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Southland Times, Issue 1113, 24 February 1869, Page 2

Invercabgill Silfe Volunteer, Company. — The meeting ot the Invercargill Kifle. Volunteers, held in the Court House last evening was largely attended, about 60 being present. Captain Harvey explained the financial position of the company, and stated the main object for which they had been called together was to determine how the money received from the General Government, viz. :— £l93 19s 6d should be disposed of, and suggested that £2 per head should be given towards payment of uniform, and the balance passed to the general account. A resolution, to this effect was passed unanimously. Several other matters connected with the working of the company were brought forward and satisfactorily disposed of. Gold in the Longwood Kanges. — A Kiverton correspondent writes as follows :— " Some excitement appears to have been manifested iv town on the discovery of what, is considered payable ground in the vicinity of the Longwood Ranges. A company has been got up to test the locality, and as the Superintendent and Provincial Treasurer happened to be on a visit to Riverton, an Executive meeting was held at Waldeck, the residence of His Honor, when it was agreed to set apart two blocks of 50 acres each, in order to encourage BBgßft>Ss"fflffß ffl B i*taiSa e Vu 3 1^- V^ a «' d^caa4f and report upon the prospects of the ground opened up. As soon as anything important takes place, I will advise you." Small-Pox. — To allay public anxietytouching the probability of small-pox being introduced to this colony, through communication with vessels from infected ports, we have been requested to publish the following telegrams, as showing that both the General and Provincial Governments are alive to the importance of precautionary measures : — Wellington, Feb 10th, 1869. To the Superintendent of Southland. The question has been mooted as to making quarantine regulations as to Melbourne. If vessels from Melbourne are placed in quarantine at all ports in New Zealand immense public inconvenience will be caused by the detention of mail steamers, especially at Hokitika. Will you make provision for landing and maintaining passengers in Lazaret, so as to enable steamers to go on with mails. Please reply at once, E. W. Stafford. Wellington, Feb 11th, 1869. Superintendent Southland. 'Melbourne Argus' of^othuJt. reports that chief medical officer states that reported small-pox there is only chicken-pox. I will write to Melbourne to ascertain facts. Present regulations require every vessel to be examined, and, if infectious, placed in quarantine. An additional regulation declaring Melbourne infected and requiring every vessel thence to be placed in quarantine for a certain time would inflict grave public inconvenience, and in the absence of authenticated existence of small-pox in Victoria be unnecessary, Stafford. Wellington, Feb 16th. The Superintendent, Southland. Your letter of 28th ult. on subject of quarantine ground, Spencer Island, h.-is been referred to Mr Domett, at Dunedin, as Land Claims Commissioner, for his report, K. W. Stafford. We may state that Spencer Island is a small island conveniently and safely situated about the centre ot Bluff Harbor. As the fact of small-pox being in Melbourne is now but too clearly established, the Government have arranged for due care being taken in the case of vessels arriving from that port. Every Harbor Master in New Z -aland is ex officio a health officer, to whom every captain is bound to give a true account of the stace of his ship, and in the event of his not being satisfied of its perfect freedom from contagion, K 'apt. Thomson will keep any vessel at the ou'er anchorage until she has been inspected by the Mj lical Health Oflicer. in the meantime, should ne vssity aris • a Lazaret will bu established on I'ewais Point until the arrangements regarJm/ .Spencer Island are completed. KuN'A.WAr Horses. —No less th.iv three ac-idents of this des 'ription occurre I in town on Monday last, 22nd inst., happily, without in either instance effecting any very serious injury to life or property, i'he first in order, and the most extraordinary in its results — seeing ihafc in this case the animal ran the longest distance, through the must ciMwd-_\i thoroughfares and yet did no damage — took place about 10 in the forenoon, when a spirite.l little horse harnessed to a rather handsome carriage, having been left for a few moments without control, standing in the neighborhood of the Provincial Hotel, started down Tay- street on its own account. Feeling itself fully at liberty, and, no doubt, rejoicing in the fact it soon increased its pace to a swinging gallop. The animal kept clear of all impediments, turned into Dec-street with a fine swoop, then down Esk street to the station, shot like lightning through a perfect maze of wool teams, past the goods sheds, up the cutting into Levenstreet, round by the front of the jail, and was evidently bent on making his way accross the Oreti Railway into the Government paddock, when suddenly brought up by the slough of despond formed at the open mouth of the Speystreet sewer. Going down the rather steep and rough declivity, leading to this savory bei, the gallant little grey appeared to have lost its footing and went slap, head first into the filthy mass ; at all events, when the pursuing crowd got up to him there he was, up to his middle, and half

suffocated in the muck. Willing hands, however, soon extricated him from his nasty fix, when it was found that neither horse, harness, nor carriage had sustained a scratch. The second event "occurred almost immediately afterwards, when a dray was being loaded with sawn timber at Mr Tapper's yard, corner of Dee and Speystreets. Something having frightened the animal it started ; the driver, of course, darted forward to snatch the reins, but missed his aim, and was, unfortunately, at the same moment struck and knocked down by a projecting piece of timber, the wheel passing over his body. The horse then galloped along Dee-street, but was stopped beiore it got clear of the town, and without having done further mischief. At first it was feared the man had sustained severe injuries, but after recovering from the stun he was able, with a little assistance to walk to the nearest hotel. " Fortunately, the dray was light, he having but just commenced to load, or his limbs would most likely have been | fractured. The third accident occurred near the same place, in the evening. A countryman carelessly left his cart, to which was yoked a spirited young horse, standing opposite Mr Murphy's, the sailtnaker, while he made a call somewhere ; a lad passing with a hand cart frightened the animal, and it darted off along Dee-street ; fortunately its career was stopt short beiore it got into full stretch, or it would certainly have made tracks. for home at a pace not contemplated by its easy going owner, and done such damage as would have cost him enough to make him more careful'for the future. Farmers coming into town with young horses should remember they are apt to be startled by unaccustomed sights and sounds, and take the precaution of either getting some one to look after them, while they make their calls, or tie them to the nearest hitchinp-post, plenty of which have been erected for their express convenience by the tradesmen of the city. Instead of doing this, however, our country friends generally throw the halter over the animal's bad:, and leave it there, expectirig the beast to stand in the street as if devoid of life or feeling. The Fiji's.