THE PROVINCES.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 118, 12 May 1870, Page 3

THE PROVINCES.

A correspondent of the " Wairarapa Mercury," gives the following description of the manner in which what he terms the" militia shirker gets relieved of his duties In the North :—": — " ' Good morning, Docton' ' Good morning.' I ' Doctor, lam suffering from a dreadful pain in my hip, that I cannot ride to Wellington and back in a day. I am dbliged to take the coach one way.' Doctor : *Ah ! it is sciatica, from expoSure sfcnd over exertion. You must take it easy, and I will send you something td rub in.' 'All right, Doctor, but there is that d — d drill, I cannot do it.' Doctor : ' Ah ! it pains ydu, I suppose, standing; I will give you a certificate for the present.' " Sdme short time ago a native with a ! small capital, and an eye to business, invested the former in purchasing the " turn-out " of one of our cabbies, consisting of a decent looking carriage, with horse and et cetras. The Maoii has been plying in the trade between Shorfcland and Grahamstown since he

made the investment, and apparently with success. He is now turning his attention to opening up a new line for himself, having commenced to i*un Ms cab to the Maori settlement of Parawai. This part of the district has always been a favourite resort, and will doubtless be more so now that parties can ride instead of walk. The enterprising native should at least secure the monopoly of his countrymen's patronage. — " Auckland Evening Star." The Greymouth " E^ning Star/ in describing the late destructive fire there, gives the following account of the burning of the'^^ius " office:— Although a very sjgfflie amount of valuable type, planjjj&tationery, and other printing property have fallen a sacrifice to the flames, the loss to the proprietary would have been infinitely greater bad it not been that it was the morning of the publication of the paper, and consequently there were a ■number of the employees of the establishment on the spot who rendered prompt assistance in removing what property there was time to saveMuch property was saved, but it is to be feared that much more was lost. There was a valuable printing machine-, which had been only lately landed on the wharf, and which had coins out to the order of the firm from England. It had not been working more than three or four days when the building in which it had been placed was burnt over and under it. It is believed, however, that the machine — a very valuable one — will be saved. The " Argus " offices and printing rooms were burned to the ground, not a vestige of the building remaining. The destruction to property by the •fire, as near as can be estimated, amounts to £3000. The " West Coast Times" writes:— Our Southland friends have been in luck recently. Owing to the impecuniosity of the Provincial Treasury, the General Government instructed A. T-. Ellis, Esq., their paymaster at Invercargill, to pay up the arrears of salaries and accounts due to the harbor, police, gaol, and hospital departments, for the period commencing Ist July. 1869j down to the 28th February, 1870. This he did on the 29th of last month: Some of the Provincial salaries and accounts of an earlier date are still owing, but for what they had received the officials and contractors are truly thankful. It is strange that the people 1 of Southland should continue to look with satisfaction on their experiment in local self-government, when it has. twice conducted them to the verge of insolvency. "VVe observe that the anniversary of the separation from Otago, March SLsfr, is still celebrated as a holiday in the government offices-; the banks and by the town-people* generally. "With 'the paymaster of the colonial government doling out to creditors a portion of what is due by the Provincial Government, it would have looked better if the 31st of March had been set apart as a day of special fasting and humiliation. The sooner Southland is again joined to Otago the better for the credit of the Colony. A man had a very narrow escape from fatal consequences at Ross the other day. He had got into the bucket which was hanging over the shaft of one of the claims, and there being nd one in charge of lowering gear, he made rather a hurried descent to the bottom of the shaft, though strange to say without ony other injury than a frig'ht-. A prisoner named Thomas Keating alias Richard Keenan alias Dublin Dick who escaped from Hokitika gaol nearly four- years ago, having been arrested on a charge of highway robbery at Grayinouth, was recently identified and taken into- custody by Detective Parrell at Dunedin. He was sinking a hole in Bond-street for a telegraph post when arrested by the officer. - ', -j The outstanding "Jfret of our summary for this month/is, that the active pursuit of Te Kooti has been abani doned for a season. The arch-rebel and his more immediate followers are still at large. It is rather humiliating to say it, but our troops have been unable either to catch or kill those fewsavages. The winter is approaching^ and hostilities cannot be longer carried on with any hope of success. For the matter of that, as our remarks already indicate, we cannot say that the summer was very propitious. The colony has spent a large sum of money and has very little to show for it: The Defence policy of the Government, even traced hi the dim light of their own despatches and telegrams, is unfortunately a failure. As a system of simple defence^ which Mr. Fox announced it would be, — that is, holding our own and letting the natives alone, — it was never tried ; and for positive warfare* the results on the winning side are deplorably small. There are difficulties in the way Which those all a distance cannot rightly understand} but after every allowance is made out position certainly forbids boasting.— * " Wanganui Chronicle." The following notice, signed by Edward Jollie, Provincial Secretary* appears in a Canterbury paper :— , " Officers employed in the Service Of the Provincial Government are hereby informed that they are expected is 6 refrain from taking any part iti elections for the Superintendericy or for members of the Provincial Council^ beyond recording their votes if thef desire to do so."