The Southland Times. MONDAY, JULY 9, 1866.

Southland Times, Volume VII, Issue 7, 9 July 1866, Page 2

The Southland Times. MONDAY, JULY 9, 1866.

It is with rauch pleas are that we have heard that Mr and Mrs Heine have determined to visit Invercargill. The eulogiums which have been passed upon this talented couple by the leading journals of Europe, Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand, would lead to the conclusion that the "Blind Violinist" has never been equalled since the time of Paginini. The Argus, ha speaking of this talented couple, says : — " Thcugh a visiter to the Haymavket Theatre might not unreasonably conclude that the drama was at present kept within the smallest possible limits, the programme was sufficiently good and varied to make the evening's amusement anything but dull. The musical portion of the entertainment was in the hands of those talented artistes Mr and Mrs Heine, whom, to hear is to enjoy a treat of the highest order of musical art. Scarcely a better proof of Mr Heine as a violinist can be afforded than the fact that selections from the works of Beethoven and Spolir, and other classical composers, which are usually considered to be quite beyond the appreciation of mixed audiences, were listened to with breathless attention, and called forth acclamations from every part of the house. When, in response to an encore, he introduced a fantasia on some of the national airs of Grreat Britain, the occupants of the pic and gallery could no ionger keep their enthusiasm within ordinary bounds, bub beat their hands and feet to the music, as the Vicar of. Wakefield's prison companions shook their chains, " in transport and rude harmony." Madame Heine executed one or two painoforte solos, even more brilliantly than we have heard her on former occasions, and her performances were greeted with scarcely less demonstrative expressions of approbation than her husband's." The following communication has been recently received by the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce : — " General Post Office, Wellington, June 27, 18Q6. Sir, — I have to acknowledge t;ie receipt of your letter of the 13th inst., forwarding copy of a resolution adopted at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of Invercargill on that date, pointing out the disadvantages to which the Province of Southland is subjected in consequence of the changes which have taken place under the recent inter-provincial steam mail contracts. In reply I have to inform you that the inter-provin- ! cial mail services of the colony are reduced from six each month to four, and in this respect Southlam I has only shared equally with tho' other province-;. The new contracts iix Port Chalmers as the southern terminus of the East Coast line, and no alterations of this can now be mado. But it is obsei-ved that independent of the extension of the service to the Biuff there are means of communication with the Northern Provinces and Southland available by steamers plying between Melbourne and Otago, &c, several times a month besides the overland mail to Dunedin twice a-week. I have also to inform you that the objection urged by the Chamber in the last paragraph of the Resolution, viz., — the date for the route via Panama, will be obviated by a change in the Time Tables, which will fix the date of departure for the North from the Biull' to the Ist | from the 2Sth of the month — thus giving al Ica^t four days for replying to correspondence by that route. — I have the honor to be, Sir, your very obedient servant, Jas. Paterson, PostmasterGeneral. The Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Invercnrgill." A very delicate operation was performed at the Hospital on Friday, the 6th July, by Dr. Monckton, the resident surgeon, upon a man who received a fracture of the skull during the time of the wreck of the Calypso, at Port "William, Stewart's' Island. The man, .Antoine Barbier, had been in s-sVa'te of iusensibilitv from the time ( of the /ardent to that of the operation. Upon careful ;.exiimination it was found that a portion of titee%kiill had been battered in and presgad hard upon, the b.rain, and v»as-. extensively-. Bplintemi. '" The ' operation of trepanning- is always a difficult and, frequently <i ■ fatal one, the patient dying on the. table ; in this . '• mstanc^.'we arp..happy to say that the operation |fbs skilful^ performed, and^-that the depressed ( bone hjraqg been rpipyed, Barbier . immediately .

