THE Otago Daily times. " Iniveniam viam aut farium." DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 1862.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 215, 28 August 1862, Page 4

THE Otago Daily times. " Iniveniam viam aut farium." DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 1862.

Feom the tone of the discussion in the Town Board, on Monday hut, concerning the repairing of Miui<c'-street, it would seem that some of the members look upon the operaikm of "pitching" sis quite a novel invention. They referred to it as "an experiment," arul probably if the truth were known, some nf them considered the" pitching", to refer to the use oJ a preparation of tur. IV rbaps they thought the material similar to that of asphalte. However, at last, reluctantly they consented, Manse-street being so Bhort, to test the experiment, but they would not bear of it for. Stafford or Walker Street. It may relieve the minds of the dissentient members, Mr. Jimkinson especially, who * seemed to have quite a horror of it, to know that- "pitching" is by no means a new thing; that 'the experiment" has been tested thousands of times before, and that it is found to answer perfectly. They might further inform themselves that the metalling of Walker and Stafford-streets is* likely to be of little use unless they be first pitched, and that in point of economy a great deal of ultimate expen.se will be spared by making the street ways properly in the firs*t instance. They have only to look at whut i'rinccs-strcet "is now that the weather is dryto s«e how miserably the plan hitherto adopted answers, instead-of the street presenting a smooth surface, with a gradual decline from the middle to the sides, the road is one series of .-ruts. Here there are large bits of improperly unbroken metal sticking up, and the next step brings one into a-hollow. It is easy to understand how the mud is collected, and kept in its moist state, instead of the wet 'draining off", as it would if properly made. We sincerely suggest to the Town Board to have Princes-street taken np before the winter conies on, and properly re-laid, and in the meanwhile, we can assure them that there is no danger, or risk in trying the experiment of " pitching" on the wretched swamps of Walker and Stafford-streets.

But we had another instance besides the one we have alluded to of the charming unsophistication of some of the members of the Town Board. One indeed so touching that we half begin to suspect that the Board has all aloii" been unjustly accused of a tendency to jobbing; it is perhaps want * of. knowledge* rather '.than an excess of it that has contributed to bring the Municipal body into bad odour. The meeting of the previous week was attended by only three members—viz., Messrs. Hardy and Jenkinson, and Shand. Mr. Hardy was elected to the Chair. One of the proceedings was the election of assessors, and the choice fell upon Mr. Fenwick and the Chairman. We presume that the two members, who proposed and seconded the assessors, thought it was only a proper courtesy to elect their Chairman, and were ignorant of the gross impropriety of selecting a member of the Board to the office. They probably did not consider that it would be about as decent for the manager of a Bank to elect himself into its auditor, as for a member of the Town Board to constitute himself, or be constituted, an assessor. The assessors are supposed to be independent men, acting impartially between the public ami the Board. However, in charity we suppose the two members were not aware of the obligations imposed upon them. Probably they rather argued this way, "Here is a

little bit of emolument worth, we suppose, some thirty or forty pounds, why not give it to one oi our own number, instead of dispensing it to the ungrateful public? Besides, our worthy Chairman is known to have a great many houses, why should we subject him to the malice of outsiders; surely he'll know where to stick it on, and where to be lenient; why should we place his property in jeopardy?" Actuated, we chaiitably suppose, by these amiable ideas, they chose their blushing Chairman, who, owing to their unanimity, was not subjected to the sacrifice of delicacy required in giving his casting vote.

