OTAGO.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 33, 18 May 1863, Page 3

OTA GO.

[prou our ow.v correspondent.]

DUNEDIN. Wednesday, 13th May. ie escort arrived in Dunedin last night, [ing down the following returns : — ,„ ozs. dwfcs. yueenstown 2,238 10 Arrow River 2,621 0 Dunstan 7,451 15 Total 12,311 5 H3 shows a large decrease, which, howis not to be wondered at, when it is n that fully one-third of the population tjust now employed in digging opeva- . Men are everywhere engaged making tenements secure against the anticipated ities of the forthcoming winter months, ig in stores, fuel, &c. If the yield does leer ease very greatly, we have nothing ar. Dunedin is gradually filling with srs, but I do not anticipate any large us, as most of those who have come down expressed their intention of remaining through the winter.

is week opened with the perpetration e most cold-blooded and brutal assault

ever been my province to record

it one o'clock on Monday morning, two respectively named Santy and Meriott, horse-dealers, were knocking loudly at ;ate of a horse-bazaar, in High-street. v it appears was sober, but Merriott was icated to madness. At the time they vociferating and creating a disturbance e front of the stables, police-constable er came up. and quietly requested both to desist. The reply was a volley of mity and insult directed at the officer, told the fellow to be quiet, as such lan--2 could not be tolerated. Meriott only ce more obscene and insulting ; and er attempted to take him into custody. believed that the gate -was opened at instant ; and Parker must have been ised and overpowered at once, seeing he did not draw his baton, which was equently found in his pocket. He must been seized, dragged into the passage, flung on the ground. What followed i have been an almost demonaic succesof assaults, rather than a struggle. He have been kicked and trampled on ; was pulled from his head in handf nls ; Meriott, who wore spurs, must have i a number of back kicks, so. as to turn purs into almost deadly weapons. WilWilkie, a sailor on board the Geelong ner, saw the commencement of the lit ; and he ran shouting for assistance ; having attracted a couple of men, they fjb the rescue of the officer, and had a ■fb fight with the ruffians. Thomas y, watchman in the Arcade, heard er's cries during the first part of the lit, and he soon got to the spot ; and mation of what was going on was sent ! police station. Several officers were speedily got together. The men who first arrived had stopped the ruffianly k upoa Parker, and had turned the s upon the assailants. When the officers the station arrived, Meriott darted off got into the street, -while Santy cond to enter some portion of the premises, timber of men followed closely on the ir\ Meriott, promising to give a good fcV of him, and fulfilling their promise ; the officers found Santy, and secured after a struggle. He was take» to the on, -whither Parker had been carried ; Meriott soon followed, the leaders in his we having much to do to prevent others, beir excitement, inflicting very severe shment upon him for his sheer brutality, [er's features -were found to be almost iped and kicked out. The cartilage of lose was broken ; the eyes were closed ; forehead was cut and bruised ; there was great rip ju6t at the outer angle of the eye, which had been torn by Meriott'g i the right had been similarly wounded,

the back of it being laid open ; and, generally, the head and shoulders displayed one mass of wounds and bruises. Dr. Hocken was sent for, and he attended to the sufferer ; the vtouncl near the eye requiring to be sewn.j When the scene of the assault was examined, a .broad line of blood was found to extend about six yards inwards from the gate, where: it ended in a large pool; there was blood upon the boards on one side of the passage > and there were masses of blood-matted hair; dotted about on the line along which the officer had been dragged. Blood was found, upon the boots of both prisoners ; and there were blood and hairs adhering to the rowels of Meriott's spurs. Two rings which Parker wore, got off during his struggles, and were found lying in blood in the j ard. I am happy in being able to report that Parker last night was pronounced to be out of danger, but many weeks will elapse before he will be sufficiently convalescent to rise from a bed of great suffering and agony. The two prisoners have been brought before the Resident Magistrate, and remanded for seven days. There is no doubt they will meet with a punishment which, in some degree, will satisfy the stern demands of justice for such a gross, brutal, and ferocious outrage. Gas was for the first time used in Dunedin on Saturdav night last. The vestibule of the Princess' Theatre was lighted, and great was the glee manifested thereat by a large number of spectators. Another fortnight, and all the shops, business establishments, and .»torein the principal thoromghfares will have disspensed with kerosene, with all its concomitant disagreebles and dangers.

