OTAGO.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XVIII, Issue 3, 8 January 1859, Page 3

OTAGO.

We have papers to the 25th December. No candidate had offered for the vacant seat in the House of Representatives, caused by Mr. M* Andrew's not attending the last session. The newspapers expressed their regret that the electors should exhibit such apathy on a matter of so much importance to the place.

About 115 tons of coal had been obtained from the Clutha coal-field, at a cost of about £2 ss. 2d. per ton ; but it is said that the coal could now be shipped at 15s. per ton. The seam is only about five inches in thickness* The following extracts are from the Witness of December 25 : —

Fatal Accident. — The most melancholy accident that has yet occurred in this province happened at New River, on Tuesday, the 7th instant, by which at least six persons have found a watery grave. It appears that, a Miss Grieve and Mr. Adam Wilson, both of New River, were proceeding to Ruapuke for the purpose of getting married, accompanied by other four individuals. Although warned of the dangerous state of the bar, they determined to proceed ; and in crossing the bar, the boat struck the sandbank and filled. The bride, Miss Grieve, was the first who was swept away by the billows, while the others clung to the boat (of some eight or ten tons burden) for nearly three hours, but were gradually swept away by the advancing tide. Several persons on shore witnessed the heartrending scene, but were unable to render them any assistance. The names of those known to have been on board are as follows, viz. : — Adam Wilson and Miss Grieve (the bridegroom and bride) ; Mr. Hunt, owner of the boat, who leaves a widow and large young family ; " Bob Smith," a seaman, well known about Dunedin ; John Jakeways (generally known as "Alf.") and his wife Ann, a daughter of the late James Kelly, formerly of the Bluff, lately of Invercargill, an old settler. Such a sad affair will surely urge the Government to make immediate provision for enabling persons in the southern part of the province to get married without tempting the perils of the deep, as they are at present com- ! pelled to do. We are informed that under the circumstances no boat could have been of any possible avail in rescuing the unfortunate party. We regret to learn that a young girl, daughter of the dairyman at Cherry Farm, Waikouaiti, was lately drowned in the river there, her foot having caught the rope while stepping out of the punt. The Gazelle, from Newcastle, with stock, arrived at the Heads on Thursday evening, and anchored at Port Chalmers yesterday morning. She has been sixteen days on her passage, and we regret to learn that she has lost some 500 of her sheep ; but the horses are all in good condition. We have no later intelligence by her than that received by the City of Melbourne. Town Lands. — A sale of town lands took place in the Crown Land Office, Dunedin, on Monday last, when eighty sections were disposed of, and realized the sura of averaging fully £17 each. Many of the lots > were warmly competed for, and some of the sections in Pelicnet's Bay more than doubled the upset price, and one fetched a 633. In Port Chalmers the highest was £16 10s. On Sunday, the new Episcopal Church at Waikouaiti was opened for divine service. The church, which is calculated to accommo-

date a congregation of 150, is built after the Gothic style, and is altogether, we believe, a very neat erection- The church and parsonage have been erected entirely at the expense of Mr. J. Jones, Waikouaiti.

The Potatoe.— Potatoes were first brought to Europe in 1583. After fifty-nine years the potatoe rot broke out, and after eighty years there was no seed fit for planting to be obtained. In 1696 the Spaniards brought good seed from Peru, which gave healthy tubers for forty-five years. In 1779 the rot so far destroyed the potatoes that no good seed was obtained. In 1797 the English brought new seed to Europe, but it was nob until 1802-3 that seed generally spread through the Continent, and was in general use. Fifty years later the rot again appeared, and again decreased in 1856. Prom this it appears that potatoes are liable to suffer Hub disease every fifty yews.— Salem Observer.