DOMESTIC.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 203, 17 January 1866, Page 3

DOMESTIC.

Pursuant to advertisement, a meeting was convened at the Theatre Royal on evening of Dec. 29. The object was to awaken public attention to the languishing condition of the Fire Brigade, both as regards men and money. The mectmg unfortunately lapsed, through the apathy displayed by the public. Only a few persons attended. It is much to be regretted that so necessary and useful a body does not receive the cordial support of all classes of our citizens. It is only too often that by a display of indifference in the organisation, and reluctance to come forward and actively participate in a most necessary public duty, — to Decome members of fire brigade companies — that the spread of incendiarism and most of the calamitious fires are attributable ; indeed, it has become quite apparent that it' a properly equipped and numerous fire brigade existeu m Invercargid a couple of years ago, most of the disastrous conflagrations which have from time to time spread ruin and de-olation around, might have been avoided. We therefore call upon our citizens to come forward and prevent similar occurrences by uniting and forming a strong fire brigade. If the brigade becomes extinct through waut of public support, as it at present seems likely, it will be a lasting disgrace to the people of Invercargill. We are sorry to learn that a misuuderstanding has arisen among the members of the Invercargid Dramatic Club, which will probably lead to its dissolution. Certain of the members having recentfy advertised a performance, which seems to have been unsanctioned by the Club, has induced many of those who disapprove of the proceeding to resign. It is much to be regretted that this disruption should have occurred. The services of the Ciub have not only been a public benefit, but seemed to have enjoyed universal support, aud its marked success has been mainly attributable to the select character of its membership, and the judicious intervals that have | occurred between each performance. We have always been pleased to observe how much their efforts have hitherto been appreciated, and trust that a compromise may yet be effected, which will ' prevent the discontinuance of the amusements ' which the Club has so plentifully afforded. ' The Otago Times of the 23rd ult. has the following : — " We believe that a new company, entitled the English, Australian, and New Zealand Marine insurance Company, is about being formed. The capital is fixed at £1,000,000, and the company being started purely by colonial enterprise, has fair olaiin for support. We understand ihat a larga number of shares have already been applied for in Dunedin. The prospectus will shortly be laid before the public." It will be seen by our advertising columns that Mr. Charles Rous Marten, of Ryal Bush, has issued an address to the electors of Riverton, offering himself as a candidate for a seat in the House of itepresentatives for that district. We merely draw attention to the fact, witnout offering any remarks of our own, as at present we do not intend to discuss the merits of any candidate. The Nelson Colonist, a well-informed paper, gives the following political gossip : — We have long known that Dr. Featherstone, the Superintendent of Wellington, has been in agreement with the policy to which Mr. Stafford has fully committed himself; and that His Honor was opposed to the course of expenditure and lack of financial basis which marked the career of the Weld Ministry. We learn from private sources that a considerable change will very very shortly come over the tone of the Wellington politicans, and that many who are opposed or appear to be opposed to Mr. Stafford "will declare for him ; for it is now pretty well understood that Dr. Featherston is prepared to give to Mr. Stafford all the powerful support which he can call into requisition. Tbis will be only what we some time since predicted woidd result from a free discussion and consideaation of the doings and condition of the Weld Ministry, namely, that^ the more fully that Ministry's policy and proceedings were discussed, and the financial results considered, the more unsound and unstable would they undoubtedly prove to be, and the more clearly would the public see and understand their true nature, and a greater majority in favor of Mr. Stafford will, we believe, be secured than even' his own friends at present anticipate. We are glad to learn that the health of His Honor the Superintendent, who has for some time past been suffering greatly, is somewhat improved. He is still extremely weak, and, under the most favourable circumstances, upwarJs of a month must elapse before he will be sufficiently convalescent to leave his bed,

