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Southland Times, Issue 1734, 29 April 1873, Page 2

In another column we publish a letter from Dr Featherston regarding the shipment of salmon ova per Oberon. The arrival of this vessel is now anxiously expected, as the time allotted for a successful voyage, 100 days, has now nearly expired. We understand that large slips have taken . place iv the railway cutting at Edendale, the slope of the sides, as originally designed, not , being sufficient for the character of the material of which they consist — principally sand and gravel. It has accordingly been decided to in- , crease the slope from lin 1, to lin I£, which, , it is considered, will bo sufficient. An impromptu meeting of the railway com— ' mittee was held yesterday afternoon in the Council Hall at 5 p.m., when correspondence '. and telegrams were read from the Minister of ! Public Works and the Superintendent, respect- ' ing the forwarding to Invercargill of copies of ' the plans for the Win ton -Kingston contract, to the effect that the time would not permit of the plans being copied. The Superintendent, however, suggested that it would not be expedient : to propose a further extension of time to •nable plans to be sent down, as the ; delay might endanger the early commencement of the work. After discussion it was resolved that the Superintendent be thanked for his exertions, and that the committee concurred in his opinion as to the inexpediency of risking further delay in the commencement of the work. His Honor, in his letter, stated that he approved of and would be willing to recommend the Government to carry out a suggestion made by Mr Cuthbertson when in Dunedin, that, in default of copies being iont, the travelling expenses of bonafide contractors going from Invercargill to inspect the plans should be borne by the Government. At the meeting of the Waste Lands Board on Friday, there were present the Chief Commissioner and Mr Duncan M' Arthur. The application of Messrs George Webster and Richard Gibbs for 180 acres in Forest Hill Hundred was granted. The application of the same gentlemen for 720 acres in the Hokanui district was adjourned. Thomas Ayson applied for 800 acres in the Oteramika district, which wa9 granted, as were also the applications of John Brown for 20 acres ia the Forest Hill Hundred, and 30 acres, extension of section 95, same Hundred, the latter biing granted as a separate section, and not us an extension of section 95. Two applications by Me3sra M Lean and Buchanan and Buchanan and Co., requesting that their steam sawmill licenses for 610 acres 'and 50 acres respectively in Seaward Bush should be transferred to the Messrs Brogden, were granted on payment of all fees due. Id a leading article commenting on a very abject apology made by the publisher of the Ross News to Mr Justin Aylmer, R.M., the Grey River Argus has the following, whioh w» insert on the principle of letting the public know what is said of this place elsewhera :—" Frequently, in post-prandial speeches, the conductors of the Colonial Press are complimented upon the character of the pabulum which they provide to the intelligent readers of their broadsheets, and, considering all the circumstances surrounding the production of newspapers ia the Colonies — the rarity and insignificance of subjects of comment, the paucity of incidents, and the poor pecuniary reward which members of " the profession " are only able to earn — the compliments are, perhaps, fairly deserved. Compared with the provincial Press in England, or with any section of the Press in America, Australasian newspapers are, as a rule, creditable productions, both with regard to their typography, and to the spirit displayed by those who conduct them or contribute to their columns ; and New Zealand newspapers can justly claim to be as " respectable " in appearance and in tone as the newssheets of any other part of Australasia. This description applies not ouly to the newspapers published in towns which are by courteßy designated cities, but also in equal degree to places which are comparative villages, and which, even in the old country, would possess ao better medium of diffusing information than a smithy or a barber's shop. There are, however, undoubted and lamentable exceptions to this rule. There are localities— such as Invercargiil, Blenheim, and Wanganui — where some writers for the Press seem to have concentrated in their pens the pure spirit of Little Pedlington, _ and who contribute principally to the diffusion of vile personalities disguised in villainous English. It is painful to peruse what a few of our contemporaries are occasionally capable of publishing in communities where it is reasonable to presume there continues to exist some sense of fairplay, if there does not exist the disposition to cow-hide the persistent propagator of libel. It aeems to be taken for granted in such cases that the possession of a printing plant involves immediate indulgence in personal abuse, and especially of the other man in the village who has been insane enough to invest in the same description of property. Through this practice there are some places in New Zealand which are as perfect Eatanswills as could well be discovered in any part of the earth. There is a constant interchange of personalities of the most contemptible character, variegated by occasional abject and most humble apologies." The Tuapeka Times is responsible for the following : — " It is rumored that a case will, during the present year, be tried, which, from the exalted station of one of the parties, will far transcend in interest any that haa ever come before a Colonial Court. Everyone knows that our new Governor, Sir James Fergusson, was recently married to a wealthy South A ustralian lady, and the story of the young gentleman who claimed to have been previously engaged to her, will be so fresh as to render recapitulation unnecessary. It is now stated that a Wellington legal firm has received instructions from the rejected suitor to commence an action for breach of promise of marriage against Lady and Sir James Fergusson immediately upon their arrival in the Colony. Damages are to be laid at £50,000!"

