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Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 806, 26 May 1876, Page 5

A special meeting of the Tokoniairiro Road Board will be held at six o'clock ou Monday evening, for the discussion of some important matters in connection with the annual elections. A A'EBY large number of persons made use of the railway lines ou Wednesday. The total amount taken -was £121 Is 5d — £49 4s 6d being for Port Chalmers, and £72 4s lid for Clutha. A fcOCOsroTivs will be brought from Dunedin to day, to be used in completing the ballasting of the Tuapeka branch line between Clarksyiile and Glenore, Messrs Smyth and Wain will probably finish the contract in about a month. Ax error occurred in an advertisement in our last issue with reference to the Tokomairiro Koad Board elections. Mr James GoodaU is the reluming oflieer for the Milton sub-division, and not Mr Falconer as etated. At Christchurch, on Tuesday, a young man nnjuod Patrick Gordon, said to bo heir to £10,000 per year, was committed for fci'ial on throe charges of larceny as a bailee, and obtaining money by means of valueless cheques.. Os Wednesday night, Mr >J. J. Atkinson presented the cricket bat offered by him to the highest aggregate ?corer during the season to (lie winner, Mr Geo, Dickson, On tljG handle of the bat is a silver plate bearing a suitable inscription. Jules La. Foxt.vixe, of ttnlelutha, was last week granted letlers patent for a new and improved apparatus for dredging for gold in river?, The machine will bo tested in a few daye at Clyde. The body of the laic Mr Alexander AitchUon was buried in the Fairfax Cemetery yesterday afternoon. The fuueral was attended by a large number of townspeople, and by most of the old settlers in the district. The funeral service was rend by the Rev. J. Ciiisholm. A SormiANo newspaper Bays :— '■' In con* sequence of the difficulty of keeping down the number of the rabbits, any kind of decent dogs are in great demand. One stockrider told us a few days ago that he had sold £00 worth of dogs this year, and was thinking of going into dog breeding as a novel industry. Our Quecnstown readers, who seem to be overburdened with dogs, would do well to take nole of .this." The 'Star' s:iys that after the rifle match in Dunediu on "Wednesday, the visitors were enter' tamed at a champagne lunch at Watsons', a capital spread being provided and done justice to. Ciipr. Wales occupied the chair, and was supjjorted on the ri<jht b}' Capt. Pillans, Oliitliii Jtiilee, and an the left by C'apfc. Pctril, Brni-e Rifles. Cupt. Wnles, in proposing (lie health of the country team?, credited the Clutha nien with the" palm aa crack shootiste, and expressed the belief that the Bruce Rifles was the beet drilled corps in the Province. Tho return match Tokouaairiro v. Guards will, if possible, be fired this ?eagon.

