TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 1786, 7 September 1866, Page 2

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

His Honor the Superintendent.—We understand that his Honor may be expected in Canterbury on Sunday next. Meeting of the Provincial Council.— We hear that the meeting of the Provinciul Council has been fixed for the first week in October.

Fendalltowh Bridge. The bridge across the Avon on the Kendalltown road, nearly opposite Mr. Symington's house, having fallen into disrepair is about to be closed, in order that a more substantial one may be erected in its place.

Petition to the House op Kepresentatives.—The petition against taxation, and in favour of preserving the Provincial revenues has been transmitted to his Honor the Superintendent for presentation. Though only a few hours were allowed to obtain signatures, upwards of four hundred names were appended, including most of the influential inhabitants of Christchurc.h and Lyttelton.

Gazette. The provincial Gazette, No. 62,' dated Sept, G, contains two Orders, in Council by his Excellency the Governor declaring Panama an infected district within the meaning of the Diseased Cattle Ordinance, and prohibiting the importation into the colony of any cattle, poultry, skins, &c, therefrom A free pardon is olfercd to any accompice in the recent robbery fiom the Bank of <'ew Zealand at ()karita, who shall give s"ch evidence as shall suffice to bring the guilty parties to justice. A conditional licence lias been granted by his Honor the Superintendent to Joseph Nicholl for a house at I'orter's Pass. A notice signed by several persons residing at Hokitika appears calling a public meeting for the purpose of electing members and assessors for the Municipal Council. A notice of the dissolution of the partnership beiween Messrs I. l.ueknndC. Clark is published. The Gazette further contains si me announcement relative to the Debtors and Creditors Act,

