MINING NOTES.

I Mr J. P. Watsos reports for tho week ending"' September 23th :—

R«efton.—Tho Wolcomo Company:; Owinpr to the pinlon-whccl o( tho battery again breaking, thero was no return last weak. The various works are progressing very satisfactorily, and the mine looks well.—The Just-in-Tirae Company's return for the week was 2850,? of amalgam from 105 tons of stone. The total amount of retorted gold in hand is SOloz from SBO tons of stone. The gold in the boxes |g expected to yield well.—The Golden Treasure Company have met with foul air in their workings, which will cause a little delay.—The Fiery Croaa Company will probably start crushing as soon as tho Just-in-Tlmo Company have finished.—The Keep-it-Dsrk Company hare only

equalled by .the' character of the evidence by. which they wore sustained. The Commissioners remark: ','H.e (Mr Hitchcock) apparently had: no experience in jWging of the) value; of testimony, nor did lie Beetn to be acquainted with the ordinary procedure for expiaeating the truth.' la liia eyes the testimony of a brothel-keeper was of the. same weight as that of a respectable citizen." Mr Quin is ontiiely exonerated of the charges, insinuated rather than made, of: misappropriation of money ; and Dr Hookbn is commended for declining to hold inquests which were unnecessary, and which it would have been to his pecuniary advantage to hold. At the same time the Commissioners point out that the Asylum is not adapted for the reception of..incurable patients, and recommend that "the incurables should be, as soon as provision can be made, removed to a proper hospital, where their sufferings might be alleviated under constant medical superintendence and the care of trained nurses." In this recommendation we cordially concur, and trust the matter will not be allowed to drop without some practical effort being made to carry out this recommendation. There can be no doubt that the care of such patients is outside the proper objects of such an institution, and interferes with its general efficiency as an asylum for the infirm and aged. We do not agree with the Commissioners in thinking the inquiry a mistake. Grave charges had been made with a persistency that implied either a strong belief in them or malice, and it was important that1 the public should be able to judge which. It is impossible to acquit Mr Hitchcock of inveterate prejudice ; but he may havo persuaded himself that there was truth in the oharges notwithstanding. Publicity ia usually fatal to the most carefully got-up cases whore the motive is so obvious. We believe the inquiry will clear the air, and convince the public that the institution ia fully worthy of their hearty support. Messrs Looan and Bathoate deserve thanks for the manner in which they have discharged a difficult and disagreoable duty, and the Committee of Sic Institution will, we have no doubt, find their hands strengthened by their report.

The Mayoral election ia approaching, and there are two candidates in the field—the present Mayor, Mr Ross, and Councillor Gore. We think it will be generally admitted that Mr Ross has filled the chair with dignity and impartiality, and that he has fairly earned a second term of office. He is not merely au ornamental appendage, but attends, faithfully to the duties of his office ; and his conciliatory bearing has won for him many friends even among those who wore formerly opposed to him. We have no doubt Councillor Gobe's turn will como, but not yet; and if he is so fooliah as to contest the election, we think there is little reason to doubt that Mr Eoss will be returned by an overwhelming majority.

On our fourth page this morning will be found the report of yesterday's Land Board meeting, Messrs Buthgate and Logan's decision in the Benevolent Institution inquiry, letters to the editor, and other matter.

The Premier's departure from Wellington has bean postponed until to-day. Mr Dick left laat night in the Albion, He will stay in Christchurch for a day or two previous to coming through to Dunedin-

The news concerning Native affairs !a satisfactory in ons reapect—namely, that almost all the unsatisfactory nawa of the past day or two U now contradicted. The story about the settler Darnells having a dispute with and being chased by the Natives is qulto untrue, and the statement (.flat Titokowaru and his peoplo had gone to Parihaka ia absolutely contradioted. It seems remarkably difficult to know what to believe and what not (o believe about men or things ia the neighbourhood of Parihaka. One fact is chronicled thla morning which may probably be accepted as fact, and that is that vaccination is the order of the day at the Maori metropolis. It is to be hoped that pure lymph from some calf come of ths quietest dairy stook is being used- In the present highly exoitable frame of mind ia which Te Whiti and his followers are said to be, every cara should bo taken not to infect them with the slightest semblance of a spirit of mischief-

