Untitled

Southland Times, Issue 1256, 27 May 1870, Page 2

"Whejt, some months ago, accounts were published in our colonial newspapers of sales of New Zealand flax in London,.at prices ranging from £40 to £50 per ton, and when the excitement to "go in" and secure a small share of the " good thing" became contagious, there were not wanting men of matured judgment and sober calculation, who predicted that such prices were most probably speculative and artificial, and that a fall as rapid< and as great as the rise in value might at any time occur. And now when we consider the unstable basis on which the hopes and calculations of most of bur manufacturers were founded, we can quite understand why the future of the flax industry should now appear to them as doubtful and. gloomy as it looked stable and unclouded before in the light of their sanguine expectations. In the report of the London February sales, we may summarise the worst points as follows: —1. The statement that the former rise to £50 was not caused^ by any intrinsic value in the fibre, but merely by speculative purchases. 2. The statement that rope made from New Zealand flax is not suitable for marine purposes. 3. The small sales effected — scarcely one-third of what was offered— in the face of large quantities shortly to arrive. Let us consider number 2. We can fairly assume that the rope in question was made of samples which we should now consider under average quality, and that a larger quantity of the gummy matter remained in the fibre used than is present in the best dressed samples we produce now. The action of this gum on the fibre is as yet but partially understood, but it is generally considered that it tends to rot the fibre. It is well known that fibre not properlycleaned from gum will stand very little wear and tear, as the gum cuts the fibre. •Any one using a stockwhip-cracker, made from roughly, cleaned flax from a mill, will soon find this to be true. Therefore, before allowing that flax will not stand the action of water, we should see it fairly tested when perfectly free from? gum. But allowing this defect to exist, the conclusion arrived at by Messrs M'Ewan and Co. is scarcely so inevitable as it may appear to them, "that New Zealand flax will rule in value with jute, Bombay flax, &c." The difference in appearance between the best ordinary machine-dressed flax, and-the best Maoriscraped, after being well hackled and cleaned, is far greater than between the same machine-dressed flax, and the finest sample of Manilla. No one who has seen and handled the small mats and baskets made by Maories from the finest hand-dressed flax, will say that the fibre is only fit for cordage or matting. The harshness to the touch is caused by our mode of dressing it. Some exceptional samples of machine-dressed flax — Booth's amongst others —are almost free

from this defect. A close examination of very clean hand-dressed New Zealand flax will show that each bundle of fibres may be subdivided to an almost indefinite extent, and that for equal thickness of bundles, the clean sample ia many times stronger than the rough one. This capability of subdivision Manilla , only possesses in a small degree, and while agreeing with Messrs "M'Ewan that for marine rope New Zealand flax will not compete with Manilla, we are of opinion that ultimately it will take a position among our textile fibres which will entitle it to rank far above Manilla. There can be no reasonable' doubtthatthe production by machinery of a sample as soft and silky, and as free from gum, as the finest hana-dressed. is simply a question of time. Such a sample will soon be produced at less expense than the harsh, semi-cleaned stuff we -turn out at present. Another i bad feature in the reports ia the small ! quantity sold. We are not, however, informed of the quality of what was sold, 'whether it was the best offered or only medium. We feel inclined to believe that it was not the best samples, as when a sudden fall occurs these r and not the inferior sorts are most - likely to be withdrawn. We have seen one small sample taken from a bale, sold at the February sales at £31' and it was certainly not above what we now call fairly dressed — not nearly equal to some of our local dressing, and altogether inferior to that turned out by Booth's - process. If, as Messrs M'Ewan and Co. are of opinion, New Zealand flax will in future compete only with jute and Bombay hemp, &c, how happens it that in the face of