Theatre Rotal—The drama of "Ingomar," which was again produced at the theatre last night by particular request, is deserving of a fuller notice than we could find room for on the occasion of its first production. Without being positively aware of the fact, we do' not hesitate to guess that " Ingomar" was written by a lady. The ideas expressed about love and marriage are what is usually termed romantic, as opposed to those held by practical business-like men and women. Parthenia's mother, for instance, has proposed some half-dozen matches for her, any one of which the matron regards as suitable from her view of marriage. The would-be husbands are well-to-do, and all the rest of it. But Parthenia rejects one after the other with ineffable disgust; this one is old and crabbed, that other is a miser and very stupid; and she does not lov»-cannot love any one of them. To the emphatic declaration that love has nothing whatever to do with the matter, and is altogether a delusion, Parthenia replies in the finest language, and with all the subtlety of the acutest metaphysician. As a matter of course, she prefers to dream on of s.mie bright, beautiful ideal husband, who is to come from somewhere, and unite with her in realising the romantic notion of "two souls witli but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one." But puetical justice, which is always very beneficent, requires that Parthenia should find her ideal, and she does so in the person of Ingomar, chief of a tribe of barbarians who have captured her father, and treated him not over-well. Parthenia goes to the camp of the banditti as a hostage for her father, and it is astonishing with what celerity, not to say indelicate haste, she sets to work to subdue their chief. He falls a victim of course to her enchantments; and the man who had at first no idea of loving anything beyond his horse, or his dog, or the fierce conflict with his foes and the elements is led away captive to and by Parthenia, bound heart and soul in fetters which have been forged he knows not how, and cast round him he knows not when. Parthenia takes Ingomar from his wild companions and the freedom of nature to the homes of the polished Greeks, where, after a time he is rewarded by her hand. :-uch is the story of the piece The cast last night was materially altered, and all for the better. Miss Juno's Parthenia, as on the first time we saw it, was a most legitimate success in erery way. In no part we have seen Mr. Carey take is the improvement in his acting so obvious or so marked, as in Ingomar. He well deserved the applause he met with. Iu the altered cast Mr. Jones fouud his proper p ace as Polydor, in the representation of which he gave us a far higher idea of his ability than in anything we have seen him do before. The other parts were respectably filled. The " Bonnie Fishwife " w.is most successful, and most heartily applauded, Miss Juno's Maggie Macfarlane meeting with especial approbation. Mr. Pollock, we were glad to notice, was nearly letter—perfect in his part. Tonight we are to have '* Lucretia Borgia." Magisterial.—Yesterday, at the Magistrate's Court. Christchurch, before C. C. Bowen,Esq, B.M. The following business was disposed of. George Lloyd was charged with having been drunk and incapable. He was discharged with a caution, it being his first offence. Albert Allard was charged with having an unregistered dog, above the age allowed by the ordinance, and was fined 20s Philip Miiller of the Mechanics' Hotel, and J. G. Ruddenklau of the City Hotel, were charge I with not having lights burning before their licensed houses at certain times of the night, and were each fined 20s. George Ward was charged with allowing a horse, his property, to wander at large on Oxford Terrace, and was fined ss. John Mie, for a similar offence, was also fined fis. D. Phillips, Johnlleenan, and Martin Heenan, three boys, the eldest of whom did not appear more than thirteen, were charged with having set fire to a gorse hedge at the back of the Baptist chapel, in Lichfield street, on the 30th of August. Several witnesses were examined, ■ but the churge could not be brought home to the accused. His Worship, however, expressed his opinion that the boys knew something about the fire; and on discharging them gave