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Southland Times, Issue 1205, 4 February 1870, Page 2

A challenge having been sent by the SouthlandVolunteers to the best ton in Dunedin, the matchwas arranged to be fired either on the 3lst January or the Ist or 2nd of February; - The*] lnrercargill five fired on the 2nd inst., with the following result : — 1; .

The total seems small, and is accounted for by the (act that a strong westerly gale was blowing over the range during the whole time of the firing. It is woHhy of remark that on the previous day, when firing for practice, the same squad made 92 points more, or a total of 251. The scoring of the Biverton five had not come to hand last night. Quite a number of cases came before the Resident Magistrate at the Court yesterday, 3rd. Two or three individuals who confessed to having over-refreshed themselves the previous day, were fined in the usual amounts; An, action damages, M'Kenzie v. Leith, was called, and Had progressed some way, when the defendant, during his examination, was suddenly taken with faintness, and had to leave the Court. The case was adjourned for a fortnight. Sebley v. Fraser was an action to recover the sum of £2 for work done. Judgment was given by default for amount claimed, with costs. The next case was Bain v. Bell, claim for damages to the extent of £8 10s, loss sustained through injury done to plaintiff's horse by defendant. Mr Macdonald appeared for Bain, and Mr Wade for the defendant. From the evidence it appeared that plaintiff had a horse at work on the Oreti Railway, under charge of a lad, and that on the 12th of last month it refused to pull its usual load, whereupon defendant, who was overseer of the works, undertook to make it go, • and administered some rather hard blows with a weighty cudgel (produced), from the effects of which the horse was unfit for work for a number of days. Several witnesses were examined on both sides, there being a good deal of dispute as to whether defendant had struck the horse on the head' — where the principal injuries had been inflicted— or not. No one could swear that he had actually done so, but he himself admitted having' been very angry, although he denied being excited. Mr Dunlop, veterinary surgeon, spoke to the nature of the injuries the horse had received, and its being unfit for work. The defence was _ that the horse was a thorough jibber — which was denied by the owner — that no more than ordinary and necessary punishment had been administered, and that the injuries sustained by the animal were occasioned by its jumping violently about, and coming in contact with the sleepers with which the dobbin was loaded. After a rather lengthy hearing, judgment was given for plaintiff for £6 10s, with costs, £1 6s 6d.

