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Southland Times, Issue 1338, 22 November 1870, Page 2

A nugget, weighing 16 ozs. 12 dwts., has been found at the Wairau diggings, Maryborough. A meeting of the Chamber of Commerce is called for to-day at noon, and as the business is of pressing importance, a fall and prompt at. tendance should be given. Mr Chas. D. Irvine, a candidate for a seat in the Assembly, announces through our advertising columns that be will address the electors this evening in the Theatre Royal at 8 p.m. In the Provincial Council, on the 17th in at., Mr Wilson presented a petition from Andrew Livingston, who is at present resident in Invercargill, for a grant of land to the first born child in the province. The petition was received. It will be seen from an advertisement in another column that a cheap trip to Dunedin and back is projected by the owners of the s.s. Airedale. The very moderate charge for the ticket — one fare — and the ample time allowed in Dunedin — four days — should make the venture a success. The Commissioner of Customs has notified that on and after the Ist of January 1871, the use of Marryatt's code of signals will be discontinued at the Government signal stations in thi3 colony ; all communications from, signal stations and lighthouses will be made by the Commercial code. The judges of the Canterbury Dog Show, held at Christchurch a few days since, gave tha following recommendation, which is worthy of attention: — The chief defects observable in the animals — otherwise a very fine well-bred lot of dogs — was in their feet, and breeders ought to pay very great attention to this important point in an animal whose work consists of running on rough ground. The Muriwai flax mi11,,. Auckland, after a brief existence of seven or eight weeks, is dying a natural death, partly owing to the low price of flax, and partly to the inability of the management to procure men to work at wages barely sufficient kLJ?rocura iM-PM^saries of , life. • - At first starting the rate of wages was £1 a week and rations, then £1 43 and not foand,~noijr~£i 7j~atfcr~on- : an attempt to reduce it still fa'rth'ar, the employees '. jibbed, and matters are now at a standstill. On Saturday last we received the following note and the loaf it refers to, from an enterprising hotelkeeper at the Bluff : — " I send you a sample of bread from Port Chalmers ; please try weight and quality ; price at Port Chalmers, 6£l ; Invercargill bread at Bluff, lid." Compliance with this request established the facts that the bread was of excallent quality and full weight, or something over a quarter-of-a-pound heavier than the average local loaf sold as 4lbs. We have just received intelligence of a melancholy case of drowning which lately occurred at Switzers. A man named Thomas Creese, better known bj the cognomen of " Dublin Tom," suddenly disappeared from his usual resorts. Simultaneously with the discovery, a hat was found lying on the banks of Carney's dam. Search was immediately* instituted, and the lifeless body of the deceased was recovered. The unfortunate man, who was of intemperate habits, is supposed to have fallen asleep on the banks of the dam, and in that state to have rolled into the water. The following import mt testimony to the value of the Australian preserved meats will be read with interest. It is extracted from a Welsh newspaper, of date the fifth Augu3t last : — " A grand luncheon was given at Swansea, when the tables were (with the exception of the salmon and potatoes) wholly supplied with soup, meats, and vegetables of produce, and preserved by the Melbourne Meat-preserving Company. The affair was made an event of some local importance, and among the guests were Mr J. J. Jenkins, mayor of Swansea, who presided, the chairman of the harbor trustees, and the guardians of the poor, who were vice-chairmen, and the leadine municipal dignitaries and professional men of the town. The principal toast of the day was ' Success to the Melbourne Meat-preserving Company," proposed by tlie mayor, who spoke of a deep debt of gratitude being due to the said company for the services they were rendering to EjjgpT land by supplying such excellent and cheap food. In the course of his remarks he stated— amid loud applause — that the demand for the meat in that town was so great that enough could not be got to supply that day's luncheon, and a fresh supply had therefore to be obtained from Liver-, pool. His further remarks in eulogy of the quality of the meat were loudly cheered. The toast was acknowledged by Mr J. M'Call, the London agent of the company, who in a long speech explained the process of preserving the meat, and pointed out the desirability of its adoption by the navy and the public institutions for the care of the sick and poor. Mr W. Cox, governor of the Swansea Jail, assured the company that he had in his official capacity tried all sorts of meats, and his personal experience was that that of the Melbourne Company was the best. In its use he said there was a saving of 33 per cent., and it was a good wholesome article of food, kept particularly sweet, and did not soon decay. Mr Jas. Sodgers, surgeon, of Swansea, mentioned that the guardians of the poor at Swansea had had the sense to adopt Australian beef and mutton as food for those under their care, and he for one felt confident that such food contained more nourishment, weight for weight, than the butcher's meat obtained from the* Swansea market. _ The same

