SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

Southland Times, Issue 659, 19 April 1867, Page 3

SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

The Invercargill Post-office Savings' Bank is now in full working order. The General Government guarantees on sums lodged from ls up to 5 per cent., and from over £200 to £500 4 per cent. This is an institution that commends itself to the public aB worthy of support. We learn that during the short time it is open, (since the 20th of March), upwards of £60 had been lodged. We learn that His Excellency the Governor has left instructions to purchase 2,000 acres of land in this province for the purpose of a Maori Reserve. _ We learn that a number of miners, known as Fryatt's party, made application recently for an extended claim at Colac's Bay. This party has been working for some time a prospecting claim, but the nature of tlie country is such that a greater area is required for the profitable development of the auriferous ground. The application sets forth that an outlay of upwards of fonr hundred pounds will require to be incurred in constructing a race, and that water will have to be conveyed across a considerable portion of swamp. The area will comprise 640 feet frontage to the sea, by 360 feet from high water mark. The 'men are industrious and practical miners, snd it speaks well for their energy in determining to overcome more than ordinary difficulties. We may state that the apphcation has been acceded to. We shall look with interest to' the development of this branch of mining. *. We learn that the Acclimatisation Society has not been idle since its formation ; a good deal of work has been done. Mr Macarthur is to visit- the Makerawa and vicinity, with the view of learning the most suitable place to establish salmon ponds. Owing to the scarcity of funds at present at the~ dißposal of the Society it is to be hoped that the. settlers will come forward and lend their assistance; both by information and local supervision of ponds proposed to be established. _ The _ eroas return" ..*■««»• -*>» -wiring u£ tlie" Bluff and Invercargill Railway, during the month "ending 31st March, amounted to the sum of over £600. On every hand we hear congratulations on the extremely fine weather which has prevailed for the last eight or nine months. An unexceptionably fine seed-time was succeeded by an equally fine summer, which, in due course,, gave place to a harvest season o- which none could complain ; and just as the necessity for rain was beginning to be felt, we have had a week of moderate moisture, sufficient to molify the soil, and make it cut sweetly to the plough ; ahd again we have promise of another fine " tid." We might almost believe that we are already feeling the ameliorating influences which extensive cultivation is known to exert on the most rigorous climates. Thin must be highly gratifying to our industrious settlers, who have had so many difficulties to contend with in the shape ol bad -roads and bad seasons. .; The long rammer, just drawing to a close, combined -with the excellent crops which "" they have " this year garnered, and the exertions bei^g made by the Government in improving the roads, must convince many who were beginning to despair, that there is reality in the xnotto wreathed on Mr Stewart's floral device, at the recent fiower show — " Labor overcomes aIL The "Provincial Government Gazette" of the 3rd inßt. contains a statement for the year ending December 31st last, pf the receipts ancL disbursements of the province. The receipts from all sources described as revenue, which amounted to £104,116 13s lld, were as follows :— Fees under Provincial Acts and Ordinances, £22,866 19s 8d; Auctioneers*', Publicans', and Spirit licenses' 8035 10s ; Miscellaneous Revenue, £3232 17s lOd ; Reimbursements on account of Immigration, £4810 19s 8d ; Miscellaneous Reimbursements, £4904 17s Id ; Ordinary Revenue from General Government, (fths, and balance) £73,750 Os lOd ; Gold Duty, £20,436 16s lOd ; Land Revenue, £102,542 9a ; Miners' Rights, Gold Pees, &c, £12,087 Is 9d ; Loans Negotiated, £354 675 ; Advances Accounted for, £38,369 5s 3d ; Deposits, £58,404 lis. The Disbursements for the year were -.—lnterest, and Sinking - Fund, £78 454 2s 4d ; Executive, including Superintendent's salary, £3,391 6s ; Legislative aud Audit, £4 201 4s 4 i ; Police Mid Prisoners, £29,456 18s Sd'j Hospitals, Asylums, Medical and Charitable Aids, £14,710 16s 6d; Steam Subsidies, £1,337 9b;' Education, £10,334 9s lOd; Immigration, £7,218 12 4dj Discount and Charges on Loans, £57,301 sb; Miscellaneous, £27,130 19s 5d ; Public Works, Roads, &c, £113,091 lis 9d; Expenditure under Publio Buildings Loan Ordinance, £18,956 10s lOd ; Gold Escort, £16,738 13s Id ; Loans redeemed, £4200 • Advances to be Accouted lor, £33,758 5s 6d • Deposits Repaid, £28,864 14s 2d. Total Expenditure, £497,642 19b sd. We understand that, from representations from the Provincial Government, the General Government has .consented to hand over the pastoral rents to the Provincial Treasury, less the amount of interest on the sum of £40,000, some time tince advanced to the Province. The net proceeds, after deducting this item, will be about £6500 per annum. From reliable sources we learn that the General Government are not indisposed .to alienate certain portions of waste lands 0 f the Province towards the accomplishment 0 f ecessary public works. The Government are more favorably impressed with the resources and capabilities of Southland frpm recent inquiries "which have been made, and fro m facts elicited. It is to be hoped thtf a spirit of unanimity may pervade the Provincial C oUllcn on snch subjects of public importance as ma y be be laid before it at the next meeting, whi^ may be expected to take place in a month or weekSj and that the spirit of petty jealousy and ignorance which has characterised the action of some 0 f i ts members will be laid aside, and in it 8 pi^ a broader and more comprehensive system 0 f i eg i 8 . lation established. We understand that it is the intention of the General Government to introduce at the next session of the Assembly a measure of a most comprehensive nature — little less than the virtual abolition of the system of Provincialism, and, instead, to substitute a system of local self-govern-ment, based upon the municipal system of the wl^ v \filnlu^£~---^~ oonteinpkted also_to make its operation less severely felt by the working classes, and tend more to equalise the burdens imposed. The Government has received information by telegram that the delegates from the various Colonies at the Postal Conference at Melbourne, •which closed on the 20th uit., have decided on establishing an amalgamated service to Europe by the Panama, Torres' Strait, and Suez lines respectively. The Imperial Government are to be requested to bear half the cost; and, should they donsent tc do so, the moiety to be -paid by the colonies is estimated at £200,000 per annum. This sum would be made up by contributions from the .various colonies, in the following pro-portions-—Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand, one-fourth each; Queensland, oneseventh- South Australia, one-twelfth; Tasmania, one-fiftieth j and Western Australia, the Sunder of the whole sum of £*00,000. A memorial to the Queen has been agreed upon, praying the concurrence of the Imperial Government in this arrangement, and a recommendation adopted that a Federal Council should meet to confer on the subject, when the answer of the Home Government is received. The " Otago Daily Times," of the llth insti, „ y9 . "The s latest accounts of the condition oi the wrecked steamer, South Australian, are brought by Captain Tell, of the Taiaroa, which arrived from the Molyneux yesterday morning, When the Taiaroa passed southward to the Molyneux on Sunday morning, Captain ''all boarded the wrecked vessel. There was then t «..-at bhnnge in her condition compared witl what it- was when she yas visited by tjie jS«eln-g *I^V'l.nli-li»uj" broVe" eyniplctelj ; .n *tyo. am the two pctions of srreek wm'e abou! fifty yardi Eart, The fow-pwt of tbe Tweel was cvi