I The hard-labor prisoners have {been doing good service during the present summer iv the wav of improving the town footpaths and drains. By their service being made to supplement the subscriptions of the residents, the B'de^ walk in Tsy-street has been gravelled nearly its whole length, and is now a nicely smooth and firm footway, very different to walk on from the rough gridiron affair it was previously. Jedstreet has also been greatly" improved by the formation of an effective side ditch, which has completely drained the ugly impassable swamp formerly existing between Don and Spey-streets ; Vgobd' footpath has also been formed of the clay teken from the ditch, and a part of it gravelled. B&fcterly a good wdrk has been done in draining Leve/i-street, a capacious ditch having been dus from Spey- street right along and up Leet-street to Dee-street. This should remove to a great extent the stagnant waters which used to offend one' 9 r.ostrils in passing along the latter named thoroughfare ; at least owners of property can have no excuse now for allowing accumulations of liquid filth to remain about their premises, rs very little trouble or expense is required to carry it off to the main drain at the rear, and Mr Inspector Ohapman will, no doubt, j see that such is done wherever required. The , I gratings in Dee-street are also gradually going | to wreck. The sprung ends of the battens, and | the projecting nails are unequalled as con. j trivances for tripping people up, and tearing the ■ sweeping trains of female pedestrians. Something has also been done by the gang to remedy this evil, by removing the worst sticks and filling up the holes with earth, but the services of a good hammer for -a while are also much wanted. Yesterday the men were judiciously engaged clearing away the rubbish from gutters in the part of ' Dee-street. Of course, if we Had a municipality,' with flowing coffers, it might be objectionable to allow prison labor to compete, or even interfere, with working men, but under present circumstances it is well such good use can be made of it. The alterations to Messrs Sloan and Sons' premises in D<*e-street are now all but completed, the painters being busily at work, and, certainly, they give promise of being equal t<> any in town. The front shop is a most spacious apartment, and there are a couple of fine large rooms at the rear. The ceiling is circular and very lofty, the windows everything that could be desired for the display of stock, and the ornamentation of the front at once massive and elegant. We understand that the periodical inspection of weights and measures will be commenced on Monday first. As the Act stipulates that the approved stamp must be impressed, we presume that they will have to be taken, for the purpose of being tested, to the police station. This applies to every person selling any article, of whatsoever "nature, by weight or measure. We have been requested to correct two errors appearing in the report of proceedings of Synod, fes given by the Dunedin papers, and which, of course, also appear in our columns, theintimation of the mistakes not having been received in time. The. first error is committed in the paragraph giving the result of the debate on the question raised by Mr Sutherland on the manner of appointing the Moderator. Instead of " After discussion, and the rejection, of an amendment, the motion was carried," read, "An amendment moved by Mr Stobo, to the effect that the mode of appointment at present in use be continued, was carried." In a paragraph further on, in Tuesday's proceedings, 18th ult., for, " A grant of £3,000 was voted towards the erection of the Oamarti manse," read, " A grant of £300, &c." Lovers, of good music — and who is not ? — will be pleased to learn that those universal favorites, the Carandini troupe, will again visit Invercargill shortly. The season will necessarily be a brief one, commencing about the 21st inst., so that they are certain, we should think, to have crowded houses the few nights they will be here. A terrific N.W. gale (says the Daily Times) swept over Port Chamlers from two to four o'clock on the morning of the 27th ult., doing considerable damage on shore. Dr Basire's front verandah was entirely carried away, and the debris, being dashed against Captain Loudens back door, situated at a distance of 200 feet off, broke it in. The gale also tore up same fine fruit trees by the roots, knocked down fences, and did other damage. It was followed by a calm lasting for about an hour and a half, when a strong sou'wester sprang up, which died away towards the afternoon. Never, within the memory of the residents of Port Chalmers, has a heavier gale been experienced. All the vessels in the harbor, though heeling over considerably, remained fast to their moorings. Ihe report of the Court of Inquiry on the late boat accident at Timaru has been published in the General Government Gazette. Some remarks by Captain Johnson, Nautical Assessor, are appended. Their gist is contained in the following paragraph : — " I consider that the weather at the time of accident was not so bad as not to justify either the use of the shore or ship's boat, but. the accident arose from the mismanagement of the latter: that, although every exertion was marie by those on board to save livos, some errors of judgment were committed, but which no doubt were committed under great excitement." With regard to the remarks alleged to have been made by Captain Malcolm relative to Mr Balfour's control over the boats, Captain Johnson points out that Mr Balfour had no such control. Mr M'Lean's military tactics are explained by the Press of the 14th ult, in the following manner : — Mr Stafford's plan ha<i been to establish a force at Lake Taupo, and to supply provisions by means of a dray road from Fort Galatea. The road was nearly completed, but Mr M'Lean preferred to abandon it, and whilo still advancing in the same direction to make Napier the base of his operations. This necessitated all supplies being packed at an immense expense over the mountainous country that lies between it and the open plains. Colonel Whitmore, who had had some practical experience in the matter, is said to have estimated the cost at £1 per mile for every ton carried. The large number of friendly natives who had been taken on pay added greatly to the expense, for a Maori warrior is gifted with more than average powers of consumption, and will not put up with half rations. The utility of this change of base in a military ' point of view is questionable," but tilers' can be no question of its being an excellent thing for Napier. Indeed, had it been Mr M'Lean's sole object to create a war expenditure for the express benefit of Napier, he could not have adopted a better course. One can imagine what a roaring trade the storekeepers must have driven, how the warehouses mast have been cleared, how prices must have risen. Horseflesh, too, was in great request. Any old screw could be made available for packing, and was readily bought by the Government. Prices rose higher and higher till, as one of our correspondents remarked, horse-stock became as valuable a property as shares in the Long Drive. Hawke's Bay, in short, in the old Auckland phrase, " has got a war" at last, and no doubt is making the most of it. At a late meeting of the Wanganui Acclimatisation Society, the committee reported that during the last two years, they had introduced into the district— -2 opossums, 2 black swans, 4 Queensland sparrows, 12 Wonga Wonga pigeons, 25 quail (Australian), 13 starlings, 4 thrashes, and 8 blackbirds. „ The Ohristchurch Derby for 1872 closed with twenty two subscribers. We learn from the Bruce Herald that harvest in Tokomairiro will be general in about a week hence. Harvest hands are yet scarce in the district. The recent damp and sultry weather has proved disadvantageous to the harvesting of grass seed, and this, coupled with the previous frost, will cause the generality of this crop to be of inferior quality throughout the plain this season. Harvest has fairly commenced in the Clutha . district, where hands are very scarce, scarcely a . " swagger " having made his appearance in that quarter to assist the settlers in this their busiest season. The recent flood at Taieri has rotted away fields of crops in the district, previously all bat ready for the sickle.

