SOUTHERN PROVINCES.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3400, 9 June 1868, Page 3

SOUTHERN PROVINCES.

Wk have received later files of p^pera from the Southern provinces by the b.v. ' Sturm Bird,' from which we make the following extracts ;—; —

TaRANAKI. The weekly meeting of theTaranalu Association was held on June 3. Mr. 0. Brown proposed, nml Mr .Upjohn seconded, " That in the opinion of this Society it is desirable th»t any allowance in the t-hape of pet sions shou'd cease for the future, and that in lieu thereof the officers of the permanent Civil Service should be -compelled to subscribe a per-centage on their salaries to a superannuation fund." — Agreed to. Mr. Dpjohn proposed, and Mr. W. B. King seconded, "That, with regard to the Native Department, this Society is of opinion that, when the population is at all mixed no officer should stand between the European Magistrate and the peace officer and the Maoris." — Agreed to. The Association wishing to discnfs the question of, a "union of General Government offices" *nd other •übjects with Major Atkinson, Mr. t pjohn proposed, and Mr. Wilson seconded, "That Major Atkinson, be invited to attend the next meeting ot the Association to discuss the question of the union of General Government offices, and also to afford information to the members as to the balance of the £300,000' due to this province, under the Act of 1858." — Agreed to. — Herald, June 6.

WELLINGTON. The New Zealand Advertiser is about to be resuscitated in Wellington in the form of * penny evening journal. We presume the proprietor is well assured of support, or be can hardly hope to beat out of the field so well-conducted and successful a paper as the Evening Post. Competition in business, however, is always of advantage to customers, and the Wellington public cannot now complain of a want of cheap daily newspaper?.— Wanganui Evening Herald. Ihe Evening Herald says intelligence has been received from the gold-prospeoting party at Whanganui, and that they are progressing steadily, are in good spirits, and have found the colour. They have proceeded up the river a distance of about twenty miles, and the indications are everywhere of such a nature aa gives the. party the strongest encouragement to test the country. They intended proceeding as far as Taupo, in case they do not find a payable foldfield nearer, before returning. Great difficulties aye been experienced in getting the canoes up jthe rapids. At the conclusion of the business in the Courthouse, Rangitikei, on June 3, the Resident (or more properly Stipendiary) Magistrate, J. T. Edwards, Esq., announced, that he had received notice from the Government'that, in consequence of the low state of the colonial finance', his servioes would be dispensed with, and that it was uncertain when the next flitting would be held. General surprise was manifested in the crowded court, and the announcement was received in blank astonishment by several unlucky suitors vrhose cases had been adjourned to next sitting. During the term Major Edwards has held the office he has gained the esteem and respect of nearly all, and his dismissal will be felt as a public loss in the long circuit over which he presided, from Porirua to Rangitikei. — Chronicle. Ihe Post has been informed of a very sad, if not fatal, accident which occurred on Thursday evening week to Mr. E. Buckr^dge. It appears that he was passing" round Windy Point, On the Rimutaka, when his horse shied, throwing him olean over the ridge of the precipice, when he qtruck against a projecting rock lying thirty feet below him, and rolled from that down the 'gully. He was not found until the following morning, when he was with difficulty brought up and conveyed to his home in the Wairarapa. Notwithstanding the severe injuries received by Mr. Buckridge in his fall], and the way in which he was torn and bruised, besides lying exposed all night, life was not extinct when he was found, although it was understood that no hopes are entertamed of his recovery. The Government were defeated in Council on the 2nd instant on the Patent Slip Act, a motion having been carried that it be read that day six months, and resigned on the succeeding day.

CA^ERBURY. The Canterbury Times says, "His Honor the Superintendent, Mr. Rolleston, after his election settled down to bis work atone©, and has been in the North upon business connected with the suppression^ pleuropneumonia. That disease i- till existoinamodified form at Woodend, but the whole of Mr. Grigg'tf mob has now been destroj ed, and it is hoped that this vigorous step will effectually hinder the further spread of the disease." The Ly Helton Times s»ys, "The ova continue to decrease in number every day, and not the slightest sign of life is yet visible in any of forty now 1 left. The length of time which they have been in the boxes makes it , a matter of very serious doubt whether any fish will be brought to life, and the curator almost despairs of success. There is no alteration in the appearance of the ova since the day they were first put into the water, and this almost induces the opinion that they are what is termed ' blind 'or unfertilised. A short time will, however, solve the question, for, if the batching does not progress rapidly from now, the ova — taking the rate at which thej go bad every day — will soon have disappeared altogether." A shocking accident has occurred at Lyttelton, to the family of a man named Campbell. From the statement of the man, it appears that two of his children were ill ; his wife, who is subject to epileptic fits, was in an adjoining room nursing the youngest. He himself fell asleep beside one of the children, and was awoke soon after by hearing fearful groaning ; jumping out of bed, he found his wife on the floor in flames, and the infant in her arms. He tore off the burning clothes as soon as possible, burning his ovrn hands terribly. Drs. Rouse and Mottley were soon in attendance, and did all they could. Dr. Donald also visited the sufferers. The child expired at noon, and the mother is not likely to survive.

OTAGO. We (Otago Daily Times) are glad to learn that at Mr. Duncans miU, Water of Leith, the .hatching of salmon will be a certainty. Some ova were on Wednesday, May 27, in a state which left no doubt whatever of their vitality, or of the fact that fry would be liberated from them in a very short time.' There ia thus strong ground fbr believing that a great Buccesi in batching will be secured at the Waiwera establishment, whence intelligence as to the progress of the ova will probably be received in a day or two.