Mention is made of Mr Seymour, the prpspnt Superintendent of the Province of Marlboroush, is a probable candidate for election as Superintendent of Nelson. Mr Shephard, the late Provincial Treasurer, is also spoken of as likely to contest the election with Mr Curtis. Auckland boasts of a vegetable marrow measuring sft. Bin. in height, and 3Ft. 7in. in circumference. Several men (says a West Coast paper) are now making good wages at the Waiho diggings, near Okarito, and the prospects generally down south bear a more cheerful aspect than they have done for some time past. The following hint is offered to the proprietors and lessees of halls, and those having authority over our public buildings : — Echo has been prevented and good hearing produced in the large hall of the Melbourne Athenaeum by stretching wires across the room to break the waves of sound. At the recent criminal session of the Supreme i Court in Christchurch, no less than eight of the cases on the calendar were of forgery. A large extent of country is being taken up at Poverty Bay for grazing purposes. The Herald states that the number of sheep despatched thither from Hawke's Bay within the past few weeks, together with those j ust about to be despatched, cannot fall far short of 200,000, if indeed it does not exceed that figure . Mr Webb has lost £200,000 by the San Francisco mail service, so he says. The Cromwell Argus says: — "Both the rivers, the Clutha and Kawarau, are lower now than at any previous time during the past four years ; and we may expect a further falling, as the frost is making its appearance. Extremely little snow, considering the time of year, ia to be seen on the mountains — in fact, there ia seldom less in the height of summer." The Cromwell Argus states, " upon undoubted authority," that Mr Thomas Nipper, the party who was alleged to be the much-enquired for Arthur Orton, does not claim to be that individual. Mr Buchanaa, of the New South Wales Parliament, opposed a vote of £1000 for the observatory expenses connected with the coming transit of Venus. He (Mr Buchanan) considered that if the transit occurred only once in a century they might very well let it go without inquiry. He would like to know who observed it here a century ago ? — Captain Onslow : Captain Cook. —Mr Buchanan : He was not here a century ago. — Captain Onslow : Very near it. He was here in 1774. — Mr Buchanan : Then it was said that we were to discover the distance between the sun and the carth — why that was known already. — Captain Onslow : Not at all. It ia a question whether the distance is ninety-one or ninety-five millions of miles. — Mr Buchanan : And what was the difference whichever it was P — The money was voted by a majority of 36 to 3, amongst the latter being Mr Buchanan. The Wakatip Agricultural and Pastoral Association held their third annual show on the 17th inst. The exhibits generally arß spoken of as being more numerous and of a better class than those brought forward at the two previous ihows. The friends of acclimatisation will be glad to learn that the trout liberated in the Waikouaiti River some two or three years ago have thriren remarkably, and propagated to such a degree that they are now to be seen miles away from the place where first liberated, disporting in the river. We (Waikouaiti Herald) do not remember in which branch of the river these fish were first set free, but we are informed that they have been seen in considerable numbers in both forks, as well as lower down the river. The fish have evidently become acclimatised, and feel themselves quite at home ; and if they increase at the present ratio as we understand they have done, ■ome excellent sport may, in a few years, be looked for by the disciples of Izaak Walton. A present to Lady Bowen, comprising a diamond cross and silver casket, has been manufactured in Christchurch to the order of the Canterbury members of the General Assembly, in recognition of the hospitality and courtesy extended to them by her ladyship. The London Times, in a recent leading article suggested by the letter of its New Zealand correspondent, has the following remarks on the dearth of labor in this Colony : — The dearth which may 'be said to extend through the fairest regions of the Southern Hemisphere is the Dearth of Labor. It is the scarcity of men. It is the high price that must be given to an average possessor of the usual complement of limb?, blessed with common health and strength and able to do a day's work. The market for Labour is so high in those regions that any working man can be sure of wages that will enable him to live well, to keep his family well, to put money by, and to become farmer, landowner, and all that he commonly desires. In New Zealand our people are at their wits' end for working men. The European population of both islands — all three, as they prefer to be described — is only about a quarter of a million. But this mere handful possesses an unlimited territory, fertile, beautiful, and pleasant to live in ; it is full of vigor and enterprise, it has rapidly .increasing public revenues, the Canterbury Province alone half a million a year ; it is pushing railways as fast as they can be made ; it has abundance of flocks and herds, only wanting more shepherds and herdsmen ; it has minerals, useful or precious, for those who choose to dig for them. One thing only it has not, and this single want half spoils all the rest —it has not hands enough. The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Our people have been coaxing and pampering the remnant of the Maoris, giving them plenty of mutton and rum, beef and beer, tobacco and tea ; they get some work out of the poor creatures, but the sad truth must be told — the Maoris are vanishing fast ; they die fast, they no longer perpetuate their race, they will soon be extinct, as all savages do become extinct, like moths, in the blaze of European civilisation, and then New Zealand will be as purely English as Warwickshire, Hants, or Dorset, excepting only in the very un-English picture that in New Zealand it is two masters, or rather half a dozen masters, after one man, instead of two men after one master. We ask, for the thousandth time, why do not our people go to the Paradise, or to one of the half dozen Paradises, now easily reached by a safe and pleasant voyage of a few weeks, at a cost which any working man may cover with a year or two's labor and thrift ? In New Zealand colonists in their desperation are offering passages that will cost a good laborer no more than £5 or £7 out of his own pocket. The 7000 emigrants landed during the past year are a mere drop in the ocean. They are absorbed, and the want of men is greater than ever."