opinion was repeatedly expressed by other professional gentlemen present." The newspaper reporter, from whose account of the proceedings we have quoted, mentions as a curious circumstance — " Among the vegetables, the preserved Australian carrots were particularly good, and were relished far beyond the English." In the Resident Magistrate's Court, on the 18th inst., Dr Carr, phrenological lecturer, was sued for £^Q damages tor an assault alleged to have been, committed at Winton early on the morning of the 16th. The plaintiff, a man named King, met the defendant at the bar of the Railway Hotel, where some wrangling had been going on amongst a party of men, who were also present. A fight ensued, in which the plaintiff took part as a second. Defendant remonstrated against the impropriety of the proceeding, but to no purpose. During the continuance of the scuffle, and after defendant had left the bar, a window was broken ; and while in the act of driving away from the township, plaintiff accosted defendant, ' alleging that he was bound to defray part of the damage. Defendant replied that he had no part in creating th'e damage, still he was willing to contribute 21s if plaintiff would pay a similar amount. On this understanding the parties returned to the hotel, but when thera plaintiff declined to part with the money. High words ensued, which resulted in defendantjgiying plaintiff what the latter alleged to be a H^w, and the other a simple push. Plaintiff 'fell "down, and while on the ground he stated in evidence that defendant kicked him on the face. None of the parties present saw the kick given, and plaintiff's face bore no traces of it — a fact which waß specially remarked by the Bench. The presiding Justices (Messrs M'Culloch, Pearson, and Dundas) found that an assault had taken place, unjustifiable in law, but nevertheless an assault which, taken in conjunction with the surrounding circumstances, called for only nominal damages. Judgment for plaintiff, one farthing, each party to pay his own costs. Mr Harvey appeared for plaintiff, and Mr Wade for defendant. . Employers engaging labor at home, and defraying the cost of passage and other incidental expenses out, have frequently to complain of being deserted by their employees shortly after arrival, in violation of written engagements for a term of years. One of these cases came before the^Resident Magistrate's Court at the sitting on Friday last. The case was Wetherspobn v. M'Donald, the particulars of which are as follows : — Defendant, a female, arrived in June last, under an engagement to serve at the Woodlands Meat Preserving establishment for a term of three years. On the strength of that engagement, a sum of £24 15s had been advanced by the employers. A few weeks ago she thought proper to desert her employment, and on being remonstrated with, she offered to refund the incidental expenses, amounting to some £3 odds, but for the passage money she would not admit her liability. The claim was instituted by the i company for repayment of the money advanced, and at the hearing of the case the defence was set up that the buildings in which the work is I carried on were detrimental to the defendant's I health. This plea was entirely rebutted by the ! evidence of other females employed at the works, who added that the place was as secure as any •similar establishment, in Scotland. /JTSr^the a verdict was given' for the fuU amount | claimed, with costs. This should act as a caution to parties similarly situated. Had the company included damages for breach of contract in their claim, it is not at all improbable defendant would have been saddled with a verdict that would hamper her movements for some time to come. On Monday, before John Blacklock, Esq., and W. H. Pearson, Esq., J.P.'s, application was •made and granted for the transfer of the license of the Elbow Hotel, Lowther, from G. W. Fletcher to James Bcott. Messrs Hare and Lewis, as trustees of the estate of defendant, sued James Scott for £8, the value of a saddle which had been originally included amongst his assets taken possession of, but which he had subsequently refused to deliver, and asserted to be the property of some other person. Mr Hare stated that when he took an inventory of defendant's assets, the saddle — a lady's-— was included, but he had allowed Mrs Scott the use of it for a short time at her urgent request, on the understanding that it should be sent in to town. The saddle, however, was not forwarded, and a personal demand Jfor it had been answered somewhat rudely. The defence set up was that the saddle was not the property of Mr Scott, nor of his wife, but belonged to her father, from whom she had simply held it on loan. Mr Macdonald appeared for plaintiffs, and Mr Wade for defendant. The hearing resulted in a non-suit, each party paying their own costs.