large shipments expected shortly to arrive, the price has not at the last sales receded below £30 for fair dressed, while £24 10s is the highest price recorded for jute for some time back? . New Zealand flax has now been under the notice of English, manufacturers for some years, and the undressed samples have hitherto always commanded a higher price than jute. No better evidence can be adduced on this head than an extract from Mr Guild's letter, recently published in this paper : — " It is a much more valuable fibre than jute.' Dr Forties Watson, in a lecture delivered 9th May, 1870, before the Society of Arts, gave a^ very valuable set of tables, from which I ; extract, that whilst the average price" in London of jute for the ten years ending 1851 was £16 6s per ton, and for the period from 1852 to 1859,- £19 losper ton, the price of New Zealand flax ranged from £17 to £29 for undressed, and from £25 10s to £39 for dressed, from 1850 to ■1859." "■■"■" O V : ": :"■•■:■■■ One good result following the sudden fall in price, has been the reduction of all charges and commissions to -a—very- low rate. While manufacturers could afford a large commission, and little competition existed, it would have been lopg before freight and charges would have been reduced to what they stand at even now ; and the prejudice against flax as a dangerous cargo being now- dispelled; -we may expect soon to see a stul further reduction in freight should exports continnfl nn a Jaggejscale— -^ — — - -■-. ■■~-'t'.'- f ~~- To remunerat&our manufacturers fairly, the value of the fibre should be not less than £20 per ton at port in New Zealand, and we believe that for a uniform sample, such as Booth's, that price would be readily given by our merchants. Owners of flax-mills and flax-land need not fear for the future prospects of "the industry. Machinery for dressing, and the mode of dressing, will be gradually perfected, and appliances invented for economising labor. Thus production will be cheapened and the article produced will improve in quality. Meanwhile, the uses to which thefibre is, applicable will be extended, and its capabilities developed. New Zealand is but a small country,, and the peculiarity of our climate, its freedom from excessive heat, drought, or frosts, favors the supposition that the cultivation and manufacture of pTiormium tenets will remain a special monopoly to this country. All, however, that can be attempted '[ at present is to render the fibre as free from gum, as uniform in quality, and as white and soft as possible, without injury or loss of strength. We believe that, like the ; fibre of the European flax (Linutri) that of the phormium is capable of being cotionized, that wonderful process which enhanced to such a degree the value iof the first-named fibre. 1 But our circumstances preclude the idea of submitting it in. this country.tp any but the most simple processes. Cultivation will undoubtedly make a vast difference in the uniformity and fineness of the sample, but unless the home.price is to rule higher than £35 per ton, our manufacturers here can never afford to. remunerate the cultivator. We purpose, in a future issue, to make a few remarks on the modes of dressing at present employed, and to show to what extent it is within the power of all jto improve upon the sample produced by the ordinary Auckland machines. ; One Buggestidn"we"would make~hi" the hope that it may be taken up and carried out by our readers. We have often been surprised that in ,an industry like flaxdressing, as yet, only in its infancy, and in which improvements in the mode of manufact ore * and construction of machines, are constantly being made, the mill-owners and others interested have not long ago taken some steps to secure i to the whole body of manufacturers the benefits arising from the knowledge of discoveries and improvements made by any of their number. We do not_ purpose here to enter into the subject at length, but a little reflection will show how much flaxmanufacturers generally might gain by the establishment of an Association ; in each province, for the purpose of inviting discussion, procuring and disseminating information, and ensuring co-operation among mill-owners. May we nopß that Southland will not be behind-hand in this matter, but will set an example by instituting without delay the "Southland Eiax-Manufacturers' Association." .On dit there is a " Punch " to be established in Wellington, with MrHaughtonaa editor.

