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Southland Times, Issue 1220, 8 March 1870, Page 2

At the Kesident Magistrates Court on ITrida;^ 4th mat., a party was fined 10s and 5s 6i costs for allowing two horses to stray in the streets 'of the town. J. Kingsland applied for and obtained a warrant for committal against a man named (jKbson, against whom he had previously got juigment for a small debt, £1 15s, with, costs, 14s. Gibson had neither denied the debt, nor pleaded inability to pay, but simply seemed to think himself at liberty to suit hie own convenience" and rather enjoyed putting the creditor to all. tits,-, trouble he could. Owing to the fact of his having no settled place of abode — being employed in leading an entire horse about the country—it had | been rather difficult to get a hold of him to serve i the summons. • The person entrusted with th,&t..v business had, however, fallen in with him about, Wallacetown somewhere, and was treated by the debtor in a 7ery cavalier manner, he being evidently under the impression, as many others no doubt are, that he could not be laid by the heels for '-so' small an amount, and that his nomadic habits would enable him to elude payment until his own pleasure. A short incarceratioa may possibly convince him of his error. V At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday, a man named Peter Koss sued Hay Bros, for £±1 7s 7d, balance of wages due for services rendered over a period of several months Mr Wade ap-. peared for plaintiff, and Mr Macdonald for defendants. The defence made was a set-off for a certain amount of the claim, and non-indebtedneag for the rest. Plaintiff stated that about 23rd August last, Mr J. Hay had engaged him to work j at the saw.mills on Stewart's Island for one month, the agreement being in writing, and he, had continued on at work after the expiry of the | month under the impression that he was to continue work until he got notice to quit. ,. In the interim, however, Messrs Hay Bros, had let or leased their saw-mill to another party, and denied responsibility for plaintiff's wages after the date mentioned in. the agreement. After the, hearing of very lengthy evidence, his Worship gave judgment for defendants, with costs. Another case, of a more unpleasant character, also occupied the court for a considerable time. r It was on an information laid by the cook and matron of the Hospital against the wife of another official connected with the institution,, for tbreatening and abusive language It appealed that under some imaginary provocation, defendant had gone to plaintiff's quarters, on the night" of the recent fire, and used the language complained of. Accused was ordered to find two sureties of £10 each for her good behaviour for the next six^ months, in default, 3 months' imprisonment. A sale of the accumulated funds of the Southland Building, Land, and Investment Society will be held to-morrow evening at 9 o'clock. By an advertisement elsewhere appearing, it will be seen that D. Hankinson, Esq., M. fi. J&CV) intends resigning his seat for iha electoral district of Biverton. Mr Hankinson does so because, as he says, he feels that he no longer fairly represents the opinions of the constituency on the principal political question at present at issue, he being a firm opponent of annexation 1 to Otago. We imagine the electors must regret, the necessity which deprives them of the services of a gentleman who has thus shown himself moat worthy of their confidence. An inquiry into the cause of the late fire in Dee-street, took place before Dr Deck, coroner, and a jury, on Saturday last. Several witnesses were examined, but nothing was elicited to show^hojre, the fire originated, and a verdict to thafr, effect was ultimately recorded. We learn, that* Mr fieeia estimates his loss at £1200. ' '"'•

The teetotalers of In^e-^-gill -will soon h:w* a hall of their own. Miking up in zoal and energy for defiVitfnev in numbers, they have worked for this object — a long cherished one with that perseverance which is ultimately bound to be successful in whatever is undertaken. Through the kindness of friends of the cause; hera.and- at hom*\ the Society some, time since, as will be remembered, were able to organise; an extensive bazaar, whioh was freely patronised by the public, ' without reference to in'livi uil opinions on >t'ne abstinence question. With the funds thus raised, a vtTy suitable site, nearly opposite the Invercargiil Steam Mills, in Rsk-streat, has beenparchased, and workmen are now employed putting dovyn the pil-3 for the proposed building. The edifice, o r wliifih iVIr ivfirr is the architect, will be a neat, though unpr-'fen'Hii? structure, about 30 feet square, and will be divided into three apartments — two anter 'orns. 10 x 11, one on each side of the vestibule, which is 6 feet wide, and the h;*ll nroper, in the rear, which will measure 20 by 29 feet. The height fron the floor to che top of the ci<vular ceiling will be 23 feet 3 inches. The hall, although small, it is thought will be sufficient ior the present, and it is built so th it it can at any time be enlarged without interfering with the original plan. Although plain, the building will be very substantial, and the interior is arranged perhaps more with an eye to comfort than mere appearance. The cost of the building i 3 to be about £200, and the contractor, Mr Little, is to have it ready for occupation early next. month. The Wairarapa Mercury says : — We mention the following as perhaps the most successful driving of sheep on record. Mr Wilson, of the firm.of ■ Wilson and Nicholas, left Castle Point on Tuesday, 17th January, with 3,552 sheep, and delivered at Mr J. Hunter's station on the 24th, 3,551. Agentleman just returned from the North informs the Dunedin Evening Star that Now Zealand flax prepared without the use of water is better in color, and in every respect superior to that to which water has been applied. They are also saving the gum obtained by splitting the leaf, as it is found so useful in the manufacture of envelopes