A meeting of settlers was recently held at Ryal Bush, to consider the necessity of calling the attention of the Government to the high fares chargeable on the Oreti Hallway and to protest again the closing of the line for traffic. The following resolutions were unanimously adopted : — That the settlers have seen with regret that, in consequence of the non adoption of their recommended reductions of fares and freights, the railway has failed to pay, and is therefore likely to be stopped. The settlers believe that even now, were these recommended reductions adopted on. one day in the week — Saturday — and the times of the trains altered, to suit the public convenience, the railway would in time pay its expenses ; and they still strongly urge this point on the consideration of the Government. They would suggest as the most suitable hours the following, viz., from Invercargill, at 9 a.m. aud 5 p.m. 5 from Makerwa at 10 a.m. and ' 6 !"p.r_., Saturdays. " They wish to bring to the notice of Government the fact, that this year's crop of wheat in the New River district alone ha 3 been estimated by bompetent judges at 10.000 bushels, the whole of which must be conveyed to Invercargill to be ground, and then back to the farms Probably 20,000 bushels of oats will require to be carried to market and a large quantity ol potatoes and other produce. " They would point out that the traffic would be greatly increased by the above "alterations, as it would becoms customary for the country settlers to personalle take in their produce to market on Saturday, and the railway would be generally used for this purpose. "They would notice the disastrous consequences that may result from discontinuing to work the Railways — a step which would amount to a public proclamation that Southland railways will not pay. " They think it right in usticeto themselves, to call atention to the fact that the railway was NOT constructed for their especial benefit, but for the good of the Province at large. Had it been finished it would have been the channel by which produce from all parts of Southland would have been conveyed to the Lake. To the settlers, however, it has at present been only an injury, cutting up their farms, and deteriorating the runs for cattle while the roads, which would have amply snfficed for theie requirements, wa9 wholly destroyed by the excessive loads permitted to be taken by the Lake carriers, and reduced to a condition to which the settlers' traffic would not have brought it in half a century. They think therefore, they have some claim on the Government for such use as can be made of the railway in its present unfinished state." Under the heading of a " Straightforward Candidate," the Nelson Examiner has the following : — Mr. Lance, one of the candidates in the field for the Superintendency of Canterbury, appears to be quite prepared to answer any questions which may be put to him. At a recent meeting, an elector said he wishsd to hear some statements regarding Mr. Lance's private character cleared up. One rumour was to the effect that, at the storming of Delhi, he was the foremost in the loot, and had actually plundered a jeweller's shop of £20,000. He wished to be informed if these statements were true. (Hisses and cheers.) Mr. Lance said he had very great pleasure in answering those questions. He begged to assure the questioner that he (Mr Lance) had never been at Delhi in his life. (Laughter.) But he presumed that probably the gentleman who asked him the question meant to allude to the final storming of Lucknow. He was there. (Loud cheers.) That city had been given up by Sir Colin Campbell to plunder for twenty-four hours ; and he (Mr. Lance), who was a staff-officer at the time, was sent with orders to an officer engaged in the very front of the action. On his way he had to pass through a square, where he suddenly came upon a large body of the Sepoy army, who received him with a volley of bullets, when he, in company with a soldier of the 90th Regiment, the only .other English soldier present, took refuse in the first house which afforded shelter, and which happened to be a treasure house. The soldier broke open a box, which contained pearls and other valuables. He (Mr. Lance) filled his pockets. (Laughter). He did not hesitate to tell them, and left the building very soon afterwards, with what he supposed to be a very large fortune. A prize af ent, who was by no means a friend of his, was appointed, and reported the circumstance to Lord Ciyde, who said, "If Lieutenant Lance has got the money, lam deuced glad of it ; and I wish every officer in the army had the same." (Laughter and cheers). It was supposed to amonnt to £100,000; the amount he received was only £1,800. (Laughter). With respect to the time he left the service, it was some time after the mutiny was over. He had a bad accident, and was sent to England on medical leave. The climate was too cold, so he came to New Zealand, and it was after coming here that he sent in his resignation. (Cheers). On morning of Dec. 28, a horse belonging to Mr. Ludlam, express waggon proprietor, was discovered down a well at the back of an untenanted shop in Tay-street, formerly occupied by Mr. Johnson, coufectioner, and although the animal was alive when' first seen, and every effort made to extricate it from its perilous position, it died before it could be released, ie appears that the coverin 0- of the well was rotten, and the horse having strayed in the locality, in passing over it fell in. This is not the first accident of a similar nature that has occurred lately in the town, and it is highly necessary that owners of property, wilh these traps upon them, should be compelled either to fill them up or cover them more securely. An accident, which providentially was' not attended with any serious result, occurred the other day afternoon in Tay-street. A man having the charge of an American waggon belonging to Mr. Blackwood, of the firm o<" Cochran, Granger and Blackwood, incautiously left the horse uncontrolled, while he put a box into the vehicle. The horse, it appears, took fright, and running at a terrific pace down Tay-street, one of the wheels came oft" at the corner of the street at the turning into Dee-streot. Several attempts were