We are informed that the hon. member for Invercargill, Win. Wood, Esq., has not yet returned any reply to the petition recently presented fo him asking him to resign. It takes some people a wonderful time to form a decision, even in a case .where the right course is as distinguishable as noon-day. The committee of the Acclimatisation Society met yesterday forenoon, 26th, at the Government Buildings, when there were present?— His Honor the Superintendent (chair), Messrs Hume, Fielder, M'Arthiir, Conyers, M'Culloch, Buttler, Blackloci, Steuart, Gilmour, and Sutts, hon. sec. The report of the sub-committee relative to forming a garden near town was .approved of. A from Dr Von Mueller, of Melbourne, relative to the- treatment of the Californian tree seeds in the possession of the society was read, and arranger iments made for the distribution of the seeds. The secretary reported the arrival of 12 pheasants from Canterbury, and that eight more were now on the way from Auckland. Some correspondence between the secretary and the Superintendent of Otago, ob the subject of procuring salmon ova from North America, was read and considered. . A number of other subjects were also discussed, but particulars cannot be given in this issue. The. celebration of Her Majesty's birthday, a day on which the lieges are disposed to throw care to the winds and make themselves happy, seems doomed to suppression in this quarter of her dominions. . Downright wet has on many occasions chilled and '." put out" the burning loyalty of the citizens. This year the ", drench " was perhaps even a little more soaking than • formerly, and the aspect of misery which everybody and everything' wore duriug the day was about as perfect as the most churlish nould wish. Out-of-door sports were of course abandoned as hopeless, and the streets were left to the undisputed possession of the policeman on duty, an occasional dripping wayfarer, and one or two wretched looking curs. At night a ghastly attempt at fireworks was made from the door: of an hotel ; but it was no ÜBe. The ignited squib started on its aerial voyage all right, but the -moment it reached outer darkness there was an instant collapse of its energy, and down it "flopped" in the mud, whence it sent forth a feeble stream of sparks. A crowd, two boys and a dog, ran out from a verandah, and watched its expiring " fluff "in dead silence. : . ;._ The amateur concert given at the Theatre Royal on Tuesday evening, 24th, in spite of rain, dirt, and darkness, came off most successfully. By the time for drawing the curtain, the upper house was well filled, and. by degrees the pit also assumed a respectable appearance. Of the performance it is sufficient to say that it must have well rewarded the audience for their bravery in overcoming so mary obstacles to be present. The arrangements of the stage were excellent, producing a fine effect when the screen was drawn up and revealed the. choir ready to start at the moment. On the whole it is not saying too much to affirm that probably no previous" entertainment of the kind ever gave more general satisfaction. The first part of the programme was devoted to sacred music, and comprised amongst other pieces the "Gloria," and " Dona Nobis," from Mozart's 12th Mass ; " The Heavens are Telling," " Achieved is the Glorious Work," "On Thee each living soul Awaits," and " The Marvellous Work," from the " Creation ;" " Benedictus," from Weber's mass in G., and "See the Conquering Hero comes," and the " Hallelujah," from Handel. The second part, secular, ' contained some excellent selections, chorusses, quartettes, duets, and solos. It is hard to tell -whether- the vocalists or instrumentalists most distinguished themselves ; both classes of performers seemed to do their utmost to please " the house," and both seemed peculiarly successful in their efforts. At about htilf-paat ten o'clock the Queen's Anthem brought proceedings to a close, and the people dispersed. with 'mutual expression s of delight. Only one regret could be heard, and that was, that such entertainments were so few and far between.. Haying rescued her Majesty's birthday from the opprobrium of having been the moßt miserable holiday ever witnessed in Invercargill, <vail upon their musical friends to give, a repetition of the concert on an early night for the benefit of those who were unable to attend on Tuesday last. Mr Reader Wood has been returned, without opposition, for the seat for Parnell in the House of Representatives, rendered vacant by the resignation of Major Heaphy. The curator to, the Acclimatisation Society has requested us to give publicity to the following intimation, principally addressed to residents on tributaries of the Makarewa. Without doubt any one fortunate enough to discover a trout spawn-bed will be only too glad to communicate the intelligence, and, might we say, protect, as far a3 possible, the ova: — "I should feel much obliged i£_ any one situated on. the small tributaries, or upper, waters of the Makarewa, would let me know if they observe any ' ridds ' of the escaped brown trout oh the pebbly shallows, during the latter end of June, and all July. The ' ridds' will strike even an inexperienced eye, giving the appearance of a newly moulded potatoe row. A letter will at once insure my presence.