PROVINCIAL.

Southland Times, Issue 1333, 8 November 1870, Page 2

PROVINCIAL.

* DUNEB93S-, Nov. 2. — Our correspondent writes : — -The seat in the Provincial Council, vacated by Mr Dillon Bell, has been filled up hy the Worshipful Mayor of Dunedin, Mr H. S. Fish, jun. The poll, as declared', recorded a majority of 25 votes as against Bathgate, and 246 against Birch. There is a tide in the affairs of men which sometimes ebbs and sometimes flows. In the case of Birch tbe ebb has begun. The breath of public opinion is gradually veering round to a head wind. Nothing could have been more inopportune. The general elections take place in a few weeks, and the mercury so low, with a downward tendency, looks very like as if Mr Thos. Birch was going to have an opportunity of resting** on> his laurels. The footing, it must be admitted, is not a very sound one, still ifc is just as good holding-ground as two-thirds of Otago's representative men could fix tbeir tents upon. The latest political defalcation laid to Birch's charge, is having supported Vogel's financial scheme without being able to comprehend its meaning. What could any man have been expected to do under such circumstances ? Had he opposed it he must of necessity bave shown cause ; and how could any man show cause in a matter the purport of which overmatched his powers of perception ? Why, Birch's silent consent ss a matter for congratulation. It saved the province from tbe stigma of retaining men for its defence, the power of whose reasoning faculties were incapable of estimating the cause ; and even as a negative virtue this is one which cannot be- claimed by some other of our members. For instance the honorable — and I may add? intelligent — member for Bruce made himself a perfect laughingstock during the session, by his attempts to discourse on subjects respecting which he knew as much as he did about the decrees of fate. Indeed, the fact is getting painfully evident that Otago's representation is beginning to be looked upon as composed of the most inferior men the Colonial Parliament brings together. If Thomas Birch's* eloquent silence was tho means of preventing that opinion from gaining such ground, as his personal

weight might have added to it, why should he be signalled out for the first sacrifice? If it is deemed necessary to raise the standard of intellectual attainment, why not begin with the men who sign their acceptance of oflice with a cross, and not with Birch, who is able both to read and write. On the other hand, even Birch's worst adversaries cannot designate him a place-hunter. He bas bad a slice or two of government patronage, but then he gave his services for it. He took his mayoralty stipend like a man, but he attended pretty well to the duties of tbe oflice. Although defeated, Bathgate showed'up very high. To all appearance be is a coming man of no very distant date. Before dismissing tbe subject, it may be right to note that a difficulty has arisen respecting tbe legality of the election, but whether anything comes out of it or not remains to be seen. It is purely of a technical character, and involves the question of vacancy. — With all due deference to your expressed opinions respecting the matter of reunion, I am decidedly of opinion that it is in a fair way of becoming a matter of importance to your district. The fact that you can do passenger traffic at something less than a halfpenny per mile, and make it pay, ia something the Dunedin folks were not prepared to learn. Tour Lake Wakatip connection must be on tbe increase, judging from the fact that although the trade is admitted to have doubled itself within the last few months, carriers complain that through loading from Dunedin has actually fallen off. We have not yet dignified Invercargill with the status of a commercial competitor, at the same time we cannot close our eyes to the fact that she is in a position to do a share of the business hitherto confined to Dunedin. Some of our commercial men, more curious than others on the point, are making enquiries into the matter. The result is a decided opinion in favor of the traffic facilities ofthe place, together with an equally decided opinion that you have not got the commercial enterprise to turn them to the best advantage. In fact^ Invercargill and Eiverton are spoken of as composed of a community of shopkeepers, whose ideas of business are confined to their counter-trade. Backed up by such sentiments, we, the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, feel pretty confident that whatever you can lay claim to willhecome ours by right of conquest. Thia is what is vulgarly called a " wrinkle" for you ; and if you accept it in the spirit in. which it is given, you will gird up your loins and show a little more eagerness in the commercial fray than you bave been doing. Your agricultural resources are admitted to be A I. Mr W. H. Pearson's after-dinner speech was transferred from your columns to the Daily Times, and it has attracted notice as an evidence of yonr territorial resources. More than one hustings' speech broached tbe subject. Mr Birch at one of his meetings stated that a gentleman who bad travelled over Southland, told him thafc there was som-*) of the finest agricultural land ia that part of tbe country which New Zealand possessed, and the announcement was received with satisfaction. All things considered, you have at present a fair chance of coming forward in tbe provincial ranks, and if you don't do it, you will only have yourselves to blame. — Mr Blackett, CE , who recently received an acting appointI ment from tbe General Government aa I Chief Engineer, and who is at present I engaged in the survey of the Wairarapa railway, is expected to visit Auckland i shortly on an official tour. The object ia supposed- by the Auckland papers to be to go over the line ot the proposed Waikato railway. This looks very much like as if the northern railway schemes were to take precedence of those planned for the south. In Dunedin, attention has been drawn to the matter, and as you have a vested interest in the Kingston and Mataura lines, it might be well to give the matter notice. Mr Julius Yogel is a downright honest man, but now that his personal and political interests are transferred northwards, he is worth the trouble of a little watchful admonition. — For some time past a pretty little press squabble bas been raging in reference to certain telegrams alleged to have been purloined by the General Government. A newspaper combination, designating itself the "United Press Association,'* feels aggrieved, and to such an extent has the grievance been hawked about by interested journals, that it has become a perfect nuisance. The idea evidently ia to make capital out of it on the same principle that the decrepit mendicant exposes his natural deformities at fairs and public gatherings. Wakatiptt. — John Millward, a miner, met with his death recently under rather melancholy circumstances. A dispute had arisen between him and his mate, a man named Burk, in reference to the disposal of their gold, when deceased challenged Burk to fight. A scuffle ensued, during, which both parties fell. In the fall, Millward received internal injuries, which caused his death. Burk has been arrested on the charge of manslaughter. — At Twelve-mile, Arrow, a Chinaman wagstabbed in the back. by one of his countrymen. A dispute arose in reference to a gambling debt, which brought the parties to blows. The stab, which is not considered dangerous, was inflictedduring the fight. — The weather is reported seasonable. The crops throughout the district are looking well. Wheat has been largely sown, but in consequence of a scarcity of seed,, the oat crop is more limited than it would otherwise Jiave been. — Eeport states that mining matters continue steady. The only transaction noted is the sale of a claim at Arrowtown to* a party of Chinamen for «£3oo.~Th^ scarcity of oats may be gathered from. the following paragraph, which appears in the local paper, of date 27th ult.: — " Oats are unknown in Queenstown. Ten shillings per bushel could not, during the present week,, purchase any. At the farms* they were obtainable at Bs> but supplies are small. Crushed wheat is used as & substitute fo* oats as horse feed."— Me*