them a severe caution not to give the police cause to bring them before him again. He also admonished the father of the Heenans for not sending his children to school, instead of letting them run about the streets in idleness and mischief. Inspector Pender said these three boys had been at most of the gorse fires which had taken place lately. I'e believed their practice was for one of them to set fire to the hedge, while another went to ring the bell. Frederick White was charged with having used insulting language to Thomas 'Pennant, at complainant's licensed house at Prebbleton, aud with having broken the door of the house. Plaintiff deposed that on the 28th of August, between one and two o'clock in the day, defendant made a great noise in his house, and called him a rogue and a robber, and used other bad and filthy language. Plaintiff put him out, and he (defendant) then smashed in the door of the house. Sarah Walker deposed that she saw defendant at plaintiff's house on the day above mentioned. He was drunk, and he smashed the door of the house. D. Cunningham corroborated the evidence of last witness. Defendant had nothing to say in his defence, but expressed a hope that plaintiff would never let him into the house again. Defendant was fined £5 and costs, and the Magistrate threatened to order him tofind securities of the peace if he should be brought there again. The transfer of a license of a public house near Porter's Pass.f rum Nicholls to Nelson, was granted. In our report of Tuesday's business, of some applications to transfer public-house licenses, the names Matthews, and Faulham, and Atkinson, and Lunt, were transposed. Mr. Atkinson ami Mr. Matthews should have appeared as the transferrers, and therefore Mr. Alaude"s objection to the transfer in the case of Matthews and Fantham, that the applicant had filed his petition, applied to Mr. Matthews, and not to Mr. Fantham. At the Lyttelton Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, Jeremiah Harrington, second officer on board the Sir Ralph Abercrombie, was charged with assaulting Thomas Cassie, chief officer The assault was proved. Prisoner, in defence, stated that he was under the influence of liquor, and begged that the case might not be pressed. The Bench, on consideration of the case not being pressed, treated it as a common assault, and fined the prisoner iUs The prisoner was also charged with resisting the police, and tearing a constable's clothes. This case was proved. Prisoner was fined 20s, and 15s for damages done t.> the constable's clothes.

Literary Society. Last night ihis society debated the proposition "ihat the works of George Elliot evince a higher order of genius than those of Currer JJell" In support of this proposition it was said that Currer Bell is distinguished by very considerable power in delineating the workings of the mind and heart, but if the writings of George Elliot be closely studied it will be found thai the same quality exists in equal degree in them, at the same time that its comprehensiveness is much greater. There is almost as much attention to detail in sucli descriptions in the works of George Elliot, as is round in those of Currer Bell; but while the latter concentrates this power on one or iwo characters in a story, the former extends it to all the characters introduced. Besides this the two female characters drawn by Currer Bell, and in the drawing of which this miiiutenesss of delineation is strikingly exhibited, are autobiographical characters; both Jane Eyre and Lucy Snow being drawn from the self-perceptions of the authoress herself; while the delineations of George Elliot are the creations of her own genius. These facts argue that George Klliot has much more dramatic power than Currer Bell j ami notwithstanding this drawing from self, in the two characters named, there is, on the whole, much less truth to nature in the generality of characters pourtraycd by currer Bell than in those delineated by George Elliot. The speech made by Ellen Bums to save Eyre is ludicrous ; and other passages in the same work are open to the same imputation. There is also more pathos in George Elliot, and her composition is pure and classic; while in the writing of Currer Bell style may be said to be absent. The characters, also, which

