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Otago Daily Times, Issue 206, 6 August 1862, Page 4

It has been decided at a public meeting at Weatherstone's to send a deputation to Dunedin to represent to the Government the propriety of at once commencing the construction of a" storm water channel, through "Weatherstone's flat. The first patient has been received into the Tuapeka Hospital. The case was one of fracture of the leg, and the patient was carried from the Waipori, the journey occupying three days. Our Tuapeka correspondent furnishes us with an interesting detailed account of a number ofthe principal water races in his district. It wiil be seen that some of these aro works of considerable magnitnde, involving the expenditure of large sums of money, and t the. employment gf large bodies of men. A great deal of interest is manifested ir! the match between Kauri Gum and Falcon, for £600 a-side, wliich comes off to-morrow. The owners of both horses are said to be confident, and a good run is anticipated. The distance is to be tliree miles, on the same course as the races were run on last summer.

The Dunedin Improvement Ordinance has been assented to by the Governor, and will, according to a proclamation ol the Deputy Superintendent which appears in the" Otago Provincial Gazette" of August 4th, come into operation on Wednesday, the 13th August. This bill was assented to on the express understanding " that a short bill should be brought in nest session to amend it in certain particulars." Such a bill is, we believe, now being prepared, hut we are not aware what are the amendments that it is proposed to introduce. It is to be *oped that the absurdity of the retiring members beiug chosen by ballot will not be overlooked, but that some provision will be made for their retiring by rotation. We elsewhere publish the ordinance ia full for the information of our town readers to whom we recommend a careful study of its vai ions clauses. The Theatre Royal was well attended last mght, "Macbeth" was produced for the second time, and the performance was given with even still greater success than on the previous occasion. The characteres were cast as on the first night • The company did fulljustice to their parts. Mrs. Holt'simpersonation of *' Lady Macbeth" was given with great power, and she evinced an aptitude for tlie character not generally witnessed on colonial boards. The incidental music was correctly and efficiently given, and Miss Mathews, Little May, and Miss Montrose sung excellently in the Witch scene. The performance concluded with the laughable farce of "John Wapps, or from information I've received." For to-night, a very tempting programme is announced, to commence with the famed " Colleen Bawn," concluding with the " Artful Dodge."

We observe that the Municipal Council of Hobart Town have adopted a petition to the Governor, prating for the removal of the restrictions on the importation of cattie. We are literally deluged with letters about the abominable state of the streets, and complaining among other things, ofthe inferior metal used fn their repair. We have noticed a quantity of broken metal now being carted away from" the Bell Hill Quarry, which is not at all fit for the construction of roads. It is quite friable, and'is ground to powder with the least traffic on it. W re were yesterday favored with a view of a parcel of about eighty ounces of gold, purchased ofthe diggers at Murphy's Flat, near Highlay by a storekeeper in the locality. The gold was dark m color and shotty, with a fair sprinkling of nuggets of one or two pennyweights, the whole presenting a water-worn appearance. The gold was purchased in small quantities from a number of men m the ordinary way of business. It appears that the weather at Murphy's Flat has been very unfavorable for mining operations and that the quantity of gold being offered for sale has latoly been small in proportion to the number of men occupied and the character of the groundbut as soon as it becomes a little less inclement a large increase of yield may be looked for. ' An English mail is to be despatched by the City of Hobart, which sails to-morrow, but a mail will be made up for Melbourne to be sent by the Aldinga, which is to sail to-day. The efforts of the lecturers despatched to England by the. New South Wales Government do not seem to have been attended with the amount of success anticipated. The Sydney Herald says :— <: Again the question arises, What is the measure of their success ? Is the work indicated done ? Are shiploads of desirable emigrants being despatched ? Have the agents had the satisfaction of witnessing the departure from either Liverpool or London of even one vessel freighted with the precious products of their lecturing labors ? It is necessary to confess that they have not ? So far from it, they have had to go about among the shipping agents to find what is the minimum number of steerage passengers for which a vessel will open its 'tween decks. With some difficulty they make an arrangement at last with Messsrs. Honlder, Brothers, that if forty statute adults can be secured for one ship, the requisite accommodation shall be provided! The [agents forthwith determine to " make an organised effort" to meet this proposal. Surely, it will be said, they had no difficulty in putting this agreement into practice ! After all their travels aud talkings, they must, at least, have caught forty emigrants. Mr. Dalley bas been enthusiastically received in the great towns ot Ireland. ' Mr. Parkes has been active in beating up the midland manufacturing counties, which, as he points out, are closely connected by commercial ties with Australia, and which contain a population of seven millions ; yet they have not secured forly recruits. Up to the date of their latest advices no mention is made of any ship that has left, or that is about to leave, with a consignment of their emigrants on board. The " organised effort" has resulted in nothing. All the five thousand pounds spent, and not even forty emigrants to show for it! "