— The ' Argus ' of the 11th February, says : — The barque Alfred will take her departure this morning from Hobson's Bay, for Fiji. She proceeds direct to Ovalau, with a mail and despatches for King Thakombau, fiom the Polynesia Company, together with the company's representatives, who proceed to take up their lands and settle the shareholders, as a pre. liminary strp in the establishment of the future operations of the company, which are now being pushed forward vigorously. Much interest has been attached to the despatch of this vessel, which is the first of the line of Polynesia packets lately established here to open up the Eiji trade which is now becoming of {considerable interest and importance. The Alfred takes a full-assorted cargo and several passengers, and, being in fine trim, is expected, as the season of the year is favorabie, to make a rapid passage. We understand that the Polynesia Company has given full instructions to their agents to proceed to the immediate laying out of the city of Suva, at the head of a magnificent harbour of that name, which they purpose making eventually the great commercial emerepob of the Polynesia group. "Whaling. — " I was glad to hear of the departure of the first whaler from Victoria," says Captain Cadell, in a letter dated Auckland, 23rd January. 'It is a most legitimate branch of industry, and it is a disgrace to ,the British a i.a that the Americans have so long monopolised this remunerative pursuit. When at the Bay of Islands a lew months since, the pilot, an old whaler, told me that some half dozen well fished Yankees, wishing to send home to America some of their oil, chartered from Auckland an English ship for that purpose. The ship not making her appearance as soon as she ought, they thought they would go outside and get enough oil to pay her freight. In about a fortnight they not only got sufficient oil to pay the freight, but to buy the ship into the bargin. It was all taken about 140 miles due east of the bay. To the Alabama and Shenandoah the whales are indebted for somewhat of a respite from the pursuit of their inveterate enemies the ' down-casters.' —We observe, from the Brisbane papers, that a shipload of Papuan negroes had been landed at Burketown. They had all been engased excepting one — for whose services a sum of £10 was wanted — by the squatters on the Plains of Promise. Export of Timber to India. — Letters from India (says the ' Argus') complain sadly of the timber recently sent there from here for railway sleepers. The writers of the letters state that the bad quality of the wood, which was described as bluegum, but which is said to have been principally stringy bark, has created a great prejudice against Victorian timber. Messrs Evans and Buchanan are, however, about to ship a consignment of first-class timber, chiefly ironbark, for Calcutta, and we trust that will do much to remove the prejudice created by the shipment of timber which, it is well known, is utterly unfit for railway purposes. There is no reason why — if properly conducted — a considerable trade should not spring up between this colony and India in really good timber, which is much required fur the construction of the railways now in progress. United States Civil Service. — The ' Argus' writes —As an illustration of the working of the system on which the Civil Service of the United States is conducted, we may refer to a statement made in the ' New York Herald,' of the 15th November last, to tbe effect that a hundred millions of dollars, or twenty millions sterling, are annually stolen from the Government ; and it add 3 that the persons implicated in these stupendous frauds cannot be reached, and therefore escape punishment. " The truth is," writes the 'Herald,' "the heads of the Treasury and Inland Revenue departments, and even the members of the Cabinet, are either directly concerned in the frauds, or have powerful and intimate friends who are." These allegations are sustained by the ' New York Times,' and admitted by the 'Tribune,' which asserts that the Treasury only received half as much as it. should do from the imports levied through those departments. We are acquainted with one well-authenticated case, in which a cargo of dutiable goods was admitted free in the port of New York by the purchase, on the part of the captain, of a bundle of quills from one of the Custom-house officers ; the consideration given being a handsome sum in gold. Mast of the officials .holding *-.ieir appointments only for four years, take care to make hij while the sun shines. There is a wiile-sprea I conspiracy to defraul the revenue ; and, observes the ' New York Herald,' "so power iui is the combination known as the ' Whisky King,' and such enormous wealth has it with which to defeat investigation and the ends of justice, that all efforts to probe the evil have failed." Drought ix Victoria. — "We lately quoted (says the 'Age') as an instance of the disastrous effects of the drought, from a Geelong paper, a statement that a squatter had given away 7000 sheep on the sole condition that at the end ol six months one haif of that number should be returned to him. " Since then," says a Kyneton paper, " a still more striking instance ' lias come to our knowledge. A few days ago, Atr .Richard B<"odie, of Helensville, near Sunbnry, gave away 8000 sheep, and 4000 lambs — the gift being subject to no condition whatever, Mr Brodie only had the alternative of seeing the sheep die around him, or of giving them away." Provincial Engineer. — We understand the Q-overnmeut has considerately granted the services of its Engineer to level and lay off the proposed new water-race at the Longwood goldfields, computed to be six miles in length. The GrOURLAT Family. — We undert ' stand that the G-ourlay family, the celebrated delineators of Scotch character, will pay Invercargill a visit shortly. They have been highly spoken of by the Australian and New Zealand Press. i