[ Theeb was no meeting of the Milton Munioi- ! pal Council on Wednesday night. ! Tub Captain of the Dunedin Fire Brigade has received the following telegram from Ballarat : — " New Zealand third prize. All well." Two thousand two hundred acres of land in the Chatton Hundred hare been set apart for occupation on deferred payments. Tjieee was a short Bitting of the Kesident Magistrate's Court, Milton, on Tuesday, when the case Hewson v. Boraman was partly heard, and again adjourned. We have received a letter from a ratepayer, suggesting to the Milton Municipal Council the advisability of placing a lamp on the road to the Railway Station, at the town boundary. A lamp is very much needed at that spot. A coHBEeroiTDEKT of the ' North Otago Times ' aver 3 that the report of a new goldfield having been revealed iv cutting the last mile of the Naseby Sludge Channel has been set afloat by storekeepers and others from interested motives, and cautions miners against rushing to the field, as there is no payable ground to be taken up. Tnj! ' Southland News ' says — ct The remains of the slaving brig Carl, on board of which Dr James Murray achieved a reputation second only to that of Sullivan, continue to be an obstruction and an eyesore at the Bluff wharf. They should have been cleared away long ago if tho harbor regulations had been anything bub a dead letter." The Canterbury Jockey Club has decided to warn a local bookmaker off the course, as a defaulter, and also carried the following resolution : — " That the Canterbury Jockey Club will gladly co-operate with the racing clubs of New Zealand in promoting a meeting for tho adoption of a general scale of weights for the Colony, and a uniformity of rules as far as may be practicable." We learn from tho ' Timpeka Times ' that a large area of land on the Ta-pauui Station (Mr M'Kellar's) is being broken up this season. These plains will rival tho Taieri in a few years in productiveness, and with easy means of transit to Dunedin, Tapanui will become one of the finest agricultural districts in New Zealand. Tho settlers in tho vicinity of the station are all busy ploughing, fencing, and otherwise improving their holdings. The following are the only items of telegraphic news that have been rec«ivedfiom Australia since our lust issue : — lt is rumored that a large estate in Sydney, worth half a million, is likely to cause litigation, new claimants having appeared. — The Adelaide Government telegraphed to Sydney, asking the New Zealand Cable Company to send tho Edinburgh to repair the Java cable ; but the arrangements between the Sydney and Now Zealand Governments prevent it. A ' Gazette ' notice states that his Honor the Superintendent has proclaimed all that area of land, bounded on tho north by Shag River, on the weßt by the Main North Road, on the east by tho ocean, and on the south by the Waikouaiti Eiver; and also that area of land comprised within tho Waihola and North Tokomairiro Hundreds, n3 open for coursing harc3 between the hours of sunrise and sunset, from May 23rd to July 31st. The prico of a coursing license is £1. Visitors to the Milton Courthouse will remember that when Mr Maitland takes his seat on the Bench, Mr Peter Farrell, the clerk, informs the public that " The Resident Magistrate's Coort is now open " in a tone that is generally stern and awe-inspiring. On Tuesday, when the business was about to commence, it was discovered that the workmen had removed a portion of the roof of the temple of justice, and Mr Farrell proved himself equal to the occasion, by saying " The Resident Magistrate's Court is now very open." Dcxedix kept high holiday on the Queen's Birthday. While the day was not actually wet, it was foggy and raw ; but despite this tho citizens appeared bent on making the most of it. Some 3000 went to the races, another 6000 or so patronised the Carnival, the concerts in the evening were crowded, several hundreds went to Fovt Chalmers, and numbers went to the country. The Carnival was a very peculiar show, brass bands and machinery going simultaneously, and whatever it lacked it did not want for noise. So our Dunedin correspondent writes. At tho inquest on the victims of the boiler explosion on the Waiareka, line near Oamaru, the following verdict was returned : — " The jury find Uiot Alexander Taylor and Dugald Mitchell met. with choir Ueatbu on the '4'lnCi of May, ]876, by the explosion of the boiler of the locomotive lately used by TV. D. Morrison and Co. on the Waiareka lino, near Oamaru." The jury also considered that ttye explosion was due to the fact of tljp safctytvalve being tied down, and that gevero censure is due to th.c proprietors for the fact of their knowing the deficiency of the steam gunge and spring balance, and not having them rfjilupod by proper appjiaiipus, and continuing to run the engine while in the imperfect state shown by the evidence, "They desire to suggest the great nepcsalty (qv the establishment of a system of examination of ongiue-dnver?, so as to ensure the employment of ooniDetent person? for this work." It is also suggested that a lock-up valve, free from the control of the driver, should be put upou ajl boijers as a menus of preventing the recurrence of such acpidents.

Mr Pi-ke and Mr M'Kell:u- (the CJ-oklficlu's (Secretary) hajl a pitssnge^trai'irts ftt Cromwell tlie ofclier day at a public meeting there to consider the advisability of forming a protection league, whose duty it would ha to waioh ov<n> t-bo interests ol the district-, and communicate with the district representative during the approaching session of the General Assembly on any matters affecting the well-bolug of the CJromwell division. A resolution having been moved in favor of the formation of a league, Mr M'Kellar moved as an amendment that there was no necessity for sm-h an organisation, and charged Mr Pyke with trying to fasten the responsibility of his actions on the league, Mr Pyko replied with considerable warmth, and characterised the Goldficlds Secretary's attack upon him as "unjust 'and imf«iir," Spacing on the county question, Mr Pyke said ho had the Premier's authority for stating that there was no truth in the report that the Government would fl* the boundaries of the proposed counties before the session began ; and to state that the fixing of the boundaries would be in the hands of the Assembly. Mr Pyko favors the creal ion of flvo counties only, one of which should bp Southland,