regained consciousness, thanked the operator, an< fell into a sound and hopeful sleep. Grea i credit is due to the parties who carefully tende their disabled mate, and successfully brough '. him in an open boat to the Hospital, where h has been skilfully treated, and will be kind! nursed. We understand he is getting »n well. On Saturday afternoon a prisoner made hi escape from the lock-up . It appears that h wrenched one of the iron bars from the windoi ; of the cell in which he was confined, and , being c slight build, succeeded in forcing his body througl the aperture. The police, however, immediate! recaptured him. The anniversary of American Independenc was well kept up in Dunedin. The Daily Time of sth July, says : — ' Independence Day ' wa celebrated yesterday by the American residents i: ' this city ; but we believe that it is a fact that th number of Americans here is at present less tha: has been the case on any 4th of July for the las . four or five years, this being partly due to th temporary absence of several well-known Ameri can citizens. The flag of the Union was dig played yesterday over the Empire, the Shamrock and other hotels, and from several warehouses and some of the vessels in the bay or at th jetty were gay in their display of bunting. Messr H. Hoyt and Co. as usual turned out one of thei largest coaches, decked with flags and evergreens the team yesterday consisting of eight very fin greys. The coach, well filled, was driven throug] i the principal streets of the city, a stay being matt at the Provincial Hotel, where some nationa toasts were heartily honored, and there was som ' merry music. Afterwards, the Empire Hotel wa L visited ; and there, we believe, a dinner was pre • pared, and the evening was loyally and joviall 1 spent by a number of guests. We clip from the Daily Times, 2nd June, th ■ following: — "We are informed by the Chic Postmaster that in consequence of the alteratioi of the day of departure of the European Maii from Melbourne via Suez, the day of departur. from this port will, in future, be the 20th of eac] month, instead of the 18th as heretofore. Seve ral corresponding alterations are also to be^madi in the days of arrival and daparture of the inter provincial steamers, of which time tables are be ing prepared. The following will, however, h the dates at this port : — Arrive : From Melbourne 19th ; from Bluff Harbor 2nd, 17 th, 19th j fron Northern Ports, 4th, 11th, 19th, 25th. Depart To Melbourne, 20th j to Bluff Harbor, 13th 20th, 26th ; to Northern Provinces, sth, 13th 20th, 27th. He also informs us that the steame; for Panama will leave Wellington on the 23rc July, and thereafter on the eigth of each month.' The Wellington Independent, 28th June, thu comments upon the termination of the provincia crisis. It says : — " The Officers and Contractors Act " having been repealed by a bill passed bj the Council and assented to by the Superinten dent, Mr Borlase and his colleagues were enablec last night to take their seats on the Treasury benches without fear of either pains or penalties In his speech to the Council, he stated that th< new Executive had been duly gazetted, himsel as Provincial Solicitor, Mr Hickson as Provincial Secretary and Treasurer, and Messrs Drans£elc and Pearce as members of the Executive withoui office. Mr Ludlain, it appears, has not, after all seen his way to join the new Ministry, and failing him, the Province has secured a gentleman oi some standing in Mr Pearce. It is unfortunate that the country districts are entirely unrepresented in the Executive, the whole of the members being city men. On this matter we shall afterwards have something more to say. There was little in Mr Borlase's speech requiring comment, That he and his friends have got in because the old Government chose to go out, was pretty nearlj all he could say — and he said it." The Daily Times, sth Jure, gives the sub joined as the latest news from Wellington. It says : — " The Assembly was opened on Saturday, 30th June, by the the Hon. Messrs. Bartley, Johnston, and Prendergast, who (with Colonel Russell, who is, I now hear, still absent), had been appointed a Commission for the purpose, the representatives being dismissed with an injunction to elect a speaker and present him for the Governor's approval on Monday. When the representatives re-assembled, Mr. Justice Joanston was introduced, and administered the oaths to folly three-fourths of the whole body of members thon present— a most tedious proceeding of nearly an hour. Mr. Bell proposed Sir David Monro for re-election as Speaker, in a neat speech, full of graceful compliments, which Mr. Oarleton seconded, pointing out that five years since, on Sir David's first election, both proposer and seconder were the same a.s to-day. Sir David Monro returned thanks as usual, both from the floor and the chair ; and after receiving the congratulations of the Premier, adjourned the House until Tuesday, at 2 o'clock. Most, if not the whole of the Auckland members were present."