We'publish this morning an interesting letter on sporting matters in Melbourne, from a special correspondent. The New Zealand Uoracs are specially dealt with, and partioulmy are given of the run which hag been made on Duchess, who, as we wera informed by cable a few days ago, suddenly sprung into the position of first favourite for the Melbourne Cup.

M'Gahey has been acquitted of the charge of -uurder at llukitika- Tho alleged murder was cominittod near Reef ton, the victim being a man namtd Bell, of whom it was alleged il'Gahey was jealous in connection with his ■?ile. 801 l was murdered in a stockyard with

an axe. Mr W; A. Murray is on his way from Wellington to address his Bruce constituents. We are very glad to hear that Mr F, Fitchett has entirely recovered from the attack from which ha suffered on Tuesday night, and which, we believe, was the resnlt of overwork. Sittings of the Supreme Court in Banco and Bankruptcy will be held before Mr Justice Johnston on Friday. The criminal sessions commence on the following Monday, and on the 17th proximo his Honor intends to leave for Chriatchurch, to take the criminal and civil business there. Some of the civil cases set down for hearing this seeuion will have to be postponed until his Honor'B return, and the hearing of the case Connor v. Mackay has been fixed to commence on the 31st proximo, and is expected to last a woek, About 80 young men in Dunedin are anxious to join the Armed Constabulary .for service in the North, and have applied to be enrolled- We believe that a number of them will be selected by Sub-ingpector Coloman today-

Our Wellington correspondent telegraphs :— " Rather an amusing incident has come to my knowledge as showing the hasty and perfunctory way the Estimates were rushed through at last. You will remember that one item for china and plats for Bellamy's was voluntftiily struck out by Government. It now turns out that this was done without inquiry, under the impression that the vote was for articles to be purchased, whereas in reality they were bought many months ago by the Agent-general, and so ha ire to be paid for whether Parliament votes the money or notMeanwhile I suppose Ministers will have to advance the sum, fciuating to an Indemnification by Parliament next session."

The body of Kerne, late mate of the schooner Mary Ogilvie, who was drowned in the harbour on the 4th inst., waa discovered yesterday lying underneath the Jetty street Wharf, behind the veßael Alma- The body was but slightly decomposed, the face being almost perfect; and this fact, together with the position in which the body waa lying, would lead to the conclusion that the deceased had been drownad while endeavouring to Bcromble up the wharf-wall, and that his remains had lain there ever since- TUo body was removed to the city morgue. There was but a short sitting of the City Polico Court yesterday. One drunkard was dealt with, and Anne Barry, charged with wilfully breaking two panes of glass, valued at 15j, the property of Meßsrs Jolly, Connor, and Co., was fined L 5, in default two munths' imprisonment, with hard labour. Messrs J. Logan and A, H. Boss (Mayor), J-P.'s, preBided.

A meeting of the Chamber of Commerce Oommittes was held yesterday afternoon, when a letter from Messrs Dalgety and Co,, London, enclosing plans and specifications of rafrigeratinjj machinery which is now on its way out to the Colony by the Bhip Hurunui, waa considered. After soma discussion, it was decided to hand over the documents to Mr N. Y. A, Wales, architect, for his advice as to the erection of the refrigerating works, which are to be established at Burnside. Active steps 'Hll be token for the immediate construction of the works, and it is expected that they will be ready for operation by Febrnary or March next.

