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Southland Times, Issue 1677, 17 December 1872, Page 2

His Honor the Superintendent arrived in town at half past two o'clock yesterday, accompanied by the captain and several ofß -era of 11. M.S. Dido. At five o'clock, His Honor, with the visitors and Messrs Wood (Mayor), D. M'Arthur> and other gentlemen, left by train for Winton, the engine being under the charge of Mr Conyers. The distance to Winton was performed in 35 minutes, and His Honor on arrival there proceeded by vehicle, aecompanie 1 by Captain Chapman, some distance up the North Roal, returning to town by traia at 8 o'clock. His Honor will visit Riverton to-day, an I is expected to remain in town during Wednesday, returning by the DiJo. It will be obaarvai td it tha \£ »y )r requests the citizens to closa their places of business on Wednesday, on whioh day an excursion train will run to the Bluff. We have been authorised to state that H. M.3. Dido will be open for the inspection of the publio from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. on Wednesday. We regret to learn from the Dunedin papers that Mr James Kennedy, Inspector of Telegraphs, and for sometime resident here, dial at Dunedin on the 10th in st. Mr Kennedy, it will bij remembered, was long ill before leaving lavercargill. Among the incidents of the show ground on Friday, 13th, was a foot race as advertised. This * race was for a pursa of £5, given by Mr George Smith, the competitors bsing Austin (of celebrity as a runner) and Hudson, to whom was given four yards start. The race was won by Austin, who caught his opponent at 60 yards, and came in winner by a yard, doinj tlie distance in 8 seconds. Hudson won in a hurdle race for which four started, and a flat race followed o* 300 yards, won by Kally, with five starters, the winner in this race having 15 yards start. Austin, whose running was much commended, advertises a programme of sports for Boxing Day On Sitarday afcernoon lasb an accident occurred to a lad named Aitken, in the employ of Mr John Hamilton, baker at Harrisville. The lad being out with the cart ia the delivery of bread, and driving along in front of the Appleby Hotel, unfortunately drove over a stump or tussaclc, and the cart overturned. The lad was thrown between the legs of the horae, aa he Btruggled, and received, either from the ground or from a slight kick by the horse, a deep incised wound, of about throe inches in length, on the back of the head. He was taken at onoe to the hospital, and attended to. We received the following rather extraordinary telegram from the Bluff at a late hour last night : — " Sailed for Invereargild, a dozen blue jackets, belonging to H.M.S. Dido, on railway trollies." Our Bluff correspondent writes us, that, owing to the interruption by traffic, the contractors for the repairs of the jetty are at a stand-still. It is found that all tha longitudinal beams require to be renewed, and this reuewal (not provided for in the contract) necessitates the leaving open a large space, over which traffic cannot be allowed. It is also found that to enable the pile -driving to be proceeded with, the " Ironside " must be removed, her bows occupying the space intended for the extension. Supposing this to be done it is desirable to place her in the stream at tho buoy, and to " boat " the wool off to her. Tha Inspector of Works at the Blnff \\&i tapartod to the authorities the difficulties in tha way of the contractors, representing the necessity they are under of discharging workmen from time to time on account of the interruptions. He suggests that thi3 traffic be diverted by an appro ich over the east cad of the wharf. This diversion is, for many reasons, undesirable, if not impracticable , Something, however, will have to be done immediately ia order to meet tha difficulty. Our Bi/erton correspondent, writing on the 12fch hist. 6a j b : — A meeting was held here — at