in England as to be in great demand there at high prices. The "Sheep Ordinance, 1866, Amendment Ordinance, 1869," brought in by Mr Steuarfc, and passed at last session of the Provincial Council, has been disallowed by the Governor. The purpose of the Bill appears to have been to withdraw the funds accruing to the Sheep Department from assessments, fines, <tc, from the control of the Provincial Executive, and to place them under that of the Sheep Board. These assessments and fines are, it seems, intended solely for the payment of the working expenses of the department, the Inspectors' salaries, &c, but requite to be voted in the same manner as other public monies, and it has, we believe, occasionally happened that the cash has been appropriated to other purposes. The justice of the principle of the Bill is not questioned, but His Excellency has been advised to withhold his signature, in consequence of legal detects in the drawing up of the deed; The Colonial Secretary, in his letter accompanying the returned document, explains very fully the nature of the imperfections, which appear to be that certain of its clauses are incompatible with the provisions of the " Diseased Sheep Fines Act," j passed by the House of Representatives. With. , i regard to the Appropriation Ordinance, the 'Government have been advised by telegram that it has been duly signed by the Governor, and now, in effect, law. The parchment itself, of J course, will not arrive for a few days. The Daily Times learns that the two sharpers who. were recently apprehended in Melbourne for swindling a " Madame Veeler " by selling her a s noddy silk dress for £1, have arrived in Otago, bringing a lot of shoddy and sham jewellery. A Wellington paper states that a passenger in the William Cargill has brought out with him an invention for flax-dressing, patented in France ; and that it has been proved by actual experiment that flax as now prepared, further treated by this process, wnieh is not by any nreans costly, is valued at £15 per ton more than before it had gone through it. There appears to have been an application on the part of the Imperial Government for the services of Mr Commissioner tfranigan for the Irish Constabulary. With reference to this the Wellington Evening Post writes : — " We are able to state authoritatively that there is no truth in the report circulated in town this morning, after the publication of the telegrams alluding to the disturbed state of Ireland, that Mr Branigan is about to go home to take command of the Irish Constabulary. An application to that effect is rumored to nave been made by the Imperial Government* but our Ministry determined, by way of retaliating on Earl his sourvy treatment of us, to refuse it point blank." Mr A. J. Burns having resigned his seat in the Otago Provincial Council as member for the Taieri district, Mr Joseph Mackay (of the Bruce Rerald) announces his intention of offering himself as a candidate to fill the vacancy. On Saturday nvmung last, sth inst., as the business people in Tay street arrived to open their respective shops, they felt severally annoyed- at "discovering their doors and windows =&c, plastered with whiting. • Anger on the part of individuals, however, speedily gave place to mirth when it was observed nearly all had been subjected to the same process of white-washing. A glance along the street showed that the practical jokers had again been out ; that, armed with a bucket of liquid whiting and a brush, and fortified, probably, with bad whiskey — most of the touches betrayed an unsteady hand — some person or persons had been amusing themselves during the night by making sundry alterations on the various sigU3, and tracing hieroglyphics on I the dopra and windows. To say that taste had been displayed by the " artists " would be a gross untruth, for in most instances the business nad been most clumsily performed, the principal feature being an unsparing use of the material, which had been spilt about without regard to cost. Fortunately whiting is not very adhesive, and as the plastering rendered a thorough washing down an absolute necessity, it may be said to have rather improved the appearance of some of the " fronts." • Indeed, after the vigorous application of mops and water which enaued, the street assumed quite a fresh and pleasant aspect. However, as such " larks " put people to a good deal of trouble and annoyance, it is to be hoped the nocturnal " decorators " may be hunted up, that in this instance at least, industry, even if voluntary, may not go without its just reward. The paragraph which has gone the ronnd of most Provincial papers stating that owners of flax land in the Timaru district were getting £5 per ton for green flax, is a mistake. The Herald says it should be ss. This confirms the explanation we gave when the statement referred to appeared in our local contemporary. The Cumberland Times, New South Wales, is informed that William Holyoak, of Eastern Creek, has reached the age of 102 years. He was born at JSedditch, near Bromsgrove, in Worcestershire, England, aud lauded in New South Wales at the age of fifty-two. He has consequently been a sojoumer in that colony for exactly fifty years, during which he has watched tier rise from an infant settlement into a flourishing self-governed colony. Holyoak'a present' employment is that of rendering down fat for Mr Thomas Pike, of Eastern Creek. He also earns a little extra by broom-making. His hearing and sight are both good, but his memory is somewhat defective. Like many other persons who have attained a great age, ha can ramjaib^r events that happened fifty years ago better than " the things of yesterday." A barman at Wagga Wagga endeavored to do a sharp thing, and failed. A man had " chalked up" 16s 6d, and, after the lapse of some time , came to the house again. He called for two drinks, and gave £1 in payment. The barman impounded the ltis 6& from the change ; but an action was brought against him, and he was nob only compelled to return the 16s 6d, but to jay 10s besides n costs -.»•-..

