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Otago Daily Times, Issue 180, 13 June 1862, Page 5

Bulwei■'• fine play of the '• lady of Lyons " wa s performed last night at the Priucess Theatre for the first time, on the occasion of the benefit of Miss Emma St. Ciair. There was, we wore glad to see, a good house. The piece was played with great spirit by the principal characters, but some of the others were not up to the markPauline was of r course played by Miss St. Ciair, and Claude by Mr. Tom Fawcctt.

Yesterday evening there was an eclipse of the moon, which, despite tha statement in Chapman's " New Zealand Almanac " that it would be " not visible in New Zealand," was sceu and noticed by hundreds of people in Duuedin. It commenced aboui five o'clock, was almost total at sis, and •was over at a few minutes after seven, when the full moon shone forth once more with all the glory of the queen of night. During the occultatiou the outlinecould still be made out, and the part upon which the earth's shadow fell was noticed to present a peculiar reddish appearance. Fortunately it was a remarkably clear night, and thus there •was every facility for observation. Should any scientific gentlemen in Dunedin have accurately noted the time of first contact, complete immcraion, &c-» we s'la^ °o happy to publish them, together with any other observations that they may have made.

The Melbourne Age says : —The last mail contract made between the British. Government and he P. aud O. Company for conveying the mails between Point de Galle and Sydney via Melbourne, is published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Prom it we gather that the sum to bo paid to the company is £134,672 per annum, and that the company guarantee to convey the mails from Point de Galle to Sydney, via Melbourne, in twenty-two, and from Sydney by the same route to Point de Galle in twenty-four, days, one dar being allowed each way for detention in Melbourne. For every day exceeding the period thus allowed the compauy is liable to a penalty of £200, provided such penalty shall never on one occasion exceed the sum of £5611 6s. Bd. Neither is the panalty to be recovered if the company can prove to the satisfaction of the Postinastcr-'Jreneral that such detention arose from causes over which they had no control. The company arc bonnd to the dua fulfilment of the contract in the sum of £25,000) but it is provided that the contract may nt any time be terminated upon six months' notice being given by cither of the contracting parties.

We have been favoured with a reliable return of the loss in melting and the assay of Highlay gold. The results were adduced from a small parcel of gold, say about twenty ounces. Loss in melting, 74 per cent. ; assayed after melting, 22 carats, 2 4-8 grains. The heavy loss in melting was probably partly due to the gold not having been well cleansed, but the gold is of a kind which, with the utmost care, it will be difficult to thoroughly clean. Yesterday being the Fast Day, was pretty generally observed as a holiday. The Government offices, and all the principal shops and stores were closed, and Divine service was held in the several Presbyterian churches. We learn that a regular foray has been made bythe police upon the unlicensed sellers of spirits in Dunedin, and that many of the offenders are summoned to appear at the Resident Magistrate's Court to-d>\y.

A soiree was held on Tuesday evening, in the new Church erected by the Presbyterian body at Green Island, the occasion being the completion of the building. The chair was occupied by the Rev. Mr. Will. The tea having been disposed of, the meeting was addressed bythe chairman and several other gentleman, and the report of the building committee was also read and approved.

The Committee of the Separation League decided at their last meeting to despatch delegates to Canterbury, to form branch committees in the. Tarious districts of the Province, and to organize: a series of lectures to be delivered in Dunediss, on the general objects of the League. The Committee having taken into consideration the time fixed for the reception of the pamphlet for which the proprietors of thfa Daily Times have offered a . silver .cup, determined to supplement the gift by a sum of £20, to be paid out of the Lsague funds, to the second beat essay. Several items of detail business were transacted, and the meeting, adjourned to Friday next.

When the Black Swan arrived, we gave publicity to a statement of the captain, that at sea, in latitude 48 S. andiongitude 127 E., he experienced what was supposed to be the shock of an earthquake. We learp, from the Geelong Advertiser f that, on the'2oth May, something of a similar nature wa3 observed in Victoria. We extract the paragraph : —" An unaccountable phenomenon was observed on the 20th instant (May), on the farm of 'Mr. J. C. Langdon, Bellerine. The servants working in the immediate vicinity of a water-hole, forty by twenty feet deep, were suddenly attracted by hearing a noise like the plunging of a horse in the water; and on running to ascertain the cause, they were more than surprised to find "the surface agitated with rolling waves, while no struggling quadruped, or any thing else that they could discover, caused the agitation. The waves did not subside for some minutes. _ Among the surmises hazarded as to the cause of the phenomena, one is, that they were produced by some subterranean disturbance —perhaps the last " wave" of an earthquake on the other side of the world, or, at any rate, thousands of miles from this. Another, that the;C were produced by the falling-in of some cavern, caused by an underground spring ; ami yet another, and not the least feasible, that escaping gases were" the active agent. We merely mention the fact as a ' comparative note' for observers elsewhere."

By way of Melbourne, we have Sydney news to 31st May. The Empire says:—"The principal event of the week has been the opening of Parliament, ■which took place on Tuesday, the 27th, by his Excellency the Governor-in-Chief, at noon. The ceremony, us usual, took place in the Legislative Council Chamber, and the attendance was numerous. His Excellency's speech was received by all parties as a very satisfactory expression of policy, and addresses were moved in both Houses in accordance with the terms of the speech. Bills for abolishing State-aid to religion, for the promotion of elementary educa-

tion, for rendering-th'e Legis'ative Council elec.tivc, for facilitating the transfor of land, for authorising Hens on agricultural produce, as well other important measures, were promised in his Excellency's speech."

The colony of Queensland seems likely to be a sugar producing ;is well as a wool and cottor growing country. The Guardian states—" Tin. Mr. Buhot has again been successful in manufacturing sugar from canes grown at Cleveland, i> the garden belonging to the Hon. Louis Hope Mr. Buhot has recently been appointed to superintend the cultivation of sugar cane, on the Cauulturc Cotton Company's plantation, and will commence operations immediately."'

They have v little cold weuther in Victoria ; ;-Ua Age of June 4, says—'-.The severest frost of i:>e season was experienced on Thursday last, at Wangaratta, the thermometer being down to 29 degrees.