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Bruce Herald, Volume VI, Issue 380, 16 August 1871, Page 4

M'Donald and party, while engaged cut» ting a tail race at the Nevis Gorge last week> are reported to have found a nugget weigh* ing 170 ozs. The Hon. Major Richardson's popularity as a public lecturer, was fully taken advantage of on the occasion of his late departure for Wellington, having delivered at Bal* clutha, Milton and Riccarton, exceedingly instructive and apropos lectures on' Colonize ation, as illustrated by the life of Captain Montague,'' with the Hon. Major's exceed* in^ly happy and humorous application of the subject to ourselves as colonists. The lecture was received with enthusiasm on each occasion, the chair being occupied at the East Taieri by the Rev. W. Will, and a vote of thanks was proposed to the lecturer by Mr A. Todd, of Johnstone. In Milton, the hope was expressed that the Major would, ero long, again favor us with a similar treat, in which request no dcubt the other country audiences who have listened to our most popular lecturer, will heartily join. The prospectors of the Ocean View Reef at Table Hill, reported in our last, have sunk a shaft 45 ft-et in depth, and come on a reef about 3£ feet in thickness, the trial crushing of 10 tons went about 6 dwts* to the ton (not ozs .as reported by our Waitahuna correspondent) which gave great satisfaction to the prospectors, who have started driving the level at both ends, and are able to get up 10 or 12 tons of quarts in 8 hours, this they are now conveying in drays to the Table Hill Company's machine. Some men are still prospecting the spurs in the vicinity, but have not as yet proved successful. Our Mount Benger correspondent writes on Friday last : — At present I hav.i merely time to inform you that the river has been rising steadily since Wednesday, and is now, (Friday noon), rising still more rapidly. A very high flood is anticipated. As a matter of course, the working of nearly all the claims is stopped. Scott's centenary was c :?e'irotad at the Schoolhouse, Roxburgh, on Wednesday, and was a great success.

An interesting ceremmy took place at the Presbyterian Church, Lawrence, on Saturday week, when 2 Chinese, the fh*3t Celestial converts in the Tuapeka district, since Mr Ah Ching, the Chinese missionary com-» menc-d his labors among his countrymen were baptised.

A niece of Mr W. A. Lyon, settler of Flint's Bush, hear to Riverton, was accidentally burned to death on Fi-iday, 4th instant. The mother of the child having had occasion to leave the kitchen for a few minutes, on her return found the little girl had come i 1 contact with the tire and was very badly burned, nearly the whole of the chdd's clothing being burned off. The injuries were so severe that death resulted in a short time.

The businedS community of Milton had recently been added to, by the arrival of Mons. Mouritzen, a cooper, who has set to work in the preparation of dairy farm utensils, cheese vats, &c , as well -is articles of ordinary household use. We have examined some of his cheese vats, butter firkins, &c, which appear to be very well and strongly got up, p >ssessing, also, the no small attribute of cheapness in these hard times. We trust that during the approaching season, the farmers of the district will patronise lOC2I industry in obtaining necessary supplies of Mons. Moiiritzen.

While we of Otago are doing battle for our existing educational scheme, the following clause* have been introduce 1 into the Canterbury Education Bill now under discussion. It will be observed that these pr< ■ visions closely resemble our own, to which Bishop Moran so strongly objects, and we observe that a petition against the Canterbury Bill lies for signature at the priest's house, Christchurch : —76 Whenever any school shall have been established under the provisions of this Ordinance a portion of the Holy Scriptures shall be read during the first half hour after the opening of the school by such of the children as can read fluently and intelligently or if none such be present then by the teacher and such, teacber "—ay hy the unanimous vote of the members of the school c immittee of any such school give religious inbtruction to tbe children. 77. No person other than the teacher or teachers except as hereinafter providedshall be allowed to give in truction either secular or religious in any school. 78. It shall be lawful for the committee of any school to set apart either one whole school day or two half school days in. every week during which any minister or ministers of religion may impart religious instruction to such of the children on the books of the school as may belong to his or their, religious denominations. Provided that no -chiid or children shall be allowed to attend r , at such instruction should the parents or guardians of such child or children ..; give notice W writing to/the master of the 3chool of their objectioni-herQto.. ••-

