The Southland Times. TUESDAY, SEPT. 6, 1864.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 42, 6 September 1864, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, SEPT. 6, 1864.

It is so often repeated that the present is an age of progress, and so many novelties are constantly being presented to the view, that we are very apt to become, as it were, callous to the multitude of improvements going on in the civilised world. Discoveries which, a century ago would have created a furor of excitement, and events on which hang the destinies of nations, are discussed with as little interest as though they were of but very small importance. Almost every year that passes over us is stamped by some great advancement in science, and by its adaptation to the requirements of the human race. The rapid strides which have been made within the last quarter of a century in the means of communication between distant points of the globe will be the -wonder of future ages. The i railways, the ocean steamers, and last but j not least, the electric telegraph, will remain as monuments to the world of a race of giants. "Without taking into account the immense improvements which are being so frequently made in the application of the principles which guide us in the use of those two great agents, steam and the electric fluid, their extension — the mere mileage over which they hold sway — is one of the most remarkable phenomena of the present day. Europe is a perfect network of telegraphs, and fresh lines are still being proposed and carried out with fail* prospects of success. Nor are these good things confined to the older and more settled portions of the world. Already the Colonies have to a certain extent partaken of the benefits arising from the rapid transmission of intelligence, and it is not too much to

predict that in a very few years, the electric wires will pass in- one unbroken line from London to the citiesof Australia. The last mail brought us news' that the Anglo- Australian and China Telegraph, 1 Company were about to place their prospectus before the public, and the names spoken of in connection with the underI taking, -are a sufficient guarantee 1 for the efficient performance of the work they nave taken in. hand. In ' Australia itself the advisibility^ of " rumiiiig*' a ' line 'of" telegraph fro m the colonies on the south side, of the continent ' to the G-ulf of Carpentaria' 'is' 1 Being seriously -talked ofj-and -the- »ver-y- rapid manner in which -is going on, and the growing importance of the commerce between the motHer country ; and ! Australia, seems s ta; point. to the^epnclur sion .that what is, now merely talked; of will, before long, become a reality. ; To come nearer home, New Zealand cannot at -present boast of any great length of electric -telegraph.- "Wiith the exception I : 6f the' [ .line j : from punedin to Port .Chalmers,' a .distance • •of about seven miles, the work 'of, ;^.^ivate. corn/parry ; the Canterbury line connecting Lyttelton with Christchurch ; and our own line from Invercargill to Bluff" Harbor^ there are no other lines in operation in the colony. The subject, however, has not. been treated withneglect. It was in the first place proposed' to entrust the work to the various Provinces, each constructing the necessary portion within its .own boundaries, and taking the;, management of it after construction. Subsequently the G-eneral G-overnment took the matter in hand, partly owing, it is said, to the fact that the Provinces could not agree amongst themselves as to the necessary extensions and points of juncture. At the last Session of the G-eneral Assembly a sum of, we think, £75,000 was voted for telegraphic purposes, and active measures are now being taken for the construction of a line the entire length of the two Islands. The Province of Canterbury lias made over its line to the General G-overnment, and we believe 0 tago has adopted a like course. The whole of the posts will be erected between Invercargill and Diraedin, in the course of a month, and the work is being pushed a-head to the North. As far as we can gather there will be a delay caused by the want of telegraphic material. At present there is not the necessary quantity in the Colony. The Provincial G-overnment of Southland received a supply of eighty or ninety miles, a portion of which has been used in the construction of the telegt'aph to the Bluff. There is therefore a very considerable surplus on hand, but whether it is intended to apply this to the formation of a portion of the line to the Lake, or to make it over to the G-eneral G-overnment to be employed on the line to Dunedin via the East Eoad (the line they have adopted) we are not in a position to state. Speaking of the Telegraph to the Lake, it may be interesting to our readers to know that the posts for that line as far as Winton have been cut, and are now undergoing the process of rotting Iby