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Southland Times, Issue 1526, 19 January 1872, Page 2

The hon. treasurer to the Hospital begs to acknowledge with thanks the sum of £5, collected at Lora station, per Mr Robert Taylor. At the meeting of the Educational Committee, held at the Government Buildings last evening, it was resolved to call for tenders for tie erection of a Grammar School (the building to be of i brick, and slated), on the site at the corner of [ Esk and Jed- streets, immediately opposite the Golden Fleece Hotel. Our readers will be pleased to learn that Mr Fraser's son, who sustained such severe injuries ; to his head on the morning of the cattle show, I by being thrown down and trampled upon by j the horse which he was driving, has, under Dr Monckton' s treatment, made a speedy and satisfactory recovery. Since the accident, he was 1 courteously provided with accommodation in the I gaol, in order to be near the doctor's residence, and yesterday he was removed by his parents to their home in the Waianiwa distriot. The following paragraph appears in the Dunedin evening paper of the 12th inst. : — " We are indebted to His Honor the Superintendent for the following — A se.*m of good coal, ten feet thick, has been struck at Orepuki, and traced for three miles, where it increased to fifteen feet thick. A tramway might be made through Totara groves fit for railway Bleepers. The country is auriferous. The distance is fifteen miles to Riverton, and the tramway would serve as a road for the goldfields. The Lyttelton Times of the 13th inst. has the following : — " In Chambers yesterday, his Honor Mr Justice Gresson announced a decision of some importance — to the effect, as we understand, that it will no longer be necessary for a creditor desiring to have the power to arrest his debtor, to obtain the order which has hitherto been usual, withdrawing his protection during the suspension of the order of discharge. The protection will henceforward be taken to be withdrawn by the fact of a suspension of the discharge, and it will in future be necessary for debtors desiring to avoid arrest during the time of suspension, to get a continuance of their protection endorsed upon the order." On Wednesday last a singular attempt at suicide took place in town. About midday, a carpenter named David Smith, was found in Dee street with a wound in his throat, from which blood flowed freely. He was at once laid hold of and conveyed to the hospital, when it was found that a wound, three inoheß long, and about one inch deep, had been inflicted on the left side of the throat. It appears that for some time past Smith has been drinking heavily, and from expressions that fell from him there can be little doubt but that he was laboring under delirium tremens. It has been ascertained that the wound was inflicted by an ordinary table knife, at his house in Deveron Btreet, after which he seems to have walked out, and was found as above. Dr Grigor was promptly in attendance, and had the wound sewed up. Although a good deal of blood was lost, the patient is reported to be out of any immediate danger. A telegram received from Dunedin yesterday, published elsewhere, conveys the information that the award of the arbitrators in the dispute between the Provincial Government and the contractors for the Oreti railway has at length been made public, the amount agreed upon being upwards of £27,000, the Government paying all legal costs, and each side its own expenses and half of tbe arbitration fees. In order that our readers may forma better idea of the merits of the ■ question, we reproduce the following from our issue of the 31st October last .-— In giving his evidence before the Registrar of the Supreme Court, Mr Dundas stated that the contractors claim £36,068, less the progress payment for the Invercargill contract of £3837. They are entitled to £3843 for the Invercargill contract, £13,938 for the Winton contract, and cash payments, £2854, or £20,635. Deducting the progress payment of £3837, and the Government claim for damages, &c., £3551, it left the sum of £13,237 to which they were entitled. So that it would appear, as is usual in such cases, the Government has got the worst of it. Until receiving more particulars we must reserve further comment on the subject.