dently firmly fixed on the reef, and had not altered its position. The after part was apparently in deeper water, was rolling very much, and could not be hoarded with any safety. The fore-part was not so susceptible to the jforce of the sea; but her decks had been swept of nearly every article but the fixtures. The funnel had fallen forward on the fore deck; but the mizen mast was still standing. A boat was in communication with the vessel from the shore. As the Taiaroa returned on Tuesday, a still furand serious change had taken place in. the condition aud appearance of the wreck. The after half had completely disappeared, and the sea was making a clean breach ovor the fore-part, nothing more than her foremast being occasionally visible: When boarded on Sunday it was low water, and as the Taiaroa returned it was high tide. In the interval tho weather had become unfavorable, a stiff breeze blowing from the southward, and with that wind a heavy sea usually sets in round the Nuggets, and breaks upon Coal Point and the neighborhood of the reef upon which the South Australian lies. The purchaser of rhe wreck had engaged the cutter Surprise, but she had to bring up in the shelter of the Nuggets ; and those who were on board had to land there and make their way to the scene of the wreck by crossing the Clutha River. It is very doubtful if- the adven r ture of purchasing the wreck will prove at all a remunerative one." At the official inquiry.intothe loss of the ship, which took place, on the 9th inst., in reply to questions put by the Magistrate, Capt. Mackie gave an explicit statement pf the occurrences connected with the vessel from the time she left Port Chalmers until she struck. A i question having arisen at the instance of Mr F. D. Bell, as to: whether the passengers should hot be represented by Counsel as well as the | Captain, the Magistrate, after consulting with Mr Hill (Collector of Customs), and considerable had ensued on the point, adjourned the Court until next day at noon, in order to allow him (Mr Hill) to instruct Counsel tb watch, tha ease. The inquiry waa resumed on Wednesday, and the examination of witnesses was continued until four in the afternoon, when the Court again adjourned until 'the following day. The witnesses examined were Captain Mackie, Hunter Regnant (chief officer), Henry Mullin (second mate), and J. F. Nutt (chief engineer.) Very little information regarding the cause of the wreck waß elicited, and thus far nothing tending to throw blame on any one connected with the vessel. . It is notified in the " New Zealand Gazette " of the*2sth uit. that from the lst April, 1867, Postoffice Savings Banks would be opened at AttckiASD, Otahuhu, Russell, Wangarie, Raglan, Mongonui, Onehunga, Alexandra, Cambridge, Newcastle, Tauranga. New Plymouth. I Napieb. WELLiNeTON, Wanganui. Nelson, Collingwood. Blenheim, Picton, Havelock. Chbistchuboh, "Lyttelton, Kaiapoi, Timaru, Akaroa, Hokitika, Greymouth, Waimate. Dunedin, Clyde, Lawrence, Arrow River, Manuherikia, Queenstown, Oamaru, Tokomairiro, Port Chalmers, Waikouaiti, Balclutha, West Taieri, Hamilton's. Invebcaboill, Riverton, Campbelltown. We have to acknowledge the receipt of the second number of a new evening paper, published j in Dunedin, entitled the " Evening Mail, and Port Chalmers" Express.". It is well printed and [ contains a good selection of reading matter. Mr Joseph Mackay is the publisher. « —