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Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 79, 2 December 1864, Page 2

In our last issue we published a letter signed " Pbodttob," commenting strongly on the charges imposed on importers by the agents of the steamers calling at the Bluff. The Omeo and Gothenburg are particularly specified. Oar inf yariable rule with regard to letters handed to us for publication is that they must bear the real name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, but a guarantee of good faith. In the case to which ire are alluding, this was so far Complied with' that' a name and address were supplied -with the letter, but subsequently we have discovered that the signature was a forgery, and the letter intended to answer a maliciouß end! The person "vrhosb name waatued, most distinctly denies having written or authorised mj ono to

write the letter in question, and by a careful comparison of handwritings, we are quite satisfied of the truth of his statement. We have also ascertained who did. Whatever may be the charges at Bluff Harbor and the freight round to New River; it is very certain that this usurper of another's name has had no reason to complain, and has indeed been a party to some extent to those charges. Of course wo must decline, for the future to publish any complaints coming from the same source. By the last mail from the North intelligence was received by the Suparintendent that the Governor has now assented to the Bules of the invercargill Savings' Bank, and we have the pleasure of stating that that institution may be expected to be open for the transaction of business on to-morrow week, the 10th instant. From an advertisement elsewhere, 1 it "will be seen tihat. a meeting o£ the trustees is convened to take place this day, at the Savings' Bank office, Tay-street, at four o'clock. There is a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce called for this day, at three o'clock p.m., in the office of the secretary, Mr. IT. Nutter, Taystreet. A company is being formed in Invercargill for the purpose o£ thoroughly testing the auriferous character of the Nokomai goldfield. They enter upon the enterprise with languine hopes of success. It will be seen by our shipping columns that the Omeo passed the Bluff on Wednesday morning without calling, although the weather was as favourable as could possibly be desired. Seven or eight passangerß who were expecting her arrival j have to put up with the annoyance of waiting for the .Albion. The Melbourne mail and a box of gold (1000 oz.), the property of the Bank of Otago, are also detained. It has been suggested that something must have gone amiss with the machinery of the Omeo, but we see no reason for supposing that such was the case. The Otago files brought by the Wellington show that the Omeo had not her full complement of passengers, so that we are altogether in the dark as to the reason of her not calling. A fire had occurred iv Auckland by which the eoap and candle works of Messrs. Warnock were totally destroyed. The building and stock were insured for dBIVOO, but the loss is said to bo far in excess of that amount. The Invercargill Cricket Club announce that then* practice days will henceforth be " Tuesdays I and Thursdays, commencing at five p.m. on Thursday, and on Saturday at three o'clock p.m." The following is extracted from the Otago Daily \ Times of the 25th instant : — The preparation and manufacture of the phormium tenax, or native flax, is a subject which has enjoyed a great deal of attion in this Colony, and numberless attempts, attended with more or less euccess, have been made to turn the fibre to a profitable purpose. 1 We paid a visit the other day to the Flax Mill a fc i Wood Haugh, a few particulars concerning which will do doubt be interesting to our readers. The mill itself is situated in the Water of Leith Valley, to the left of the road from Dunedin to Port Chalmers, and about a mile from the Water of Lcitli Bridge. The mill, which is built of corrugated iron, is of considerable size, and is fitted up with various machines for the treatment of the flax, which are being driven by a steam engine. A rope-walk is attached to the mill, where the fibre, after being prepared, is spun and twisted into varieties of rope. Tho flax leaves are procured iv the immediate vicinity of the city, and are carted to the mill, where they undergo a process which is both simple and effective. The leaves, in their green state, are placed under a set of stampers in a long trough, the stampers being shod with grooved iron plates, which fall on plates similarly grooved placed at the bottom of the trough. These stampei'3 are worked by revolving cams, which raise and drop them at a speed sufficient to secure rapidity and regularity. The effect of this stamping process is to crush and soften the glutinous substance of the leaves, and to prepare them more readily to take the pressure they are afterwards subjected to between fluted rollers. After leaving the stampers, the leaves, which were stiff and firm, are limp, and split up into longitudinal sections. They are then passed between fluted iron rollers, and subjected to a high pressure, this process having the effect of still further liberating the gummy matter and dividing the leaves. After passing through the fluted rollers, the leaves are put through the smooth iron rollers and squeezed powerfully, so as to exclude the gelatinous substance. The fibre, after having passed through these rollers, ia almost clear of the resinous coating, and presents a flaxy appearance, and with some little further preparation and drying, is ready for the heckler. It is then steeped in a solution of caustic ley, which still further liberates the gum and improves its color. After steeping in this solution for a short time, the fibre is washed and dried, and is then ready for use. After being heckled, or combed over sharp steel pins to straighten the fibres and reduce them to the requisite fineness, the flax is taken to the rope walk, where it is spun and twisted into rope. The works are in the occupation of Mr. Honeyman, who appears to have devoted a good deal of attention to the construction and improvement of the machinery employed. The process we have described is much less laborious and costly than many modes we have witnessed, and for the preparation of fibre suitable for rope, appears to be effective. Still, there are many obvious defects which Mr. Honeyman feels confident in being able to remove, and he is constantly discovering some means of improving the efficiency of his machinery. The rope made from the fibre prepared at this mill is of very fair quality, and as the fibre takes tar freely, tho manufacture of ship cordage is likely to become a branch of the undertaking. The quantity of flax-leaves required to produce one ton of fibre is about four tons and a-half, tho difference being the waste that occurs in the process. We were glad to learn that there is a good demand for the rope, and Mr. Honeymar. has received a liberal offer of orders from Dunedin; merchants when he has completed his arrangements for making ship's cordage. It is to be hoped the undertaking will reward the skill and enterprise of its conductors, whose courtesy in showing us the various processes, and giving us information, we take tin's opportunity of acknowledging." The Nelson correspondent of the Otago Daily Times, writing"oa the 22nd ultimo, has the following; — "There has again arrived cheering news from our Buller (West Coast) district. ' Two diggers 'arrived thence on 12th of this "month, bringing with them as their earnings during but a few ixionfcha at the I/yell Creek, 21$ ounces of gold.

