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Southland Times, Issue 1208, 11 February 1870, Page 2

A man named William Marshall, ■whom Sergt. Morton was on his way to arrest when the accident by which, Mr Allan lost his life occurred, was brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, 9th inst., on the charge of falsifying a cheque so as to increase its amount. He was remanded for eight days to permit of a material witness being sent for. At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 10th inst., two inebriates — one a female — were fined 10s each, with the alternative of 24 hours' imprisonment. A case, previously adjourned, of prosecution for the wrongful conversion of ahorse, was afterwards heard. The parties to the suit were Campbell v. Powell. Mr Harvey appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Russell for the defendant. Mr Harvey, in very briefly stating the facts, remarked that although Mr Powell appeared in the position of defendant, the prosecution did not impute the slightest suspicion to him, but the present course was the only one open to them under -the circumstances. The evidence of the plaintiff and of another witness, which was all that was given in the case, may be summarised in a few words. Some time ago, the plaintiff, a young man, son of a. settler in the Mataura district, had lent the horse in question to a Mr M'Lean, who had come to settle in the neighborhood as a medical practitioner. The horse, saddle, and bridle were lent for and indefinite period simply on grounds of friendship. After a while, however, plaintiff heard something of the doctor's proceedings which induced him to come to town, when he found his horse in defendant's stable. He claimed the animal, but Powell declined to give it up, stating that he had purchased it from M'Lean, and producing that gentleman's receipt for the money. He, plaintiff, bad then returned to the Mataura, and taking a witness (the one examined) waited upon M'Lean, and made enquiries concerning the horse, without mentioning that he had seen him in town. M'Lean stated that the horse had become lame, and that he had turned him into one «f the Edendale paddocks, with permission of the manager, but that he would go down that day and send him home. Plaintiff then informed him of his having seen the horse in Invercargill, as also the receipt for his sale, whereupon M'Lean denied all knowledge of the transaction, averring that he had no recollection whatever of either selling the horse or writing the receipt. Plaintiff had then again waited upon defendant, who admitted plaintiff's property in the horse, but declined to hand him over, under the impression that if he did so voluntarily he would lose all " pull " upon the person from whom he had bought him. The defence set up was that although Mr M'Lean had not absolutely purchased and paid for the horse, he had been in possession of it on such terms as warranted him in dealing with the animal as his own property, that the price had been fixed at which he was to have the animal, and that he had intended to keep and pay for him. This, however, was firmly denied by plaintiff. Judgment was given for plaintiff, for the horse, with costs, £5 7s. On Tuesday last, the children attending the Presbyterian Sabbath School, assembled in the church to the number of about 400 for the purpose of celebrating their annual fete. After the singing of a hymn they formed in procession outside, and, headed by their teachers, and with banners flying, marched out to Chatsworth house, the fine green fields there having been, as formerly, generously placed at their service by Mr Phillip*. The crowd of juyeniles was swelled to about 500 after their arrival on the grass, by the joining in of children not belonging to the school, and about 200 adults, including the teachers, had assembled to take part in the festivities. It is almost unnecessary to say, considering that the weather was delightful, that young and old enjoyed themselves famously. Games of all suitable sorts followed each other in rapid succession, or were carried on simultaneously in different parts of the extensive park. Refreshments, in the form of an exhaustless fountain of milk, cakes, buna, tea, &c, &c, were to be had by all and sundry ad lib., and were partaken of with that healthy relish which vigorous exercise in the open air can alone impart. As evening drew on the children were mustered on the lawn, where they sang another hymn, listened to a few words from the Rev. Mr Stobo, and gave three hearty cheers for Mr and Mrs Phillips, their kind host and hostess, after which the boys marched back to town, the girls being brought in by coach ; L and thus ended a

