We received at a late hour last night, from the Hon. Mr Vogel, at Auckland, a statement of the conditions of the new San Francisco mail contract. It will be found in another column. Information was received in town'ye'sterday afternoon that a settler at the Waimatuku Bush, named Hitchcock, had severely injured a neighbor of the name of Benjamin Wymack, by shooting at him with a double* barrelled gun, loaded with duck shot, on Monday morning at 10 o'clock. Both barrels seem to have taken effect, as there is one wound in the left arin, three in the right arm, six in the left leg, twenty-four in the right lej;, and four in the back. One of the pellets in the right leg had gone through, and lodged in the skin on the opposite side. There are 38 wounds in ail, and it is stated that the shots must have been fired from a distance of from 15 to 20 yards. The cause of the assault is attributed to drink and jealousy. Hitchcock was apprehended by the constable stationed at Riverton, and brought into town last night. Dr Monckton was called upon to attend the wounded man, who now lies at the New River Ferry. On Wednesday the half-holiday movement was formally inaugurated by the firing, under the direction of Staff Serge ant- Major Paxton, and Sergeant 'Conyers of the Artillery Company, of a salute of seven guns from the signal gun which belonged to the ship Hindu, borrowed for the purpose. The Volunteer Band played in the Government Reserve during the afternoon, and the music attracted large numbers of the school children, who seemed highly to approve of the new arrangement. Nearly all the retail stores were closed after one o'clock. Capt. John M'Lean, of the Albion, has been suffering severely from erysipelas in the legs and feet since leaving Melbourne. During the greater portion of the passage down he was unable to move without assistance. Dr Grigor visited him yesterday. ,
Mr Hielop examined the scholars of the Grove Bush school on the 28th ult., and expressed himself much satisfied with the progress of the pupils, and the care and assiduity of the teacher, Mr White. The pupils, with one exception, have never been at any other school. The correspondent to whom we-are indebted: for this informa tion tells U9 that Mr Hislop, on seeing the number of well-grown youngsters in attendance, said that ho thought the settlers had just got the sclidol in right time, before the children had got too big. An accident, happily involving no more serious consequences thin the breaking of a shaft, and the labor and dolay of several hours in extricating the vehicle and removal and reloading, occurred yesterday morning a short distance from the '< Waihopai Bridge on the Invercargill side. A settler (Mr Win. Young), resident at Davidson's Bush, was coming into town with a dray drawn by three horses, and laden with a ton of flax. When about two chains on the Invercargill side , of the bridge, the leading horse of the dray, on j meeting a carrier's wa-ggon, shied off, the dray being at this time on the near side of the road. The roadway at this part is much elevated, with a considerable ' incline, and the shying of the leader occasioned the complete capsizing of the dray into the ditch. Assistance was at hand, and the horses were at once unloosed without injury. The roadway at the place at which the accident occurred neads attention, and more of side protection. B^ing tho approach to the bri.lgo, an accident is very likely to occur on the meeting of two teams, unless either the roadway itself be widened, or the side, slope altered. An accident, which, might have had more sp.rious consequences, happened on Sunday night to Mr Lumsden. With praiseworthy zeal for the proper discharge of bis duties as M.P.C, Mr Lumsden started for Dunedin on Sunday afternoon in a buggy, hoping to catch the Balclutha coach on Tuesday, and thus be in time for the opening night of the session. About twentythree miles from Invercargill, the track runs out, or nearly so, and in the dark the driver got off the road. After repeated attempts to regain the track, the driver came to the wise resolution of remaining where ha was with the buggy till morning, or the moon, threw more light on the subject. • Mr Lumsden, however, determined to find the road on foot, in the midst of a storm of driving rain and almost total darkness. The result was that he was out nearly all night, and only arrived at the Halfway Bush accommodation house in the morning. Mr Lumsden's .constituents and many friends will be gla I to learn that he does not anticipate any bad effects from the wetting and fatigue. He proceeded to Dunedin by the coach on Tuesday. At tte meeting of the Town Council last night there were present — Councillors Ross, Blackwood, Q-oodwillie, Jaggere, Pratt, Tapper, and Garthwaite ; Councillor Garthwaite in the chair. Messrs Pay and Campbell's request for some repairs to the Jetty was postponed till next week, pending the surveyor's report on the subject. A report from the Public Works Committee, recommending amongst other things the adoption of Councillor Good willie's suggestions for lighting certain