From late intelligence to hand we learn that although the accident sustained by the carrier Shepherd, to which allusion was made in last issue, was most severe, he is nevertheless progressing towards recovery as favorably as could have been expected. The place where the accident occurred is about one of the most dangerous pieces of road that could well exist. It forms a narrow track from 10 to 14 feet wide, cut out in the side of the hill, overhanging the gorge. Its • dangers are increased by sharp curves and steep •fneii~~., /inly one of which is protested by a wall. In passing one of these, Shepherd's horses from ! some cause or other became unmanageable, and the dray went over the embankment, making, accor ing to report, eight distinct turns in its descent. Shepherd was riding on the dray at the time, and it was almost a miracle that he was not killed on the spot. The one leg was broken near the knee, and the other broken and dislocated at the ankle joint. Although the dray is badly smashed, the horses escaped uninjured, i The proprietors of the Fiji Gazette eeera to i be in an unpleasant predicament. On the 4th ofl November they claimed the indulgence of their readers under the following * perplexing circumstances.' ' When we arrived in Levuka, from Sydney, last June, we bad with us a staff of six stalwart young printers, all eager to distinguish themselves in this, until lately, terra incognita, full of life and spirits, and vigor. Of these, death has laid hold of some; the others found no delight in tbe pleasures of Levuka, and betook themselves back to Australian climes • and the last of our gallant band now lies in our office stricken with fever, and a day or two Bince was at i death's door.' It is no matter of wonder that under such circumstances, the Gazette should i cease to be published more than once a week, and I that the publisher should appeal to a generous public to consider the difficulties of a position which no human perception could have foreseen, and no human power could have obviated. A statement appeared in the contemporary print to the effect that a well-known Maori chief, Horomona Patu, had been arrested at the suit of a judgment creditor, and that an "indignant sensation" had been created amongst the Europeans, and an " angry feeling amongst the natives." From communications made to us, it would appear that a great deal of forbearance has been shown towards the debtor, and the bare fact that the " indignant Europeans" and " angry natives" have made no effort to assist Patu in his pecuniary difficulties, proves either that their sympathy is in the wrong place, or that the statement in question is a misrepresentation. He ! (Patu) was sued as far back as the month of August last, for work and labor done, and expenses incurred in surveying some land at Stewart's Island. Every means was resorted to with the view of getting some kind of arrangement made, and it was not until these efforts had proved to be abortive, that the extreme measure was had recourse to. The fact that Patu has been the pastor aud chief adviser of the Maories for the past twenty years, cannot surely be urged as a reason why he should be released from his engagements. The shortest way out of the dilemma would be for Mb sympathisers to pay the judgment debt, and by that means they would save themselves the trouble of petitioning the Governor in a matter in which he has no pnwar to int«rf«rn What shall we do with our boyß ? is a question that must be beginning to cause some anxiety to parents in this district. The facetious reply given in Victoria Borne time ago, namely, to marry them to the girls, is a solution of the problem which unfortunately does not dispose of its difficulty, for the majority of the boys having to depend upon their own exertions for their success, it is necessary that they should follow some industrial calling to enable them to make a fair start in life. It is to be regretted that agricultural and pastoral pursuits appear to present so few attractions to the rising generation. There seems to be a rooted disinclination in the minds of colonial youths —more especially those reared about towns —to tackle anything like hard work, and in the absence of that lighter employment which the carrying on of different manufactures affords, the question of their proper occupation becomes a very important one. Thesa remarks are suggested by the fact of over twenty applications having been sent in for the situation in tho railway department recently advertised. With the cry of dear labor coming from the country districts, and want of employment for native-born youths arising in town, it is evident that more attention will have to be paid to fostering in our young men that true spirit of colonisation whose highest ambition is to assist in subduing the wilderness, and making the waste places " Btnile and blossom like the rose." At a meeting of the Waste Land Board, held in Duuedin on the 15th inst., to consider an application made by Messrs Connell and Moodie, on behalf of Mr Joseph Clarke, to have plans of application No. 402 d, for 45,000 acres, part of runs 215 and 212 b approved of, and Mr Clarke declared the purchaser, Mr Stout made the following objections on behalf of certain residents ' in the Benger district: —lst. That the land had not been opened for sale. 2nd. That tbe consent of the runholders had not been obtained. 3rd. That the land being situated within the goldfields, the Board could not sell it ; and 4th, that the sale would be prejudicial to the public interests. Mr Mackay, who appeared as a deputy from a publio meeting that had been held at Roxburgh, said the selling of the land would be a breach of faith towards the residents, who had taken up the 2500 acre block at Moa Flat, and

who took it up on the promise that they would be able to get some of the land now applied for by Mr Clarke. If the settlers could not get it, they would be compelled to sell out. After the matter had been discussed at some length, Mr Reid stated that he held the opinion that it would be prejudicial to the public interest if the whole of the application were given effect to. He thought the public interest could be protected and Mr Clarke fairly dealt with, by acting according to a proposition which he would bring before the Board, and which was—" Tbat the sale

of the land be agreed to, excepting that part of

i about 1950 acres, that lies north-east of the road

line that divides Block IV., and the ten acres reserved as a school site." This motion was agreed to, whereupon Mr Smith, solicitor for Mr Clarke, intimated that his client would not accept one acre less than the area surveyed. The

Board then resolved that Mr Clarke should have the option of selecting the remaining area in any part of the run contiguous to his present application, or have his deposit for it returned to i him. -

