The Invercargill Times. FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 1863.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 85, 28 August 1863, Page 2

The Invercargill Times. FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 1863.

Most of our readers probably saw the notice which appeared in this paper on Tuesday regarding the Town Board election, which will take place to-mor-row. It is to be hoped, for the credit of Invercargill, that twelve really useful men will come forward and give their services for the public good. Some few of the difficulties which our citizens have had to contend with, have been fairly grappled with by the old Board, but an immense amount of work still remains to be done, and the future prosperity of the town very much depends on the men who will be elected. Every one can appreciate the benefit which has arisen from the forming of the side walks, — a work which should without delay be attended to in several other streets. Business ha 3 from that very simple process received a grea impetus, but the principal matter to which the Town Board will have to direct its attention, must of necessity be the making of the , streets. With a traffic increasing every month in a manner which only finds a parallel in the great Dunedin rush, we have not one single bit of good road iv the province, unless indeed we make an exception of some spots where the natural features of the, country obviate altogether the necessity of road making. The country roads and the streets of the town are about equal in their depth of filth.- and scarce a day passes without some unfortunate carter having to regret in strong language the occurrence of an accident to his team. We are certainly not speaking too strongly when we say, that there is not

ptfrfet iJ§fpJ t<w!^ft&]^^^|^u^ f|i| mo|t?y|(frlor|M|h |p J^llajnd . #tfjsJjgt.^ |Ts|| c^M^X^et^ T|y- j drayowners'^and infrre |l|i^fieial. for the wheelwright than p^^rpad%^y, ( ? What induces a crovvd of eager colonists -to spend the whole day "at" th = c post-office corner, siive the excitement of half-hourly 'accidents to- waggons' and carts ? We ask for the thorough - : fare, and^we^ are directed to a chaos of mire arid broken 1 boughs of trees! This is not creditable to the capital of a rising Province ; — this has driven away from Invercar^ill many, useful settlers. It.mayjiot have beeft in the power of the old regime to do better, I , they had so much thrown on their - hands at once ; still, public opinion seems to have tried and found them guilty, and their sway has, not been accompanied with the blessings of the community. It is no purpose or wish of ours to abuse them now that their sands of office are nearly run out, but yet we cannot help saying, that it is a . pity they were unable to make a bet er job of "the streets of Invercargill ; a pity if the M'Arthur's, Garthwaite's, &c , shall, have no better epitaph than "They strove lon<; and faithfully how not to do it." Passing from the old with a simple sic transit to the new Board, we have only to hope that they will learn from the mistakes of others, and speedily endow the town with streets which may raise Invercargill from the position of the laughing-stock of adjacent Provinces.

The subject of New Zealand flax, as a commercial staple, has so long and so hopelessly occupied the attention of inventive geniuses and newspaper writers that it has almost become a joke. If a man has, by misfortune or folly, been reduced to what is popularly termed " his last legs," he is recommended to restore his shattered fortunes by the discovery of a process whereby hemp and cordage may be produced from New Zealand flax, equal in marketable value to the article exported from Russia. If a journalist can, in the length and breadth of politics, accidents, and offences, see no food for brain or pen, a refuge is presented to him in the flax. Phormium tenax has for long been, as an article of export or revenue, a pleasing delusion ; and so it might have continued to the end of time, were it not that it has latterly engaged the attention of clever men in the home country, who, with more leisure and scientific facilities than are afforded to the inhabitants of a colony, have worked, experimented, and apparently at length hit upon a plan whereby it may, when manufactured, be marketable at about £33 per ton. The direct discovery is said to have been made by a Colonel Nicoile. and, as is usual in the metropolis, no sooner made than bought up by a Joint Stock Company, which announces itself to the world as "The New Zealand Flax, Hemp, and Cordage Company/ with a capital of £15,000 in 1500 shares of £10 each, of which 1000 will be offered to the public. The public, reviewing the features of the past, cannot, of course, but be sceptical when a new company offers to do that which lias so long been an impossibility. Still the perusal of the prospectus and the fact that the prepared material has received the fay. rable report of the leading British houses connected with the hemp and cordage trade, will do something towards encouraging the bJief that the Company is not a bubble, and that at last the Government will be called upon to pay the reward of £4,000 promised to the first ex porters of 100 tons merchandise, the produce of the j)hormiimi tenax. There is, too, an absence of varnish and sensation about the prospectus.— a promising of no shaking of pagoui trees — which recommend the undertaking, at any rate, to the consideration of practical men. The amount of capital required is comparatively small ; so that if nothing is gained, there is notmu«h lost. Upon this subject, and in regard to the cost of manufacture, the prospectus says : " It is the intention of the promoters to limit the amount of capital to be employed in the first operations of the Company to £3,000. After the arrival and disposal in England of the first consignment of merchandise, it is not improbable that no further call upon the shareholders will be necessary, as the Company will become entitled to a reward of £4,000. The cost of manufacture has been carefully considered, and taking as the basis of calculation the average rates of freight from New Zealand to London, and the present cost o{ labour in that colony, there remains a large margin for profit." Really, the enterprise is so modestly put forward, and its results, if successful, will add so much to the prosperity of the colony, that pecuniary co-operation in the matter of the 1,000 shares, would seem on the part of colonists from a mercantile point of view to be wise, and on the ground of esprit de pays, almost a duty. So far as we have been able to learn, the matter has not yet been officially launched in New Zealand, but that it will shortly be so, we have no doubt. When the time arrives, it will surely be received with that favor which its ostensible double merits have Jiule less than a right to demand, and surely the distrust which failure in other instances has engendered, should not deny a clear stage to a new scheme of promised The production of flax has always been esteemed a great advantage ! to every country. In England, in 1783, bounties were even paid for its cultivation; and since the days when first planted by Act of Parliament, in 1533, flax and hemp have ioeen esteemed nearly in the light of a natioual good. The \

