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Otago Daily Times, Issue 267, 28 October 1862, Page 5

A striking instance of the rapidity with which news is now transmitted from one part of the world to another, is afforded ia the Pacific Commercial Register, a Honolulu paper, which, in its issue of the 28th August, gives London intelligence to the 2nd of the same month.

A meeting of the Directors of the Caledonian Society was held last night at M'Cubbiu's Hotel. There was a full attendance, and it was agreed that membership tickets should be issued at once, and that subscriptions should be canvassed for by the Directors. Those wishing to join the Society must apply in the first instance to the Directors,

" Our Village, or the Wreck of the Rattlesnake^' was played lit the Theatre Royal, last evening, forthe first time in Dunedin. It is truly .styledin the bills "the prize production of the season ; " and we have not seen anything so thoroughly well received within the walls of tho Royal. The piece is open to partial censure, in that a great deal of the action does not essentially contribute to the developement of the plot; but some of the tilings which are the least directly influential in that sense, are the most effective point in the representation, aud the fault indicated may therefore be excused. Tiie piece plays most spiritedly—all is life aud bustle ; and in the writing, there is very much of pointed satire, and some sententiousiiess of the style which always tells upon a mixed andience. There is so much' really involved in the plot, through the narrations ot some of the leading personages, that it is difll- ; cult briefly to sketch it The drama begins with a fete in the village of Caversham, which is rudely interrupted by the announcement that the good Earl of Marliugton, owner of the estate, is dead. We then learn that Florence Halliday is the (laughter of one who is supposed to have been the Earl's mistress. She herself was married against her father's wishes, and he has ceased the kindness which he had before shown her. Her husband has been murdered by some smugglers with whom he has been connected, and liar son has been carried oftV She is savage in her suffering, but she is softened by reminders ofthe faith and forgiveness sho had, during her happier days, taught amongst tho villagers. The new Earl of Marliugton loves a village lass, Fanny Grantham, hut will not marry her; and she lovos the memory of the missing Willie Halliday, and will not listen to the Earl, though the penalty is the eviction of her father from the long-held farm. Tom Tulloch, who is a waiter at the village inn', loves Polly Marigold, who-has caught the fancy of Sneakes, ths tool of the E-xvl; so Sneakes sets the press-gang upon Tom, and he becomes a sailor. In the second act, Tom is thoroughly transformed, and the village is razed to ° the ground. He is happy, but his old friends are houseless. Tom gets on board the Rattlesnake, aud finds Willie Halliday a lieutenant there, only to succeed to the command on the death of the captain. Wille has married Fanny, and takes her to sea; ; and on the first cruise the Rattlesnake founders, not, however, until some part of the mystery is cleared up. Bill Bower, who was pressed with Tom, participated in the murder of Halliday •; and' during the raging of the -gale, he confesses his crime, and gives to the captain documents which go to prove that he is the real Earl. The supposed Earl, in six or eight years, squanders a great portion of.the estate, with the help of a rascally and miserly steward, one Hobson ; but he sickens of debauchery and reforms. He feigns to consent to marry Hobson Y daughter, and so learns that Capfciin Halliday is the rightful heir to the title and estates ; and that Hobson holds a will and a certificate of marriage which conclusively prove the tact. Ho determines to do one good deed by telling the Captain the truth ; and Mrs. Hobson, who sorely henpecks her husband, determines to do another, by possessing herself of the certificate and giving them to Florence Halliday, in return for a long-gonc-by act of kindness. The mother and son meet at the ?raveof the murdered husband and father, where she -is weary almost to death with her heartsickness ; and the remaining thing necessary hefore the denouement is accomplished by Tom finding Polly living as a ballad singer in London greets. Then all but Hobson are made happy ; and it is deciared that" Our Village" shall bloom again. - As the principal points in the piece, we may mention; first, the village dance, and the beautiful scene in which it takes place -a placid reach of the sea, an old bridge, and quaint cotcages dotted over a hill..'. The dance was vociferously applauded last evening. Then the scene between decks of the Rattlesnake, and that . of old Grantham, were both painted with boldness and fidelity; and still again we ' have a new piece of artistic' work in the view of the street in Old London, with a fine perspective of timbered houses, and their prettily odd balconies and gables. Here it is that the meeting between Tom and Polly occurs. Tiicliallad singing is capital; and it is followed by a comic duct and a double hornpipe, tiie latter .being encored with a vigour and determination that admitted not of deuial. But the point is the sinking of the Rattlesnake, whicli is r most cleverly managed, and is really very telling indeed.,. The vessel, with tho captain and crew on deek, is seen fearfully .. bilffetted by the waves, and at last she lurches * and goes, bodily .down. excitedly pleased were the spectators at this well-managed work of the'mechanician, that they rewarded it with one great cliee* which lasted a minute or two, and then changed into a call for Mr Holt, who came forward and bowed his acknowledgments. At present, we can only say that the drama was excellently played, Mr and Mrs Holt and Miss Ada Hart, as Tom, Florence, and Polly, receiving large shares -of the' almost uninterrupted applause ; and that whether for itself, the acting, or the care and great cost bestowed on its production," Our Village" deserves a long and successful run,".': Xhe. very .laughable farce "John Wapps, the Policeman,", concluded the entertainments.