— H. Howard, the Ponds, Wallacetown." The foul chimney of a house in Tweed street caught fire on Friday, 20thi inst., and blazed away furiously, for some time. The fire-bell rang out the alarm, and the brigade turned out as quickly as possible, but their services were not required, the fire having apparently burnt itself out before they reached the scene. The occupier of the premises, Mrs C. A. Ross, appeared at the Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, 25th, to answer the usual charge in such cases. John Blacklock, Esq., J.P., was on the bench, and informed Mrs Ross of the severity of the penalty inflicted for negligence in the matter of keeping chimneys clean. On being assured by her, however, that in this instance the chimney had been properly swept, so lately as the 2nd of March last, and that she was under the impression that three months was the time allowed between the •" sweepings," he reduced the fine to ss, with coßts, 5s 6d. The agent of the s.s. Airedale requests us to intimate that the train to suit the steamer sailing on Sunday will leave Invercargill at 10.30 a.m. San Francisco may be a most delightful place for those to reside in who go in for pleasure (says the Melbourne* Herald) but for those who have to find the pleasure it must be a very grim place. Since the law enforcing the Sunday closing of theatres has been repealed, the places of amusement are in full swing every Sunday. The Royal Japanese" "troupe, now in San Francisco advertises three performances for Sunday, February 13th. Troupes of gymnasts announce their startling novelties, and sensational feats for the same day; The theatres announce grand performances for the. Sunday evening, and, if anything, a special attraction is put forth at that time. What' the unfortunate actors, singers, negro delineators, and acrobats think of it, is well known, for one performer, writing from the Golden Gates, describes his life as unmitigated slavery. Rehearsals by day, and performances by night, the whole week round, during all the seven days, makes life anything but joyous for those who have to minister to the pleasures of others. \i the resistance to the opening of our Museum and Public Library on Sunday has sprung from a fear lest the opening of these. Bhould lead to a similar state of things as in California, we do not wonder at the opposition, and if there is the slightest danger of theatres and other places -of entertainment being thrown open if the Museum- and Library be accessible to the public, we hope that they never ■will be. Fortunately the tendency at present of the public mind in Melbourne is rather to repression of what now goes on than to follow in the wake of our go-ahead neighbors in San Francisco city. The total quantity of wool' exported from Otago to London direct in the season of 1868-9, was 27j738 bales. The total of this season is 31,278 bales. Consequently there is an increase of 3540 bales, or at the raid of 12*76 per cent.

' The Otago Daily Times of the 20th inst. says : — After a lengthened spell of fine weather, Dunedin has as;ain been visited by a flood. The heavy rain that fell during yesterday and the day previous culminated last evening in a flood greater than any we have . experienced since the beginning of the year. Maclaggan, Rattray, St. Andrew, Pitt-, and all the other streets notorious for being flooded in times of heavy rain, fully maintained their reputation yesterday. At the junction of St. Andrew street and George street the river — for it was nothing less — extended across the entire breadth of .the roadway, and pedestrians were compelled, to, dash: through it. At the foot of Regent Road, also, a fierce torrent came down, and carried away the foot bridge in George street. Several paddocks along the line of George street and Great King street were laid under water, while every corner wns skirted by a stream more or less large. The Water of Leith, as was to be expected, was in high flood, but we have not heard of any damage having been done. At Port Chalmers several vessels put in for shelter. Just fancy (says the local paper of the 12th) the run that there must have been on brandy and whisky when all the Queenstown merchants have been left without stocks. Whether this is a good sign — from the increase of population point, of view, or a bad one from the drinking tendencies of the people — or one arising from want of foresight, let others abler than oureelves decide. No brandy ; no whisky. Hard times for the topers, no doubt, but let them read one or. two paragraphs elsewhere and our police report, and perhaps they will say, all the better. : • The local paper is glad to find that, through the enterprise of Mr Charles Bradshaw, 1 Waikouaiti is again to become a whaling station, and that three boats lately purchased in Hobart Town, are fully manned and equipped, and now engaged in the pursuit of whaling^ All