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Southland Times, Issue 1707, 25 February 1873, Page 2

Mr Carruthers, the Engineer-in-Chief, having arrived in town on Saturday, a deputation from tbe Railway Committee waited upon him yesterday afternoon, to ascertain what could be done with the view of forwarding the early completion, ofthe railway to Woodlands It appeared from Mr Carruthers's statements that there would be no difficulty in obtaining sufficient material to complete the permanent way, from the suppkj) of rails and fastenings now lyin» at various ports in the Colony. Mr Carruthers further stated that he would undertake to see the mat rial forwarded as rapidly as it would ba required. As regards the locomotive, it seemed that there might be some difficulty in getting one «f the two at Dunedin, one being required shortly for use ou the Clutha line, and the other, having been promised to Messrs Brogden and Sons ior the carriage of ballast, cannot be U9ed without the permission of the firm. The necessary waggons will be constructed in Invercargill. The two locomotives for the Mataura line were among the very first ordered, and advices of their shipment are expected from mail to mail. The contracts for 22 miles of the Winton-Kingston line, Mr Carruthers said, he expected would probably be advertised within a month from thia date. The cricket match between the members of the Star Dramatic Troupe (in costume), and eleven ofthe Invercargill Orioket Clu:>, came off on Friday afternoon at the show yards. The weather waa very fine, and the spectacle a very amusing one, but the attendance of visitors was very email, whbh is to be regratted, as tho proceeds were to be devoted to the funds of th

Invercargill Jockey Club. Thefollowing is the score : — Star Dramatic Troupo, Ist innings, 28 ; 2nd innings, 47 ; total 75. Invercargill Cricket Club, lst innings, 109. The cricketers thus beat the dramatists in one innings by 34 runs. A groom in the employment of Mr Richard Powell, of the Prince of Wales Hotel, drove a pair of horses from the Halfway Bush on Saturday afternoon iato town. The horses had been from Halfway Bush to the Mataura bridge, and back again, the same forenoon, and wore brought on without resting. One of them dropped down e,nd died in Tay street, opposite the Presbyterian Churoh, after nearly accomplishing the journey. Thoughtless cruelty of this sort deserve* something more than a mere reprimand. The first of the Beries of accidents which may be confidently looked for at the Waihopai bridge at Gladstone occurred on Sunday morning, 23rd inst. It has been noted that the supports of the earthwork approaches ta the bridge have given way, and excavations have been made to the foundations of the piles to remedy the defect. The earth removed has been thrown into a heap at the side of the embankment, leaving a very narrow space between it and the deep drain on the east side of tho road. Along this narrow space Mr Gellatly was endeavoring to steer a moderately quiet horse, drawing a hooded buggy. Quiet animals, however, are not always to be depended upon, and Mr Gellatly's horse, unfortunately for himself and hia driver, would, not go quietly when he should have so gone. The result was the deposit of horse, vehicle, and driver in the drain, but as the whole damage was but the mud-plastering of all concerned, and no limbs were broken, this will scarcely be reckoned an accident. Mr Bews is, however, now in town, and will perhaps take warning by Mr Gellatly's mishap. Travellers from Biverton to Invercargill frequently find it difficult, especially towards dusk, to hit the exact spot for leaving the beach for the bridge road. There is a pole on the sand hills, but it is too far from high-water mark to be easily seen. We would suggest the erection of some conspicuous landmark at the spot, nearer the beach. Anything, however inexpensive, large enough to be easily recognised by travellers, would answer the purpose. A Mataura correspondent informs us that harvest operations are rapidly approaching completion in that district, aid that the returns are expected to be very good. At the meeting of the Land Board on Friday, all the members were present. It was intimated that the following gentlemen had been elected as wardens for Winton Hundred : — Messrs Alexander Gerard, George Orosbie, John Blanchfi^ld, Ralph Swale, and W. Cutcliffe ; and for New Biver Hundred, Messrs William Lawrence, William Russell, John Brook, and S. Hodgkinson. The following applications were granted : — William Blackwood, 156 acres, Oreti Hundred ; Alexander M'Leod, 102 acres, Forest Hill Hundred. In consequence of a communication from Mr J. W. Hamilton, complaining that the road through two sections recently purchased by bim did not correspond with the roid surveyed, it was resolved that the chairmen of the various Road Boards and the Government Engineer ehould be informed that when alterations of road lines, or new roads are contemplated, notice should be given to tha Land Hoard. Tho bye-laws passed by the wardens of the Forest Hill Hundred were reid and approved. A special meeting of the Municipal Council was held last night to consider the question of raising money by loan. Thi re were present the Mayor and Councillors Garthwaite, Goodwillie, Lumsden, Ross, and Tapper. The tenders received and