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Southland Times, Issue 1687, 10 January 1873, Page 2

By tome strange mischance, of whioh no explanation hat yet been rewired in Inreroargill, tbe Dakota, which was reported to have brought the English mail via San Francisco on thf Ist hut., has, we believf, brought neither letters nor newspapers, with the exception of a small mail from San Francisco. Tne shortcomings ot Webb's line appear to be as varied in character as they are frequent in occurrence. It is to be hoped that one result of the Intercolonial conference, to ©i>en in Sydney on the 13ta inst., will be the establishment of a well-organised and efficient mail service by this route. The Storm Bird saile i from Dunedin for the Bluff late oa Tuesday evening, and had not arrived when the telegnoh offiue closed last night. It is supposed that she has been compelled to take shelter under the Nuggets on account ot the strong south-east wind whioh has prevailed since the date of her Milia*. The railway traffic returns for the month of December show that 2,1 15 passengers were con* veyed during the month, as against 1,75$ in the. corresponding month of last year. The tonnage amounted to 1,026, as against 803, and the receipts to £646 19* fa, as agai*«t £550V7r»1. The deficiency in t^e.. receipts is acuouflted-ipr by the difference in the tariff, wtiioh is considerably lower titan in 1871. 'A large mu>i»C of freight pasted over the line in December to the shi,. Ironside, which doe* not appe%r, Bat will go to •veil the total of next month's returns. On the afternoon of dunday last> • eon of Mr DeTereuXi carpenter, residing near Winton, went ont to look for a cow, bat as he did not return,