Currer Bell has employed her powers in describing are commonplace compared with those of George Elliot; and the task which the latter set herself is higher than that sought to be accomplished by the former, Against these considerations it was argued that George Elliot has employed her powers in creating characters which become heroic from resisting the encroachments of love on the heart; and that such characters are unnatural. Even the character of Adam Bedc is not a natural one. We do not find in society that carpenters challenge Squires to fight. And the heroine of that hook is a very common-place character; a mere village coquette, drawn in a sensational style. The genius of Currer Bell is higher than that of her rival, because she takes the mind rather than the person, as the subject on which to develope her ideas of beauty. The itory of the " Mill on the Fl»ss" is ridiculously stupid, and many passages in the writings of George Elliot are overdrawn, and some of them teach us that vice is not so hideous as we had previously thought it. Currer Bell must be judged by the light of the fact that her Jane Eyie was produced when she was quite a girl, and had no experience of the world. Dr. Foster said that the fact last stated was very important in such a question as that under debate. The question was which of the two writers evince the higher genius. Currer Bell wrote " Jane Eyre" when quite a girl and living in a retired village ; and yet the two characters of the heroine and Rochester were of more absorbing interest than any of George Elliot's characters, excellent as were her works as a whole. On a show of hands being taken, four were held up in favour of George Elliott, and two in favour of Currer Bell.

Famine in India.—Latest advices from India state, that if rain does not fall more plentifully, all Bengal will be involved in famine. The starving and distressed population are crowding into Calcutta.

Importation of Wool into Britain.— The importation of wool from the British Colonies into Britain for the year 1865 amounted to 713,075 bales, of which amount

New Zealand contributed 52,797 bales. The largest wool-producing colony for 1864 was Victoria, which exported 135,513 bales, New South Wales and Queensland 79,672 bales, Algoa Bay, 85,128 bales, after which ranks New Zealand, followed by Southern Australia, American colonies, Tasmania, and Western Australia.

Gold in the Mackenzie Country.—Regarding the alleged discovery of gold in the Mackenzie Country, about which, by the way, the Timaru Herald has been very silent of late, the Oamaru Times of August 31 says:—A gentleman from the Upper Waitaki district informs uii that the report of the discovery of payable gold in the Mackenzie Country should be received cum granosalis. That gold has been found is true enough ; it may be found almost anywhere in this island, but the discovery is not important enough, and this is all that practical men will care to learn. A shepherd has been what is termed " fossicking" in the locality mentioned, for a year past, finding a little gold occasionally, but not in remunerative quantities. He has not been known, so far as is yet ascertained, to have sold any, and has not been seen, within the period just stated, below the Upper Waitaki Ferry. We do not dispute the possibility of finding payable gold in the Mackenzie country, although contrary to the opinion of our geologists; but we think we are right m asserting that it has not yet been hit upon. The Southland GoLD-FiELDS.-The Southland Times of August 6, says:—" The Riverton gold-fields have not received that attention which from their steady progress might have been expected. This is not to be wondered at—the old fable of the cry of the ' wolf, the wolf!' being so often made, and no wolf coming, that when he did put in an appearance, the warning sound was unheeded, may be applied to Southland; the many disappointments that this Province has experienced from reports of false discoveries of gold-fields make the people sceptical as to the value of the gold-workings they possess. It is not our intention at the present time to enter upon the question of the desirability of the Government immediately proclaiming the Hiverton district a gold-field, although we are of opinion that the time is not far distant when such a course will become a necessity, but to arouse the capitalists of the town to a realisation of the fact, that they have wealth within their grasp, and that if they display energy and enterprise at the present time, the amount of benefit to be hereafter participated in will be great. The mining both at Paihi and Longwood is of a peculiar character —the gold appears abundant, but in order to obtain it complete appliances are required; yet notwithstanding this individual miners are working with most satisfactory results. How much more might be expected if an effort was made, by the aW of capital, to facilitate the operation of those now employed. The subject is worth considering." I A Year's Chimb in London,—The number of persons taken into custody during the year 1865 by the metropolitan police was 70,224. Amongst the charges were 8662 for common assaults, 2833 for assaults on the police, 2409 for larceny from the person, 9130 for simple larceny, 3121 for unlawful possession of goods, U),202 for being drunk and disorderly, and 9055 for drunkenness alone. As many as 4971 persons were taken into custody as vagrants. Of the 70,224 persons taken into custody, 31,103 were discharged by the magistrates, and 35,164 either summarily convicted or held to bail, while 3957 were committed for trial, Of these, 3001 were convicied and sentenced, 702 acquitted, and in 164 cases either bills were not found or no prosecution took place. With regard to the instruction of the persons taken into custody, 89 had received a superior education, 2299 could read and write well, 57,045 could read only, or read and write imperfectly, and 10791 could neither read nor write. ()f the total number 47,421 were nudes and22,8()3 females, 362 had been convicted twice, 55 three times, 11 four times, and two five times and upwards. The number of felonies within the metropolitan police district affecting property amounted to 16,077, for which 2187 persons were tried and convicted. The felonies involved a first loss of £71,229, but of this sum £13,688 was recovered, leaving a total loss of £57,541. Petroleum in California.—The AUa California, of a recent date,informs us of the discovery of petroleum in large quantities in that country.—An important event in the progress of our State in the cutting of several tunnels, that yield flowing streams of petroleum, near San Buoiiaventiira, giving reason to presume that numerous or numberless similar streams may be obtained by other tunnels. It was confidently asserted that California contains no petroleum; and afterwards, that such petroleum as there might he could only be obtained by pumping, and in small quantities. These assertions were for a long time not disproved; but a number of persons, notwithstanding ever} 1 discouragement, continued their explorations, expending a total of probably a million dollars. It is said that 130,000 were spent on the Ojal rancho alone. Only 4 miles from that rancho is the land of the Stanford Oil Works, where several tunnels have been cut into the oil-bearing shale, and from every tunnel a steady stream of oil is obtained—one tunnel yielding more tban five hundred gallons daily, eight gallons per day for each linear foot of the tunnel in the oil-hearing rock, which exiends for miles. This rock, a sandy shale, stands at an angle of about 45 degrees to the horizon. In the Stanford rancho, the main tunnel is 1200 feet above the sea, and runs into a hill, the summit of which may have an elevation of 2200 feet. It is the theory of Mr. S. Mass, the author of the tunnel project, that the oblique direction and loose texture of the petroleum shale in California will prevent the oil from flowing out of uny well. In his opinion, the petroleum, as it approaches the surface, becomes mixed with the sulphur, iron, and salt found in the earth and rock, and these, with earth materials, furnish the brea, or asphaltum, which comes up out of the ground ;it many places along the coast. Several thousand barrels of the San Ruonaventuraoil have already reached San Francisco, and if the supply is as large and permanent as persons who have been on the ground imagine, it will

