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A telegraph station was opened at Akaroa, in the province of Canterbury, on the 20th insfc. A maiden assize of the Supreme Court has been held at .Nelson, on which occasion Mr Justice Richmond was presented with a pair of white gloves by the sheriff. We understand that a requisi'ion to Mr Caldcr, M.H.R., is in course of signature, requesting him to give some account of his stewardship in the late session of Assembly. Mr Hannah, fruiterer and seedsman, Dee street, has placed on our table a splendid specimen of a strawberry, grown in his nursery, M' Master's Estate. It is of the " coxcomb" variety, and weighs fully 3 ozs. The Canterbury Provincial Council has voted 100,000 acres of pastoral land to tntlow a school of technical science or other educational purposes contemplated by the Canterbury Museum and Library Ordinance. The crops in the Waianiwa and Flint's Bush districts are looking better than some time back. There is reason to hope that the damage will not be as great as was anticipated. In some sheltered, spots cutting of small patches has commenced. Telegraphic communication with Europe is going to be a very expensive affair for the Australian Press. £500 per annum is the sum asked by the Associated Press fi-om those journals that wisa to receive the benefit of the arrangements made for receiving a fifty-word daily message. The Otago Provincial Government Gazette of the 17th inst. contains a notice ct the intention to close up a number of roads in the Oteramika district. Parties objecting mu3t senl in their objections in writing within sixty days from the date of publication of the notice. Of monarchical government, M. Thiers, President of the French Republic, recently uttered the following sentiment : — I have for forty years desired for B"rance a constitutional monarchy as in England. I have always found greater liberty existing in London than Washington. A constitutional monarchy is in sub-itaice a re public, of which the President is hereditary. As the time for sending in claims to be placed on the different electoral rolls has again come round, it may be of some importance to the public to learn that Mr W. H. Pearson has been appointed Registration and Returning Officer for the electoral districts of Invercargill and Ma— taura. In ths Canterbury Provincial Council a series of resolutions were proposed to simplify the form of Provincial Government, and make all the paid officers of the Government parm merit and nonpolitical ; the Superintendent to discharge the duties of Provincial Secretary for Public Works, and to be a member of the Council ex offiuio. After a brief debate, the resolutions were withdrawn till next session. A meeting of the Town Council took place on Friday evening, His Worship the Mayor in the chair. The assessment roll prepared by Mr Rogers was disallowed on grounds of inaccuracy, incompleteness, &c, and the Town Clerk was appointed town valuator, provided no legal difficulty existed. We believe the solicitor lias given his opinion that there is no obstacle in the way of this appointment. In sentencing the lad Homan to six months' imprisonment for opening letters passing through the Havelock Post Offi.-e, Mr Jiutico Richmond said : — It has been stated that your only fault was laziness. Perhaps tliii was the cause of your offence, for the seven devils are always ready to enter and take possession of the empty house. Vicious thoughts will enter into the heads of idle people and lead them into mischief. The West Waikiwi Road Board recently applied for authority to levy a rate of 4d in the pound in that district, but as certain objections have been lodged, the clerk of the General Board referred the matter to tho iocal commissioner for his report. The question arises, who is the local commissioner ? Would the Government kindly give some information on the subject ? The Provincial Government Gazette of the 9th inst., contains an Order in Council whereby the GolJfields Regulations made on the 1-ith January, 1870, with all subsequent alterations and amendments, are revoked, and new regulations substituted. The gold mining lease regulations and agricultural leases regulation? ' > are also treated in a similar manner. I