day's amusement which will no doubi be remeuv., bered by many of the little ones as a very happyone indeed. It has been suggested to us that the Horticultural Society should offer a prize for the best sample^ of dressed flvx which maybe exhibited at the forthcoming show, and that if the Society has no ; funds to derate to such a purpose, a special call ' would 4?e liberally responded to. We commend the matter to the attention of the Committee, and we have no doubt they will at once act upon the proposal, as all are deeply interested in the success of an industry which gives promise of being fruitful in such beneficial results to the colony at large. ' . The dispute touching the right to the exclusiveprivilege of fishing for oysters on a bank situated near Garden Point, Stewart's Island, to which different parties have laid claim on the ground of being the discoverers of the bed, was again heard • before the Chief Commissioner of Crown Land* yesterday. The examination of witnesses occupied; the whole of the afternoon, and judgment was reserved. The barque Helen, with an entire cargo of flax, sailed from Lyttelton on the sth ult. Another vessel, the GlenmarJe, has been put on the berth to load with flax only. Fencing is cheap in the Wairarapa, a contract having been lately taken lor putting up wire fencing at 7s 6d per chain. The contractor is to find posts and everything but wire and staples, the loan of two bullock drays from the station being had gratuitously. A telegram in the Christchurch Press states that Major Heaphy has been appointed Commissioner of Native Reserves, at a salary of £1000 a-year. The proprietor of the Otago and Southland- ■ . Mining Journal has been compelled to discontinue its publication on account of insufficient Bupport. Some Maori translations of Earl G-rauville's last despatch are reported to have been circulated among the King natives. The authorship of the translation is attributed to Mr C. O. Davis of Auckland, who was some years ago tried on a charge of high treason and acquitted. According to the Freemason's Journal, it is estimated that the Masonic Order at present contains about 1,300,000 members. Of this number, 150,000 are in England, 100,000 in. Scotland, and 50,000 in Ireland. There are about 500,000 on the Continent of Europe, 300,000 in the United Sates, and 50,000 in other parts of the world. Aside from Asia, the number in India will probably reach 50,000. A correspondent of a contemporary writes that for branding wool bales nothing can compare with, red lead and. boiled linseed oil, which most be well mixed all the. time it is being used. , This will then form a mark that will not wash out nor t wear out, and last as long as the material it is put on holds together. It is the chief material used" in London by the large sack and bag merchants who hire out sacks, &c. to unload' "the largenumber of grain-laden vessels that discharge in . the port of London. It i 3 satisfactory to learn that some attention has been given by the manager of the Botanical Gardens in Dunedin to the experimental growth of the phormium tenax. It is stated by the Daily Times that those grown from seed sown last spring, are about four or five inches above the ground, and looking remarkably well. The leaves of some which were transplanted about three months ago have since grown to about 4ft in length. In order to ascertain the proper space which should be kept between each, so that they can be successfully cultivated, they are plaited at various distances from each other. Mr M'G-ruar recommends cultivators, when transplanting flax, to cut the head of the plant in the form of a half circle, the highest part of which should be about six inches from the ground. The advantages of this plan are, that it offers the least resistance to the wind, and leaves no corners in which water may gather and rot the leaf. Our Oamaru contemporary reports that there 1 is every probability — indeed, almost