The children of St. John's Church of England Sunday School received their annuil treat on Tuesday, 16tb inst., in the school-house and grounds connected with the church. Whether the number present on the occasion may be taken to represent the average roll of the school, or whether, in this instance, every youngster on the roll felt it a special duty to be present, we know not, but a goodly number of both sexes and all ages gathered together, apparently bent on making the best of a holiday. If the zest with which the proceedings were gone through may be accepted as a simile of the earnestness with which the scholars of this school apply themselves to school duties, the parties concerned in the management, and the patrons of the school, have no reason to complain of want of interest. A variety of amusements were provided, and holiday fare ad libitum. The distribution of prizes by the Rev. Mr Tanner, showed by their number and value that as a rule the scholars had been well conducted and deserving. The exhibi- , tion by the magic lantern, which has become a I feature in this annual gathering, concluded the entertainment, and after a day of good-humored fun and rompine, the young company dispersed ia the hope of enjoying many more such treats. It is said that teachers are much needed for this school, and that hitherto the largest share of tbe burden of it has fallen upon one person, and that one a lady. This ij not a3 it ought to be. In a congregation like that assembling at St. John's Church, no difficulty should be felt in providing the assistance necessary for the proper maintenance of an institution the value of which in connection with any religious body can scarcely be over-estimated. Dr Carruthers, the well-known and respected editor and proprietor of the Inverness Courier, was entertained at a public dinner on the 3rd November last, by a number of gentlemen connected with the Northern counties of Scotland. At the dinner, Dr Carruthers was presented with his portrait, a three-quarter length, painted by Mr Daniel Macnee, R.S.A., and his bust, executed in marble by the late Alexander Munro, a native of Inverness, was handed over to the Provost to be placed in the Town Hall. Speaking of the progress made during the forty-three years he had conducted the Courier, the guest of the evening said : — " One thing seems certain, in the next forty years there can hardly be a further advance in the arts of social life, in general intelligence, power, or enjoyment, equal to the advance made since 1828. Our descendants can accomplish no reform superior in direct and daily benefit to the reform carried out in our postal communication, no new invention to match our steam vessels that now traverse all seas, ■ asking no aid of wind or tide,' or our railways, that seem to realise the hyperbolical wish, often ridiculed, of 1 annihilating space and time to make two lovers happy ;' or our printing machines, that place knowledge within the reach of the humblest, that scatter twelve millions of printed sheets every day over the world, and make books the choice possession of the poor as well as the rich ; or our telegraph wires, that cross the desert and mountain, and pass below the deepest seas, binding together in commerce and brotherhood people of every nation, tribe, and tongue. Even the magicians in Arabian tales do nothing more wonderful than compel the lightning to carry messages and the sun to paint pictures ; and what other human agonfc con be co like celestial power as that anaesthetic agent chloroform, associated with the name of our lamented countryman, Sir James Simpson, by which we suspend the laws of nature in order to banish pain and avert danger ? How noble are such triumphs compared with those reaped in the iron fields of war — Blood nursed and watered by the widow's tears ! Looking at these and at other marvels of our scientific skill, our chemical and astronomical discoveries, our machinery and mechanism, one cannot help wondering at the audacity of certain prophets who predict the speedy dissolution of the world, as if Providence had done all this for one generation only ! (Applause.) Why, the world seems stored and equipped for a long course of ages, furnished with new and potent and ever-growing elements of human greatness and happiness, and all we can hope for, pray for, and work for, ia the extension of sound knowledge, earnest thought, and reverence among the mass of the people that they may be able on one hand to curb the mad and wicked ambition of rulers, such as we saw lately on the Continent, and on the other hand shun any approach to that fierce democracy and barbarism which desolated and degraded the capital of France." The annual Missionary Meeting in connection with the Presbyterian Synod was held in the First Church, Dunedin, on the 15th inst. The Rev. Dr Copland, the Convener, brought up the fifth annual Report of the Mission Committee for 1871. With regard to the New Hebrides Mission, it stated that much hindrance to Mission work throughout the Islands had arisen from the traffic in labor ; and since the receipt of the last letter from Mr Milne, the Missionary, intelligence had been received that the Mission premises had been entered and ransacked during his absence, by a party of slavers who had come to the island to take revenge for injuries which had been inflicted by the natives on another slave Bhip. After referring to a memorial from the New Hebrides Mission to the Synod, requesting their earnest efforts to stop the labor traffic in the islands of the Southern Seas, the Committee in their report state that " they deeply regretted to learn that two devoted Missionaries — Bishop Patteson and the Rev. Mr At kin, were among the victims, and desired to express their sympathy with the Melanesian Mission under the severe loss which it had thus sustained, and their admiration of the eminent qualifications and zealous and disinterested consecration to the work which especially characterised Bishop Patteson." With reference to the Chinese Mission the report stated : — " The missionary, Paul Ah Chin, has labored with fidelity, zeal, and success among his countrymen in the Tuapeka district. He has preached every Sabbath afternoon to a small congregation, numbering usually about twenty, and already three have given up tbeir heathen ideas and practices, and been received by baptism into the church of Chrißt. Another has applied to be baptised, and good hopes are entertained of others who are under instruction." The contributions which had been received for the General Mission Fund, amounted to £475 8s lid ; Maori Mission, £4 10s ; New Hebrides, £14 10s ; Chinese, £i 0 10s ; Native Teachers, £5 ; in all, £519 18a lid, in addition to the donation of £50 for a second missionary to the New Hebrides. The disbursements were: for the Maori Mission, £281 18s ; Chinese, £200 6s 9d ; New Hebrides, £164 14s ; Bundry expenses £9 13s ; paid balance of debt to R. P. Church, £76 4s 6d ; all, £732 16s 3d. The balance in the Treasurer's hands is — besides £50 donation — £94 13s sd. After the report had been read, the meeting was addressed by a number of gentlemen. The Chinese missionary, Paul Ah Chin, also gave an interesting account of the religion of Confucius, contrasted with the Christian religion, He gave a humorous descriptiqet. of Chinese idolatry and superstitions, illustrating the -same by exhibiting au idol. He concluded by giving au account of his labors, the numbers attending his services, and his success in being the means of gaining converts.