exposure on the ground. It seems to us that Otago would, never be willing to continue a line of telegraph in this direction beyond Queenstown, or Kingston at the farthest, so that in the event of a line from Invercargill to the Lake being constructed, the Southland G-overnment would have to bear the whole expense, a thing which they will not be able to do for along time to come. To make a line to Winton, or even as far as the Mataura, at Roger's Station, would be a waste of money. The line to the Lake is, decidedly, of great importance to this Province, but whatever may be the intention of the Southland G-overnment in this matter, it is certain they have not now the money to erect the posts already on the ground. We have before said that it is the intention of the G-eneral G-overnment to run a line throughout the entire length of the Colony, and, we suppose, to make such branches and cross lines as shall from time to time appear necessary. This will not, of course, preclude any Provincial G-overnment from also constructing lines out of its own resources ; but it would be far better were the whole system placed under the hands of the G-eneral G-overnment. We would recommend that the Bluff and Invercargill line should at once be given over. If that is not done, it follows either that the General G-overnment must have a second staff of officials at Invercargill, or that the present Provincial G-overnment staff ! will have to serve two masters — a state of things which would never answer. The importance of these works can scarcely be overrated. Anything tending to diminish the distance between the seat of G-overnment and the various Provinces, and between the Provinces themselves, is a substantial gain to the whole colony. The completion of a line of telegraph throughout the length of New Zealand will strike a death-blow at the Provincial system, for it will ' remove the most weighty argument which can be adduced in favor of so many petty G-overnments, viz. — the difficulty of communication with head-quarters. The disappearance of the Provincial G-overnments and the establishment of one G-overnment for each Island, would have the happiest effect, for the cost to the governed would be very greatly reduced, and the jealousies, which now in too many cases exist between the rival settlements, would be almost entirely done ! away with.' Without, however, looking ! at the establishment of the telegraph as likely to lead to the subversion of the Provincial G-overnments, the advantage to the mercantile class, and indeed to the ; whole community, will be very great, and quite sufficient to ; warrant us in wishing for its speedy and extensive development.

We beg to remind the. members of the local committee in connection vritK the New Zealand "Exhibition that a special meeting > will, be held to-day, in the office :6f-Baß Honor the Superintendent, at four p,m. -

The business at^the^Efe'sident^Jifagistrate'ij Court yesterday pre&entfed few features of public interest, although several oases under the extended jurisdiction came' on for hearing. » Several f|ton^ards were^muleted in the usual- penalties, "andfqnelman^ who pleaded ignorance of, the law, was dlacn'arged,*the offence being for selling goods withotifra hawker's license, as required by the statutes I ' « *' N|T|bieSp.unediii^ J?t?eni«sr Star of Saturday last, says!:— " Jjasfcinight a woman, in the neighborhood of George-street, .was safely delivered, by Dr. Cowie, of a full grown female child, having 4 twQ.heads s Ui>. • f There were ■, two distinct spines, uniting in what is called the "Sacrum." The 'chesftwas.unusually^rge. We hear Drs; Hunter 'and Clutterbuct/ahd others' of the faculty who haye. |een the.:,^^^^^ an examination of, the'internal organs. may be allowed by;the pareritsfand we sincerely trust, for the sake of science, permission may be granted." It is notified .in .the Provincial, Government Gazette of -Friday last, that tnel6tninst. is appointed the .day. for. the election." of. three ..members of the Town' Board, in room bfMeßsrs. r G-.'M. K. Ckr^e r . l^> 1 ;;H.-rCalder,-;'and : --;Kennetit:v-M t lvpr, whose seats' are now vacant under' the provision* of the Town Board Ordinance. - The Dunedin correspondent of th« Bruce Ser - aid, referring to the New Zealand Exhibition building, -and. the prospects, pf - the -enterprise, says : — Our Exhibition is progressing va. a verysatisfactory,manner. < A large illuminated; clock is being' placed in one of the towers, and ; by- means of -its 'powerful •- machinery, it^ is j;said t that, the striking of the hows wffl be heard over' tiie entire city. I understand, that instead, of the undertaking proving a failure,- the' Commissioners hare on hand applications for more space than the building, affords, '^rlfcis -, their intention to annex an additional structure, the particulars of which have not. transpired;". ..,•.,,,.;<- „..;:.: The " Otagp Separation League " has just come to an! end in* Dunedin, I ' when about half-a-dozen . people assembled to witness its dissolution and to pay up deficiencies in the contributions to close the concern.