SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 83, 16 December 1864, Page 3

SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

The month has been an nnusuaUy qvueS one, * tlie depression in commercial circles being felt everywhere. Another fire has occurred in Deestreet, which in a very short time destroyed a large amount of property. A full report is given elsewhere. 'It having .been found that the exhibits from Southland, for the New Zealand Exhibition, weve likelyto be very few in number, it was determined by the local committee to hand them over to the Grovernrnent to be forwarded to Duuedin. Mr. Baker, the Deputy Chief Surveyor of the Pror vince of Southland; kindly undertook, at the request of Dr. Menzies, acting Superintendent, the necessary arrangements. It has been notified by the Secretary of the Exhibition that one Court in the building has been set apart for the joint contributions of Maryborough, Taranaki, Wellington, Hawkes' Bay, and Southland. Annexed is a list of the exhibits from Southland. The maps mentioned are very exact and beautifully executed. ■ EXHIBITS. FROM SOUTHLAND. Ooa B. Belnecker, Mount Beaumont ; limestone, C. Basstian, Aparima; burnt lime, 0. Basstian ; limestone, J. Hill, Winfcon ; burnt lime, J. HiH, Win ton ; sample of bricks, J. Hill, Waikivi ; sample of di-ainrng tiles, J. Hill, Waikivi; twins made from New Zealand flax, J. Scott, JnvevcargiU ; tsvo oil paintings, W. Biuzer, Invfevcavgfll ; one colonial made saddle, J. Gel" lafcly, Invereargill ; one case ale and poiver, 0..5. Button and Co., .lnvercargill; one sample wheat, one sample oats, one sample ryegcass, J. C. Woodford, Mabel District ; one sample early oats, Q-eo. Daw son, Invercargill Hundred ; model of a plough, D. AndersOT, Invercargill ; topographical map of Southland, engraved map of the Hundreds,lnvevcargill; model of the Railway Station, Invercargill ; model of an artificial saJmon breeding pond ; photograph of the Oreti Bridge, Invercargill ; photograph of the Railway/ Station, Invercargill ; specimens of fossil shells from- the G-overnment quarry at Wmtonrt-Pro-vincial Government, as a private exhibitor. - A meeting of the Chamber of Commerce took place in the oißce of the secretary, on the 2nd instant. The ioHowing members of committee were present :— Messrs. "W. H. Oalder, Jabez Hay, A. W. 1 Grilles', Ch'as. 'Rout, C. S. 'Button, and i l . Nutter, the Secretary. The following new members were admitted :— Messrs. G-. Mueller, A. T. Adamson, G-.W. Bihney, H. B. Monkman, and Thomas BrodrickV: 1 The. secretary read ; to. :the .meeting a communication he had received from the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce at Dunedin, enclosing copy of a memorial which had been sent by that body to the Superintendent of Otago, ' with reference to* the continuance of the subsidy for the steam mail service between Melbourne and the Southern ports. The secretary was requested to obtain particulars relative to this mail service, and to draft a memorial to the Colonial Secretary, copies whereof would also be forwarded to. the two members for the County of Wallace hi ' the House of Kepresentafcives. , A meeting of tlie trustees or the InvercargiU i Savings' Bank took place" in the banks' premises, | Tay-sfciecfe, on the 2nd instant. There were prescn fc — Messrs. C. Rout, Squires, Harnett, Henderson, Hay, and the manager. Mr. Eout occupied the chair. The assent of his Excellency Sir George G'-ey, to the Eules and Eegulations was read to the -meeting, ' and > the manager was instructed io procure the necessary pass books, forms, &c, for the conducting the business of the Bank, which is to be opened on Saturday first, the 10th instant, due notice of such opening being given. Messrs. Henderson and Squires were appointed a sub-committee to arrange with some one of the banks in town as io Lhe terms on which the account bfj.be' Savings' Bank would bo taken, and to report to a meeting to be "'hold to-morrow aflevnoon, at the Bank. A t the meeting held yesterday (sth inst.) at the Thcatro Royal, 'a -great many of those present, our