THE PROVINCES.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 165, 6 April 1871, Page 6

THE PROVINCES.

The immensely high prices obtained for' harvest work in 1870 attra"ted considerable numbers of men in 1871 from all parts to Canterbury. Harvest is now over, and the province is "full of fine able-bodied men who want work. The fact that these men are leaving the place because they cannot

.get work is eminently suggestive at a

-time when we are talking of bringing fresh - immigrants into the country. Has the. Government nothing for them to do ? ' Cannot some of the works that will soon have to be carried out be -pressed on a little, so aR to find employment for men whom it is desir-

able to retain in the colony ?—? —

.' Times." - A. recent " Wellington Post " conrrtin* a letter received by a gentleman

:n W.cHinqton from a friend in Prince

Edward's' lsland, from which the following is an extract : — " I think there

must be a funny lot of folks you way. I know, very well had we tbe like here would very soon smash them up. It is a wonder, under the circumstan'&g,~th < 9& any settler" get amongst you,

Ibr it seems impossible for them to get land to settle upon, and no country can be prosperous without a settled agricultural population ; this seems all you require to make New Zoal.ind tbe most prosperous colony under the Crow*!}*. You have an excellent soil, and climate ;" all productions not tropical do well there, and I believe there are not to be found better fruit, vegetables, &r\ Your taxation must be enormous for your population, and unless there is a steady determination to put it down, and to stamp out your miserable little native war, your ruin mu<*t be inevitable. On this island, we devote one quarter of our revenue to education, besides a large sum annually for public works, we are now building a bandsome post-office, customs and court-rooms, and our taxation i-a not more than 12s. a head on our population." A m^loncholy accident happened in TTokitika. on Tuesday. A married woman named Catherine Lucas, who had become a mother about six weeks a<ro, left her home in the forenoon, with her infant in her arms, statin*/ that she intended visiting a friend's bouse. She had been suffering since her confinement from puerperal mania, or some kindred affection of the mind, but she mnde the statement as to her purposed visit while, apparently in the possession of her faculties, and no suspicion was excited in the mind of the person wbo was attending her, and it was only when she had not returned for several hours that her husband, who bad been absent from bis home in tbe interval, went in search of her. Nearly about the same time her body was discovered on th" 1 North Beach, opposite William Lark's public-house, two miles out from town, and at a later hour Mounted-Constable Douglass, who was despatched from the Camp, found the body of the infant, also on tbe bea^h. The fear is that, either accidentally m* under the, influence of her mania, she bad <rot into the very heavy surf which prevailed on Tuesday, an<l been drowned -along with her infant charge — tbe set of the current, as usual, floating the bodies to the nortWard until they were fast ashore. The bndv of the unfortunate woman was found .about two o'clock in the afternoon by William I-Tenderton. a market gardener. — "Leader," 23rd March.

The other day a most nmnsinr chasn occurred in the centre of the city. An arrest was about beintr made when the intended prisoner made off. but in a few steps was caught by the collar of his coat. The garment was, however, unequal to the task of arresting the progress of the runaway, find a part of it was left in the pursuer's hands. A series of smart doubles were next performed by the pursued, but aeain he was caught, and this time be found a resting place in a convenient side channel. Seeing now that he was worsted, he said he. would go quietly to tbe lock-up if allowed to rise ; but no sooner was he on bis feat than be aoram made off, this time leaving tbe greater part of the back of his coat in bis eapior's hands. Further doubles of a most pnzzlinir character followed. t\o runaway escaping many attempts to unset bis equilibrium by persons in tbe street, but ultimat-ly be was caught handcuffed near tbe God Icy statue. Tbe chase was witnessed by a larirc number of persons, and was a most amusinr w*. and the pertinacious pursuit by the woul 1-be eo.pto> v was much cowmen V!. — <: Canterbury Times."

The following iivadent is related by tbe "Ws'ngnuii Herald," as an indication tat there is some patrician blood even in this democratic country. — A clerk was asked the other day by his employe." to wash some bottles, and fenriivr the natural consequence of being called " bottle-washer," the clerk stoutly declined. Lifting his proud head, and precinitous proboscis, the be.jreter of <rentle,men thereupon exclaimed — " W'iv mv son , io\o is a horn gintlemin, does not refuse tn wash bottles, and does it regularly !"' This was all. The clerk said he " would'nf stop." Mr. David William Nesfield left Auckland, to return to England via San Francisco, on the 6th of August last. He had a conversation with a fellow-passecser, Mr. Wyatt, of Cancerbury, on the 7th of September, whilst standing upon his hotel steps at San Francisco. On thai occasion he expressed'his intention of travelling on to New York on the 9th. From that time to this Mr. Nesfield bus not be.en seen or heard of, and it is feared that he may have become involved in some quarrel in San Francisco, and have been summarily disposed of. The Foreign Office in London has been applied to, but has been unable to obtain any information. — " Hawkes Bay Herald."

A box belonging to Messrs Sargood, Son, and Ewen, of Dunedin, which was throw,n overboard from the s.s. Maori on the' 3rd February last, along with other deck cargo, oono^ifce Timaru, was was picked "up on Friday week on the .beach between Obntiri and Terawifi, iv •the province of Wellington. It had, .therefore, been carried by the current northwards paßt Banks Peninsula, the Kaikoras, and across the strait, to the place where it was found, after a cruise of forty-two days.

The " Grey River Argus " is rather sceptical about the report of Mr. Vogel's appointment as Agent-Gene-ral having been received with " unmixed satisfaction" in London. It says j— The "Anglo- Australian in

Londor," wh >se duty it appears to be to coll' ct an 1 comment upon any information regarding Australia in the columns of the " European Mail," is understood to be Mr. B. L. Far j eon, formerly business nvnigor of the " Otago Daily Times" when it was under the editorship of Julius Yogel. This will afford- some explanation of the following paragraph in the "European M.iil": — " The news that Mr. Vojrel had been appointed Assent ibr New Z'vilau 1 in England gave unmixed s.ar^t'icti.ui ; but a desire is felt that he may not concern himself simply with financial matters, but that he may act generally in all affairs relating to the colony. Certainly there does not seem a necessity for having more than one Agent hero. No better man than Mr. Yogel could possibly be chosen to fill the ofii -c. M The appearance of this paragraph from the pen of one of Mr. Vogel's particular friends affords strong confirmation of the rumour circulated some months ago that Mr. Yogel intended appointing himself, if possible, to the important and highly remunerative office of Airenr-Gener.il. It must be rather a sell to the '• Anglo- \ustrai in " to find out that his to igratulations were unseasonable, and t'^at am t -er g >ntleman had received the appointment.