Sotit tt-ne since wo reported the v'sit of a dormtation to hi 3 Honor the Superintendent, upon the necessity for increased • water-way in the vicinity of Hamsville. The deputation represented to the G-overmnenfc thai owing to the surfacewater of a large area having been provided with a raoid oufcMl upon the : JJorth Ro*d, by the ditching of Mr Thomson's property, the culverts across the road in that locality were unequal to carry off the floo lin case of heavy rains. The road had then been flooded several times within a short peYbd, : and part of one culvert had given wnv, and the deputation not only urged the absolute necessity of something being done to prevent the destruction of part of the highway, bat expressed a willingness on the part of residents to assist in the work. A man was then sent to cu^- a ditch, preparatory to the enlargement, of the culvert, but it unfortunately happened that he cofnrneu<ie 1 his work on private property without the owner's permission having been asked. The consequence, as a m itter of course, was, that he was told to leave off, and after hanging about for two days, had to fill the ditch up again, and there the matter has been left. In the meantime further freshes have occurred, and as was foreseen by the psople in the vicinity — none of whom ar* engineers by the way — the culvert has gone now in the very centre of the road. On Monday wa were pleased, to observe a man at workrepairthe damage. Under the head of " Supposed Discovery of a Silver Mine," the Cromwell Guardian of the 24th ult. says : — Yesferday afternoon W. J. Barry, ffnfrton, and Butler called at this office and exhibited a number of specimens, heavily impregnated with a metallic substance, understood to be silver. In appearance it bore a striking resemblance to that metal ; still we are not in a position to make an authoritative assertion upon the point. The statement of the prospectors is that they were following up a quartz lead on one of the adjoining ranges, when they cafne upon the lode cropping up to the surface. It is en? closed in a well-defined casing, and has been traced for a distance of 200 yards. The lay of the country is east and west, and that of the vein north and south. The precise locality was communicated to us under the non-publication pledge, but we may state generally that it was taken out of a hill in good repute as regards mineral resources, situated not more than 18 miles from Cromwell. We trust the discovery may turn out right, meantime we are in a position to say that steps will be at once, adopted for settling the question. The repeated charges brought against New Zealand flax within the last year or two of causing fires, are referred to by the Lyttelton Times in the following terms : — It is not difficult to account for reckless assertions of this bind. Wool is the staple export of the Australian colonies, and forms nine-tenths of the loading of the homeward bound ships. The certain consequence of any marked increase in the number of fires on board wool ships would be a rise in the rate of insurance. The flax trade is new. and comparatively unimportant. It is. palpable, therefore, that it is to the direct interest of a large majority of colonial export houses to shift the blame of these fires from wool on to flax. But. before this can be done, it will be at least necessary to show that flax is the real delinquent. That damp wool is subject to v combustion has been , proved over and over again. But we are not .aware that it has yet been proved that flax is subject to this serious drawback. The Chamber of Commerce took up this subject not long ago, and the evidence clearly proved that with clean dressed flax there was no danger of fire whatever. Nor was it proved- that badly dressed flat is subject to spontaneous combustion. Only the other day we observed the report of an experiment made with the view of testing this question. In that case the flax had been saturated with water before packing, and then kept in a heated room for six weeks, with ho other effect than to prodnce a moderate warmth in the middle of the bale. It is clearly the duty of those who represent the commerce of this colony to probe the question to the bottom, by searching into every alleged case of