A good payable quartz reef has 'at length been struck on the Wakatip, and the most energetic measures are being taken to develop its riches, which, I am informed, can scarcely be estimated. The Wakatip Mail, speaking on the subject says^.— " We are (riven to understand, on reliable authority, that a valuable quartz reef exists in the vicinity of Skippers. We are personally acquainted with the party giving the information, who assures us that the stone he has seen equals in richness any yet ever discovered on the Victorian diggings. The exact spot is at present kept a secret, as the parties are about making prepation for securing a prospecting claim and working the same. From our own experience on Bendigo, we should campare the stone to that found on the Sarnia Reef, Spring Gully, which, it is well known to all Bendisonians resident there at the time of the working of I that reef, turned out 100 ozs to the ton. We have specimens in our possession taken at a distance from the claim of the original finders, given to us by the party in question, who is a resident in the locality. He also showed us alluvial specimens, the largest piece weighing H dwts. being a beautiful sample of gold.'' "" The exact spot," which the Wakatip Mail says " is at present kept a secret, is now patent to many, the locality being in a neighborhood in close proximity to the Skipper's. 1 ' The nomination for candidates to represent Dunedin in the Provincial Council, takes place on the 18th. There are several already in the field, and among them, as I understand, Mr Vogel, the proprietor and editor of the Vtago Daily Times. 1 think Mr Vogel stands an excellent chance of being elected, as he has of late become a very popular man among all classes. His ability is unquestionable, and as a gentleman, he possesses all the compound essentials which go to make up the character. Our Garrick Club, some two months back gave an entertainment, the proceeds of which were to be appropriated for the relief of the Lancashire operatives. The house was a " bumper' 1 one, and it was thought tiiat a very nice little sum would be handed over to the treasurer of the Relief Fund. Weeks passed- away, but still no cheque was handed in. The public began to wonder, then enquiries, and last complaints through the press, waich produced a reply from Mr Farjeon, the Hon. Treasurer of the Club, a gentleman generally foremost inall charitable undertakings. He states in a letter to the editor of the Daily Times :— " I employed a peison to collect the money from those parties -who undertook to sell tickets for the performance, and that, notwithstanding I have written to, and waited upon him repeatedly; he has, up to this time, refused and evaded a satisfactory settlement. He has in his possession the money he has collected, and the I. 0 U's of all those indebted to the Club ; and although I have urgently impressed upon him the necessity of handing them over to me without delay ; he has failed to do so. A meeting of the members of the Garrick Club was held on Saturday evening, at which it was resolved to commence proceedings against him for their recovery, and I have inserted an advertisement in your paper requesting all parties who have paid money to send me the : r names.' And so the disinterested efforts of a number of gentlemen to draw the public together for a charitable purpose, has been most cruelly thwarted by the most reprehensible conduct. I hope this gentleman (?) may also meet with his reward.

Lady Audley's secret has met with unqualified success. Messrs Holt and Wolff, the lessees of the Theatre, have given Mr Vogel, the author, a corrplimentary benefit, and that gentleman has very generously handed the receipts over to the Treasurer of the Launceston Relief Fund.

The barque Governor General arrived here a few days ago from Geelong, bringing thirteen horses out of forty-one -which had been shipped at that port. The -weather she encountered during the early part of the passage was terribly severe- Seventeen horses broke from their fastenings and commenced kicking and plunging so violently that most of them were killed in a short time. The confusion created caused very great alarm and dismay. The captain and officers expected every moment to find the vessel foundering beneath them.

The Miskin leaves here early this morning, with a large amount of Cargo and filled with passengers.