Harvest otvr.-itions have been commenced between Moa Flat and the lloraes'ioo Bend. The cultivation of frogs under the name of " ranacultinc " has been commenced as a profitable industry in New Caledonia. It is expeetod that the meat-preserving establishment at Win ton will be in full operation by the Ist of March next. There are no fewer thin one hundred and forty- two rivers, streams, and streamlets, between New Plymouth and Wanganui. They are a capital feature of the country, but rather expensive in a road-making paint of view. The Canterbury Provincial Council has voted ,6300 towards the establishment of a Corn Excliange in. ChristcUurch. It is expected that the City Council will contribute a like sum, and that another £500 will be raised by subscription in the agricultural districts. On Saturday last Major Atkinson, attended by Sergt.-Major Paxton, superintended the firing for the choice of colonial representatives at Riverton, when Vol. Henderson was the only volunteer in this district who has qualified himself for the competition. The Otago Meat-preserving Company advertise in the Dunedin papers that they are prepared to enter into contracts for the supply of sheep, delivered at their factory, Green Island, during the month of February, at the following prices : — " Sheep weighing 421bs, at Id 3-lOths per lb ; sheep weighing 451bs, at Id 5-10ths per lb ; sheep weighing 4Slbs, at Id 7-10ths per lb ; sheep weighing 501b8, at 2d per lb ; cattle at 17s 6d per lOOlbs (only prime animals will be taken). Wethers under 421bs will be declined, or taken at a valuation. Terms — Net cash on delivery." On Friday evening last, a meeting of the Invercargill District Branch of Oddfellows took place at the Oddfellows' Hall here. Delegates were present from the Riverton and local lodges. After the usual routine business, Deputy Prov. G.M. Goodwillie was elected Prey. G.M., and P.G-. Shields Deputy P.G.M., the thanks of the district being accorded to the retiring G.M., Bro. Wm. Fraser. Bro. Porter presented the balance sheet, reporting the accounts as correct, but the death rate as having been unusually heavy, £60 having been paid during the past six months on account of deaths. The amounts paid for constructing the Oreti Railway, reconstruction, &; , are — To Davie3, between August, 1863, and October, 186 1, £64,718 ; f)r plant, £20,000, which, together with the £27. 000 awarded by the arbitrators to Driver and At' Lean, makes a total of £111,718 ) or, estimating the length of the line at 20 miles, the rate per mile, £5,555 18s. The above includes the 8 miles of wooden railway, commonly known as Davies's patent. But o for that patent and the connection of a few other patent speculators wilh the work, trom £2,500 to £3,000 would have been sufficient. A correspondent of the Lyttelton Times, writing of the state of agriculture in Calilornia, says : — " Draining is little reg iire.l in our state. In reclaiming swamp an I overflowed lan 1, after embanking, the superfluous moisture is collected by open ditches. I have seen a ditching-machine employed in such a case, consisting of an enormous plough. Ahead of this an anchor is fixed, a compound ship's tackle attached to the two, is draggel home by a powerful team, the anchor again fixed ahead, and the operation renewed. For such a purpose, oxen are more suitable than horses, pulling more steadily, and less liable to snap the tackle by a sudden jerk. But the machine is little used. His Honor the Superintendent, accompanied by the Hon. Mr Reeves, Mr Blackctt, Assistant Colonial Engineer, Mr Brunton, C.E., anl other notabilities, may be expected to arrive in Invercargill about the latter end of this week. In view of this visit, the Railway Committee should tike steps to bring under the notice of the Minister for Public Works the more pressing wants of the district. So far as the Mataura line is concerned, we believe we are correct in stating that the working survey is completed as far as Woodlands, and everything is ready for the contract being let, so that its immediate construction should be insisted upon. We are well pleased to note that the inhabitants of the Wakatipu are indefatigable in their efforts anent the speedy construction of the Kingston railway extension. At a meeting of the Queenstown Council, held on the 16th inst., the following resolution was passed : — " That the letter of the Hon. Mr Reeves is unsatisfactory, as it refers to public works in indefinite tei-m3, and that this Council believes that the completion of the Winton and Kingston line will open a valuable area of country fit for settlement, and should not be delayed." The letter is not published, but we judge from the tenor of the motion that the Council has been in communication with Mr Reeves on the subject of constructing the work. The following telegram was received in Dunedin by the Hon. Mr Reeves from the Defence Minister at Wanganui : — " I have received a telegram last night to the following effect — Tito Kowaru, with thirty-two men and about the same number of women and children, came out of the bush to a settlement on the coast called Otuufcurangi, a place about thirty miles north of the Patea river. A tangi was held and several speeches made. Tito Kowaru made a short speech, and said he had come out on the coast anil was desirous of settling down peaceably, whether or not the Government would allow him to do so he could not say. As far as he was concerned, he meant to settle peaceably and not to molest Europeans any further. The Oam aru correspondent of a Dunedin contemporary writes as follows : — " The wool lias been coming down very rapidly, and between 4000 and 5000 bales have beeu shipped to date — probably more than half the clip. The shearers are now beginning to congregate in the town, pending harvest, and the Wallace, during the past week, has also brought about a hundred harvest men, so that there seems a likelihood of plenty labor being obtained, but the demand will be great, as there must be something like 20,000 acres under cereal crops, and owing to recent hot winds, a great deal of it will ripen early, and at one time. The wages current are, I hear, thirty shillings a week and found. Very conflicting accounts arc given as tc the crops. Much damage has doubtless beeu done by the hot winds and want of rain, but still there are in places some very good crops of both wheat and oat 3, and the quality of the grain id said to bo above the average, tlarveeting has I'aLrly commenced m several places. '

