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Bruce Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 1208, 1 June 1880, Page 3

The ouWard English mail, via Brindisi, will close at the Milton Post-office on Thursday, the 3rd inst., at 4.30 p.m. Letters and newspapers must be specially so addressed. Tawhiao is reported to be ill with eonsump tion, and to be losing much blood. It is twelve months today since the Prince Imperial of France lost his life in Zululand. The Bruce County Council will hold their monthly meeting, at the Council Chambers, at 10 o'clock this morning. The annual Licensing Court for the Tokomairiro District will not sit till Tuesday next, the Bth iust. A Woman at Now Glasgow, Nova Scotia, recently gave birth to live finely developed children — three girls aud two boys — all doing well. Madame Camixlo Uk»o is meeting with a most enthusiastic reception at the Garrison Hall, Duut.din, and her performances on the violin are spoken of in t_rim of genuine admiration. The discovery of gold -bearing rerfs is reported from ths Tarawera country, about 70 miles from Napier, Hawkcs Bay. Messrs Thompson are the discoverers, and the reefs will be worked immediately. Mr Hknky Hougiitox has been appointed Secretary to the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce in place of Mr J. S. Webb, who recently left the Colony. The Chamber is going to consider the Property Tax at a meeting to-day. On the 7th of March, in the presence of a fairly numerous attendance, (amongst whom were several ladies). Captain Webb, the Cbunnel swimmer, commenced, at the Wesmiuster Aauarium, the task of endeavoring to remain in the water for sixty hours. TitE annual cxportatiou of cheese from America to England reached the enormous quantity of 134,000,000 lbs in 1878, and .luring the same year Canada also supplied the English market with 42,000,000 lbs. This gives a total of about SO, 000 Tons. On Friday last Mr Nicholas's daughter, a child about 6 years old, was stung by a stray bee. Soon after she was aeen staggering, and for the time being lost her eye-sight. The sting was removed, and Dr Eeid sent for, who had to apply leeches to the poisoned par!-, aud the child soon after recovered. The monthly gold escort left Lawrence for Duacdiu ou Thursday afternoon, carrying with them upwards of 4000-z. of gold. This includes the parcels of the pr<>.ciou3 metal received at the various halting places between Queenstown aud Lawrence. — ' Tuapeka Times.'

The following telegram iB dated from Invercargill on Saturday : Captain Raymond, a large runholder, pnblisheß a letter, in which he asserts that phosphoriaed oats without rodium is a perfect specific for the rabbit nuisance. His land was thoroughly cleared at the rate of 500 acres in three days. The ' Tuapeka Times ' is informed that the Beaumont Station, the property of P. C. Heill, Esq., consisting of 70,000 acres leasehold, with 20,000 sheep, sundry horses and cattle, and all plant and improvements, has been sold by Messrs Maclean Brothers, Auctioneers, Dunedin, to Alexander Brown, Esq., Green Island. The price in not stated. His Worship the Mayor of Dunedin has forwarded a cheque for LSO to the Secretary of the Benevolent Institution. The money is to be invested and the interest spent in purchasing literature for the inmates. The ' Morning Herald ' says that a couple of hundred pounds could scarcely be better sunk than in providing interestiug reading for the inmates of the Asylum. It would appear that Tasmania, like ourselves, is threatened with Chinese immigration, and already between 2000 and 3000 of them are scattered in the gold and tin mining districts of that Colony. Eecently a Company let their mine on tribute to 70 Chinese while 40 Europeans, previously employed, had to leave for other places. The circumstances are causing alarm amongst the settlers. Saturday's ' Lyttelton Times ' report an actual cheap sale as follows : — " On Wednesday last Mr J. L. Craw ley sold by auction a line, consisting of 6000 bushels of oats, at the very low price of SJd per bushel. The oats were not delivered at any railway station or store, but delivery was taken on the farm, which is situate close to the present terminus of the Mount Somers Railway." A fire broke out in the spinning and weaving mills of Messrs Galbraith, of Glasgow, on Saturday, the 6th March. An overlooker named Mclntyre and a mill-hand named Ramsay, who were assisting to put out the fire are missing, and it is considered certain that they have lost their lives. Damage to the extent of £40,000 was done before the five was got under. A telegram from Invercargill, dated 2Sth May, states that the rabbitters are offering to undertake the extermination of rabbits free of charge. The rabitters assert that they are making a good thing of the so-called pest. An association has been formed, and offers prizes for the best exhibits of skins, and manufactured furs are to be forwarded to the Melbourne Exhibition. TnE following strange recovery of property is reported in 'Brief,' of 12th March. On the sth of that month a quarry man named Macgregor was buries! by a fall of earth at the Shore Edge Stone-pit, near Shaw. His body was recovered on the following Monday; and concealed about his person were found six j£2o notes, which had been lost by a farmer named Platt about twelve months ago, and for which a reward of £20 had been offered in vain. One