The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 1867.

Southland Times, Issue 661, 24 April 1867, Page 2

The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 1867.

We deeply regret to learn that a telegram has i been received from Nelson to the effect that Captain Junor, a weU-known and respectable settler of Southland, was drowned whilst out on a pleasure excursion. It appears that the boat capsised. Capt. Junor being unable to swim, met an early and untimely death. The distressing event has caused a general feeling of sorrow to his numerous friends and acquaintances. As soon as the Nelson papers come to hand, fuller particulars wiU be given. An advertisement in another column intimates that a meeting of the committee of the Acclimatization Society will be held at the Government BuUdings, to-morrow (Thursday), at noon. Captain Budd's lecture at the Theatre Boyal last night waa weU attended. The subject — " New | Zealand in the Olden Time — " was weU Ulustrated by the lecturer's long residence amongst the j | Maoris. The description of the manners and I customs of the native race, together with the numerous anecdotes related of the vicissitudes of the few Europeans inhabiting New Zealand in the earher days, was very graphicaUy described. The lecture was most interesting . The House of Representatives wUI miss another of its ablest members from his place next session. Major Richardson is to be moved into the Upper House, and has already sent in his resignation of [ his seat in the other House, and informed the electors of New Plymouth of his having done so. The foUowing is the letter announcing this fact, which appears in the " Taranaki Herald " of the 30th ultimo : — " To the electors of the town of New Plymouth. Gentlemen — Circumstances having made it desirable that I should be appointed to the Legislative CouncU, I avaU myself of the opportunity thus afforded me of most heartUy^thanking you for the honor you conferred on me when electing me to represent the town of I New Plymouth in the House of Representatives. I have this day. intimated to the Speaker of the House my resignation of my seat in the House, but the electors of New Plymouth may be assured that though my connection with tho town is thus dissolved, the interest I have ever taken in the Province of Taranaki wiU remain unchanged. J. L.. C. Richardson, March 16, 1867." A frightful disease has lately broken out among sheep in the neighborhood of Albury, in New South Wales. The "Argus" says:— "The fearful Cumberland disease amongst sheep is causing the greatest uneasiness at Albury, and the necessity of adopting some general preventive measures with respect to this plague is urged by the local press. The " Albury Banner " thus states the matter as it has up to the present time developed itself : — ** A large flock of sheep was lately brought some seventy or eighty mUes be- i yond' Wagga Wagga, near Bland Creek, and J which was being driven into Albury by Mr ' Richard KeUy. He died on the road suddenly, and his death (the weather being extremely hot) was attributed to sunstroke. Hia relations went out and took charge of the sheep. Between Wagga Wagga and Albury, it is stated some thirty sheep died, and that pigs who ate the flesh also died soon afterwards. That his widow, who helped to bring down the sheep, took some to Beechworth, where more died, and more pigs were poisoned, and that Mrs Kelly died there. Some of the sheep were sold in Albury, and some. of these also died. 'Mr Layton, the other day, in skinning one, got inoculated with the " virus," and died a terrible death after much suffering. At Wagga Wagga, a shepherd who had been bleeding one of these sheep was taken to tlie hospital, and he died within twenty-four hours, and yesterday we learned that a butcher in Beechworth had been attacked under similar circumstances, and that, if not dead, his hfe is despaired of. Nor is this aU. It is reported to us that on a station not far from Albury sheep have been dying by twenties and thirties every night. Ihey are fat, and appear to be healthy, and exhibit no disease, but in ten or twenty minutes, "after stagge.ring, faU dead. The result is that the whole populatinn are alarmed. People wUI no more think of buying and eating mutton than they would think of eating arsenic or swaUowing strychnine." Public morality must have faUen to a very low ebb when it is necessary for a public journal to insert such a paragraph as the following, which appears in an Auckland jpapcr : — The flying Cloud is advertised to leave to-day for California, but will not saU till to-morrow, afternoon, clearing at the Customs at 10 a.m. It is more than likeiy biiat som.> Cox or Kirkwood m„y endeavor to give (lis creditors the slip and take passage by her. We therefore cau ioa those who may be suspicious >f their debtors serving thorn such a trick, to nake themselves acquainted with any such intension, and, to take the necessary steps for its prerention.

