The Southland Times. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1870.

Southland Times, Issue 1214, 22 February 1870, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1870.

We are compelled to hold over our report of the Presbyterian soiree till next issue. According to the Wakatip Mail, the Shotover bridge is expected to be open for dray traffic by the beginning of April. Influenza and diptheria hare been making havoc in the Lake district, bo far as regards confining many to their rooms for several days together. It is said that the same question which is now distracting the Mount Ida district — the price of water — is likely to produce a similar strike at St. Bathans. The Treasurer of the Southland Provincial | Hospital acknowledges the receipt of £12, col- ; lected by Joseph Bodgers, Esq., of Glenquoich, on behalf of the Institution. | The Oamaru paper reports that some of the starlings released there a few days ago have found their way to Papakaio, and several have also been seen among the trees about town. The man named William Marshall, who was apprehended some time ago on the charge of falsifying a cheque, was brought up on remand a few days ago, and discharged, he being the wrong person. A sale of the accumulated funds of the Western District Building Society took place at Biverton on the 14th inst., when premiums ranging from £5 16s to £6 2s, for £25 shares, were realised. Quite a sensation has occurred in Hokitika ; so saya the correspondent of the Gkreymouth Star. A cab was imported to be run in the streets. It was brought over by an enterprising Melbourne cabman, fie took a look at the town, had a pint of ale, the greater part of which he threw on the floor, and then ordered bis cab to be re-Bhipped without being unpacked, and he has gone away. The present Btrike (says the Mount Ida Chronicle) appears to have afforded an opportunity for some wag to play of an innocent practical joke upon the good folks of Naseby. During the night of Monday this wag placarded every place of business in the town with a poster in letters of nearly a foot long, containing only the words belling off. Much astonishment was caused when the residents of the town awoke from their slumbers on Tuesday to find their properties advertised for sale without their consent. As all, however, had been served the same, the only feeling exhibited was that of amusement. The Chinese in the Lake district have just concluded the celebration of their New Tear holidays. Being comparatively wealthy (sayß thelocal paper) and the majority having good claims that will take along time to work out, they celebrated their festivities with lavish profusion, and made all their visitors thoroughly welcome. Tradesmen reaped considerable advantage from the outlay of money incurred to procure the luxuries of a protracted feast, extending over ten days. The miners' strike at Mount Ida still continues, and the local journal states that there does not appear to be any sign of a settlement being made. The miners, according to all accounts, have just reason to complain of the enormous price paid for water— £2 los per sluice-head. Some hundreds of persons are thrown out of employment, and it is estimated ' that it makes a difference of some, thing like £200 a-day to the district. Mr Warden Robinson has earned golden opinions from the miners by promising to grant them two months' protection for their claims uitil some settlement of the dispute can be come to. * In their visits to Invercargill the Cararidini company have been 'remarkably unfortunate as regards weather, and this occasion is apparently going to be the worst. Last night it was both wet and intensely cold, and consequently the Theatre was not nearly so crowded as it otherwise would have been. In fact, but for the great attraction of the performance, few people would have ventured from their homes. Of the singers themselves it is unnecessary to say more than that they fully sustained their very high reputation as musicians of the first rank. At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday, 2lßt inst., a cow-keeper named Niehol was fined £1 and costs for having allowed four of his cattle to stray on the streets. A civil case, Cavanagh v. Lind was also heard, Mr 'Harvey for plaintiff and Mr Macdonald for defendant. Plaintiff sought to recover the sum of £4 15s 6d for work and labor done, and defendant put in a set-off of 16s, and repudiated several of the items charged on the ground of their having been included in other accounts previously settled. After hearing a good deal of very contradictory evidence, from which it appeared that both parties were confused a little about the transactions involved, judgment was given for plaintiff for 13s, each paying their own costs. * The Lake Wakatip Mail of the 10th inst. says s — " AspinalTs terrace claim, , at Skippers, yielded last week over 241bs. weight of gold — 288 ozb. valued at £1087. A very nice dividend for two men. This shows that the ancient river bed is as veritable a Pactolns as the newer formation proved in the days we used to send down by the escort 20,000 ozs. weekly. This gold was taken out of ground boxed by 2J sets .. of timber, or about 9 feet. Jack ashore, especially after a long voyage, generally contrives to get into some frolio or another, and not unfrequently indulges hi 3 propensities for fun to an extent which brings him under the notice of these who maintain order amongst the land-lubbers. It sometimes happens also that tars of higher rank than ordinary shellbacks betray the same weakness for questionable amusements. A case in point came before the Resident Magistrate on Friday morning last, when a jolly Bkipper from the Bluff, and a young gentleman holding ajrespectable position in town, were called upon for Borne explanations regarding a street row of the previous night. Ho little interest was added to the occasion from the fact that the young blood had previously been regarded as a pattern of propriety, and a goodly concourse of his acquaintances smirkingly assembled in court to witness the worthy couple in the box. The prisoners having pled guilty, only the evidence of the prosecutrix, a married woman, residing in a private house, was taken, and from ber statement it appeared that about one o'clock that morning she had been awakened by some one knocking at the door. She got up, and after exchanging a few words with them, told them they had made a mistake, and had better go away. They insisted however that " it was all right," and continued to demand admittance. She again asked them what they wanted, when they replied — "Mary Ann." Having informed them that no " Mary Arm " lived there, she next j threw up the window and called " police," the gallant captain ironically joining in the cry. Finding further paries useless, they then burst in the door, and took possession of the liouse, the inmates, only a woman and her children, taking shelter in a neighbor's, and despatching a messenger for a constable. In the meantime, the " gentlemen" made a thorough inspection of the premises, and let off some of their exuberant spirits by kicking out the panels of another door — in feet the "horsey" trick of kicking seems to have been inveterate in their humor. Presently, however, the conservator of the peace appeared within hail, and the pair decamped, rather hastily, but were followed and caught while attempting to hide in some adjoining outhouses. His Worship, after reading them a Bevere lecture, gave judgment for the damages claimed, £2 10s, and fined them in £3 each besides, with costs of court. On leaving the Court a sort of running commentary »n the case took place, one wit asserting that the youth ought not to have been punished, as he, no doubt, was accompanying the captain for pure business purposes, "shepherding a constituent," and another that he was only with him in the capacity of interpreter, the skipper being a foreigner.

