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Southland Times, Issue 1642, 1 October 1872, Page 2

The Albion is hourly expected to arrive at Hokitika from Melbourne, with the English mail via Suez, due in Melbourne on the 2fith ult. The postal dates via Brindisi will be to 9th August, and telegraphic intelligence via Galle may be expected up to the 30th August, being 11 days later than the latest intelligence brought by the Nebraska. Mr Mussen has succeeded in producing a capital photograph of the scene at the turning of the first sod of the Invercargill and Mataura Railway. The picture is a very pleasing one, and being on a somewhat large scale, althoug\ it contains several hundred figures, the portraits of many well-known citizens aie distinctly recognisable. Mr Mussen has also obtained from Dunedin some very characteristic cartes of the late Dr Norman Maeleod. Mr Webster, M.H.R., returned from Wellington on Saturday, having paired with a member of the Opposition during his abserce. It is announced elsewhere that the new school at Waikiwi will open on Monday next, under the care of Mr Macdonald, long known as a successful teacher in Invercargiil. The new school building at Waikiwi is handsome and commodious, and we doubt not the school will be both a credit and an advantage to the distric A correspondent describes the Nebraska as a curiosity in naval architecture, more like a crossbreed between a Yankee hotel aud No ill's Ark, than a modern ocean steamer. She is certainly constructed with a view to comfort in the tropics, but looks rather airy f.ir the New Zealand coast, and being about 20 feet out of the water, make* very little way against a head wild. The arrangements for the accommodation of passengers are said to be very good. At the Meeting of the Southland Land Board on Friday, all the members were present. The application of William and Francis B >yd for 30 olr v^eisofr aTppeareci to say that he had' "fl/ftA, another unsuccessful application for bis survey fees, which had been paid by the purchasers of the land, but were retained by the Provincial Government. It was resolved that the Commissioner of Crown Lands should write to the Provincial Secreta-y on the subject. The application of Messrs Maclean and Buchanan to cut trees, at 10s per tree, outside the boundary of their bush reserve, was again considere 1, and it was resolved that it wis not expe lient to g-ant the permission requested. The application of Stephm Borers, Half Moon B iy, Stewart's Island, to be permitted to purchase a section of lana on which hd hud built a house, was filed for consideration when the land in question shall be thrown open for settlement. A correspondent writes: — The entertainment at One Tree Point, postponed from the previous Friday on account of a heavy calamity which cast a dark cloud over all hearts in the district, came off on the evening of Thurs lay last. Mr Brown officiate! as chairmin, and read in tlie course of tbe evening a chapter from " Pickwick," one of Cau lie's " Curtain Lectures," and Tom Hood's famed " Song of the Shirt." Among the other perfo •mince? of the evening, "Talking Litin," by Mr War ien ; recitation* of " Home," " Casabianca," and " L?rd Uilin'a Daughter," by Miss Soulter, Mr Smith, and M 133 Smith respectively ; " Jenny's Bawbee," " Auld Robin the Laird," and " Bellenden Braes," by Mr Craig ; " Golden Love," " Tne Lass o' Glenshee," and " The Brdea o' Strathoon," by Mr MLay ; and " Rory O'More," by Mr Warden, are all deserving of notice, and were well received by the audience. The next and closing entertainment was announced to take place on tie llth inst., and it is gratifying to state that from tho undiminished interest shown in these meetings, there are no symptoms of coming to an abrupt termination for want of support, or of dying of a galloping consumption. W© eitraot the following information from the eighth annuul report of the Telegraph Department of the colony : — " The progress made during the past year in the extension of the telegraph has been greater than' in any former year ; the larger increase to the business of the department through the introduction'of the Is tariff bejoming more apparent every day, and having already rendered it necessary in some places to increase the number- of wires. The great iucreuse of business may also be attribute I in a measure to the opening of the line to Auckland, an I also to the general revival of trade throughout the colony. With the exception of New Plymouth, everj town of any size is now included in the telegraph system. The number of telegrams of all codes transmitted during the year was 411,797, which exceeds those ol tho previous year by 93,893, or an increase of nearly 32 per cent. After making all deductions for salaries, maintenance ot line, &c, there remains to the credit of the department for the year, £6614 10s 2d. The " Loafer in the Street," writing in the Canterbury Press, says New Zealand is composed of three islands. Stewart Island produces oysters. Ihe North Island produces political crises, and natives who flare up. The Middle Island is inhabited by a fine race of people, who eat the oysters, and contribute freely towards the crimes and expenses of the aboriginal fijrea up. 'I.he whole lot is culled the Britain of the Southern Seas. It is the finest country' on the face of the earth at present.

