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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4237, 19 October 1874, Page 2

On Saturday last the Hon. Major Atkinson, accompanied by Dr. Johnson, Public Health officer, Mr. H. J. H. Eliott, Immigration Agent, and a number of other gentlemen, several of whom were employers of labor, proceeded by the Government p.s. Luna to the Quarantine Station on Somes Island to inspect the recently quarantined immigrants who arrived by the Cartvale. The general health of those on the island was found to be much improved since the landing, and only one death —that of an infant—had occurred. The island is now beginning to present a very pleasing appearance, and in a short time will undoubtedly bo comfortably sheltered and rendered a cheerful looking place of residence, by the numerous trees and shrubs which have been planted, most of which are on the slope down to Lowry Bay. A garden has also been formed and planted -with shrubs, &c., and the visitors all expressed themselves much pleased at the very marked improvement in the general appearance of the place. The immigrants are all of a respectable class, and express themselves highly satisfied with the treatment they have received on the voyage, from the doctor, the captain, and other officers, against whom not a single complaint is made. This fact is most satisfactory and very complimentary to the officers, as with so much sickness on board they must have had rather a trying time of it, and a particularly anxious one for the medical man. Mr. Oakes, a railway contractor, has engaged twenty-four of the single men, to go immediately to the railway works under his contract at Wanganui, at a wage of Bs. a day. These men will proceed direct to their destination from the island by the first steamer, and the remainder of the Cartvale’s passengers will be landed to-day.

The Tararua, we are happy to learn, was not only successful in forcing her way through Eoveaux Strait, in the teeth of the heavy gale which was blowing when she left the Bluff, but also in reaching Melbourne in time to save the mail. She sailed from the Bluff on the 2nd instant, and arrived in Hobson’s Bay on the Bth, the date of the departure of the Suez steamer from that port. The success of the Tararua on this occasion is a strong proof of her power and her adaptability for the service in which she is engaged. The following tenders were received at the Public Works Office, Wellington, for the southern contract, Timaru and Waitaki Railway :—Accepted ; George Pratt, Timaru, £18,541. Declined : Joseph Hadfield, Christchurch, £20,420 ; David Proudfoot, Dunedin, £21,238 ; Walter Puller, Christchurch, £22,708 ; Johnßrogden, Wellington, £23,770. It is probable that His Excellency the Governor will, should he be able so to arrange, visit Adelaide on his way to Europe. The Marquis of Norraanby is expected to arrive here on November 26th or 27th, aud, a few days afterwards, Sir James Pergusson purposes to leave. The Marquis of Normanby, says the Brisbane correspondent of the Otarjo Daily Times, will leave Brisbane to proceed to his new government, on or about the 12th of November. This will enable him to carry his commission in his pocket. He cannot go direct to Wellington except via Melbourne, which would involve two transhipments, and he therefore purposes proceeding to Sydney, and thence to Auckland, which will probably have to regard that visit as the vice-regal bow which would sooner or later be made. The staff will consist of Captain Maling (35th Regiment), Private Secretary ; and Lord Hervey Phipps, a son of the Marquis, as A.D.O, Northern horse owners are now moving their strings south to take part in the contests at the forthcoming Canterbury races. By the s.s. Wellington, which arrived from Northern ports yesterday and proceeds on South this afternoon, two likely-looking chesnuts from Mr. Redwood’s stable are passengers, accompanied, of course, by their trainer and his lads. The horses were kept on board all yesterday and last night, and as they were in a very cramped position and unable to lie down, it would have done them good to land them, for exercise and a night’s rest in the stable. However, the person in charge must know best as to the management, and doubtless he had good grounds for keeping the nags on board ; probably they are timid, and he considered it dangerous to risk the landing and re-shipment.

We have received from Dr. James Neild, of Melbourne, the well-known dramatic critic of the Australian, says the Otago Daily Times, a letter on the subject of the proposed erection of a monument over the remains of the late Hattie Shepparde. The proposal was first made in a letter to the Argus, and the conductors of that journal promised to take charge of any subscriptions that might be forwarded to them for the purpose. A letter was also published in the Argus, from Mr. George Brown, the architect of the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, in which that gentleman placed Ids services at the disposal of the committee that might be appointed, and offered to superintend all the necessary details of the work. Mr. Brown put his name down for a subscription of ten guineas, and further guaranteed the collection of fifty guineas. Dr. Neild, says the Times, requests that we will receive and forward any subscriptions left with us for the purpose, and we have only to -say that we shall be most happy to do so. The late Mrs. Hallam had many friends in New Zealand, who will, no doubt, bo glad to subscribe.

Tasmania has spared to New Zealand one of the gentlemen who assisted to bring about the late collapse in business in Launceston. Mr. White, of Messrs. Mills and White—one of the firms which failed lately—is reported to have left Hobart Town by the barque Natal Queen for Lyttelton. The police boat went down the Derwent to recall the runaway, but the barque had obtained too good a start, and the boat could not overtake her. The Melbourne papers report that Mr. Moton Moss, one of the creditors of the bankrupt firm, offers a reward of £SO for the capture of Mr. White. The case of Wylie v. McKirdy, which occupied the Court on Friday, has been settled privately. The plaintiff, we understand, has accepted a sum of £lO0 —£60 in addition to the £4O paid into Court—plaintiff and defendant to pay their own costs.

Yesterday was observed as a day of prayer in all the Nonconformist churches in the city. The p.s. Luna, which arrived from Tort Chalmers direct on Saturday, brought up the Otago’s mail from Melbourne. The Vice-Admiralty Court was formally opened on Saturday, and after some little discussion between His Honor and the gentlemen of the bar, adjourned until ten o’clock this forenoon.

The well-known racehorse Rory O’More has been sold in Melbourne to Mr. Ward, of New Zealand, and is to be shipped for this colony immediately after the Victoria Racing Club’s spring meeting. “ Goyder’s Monthly Guide to the Turf ” is a little publication which should possess considerable interest for sporting men. It is now in the third year of its issue, and the number for October is before ua. We have also “ Centaur’s Index to the Melbourne Cup” from the same publishers.”