The antecedents of the buihranging families of Clarkes and Councils, are thus .reported by the "Sydney MaU:" — "The foUowing purticulars respecting the Clarkes and Connells, whose deeds of violence and robbery have made them the terror of the Southern Districts, will be read witb interest. John Clarke, the father of the outlawed bushranger, was. a twice convicted felon, and was engaged in the respectable occupation of flogging convicts at Moreton Bay before he came to settie _in the Jingera . District. He., married a woman named Connell, who had four .■ brothers. One of them, Michael Connell, is now under committal for trial for harbouring bush--rangers, and for being accessary to the murder of ■Carroll and party. Another, John ConneU, is now serving a sentence of ten years in Darling-' hurst gaol for maU robbery, having previously served a sentence of five years for highway robbery. The wife of this man is in Darlings hurst gaol under sentence for receiving stolen property. The third, Patrick ConneU, a bushranger, was shot dead by the pohce, and the fourth, Thomas ConneU, has just had a sentence of death passed on him at the recent sitting of the Central Criminal Court, for taking part in a highway robbery and wounding, commuted by the Executive CouncU into imprisonment for life without hope of remission. With regard to the three sons of John Clarke, Tommy is now an outlaw, and his brother John forms one of his gang, and wih also we hear be shortly outlawed. The remaining, male member of the faihUy, James Clarke, is serving a sentence of ten -years on the roads for highway robbery. Old John Clarke, the father, died, as everybody knows, in Goulburn gaol whUe under committal for the murder of BUly Noonang, an aboriginal." The " New Zealand Advertiser" says : — " We understand that Captain Benson has received information from the Directors of the P.N.Z. and A.R.M. Company, that the negotiations which have been carried on for the purpose of enabling passengers to be booked through from New Zealand and Austraha to England, via New York, have been completed, so that henceforth any passengers wishing to proceed by that route can obtain tickets from the agents at any port in these Colonieß, which wiU frank them right through. Arrangements have also been made_by which the R.M. Co.'s steamers, which take' Australian and New Zealand passengers from Colon to Southampton will cease to caU at St. Thomas, and wUI in future caU at one of the Virgin Islands. We congratulate the company on both these alterations, which will be found a great boon by those travelling by the Panama route." The "New Zealand Advertiser" further explains the cause of the lateness of the Mataura's arrival as foUows : — " Every one was pleased yesi terday at seeing the Mataura turn up, even at so late a date, and stiU more so when it was known that no accident had happened to her machinery. So far was it from this being the case, that she made the quickest passage to Panama that has yet been made, and goes on to Sydney to-day in perfect order. She had to be coaled in Panama j with coals belonging to the Pacific Steam Naviga- | tion Company, of an inferior kind, good enough, perhaps, for the short trips that the steamers of that Company have to make, but totaUy insufficient for a voyage across the Pacific. The reason why it was necessary to take this coal was, that a ship with a cargo belonging to the Panama Company had been destroyed by fire at Tobago, and that a second ship which should have arrived in plenty of time to Bupply the Mataura, has never been heard of since she left England. By these misfortunes the Company lost some three thousand tons of coal. There are, however, now at Panama, or on their way out, vessels with nearly ten thousand tons on board, and the same accident which happened in the Mataura's case is not likely to occur again. We understand that Mr Bailey the Chief Engineer, wiU remain at Sydney to take the office of Superintendent Engineer there, and wiU be succeeded in the Mataura by Mr Rorison, late of the Rakaia. The Mataura wUI return with the mails from Australia and New Zealand in May." A recent number of the " Charleston Argus " is responsible for the foUowing : — " A poor feUow put on board one of the steamers at Fox's for conveyance to the Grey hospital died soon after the vessel started. The cabin was crowded, but the ladies' cabin had no occupants, and the corpse was therefore placed there and decently covered with blankets, &c. A certain storekeeper, a passenger by that vessel, had been sacrificing pretty freely at the shrine of Bacchus, and did not come down to seek a resting place tui late, when all the avaUable space was taken up. After some consideration, knowing probably that the ladies' cabin was. unoccupied, he went in there, and saw what he supposed to be a sleeping man with plenty of blankets. Consequently he at once turned in with the supposed sleeper, and remained aU night in bed with the corpse. His horror on waking in the morning may be imagined, particularly as owing to the libations he had swallowed on the previous night his nerves were not in the best possible order. The " Melbourne Argus " quotes from the "Macleay Herald" an advertisement in which Ann MarshaU gives notice that no one shall marry her for the sake of her money. The same advertisement, says the "Argus," discloses the fact that the lady has two farms and £200 in cash; but whether she is maid ok widow, pretty or ugly, accomplished or the reverse, does not appear from the advertisement. These are matters to he inquired into by wife-huntera, who will no doubt properly regard the intimation conveyed by this advertisement. A fund which is being raised at the Mansion House for the lelief of the distress prevailing . at the East end of London has reached in three days £3,500. The committee have already made grants to the amount ih the whole of £2,000 and upwards for distribution by local committees. In the absence of the Postmaster-General, the Colonial Secretary has issued the foUowing notifications : — It having been reported that several letters ha Ye been posted in the Colony with the Stamp Duty Stamps instead of Postage Stamps affixed to them in payment of the postage ; Notice i 3 hereby given, that any letters not hay ing the proper postage labels affixed, wiU be detained. A "General Government Gazette" was lately issued, containing a proclamation further proroguing tiie session of tho General Assembly from the 29th iust. to the 30th May. It is most probable there wUl.be a further prorogation w'leu that iiate draws near, and that the session wUI not be jpeue-4 VtU $bo end of June,