'„ W* aht-^be glad if the full detaila -futiiished i-W*st issue, of -the American butter *nd cheese factories-, should lead to the establishment of a Bimilar factory in Otago. "Otr* rei-ders are atorare that Mr John iPeTduhdh, ioiMi-«rly pupil teacher, in "&* Milton Grammar School, was the successful competitor for the Knox Church scholar•Bhip, in the t>tago University, whichis worth L3O a year for 3 years. Mr Ferguson on the 'occasion obtained 243 marks out of a possible 339. or about 72 per cent, which was a *nost satisfactory rest-It, still it is to be regretted that' bo valuable a burseary should not have attracted more opposition, as to all Intents and purposes it was a walk over to Fergnson, his only opponent, a student well Jknown a. the neighborhood of Balclutha Slaving netted tinder 60 per cent, in his ex■amination. . A p-tbmo meeting was held in the Courthouse, Balclutha, on Monday evening, for the purpose of considering what steps could ie taken towards putting a stop to the prevailing excessive use of alcoholic drinks. The Mayor, Mr John M'Neil, occupied the •chair, and the Court-house was filled^ to a •degree that betokened great interest in the movement. The Rev. Mr Arnott spoke in 'favor of total abstinence as the only means of at the root of the evil. The' Rev. Mr Isitt said, nothing would, please -him better than to see a "public| adoption of the total abstinence society at present in existence. 'There were those amongst them who did not maintain such extreme views, but who still -thought there were too many publichouses, =and that the Legislature might be appealed to, to step in and put a stop to a further objectionable increase. He concluded by moving tbe following resolution :— " Tbat a Committee be formed to call a public meeting, or adopt such other measures as may •_eem advisable, with the object of petitioning the Legislature in favor . of a Permissive Bill." Mr David Doull seconded the resolution, and spoke strongly of the necessity of something being done to put a stop to the existing evil. Mr Elisha Harris desired to express what he believed in. He believed in 'doing a good day's work, and having a pint of beer over it. He didn't btlieve in getting tight though. That was all he had to say. He always liked to say what he jmeant. Mr Isitt's resolution was carried without dissent. The following gentlemen were then a Committee to carry out the resolution :— Messrs Doull, Isitt, M'Neil, Xoung, *nd T. W. Bruce, with power to add to their number. Our regret at not being able to a fuller report of- the meeting? is only equalled by the pleasure it gives us to see some probability of an effort being made to emancipate tbe victims of worse slavery "than ever existed in the Southern States of

America. . . A man named Fleming* committed sUicide by shooting himself, on Friday, 4th inst., in the bush near to the Halfway Bush Hotel, at Dacre. The gun was obtained from the house (having been loaded by Mr M'lntosh, ■for the purpose of killing fowls) by Fleming Who was employed there. The firing of the ;gun was heard, and search being made, Fleming's body was found under such cir<cuinstances as to lead to ths conclusion that he had sat down upon a log, and placing the ■muzzle of the gun against bis chest bad then fired. The deceased was not long since before the Invercargill Bench, charged with iunacj, and was committed to tho Lunatic Asylum, at Dunedin, from -which he seems to have been discharged. L-uring his residence with Mr M'lntosh, sincejhisjdischarge, nothing very remarkable in bis conduct has been noticed, the Jury, however, upon the inquest held by Dr Hodgkinson, added to their verdict an expression of ,opinion, that the man having been committed to the Lunatic -Asylum in April or May last only, with the knowledge that he had before attempted -micide he ought not to have been so soon xlischarged. We lately observed quite a new idea in _nilk vats, manufactured by a local tradesman, Mr Jas. Dickson, carpenter, Milton, the convenience and serviceability of which ■deserve consideration from dairy farmers, ■especially those conducting operations upon *n extensive scale. These vats are, in fact, .arge shallow boxes lined with sheet lead, over two feet wide, and of any required length, with divisions for morning and milkings if necessary. The vats are supported upon a raised stand, and the milk _g poured into them from the milking pails. The creaming process is much oasier than where a greatmany milk dishes have to be .skimmed, while the saving of time and labor "in the course of a year, by the use of these Vats must be very considerable indeed A pipe is inserted in the bottom of the vat with a plug and long handle, so that it can be inserted or withdrawn at pleasure, and the skimmed milk fall into pails below for removal, or if advisable these pipes -could be led into the pigs trough, and thus ■still further prove a means of saving labor.