not be long before Californian kerosene will supply all our home demand, and crowd the kerosene of Pennsylvania in foreign markets."

A Prophecy bt ihe Pope.—The following story went the rounds of the Neapolitan papers in the tarly part »f the year, and purports to have been elicited during a conversation with a high Spanish dignitary. The words of the Holy Father are said to have been:—" Unfortunately it is to be feared that the year 1866 will be one in which a great deal of blood will be shed. The fire of the demagogues will burst forth in many parts of Europe; however, this dreadful conflagration will have finished in 1867, when peace will be re-established. Rome will view grief a second enaction of the scenes of 1849, and the Pope will be obliged to abandon the City of the Church as a fugitive. In 1867, when the Pope returns to the Vatican, a grand council will be assembled and the centenary of St. Peter will be celebrated. In 1868 you will be present at my funeral!" Native Pensioners. The Wanganui Chronicle of August 2* says: We have now before us a parliamentary paper, bearing the title of a " Nominal Return of all Officers in the employ of the Government, with their duties, salaries," &c, from which we learn that in Wanganui we expend upon native assessors, policemen, and pensioners the sum of £BO4 10s 6d annually. Upper Wanganui requires £447 a year for the same purpose and Kangitikei £4lO. A sum of £l6i!lis thus expended every year upon Native jinecures (if we except a policeman, who may perform some duty) in our own district alor.e, and this is only a sample of what takes place over the whole of the northern island. The Government may fancy it is cheaper to bribe than to fight the natives, and perhaps there is something to be said for sucli a view of the case, but if so, we should go through with it, and bribe nil over. At present the settlers are very much in the position of the poor negro, who objected to being both flogged and preached at for the same offence. He had a sort of dim idea that punishment was a necessary part of his discipline, but he said there were good grounds for complaint when the two kinds of it were, meted out to him at once. Provincial Telegraph Lines.—The Telegraphis Engineer, in his annual report recently issued, speaks thus of the desirability of the General Government purchasing the provincial lines:—" As great inconvenience is now experienced both by the department and the public generally, owing to the divided management of the telegraph lines of the colony, great benefit would be afforded by the working of the whole of the lines under one general management and under one system. It ii a matter of great importance to possess stations at the various ports, as facilities are thus afforded to captains of vessels, and business brought to the line. The system of transferring telegrams from one Hue to another often causes delays, and greatly increases the cost of the telegram. The union of the West Coast of the Middle Island with the existing lines of the East Coast is a matter of so great importance that I should be inclined not only to recommend the Government to purchase the existing West Coast line from the Canterbury province, but also to adopt measures t* secure an uninterrupted communication by erecting a new line from Nelson along the West Coast. The present West Coast line is very liable to interruptions during the winter months, owing to the heavy snows', and the rivers have proved themselves frequent sources of interruption during the season of freshes. A great amount of business transacted is on the West Coast line, and the lines of the General Government derive much of their support from this source. The station at Hokitika may be classed with those of Dunedin and Christchurch, and as most of the business is destined for stations on our lines, it will be seen that any interruptions to the communication must be a matter of great importance to the General Government. It is for that reason I recommend the construction of a second or auxiliary line, which may ensure, as far as possible, uninterrupted communication, while the existing Jine, if purchased, may be used as long as it is in repair and working order, .mainly for the Southern portion of the island, thus saving delay. Bridging the Waitaki. The Otago Daily Times of a recent date, remarks on this subject—The subject of bridging the Waitaki has recently caused a good deal of discussion in the nothern part of ()tago,andthe southern part of Canterbury; and the discussion is likely to be stimulated by the fact that the discussion is likely to be stimulated by the fact that the work of bridging the Clutha is about to be commented. We believe that the Government of Otago is quite alive to the necessity of the northern work; but the Waitaki divides Canterbury and Otago, so that the co-operation of the former province is desirable, if not an absolute necessary preliminary. This has been sought, as we hear; but there has been more delay than might have been expected, and we believe that no reply has yet been received. The Otago Government have caused inquiries to be made; and it is said that a bridge can be constructed for £BOOO to £IO,OOO. which is considerably below the popular, and some professional estimate. To do the work so cheaply, however, the site of the bridge will have to be somewhere near the mouth of the river where the occurrence of dead water will be a great aid to the engineer. Oamaru has naturally shown a great anxiety to get the Waitaki bridged; and the residents in that town may fairly hope to see something practical attempted ere long. The contract for a cheap bridge across the Matiura will shortly be advertised; and a similar Work for the Upper Shotover is not being lost sight of." The Oamaru Times of August 31, referring to the above, says:— We may state for the information of our contemporary, that the co-operation of the Canterbury Government is as good as obtained for we have it on good authority that Mr. Moorliouse lias already promised to send a surveyor to report on the most suitable spot for placing the bridge, and to cive an approximate estimate of the cost. The Superintendent of Otago will doubtless follow this example. We believe the best place for tli-> bridge must be one where the channel is not subject to changes. This desideratum may be found a few miles above Brown's Ferry. It is questionable whether the dead water below the Ferry will be a sufficient inducement in the eyes of engineers to place the bridge there, especially on the score of cost.

The Mackenzie Country Gold Discovery.—The Timiiru Herald of Sept. 5, publishes the following letter, addressed to tlie Editor: —Sir, —I was greatly astonished on reading your paper of the 22nd nit., to find such an extraordinary statement under the heading " Gold discovered in the Mackenzie Country." Allow me then to correct the impression which the letter in question would be likely to convey to the minds of many diggers, and under which you yourself may be labouring. It is so far true that I have been prospecting, and at times getting gold, for six months past. It is also true that the gold is very, very fine, but the magnet has never been tried. Here your correspondent commences his errors, and never ceases afterwards to commit himself, His mile of quicksand is really—or was before T commenced work—three, or at most four chains. A quicksilver cradle will never answer, simply because the water of the Waitiiki is too cold; neither will sluicing, because there is not sufficient fall in the main river to use its water, and there is nothing running from the hills near the auriferou9 beach. And as regards the terraces, which he says he has no doubt also contain gold, the color cannot be found. He afterwards has the impudence to say it is very unlikely I should have the means to keep myself for so long a time without I was getting gold in some quantity. And lastly, do not you think yourself that any statement, true or false, could have been given to you without trying to injure or in any way call in question a stranger's character. My object then in writing to you is two-fold: first, to tell yon I think 1 am badly treated; and secondly, I am sorry that the gentleman, whose word is to be relied on, should endeavour to impose upon the mining population to so great an extent, and in the end, perhaps, cause much trouble; for heavy disappointment must follow if your paper causes a rush up in this part. By kindly inserting this letter you will oblige your obedient servant, Edward NorMAN,