own reporter amongst the number, did not hear the Chairman put the question, whether there were any against the resolution ? The Chairman, however, assured us -that Bo did p\xt the question ; but the general impression is, that, had it been known to the meeting, a lai-go mimbci-, if not .a." majority, would liavo negatived the resolution. Wo are very far from attributing any .favoritism to the Chairman, but the confusion at « 1,1-jo time rendered it difficult to hear what ho said, ■ even when close to him. • - The Southland Provincial Government Gazette of the 28th ultimo, contains an .elaborate report, by Mr. Healc, dated July 19, 1864, on the surveys ■ ok' ihe Province ; also a report; by Iho D.opuLy Chief Surveyor, Mr. Baiter, 'ilio Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands reports to His Honor tho Superintendent oh tho sales of vnsto lauds of tho Crown.'from'thc-lst October,, 1868, to the 80th September, 1864.' Wo quote tlie following.: — " From tho return marked A. your Honor will

li3o that tlitire i have have bebn B^SBfar Sif. "SBpescheated from the ; , Orowii , during the ; y6&r, the salp of which haa realised dE68.088 14s. 9d., or an average of nearly jSI 'la. lOd. per acre. A great deal of this land is of choice description, such as the Mataura and Aparima Hundreds, and did ; not, in my opinion, realise any thine like its legitimate value. That in the Mataura Hundred averaged 255., in the Aparima' Hundred, 265. per acre respectively-; That this land . did not fetph a higher price was owing, I believe, to the general commercial depression prevailing at the time the 'Moots were opened for. application. -Had it been poseiblo to open to the public either of these two Hundreds in the preceding year, I feel convinced it would; have averaged three, pounds per jacre; The highest price realised for a section, was in the Mataura Hundred 40s: "per acre, and in the Aparima 555." On the morning ;of the Bth inst., about half-past 1 2, as Sergeant 3?orster was passing through Deestreet, he observed fire in the "TToali's Ark" yard." On enfeeHng he found the tilt of a waggon j-belon ig-V" ing to a man named Morris Currin, in flames. -He gave : the alaiun at once,. and. approached the waggon, when he found Currin asleep j and the : blanlrets covering, him- on fire. The': sergeant pulled the.man.out, before he .had received.: any. injury, his whiskers alone being singed. The inmates of the house were promptly' in attendancej and assisted in removing the waggon : (which by. that timb-Hadtaten fife) so' as 'to save 'tKe adjoining one,; which stood in close proximity.; to .the: stable. The tilt ignited by means of a candle which Curvin had not properly extinguished pre■yious to going to sleep. ■-■ ';■ '••.";■■- '• ,:r ;,; - , The monthly general meeting of the Invercargill ITire Brigade was held on Wednesday, (7th i.nst.,) at half -past sei en. There were about seventy members present. The minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed. The meeting adopfed'tbe ■rules; and- regulations which had been drawn up by the committee, and they, were ordered to be printed. A uniform was likewise decided upon. It is to consist of a red shirt and black cap with red baud. —The necessary arrangements as to its purchase was left. to. the .committee.., ...The captain, reported the purchase of the fire engine, and stated, that at preacntitwasin the hands of : Mr. ; J.iE. Davies, for repairs. There was some discussion about the purchase of an alarm bell,\and one at present in the possession, of Mr. Binney, the auctioneer, was mentioned, but nothing definite was arrived at About twenty new members were enrolled, so. that : the .full compliment' of the brigade is -rapidly being filled up. Tlie usual drill took place yesterday evening. * ". Tlie trustees of the Tnvercargill Savings' Bank met according to aclvertisenientat.^p.m; on.Wednesday C7th. inst), for the despatch of general busi-. ness. We are requested to remind ; the public thatthe Savings! \ 'Bank will be opened ;for; receiving deposits tomorrow afternoon, between the hours of five and eight. . T .'