The Geelong, which arrived from London yesterday, has only brought a limited number of passengers, chiefly agricultural laborers. She brings only one female domestic servant. The adjourned inquest upon the bodies of Mre. M'Kenzie and Mrs. Walsh, the tAVo Avomen killed by tbe accident at Saddle Hill, Avas yesterday further adjourned till 10 o'clock to day. We have not yet received any details of the evidence, and can simply state that five Avitnesses Avere ex- '. amined yesterday, whose evidence Avent to slioav that the driver ofthe vehicle, Cochrane M'DoAvell, Avas intoxicated at the time of the accident. We understand there are five more Avitnesses to be examined to-day. A letter signed " A Barrister-at-laAv," which appears in another part of our present issue, opens up a question of great interest, not only to the curious in legal niceties, but to the general reader. It does not require Avhat a learned judge in Victoria calls " the acuminated subtlety ofthe legal intellect," to understand the importance of the validity of the decisions of Magistrates ; everybody is more or less directly interested in the administration of justice. It is hoAveA-er by the legal intellect that the question raised by "A I Barrister-at-law " Avill have to be sifted and examined, and it will be the legal intellect that Avill have eve.ituilly to decide it. We therefore recommend the subject to the special attention of our legal readers, trusting that some of them will be able to establish the fallacy of the position taken by " A Barrister-at-law." The Melbourne Herald publishes the following verses by Mr. Stitt Jenkins, the Geelong poet:— A "Lancashire I.ad '' has been Avriting Long letters at home to the pressHe tells how America's fighting Has plunged in the direst distress The men and the women and children— The hands of the mill and the pit; Heart-broken and famished they wander, And cry, " Con yo help us a bit ?"

No more at the bell's cheery ringing We hurry .away to the mill; At our labour no longer we're singing, The loom and the shuttle are still ; Lord lead us not into temptation, To Thee in our sorrow we cry, O stretch forth Thine arm o'er our nation, Send succour, or thousands must die. •' Con yo help us a bit," oh! our brothers .Who far from old England haA-e fled ? Ctm yo help the poor fathers aud mothers, And children that perish for bread; Con yo help us across the wide ocean, For all kinds of Avork we are fit; Dear friends, with the wildest emotion, "We cry " Con yo help us a bit?" We are Avilling to work—oh, how willing, But work can no longer be had, And gone is onr Aery last shilling, And hunger is dri\"ing us mad. All! think of our sad desolation, And say can you help us to flit From Avretchedness, woe, and starvation, Con yo help us, dear sisters, a bit 1 To you, oh, our sisters, we're crying— Can you spare us some help from your store1? Alas ! Aye are starving and dying, And your eyes shall behold us~no more. Ah! say, can you reA'el in riches, Or peacefully sleep on your bed, While^thousands of Lancashire witches Are begging for morsels of bread ? Is it true —the fine tales they are telling Of rivers and mountains of gold 1 And that in the land where you're dwelling Is room for the young and the old ? Thafc there, in contentment reclining, Each man 'neath hi 3 fig-tree may sit, While we with grim hunger are pining ] Oh! try ; " Con yo help us a bit ]'"