The Southland Times. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1870.

Southland Times, Issue 1350, 20 December 1870, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1870.

The firet of the recent legislative «hactments the public "will be called to operate upon is the Otago Ordinance (No. 2); 1870. The fact is known that his Honor the Superintendent has placed his resignation in the hands of the Hon. thq Colonial Treasurer, and from what that gentleman has publicly stated there is no doubt the Provincial Council will be dissolved forthwith. As the Colonial representation also expires in' a few weeks, by the effiuxiqn of time, Qtago, in; conjunction with the Colony, at large, must be prepared for entering, upon- a general electioneering campaign. T&e Act cited , above is the oneby which our electoral rights as a pr/oyince are defined, so that the importance of' making ourselves acquainted with its provisions is 'obvious.' The Act proceedsTrpon the preamble that it is expedient for the purpose of electing members for the Provincial Council that the province shall, from and after the dissolution of the present Council, be divided into thirty-four electoral-districts, -with a -representation of -forty-six members. 5 A i The- highest number for any one constituency is that of Duriedin, which returns seven members — the others, with the exception of the Taieri, for which provision is made far three members,: Tuapeka, Clutha, the r Lakes, and Mount Ida, two each, return only one. " Southland is subdivided into seven electoral districts, with one member for each. These districts are— -(1)' Invercargill, defined by the schedule annexed to the Act to -comprise all that area within the town of Jnvercargill as shown on the- record map of the town; (2) Waihopai, cpmprisipg all tbatf area bounded towards the north by Invercargill, Mafearewa; and Oteramika ; towards the east by Qteramjka; towards the south -, by the, ocean and Invercargjll, and towards the west' by the. New- Eiver Estuary arid the Invercargill electoral district ; (3) Oteramika, comprising the area bounded towards the ; norfcn by the northern boundary of the' Waimumu and Forest Hill survey districts ( and Charlton Creek, towards the east by' the Mataura Eiver, towards the north by the j ocean and the eastern boundary of the) Campbelltown Hundred, thence along

the eastern boundary to the northern boundary of the said hundred, and along the said northern boundary to a point due south of the north-western corner of block 2, Invercargill district, thence due north to the said block 2, and along the north-western boundary of the block to the "Waihopai Eiver, and thence by the eastern boundary of the Makarewa district ; (4) Oreti, comprising all that area bounded towards the west by a line proceeding from the mouth of Rowallan Burn in a northerly direction to a point due east of Eyre Peak, thence towards the north by a line due east to Eyre Peak, to" the east by the Mataura Eiver to the junction of Charlton Burn, to the south by the Char! ton Burn, the northern boundary of the survey districts, and the Aparima Hundred, the northern boundary of Eiverfcon district, and the ocean to the starting point ; (s)' Riverton, comprising the town of Riverton, as , shown on the record map, and all that area bounded towards the north by a line proceeding from the mouth of the Waiau River to Ferndunlaw, towards the east by the Aparima district, and towards the south and west by the ocean ; (6) Aparima, comprising all the area bounded towards the north by the northern boundary of Aparima Hundred, -luwaida llie — oast — by-Hjbtr-Oreti— Siverytowards the south by the ocean, the Jacob's River Estuary, and the Pourapourakino river, to the north-west corner of block 3, Jacob's Eiver survey district, thence due west to the western boundary of hundreds, . and on the west by said western boundary of hundreds excepting from the said area the town of Eiverton ; j and (7) Makarewa, comprising all that area bounded towards the north by the northern boundary' of "Wmtbn and Porest Hill survey districts; towards the east by the Ohiriru river to a point due north of the boundary line between blocks 4 and 5, InvercargilL survey district, thence to and along said block to the Waihopai river ; towards the south by the "Waihopai river and Estuary, and towards the west by the Oreti.