In a recent report of the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, it wa9 stated that the trout in the ponds were a foot in length, and that the small birds turned out were doing well. The report adds " flocks of linnets, chaffinches, and sparrows are continually seen in the gardens. The thrushes, blackbir.is, and redpoles are reported as doing well in other parts of the province. The sparrows at Kaiapoi are particularly numerous."

The proposal lately made to place a stained glass window in St. Mary's Church, Timaru, as a memorial of the late Mr Balfour, is not to be allowed to droo. A Tiraatu contemporary states that Captain Gibson, the Port officer of Canterbury, has written to Captain Mills; Harbour Master at Timaru, asking his co T ope«ra^ion •in collecting the necessary funds. Subscriptions are limited to 10s 6d each.

A Thames paper says:— "The portion of Ohinemuri to be immediately opened comprises several thousand acres on the banks of the Thames river, and it is stated by men who have been a long time up the river, that the country is auriferous. The Native Minister and the Superintendent have promised that the block wonld be thrown open as soon as possible. Surveyors are to be sent up to define the boundaries, and, in view of the country being proclaimed a goldfield, it is proposed to open subscription lists at various places on the Thames for the j equipment of a well-organisei party of experienced miners, who will hold themselves in readiness to proceed up the river when required. We are not aware of the precise terms of the programme under which the prospectors are to work, but we think a well-organised party would do more towards proving the auriferous character of the land or otherwise than individual labor could accomplish. The project is one deserving of consideration from the business people and others who are Buffering from the present depression in mining matters. We are not so sanguine of the Ohinemuri district proving* -the El Dorado some people are inclined to- think it is ; but the uncertainty which exists regarding its resources, and the expectations which have been raised by the various reports of gold having been found there, have had a great deal to do with the present state of matters in this district ; and any scheme which would tend to allay the excitement which has arisen, and give new life to mining enterprise on the Thames, deserves encouragement." The following description of the , township of Logantown, Bendigo Gully, is given by the Cromwell Guardian : — Logantown is what may be termed an emergency township. It is situated conveniently to the prospectors' claims ion the different lines of reefs. It iB, ia the truest sense of the word, a digging township in the first phase of existence. Its building 'materials are wood and calico, with a few sheets of galvanised iron judiciously distributed for shelter against the inclemency of the weather. Its trade is symbolical of a premature state of commercial ..enter prise. At one corner, " Harry, the hawker," announces a miscellaneous assortment of merchandise for public competition ; and at another, " Old Bob," the blacksmith, distributes fitful showers of redhot ashes around him. The hotel accommodation is decidedly an advanced step in the progress of the place, and barring Sunday nights, when the dance-room is thrown open, one can depend upon enjoying a tolerably quiet night's rest. Another prominent feature of commercial enterprise at Logantown is its bar-maids. Ab a rule, they are ladies of professional experience, consequently the weather eye is not at all liable to get dimmed by remote visions of matrimonial felicity. With these auxiliaries, the circulating . medium of Logantown is pretty well sustained, and we have every reason to believe that the day is not distant when it yjill become a commercial depot of considerable importance. _. . The return match between the Invercarjill and Kiverton Rifle Volunteer Corps came off at the range of the former on Monday, 2 1st inst. Owing to the day being a remarkably boisterous, one, the shooting was not up to the average practice scores, and the hits might be looked upon in many cases rather as the result of chance than correct aim, in proof whereof it will be ooserved that in neither of the teams do the best marksmen head the list. Of course, the inclemency of the weather was injurious alike to each, and therefore Riverton is fully entitled to the honor of the victory achieved by her men. Only nine volunteers fired on each side, and the following is the score made. Invercargill has at least the honor of having made the highest individual score, that of Corporal Campbell, who marked 33 points, 5 more than Corporal Atkinson, who heads the Siverton list : —

