SOCIAL.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 64, 18 June 1863, Page 2

SOCIAL.

To summarise the news since writing our last is a mutter of some little difficulty, at least in one sense. The amount of literary pabulum is so small, that the serious question so constantly recurring in Sir Bulwer Lytton's novel, "What w'U he do with it ?" occurs to vs — what will we do with it so as to render it all interesting to tho'.e living out of the Province ? However, as something must be done we will try and do it. Commercially, we have to report a date of stagnation. The same thing has occurred here as elsewhere. When a sudden impetus is given to any place, goods are poured in at a rate more than commensurate with its wants ; in fact, anticipating those wants by two or three months. The trade to the Lake Diggings would, at first sight, seem to warrant such an importation, but, as in other schemes, the anticipation has not been realised. Goods have been sent up in such large quantities to the Lake, not only from Invercargill, but also from Dunedin, that the diggers will not hays to complain of the want of provisions or the prico of them this winter, and although the shorter distance from Invercargill places the Lake storekeeper who draws his supplies from here at an advantage, yet still he finds himself asking the question, "What will he do with it?" It will be seen, under the head Mining, that the set-ting-in of winter has materially thinned the Lake diggings and its vicinity of consumers ; but this is not the only element which has conduced to the slackness of trade at Quecnstown and at Frank ton. During the autumn, those who had good claims on the Shotover and Arrow Rivers, and who had built houses suitable for the winter, capable of defying old King Fr. st, also took the precaution to lay in winter stores during the autumn months. Thus, though trade was brisk during April and May, a re-action has taken place, and it will not probably recover its briskness till Spring; when, what with King Frost succumbing to the still more potent autocrat King Sol, and the exodus to those diggings from Australia, business generally will resume a more satisfactory basis, and three months' acceptances will not appear astride the dire white horse in the midnight dreams of our mercantile community. Every cloud, we are told, has its silver lining, cotnd we but see it. Looking at it in this light with one eye, and at the state of the roads with the oilier, we cannot but think that whileour merchants are precluded from effecting sales by the state of trade at the Wakatip, they, at any rate, are spared the pangs of Tantalus. The state of the roads for some tea miles out of Invercargill is anything but creditable ; the great difficulty being to find out who is responsible for this state of mud. Diogenes in s arch of an honest man had an e;ssy task of it compared with the solution of this knotty problem. If you inquire irom a road-inspector whether the peculiar makeshift for a road which presents itself to the inquisitive mind suy where from one to ten miles out of town is his peculiar weakness, he will answer he has received his instructions from the civilengineer ; on inquiring there, he has received instructions from His Honor the Superintendent. A brilliant idea, the result of an afternoon's lucubrations, has struck that autocratic mind, and — presto, it is done, to the intense astonishment of carters unacquainted with the hidden depths of genius in tlu-t all-powerful brain. Mi*. Moorehouse, when Superintendent of Canterbury, stated in the General Assembly dint his was a road-making policy ; we trust His Honor of Southland will not make a sim'lar statement. In the meanwhile, money is being spent freely on those experiments, and the Provincial balance sheet shows a Satisfactory proportion of the revenue is being speut in converting our main roods into canals of mud. One satisfaction is that spring will counteract the inventive genius of this master mind — Nature will prove too strong for him. The streets in the town — under the fostering care of that great institution, the Town Hoard — are in a sad mess both for pedestrians and vehicles, and at night they are positively dangerous ; however, the Board purposes borrowing £6,000 on debentures, guaranteed by the Provincial Government. We trust that it will be spent with some regard to economy. The wooden baulk way on the Main Nortli Road has proved a failure, after a mile or two was laid down, and has been taken up again. The construction of a wooden railway from Invercargill to "Wallacetown is now on the tapis, and doubtless the matter will be