made to check the animal, which only resulted in his turning round and dragging the vehicle along the in Dee-street and up Tay-street, until he arrived near the English Church, when he left the waggon behind him a complete wreck, and galloped home to Ms stable. Beyond the injury to the waggon we are glad to say no damage was done. On the 4th inst., a most atrocious outrage was attempted by a scoundrel who has unfortunately not yet been apprehended. A little girl of some eight or nine years of age, in passing through that portion of the Riverton road, known as the corderoy, or Waikivi bush cutting, was assailed by a fellow who, but for the opportune arrival of a horseman, might have accomplished his vilhnous purpose. The child on reaching home informed her parents, who reside on the Town Belt, of what had occurred, and no time was lost in placing the police in possession of the particulars together with the description of the offender. There is good reason to believe he will be speedily brought to justice. The members of the Fire Brigade made an inspection of the various wells in town lately. It was found, with but few except tions, that they are well supplied with water ; but in the course of the examination it was discovered that the walls of one of them in Dee-street had given way, to such on extent, as to require immediate repairing. To avoid possibly somaccident occurring, we trust that steps will be at once taken to have the matter brought under the notice of the Government, and the necessary repairs executed without delay. A report has reached us of a melancholy accident at Stewart's Island, by which Mr. W. G. Atkinson, formerly assistant to Mr. Clark, the chemist, has come to an untimely death. It appears from the scanty information we can gather that the unfortunate gentleman, who recently left Invercargill in the Flying Scud, for a trip tc Stewart's Island, went on to the rocks somewhere on the coast, for the purpose, as is supposed, ol either fishing or bathing, and having been overtaken and surrounded by the tide, and being unable to swim, he was drowned. His body was discovered on the beach by some of tlie inhabv teats of the island and there huriedt \

We have to acknowledge the receipt of £1 Is from Chas. B. Kingman, Esq., towards the relief of the sufferers in Palestine. Our readers will recollect that in our issue of Friday, sth, we mentioned an outrage alleged to have "been committed on a girl at the Waikiv Bush Cutting by some person unknown. The police, with great promptitude, at once proceeded to inquire into the affair, with the result of finding her story to be a complete tissue of contradictions. Not only were no footmarks to be found at the part of the bush she pointed out as where her assailant fled on the approach of a horseman, but she had previously shown a place, fully threequarters of a mile away, to a boy in the employment of Mr. Marten, of Waikivi. In answer to the boy, she distinctly said the man ran into the flax ; — to the police, she stated he went into the bush. Further, she first described the man as " tall, with a long moustache ;" and afterwards, to the police, as " not a very tall man, about 5 feet 7 or 8 inches, with small, dark moustache, and only sixteen or eighteen years of age." Every assistance was rendered the police by the settlers in the neighborhood, more particularly by Messrs. Marten and T. Royd. We would suggest, in the most friendly manner possible, the propriety of our contemporary — if only to keep up appearances — sending a representative to at least pretend to take notes dv -ing the transaction of public business in town, such as meetings, inquests, &c. At the same time, we beg to assure him he is heartily welcome to use his scissors upon the columns of The Times, for the extraction of important or interesting matter on the very morning of publication, and without acknowledgment." By an advertisement in another column, it is notified that the sitting bf the Supreme Court at Invercargill has been postponed to the 22nd inst. Early on Tuesday, 9th inst., the S.S. Star of the Evening, which sailed from the Bluff on the 4th inst., for the Grey River, returned to port. Captain Turner reports having experienced heavy head winds during the whole of the passage, accompanied with rain, while the sea ran so high that he was compelled to turn back, with the intention of going north about. During the stay of the vessel at the Bluff, Captain Turner was entertained at the Royal Hotel by the whole of tbe saloon and steerage passengers. Mr. Levy, who occupied the chair, in an appropriate address, expressed the very high estimation in which they all held Captain Turner, for the manner in which he had extricated them from the perils of the voyage, as also from his efforts to render them comfortable while on board. Mr Levy closed his remarks by handing Captain Turner a testimonial, signed by the passengers, and a purse containing 30 sovereigns subscribed by them. During the quarter ending 31st December, the number of immigrants to the Province of Otago was 1652. Of that number, 1330 were males, and 343 females ; 123 males and 118 females arriving from the United Kingdom ; 228 males and 24 females from the Australasian Colonies ; and 970 males and 151 females from other New Zealand ports. 