-;':-■;:?.. Since the last occasion on y/hieJi we noticed the fcusli Fires to the n or fch of tlie tqww, hiiej Lave continued to smoulder, a high wind alone being wanting to cause them to burn up with renewed vigor, and endanger the whole of Invercargill. On the 6th hist, there was a fresh breeze blowing, and towards noon immense volumes of smoke were observed rising from the town belt to the north of jGtila-street. it was at first supposed that some of the numerous huts and tents with which the outskirts of tliis part of the town are covered, had taken fire ; but on visiting the spot, we found that the mischief was confined to the bush, which is throughout choked with a dense accumulation of underwood and debris left on the ground. by sawyers and woodsplitters, and against the danger arising from which it is almost an impossibility to form any efficient safeguard. As the day advanced, the flames spread with great rapidity, a large acreage being at one time burning with fury. Through this portion of the bush Mr. Peters had constructed, at a very considerable outlay of time and money, a wooden -tramway, 'the raila being;, for the most parb, faced with light iron.. By thii means he supplied a large proportion of the firewood consumed in Invercargill. Notwithstanding very great efforts to save this property, the tramway caught fire, and being made of dry, well-seasoned stuff, burned quickly. Some hundreds of yards of it we\*e completely destroyed, and other parts of it were injured so as to render them of no further service. The proprietor had about two hundred cords of firewood split and stacked, in the vicinity, some small portion of which was likewise consumed, and should the flames continue to spread, the whole of it may be expected. to share the same fate. A small quantity of rain fell on Tuesday night and early on Wednesday inoniing, but its effect in quenching the fire was trifling, the brushwood being thoroughly dried up by the continuous hot weather. On Wednesday the wind freshened, and the flames continued to spread ; and during Wednesday night and yesterday morning fears were entertained lest some of the detached houses in the vicinity should be destroyed. We are happy to say 'that up to the time of going to pressthese fears have not been realised.- The extent of valuable bush destroyed by fire during the past month near Invercargill is very large,butthere is the consolation that the danger to the town from any future con-, flagrations is proportionately" decreased. The police, under Mr. Commissioner Weldon have been very active in using the limited means at their disposal for obtaining the mastery over the fire. The loss sustained by Mr! Peters is very considerable. . v The usual fortnightly meeting of the' Town Board was held on the Bth inst. in the.Board.Eoom, Tay-sfcreet. Members present were Messrs. Livesey, (chairman), Smith, Lumsden, Jaggers, Moffett, and Webster. The minutes of the preceding meeting'having been read -and confirmed, the Clerk read a letter from Mr. Joseph Hatch, 1 honorary secretary to the.. Invercargill Volunteer Fire Brigade, requesting the permission of -the Board, to : the formation of wa.ter- works ;■ beneath the footpaths of the town, in places to be hereafter pointed pub. Some discussion took .place on the proposed; plan; : In the absenceof sufficient^data, it -was ultimately moved by Mr. jaggers, seconded by Mr. Smith, and carried,— "That the clerk be instructed to inform the hon. sec. of the Invercargill Volunteer Eire Brigade that the Board. is desirous to co-operate in the matter referred to: in his letter, and after .consultation with its engineer,, ■will: communicate ■-its: decision.". Tlie. report .of tho committee; : appointed :to revise^tlio present; Ordinance was. received,, and, after some, slight alterations, adopted; unanimously: It was' then resolved that a deputation should wait upon Dr. Menzies, > a s; one , of the : members for the town, and request him- to take ychargo- of the proposed Amendment Bill. The rest of the business transacted possessed no features of- public interest. 