AND WESTLAND OBSERVER. TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1873.

The success which attended the Hokitika Exhibition, from its opening until its ciose last Saturday night, cannot but have been gratifying to all who took any part in promoting it, however small that part may have been ; but the feeling of satisfaction must have been great indeed to those who engaged themselves actively in the work, and who had, so to speak, pledged themselves to carry the project through. Taking it up tv;hen,it had been abandoned by a much larger body of projectors, it was only by unremitting exertion, untiring zeal, and a will that never flagged, that they were enabled to surmount difficulties of no ordinary nature. Probably if the magnitude of those difficulties had beeu foreseen the Exhibition Committee would have been deterred from making the attempt to battle with them, and to overcome them. We can therefore very well conceive how pleasurable it must hare been to them to witness the success of their own efforts, and of the hearty and encouraging assistance Which was rendered by all classes in the community. Indeed, but for that assistance, no efforts, however strenuous, made by the promoters of the Exhibition could have accomplished a tithe of what was done. With a readiness beyond . praise articles of all kinds were freely contributed, some of them interesting because they "were curious, and others becanse they were indications of a great progress made within a very brief period. It is much the habit of those who live but their time in what are termed " settled districts " to decry mining communities because of their supposed roughness, but experience has shewn that it is only amongst those communities that rapid advances in civilization are made, and the Hokitika Exhibition may very fairly be regarded as an instance in point. It is scarcely nine years since the adventurous miner set his foot upon this shore, and now we have several towns along the coast, connected together by roads which would reflect credit upon much older countries. 'Buildings of a superior kind adorn both the chief towns, and in Hokitika we have a Town Hall capable of being utilised for an Exhibition, which in a " settled " community of the same age would have been simply an impossibility. The Hokitika Exhibition has in fact only furnished anoither prooflong before demonstrated in Victoria — that in a mining community, hand in hand with gold digging, there spring* up other industries with wonderful force of growth. Theifermer has so superior a market for his produce that he can afford to incur expenses at the outset, which but for that market would be i rain. ' So also with the fruit grower, ! the artisan, and the manufacturer. They may raise their produce or manufacture their wares at a disadvantage as to cost in the first instance, but they lean afford that, high cost, having so good a market at hand. And so the j country liecti'meß "settled," and other pur^tuia be^ifes'miniT^'ato' sttoeeSßfnlly i established to 'take the plnco nlfcirnnt.ely

iof the gold-seeking, which iyas the t 'cofaitoehcemettir. % The Hold tika fixhibiiion, just 61oSerd, bias is'erved to mark aft erk ixx the progress of a community which liari its origin in the seeki^ after gold, and to its successors in fufcute yiears we may look for a very truthful register of the, progress made. We hope that. at the next Dhristmas holidays another Exhibition, on even a larger scale, will be promoted; and that it will prove even more successful than its predecessor. ' The Government steamer Luna arrived in the roadstead yesterday afternoon, but did not cross the bar. Mr Harper and Mr Reid were landed on the South Spit in the ship's iboat. The latter brought ashore a letter from I)r Hector to the Hon J. A. Bonar, from which we have been permitted to extract the following: — ''I must defer my inspection of the Kanieri Coal Mine till after 'my return to Wellington. My plans were arranged to have crossed from Christchurch, but I had to seize the chance of visiting .Preservation Inlet Coal Mine, or I might not have had another opportunity, and I have ! promised to report on the coal workings ' there for several years. So much time has 'been occupied with this trip that I must ; return, to Wellington for a short time. I r hope you will explain this to the Coal Committee, and inform thera-that I will lose no time in returning to the Coast. We have had a good trip, good weather, and fair winds. I spent several days at the coalmineß at Preservation Inlet. The Luna got aground in Milford Sound, but no damage was done to ' tti e vessel ; it was only a few days' detention, 'but the time was very well spent." The following is a statement of prisoners confined in the County gaol to December 31, 1872: — Penal servitude, 9 niiilcs and 3 females ; hard labor, 9 males and 3 females ; remand, 1 male ; committed for trial, 1 male. Total prisoners, 20 males, and 6 females. We have good authority for stating that it is the intention of the Colonial Government to construct the Waimea water-race. The business at the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, was confined lo dealing with the case of a drunkard named John Quinlan, upon whom a fine of 10s was imposed witli the alternative of twenty-four hours imprisonment. A meeting of the Hokitika Hospital Committee was held last evening. There were present— Mr W. H. Ingram (in the chair), Messrs Benning, Pollock, Bevan, Hudson, Lynch, Gawne, and Turner. The minutes of the previous ordinary and special meetings ' were read aud confirmed. A letter was read i from the Surgeon Superintendent complain- ■ iog of the bad quality