In his address to the electors of Egmont, Mr Moorhouse states that his opinions are in distinct opposition to the Stafford Cabinet, and that peace and good government were likely to be secured by the Opposition party. He had a firm faith in Mr M'Lean's fitness for dealing with Native affairs, and he could not hope for success in any attempt to combine with Mr Stafford and his associates. In an article commenting Oil the report that Mr Macandrew inten led to dismiss Mr Donald Reid from the Provincial Executive, tlie Dunedin Evening Sta- thus refers to Mr Reid's Barnaclism :— His clear duty to tha Province, to the Government of which he is a member, and to his onn reputation, was to resign his Provincial Secretaryship immediately on his acceptance of office. It would have placed him beyond the reach of calumny, and marked him as a high-mindod politician, entitled to the respect of both supporters and opponents. Wo regret he bas not availed himself of the vantage ground he stood on. He has laid himself open to tha charge of endeavoring to retain one office ghould the other fail him, and has placed the I Superintendent in such a position that he must supersede him or fail in his duty to the Province, of whiob. he is the head. The Wellington Inlcpon lent sm the Governor has been consulted regarding the granting nf a dissolution in the event of the j present Government being defeated, and has refused to grant one unless on some constitutional question.

The Dunedin market is said to be mainly supplied, at present, with fat sheep from Timaru. The Eailway Inauguration Bdl came off at Tokomairiro on the 20th ult. most successfully. It will be remembered that in April last, Mr J. Y. Henry was fined £10 and costs by Mr Beetham, R.M., for ringing the fire-bell at Queenstown, contrary to a municipal bye-law. At the sitting of the Supreme Court, in Banco, the conviction was quashed, on the ground that it was not in accordance with the bye-laws. Three or more of the Judges of the Supreme Court wid hold a sitting at Wellington on the 18th November, to hear and determine petitions under the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act, 1867. The Wellington Post says : — -" Fire brigade appliance-", suitable for use with the highpressure water supply for this city, have been ordered from Great Britain, the Insurance Companies' agents having commissioned the Cty Surveyor to order, on their behalf, in connection with the waterworks plant, fire brigade necessaries to the amount of £600. This liberality on tbe part of the insurance agents is well timed, and deserving of every praise." There is a curious circumstance (says a contemporary) in connection with Mr Trollope's visit to the various Colonies worth noticing. His arrival in Queensland was follow :d by a Ministerial crisis in that Colony. When he arrived at Sydney the Martin Cabinet suffered a defeat, and was superseded by Mr Parkes's Government. On the same gentleman reaching Melbourne, a Ministerial crisis occurred (here, Mr Duffy giving _iace to Mr Francis. At Hobart which resulted in a dissolution ; and shortly after his arrival in this Colony, the Government of Mr Fox has had to give place to one formed by Mr Stafford. The Illustrated New Zealand Herald for September contains engravings of the Waihi, or Francis Joseph Glacier, Mount Cook ; Mount Egmont and Taranaki, Irom the roadstead ; transhipping passengers off the New Zealand Coast ; memorial cup presented to Sir G. F. Bowen as a memento of the inaugurat'oa of the railway works under tlie Messrs Brogden ; and several illustrations of Australian incidents, scenery, <_c. We take the following amusing paragraph from the Westport Times :— " The designation of the Westport Post Odije should be altered to that of the General Postal and Piggery Depart* ment, swine of all sizes, color and condition, hay ing taken up their nightly habitation in the delivery lobby, without let or hindrance, leaving there throughout the day unmiatakeably visible and olfactory symptoms of their presence. On a recent moonlight evening we counted a full score of pigs, large and small, snugly coiled up underneath the letter boxes, and it was impossible to either post a letter or open a private box without first routing the enemy, who resisted the intrusion with proverbial obstinacy. The Postmaster should make a raid, and confiscate a few of the little ones. Roait pig on the dish should have a more agreeable perfume than live pig in the lobby." A Bill has been introduced into tho Victorian Parliament to provide for taking a three-fourths verdict of a jury in civil cases. " A Victim" writes to the Canterbury Press as follows : — lt may not be generally known that persons giving credit to insolvents between the date of a ljudicition in bankruptcy and the diy of the final hearing and discharge, cannot recover such debts from bankrupts in our Courts of Law. It does seem hard that when v man ia down and without means, in many cases for several months, you cannot lend a helping hand. If the unfortunate is an honest man you may be safe, but as there are rogues abroad who have pleaded the bankruptcy law, and cheated a few innocents, therefore it is best to be on your guard, and give no credit. At the present juncture, it may be as well to keep in mind the following oracular utterance of Mr T. B. Gillies, (ihe new Colonial Treasurer,) when addressing his constituents on the 23rd December, 1871: — But there was one means by which the growing deficit might be met. That was by making the waste lands of New Zealand the property of the whole colony. No Government would be worth the name of Government until thoy met that problem. The Provinces of the South had received more from these lands than would pay for the war expenditure and three million loan. A rifle match will take place at the Thames shortly between 15 Scotsmen and 15 native-born New Zealanders. The Tuapeka Times says that Mr J. P. Armstrong, M.P.C. for Mount Ida, is about to proceed to Wellington, at the request of his constituents, to urge upon the Government the necessity for th,e construction of a sludge ehiunel at Naseby ; and to try to procure a commutation of the sentence passed upon Uwing (convicted of shootingia Chinaman who had been stealing gold from i a water-race.)

