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Southland Times, Issue 1653, 25 October 1872, Page 2

The Assembly is to be prorogued to-day at 2 o'clock. A private telegram received in town yesterJay afternoon conveyed the information that the May Queen, from London, had arrived at Port Chalmers. It wiR be observed from our t^legrims that the Southland Land Act Ameniment Bill, which contains 1 two clauses transplanted from the Otago Waste Lands Bill, empowering the sale of the remaining land in the Southlaud hundreds by auction, at an upset price of 10s per acre, has passed the Legislative Council, after having been deprived, however, of the clauses in question. The lecture by the Rev. Mr Westbrook, at the Theatre last evening, on " Little Things," was delivered to a rather scanty aud'Miice, there being several other engagements of the evening. The lecturer made the subject very interesting, and delivered himself in a pleasing manner, illustrating by sketches aptly chosen from life. A vote of ! hanks by the audience was carried at the termination of the lecture. The meeting of the Invercargill District Road Board, announced ta be held on Thursday at half-past one o'clock, lapsed /or want of a quorum. The members present were Messrs Brown, Dalrymple, GKlmour, and Waddel. The accompanying letter has bsen handed to us by the Honorary looal Secretary to the Royal Society for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland, with the request that we should publish it for the information of tha subscribers in this district : — " I have much pleasure in acknowledging your favor of the 6th May, and beg to thank you for the Bank draft accompanying it, in payment of fifty-two subscriptions to this Association for l l i7l-72, less expenses as noted, which settles your account to date. I shall send out the engravings, &3., as early in the month of September as I possibly can, and bills of lading and duplicates in future with all shipments, diraot to yoursslf, and shall adopt your suggestion as to putting all tho N'!iv Zeiland agencies together alphabetically in tbe list of subscribers." From the E.iinbu-gh cJourant of the 29th July, we le.irn that, three prizes have fal lento Invercargill "»u'o3crib3r», viz. : — The Rivor Orehy, by John Kemp, value Zo 5s Andrew Smith; statuette in Parian marble, Ruth, by Copeland, Alexander Mair ; do do do, R. W. Harvey. Among the incidents connectel with tho Tichborne case, not tha lea3t amusing his been the appearance of the " claimant's" widow — in tha columns of tho Southland N'j.vs. It is somewhit unusual to meet with a man's wi Jow, while he himself is w.ilking the earth in the flo 3h — "too t solid flesh," in.ice.l, it is said, in the " claimant's" case. But the News has always been remarkable | for tho originality of its information on this I subject. At the meeting of the Southland Wj.«te Lind Board on Tuesday, the only members present wore the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Mr if Arthur. The application of Hu^h Cimeron for 100 acres, j Lindhurst hundred, was granted. On the .ip.jlic.ition of James Shan-i, 1600 acres in the Kokanui district were withdrawn from sale under the Biuff Jetty extension contract ; and on the application of James and John Sh iu,l, 800 acres in the Oreti hnndred were withdrawn from sale under tlie same arrangement. A telegram 1 from tlie Djpuf.y-Siipsrinfceii'k'at wis reaJ, requesting the Board to reserve from sale 4700 acres for the Bluff wharf contract. Ou the application jof Mr Wade a steam sawmill licsnsa for a 15 horse power engine, over 150 acres in the Seaward Bush, with the usual reserve of 450 acres, and under the usual conditions, was granted to the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, to commence from Ist January next. Our Riverton correspondent informs us that a' meeting was held there on Monday last, called at the instance of Mr Mackintosh, Otautau, to take some action to prevent the passing of the Southland Land Act Amendment Bill, then before the Legislative Council, which, a 9 sent up from the House of Representatives, contained a provision for the sale of the remaining land in the Southland hundreds by auction at 10s per acre. It was decided to telegraph to the members in both Houses, urging them to use every endeavor to prevent the bill becoming law. A new rifle range has been eroded at South Riverton by the members of the volunteer corps residing on that side of the river. The new range is some 500 yards in length, and any spent balls will find their w.iy into the Bea. ■ Tho Hawke's Bay Herald gives the following par&jjraph : — The portion of Karaitiana's letter to the Evening Poit, on which the action lor libel taken against that journal by Mr Oe.nond and Mr M'Lean will, we hear, be based, is the following sentence : — " These Government men (Messrs Ormond and M'Lean) said to the storekeepers, '• Be strong to give spirits and goods to the Maoris, so that they may get into debt, and ba compelled to sell ther lands." The AttorneyGeneral and Mr Allan, we learn, are retained bj . the prosecutors. The Oamaru Times of the 18th inst. says : — An awful death occurred on Friday last to a farmer named John Cowan, who resided at Pukekobe. An inquest was held on Cowan's remains on Saturday last, from vrhicb. the following melancholy particulars are gleaned : — The deceased had gene into the bush for the purpose of felling timber. He had cut nearly through a tree, which fell in a direction contrary to what ho had reckoned on. He stepped hastily on one •ide, but a large branch, caught by the branches of the falling tree, struck him, and he was knocked with fearful force on to the ground. On tho spot on which he fell wore several stumps of sharppointed saplings, overy one of which pierced the