brought under the notice of the Prov ncial Council at its next sitting ; which, we understand, is likely to be earlier than at first intended. The offer to construct such a railway has been made by Messrs. Davis and Clarke, of Melbourne, railway contractors ; the estimated cost is from, three to four thousand pounds per mile, but the most important feature is its rapidity of construction. We understand that firm have now the necessary plant in Melbourne, and the wooden rails can be imported from Victoria or Tasmania, if that is found cheaper than to cut them on the spot. The whole distance could be completed in a very short time, which with us is everything. With such a railway 10 or 15 miles out on the

North Road, ;we should incontestably, arid without: the slightest chance of opposition from Duinedin, command | the Lake country during the ensuing summer. The Invercargill and Bluff Railway Debentures Ordinance having | received the assent of the Governor, we may shortly expect to see tenders called for the construction of the line from Invercargill to the Mokomoko. The plant has been sent for from home, and may be expected in about six months. Tenders have also been called for the railway pier and wharf at the Mokomoko, and also the pier at the Bluff. Both are works of considerable magnitude, and are estimated to cost- fifteen thousand pounds. The pier at tile Mokomoko will be 1650 feet long, and there will be fifteen feet of water alongside at low tide. The construction of such a pier will have a marked effect on the navigation of the New Eiver estuary, as vessels of 800 or 1000 tons will be able to lie alongside and discharge cargo. When such is the case, we have little doubt that the fabled drawbacks of this harbor will be myths of the past, and shipowners will have no hesitation in sending vessels to the New River from the home country. The anchorage is good and safe, and j when things ha c been pushed thus far, probably the Government will be forced into action as regards this harbor, and be compelled to provide suitable buoys and beacons, instead of leaving it in its present disgraceful state, with the channel marked off by Manuka poles. The pier at Campbell town is 313 feet long, and will also give fifteen feet at low water. These works will occupy a large number of men, and take some time to execute, so that Invevcargill as well as Campbelltown will benefit by a very considerable accession to our population ; that it will sensibly increase when they are finished theie can be no doubt. M. :an while, building r O es on rapidly, Stores and private houses are springing up with marvellous rapidity. Taystreet is now closely built on for some distance from Dee-street, and would have filled up further on had the Town Board been less energetic in destroying its surface on the eve of winter : spring, however, will set this right. Deestreet has received a marvellous impetus also, both sides being already built on for some distance. Some of the stores are really fine, ornamental building.?, amongst which that of Messrs. Morison, Law and Co., is conspicuous, j The addition to the Prince of Wales Hotel is now finished, and the entire building, both as regards accommodation and appearance, is one which would do credit to any town. The new Union Bank is approaching completion ; it will be a largn and imposing building, on one of the best sites in Tay-street. A new building for the Bank of New South Wales is about to be erected at the corner ot Tay and Dee streets ; it is to be of brick, and will occupy decidedly the best position in Invercargill. The section """Tormerly belonged to Messrs. Colin N. Campbell and Co., and was purchased from that firm for L. f >ooo. Another large hotel is being built in Tay-street, so that shortly we shall be well off in this important social feature — first-class hotel accommodation. Notwithstanding the season,- -that of the depth of winter, — and the bad state of our streets, property lias not depreciated in value. As stated above, a quarter-acre section was purchased for L 500 0; other sections in the best streets have also changed hands at good prices, while rural lands in the vicinity of tbe town, cut up into half acre and quarter acre sections, have realised more than Ll2O per ecre, and this at a distance of more than one mile from the Post Office, on the main north road. High as the prices may appear, i there is little doubt that they will run up much higher in the spring. Land half a mile out of (own, fronting the main north road, and "having a depth of one chain back, is now letting at 12s 6d per foot. Tlie bafk streets are rapidly filling up