The Southland Times. MONDAY, JULY 6, 1868.

Southland Times, Issue 981, 6 July 1868, Page 2

The Southland Times. MONDAY, JULY 6, 1868.

The Medals to be shot for by the Invercargill Eifle Volunteers, the gift of Mrs Harrey, and Mrs G-eisow, have arrived from Melbourne. They are handsome, and when the inscription is placed on them, they will be tokens of efficiency of which any volunteer might be proud. We understand that the firing for them will take place on the 4th of August. We are in receipt of a number of the "Alliance," a new penny paper published in Christchurch. It is nicely printed and from the matter it contains it is presumable that it is intended as the organ of the Temperance party. It was announced at Friday's parade that the weekly meetings for drill in future would be on Monday evenings instead of Friday's. This alteration we believe has been made to suit the convenience of those members who might wish to attend the Penny Readings.

I Saturday, last, the 4th July, being the anni-' versary of American Independence, it was observed by Ihe resident citizens hailing from that country in the iisua'. manner. At noon a number of gentlemen mot at the Clarendon Hotel when the ordinary toasts were drunk. Daring tho day tho American flag wa3 conspicuous throughout the town. The following extract is taken from a letter of Mr John Eathgate, which appeared in the " Daily Times " of a recent date .— " I will not close this letter without a suggestion as to the course amendment should take. First," take away all power of legislation from Provincial Councils, and let their duties be confined to the proper administration of tb.9 public- revenue. Good reasons for this lie on the surface. Nine petty parliaments form a stock subject for reproach and jibe. Second, let the Councils give up their miserable aping of a British House of Commons, and abolish the absurdity of political chiefs of departments. I have never known whether to laugh or to be sorrowful when a Constitutional cri3is took place in the Provincial Council. It, however, seemed such a burlesque, 6uch a wretched travesty of Constitutional Government, that the sense of the ridiculous gained the day, and laughter had it. I neyer could liken the farce to any other thing than a sable monarch of a score of huts sitting in state with an embroidered diplomatic coat, a gift from a European Government, adorning his Bhpulders, while his black limbs were free from the restraints of civilised garments. The want of adaption -to our "circuTn^tauceaJn^lioa^-Miiiigterial emeutes is so palpable, that it is a wonder they have been submitted to so long. The London correspondent of the " Otago Daily Times " writes : — The attack fey pirates on the Macduff; London to Melbourne, on 23rd October, should be a caution to mariners of the long voyage. A letter, published hsre, gives lat. 7.30, long. 20.52, as the scene of hilf an hour's sharp encounter, when 150 villanoiß cut-thjjoats were beaten off their intended preyjby the resolute bearing of the crew and passjngers of an apparently helpless merchantman. This adventure cannot be too frequently narrated; nor should passenger vessels ever put to sea without being much better armed than was the good bhip Macduff at the time of her great peril : as, but for the sterling British pluck shown on this occasion, the probable consequences are perfectly horrible to contemplate. Mr P. Murphy, who for some years has acted as Bailiff of the Resident Magistrate's Court at luvercargill, has received the appointment of Clerk of the Bench at Oamaru. . During ' the time that Mr Murphy has been in this town he has discharged his somewhat disagreeable duties in a manner that has earned for him the good opinions of those with whom he has teen thrown i in contact. He has been presented with a flat- | tering testimonial from Odd Fellows of the Loyal | Shamrock, Rose, and Thistle Lodge, of which he was a member. It will be seen from our advertising columns that the order for nightly drill of the Invercargill Rifle Volunteers has been rescended. The drill will in future be on Friday evenings, at the Exchange Buildings, Dee-street. The prisoners are now employed in forming Kelvin-stjreet, from Esk to Spey-street. This work was much required, still it appears strange that after opening the Esk-street drain it should be left in its present dangerous condition, and fresh works commenced. Mr George Lumsden has been appointed a member of the Provincial Executive. The "Northern Argus," in an article on the supineness of the present Government of Queensland, draws the following uninviting picture of the present state of that Colony : — " Money does not multiply and increase in our hands ; we can hardly manage to keep a nest egg. Our country remains undeveloped, our merchants do nothing but draw water with sieves j the dead horse is ever holding them back ; our tradesmen are compelled to give long credits, and to sell without any certainty of payment ; our artificers are half 'unemployed ; and our laborers wander about the land seeking work, arid like the Israelitish spies return with 'an evil report.' A debt which no doubt will yet be made heavier, hangs like a millstone round the neck of the country, and ad valorem, our curse and our blight, eats into the core of our prosperity, and keeps us 'beggars all.' Our squatters are in a state of insolvency ; stock of every description commands ruinous prices only ; our railways are running at a serious annual loss, while freightage and bad water carriage add to a catalogue which shows, to a partial extent, the sum total of our present difficulties." The "New Zealand Advertiser" of the 17th inst., has the following remarks upon the opening of the telegraph to Napier : — " Telegraphic communication is open between Wellington and Napier ! At about 2 o'clock this afternoon we learn that the first signals ever received by the telegraphic wire from the Province of Hawke's Bay were taken clearly and steadily. The event - marks an era in telegraphy in New Zealand — aye, it is a point in the history of. the Colony. It is one great stride in the march of progress among us. Another of the provinces of New Zealand is brought within the influence of the electric current j another tie binds us to our neighboring settlers ; another medium for the interchange of thoughts, hopes and fears is established — and the time when narrow prejudices shall be swept away and replaced by a friendly rivalry in the promotion of the welfare of the Colony generally, and not merely of any one section of it, has drawn closer, far closer. The line of telegraph between Wellington and Hawko's Bay, of which much has been written continually, is at length a patent fact, though we believe that a few hours more must elapse before it will be open for the transaction of public business. This fact is one in which all sincere advocates for New Zealand will rejoice. It is one upon which we heartily congratulate our readers, the Government, aad the public generally." A Mr J. Gardiner informs a Maryborough ("Victoria) journal that, having reared a considerable number of silkworms, last season, he sent a hank of their silk to a friend in Manchester, who submitted it to Mr LeMan, silk merchant, in that city, for the purpose of ascertaining its market value, relative to establishing the culture as a source, of employment. Mr LeMan reported thus : — " The sample is very good. Italian silk is the best, the price now 50s per lb ; the Indian and Chinese about 255 ; think the Australian sample between the two ; it is two-thirds gum and one-third vegetable, so the threads stick together j it should be wound four threads in one." .

