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Southland Times, Volume VI, Issue 506, 2 July 1866, Page 2

On Saturday, 30fh, June, a number of gentlemen took a trip along the Bluff Uno on one of the engines, The party accordingly proceeded some distance, and it was by those ccpablo of giving an opinion, that set- E ■^tKgtandtng the great difSci'lliea that had tote I -•irerecme from the long etoppagaof the worK 7.8 lino appeared .tc be in ve?y good working t (;. 'nditich. This ia in a great measure owing to i $>&s>*&s &\ssss§& by'iM eontj-aefip*^ in eotg; ' '^Ar~>*. .ifft. - "■• : - - '. : .-•

I pleting the work Id quickly. The excurtionißtß, l after enjoying a very pleasant ride, returned to town, highly pleased with the trip, and expressed ! the mutual hope that the prosperity of Southland would be permanently and materiaUy advanced by the completion of the various lines of raUways ! throughout the Province. WhUst on this subject.,we trust that the Government wiU celebrate the opening of this fine by proclaiming aboUday, and that the auspicious occasion wUI be observed by pubHc rejoicing. .^'' We understand that the coming Drawing-room \ Entertainment is Hkely to prove a great and de- j cided success. Already many of the tickets are 1 disposed of privately. It has been resolved to open the whole of the body of the j theatre, including the pit, staUs, &c, and by sever al alterations in the general arrangement of the theatre, it is hoped to contribute to the comfort of those present. Waiters wiU be placed in several parts of the house, to supply refreshments to the audience. Carriages wUI ply during the evening from the theatre to the various parts of the town and suburbs. The most interesting scene, perhaps, wiU be the presentation of an address of esteem to Mr. Bonar, the Manager of the Savings' Bank, previous to his departure from the Province. We understand that moßt of our leading merchants wiU take part on this occasion. The prediction of our local Meteorological Observer, (Mr. Marten) which taUied with those of Saxby, have proved correct. On the evening of the 26th June the sky looked pecuhar — it was clear, but to use a nautical phrase, was bespangled with " mare's tads" not larger than a man's hand, but ominous of a comiag storm ; on the morning of the 28th the sun rose bright and cheering, but the indications of a change grac.aady became more conspicious, and in the evening a storm commenced, which continued to increase in violence, hour by hour, during the night; the wind, powerful to a degree, was accompanied by had, snow, and rain, which continued untU the morning of the 29th, when the wind luUed, and the haU and snow ceased. Up to the time of going to press, the rain continued to pour down in torrents, with intermitting heavy squaUs. From our telegraphic inteUigence it wiU be seen that one of the men arrested at Nelson some few days since as being connected with the murder of four persons proceeding to the Grey, v. hose horses were found shot dead on the roads, ha 3 confessed to having been one of the murderers of the missing men, and also of that another wliich, as yet, we have had no information. The bodies of these men have been found, and at the time of our agent sending his report, their remains were on the way to Nelson. He also confesses to the murder of Dobson, the surveyor, but there is no intimation of his body having been found. The career of this gang has been short, but of a most diaboHcai description. It is to be hoped that speedy justice wiU be awarded them. From an advertisement in another column, it will be seen that t the recently-formed Literary (society is not dead. A meeting wiU be held on Wednesday next, 4th July, to receive the report of the Committee, and elect ollice- bearers for tbe ensuing year. It is to be hoped that ail interested wiU attend. The Escort from the Pahai diggings has arrived, it left the Pahai on the 28th June. It brings down 251 ozs. of gold, aud tiergeaufc Morton (the officer in charge) reports that the miners are doing well, and that tiiey are holding their gold for a higher price. He considers that there are several nuudred ounces of gold in the hands of the miners. It has long beeu known that several parcels of gold was held by miners at the Paihi and Longwood diggings on account of the low price behig given by purchasers, viz. — £3 10s. The Bank of A^evr Zealand ha 3 intimated that they are prepared to give £3 14s for properly cleaned (not amalgamated) gold from these diggings. Steps have been taken to make this generaUy known at the Paihi and Longwood, and there can be Httle ' doubt it wUI be considered sufficient to induce miners to seU, as the risk in returning in thenpossession is great ; we also learn that the Bank ol Utago at Riverton has adopted the increased prices. The Age of the Ilth June, says : — " That an entirely new industry is n_-w in a fair way of establishment in Victoria. The project is the utilisation of the bark of the stringy- bark tree, for the production of paper pulp and fibre, useful for rope-making, matrass stuffing, and other economic purposes. The promoters of this undertaking have, for some tune, been coUecting the raw material. The machinery for the manufacture has already arrived from Englaud. The locality of the works is to be in the Castlemaine district, and this highly creditable effort is due to Castlemaine enterprise and capital." The same paper mentions having seen v, sample of coal which, it is stated, was taken from a vein two feet in thickness, within a distance of sixty mUes from Melbourne. It strongly resembles the Traralgon coal, it burns freely, and appears to be valuable for gas-making purposes especiaUy . The precise locality of the discovery is concealed untU the ground is secured by the prospectors. We extract the following from the New Zealand Advertiser, 22ud June : — " We understand that the G-overnment have it in contemplation to stop the departure of steamers from this port on Sundays, and that both Companies are willing to ; ?-"-icur in the arrangement. Thiß wUI be a move in the"riiriiu-v»»_ . . .--.-■-■ c -t«ui..as the frequent occasions ou ' whieti steamers have to 'lea.^ , „ . -* -present on that ; day cause a large amount of extra worlc-ro-v. .. House and Post-office officials, and to aU who -are"" 1 connected with steamers. A sinuiar rule is laid down in ahnosi aU the ports in England, and ; when the commercial world there' does not suffeiv 1 from the detention, we certainly ought not to feel it here. La the case of arrivals on Sunday, no business wUI be transacted, and the maUs will not : be deUvered untU Monday." 3