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Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 95, 30 September 1863, Page 2

Thevaluable reportof the Engineer to the Town Board, published in a late issue, will be fresh in the minds of our readers. In relation to the same, a few explanatory remarks may be judicious. The Town Board in their advertisement of clause 52, call the attention of the public to the means by which can be obtained one grated footpath complete, in any street, by the application of two-thirds of the proprietors in the required form ; where both sides of the street combine in this application, the yearly rate to which the proprietors render themselves liable, in payment of this footpath, would amount, for about four years, to Is. sd. per foot run of the sectional frontage to the street ; at the end of this period the footpath would be paid for, and the rate would cease to be levied. The increase to the value of property in the streets by the construction of such, footpaths, will be so evidently in excess of the outlay, that the advantage of obtaining their immediate construction by the method provided in the clause of the ordinanpe advertised, need n.oi be djlated or. Bj

,his report, tho Engineer recommends,' as^an inducement .for the combination of the whole street in the required application, that a sixteen foot roadway of t a thoioughly durable character, should be constructed in the . centre of every street for which such- an application is made, and that such application shall be considered by the Board as a *est of the position of the street with regard to I futm-e progress, and that the roadway shall.taere^' We, be formed " proportionedly to and mconttection with these .footpaths." If the public fail to avail itself of the opportunity to which iiheir, attenr J tion is called by tho action of tbeTown Board, in | advertising the clause referred, to J the Town | Board cannot be blamed, if next winter renders town sect qns againmacceesible; an^, as the season during which such work can be economically ex- I ecuted, has already commenced, there is no time I to be lost by those desiring to secure ft footpath and roadway to their street. It * to be hoped, that proprietors in each street will immediately call a meeting of their fellowproprietors, and by the required majority, vote the application for tho footpath, and present it, properly drawn up and signed, to the Town Board, in order that it may take action in the matter, and if this be done with the energy that both public benefit and private interest should dictate, and in time for tho Town Board to mate the necessary arrangements, it may be anticipated that by next winter, insiead of being kneo-deep and ankle-deep in mud, j pedestrians, drays, and even carriages will be ! able to traverse the whole town in comfort and j ■security. ! The Wakatip Mail of the 23rd, give 3 the fol- | .lowing report of the weather at Queenstown ; — | "The weather during the past week has been ! changeable in the extreme, the characteristics of i Matfch, May, and St. Swithin's prevailing ly j (urns. 'Following a night of boisterous blowing, appears a morning of beautiful sunshine, and calm and genial wo ather, which is succeeded bei fore evening again, by a pouring shower, deepen- j ing as the night advances into a storm of rain i and furious gusts of wind $ and -so on as before. Fortunately, no damage has been done by the , I elements, us yet, either by the wind or rain. The j tents still stand, tough as ever, and the Shotover is still far from another flood. Ml things considered, we may claim to have had a milder winter j than in any other part of Otago:; and the symptoms I recorded above are hailed as the sure advent of summer." The Hobart Town Mercury of 4th September, i under the heading, " Rogues in Grain," -states l that a case has just been brought under its notice which is likely to afford employment to the law* i yers, No names nre disclosed, but the case is put !by that journal in the following terms . — " A merchant of very high standing in Launee^ton purchases a quantity of wheat by sample, in that town, at tho full market price, and has it shipped to Hobart Town, where it is sold to one of our most, respeelable citizens, who has a contract with the Commissariat, and delivers a portion of the cargo to that department, in fulfilment of the contract. On an examination of what was delivered, by the officer in charge, suspicion was thrown on the whole of the cargo, and the result is that a very large portion of it was found totally unfit for human food. "We have a sample now leprous, and the least we can say of it is, thai we should not like to have it ground into flour for our tnble. Others speak, of it moi-e freely, Kn& } no doubt, with perfect justice, as a sample of smutty damaged wheat, which appears to have been washed before it was put on board, and to have been heated on the short voyage round from Launceston to Hobart Town, so much so, indoed, as to have imperilled the safety of the ship in which it was brought by ignition, if the voyage had beeD a protracted one. At any rate, the article is totally unmerchantable, and it hardly rould have been less so, when it was put on board." The last of the volunteers for Auckland left Melbourne in tho Golden Age oti the 21st inst. The total force embarked from Victoria was 932 men, and 14 officers. Of these, the percentage of drilled men was thirty-five; of married men, nine; tho average' age was twenty-seven; and height, 5 ft 7\ in. An English paper states that Mr Charles Kean, in the absence of a clergyman, has undertaken the duties of chaplain to the Champion of the Seas, on her voyage to Melbourne, with, however, the stipulation that he shall not be called upon to marry, christen, or bury any of his fellow passengers during the transitMunicipal affairs do not progress. Twice, within a week, a meeting of the Town Board has lapsed from want of a quorum. On STonday afternoon, there were only present Messrs Beaven, Garthwaite, Clarke, and Hay. How is Invercargill to be habitable, if they, to whom its welfare is confided, stop at home, whiffing the pipe of domesticitj', instead of attending to the duties 3 which they ought not to have undertaken, unless they saw their way to discharge them. It is scarcely fair to those members who always attend regularly, that they should have to take an obligatory constitutional to the far end of the town twice a week, and be compelled to pass half-an-hour | in the cheerful contemplation of their finger nails, or the damp copies of the Town Bjard Ordinance, 1863, with the invariable result — Nil. This is one j more particular, in which there is room for the j Town Board, to reform. ! We observe that the DunedinVErickct Match Committee are in treaty with the agent in Melbourne for the All England Eleven, in order to bring about a visit to Otago of the celebrated team. The sum of two thousand pounds and travelling expenses are demanded by the agent, and a meeting has been convened in Dunedin, with a view to raising the amount. The Presbytery of Otago held its usual quarterly meeting within the Church of Tokomairiro, on the 16th inst. The Rev. A. H. Stobo, of Invercargill. was present as Moderator. Mr. Stobo brought under the consideration of the Presbyter}', the need which Southland had for more Clergymen, and requested permission to send for three ministers to officiate in this province. The expenses of the passage to be paid by Southland By night, there have been lately provided by persons who have a taste for pyrotechnics in general, and bush clearing in particular, some very effective suburban illuminations, which have f»i\'en rise to a great many false alarms of fire. It would not be unwise were the kindlsrs to bear in mind a Ittte more, the powers possessed by the high winds with which we are at present visited, of communicating flame, and^ sowing about sparks broadcast. The inflammable wooden houses would be only too glad of an excuse for a regular good blaze. We are indebted to Captain Young, of the. barque India, for copies of Tasinanian papers to the 19th instant. By the report of the police court proceeding? of yesterday, we arc glad to observe, that the Kesident Magistrate has gone in determinedly for the [ abatement of nuisances. The warm season is safe to bring with it typhoid, if premises about town are suffered to revel in filth, and to counteract this, stringent measures are necessary. The stern political economical principle of " the greatest happiness of the greatest number " can alone be carried into effect by the punishment of the far, whose joy is dirt The mulcted miy, in the meantime, grumble ; but in the long ruu they will recognise the propriety of the law — whose strong arm has made itself temporarily inconvenient to them,

