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Southland Times, Issue 1716, 18 March 1873, Page 2

A correspondent informs us that the contractor for the bridge over the. Mataura at Longford is making good progress with the work, and that the piles are being cut for the bridge at the Pyramid.

An inquest was held yesterday afternoon in the Hospital,, by the coroner, Dr Monckton, on the body of a ia»ri named Samuel Salter, who died on Sunday from the effects of a severe scalding, received >by falling into- one of tko " baths'' 'at the Woodlandi Moat Preserving Works, on Saturday la*t, l&th inst. It appeared from the evidence that about 3 p.m. on that day, two men, employed in tha same apartment with tho deceased, 1 heard a cry, and found that he hid fallen into the bath, in which there was at the time about two feet of boiling fluid. He seems to have slipped on the greasy floor while reaching over the bath to take out a tin. With some difficulty he was rescued from his horrible situation and linseed oil was applied to the scalds, which extended oyer the whole body. Ho was ) taken to the hospital, and attended by Dr Grigor, but never rallied from the shock, and died, as above stated, about six o'clock on Sunday morning. Salter was perfectly sober at the time of the accident, and seems to have b<»en a steady man. He is believed to have been a widower, with grown up children in Victoria. The jury, in returning a Tordiet of accidental death, added a rider recommending that proper precautions should be taken for the future to prevent a recurrence of similar accidents. We desire to endorse most emphatically this very sensible re— cotnmendatior, ani trust that it will not be overlooked by the manager of the works. The f^ot, which came out in the evidence, that the unfortunate man, who had been employed in the bathroom at the works for some three years, had been repeatedly warned by one of his fellow-workmen that he would fall into the bath some day, shows that the preseut arrangement was looked upon by the men as dangerous. The fame of the Southland long-woolled sheep continues to attract buyers from different parts of the Golonr. Two drafts of Leicester maiden ewes, from the flacks of Messrs A. Smith and O. Warden, of One Tree Point, have been purchased by Mr Gillies, of Messrs Gillies and Street, for stud purposes, and will be shipped per Albion, due at the Bluff to-day, for Dunedin. Mr T. J. Thompson returned from a coalprospecting tour on Saturday last. We understand that he has been engage 1 at the Nightcap endeavoring to trace the coal measures to the east side ot the hill, with the view of shortening the distance of the proposed tramway required to connect Winton with the coalfield. We are glad to learn that Mr Thompson hai been successful in discavering a seam at the head of ♦.ho Opio Oroe-k, in tha c J coi-ed direction, which will cut off two miles of tramway, and consequently be a considerable saving to the Government in opening up the coalKeld. The past season has been highly favorable to the growth of fruit, as was evidenced by the Bplendid collection displaynd at last week's Horticultural exhibition. It will bo remembered that one lot of apples that took a first prize was grown at Spar Bush, and the perfection of the fruit called forth general remark. Wo ha»e received a tmali branch of an apple tree from Mr M'Crostie's farm, Bonskied, in the same locality, which is perfectly laden with large apples, no fewer thin 19 having grown on less than a foot of the branch. The weight of the apples, with tae twig, is 4J lbs. When duch results can be obtained, it is not too much to hope that the day is not far distant when Southland orchards will supply the local demand for this useful fruit. Oornsacks are reported t > be exceedingly scarce in to'vn, much to the loss and inconvenience of farmers and shippers of grain. From whatever cause it may arise, the I' vercargill market has been badly supplied with this article for a lon-' time past, and buyers have been compelled to paj' very huh prices. The i.lea of establishing a manufactory of woolpacks and cornsacks from the native fl,ix has been long spoken of. The machinery required for the purpose would be simple and inexpnnaive, and to judge from the necessarily increasing dom^ind, and the high prices that have of late been p iid, the promoters of iuoh an undertaking neeJ have no feir of its SUCCrtSS. • The Waiau has been lower during the past few weeki than it has beon for the last fourteen years. After the Volunteer parade on the evening of T^urs-luy last, the Fi-flos hel 1 a meeting, presirred over by Captain Wade, f->r the election of a lieutenant. Sub-lieutenant Ferguson was unanimously elected. The sub-lieu"enancy beinu then vac-aat, Mr Walter' Gibba, late gunner ia the Invercargill Artillery Volunteers, was unanimously elected to that position. The newly chosen officers, in acknowledging th^-ir election, addressed a few appropriate remarks to the men. after wbjbh the meeting was dismissed. At the meeting of the Land Board on Friday, 14th ihst., the following applications were granted: — Archibald MPherson, 6) acres Forest Hill hundred ; J. B. Sutton, 390 acres, Oreti hundred ; Qvorga Webstar an 1 Richard I Gibbs, 360 acres, Hokanui district, and 20 acres Forest Hill hundred (withJrawa unler tlia BlufF Jetty contract). The permission granted to Mr Moffett,ot> Ist November last, tojeut piles in Grove Bush, was rescinded, a steam sawmill license in that bush having been granted to Mr Murdoch. Mr Moffett obtained permission to cut piles and timber for the Bluff wtiarf in Waimatuku Bush. Mr George Smith obtained an extension of lime to Ist April next, for the erection of his siwmill ia Seaward Bush. Mr Willi-itn FVaser applied to have his steam sawmill licenses in Seaward and Otatara Bushes transferred to Mr W. H. Oalder, which was granted. A steam sawmill license over 3JO acres in tiie LongwooJ Bu^h was granted to Messrs John Petchall, junior, James Moore, and Thomas Moore, not to interfere with previous applications. At the meeting of tha Otago Waste Lan 1 Board, held in Dunedin on the 13th imt., tho plan of Air R. W. Aitkin'i pre-emptive right on run 172 was submitted and approved of. Mr Hector Fraser again wrote requesting a pastoral lease of country applied for by him beyond the Waiau River, without having to compete at auction. It was resolved that tha land be leased to him without competition, provided it was substantiated after three months' advertising that he was the first discoverer. Mr John Oughton applied for a license for a six-horse power sawmill for section 47, block IV., Tuturau, at tha rate of 3d per hundred feet sawn. It was resolved' to inform him that he could have a license, but upon the usual conditions only. The wheat crops- throughout the Waikouaiti district (sa^s the Herald), are ackaowledged to be the best that have yet Deen grown, and promise satisfactory yields.