*

Haughton, M.H.E., and Mr Shepherd, M.P.C, are announced as candidates for Hampden in tbe General Assembly.— The L*kes correspondent of the ADunstan Times summarises the progress of the place as follows : — " Our stone era has already commenced. A two-storey stone building for a butcher's shop is in propress. Three brickmaker* have started, also a lime-burner, at Bob's Cove. A saw mill has been commenced at Skippers Creek, and another mill, for planing, turning, a foundry, and machine shop combined is about to be established by Messrs J. W. Eobertson & Co., at Queenstown. This enterprising firm is likewise proceeding to build a large schooner for the trade of Lake Wakatip, to sail on its own account when possible, otherwise to be taken in tow by their steamer Antrim. As a rule there is generally a fair wind down the Lake, but not up." Waikouaiti.— On the afternoon ofthe lst inst., three whales were observed in the Bay. The boat's crew at once gave chase, and succeeded in fastening the harpoon into one of them. After a short struggle it sank, but a buoy was fixed to indicate the spot. From what we {Herald) can learn, the whale is considerably larger than tbe last one, and is of the species known as the humpback ; its companions were of the same kind.— The brooding season is pretty well advanced, and there are now a number of pheasants, with their young, scattered throughout the neighboring bush, where they have been set free by tbe Acclimatisation Society. — A quantity of long grass and swamp was lately set fire to, which is known to have destroyed a number of young 'ducks scattered through a swamp over which tbe fire spread. Dunstam". — A tremendous gale of wind visited Black's on the evening of Friday, the 21st ult. Amongst other damage sustained, was the complete destruction of tbe Golden Gate and Suspension companies' water flumings across the Manuherikia. — The agriculturists, with few exceptions, have got their crops in. The past two seasons, prolific crops and high prices ruled for farm produce of all kinds, which has no doubt encouraged the farmers to extend their labors. — The Manuherikia river had risen some two feet, consequently beach claims were thrown idle. — A machine for raising water from the river to the terraces has just been completed. The principle is highly spoken of. Should the machine answer the expectations of its inventor, a great want will be supplied. Teviot. — The stations in the neighborhood have commenced tailing, so that shearing is likely to be rather earlier than usual. — The river has got up to its ordinary summer level, and the beach workers as a rule have " knocked off." Tbe past winter has been a luckless one for su<»h workings, one report stating that scarcely six weeks uninterrupted work bad been secured. — The dredges at Millar's Flat are doing moderately well. One of them was lately navigated down the river as far as the Horseshoe Bend. This is the lowest point at which the river is wrought by dredging**, and considerable interest is manifested in the result. — A rush to the Lammerlaw ranges, in the vicinity of Gardner's station, is reported. The number of men on the ground is said to be considerable. The Lammerlaws are an inaccessible part of tbe country, but from the number of small rushes that have lately taken place, there seems every probability of their being wrought. — The district member in the Assembly — Mr Mervyn — has been under a species of political condemnation of late, and his return at the general elections is highly problematical. He lately tried to make certain explanations, which were received with the very worst grace. Tokomaibibo. — Grass in tbe districts south of the Molyneux is suffering seyerely from drought. The most of the paddocks are reported to be scorched to the roots. The crops are also in a very backward state. — A contemporary says — We have been shown by a Port Molyneux settler, a sample of grass admirably adapted for land liable to be inundated with water, and also for swamps where other grasses will not grow. It is the poaaquatioa or swamp grass. It grows to the height of six feet. Cattle are remarkably fond of it. In two or three years it forms a crust that would carry cattle where they could not previously have ventured to tread. — The Table hill quartz reef company washed up 260z. lOdwts. from 89 tons of stone, being at the rate of s§dwts. to the ton. — Excitement at the Port Molyneux Beach diggings has in a great measure subsided. The latest account is that there are fifteen men at work, whose earnings average 10s per day. — We (Tokomairiro paper) understand Messrs Somerville Brothers, Waitepeka, have tried the experiment of thin sowing of oats on about 80 acres of land this season, the land being harrowed very fine before the seed was sown. This style bas been tried in the home country and found to succeed, and we hope to be able to report favorably at next harvest of the above two-bushel-an-acre trial.