with houses, showing a larrre increase to our settled population, and of the confirmed prosperity of the town there can be little doubt. The electric telegraph will shortly be commenced connecting us with Cook's Straits, and then the geographical position of Southland will be better understood and appreciated. The revenue for land amounted for the last quarter to L 20,128; threeeighths of Customs, L 3,58 2; entire revenue, L 24,988. Land, as soon as thrown open by Government, is eagerly bought up. A large ?ot of superior quality will shortly be in the market, and there is no doubt it wiil fetch a considerable advance on the upset price. At the last sale some rural land realised 51s. per aero. The Edina; s.s., from Melbourne, entered the New Ptiver on the llth inst. She is intended to run between Invercargill and Melbourne regularly — a trade which will pay her well. We understand an agent has been sent over to Melbourne to secure the services of a steamer for that purpose, the subsidy given by tbe Government being L 4,000 a-year. The news from the seat of war in the North is by no means encouraging. Several soldiers and two officers were killed by an ambuscade of the Maories. Sir George Grey still seems inclined to pursue his policy of conciliation, however futile experience has hitherto proved it. Waitara has been given up to the Maories, it being alleged that there had been some injustice done to the Natives in its purchase, and consequently restitution was necessary. The unfortunate Taranaki settlers are again to be driven from their homes—pretty well ruined by the last war, there is every probability of their being thoroughly so by this

one. The * settlers in vark parts of the North Island who hj, been living on land leased f fo , the natives have been driven away, || friendly natives informing them t\ could not afford them protection — j^ sionaries and magistrates amongst i) number. In cases where a setter married a Maori or half-caste, train .tii, retain if possible the wife aircWn^Klij Altogether the state of things is/mi unsatisfactory, and proves the erroneo policy which has hitherto been pursued that of conciliation — and also shows tt notwithstanding the length of tit which the missionaries have been livii amongst them, little has been d<n towards Christianity or humanising the pets ot Exeter Hail. [Since writing the above, we hs received news of a battle having U\ place, and a large number of Ma<3) slain.]. A meeting was held on tlie 20th Mi to make arrangements for celebrating i marriage of the Prince of Wales witlit Princess Alexandra, His Honor the Sup intendent in the chair, and Friday ,2nd Ju< was proclaimed a holiday. About L 2 was collected by subscription, the Govt nient giving L 25 and the Town Board L] We were agreeably surprised by the suit. The sports, which took place in i morning, and the ball which came off night, were both well attended and weile ducted. At the luncheon daring the day, Honor the Superintendent presided, j proposed " Her Majesty and the Roi Pamily," and afterwards " H.R.H. i Prince of Wales and the Princess Ale andra,' 1 and numerous other toasts. I\\ scarcely necessary for us to say how the toasts were responded to ; the cheeri was such as none but British subjt could have been equal to, and none t the Queen and her family have co manded. The weather was splendid, a the gamps well contested, and the inter kept up to the last. The ball was held the evening and was fully attend dancing being kept up until an ear'y horn the morning. Altogether, this was the in successful demonstration of the kind tl has taken place in this Province. Monday, 25th May. being the Quee Birthday, was observed as a general ho day, the shipping in the harbor was ga decorated wish flags, and the Governrm Offices, Banks, and the principal places business were closed. A royal salute i fired at noon in the vicinity of the G vernment buildings by a number of voli teers under the direction of Captain Gri The members of the Fire Brigade i sembied for the first time for practice the 2nd of June, for the purpose of te ing the engine belonging to Messrs. Co N. Campbell and Co. The brigade, unt the direction of Mr. Leary (the captai removed the engine to Puni Creek, m the Court House, and the result obtain was a stream of water about 50 or 60 f in a horizontal direction, and another about 20 feet in height. After considerable delay, "Tha Debfi ami Creditors' Act, 1862," was gazetted the Gth May, and declared as coming ii operation " from and after Ist J une.'' 2 measure is considered a great, boon b. v }ni( cautile men. It has also been notified I the Prcvindal Government