man's bowels, and any one of which would hare caused death. .Cowan was discovered dying, but juet sufficiently sensible to tell his unhappy fate to a man named William HatniH, who immediately gave information to the police. Cowan, now dead, was removed to his house, where an inquest was held on the body and a verdict was returned in accordance with the facts of ths case. Cowan held a farm of 30 acres iv extent, and, as wo learn, leaves a wile and four children without any means of support. The deceased wa9 a man much respected in the locality he resided in, and we are pleased to learn that the settlers in the districts are taking the necessary steps towards rai.-ing a subscription for the widow and her family. It seems that tUe Auckland Acclimatisation Society hare been selling live trout at a guinea per dozen. Otago Daily Times gives the following particulars regarding the recent fire at Queenst own . — A fire took place at Queenstown on the I morning of the 18th inst., by which Mrs Wilson's I store and Mr Scully's dwelling- house were burned | \to the ground. The fire originated in the latter building. The wind, which was from the west, blew the flakes all over the town, but fortunately it rained all the time, otherwise move damage would have been done. The losers by the fire are Mrs Wilson, and Messrs Huff, Scully, and Wenkheim. None of the loss is covered by insurance. We imagined (says the Timaru ETerald) that long ago all the available land in the Mackenzie country haJ been occupied for grazing purposes. It appears, however, that we wjre wrong in this supposition, a Mr M 'Pa ail having lately taken up a tract of 20.000 acres on th.3 further side of Like. Tekapo, in the rear of Mr Cox's station. Of all the hotels in the world th.c very oddest is a lonely one in California, on the road between San Jose and Santa Cruz. Itnajineten immense trees standing a few feet apart and hollow insile ; these are the hotel, neat, breezy, and romantic. The Jarsest tree is 65ft. around, and contains a sitting room and that bureau of Bacchus where— from is dispensed the thing that biterh and stingeth. All about this tree is a garden of flowers and evergreens. The drawinjroom is a bower made of redwood, evergree.DS, and madrona branches. For bed-chambers there are nine great hollow tree?, whitewash or papored, an 1 having doors cut to fit the shape of the holes. Literalui'o finds a place in a leaning stump, duhbel " the library." If it ware not for that same haunt of Bacohus, it is certain that the guests of this forest establishment would feel like nothing »o much as 'Dryads. The Wellington Evening Post publishes the following jau d'etprit : — " We hear that a now office is to be created to reward Mr Pendulum Creighton. He is to be appointed ' Minister to a Mind Diseased.' " It will ba remembere 1 that Mr Creighton assisted to oust the Fox-Vogel administration, aivl. much to the disgust of the Stafford party, voted against tho Ministry formed by their leader at the division which ivaultoi in tha latter beiiv? rather sn Idenly relieved from the cares (or sweets ?) of office. One of tha membTs of the Vb f ovian Rju3o of Representatires reoantly real tho foil win.; as a few samples of the entries mal;i by school committee-men : — " Vistei thi-3 school and found present 2j£ things ii a or.lUry manner and to tha satisfaction of all with who n I hrra convorat with." — " I on of the loa.-il comt.ee visted this school and foun 1 pasont 27 children and to all appieranue every thin.; goiniing on all wright and Mr -^iren all satesfaciion to all Dartis." (The rea li:i«» of the entries, which the hon. ine'nber spelt for th<; inforrn.Vi m of tho flou3e, created mue ! \ laughter.) — "I hive thin day vi3te,l this soholl. Foun^l the chii Iron grately improved both in disciplen nnl education." — " I have thi3 day vistied ths school, w.»ll c^accirctfd, grent improvement."— " Visetcl tho school, roo Is veivy hevvey, small attendance." (Laughter) — " Viseted the school, foual all in good O'«vler, and geting on weel." — " "Vnitad tho sohojl, whiish I f uin;l In verry efficient stale." — " .\la.le a visit to school, everything in good order, but a torable storm racing out Side." — (\luch laughter.) — "Visited the school, organioasion very indiferent pensills to short." (Laughter.) The Wellington coiTcjqpondgnfc of the Dune.lin Star telegraphs as follows: — In O'xnrnitfeo of Supply, on Fri lay night, on the Railway Bill Mr Stafford, in the course of his criticism on tha measure, spoke to the following effect : — " The money to be expen led would, ho hone 1, la-?t for two or three years more. He had be;n for the past year making arrangements to dispose of his property. Those arrangements w-mll take tw > or three years still to co uplete, and then it would be a matter of incliffjreno to him what becaire of the Colony, as he should have ceased to have an_y connection with or interest in it." The .population eng.t^ed in minim; in the Wukufip district is estimated by the War lon aa follows : — Alluvial miners, 700 European and 700 Chinese ; qu;»rtz miners, 60 European ; total, 1450. The total amount of gold escorted during the quarter ended the 30th September last was 4933 ozs 18 dwts. The Reefton correspon lent of a West Coast paper writes a3 follows : — The depression th.it was occasioned by the defeat of the JTox-Vogel Ministry was suddenly aod most unexpectedly dissipate. l by the welcome announcement of the Stafford defeat. Extras were issued by the local paper on telegraphic receipt of the intelligence, and a more heartily receire-'I piece of news has not latoly como to htmd in Reefton. Truly, if a alight liberty wuy bo trtkon with Shakesperiau text, it might have been sai:i Now is l ho winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by the fall of Stafford. 1 The only regret that is felt here is that Mr Curtis did not resign his position as Superintendent before defeat, for then oar happiness would have been complete ; but such good fortune could scarcely be expected.

Writing to Lady Burdetfc Coatta to thank her for the efforts she has made to prevent the destruction of little birds, Colonel Lloyd- Lindsay saya : — " While driving through Normandy last week I was struck by the desolate appearance of many miles of road. Ail was green and beautiful sav r e the trees, which were, with scarcely an exception, covered with black, misses of caterpillars hanging in festoons from the boughs, from which every particle of leaf has been eaten. So far, midwinter reigned in Normandy in the month . of June, and this is greatly owing to the remarkable absence of little birds."