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Southland Times, Issue 1978, 20 December 1872, Page 2

The citizens of our good city responded very generally to the call by His Worship the Mayor to close their places of business on Wednesday. Long before 10 o'clock largo numbers of men, women, and children were seen to be wending their way towards the railway station, and upon the arrival of the train from Winton, with an addition to the aggregate of excursionists, it was » question of by no means ready solution as to how transit accommodation could be provided. With very little delay, however, with no great amount of crowding or jostling, and with apparently all the elements and accessories of good humor on board, the crowd was safely if not quite comfortably stowed in the carriages, j * m m tended its way to the Bluff, a second train being despatcneu » *. »f .i O0 ]j an( j a few travelling by the road. Arrired at the Bluff, the object of attraction, the Dido, was to be seen moored a short distance from the jetty, between 1 which and the ship, the ship's boats »ud »n ihe" available craft of the port were plying with the living freight on the tour of inspection. It may be fairly assumed that the majority of the visitors had seldom, if ever, seen a resael of the class to which the Dido belongs, and the multiplicity of arrangements, with the compactness of stowage and the convenience and comfort so extensively provided for, were probably the matters which with the majority would most compel notice. The hospitality, frankness, and general disposition to oblige for which the "British seaman is proverbial, were evidenced most ! strikingly in the courtesy and kindness shown to the visitors by the officers of the ship and the crew. Visitors forming themselves into groups on their arrival, were at once attended, and conducted over the vessel, the attendants with all the allowable pride of craft pointing out and explaining the noticeable objects, and revealing many that would otherwise have been unnoticeable, and this with no show of weariness or unwilliugness, but with an evident alacrity and pleasure. When the interruption to ordinary duty occasioned by a show day, as well as the irksomeness of travelling repeatedly over the g&ma ground, of producing and reproducing, is taken into account, it will be plain that it requires no small amount of good humor to enable one with even a show of cheerfulness to go through the work, and it is therefore but scant justice to say that the office of chaperon was in every instance most efficiently and pleasantly performed. Many of the visitors took the opportunity of inspecting the Ironside lying alongside the jetty — many more filled up the interval between leaving the ship and the departure of the return train by beach- strolling ; and the day as a whole was very pleasantly spent. An accident occurred to two boys, named respectively Garbes and Tngram, upon the wharf, by the falling of some timber from a loaded truck, the boy Gerbes getting his face badly cut, ami the other being sorely bruised, but not otherwise much injured. Dr M'Olure was at hand, and at once rendered the nacossary serricjs, and no very serious conaequeuces are Yikely bo raaulb. The return train to town (waiting the arrival of a special train from Invercargill) did not leave the Bluff until five, when it was found that some of the excursionists must be left behind. They wore however brought on by the return specialThe total number of the excursionists by rail is estimated at about 600. His Honor the Superintendent, with Capt. Chapman, arrived at the Bluff at 5 o'clock, and went off to the Dido, which left for Dunedin in about an hour afterwards. There appears to be an internecine strife now going forward at Ri^erton between the Native and European residents. It iB much to be rej gretted, after so many years of peaceful relationship and good understanding between the parties, that anything should have occurred to interrupt the concord. The real question is apparently the right of the Maoris to the land down to low water mark, for this bein° acknowledged all the i rest follows. The Native population evidently believes itself right, and has some official authority for thinking so. To enter into a discussum of the matter is virtually to prejudge the case, which in some form or other must soon again come before the Magistrate, and in the meantime the Natives cannot be prejudiced by the passage of [ trespassers over their property. We believe it is , however, generally understood that from highwater mark to that of low water is invariably and inalienably the property of the Crown. We are not, however, in a position to say whether there is any document in existence which is relied on to make the present an exceptional case. Referring again to a telegram recently published relative to certain timber which had been exported hence for use upon the railway works at the Hutt, in the Wellington province, and which it was stated would probably be condemned, wa have made enquiries into the matter. We find that the timber complained of is a shipment of several hundred totara posts, the statement being that they contained too much sapwoo J. We have reason to believe that this statement is correct, and that had ' there been an authorised person on the spot to examine the timber before shipment, the posts ! would not have been allowed to go forward. With regard to the sawn timber (red pine) which was shipped for rails on the sains lino of work, no complaint could be made. Shipments of inferior, and especially of " sapwood " timber, are calculated to do serious injury to a trade growing to such an importance as that of the export timber trade, and the policy is very short sighted, to say nothing of the dishonesty of the practice. At the same time, it is desirable both as a matter of protection to such as may be bo circumstanced as not to be able otherwise to protect theaselrea, as well as to obviate the loss and expense of rejection, to have the official guarantee of some duly authorised person at the port of shipment who I should have power to reject such timber ai does not fulfil. stipulated conditions. . We understand that Mr Richard Powell has obtained the contract for the formation of tome 36 chains of the Winton to Kingston road at .Morrison's accommodation house.