among which, they glaiddened our eye by the sight of Borne nuggets, -which of course makes us firmlybelieve that all the plums iiave not yet been taken out of the pudding-j but the news has not caused; any stir.'' I suppose our gold field musfc"waiif" until all others have been scratched over before, they again attract any number of diggers. Bat in showing, that, we really do possess mineral wealth of no mean order, I should also inform you that Motupipi, a small place, situate within Blind Bay, and close to Nelson, has just yielded a mosi; excellent coal for household purposes, and I think for our local steamers and furnaces. A local firm tried them for steam purposes," and the^following is their report :— Having tried these coals for our | steam-engine, we can speak with confidence of their value, and although we cannot at present under-, take to say that they are quite equal to Newcastle (N.S.W.) coals for steam purposes, for the consumption is rather greater, yet these I coals being pnly about two-thirds the price of Newcastle coals, they are more economical, while they otherwise answer exceedingly well. We found no' difficulty in getting up steam with them." ■;■ . . . '.■'..'■... A warrant has been ■ issued for the arrest of William Stewart, captain of the Aphrasia steamer, lately reported as wrecked at : the Bay of Islands. Captain Stewart is accused of scuttling her. The Otago Daily . Tillies of 29th Nov. says :— "The names of the captain and crew of the p.s. Aphrasia arrested for combining to wreck that vessel, were, William Stewart, Thomas Gteary, John Grant M'Neill, and James Williams. They were apprehended by the Auckland armed police, on a wawant issued by the Resident Magistrate at the | Bay of Islands, on the charge, " that on oi- about J the second and third days o£ November instant, at a place called Kioiuki, in the said province, or on the high seas, they did unlawfully, maliciously, and feloniously damage the steam vessel Aphrasia, with intent thereby to destroy the said vessel, or to render the said vessel useless, contrary to the statute in that case made aud provided." On the application of the Commissioner they were remanded to the Bay of Islands.