considered in committee at the previous meeting not being regarded as satisfactory, it was resolved that tenders be again invited, up to 24th March next, for the sum of £35 J0 in £50 debentures, bearing 6 per cent, interest, and having a currency of 20 years, advertisements to be inserted inthe Invercargill and Dunedin papers. The Provincial Government Gazette of the 20th inst., contains the official statement of the financial transactions of the Province during the quarter ended on the 3 Ist December last. From this statement it appears that the reveaue during tbe period named was £122 9 13 9a sd, and the expenditure, £67,542 12s Bd, tha excess of revenue over expenditure thus being £55,400 16s 9d. By notification in the Provincial Government Gazette, a number of sections in the township of Winton are reserved for municipal purposes ; section 6, block 6, East Winton, is reserved for the use of the Winton Agricultural and Pastoral Association ; sections 11 and 11, East Winton township, as a site for a public cemetery ; block 16, town of Riverton, for the Western District Farmers Club Agricultural and Pastoral Association ; and 1769 acres in block 6, Campbelltown Hundred, as an endowment ior a New Rirer Harbor Trust. Mr D. S. Lawlor has obtaiued a renewal of his license from the Otago Waste Land Board to occupy part of Mussel Beach, Te- wai- wai Bay, for whale fishing. Mr Musgrave, the new Governor of South Australia, though probably little known in Australia, bas had some experience in connection with the Colonial Office. He was Private Secretary to Mr Mackintosh when the latter was Governor— in— Chief of the Leeward Islands in 1850-51, and in ISSI he entered as a student at Middle Temple. He was appointed TreasuryAccountant at Antigua in 1852, and in the following year resumed his studies at he Temple. He was appointed Colonial Secretary of Antigua in February, 1854 ; Administrator of the Colony of Nevis in 1860 ; Administrator of the Government of St. Vincent in May, 1862 j and G ivernor of Newfoundland in April, 1864. Subsequently he held the oflice of Governor of British Columbia, and was afterwards appointed to the Lieutenant-Governorship of Natal. The Argus writes : — lt is' a hopeful circumstance for tho Australian wool-grower that the feeling oi hostility to the import duty on foreign wools is daily gaining ground in the United States. It is found that the higher the duty, the lower is the price realised for his staple by the flockmaster, for whose protection the impost is nominally levied. At the Tuapeka races on Thursday last, the Maiden Plate was won by No Gentleman, the Lawrence Handicap by Wild Boy, and the Hack Bace by Sultana. The Handicap Hurdle Race, for which two hones started, ended in % fiasco.

It is reported that a bad form of typhoid fever has broken out at Turakina, in the province of Wellington. Professor Macgregor, of the Otago University, has been appointed a member of the Central Boar 1 of Health of Otago, vice Dr Burns, resigned. It is said that illicit distillation is being carried On in the northern part of the Province of Auckland to a very considerable extent. The following are some further particulars regarding tha extensive sale of station property held in Christchurch on the 19th inst : — The sale of Messrs Kermode and Moore's station property was largely attended. Glenmark station, including 35.781 acres freehold, II 500 acras leasehold, and 25,000 sheep, was sol 1 for £35,000 to Mr G. H Moore; Dean Poaks station, including 4,099 acres freehold, 7,850 acres leasehold, and 5,000 sheep, was sold for £13,5)0 to Mr Frank Courage ; Waikari station, of 3,000 , acres freehold, and 3,0)0 sheep, was sold for £6,500 to Mr G. H. Moore; the Black Hilt station, 31,670 acres leasehold, ani 12,500 sheep, was sold to Mr G- H. Moore for £13,500; Doctor's Hills station, 34,670 acres leasehold, an i 12,500 sheep, was sold to Mr G. H. Moore for £14,750 ; Ashburton station, 7,00 ) acres freehold, 66,010 aores leasehold, and 40,030 sheep was sol ItoMrG. H. Moore for £52,000. The Hon. E. W. Stafford bid £51,503 for the Utter property, and afterwards offered Mr M >ore £5 )0 for his bargain, but was refused. Saveral sm ill lots of freehold property were also sold, and the total sum realise i at the sale was £188,631. Commenting on Mr Stafford's offee the Dunedin MorniDg Star says : — lt will be noticed that the Hon. R. W. Stafford, notwithstanding his expressed conviction that the Colony was rushing on ta destruction, was prepared to invest £52,003 in it. His caution seems to have lost him the chance : he let it slip, and the station passed into other hands, from which he could not obtain it even at the cost of an additional fire hundred pounds. The admirers of Mr Stafford will no doubt rejoice at tbe evidence of a change of purpose, or at least that his opinion of publio matters is changed. We are not sure that this difference between words and works will not shake the confidence of his followers in the reliability of his political judgment, although we think there'is good ground for the conclusion tbat his wish to invest in property of that character is evidence of a complete change in his views respecting the tendency of the policy of the present Administration ; and to be consistent, he should beone of their active supporters. From all parts, both north and