The " Evening Stai«," 20th June, in an article upon the Provincial system, saya : — " The maintenance of an overgrown officialdom located here is one sore pomt — need. we say, that it ought to he equally offensive to the people of Dunedin. Are there no taxpayers here ?. Is tlio enormous cost of government in proportion to the numbers and wealth of those to bo governed not an oppression to Dtinedin as well as the country ? Can the fact that the Government Buildings are in" Princesstreet be any compensation to the people of Dunedin for the Bhameful waste of public money which the Provincial system entails ? These ate questions which the people of Dunedin may well put to themselves. The idea that they gain any advantage from the present system is, we believe entirely a fallacy. ■ Constitutional changes which will abolish Provincial Governments entirely will prove, we believe, as valuable to the people .of Dunedin as to the people of Oamaru or Wakatip, Clutha or Tokomairirq. The " New Zealand Herald," 2nd June, says : — " It will be in the recollection of our .readers that during the month of March, last year, considerable excitement was manifested when it was made known that Mr D. Kirkwood, of Qaehunga, had absconded from Hokitika, in the schooner Stanley and duped his creditors to the extent of about £20,000. A meeting was immediately held a^d attended by tKe* most influential merchants of Auckland and Onehunga. At that meeting, Captain'Davis, formerly of the schooner Stanley, • made an affidavit that he had shipped to go down L with Kirkwood to Hokitika, and on his arrival there Kirkwood had requested him to ship further on, out of the colony altogether. This the captain refused to do, as did the crew. Kirkwood thereafter cleared the ship (Stanley) for Guam, and immediately before he sailed he gave Captain Davis a cheque on tht, bank for upwards of 3000, which Davis took to the bank, and for which he received the amount in sovereigns. He carried the sovereigns to Kirkwood, who immediately sailed away. Davis saw the vessel sail, and was aware thot Kirkwood was on board. An application was then made for a warrant to apprehend Kirkwood as an absconding debtor, which was immediately granted by the Resident Magistrate, and was forwarded to the British Consuls stationed in various places. A deed was also signed by each creditor, agreeing to pay a sum not exceeding 2£ per cent on the amount of the expenses of his capture, and his being brought back to Auckland. Photographs of Kirkwood were also obtained and sent to all known ports, offering a reward of £50 for his apprehension. One of the creditors also : undertook to proceed to Melbourne and Sydney, thinking he might call there before proceeding on a long Toyage. Nothing, however, was heard of the delinquent, or the vessel, until very recently, when Mr C. Davis, the mortgagee of the vessel, received an intimation that he was trading between some of the ports in Japan. That gentleman immediately sent instructions, with full power to seize the vessel,^ to Melbourne, San Francisco, and Japan, and it will be some satisfaction to those creditors who interested themselves on his disappearance, to learn that the vessel has been seized at a place called Hiago, a new colony recently established near Yokohama, in Japan. The Stanley arrived at Hiago during Jthe month of March last, in command of Captain Clarke, the same person who shipped in her when she left Hokitika, and was seized by Mr E. Von der Heyde, a brother to Mr Von der Heyde, of the firm of Henderson and Macfarlane. When the vessel was taken possession of, Mr David Kirkwood was on board, but as no instructions had been received there to arrest hnr>, nothing could be done in the matter. The Stanley is now in possession of the mortgagee, Mr C. Davis, and it is probable she may. soon return to her native waters with a cargo of eastern produce." The following exquisite morceau is extracted from the columns of the " Bendigo Independent,' anent the article on Victorian democracy in the "Westminster Eeview" :— " The minds of the readers of reviews have been debauched by the eloquent scurrililies which have for some years been the blood and breath of the ' Saturday Review,' in the pages of which journal nothing is too sacred to be lampooned, too virtuous to be jeered at, or too false to be proved true. Religion and women are the standing themes of its ribaldry. The ono is blasphemed with the deliberation of philosophy and the virulence of infidelity— the other is scandalised with the instincts of a Turk and the language of v Mormon. No relationship of her life is too defenceless to be available, too pure to be tampered with, too secret to be violated, too womanly to be reviled. Proceeding from bad to worse, the Englishwoman of the Saturday slanderer has become a disgrace to earth and a reproach to heaven; living only to expose her vanity and conceal her licentiousness." The " South Australian Register " of the 24th inst., has an article on the operation of the Victorian Land Act, based on a pamphlet recently issued by the Victorian Lands department. Our contemporary says : — " Only two years ago we thought ourselves secure in our agricultural pre-eminence, and we could still boast of our yeomanry. Now, the one has to be wielded with faltering hand, i and the other feels the ground trembling beneath its feet. Last harvest the Victorian yield exceeded ours by a million and a quarter bushels. The year before, when there was no red rust, and •while Grant's act was yet in its infancy, Victoria produced nearly two-thirds as much as the largest yield ever known in South Australia. Its average per acre is much higher than ours, "we admit ; but even in respect of area under cultivation there is no longer a great gulf of separation between us. Victoria has close on 600,000 acres, and we have not much over three-quarters "of a million. Two seasons have totally changed our relation to each other, and the change is still going on, while we can scarcely strain our minds to a belief in its possibility. Settlement proceeds in Victoria at the rate of nearly a million acres per annum. In South Australia the present annual rate is less than 150,000 acres. " The total amount permanently alienated in Victoria is ten millions and three-quarters, or an area of settlement equal to sixteen acres per head of the population. The South Australian average is twenty acres per head, and not long ago it was deemed unapproachable. In 1860, there were, as we have shown, less than 4,000,000 acres alienated in Victoria. During the next six years, 6,750,000 were added to the total, or at the rate of fully a million per annum. On the 2,000,000 acres leased up to the end of 1866, there were more than 4,000 resident tenants — half as large a yeomanry as that of South Aus-' tralia — created in eighteen months. The total number of people located on the land was 14,570, and the amount of money invested in improvements £630,000."