a certainty— of the quartz reef recently discovered on the Marewhenua goldfield turning out exceedingly • rich stone. Mr Robinson, who has obtained a prospector's claim, brought down on Monday last lOlbs of the stone to Oamaru, which was crushed on the following day with a pestle and mortar, the result being 17 grains of amalgam gold, representing at the lowest estimate 7 grains of the pure metal. This would give about 80 . grains to the cwt. or over 3£ ounces to the ton. This yield would, it is needless to say, pay handsomely, but there is every reason to believe that the quality of the stone will improve as the reef is penetrated the stone in question having been got within six feet- of the outcrop. The reef runs north and south, and is about six feet in width. We believe that it is in contemplation to organise a company to work tee reef, and there should be no difficulty, with such golden prospects, in raising the necessary funds. The Ballarat Star relates the following episode: — We heard yesterday of a rather peculiar circumstance happening at Ballarat, or ; "' ■ near to it, lately. An old gentleman who came some few days ago to the colony of Victoria on public business repaired to Ballarat by traiu to see his brother, a resident here, whom he had not seen for forty years. At the Lai Lai station agentleman well up in years got into the same carriage with him, and they talked on various subjects till the iron horse stopped at Ballarat West. Here both got out, and bade each other a respectful good evening, and not till afterwards did the stranger think that it would have been as well had he asked his fellow-passenger — who' seemed to be "at home" — where his brother might be found. It was too late ; the other gentleman was gone, and he therefore had to trust to luck and the information of the people - in order to find liis brother's place. When he succeeded at last, he was rather surprised to find that his " long-lost" brother and his late fellowpassenger were one , It is said that a petition is to be presented to the Legislative Council of Now South Wale 3, asking chat a tax of 5s a head, or less if that is deemed too much, be imposed on all mares, in order that the horse-stock of the colony may be improve! .and rendered more valuable in a money point of view. It is allowed that, the New South Wales horse has sadly degenerated, " through 'the practice of neglected and indiscriminate breeding," and that the pastures of the colony are now being overrun with numerous herds of horses, alike superfluous in numbers, and worthless in quality. There is no outlet for this superfluity, as horse 3of this description will not find purchasers anywhere. It is estimated that there are now 280,000 in the colony, exclusive of the wild mobs, one half mares j and that if a tax were to be levied on these last, some 60,000 would be destroyed, leaving 80,000 of the best for breeding purposes. It is proposed that the assessed revenue of £20,000 a yearbe expended principally in promoting the introduction and breeding of better animals, and in destroying the wild herds. Horses are not to be taxed, as it is supposed that none except the best of them will be kept for propagating their species, and it is not intended to put a tax on animals required' for use or pleasure. In fact the tax, as proposed, would be a gain to those who pay it ; if in no other way, by increasing the value of the mares that are preserved and their progeny. The Havelock correspondent of the Press, writing on New Tear's day, says : — The demand for sawn timber is daily increasing, and the mills are working long hours to keep up th 9 supply. The Havelock mill has shipped, during the last three months, about 450,000 feet of timber ; and Messrs Brownlie and Co, since commencing operations at their new mill on the 25th October, h t© shipped close on 30,000 feet, besides having many thousand. feet on hand.. A large quantity has also been shipped from Mr Farnall's mill in the Kaituna. Mr Brownlie's new mill is well worth a visit, as it is almost impossible to give a description that would convey but a small idea of the extensive machinery. m „• Mobs of cattle are now driven from Wanganui to Taranaki, and there appears to be no longer any danger on the road. Cobbss coach, is shortlj , I to run from Waaganui to Patea.