His Honor the Superintendent, along with Captain Chapman and several officers of H.M.S. Dido, before leaving Invereargill, honored Mr M'Kenzie's museum with a visit, and expressed themselves highly pleased with the collection. The Secretary announces that, as the next subscriptionnightoftheSouthlandßuilding.Land.and investment Society happens to fall on Christinas, payments-will be received at the usual time and -pHee on the preceding evening, Tuesday, 24th '"'"The O<Mfe]low 8 belonging to the two lodges in Invercargill will hold their annual picnic on Boxing Day, when it has been arranged that the members, along with their friends, should proceed by excursion train to the Bluff. A laborer named James Garvey, working on Monday, 16th inst., in the bush near to Messrs fack and Sampson's sawmills at Winton, squarng logs for the work at the Bluff Jetty, cut his hot with the axe he was using, inflioting a very Bivere wound along the side. He was brought tc the Hospital on Tuesday morning in a weak sate from losa of blood, which had been eressive. There are now in the Hospital six cses of fracture and accident (one haying been dicharged on Wednesday), and a total of 14 indor patients. The Treasurer to the Provincial Hospital req.ests us to acknowledge hit receipt (per the Bjy. J. S. Rishwortb) of £4 collected on Sunday evening last, at the Wesleyan Ohuroh, in aid of the Hospital. • -■■.*•-■ - . _ Li the meeting of the Municipal Council last evening,' there were present the Mayor and Oouncilbrs Garthwaite, Goodwillie, Blackwood, Jaggers,Lumsden, Tapper, and Ross. After the minutes of last meeting had been read, Mr Generver, Gis Engineer, who had been requested to be in atteidance, advised at some length with the Council »s to the eligibility of one or other of two sites naned by him, the one being on block 43, the otter at end of Reserve, north end of Dee street, He spoke favorably of the features of the tovn, in respect to the economy of the works, ani would Bend in report to the Council on Frida/ (this day). Some correspondence was read, and a telegram from the late Engineer, stating that he had not passed M'Menamin's contract, but had advised that the levels must be altered before the gravel was laid on. A memorial from residents in Don street, praying for repairs, was referred to the Public Works Committee for report. The Town Surveyor reported diat it was desirable to have certain other work done in Nith street, in addition to the contract, in order to fill up two large holes. He estimated the additional cost at £25. A resolution "that the Surveyor b« instructed to carry out his suggestions," was loet on the voices. Tenders were ordered to be called for kerbing and gravelling footpath in Esk street, from Athenaeum corner to railway on south side. A report from the Town Surveyor relative to cutting and filling up in Forth streef, was ordered to be laid on the table for a week. The Inspector of Nuisances reported the pound as insecure. It was moved that notice be given to Mr Cruickshank to quit the premises* An amendment that the Town Surveyor be instructed to repair the pound temporarily, and that the poundkeeper bo instructed to send in a weekly report, was carried. Tendetß were op ned for ditching in Public Gardens Reserve, and that of John Praser and Co. was accepted for £15 15 3. At the sitting of the Waste Land Board on Tuesday, 17th inst,, the Chief Commissioner and Mr D. M 'Arthur were the only members of the Boaro present. Tl>e application of Robert Norman for section 18, block 2, Winton Hundred, containing 89 acres, was granted. Archibald M'Phersou also applied for SO seres at Forest Hill, and the application was allowed. Andrew Macdonald applied for leave to exchange his ap plication of 10th April last, said application being for 200 acres in Forest Hill Hundred, for an adjoining section of the same area, grounding his application for the exchange on an error in the