The entertainment given by the Penny Reading Society at the Theatre Royal, on Friday evening. last, was a greater success even than the previous one, both, as regards the quality of the entertainment, and the number of the audience. At the hour for the rising of the curtain, so great was the press downstairs that it was found to be absolutely necessary to throw open the ujpper portion of the house," which w asi also soon- fully occupied. The; musicarpart of fHo programme, both vocal and' instrumental, was executed in a manner at once highly creditable to the performers, and pleasing to the audience. The song " Blow, blow, *ye winter winds," and a Fantasia on Irish aira, on the flute, were both excellent and elicited the heartiest applause. The readings were also all very good, those by Mr Buchanan and Mr M'Rorie, especially so. The former gentleman read a chapter from the autobiography of '' Mansie Waugh," in a style which brought out to perfection both the humor and pathos of the author, and which kighly delighted his hearers ; the execution scene in » which my " Lord Tom Noddy" figures so ridicul- t ously, was very well depicted by the latter named gentleman. A recitation, " John Q-ilpvn," by Mr Weiss was also very well done. The prologue for the occasion was written and read by Mr J. E. Stewart. A short, but interesting lecture on chemistry was. delivered by Mr 0. D. Irvine. The lecture was the first of a proposed course, and as the subject is an interesting and highly instructive one, we subjoin it. The lecturer said : — The science of chemistry is the knowledge of and acquaintance with the matter of which the world is composed; and consists in a knowledge of and an acquaintance with the properties of the various material substances of which the earth, the sea, the air, and all that in them is, is composed. The world is now known to be composed, i. c., made up, of about sixty-two different kinds of matter ; and these sixty-two kinds of matter are called, in the language of Chemistry, Elements. The word Element, as applied to any kind of matter or substance, means that such matter or substance is simple in itself, and cannot be separated, decomposed, or changed into any other kind or kinds of matter. Thu* the metal brass is not an . element, because it can be separated or decomposed into two other metals, viz., zinc and copper ; but zinc and copper are both elements, because neither of them can be separated or decomposed into any other substance than what they are, The namesof the principal elements which require to be known, as being used in the arts, or producing a marked effect in nature on a large scale, are the following: — Gaseous Bodie3.