The < 'otnmittee of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association have determined to hold a grain show.' on the 11th of April neit. The prizes placed at the disposal of the Association by the Dunedin maltsters, iv September last, far the purpose of promoting the growth of malting barley in the Province, will be awarded to the successful exhibitors. Ist, £30 and gold medal, for the best five hundred bushels of Otago-grown malting barley ; 2nd, £23 and silver medal, for the second best five hundred bushels of Otago - grown malting barley. It ie authoritatively stated that Mr Peacock, member for Lyttelton, resigns his seat in the Lower House in order to accept a seat in the Upper House. Mr Moorhouse will probably contest Mr Peacock's se*t, with the vievr of j )ining the Ministry if Bucossaful. The people of Auckland are complaining that the sparrows ar« damaging th?ir fruit garde .8, The average yield of wheat throughout- the province of Auckland is stated to be from 23 to | 25 busheis per acre. The Wellington Independent positively hints that Mr Fox will remain Premier until the meeting of Parliament, and also that there is some idea of calling the Attorney-General to the Upper House to conduct bills, but without a I vote. The first sod of the Moeraki-Waitaki railway was turned on the 10th inst., by the Mayor of Oamaru, on the Esplanade. The volunteers, High School Cadets, and Ancient Independent Order of Oddfellows took part in the ceremony. Mr John Dewe, formerly of Tokomairiro, was, on the 9th inst., formally installed as a deacon in the Church of England by tbe Bishop of Dunedin. The agricultural statistics for Canterbury, taken last month, are published in the Gazette, and show that the number of holdings in the Provinca was 3,169 ; extent of land broken up, but ■ not under crop, inoluding sown grasses, 318,658^ acres ; estimated gross produce of wheat from present crop, 1,437, 174^ bushels; of oats, 897,544^ bushels ; of barley. 131.607 bushels ; of hay, 12.951J tons ; of potatoes, 9.366J tons. There were 195,420$ acres of land laid down in permanent artificial grass, and 5,72">2 acr-js were sown with other crops, beyond those previously mentiencci. The Cromwell Argus of the 11th inst. says : — The prolonged and altogether unprecedented drought is telling most severely upon mining enterprise throughout thi* region ; and the few small patches of land under cultiva'ion in the immediate vicinity have produced anything but a plenteous harvest. Cereal crops are all but a complete failure, and we shall have to draw the great bulk of our supplies of oats from other and more favored localities. According to the Duncan Times, M'Lennan's Pneumatic drsdgo is oa gOD 1 p-iyable ground, and the projpjets aro steadily improving. The total value of imports into the olony during the quarter ending 31st December, 1872, was £1,493,193, as against £1,03">,410 received during the corresponding quarter of the prevnui year. The imports for the whole year 1872, ar^ given at £5,142,951, as against £1078,19$ for the year 187 L The total value of exports from the colony during the quarter ending 3 1st December, 1872, was £873,643 ms against £1,008,201 for the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The exports for the whole year 1^72, are given at £3,19a,663 as against £5,252,0 i-4 for IV7I. The balance left in deposit in the Post office Savings Banks of the colony at the end of the i"ecember quarter of 1872 was £29,715 5s lOd, as against £19.3H3 17s 2 1 at the enJ of the corresponding quarter of 1871. Mr Woor), of St. Miry's School, announces that he will form a singing class to-morrow evening. We remind our readers that Mr Short, of Sydney, delivers a lecture this evening in the Presbyterian Church, in ail of the fuuJs of the Ludiea' Benevolent Society.