Our town blacks, says the Port D?nison (Queensland) Times of a recent date, took ii to their head yesterday morning to carry into effect tho summary punishment of one of their gins by tho ancient method of stoning. The unfortunate woman was nearly killed, an 1 but for the somewhat tardy a Ivsnt of the police would no doubt have succumbed. Whether in this case the victim deserved the punishment awarded to her is beyond tho question which has induced us to mention the matter. Whether she did or not it '8 grossly indecent that these naked eavages should be allowed to carry out ttitjir ruda law in our principal streets, and indepen lently of our recognised authorities. The Auckland correspondent of a contemporary s:iys that the late session of the Provincial Council field in that Province is likely to be remembered in history as " the tea and coffee session." "It was desired that a vote of £1000 might be passed for the benefit of our parody on a museum, but tea and coffee had the best of it, and the museum is likely long to remain the dilapidated scarecrow it at present is. Some i members, I believe, would have liked to have , voted themselves stronger stimulants, but tern- | perance ideas prevail, and even provincial legislators must sometimes meet their constituents. I don't know that the late session resulted in much useful legislation, with the exception of passing a vote for the refreshments referred to, and the sitting a week or two in judgment on what lately passed a higher Assembly. It appears to be generally thought here that our local legislature is fast approaching decrepitude and dotage." I Major Atkinson held a parade of the volunteers on the drill-ground last evening. The muster was not strong. There was a large attendance, however, of spectators. After being put through a variety of evolutions, the volunteers, preceded by the Band, and followed by the cadets, marched through the town. On returning to the drillshed, it was notified that the U-overnment had accepted che services of the proposed Artillery company, when upwards of 24 members were sworn in, Major Atkinson stating that the existence of two separate companies in tho town would create a healthy state of rivalry, and he trusted that No. 1 would keep up its present state of efficiency. After Major Atkinson had thanked them for their attendance, the volunteers gave him three hearty cheers. Wo may state that the feeling amongst the byestanders seemed to be that the District Adjutant is " the right man in the right place." It the volunteers pay the proper attention to preliminary drills, we may expect to sec manoeuvres of a more advanced grade performed during Major Atkinson's next visit in March. Dr Featherston's visit to Sweden ought to be productive of practical results, if the following, which we take from the San Francisco Bulletin, v to be relied on : — " A correspondent of the Bulletin, Frans Peterson, writing from Goteburg, Sweden, states that there are thousands of men who would gladly emigrate to California if assisted by parties who want their labor, whom they would serve faithfully so long as they agreed to. We have turned his letter over to the Immigrant Union, but some facts are stated to which we will refer in this place. The wages of a Swedish servant, particularly of a female, are barely sufficient to provide her with clothing. They are about 12 dols. per annum, gold ; in exceptional cases onlj r , say for first class cooks in the houses of the rich, rising as high as 25 dols. a year. Men servants are usually paid 25 dols. a year and found. Farm laborers are, in some places, paid as low as one-third of a rix- dollar per day — hardly more than a bit [61] of our money. In many places a man is paid half a rix-dollar for felling a tree, cutting and splitting the logs, and piling up the wood into a cord. This is a hard dny's labor for n man living like the Swedish laborer, on a little thin oatmeal gruel, a few potatoes, and now and then a salt herring." The London Standard of Nov. 5, says there is a good prospect that the quality of the meat sent home from Australia and other places may be improved by " Jones's patent process." Its chief feature consists in connecting the tins, while in the hot batli, by meaus ot a small metal tube from each, with a large vacuum, by which, from time to time, by turning a tap, the air is exhausted from them. The advantages claimed for this method are, that the meat is not so much overdone — a drawback, certainly, to the usual process — that it is drier, and does not offend the eye ; and that it loses none of its nutritive qualities, as the "salts" are not eliminated. Messrs Forbes and Co., of Aberdeen and Houndsditch, have adopted this method in the preparation of their various articles of food — meat, fish, and poultry — and we can say, from experience, that they are most excellent, and hardly distinguishable from the several kinds fresh cooked in the ordinary way. It is the intention of the firm to establish this process abroad for the preservation of meat for our home consumption. There is some difference- of opinion on the sub'ect, but many scientific men and societies speak most highly in its favor. The Queensland Meat Preserving Company have adopted this process, but their samples have not yet arrived in England. The Lyltelton Times makes the following sensible remarks, which are worthy the attention of those engaged in the preserved meat industry: — The prejudice with which tho pi-e---served meats were regarded at first, and which many people thought it would be impossible to i overcome, has given way before the indomitable perseverance of Mr Tallermau and others, atid I according to latest advices, the demand wos increasing at a rate far beyond even the most sanguine expectations of those who believed in ultimate success. The evidence on this point is beyond any question, and with this new and reliable market opened up for mutton, the price of sheep must rise in a proportionate degree. There is, however, one thing which it is necessary to keep steadily in view. No inferior article will find a market in Great Britain or on the Continent, and if stockowners have any idea of getting rid of the refuse of their runs— the " crawlers" in fact — by means of the preserving establishments, the sooner they give it up the better for themselves. Preservers must be scrupulously careful to sco that nothing but a first-class article is turned out, and they must also be on the alert to take advantage of every improvement introduced into the process of preserving. They have their foot on the first rung of the ladder, and it will be their own fautt it' they do not succeed in (irmly establishing an industry which is calculate I to produce such permanent benefit to the colonies, j