^; 'f c { . fc ; .7:,.. I, 1 ; \ii '''vK-'' : We request attention to the advertisement elsewhere, calling for tenders for the removal of the engines and machinery . from the s.s. Scotia at Bluff Harbor. ' All necessary; information may be obtained from Messrs; Henderson, Bonar and Co., at the Bluff, or at the office of Messrs. Carey and Grilles, Dee-street, InvercargilL His Honor the Superintendent has appointed Mr. Robert Macaulay to,, be an inspector of cattle, in the Province of Southland, under the provisions of the "Diseased Cattle Act, 18611" It will be seen by the subjoined paragraph from the Argus of the 23rd' August,- that the strong' feeling against transportation to any part- of Australia, is still kept up : — -"The resolution adopted iast week by the Central Committee of the Anti-Transportation League, urging the necessity of immediate and earnest action on the part of the Government to prevent the continuance of transportation to any portion of Australia, was brought under the notice of the Chief Secretary yesterday, by a numerous and influential deputation. In reply, Mr. M'Culloch stated that the Government deeply regretted, to learn, from the despatch received from the. Colonial Secretary that itfwas not the intention of", the Imperial Government to discontinue transportation to Western Australia. They were prepared to take immediate action in the matter, and had,in fact,- already decided what course to adopt. It was their intention to endeavour to isolate Western Australia from the neighboring colonies and ■ from the mother country, by requiring the mail steamers to discontinue calling at King ' George's Sound or any other portion of Western Australia. A despatch to this effect would be sent, to , the home authorities by the out-going mail, and intimating that, unless this proposal is acceded to, the sum paid by Victoria towards tho cost of the mail service will be discontinued in six months. The Government were prepared to sacrifice the mail service altogether, if necessary.; It was also their intention to put in force the Influx, of Criminals' Prevention Act, and to ask Parliament, next session, to amend the act, if necessary ; and they had invited the co-operation of the "neighboring colonies in showing, by all' constitutional means, that they were determined to put an end to the continuance of the system of transportation in any shape. After the deputation had retired, a meeting of the committee was held, and it was unanimously resolved to wait on His Excellency the Governor prior to the departure of the mail, and request him, as the representative of the Crown, to explain to the Imperial authorities " the strong and unanimous feeling of the colonists upon the question- of transportation." ;Th« policy of the Government was not discussed, but will probably be taken into consideration at a future meeting." ■ Great dissatisfaction exists at Queenstown in consequence of the high price of meat. Within the last few days there has been an advance of 50 per cent. ; the present figure being from Is. to Is. 3d. per lb. We are unable to assign a reason for this sudden rise, but are inclined to attribute it to a combination on the part of the butchers, in which case it is not likely to be of long continuance. A meeting of the unemployed waa held in Geelong on the 22nd ultimo. There were only about 100 present. A Mr. Bidder gave the following statement of the handicraftsmen employed, partially employed, and wholly unemployed : — Carpenters, 50 at regular work, 50 at occasional employment, and 200 without work. Stonemasons, 30 at regular work, 40 at occasional employment, and 200 without work. Bricklayers, 40 at regular work, 50 at occasional work, and 110 out of employment. Joiners, 20 at regular work, 30 occasionally employed, and 100 without employment. Laborers, 50 regularly at work, 105 at occasional work, and 500 unemployed. It showed that, if correct, above 1,100 : men --were at that moment without work, and it was only, fair to assume that a large proportion of these were married men with families. Besides, this, number, there were several other trades, for which he reckoned 200 more, making the assumed total number of men out of work in this district alone 1,300. The WaJcatip Mail has the following paragraph in a recent issue : — " The population is largely increasing at the Head of the Lake, and the miners are penetrating into regions lately said to be uninhabitable. With the increase of population, the success is also reportsd to more than keep up, and those who have repeatedly prognosticated favorably of this new and untried country are in a fair way, to see their prophecies verified." - - It its reported, says the WaJcatip Mail, " that