But at the subsequent meeting of the] Council it appeared other members saw the matter in another light. Mr. Cargill thought that, neither in fairuess to the Council nor with satisfaction to the ratepayers, could matters be left as they were, and accordingly he proposed the appointment of a third assessor, j We do Mr. Cargill the justice to say that he displayed a great deal of delicacy in the way he brought his proposal forward—delicacy which, as it afterwards appeared, was quite unnecessary. Instead of stating plainly and simply the reasons which induced him to propose it, he made the fact of the two asscssorn ] having been appointed irom the " Old Iden- j tity" the plea for it. It is scarcely necessary j to say that neither Mr. Cargill nor any one j else can consider that the mere fact of a person J having resided some time in the Province j should uniit him ior the assessorship. But he j had to deal with a colleague, and he afforded j that colleague the chance of withdraw-1 ing from the false step he had made.; Mr. Hardy objected to three assessors-i Obviously he should have resigned, when j two would have sufficed. Mr. Cargill told j him in graceful, we may almost say poetical terms, that-" he feared too tender memories of i "the past" would influence hia judgment-< But the very allusion seemed to have the con- j trary efl'ect to what was intended. The con- \ \ trust of the past with the present ! j was not at all agreeable. Several member? ; i.felt that, under the new Ordinance, tluir \ chance of re-election was small, their existence ' was waning to a close, and why should they I not die hard, instead of the p:ist memories i being tender, the only tenderness was in the j thoughts of the present. If Ilr. Hardy had ; responded to Mr. Cargill's poetical allusion, he would probably have quoted Moore ;— . Ah such is the fitte uf our Ufa's early promise, I So |«tesing the spring-tide of jo/ we have known ; ] Each wave that we danced oa at morning el/v» j from us, * j And leaves us at tve on the bleak shore a!oae. ' If no longer to b.> a member of the Towu \ Board, at least why not retain " a linger in ' the pie" as assessor. So Mr. Hardy did not \ resign,—did not even feel any hesitation in : voting on the question,—but let it go to division; and the casting vote of the i Chairman decided there should Ihj a third ! assessor. Then a technical objection was! taken and Mr. Graham gave notice tlmt he | should move the rescinding of the resolution I at the next nu-eting iv favor of retaining only j the two assessors. We have not the orui- • nancu by us but we should tiiink it a question i that ought to be submitted to the solicitor o! the Bouid whether a member is eligible to act a* assessor. Certainly if he U, each ratepayer ought to be allowed to act as his own assessor. If the Board is represented the ratepayers ought to he, and if the two representative* cannot agree, an arbitrator should be* appointed. Of course, it i» for Hie interest oi' the Board to obtain as much revenue aa it can. The ratepayer on tin other hand desires to get ofi' an cheap as jhmsiblc. Either the two should be represented, or else a»;ts<ors should be appointed independent of tithcr. A good deal wassaid about the "new iniquity" ami of their ignorance concerning the value of property. We arc afraid they have a great dcnl to learn. We commend to their notice, in ca?e they should ever any of them join the .Town Hoard, the prc*en! ksson of how to make a good thing out of it. Applying the same principle we do not setwhy members of the Board should not become their own Bankers*. Just now theolfice is not tempting, the balance bein^ ou the wronp side,-but when happier days dawn, we may expect to see some of the members appointing one another custodians of the funds. If they may be*their own assc^ors, why should they not be their own bankers?

We hail-yesterday an opportunity of inspecting some go!d brought clown from Waikouaiti by Mr. Khrcnfried who we Mieve is a storekeeper in tlmt neighborhood, ilr. Khrenfried had j«urchased the gold from some diggers, who informed him that they had obtained it fwni the new diggings (the Hartley or Dunstan.) Mr. Khrenfried * informed us that there were two j.ircels of gold brought into Waikouaiti, one of lour I pouuds and another of five pounds. The guld ; we saw wus a portion of a parcel of 33 ounces j which Mr. Ehreufrictl had told to Mr. Myers of | Princes-street. The appearance of the gold docs not iii auy way hear out the assertion of the yen-! dors tlmt it wns from the new Duustnn tliggings,! ou the Clutha river. The gold instead of being Tne and scaly (like that obtained by Hartley and Itcilly or by Stebbings), is rough ami nuggetty» and but slightly waterworn. It contains no fine gold at all. The color is dark, much darker than any Otugojpld we have yet seen. It is certainly not at all like river gold, but rather resembles what might bo expected to be found in shallow gully sinking, or in surfacing. It is quite possible that it may be from the Ilighlay district, or from some entirely new locality, and that the finders may have led the buyers to suppose that it was from the Dunstan for thepurpo3o of battling the curiosity that would naturally be excited if it became known that the gold was from another new field. The report of this gold occasioned a great deal of excitement yesterday, and gave rise to all kinds of absurd rumours. The Wardens* returns of population show the astonishing exodus that has taken place from the older gold fields in tlic direction of the new diggings. On the 16th August Tuapeka was reported to possess a population of 5550, and Wititahunit 2700, or together 8250. The report of the foiiowiug week, the 23rd August, shows Tuapc-a -2000, Waitahuna 1050, together 3050, or a loss of 5200—about 65 per cent. Those remaining are nearly all women and children. When it is considered that from every part of the province people are flocking in the sumo direction, it may be imagined how large a population will shortly be congregated on the spot. How they will nmuagc to exist ou the very inadequate supplies that liave