streets with kerosene during the winter was discussed at somo length, and adopted with the exception of the suggestions for lighting, which were deferred'for the present. Mr Raines was the successful tenderer for repairs to interior of Town Hall, at the price of £7 10s. Mr Macandrew, M. 11. R., is to address the electors of Port Chalmers on the 6th hist. According to one of the Ro3S papers, Mr Warden Ayhner has had the title of " Marshal " conferred upon him, and he now bears the designation of Marshal Aylmer. Mr John Locke has been appointed Immigration Officer at Oamaru. The Natal newspapers (says a contemporary) are chiefly occupied in discussing the terms upon which the colony has disposed of its rights in the matter of railways. These terms seem to be liberal to the point of extravagance, for they concede to the contracting parties three million acres of land, a subsidy of £40,000 for twenty years, as much timber and soil as may ba required, and the monopoly of transit and traffic for twenty-five years. Settlers who are not enamoured of this gigantic scheme, and who think it possible that railways may ba made too dearly, expect that Lord Kimberley will revise and perhaps cancel those vast concessions . The Mayoral Conference was commenced in Dunedin on the 29th ult., when tha representatives of six Mayoralties were present. The Mayor of Dunedin was voted to ths chair, and explained the object of the meeting, lie stated that out of the 14 municipalities in the province, only one unfavorable reply had been received to the circular he had issued suggesting the desirability of the conference. After some discussion, the followiDg resolution was carried : — " That, in the opinion of this Conference, it is extremely desirable that the subsidy to municipalities should be renewed by the Provincial Government ; and that a Sub-Committee, consisting of the Mayors of Oamavu, Clyde, Dunedin, and Lawrence, be appointed to wait upon the Government, and ascertain its views upon the subject." The " Forest Trees Planting Encouragement Act," passed during the last session of the Assembly, came into operation in Canterbury on the Ist inst. In the province of Auckland, beetroot is said to have been successfully grown for distillation purposes. A telegram appears in the Otago Times to the following effect : — It is announced that Thursday, the 9th May, is appointed a day of public thanksgiving for the recovery of the Prince of Wales. The Governor's proclamation calls upon all the Queen's subjects in the Colony to unite in the observance of the day. A Dunedin paper is informed that a petition against the Moa Flat sale, bearing about 2000 signatures of the residents at Mount Benger, Switzers, &c, has been forwarded for presentation to His Excellency the Governor. A West Coast paper says that tho timber trade of Hokitika, which has been languishing lately, shows signs of an active revival. Tho survey of the Waitara Railway extension to Auckland is nearly completed. The estimated cost is £4000 per mile. The following live stock was exported from Wanganui during the quarter ending 30th March :— 952 cattle ; 9,377 sheep ; 262, pigs ; • and 76 horses.
Wet weather has been very prevalent in different parts of the colony for some time past. The Provincial Council of Canterbury was opened on the 26th ult. The Superintendent, in his speech, said that the land sales since the Ist October last amounted to £15,000. The new Education Ordinance had given a great impetus to education, and 18 new Educational districts had been formed since September. The cost of' the Northern Railway hal slightly exeeeied £4000 per mile, exclusive of the cost of the land. This economy showed the benefit of local management of large works. The central management of such works would be likely to prove a costly experiment ; ani the appointment of a Resident Minister for the Middle Island was practically an admission that it was impossible to administer public works and immigration in the Mid lie Island from Wellington. The taxpayers would not long submit to unnecessary complication, and the appointment of a Resident Minister for the Middle Island was either preliminary to the adoption of a separate system of finance and administration for each Island, or to a change in the position of the Provinces. If the latter, the change must 9oou take the form either of the definition of the powers of the Provinces, and the utilisation of them as agents in promoting colonisation and public works, or of their entire abolition. Mr James Smith, editor of the Australasian, who is now on a visit to this colony, deliv ered a lecture on " Spiritualism " to a crowded audience in Dunedin on the 28th ult. The black grouse brought out by Mr Graf, which were supposed to be intended for Otago, have been given to the Wellington Acclimatisation Society.
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Southland Times, Issue 1572, 3 May 1872, Page 2
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1,693Untitled Southland Times, Issue 1572, 3 May 1872, Page 2
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