A mooting in connection with the Hindon Quartz-mining Company was held In Mr Watson's offioo yesterday afternoon, but the businfßS transacted was of a private character. A very destructive fire took place at Suwyors' Bay on Tueailay evening, between 8 aud 9 •I'ol-iok, by wbich tti» dwelling-housd of Mr Philip P'ratley, and th?, principal part of the; contents, were entirely consumed. Mr and Mrs Pratley and their family -.vere absent from iiomu when' the 'fire broke out, And they are

indebted to eomo of thoir neighbours for saving a few articles from the sitting-room. The house contained nix rooms, wan built of wood, and had a shingled roof, on which it is supposed a spark of fire from the chimney man hive settled; and after smouldering for a time bosa fanned into (lame. Beyond the few articles savad through the exertions of Messrs Ryan, Fsrqnhareon, and G- Thompson, Mr Fratloy has lost all he possessed. The house wan insured in the Standard office for Ll5O, and the furniture) and contents ia the Bame office for LSO. Above these sums Mr Pratley estimates his loss at nearly another LIOO. At a meeting held at the Athenteum Hall last evening it was decided to take steps towards ercoting a statue in the city to the memory of Robert Brims, and a committee was appointed to raise the neoesßary fundsMr James M'K. Meek, of Auckland, is at present in Dunedin to dispose of a sample of his penmanship, which is highly credit, able to his taste and patience. It is upon a handy-sized sheet, whioh ia suitable for framing. The work is called " The Christian's Keepsake." Some few years ngo, it will be remembered, Mr Meek ex hibited in Dunedin a " Chronological Tree of New Zealand," which elicited much commendation. The present is an effort of somewhat the same description. The design comprises a couple of trees, the roots, stem, and branches all written over with texts, whioh are mainly utterances of the Saviour whilst on earth. An image of the Saviour in a wreath of olive leaves occupies the centre of the sheet between the trees, and above this is an open Bible. The fruit upon the trees is labelled as the Christian rirtues, and lopped-off branches are strewed at the base which represent the evil fruit, and are labelled as the vices- Every detail is aimed out with faithfulness, and Mr Meek has evidently expended a deal of time and patience upon the execution of his design. At a sitting of the Supreme Court in Bankruptcy yesterday his Honor Mr Justice John ston decided that on the evidenca giv.m by Mr Clayton there was no proof that Mr A3hor was a partner in the bankrupt's business, and allowed Mr Asher's proof of debt. The funeral of the late Father Donovan, at Lyttelton, was one of the largest that ever took place there. It was attended by priests from all parts of Canterbury, as well as by large numbers of laity from a distance. A meeting of ratepayers was held at Caver sham last evening, to take into consideration the proposal of the Counoil to put to the vote the question of water supply. It was auani mously resolved that the Council be supported in its intention of supplying the borough with that domestic necessity. A large and influential committea was formed to canvass the burgesses to urge them to vofca for this sanitary desideratum. It may not perhaps bo known that unless a majority of the ratepayers whosa names appear on the roll vote on Saturday, Caversham will not be able to avail itself of a water supply, which is so urgently needed. The West Harbour Borough Counoil are taking steps to obtain public baths in the bay opposite the township of Haia. At the meeting of the Council laßt evening it was stated that the ECarbour Board were quite willing to grant a site in the locality. Icqnirieu haying baen made as to the alleged prevalence of scarlet fevor, we understand there is no ground whatever for any scare. So far as can be ascertained the cases that have occurred are of a mild type, and only one death in all New Zealand occurred last month from the disease, and none «to reported as having died from it In Dunedin this monthThe Caithness, Sutherland, Orkney, and Shetland Association held their usual monthly meeting in the AthoDssam last evening, Mr GC. Matheson, president, in the chair. In re Kurd to the Shetland disaster, a sub-committee was appointed to attend the general committee meeting this evening, to fnrther as far as poesible the collection of subscriptions towards the ffind being raised for the relief of the sufferers, and to report at another meeting of the Association to be held next Tuesday nicht

The Went Harbour Council seem to have drifted into a very impecnniouß position, and councillors are not willing to becomo surety for the overdraft, which is gradually increasing. The annual tea-meeting in connection with tbe Sunday-school attached to the Trinity Wesleyan Church at Port Chalmers was held on Tuesday evening. The whole of the scholars, with their teachers and friends, were presen^ and during the course of the evening addresses were delivered by the Key. Mr Tinsley, pastor of the church, the Eev. Messrs Buddie Maxwell, and other gentleman. Several ex' collect sacred selections wera sung by the

teachers and children, and the meeting wsb

closed with prayer. We understand there in nearly a sufficient sum of money in the hands of the committee to build a schoolroom with.

