The Southland Times. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1869.

Southland Times, Issue 1175, 3 December 1869, Page 2

The Southland Times. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1869.

Mr Osborne will sell thia day at 12 o'clock, at the residence of Gh F. .Richardson, Esq., Gladstone; household furniture, &c. We have been requested to direct the attention of pur lady readers to an advertisement in our other columns, requesting them to meet at the parsonage, North Road, this afternoon, at four o'clock ; the object in view being to organise a bazaar, on behalf of the Church of England. The promptitude hitherto displayed by "the ladies of Invercargill in responding to any call for atsistanoe in a good cause, renders it unnecessary, for us to urge compliance with the present invitation. Our readers will be pleased to learn that the Provincial' Government have conferred the appointment of Inspector of Police upon Ser-geant-Mfljor Chapman, who now acts in that capacity. This officer is so well known for being unflinching in the discharge of his duty, that he has justly earned the respect and esteem of the community at large, and the fact of his promotion will be generally acknowledged as a proper appreciation of long and faithful service.

One of those persons who have more money than wit lately amused himself in Auckland by scattering money in the street for the city Arabs to scramble for. In this way he had squandered between £20 and £30, when some friends bore him off and put a stop to his amu3ement.

With re erence to the late discovery of copper ore in the Waikouaiti district, the local paper says: — We understand from Mr M, Thomas, one of the prospectors working at M mnt Royal, that they have entered a fresh tunnel in the side of the hill at a consid«rably lower level than the last one t and that he anticipates striking the lode in its solid form, and is Banguine of success. At the end of the last drive specimens of black copper were obtained, but the stone was not of sufficient extent and solidity, but merely appeare J to be the commencement of the lod3. The prospects obtained, he states, were sufficiently encouraging to induce him to commence a drive at a lower level, so as to intercept the solid stone.

A chief named Karawiri lately died at Parawai, , Auckland. He is said to have been a quiet, | peaceable man, and to have done good service towards opening up the Thames goldfield. A " tangi " took place over his remains, a large number of natives being present. Their grief, however, appears to have had little effect upon their appetites, for we learn from an Auckland contemporary that "two cows, ten pigs, one thousand loaves, ten bags of biscuits, half a ton of potatoes, twenty bags of sugar, and an unlimited supply of tea, were consumed." Mr Richard Todd, F.8.a.5., of Raglan, claims to have discovered a process by moans of which the gum may be removed from the native flax. He explains his process in a letter to the Superin* tendent of Auckland, .as follows : — " Sir, — I have the honor to bring under your notice what I consider to be a great improvement in the dressing of flax from the phormium tenax. The present fibre, as sent to market, when examined by the microscope, appears covered with gum, attached to the fibre in indurated globules, and the basis of this gum being silica, it must be removed before it hardens, as when dry, it is almost insoluble in cold water. During the process of preparation generally adopted, the pareuchyraatous or viscous tissue which surrounds the fibre, is, by the percussion of the stripping drum, driven in amongst the fibrous tissue . Si rple washing with water fails to remove this matter, which, when dry, renders the flax so hird and unmanageable as to be unfitted for the m mufacture of fine fabrics. This gummy matter must therefore be removed, if possible, by a cheap and simple process, and this is attained by passing the flax (after it comes from the machine and has received its first wash) between rollers of vulcanised indiarubbe*, or other elastic substance. The regularity of the pressure, from the elastic nature of the face of the rollers, squeezes the gummy matter thoroughly out of the fibrous tissue, renders it soft and silky, and may dispense almost wholly with the scutching, and consequently avoid the creation of tow." From an advertisement which appears in our Other columns, it will be noticed that Messrs 0. B. Howden & Co., of Dunedin, the proprietors of the first distillery established in New Zealand, are now prepared to supply colonial made spirits at a price considerably under what the imported article can be purchased for. There is no doubt that this fact alone will tend to bring the spirits into general consumption, and as we believe that the services of an old and experienced manager hare been engaged, we may reasonably expect that something like the flavor of the " real mountain dew " will be imparted. A special meeting of the committee of the Acclimatisation Society was held at the Government buildings yesterday, 2nd inst., at which the hon. Dr Menzies (chair), and Messrs M' Arthur, Basstian, M'Pherson, Steuart, M'Oulloch, Wood, Gilmour, and Butts (Secretary) were present. The minutes of former sitting haviug been read and confirmed, a letter from the curator was rea 1, stating that the Californian quails were laying, and that be had already about a dozen-and a-half of eggs, which might be disposed of for hatching under common fowls. It was agreed that Mr Butts should endeavor to get some one having bantam hens to undertake their incubation, and the rearing of the chicks. The curator also stated that the young trout recently brought from Dunedin were doing well, fewer having died than was at one time expected. A letter from H. Hill, Esq., requesting a supply of young trout for himself and some others in the Waimea district, was received and read. In consideration of the interest manifested by the gentlemen alluded to, and of the expense and trouble they had incurred in objects connected with acclimatisation , and of their offer to present the Society with some young pheasants — they having several broods now hatching — it was resolved to comply with the desire as far as possible. Mr But s was requested in the first place to communicate with those gentlemen who had purchased fry in ad- \ vance, to ascertain if they would consent to accept a smaller number of fish than they had paid for, the deficiency to be made good either in ova or fry at a future time. This appeal had been rendered necessary through the Society having a much smaller number of young fish than had oeen calculated upon, when the ova was sent for, and will, no doubt, be readily acceded to. It was intimated that the volume of water entering the ponds had been recently increased by the turning into it of several more springa, and | that the trout were doing well ; they should spawn during the coming season.

