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Southland Times, Issue 1276, 8 July 1870, Page 2

We are requested by the hon. secretary of the Provincial Hospital to acknowledge the receipt by him of £20, collected by J. W. Matthews, Esq., of Eiverton, in aid of the Hospital funds. Mr Stafford has given' notice that he will move in the House of Representatives for a return of the names of all persons who have been drowned in each year from the Ist January, 1840, to the present date in any river or stream in New Zealand, giving the name of any such river or stream, and of the province in which it is situated. It is, says the Evening 'Tost, scarcely possible that such a return can be accurately supplied, so many unknown individuals having met their deaths in the manner described, of whose fate no record has been preserved ; still, the list which can b# supplied will prove a sufficiently, ghastly one, and afford a bitter commentary on the misappropria. tion of public funds, which has so long prevailed, while means of communication through the' ulterior of both islands have ~been bo shamefully neglected. Evidently, Mr Stafford's motion is meant as a blow at Provincial institutions, and a heavy one it will prove. ; : '..-.: .„ ; At a public meeting at Lyttelton on Friday, resolutions to the following effect were carried : — ''That in the opinion of this meeting it is just and expedient that a proportion of the loan of one .million proposed to be raised under the Imperial guarantee for immigration and public works should be allocated to this Province."— ". That the representatives of the Province, at the General Assembly; be requested to use their best endeavors to obtain for the harbor works at Lyttelton a sum of money, not less than £30,000, out of the proportion of the- proposed loan allocated, to this Province:" - Mr George Cotterell's performance in Invercargill, on Wednesday evening last, was less liberally patronised than the real merits of the entertainment deserved j but this we- must attribute' to the disagreeable weather which then prevailed, for. our, townspeople are seldom wanting in a due appreciation of real talent ; and we have no hesitation in saying' that Mr Cotterell's powers are of a very high order indeed.; Con? sidering the short tame that this gentleman* has been before the public, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that he is a " born actor," and if he continues to follow out the profession which he has adopted, he cannot fail to attain a high position in it. His mobility of feature is something remarkable, and his. dramatic. powers are of no mean order; Taking ' the entertainment altogether, it is essentially high class, and the most keenly sensitive will find nothing to take exception to; nor is it necessary to select any of Mr Cotterell's characters for special praise, because all are equally deserving of commendation. Our readers cannot do better than patronise the entertainment announced for this evening, as we feel assured that the " table talk and unframed pictures" will be the means of affording them two hours' pleasant enjoyment. Mary Ann (alias f Biddy") M'Coy, was brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 7th mat.,. on a charge of attempted poisoning. Mr Inspector Chapman, by whom the information against the. prisoner was laid, applied for a remand, on the ground' that since the arrest, was made, it had been impossible, to procure the attendance of witnesses required, who all lived at a distance— •Riverton— where' the alleged crime was committed. The. prosecutor was put in the box, and gave, evidence as to the circumstances leading to the arrest, which His Worship considered sufficient to justify the granting of a remand for seven days ; the case to be brought on sooner in the event of the prosecution being ready to proceed with it. Mr Wade asked whether bail would be accepted for the accused, but the bench declined, remarking that she was already under bonds to keep the peace. Another case, Chapman v. Cook* also came on for hearing. Plaintiff sought to recover £4 16s on an 1.0. U. given in acknowledgment of money due for rent. Defendant made no appearance, and judgment was given by default. News was received in town yesterday afternoon to the effect that Mr Weiss, who has for some time past been a teacher in Invercargill, and who .went to Biverton some three weeks since to fill the place of Mr J. E. Stewart, teacher there (who has been unable, through illness, to discharge his ordinary duties), left Biverton on 1 Sunday afternoon, and was accompanied as far as the New Biver Ferry by two friends. . Mr Weiss 1 remained there that night, and the next forenoon asked Mr Longford for the loan of his gun, as he wanted to go rabbit shooting. Since that time nothing has been heard of him, and it is | feared some accident has Occurred. . We believe it is the intention of Inspector Chapman to send" a mounted constable this morning to search the peninsula. Might -we suggest that some of Mr Weiss's friends should join in the search ? We understand there is. just ft possibility! that the missing gentleman may be found at Mr Eoaetti'B, with whom, it is said, he was acquainted;

Despite our bad weather (says the Mail) and despite other circumstances of a retarding nature, the Wakatip escort will maintain its high yield. Again in the gloom of winter the district will send down on Friday some 1800 ounces from Queenstown, and about 700 ounces from Arrow. This is one of the main barometers of the district— the true test of its value and wealth. We see no reason to fear that our resources am not as abundant as ever. While we do not desire .to encourage an undue influx of copulatkm,_yet we can see no obstacle to many coming to a fair" field of labor if they have theVill and the means to set into work. Without^ these requirements^ the Wakatip must not be looked upqgr if* r a • resuscitated El Dorado. It' has abundant resources for practical - workers— for mfen^who mean t3 work. The following extract from a private letter received by last mail on the subject of New Zealand flax, has been handed to the Canterbury Press for publication: — "In reply to your friend's letter from New Zealand, 17th February; I am not at all surprised that ha should have had bis attention drawn .to the flax or hemp question, as at the date he wrote he would have known some extraordinary sales that we're made .here about October and November last. By this time he will also have heard that the prices have fallen very considerably. There is no doubt but that the ''flax and hemp will eventually become a regular article' -Af consumption if they can afford ■to lay it down here at prices which are now ruling > but the prices obtained last autumn were altogether fictitious. The article itself is strong, and will do for common purposes for inland use, and may possibly be used to mix with Manilla, but at present it is supposed that New Zealand flax will not stand water— this, of course remains to be proved, I can quote value as follows :— £28 per ton for fine dressed, same as was sold for £52 10s at the end of last year; and partly dressed) say £23,' same as was sold at £40 to £12 ; "and common, £18, same as was sold at .