The Invercargill Times FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1863. SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 73, 17 July 1863, Page 2

The Invercargill Times FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1863. SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

T© summarise the news of the past month is a work which requires but. little time and small space. Everything is pretty much the same as L was when the last English Mail left, and we are tempted to exclaim with Solomon, " there is nothing new under the sun." A dull sky, dull business, and the same old mud in the streets and footpaths ; the same difficulty of communicating with the interior existingas itdid then, though as regards the north road, some modification has been effected by the taking up of the wooden baulkway, and substitution of fasciues of scrub ; but although this road is now fairly passable, the over crowded state of the market at the Lake diggings necessarily renders trade here dull. Yet, notwithstanding all these drawbacks, there is convincing proof of progress in the Post Office and Customs returns, the rapid increase of population, the eager desire to purchase land ; and, though the usual stagnation resulting from the season is felt, the materiil progress of the province is by no means checked. The postal returns show not only an enormous increase over the corresponding quarter of last year, but a very considerable increase over last quarter. Comparative Rktuejt of Letters and Papers received at and despatched from Invercargill during the Quarter ended 30th Juno, 1863, and the corresponding Quarter, 1862: — •

Total Increase of Letters and Newspapers in the Quarter ended 30th June 1563, over the "Quarter ended 31st March, 1803.

The Customs Returns for this quarter for the port of New River are particucularly encouraging, not merely as indicating a large increase over the corresponding quarter of last year — which might reasonably be expected — but a

cori?!d.^i^ahle^ncrease over the preceding MaYch^U^ of this, during which business Was so that it would appear that, ttiercantile matters are not so dull. For £ b. d. The Juno quarter of 1863— the revenue amounted to 15,605 13 3 The June quarter of 1862— the revenue amounted to 2,323 17 10 The March quarter for 1863— the revenue amounted to 11,390 0 11 Our shipping c,olumn will show the number of entries inwards and outwards (coasters excepted) since our last Summary. The total received on dutiable articles during the month, amounts to the handsome sum of £4,446 16s. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, a large number of offenders have received their due reward ; but, as will be seen from the following return, more than one-half have been guilty of nothing more seiioms than imbibing too much liquor :— For drunkenness there were 23 convicted ; breach of Police Ordinance, 8 ; assault, , r > ; breach of Sheep Ordinance, 2 ; and 1 each for desertion of wife, refusing to do duty on board ship, and occupying land without leave. During the la3t quarter there has not been much fresh land thrown into the market, owing to the surveyors being kept in the field, to push surveys as much as the mildness of the winter will permit. Thus the mapping has been fetarded, but the eager demand for land was evidenced on the 9th instant, when 17 sections in the Jacob's River Hundred were submitted to the competition of applicants, and realised £2,229 odd, an average of nearly 40s. per acre — the highest price realised being 61s. per sere, others fetching 535., 505., 46s , 335., &c. There will shortly be a large quantity of superior quality in the market, which will doubtless realise hi»h prices. Landed property, both town, suburban, and country, keeps up its price well ; a quarter section in Dee street, near the Prince of Wales Hotel, changed hands for £1,600 cash. Sections some distance from the main streets are fetching good prices ; one sold the other day for £265 cash. Suburban land is also rising steadily ; properties cut up into half acre lots last year have changed hands this at quadruple the original price. The throwing open of the Tasmanian ports, under the Diseased Cattle Ordinance, has already had a beneficial effect in lowering slightly the price of meat ; a large number of bullocks have been imported thence, some in fine condition. Store heifers are also being imported largely, whih in a few years will tell yet further on the meat market — the prices realised up to the present being, for inferior heifers, £10 10s. to £11. The T. Milledge, from the Clyde, has brought out fourteen head of superior cattle — five pure Durhams, and nine of the polled Angus breed, sent out by Messrs. Holmes and Co., who have made large purchases of land in the Province, and seem determined to turn it to account, this being the second importation of superior bred cattie from the home country. They have also sent out by her two steam ploughs, which, with the one sent out by them previously, will enable them to put under cultivation the large tracts of land they have purchased on the Mataura Plains and Seaward Downs, and will confer a great Denefit on the Province. The investment of so large a capital for the bnna Jlde settlement and improvement of land chosen after personal inspection by men so well acquainted with agriculture as Messrs. Holmes and Weston, is the best criteiion of the agricultural capabilities of this Province which could be offered. Building is still going on, though, owing to the supply of timber being unequal to the demand, so much has not been done as otherwise would. The new premises of the Union Bank are sufficiently completed to enable business to be transacted in them. It is a fine imposing building of two sO.ies, equal to any bank in New Z-aland. The bank of New South Wales, we believe, intends shortly to build on the admirable site lately purchased by them at the corner of Dee and Tay streets ; the building is to be of brick. The new gaol is now finished and was declared one a few days ago: a very creditable building to the province. It is two storeys high, of brick, and the cells, lined with wood, tongued and grooved with iron, will be rather difficult to break out of. The yards are capacious, surrounded with walls of corrugated zinc fifteen feet high. The internal arrangements are complete, having amongst other things good baths. Mr Justice Gresson inspected it, and expressed himself highly satisfied with the arrangements. The first sitting of the Supreme Court, a subject of great gratification to the province, was held in the Mechanics' Institute, Invercargill, on the 9th inst. The building was neatly fitted up for the occasion. The criminal business was light, there being only six cases for trial, for only four of which the grand jury found true bills — the gravest offence being larceny. The civil business was also light, as, for some reason or other, our registrar was unable to issue writs in sufficient time for the present sittings. In amusements, though not ordinarily redundant, we have had less than our usual share during this winter, — the accounts of the state of the streets having doubtless retarded most from adventuring in these parts ; this week, however, has proved a welcome exception in this way. Th.9 English Opera Company, consisting of Madame Carandini, Messrs Sherwin, Small, and Wlryte, gave their first performance at the Music Hall erected in Tay- street, on last Monday evening, and notwithstanding the state of the streets and entire absence of footpaths, the room was crowded, as it haß

