Interprovincial.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 46, 27 May 1875, Page 6

Interprovincial.

CANTERBURY.

T He third general .meeting pfv ihe members of the Spinning and Weaving, Company : was held on the 14th inst. at Christchurch, ,,; The report'of the direW tors was brought up and. approved. lii. the course of the proceedings, the chair,^ man stated that the directors intended, to go in for the manufacture, of blankets' and -flannels* and that all .'the sharer holder's would be invited at an early . date to visit the factory -and see, the, machinery, which was second .to none, at; work, . ; _

A petition to the Provincial Coun- . cil in favor of the construction of 'a' branch line of railway,, twelve miles. in length, from the Ashley-station "to, .tbeWhite Rock stone quarries,is now being:, signed in Christchurcfi... The petition sets forth that the quarries cover alarge . proportion of 400 acres of land, that the stone is of superior quality, that the construction of the branch line, wot>ld j reduce the price of the stone deliyeyed [) in Christchurch from 3s 3d -to 2s par cubic foot, that the line. would pass, through, country already occupied by ; numerous settlers*- and r within a short' distance of- 60,000 acres of splendid" alluvial land still unsold, besides many thousands of acres of fine growing .tim- , ber j also, that, the locality- abound^, with coal and other valuable minerals, and that the line could, be constructed, including' cost of bridges, for' L'15.00---per mile. . .... . „ v ; The proposal to hold a cr.oss r couinijyr steeplechase meeting in tha vicinftyyof Christchurch during the present- .year^ lias been very favorably received .in. sporting circles. ' An event causing more. than ordinary excitement in the quiet town of Akaroa.. occurred lately. A number of Moaris reported to 'the whaling ship, „EJi«a Adams, at present at anchor in the harbor there, that a whale was. disporting himself in the lower par.t of the harbor As soon as the news reached the. ship, Captain Hamlyn despatched three ...of his boats in search of the whale. The boats had just got of the Wainui shore when they encountered the " monster pf the deep." Meanwhile, the "news had spread in Akaroa, and numbers of people put off in' boats "on" Whaling cruises on their own .account. One. of

the amateur whaling crews visited the ship, and prevailed on Captain Hamlyn to lend them a boat and go with them as instructor. They were soon under weigh, and arrived at the scene of action. At this time the whale was just off the Wainui shore, his movements being closely watched, by the various boats in chase. After having two or three very narrow escapes, being evidently unaware of the presence of our Yankee" friends* • and no doubt calculating that the delicate attentions of the flotilla was merely a. lopaV effort,' he playfully gambolled about .until ..coming within lance distance of the boat under the charge of the first mate, Mr Stivers. He was artistically harpooned; and his marine surveys- of Bank's I ' Peninsula were at an end. The. third mate's crew having also made fast," he made up the harbour at a furious pace, dragging the two boats after him.,. amid, the yells and. shouts of their., crews.- H a was then met by Captain Hamlyn and his amateur crew, who welcomed him by introducing to his notice another lance. At this JTirj,c r tJir.e, : .t.he..s,c.e.ne wa§ exciting in the highest degree, the fish forging ahead dyeing the sear ed with his blood, and lashing the water into white foam with his immense tail, also,sending the : blood- colored water high inthe air in | magnificent- jets;. = After being* lanced several times by Captain Hamlyn, and I making several abortive rushes at the boats, he at last succumbed to the superior skill and .energy ol " Brother Jonathan." The whale.proved.to.be of the variety popularly known as the "humpback," and measured about 32 feet in length. It is calculated to produce from a tun to a tun and a half of oil. AUCKLAND. The. following particulars of revolting cruelty to a wife by a man in good circumstances were revealed in the Police Court last week, in an applica-" tion for the married woman's protection and separate maintenance on the part of Mary Jane Gilbert, wife of James Edward Gilbert, musician and storekeeper of Newton, and the owner of two thousand pounds worth of property, on the ground- of cruelty. The case disclosed scenes of misery and continued .cruelty unparalled in the history of the | Auckland Police Court". The wife, who came to the colony twelve years ago, is j of a respectable family, . we'll educated,** [ and ever since she became the wife of Gilbert has been subjected to a life of semi-starvation and ill-usage.. She deposed to the most heartless usage, and her statement was corroborated by her eldest girl, an intelligent child, that she was the mother of five children . by the defendant,, varying in age from two to eight, and that for the last five years her life had been almost unbearable. . He, beat her, nearly knocked her right eye out, as was evident to the Court, kicked her about all parts of her body, and scarcely a day passed without her feeling the weight of her husband's heavy blows dealt . without any provocation. He also exercised perpetual . tyranny over her, 'gave her and the children nothing but dry bread, tea, and stinking meat for existence^??; She was getting so weakly and debilitated that she felt at times her reason was going. .He slept

: _sj a comfoftahlefeaf^er hedil wh r il6 she "%nd --her y children laid -upon sacks: with rags. Mrs .Russell, a' hurse who attended Mrs Gilbert in her -last confinement,. deposed to the dreadiijl condition of the poor woman, who must have diediof sheer want had she "not brought her food, while her hus*band was in the enjoyment of every 'iuxury. She had nearly lost the sight of one of her eyes through a blow from •Gilbert, who, after beating jtiis wife most unmercifully, struck her with a piece, of partly burned wood. He has ample means — houses and landsd property, and money out at interest. The -Wife was obliged, when able, to . work ■for her livelihood j. but through his acts 'of violence has been of late unable to •Sib so. He dragged her about by. the hair of- the head and pulled handfuls i; dtit. His Worship remarking upon the case as the most heartless and cruel one that had come, within the range of his experience, ordered Gilbert to pay 20s -a week towards the support of his wife "ffad^ehildren. The defendant shook his head and said he was going to a party , and should soon be out of the colony. . , The, very long drought, which has been experienced during the last four months is supposed to have had much 'to do with the unprecedented Auckland death-rate for March, 1875.

\ Recent . news from the new goldfields is encouraging-, though somewhat contradictory. We constantly fiear of reefs being found, but then again it frequently turns out that some are merely caps of reefs which are supposed to lie deeper beneath the surface of the ground. However, when all is said, it is clear that several likelylooking reefs have been discovered, and 'that parties have sufficient faith in them to work them thoroughly.

* ; ' Writing of the Provin cial Council a contemporary say s:— lt islikely to-be 'ah important session, as education, Highway Boards Act, finance, • goldfields 'management, and other urgent questions must be faced, and somehow settled — for a time at least. During the last few days more than three hundred summonses for. non-payment ' of education rates were issued, Probably, in all-, not less than seven . hundred summonses have been issued within the last- six months, and it is. generally felt that this state of things must not be perpetuated. Mr Sheehan's Highways Act has become all but a dead letter since it was discovered that interpola : tions were made in it after the Act' passed tbe Provincial Council last session. With regard to finance, it is now very well known that nothing like the amount expected from the late. Provincial Treasurer's Estimates has been, or can be realised. It was lately reported about town that on finding little or no funds' in the Provincial Treasury, his Honor the Superintendent was willing to advance a few thousands from his private resources, but the report proved untrue. In point of fact it would seem that the Provincial Government has not required such aid, as yet at all events ; indeed, it is perfectly understood that the General Government has offered to advance indispensable funds, and more, in order that the Provincial authorities may be able to carry on without difficulty until next meeting of ; the' General Assembly.