We publish elsewhere a letter complaining of the disgraceful state of the Port road between : Port t 'halmen? and Mount Pleasant. The com- i plaint, we believe, is not without cause. i In our correspondence column will be found a ' letter norn Mr. Vincent Pyke, Gold-fields Com- ! in is doner, on the subject of the new regulations concerning creek and river claims. We rtcommend the letter to the careful perusal ol all miners interested in claims of the kind indicated. ; Fawcett's Drawing-room Entertainment was ! agr.m presented before a crowded audience last \ evening. The Garrick Club are bestirring; themselves i about another performance. A meeting of the ; members who are to take parts is to be held this \ afternoon at the Commercial Hotel. A Po,t Oiliee has now been opened at Wilson ! and Mais' store, near the lieliance Hotel, East | Taieri. ; The first instalment of tbe additional company ■ f«»r the new Princes' Theatre arrived by theCitv \ of I lobar? yesterday. Mr. Charles Young. Mr. I Tuburmy, and Mr. 11. W. Kohler are the three-| wundeiiiig stars. The re.it of the company may i be expected shortly, arid it is anticipated that it 1 will be found possible to open the house on Mon- j day week. I With our magnificent soil and fine climate for ! the rearing of garden produce, it is rather anoma- j lens that vegetables of every description are I scarcer and dearer here than in any other part of j the Aiiktr.Ui.in Colonies. Even at the high rates ! demanded /br vegetables by our dealers, the supply is not nearly c.jual to thw demand. We are informed that a little beyond the North East Valley several allotments of land have been taken up for the purpose of beinj; converted into market gardens, and there can he little doubt but that sr.eh an industrial pnrsnit will turn out very profitable. Tlio quotations for carrots in Victoria are XI 10s. per ton, and turnips £1 ios. For the former in Dunedin one shilling is asked for four pound*, and Ibr the latter, six pounds for the same sum. A very large quantity of Victorian meat has fouud its way into our market in the shape of many /toiled rounds aud roli<« of bcv:f. Some of it ii merely salted and cured inths usual manner, while a proportion is spiced. Bjth description* appear to be much appreciated, and find a ready sale. The quiiity of the raaat is said to be unexceptionable.

Dr. Macadam, the Government Analytical Chemist in Melbourne, has been engaged for some time past in making an analysis i.f the various qualities of kerosene oil sold in Melbourne, with a view of determining the extent of dangerous qualities possessed by each. The report of a second series of experiments, has been presented by Dr. Macadam to the Melbourne City Council from which it appears that, out of twenty-one samples from as many different dealers, five are described as being highly dangerous,—the point of permanent ignition being from 89 cog. to <JG deg. Fahr. Fhx- samples are described as dangerous, the point of permanent ignition varying from 102 deg. to 118 deg. Fahr. Six samplesare described as being safe, the jwint of permanent ignition being from 130 deg. to 13S deg Fahr. Three samples are designated quite safe, the point of permanent ignition being from 140 to 14-i deg. Fahr. Two samples are described a.being very safe, the point of permanent ignition being IGU deg. and IG6 deg. Fahr. Dr. Macadam states that the proportion ia about the same as that lately found to exist in the London shops by the Analytical Sanitary Committee ot the lAtnce.t. He considers, however, that in a climate such as that of Melbourne, the results from the use of such dangerous oils are still more to be dreaded. As a contrast to this report, a correspondent of the Virtorian says—" I had purchased some kerosene at a shop which the Government analyst, in his report, places on the black list. Upon reading that report, the sudden impression was that I might as well have been living^in a gunpowder magazine as to have perilled my existence by burning kerosene for a