okrotfgh hem^afe^e^l in tli^^cprdage i /w%%a^y proncfunce \j& Iv^d Sm nu oa^l^lTl \\ | Nltw ZealanSliaving^tlie potfSr/shoulcP participate in the valuable results of trade in this article is therefore truly \tlvejpower is apparently offered ; by ;> the? Which -We tnay' Mention-. ;is.Qne;Qf ; lirDited.;,li.abiil,ity. .^^ ,;,,/. „.„ ! Ithas s beoh state'rl'"by^omeHhat the depth of water would not permit the R.M.S.S. Gothenburg to fulfil thegcontractmade by her owners, and get into the, New, River. In ,consequence of these statements official soundings were taken, and i^ has been ascertained that there is ample! depth for her in the New River;; ;TJp to a. late hour last night the Gothenburg had not arrived. We understand that the amount for which Mr Davies has contracted to construct the first division of the Bluff and Invercargill Railway, is £35,000. ■ ■ ; A foot raci took place .yesterday between thn "Syclney.lSrative" l and the " w akatip Stranger," for £50 a side at one hundred yards. The " Wakatip Stranger," is reported to have won at a canter/ > The well known, actor and ex legialator Mr Coppin has returned to Melbourne, after a by no means successful theatrical campaign. The Victorian Government Gazette publishes, the following " Brigade Oi-dur" — interesting as the first identification of an oflieer ot the blood royal with the volunteer defence forco of the colonies : — " The Priuce of Wales Victorian Volunteer Tight Horse.— Brigade Order.— Tha ColonelCommandant has received the commands of his Excellency the Governor to intimate to the volunteer force that his Royal -Highness the Prince of , Wales has been pleased, to signify his approval or the V. V. Light Horse prefixing his name toafc designation. In compliance with the above notice, the V. V. Light Horse will in future be designated as " The Prince of Wales Victoriaa Volunteer Light Horse." The wild reports in regard to New .Zealand occurrences circulated in tho homo country can be somewhat realised by the perusal of the following extract from an English newspaper, the Midland Free Press :— " A private letter, dated; Auckland, January 31, says : — ' We had Auckland burnt down to the ground. Such a sight you never saw is your life. The damage dove is said to be about £1,000,000. Tae (ire laste I for ton days, notwithstanding firo ongiues aiiii all that could be done. But it is a good thing, for there is an act passed that no more wooden houses are to go up. So people are compelled to put up brick and stone,which will make it look quite a different place.' " The New Groat Britain having been admitted to Pratique, the majority of the passengers c:itue lip to town on Wednesday in the Aphrasia. Troops to tho number of 210 men have been ent (from Hobart Town to the scene of hostilities in Auckland, under the command of Major Kagar, leaving only thirty men for tho protection oi Tasmania. A fine seal was captured the other day on the beach at Dunedin. Tho finder obtained 5£ gallons of oil from tbe blubber. Stute of the Giol for tho week ending 27th August, 1803 : — Sentenced to hard labour, 11; imprisonment only, 1: under remand, 1 ; debtors, '2; lunatics, 1 ; total, 10. Received during the week, 7; discharged daring the wouk, 7. Professor Bennett Clay and his Marionettes continue- to attract good houses to Murdoch's Concert Hall, Tay Street. The ■weather has latterly exhibited more than the fickleness ascribed to women. We had last to record a snow and hail storm, now it is sunshine and spring warmth. The last three days have been actually enjoyable — iry overhead and underfoot. For a week there have been no mud casuslties, and it has been possible to get as far as the Jetty unsplashed. "Xesterday, pedestrians were no longer solitary units in the 'streets, and the passengers by the New Grest Britain were wandering everywhere in open-mouthed wonder. A new Code of Regulations for the Police