Untitled

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 811, 13 June 1876, Page 5

Mr W. Maitland, of the firm of Grigor, Maitland and Co., Balclutha, has been seriously ill during the last few days. The Albion, from Melbourne, arrived at the Bluff yesterday morning, with the New Zealand portion of the Suez mail. His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to accept the resignation of the commission held by Lieutenant D. Andrew, East Taieri Rifle Volunteers. A public meeting will be held in Mr R. R. Jones' Hall, this evening, at 7 o'clock, to consider the advisability of forming a Young Men's Christian Association. Three thousand two hundred acres of land in the Kingston Hundred, and six hundred acres of land on tho North Glenkenich Hundred, haye been set apart for occupation on deferred payments. Sojie weeks ago we stated thafc a number of claims had been marked out on a spur behind Mr Geo. Coombe's claim, Manuka Creek. We were informed yesterday that the prospectors have met with but little encouragement. His Honor the Superintendent has appointed Messrs Robert Charters, John Sutherland, George Pram, James Forrest, all of East Taieri, to be rangers for the Acclimatisation Society of Ofcago, under the 31st section of the " Protection of Animals Act, 1873." The trout that were placed in the Tokomairiro River a few months ago appear to have grown well, if we may form any opinion from the appearance of four thafc were discovered in the maw of a shag that was shot close to the township about a week ago. The annual ploughing match of the Taieri Agricultural Society will be held on Friday, the 30th of June, at the farm of Mr Peter Grant, Gowrie, West Taieri. Intending competitors mu9t send their entries to the Secretary, Mr R. Somerville, on or before the 28th of June. A concert and ball will take place afc St. George's Hall, to-morrow night, when the members of the Dunedin Volunteer Artillery Band will give their services. For further particulars we refer our readers to fche advertisement which appears in another column, Mr Alfred Jones, the Manager of the Milton branch of the Bank of New Zealand, met with a painful accident whilst in the act of stepping out of a buggy at Canada Reef on Saturday. He was drjyen into town by Mr W. J. Dyer as quickly as possible, when it was found that he had not been dangerously hurt, although the injury will probably keep him confined to his bod for a few days, We have received from the publishers, Messrs Reifch and Wilkic, Princes-street, Dunedin, a very useful compendium of "fche law and practice of bankruptcy in New Zealand," by G. B. Barton, barrister-at-law. The work, which comprises the, '•'Pebtoro and Creditors Acfc, 1875," and the rules ; &}id tjie " fraudulent Debtors Acfc, 1875," will no doubt prove pf great value to all business men, aud particularly to ''pewoos about t° file >"

Tttß completion of tho Kaitangata railway line,; ''ahd : the opening of ! tlie coal mihes,' will be cele-j brated by a luncheon to take place at Kaitangata oh Friday next. A large number of invitations have been issued by the Directors, and a special train will run to convey visitors to and from the mine. One of Mr Brugh's men afc Port Molyneux met with a serious accident on Saturday last. He was cutting wood with an axe, when, by some mishap, he struck his foot, inflicting a very dangerous cut, which, but for the thick sole of his boot, would have sovered the front portion of his foot. Dr Smith was sent for, and quickly attended to the injury. We have received a letter from Mr D. Whytock, of Puerua, complaining of our report of the Clutha licensing meeting. Our report stated that "in Mr D. Whytock's case, the Bench remarked that the police report was more favorable than heretofore." Mr Whytock says, " Instead of an insult or slur being cast on my name, I was highly complimented by the Chairman for keepiug such a well-regulated house, without any nasfcy remarks." Meetings of ratepayers in tho several subdivisions of fche Waipori Road Board district will be held as stated below, on Thursday next, at noon, for the purpose of nominating candidates for election iv place of those retiring from office : — Waihola West, at Waihola toll-bar ; Mr Donald M'Master, Returning Officer. Clarendon, at the house of Mr Neil M'Bride j Mr M'Pherson, Returning Officer. Maungatua, at the school, Maungatua ; Mr R. Petrie, Returning Officer. The entertainment given at Canada Reef on Friday night, for the purpose of raising funds to defray the expense incurred in enlarging the local hall, 'passed off most successfully. Tho inhabitants of that district are very anxious to have a school established