The Southland Times. THURSDAY, OCT. 27, 1864.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 64, 27 October 1864, Page 2

The Southland Times. THURSDAY, OCT. 27, 1864.

The Provincial Government Gazette of the 20th instant contains a report by Mr. Dundas, the consulting engineer, on the present state of the railways in progress in Southland. Whatever may have been the instructions Mr. Dtjndas received about the kind of information required, the report is unsatisfactory and incomplete. The public would like to know a great deal more. about the railways than they can learri from this document, and are disappointed that from a quarter, whence so much might reasonably be expected, so little is forthcoming. We do not say that the labors of Mr. Dundas are valueless ; it is, of course, very interesting to learn how much of such a cutting has been excavated, and how much of such an embankment has been constructed ; and a general report on the progress of the railways would necessarily let us into the secret ; but for this purpose, and also for telling us the depth of water at the Campbelltown and Mokomoko jetties, and the present price of cartage to the Lake via Invercargill, the services of a consulting railway engineer were not necessary. All of our readers must have from time to time heard rumors asrainst the stability of the embankments on the Bluff and Invercargill Kailway. They must have heard it whispered that, when completed according to specification, some portions of these embankments are almost certain to be washed' away or- considerably damaged by the action of the sea. When Mr. Takltox addressed the electors of Invercargill the other night, at the Theatre Eoyal, his feelings nearly overcame him as he expatiated on the waste of public money on the Bluff Eailway. Independently of his opposition to the idea of railways "in Southland at present, on account of the unfortunate state of the Provincial Exchequer, Mr. Taelto:n- complained of the manner in which the Bluff Eailway is being constructed. He said it was not the mere expenditure of the money that he objected to, biit that the material— the earth— employed was the worst that could be found. He said that sOine of the embankments were being constructed of sand, where good firm soil was at hand, and being thrown away ; and, whilst he assured his audience that he wished to blame no one, he groaned aloud at the thought that the people should be so imposed on. We took decason to remark on that portion of Mr. Tahltok's speech that it would; perhaps, have been better had he not expressed himself so strongly on the manner in which the railways were being, made, seeing that, not being a professional man, much weight could not justly be given to' his -opinion ; his strictures may, /nevertheless, have been quite correct, and the report of the consulting engineer should have either substantiated the charges or shown them to be unfounded.- Perhaps it is intended^ tobY understood'' by theU silence of; i .the report on the subject that everything is going on swimmingly-— ,that both the plan and the execution is faultless, and that^engineers and contractors ,hay,e done their duty. * v lf "all this M is to bo takenfor granted, it in,, not the usual practice. One short sentence, though even that" ,\voulcl not .have -been altogether _ '■ facfcbiy, might have done nutcK^id set the public mind at rest % „ All, that; we learn Mm Mi^:DtioA^6#:^is part oMutff subject, is that sand has been used in several places for ballast, and that "where