The " Otago DaUy Times " of the 19th inst. says.:— "ln the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday George WUlson, oh remand, was charged • with having wilfully set fire to his premises in Princes-street, "with intent to defraud the Victorian Insurance Company. Mr Howorth appeared for the prosecution ; Mr Kidston for the prisoner. A' number of witnesses were examined, most of -them repeating the' evidence they had given at the previous enquiry. The case wasad-' journed until- Tuesday next. — The inquiry into i the wreck of the South Australian was concluded yesterday. Mr fMacassey made a long and able address on behalf of Captain Mackie, and caUed two or three witnesses. The Magistrate declined to agree with the view urged by Mr Macassey, that the opinion of tKTCdurf "should be at once expressed; but he said that there would be no delay in reporting to the Governor.and no doubt the report would be made public in the " Gazette." The foUowing ia as "reported in the "Otago DaUy Times," ofthe 19th" inst. Capt.. Mackie's evidence given on the day of the conclusion of the inquiry into the wreck of the " South Australian :— "There was no part of the outfit of the South Australian wanting or incomplete. She was weU found in every way. • The weather was not fine and clear on our voyage from Melbourne to Otago. I was-not able to take an observation every day, owing to the weather; We were five days on the voyage from Melbourne to Otago ; and I got only three very indifferent observations. We did not make the land exactly where I intended. We made it 60 mUes north of that point; but I had got no observation for two "days previously. We did hot make the land at MUford Haven ; we were a long way south- of that. I steered throughout the voyage, according to the table of variations supphed after the ship -was swung in March, 1867. 1 had no doubt as to the correctness of that table. A S.S.W. course had been shaped by the first officer while I was at tea, on the evening of the wreck, and I approved of it when I came on deck at half-past six or seven o'clock. I could see land untU dark — about eight o'clock. I saw the high land when I was on the poop about a quarter of an hour before the vessel struck. I took the high land to be the coast. I did say that I expected the vessel to be abreast of the Nuggets about 12 or half-past. As to my supposition where the ship first struck, I supposed also that she might have over run her distance ; vessels do so, and there is no accounting for it, at times. I did steer within a quarter of a point of the course according to the table of deviations — I steered an outside course. I say that the men who have given evidence as to" the course, must be mistaken aS to it-. Whenever I -looked at the compas9, the course was not a quarter of a point off S.S.W. 1 know that S.S.W.£W. course by the binnacle compass would have taken the ship on to the shore; but I say again that the. men never got that course. By tbe Magistrate : It was very thick weather when we made the land on the trip from Melbourne. As far as I could make out the land, it was between Nancy Sound and Break-sea Island, about 60 nules north of Preservation Inlet, and 120 north of the Solander. I did not alter the course more than half a point from tne time I left the Tasmanian land untU I saw the New Zealand land. That course was E.b.S.^S; by the compass, and it should have brought me to between Preservation Inlet and the Solander. The current runs generaUy to the S.W. on the West Coast. The variation increases as a vessel comes south to New Zealand, and that was why I made the slight alteration in the course I have stated. I thought nothing of making the land where I did"; I have frequently done so in the Gothenburg.?' !,. _ „;