'I The Provincial '■ Govermnent Gazette of : the 17th instant, contains an account of the revenue" iiTid expenditure of^,the Province for the eight moriths-ending 30th- September last; and a balance sheet of the assets and liabilities -of the Province for the financial -year ended same date. The estimated ordinary revenue; for the eight months was £98,817 3s. lid. ; the 'actual revenue was £52,297 Os. lid., the deficiency chiefly \ aiising from nonsale of , k debentu.ves,;.and a. falling pip in the Crown. Land sales, ;, and; Customs duties. This sum of |£52,29.7;95. lid., with "refunds"i on account of, railways to the extent of £104,401 175.'8 d., makes up a rtotal revenue of £106;699 757 7d^ A The:aotual expenditurejfor the > abbve-nientioned period . is set down at £143,246 lsi-sd. ; and tlie amount ivoted was £98,117 3s. lld v .v There was expended fin excess £1,943 IOsV 3d. ; : £48.996 13s. 6d..is nnexpenaed. The; ordinary expenditure (including 'a sum of -. £8,655 2s. 9d'.j unauthorised) amounted Sto:£s9jßß(t 11s. Bd.,.andi this, witli the advance! \of £80,805 4s. sd. to the Bluff and Invert ! cargill Eailway, and; £2;ss6; :^s. :to;;'the Oreti Bailway, makes a total expenditure, as before I stated, of £143y2<1€ ls' M sd. The balance sheet shows abulancc of j£55,176; 2s. 7d. of liabilities over assets. ;; Tho liabilities, ; comprising thp: un-. funded debt, loans by r banlcs, : and outstanding accounts, amount to £379,558 75. : 3d., inelMing £26,859, 125. 9d., being balance of advance by tlio Genorni Government. ■-.<'^^ The assets are as follows. :---Uhauthorißed expenditure for which legal provision is required; £8,655 2s. 9d 5 immigrant'

agent on SOfcli Juno, 1864, £^,|*94 4gv ipd.j loans to Town: Board, £9,188103. j Bluff Bs*bbi? and InvercargilL Kailway loans (1863 and 1864)$ • £180,000 ; ;Oreti Railway loani£il0,000; Bluff Harbor and Invereargill Bailway refund account, £1,455 Is. sd. ,; The liabilities, before mentioned do not include Sbutliland'a proportion (£18,000) of the New Zealand Company's debt, allocated by the Otago and Southland Public Debt Apportionment Act, 1861. The total expenditure on railways up to 30th September last is as follows :— Bluff Harbor and Inverca^gill. Eaiiway^ £160jQ0O* 16s. 10d., : 'and; Oreti "Railway^ £59,1628 :2a, ;; £&} •;■ making :atdtal-0fie219,680A19a.2d.: : ''\ h : . Q; -7 .;..-.. The gentlemen lately appointed by His Honor the Superintendent to-inqujre into and-repqrion the management of the; Provincial: Hospital, viz., I)rs. J)eolc, Grigor, Berndt, and. i -,.-Mr.-.,W l i,''-F.-Tarlton, have, submitted; ■ the following r recommendations/to His .Honor :-^(l) ; In order that the Hospital may be carried on at,a less expendi- . , tuve on tlio part of the Provincial Government, it is recommended that it be maintained by private contributions, and by a subsidy voted by the Provincial Council,.and that for this purpose the ; .provisions:pf the "Hospital Ordinance, 1863," be applied to !this. institution, and the^future management be conducted: by a committee .of .management elected by : contributors, according to 'the provisions of Rule iof the aforesaid Ordinance. Tlie Commission consider that by this -arrange- r ■. ment the Hospital wiU: be /regarded: more as a public institution than as a -provincial one, and rthatit will receive public support 1 a^d: -sympathy ■ to a- greater extent than it has hitherto done. (2) It is recommendedthat His Honor the Superintendent be requested to; lay before the, ensuing. Provincial Council the above resolution, tliaf their opinion may be taken as . Ip the .desirability of applying the provisions of tlis ' ■" "Ordinance, 1863," to the Proviiiicial Hospital. (3) It is recommended that, in the event of. the concurrence of the .Prov.mcial^.Cburicilrwifcli' the above resolution, His Honor the Superintendent do call afpublin meeting ' of tlipse'.who.'may wish to ,;, be contributors- to the fiiivisj', of this Institution, in ■order that a committee of piariagement and other officers may be electee! bY the contributors, for. : '■ the future management of -the