Atomic weight. ' t Oxygen ... ... ... B'o t Nitrogen ... ... ... 14'0 Hydrogen ... ... 1*0 " Chlorine ... ... ... 35'5 Koh-Metaujo Solids. f Carbon ... ... ... 6"0 Silicon ... ... ... 21*8 f Sulphur " ... ... ... 16-0 j Phosphorus .- ... .....320 I lodine ... ... ... 126*3 Metallic Bases. Potassium ... (M 890 Sodium ... ... ... 23.0 Barium ... ... ... 686 Calcium ... ... ... 20"0 Magnesium ... ... 12-7 Aluminum ,„ ... i.. 13*7 Metais Pbopeb. . tlron ... ... ... 280 Zinc ... ... ... 325 f Copper ... ... ... 31^ t Silver ... ... ... 1080 t Gold ... ... ... 98.3 Lead ... ... ... 103-5 Tin ... 58-8 t Mercury ... ... ... 1000 t Platinum ... ... ... 98'7 t Antimony .... , ... 129'0 f Bismuth ... ... ... 709 Nickle ...- ... 296 Cobalt ... ... ... 29-§ f Arsenic ... ... ... 75'0 - Manganese ... ... 27*7' Chromium ... ... 28'1

The names of the remaining thirty-one elements can be found in any. book on chemistry ; but some of them are exceedingly rare and comparatiTely unimportant. From rdry ancient times, the question of the constitution of matter with respect to divisibility has been debated, and some adopted the opinion that its divisibility is infinite, that it would be possible, if the power existed, to go on dividing it for ever. Others, on the contrary, adopted the opinion that it would be possible &> divide apiece of matter, if the means of doing bo existed, only until such time as it arrived at a certain limit of size ; a limit of size beyond which it would be impossible to go, because the particle, itself would successfully resist all attempts to divide, break, or crush it. This is the opinion generally received now, and it is called the " Atomic Theory;" the ultimate particle itself is called an atom, a word derived from two Greek words signifying "not to cut." It is called a "theory," because we have no means at our disposal for deciding the question. Taking the " theory," however, " that atoms exist," to be true, the following considerations with respect to atoms are of importance : — That as there are sixty-two elements of different Iriuds of matter, so there are sixty-two elementary or different kinds of atoms, called' sijiple atoms ; that all elementary substances are made up of their own elementary atoms ; that an atom of one kind possesses the power of uniting with an atom of another kind to form a third atom, which third atom differs from both the original atoms of which it is composed. Thus an atom of chlorine unites with an atom of sodium to form an atom of common salt ; or two atoms of sulphur unite with one of iron to form one atom of iron pyrites, and so on. That all atoms composed of two or more different kinds of atoms are compound atoms ; that all the sixty-two elementary atoms differ from each other in weight ; that their relative weights, with regard to each other are known : thus an atom of oxygen is eight times heavier than an atom of hydrogen, and an atom of sulphur, is sixteen times heavier than an atom of hydrogen, and go on ; that atoms of the same kind exert a power, of attraction towards each other called the attraction of cohesion, and that atoms of different kinds . exert a power of attraction towards each other called chemical affinity — thus sugar crystallizing from a solution of sugar in water is an instance of the former, and coal burning in a grate is an instance of the latter — in the former the atoms of sugar in solution gradually collect together till they form themselves into a solid mass of sugar-, candy, and in the latter, the atoms of carbon, of which the coal is composed, gradually unite themselves with the atoms of oxygen in the air to form a gass, named carbonic acid ; that the