i the Court-house —on Wednesday afternoon, having been convened by the Mayor for the purpose of putting before the Government the desirability of taking some immediate steps towards the formation of tho Riverton aud Otautau Tramway. There was a fair attendance, &nd the meeting waa ably arWr<s33ed at som» length by several gentlemen interested in the proposed scheme. The Education Committee met on Saturday, j 14th in»t., the object being special — tho opening I of tenders for school fittings and outside work. The tender of Mr D. Bonthron, for tho sum of £330 for the whole of the work, was accepted, subject to an arrangement for its completion at a specified time. It is expected the Grammar School will be opened about the 20th January next. A deputation was appointed to wait upon His Honor the Superintendent relative to the claims of the Grammar School for the incidental expenses over and abova the original contract. ' At Lowther, on the 14th inst., before J. Rogers and C. Cowan, Esqs., J.P.'e, James Yardley was charged with committing assault and robbery, at Nokomai, on the 30th November last. From the evidence it appeared that the prosecutor, Robert Creighton Walker, a miner, had sold to the I prisoner, on the 27th November, his share in a mining claim, the price paid being £33 13s. The claim was a tunnelling one, and prosecutor stated that he had obtained gold in it. On the 30th, prosecutor was laid up in Parson's store with a bad leg, and in th* evening prisoner visited the plaoe and requested him to go outside. Prosecutor complied, and was immediately thrown down by the prisoner, who demanded the return of his money, using violent and threatening language while doing co. Prisoner put his hands in prosecutor's pockets while he was lying on the ground. Prosecutor asked the prisoner to go into the store, as he had no money on his person. On getting into the store, prosecutor said he would pay prisoner no money, but would argue the point with him. The prisoner then threw prosecutor outside the door with greater violence than he U9ed before. In consequence of this prosecutor was in constant bodily fear of the prisoner, and was compelled to give him £25. Prisoner's statement was to the effect that when he bought Walker's share in the claim, iWalker sai lit wouli yield half a dwfc. to the dish, with three feet of wash. The first day he worked the claim he knew that he had been swindled. On washing up, the result wa3 18 dwts. for three men's work for a fortnight. Prisoner then went to prosecutor and demanded the return of his money. On carrying prosecutor out of the store he slipped out of prisoner's ( arras, and said he would return 625, and take back the share in the claim, which terms prisoner agreed to, and the money was thereupon handed over to him. Prisoner was committed for trial. The Treasurer of the Hospital Committee requests ua to acknowledge his receipt of £5 5s from Mr J. S. Manning, of Woodburn Station, being the amount of his subscription, together with sundry sums collected in the shearing shed j also, of £L1 13s collected by Mr James Hamilton in the neighborhood of Flint's Bush, on behalf of the institution ; slso, of £19 Is from the New Zealand Meat Preserving Company at Woodlands, being part of amount deducted from workmen's wages for medical attendance. We are glad to observe that tenders are incited for the construction of abridge over the Mataura at Monzies Ferry. J. B. Greig, Esq., Acting Harbor Master ; W. H. Pearson, Esq., Immigration Officer ; and F. A. Monckton, Esq., Coroner, have been appointed to act as Commissioners to inspect a,nd lepor* upon the state and condition of immigrants and immigrant ships upoa their arrival at the Bluff. A meeting of the Municipal Council was held on Friday evening, 13th inst., at the Council Hall, when there were present the Miyor and Councillors Pratt, Lumsden, Jaggers, Goodwillie, and Garthwaite. A report from Dr Monckton, in accordance with the Public Health Act, that he was attending a case of scarlatina ia town, but that the patient was nearly convalescent, was read, and the Mayor requested to take any steps he considered necessary in the matter. The follow • ing tenders were accepted : — For gravelling footpath in Yarrow-street, H. Craven, 3s 4d per chain ; for forming and gravelling path from the Puni creek bridge to the Custom-house, W. Hall, £37 133 4d. A discussion arose relative to tho workmen being employed in laying a crossing in Jed and Deveron-streets, and ditching in the gardens, without the work having boen first sanctioned by the Council. Ultimately, on tho motion of Councillor LunisJon, it was resolved ) " That, refei'ring to that part of the Engineer's report in reference to tho construction of timber crossings in Jed and Doveron streets, the Council desira to advise tha Surveyor that no further works of that nature, nor any work involving an outlay of public money, ba undertaken by him without the Council first sanctioning tho same." A. letter