Gazette, of t I 4th June, that the steamships City of H bart and Gothenburg are to be exeiu from protage charges at the outer ancho age of Bluff Harbor. During the month there has been qu an unusual amount of amusement in toy consisting of no less than three theatri companies — -"Our Own Minstrel: "Roberts' Operatic and Comic Compan; ! and the " Buckingham Family." Tli ! all received a very fair share of patronag I but the inclement weather, and the di graceful state of the streets, consideral retarded iheir general success. A music association hasbeen established in Invert? gill, and at present numbers upwards'of members — 30 gentlemen and 14 ladii All the officers have been appointed, ai the Society promises to be a success. 0 of our enterprising townsmen, Mr. Fred rick Seyler, intends erecting a theatre Dee-street, to be called the "Prince Wales." This will supply what the go people of Invercargill have long desire and we hope that the endeavors of M Seyler to introduce the drama here w meet wi'h. the support an undertaking the kin 'l deserves. A fire broke out in Spey-street on We nesday evening, 26th May, in the bouse Mr. Donald Ross, carpenter, which i suited in the total destruction of the buil ing and its contents. The fire oviginat in the chimney, which was built of wo< and covered with clay inside. Almost i mediately on its discovery the polii under the charge of Mr. Inspector Weld< were on the spot, and every exertion w made to stop the progress of the flames, b without effect. The building, which w not insured, was completely destroyed. A disease very much resembling pleur pneumonia has broken out amons horses in parts of this Province, and eoi very valuable animals havo already di( from it. The. Chamber of Commerce has initiaf several movements of importance, a already the influence of this valuable bo has been sensibly felt. At a meeting he on the Ist of June, the rulesof the Chan ber were ordered to be printed, togetl with commercial charges and names members of committee. A let'er, regat ing the jetty regulations, was read a ordered to be laid on the table. The su Committee laid upon the table the mere rial to his Honor the Superintendent, $ 'pared by them, relative to public contrai which was read, approved, and ordered be transmitted. Resolutions were tl adopted relative to a circular published our last summary, recently issued by 1 Honor the Superintendent, ha ing red ence to the ordering of the Bluff Railw plant from Great Biitain. On the oth of this month, at ab< 10.30 p.m., there was a most unmistakal shock of earthquake, the severest whi< kas been known here, though mild comparison to those felt in the noi island. It was preceded by a rumblii sound, shortly followed by several distil vibrations. The shock was severe enou to cause glasses to clink in i public houses, and lasted abo ten seconds. It was also distinctly felt various parts of the Province, and board some vessels in the harbor. io )f f tleraan residing in Tay-slreet (soufc^ ~si( says the first sensations were fell at 26m lOsec. past 10 p m., and, in his opini( the shock lasted about fifteen seconds, a curious fact in connection with j event, he states that the barometer duri the two preceding days remained at de.crees, notwithstanding, the changes the weather. The instrument was i I affected either by the rain of Wednesd |or the high winds which prevailed 'Thursday.

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iTlie annexed account has been furished usby Mr Marten, of Ryal Hush : — fiidnv; sih June, 11 p.tr.~ A smart shock of occurred about an hour ago. At 953 -m, a low subterranean rumbling:, like distant [bunder, was perceptible. In became rnpirlly i |sudcr, with nn increasing tremulous vibration, till I ffi, when it suddenly censed, and there was a I ( wk of sufficient force to mako the house creak i , lo |eD%n The efl'ecfc was exactly analogous to 3 tist n Mfe? produced by a wave passing under a t] (jipijrKee).-- The undulatory movement was from I ffS.jPT. to E.N.E., and was followed bj aeonI (jniious rocking motion for two minutes. During , ||te forty-eight hours previous, it blew a heavy 1 jjle at W.N.W. to W., with a mild tempernturo, i jnd without rain. Tho lowest point reached by ] {he thermometer this morning was 60 ° , and the ' jughesfc that afternoon 5*i c , giving tho small of only two degrees. Just before tie earthquake, it became calm and cloudless, «iih exception of a few cirri. There was a peculiar haze in the air towards sunset, and the red l/jht, which during the approach or continuance of a gale invariably appears in the "W. an hour jfler sunset, was remarkably bright. It is remarkable that this earthquake has occurt r e? about the time of a lunar eclipse. The same ~ ■ \lfjig happened in June, 1862, when the earthquake took place in the middle of the eclipse of the 12th. it \ as, as in this case, and that of Uarch 26, preceded by a severe storm. On the (ormer occasion the shock was from E.S.E. to fl N.W., and much shorter duration than that of this event. 