•" this has "been done, the contractor •will " have to substitute gravel or other pro- " per ballasting material." To run briefly through Mr. Dumas' report is all that is necessary, and many of our town readers, are already acquainted with the principal facts it contains. "We are told that vessels of. perhaps 400 "tons"; Jrurden, can cpnie > the Moko- # moko pier, in a depth qf/15 feet; low water, spring tides'^ ajtid matHhe depth of water alongside the wharf at "Bluff "HaK" bor, is 12 feet,- dbwJjyateXrsprin^tides. -The report then touches "on -the present usual method of conveying Tgoods from the Bluff to Invercargiil — by lightersT— and the price per tonis said to be 12s. ' -vFe' are \ next reminded of the importance .pf the railways as tending to; place, the -Lake^ ti-ade in the hands of Southland mer-ehanl-s. Of the guage employed Mr. D uTTOAS'says-^-" The BluiF line" is being " constructed of the standard English " guageof 4 feet -8i inches, with rails 72- --" lbs. to theyard. The G-reat ; Northern ',' Bailway is being laid .with" wooden " rails in accordance with Mr. Davies' " patent ; should" the necessity arise, "a light iron rail may be laid: form- " ing a line of continuous bearing, " resting on a substantial sub-structure." That portion of the Bluff Eailway, frpm the Greenhills to Campbelltown,. a distance, of five arid a half milesj is v being constructed by Messrs. Eoss and Aldkich. The earth-works in this contract are approaching completion. There are only about 140 yards, of embankment, of twelve or thirteen feet in height, to be finished ; a small portion ©f No. 9 cutting to be brought to the formation level ) a little more excavating in. cutting No. S ; and about eighty yards of the Greenhills rock cutting, where a depth of four or five feet remains to come away. The permanent way has been laid for about a third of the length of his cortract. On Mr. Davies' contract — from Grreenhills to Invercargill, and the Mokomoko branch, about fourteen and three-quarters miles — the bridges and culverts have been completed, with the exception of the " deck planking," and the earth- works are in a forward state. At the rock cutting at Grreenhills, in this contract, about ninety i yards remain to be taken down to the 1 formation level. Pour or five hundred yards of embankment of moderate height I etill have to be constructed. About four and a quarter miles on Mr. Davies' contract have been ballasted, and the remain- ! ing material can be obtained from the i excavations necessary to complete the ! line. The permanent way has been laid on about one-third of the contract. On the Bluff line, " the whole of the plant " and rolling stock has been delivered ; " the locomotive engines, carriages and " waggons are being put together, and " may in a very few weeks be in condition " for traffic." On the Northern Railway, the principal portion of the earth-work has been completed, and all the bridges and culvei'ts, with the exception of deck-planking the fornier. The ballastiug has been commenced at both Winton and Invercargill. Mr. Tarltox alluded to the quality of the wooden sleepefs used 011 this line ; but Mr. Dundas says nothing of them, either good or bad. The fault, if any, of not having the sort of timber originally contemplated, does not rest with the contractor. In- our opening remarks, we had no intention of expressing an opinion as to the manner in which the railway works are beiug carried out ; we only drew attention to Mr. Duxdas' omission, thinking that, after what Mr. Tahlton and others have said, it would have been better had the consulting engineer expressed a definite opinion on the subject. It must be a matter of deep regret to all who have the interest of the Province at heart, that the money is not at present forthcoming to make these railways remunerative. The sfceady extension of the goldfields to the south of Otago, more especially in the vicinity of the NokOmai and the growing importance of the jjastural and agricultural interests, give assurance that, when completed, our railways would soon become a source of income to the Province It will be observed that Mr. C. E. Button has, for private reasons, relinquished his candidature for a seat in the New Provincial Council, as one of the members for Invercargill. Several photographic views of the triumphal arch over Esk-street were taken yesterday afternoon by Mr. Ross, photographer, Arcade ; so that in a few days he will be able to supply these elegant mementos of the Railway Opening Celebration Day, which, doubtless, will be highly prized by not a few of our citizens. The secretary has called a meeting of the members of the Mechanics' Institute, to be held in the Lecture Hall on Friday evening next,, at half-past seven o'clock, when a revised code of rules will be submitted for approval, new trustees elected, and other business of importance transacted. The committee urgently request the attendance of all members on this occasion. The first meeting for - drill of the members of the Invercargill Naval Brigade, will take place thisniorning at six o'clock, in front of the Marine Hotel, Jetty-street. Mr. Wilson, lately of H.M. steam sloop " Victoria," who has been appointed Drill Inspector and officer, pro. tern, will be present to put the men through the initiatory "steps. The memorial- to the Governor, praying that their services .might be accepted, has been signed by about sixty-five men, and duly for-warded-to. Auckland. » r One of the two fellows who committed the asBliUlt On the sexton of the cemetery oji the X>unedin Road, bji ;.tho evening of Saturday last, was brought up before! the Magistrates' Conrfc- yesterday. -The evidence for the prosecution having been gone into, the ' counsel for the accused ad-, vised him to plead "guilty." ' He wa3 sentenced to onemonth's imprispnment, the .magistrate- rcrnarkhig that. it was a case of a "most stupid, ,brutal,..and. unprovoked assaults, and administering a wholesome caution to him concerning" his future behaviour. f ' ' < - Those who take an interest in the conversion of our famous. indigenous plant, thepJiormluMtenax,into an article of commerce, will be glad to; learn that by the last mail from Europe, intelligence was received that the samples ot^ prepared flax r scnt home a few months ago, are .woyth £60 per ton. This news ought certainly to excite renewed ■attention to : piis" subject/ One advantage over/ ordihary flax- which our native plant possesses : is that it does - nofc, when, prepai-ed, reguivo to be bleached; as does, the other; and this circumstance, of course.^ddß to, its cpmmerciiil ' valuo, as a consiuerableifem" of thte ex penditureCus ually /incurred in the manufacturo of flax into tho various fabrics vrould bo entirely saved.

'A race for £5 a aide, arising out of th« contest for the Men's Hurdle Race, at the Makarewa, on Tuesday, came off on the cricket ground, yesterday afternoon, in the presence of between one and two hundred spectators. ' The' competitors were Stoploton and Simmonds, -who came in first and second afc Tuesday's race, and the distance was 200 yards, -over eight hurdles, each 3 feet id height. -After- one false start, a good start was. effected,, but, as before, Stapleton * proved himself' too much for his opponent, arid came in the ''winning-'man".'-"' ' Simmonds stnick the second^ hurdle and stumbledj butinstantlYrecoveredhim~eelf,_and even gained upon Stapleton, who, however^ was evidently merely measuring the strength of his ad versat'y, .'frequently looking r over his shoulder to watch lv's progress. 'As 'will; be seenfrpm the.-: advertisement. r in another column, the ball to celebrate the "People's" •Openingi of the Oreti Itailway," (which was un"avbiuably postponed in consequence of circuin-' stances entirely beyond, the control of the Com--mittee of Management) will come off to-night, in the Theatre Koyal.> Those ;,v.isitors who paid for ticket's" of "admission on Tuesday" night, "have received checks, which, of course, -will entitle them to free admission this evening. A large number of tickets have been disposed of, - andit is aiitici"pated that the affair will be a brilliant success. The Theatre has been beautifully decorated for the occasion, and presents really a most pleasing, fresh, and gay appearance. Of course, those ladies and . gentlemen who intended gracing the ball-room with their presence on Tuesday evening, : are fully expected to overlook, under the circumstances, any. slight inconvenience they may have suffered, f and : that they will extend their iiidulgene? ftp. the action of the committee in thus postponing the " wind-up " to the celebration festivities in honor of the opening of the first railway in the Province from, the, one evening to the other. .