The Queenstown correspondent of the Dunstan Times, writing on the 16th ult., says : — " The Government sale of allotments in the township of Frankton, on Thursday last, was very successful. Corners and frontages sold well, and were eagerly competed for. The favorite business sites were those fronting the main line of road to the Dunstan, and, a* this portion of the township is, necessarily, much circumscribed, it was no wonder that high prices were obtained. In my humble opinion, had the Government paid a little more to the printer, and thus given the sale more publicity— r or really very few people knew of itallotments in the future emporium of the Lakes would have sold considerably higher than they did. Ido not mean to say that Qaeenstown will " flit" bodily to Frankton, but as soon as the Shotover bridge is completed, the latter will most decidedly go a-heai. Nothing is more certain than that, as population increases, the trade of the Lake will improve in proportion, and, as Frankton is the nearest point of embarkation or debarkation for the down-country trade, a very large proportion of the traffic will make tlli» the terminal point."

A correspondent writing to an Otago paper from the Lake district, says : — Quartz, quartz, quartz. I think the reefing excitement is increasing, and, presently, we shall have more reefs than we know what to do with. I saw some stone the other day with very coarse gold in it, said to have been obtained from a newly, discovered reef in the range at the back of Gibts's store, between the Nevis and Arrow Bluffs. Accounts from the Shotover are highly encouraging. The long-pending dispute between the Nugget Company is to be finally settled by an edict of the Warden's Court. As soon as the affair is settled, machinery for crushing will be erected at onca ; and as trial crushings hare given from five to ten ounces to the ton, something like a quartz "mania" may be considered inevitable. The Cromwell reefs, of eourje, are all the talk but I do not see anyone inclined to make much of an investment in them ; though, if they were turned into " scrip " companies, I d-»re say a few. shares would sell. People who have been down from here to Cromwell all complain what a windy place it is, and what a dust the wind kicks up. Blowing, we all know, is quite colonial with respeut to bipeds, but, at Cromwell, the very elements are affected with the propensity, so you cannot, therefore, wonder that withal we welcome the good news from the reefa with ecatacies of joy. We don't quite believe all we hear. It was said the other daj , that four reefs, ten miles long, and parallel to each other, had been discovered, but I did not believe it ; such a thing may be possible, but, nevertt eless, it is highly improbable, ancj a space of country like that would employ all the quartz-miners in Victoria and Otago thrown in. However, the more population centres at the Beefs, the better we shall like it here, as we are able to supply plenty of produce in exrtwnge for gold, and I know who will be the best off in the end.

The Lawrence correspondent of the Bruce Herald says that " the Deep Shaft, so long begun and carried on under many difficulties, -will shortly be sunk to the bottom. They hare come on both sides of the reef, dipping at a deep angle to the gutter. It is anticipated that another soft sink, to the depth of 30 feet, will prova what has given rise to many hopes and various speculations. I may say that tbis work has been accomplished by and through the persevering determination of J. O. Brown, M.P.0." '

Messrs Bastings and Zo r oed of Weatherstones, Tuapeka district, turned out their first brew a fortnight since. This fact was announced by the bellman, who further invited all hands to " taste and try" free of expense. This had the effect of drawing together a large number of customers, and a contemporary says that " the crowd afterwards showed signa of great animation."