from. Mr Wade, calling the attention of the Council to an alteration in the level of Leet— street, was read, and the Town Clerk instructed to express tho regret of the Council that Mr Ritchie should have mistaken the lavel approved by the Council. It was decided to call for tenders for ditching in the gardens, metalling Tay-street, and the formation and drainage of Spey— street. The Council adjourned at midnight. We have received from John B. Bennett, Esq., Registrar-General, a volume containing the Statistics of New Zealand for the year 1871, along with the Agricultural Statistics of the Colony in February, 1872. It is explained in the introductory report that a large portion of the contents of this volume is not now published for the first time, a considerable proportion of the tables which make up the series having been presented to the General Assembly during the session of 1872, aud issued as parliamentary papers. At the meeting of the Otago Wasta Land Board, held in Dunedin on the 11th inst., the question ai to tue true position of en? boundary of Waireka and Tuturau Hundreds was referred to Mr Baker, who is to visit tho ground, take evidence, and repert. We extract tho following paragraph from the Oamaru paper, which, by the way, has lately altered its title to " The North Otago Times" : — On Friday, 6th init., at the Grammar School, Oamaru, a large number of pupils and friends assembled, tho occasion being a valedictory presentation to the late second master, Mr A. j , Fleming, who is about to assume the rectorship |

of the Grammar School, Invercargill. During his stay here Mr Fleming deservedly earned the respect of his pupils and of the public, and hi 8 removal hence is undoubtedly a loss. The presentation w»s a handsome gold watch from the atelier of Mr Lumsdcn, inside the case of which was the following inscripMon : — "Presented to Mr A. Fleming by his colleagues and pupils on leaving the Oarnaru Grammar School for that of Invercargill. December, 1872." The best •wishes of the district follow Sir Fleming to his new sphere of labor. The following paragraph seetn3 to bo the authority upon which the telegram publish el by U9 on the samo subject was based. It is taken I from the Wellington Independent : — " Wo understand that a quantity of the timber imported to Wellington from Invercargill, to the order of Messrs Brogden and Sons, for the purpose of fenckig the Hutt Railway line, proves to be of very inferior quality, and there is a probability ' that the greater portion of it will be condemned. The timber appears to be very sappy, and of a kind not at all likely to exhibit any i lasting qualities. Practical persons hay» very little doubt that the posts would become rotten very soon after being placed in the ground." A ram fair is to be held in Napisr in February. Between 700 and 800 entries have already been made. The following Wellington telegram appears in the Dunedin Morning Star : — The Government received a telegram to-day from tho AgentGeneral, dated November 23, in answer to a telegram from the Government, dated November 2. Dr Featherston states in his telegram that 1866 souls hare loft the United Kingdom sinoe September 19. He further states that the regulations are working, that h« is relaxing thorn wherever necessary, and that he is in a position to sond to Otago 1823 immigrants ; to Canterbury, 160O; to Marlborough, 140 ; to Auckland, 750 ; to Napier direct, 853 ; and to Wellington, and the adjacent Pro vincea, 1450 — making a total of G516, of whom 3750 are English, 850 Irish, 570 Scotch, and 1310 foreigners. Tho Scotch agency, he says, has nover been interfered with, and Mr Auld will send the Otago immigrants from the Clyde. Irish immigrants are flowing in freely, and a central office, with a sub-agency, haa been established under Mr Farnall, at Belfast, tiacd June last. A correspondent of tho Bruce Herald, while discussing the question) of the dismissal of Mr Raid from the Executive, says : — " I am inclined to think that the great fault in Mr Reid's character is a sort of arrogant intolerance of his political opponent 1 ! views, together with too much self-confidence. If he could oklj study a little more amenity in his dealings with others, and not allow his contradictory disposition to be so frequently asserting itself over his better judgment, he would appear to far greater advantage than he sometimes does." This from an otherwise friendly pen is severe criticism indeed. The