there, and we are informed that, in-the event of a teacher being appointed, there would be an average attendance of about thirty children at the school. We regret to have to record the death of Mr Alfred Canning, of Green Island, brother of Mr F. S. Canning, our Clutha agent and correspondent. Mr A. Canning's death took place suddenly on Saturday last. The deceased gentleman was only thirty-one years of age, and when last seen by his brother, on the 23rd of last month, was quite robust and hearty. A special meeting of the Balclutha Municipal Council was held on Friday last, all the Coun- * cillors being present. The Finance Committee reported that the amount to the credit of the Council was £323 9s lOd, which, together with the license fees, would be sufficient to carry out all contemplated works. Ifc was decided that the specifications for works to be carried out (Hasborough lload excepted) should be returned to Messrs Barr and Oliver, and that separate specifications for each work should be obtained. TnE Acclimatisation Society would do well if it appointed one or two respectable settlers in this district rangers under the Protection of Animals Act. Some of the persons who wander abroad with guns are not very particular as to what they shoot, and we believe that a number of partridges have been killed on this plain. A gentleman who visited Loveli's Flat a few days ago picked up a dead partridge, and upon examination found that the bird had been shot. Mr W. J. Dyer, J.P. , sat for a short time in the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday. A drunkard was fined ss, with the alternative of twenty-four hours' imprisonment, and then the adjourned case Cooke v. the Kaitangata Railway and Coal Company was called on. The plaintiff sought to recover the sum of £15 15s for wages and the case had been adjourned for the purpose of hearing the evidence of Mr Macdonald, one of the directors of the Company. Mr Macdonald did not answer to his subpoena, and the Bench decided to issue a summons calling upon him to show cause why he should not be fined. The further hearing of fche case was adjourned until Saturday next. A resident of Milton, who was recently in the Dunedin lunatic asylum, — oh a visit of inspection, — informs us that he was much pleased afc the state of the Institution, which reflects great credit on the superintendent, Mr Hume. A number of additions aud alterations have lately been cai*ried out, the principal work being done by the inmates under tbe direction of the officers of the Institution, who are nearly all tradesmen. A piece of land is now being levelled for a cricket ground for the use of the inmates, of whom there were, last week, one hundred and thirty. Four were discharged last week, having been cured of their mental disorders, and four more are to leave the asylum this week. Concerts are held at the asylum every Friday night and they are generally followed by dancing. A meeting of the Tokomairiro Farmers' Club was held on Friday night. Present — Mr James Scott (president), and Messrs Murray, Lindsay Clark, Goodall, Inglis, Paton, Gordon, Fraper, Hwitson, Black, Bryce, Hislop, Philp, and Atkinson. The Secretary was authorised to procure a minute book, and after some discussion it was resolved to hold Mr Young, of Dunedin, to the terms of his tender for the supply of prize medals. It was decided that the annual ploughing match should be held on the 14th of July, and Messrs Black, Lindsay, and Paton were appointed a sub-committee to arrange for a paddock in which to hold the match. Messrs Bryce, Gordon, and Inglis were appointed asub-committtee to canvass for subscriptions. The following gentlemen were nominated as judges:— Mr Alexander Simpson, Puerua; Mr John M'Farlane, Wangaloa; Mr Ebenezer Jackson, Mount Stuart; Mr George Thomson, Maungatua; Mr Thomas M'Taggart, Mosgiel ; Mr S. Young, East Taieri ; and Mr M. Carmichael, West Taieri. Mr Bryce moved— " That the right to hold a booth on the (ji'ound be Bold, aud thafc a dinner be held as usual." Mi' Paton seconded the motion, which was carried, Mr Frazer proposed—" That a committee, to consist of Messrs Black, Hcwifcson, and Fraser, be appointed to report to the next meeting as to the prosnept pf getting up a ball after the dinner." >fr Hewitson seconded the motf° n - wlpoh wfl,s lost &flter considerable discussion. It was decided that the Paddock, Committee should report progress fco a meeting pf the mpniber9 of thp Club, to be held on Monday, the 19fch inst,, all offers po be sent in before Saturday, the 17th inst. We would direct the attention of persons having suitable paddocks to the advertisement, which appears elie'-vhej'e.