The Taiori Advocate reports that on Friday evening a dreadful accident befell a three-year, old daughter of Mr Gridgeman, a labourer, residing at Hindon. It appears that a teapot containing boiling tea was within reach of the child, and seizing this she drank a portion of

the liquid. Nothing could be done for her that night, although the child was suffering intense pain, accompanied by suffocation, bnt early next morning her parents removed her to Outratn, where Bhe was attended by Dr Stirling. The oaae was. however, hopeless, but

to somewhat alleviate her suffering, the doctor performed an operation on her throat, and

inserted a tube for the purpose of rende-ing breathing more free. Aftor lingering for about 10 hours after the performance of the opera-

;ion, the child expired,

At the District Court, Oamaru, yester day, Marshall Simmonds was charged with a criminal assault upon his daughter under 12 years of age. By direction the jury returned a verdict of " Not guilty," on the ground that there was no identification of the child In evidence. Judge Ward is reported to have said:—" The prisoner ib now discharged, but though he has escaped through a mere technicality, he may take this with him, that there ia not a person present who does not believe him to be the most infamous scoundrel that has over disgraced the dock. Turn him out of Court." Mr Carew, E.M. at Lawrence, holds a different opinion from the Dunedin Justices as to the illegality of throwing dice in a licensed house; In a recent charge of the kind before him, counsel cited a decision given in Duaedin on a Bimilar case heard bofore Justices a few days ago, in whioh th« charge was dismissed. His

Worship said it would not be proper for him to

comment upon the decision of those holding the same jurisdiction as himself. He fined defendant 203 and casts-

A Diamond-drill Mining and Kock-boring

Company, consisting of 24,000 shares at 5,

each, to purchase diamond-drills for prospecting purposes, has been formed in the Inangahua district. It was stated that the cost of a diamond-drill to bore 500 feet, to gether with pump, boiler, and connections, and duplicate parts of rods, &c, would be LllOO, and would be proportionately higher if the machinery was intended for deep3r exploration.

" Atlas " in the World says :—" I have seen and handled one of the now notorious Infernal machines, and a very ugly machine it is- Its aspect is not unlike that of a square coffee canister or a tin of preserved meat. The case

Is of some preparation of zinc hammered. Until the lid is removed the devilish thing seema as innocent as any article from a grocer's or oilman's ishop. Even on a closer inspection the machine might be taken for a roughly-fashioned clock, for those American affairs are nothing wonderful in the way of workmanship. They have been made evidently by contract, and have none of the nicety and finish of Thomassen's, which exploded at Bremerhaven. All

the works are iv fnll view at the top; the dynnmite or nitro-lignino material la hidden below in several cylinders. A very simple oontrivance has been adopted to explode the charge at a given time. A flat disc slowly re. voly«t by the action of clookwork until a slot in tfee disc comes opposite a lever or handle in connection with it The slot releases the lever ; the latter in its turn release* a spring, and a small hammei- falls upon the detonating capafter which the delnga."

In a new comic opera, " Claude Dnval," now in full rehearsal at the Olympio in London, Mr Celli ridea a fiery steed upon the stage and flings his fast song on horseback- There is also to be a real coach and four horses on the stage.