-Therearc^two things which'will be done by the ' at tkeir meeting this afternoon, unless, the members are utterly carelesi* of the public fia^ty^wHicli^e hesitate to h^lie^ " ipne ;,f?|?'°£ der thf JilUfhediate^xingjof a light in the '. '. Cutting, at Princes-street; that is, we believe, 1 a upon the Board for execution. 'FhV&ther, is tcja^ pipes for the Gas Company, either to leave no trench open when they stop work for the night, or to place, and maintain, at each end of the trench so left open, a good light., The Princes-street cutting ia unavoidably in a bad state at present, and must for f a while continue bo, because of tiie excavating now being pushed vigorously forward on eacli side; but this '.is onlythe more cogent roa? ' . son-why-therfe should be a lamp to help .pedestrians to flounder through the many existing mud holes. As-to the' gas-pipe trenches, there.,ig ; why they /should be left open at nightA very simple piece of management would.secure : I tliat no more, ground'shouicl be.broken on any' day TT / |.than€6uld'Wiaiii^wifci| piping and restored by;*'. .« the evening; as^is * generaliyi done in England ".;-!:" i 1

But ii trenches are to be left, lights arc im eralively needed to prevent the'repetition of ah accident such as wesaw happen last night to one gentleman, and which may have happened to others with more serious consequences. Wishing to avoid the wuddiness.of the unpaved portion of foothpath in 1 nnoes-street, opposite Mr Luhning's premises, the gentleman referred to stepped as he supposed into the roadway, but really on to the brink of the trench, into which he fell heavily. Fortunately lie escaped with no more than a shaking, a few bruises, and some cuts upon his hands. We understand that another boat race has been arranged to take place on Saturday, from the same place and over the same distance that the ! boats iu the last race ran. In our telegraphic news from Port Chalmers which appears in our shipping column, mention is made of the discovery of a new channel at the entrance of the harbor. It is described as being narrow, but has eighteen feet of water at low tide°. The channel has been temporarily buoyed by the Harbor Master (Captain Thomson) and" the pilots. This new channel, if found to be available, will be of great benefit to the Port. The Civil Business of the Supreme Coujt was commenced yesterday morning, with the first of the special jury causes in order. • It having been detcrminud to get through the specials first, the . common jurors are excused attending until Thursday week, the 6th November. Yesterday was occupied with M'Kay and Another v. Campbell, a horse warranty case from Invercargill; the jury, at seven o'clock, returning a verdict for the plaintiff; with L76 9s Gd damages. This morning, Ilassell v. Brown will be taken, it being a case in which compensation is sought for a malicious prosecution ; and the case next in order is Fargio and Another v. Little and Another. There are two cases specially fixed—Teschemnker and Another v. M'Lean ancl Another, which has at previous sittings occupied much time, for Thursday, and Richardson (Superintendent) v Paterson, for Friday. The last-named involves a matter in which a former Superintendent of the province, Mr M'Andrcw, was. concerned, and is looked forward to with considera ble interest. Tiie new building for the High School will noon be completed. The works were placed at a temporary standstill during the rush to the Dunstan diggings, but within the last £ew weeks rapid progress has been made with the building. It is a very chaste and elegant structure, and is a great ornament to the town, being placed on so prominent an eminence that it can beseen from almost every part of Dnnedin. The front walls and pillars are constructed ol the Caversham stoue, which seems well adapted for architectural purposes. Last year at this time several deaths occurred amongst children from eating the tutu plant, and it would be well for parents to caution their children against eating any plants, roots, or berries, with the nature of which they are not perfectly J acquainted. A company has been iormed in London for effecting a reform in the Thames steamboats similar to what the French company did for tlv; '' London omnibusses. A number of steamers >f ' great speed, and fitted up with commodious deck saloons and other appliances for comfort, are to : be shortly placed on the'river, so that passengers ' can travel from Battersea to Blackwall with as much comfort on these new steamers as in a first- ' class railway carriage. !