the requisites for extracting the oil have also been erected in the neighorhood of the Spit, ' and altogether a considerable outlay has been gone to. The official returns showing the quantity and value of the gold exported from the various provinces of New- Zealand during the quarter ended on the 31st. March are published in the NewZealand Gazette of the 12th inst. as follows:— Otago, 46,3860z., or £185,628 ; Nelson, 41,1060z., or £165,318 j Westlaud, 38,8930z., or £155,647 ;' Aunkland, 30,0080z, or £105,992 ; Southland, 885oz, or £354&; and-Marlborough, 48oz, or £192. The totals for the entire colony are 157,326 ounces, and £616,324, being a falling off as compared with the corresponding quarter of last year of 89380z, or at the rate of 5 68 per cent. Taking the several provinces in detail, we find thai: Otago shows an increase during the period under notice of 10,4870z, or 2926 per cent ; Nelson a decrease of 41520z, or lO'l per cent ; Westland a decrease of 43650z, or 11*22 per cent ; Auckland a decrease 'of 11,6660z., or no less; than 3887 1 per cent. ; Southland an increase of 35330z., the quantity exported during the corresponding quarter of 1869 being only 9 ounces ; and Marlborough a decrease of 118 ounces, or 24583 per cent. The total quantity exported from the colony from the Ist April, 1857, to the 31st March last, wa« 5,155,295 ounces of ■which Otago contributed 2,568,447 ounces, or nearly one half. : . ; The Lyttelton Times understands itia proposed to extend the advantages of the Government, scheme of assurances to the cases of doubtful and diseased lives.-- In this class of cases instead of adding, aa is usual with companies a number of years to the actual age of the insured, it is proposed to charge the ordinary ratea and to endorse on the policy a sum equivalent to the risk which the Government incurs in the insurance of such lives. Should the insured die before the value of ! premiums paid by him- amount to the sum assured, the amount endorsed on , the policy will be deducted when paying the claim. In computing the value of the total premiums paid the commiasioner will take each payment as if it had been invested at compound interest, say, at 4or 5 per cent. The advantages, to the insured under this _ system is, that should he live to the average age, he will have been charged only the ordinary rates throughout life, and he will have escaped altogether the extra charge which under the ordinm-jr aMingaments would have been imposed on him. The Oamaru Times of the 17th inst. has the following paragraph * — Sir Thatcher called at our office on Friday evening, having arrived per Maori, from Timaru, and tendered the editor a full apology for the threatening letter written by him {$£. r Thatcher). The apology was cheerfully accepted. It bein£ known, however, that Mr Thatcher was within, quite a crowd gathered outside the office, and refused to disperse unless the apology •'were publicly made. To this Mr Thatcher acceded, and in a very gentlemanly manner expressed his regret at having acted unadvisedly, and under a mistaken impression. Having made this avowal, he was greeted with loud cheers. . An East Taieri correspondent of the Bruce Herald writes as follows on the afternoon of the 20th : — We are again experiencing another very heavy flood from the rain which has continued without intermission ever since Tuesday evening. The creeks are now like little rivers, and the plain has the appearance of a vast lake from the 11th milestone to the Taieri river, including the greater part of the West Taieri. The farm of Mr Anderson, East Taieri, is completely under water, and the tops of the fences are in some places covered. The plain will soon be not habitable, unless some extraordinary means are adopted to prevent the recurrence of loss from floods. The grass will be destroyed for this season where it is flooded, and it will fall hard on the owners of such ground, after having had Buoh a poor harvest, the flood of January last, and later, still, of May 2nd, when the lagoon came across the district. The flood of to-day is now only a very few. inches lower than in January last. The Wellington Independent of the ■ 14th inst. says : — "A report, originating in< the Auckland papers, and copied in our columns, has been going the round of the press in. the colony, ; to the effect that his Excellency the Governor had become the purchaser of an estate belonging to Thomas Russell, Esq. We understand that the report is without any foundation in fact, and we are, therefore, unable to congratulate Sir George Bowen on the ' possession of a shooting box in the North, or the people of Auckland on the prospect of having the present Governor a permanent resident in the neighborhood of his predecessor, the owner of Kawau. The Evening Herald has been ' shown by Mr Buller, a specimen of the original New Zealand rat, which was found on Mr Owen's land on the • Wangaehu. About five years ago Mr Buller offered a reward of £5 to any person who could get one, but with no result. "Therat in question has for many years past been supposed to be extinct, but