Force ofSuutlitanrl, hud been prepared by Mr Weldon and was, we understand, yesterday submitted to his Honor f.»r approval. The new regulations are based upon Australian and Now Zealand manualsj with such additions as the particular circumstances of the Province demand. Upon approval, they will be printed in a book form, an 1 each ollijor and constable will bo furnished with a eopv. The English Opera Company, who have for some timo past have been gratifying. In verear-r ill and Riverton audiences left for Dunodin per William Miskin on Wednesday last. We understand that the Company is no more to exist as a C .inpany^ partnership having been dissolved. Mr S nail, it is said, goes toSyrinny, Madame Carandini Co Hubarfc Town, «nd Mr Wliyte will return to Invercargill in about a fortnight, to accept a musical engagement offered to him by the proprietor of a new Sinking Hall. — For the same singing hall, we believe that the services of Miss Emma Stanley, as a vocalist, have been enlisted. The successful tenderer for the lighting and keeping in Kerosene, tho Street Lamps for the nest six months, has undertaken the contract for £8 8s per lamp. A few " drunks" and breaches of the peace made up the police list before the Resident Migistrato's Court yesterday. The Civil list has been very light since »ur last issue. Litigants arid lawyers appear to [liave a fondness for Monday — on that day of the week, Counsel " has yet to learn" and " apprehends there is no case" to an 'unlimited extent. The Daily Telegraph has the following astronomical " Local : '" — A very beautiful sight was presented yesterday evening, when an occultation of the planet Jupiter by the Moon occurred under very favorable cicumstances for its observation. After sunset, the close proximity of the planet to the moon attracted much attention, the air being at the time very clear and the whole disc of the moon visible ; the greater part of it being at this period of the lunar month unilluminated, except by the reflected light from the Earth. As the two orbs came into closer conjunction, Jupiter appeared as if about to be impaled by one of the horns of the Young Moon, and the whole effect was one of the most beautiful that we ever witnessed among the varied wonders of the Heavens. The haze which rose as the evening shades deepened, obscured somewhat the darker portion of the satellite, and just before the occultation took place, it seemed impossible for an observer to avoid tlu idea that the planet was not absolutely passing before the Moon instead of being so vastly behind it in. the depths of our system. The final conjunction and consequent obscuration occurred about 23 minutes past 6 o'clock, the planet passing behind the dark limb of the Moon at its eastern border." In consequence of a memorial by tho residents, to the Town Board, footpaths are about to be made iv tho inhabited portions ot Kelvin and Esk-strcets, We happen to have) seen the memorial ; it exhibits some marvellous things in autographs — one iv especial, composed of a series of spear-heads, reminds the curious iv those matters of Aztee picture writing. Tay-streot is now almost paved throughout w.ith wo)den gratings. The apertures beings still unfilled with sand, are found inconvenient by ladies — the small boot-heel of "ye period," haviug a tendency to slick iu'tha interstices.

t||rfpijpt> lioltpe^i^cj^ha^ciraelbi^'Tigry goO^ |piß|turne^up|it|s|it^jfs| ||jsou|h *|fe|u|d<| f.;ev.ety enquiryv/'.^reJ *erq^natite^ol find^|pMiy£ k|pf |r%r4ffs^toiors|£^i|iif Pajitnors is^iol^ifficij^^ 'Invercargill,' where they seeia'fo be brett^in-the air. Thursday was a gala day -on board the New "'tir'rat-'BriVajif^ her.captain, a gentleman well known and respected herte,.' Captain Trader. The bride, with her husband, left the Bluff in one of Cpbb and Co.'d coaches on Wedfiesiltiy for" Tnverc'Srgillj'wliere'' theyiHtendspendingrtlieHorieymoon. j