Herr Bonno Soherek proceeds on a northern tour as far as Asbburton next week with a concert company, consisting, besides himself, of Madame Scherek (who will appear as a piano

forta soloist), Mr Ohaiies Waud (solo violoncellist), and Mr and Mrs A. J. O. Baber (vocalists). The company will appear on Monday and Tuesday at Timaru, calling after

wards at Waimate as ivt-11 as Ashburton, and on the way back a atny will be made at Oamaru

We are sure the- appearances' of the company will be crowned with success.

A concert wan given last evening in Naumann's Hall, South Dunedia, in aid of khd library fund, of the Weeleyaa Mission £Ull,

at which, tho Mayor of South Dnnedin (Mr M'Bride) presided. . The attendance was on'Mmsly large, and. many , features in tha programme were received by the audienca wilh unusuul favour.. Amongst tUeso may be mentioned; in the first portion of the programme, n song by Mr Springer, "Ia Happy Moments,1' f?hioh was imperatively encored; a rscitaticn i entitled "Number One," by Miss Whittington, which met with the samo recognition; and songs by Mias Hindla and Mr Calverlay,. After the interval tho Misses Beck were loudly applanded for a very tastefully-rendered pianoforte duet, and Mr Marsden's " Midahipmite" was encored, aa were ssveral other items. In the coursa of the eveniug glees were given by the Trinity Weslayan Churoh choir with excellent effect."

Mefiarn Bent and Bacheldet's Christy Minstrels gave their second performance in the Queen's Theatre last evening. The programme was the same aa previously, and the entertain' ment passed off very satisfactorily. Severa encores were given, and the negro farce, the comic history, and the p»rody on "Pinafore " were greatly enjoyed by the audience.

Mr It. B. Martin sells on education reserve at Blueskin to-day.

Runholders are required to pay the assessment on their runs before Saturday at noon.

Messrs Donald Reid and Co. sell potatoes to-day. Tho share-list in the Guardian Trust Company will close on October 12th.

Mr D. M. Spedding sells fruit to-day. Tho fourth quarter of the Bovb and Girls' High Schools begins on 3rd October.

Mr D. Stronach will sell cattle and horsea at Moegtel aaleyards on Tueßday, 11th October.

Mr D. M. Spedding will Bell groceries, wines, &c. on Thursday, Oth October.

We are requested to remind owners of racehorses that the nominations for the Dunedin Cup, Hurdle, Publicans)1, Tally-ho, City Stakes, Novel, Dunedin Jockey Club, Steeplechase, Forbury, and Flying Handicaps, to be run at the Autumn meeting on the Forbury course, will close on Saturday, Ist October, at 8 p.m. ; ry

Messrs Gordon and Gotch, of Melbourne, have sent us volume VII of the " Family Herald" supplements, which contains a number of interesting tales of the class for which that journal is so famed.

We are requested to' direct attention to the New Zealand Clothing Factory's advertisement in another column. Their goods received tho first order of merit at the Dunedin Exhibltisn, and they still continue to supply " a single garment at the wholesale price."

An entirely new system is to be introduced by the Co-operative Clothing Society, who are about opening premises in 02 George street, opposite Messrs A. and T. Inglis'. Every customer will participate in the profits of the Society, which are to be equally divided between Bhareholders and buyers, and payable in cash. This new system should meet with tho hearty support of every member of the community. Sco advertisement.

John Harborow, professed Shirtoutter, Manse street, Dunedin, and Hereford street, Chriatchurch.— A Sample Shirt, to measure, in 24 hours if required. Shirts re-fronted, &c; flannel drawers, pants, and nightshirts made to order. Jackets, pygamas, or sleeping suits in any material. Collars and cuffs, newest shapes and styles. N.B.—Gentlemen waited upon at their private residences if required.— [Advp.J

PUBLIC NOTICE.—This Is no novel advertisement, but simply inserted for the purpose of directing the attention of the working men and tho unemployed to the fact that I am now soiling primo roasting beef from 2J<l per lb., boiling beef from ljd, mutton from 2d per lb. for cash.—S. O. Sarrn, City Company, High street.—[Advt.]