By advertisement in our columns, the Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Province of Otago, notifies that all persons having claims fjr land in Block I, Wakiouaiti District, under applications made previous to survey, must call at the Limd Office on the 27th November, for the purpose of having their claims adjusted. The block in question has now been surveyed.

It is an old proverb that " liar3 should have good memories" La France, a leading Parisian paper, some time in August, published the following :—"Advices from Milan give us details of a great manifestation which hns taken place in the ScalaTheatre. Garibaldi's Hymn was sung by the whole audience, and cries of ' Rome or Death !' were thundered forth with the greatest enthusiasm. Abuse of France and of her Government was mingled with the other cries, and imparted to the whole scene a still more revolutionary character." On this the Opinion Nationale slily observes ;- " Our contemporary has forgotten one trifling detail, which, however, is of some little interest, namely, that the Scala has been closed since 30th June, and will not be open until next month."

Last night, a dangerous obstruction was left at the lower end of Stafford-street, nearly opposite the Provincial Hotel. It consisted of a quantity of road metal, wliich had apparently been deposited for spreading, but had been left in a heap, to the great danger of any vehicle traversing the street after dark, as the heap was just large enough to overturn any vehicle that might be driven into it, although not high enough to attract attention in time to avoid an accident.

There are about four hundred ancl fifty laborers, em ployed upon theearth works now being proceeded ' with at Bell Hill. These men are paid at the rate of ss. per diem, for eight hours work, or rather less; for besides the hour allowed for dinner, which is not reckoned in the eight hours, they are allowed fifteen minutes spell during the afternoon, for those who like to smoke, and for those who do not to rest. As it has been argued that ss. is an insufficient wage, and that men cannot subsist upon it, we shall here give the observations of one ofthe men, made in reply to some queries which were put to him : "I came over here like many hundreds of others, without the means of carrying me to the diggings, and quite unpro-

vided with tools and other things indispensable to success when I sbould arrive on the ground. I am a tradesman, but in my particular line of business, I soon found there was no employment for me. Unable to go to the diggings, and without means to support me until something in my trade turned up ; I can only say that I feel grateful to the Government in opening up works, to give employment to me and those like me. Can I live upon thirty shillings a week, you ask ? Yes, I can. I do not earn thirty shillings every •week, for when the weather is bad, of necessity we must knock off work, Twenty-six shillings is perhaps what I may reckon on as my six day*earnings. Well, I cbum in with two mates ; w. live in a tent, and join-in in the purchase of our rations- This with us, is meat, bread, potatoes, tea and sugar. Nothing more ; but of these wc have a sufficiency. Week before last, our stores came to fifteen shillings each. Last week it was fifteen and three pence, leaving us somewhere about eleven shillings each balance of pay. I am a single man myself, but I do not think 1 fare so well as those who are married; for,the woman, if she be worth anything at all, will earn nearly as much as her husband by washing' or going out day-work. A smart woman will earn eight shillings a-day, one day with another- butof,course sho cannot .£O. out every day, having her. husband and children

