The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, 20th MAY, 1868.

Southland Times, Issue 954, 20 May 1868, Page 2

The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, 20th MAY, 1868.

A drawing-room entertainment, in aid of thefunds of tho Ladies' Benevolent Society, was held at the Theatre Royal last evening. The house was well filled, the upper part especially. His Honor the Superintendent took part in the proceedings by reading selections from Scottish authors. The programme was most attractive, and the proceedings passed off with the greatest eclat. It is to be hoped that similar entertainments will take j place periodically, as they help to spend a long j winter's evening in a most pleasant manner. The j following is a copy of the programme : — Overture (Volunteer Band), Duett (Vocal), Solo (Vocal), Duett (Piano), Reading, Trio (Vocal), A. T. 8., Duett (Cornets), Solo (Vocal). Solo (Piano), Quartette (Vocal), Solo (Vocal), Duett (Cornets), Reading, Solo (Vocal), Solo (Piano), Trio (Vocal). Our attention has been drawn to the fact that the returns of the Bluff line of railway have been considerably larger than what was stated ia a recent issue of this journal. We append a corrected list, from which it will be seen that instead of £3000 being the amount of earnings of the railway, it should have reai £3629 7s 3d. We would scarcely have thought it nece33ary to make the alteration, had not some mischievous misstatements been made by a local paper, which are calculated, in the event of their being circulated outside of Southland, to do this Province a seriou3 injury. The following is the authenticated

A meeting of the members and subscribers of the Southland Horticultural and Agricultural Society, took place on; Friday evening last, at Colyer's Princess HojLel. There. was 'a very good attendance, and considerable interest was evinced towards the prosperity of the Society. The following gentle men' were elected by ballot as the office bearers for the ensuing season, 1868-69 viz., President : John Blacklock, Esq. M.P.C. j VicePresidents : H. M'Cullocb, Esq.,E.M., Dr Grigor ; Treasurer : Mr J. W. Cooper ; Secretary : Mr W. B. Scandrett ; Committee : Messrs D. M'Arthur > J. E. Stewart, Dr Willson, R. Cleave, R. Miller, W. Preston, R. Birrell, C. Broad, F. Mountier, J. W- Bain, R. Buchanan, J. Mentiplay, and J. G. Smith. Several matters connected with the Society were diseased, but ultimately left with the committee to arrange. The proceedings terminating with separate vote 3of thanks to the Secretary for p ■■«*•■ sorvices, . and to the Chairman of the evening (Mr Stewart.) The " Ai-guj" says : — " A number of gentlemen interested in pastoral and other pursuits, lately assembled at Clough's warehouse, Collin3- street, to inspect a tank of preserved meat prepared by the Victorian Meat-preserving Company, which had been lying in the warehouse for some three months. The tank was about being shipped for Englanl, but was withdrawn by the minager of the company when it wa3 discovered that there was a small hole in it, as it wa3 fearad that the air might penetrate to and dam ige the moat. The tank contained about two tons of meat, all mutton. The carcases of the sheep had been boned, slightly salted and spiced, rolled in linen cloths, and then packed in tallow in the tanks. The meab was thoroughly testol yesterday by probing with a long wooden skewer, reaching beyond the centre of the tank, and it was pronounced by all present to be in beautiful condition, and a most marketable article. The portions of the carcases prepared in this way some months since, but which had not been placed in tallow, were cut through and tasted. The flavor was delicious, and maat so prepared and in such condition should command a ready sale either here or in England. We understand that the meat thus cured can ba landed in the London market at such, a price a3 to give the shopkeeper a fair profit if retailed at 5d per pound. If this be so, thore should be an immense demand in England for the Victoria Meat-preserving Company's shipments. The following ha 3 been given to the "St. Arnaud Mercury" — "On. the River Murray a fisherman and two boys built a pine log house, aid are now occupied in catchi ng and curing fish for the market Nearly every day this season, while following their usual occupation near the dwelling-house, they were in the habit of killing from five to sis snakes. The little party began to get frightened, and determined to have a general overhaul about the premises, when they succeeded in killing forty snakes in less than tw o hours, and in this number were included nearly every species of snake known in the colony of Victoria." A late accident on board the steamer Clarence, in Sydney harbor, is reported by the " Herald " as follows : — " This vessel left the wharf at a quarter past five p.m., bound to Brisbane, and when off the Sow and Pigs lightship, a sudden burst of flame and cry of fire caused her commander, Ciptaiu Fitzsiinon3, to order the engines to be stoppal. The alarm originated in the drawing of the stays of one of the boilers, causing a jet of fire to b 3 ejected, by which a fireman nunei Peter Roach was severely injured. The ship was immediately anchored, aud a boat dispatched to town with the unfortunate man. A second boa*; was also sent up to town, apprising Captain Minro, tho company's superintendent, of the circumstance. The Olaronca wa3 towed to the company's moorings at Pyrmont. Her departure fin* Brisbane will be delayed for a day or two. The accident is thus accounted for. Four stays in tho bajk of the fire-box having given way, a sudden rush of water on to the coals iv the furnace displaced tho fires, ajid blew the lame upon the unfortunate fireman." We (" Talbot Leader") are sorry to hear that pleuro-pneumonia, which it was believed and hoped had been cleared the country, has again broken out in this neighborhood, three head of cattle having recently died in the locality of Evansford from undoubted cases of thi3 direful acourge.