J3pspital, according, to the provisions of" Riile 4' of the '•'Hospital Ordinance, 1863." . (4) It is; recommended that the sum of fifteen hundred pounds (£1500) be placed upon the . estimates for the ensuing year as a^provincial iC.ontributioii towards themainti-,; nance, Cofvthe. Hospital, ■ (5) It- is recommended that the Hospital bo iised only for sick , destitute : persons, and m cases of emergency. (6;) It is' recommended that the office of Besident Surgeon be for' the "present dispensed with, and that Hi's Honor ;thw '■Superintendent- do appoint some honorary medical officers, who may be willing to act, until such time as_ the future management of the Hospital niay be decided. upon. (7) It is recommended that, ;; .as .the.. Gaol and .Lunatic Asylum are not necessarily.; connected with the Hospital, and arc not generally regarded as public, but as Provincial institutions,- a Provincial, Surgeon be appointed to act as medical officer to: those institutions. . ' -. . ': The 24th ultimo was prolific in bush fire?, but the one which most attracted notice was that which raged in the North Town Belt. Early in the day. dense volumes- of 'smoke issued from the thick dead scrub which strews in profusion the whole place, and the wind, which was at first .blowing only moderately strong, gradually increased into a gale from the north, driving the smoke right over the . town. The. inhabitants now became thoroughly alarmed, and a fire-bell was tolled, which tended to further increase the excitement; Large numbers > of. people ; rushed to the scene, but the density of the smoke, coupled with the fury of the gale, left them but little hopes of being of much avail. Numbers of houses were in the direct course of the fire, and great exertions were made to carry the movables to places of safety, the poKce, under the personal superintendence: of' Mr. Commissioner lending: constant and valuable assistance. The Fire Brigade likewise turned out, but the supply of water ran short, so that the engine was of comparatively little service. ' At one o'clock the •■ fire appeared' to be at its height, and the impression made by a visit t'6 the scene was almost terrifying. t Hundreds of, peoble were to be seen rushing frantically' through the smoke — some carrying one thing, and some another ; while by far the; greater .portion, stood as silent spectators of the dismal scene, doubtless fancying how futile every effort was to stay the progress of the devouring element. AsV- the aftei*-nooir-^ore on the breeze gradually calmed: down, at the same time slightly veering from the north to north-west, and by six o'clock it was thought that little further danger need be apprehended, f Later, however, a smart breeze set in- from .the west, wMcli once more set the tall pine trees in a blaze, but now the smoke:, was .... carried in a idifierent direction, and although there "were still a considerable number of houses in the direct line of the fire, the danger to town property was greatly averted. Many, houses had very remarkable; escapes; the fire -in -many instances having burnt on every side of lihem while they remaineduntouched and safe. One house especially had an almost miraculous escape. A spark from a burning pine tree fell on the roof, which was a shingle one. The fire made' its way-through the. roof to " the calico lining, and, burning through . which, fell on the floor of the room, in which the family 7 were at the time. By the prompt application of a few bucketf uls of water the fire wasextinguished. We have only heard of one small shanty being destroyed by the fire, but, if the gale continues, there is still a great; probability of serious damage being done. Many houses are by no means safe, and the fire still lingers on the tree's and scrub from Grala to 'Yarrow streets. Another large bush fire was observed burning in the Wailrivi Bush, while yet another, and even -larger one, was seen raging furiously in the direction of Riverton. ! After the customary drill practice last night, 24th illt., the members of the Volunteer Rifle Company marched to tlie orderly room for the purpose