DUNEDIN .

Tuapeka Times, Volume I, Issue 7, 28 March 1868, Page 3

DUNE D I N .

(From our Own Correspondent.) - - T^archj^JQ^ As you may readily imagtee,^^ allabsorbing topic of discussion/ehmng the week has been the attempted assassination of the Dukerof E^rnbursrh at Sydney. The first notifieatiQjKof the diabolical act was received inftown late on the evening of Saturday last, and the first impulse of the public mind was to reject it as a dieiruess joke. Later in the evening, *rtelligence corroborating the announcement was received ; still, the act as then alleged appeared so utterly meaningless, that very few seemed disposed to give it much credence. , However, its effect was perceptible, and although its possibility was gravely questioned, ita probable effects upon the social and political progress of these colonies was seriously discussed. About midday on Sunday, the overdue steamer which ought to have brought the English mail from Melbourne, arrived at the Bluff, and the telegraph wires were immediately set in operation. About l'p.in. the " Evening Star " made its appearance in the form of an " extra," and all feeling that had previously existed regarding the improbability of the story was set at rest by the publication of a short telegraphic summary of the circumstances under which the act took place. To say that the feeling thereby engendered was one of universal indignation against the would-be-assassin, would be only to convey a very faint representation of the actual state of the public mind. You may or may not be aware that the fumes of Fenianism are said to be jwafted about in various' parts of New Zealand. In Dunedin, onithe evening of St. Patrick's Day, "somVabsurd demonstration took place; and, if * report be true, some of the parties who took part in that demonstration have, to use a colonial phrase, been ''spotted out," and a very larire circle of their trade" patrons resolved for the future to withhold their custom. Tn plain language, two well-known brewers have been fixed upon as rank Fenians, and the local publicans, iusttoshow their i dutiful allegiance to " our Sovereispi j Lady the Queen, her Crown and Dispiity," have entered into a compact to refuse to have anvthinsj to do with their brew. Such is the story as I have got it, and whether it is true or not, I cannot say. | One thin?, however, can be vouched for, that within the last few days a manifesto has appeared in the pxiblic prints, signed by the secretary and treasnrer of the Irish State Prisoners Relief Fund, disclaiming all sympathy with the acts for which the beneficiaries of the fund have \been made to suffer. Before dismissing: this subject, permit me to add one word upon a point to some extent allied to it. Your readers will recollect of the wreck of the General Grant, but they may not J&aware that but for the vigilance of the conductor of the "Evening Star," the saia story would not have received publicity in Dunedin for at least two days afWr it became known at the Bluff. Agak the inhabitants of Dunedin and the Pro^nce generally are indebted to the "Star" for the first notification of a matter which has excited thrilling interest. \ On\Monday last, the twentieth anniversary of the settlement of the Province. wat>t;e\ebrated, according to "use and wont,*' ai a close holiday, Tho weather

was delightful, aud out-door fetes and excursion parties were the order of the day. Amongst the former, the Dunedin Volunteer Fire Brigade fete, which took place at Vauxhall Gardens, deserves special mention. In addition to the members of the Brigade and various friendly societies, a vast number of the general public took part in the fete ; indeed, the two river si (Miners, which plied to and from the gardens to a late licnir of the evening, did a "roaring" trade. The event proved altogether a success, and the day tliroughout is well entitled to be ranked as an honorable exception to the general run of holidays which have occurred in Dunedin during the last Bix or eight months. The Dunedin races came to a close on Saturday last. Very little prominence have been given to them by the local prints. Like effects in general, this fact is said to have a cause, but the one I have heard assigned, would reflect so little credit upon Dunedin journalism, that I refrain from mentioning it. Your extras issued on Sunday last have reached town. I see that, from one of them, you have been led into error. You say that the steamer with the English mail had arrived at the Bluff on Sunday last. It should have been -The steamer that ought to have brought the mail, arrived at the Bluff on that day.