11th June. The different accounts of the late earthquake vary considerably both as to the time and direction of the shock, As my time is exactly 30 minutes slower than that of Invercargill, and the same difference appears to the respective acounts, it is probable that the moment of the shock -was identical in both cases. I am prepared to assert positively that the direction by true compass ff as from W.S.W. to E.N.E. The subterianean rumbling was perceptible fully two minutes before the actual shock, thus givingr me time to note clearly all the particulars. The noise approached steadily from W.S.W. and became rapidly louder with the same tremb.ing as is of ted caused by a loud peal lof thunder, then came the shock ; the house distinctly (in nautical parlance) "heeled over" to E.IS'.E., a suspended chain swung in the same direction, and the water in a glass on the table moved similarly. The house creaked violently, the doors, and windows rattled, and several nails started. This undulating shock was succeeded by continuous oscillations, which I could perceive for quite two minutes afterwards. The motion was sufficient to cause slight giddiness, although we did not experience the sea-sickness described by the Southland News. Some interesting meteorological phenomena have accompanied this earthquake. The mean temperature of the four days, in the middle of which it occurred, was no less than 14 degrees above the average, while that of the days just previous, was nearly 10 degrees below ; thus giving the singular difference of over 23 degrees. A tremendous gale blew from the W. during the 48 hours preceding, and froir the N. during the 2 days following, the latter being a hot wind, causing the mercury to raise to 64°. At 2.15 a.m. of the Bth the gale lulled and torrents of rain fell for four and a-half h urs ; 2.017 inches registered, an amount unprecedented for tLe space of time. The iain ceased at C.50, and a peculiar sultry calm (ther. 53 G ) succeeded. At 3.30 p.m., a dense and compact body of white vapour, which had throughout the evening remained stationary four miles to the eastward, extending to a height of about 150 feet from the ground, suddenly appioached, and , everything was instantaneously shrouded . iu^f thick fog, wind easterly. At sunset a northerly wind set in, cloud and fog both cleared off, and the thermometer fell 20 degrees. Next day a gale set in at W.S.W., with thunder, lightning, and sleet. This evening the weather is fair, but cold and threatening ; Aurora Australis in S.E. A great number of brilliant meteors have been visible since the earthquake ; the colors chiefly yellow and white. The same f phenomenon occurred after that of June 12, 1862, but the meteors weie laiger and the colors moie varied, including green, blue, and red. One was especially magnificent ; it was of a vivid green hue, and about onefifth of the moon's apparent size ; it moved rapidly 70 or 80 degrees, throwing off splendid coruscations, and leaving behind a iiery train, and finally burst into a shower of t-cintillated light. Mr Jago, the agent of the Dunedin Temperance Society, has been delivering lectures here during the month, with the view of establishing a temperance society He did not meet with much success, but we believe a Temperance Association has been formed since. The following shows the number of births, deaths, and marriages registered during the month : — Marriages, 6 ; births, 10 ; deaths, 1. Subjoined is the return of the state of H.M. Gaol for the month ending Kith June, 1863: — For trial at 'he Supreme Court, 5 ; for tiial before the magistrates, 1; senienced to hard labor, 15 ; imprisonment, without hard labor, 3 ; lunatics, 1. Total of inmates, males, 25. Discharged during the month, males, 16. Received during the month, males, 9. We append the total number of convictions at the Resident Magistrate's Court, during the month : — Breach of Passengers' Act, 36; drunkenness, 27; assault, 9 ; breach of Licensing Ordinance, J ; damaging properly, 1 ; breach of Cattle Trespass Ordinance, 4 ; breach of Shipping Act, 2 ; breach of Police Ordi dance, 4 ; breach of Sheep Ordinance, 1. Total, 85. The amount of gold purchased by ihe banks during the month is small, about 1600 ounces. *