1780 persons sadedfrom Dunedin, consisting of 305 males and 101 females to the Australian Colonies ; 1104 males and 265 females to New Zealand ports ; and 3 males and 2 females to Chili. The Oamaru Times accounts for the stoppage of telegraphic communication with the North It says : — One day last week the telegraph posts in the bed of Waitaki River were carried away by the flood — of course also breaking the wires and stopping aU communication with the North Steps have been taken for replacing them, but the. cost will doubtless be considerable ; and it is to be hoped that the repairs will be made in such a manner that a like accident will not occur again. The cost of replacing the posts cannot be com-pai-ed to the inconvenience occasioned to the public, both north and south, and it is only further aggravated by the thought that three or four week's revenue is lost to the General Government in consequence of these posts being erected on the cheapest, and consequently least secure plan. We are informed that a Hke mishap occured about the same time in the bed of the Rakaia in Canterbury." The Canterbury Synagogue have collected about £40, for the relief of their suffering brethren at Jerusalem, afflicted by the ravages of cholera. The Otago Daily Times says : — There was a narrow escape from accident on the South Road near Green Island, on Saturday. Mr Rattray, of the firm of Dalgety, Rattray and Co., was driving some friends in his carriage to the East Taieri, and when within a short distance from Green Island, two men were seen in the centre of the road sparring at one another. They desisted as the carriage approached, but one of them made a spring at the off horse and caught him by the rein. The horses reared and fell, but sprang up acain, when both horses bolted, dragging the man a short distance until he let go his hold and fell on the the road. Strange to say, no person was seriously injured, as the occupants of the carriage are known to have arrived at their destination all safe. Such reckless conduct on a public road is very reprehensible, and it can only be supposed that the person who was guilty of it was under the influence of drink at the time. A grand amateur concert and dramatic entertainment in aid of the Ladies' Benevolent Society was given at the Theatre Royal on Monday evening, J an. 1. We were much gratified to observe that a well-filled house rewarded the efforts of the amateurs in their kind endeavors to forward the objects of an institution which has relieved much distress, and, in many instances, been productive of lasting benefit to the recipients of its bounty. In _h_ concerted pieces well merited applause was repeated!;' bestowed. The entertainment closed with the" comedietta of " Delicate Ground" in which many of the points were excellently rendered, and was throughout a complete success. New Year's day being a public holiday the Resident Magistrate's Court was closed. Next day the Court was occupied with the hearing of a charge of an unnatural offence alleged to have been committed by a man named Torrence Galloway on the morning of the Ist inst. The evidence adduced in the case, which is totally unfit for publication, was sufficient to warrant the Resident Magistrate in committing the accused for trial at the next criminal sittings of the Supreme Court. A sad case of death by alcoholic poisoning oc? curred on Friday, sth inst., at the police station. The deceased, J. A. Wild, was lately employed as . clerk by Mr. Binney, auctioneer, of Dee-street. From what had transpired, it would appear that the unfortunate being drank an excessive quantity . of raw spirits, and was shortly afterwards found in almost a comatose state. He was at once conveyed to the police station, and Mr. Monckton, the ' provincial surgeon, sent for. The most stringent and energetic remedies were at once applied to arouse the patient from the state of coma, but without success. An inquest was held on the i body on Saturday, and a verdict returned of — i " Died by alcohohc intoxication." A man named Michael Carrol was brought to 1 the Hospital on the Ist inst., suffering from a simple fracture of the tibia and fibula of the right ' leg. The injury was the result of en accident occurring while riding a plough horse along a sidling at the Mataura. A sudden stumble caused ' the animal to fall with its whole weight on the 1 man. Assistance was fortunately at hand, and the sufferer was as soon as possible brought to town. On inquiry at the Hospital last evening we • learned the patient was progressing rapidly to- . wards recovery. William Stuart, Esq., having resigned the ofiice , of Provincial Treasurer, John Blacklock, Esq., the I recently-elected member for the Invercargill , district, has acoepted the appointment. $ An Amateur dramatic performance in aid of f the fundi* of the Ladies' Benevolent Society will be ■ given at the Theatre Royal on the 24th current. ■ The programme is attractive and judging by the i uooess attending, the kindly efforts of the ladies • and gentlemen engaged on the laat occasion there will h$ a. bumper house,

It is whispered in political circles m Wellington says the Nelson Colonist, that Mr. Stafford has advised the Governor to lead the Colonial force at Wanganui in an endeavor to compel the delivery or effect the capture of the murderers bf Mr. Broughton, and others, whom the rebels have killed in cold blood. Such is the intention, according to the information received from wellinformed quarters ; but we believe no authoritative statement has been made on the subject. We understand that his Honor the Superintendent is slowly but surely recovering from indisposition. His medical advisers give favorable j accounts of the patient's progress.