Tub i blue gum piles for the bridge oyer the, Matau branch of the Btolyneux river arrived at Port Chalmers from Melbourne last week. They will be conveyed to the Molyneux in a few days. [ A man named Brighting, who for some time past has been earning a living by selling periwinkles, and gathering rags and bottles in Christchurch, has just come into a fortune of £80,000. A GENTiiEMAif has been fined £20 and costs, in Canterbury, for trespassing on land in pursuit of game. The trespass does not appear to have resulted in any damages being done, so that the infliction of so heavy a penalty was both harsh and uncalled for. Lately (says tho 'Budget') in one of the Sunday schools a young lady teacher caught a boy smiling. She said to him, " "What are you laughing at ?" " Nothing, mum," was the answer. " I know better," Baid fche teacher in her severest manner, " now tell me what ifc is." John looked frightened as he mutteringly said, "I — I — a — Bee yer n — newspaper a — a sticking out, mum ?" The teacher sat down suddenly and arranged things. Thh Invercargill correspondent of the ' Otago Licensed Victuallers' Gazette ' says : — " Mr Purdue, lately sergeant in the Police force, now host of the Royal Mail Hotel, Oreti, is grappling | with the rabbit question, and has built extensive piggerica on fche principle advocated in a late number of the ' Australasian.' He proposes to utilise the carcasses of the rabbits as food for the pigs, and has entered into contracts for their purchase afc is per dozen." During fche quarter ending 25th of March, 1876, the number of telegrams transmitted by the New Zealand Telegraph Department was 270,312, showing an increase of 35,128 upon the number transmitted during the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The cash revenue received during the same period was £15,470 3s lid, showing an increase of £1648 16s 4d. The value of Government telegrams sent was £4331 7s Id, showing an increase of £968 10s 2d. A gentleman who has lately inspected the coal mines in the G-reymouth district, informs ns that after carefully examining the Greymouth Coal Company's mine, he considers ifc a very valuable property. He considers the action of tho Dunedin shareholders very foolish, for there will soon be a return of thousands of pounds for every hundred expended. Our correspondent thinks that Greymouth must soon become fche Newcastle of New Zealand. j We are informed that a new quartz reef has been discovered near Table Hill by Messrs Higgins [and Benotti's party of prospectors. It is stated that the reef, which is over a foot wide, was found cropping out of the surface of the ground. We were shown a few small specimens of quartz in which gold was risible j but it is of course impossible to form an estimation of the value of the stone until there has been a trial crushing. We believe ifc is the intention of the prospectors to have a few tons of the quartz crushed at the Bruce Company's battery. The half-yearly examination of candidates for certificates or for provisional licenses will be held at the Education Office, Dunedin, on the 6th> 7fch, and Bfch of July next. The annual examination of pupil-fceachers and candidates for employment as such, will be held on the 28th, 29tb, and 30th of September next, at places to be hereafter fixed. Intending candidates must forward their names afc least three clear days before the examination. The attention of pupil-teachers and intending candidates is specially directed to the Board's regulations, which may be had on application to the Secretary, Mr John Hislop. Nearly fourteen tons of goods, principally drain-pipes, have been sent from the Milton Pottery Works to Dunedin since the new Company commenced operations. A Dunedin contemporary says that a lot of pipes and pots from the Milton Pottery Company were submitted at auction by Messrs Whitelaw and Co. on Friday, and realised satisfactory prices. Four-inch drainpipes sold at B*d per foot, 6-inch at 9d, and 2-inch at Is 4d. Towards the close of the sale there was a large attendance, and a brisker demand than at the commencement, which promises to cause smart competition for the next large lot, which will be offered shortly. [ An Invercargill telegram dated June 11th gay S . — •- A fire was discovered by the constable on duty afc 2.30 this morning in a shop in Tay* etreet, occupied by Mr Meehan, bootmaker. Mr Meehan was not on the premises at the time, although his family lived behind the shop. It was with some difficulty that Mr§ Meehan and children were got out. About £20 worth of boots were saved. The entire building, which comprised two shops — one being unoccupied — was burnt fco the ground. Mitson's Family Hotel, which was separated by a narrow right-of-way, ran a great risk, bufc being built of corrugated iron it was kept nooi by a constant stream of water from the hose. It sustained comparatively little damage from the fire, although, in removing stock and furniture, windows were broken and other damage dpne tp the premises, The building destroyed was a wooden one, and belonged to Mitson, who was not insured. Mr Mitson estimates his loss at £500. Median's stock was insured for £300 in the New Zealand Company, and for £200 in the Standard. An inquiry will be held." The Loudon correspondent of tho ' Auokland "Weekly News' writes: — "As a matter of fact, the idea of this new title is said to have origi' nated in the weakness of her Majesty, seconded by a similar weakness in the character of the Prime Minister. It is known that Court circles have of late been much exercised on the subject of precedence, and that it is a sore subject that the Duchess of Edinburgh should be both Eoyal and Imperial, while the Queen herself and the Princesses are merely Royal Highnesses. On the Continent an empress of course yanks higher than a queen, and as her Majesty leaves for Germany ljexfc week it is perhaps only human that she should be anxious to possess a style and title— * i though only a week old — which should Jelovate her to the rank of the Emperors of Germany, Austria, ancl Russia. This is, perhaps, a somewhat paltry motive to actuate a monarch, but ft is Uevp looked pn as the yeftl cpe by those whq claim to fcnow more about such matters than other people. As to Mr Disraeli, it pomes to his hp,nd {is readily to muke &n empress as to mafce a duke, and we know that ia one of hie novels he holds that the summit of genteel ambition is to be able to create a real duke, but the actual course of events has far outstripped the wildest aspirations of his e&rty da*f s,"

——_._— _»__»_^_______ ■ ■ I .~ — w — — —■——■■ — — l."...'Siß..AßT_itr_t^ Gordon, says a writer in the 'Australasian,' is not more beloved in Fiji than in his previous governments. Is it always the fault of the governed? A friend in Levuka writes me that his leffciness with the whites is as little liked as his maimer of dealing with the natives. A new regulation requires a tribute to Government House of the first fruits of everything. Very pretty and patriarchal, no doubt ! Every native canoe that comes into Levuka with fish, flesh, or fruit must, before selling, present a portion to the steward at Government House. This is, I believe, an old Fiji custom revived, but it looks something like modern extortion. But for my knowledge of my informant I would doubt the accuracy of the information. The Auckland ' Weekly News ' says : — " His Honor Mr Macandrew, the Superintendent of Otago, is gifted with a musical taste and some little vocal skill. Tradition still cherishes his pawky song 'The Piper o' Dundee,' with the fine ' lilting ' refrain : ' O, wasna* he a roguey, a rog-uey, A rog-uey — O, wasna' he a rog-uey, The Piper 6' Dundee V Animated by the recollections of this old song, Mr Macandrew, on Wednesday, performed a voluntary on his own t ocal organ, for, as the telegram announces, at a public demonstration, after the Queen's Anthem, he sang thrae lines, which of course was a special prayer to confound certain politics, and frustrate sundry knavish tricks, and on the appeal to the Queen to fix the hopes of abolishing abolition. It was a clever inspiration, sure to tell for the moment ; but, ' isna he a roguey, wi' a twinkle in his e'e ' ?" A POINT of some importance (says the ' Times') has arisen in connection with the interpretation of the clause in the " Protection of Animals Act, 1873," relating to the right of killing game on private property during the open season without a license. The section has hitherto been read by many to mean that the owner could grant permission indiscriminately to persons not holding licenses to, kill game on his land while the season was open. The Acclimatisation Society, however, baa taken the opinion of counsel on this point, and the Society is advised that "if the bona Jide occupant of private lands does not choose to exercise his game privileges he can only confer them upon one individual in substitution. Were it otherwiso, the privileges originally conferre .1 upon an individual occupant might, by delegation, be enjoyed by thousands." One result of