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Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 721, 8 October 1870, Page 2

Police business has been almost a dead letter lately. And there has been little or nothing of public interest either criminal or civil to disturb the silence of the Court. Two civil cases were disposed of yesterday—one for damages, done by pigs, laid at £&, in which the plaintiffs, Vinall and Pickering succeeded in obtaining a verdict against Daniel M'Ginlay, the defendant, for £4; and the second was a trifling claim of LI 16s for goods delivered, in which a collector of empty bottles, named Bafferty, was the plaintiff and Drane, late purser of the steamer Kennedy, was the defendant. Drane appeared by counsel. The plaintiff's evidence did not clearly show whether the sale of the bottles was absolute to Drane or whether they had been forwarded for him to the find best market ho could and hand over the net proceeds. It also appeared that Drane had made a payment on account of the sales effected. His Worship thought no ease had been made out, and nonsuited the plaintiff with counsel's costs in addition to costs of Court. The plaintiff pleaded strongly that the counsel's costs should bo struck out, as the case did not merit any such allowance. • The Bench disregarded the plea seeing no reason to set aside the established habit of granting costs to counsel in civil cases.

The road connecting' the Lyell township with the reefs will, we are informed, be put in hand immediately. The cost will greatly exceed the vote authorised to bo expended under that head. A telegram from Napier, dated Sept. 28th> says : —A large number of West Taupo Lake Hauhaus, who escaped during the time of tho fighting at Taupo, have been brought in by Poihiapi, They are anxious to be employed in road making. They are without clothes and starving. They will bo employed. So much for the policy of road-making. Tho treaty for the purchase of tho Seventy-mile Bush is progressing favorably. Tho New Zealand Metropolitan Race Meeting will be held at Christchurch on the 7tli, Bth and 9th of November. Mr Redwood lias sent five horses to represent the Nelson stables at this meeting.

A man named Hammond, formerly Collector of Customs at Invercargill, expired suddenly in theTimaru Hospital on Sunday morning last. It appears he burst a bloodvessel on the lungs some days ago. A telegram from Auckland, dated Sept. 26th, states:—Dr London met the chiefs of the Piako on Saturday. Three hundred natives were present. The money was paid, but the chiefs stay at Piako for a great meeting between the Queenites and Hauh"au3 to-day and to-morrow. Te Hira and the Ohinemuri chiefs are there, also Terapipi and the natives of Wangamata and Tauranga are expected. The fibre in some bales of flax dressed at one of the mills in the Wairarapa is stated by the local paper to have averaged over eight feet in length. During the mouth, the Culliford Goldmining Company, at Wangapcka, have received their first crushing machine, which is a battery of four stampers, and which will be on the ground soon. The Perseverance Company have turned out 132 ounces (not 180, as first reported), a very satisfactory result; and one which will, we believe, be bettered by the next crushing, as very good ground of considerable extent, has been struck, and all that is wanted now for that company is competent and tliorougly experienced management at the mine, coupled with greater economy in its working, which is likely to bo achieved. The Waimea Quartz-crushing Company have ordered an atmospheric battery from Ballarat, and contemplate having another battery of the ordinary kind, in addition, arrangements for which are not yet completed. Good news has come from the Culliford reef, the prospects of which are deemed, by judges, to be excellent.

It is stated, says the Colonist, that a private telegram to an official of the Bank of New Zealand, has announced that the contract for the Nelson, Cobden, and Westport Railway had been signed in London, but that no action would be taken in the matter until the peace of Europe was reestablished.

Some wretch has burnt four hundred acres of flax in the vicinity of Oainaru. It woidd have realised at the flax-mills L 2.000.

A pure-bred Clydesdale horse and mare bought by Mr J. Walls of Kaiapoi, for LSOO, died on the passage from Melbourne.

Mr Drainsfield, late chairman of the Town Board of Wellington, has been elected first Mayor of that City. The Provincial Council of Canterbury •was opened on the afternoon of September 30. The Superintendent, in his speech, alluded to the influence the legislation of the past session of the Assembly had had on the Provinces. The revenue of the Province is satisfactory, having exceeded the estimate by LIO.OOO.

The Provincial Museum, Christchnrch, was opened on Friday, the 30th ult., in presence of all the leading men of the Province.'

The Northern Railway, in the Canterbury Province, is to be pressed on, and should the General Government repay the Province for the work this year, the money will be devoted to harbor works. It is proposed to carry on immigration in the Province as heretofore, as the General Government scheme is not likely to be carried out this year.

At Auckland, a" native named Hatana has rjeen sentenced to three years' penal servitude for stabbing another native named Ngakapa.

A match, for L2OO a side is on the tapis between tho two noted pedestrians, Twohill of Gi-eyuiouth, and Bolton of Nelson. The conditions of the proposed race have been signed by Bolton, and are at present in the keeping of the purser of the steamer Murray, who will no doubt obtain Twohill's signature to the agreement also, when the boat visits Greymouth. If the match is didy arranged, the running will take place in Nelson in November.

Auckland has been yisited by a fearful hailstorm. It subsided as quickly as it began, but many parts were covered with cart-loads of hailstones the nest morning. It was, while it lasted, the most violent storm of the kind ever seen by 20 years' settlers in New Zealand.

The Christy's are drawing excellent houses in Nelson. Mr Heller was to give his first performance in the Assembly Boorus yesterday evening. .The Examiner says that, though Mr Blackott was never engaged on railway engineering, they question whether the Government could have made a better selection for the work required.

Sittings of the District Court have been appointed to be held in December and January nest, at Laurence, Naseby, Clyde and Qucenstown, on the Otago Goldiields.

We (Southern Cross~) have been obligingly furnished with extracts from a private letter received by a gentleman in this city from a relative who lias tried the Queensland diggings so far, and found them anything but a Dorado. He writes from Brisbane on date August 30, to the effect that, after trying the Gympie, he had left for ImbiFs diggings, " and found the latter as usual a " duffer."

The Thames Advertiser gives the following account of the capture of an extraordinary animal in the North Island:—"An extraordinary animal has been captured at Porter's Creek, on Wharekawa, and is at present in keeping there. We sincerely hope that it will be brought over here soon, because we confess that the description we have heard is somewhat staggering, to say the least. This animal was caught in a swamp by dogs, the legs, or arms and legs, were tied, and it was lodged in a vacant room in Mr Baker's store. And now for the description. This Maori gorilla has, it is stated, a head somewhat like a native, but two tusks stick out, one on each side of the head. There is a large tuft of hair on the top of the head. The body is as dark as that of a Maori, with hah- on the arms and legs. He grunts somewhat like a pig. So far for the description. The animal is apparently miscellaneous enough in his feeding, for we are informed that he eats potatoes, pie-crust, and nuts. We are informed that ho is to bo brought over here for public exhibition, and we must say we should like to see him. Since writing the above, we have received some further, and in some part, contradictory particulars. The animal, or monster, has been living with the natives for a long time, although it is now, as stated above, in the keeping of Mr Baker. It would almost appear that the famous "missing link" has been discovered at last. The natives say that it is a hundred years old, and that it is a "tupuna" or ancestor. Thus it seems they are not so proud as we are, who do not care about believing that we are descended from monkeys. These natives are not prejudiced, and the learned Professors Huxley and Darwin would hail them as men after their own hearts. Two gentlemen were yesterday over at Wharekawa, and offered a pretty largo sum for this animal which is to decide the development theory, but the nogotiation for its possession is not concluded.