to look after. Sol say, that, although five shillings a-day is small wa,ge, still I am thankful to the Government for allowing me to accept of it A man who wishes to be honest, can keep honest at five shillings a-day. Hecui't be honest on nothing. Ho must eat; and, if ha lias not the wherewith to buy, he must —. Well, he must do what I should do sooner than want; and I say once more, it is a fine thing after all this free labor offered us. As the diggings get more known and people settle down on them, and work is to be obtained independent of gold hunting, I am off, and so will be a good many more." These were the remarks, almost word for word, made by a man whose station in life had evidently been cast above a laborer's lot, respecting the employment offered to " hard-ups" at the Bell Hill Works. ; ,

The capital burlesque of the "Nymph of the urleyburg" was the novelty at the Princess' Theatre last night. This burlesque, which had a great run in Melbourne, promises to be equally successful in Dunedin, if we may augur from the reception that it has mat with on the first representation. The piece -s founded on the opera of " Lurline," which, again, is based upon the beautiful story of "Lurley," a3 told in the "Legends of the Rhine." The story in the original is that a certain Baron Rupert, who has been leading a Jifc of pleasure and dissipation, and has brought himself to the verge of ruin, has captivated the fancy ofthe water nymph Lurline or Lurley, and that he is tempted by her beauty and blandishments to plunge into the Rhine, when she takes charge of him and conducts him to her palace beneath the cool waters. Here the Baron is treated with all respect, and, dazzled by the magnificence of the water Queen, he agrees to marry her. But hia heart is in reality cold to her, and he loves a maiden of flesh and blood. H-i, therefore, treacherously represents to Lurline that he wishes to visit his castle once more, to settle his affairs, before finally taking up bis abode beneath the waters. She consents, and provides him with ample means to pay all his debts, and yet to leave him rich. Arrived on shore, he hastens to his lady love and lays his ill-gotten fortune at her feet. He is about to be married to her, but the vengeance of the water-goddess overtakes him, and he dies before the ceremony is concluded. So much forthe ancieut legend. In the burlesque, considerable liberties are taken with this plot. Rupert is made even a greater scoundrel than in tiie story, for he is made to go to Lurl'ne merely with the idea of cozening her out of the treasures she is reported to possess. Lurline again, instead of visiting her false lover with the vengeance due to his offence, takes the matter coolly, and, owning that she was a fool to expect constancy in a man, blesses Rupert's union with her rival. The burlesque was capitally put upon the stage, the dresses being magnificent, and the scenery exhibiting a degree of artistic skill that evidently took many of the' audience by surprise. The I river by moonlight, showing the banks on ' both sides, and the bottom of the stream where tlie water-nymphs disported, was capitallj conceived and executed. The same mav be said of the scene of the water-nymph's grotto, and of tlie final tableau oi the Palace of Lurline.' Sir Llupert, the caitiff baron, was nicely played by Mis.-; Emma Neville, who was splendidly dressed for the part. Mr George Fawcett made the most of the baron's Seneschal, a villain of the first water, and the most atrocious absurdity. Mr John Dunn was very rich as the Baron Muzzins ; and Mr Hall, as C;unfc Calim:inco, and Mr Tom Fawcett, as Albert, were also very good. Miss Emily Wiseman made a very charming Lurline. She was dressed for the character with excellent taste, looking quite the conventional waternymph. Her attendants also were capitally equipped. Miss Fanny Wiseman, as Una, the T mortal lady-love of Rupert, was exceedingly piquante and funny. The other characters were all well sustained, aud the piece went off without a single "hitch." The combats, dances, and songs interspersed through the burlesque were all good of their kind, and were well executed.