been for the succeeding qvenings dvi ing which they have performed, — ;the most convincing proof that the company has given every satisfaction. Any one able^ to draw Invercargill out at nights at the present time, must be a decided adept in his art. Politically there is not much to mention. At the recent election for the vacant seat in the Provincial Council, Mr Beaven after a warm contest, was returned, which may be considered a triumph of the opposition. It is anticipated that the Provincial Council will shortly be called together, to take into consideration the proposed scheme for constructing a railway some fifteen miles into the interior — a work of very great importance to the Province, securing for us, as it will, the Lake traffic. The preliminary works connected with the Invercargill and Bluff Railway are being rapidly pushed — tenders for the construction of the railway piers at Campbell town and Mokomoko, New Itiver, have been called, and the day of acceptance is fixed for the 20th instant. The size of the works has induced, we understand, larger contractors to come forward than we have hitherto had, so we may trust that the work will be done in a rather smarter manner — somewhere nearer tie contract time— than we have heretofore had. The Town Board has cleverly contrived to divide the public abuse between itself and the Government. Prior to the raid in Tay-street being made by that august body, the Government enjoyed it exclusively, indeed, for some time there seemed to be an unholy and unnatural alliance between the Board and the people ; now, however, a more wholesome state of things exists, and the balance of abuse is decidedly in their favor. Every effoit made by this body to extricate themselves from the position of a public nuisance in which they have landed themselves, seems only to make matters worse. Having borrowed some more money they have determined to try another experiment, consisting of a wooden grating 16 feet in width, to be laid down in the middle of the street for a few hundred yards, at first — how drays are to get on to this raised platform from the slush in the street is not yet determined, it being considered a matter of secondary importance whether the grating will be useful, the main thing being to expend a respectable sum of money; it is considered by this respectable body, that the experiment will he decidedly cheap, inasmuch as by the time it is finished, Spring will have set in, the streets will be dried up and hard, and the grating not required ; so that it can be taken up again, not a bit the worse for wear, and stored in the office till next winter. After considerable deliberation the Board has further given birth to one stn et lamp-pott, at the corner of Tay and Kelvin srreets, which, in point of design, carries one back to the dark ages, and, not teing put up straight, has an inebriated appearance. By the Aldinga, Mr. Davies, the well-known engineer of the firm of Davies and Clark, has returned to the Province. Our readers will remember that this gentleman is the patentee of a wooden railway on an entirely new and very economical plan. Mr. Davies has shipped in Geelong a locomotive built expressly for this kind of railway ; it will probably arrive in Southland in the course of a week. We believe that for a very small sum a sufficient length of rails might be laid down in order to thoroughly test the merits of the scheme, and we trust that a Government which could find the needful for an expensive and utterly useless baulkway on the North Road may think it woith while to provide the funds for an experiment which, if successful, may lead to the construction of a line of permanent service to the Province. The growing importance of Southland is beginning to attract the attention of shipowners ; — a correspondent in Melbourne informs us that the fine steamer Gothenburg is going into the trade between that port and the Bluff, and also that there is a prospect of another steamer being laid on in the spring.

ekceived. Letters. News. 6385 11,467 Begistered Letters 89 despatched. Letters. Newp. 7418 3271 Registered Letters 159

Quarter ended Quarter ended EECEIVED. 30th June, 30th June, 18G3. 1862. t Let " News. et - News. tera. ters. From beyond the Colony ... 9933 16,917 2137 3227 Do. Inland, N.Z... 8507 7842 3064 4133 Totals .. 18,440 24,759 5201 7360 Registered Letters. 201 Quarter ended Quarter ended despatched. 30th Juno, 30th June, 1863. 1862. I !£. New-. J£ News. To beyond the Colony ... 14,299 6819 2590 1059 Do. Inland, N.Z... 6901 3763 2807 985 Totals ... 21,200 10,582 5397 2044 Registered Letters. 514 .. 152