Untitled

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 124, 6 April 1864, Page 3

SrntEMK Court.—The civil sittings of the Supreme Court will tnko place to-morrow, and will, we are hapv>r to tearti, be presided over by TTis lTo'ior the Chief Justice. Thev will not be held in the Old Den in Queen-street, but in the Provincial Council Chftvibcrs—lTin ITonor very properly relusin<T any longer to endanger his own and the public health by sitting asain in the unwholesome atmosphere of the old Court House. Ttirc Pstft Dfks on the Queen-street Wharf are, we perceive, to be put up to auetiou by Mr. S. Cnehran" oil the 11th inst. Tub PrtTOF. of T.and.—People who are afraid of the present hiuh price of land in Auckland need not think tnat it is exceedinsr the limit of fair supply and demand rates. The following quotation will show that we have plenty of tether yet before we reach the proportions of European preat towns: —" The price of land has, in wonder, been stated hv a eontemporarv to lie €30 a yard in Liverpool. The price in the neighbourhood of the exchange is stated to be £70 a yard, or about C'.'!7s,OOv> an acre. Ph'nck or Waifs Theatre.—The nanticrtl drama of " Pen Bolt." followed by the lansrhablo farce of " A Kiss in the Park," wits presented acain last eveninc. before a crowded audience, and received with great applause. We may also mention that the dancinar dnrincr the interval was well received, and loudly enrnrnl. VrcTour.t Stkkkt. —Tlio City Board bnvo wo perceive, callcd for tenders for the performance of certain works on the south side of Victoria-street. Plans and specifications mav he seen at the oflico of the Roard, and tenders will bo received until 4 p.m. of Tuesday next, the 12th inst. Acciiikxt to thk Rkv. Isaac llaki'ixo. —We regret. to find in tlie Otri/o Jlnih/ Times of the 24th " tliat 2VIr. Harding ('well known in Aucqland) met with an accident on the 21st, on liis way to preach at Port Chalmers. "The reverenr gentleman," says the Ihiih/ Timrx " who was on lioard the steamer, accidentally fell down one of tho hatchways, causinj-, a violent strain to his knee : he however was able to preach at the Weslevan Church at Port Chalmers the same evening. Although the injury Mr. ITardinpr sustained will probably prevent his fulfilling his engagements at Taieri, AVoolslied, Clntba and Tokomairio, lie is announced to preach at Wesley Church, Dnnedin, on Sunday next, for, we understand, the last time in this city."

Thk OttowTn or Flax.—From an article in the Si/ihieu Moruhtfi ITerafii advocating the introduction "f flax culf ure as one of the staples of New South Wales it is remarked that the annual value of the flax grown in Ireland is four million sterling or at least three times the value of the woo] produce of the whole area of that colony, and that this great sum is produced from only a limited portion of the soil of Treland. Tn speaking of the discouragement Australian nirricultiirnlists experienced from the variableness of the climate and the want of a staple not dependent on a local market. The Stphier/ Herahl casnnllv alludes to the new settlement about to be formed in New Zealand where the want of a staple article of export is likely to be experienced bv the settlers. Nothing could meet this want better than the persevering culture nf flax. From the profusion of wild flax plant, native to this country it is evident that the nsricnltnrists of the Wtiikato would find the production of the cultivated Pax a nio-t profitable branch of their pursuit. The detenV.iat"'.-n of the quality of fhe soil from the o-rnwth of flax, may be avoided by tho usual rotation followed bv all farmers, and it is an article for which th're )>.• a'wavs n sale jo any extent, at a price most profitable fo the <rrowiv. Tt would, we think, bo feu'-d more profitable to the pettier t" proceed at once to the ru't'v;.tiV n of the sprcifs of flax in common in--e. than to lose time in oxporimentalisintr on the New Zealand ]'f;ni»ii'tt»i, and endeavouring to find methods of rendering it by use to the manufacturer.

Tto.xn M.M-:ivr..—Tn making a road it is known as a matter of course-, that if the foundation is once made so as to maintain its level permanently, it will only wear away from the friction on the surface, and that as lono- ns the surface is kept in a state of repair, the road win last for ever, and be as good as the day it was made : roads generally, beinsr improperly made, srive away from the bottom, the top then falls in and leaves a series of boles, which will go absorbinff any amonnt. of metalline stuff, and be more expensive in the end. and always at the same time incomparably inefficient, tban if the road were dug right out at once to the foundation, and properly made. Our 2-reat instructors in most' things, the Romans have left ns roads to teach us how they are to be made proncrlv. and some not long since dug up in Fngland. which on examination were found to bo as solid as they were a thousand years ago. have been chosen as examples to be learnt from, by our enffineers. Tim foundation of these roads way a solid concrete formed nf limo and gravel, with another hiver of ernvrl on the fop, and then the surface layer. The weight of frafTie would bed the lower surface of mavcll into the concrete, only increasing til" solidify of the foundation, and as long as the surface was kept in any'state of repair afall. the road could never give way. This system was tried first on a swampv part of one of the Fnglish roads that had previously defied every effort fo stay the constant falling in, and the absorbtion of material. The oncrineer clearing the whole depth of tho road away, made a solid concrete foundation as the manner do-jcribi-d, and the consequence has been that this has been the most level and the easiest bit on tho whole road, and Ihe least expensive to keep in repair, and wherever n road has to be mado now in Fnglaud. it is made in this way which is found to he by far the cheapest in the end. iilthouirh, perhaps requiring a greater outlay at fhe commencement. Tt is a great pity that Auckland road makers do not apply this svstem to our roads. Wo should then have no more of these holes that perplex both contractors and travellers, and should be savers of a considerate nnnurl sum.