Mr GRlrs, the newly-elected Superintendent of Auckland, opened the Provincial Council on the 19th instant. The termination of the Appropriation Act rendered the meeting of the Council necessary ; but it is not the intention of the Superintendent to brin* forward any measures of importance during the existing spssion, a 9 the Government requires more time than it has had at its disposal to study the requirements of the province before it undertakes to legislate upon them. To pass the Estimates for a portion of the year, and give increased representation to the Thames district, -will be the chief business of the session. In the course of his opening speech, the Superintendent said : — " I consratulate you on the increased prosperity of the province, and the consequent increase of the revenue, during the past year; but 1 fear that you -will find that an increased prosperity and revenue have brought with them an equally increased expenditure, to part of which, hitherto unauthorized, your sanction will be necessary. I trust that this prosperity may continue during the present year, but indications are not wanting of a different state of things, which only a careful supervision of expenditure, and a judicious administration of the affairs of the province, can avoid." His Fonor is favorable to connecting tlie Kaipara with the Waitemata by a railway, and to mating the Auckland and Drnry Bailway available to the country, and extending it to Waikato. The following is from the Westport Times:— " Property must have slightly depreciated in Hokitika, if we may judge by the following advertisement, which we extract from the evening paper :— c "Fart Sale. — Fourroom Cottage on Railway Beserve, Fitzherbert-street, with right to section^ only £6.' Some little time ago a fourroom cottage on the same reserve was sold for £150. Ifow we are told people, instead of paying for firewood drawn from the forest, birr a housp, and cart it away as they want it. This is done as a matter of strict economy." A correspondent of the Melbourne HeraU furnishes the following information : — " It may not be generally known that we have an old hero of Waterloo in our midst. Corporal Knight, who was one of the raw recruits as a lad of eighteen at the great battle, now lodges humbly at a little shop behind the Melbourne Clnb, and no doubt many of my readers have come across him in their walks. I made his acquaintance the other day, and passed one of the most notable hours I ever did in hearing of the battle so far as it came within his observation. The old corporal wrote a pamphlet, orratier obtained some one to write it for him, a couple of years ago, and he bas since subsisted upon its sale and the sixpence a day which he receives from the bounty of the Imperial Government. He wears the Waterloo medal on his breast, carefully preserved, and but little frayed, although 1 he has carried it for 54 years. The corporal wanders Bomewhat in his talk, and when you start him off he begins with, a categorical account of his adventures in a pithy j style, by which he gallops along a little too quick '\ in his story for a hearer who likes amplification. And who wouldn't on such subjects ? When you put a question he pulls up suddenly with a deferential attention, and will then give you just what you please, and his descriptions have a freshness which, it is impossible to find in any book. When asked what would have been the result of the battle had the Prussians not come up, he paused for a moment, and then seasawed in a peculiar manner with his hand, saying, " Well, it was just this way. Just on a balance. I was stationed close by the wood in square, and when the Prussians hove in sight I turned round and said to my mate, 'There's Grouchy ; it's all up with us.' We thought it was the BVench. But then I saw Blueber ride over to Lord Wellington, and when the order was given to charge, we knew it was the Prussians. It was this way, Sir. Supposing, with all respect, you and me were to have a fight, and fight till we coaldn't stand. Why, a boy might come in and thrash the pair of us." Corporal Knightfs recollections are full of bits of description which one cannot reproduce, but they are quite absorbing in their interest as he narrates them. Couldn't something be done for the old fellow ? Although always welcome at barracks, his independence makes him unwilling to accept the assistance of the soldiers, and I am afraid that he has a trouble to make both ends meet." Gottenburg (says an exchange paper) must be a town peculiarly favored by legislation and philanthropists. By a power they possessed, the city authorities of Gottenburg. some months ago, took the licenses of every public-house in the town into their own hands, and then sold them to a society that had been formed to farm these nouses. The arrangement was that after paying the bare working expenses of the association, all the profit was to be handed over to the corporation towards the poor fund. The society reduced the number of public-houses 5 they then p^ced steady and responsible men in charge of the remainder. On spirits these persons were only allowed a profit of not more than 1J per cent. On all tea, coffee, lemonade, or beer, the men in ■charge could make what profit they chose. Of course the endeavor of the public house keeper is to make the sale of the articles he gets the largest profit on as extensive as he can. Tho result is that the public-houses have assumed the •character of restaurants, and the drunkenness of the city, which at one time was something fearful, has nearly disappeared. At a late date inspection of the working of such a movement was made, and the confirmation of the opinions first obtained respecting it was obtained. The Beformation Society states that the attempt at reform has succeeded beyond its utmost expectations. It gains a money profit, and at the same time is accomplishing a moral improvement. We have to acknowledge receipt from Mr "Eose, bookseller, of a copy of "A School Primer of the Geography and History of Oceania," a small but compact little volume, published under the patronage of the Otago Education Board, by Mr John B. Park. It will, no doubt, find its way into the favor of teachers and others engaged in instructing the young in these colonies, for whose benefit it is especially compiled.