The mud bank which caused the accident to tbe Wallabi on Friday was the subject of some discussion in the Municipal Council a few weeks ago, in consequence of the 'receipt of a letter from the lessees requesting that steps might be taken for its removal, but it would appear as if the matter had be "i referred to the " Procrastination Committee," as nothing further has since been heard of it. In the meantime the owners of tiie Wallabi are considerable losers, and the harbor will hare to suffer lroin this unnecessary delay. New potatoes in the midlle of Nurember — Southland grown — area ruiity we have seldom or | ever been aeeu3to:no I to. This season, (notwithstanding the un^Mii-il character of the early part of it), it would seem that in some favored localities the growth of this useful esculent has been very sitUlactory, i' we are to j'llgo by a sample of lapstono kidneys, forwarded for our inspection by Mr Itankiu, of Wakhvi. Ihe numerous friends and acquaintances of Mr James Ritchie, formerly of Barwheys, Invereavgill, will be ratho? surprised to hear that ho is now in Canada, where ha arrived about the middle of August last, taking up his rosidence with some relatives at a place called Blanshard, near Ontario. In a letter received by lust mail, Mr Ritchie says that he is employed at his old trade of garden-making. The following is an extract from the letter ; — " The land here is of all kinds, from a stiff olay to black loam, and some of it gravelly. As for the timhe\', it is a great deal smaller than that in New Zealand, but the. bush ia so clear of underwood that you might drive a waggon through it. Wheat sell? at 5s o£.l per bushel, barley at 2s 6d, oats at Is 6d, and peas at 23 6d. With the exception of whoa*, the price of the articles mentioned is considered low. Beef and mutton sell at 6d per Ib, and wool is worth 2a 6d per ]b. The horses here are a very nice stamp, but small— -j tut tho thine; for the country. Improved land is worth from £7 to £20 per acre, but anyone can get 300 acres of bush land from the Government, by settling on the land and clearing five acres per year for fire year 3." The new bridge over the Jtakarewjk at Wailacetown, designed by Mr Barr, and tho contract for which has lately been taken by Mr W. J. Moftett, appears to be one of those ponderous structures in which great strength is sought to be obtained by the us© of an enormous quantity of material, when a fourth oC the amount, more intelligently applied, would effect the same purpose, at little more than a fourth of the cost. The main portion of the bridge is one span of eighty-two feet, and necessarily of enormous strength, the object beiig to gain a clear waterway, and avoid the risk of damage from floating timber in floods. To say nothing of the inartistic and clumsy manner in which this spin has. been designed, of equal strength at the ends, where great strength is not required, and in the middle where it is, the experience of the last ten years has proved that the single span is by no means necessary. The proßent bridge, now being replaced, was built on much the same plan, although shortly after its completion it was found necessary to support it by a central pier, which, if adopted at first, would have been a great saving of expense. DuriDg that time, only one floating tree came down the river and lodged in the bridge, without doing much damage. It is also worthy of remark that the railway bridge, a little further up the stream, has two rows of piles in the river, and has never been damaged by floating timber. The bridge at the New River ferry, consisting of a number of bays, through which the same floating debris must pass, has never sustained any injury from that cauae. It is probably too late now to hope for any modification in the plans, but there is little doubt that a bridge of, say, three spans of 25 feet each, might have been constructed at a much smaller cost, of more absolute strength, and with every prospeot of its lasting as long as the material of which it was built.