Dr Nevill, Bishop of Dunedin, and party (21 altogether), were to leave England for New Zealand in the Lady Joceljn, which was to sail on August Ist. A market-house is to be erected in Auckland by the City Corporation at a cost not exceeding £5000. The unity of the Colony is a matter of very great importance to Wellington, and the inhabitants of " the empire city " seem to bare a due appreciation of the fact, as the following paragraph from a. contemporary will show .— -A number of citizens waited upon Messrs Hunter and Pearee, the representatives of Wellington, in the General Assembly, to ask them to accord the present Ministry a general support, on account ot their declaration of their intention to preserve the unity of the Colony. Both replied that they could hold out no such prospect, but added that they would not support any Ministry that was j not favorable to the maintenance of the unity of (

the Colony. The following appears in the Lyttelton Times of the 24th ult. :— Private intelligence from Wellington is to the effect that a new Bank for the Colony is about to be started in London, under auspices that will ensure success." At a meeting recently held ia Auckland, subscription lists were opened to raise funds wherewith to take the necessary steps to preserve from further desecration the graves - of officers and soldiers killed at the Waikato war. From statements m*de at the meeting, it appeared that the state of most of the graveyards in the vicinity of the several battlefields was disgraceful in the extreme, the fences being down, the graves rooted up by pigs, and trampled upon by cattle. Mr James Macassey has resigned his seat for Wakari in the Provincial Council. Mr Daniel, M P. 0., of Riverton, has presented the following articles to the Otago Museum : — A large piece of Jasper, and a piece of Obsidian, used by tho Maories for cutting themselves while mourning for deceased relatives; these were given to Mr Daniel by the chief Pautiu. A large and beautiful Adze, used by an old native now living at Jacob's River, and a small stone Chiael used by the same man for cutting holes in planks ; a fine Club made of a natural knob o( wood. Mr Daniel has also sent several specimens of rocks, ores, &c. Tho Greneral Government having offered to give the Canterbury Flax Association £200 towards the proposed exhibition of flax machinery, provided exhibits of produce for the Vienna Exhibition were included, the Association I declined the terms as being unworkable. Mr George Turnbull, of Dunedin, has been appointed Deputy-Superintendent in lieu of Mr W. A. Tolmie, resigned. In the House of Representatives, Sir David Monro desired the recommittal of the Otago Waste Lands Bill for the purpose of introducing clauses proviling for the institution of commonages throughout the Province. Mr Stafford opposed the recommittal of the Bill, as any delay would endanger its passing this session. Mr Beid also opposed the motion on the same ground, and said that the whole, measure was a compromise. Mr T. L. Shepherd wished to get t u~ Dill >oor. a ,miH-<"1 .in ,nivl*i» £r>. intrrw*.".clauses preventing any and Irom being opened for selection until a week's public notice had been given, and making other alterations calculated to prevent the sale of large blocks of land. The House refused to recommit the Bill at all, and it was then read a third time. Some of the immigrants by the Hydaspes, recently | arrived at Dunedin, received engagements as i follow? : — Thirteen single women at £30 to £36 ! per annual ; two shepherds, £52 ; three plough- j men, £50 to £52 ; three farm servants, £45 ; ' one gardener, £45 ; one blacksmith, £60 ; one : labore*-, £35 ; two married couples, £60 to £75. j Three men engaged themselves with the Brighton Flax ATiil at Jss per week, with rations. The Darvedin Evening Star of the 25fch nlfcsays: — The piercing of the Cuvershara tunnel was effecre I this afternoon, the workmen on both sides meeting at three o'clock. As showing the exactitude of the driving, we may mention that the error in line and levels did not exceed one inch. This result, which is almost unprecedented, is to bo attributed to the caro and skill of Mr Adam Johnston, the Assistant Government Engineer, who has had charge of the work. The San Francis?o News Letter says : — Wh^n steam communication with California was first opened up, there was much talk about the coal supplies of Now Zealand being mado available for the service. What has become of the subject? It would be a grand thing for New Zealand, and as her fields are nearer to California than those of New South Wales, it would be a good thing for us if her coal beds were actively worked. We recently saw an EDglish engineer's report of the Bay of Islands coal, which accredited it with high qualities for generating steam. In notifying his resignation to the electors of Egmont, Mr Gisborne says : — Holding, as I do, an office in the Civil Service, which private circumstances at present preclude me from relinquishing, I am unable, under the Disqualification Act, to continue to be a member of the House of Representatives. When the second reading of the Drainage Bill was being discussed in the Assembly, Mr Yogel said he observed that the Premier was consulting his colleague the member for Taieri (Mr Donald Reid). Perhaps he considered the hon. member a tower of strength in such matters, and possibly he was correct in thiuking that the hon. member was better acquainted with farming thau other matters. However that might be, it was not out of place to observe that the Bureau of Agriculture in America did a great deal of good in the way of assisting in agricultural operations, and it would be a wise step if some such plan were followed in this country.