was immediately recognised by many natives when aho.wn to them. At one time it was the only animal the natives had for food, and the districts in which they abounded were eagerly sought for by the natives, and the ownership of the land was frequently the source of warfare between different tribes. The disputes as to the ownership of the districts where the rats i were most numerous, were so frequent, that at length, after several meetings and koreros between different " tribes, boundaries were laid down, certain ranges were chosen to mark the hunting grounds of each tribe. These land marks are up to the present day used to mark the boundaries of the land belonging to the different tribes. The rat in appearance is totally different from the rat which, at the present time, infests New Zealand. The skin is a beautiful glossy black fur, almost like silk, with email broad pointed ears, and it" lived almost entirely on vegetable matter. Under the heading of " an expensive breakfast," the Dunedin Evening Steer of the 20th insfc. publishes the following: — Mr M'Aslan, in his estimate of the assets of the Province, sets down the value of the salmon at £5053. Of these delicious Ssh there were nine only that could be considered Provincial property, and it is currently reported that Mr Dawbin, the curator, at the salmon ponds, previously to leaving the Waiwera, caught the nine salmon and cooked them. for breakfast. Mr Main very pertinently -asked the

Secretary fo~ Land and Works if he had reported to the Government as to their flavor. It is really time (says the Wait Count Tim**) that the proper authorities B honld.Js]HgtfßHtt^ to moderate the present mania for as complaints a-e continually reacWS^/ttixgifthe^' danger to pedestrians from the furiouftndn^^tf bicycles. On Thursday night while {th«-wn4Jn|K* playing in North Revell street, oner ofpthwB 1 nfpjl chines.,dashed into the criniwi and ttpiet;Vj *ngHv; boy who happened to' be riinninc "^^HjSHjf street, injuring him. very severely^ fte waajMSSr/ up insensible^and carried to a^eigHlft^i^^p^V and a doctor havingjjeeri' called in^lu«~woanda were dressed, and by the assistance of some good Samaritans the child W*s carried home, where he now lies dangerously iIL - - Perhaps 'Ow 1 : nuraanoer will be stopped when a Borough -Coon oillor y* ran over. A County Councillor has already 'been in jeopardy without the desired effect, •»4t-»~to be hoped for the safety of -Her Majesty's lieges that velocipe lists will try their hand 'on' a member of the Borough Council; •- - - —■- — A petition, signed by 350 unemployed artisans, mechanics, and laborers, who state that they cannot get work although anxious t» do soi-liM^eea presented to the Otago . Provincial,. Council., JL select committee Eas been appointed to 'enquire into the matter. " /--;.',<; u % :: The returns of the revenues collected at ther different ports in the Colony: for, the quarter* ending the 31st March last, have been published.The total amount collected. was. .6l99^64, being an increase of £10.075, over : the; corresponding: quarter of 1869*.. Auckland, showa an increase of £4,077 over last year*s t quarter jjiejir .'Plymouth, an increase of £4is;WelUngton,-an increase of £20; Napierian increase of £796:; Nelaon, a*i increaso of £1,844 ; . Westport,-:. « decrease of £1,236; Greymouth, an increase of £1,473) Hokitika, a decrease, of £5,466; Jjyttelton, an increase of £1,455 ; Timaru, an increase of £100 j OamarUi an increase of £133 ; . Dunedin, «a increase of £2,954 ; Invercargill,. an increase of £302 j and Riverton, an increase, of £207. The Gfrey, River. Argus complains with justice of the following paragraphs which has recently been going the-jound, of the Hew Zealand papers :—-" According to the Wellington papers, the. Tararua, on .her. last trip, took on board at Greymputh fifty-fix tpus of Grey , Birer .opal* for the purpose of testing its suitabUity;ior^»teaii» purposes. The result was not a satisfactory one, inasmuch as she could not make more- than sic knots an hour while burning, this cOaL" We ha»* made the fdllest inquiry,- and-find that this statementis utterly without foundation. The ag ents say that the Tararua never sWppeo^an ounce of coal here. She may have been • supplied of the ports with what was sold as orey coal, but it could not be so, as the coal from the Brunner mine bears ' a l ; veryi high/character^mongsfr engineers. The Panama Company 'always used it when their Vessels coaled at Nelson; and Captain Daniels, of the s.s. Wanganui, informs us that he sells nearly alLof the cargoes he takes from here to Wanganui to the Government steamers. As the report' is a very damaging one, we hope our contemporaries; whff published it' will give this contradiction equal publicity. .Mr W.Thomas Wills,; of /Mount IWills, near Branxton, West(;Maitland,vNew. .Southo'Wales, who has just returned frpm a visit to California, gives a very gloomy description of the state of things in that country^ - He spent about thirteen months there,- and travelled in: all- directions. Hie stayed afewvweeks afc:San Francisco. ,Thencehe