SOUTHLAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1092, 29 April 1863, Page 3

SOUTHLAND.

A melancholy accident occurred at lliverton on Sunday afternoon, when the cutter Fly, Captain Zall, was totally lost, and four men drowned. From the particulars which have reached us, it appears that the Fly, with a cargo of timber from Stewart's Island, manned by three men, stood in for lliverton on Saturday afternoon, with the signal for a pilot flying. On Sunday afternoon Captain Aldred, pilot master, manned the pilot boat and putting oft', succeeded in boarding the cutter, but the sen was then so rough that he could not take her over the bar, and accordingly stood out to sea. The storm con-

tinued for several hours, and the vessel became quite unmanageable, so tbut all bands, eight in number, were compelled to take to the pilot boat. About tbree quarters of an hour after the cutter was abandoned, a heavy sea struck the boat, and turning it completely over, precipitated the whole party into the water. Captain Aldred and Captain Zall, with two of the pilot crew, managed to cling for about five minutes to the boat, when they were washed off. Captain Zall, with three of the pilot crew, then endeavoured to reach the shore, distant about 200 yards. In this they succeeded, but we regret to state that the other four, viz., Captain Aldred, with three of the crew of the cutter, were lost. The position of the vessel and danger of the pilot boat being distinctly seen from the town, a number of the inhabitants proceeded to the beach to render assistance. This unfortunately they were unable to do, except to a very limited extent, though by their efforts Captain Zall was saved. Up to nine o'clock on Sunday night the bodies of the men lost had not been found. A most painful feature in the case of Captain Aldred, is the circumstance that lie had just brought his wife to the town. We have not learned that he, or the other unfortunate men, have left any families. Since the above was in type, a second report of the fatal occurrence has reached us. The two are substantially the same in the account of the accident, but there is a discrepancy regarding those saved and lost. Our later communication says that the men saved were Captain Zall, two Maoris, and one of the pilot crew, and those lost, Captain Aldred one of his crew, and two men belonging to the cutter.

We are unable at present to say which account of the catastrophe is correct, but at all events it is clear that Captain Aldred and three men met a watery grave. The cutter of course was totally lost, and the pilot boat, being driven on to the beach, was taken charge of by the police.

The great, the all absorbing question, at present in Invercargill is the great gravel question. That august body, the Town Board, has declared war— war to the knife—with the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and resigned en masse, leaving but two members to carry on the business—if they can. As far as I can gather the case stands thus :—The Town Board has a hazy impression that because on the lithographed maps of the town there appears a piece of ground marked " Public Esplanade," it belongs to thefn ; while the Commissioner of Crown Lands knows it does not—but that being unsurveyed land and no grant issued for it, it is really waste lands, and placed under his management by the Crown Lands Act, 1862 ; lie, consequently, mildly requested the Board not to interfere with it, or to instruct their contractor to take gravel off it, whereupon the late deeply lamented defunct body wanted to know by what right the Crown interfered with the municipal estate. The Commissioner thereupon stopped the excavation of the gravel. A deputation from the late august body waited on Mr. Pearson, and was informed that if they asked permission they would get it; but if they would not, they would not be allowed to take the gravel. The result of it all is that the Commissioner has sued the contractors for trespass. In my last I spoke of the rapid increase of business in the Post-office here, and consequent rise in the revenue derivable from that source, I have since obtained further data on the subject, which I subjoin :— Letters despatched during March Quarter, 1863, 12,055, against 4,042 same period last year. Newspapers despatched 13,290, against 5,951, in 1862. Letters received 13,702, against 3,248 in 1862 ; and newspapers 7,311 against 1,257. From this return some idea of our progress may be gathered. The Customs Revenue continues to swell; the proceeds, from the Ist to the 15th instant being (3,500) three thousand five hundred pounds. The 'Gazette' of the 17th ult., contains matter of much interest —the census returns for the year 1862, comparative tables of the years 1861 and 1862 of population, crops, revenue, &c.

POPULATION. 1861 Total 1820 1862 3455 STOCK. 1861—Horses, 812 Cattle, 9,139 Sheep, 73,970 1862- „ 1217 „ 11,461 „ 110,231 REVENUE. Nine 31st December, 1861 —Territorial, £20,160 ®rlld. Customs, £3,401 13» 6d. Year ending 31st December, 1862—Territorial, £54,710 18s. Customs, £11,763 lis 9d. Nine months ending 31st December, 1861—Imports, £55,242. Exports, £5,131. Year ending 31st December, 1862 — Imports, £169,000 15s. Exports, £19,471 14s. Tonnage of Vessels Entered and Cleared at Invercargill and Bluff Harbours. ENTERED. Coastwise — Vessels. Tons. 186 78 ... 5,778 186 235 ... 12,758 From and to other than New Zealand Ports — 186 35 ... 9,099 186 59 ... 20,289 CLEARED OUT. Coastwise— 186 ••• 6,366 186 234 ... 18,665 From and to other than New Zealand Ports— 186 27 ... 8,146 186 47 ... 14,260

The result is gratifying as showing the progress we are making, but the first quarter of 1863 shows a much larger comparative increase; the last quarters revenue was nearly half what the whole territorial revenue of 1862 was ; this month the receipts from the sale of rural land will be large. Block 1., Wesstern District, was thrown open to-day, containing four thousand odd acres, and no less than forty-eight applications were put in for it, some fifteen of which are for the whole block, so that it will probably realise a high figure per acre—being choice land it ought to. No news in particular from the diggings. I understand that there is a speedy prospect of direct steam communication to Tnvercargill from Melbourne, a company or firm having made arrangements not only to bring passengers here, but to forward them at once to the Wakatipu Lake. The weather still continues boisterous from the south-west. —' Otugo Daily Times' Correspondent.