£3O. The most . saleable: sorts to . send are the better kinds, and I would recommend your friends to send only these descriptions." It ~ii"*r'umored~fliat""a co^operatiTe "Btore will" soon be started in Dunedin. . • : The Lake correspondentjof the punstan Times writes as follows:— To show you how the district is improving I have only to instance that the ratepayers' roll for 1870-1. shows an increase of 80 rate-payers upon the last year, while the amount "of rates actually collected has increased during the same period by one-third. With the municipality of Queenstown so prosperous, there is ample proof that the district is exactly so in proportion. Our gold escorts are larger than they have been for the. last, four years past ; while we produce grain in the district sufficient for ourselves and also pur neighbors for 60 miles, round. The following new idea has been propounded by a, correspondent of .the Lyttelton Times. The writer'says :— " What a lack of 'enterprise there is in New Zealand ! Just now a splendid opportunity occurs for makingaibrtune. Why should ithec^x 'Assoo&Hon not take action and;, ship a , lo^ pf. New, Zealand flax to Manilla, to be mixed up wHh the libre produced there, and all sent to England as genuine Manilla? England would bur; ■anything from that quarter, although; followr ing the lead of the Colonial Office, she looks with suspicion and aversion on any produce of her own poor colonies.' 1 In connection with Mr.BichmOnd's jßill regarding the property of married women, it will be of interest to -note that in California it is now provided by law, " that the earnings' of the wife shall not be liable for the debts of the husband ; that the earnings and accumulations of rthe wife, and of her minor children living with or. being in her custody while the wife is living separate and apart from her husband, shall be the : separate property of the wife; .and ; that I the wife, while living separate 'and i apart' from her husband, shall have the sole and exolusive control of her separate property, and may sue and be sued; without joining or.T>eing joined with her husband, and may avail herself of, and be subject to, all legal process in all actions, including aotiona concerning her real estate.? . ■;.-, ■: . . ..; ■■-'■_ ■• A correspondent, signing himself. "Sailor," and who states that he has " used the ..New Zealand flax rope for upwards of 20 years, for every purpose for which rope is used," writes to the Tuapeha Times as follows :— " In 1845, 1 was on board a ship of 400 tons, in the River Holrianga, loading spars for the Admiralty. These spars consisted of lower masts, topmasts, yards, &c., of all sizes and weights, from one up to fifteen tons. When the first spar came alongside, a fall of European rope was rove, but ere the end of the spar extended the bow port, the rope gave way. To all appearance the rope was sound and good. We then had to vie a fall of New Zealand rope of same sire. This rope took in the remainder of the cargo— about 40 spars— and at the finishing appeared to be little the worse' of the" wear. Subsequently, loused New Zealand rope for standing and running gear on board of more than one vessel, and found it equal, if not superior, to Manilla. The New Zealand rope was, of course, tarred^' Let me add, however, that the ropo thus used was manufactured out of flax prepared by the, Maoris, which I believe is better than that InoTrjrprbvided by the mills ; and if it is now considered as inferior it must arise entirely, in the manufacture of the fibre, and not ' in the . fibre . itself. If I ever again went to sea, I would use New Zealand rope of good quality as soon as any other for eveiypurpose onboard "»hipi y - — — - — - A stack of corn, the produce of 24 acres, was reMnfly "sold StTimaru for Is. It "had been 7 rendered completely rotten by the wet weather. . A private letter from Wellington, quoted by the Timaru Herald, states that the formation of a harbor of refuge at Timaru will probably be undertaken out of the million loan.'. We are not told what the cost of such a work is estimated at. The Waikato " Anti-Shouting " Society has received official -patronage, the Superintendent and Provincial Secretary of Auckland having joined its ranks. The Herald spitefully adds :— The' pledge not to treat or be treated in any public house only extends to. this province, so that the members are all right at Wellington. The Taieri Fasting Girl has been "interviewed" by the' reporter of the Sntee'Seraldj who describes her as lying motionless as: a corpse with eves and mouth closed, the only-indication of life he could detect being a slight expansion and contraction of the nostrils.- Drslnglis and Brearty have seen her, but say they . can : do nothing. It is desired that' some of the faculty in Dunedin should make a visit for the purpose of examining the case, and doing what is possible to be done for the sufferer. * -"■ ■ 1■ ■■ . 1. The Wanganni Chronicle has the following with reference to our Native allies : — We understand that a number of Ngatiporous, who have been stationed up near Patea, are about to be despatched .to the East Coast. A kind and paternal Government,: having due regard to the comfort of these brave defenders of ours, has had a large white wooden chest made for each man, which is to be used, we presume, in lieu of a knapsack or kit in carrying about bis necessaries in the field. As the chests in question are about 4ft by 2£ft in dimensions, and .when full will probably weigh 2001bs, we presume that the Government intend to import a number of elephants to accompany the. field .force in future expeditions. . - In accordance with an order passed by the! House of Representatives last session, on the mot^n-of Mr Kelly, a return has been published, snowing, among other things, the approximate' number of natives in each tribe and 'hapu in the North Island. No returns- were received from the districts of Tauranga and Maketu,' Poverty Bay, and East Cape, and Napier, but the numbers of the last estimate (1868) are given in these cases. The total number, including these districts, is 32,109. The largest number— ssoo— in one district are located at Poverty Bay and the East Cape, the Bay of Islands and Hokianga district coming next with 4255. The Kororareka district, t withr4o4j; contains -the smallest number of Maoris, the next smallest number-7-451-rbeing|in the 'Lower Waikato and Waiuku ' district.