the family became, alarmed, and with the a**itt*n«e of Constable Tuohy and some of th* neighbor^ instituted a search for the missing lad. ~ rbmt,*tlbrt» however, were unsuccessful until yesterday afcrnoon, when (be boy was rii?corcred by his own mother about 100 ya: ds from his parents' house, in a weak state, and unable to walk. His statement v that having found the cow, he was driving her home, when his attention was attracted by a peculiarly marked hen, with a top knot, which he followed iato Mr SprouU't paddock. There be was attacke.l bi a bull, and ultimately tossed into the Winton creek. He remembers getting out of ike creek, but cannot give any clear account of what took place afterwards. The boy must have been for 98 hours without food or shelter before he was discovered. A special train conveyed him to town, and be was taken to the Hospital about 9 o'clock, where he was examined by Dr Grigor, who reports that beyond severe bruises, no serious injuries have been sustained, but that the boy suffers considerably from the exhaustion consequent upon the want of food and long exposure. We have reoeived from Messrs Letts and Co., the well-known publisher* of Diaries, a very handsomely got up catalogue of the different articles produced at their establishment. The covers of thia catalogue are worthy of notice as an illustration of a new mstho I of color-printing, by which it is stated that as many as twelve colors oan be produced on a printed card, at little more than the cost of one printing. The method employed has been patented, an I i« known as Rainbow Printing. The effect is certainly very pleasing and brilliant. Mr D. S. Montagu, who has for some time past acted as accountant in the Bank of New Zealand in Invercargill, has been appointed to the charge of an agency of the same bank at Rangiora, in the province of Canterbury. Mr Montagu intend* to leave Invercargill for the North by the first steamer. His depart ue will be regretted by a large circle of friends. We understand that Mr W. E. Brunton, s«n of Mr Brunton. M. Inst. C. E., District * n^ineer, has been appointed Assistant Engineer on the Invercargill and Mataura Railway. At the meeting »f the Land Board on Tuesday, the following applications were granted : — John. David, aad James 9 pence 2000 acres Oreti Hundred ; Thomas Trumble, 80 acres, New Rirer Hundred ; John O'Neil, 40 acres, Forest Hi 1 Hundred ; John Brown, 105 acres Forest Hill Hundred. D. and A. Carmichael and John Cow:* having both applied on the same day for section 23, block 4, Winton Hundred, 101 acres, the section was put up to auction, and bought by D. and A. Carmichael at £1 199 per acre. Thomas Milne obtained a firewood license over 60 acres bash in block 7, Invercargill Hundred. A. Cruickshank obtained permission to cut flax ob sections 16 and 24, block 12, Invercargill Hundred, on condition of leaviog a line of flax uncut on the edge* of the crook running through the land. A Winton correspondent writes as follows : — Last week, on the farm of R Mind Bush, belonging to Mr Shaw, a pad iock of fourteen acres of pure perennial rye grass was cut. The crop is a splendid • one, and it is thought by competent judges that it will produce over fifty b«*hels of seed to theabr^. Although the grass was twisted in all direction*, it was successfully cut by a reaping machine. The seed was originally brought 'from Canterbury, and ha* been grown once ; in this district before. When a crop tarns out to be a bad one, it often happens that the lan>l gets the blame, whereas all the while, the cultivator of the ?oil is in fault. But by good management in ploughing and harrowing, destroying? all the weeds which scad their hungry roots into th« •oil, searching for food which should be left in the ground to nourish the crop, and also care taken in the selection of the aeed, both a* to quantity and quality, (as like produce* like,) a good crop will almost always be secured. The Morniag Xtar gives tk* following particulars of the recent shooting case iv Dunedin It wi'l be remembered that the party implicated, ex-Sergeant Ryan, was for a short time stationed in Invercargill : — a. most diabolical and coldblouded attempt, was male on the life of Detect ire Farrell, oa Saturday night. It sec ran that whilj on hi 3 way home, at a quarter past eleven o'clock, he h<-ari a footstep beliind hiui nearly opposite Mr Matthews's seed shop, in Moray Place, and on turning smartly round he heard a snot fired, and felt the wind of a ball on his face. He then recognised ex S-rgea t Ryan, and said, " Ryan, don't shoot me ; lam not prepared to die." Another shot was fired, ana a third, in close succession, Farreli, meanwhile, moving along the street, crying. " Murder, murder." At this juncture the detective a - tempted to use his stick on Ryan, but without effect, for immediately a fourth shot was fired which took effect, entering un ler Farrell's shoulder-blade, and coming out near to the collarbone. The dutective then ran to his residence. about fifty yards' distant, and was soon attended by Dn Renner and Hocken, who dre^sei the wound. Early in the evening the detective and Ryan bad a glass of beer together at the European hotel, George street, and parted apparently on friendly terms, the latter offering hi* hand to the other, and wishing him good night. At a little before .ne o'clock, or an hour and three-quarters after the occurrence, Ryan returned to the European Hotel, where he had baen staying for some time past, and was informed by Mr Keligber, tue landlord, that Sub Inspector Mallard had been there for the purpose of arresting him on suspicion of having •hot at Farrell. Kyan professed the greatest sarprise, and requested Mr Keligher to accompany him at once to the Police Depot. While on their way thither they met Mr Mallard, Sergeant Fair, and special constable B.in, opposite Farley's Buildings, and Ryan was arrested and searched on the spot, but bo fire* arm* or other weapon* were found upon him. Oa arriving at the Depot, he wa* again thffniufiiijt searched, bat with .like result. By an w« brought before the Mayor's Court on JUfondav., and remanded for eight days, bail being jreltt*w|> <We forbear to give currency to the tariou* rumor* m circulation, as it would be unTiir to bia* public opinion in regard to the orrifoaer,0 r rifoaer, pending the judicial examination to take place. Mr FarrclT* friends will be pleated to know that he is progressing lavorably, and that no immediate danger is apprehended. The Bruce Herald report* that from the appearance of aone of the field* ia the Tokoaairiro Plain, harvesting there must coaaiaenca immediately.

The Waikauaiti Herald sayn :— .The crops at n whole thronghout . t'.vis district . are looking. remarkably we'll ; in fact far more encouraging (ha'i for some s>*aßOU=> back, and in emnc instances heavy yield* will be the result. On th* other hand again the grub has committed eerer<ravageg, and several fine looking paddo ki an' Hke'y to ba very much injured by tins pest. A boy six years of agr had both his feet cut off by a reaping machine at Ashley Downs, Canterbury, the other day. He was conveyed to the hospital, where it was found necessary to amputate both legs below the knee. According to tie Daily Times, the Provincial Executive hare accepted the ttnder of Mr Bandison for cutting a track from Qu^er.SfcoWn to Martin's Bay. The route taken by the traok is ! by the Greenstone river and Lake M'Kellar, it having been proved that this route is incomparably superior to the former one by Lake Hams. A line of coaches is now running between Qreymouth and Reefton, the journey occupying 11 hours. The potato crop in the province of Auckland is said to be a failure, owing to the drought. Two hundred thousand pounds worth of silk, in various forms, is annually imported into Victoria.