of the mill: at present . supplied, and suggesting that it bo obtained from the South Spit, where it could be supplied fresh when required. On the motion of Mr Hudson, seconded by Mr Bevan, it I was resolved that Mr Smith be aßked to . supply the milk twice daily, as it would then not be liable to turn sour/" A letter from Mr King was read, complaining that mfor- ■ mation respecting deaths occurring in the Hospital was given to other undertakers j ; before being given to him. After some disi cuesion, the Secretary was instructed to inform the boatman and other officers of the institution not to give any information until authorised to do so. A letter was read from Mr Ward, stating that owing to afflictions in I his family ho was unable at present to pay i for the treatment of his wife. After a long discussion it was resolved that the Secretary be instructed to ask Mr Ward to pay what he could towards his wife's treatment. The ' report of admissions since last meeting was ; read and received. The Surgeon-Superin-j tendent's monthly report if as read, showing j that there remained in the Hospital on December 31st, 33 male, and 6 female patients; discharged during the nioHth 28 males, and 1 2 females; admitted during the month, 26 & males and 2 females. The report was received , and adopted. The Secretary stated the balance . in the bank amounted to £99 17s 7dand that p he had received £297 2s 5d from the County Government that day, making a total of nearly £400. Mr Pollock moved, seconded by Mr • Turner, " That one month's salary be paid, • and that also tradesmen's accounts be paid as [ far as the money would go," which was f carried. Mr Ingram stated that the House Committee had no report, but he would state that they had visited the Hospital that day and found everything satisfactory • t The > Secretary stated that the pigs had been ' sold, and he was instructed to purchase ten . more to replace them. He also stated that several articles were required for use in the institution, which he was requested to obtain ' from the contractors. With respect to i the scales ordered from Mr Prosscr, no l report being ready, the matter was held [ over until next meeting. A parcel of cake (201bs) received from Mr Kedzlie, was acknowledged with thanks. On the motion of Mr Hudson the name of i Mr Bevan was added to the Finance Com- . mittee, and on the motion of Mr Ingram, i Mr Gawne's name was added to the House Committee. The Committe then adjourned ' to Monday, the 27th instant, at the usual L hour. i Fine fat weathers were recently sold at <• Greytown, Wairarapa, for 8s a-head. The case of Regina v. Payne, known as the Mystery case, the prisoner being charged ' with scuttling a ballast lighter of that name, ' was commenced at Christchurch laal. Thursi day morning. The trial was expected to last . the remainder of the week. The Lyttelton Times says that several ! hundreds of young trout have recently been sent away to various parts of the province 1 (Canterbury), and the removal has, in all ! case 3, been accomplished without any loss, ' A considerable portion of the balance remaining in the Society's ponds has also been applied for, and will be laken away at an early date. During a short stay in Dunedin, lately 1 Captain Baldwin, travelling agent for the 1 Government Life Assurance and Annuities, • obtained proposals for nearly £50,000. i 'The Forresters' Society in Wellington propose, if they can obtain a site on the Re- , claimed Land, to erect a building, in which will be established a' working mun's club not exclusively for Forresters, but for all reapec- | table men willing to join. ! ! Regulations under the Public Trust Office j Act, 1872, for the conduct of the business o£

the Public Trust Office, are announced in the | Ncio Zealand Gazette IpubMshed ou the 2nd mat. They provide for the office being at the Government Buildings, Molesworth-street, Wellington ; for the Board meeting on Thursdays in each -week .and any other days appointed by the Public Trustee; for a seal for the office; the forms in which applications for the Board to undertake trusts shall be made; for the Bafe custody of wills; for the employment of local agents; for registers of deeds and instruments being kept; and for sundry other details. A scale of fees is also announced. The Otago Daily Times of the 6th instant reports the following: — "A Hew arrival by the Christian M'Ausland, whose name we have not been able to ascertain, and who was employed by Mr Edmund Ducksbury, railway sub-contractor, Green Island, was found dead in a gully between nine and ten o'clock yesterday morning. The deceased, who was employed es a waggon driver in a cutting on the railway, left the- works with the horse he drove between four and five o'clock on Saturday. Not having arrived at the stables, which are at Mr Smith's farm, between which and the part of the works he left a hill intervenes, search was made on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Although the searchers must have been within 20 or 30 yards of him, they did not succeed in finding him till between nine and ten a.m. on Sunday, when he was discovered lying under the horse in a gully, and quite dead. The horse was alive. It would seem that the deceased missed the track, tak : ng the horse which he was riding to the edge of the precipice, when it walked or slipped over, carrying him with it." The Otago Daily Times of the 6th instant says :—": — " We are glad to hear that there is at length a prospect of the cutting of the track from Queenstown to Martin's Bay being proceeded with. The Provincial Executive have, we believe, accepted the tender of Mr Sandison, referred