following are the principal amendments made by the Legislative Council of Victoria in the Education Bill as passed by the Assembly : — Tne Council has provided that the achool buildings may be used after school hours for the purpose of imparting religious instruction, which the Government oppoied. It has deprived the Governor-in«Counci!, that is the Ministry, of the power of appointing the Boards of Advice, and has provided lor their election by local suffrage as in the case of the election of councillors for any municipal body, and so with regard to an/ removal jaf a member ; and » further amendment was carried, providing that objection by either branch of the Legislature will invalidate regulations. The Provincial Council of Canterbury has appropriated 103,000 acres of land as an endowment for a Provincial College. £10,000 has been voted for tho purchaso of the Cathedral site, for the erection thereon of public offices. On the estimates (says the Auckland HeraH) is a sum of money under the <icl« of " exertion money," for prisoners who do extra work. This is a new item, and the first experiment that h&i been tried in this direction. It wai passed with the unanimous approval of the Council. The Nelson Examiner says : — We understand that Dr Hector, who has lately paii a visit to the Collingwood coal-mino, was greatly pleased with the mineral prospects of the district, and more particularly with the fine iron stone which exists there in abundance in close proximity to the coal. The Coal Company are pushing on their drive, which is to cut the coal at a low level' with all convenient epead, and Dr Hector expressed himself generally satisfiod with the progress of the work. The second annual stock show, under the joint auspices of the Balclutha Agricultural and Pastoral Association, and the Tokomaiuro Farmers' Club, was held at Balclutha on the 4th . We learn from the Bruce Herald's report that the show itself was, with the exception of the two olasses, sheep and dairy produce, not equal to last year, the number of exhibits in some cases being very small. The competition in the article of butter seema to have been remarkably keen, as we find in one class, viz., fresh butter, no less than 31 entries. In the claßs for powdered butter there were 29 entries, and for a special prize of a black silk dress for the best 3lbs of fresh butter> there were 30 entries. In the different classes forisheep the N. 2. & A. L. Co. carried off the majority of the prizes. Ninety— six Chinese have resumed work upon the Clutha railway, near Adam's Flat ; this time on contract work. A stone wall, 18 feet high, is being built round Mount Eden Stockade, Auckland, so as to render more difficult the escape of prisoners. Kather a novel exhibition of pedestrianism took place lately in Adelaide. It appears that a number of gentlemen of sporting tendencies were discussing the merits of noted pedestrians, when the name of a fair vendor of refreshing beverages was mentioned as being good for five miles an hour. Bets were freely offered and taken against this feat being accomplished. The lady was communicated with, and consented to a trial of pace and endurance, upon the condition that if successful sue stoouia become tv» possessor of the stakes. This waa agreed to, the course defined, and referees selected. The lady appeared at the time appointed, and succeeded in accomplishing the task, thereby becoming the possessor of numerous silk dresses, spring hats, and pairs of gloves. The Victorian Government has accepted the tender of Messrs Martin and Peacock, £61,547 12s, for the erection of Government House. The edifice iB to be composed of brickwork and , cement. |

At Christchurch, refuse flax, is about being utilised in the manufacture ef coarse paper. A produce merchant of experience (saya the G-eelong Advertiser) states that at the present price of fruit, excellent jam could be made at — • including all expenses — fourpence per pound, and would be readily saleable at sixpence and eevenpanee, the jam merchants in Melbourne liaring found the demand mora than equal to ths supply. There appears to be every probability of the iron mines of Tasmania turning out a commercial success. At a smelting of ore from the Ilfr*combe Iron Company's works, the yield of the pure metal was no less than 60 pT cent., thus proving the ore to be of first-rate quality Tha " pigs," as well as a bsll cast from the iron, ara, we beliere, placed in the Melbourne Exhibition.