The " Bendigo Advertiser" thus refers to the agricultural operations of the district : — " There is a universal complaint amongst farmers that th« want of water keeps them from turning over their ground early, to expose it to the air and snn. Notwithstanding this, a large quantity of ground is already sown, especially on the Campaspe and around Coornong. Ploughing operations at Bullock Creek are being carried on with great vigour, the lighter and more friable soils of that vicinity working well, though rather cloddy, and requiring the free use of 'he roller. We are glad to find that the farmers are trying to remedy the mistake they made last year, and sowing the stronger kinds of wheat, especially the purple straw wheat, which has become a great favourite and from all accounts justly so. We hope farmers' will take precautions to destroy the spores of the rust which remain on the seed whe it, by pickling it according to the directions given in this journal some time back. The experiment, at all events, is well worth the trial." * The Melbourne " Herald" says that efforts willbe made to oppose the re-election of nearly all the members of the new ministry, with the view of testing the feeling of the country. It is said that Mr Sladen, will find an opponent in the Western Province in Mr George Eolfe, who is apparently always ready to conio forward in any emergency. Mr Fellows, at St Kilda, and Mr Laugton, at West Melbourne, will probably be allowed a walk- over, as it is considered useless to enter upon a contest in those districts after the resets of the late election. Strenuous efforts are being made to induce Mr Michie to oppose Mr Gillies in Ballarat West ; but in the event of that gentleman declining, which is more than probable, Mr Chalmers, the defeated candiJate at the last election, but who polled a large number of vote 3, will bo brought forward against the Minister of Lands. Mr Crews, another " emergency man," and also Mr Herbert Henty, are spoken of as likely to contest South -Bourke against Mr O'Grady; and it is thought that Mr Graham Berry will prove a formidable opponent to Mr Kerferd at the Ovens. Mr MacDonnell is considered safe for reelection at Viller3 and Heytesbury ; but Mr Bayles is thought to be not quite so certain. Rumour has it that Mr M'Culloch is willing to give up Mornington for the purpose of contesting the election in the Villers and Heytesbury. It is evident, however, that the strongest opposition will be brought to bear against the new Ministers. The " Argus " of the 13th inst. says :— " That the Greelong Woollen and Cloth Factory was visited and inspected yesterday by the three gentlemen appointel by Government — Messrs Alston, Sargood, and Black — to see that the company had carried out the requirements necessary to secure the grant in aid. The quantity of cloth required was 5,003 yards, but 5,300 were measured off, and some 1,700 yards were not unrolled. The inspectors expressed their surprise and gratification at what they saw, and there 13 little doubt but that their report will be very favorable. The agent of a Californian wine company recently forwarded a case of wino t> a high military authority in Japan, and received in reply the following amusing acknowledgment, written in English on the rough brownish paper of the country : — " Japan, Tenth Moon, 1867. To Mr R # U. Van Brunt. — I received your letter dated September c d (?), and were glad to read it. Your thankfull for your sending the wine, an when I distribute the wine among my friends they were glad to share in your favor. I beg that you will inform me of the price of per case which contains £ onse (dozen ?). When I drink wine and become pleasant, I feel as if I were together with you. I have honor to be your servant, — Matsmoto JtTDiy.tr, Japan.' The Melbourne " Herald" gives the following extract of a letter received by a gentleman of Melbourne from a friend residing in Japan : — " Business has been very dull here (Yokohama) since I last wrote to you, owing to the political disturbances aud the want of security against the impending war. The Damios are all arming for or against the G-overnment, and it is dangerous for foreigners to venture even a few miles out of the town. These feudal lords not only keep large trains of armed retainers, but several of them are privately engaged in fitting out a private fleet ; in fact, the only business transacted here for the last month has been the sale of several small steamers, which have realised very handsome profits to their former owners, more particularly steamboats with small draught of water, so as to be able to run them up the rivers. The Japanese, somehow or another, prefer English-built vessels to American or French, though with the actua fever for steamers anything would sell, and sell well. Yesterday the small French steamer Shangay sold for 70,0G0d01. Produce is scarce ; salt beef, flour, etc., are rare articles in the market, and stUl there is no business done, as I said before. No doubt the prices will rise." The "Argus" of the 7th inst., says:— "By the steamer which leaves for Sydney this day, two gentleman connected with the project of a Fiji banking and trading company proceed as delegates for a number of influential colonists, to make arrangements with the Fijian Government for the liquidation of the American debt, and to obtain such concessions as will enable . the company to start business eclat and assurance of success. The delegates will leave Sydney by the Albion steamer, which is advertised to sail from that port on the 11th inst., and we understand they will be the bearers of valuable presents and influential letters for the principal personages in the group ; and we are also informed that the steamer will remain in. the harbor of Levuka sufficiently long to allow of a grand entertainment being given to King Thakombau. The last discovered gbldfield in Queensland is named Kilkiven. There has been a rush of over two thousand miners to it from G-ympie. The prospects obtained are reported to be good, but the extent of the field ha 3 not been ascertained. The gold was first struck at a depth of four feet, and was then traced down the creek into deep wet ground. In sinking there, a prospect of a pennyweight to the dish was obtained. The " Argus" says : — " It is satisfactory to find that the improvement which we have noted in the revenue of the Government lines of railway ex" tends to the Hobson's Bay Company's lines j and we may conclude, therefore, this this increase of business really represents a change for the better in the state of tho trade of the colony. We notice that last week the revenue of the Hobson's Bay Company's lines amounted te no less than £334.8, as compared with £2057 in the same week of the previous year. This," however, was attributable mainly to' the passenger traffic. The aggregate income for the year to date was £48,212, as against £47,874 in the same period of last year ; and the average for the week ending on the 7th May was £2636, aa against £2597."

