of it in. order to square his estate. We shall do this gentleman no injustice when we express an opinion that that allotment will sooner or later become his property, no matter who the lucky individual may be that succeeds in getting the Crown grant. During the last week a rumor has pro vailed that the squatter referred to is prepared to pay £12 an acre for the all ;tment ; and as it contains two hundred acres or thereabouts, it br_ comes manifest that the successful selector lias the opportunity of scaring £2,200 by the transfer. This is a great stake to play for, and numbers are certainly playing for it. Uoyond the discovery of a heavy nugget or a second " jeweller's shop," it is a question whether, even in this rich country, so large a sum of money could be made so easily. What wonder then that so much eagerness is betrayed to secure the prz-j. It is worth contending for, and tho number of applicants shews that its value is properly appraised. Under the new Land Act the countryis being studded with lotteries, and a spirit of gambling is evoked, the end of which cannot be determined. These lotteries possess one threat advantage over private speculations of the kind," in that the blanks cost nothing and the prizes are ' unusually large. We speak advisedly when announcing that not one-half of the individuals who have sought to obtain larvl in the Evansford area intend to cultivate it. They are gambling for it, and on securing possession will endeavour to make money by the sale of it, Rich for agricultural purposes, and situated in proximity to important markets, purchasers will be plentiful enough, and this fact is well known to the applicants. Large suras of money will be made, and it may with safety be said of the new Land Act that no legislature ever passed a more liberal measure, nor one whose intentions could be so easily frustrated, Intended almost exclusively for the bona fide settler, and "to bring the land under immediate cultivation and settlement, it offers unusual facilities for speculation, which are being used in a manner few could, have expected when the Act

became law

We learn from a late Victorian paper, that Gipps Land has jasfc been proclaimed in the Gazette as a " clean " district under the Pleuropneumonia Act.

As an example of how a newspaper may be " sold," we quote from the Queensland Times the fallowing account of " a most extraordinary meteor" :— *• Oar local contemporary has the following in his issue of the- 13th instant :—« A Meteor.—On Thursday night, between nine and ten o'clock, a meteor of large size and splendid brilliancy appeared in the heavens, bearing about E.S.S. ; for at least half a minute was the meteor visible, and then broke inter ten thousand corruscations, covering a large space, as though a planet had been shivered tji pieces by a blow of a cyclopean hammer.' We do not know what quarter of the heavens E.S.S, mSy be, but we can inform our contemporary anil-the- public that a party was was given at a; residence a little outside the town boundary oa the evening referred to, which might possibly beE;S:S. froni our contemporary's point of observation, ami we may further state that, for tne amusement of the assembled guests a * rocket was fired, .which doubtless produced the -S ten thousaud corruseatious, as though a planet had beeu shivered1 to pieces by the blow of a, cy- ; clopean hammer," which our contemporary so much, admired.