twelvemonth. WeU, Mr. Editor, I have tried some experiments at my parlor fire with this terrible oil (I am only a lodgier), and am fully p^. pared to boil an egg in this condemned kerosene and to hold the saucepan handle during the prc^ cess. With the most inferior preparation, sold as kerosene, there is, perhaps, really little 'danger if the most ordinary caution is observed." ' It wiU be seen by our advertising columns that the settlers of Hawke's Bay have a movement on foot for supplying this town with fat wether* by steam [direct from that port, daring the ensuing spring and summer. The following was the condition of H.M Gaol Dunedin, on Friday night, the Ist August -J. Prisoners awaiting trial before the Supreme Court, G males; under sentence with hard labor 56 males and 8 females; and 1 maleanda female' undergoing a short term of imprisonment- n males were imprisoned for debt; and 6 males 'con fined as lunatics. Total number of prisoners i n gaol on Friday night, 90;-bein g 79 males, and ll females. Isine male prisoners were discharged and 6 imde prisoners were received durine the week. & The Daily Southern Cross, of the 14th J a ] y places a very singular construction upon the means adopted to save the Government documents at the wreck of the White Swan Says the Southern Cross .—"Our own reporter's nar rative is explicit regarding the loss of the public papers. When they were rescued from the fore bold of the steamer, at the imminent lisk of an Auckland representative, whose loss, had his life I been sacrificed in the attempt to save the records ; couid not be supplied at this moment in the com-munity-a Minister -.—the hon. Crosbie Ward Postmaster-General of New Zealand-ordered the chief officer to throw them overboard,, and the : command was obeyed. In an ebbing tide, with a | strong wind blowing off shore, the Postmaster ; General sent tbe public documents and patents of the colony of New Zealand to sea, no doubt to tho delight of his colleagues who had ample leisure to watch them drifting out of sight on the undulaj ting bosom of the receding water. We say ad | visedly " to the delight of hi s colleagues " for" | from a private letter which we have received from Wellington, we find that the Postmaster- ; General jauntily pleads guilty to the chan~ of , destroying the papers by saying-' I j^ good turn for all of them (the Ministry) but mv .self I' We are a little curious to know if it was' a fore-gone conclusion with the responsibilities that ; the public papers were to be destroyed by any ; means, and that Mr. Cf oS bi e Ward had agreed to be made the scape-goat to save his colleague?, ; something after the Edenborough model to com ; pare small things with great. His language * correctly reported (and of that we make nodoubt\ : would bear that construction; and this view is ! likewise borne out by the fact that the Welling , ton organs of the Government make it appear that the documents were not of much importance j Of two things there can be no donbt-the public ; papers might earfly have been saved, but they ■ were wantonly destroyed by order of a member of Mr. Fox's ministry." ; By a misprint iv our issue of yesterday it j was stated that an objectionable paragraph iad ■ appeareu m Thursday's Cobnist.-lt shou ld ' been Tuesday's. | The Waipa correspondent ofthe Daily Southern Crots gives a gloomy account of the state of thing, -n that district. At OUrrhoi, the natives have placed sc-ntries round the Mission Farm i and have refused to allow tha cattle and sheep belonging to ti^e mission to graze oa their land He states, that the natives in that district have quite male up their minis that war is to take place in the spring. A respectable yoimsr man, named Albert i Irrankwn, has been committed for trial at ; Auckland, charged with stealing a case of ; surgical instruments. I The Daily SouUiem Cross says-—"With regard to the wreck of the White Swan, we regret that the loss will fall personally on Mr. McCombe It was stated in our Reporter's narrative yesterday, that the steam jr was insured for *7 500 out this was not so. The only policy on the vessex was one for £3,500, and she was valued at U-..U30. The parsonal loss of Mr. McCombe will be L,.500. Som- months a-o L 9,000 was offered for toe V lute Swan and refused. The reason why the steamer was not insured at the full value is explained m this way; Instructions had been *mt to Melbourne not to renew certain policies about to expire there, as it was the intention of tae managing owner to insure in the local office m Au.khuid, taking on the balance in Svdaev That this insurance wa* m * effected in Auckland! before theW hue Swan left for the South ou her last trip, ts stated to have been caused by tiie absurd reiwt that she was leaky- a run our winch the reporter, who was on board, state, to have been without foundation. Mr. McCombe we believe, judged it best not to lav any proposal before the Insurance Company in Auckland in the face of this report, until her return, bein~ convinced of her sound condition and having fuU confidence in the skill and judgment of Captain Harper. To bave done so would Iwe confirmed the suspicions that were then afloat; and it is solely owing to that feeling, we believe, that he is now a loser to tbe extent of LS,SOa. The contract servie-3 was punctually performed by the White Swan, which six months ago hud had U.OOO spent on her repairs, under the inspection of the Steam Navigation Board of Melbourne Ihe certificate granted by tha Board was dated the day before the White Swan took her departure from Melbourne, on the service in which she ■i*s periled. Passengers by this steamer have borne testimony to the attention pail them by the commander and officer*, and it is therefore the more to be- regretted that this intercom^ should have come to so abrupt a termination. i The last trip to Portkn-l Island was one o' the j best runs the White Swan steamer ever made • aud her great power was fully manifested by the speed with which she steamed in shore after the •mlneky bump which resulted in her total loss The last trip sho was furnished with a new suit oi sails and spars of Auckland manufacture and was as completely found as any steamer cuaid j be. U c enter into thes* particulars beeauso we are sure the public will sympathise with tiie owner, whose personal loss ha S been so great " All operations for cutting down High-street to its proper level have been suspended for some .lays without any assignable or known cause. Ihe consequence is that the thoroughfare is in a worse state than it was before any attempt was .commenced to improve it The inhabitants resdent nt the upper end of High-street are eoinplainimng loudly at the delay. OurMelboarneeorrespondentmentionsaeurious hoax played on the Telegraph Department. A person who wished to try wheth.r tho secrecy of telegraphic co.ntnauicatious was properly observed, had a telegram scut to him to the effect that Gardiner, the bushranger, had been captured, and next day the telegram appeared, wonl tor word, in the Mar (Ballarat) newspaper, besides being known to aU the detectives in Melbourne. Rather an expose oi the boasted inviolability of telegraphic messages'

