NEW CALEDONIA.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 167, 20 April 1871, Page 3

NEW CALEDONIA.

The following news is extx*acted from the Moniteur : — " It would appear that the local Government propose to increase facilities for the alienation of the Crown lands with a view to promote colonisation. It is stated that there is a good opening at Noumea for a resident medical practitioner. Speakinc nf +k» onmfni.n,in 10-^-i -*■<- says : — The goldfields of the north of New Caledonia ai'e described as reaching from a line joining Gatope and Hienguene as far as Arama. All the old bed of the EiverDiahot isdeclared to be auriferous. The nearest landing places of these goldfields are the mouths of the Diahot and Gatope, where the miners are to land, and from which they are to embark. Every miner is to receive a card with, his name and the date of his arrival, etc., and at his request a claim will be assigned to him, which will be considered vacated if not worked for fortyeight consecutive hours. The right to dig for gold will be free, but there will be a small charge made by the Government for exchanging the gold dust conire uons sur le Tresor Goloniale ou

sur des banques etranqers. There is tq be a gold commissioner, whose duties appear to be similar to the gold commissioners of this country. There will , be a sin all percentage on the gold fdrwraded to Noumea by the Government authorities for the owners. The " Sydney Morning Herald" publishes a letter from a son of Mr. George Milner Stephen, Avho is at present, in New Caledonia. He\says :—": — " Since my arrival here (Noumea) I have heard very good news rcsp^ctinsf the claim I am interested uO^s?iper\ grant.) The stone is very plentiful, and every piece broken, as yet, has contained gold. • Several parties have :. been out prospecting, but, s|r»nge to' say, have not found anything more than a ' bare colour ' ; -and soiue say . * that ' Piper's grant contains all the'^" gold in the country.' But this, of ' course, is impossible — ;it brily, wants finding. From all I have heard, I believe there will be many rich reefs discovered ; but intending prospectors should be warned of the difficulties they will have to encounter, and should be prepared for a lengthy and rather expensive prospecting tour. The Government here intend making most liberal mining regulations, respecting Avhich I and the other miners here have had several interviews Avith M. Dezarnaulds, the leading avocat of Noumea, who is drafting the Mining Act.

A Double Ciiild, — A human monstrosity, in the shape of a double child, is the subject of lengthy notices and comments in the American papers, and promises to become a public exhibit, as only the second day after its birth, an offer Avas made by a speculator and accepted by the parents, to travel for two years with the child. It is the offspring of Mrs. Joseph Finlay, whose husband is a well-to-clo farmer at Cavdington, Ohio. A physician of prominence in the State thus describes the strange being, which was born in November last : — " This wonderful can be truly called a double child. There is but one spine, at each extremity of which there is a perfectly-formed head and face. Each has well-foi'med shoulders, arms, and hands, and a good chest, containing lungs and heart, the same as any other human being. Each has also a stomach and liver. It is afc the middle of the body that the two are grown together. The abdomen^ appears to be but one, and the organs' contained in it below the stomach and small intestines are probably common to the two. Upon one side there is a well formed pair of hips, legs, and feet. Upon the opposite side there is one large leg, possibly the consolidation of two legs, upon ti"> ~- J T™V v " r >lJjie h mere are eight toes. Most monstrosities are repugnant to look upon. This one is not so in any respect, excepting this leg. This child, or these children, are now- ten days old, and are doing as well as children mostly do at that period of existence. It nurses at both heads. One will be asleep while the other is crying, and sometimes both will sleep or cry at the same time. In sex it is a female. The distance from the top of one head to the top of -the other is 20 inches, and the weight a!; birth was lOlbs." — American paper.

A blacking manufactory has been started at Auckland.

The magazine of the Auckland Volunteers, at Point Chevalier, was broken into a few days ago, and 600 rounds of ammunition stolen. The Hauhaus are suspected.