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Southland Times, Volume VII, Issue 518, 13 July 1866, Page 2

So much has been said about the defects in tbe management of the Telegraph Department, that we hare restrained ourselves fi'Oin commenting upon the trans pai'ent inefficiency ihat is contioua I ' ! .y presenting itself of the gentlemen in charge of the various stations. It is not now our r.iieu iion to refer to the unreadable productions ihat are daily issued from th© local offices, but we are constrained to draw attention of the chief of this department to a particular case of what we deem disrep cable extortion. A Press message of o-e hundred and six words arrived from Nelson, and tlie charge made for it was for two Lvudred words. In this iustance the amount was pa:ci, on. liiere can be no doubt- tlie charge was in excess of the legitimate claim. The local ope.'aior rcmai; either be eil-"eme i y foggy as to the nature o" his instructions, o: the chief of i he Co.- ■.. viient must hare assumed to himself a j.:owe." vurieh the G-orennuent never intended to bestow. The utmost which in honesty coukl hare been demanded, was for one hundred and ten words. The annual meeting of the members of the Southland Club was held on Wednesday, 17th July. The Secretary (Mr Jones) read the report, which was most favorable. The election of officers for the ensuing year then took place. The following gentlemen were unanimously elected : — Managing Committee — Messrs Watson, Law, Calder, M'Pherson, and Moore. Treasurer — Dalglish ; Hon. Secretary, Mr Jones. A hearty vote of thanks to the retiring officers and the chairman, terminated the proceedings. A gentleman who arrived from the Paihi on Wednesday, tho 1 lth July, has forwarded to us the iollowing information. He writes : — Owing to Hunt's departure, a number of miners, believing that he has made fresh discoveries, have set oif in pursuit, in the expectation of discovering the whereabouts, and sharing in the riches of his El Dorado (?) The miners — the persevering miners ai'e doing well, and a few of the most thrifty are speculating in country laud, intending, as soon as their claims are worked out, to turn their attention to farming, and make for themselves a home in this Province. An enterprising speculator has started a bakery at this place, which will prove a great boon to the mining population ; and another party, wilh sanguine expectations of the progress of the diggings, has expressed his intention of erecting a commodious dining and concert-room. Those on the ground express great confidence in the future of the district. The latest news from kelson informs us that the gang of bushrangers who were arrested on suspicion of being guilty of the Mauugapahi murders have been brought up on the pai'Ucular charge of the murder of one Jamie Beattic. All four have been includeJ. in the indictment. Suilivan, with the others, appears as a prisoner, and therefore it may be surmised that there is evidence of a strong description against the gang in this case, independent of his confession. The examination not having baen 'concluded, nothing definite as to the probable result has transpired, although there is it stnng inipregajon that they will be committed.

It will appear from a telegraphic communica- . tion that 'Mr. and Mrs. Heine, owing to the change of the date of sailing of the A .Thambra, will not he able to appear before Wednesday next, when they will give three concerts^ It is to be regretted that these accomplished musicians and the public should have met with so great a disappointment. But as their non-ap" pearance on the day fixed arise from circumstances over which they had no control, we doubt not that their welcome on Wednesday next, the 18th July, will be equally .as hearty as it would hav c been had they appeared on Monday, the 16th July. Erom our advertising columns it will be seen that the Grovernment has called for tenders for the construction of two water- wells, and the repair, ing of others. Tenders will be received at the Public Worts office until noon on the 31st July. We are desired to call attention to Mr Todd's sale of the cargo" of the brigantine Julia, at the Commercial Sale Booms this" day, at 12 o'clock. The cargo consists of flour, potatoes, spirits, wines beer, and other various articles of merchandise. ! By the Grey River Argus, of the 30th June, we learn that the election of a member for that district, in the Provincial Council has taken place. It gives a full report of the proceedings, from which we extract the" following : — " The votes were taken by the Returning Officer, Mr Sale, and Mr Kenrick, Clerk oi Court. A few minutes past four o'clock, Mr Kenrick announced the result to be as follows :— Mr J. A. Whall, 61 ; Mr W. H. Harrison, 25 ; Mr T. L. Shepherd, 21 j Mr E. C. Luseombe, 0, This result was received with great cheering and hooting, by the crowd assembled in front of the Court-house, which was increased when after the return of the candidates and their supporters to town a large number of gentlemen met accidentally in Kilgour's Hotel, and an impromptu meeting was held in the Theatre. Mr Harrison addressed the assemblage, and confidently assured them that he had been returned as their representative; because from the protest which he had lodged, the lieturning Officer would be in duty bound to declare him the representative of Greyniouth in the Provincial Council." In commenting upon the Batavia and Queensland mail service, experiment : — " The Souchays is back again from Batavia. She did not bt nig any later news from England, thus showing that lor mail purposes this route has at present no advantage over that which is estab.. jished. It is doubtful whether the Queensland Grovernment will consider it worth whiLe to go to the expense of another trip at present, as there is no solid advantage to compensate for the outlay. But the Dutch are eager to keep up the communication, they being jvery anxious to open our, an Australian^market for their produce. A gentleman has come down from Batavia to negotiate on the subject with^the various Grovernoients jS'ext month^the Dutch steamer, the KonigW'ilHam 111., will be sent dewn, and^the Grovernment there is wiling to contribute towards a subsidy. So that co-operation is possible, if the terms of it can be arranged." The forgeries, which have been lately discovered of bank notes by photography, has created considerable discussion in Victoria, as to the possibility of ibi'ging colored notes by the process, especially in blue. Messrs. Perry and Co. demonstarted the possibility by obtainiug a nevr Union Hank £5 note, aud reproducing it so truly, that the original could not be . distinguished from the counterfeit, aud assumed that they alone was in possession of the secret. This aroused the energy of a rival establishment, and Mr. Frith has through the Argus, given a description of tjie process. He says : — " Too much of your valuable space has already been taken up by parties making assertions with regard to the impossibility of copying a blue printed bank note, and producing a iae-siniile in its true colors. Perhaps the publication of the formula may sot the thing at rest. A properly bromoiodised collodion, with a little tincture of iodine, will as easily copy blue as any other color, but requires simply less exposure. This every photographer knows. We may therefore conclude that a negative has been produced, and the number of the note blacked out. I\'o\v take a piece of pood Saxe paper, and Moat it for a few seconds on the following solution : — 1 draclim sulphate of copper, loz. oi" water, aoz. of sat. sol. bichromate of potash ; or, 1 drachm sul. copper, ioz. water, £oz. neutral ciiroinate of potash, 40 gr. ammonia citrate of iron. When dry, place under the negative in the printing frame as usual, expose to light — the result is a brown print. JSfow place it in strong solution of ferrocyanide of potassium, and the result is a spienJid biue, which can be either lighter or darker according to the strength of the bath and the tiniejjf immersion. Then iix with a solution of carbonate of soda. Wash your prints in water about two hours, then blot them in a clean cloth, and, while still damp, take a smooth hammer, and, on a sheet of thick plate glass or iron, tap round three of the edges, to produce the selvage. They are then placed in a warm solution of gelatine, to give that nice crisp feel which a note has. Each note when dry i 8 printed, by means of a little hand-press, with a separate number in black ink."