"The .-peoflle QlfJVetherstone's are, %c learcr Mnucji tafifenup JustTiow'witli a project for cutting a stomal water channel, which will be'a great benefit tc> t^ miners, as securing their claims from tbe danger of being again flooded, as they have so frequently Been. •During the .month of July, there has beeen exported from the part of Dunedin, 17,568 oz. 18 dwts.' of gold, Value L 68,079 9s. 9d. The duty realised "from this source amounted to L 2196 25.5 d.

The last claimant for the L2OOO reward, offered by the Provincial Government of Auckland, is a Maori Chief, William Hobson Karora, residing at Oraki. In the Daily Southern Cross he makes the following statement:—"ln 1851 or 1852 I went to the late chief Paul's place at Koputawaki, and saw Paul there. Paul was talking about tbe gold diggings of California, and I said I would bring il native who had been at California to look at tho land, and Paul said he thought he would find gold tliere. I then engaged with Paul. He promised to give up the whole of his claim to the land to be prospected, and I engaged to bring the native and look for the gold. This native's name is Ngawia Hakaria. This native (HakariaJ) first found the gold in Paul's creek; and then it was arranged "between the late chief Paul and myself that we should divide anything that might arise from any sum given in the shape of reward either by the Government or private parties. Paul then gave up the whole of the land to ba prospected, upon which Hakaria employed the native Homer [who is now seeking the reward] to prospect it with him; but Hakaria was the head man who found it John Hobbs, another natire, went down afterwards and worked Paul's creek. I now come forward to get share of the reward, because Homer and the rest of the natives who worked Paul's creek got the gold they found there. Ngawia and his party got about 70 ouuees, and it was sent to Sydney. Ngawia is alive; and I have written for him to come to Auckland to make good what I say. What lam now dark at is that people who have no right to claim the reward aredoing so, and leaving the old people who really discovered the gold without anything. lam determined if the Government give any reward ib will be"to the right persou and not to the wrong."

We were sorry to see only a very thin bouse at the Theatre Itoyal last night. The weather was exceedingly stormy, and this, we have no doult, was the cause of so small an audience, although we should have thought that the sensation piece of" Lucretia Borgia," with Madame Duret in the principal character, would have formed a temptation too strong, even for the worst of Dunedin weather to overcome. It is unnecessary for us to make any lengthened remarks upon Madame Duret's impersonation of the Duchess of Ferrara ; she has almost identified herself with'the character, and her acting last night lost none of its accustomed power and artistic treatment. We cannot forbear remarking that there was, on the part of the rest of the company, a great want of proper conception of the most striking and startling events in the drama. This might have arisen from carelessness, but it certainly detracted much from the otherwise excellent manner in which the piece was rendered. * In the last scene, tho attitude and graneral bearing of the five poisoned cavaliers was scarcely that of men who had just learnt they had only ten minutes to live. In pieces of the description of " Lucretia Borgia,'' where the interest converges materially on one or . two characters, the want of attention to the accessory parts throws too great an onus upon the principal performers. This was painfully evident last night, for, although Mr. Wolfe certainly made a good " Gennaro," Madame Duret had to sustain" the whole wei;ht of the piece. Little May sang very charmingly, and evidently improves. The concluding piece was given with the same success as on the previous occasion. For to-night " Macbeth " is announced, and we trust to see a bumper house.