form or shape of atoms is unknown, some thittk" that their shapes are various, probably crystal* . :^« line, and some think that all atoms are spherioal ' in their shape ; while it is possible to advanoe as. * a third opinion that the same atom is capable of taking both a crystalline and a spherical shape ; however, that all atoms are spherical i» their shape is the opinion most in favor aft present. [Those marked thus f occur in nature in their simple or native form, i.e., uncpmbined with any other substance or element.] It will be observed from our advertising columns that a meeting of the settlers in the Wallacetown and Wahniwa districts is to take place at Felling's Hotel, Wallacetown, this afternoon. The business to be discussed has reference to the future organisation of the local Ploughing Association, and the impending annual match. As the subject is one deeply affecting the interests of agriculturists, tho farmers of the neighborhood will no doubt feel it heir, duty to attend. Mr Dalrymple Hay (says the Queensland Times) hasjast returned (or is returning) from circumnavigating Australia, having been sent up to the Gulf of Carpentaria by the Government to report on the Norman River settlement. Mr Hay, in an official letter to the Collector of Customs, says : — " This river is by far the finest I have seen in any part of the colonies ; its average breadth is over half a mile, and in. noplace if it less then 200 yards ; it is the outlet to a large tract of fine country, and it promises. to be at no. very distant day the leading port of Northern Queensland." • . *,'.■■" Our dates from Brisbane are to the 20th, and from Maryborough to the 16th inst. The " Maryborough Chronicle" of the 16th makes the following report upon the Gympie reefs:— "News is being daily received by us of machines which aro to be sent up to this district from Brisbane and elsewhere; and in our local columns we have directed attention to the same.- During the week there has been a large amount of speculation in shares, and there ia every reason to believe that what we prophesied will be realised, namely, that this will be tae great reefing capital of Queensland. We are by the product* of our mines, proving their richness, and the numerous applications made to the commissioner for prospecting claime show how rich our mineral resources are supposed to be ; whilst there liars been also during the week a large number of protection areas granted. At the crushing the returns have been good, as from Messrs Brown, Lord and Co.'b claim, out of between 600cwt and7oocwtof stone, there was a return in ' gold of 13580z. This was, however, from specimens. The machine )is now encaged in crushing about 70 tons of quartz from Messrs Goodchap and Co.'s claim, the prospectors of the Caledonian Beef.— Mr Armstrong, of Toloombah station, has reported to the Northern Argus tint as he was coming down to Bockhompton driving his family in a buggy, he found several logs thrown across the road near Alligator Creek, and a number of blacks lurking about. Mr Armstrong directly jumped off his seat, drew his revolvor, and went up to the blacks, threatening to blow out the brains of one or two of them if they did not immediately remove the logs. This decided line of action completely intimidated the darkies and they sullenly complied with his orders* Seme time before he came up he saw a number of them rolling the logs on the road, and fully understood what they were up to. More than once the blacks have adopted this system, and have succeeded in overturning vehicles, then plundering at their ease the unfortunates who were pitched out. J • 7;7T~ ~ The " Sydney Morning Herald." in an articls on the European and Australian Mail Services, says :— A regular fortnightly mail is only a question of time. The Panama line was designed to furnish' that to some extent, but the scheme is altogether upset by the -adoption of the lunar month for one line, while the calender month is used on the other. The two time-tables dovetailed together very well, but now they are in hopeless confusion. The Panama line, however, has developed a considerable passenger traffio, and will do so more now that the detention at St. Thomas' has been done away with. And it has also a considerable indirect commercial value to these colonies. This year, for instance, our bad harvest has made us dependent on California and Chili for a supply of wheat and flour. The steam communication that exists .between us and those two granaries keeps down the market price here. The public will save this year, in the cost of the loaf, a great deal more than the amount of the subsidy to the steam company.