of these reward bills wai found with the notes. About fifteen sections in the pastoral deferred-pa} raeut districts of Table Hill, Waipori, Tuapeka, East Clarendon, and Bcngcr were put up at auction at the Land Office, Dunedin on Thursday. Only two sections were sold, and these at the upset price, viz. — Section 16, block XL, Table Hill district, containing about 952 acres, to Mr James Phillip, at the upset price Jof 20s per acre ; and section 15, block X., Teviot district, 152S acres, to Mr Tubman, at the upset price of 20s per acre. We have received from Mr G. R. West, Dunedin, a copy of "Swing on, old Pendulum," by Frederick Ellard. It will be remembered that this fine song was splendidly sung by Mr Gordon Gooch in St. George's Hall some years ago, when ttie Carandini Company last paid Milton a visit. Ihe lithographic work was executed by Mr T. George, Dunedin, who deserves great credit for the get-up of the song. An accident, which, might have been attended with disastrous consequences, was averted receutly on the Malmesbury branch of the Great Western Railway by the thoughtful action of two bo}'?. As the passenger train from Malmesbury was passing through Somerford .Station the driver saw two boya standing across the metals and holding their hands up. He stopped the train, and found that the bridge crossiug the river had given way. The passengers were conveyed from Malmesbury by vchiclos provided by the Company. The Queen of England made a great hit at the Prussian Guards' fancy dress ball recently given ;i'' Potsdam. Knowing that her grandson, the Crown Prince's eldest son, was going, she. sent, him a complete Scotch costume of Royal Stuai t tartan, with magnificent buckles and dirk complete. The Prince William wore it, and s> novel was the sight, and so splendidly did it fit the Ri-iyal youth that the Prussian officers were delighted, and gave three loud " Hochs ! r> for Queen Victoria, who had so effectively added to the picture squeness of their festival. A Woman named Mrs Martha Lock hart died in Dunedin on Friday night last under suspicious circumstances, and an inquest was being held yesterday, before Dr Hocken, at the Rising Sun Hotel, Walker-street. The husband, Charles Lockhart, was present in custody, and Inspector Mallard watched the poceedings on behalf of the police. Two sons of the deceased, aged respectively 18 and 13, were examined, and the iuquest was sitting when the ' Star ' went to press. It appears that the prisoner and deceased did not live happily together. It will be seen by our advertising columns that the Rev. T. E. Ash. B. A., will lecture in St. George's Hall this evening, on "The immediate coming of Christ." We glean from the Southern papers that the lecture has been well received and highly appreciated in other places. The ' Southland Times ' speaks of it in terms of praise, and says tlat Mr Ash is perfectly familiar with this interesting subject. According to the reverend lecturer the second coming of Christ and the end of the world are not synonymous. We hope Mr Ash will have a good aulience. A MKETINct of a few gentlemen was held last night, to take into consideration the advisability of convening a public meeting to oonsider the Property Tax Act. On the motion of Mr Marryatt, seconded by Mr Hislop, Mr Peter

J Cunninghame was voted to the Chair. It was moved by Mr Murray, seconded by Mr Hislop, and agreed to — "That this meeting consider it advisable to call a public meeting at an early date, with a view of agitating the repeal of the Property Tax. It was resolved to advertise such meeting for Monday next, the 7th inßt., at 8 p.m. at St. George's Hall. Mr George Coombo has kindly granted the Hall free of charge. A vote of thanks to the Chairman was given. The following extract will convey to our readers some idea of America as a wheat-grow-ing country— The magnitude of the American wheat export is hardly comprehended without practical explanation. If, says an American writer, the export of wheat for 1879 was loaded on freight cars, 60 feet long, 400 bushels to a car, it would require for its transportation 256,452 cars, which, if made up in one continuous train, would extend 2346 miles. If loaded in ships 300 burden, it would require a fleet of 825 ships to convey the wheat alone across the ocean. This export of wheat has brought into the States in exchange for it, in gold or its equivalent, more than £20,000,000. The ' Daily Times ' of Saturday aays that if the Government intend reimposing the tea and sugar duties they should act promptly, or they will find the revenue of the next few months forestalled. During the last few days there has been quite a rush to the Custom-house to pay duties, as we iinderstand, chiefly on these articles. On Tuesday the duties collected amounted to L 3057, on Wednesday to L 3478, on Thursday to L 4431, and on Friday to L 5004, making a total of L 15,970 in four days. This will mean a considerable " rise "to somebody if the duties are reiinposed, but if not, the persons who are so eager to contribute to the revenue will be sold. In commenting on the action of the Tuapeka County Council the ' Times ' of Saturday last says : steps are being taken by the County Council to open up the old road at the Big Hill, so that teamsters may have the option of taking either the old or new road. The new road is in a deplorable state— axle deep in mud. Of course nothing else could be