If the public of Inrercargill, or their supposed representatives — the Town Board— arc- really anxious to possess an efficient fire-engine, they -will not have long to wait for an opportvmity,of elding so. By reference to our advertising colanwis it will Ibe seen tkat a private firm are importing a complete machine, with all the latest improvements, which will be submitted for public trial two days after landing from the Craigfevar. The'engine, it ia said^ will throw a jet of water 50 feet high, and if the trial is at all satisfactory, no time should be lost incoming to an arrangement with its present proprietors. Crowds continue to frequent the Criterion Siaging Hall. • Miss Emma Stanley's popularity is still in tbe ascendant. Her saucy little songs command unfailing applause, andlier pas create very loud expressions, in fact, wild shouts of approval. Mr Lcoman's-etentorian lungs have been heard lately to great admiratioD, and the comical Mr Lockyer's cockney personations Eeem always 1 to please. Mr DriscolPs hornpipes 'were last night justly encored. Tlie Theatre abcufc to 1- be built for fllrPuettelkow will be commenced next week, and finished in the course of six weeks. It will possess the customary fittings of a theatre, boxes, stalls, &c.j and Melbourne there will be a vestibule below; at which the usual young Jadie3 in curls and black silk will preside. A good deal of dissatisfaction has arisen in., Dunedin for tue'reafcon. that the passengers by the Mataura have been lauded at the station to do quarantine, though there does not exist the slightest sign of disease. j To-morrow being the fast day of fchePresbyterian Church, we understand that the Government Buildings and many of the places of business will be closed. We are iriformed that the passengers by the Helensko'have been passed by the health officer, Dr M'Clure, and that the majority of them will be brought up 'to town to-day, per s.B. Ruby. There ; is Xt length to be some show of life on the part of the Mechanic's Institute Committee. They have advertised for tenders for the erection •of a public Teadinjj-room and library.