The Lyttelton Times referring to the harvest, says : — Of the pro3pect9 of the New Zealand harvest we can now speak with some degree of certainty. Should the weather prove fine for the next si* weeks the largest yield of grain ever gathered in the colony will have been secured in good order. This will be due,' as well to the regular yearly increase in the quantity of land under cultivation, as to the exceptionally heavy crops whio.h are now waiting fche_ reaper. Speak- - ing generally, the increase in the quantity of land under crop in Canterbury may be estimated at 25,000 acres. Last year there were 33,000 acres of wheat, 27,000 of oats, and 9,000 of barley grown in Canterbury, which yielded an average of 23 bushels wheat, 31 of oat', and 22 barley. This year there will be, say 45.000 acres under wheat, 37.000 in oats, and 13,000 in barley, yielding an average, if all goes well, of at least 30 bushels of wheat, 40 of oat 3, and 35 of barley. The increase in the production of this year over last-will be 627,000 bushels of wheat, 805,000 bushels of oats, and 250,000 bushels of barley. This, it must be understood, will be in addition to the quantity produced last year. Those parties who have not had their names 1 placed on the Electoral Roll are reminded that ' applications can be sent in during the months of [ February and March. I The receipt of the Public Account of New Zea- ' land for the September quirter of 1869 amounted to £817,081. The balance on hand on the first day of the quarter amounted to £152,488 ; on the last day, £177,398. The Lyttelton Times states that sparrows are becoming quite plentiful in every part of, Canterbury. At the first series of flax sales, held by Mr H. Hargraves, Christchurch, the prices realised were from £24 to £25 for scutched j and for unscutched from £12 10s to £18 10s. Several lots were bought in at from £23 to £31. According to the local Journal the crops in the Waikouaiti district are looking well, and are rapidly ripening. The breadth under oat crops in the district is very considerable, and the yield, although deficient in straw, is likely to be very good, the late rains having had a magical effect in developing the ear. Wheat is also far from ! discouraging, and, we believe, will give an average yield. With the present weather, it is feared the crops will ripen too fast, and that serious inconvenience will, arise from the want of hands. At the sitting in banco of the Supreme Court, Duaedin, on the 27th ult., in the case of Bf'lntosh t. Francis, Mr Kenvon, instructed by Mr Harvey, of Invercargill, applied for and obtained a rule nisi for a new trial. Mr G. P. Clifford, Manager of the Otago Acclimatisation Society, conveyed a number of the young trout to the Blueskin district on the 28th j ult., without the loss of a single fish. Fifty-one were liberated in the creek. A meeting of the committee of the Southland Horticultural Society is convened for Monday evening, at Colyer's Princess hotel, at 8 o'clock. Brethren of the Southern Cross Lodge are summoned to an emergency meeting this i evening, at half-past seven o'clock. Mr Osborne will sell this day, at Menzies' Ferry, cattle, horses, &c, the property of Mr Macfarlane.

Yards. 200 500 600 Total. Sergt. O. Brown 14 8 12 34 „ A. Brown 8 13 6 26 „ J. L. Thomson 12 14 6 32 Prhrate G Tteese 10 10 8 2S „ Huffadine 11 14 14 39 159