a very rich quartz -reef has been, discovered in the Arrow district. The prospector has refused to declare the locality, and is desirous of obtaining a large area of ground. His inquiries have been directed towards a lease, but leases are hardly supposed to apply to almost uriprospected or virgin ground." We understand that the work of levelling that portion of Esk-street at the approach to the Kailway station will shortly be proceeded with. /The necessary surveys "have already been executed. It is likewise contemplated to remove the stables which presently interfere with the appearance of the Station buildings. When this is done there will be little left undone to make our Railway Station one of the most attractive parts of the town. . . , v: We observe that Friday evening first i« fixed for the benefit and last appearance of Miss Eloiao Jiirid, a young lady who has thoroughly ingratiated herself with the theatre-going public of Invercargill. The: performances are announced to come off under distinguished patronage, and will comprise the IJoch, Leven episode of the 'history of: Mary,. Queen ; of Scots, and (by.«peeial desire) the " Bonnie Fishwife." Elsewhere we publish the parting testimonial presented by the passengers of the ship Sevilla to the captain on their arrival at Bluff Harbor from the Clyde, and also tho reply to the same from the captain. " It is very gratifying to observe 'such proofs of the respect and OBtecm on the one hand, and care and attention on the other/ which appear to have existed throughout th« voyage between ih.9 captain and paM«ng«r«,

In" Eslv-Btreet.'ye'sterday afternoon, a most determined case of- criminal asssult- was committed by a man named Ainslie, on tho person of a; female named Dobson. It" appears that he had decoyed her into an empty house»there, under preof selling some hats to her; and" on getting her inside, he closed the door, to prevent her egress by that meanß. Screams were soon heard by some persona living in the next house, and who came opportunely to the woman's assistance. As tho female intends to make an example of the fellow, the case will come on before the Resident Magistrate to-day for trial. From circumstances which have since transpired, we learn that the two had teen observed during the day walking about in company, and that the female, _no more than the man, has much .to boast of in the way of character. However, this cannot be held in any way to palliate such an outrage, and it is to be hoped that the offender may be summarily dealt ■with. The seventh of the series of winter evening lectures will be delivered this evening in' the Hall of the Mechanics' Institute by S. M. South, Esq., Bolicitor--Bubject : "Geology."' We trust to -witness a good attendance on this occasion. The subject is 'a very interesting one, and from the well-known qualifications of the lecturer, we have no doubt full justice will be done to it. We regret to intimate that a melancholy accident took; place at Harrisville, on the Great North Road, yesterday morning. About 10 o'clock a young: child, about twelvemonths old, named Mary Archey, had evidently- ; wandered from its parents' house and Mien into an open ■well which is adjacent. VLife was quite extinct •when the unfortunate : child .was found. We understand that the father was. absent at Riverton, and the mother had gone into Invercargill on some business, leaving only another, child of four years of age with its younger sister. Another child of seven years of age, on perceiving the body in the well, ran to its father, who speedily went to the spot, and discovered it floating with its face upwards. Dr. Young was then called in, and the usual* restoratives applied, but without avail. An inquest will be held on the body at the Plough Inn, at 2 o'clock to-day before Dr. Deck, the coroner. 1 After this sad event, we hope some measures may be taken for securing greater immunity from danger or death as regards these dangerous pitfalls. It is perfectly clear that children cannot be prevented from occasionally wandering to some distance from home, but the danger to be apprehended in consequence of their doing so would be very much lessened if wells of the kind referred to were covered over to prevent them prying into, or accidentally falling into them. An important public meeting was held lately at Tokomairiro, ou the subject of plsuro-pneumonia. It was convened for the purpose of taking into consideration the recommendations contained in the report of Mr Logic to the Otago Government on the spread of the disease in that Province. The meeting was a large aud influential one — many cattle owners having travelled long distances to be present. The following were the resolutions proposed and unanimously passed at the meeting, which will at once explain the difference of the opinions entertained by Mr Logic and the cattle owners on the subject: — "That this meeting views with alarm the proposal made by Mr Logic to the Government to declare the whole Province infected by pleuro-pneumonia." 