south of Timaru (says the Herald of the 19th) aceoums are to havd of the general excellency of the crops, they being as a rule superior to any former year, and moreover averaging a very appreciable per centage more in yield than even they did last year, which was considered a " very fair" year. That year the wheat crop averaged in South Canterbury some tweaty-six bushels to the acre, but that figure will probably be found greatly exceeded this season when farmers begin to thresh out. .Taking a rough average collecte I from a number of farms in the Orari and Temuka district, the yield there miy, we think 5 safely t c put down at thirty— fi\ r e bushels the acre. This average will not run throighou*".. If we take thirty bishels all round, we are, we think, nearer the mark. O' the quality of the grain there cannot be two opinions. It may be said to be, with very few exceptions, of firstclass character, and su'jh us millers love. The electors of Onehunga object to their representative, the Hon. Mr O'Rorkp, holding the dual offices of Minister for Lands and Immigraion, and Speaker of the Auckland Provincial Council. It is stated that there ia a woman in Auckland who is the mother of twenty-four children, which had 00-ne as twins, triplets, and so on progressively up to seven at a birth ! In an action between two Hokitika publicans regarding the services of a dancing girl, the plaintiff said he considered he got 12s profit out bf 15s of drinks ! The Lyttelton Times says that a great deal of business is being done in Canterbury in store stock, particularly ewes for crossing, and dealers are buying in all directions, at prioes which have hitherto been considered full market rates, bus which of course must be added to before they pass into farmers' hands. This state of matters augurs a very considerable permanent advance ia the price of sheep, which, in the present position of the wool market, is only natural, for it seems absurd that a sheep, at any season of the year, should be worth less than the fleece which it will produce at shearing time. At a crowded and influential meeting, held in Christchurch on the 14th inst., it wa9 resolved to memorialise the Government to take immediate steps for the completion of the authorised railway from Rolleston to Malvern Hills, where good coal fo' - fuel and smiths' work is already supplied at 15s to 20s per ton. In the notification from Earl Kimberloy, addressed to His Excellency the jlovernor, regarding the conferring of knighthood upon Mr Dillon Bell, we find the following passage : — " The patent of knighthood will proceed through the Home Office as soon as it shall be intimated by Mr Bell, through you, by whom the necessary charges will be paid. Ihey will amount to about £115." We should say that the recipient of the honor ought to defray the cost attached to its being procured. The title of " Honorable" conferred upon Messrs Fox, Yogel, M'Lean, aDd Gisborne, is only to be retained within the colony of New Zealand. Tbe following telegram from Westport appears in a Dunedin contemporary : — Mr Dobson, Provincial Engineer, has again inspected the Ngakawhau coal mine, as well bb a number of newly-discovered seams in the immediate neigh- | borhood. He expresses astonishment at the I extent of the discovery, and calculates that one plateau alone, at an altitude of 1500 feet, will yield twenty million tons of coal. In the Ngakawhau mine, the seam is 19 feet 10 inches thick, and the coal is of splendid quality. The lessee is anxious to float a company to work the mine. Mr Hartmann, the manager of the N.Z.S.S. Co., is expected to arrive /rom Wellington to-morrow to negotiate an arrangement. Failing an arrangement being entered into, Mr Chambers, the i tame manager, will visit WeUington to interview i speculators. The shallowness of the Ngakawhau \ bar will necessitate the employment of light- , di aught steamers and barges to bring the coal to Westport, where craft of all lizei can sail in o f

oat at any time. The Government have been memorialised to push forward the construction of" a railway between Westport and Ngakawhau, out of the money voted last session. The Superintendent of Nelson visited Ngikawhau yesterday. He was favorably impressed with the mine, and will recommend the General Government to proceed with the construction of the proposed railway. Extensive coal measures are reported to have been discovered at Cascade, nine miles from Westport, up the Buller river. The survey of a road thither is now being commenced, prior to the expenditure upon it of £6000, voted for i the purpose by the Government. ; We hare been requested by Messrs G. F. Martin and Co. to state that the extensive sale of stock, implements, to., belonging to J. H. Menzies, Esq., which takes place oa Friday next, will commence punctually at 1 o'clock. The piseon match advertised to take place at the Qlalstone Hotel on Friday last, was postI poned till Friday next, on account of the cricket ! rn'itch which came off on the day first appointed. I The Treasurer to the Hospital Committee reports hi 9 receipt of £2 4s 8d per Dr M'Olure, being per centage of workmen's contribution* to sick fund at the Woodland* Meat Preservi ig establishment. It will be observed from the advertisement that the date of Mr Mussen's return from Lawrence has been postponed till the 3rd March.