fire, and by continuing, to experimentalise upon the nature and properties of the fibre, under conditions most favorable to combustion, until it is proved beyond doubt that it is not as dangerous a cargo as some people would lead us to believe. The Otago Daily Times learns that instructions were sent by last mail by the Government to the Home Agents urging an increased emigration to the province, and authorising them to despatch 200 emigrants a month till further orders, with a promise that none are to arrive here in the winter months, May, June, and July. A further condition is attached to these instructions which we fear may defeat the object in view, viz. — that the payment to the Shipping Agents of passage-money is to be reduced to £12 per adult, instead of £14 as at present, and as allowed by the Victorian Q-overnment. Of this loan the amount chargeable for passage-money to America (£5) is to be paid by the emigrant, the remainder to be provided by the (Government, and the emigrant is to come under an obligation to repay five pounds of this amount if he leave the pi-ovince within three years after his arrival. The agents are specially authorised to allow G-ermans, Swedes, &c, of a suitable class to come on these conditions. The news from the Aurora Company's claim, Bendigo Gully, continues, (says the Cromwell Ar~ guts) to be satisfactory in the highest degree. The first crushing (of about fifty tons) was retorted on Welnesday last, and the result was 140oz» of gold, or an average of 2ozs 16dwts to the ton. The fifty tons of stone which have yielded the abovenamed amount may be regarded as a fair average of the reef throughout the claim, as the material put through was collected from various parts of the ground, and included a considerable quantity of inferior stone, as well as some of the richest. The accident to the machinery has been remedied some necessary repairs to the fluming of the headrace have been effected, and crushing operations are again going on vigorously. The additional five head of stampers are in course of erection, and will be ready for work in a very short time. The G-uardian gives the following as the latest particulars regarding the other reefs in the same locality :— At the prospectors' claim on Colclough's line five men were engaged raising stone. The arrangements for erecting the machinery were still pending. The proposal is to erect a five-head battery, with a water-wheel 24 feet in diameter, together with small amalgamating wheels on the Chilian principle. A report that stone richer than the prospect specimens had been taken out was confirmed. All the claims on the line, with the exception of No. 1 on the west, had found the reef. A special protection for No. lis about to be asked for. In Stewart Richmond's claim another reef, situated to the north of the original line, had been found. The stone from the old line was very soft, indeed it is described as having been little better than brick-dust. Still it was rich. The new reef is much more solid, and contains what is reported on excellent authority to be a very rich prospect of coarse gold. It was found cropping up to the surface, and being situated on the edge of a cliff rising out of the Bendigo Creek, its situation is admirable for the erection ot machinery. The gold is said to be the coarsest yet shown at Bendigo. We have to remind our readers of the Horticultural show, which comes off to-day and to-morrow in the Theatre. The society under whose auspices the exhibition takes place is a most useful one, an 1 scarcely requires to be recommended to public support. It has now maintained its position as a successful and favorite iustitution for six years, and will, no doubt, continue to be well upheld, but there are circumstances this year which require that an extra effort should be made by exhibitors. The exceptionally early summer has had the effect of ripening fruits and flowers sooner than usual, so that many varieties are already almost out of season, and it will therefore require the best efforts of all interested in the society to make this year's exhibition equal to former ones. An advertisement in another column explains some little alterations which have been made in the bye-laws to induce competition.