It is satisfactory to find that the importance of the Southern Provinces of New Zealand, however little thought of by the authorities in the North, is fully recognised elsewhere. It will be seen by an advertisement in another column, that the Australian Steam Navigation Company have arranged for laying on steamers from Sydney to the Southern Ports of New Zealand, and that the first vessel will sail on the Ist September.

We are still unable to publish the full returns ofthe Bruce Election, the report from the Clutha not having yet come in, bijfe it, is by no means probable that the polling'in that locality will affect the result. In the Tokomairiro District the most unaccountable apathy wa3 manifested, the total nuniber of votes polled there being only 18, of which. 11 were for Baldwin and 7 for Cargill. Tlje. poll,' therefore, as far as known, stands as follows :— Cargill—Dunedin, 55, Taieri, 11, TokomiiEiro, 7, total 73. Baldwin —Denedin, 10, Taieri, 32, * Tokomairiro. 11, total 53; thus showing^ mryority for Cargill on the returns yet. 4o • fiand of 20 votes. There is no reason to expset that the number of votes polled at the Clutha' will have been sufficient to affect the majorjty,, and Mr. CargflFs return may therefore be looked upon as certain.

We learn frorft oar Auckland correspondent that tho diggers at Coromandel have been working under vefy discouragiag circumstances. The season has been the most stormy and wet that has been experienced in Auckland for many years, and the mjueis have li&d to carry their provisions for three/-sr four miles along a frightful bush track. Those, who have not experienced it can form no ideas ©f the difficulties attendant upon a tramp thft&gh the underwood of a New Zealand forest. Gene&ally mere cattle tracks, the roads are in the winter almost impassable, and the dense character of the foliage shuts out the rays of the sun, and keeps the atmosphere in a continuously humid state. The snow and frost of the Otago gold-fields are preferable to the weather the Coromandel miners have experienced.

There seems to. be considerable difficulty in disposing of the Coromandel gold. The Daily Southern Cross, says:—"On Saturday forenoon the very spacious auction mart of Mr. Stannus Jones, Brunswick Buildings, was over-crowded by the company that assembled to witness the novel sale of auriferous quartz specimens, weighing ia all 18lbs. 6£ozs. Mr. Jones invited the company upstairs to the music hall, where there was greater space ; and thereupon submitted the specimens. The competition was not spirited. Few were aware of the probable value of the specimens, nnd a disinclination was manifested by most present to bid. The Welcome Nugget, weighing 9lbs. sozs,, as weighed at the Bank of New South Wales, was bought by Mr. Samuel Cochrane, lor £150, cash. Another specimen, weighing. 250z5., was also bought by Mr. g. Cochrane, for which he paid £32. Mr. Lewis James, of the Q.C.E., bought another specimen weighing 3Jozs., for £4 ss. Mr. Stannus- Jenes purchased a 240z. specimen for £30. The rest of the specimens were withdrawn. Mr. Jones sold tha specimens free of commission. . \.

An accident, which might have been attended with verjr serious consequences/ occurred vested day morning •in Princes-street. A butchers' lad 'had very imprudently taken his liorse on to "the ~ asphalt pav"enjent to deliver some meat. On turning his horse's head towards the kerb, the animal, slipped both the fore-feet under it, and fell over op i^s side, tha rider being beneath. The lad was immediately extricated from beneath the horse, fortunately without sustaining any injuries beyond a few bruises. This is the second accident of a simitar nature which has occurred during the tveek. A (*urious case came bofore the Resident Magistrate yesterday. A man sued Mr. Watson, a publiian, for the value of a cheese, which it appeared he had taken to tire house with the intentidn of rafflibg; but the owner getting drunk, the company in the room began tasting tbe cheese "at SO rapid a rate, that some twenty-five pounds of it disappeared. It is almost needless to say that the case was dismissed.