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Southland Times, Issue 1185, 20 December 1869, Page 2

Our Riverton correspondent, writing on the 16th inst., cays : — " The prospectors at the Longwood appear now to be waiting the result of the quartz crushing, and several are already in town, evidently to enjoy the festivities of the approaching season. We are now in a tropical climate, far too hot to be enjoyable. Yesterday at 8 a.m. the thermometer, at 2ft from the ground, stood at 86 ° in the sun, and at 8.30, on the grass, 97 ° ; at noon, in the shade, 79 ° , and on the ground, in the centre of a paddock, 111 ° . i Although gardens and crops generally are looking exceedingly well, rain is now much needed, and there are many outcries for water. Last Tuesday ' evening the popular rendings again took place, and certainly readers and singers exceeded former efforts. The management of these entertainments is certainly a model for others. A correspondent of the Lyttelton Times says his London correspondents dwell especially on the extra value of the flax when cut young, instead of old, and full of woolley fibre ; and also object to the twising into hanks, stating that if put into bales in its full length, the hydraulic pressure it is subjpiot to would not injure it, and it would come out without being subject to " kinks " or fracture. Another of the Maori prisoners died in Dunedin gaol on the afternoon of the 11th. Verdict — consumption. A meeting of the committee of the Chamber of Commerce took place on Saturday, 18th, relative to existing intercolonial postal arrangements. Mr Gibbs intirc ted that he had received a communication from the owners of the steamers now on the line, Messrs M'Meckan, Blackwood and Co., offering to carry the Southland mails between Melbourne and the Bluff for a four-weekly subsidy of £100. Mr T. M. Macdonald stated that a telegram had been received by the Superintendent from the Government of Otago, and that they w«re inclined to make terms. £4500 had been mentioned as the subsidy requiring to be nwde up by the three Southern provinces, and the Government here had expressed their willing, ness to contribute an equitable proportion. It was agreed that thia was the best course to follow, and that no action on the part of the Chamber was necessary. We hear that an excursion trip per railway to the Makarewa is likely to be provided for pleasure seekers on Boxing Day. Our readers will regret to learn that Mr Thomas Paterson,C.E., met his death by drowning on the 15th inst. It seems that the Oaniaru upcoach, when crossing the Kakanui river, was upset, and two passengers drowned — Miss Ross, late teacher in the North Dunedin School, and Mr Paterson. The Wellington poisoned sugar, on analysis, has been found to contain a quantity of arsenic. It is No 2of the Victorian Company. Pieces of it have been handed over to the police. The suffererß are now recovering. Five bags of the sugar which had been sent to the convent affected all the inmates. A severe thunder storm took place at Picton on the evening of the 15th. The lightning struck the house of Mr Conolly, barrister, and carried away part of the roof. The electric fiuid also struck one of the children, a boy of about 10 years of age, on the head and breast, killing him instantaneously,

Some excitement was caused in Liwrence on Wednesday (s iy9 the Taape&a Times of the 11th) by the intelligence that Inspector Percy and Constable Purdue had arrived in charge of a man and woman accused of the serious offence of an attempt to poison a whole family. From what we can learu, the fact* of the case are as f jllows : — Jane Doigh, the female prisoner, and, her husi band, have been for soon time engaged as servants at the Spylaw Station. Mra Doigh is a very passionate woman, and has repeatedly quarrelled with Mr Cameron, the manager of the station, and his wife. On the occasion of one of these quarrels, she said to Mr Cameron, "I hope I will yet see you a corp3e in your boots." About six weeks ago, Mrs Doigh got a tin of soda from some fencers. P<irt of this she gave to Mrs Cameron, who used it for baking purposes without any ill results following, until Saturday, the 27th ult., when she used it in some flour to mate scones. Mr Cameron, Mrs Cameron, and their child, ate some of thes9 about 5 p.m., and were almost immediately taken ill, and continued sick until midnight. The symptoms were violent headache and excessive thirst, and were equally marked in the case of the boy M'Qrath, who had also eaten of the scones. On the same evening, previous to the family having tea, Mrs Doigh fed the fowh with some stale home-made bread soaked in water, and next morning four large turkeys and eight other fowls were found to have perished. The arresting constable has in his possession two of the scones left over, and a quantity of the powder left after baking. The stomachs of the poultry, the scones, and a portion of the vomit of the gufferers is to be Bant to Wellington for analysis. Constable Purdue will have to go North in charge. We have received a copy of Mr Roae's Southland Almanac and Official and Commercial Directory for 1870, which has just been issued from the press. It contains a mas 9of useful information, a new feature being the addition of several well-arranged tables relating to the lands of the province, population, stock, &c. This will | make it desirable as a work of reference, and with the postal intelligence, stamp duties, official and trades directory, memorandum diary, <fee, &c, should render it a necessity, not only in public and business offices, but in every household. There is likewise some valuable hints for country settlers in the tables of measurements, gardener's calendar, &c, which should be a special recommendation, to our farmers. Taking it altogether, both &S regards its compilation and its appearance, it is a very creditable production, and we may fairly say that it should be largely patronisei. At a meeting of the Southland Prospecting Association, held on Friday evening last, at the Prince of Wales Hotel, at which there was a good attendance, it was decided by a lar^e majority to curry on the operations of the Society to pome further extent. Instructions were to be given to Mr Young, the practical overseer, to try for coal in come other locality. It is to be hoped the persistent energy of the company may meet its reward.