! The Rev. Mr Carr, of Balclutha, will preach in tho Milton Wesleyan Church on Sunday next in the morning and evening. L TnE New Zealand Gand National Steeplechase meeting took place at Christchurch on Wednesday. The Maiden Plate was won by Mr Rive's Moose, the Grand National Steeplechase by Mr J. Brittan's Royalty, and the Huut Club Cup by Mr P. Campbell's Tommy Dodd. The Loyal Dalton Lodge, M.U.1.0.0.F., celebrated its anniversary by a ball and supper on Wednesday evening last in Barr's Hall, Balclutha. Messrs Clements and Kelly, of Kaiftaugata, supplied the music, which is reported to havo been equal to any ever obtained from Dunedin, while Mr M'Dougall, the caterer, provided an excellent spread. Mr H. S. Reunerc very ably officiated as M.C. There was a good attendance of gentlemen, but ladies were scarce. It is now an understood thing in Auckland (says the 'Star ') that Sir Georgo Grey will elect to sit for Auckland City West. For the Thames I seat, which lie will resign immediately after tho i assemblage of Parliament, there is likely to be a I keen contest. Captain Fraser, R.M., has stated positively that he has no iutention of standing ; and the Government will not countenance the nomination of Mr Thomas Russell, though a strong election committee could be formed on his j behalf. Tbo information we have leads us to bcliove that either Mr James Mackay or Mr Macdonald, Mayor of the Thames, will be Mr Win. Rowe's colleague. The 'Lyttelton Times' says: — "Wo hear it rumored on good authority that Mr Fitzherbert's election to the Speakership is by no means as great a certainty as it looks. It is not improbable that the Premier may, after conducting his skilful negotiations to a successful conclusion, leave tho election of Mr Fitzherbort an open question for his followers. The result may be that Mr Fitzherbcrt will find himself with his influence in Parliament gone and the Speakership vanished from his grasp. Here is a pretty mii.c prepared for explosion beneath the feet of the stalwart Opposition leader! The whole story ig too dreadful to be believed." Oxb of the most interesting exhibits at the Carnival (says the ' Star ') is the first, fruit of the Milton Pottery Company. The attention called to it a short time ngo was tho means of the transference of the works to a new company who have entered most energetically into the manufacture, and the proof of what can be done is now manifest in the excellent ware presented to the Benevolent Institution. It consists of four 9ots of pie dishes, one butter crock, four milk jugs, and a nest of jelly mugs. As yet it has been determined to confine manufacture to the most useful class of pottery, and to that for which the demand is constant. What is made, however, indicates what may be done in the future. From the specimens which the public will have opportunity of inspecting there is every reason to believe that this manufacture will alike remunerate the company and benefit the public. At the sitting of the District Court at Oamaru, Edward Beckerton was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment with hard labor for embezzlement. Judge Ward, in passing sentence, made tho following remarks, tie bearing of which is verj evident :— " It is well for you, too, that I cannot, in passing sentence, take into consideration any private information that may have casually reached me concerning you. In my opinion a judge, in deciding on the sentence of a criminal, should be guided solely by the facts that have been brought before him in Court, and should especially avoid making private inquiries or obtaining private information about him. Such information as ho may obtain is not upon oath. When once a man has been charged with crime he will never want for slanderers, especially if it be known t'lat the judge's ears ure open to thorn. And if a judge is to be guided iv sentencing a criminal by what he hears about him beyond the the walls of the Court, the criminal may, in, foot, bo punished on account of charges of which he may have never heard, and against which he has not had the ohaqce of defending himself." A deputation, representing the Wellington and Canterbury branches of tho New Zealand Teachers' Association, waited upon the Premier on Tuesday, relative to certain proposed change? in the management of State education. On some of the points contained in the resolutions passed by the Canterbury branch recently the Premier said the Government were completely iv accord, but not so in others. The Premier intimated that no iinporttiyt oUangos in educational mati-cra wore contemplated at present, and that district committees, somewhat analogous to the present Provincial Boards, will be entrusted with the management of education within the several jurisdictions, and that ultimately the Government will introduce a Bill for th,o purposo of making tho system of education uniform throughout the Colony. During the intevim the Government will gather iiifbrinafcion as to the best mode of bringing about this state of thiugs. The ' Dunstan Times,' referring to the correspondence between the Superintendent of Otago and the Premier, says — " We believe Sir Julius is quite right when he says that ' Otngo has clone movo Vo necessitate Abolition than any of the other Provinces,' All our experiences prove the correctness of this assertion, end when we look at the extravagant rate whioh everything was being carried on with, it would have required the whole of the Colonial revenue to keep things :iiroing, The worst feature in all this lavish esponditure is, the country districts have boon entirely ignored, and useful and pressing works havo been denied, (hat railways might be mado especially to benefit private individuals. If over corruption existed, it is in the Provincial Council of Otago — suoh a thing as fair play was never dreamed about, or intended, and, not content with robbing the oountry districts of their revenue, it has been attempted to rob them of their land, but happily the infamous scheme was nipped in the bud, and it has been brought plainly before the public that it is the Gevieral Government who are the true friends of the people. As, had it not hcon for General Govcramcnt influences, a very considerable proportion of tho fair lands of one- of our most prosperous mining districts would have been for ever oouvevted to the purposes of pasture lamls for sheep, instead of ultimately being put to its destined uses of producing food and providing houses for industrious men and, wQweu,"

Wednesday last being the anniversary of the Queen's birthday, there was no sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court, Ealcluthn. Mr Maitland did not sit at Mi] ton yesterday, as the workmen are now engaged carrying out the additions to the Courthouse.