DUNEDIN.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 224, 16 May 1872, Page 7

DUNEDIN.

(From our Own Correspondent.)

Although the Provincial Council is in session, — a time when it is generally considered things should be unusually brisk, — our city seems as quiet as usual. So far, the business which has been brought before the Council has been disposed of without any waste of time. Some time during this week the discussion on educational matters is to be commenced, and no doubt we shall have a debate of a few days' duration on this important topic. Mr. T. L. Shepherd has been fearfully wroth -with the " Times " for the suppression of a long speech which he made on Friday on the subject of tlfe constitution of the Waste Land Hoard ; and not only was the journal in question guilty of

the tmaccoiuitable want of appreciation of the eloquent utterances of Mr. Shepherd, but it must needs add insult to injury by putting into the mouth of the orator, iv the few lines it did devote to him, the following:— "He (Mr. Shepherd) knew th it politicians oould hoodwink the people in various ways, and did it for a long time, as some people said lie had done." Mr. Shepherd characterises this as a gross fabrication, and utterly false. Notwithstanding its being a " gross fabrication, it is possible, like many other nnpalatable things which are published, that therei s a uood deal of truth in what "some people say " That great farce, the " Day of Thanksgiving," was observed in Dunedin as a close holiday so far as the closing of the shops was concerned ; but as for the " thanksgiving" part of the performance, beyond the fact of service being held in one or two of- the churches, it was pure bunkum. People seemed nrnch more incliued to go out and make a jolly day of it, instead of remaining in town and trooping to church to return thanks, and carried out their inclinations accordingly. The Ocean Heacli, as usual, had its sharo of visitors, and it unfortunately was the scene of a very serious accident, by which a young man very* nearly lost his life, and is indeed not yet out of danger. In company with his two brothers, ho was •walking along the beach npar high water mark, when he was suddenly struck down by a bullet from the rifle of one of the Volunteers who were practising at the Butts, and this, too, at a distance of something like 500 yards to the right of the target. The course the bullet took is most extraordinary. Entering the body just below the hip joint on one side, it took a circular course, travelled right round, and was afterwards extracted by a medical man from the thigh of the opposite leg. Of course, great consternation prevailed among those who were on the beach at the time, but fortunately a gentleman was driving in his buggy at some little distance from , the spot at the time, and the woundedjjhan was by this means quickly conveyea to town, a messenger having in the mea^i time been despatched on horseback for a doctor, who met the conveyance before it reached Dunedin, and extracted the bullet without further delay. From what I can learn, it appears that the rifles were being used by a lot of inexperienced youths, and that fchore was no one in charge of them at the time. This accident will make people very chary of frequenting the Ocean Beach as a place of recreation, at any rate while Volunteers are practising. A hot controversy on the subject of Spiritualism has been inaugurated in the daily papers, brought about by the advent in our midst of a gentleman from Melbourne, who has been delivering lectures on the subject to crowded audiences in the Princess Theatre. Last night (Sunday) and on the Sunday evening preceding, the Theatre was crammed to oxcess, every available inch of space where standing room could be obtained being occupied. It is not for me to say whether he is wrong in the firm belief which he holds that the spirits of those who have left this world are in daily communion with its present inhabitants ; but his earnestness, his eloquence, his fine command of language, and his own unwavering belief in the doctrines which he preaches, have gone far to carry many with him in his arguments and beliefs, propounded as they are by a man who in p;>int of intelligence is far, far above the average of the human race. Mr. Smith has also delivered lectures on many other subjects, which (have been literary and elocutionary treats such as Dunedin audiences very seldom have the privilege of enjoying. The election of a City Councillor to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. E. B. Cargill, who took his departure for the home conntry the other day, came off on Friday. The candidates were Mr. John Cargill and Mr. R. Rossbothain, and the election resulted in the return of the latter gentleman contrary to general expectation. No very great interest waa taken in the election, however, except by personal friends of the candidates.