The "Herald" (Melbourne) says that "residents in Riverina havo noticed that for some time past the climate in that district has been undergoing great modifications. The large quantities of water deposits in artificial reservoirs on seme of the plains are being discovered, by the wild fowl, and the heart of the. duckshooter is rejoicing within him. Johnson, a notorious bushranger on., the New . South Wales side, has been arrested in the neighborhood of Mudgee. The Dubbo " Despatch" of the 2nd inst. states that on Sunday he was at Gilgandra, making himself quite . at home under . the pretence of being a policeman. He stuck up a traveller with a swag, telling him he answered the description of an absconder from Queensland. He put several questions to the man, and read him the usual " caution." Johnson afterwards told tho man he was not a policeman, and if he was asked who stuck him up, to say it was " Eingtailed Johnson." This would-be knight of k the road asked the traveller if he met Johnson would he fire at him j to which he replied he j would. The rascal immediately produced two i pistols, handed one to the man, walked back a few ■ paces, and fired over his head. We hear of bim again at G-alargumbone, where he brought a 1 gentleman behind him on his horse from Warrie to the inn, and made him sign a check for £4. Several similar exploits are told of this aspirant for Cockatoo.

return : — January Ist to 31st £168 15 5 February Ist to 29th 362 13 0 March Ist to 31st 192 12 7 April Ist to 27th 600 11 6 " Celseno's" wool account... ... 354 1 6 "Heather Bell's" coal 90 0 0 " Maria's" cargo ... ... 200 0 0 Metal from Green Hill» : 6000 yards, at 5s 1500 0 0 Mails 135 13 4 Miscellaneous ... ... 24 0 0 £3629 7 3