The tragedy enacted at P*ntrtfge (says thtf Argus of the 17th ult.) whsn the Her. Wm. Hill fell a victim to the homicidal mania of George Ritson, was very nearly being paralleled at the Yarra Band Lunatic Asylum on Monday nigbt. A. warder named Christopher Banks was in the act of putting a Chinese inmate, named Ah Tic, • to bed, when the latter, without a word being ■ : sail to excite- him, drew a formidable weapon he;, ; had concealed about, his person, and made a j stab ■ at Banks's throat, inflicting a transverse wound " about 3in:^long,' which penetrated to the root'of the tongue. Fortuiiately, the wound, though 'painful, was not dangerous, and Banks is now able to go about. Ah Tic is one of the most violent ■,-. lunatics in the Asylum, but has not hitherto shown any homicidal tendency, his fury generally being shown in biting, scratching, and kicking. During the two years he has been at the Yarra Bend he •has bitten off portions of the fingers of three persons, the ear of one, and part of the nose of an« other. The weapon used against the warier was, . as in Ritaon's cose,. a portioi of a bedstead, about a foot long and two inches broad. He had man* ajed to remove this from his bedstead without the loss being perceived, and during, the previous night he had sharpened it on the hearthstone to a double-edged point, making a very dangerous weapon. He must have concealed it under his shirt when he was dressed in the morning, and carried it about him all day. The warder, who is one of the kindest and most gentle men in the asylum, had been warned of the dangerous character of this man, but he fully believed that his naturally savage disposition could be overcome) by gentle management. Trusting to his methed of treatment, he relaxed his watchfulness, and nearly paid the forfeit with his life. Ah Tic is a very small man, but as lithe and sinewy as a monkey. His plan of attack is. to watch ror'an-un*. j guarded moment, and then, with a sudden rush, get either one of the fingers or a part of some person's face between his teeth, seldom letting go until he has severed the portion. The facility with which a deadly weapon was obtained and secreted for at least 48 hours, shows the necessity of some reform in the arrangements of the sleep* ing places of the inmates of the asylum. The Oamaru paper of the 12th inst. says that boiling-down operations were to be commenced by the New Zealand Meat- Preserving Company, Kakanui, in the course of a few days. The Sydney Mail says more money is spent for drink than is received for wool. The last annual report of the New South Wales Alliance for the suppression of intemperance contain* the following passage : — " We have much cause for' thankfulness that the interest in the subject of temperance is greatly extending; the excellent lecture recently delivered by the Chief Justioe, Sir Alfred Stephen, will be the means of. attracting the attention of many who might not . otherwise have considered this subject, and may probably lead to beneficial legislation. We ' must, however, depend more on the action of .the sons and daughters of temperance, and the various temperance societies, to stem tho alarming progress of this-.fruitful source of crime, disease, and poverty. Decided and extensive efforts must be made, otherwise the ruinous effects of the drinking customs will proiuce pauperism to a most disastrous extent, as we find, on ex^naina- ' tion, that a greater sum *s toasted for drink t» " this colony than is realised for all its wool; in fact, it takes more than all the wool, or all the gold raised in a year, to pay the annual grog score — and this to poison, demoralise, and impoverish our people ! Unless startling truths of this kind are considered in time, we shall surely have to deplore, as a community,. our blindness and infatuation in encouraging or permitting such shocking waste of physical and moral power, which is, doubtless, the cause of the overwhelming pauperism now distressing the ■ mother country. To check this waste, to show this danger, and conserve the highest interest of this community is the object of our Temperance Alliance." Considerable surprise was created throughout the colony a few days ago by the announcement that Colonel Eraser, whose reputation as a brave., and skilful officer is second to none in New Zealand, had been placed under arrest by Colonel M'DonnelL The matter is explained by the Auckland Herald in a leading article, from, which we extract the following t — The facts connected with this painful episode of the present unfortunate campaign are indeed few, and not difficult of comprehension. Lieu- , tenant Col. M'DonnelTs blunder in attacking Te Kooti at Tapapa, withou fc in any way endeavouring to secure the co-operation of Colonel -Fraser— then stationed with a large force at Tauratiga, ready to move at a moment's notice — led him to allow his temper to get the better of- his discretion. When on his w yto pursue Te Koofci, and who? was making his escape towards the Urewera ranges, Colonel McDonnell suddenly left his force at Kaimai and appeared at Tauranga, where Colonel Fraser was at the time superintending the crossing of his own force to Maketu, the surf being then too heavy to allow of the men's landing at the latter place. Without further parley, Lieut-Colonel M'Donnell dismounted and verbally placed Colonel Fraser under arrest on the twofold charge of having allowed Te . Kooti's escape, and having been drunk at Maketu some days previously ! iJumour, and nothing else, according to Colonel M'DonnelTs statement/ prompted him to make the latter serious charge against an officer holding a totally separate command, having charge of the district, and possessing the confidence of both the Government and public . . . We hear that Colonel Fraser waa ac once released from arrest by Mr M'Lean, and has been promised a Court of Enquiry by that Minister. It is more than possible that the result will show that he has only been made the scapegoat of ill-success of others. Notwithstanding all his entreaties to be allowed to adraace and co-operate previous to the fiasco at Tapapa, Colonel Fraser only received orders to march when Te Kooti had broken through McDonnell's lines, and found a clear field tor escape before him. ' '