this interpretation of the Act will be no doubt that an additional number of game licenses will be taken out soon, a3 several persons have been killing game on private property without a license, in the belief that they could legally do so if they had the owner's consent. " Attigps " writes in the Melbourne ' 1/eader ' : — " His Royal Highness left England without-*- | metaphorically speaking — a shirt to his back. He was head over ears in debt ; he had overrun the constable to such an extent that no commissioner of insolvency would, if he had attempted to file his schedule, give him a certificate. Our coming king was, in his line, as hard up as any man in Wall or Collins-street ; and ' the way to pay old debts ' taxed the ingenuity of his pi-ivy purse to the utmost. Then the idea of the peddling expedition to India was started. The heir of England set forth on his travels with a carpet bag filled with snuffboxes, small fire-engines, garden-pumps, and cheap books. These he exchanged with the princes and chiefs of India for gold cups encrusted with precious Btones, swords studded with diamonds from hilt to point, gold salvers, gold tea and coffee sets, gold palanquins, gold 1 brocade, and gold and jewels generally to the value of over half a million of money. With all this lot he returns to England, fre9 for the time from debt, and will be welcomed no doubt by millions of his future subjects as a great conqueror. And yet Englishmen, shutting their eyes to the abominable meanness of the whole thing, will continue to speak of the Yankees as the smart people of the world ?" In previous issues (says the ' New Zealand Times ') we noticed witli approbatory comment the reappearance of the Wellington correspondent of the * Otago Daily Times,' after quite a lengthened absence from the columns iv which last year his untruths were wont to command admiration. When we noticed his return to the arena of falsehood which he has made so specially his own, we stated that he was evidently in as fine fictional condition as ever, and that his temporary retirement, after almost incessant labor in the art of deceit, had enabled him to come once more before us with unimpaired powers. This is specially evident from his latest production. Telegraphing from Wellington on Tuesday*" last, he ' informs the ' Daily Times ' that " rumors are current that the Government will propose a further loan of six millions, extended over three years." It is nothing to us afc preaeufc whether the Government propose to do anything of this kind or* i not, To discuss the question on the mere strength ! of a statement from a correspondent who has never telegraphed the truth even by accident, would be simply ridiculous. But we may point out thafc the statement that there were such rumors as this correspondent vouches for is simply an impudent and insolent piece of fabrication, which oould only have had its origin in the head of some person who is oonfcent to invent a rumor for himself and then considers that the people of a city are responsible for ifc, Te Aeo has been visited lately by a musical ghost (says the "Wellington ' Post') . The residents in a certaiu house, which need not be specified, gradually became aware that at irregular intervals, but especially during the night, strains of unearthly music, soft and ghostly in character, proceeded from the family pianoforte. At first it was taken for granted that of course ifc npist be the worlv of that evil genius in all ser-vant-keeping establishments — the oat. By degrees, however, it was impossible to associate those weird strains with the prancing of puss upon the keys, nnd it was still more difficult to understand how that domestic animal conld open the instrument, execute an unearthly fantasia, plqse the lid and vanish directly anyone entered the room, as mqst have been fche case, for immediately the door opened the music oeased, and the pianoforte was invariably fonnd shut. At last Mr Paterfamilias resolved to solve the mystery, and remained on guard, peeping strict ailence, and closely watching the open keyboard. At last the usual " fairylike musio" was wafted from the instrument,, although no mortal or ffUwe performer touched the keys ! Horror

sensed him, and he fled 1 Clearly the pianoforte was a medium used by some unquiet spirit haunting the premises, and the family resolved at once to quit the unhallowed spot. Daylight, however, inspired them wifch boldness so look inside the piano, where some very lively young mice were found exercising their limbs on fche wires.