to in the Daily Tmes of Tuesday last, and Mr Sandison leaves Dunedin on Wednesday for Queenstown, lo make the necessary arrangements for the prompt commencement of the work. The route taken by the track, as already mentioned by us. is by the Greenstone river and Lake M'Kellar, it h aving been proved that this route is incomparably superior to the former one by Lake Harris. It is to be regretted that six weeks of the finest weather should have been lost, but Mr Sandison nevertheless hopes to have the work completed before the winter sets in. He has had considerable experience in work of the kind, and the manner in which he has executed it, for instance in the Waikaia district, is a guarantee that the work he has now undertaken will be promptly and efficiently performed." , The New Zealand Gazette of January, 1873, eontaius a comparative return of telegrams forwarded, the revenue received, and the value of General Government telegrams transmitted during the quarters respectively ending on the 30ti> September, 1871, and 0 30th September, 1872, as follows :— Number Q of telegrams forwar-Aeil September quarter, a 1871, 95,780 ; September quarter, 1872, 133,029, or an increase of 3'7;249;. For tlij c same periods, the cash revenue received s stood at— For 1871, £6678 2s 6d, against; ! " £9675 for the correi-poudiug quarter of 1872, '" the increase consequently amounting to c £2097 3s. This lar^e increase is highly satis■l factory, as showing that the advantages oi v telegraphing are recognised by the publk 11 ami increasingly made use of. It is alsc V ATorthy of note that the General Govcrnmeni S telegrams, which bad increased to such an ' extent that it became necessary for the Got vernment to issue an order restraining public c officials from using the telegraph excej>i in s cases of urgency, have been reduced in value - from £2397 18s in the September quarter of 1 1871 ; to £2132 17s for the corresponding '- quirter of 1872 ; or a reduction of £265 1c ; — a reduction wbich, s;uall as it is, represents i a certain aruouut of saving, and consequent j 5 v profit to t!ie department. The Post mentions, as a sign of the capae city of the Wellington Province for absorbing '* labor, that of all the immigrants brought 7 out by Messrs Brogden only twelve still y remaii; i l town, the remainder haviug obr taiued Avork in different up-country districts j '> these twelve, three only of them being 8 married men, have all obtained partial em3 ployiuent in town. Properly handled, this c fact should be such an one as to induce iui- ' migration. The men were brought out for a t specific work, but iv consequence of a <3is- • pute with Messrs Brogden they have had to I seek employment elsewhere, aud this they II have succeeded iv obtaining witbiu a iev? fc days. The Age concludes a leading article on the subject of Intercolonial Reciprocity as follows :—": — " We have been discussing the ques- , tion of Intercolonial Reciprocity Avith sue- „ ccssive Secretaries of Slate, and it is time for the controversy to be brought to an end. That Mr Yogel thinks so too is evident from the production of this memorandum on the eve of the assembly of another conference of delegates. Doubtless it is his iuteution to ' recommend some action iv the matter, and . the proposal came most appropriately from Ncav Zealand, from the fact that she alone possesses the rights Avhich should be the prerogative of the Arhole group of Colonies." The lease of the Circular Quay at Sydney for a year was sold by auction the other day for £3800. , The YLobart Town Mercury, in alluding to . the tendtney of the Hon Charles Meredith j; to employ the illustrations of fable and apologue in his speeches, tells the following story :—": — " On one occasion, Mr Meredith, desirous of extinguishing a not very obtrusive member who had dared to differ from . the then Treasurer, resorted to a fable Avhich he had evidently iuttnded applying to the obnoxious member. He said that once upon a time a lady favored by the gods was about , to be the .'mother of a boy. . A good geni appeared 'to'the expectant mother, and off ered f<> endow the Qliild with :any three gifts the mother should desire. She named first 1 impudence.' The second endowment was ' also • impudence.' 'Impudence,' too, was.the ! third qualificafiionnHked. c What became of ■ the iihlii.1 '?' Tiskeil Mr Meredith, raising his " linger :.as"ihe thought :to itunv his opponent 1 into riilicule, w:heti#licre wns rlheard 'proceedk ing from the . corner of the Opposition " i bences the words, ' llti became our Colonial j Treasurer.' The etVeet, was electrical, and 2 | Mr Meredith was Tor a tinip cured of bia £ style of illustration."

A letter from the British sloop-of-war Shearwater reports that Lieutenant Moore and Gunner Mahoney, of that vessel, on the '25th October, performed the feat of swimming across the Hellespont from Abydos to Sestos. M. Joigneray, an athlete of prodigious strength, has been performing at the FoliesBergere, Paris. Amongst other exercises> being suspended by his feet from a trapeze* he lifted from the ground a horse by the mere force of his wrists. Au " open sea " in the northern latitudes has been found at last, at least as far north as eighty degrees of latitude, which is nearly that of the northern limit of Spitzbergen. To the north-east of Spitzbergen, Captain Johnson, of Norway, is reported to have seen a clear sea free of ice, and to have sailed over it as far north as eighty degrees. Why he did not go further, whether on account of cold or fear, or from other cause, is not stated, and we must wait nnill it shall please ProfessorPetermaafco publish : the account of the Voyage. • .