DUNEDIN. ( FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. ) Dunedin, February 19th, 1866.

North Otago Times, Volume V, Issue 105, 22 February 1866, Page 2

DUNEDIN. ( FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. ) Dunedin, February 19th, 1866.

The event of the week hns decidedly been the Otago and Canterbury Cricket Match, -which duly came off in spite of the soaking rain of Tuesday afternoon. Canterbury is beaten again, though by no means as thoroughly as our cricketers at one time expected. Indeed, so doubtful did the matter seem on Wednesday afternoon, that the excitement amongst the spectators became at one time quite intense. The honor of pulling Otago through belongs to Mr Worthington (the Warden of the Waitahuna goldfields), and when the match was at length decided in favor of Otago, he was with an enthusiastic cheer carried off the ground into the Lodge of the Dunedin Cricket Club, and ran an emminent risk of being precipitated into the laps of the bevy of ladies who were clustered in the verandah of the lodge. Wednesday turned out a splendid day, and the attendance on the ground was much larger than is usual on such occasions. The Otago Eleven was a fairly strong one — as follows : — Borton, Cairns, Downes, Fulton, Harris, Hendley, Hope, Murison, Richardson, Turton, and Worthington. Probably one reason why the Otago men have beeen beaten at Christchurch — and the Canterbury men had the same luck on both occasions at Dunodin — is, that some of the best men of either Province are unable to spare the time to attend a match at so great a distance from home. On the present occasion it was noticeable that the Canterbury team was composed of decidedly younger men than those to whose batting and fielding the fame of our own Province wa* committed. No doubt young men are generally in Wtter practice than their seniors, but when practice, and Jtept up by men in the full prime of life, they generally excel their younger competitors. It has become almost a proverb in Dunedin, that the married men can always beat the bachelors at any athletic sports. In the present instance, half of the Otago team were married men. The Christchurch Eleven were : — Calvert, Cotterill, D»we, Dickinson, Fearon, Harley, R. Powis, A. Powis, J. W. Stevens, E. C. J. Stevens, and Tennant — the last named gentleman being Captain of the team, a distinction which his merits as a cricketer well deserved. Fulton was Captain of the Otago Eleven. As you have no doubt furnished your readers from other sources with an account of the match, I need not enter upon its details. Of course the two Elevens and a number of other ardent lovers of the game dined together after the match was over. The chair was taken by Mr Carrick in the absence of Mr Harris, and the festivities were kept up considerably beyond midnight. Those of your readers who visited the Exhibition, will remember some beautiful specimens of work in silver and gold, exhibited by Mr Wendt of Adelaide. These were to have been disposed of by a raffle after the close of the Exhibition, but in the mean time, hard times had come upon Dunedin, and the raffle fell through. A suitable use was found the other day for a pair of silver tazzas, which formed part of this collection. The officers of the Bank of New Zealand, who are resident in Otago, presented them to Mr Q-. M'Lean as a token of regret at bis retirement from the management of the Bank in Dunedin. The oere-

inony of presentation vru of course accompanied by a dinner, which was attended bj a large number of tho officers of the Bank, including several from the country. Presentations and testimonials hare indeed been tho epidemic of the week. Mr Brownhill, the late manager of tho Bank of Otago, at Fort Chalmers, and a very useful and active townsman there, was entertained by a large number of his friends previous to his departure for New South Wales. Mr Q-. Eastern of the same place, was similarly honored before sailing for London in the Star of Tasmania. And on Friday, Lady Don presented to the Duncdin Volunteer Fire Brigade a silken banner. Lady Don is an honorary member of the Brisbane Fire Brigade, and appeared in full uniform on the occasion. Some of the members of our Brigade were comrades of Sir Win. Don, when he was member of a similar corps in New York, and on this account the Brigade had offered Lady Don its patronage for the evening in question, of which the presentation of tho banner was a grateful acknowledgement. As the elections draw near, candidates begin to ■peak their intentions more decidedly. In addition to those enumerated in my last, the following gentlemen are now in the field : — For Hampden, Mr Haughton ; for the Ooldfields, Mr Mouatt, Mr Macdonald (of Arthur.s Point), and Captain O'Neill ; for the goldfields boroughs, Mr Mandera ; for Caversham, Mr R. S. Cantrell. Mr Borton has at length declared himself a candidate for Roslyn, and there is likely to be a hot contest there, the friends of Mr George Hepburn being disgusted at the idea that the old representative of the district in the Provincial Council should be opposed by a man new to political life, when he aspires to new honors. So far as I can learn, Mr Borton has the best chance, if he acquit himself with credit at the hustings. Waiko"aiti is in a sad dilemma, having taken huff at the slight which it fancies has been put upon it by Messrs Vogel and Dick by the arrangement which I spoko off last week. The name of our Mayor, Mr Wm. Mason, late tho representative of the Pensioner's Settlements in the Province of Auckland, has been spoken of during the last few weeks in connection with I don't know how many constituencies, but up to the present time nothing definite has come out as to his intentions. It is, however, highly probable that he will be nominated — we cannot well afford to lose the services of our tried men. Mr W. Archd. Murray, of Mount Stuart, Tokomairiro, is angling assiduously for a constituency. Letters full of crude political dogmatism on every variety of subjects have appeared every second day in one newspaper or another during the last few weeks.Jbearing his imposing signature, and no doubt his patriotism and vanity will yet find vent at tho hustings somewhere. Whether he will oppose Major Cargill for his own electorate I do not yet know, but it is expected that he will. Tho Jury Reports of the New Zealand Exhibition, 1865, are "now published in a handsomely printed volume. Some portions of its content* are highly interesting and important, and the volume forms a fitting pendant to the long labors of the Commissioners. A meeting of a peculiar character, which may have some important results, was held here on Tursday. The Pine Hill Road Board, being dissatisfied with the way in which the Provincial Government treated its claims, issued a circular to each of the other Road Boards in the Province, inviting them to send delegates to a conference, " to take into consideration whether more efficient representation could not be had in the Provincial Council, and a fair share of the public funds obtained for expenditure" — through the fingers of local boards I suppose. Tho meeting was sufficiently well-attended to encourage its promoters to proceed to business, and a District Road Boards Association was formed. Heaven help us if our District Road Boards are going to take in hand the management of Provincial Finance ! I have not heard whether Oamaru was represented on the occasion.