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Southland Times, Issue 930, 8 April 1868, Page 2

Some Uttle excitement was created in town yesterday aftornoon, the occasion be ng a foot race, which came oft about 3 o'clock. The scene of the contest was about a mUe down the Blnff road. The competitors were Billy Malone, alias the Sydney Kangaroo, a Mew South Wales halfcaste ; and BUly Bates, alias the War Bird, a half-caste belonging to Riverton. The distance to be run was 100 yards, and the stakes were £10 a-side. A considerable number of people collected to witness the event, but there was very little betting, the Sydney man being decidedly iri greatest favor. The result fuUy bore out the favorable opinion of his backers,' as he won his money with perfect ease.

The inoessant heavy 1 1 affio passing over Esk- j street, 'between the raUi fay terminU3 and Deestreet has, during the rec ent heavy rains, so out it up as to render it aim lost impassible, and to entaUon the various road oontractois, by whom it is -principally used, a a extra expense of no small amount in the wear iand tear of horse flesh, J^mss, and vehicles. Iti is really distressing to witness the struggles of tl ie poor horses who do their utmost to drag thei ir heavy loads of metal through the crunching, w; *xy mixture of clay and gravel, nearly axle deep, which now forms the **• roadway j" still more so to see the severe punishment occasionally administered to less wUUng or weaker animals when they absolutely stick fast. As the incline irom the Station up to the level of Dee-street is considerable, tbis portion of road wUI always be a d!ead puU for heavfly laden drays, and as the whole traffic of the province may now be considered as centered upon it, itshoald at once be made both of sufficient width to permit of teams passing each other easUy, and of sufficient firmness to bear aU that is required of it. Metal alone wili do this, and [ as it is most convenient the work could be done at ver j smaU expense. Laid on. now it would bind at once with the material already on the road, and, with a Uttle attention to the filling up of ruts before they got too deop, would soon present a surface as smooth and hard as a brick. .No doubt the contractors would gladly place the metal at a very low rate, feeling, as they must do, the great benefit it would be tp themselves. The manufacture of oloth at tbe works of the Victorian WooUen Cloth Company on the Barwon is an estabhshed fact. The " Argus" states that some fiftf hands, many of them women, are regularly employed from six aan. to six p.m. Two additional looms have been set going. There is a large quantity of tweeds of various hues ready for placing on the market. We have -j-rfiviouslv directed the attention of the aufh-->riti.-*3 to ihe state of the Waihopai Bridge. This is now becoming a serious matter, as the planking in several places is perfectly rotten and nearly worn through. Unless the repairs be at once attended to some casualty, serious both as regards expense and worse consequences, wiU ensue. For the past few days we have experienced such a continuance of heavy rains as has fiUed every watercourse and drain to overflowing. The soil everywhere is thoroughly saturated. Inland communication is temporariUy checked by the ( swoUen rivers, and the operations of harvest have been for the time suspended. Yesterday, however, the clouds again cleared away, and we had a fine blue sky, with a favorable- drying breeze, which wiU no doubt be eagerly avaUed of by farmers for the securing of their remaining outstanding white crops. In situations naturaUy damp the excess of surface water wiU most probably induce wet-rot amongst potatoes, and, as this root is likely to maintain a good price throughout the winter, they are too valuable to be aUowed to go to waste. No time should be lost in having them taken up and safely pitted. Timely attention to tliis matter will save a proportion ofthe crop which wiU ultimately amply repay the grower forany additional expense he may at present incur in the temporary employment of an extra hand oi* two. ----■ Marriage between Chinamen and European women, instead of exciting a feeUng of disgust as was the case a few years ago, seem now to be regarded with great complacency by some ofthe mining population. Thus the GrenviUe Advocate states that there was to be a kind of holiday at Browns, on the occasion of the marriage of a Chinaman with a European woman, and a general invitation of the residents of the locality to a dinner at the Washington hotel was made. The Rev. S. Walker, the Episcopalian minister, was to officiate on the occasion. A fearful murder has taken place near Rockhampton. A German settler, whilst under the ( iniluence of drink, murdered his wife and two daughters with a tomahawk, and then committed suicide by throwing himself into the river. The favorite cUpper ship Robert Henderson, Captain Boyd, cast off hei? moorings in Bluff Harbour, yesterday morning about nine o'clock and stood to sea with a fair wind, bound for London with a full and valnable cargo of wool and skins. The good ship appeared in exceUent sailing trim and' her commander anticipates adding another to her already long Ust of rapid passages. In addition to her cargo she takes five passengers, returning to their native land. With even ordinary' good luck Captain Boyd wUI no doubt succeed in landing his freight in ample time for the July sails. The " Wallaroo Times" states that tiie sandal wood is found in abundance upon some portions ; of Yorke's Peninsula, and that a large quantity : was awaiting shipment t> Adelaide. The South AustraUan journals are very sore at the manner in which their successful efforts to ; entertain Prince Alfred have been ignored by the EngUsh Press. The Advertiser writes : — " In the London newspapers our demonstrations are quietly ignored, or put off with a smaU paragraph; or two. Our big brother Victoria obtains aU the credit.* The "Times " publishes a report of its ; own correspondent inMelbourna, which of course I refers almost exclusively to the reception in that city. The fact is, bur demonstrations were nearly! a month old, and were' growing stale, whUe those of Victoria were just beginning. We have therefore /been overshadowed by .the greater.' colony. The principal London dailies have' pubhshed leaders on the reception which His Royal Highness met with in Australia ; but it is; evident their notion of Australia is Victoria. We undei stand no official recognition of our reception of the Prince has reached the Government; but we have.no doubt that wUI come later on. We did our best to make the: son of our Queen welcome whUe he was amongst us, and the consciousness that we were successful in this is our sufficient reward." A monster case of sheep stealing is reported in the Adelaide papers, the number stolen being no less than 1399. The sheep were got out of a paddock at Ryeland's Btation, they were driven to Adelaide, a distance of about a hundred mdes, and there actually sold before the theft was discovered. The auctioneer, however, had some suspicion that ah was not right, and withheld the proceeds of sale from the two supposed squatters, named Gipsou and MarshaU, until inquiries could be made. On the facts of the case being made known the two "men were arrested. Gipson pleaded guUty, MarshaU stood his trial and was also convicted.