2nd. "That the strongest representation by -oetition and other means be made to the Government to prevent such declaration being made." . 3rd. " That this meeting quite differs from Mr Logic' s opinion as to the impossibility of keeping imported cattle within certain limits ; and it is of opinion that were a fine even inflicted, no stray cattle would have been found beyond the limits of the infected districts." A deputation was also appointed to waitupon His Honor the Superintendent, on the subject. After severalmembers of the deputation had addressed him, His Honor is reported to have said that the had been inundated with applications to proclaim the whole Province infected, but before extending the Districts, or taking other steps, they thought it advisable to send Mr. Logic over the non-mfected Districts. When he found now that the disease had extended beyond the present proclaimed Districts, it was, however, too serious a matter to decide upon without the combined opinions of practical men ; however he thought the Maniototo should be included in the infected district. He was of opinion that the disease will not spread over the whole country, and the Government had decided not to include Tokomairiro and the Clutha Districts until actually infected, as it would be rash in tho Government to do bo. His Honor thought that after twelve months from the last known case in the district it might with safety be declared clean." After some further conversation, the system of paid inspectors seemed to be favorably entertained, Hiß Honor believing that a tax of 3d. per head would be sufficient to defray the expenses incurred. We have been favored by Mr. Robs, photographer, Arcade, with a sight of several beautifully executed stereoscopic views in and around Invercargill. They equal in every particular tho productions of artists in the mother country, where ail the newest appliances for the attainment of the most perfect pictures are always at command. In saying this, we intend no small mead of praise to Mr. Ross, who, contending with the difficulties usually experienced in colonial enterprise, has produced views which may well be placed alongside any of their class we have hitherto seen. Yesterday was rather prolific in runaway horses. In the afternoon as a dray, drawn by three horses along Dee-street neared that part opposite the post-office, one of the animals took fright and attempted to bolt doTra in the direction of Clyde-street, while the other two preferred going along Tay-street. This difference of opinion or intention ended in the frightened horse coming down rather suddenly, but, it turned out, with no serious results. As usual, a crowd soon collected on the spot, and amongst the onlookers, one man, in a tipsy state, was observed to be rather offensive in his conduct, and but for the good temper and forbearance of the constable would have been rewarded with free quarters in the lock-up for the evening. Another case occurred later in the evening. This time the animal was a little pony, with a costermonger's vehicle attached. It was observed galloping at a rattling pace along Tay-street, and as it was rather dark at the time it was not exactly ascertained whether it was under the control of any one. This being soon perceived not to be the case, some parties gave chase, but a capture was not effected till the plucky little pony had got safely into Smith't stable-yard, at the extreme end of the street. The fine locomotive (No. 2) lately imported for the line to Winton, was yesterday, for the firs time, put to regular work, being employed in drawing ballast to that portion of the railway on the Invercargill side of the Waihopai. The engine did its work capitally, and there was very little oscillation, although the permanent way has not at present been either lifted or ballasted. When those necessary operations have been performed, we have no doubt that Darie'a Patent Railway, and the engines he has placed on it, will do all that can reasonably be expected. The No. 2 engine is a very fine specimen of machinery, and all its parts seem to be in first-class working order. The line will be opened for general traffic on the third of October.

An Unexpbcted Qttabteb. — A young gentleman from the " rooral districts," who advertised "for a wife, received answers from eighteen husbands, informing him that he could have theirs. A strong-minded woman In New York was heard to remark the other day, that she would marray a man who had plenty of money, _ though he was bo ugly she had to scream every time she looked at him. She Coma) DO it Weed. — An Irishwoman, complaining to a magistrate of a person who was in the habit of throwing slops into her yard, was told, that it was a nuisance, and ought to be abated. "Bated, is it? Faitn, and I'll bate her myself, if