of electing successors to Messrs. John Macdonald, lieutenant, and Mr,' Alexander Boriar, 'junior, ensign, resigned. ; At the.nnanhnous wish of the men, Captain Harvey ordered; them to pile arms, after which they , proceeded to the Prince of Wales Hotel, . Dee-street, .where '"the election, took plaec.' There was a keen contest for; the coveted posts, but at" length' the fouqwihg were declared the successful parties, viz :-^-Mr. 3?. Hamilton, lieutenant j ana Mr. Xfeit Taqsruson, ensign, Tkis ; done,, they walked back to the orderly room, where they resumed arms, and Captain; : Harvey addressed the company, cdmmentirig " strbrigly on the paucity of attendance on ordinary parade nights, while, wlien any business wasi""tojbe/trahsacted, many who were .scarcely ever present at drill turned oiit. We believe attendance at drill is to -be more strictly enforced than it has Iritherfco been. • • "The following is the state of Her- Majesty's -■ G-abl;atlnVercargill, for tlie week ending Monday,; the 28th November, 1864 :— Sentenced to hard labor, 12 males, 3 females ; penal servitude; 5; j imprisonment only, : 1; debtors, 1 2 j lunatics, 7 ; on remand (Resident Magistrate's Coiu't), 1.; iTotai, 28 males, 3 femalesl Received^during tbTe woek 1 malo; dischargocl during tlie vree^ 4 males. Deereaso for the week, 3. , About^six months ago a firm in this town sent, home to Great Britain samples of , fibre . prepared , Jfrom the Newi Zealaudxflax plantv; with a^ view, ,tb" ■having its market value; ascertained." -The i replies: received arc not favomblol Mr. James Pat ersb n, f of Heathfield Works, puudee,^reports ttiat ?'^S25 a ton is the most that coultTb^; made out of it." ! Messrs. Marshall and Co., fla^spinnersj; of Leeda, is)ate : tliat " wa have on previous occasions; tried .! ! the material, and hxid that it does jciot! possess the- .•: : charactefistics of flax, and;that it is not possible . it 6 aHapt it; to pur p'urpbseso : ; It ; 'might probably i ; be * made available^ by some of the jute spinners, at i ;- a price ;in , prpportipn to . theii*, usual material," i Messrs. Renshawv of* Manchester, spy it .is not • raitable to their bu^eyspffin^ Spinning. ,; Mr. I Briggs thinks if. it ; had;; net, beon> spoilt 5 by" being re^der^; tender: by ble^ r iiig, it might do for ropemakhig as ife is, ; it is ■ hardly Mrong enough for, the purpoa^;" and he 1 further Questions: *' whether; tho price to be ob- ' tain^d Yraild be a aufllcient; inducement to grov

li-p »' So f« the* *ep«U i» tot wwuwfkl. but we cannot think it wit* to Meept the dfettyft of home manufacturer* v final, at the Mm* Udm ignoring the opinion of practical man in tbtt country. They have been the first to suggest to us that it is policy on the part, of the COniumMf in Great Britain to name a low figure for thj article, as they sre under the impression that it can be prepared at a comparatively trifling oort, and therefore that the margin of profit would preponderate too much in favor of the "producer. Quotations formerly received from Britain rang* froza. £30 to £60 per ton, the latter figure being quoted Tor hand-prepared fibre. - A practical rope* maker assures us that for colored twines the New Zealand fibre is certainly before the Italian, which is almost exclusively used in this trade, and which cannot be purchased under 7d. or Bd. per Ib. in London. To the spinner the New Zealand article likewise offers this advantage, ».«., that there is » one-fourth larger yield of fibre than from the Russian ; and it is also lighter, consequently■weight for weight there is more of it. For the re* fuse after heckling, our informant states that he has paid Id., per lb. for greatly inferior material in the home country. At the same time he frankly in- . forms us that in his opinion it will not answer for fine spinning purposes. We are in hopes that by comparing the samples sent to the Exhibition, and examining the different modes of preparation, that a system may be discovered whereby the practical utility of' bur famous indigenous plant, as an article of commerce, -will bo satisfactorily - demonstrated, and