OTAGO.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 29, 13 January 1864, Page 3

OTAGO.

(FS©il OUZ-OWX COEEESPOSDEIfT.J : - v : r . :- ■ Dxtnedin, 9th- January. . / I beliesrethe.olclest of thB 1 ". old inhabitants" cannot citLto his recollection when so much : bad weather was experienced at this season of the year in; ©tago as we have had to put up, with of late.. We just get a glimpse of the i sun. arid feel cheered accordingly, uiy ing one ■; o the other, " This mitst be the last of it," • when a black cloud ascends abovethe liorizon, ' »nd then another and another, and waters ; cover the city as they pour down streets" : and rush intorrehts to the sea. As a natural consequence;. everything :is< stagnant is the • shape scad form of business operations. There is 'just how much sickness in Dunedin;; caused,- doubtless, _I>y so much i inclement weather, and -this' noxious exhalations, the consequence of deficient drainage, ; or, -more- correctly -speaking* of no drainage ; whatever". "We>re hopefully wishing that a member or two -of the Town Boa-rd ma.y be: shortly csirried off with typhus ; thea shall ; we greatly rejoice thereat, and bring oiirselves to beUeye that something will be done to ameliorate, the present state of things sanitary." To the evils arising from want of drainage may now be addt-done more. Lately .large quantities of provisions unfit for human pfood-have been pushed into the market and i sold. Haros. and rbacon which have fermeoled, and which ~to partake of ..is' almost deaih — tainted . meat, stinking fish, and decayed cabbages are hawked about the city at cheap ' rates, and ."bought by poor people whose i B^an.t means drives them to buy of a most I unscrupulous class of dealers/ We have : no market. .-inspector to condemn i'ood ; aifit for sale, and so rascals escape trie- punishment they deserve, while the pour are poisoned. The Omeo has just landed her passengers by the Golden Age^ l believe only fifty came altogether.^ The: numbers arriving by. each steamer are .certainly growing small by degrees and 'beautifully less, while those taking their depaiture are ratlier on the increase. You know the old saw, " The more the merrier:" the fewer the better cheer. If men cannot live here in accordance with their desites, it is better they should go cisc-

where. There will be more room for those who remain. ' ' S, The skeleton of a Maori infant discovered near Hindori by a party of prospectors was publicly exhibited on Thursday evening at the.Proyincial Hotel, and. excited the curiosity . of a large, number of parsons who paid it a •visit of inspection. It is not a " mummy," ; as it has been , described, but the skeleton of a female .child, about three years old, in a very excellent state of preservation. Similar discoveries have been made at various times, ; in differeufc paits of the Province, by shepherds, stock-riders- and settlers, without calling forth any special notice. A Monthly Medical Magazine is shortly to be published in Dunedin, under very able management. -Its pages will not be exclusively devoted to subjects interesting only to the profession; Useful hints, suggestions, Bimple remedies for ordinary diseases, and how best to prevent them, will form one of its principal features. The Supreme Court Sittings have closed without a single case — with one exception — having been tried which created the slightest interest. This was an action for crim. con., the defendant being a publican and a sinner at the Bu'nstan. The jury returned a v^r- ; diet . for damages at £500. The following particulars will show you the merits, or ■ rather, the dementa of the case: — : Mr Barton having stated the circumstances of ; the case, caljed Wiliiam Robertson, who, on being ! eworn, stated that "he was married to his wife at t Williamstown, in Victoria, in the year 1856, and i came to reside, at tlie Dunstan about two years ajjq. He knew.- Dowling tliere as proprietor of the Royal Hotel. Se (defendant) was in parfcner- • ship with- plaintiff- .in a coal mine, -and was on very friendly terms with him up to" June last, the time when this occurrence took place. He was on his way to Black's Diggings wiih stores. On the way therei'e losfc' the man servant who accompanied him, the.man being the worse of liquor. He returned to" jthe Du'nstari to look after him. It was about ten o'clock at night when he returned. Me then saw Mr Dowling sitting in bis tent with Mrs Robertson, He did not then gr> in, but went up the town, Ahqufc.an jiour afterwards- ho returned to his ; tenfc,;,-and- as -lie" came near the place he saw the light . extinguished. Plaintiff then cut open the. tent and went in, and found the defendant in bed with his wife. Plaintiff gave him a good beating, until he ran. away quite naked.- Defendant left all -hist^lothes,: with everyV thing' he J had r with hiih Vehind him". Next morning defendant sent his "partner, Mr Ryan, to the . plaintiff for his clothes, which he refused, to -give him. Shortly after, Dowlins's servant came^to hi 3 place, and asked to see Mrs Rpbertson,.whicn he would npfc permit. He saw.raapaperJ in the servant's band which he forced from him. It was \a note^addressed to Mrs Robertson, asking her to \ 'send defendant his clothes, and to let him know | when he would be able to see her. He afterwards s.*»ave defendant^ his. i. clothes at the request of the ; police, after taking a list of all the articles belongf jng to the defendant. J£j\ : ' The withess was cross-exaniined at great length by Mr Wilson, but the direct evidence was f not!in the least d^jree contradicted. ' _ *■ '■-■■'. Wilson Gray, barrister-at-law , was called on to prove that marriages- celebrated by Presbyterian Ministers are held to. .be legal. In confirmation of his Btatement-he read Act jthe? 22nd of Victoria, 24th Fcbriiary,<lßs9, byi'wbicb. 'Act all rtarriages celebrated ;by ministers of religion of every

denomination, were rendered valid aud legal. Tnis closed the case for the prosecution — Mr~ "Wilson "apoke at considerable length" on behalf of Mi. client... He, howerer, ooafinod himself principally in- seeking to obtain, at the hands of the jury, a mitigation of the damages claimed. - Mr Bartoa spoke in reply to the obsorvation^of Mr Wilson. ' His Honor in his address to the jury, explained the law of , the ewe to them. . , , ; . After a short deliberation, the jury brought in a verdict for the plaintiff for the full amount of damages claimed, £500.