The appearance of the luvercargill Railway Station has been considerably improved during the last few days by the timely application of a coat of paint. Some necessary repairs to the woodwork of the structure hare also been in progress for sometime past, and when completed they will materially strengthen the bu iding. Preparations have bren made to remove what has long been an eyesoro, viz., an accumulation of earth at the northern end of the goods shed. This is to be utilised by Messrs Brogden and Sons in the formation of the embankment of that portion of the Mataura railway on tho southeastern side of the Puni creek bridge. While these very desirable improvements ara being carried out in the vicinity of the station, it is a pity that some steps cannot be taken to procure the removal of that unsightly erection known aa the lock-up. Can tho municipal authorities do nothing in the matter ? It will be seen by advertisement that the soiree of the Primitive MethoJists will be held ( to-morrow evening in the Exchange Hall. The j object of the meeting (the erection of a church) | will ensure the attendance of the members and j friends of the body, and the Bpirit of fraternisation with all engaged in a good cause should enlist the sympathy and co-operation of the ! outsido public. The assistance of various i ministers and gentlemen is expected, and without doubt the accessories for a pleasant evening will be furnished. Mr T. M. Macdonald will preside. i A meeting of the committee of the Chamber of Commerce was held on Friday, when Messr* Calder, Gibbs, and Cuthbertson were appointed , a sub-committee for the collection and forwarding of objects of interest to the Christchurch exhibition. Messrs Pearson, Dundas, and M' Arthur were the members present at the meeting of the Southland Waste Land Board on Friday. The application of Thomas Trutnble for 76 acres, being section 73, block 9, New Rivar Hundred, was granted. The application of Henry Young for 20 acres of land which had been denuded of available timber in the bush reserve at Otapiri, •was refused ou the ground thab it was not desirable to sell in small lots land which had been reserved, but that it should be surveyed and exposed for sale in the usual way. A memorandum from the Railway Department was read, to the effect that the timber traffic on the line for the last six months exceeded 1,500,000 feet. The Commissioner of Crown Lands called tho J attention of th 3 Board to the necessity of having | a ranger appointed to protect the bush reserves, stating that the above export was the produce of six mills only, while there were thirteen in the district, the others supplying timber chiefly for home consumption. It was resolved that the Provincial Government should be requested to milie tho appointment. Tho Ofcago Daily Times of the 14th znst. Bavß ; — We have reason to believe that His Honor the Superintendent i 3 about to part company with his present Executive. Mr Cutten, Mr Bradshaw, and Mr Shand hare been requested to resign ; but, as it is understood that His Honor has expressed his opinion that the dismissal of the head of the Government — Mr fteij — dissolved the Executive, those gentlemen intimated that there was no occasion for them to resign seats which, a -corling to His Honor's i new,, thoy did not hold. Tho step which wo { understand the Superintendent will now fcvke will ba to gazette tho diimuml of Mr Rai 1, Mr Bradshaw, Mr Cutten, a'v.i Mr Shand. In contemplation of this step, His Honor has requested Mr Tolmi^ to form a Government ; and that gentla nin, we learn, will, on the dismissal of the present Executive, a-jt as leader of th«) Government, Mr George Turnbull taking office as Provincial Treasurer. Mr H. M Dermid will also bj a membsr of the new Executive, but we are not aware whether he is to become the political heal of a department. M> Bithgate'a resignation of the Provincial Solicitorship will of course b 3 accepted, and the duties of that office, it is supposed, will bs undertaken by Mr B. 0. Ha^giU, until such time at least as the Council . meets. We have read with sDaae iuter<?9t (says the Wakatipu Mini of .the 13th inst.) the report in the Southland Times of a railway meeting for the extension of the Winton -Kingston line. Some able speakers and men of position took part in it, and all, more or less, warmly supported the immediate extension of this line to Kingston, Apart from any selfish consideration of a local I nit lire, we agree with the object in view. As may bu learnt from an extract in another column, our contemoor.iry shows that; tho line i 3 yielding a handsome revenue. The Winton-BJuff line has created a profitable trade ; and so assuredly would the extension of tho lino to Kingston be attended with like results. Mr Joseph Shephard, M.H.R. for Waimea (Nelson) addressed his constituents at Wakefield on the 14th inst. He said he voted against Mr Fox because of his designs on the West Coast, and against Mr Stafford because he had no confidence in him generally, and mistrusted his earnestness with respect to public works. He did not believe that Mr Fox and Mr Stafford were the only two men in the House fit to assume the leadership, and he expressed himself , as without confidence in the present Ministry. A vote of confidence in Mr Shephard was passed. A private telegram from Mr W. H. Webb, by way of Melbourne, dated San Francisco, 31st October, has been received in Dunedin, iv which it is stated that arrangements have been made for the transference of all Mr Webb's touts to a Company which will endeavor to carry out the existing mail contract with New Zealand in an efficient manner. Mr Or. M. Barr, Provincial Engineer, and Mr Tb.o3. Oliver, Engineer for the Northern district, have sent in their resignations with the view to entering into partnership and commencing the private practice of their profession. The Flirt, which has arrived at Auckland from Levuka, reports that H. M. achooner Ethel (just built at Sydney), one gun and 35 men, was there for the purpose of watching labor vessels. She will overhaul every vessel, those under the Fijian flag included. Her officers speak well of her sailing qualities. The Tuapeka Times of the 14th insfc. says : — Mr John Ah Tong, of Wellington, Mr Brogden's agent, arrived in Tuapeka on Saturday night. His mission is to procure Chinese labor for tho construction of the Clutha railway. He offers 5s 6d per day for Chinese laborers, and 8a per day for skilled workmen. He has up to the present time been pretty successful, having obtained about 200 Celestials. The number required by Mr Brogdon is about 50 J.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST18721119.2.8
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Southland Times, Issue 1665, 19 November 1872, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,890Untitled Southland Times, Issue 1665, 19 November 1872, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.