at once taken advantage or. The members of the Invercargill Tire Brigade held a meeting in the/TJnion-Hotel, Tay-street, on the night of the 28th ultimo, for the consideration and adoption of rules. Captain M'Culloch oecu* pied the chair. The rules of the last brigade were read over to the meeting, and passed with a few amendments. . ■ A company is being formed in Invercargill for the purpose of thoroughly testing the auriferous character of the Nokomai goldfield. They enter upon the enterprise with sanguine hopes of success. __ " ' : The following is the state of H. M. gaol at'lnvercargill for the -.veek ending Monday, the 12th inst. : — Sentenced to penal servitude, males, 5 s hard labor, males, 12, females, 2 ; imprisonment only, male?, ] ; lunatics, 8 ; on remand, Resident Magistrate's Court, males, 1 ; committed for trial before Supreme Court, males, 1 ; total, males, 28, females, 2. Received during the week', males, 11,; ' females, 1. Discharged during the week, males, 8, females, 2. Increase for week, 2. The Invereargill'Savings Bant was opened according to advertisement on" Saturday, 10th inst., last, between- the hours of five and eight, under the management of Mr. Archibald Bonar, sen. The amount deposited was £14 l£s. 6d., in various small sums, the lowest 25., and the highest £10. "We have no doubt that as the Savings' Bank becomes known its great utility will be appreciated by the public. A general meeting of the members of the Southland Volunteer Cavalry Corps was held on Saturday, 10th inst., at the Southland Club Hotel, for the purpose of electing officers, and for the de"--spntch of business of a miscellaneous character. There were thirty-one members present. — — Armstrong, Esq., was voted in the chair. It will • be recollected that at a former meeting a sub-com-mittee was appointed for the purpose of drawing up a code of rtiles and regulations for the guidance of the corps. This they" had done but from some cause or other were absent from the meeting on Saturday, thereby causing a good deal of delay and annoyance. - Mr. Carey, one of the sub-committee aliuded to, was unavoidably absent in Dunedin.but the other gentlemen should have been present. It was proposed by Mr. Pelling, and seconded by Mr. Brown, that the rules be read, and a long converstion took place as to 'their suitability. They were not regularly adopted, although, there appeared to be a general 3mpression" tHat- fcKey- would answer the object - fo*.which they were intended; It _ was; afterwards proposed by Mr. Hare, and . seconded by Mr. Pelling, that Mr. Carey be appointed commanding officer of the -corps.-"- The motion was -carried without a dissentient voice. Mr. Pelling then proposed, and Mr. Swale seconded the motion, that four members of Council be elected for each division. This was also carried unanimously. It was filially proposed by Mr. Smith, that the meeting do adjourn until Mr. Carey's return, and that the date be advertised. ' This was seconded by Mr. Pelling, and carried. -It is to be regretted that the members of the sub-committee were not present at the meeting so that fall information might have been afforded to the meeting of the reasons for the various rules, a good attendance of country members "not being at all times obtainable. We believe that a very efficient cavalry •corps can be formed in . Southland, if only the necessary time and attention be given to the preliminary stops. The following is an amended list of the amount of insurance on goods and premises destroyed by the late fire in Dee-street, together with the offices liable :

Upwards of 2100 oz. of gold were taken down to the Bluff on Saturday, 10th inst., to be shipped, per Grothenburg, for Melbourne.,

Premises G-oodi Australian, £ • £ Empire H0te1............ 250> 150 Nevr Zealand, H. E. Osbone 80 0 Southern Cr055.;....... 0 250 North British, O'Hara 0 ............... 500 Northern. Myers 4W O Royal, H.T. Ross 0 500 Liverpool and London, Osborne : 0 200 Chandler...... 300 .200 ■ O'Hara „.. 0 500 Myers 0 400 Otago Southern Cross 500 100 H. T. Ross 100 400 £1,630 £3,200