expected of it, seeing it has neither been pitched nor gravelled. The Council has been somewhat remiss in its duty in regard to this road. The sum required to open up the old road would have gone far to make the new one passable during the winter months, had it been expended at the proper time. It is with feelings of deep regret tTiat we have to announce the sudden and untimely death of Catherine Finch, a young lady who was universally esteemed in Tokomairiro, and who died on Friday last under peculiarly distressing circumstances. An inquest was held on Saturday before E. H. Carew, Esq., Coroner, and a Jury of twelve of which Mr Geo. Coombe was foreman. After taking the evidence of Dr P. Stewart the Coroner cleared the Court so th&t the Jury might decide as to the necessity of a post-mortem being held or otherwise. After a short deliberation they decided that it was nnnecessary to hold a post- mortem. The inquest was then adjourned till next Saturday at 10 a. m. Deceaseds' funeral will take place this day at 2 o'clock. The first meeting this season of the Southland Coursing Club terminated last Friday. Throughout the meeting hares were very scarce, and consequently the meeting occupied a clay more than was anticipated. Mr Wise acted as Jud;:e, and gave universal satisfaction. The Oaks Stakes was won by Mr James M 'Donald's b and w Aster, by], Beu— Fly ; the runner-up being Mr Sutton's Folly, by Rufus — Fawn. The All-aged Stakes was won by Messrs C. and H. Howard's Harmony, by SedanHappy Lass ; Mr James M 'Donald's b and w Calceolaria, by Ben— Fly, was runner-up. Thus it will be seen that Tokomairiro had a good say in the meeting, and it'will also be noticed that both the winner of the Oaks and the runner-up of the All-aged Stakes are pups out of Mr James Daniels' bitch Fly. The owners of the American petroleum deposits will before long have to encounter a considerable amount of opposition in view of the discoveries of this valuable oil on the Continent and especially iv Hanover and Russia. The beds in the latter country are comparatively boundless, extending for <* distauce of 1500 [ miles along the Caucasus range, from the Caspian to the Black Sea. At the present time, however, there are but two districts in this large area where any systematic efforts are being made to obtain the petroleum. One is in the valley of the Kuban river (which flows into the Black Sea), where two wells have been sunk by a French company under the superintendence of an American manager ; this company has a refinery at Tainan. The other and mo3t productive district is near Baku, on the Caspian Sea. Many wells have been sunk hero to the depth of 300 ft., having a daily yield of 25.000 barrels of crude petroleum. An extraordinary amount of sand flows out with the oil, and is heaped up near the orifice of the wells in bauks at least 30ft. high. Large refineries exist at Baku, though the refined oil at pre&ent produced there is not as good as the American oil. A Pbivate circus is a luxury in which but few lovers of horseflesh and clownery have hitherto ventured to indulge. The idea is original at any rate, and for the moment all the clubmen in Paris are talking about it. In the Rue de Benouville, near the Avenue de Bois de Boulogne, is a, handsome new house at the bottom of a long avenue, and near the house may be seen the glass dome-shaped roof of a regular circus. The house and the circus are owned by a rich gentleman of leisure, Mr Molier, who, besides having a passion for horses, is determined to become a rival of Franconi and Fernando. He has trained his horses to do wonderful tricks. Two strictly private performances were given by Mr Molier recently, and Franconi, who was present, went away pale 'and thoughtful. An amateur had discovered something new ! All the members of Mr Molier's troupe, the clowns included, are amateurs and clubmen of the very first waterAs for the audience, it consisted solely of friends of the family. The * Daily Times ' Wellington correspondent telegraphs on 29th May as follows :— " The Local Industries Commission sat this afternoon to consider some correspondence and papers, and a rough draft of their report which has been drawn up. It will be fully considered and

finally dealt with at a meeting to be held on Monday next.— The same correspondent, speaking of papers put before Parliament, mentions a very strong-worded report of Mr Blackett's Colonial marine engineer, on the Timaru Harbor Works. Mr Blackett aßserts, and adduces voluminous professionel evidence to prove, that the Timaru Breakwater is causing enormouß damage to the railway and coast-line, owing to the interference with the travelling of shingle. He says the cost of protective works thus rendered necessary must be many thousands, and may reach hundreds of thousands, and concludes as follows : — " My recommendation, therefore, iB this — to stop the building of the breakwater at once, and afterwards to remove and break it up, so as to lessen its prejudicial effect on the beach, adjoining lands, and the railway to the North. The damage to the main Southern line through the diversion of the sea by the breakwater is stated already to be very extensive, and will be certain to increase enormously in a progressive ratio. This is not a satisfactory result of the heavy expenditure already incurred, but both Mr Carruthers Jand Sir John Coode gave distinct "warning of the danger." "