In the evening the competitors and friends sat down to a sumptuous dinner in the Prince of Wales Hotel, prepared and tabled in hoat Smith's usual ttyle of excellence. The utmost harmony prevailed at the social board, and the usual patriotic, complimentary, and other toasts were duly honored on the occasion, a very happy evening being spent in spite of the warring elements outside. The Wellington correspondent of the Oamaru Times writes as follows on the seat of Government question, which is again cropping up : — The idea that an attempt will be made to remove the seat of Government back to Auckland is gaining ground here, and there are some. -who confidently predict that by this time next year Ministers' memoranda will issue from Auckland. If once telegraphic communication is established between Auckland and the rest of the Colony, I think the remjval would be Tery likely — indeed, the principal argument in favor of Wellington will have disappeared. When every part of the Colony is in quick communication by telegraph, the argument about the seat of Government, being: in the centre will be without force. Auckland will be the port of call for the San Francisco steamers; and it is certainly more worthy of being the capital of New Zealand than our little sleepy, backward, dusty village of wood and iron. There is no doubt his Excellency and Lady Bowen prefer Auckland to this place, 'and the majority of the Ministers would also gladly see the change. As to the clerks in the Government offices, from the highest to the lowest, they ardently hope for the removal. A considerable amount of interest will be brought to bear on the question, and we shall doubtless hear more of it next session. In the meantime, I expect'io see some considerable attention, paid to the f inatter by the southern papers. ; »:;nrVolunteering appears to be popular in- Milton to judge from the following which we find in tbe Bruce Standard: — "There have been many, inducements held out for our local .volunteers to perfect themselves in rifle shooting. The : prizes that have been offered in the past, were as nothing in comparison with what the ladies here propose to give to the champion shot. With a graceful and handsome liberality, a sum of £30 has been raised very quietly, and invested in the purchase of a massive silver salver, and for its possession there will, no doubt, be a friendly and keen competition at the butts for gome time to coma. At the parade last night, Capt. Jones wad the letter ' offering the prize;

which was of course accepce'd, and hearty cheers were given to the fair donors for their gift." With respect to the growth of New Zealand flax, Mr W. A. Mosley, M.P.C., writes to the Bruce Standard as follows : — " In the latter end of November, and beginning of December, some lax was cut in a paddock of mine, upon Inch Clutha, for Mr Mahsford's flax mill. The flax wa» in its wild state. The other day I measured -the growth of those plarifc? which were cut, and, to my surprise, I found the fresh growth to be on an average four feet in length. They had been cat, close : I measured a number of plants to be sura of the f-ict. Now, sir, four feet growth of fibre in about nine weeks, in its wildest state, is a fact many persons may not be aware o£ You will observe the land on the banks of the Clutha river may be made valuable by the growth of flax ; but, sir, the land will have to be drained first. The proper way to do this is to cut broad drains with culverts, and self-acting valves to stop the backwater. The flats may be drained by these means, and any overflow from floods may be quickly carried off. I may remark that, upon the Island where drains are cut on my land, flax springs up, and grows with great rapidity. Now for the second part. New Zealand flix, if properly dressed, ought to render England independent of Russian hemp. The New Zealand flax is so plentiful in both the large islands, and the climate so favorable to its growth, that we may compete with the serf-labor of Russia in the markets of Europe ; but those who engage in the dressing of flax should be careful to make a good article, and the people of New Zealand may reap great benefit from its cultivation ; for, Joy proper management, it may yet become the great staple of the country."

EITBBXOK. Yards. 400 50D 600 TotaL Oorpl. Atkinson 15 13 5 33 Private Grant 13 16 2 31 Lieut. Surmaa 9 15 4 28 Private Henderaoa 18 7 2 27 Sergt. Wilson " 14 6 6 26 „ Robinson 12 10 2 24 Private Clode 17 5 0 22 „ Hancock 12 8 2 22 Sergt Smith , 14 5 0 r 19 I ■'■■■ 232 Invescabgill. Oorpl. Campbell 14 15 »i 738 Sergt. A. Brown ! 17 9 6 32 Private Campbell 16 2,6 21 Sergt. Dunlop v 7 9 ; 7 *23 Private Johnston 10 2 3 15 „ J. Dunlop 10 5 0 15 Sergt Thomson 9 2 3 14 Private M'Oonechy 6 3 5 14 Sergt. C.Brovrn 10 2 0 12 187