went, to -Truckey,; thence , to Wadswortlfc? and Carline. He, remained several days at each of these places." From Carline he went to Humbolt's Wells, where he . stopped two months. H» obtained employment here, but "he did 7 jiot get paid ( for it. .He then went on to Augdon7"4nenee> to. Salt Lake. He worked for five months at Beaver city, where \h» earned^the only wages, that were paid him in the country^ He gassed through, the towns of St. ':', George and.'Si;. JOsepli, and travelled over the great' ; Rocky M oanta'ui- anddeserfc, and through _Golqahpn'sPi3sr Heathen went to St. Barnardino, where he remained two> weeks looking for employment, but could not get it. Prom this place he went to Los. JTngelos, thence to Wilmington. He remained at each of these places for abont two weeks. '.He then returned to California. At all those pl*oe»^*vith the eiceptionpf Salt Lake, Beaver. City, St. Georgeand St. Joseph, where the people _ a£p.earedjto be pretty comfortable— he states that there" wa» scarcely any employment for the people. He gives a most deplorable account of the condition of the people employed on, the Great Pacific Railroad. He -visited that part of the- r raUr/>ad^ where the. two lines meet,. known as" junction Point" Whilst there he states that a thousand men were thrown put of employ, and their places filled by Chinamen. The social conditipn of the people aeiWoVkrojfc^thtf railroad near this place would appear to bfltin a shocking state. He states , that, it ( ia not an uncommon circumstance for the corpses of three or four men to be found in 'the ; morning iying along the wilroad, who had been murdered durins; the night; The corpses of- these -murdered men are often left to liefor days without boriaL^ As regards San Francisco, he states ' that there are thousands of men' out of- employ, many of then being men who had worked on 'the -Great Pacifio Railroad, but whose places hail "oeen.. filled by Chinamen. He both saw and conversed .with hundreds who were utterly" uriable~to obtain'employment. Many who left Sydney for San Francisco are in a most destitute state, and would do anything to get back - again. 'He • has' known many instances of persons reduced to such, a;state as to be glad to get pieces of biscuits thrown to them by the sapors on the ships lyin^jit the wharfs. "He gives" a" godd : ~aescriptaon- of- the appearance of the country and its resources, bat he describes the 2old_andjßilier-^jnss.a»j!mving in a great measure failed, o^ been worked out, and says there is little doing at these mines' at present. He has brought with him the following certificate which, perhap^, 1 will be perused with interest :— "This is to certify that never has such distress prevailed in San Francisco, California, as for the past five 'months. At present it is estimated that seven thousand-artisans and laborers are unemployed; and i£ will be puro kindness tojyarn Australians against coming, here for another year or so, unless they have the'wherewith^' maintain themselves until employment is obtained: * The bearer, Mr Thomas Wills, now^ returning to Sydney, can give a true statement of the condition of many Australians nowhere, in a state of distress. ; J.B.^'Currie, Secretary British Benefit Society." -' The. Oamtiru Times says ;— ". We have teen shown by Mr Waddell, of this town, a wild duck, of a species unknown' to us,' shot Tat (the TMaerewhenua, and brought down by Mr Gibson. t It i» hardly so large'as a grey:jduck; though :» fullerbodied bird. Generally, it somewhat resemble* a widgeon, though much larger. The- 'beak is blackj broadening at the lend,- and-, very 'similar in shape to that of the efpbon-blll;^ The head is grey ou the . upper .part, and tinged with an ' emerald sheen, and is furnished jrit^.a spepies of crest. A band of white, proceeding l 'teonv above each -eye, passes — round— the— nnfifir part of the head at the base of the bill. The plumage of. the bird is unusually beautiful, , the? neck being covered with white feathers, tipped, with black like those of a silver-spangled Hamburg fowl ; the breast is a rich chestnut brown, each feather . having black markings, like those- of an English pheasant. Plumes of long shaded, feathers of great beauty are only partially cbdcealed^by the wings. The back is of a dark-browa-slaaost approaching to black; the tail black, with white and green side feathers. The feathers above the legs are exactly like those of the sparrowhawk ; the feet small, and of a bright orange color? The wings are handsomely" markea^tii&.~ipius feathers being black, and the shortones bluish slate-oblor, white, and a brilliant green, arranged in -three dtetincfc bands. It is a much more 1 handsomebird than the Paradise duck; arid we regret that we are unable to give it its proper name. Although we are told" that ajduer^Saswifißg to this description is found in: other parts of New Zealand, we believe that thisisthe-firstapeoi-men which has been seen in tbia .neighborhood. We have been informed that it .»,. found op. the Pomahaka and neighboring sbMMB*, ajid is locally known a 8 the " Shoveller.* ' ' * :