1 ,.. 11 . i,.. r — ,-- ...i,i M uaniiiiniiininiiiiw «— — «— .> The Wellington Evening Post says : — " The uses to which the Taranaki sand can be put, other than the production of steel of the finest quality that can be manufactured in the world, we hardly ihink are yet known. Mr Smith, who has hitherto taken so deep an interest in tha development of this colonial produce, has most successfully turned it to other account in the manufacture of what i 3 known as euaery paper for polishing and burnishing metals. We have had an opportunity of seeing the imported article, ;\nd that roughly manufactured, tried on a rusty piece of metal. The New Zealand production prove! immensely superior in every respect, and as the same piece of metal, thousrh on different sides, was operated on, there can be no doubt as to the fairness of tie trial, Both polished the surface, though less tinao wj.s needed with the Taranaki papor, but this was not the only respect in which it excelled. The c jlonial paper left a true polish, without the slightest visible scratch ; that imported causad a series of sc-atches, though it removed the rust. Oae was a burnisher, the other only a scraper, leaving the metal disfigured. The process of preparation of the colonial paper, or rather cloth, is most simple, and we should think, judging from what we saw, that no one will in future import material that can be prepared at half the price and of a vastly superior quality, in the colony itself. The best cloth for it to ba laid on is said to be that spun from flax, and thereby another outlet for native ndustry is afforded. At the adjourned half-yearly meeting of the Education Board, held in Dunedin on the 18th in st., the Board took into consideration (1) the report of the select committee of the Provincial Council on the petitions of Roman Catholic inhabitants of the Province, Session xxix. ; (2) a resolution of the Provincial Council, Session xxix., relating to the said report and petitions-; and (3) a memorandum on the same subject by the Provincial Secretary : — Tfc was resolved (1) that the schoolmasters and other teachers employed under the Board be enjoined to adhere strictly to the terais of the Education Ordinance, 1864, in regard to the reading of the Bible and religious instruction ; to take care that both parents and children be informed that attendance at such reading or instruction is optional ; and to avoid the use of any lessons containing words or expressions offensive to Roman Catholics or other denominations of Christians ; (2) that the Secretary be instructed to take steps in conjunction with school committees and teachers to secure the use of such class books in the public schools as shall give the least possible offence to Roman Catholics and other denominations of Christians ; (3) that the Board express their appreciation of the prudent and fair manner in which they believe the school committees and teachers have generally acted in the past, in reference to the reading of the Bible, and the imparting of religious instruction in the public schools ; (4) that a copy of these reeolutinns be forwarded to every school committee, and every teacher connected with the Board. Consideration of a communication sug-gesting the taking of steps for providing means oi education at Stewart's Island, was postponed. An application from Ryal Bush was referred to the Inspector, to ascertain if the district could be conjoined. Applications for main schools and for rent allowances and salaries were deferred until the annual reports had been all received, when a general examination into matters regarding buildings, distances of schools from each other, and proportion of teaching power to number of pupils, wjuld ba made.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST18720123.2.7

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Southland Times, Issue 1528, 23 January 1872, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
3,607

Untitled Southland Times, Issue 1528, 23 January 1872, Page 2

Untitled Southland Times, Issue 1528, 23 January 1872, Page 2

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