The Fairfax toll-bar, since its erection by the Milton Boad Board, has been a source of much dissatisfaction to the carters of timber from the bush, and coal from down the-rivei pits, who mainly use the road. This grumbling has recently increased more and more, •as the roads have grown less and less available for traffic, and When anyone pays money away they like to see some return commensurate therewith, and, as nothing is being done to repair the roads and make them more accessible, a well-known and respected resident of Milton-^as he came along the. road ■on Friday last^-got into grief with his team from the very bad nature of the road* and determined that until something was done to improve the road he would pay no more . >11 • he therefore declined to pay the collector, repeating the decision come to in his own mind, just stated, next day as he 'Came the way he -found the toll-bar closed in his face, and as he still declined to pay toll, the gate was locked, and Mr Collector appeared as master of the situation, however* this proud supremacy wa_. but of short duration, as Mr Carter who possesses brobilagnian proportions, like a modern Samson, quietly seized the toll-bar and lifted the gate from its position and deposited it carefully on the road side, and returning led his team safely through. We need scarcely state that Mr Carter has not since been asked to pay toll, and We further understand that his action _iaS quite nonplussed the Road Board, who are at a loss how to proceed to obtain a •conviction against this modern .Hercules. The Collector in undertaking the duties of the office, specially declined to take action at Court against defaulters, while the Board cannot prosecute obherwl e than through the Collector. As these toll charges eventually fall upon the consumers of Wood and coal in Milton and the Tokomairiro districts, we await the result of the case with some interest, as if one drayman has succeeded in defy mg the imposition of collage, we presume that others will be i*i.:lined to try it on likewise, and it must be evident to all, that if the toll-bar is to be - maintained, such a flagrant broach of toll ettiquette cannot be allowed to pass unnoticed, y\