— Tr^Eice]iencyihfl~^foveffioT^asaccepted the resignation by Mr Edmund Gillow, of Westwood, near Riverton, of his appointment as a J.P. From Lake Wakatipn we learn' that rain has fallen lately, and although the weather is cold, it is said to have benefitted-the crops. It has, however, interfered with shearing operations. ' The hon. treasurer requests us to acknowledge the receipt of an anonymous letter, addressed to Mr Fielder, containing, the sum of £5 (the envelope, of the said letter bearing seal inscribed "Hose,") and which Mr Fielder has handed over to the Invercargill Hospital. Communication 13 now established with Tauranga —a distance of 450 miles from Wellington. When a few miles of line between Tauranga and Cambridge have been erected, communication between Invercargilland Auckland will be completed. We shall then be enabled to receive news from Europe only 24 days old, supposing that the San Francisco mail steamers it will be seen by advertisement'that' the Bluff .Harbor Regatta has been postponed from Boxing Day to January 3rd. The programme of the day's sports, together with the prize list (which : 8 in every respect liberal) is also published. The amount subscribed to the 17 th inst. was £20 16s 6d. A subscription list lies at the office' of ithis paper, and we shall be glad to receive contributions. The land district, respecting which we have heard so much of late, has been proclaimed by announcement in the Government Gazette. Mr W. 11. Pearson ha 3 been appointed the iofEeear for conducting sales and for receiving applications for the sale, letting, disposal, and ;Occupation of the Waste Lands within the district, and'for 'generally carrying into effect" the 'provisions of the Act. ....... i Some excitement was caused on Saturday evening by a runaway horse attached to a buggy. The machine was standing in the yard of the Aims Hotel, Dee street, when from some cause or other the horse took fright and ibolted, making off in the direction of the esplanade. .After stumbling over the rough ground it was ibrought to a stand-still near the railway station. The damage sustained was not serious. ; The Lyttelton Times df 'the 15th instant says : — "■ We have .no hesitation in . saying that the proceedings at the public meeting at Dunedin, ,oh the Bth, were of a character to reflect disgraca on any intelligent community," adding that the Otago -Daily -Times, is a:rabid_party_organ,_and that Mr Barton (its editor),, as ; secretary, has repeatedly used the Press Telegraph Association as a mediumi for • the dissemination of strong political opinions -identical with those promulgated in the columns of the Otago Daily fames. The best illustration (says a c mtemporary)— and it is one that no doubt furnished Mr Yogel with the groundwork for his just condemnation of the management of Auckland affairs — of the thorough incapability of . the Provinces to manage the expenditure of large loans, is furnished by Mr ; Header 'Wood in 'a recent election speech. He .told the electors of Auckland that when he was I : Colonial- Treasurer the province borrowed £500,000, and they had got for it the Tamaki Bridge, aleaky court-house, a half- finished lunatic ! iasvlum, a gloomy post-office, and the ruins of a iirailway: ] Our latest advices from the interior report that 1 upwards 'of 300 bales of wool are at present in transittt on the line of. road between Kingston and Invercargill. We hear that the draymen .refuse to ascept £4- from Kingston as return freight, and the ' consequanca is' • that the whole I ;of the wool is coming , dowa by bullock.teams. This traffic is cutting up the road fearfully, and unless something is done forthwith, tol place it In i|a proper state of repair, .it will shortly be impassable even for summer traffic. jlFrom well-informed ai vices ' we learn that the j;£4oo provided by!. the Appropriation Act— : particulars of which will be found elsewhere — j would go a great way towards effecting the : necessary repairs. Mr Haughton, MTB!. ft., ainff I chairman of ; committees ia ; tha -Provincial Coun- : cil, proceeded from luvarcargill to Qaeenstown yesterday-, morningvby coaoh, . «»= route from Dunedia. .' Before leaving,,, he kindly, promised to note the state of the road, and give

an ex qfficio report of the matter to the Q-overn-ment. Considering that Mr Haughton's representation is in no way connected with this district, his communication on the subject should have considerable weight with, the Government. We observe that pecuniary provision' has been made for a district road engineer. • That functionary really ought to see after thi3 matter at once. The roai never can be properly attended to unleßS two or three surface-men are kept regularly upon it. - . Holders of public house licenses within the late province of Southland are notified that the Licensing Ordinance (Southland) Repeal Ordinance, 1870, comes into operation oii the Ist of January next. The 4th .clause of the Act provides — " That, any person, being the holder ot" a license lawfullly issued previously to and Bubaisting at the time of the coming into operation of this Ordinance, shall be entitled to have issued unto him without payment of any fee a license as nearly as may be as the license held by him at the time of the coming into operation of the aforesaid Ordinance for the term unexpired of such license." We have just had our attention directed to a circumstance which forcibly illustrates the practical importance of public exhibitions such as the Agricultural and Pastoral Society's annual show. Rainbow, whose merits were at once acknowledged by the late district gathering, has been consorted with Mr Basstian's thoroughbred mare Conoisseur—the handsome sum of thirty guineas having been paid for the progeny. The public no less than the owners of these animals are to be con<ratulated on a circumstance of this kind. It is one of the direct results of the show, but for which it is doubtful if even the real .value of such an amalgamation would have been thought of. The Auckland correspondent of the JLamleis Bay Herald writes :— Mr T. B. Gillies addressed the electors of City West at the Mechanics' Institute ; he spoke for four hours t» a densely packed meeting. Briefly summarisec, the speech was merely a vindication of #r Gillies's proceedings during the late sessior of Assembly, and a defence of the Busby settlement. Several hostile allusions to Mr v"ogel were received with marked disapprobation ,ani hisses. Eventually, the speakor. disclaimed being by antagonism to the Government, and was loudly cheered. I was well situated for hearing and viewing r t"he proceeding*, and came to the conclusion that the audiencfieft with a firm impression that Mr Gillies is prepared to do his best in aid of facilitating tfce Government , programme of last session. One more fire falls to be adaed to the list of mysterious conflagrations so common of late in the "vicinity of Invercargill. In this instance, it occurred in the house of a Myross Bush settler^ Mr Price. The owner of the. house, it appears, , went up country lately, learing the property in charge of his wife and children. Early in the morning of Saturday last, Mrs Price was roused by an alarm .of fire, and on getting up she found an unfurnished apartment completely enveloped in flames. The fire had caught such a complete hold of the building that it was evident from the first that all attempts to save it would be unavailing. The neighbors were apprised of the fact as coon as possible, but before assistance arrived the tenement was all- but reduoed to a c |iii.* ■-fc^staara^'MWFttMMOTiinf. whatever can be given of the origin of the fire. The prbpeTlywas insured in the Liverpool, London, and Globe Company for the sura of £300. •— -— ~ The Viptorian Government are going to try a new class of marine engine which has lately been fitted to steam vessels.- The engine is known as the compound, working both at high and low pressu-e, and by condensing the steam, very materially economises the consumption of coal. The Australia, a ship recently built on this principle for the P. and O. Company, is, it is stated, a very great success. She saves 30 tons of coal a-day, and can beat the Simla, one of the fastest of the company's old ships, and it is said can make over 12 knots per hour. If all this be true; a complete revolution in steam navigation will be effected j for the saving of 1,500 tons on the through voyage from England to Australia will reduce the cost of fuel more than one-half ; because, besides the actual saving, there is the additional room for cargo to be taken into consideration. The Queen of the Thames, which was to sail from. London oa.the 15th November, is built oh the principle alluded, to. : ' ■> '