application map. The Board assented to the exchange. A memorandum, bearing date the 11th inst., from Hia Honor the Superintendent, was read, referring to an application made by J. and; W. Spencer on 21st November last, and which application wa§ considered by the Board on its receipt, the memorandum intimating that an allowance for survey which had been claimed by applicants was in accordance with " The Land Claims Settlement Act" in the matter of Green and Spencer. It was resolved that the application should be to altered as to include the surrey of 15 per cent., and the application thus altered to stand for 470 acres. The Illustrated New Zealand Herald for this month contains an engraving of the town of Naseby, " the entrer 6t of the Mount Ida district," and a number of illustrations of Australian incidents, with a representation of the great fire in Boston, for the ideas of which the artist must have been indebted to a groat extent to his imagination. No great sympathy can be got up (says the Mount Ida Chronicle) over the woes of the disappointed Provincial Councillors who were ao anxious onco cadre to begin the . annual farce of Government without power. The public have hardly yet had time to forget the endless noise and turmoil of the debate on Education in the last Council, so it cannot be expected to be very ardently degirous of a repetition of the dose. Really we agree with the Superintendent that £2000 is too much to pay for Provincial party strife and acrimonious discussion. Th» Grey River Argus says : — " The tug steamer Despatch, on her last two trips over the Greymouth bar on the West Coast, for the purpose of tendering ocean steamers, had been compelled to wait outside between the tides. During her forced detention about a week ago, about ten dozen of cod and ling fish, as well as some sharks, were the result of the crew's labor. Yesterday the haul was much more valuable, inasmuch as they bad nearly as many cod-fish, and in addition to theie, two splendid hapukas, weighing upwards of 501 b each, a skate weighing 631 b, and some trumpeter of large size. The fish, on being brought ashore, were disposed of at once to a local dealer." It seems that the sharks are eagerly bought up by the Maoris resident in Greymonth. In referring to the briskness of the building trade in Napier, the Herald Bays : — With all this amount of building in progress and in prospect, it is disheartening to reflect that, instead of its developing the timber resources" of this province (Llawke's Bay) it is, for the most part, only developing, the timber trade with Auckland. Of - the large buildings, at least, among those above

referred to, none, except one store, is being built of timber locally produced. This may be due to some extent, to the greatness of the distance between the bußb.es where timber iB obtained and Napier ; we cannot help thinking, however, that it ie due much more to our own lack of enterprise as settlers. It is actually the case, we believe, that in Wellington, to which port the timber has to be hauled from the Wairarapa across the Rimutaka Range, it can be sold cheaper than in Napier, -Where it has to be hatred only along level roads of an unexceptionable i character. A notice appears in the Fiji Government Gazette, stating that any employe of the Government becoming in any way an interested party with the labor question, aa a speculative business, shall be dismissed from the Bevvieo. The Melbourne Age cays :— Cobb and Co. have entered into direct competition with the Victorian Government Railways by running a through coach daily both way* between Melbourne and Ballarat. On Sunday this new service commenced, when 13 passengers were booked in Melbourne. On Monday, 7 passengers left Melbourne and la arrived from Ballarat. Upon the arrival of the coach on Monday afternoon, a number of " old identities" assembled at the office in Bourke-street to welcome it. _________ _— -