MbE.T. GiiAon is acting A* telegraph compiler at Wellington, for the Router's agency, Mb AiEitt. Livingston, iProyincial Auditor, has been appointed Hon. Secretary of the QtagO XJniverjjity Council, in place of Mr John Hislop, resigned. A purse of 80 sovereigns tras on Monday last, presented t othe Rev. Father Moreau, by the protestants of Danedin, oh the occasion of his departure for the North Island. THE Rev. R. L. Stanford will (d. v.) preach at Inch Clutha, on Sabbath afternoon, and the Wesleyan Chapel, Balclutha, in the evening. X. - Letters of natuarlization have been issued in faVor of Henri Hagen, blacksmith, Waitahuna, H. J. de Smidt, Hotelkeeper, Campbelltown, and J. S. Burres, builder, Cromwell. _ 332 Chinese arrived in Dunedm, by the '« Noord Brahant," on Monday last, making the Chinese arrivals during the past 3 weeks 1126, in all, or equal to an average of over 62 a day. . .._i_.ii. Mb T. Calctttt has proceeded to the north of the Province to arrange with the land owners from the Waitaki to Moeraki, for the land necessary for the construction of the northern line of railway. . It is reported by telegraph from Napier, that on Wednesday last, Capt. Preece, exchanged shots with Te Kooti, and on Ihursday when following up his tracks a letter was found from Te Kooti to the Government, expressing a desire to be left unmollested, and " allowed to live and plant. Miss D^lly Green gave her pop™* drawing room entertainment, entitled " The Seven Ages of Woman," in the Volunteer Hall, Milton, on Thursday last, to a highly appreciative if not so large an audience as we could have wished, and as the merits of the artista deserved. Many entertainments fall flat and cold upon the auditor, when heard oftener than once ; but Miss Green s delineature of the numerous and yaned characters presented, are so faithful and true to the life that they seem to improve by repetition, and on this occasion we listened with renewed pleasure from first to last We need not attempt to describe the various scenes depicted in the progress of woman s estate from infancy to old age ; but would strongly recommend those who have not heard Miss Green, to take the very hrst opportunity tbat presents itself to do so. ihe Violin BeleGtiona Of Mons. Fluery, and accompaniments of Mr White, on the piano, wetalso a rich treat. The parting testimonial in appreciation ot Mr John Dewe's many public services on behalf of this district will be publicly presented in the Volunteer Hall on Friday evening, when the subscribers are specially requested to be present. We trust that a goodly attendance of the general public on the occasion will testify to the well earned popularity of one of our oldest and most worthy settlers. '• Edith Palmerston is coming ! so says an advertisement elsewhere. This lady has been well spoken of wherever she has appeared infthis colony. The programme of her drawing-room entertainment, of which a copy has been sent us, appears such as will succeed with a Tokomairiro audience, having lately been devoid of such amusements. _ Mr Berry, Treasurer of the Victorian Parliament, brought forward his Financial Statement on the 3rd inst. Twenty per cent, is to be levied on all goods capable of being manufactured in tbe colony, including cutlery and machinery. Corn, one slulliYig percental. Ground corn, one shilling and sixpence per cental. He estimates to raise L230,«00 more than Francis's tariff. All freeholders who have not secured their Crown Grants should at once do so, as under section 6 of the Crown Grants Amendment Act, 1870, all Crown Grants left in the hands of the receiver of land revenue after notice being gazetted of their completion, are liable to a fine of 6d per month. That official on Monday last, procured judgment against three landholders in sums of L6, 4s, and L3 2s, and costs respectively, and as over L3OOO is said to be outstanding in this manner, country settlers who have Crown Grants lying in the Land Office will save themselves further trouble and expense by at once taking delivery of such Grants, which can be done by forwarding written instructions to authorised land agents in Dunedin. The first session of the fifth Parliamen of New Zealand, was opened on Monday last, by a commission, consisting of Majors Richardson and Richmond, and the Hon. Messrs Domett and Sewell, but His Excellency was not to deliver his opening speech until yesterday afternoon. Mr Dillon Bell was chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives on the motion of Sir David Munro, the late Speaker, without opposition. All the Otago members were present. The Speaker of the Legislative Council compelled all members to be re-sworn, to which proceeding several ;honorables objected, holding that when appointed, they were sworn for life, however all submitted under protest and were sworn. Mr Henrt Smythies purposes shortly proceeding to Wellington to support a petition to be again presented by him to the Assembly asking to be beard before the Bar of the House, so as to be able to prove his innocence of the crime imputed to him, from the effects of which he has been debarred from practising in tbe law courts of the colony. Thirteen tenders were received for the , construction of the main south line of railway, Clutha end, but the name of the successful tenderer has not yet been officially made known, but it is currently rumored 1 that Mr A. J. Smyth, the contractor for the other sections now in progress, has secured the contract at a price much below the est mated cost. Readings in commemoration of the Scott Centenary Were given in the Volunteer Hall, Milton, last evening. The Bev. J. Chisbolm occupied the chair, and commenced the proceedings with a short sketch of the history of Sir Walter Scott. The readings given were ali selected from the works of that celebrated author, ahd the songs were all Scotch Mr W. Taylor ably acted as accompanist on the pianoforte.

Previous to the departure from Auckland of His Excellency the Governor, the following letter was sent to his Honor" the Superintendent of that Province :— " I enclose herewith a cheque for L2O, and shall feel milch obliged if your honor will distribute this sum among the local charities. I would mention* in particulai, the Benevolent Society, the Refuge for Neglected and Destitute Children* the Dispensary, and the Orphan Home at Parnell, in. all of which institutions Lady Bowen and I have felt especial interest I regret that the above-mentioned sum cannot be larger, but, as you are aware, the Governor is constantly called upon to contribute, not only to charities, but also to literary societies, races, and to a quantity of other objects, in all parts of New Zealand. With the earnest good wishes of mysilf and of our family for the health and happiness of all in the province and city of Auckland— I remain, ray dear Su perintendent, yours very faithfiulyv-G. F. __.owen."