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Southland Times, Issue 1351, 23 December 1870, Page 2

Jude Ward is gazetted District Judge for the Timaru district. . . . / A fisherman at : Wanganui has been fined '5s and costs for mending a net on Sunday. : " ' Thirty-five Armed Constabulary have.been sent .from Wellington to -strengthen the outposts in the Waikato. • ' . ; A great Maori ploughing match is to take place at Aramoho, near Wanganui, next year. Mr M'Lean has promised to give £30 towards prizes. The Grey River Argus records the fact of a nugget weighing 58ozs lldwts having been sold at Camp Town. It was obtained at Rangie's Creek. : ■ _ . ... . The "yield of gold from the Thames for the month of October, as nearly as' can be ascertained, was 12,481 ozs from 8840 tons quartz, showing an increase of 2152 Ozs over that of the previous month. - The Bay of Islands coal is increasingTrT favor with captains and owners of steamers. [Eighteen steamers trading out of Auckland, now use this coal alone. The price is .123 per ton, free on board, at Russell. The prolonged delay in liquidating the Southland debts is causing great dissatisfaction. Unless a speedy settlement takes place, or some satisfaction is given, Government may make up its mind to be assailed by a general clamor. ATaranaki paper says Jthat most of the root crops have been destroyed by a black slug that lately made its appearance. From all quarters the failure . of the crops of carrots, mangolds, and even onions is reported. Potatoes, however, seem to have escaped. The first assessment on cattle in the Tuturau Hundred, collected during the present year undgr the Otago ..Waste Lands : Act Amendment Act, and 'amounting to £300, has been handed over to three gentlemen in the district to be expended on roads. -The neighboring districts on the east side of the Mataura expect to have a: large amount returned on the same conditions. .« A Switzers correspondent writes : : — The election of a inemberforthe Waikaia < (Switzers)- district for the troilse of Representatives is beginning to cause a stir in the neighborhood- Three candidates are likely to come forward, viz., Mr Mervyn, MrJ.F.Dean, and Mr J. B. Bradshaw. The local candidate is already in the field, and a committee is to be formed to secure his return. An unprecedentedly cheap trip, so far as New Zealand ia concerned, is advertised by the agents of the s.s. .Phoebe, for the &cv Year holidays. For a sum of £6 saloon passage, and £4 10s steerage, including the return fare, each of the ports between the Bluff and Auckland may be visited; to and from the -intermediate ports beiDg correspondingly cheap. Our local stationers have provided some amusement for the juvenile part of the population during the gay and festive aeason upon which we are entering, in the shape of Christmas, trees, tastefully adorned with dolls, and a • multiplicity of other toys dear to the heart of childhood. The drawing, for the much-coveted prizes comes off on Christmas Eve (to-morrow), Mr Rodgera's at 7 o'clock, and Mr Rose's at half-part eight. The annual examination of the pupils of the Inverc&rgill- Grammar School commences to«day at 11 o'clock, when Mr Macdonald invites the }. attendance of parents and the public generally. In the evening the customary readings take place jim the Theatre Royal, and, judging from thd-sue-cess of previous years, there is sure to be a large gathering of "those interested in seeing how the | youngsters acquit themselves. ■ A, requisition to the district members in the Provincial Council, requesting them to furnish Nan explanation of the part taken by them inidividoally inf^he i lateWssibn of Council with re- : igard Jto Jhe extended boundary question, has been jadoptedviand.was in cdurse of receiving signatures yesterday afternoon; The object is to get" the imembers to'a'tteiid a pliblio. meeting, wHioh, jt is {suggested, sHoulcl take_; place befor,e the close of jthe present year. -■ . r . .;.; .:.-.

Notwithstanding the unfavorable news received from England for several mails past regarding New Zealand flax, the official returns for the quarter ending on .the 30th. September last show a very large increase in the value of the exports of that article, as. compared with the corresponding quarter of last year. The figures, are as follows :— 1869, £13,776 ; 1870, £26,9 iS ; in. crease in 0.876, £13,170, or at the rate of 95*6 per cent. ; '■: ~ \ Mr RpseV Southland Almanac Official and Commercial Directory for 1871 has just been isj sued from the press. The present work fully I maintains the reputation of its predecessors. As a reference and guide in various matters of importance, 'the almanac has come to be looked upon as an authority, and it is therefore entitled to a place in the library of every settler in the district. The general information contained respecting our resources in land, timber, &c, will cause it to be interesting to those at a distance. j A Palmers ton correspondent forwards the following : — The two proverbs, " Troubles never come singly", and "Nothing so bad but might be worse," have lately been verified in the Shag Valley, to the farmers' sorrow arid cost. The long continuance of dry weather has considerably retarded the growth of crops, and no sooner does the welcome rain come to gladden the graingrowers'hearts than the much -dreaded' Wight is seen thickly scattered among the crops. The weather- has been most favorable, however, for sheep-shearing, which is now almost finished ; but further up-country, where the snow has fallen lately, a great number of newly-shorn sheep hare died. _ :. -' In glancing over, the Appropriation Act, it will be observed that the services of several officials, who have long held responsible positions, are to be dispensed with. With the carrying out of the reunion policy this became a matter of necessity, still we have no doubt that in some cased the community will regret the decision arrived at. We have been so long accustomed, for instance, to look upon Mr Edmund Rogers as part and parcel of the local treasury, that we cannot but be sorry his " occupation's gone." Of one thing we are' certain,- however, and that. is, that he has the good wishes of many friends, and we believe we may say the same of the other officers referred to. . A numerously-signed requisition has .been presented to Mr W. H. Oalder, requesting him to allow, himself to be put in nomination as representative for Invercargill in the . General Assembly. To that requisition Mr Calder has replied in the affirmative, adding his intention of taking an early- opportunity of explaining his views on the political matters which may be expected To engage t the public- mind during -the ensuing elections. -Mr Lumsden is also spoken of as likely to be brought forward as a candidate for the town.' The friends, of Mr Dillon Bell, who is already announced for the Mataura, are making active efforts on his behalf. A local committee to secure his return has been formed. Mr Bell is expected to return to, New Zealand by the Suez mail. It is rumored that Mr Thomas Denniston will probably contest the Mataura district, with what amount of truth we are not in a position to state. -......,- — At the Matriculation Examination, October Term, Melbourne '■ University, the. names of the following eleven gentlemen are recorded as having passed \with~credit : — Messrs G. Bell (son of- -Mr George Bell, editor ' aJL:%h}£ning- Star, Dunedin, " Government Shorthand Writer, Victoria), W. H. J. Byrne, J. Chalmers, H. 8.. Higgins, E. H. Irving, J. A. Kennison^-iJ^ M'lnerheney, W. P. Moore, S. G. Pirani, R. F. Russell, H. J. Wallace. Seven gentlemen have been connected with the Government Shorthand Writer's staff since the Constitution Act, 1856, came into foree — four of whom have matriculated at the University. One— ilr G. JF. Webb, now a successful barrister- — refused a law lectureship, and took the Chancellor's prize ; two more passed with credit; and the' fourth was considered a very satisfactory examination.