gone forward we cannot tell. There mnst inevitably be an immense amount of Buffering, and •we cannot too ttrongly caution those who have not yet gone to remain behind a short time till the receipt of further information. | Before the late rush, the Wjaipori gold field was showing symptoms of revival. The population reported on the 2nd August as 340, was increased by the 16th to 600. No report for the following week has been received, but doubtless there has beeu a decrease again, in fUvor of the new field. About half-past eleven o'clock yesterday forenoon, a fire occurred in a wooden house occupied by a Mr. King, nearly at the back of the Royal George Hotel, Great George-street. The flames were extinguished by Sergeant Paschen and Constable Britten, aided by some of the neighbors, before much damage had been done. The premises were not insured. The occupier was at ! work in the city at the time, he having left the | house locked up when he started in the morning. The Yeoman 6ays, "We understand that a gentleman from India has projected a company, to be tailed ' The Victorian Sugar, Cotton, and East Indian Produce-growing and Manufacturing j Company.' It is to be started with a capital of ! i.'so,<Joo, and the site chosen is said to be near I Kchuca. We question very much the propriety iof selecting such a locality for any puq>ose of | the kind. Even if the climate there was suffii ciently warm for the growth of sugar and cotton, | the soil U not of the right sort, —it is too poor | and clayey." I Wo arc informed that Mr. Lloyd, acting police I magistrate at Waikouaiti, and Mr. Keddcll, iu- | spector of police at the Dunstan or Hartley j diggings, are authorised to issue miners rights. j By an error in the report of the Lancashire j llelief Fund Meeting, Mr. Henry Drher's name was osnitted in the list of the Committee ap- ; pointed. j A general meeting of the Dunedin Building | and La ml Society is announced for Monday, Bth j-September, at Moir's Hotel, i j A meeting of Trustees of the North-Hast ; Valley I load Board will be held at the Schoolj house. North -Km Valley, on Friday evening, ; haviug been postponed from Monday last. { Tlic barricade opposite Messrs. Smith and | Marshall's premise*, has now been erected four j months. It .was put up in consequence of the S authorities holding the ground upon which the , store uMi b-.iiJt to bz in such a state as to t-n----j dunger the lives of the public, and was inwii'led | to Ik only temporary, Messrs. Smith and Mar- , frhull having stated their intention at once to rei move the earth. Nothing has been done, nor | does there nj/jear any probability of the above j parties taking any steps in the matter. We trust | that the &uthoritie« will exercise their power, and • no lojjger suffl-r this intolerable nuisance. I It h highly satisfactory to notice the speedy • and t'.F.'Ctive manner in which the different I ihoroj-hftires are being laid with asphalte. j Jetty-street is already completed, as also Ruttray- | street on both sMcs, us far a* tlie Shamrock Hotel. I j Macla^jfan-»trwt, v Lutl for a considerable dis- \ | tanec on the *-.uth siJe. On the north side. j SiafTord-gtrev! vJI shortly be laid as far as the j Cutti: ig, J.!'i:.-'--<tn-et hon one side entirely laid • while the s.iiit' work is actively pushed on iv j Prine-.s-»tre»;t, ur.jK".iu : theGovvrnment building, j and on the east siJe, between Walker-street atid I Statlur-l-strcct. We hope shortly to report a | eornp't-te ii :? of pavement in Princes-street, be- ; tmn Walker-street ami the Cutting. j We s-.r>- 0v nto understand by a s?fntleraan who j arriv< I from JnvereargiU by the GuitSj-itr Sur, on ; .--utiil.-.y nitrlit, that mma exeif*?meut prevaile.l in that ! u^ual'y f|u:et town <>mim quenf uj>m the luinpu^ down iofn i /irctl of -7 oz. of cnM from the Wskatsp. In j tin- ii.^t instance the csu;«-r jroaii;*, a* usual ia Mich J caws, iiuiiji- tit*; ounces nutmds, but this errur %v i* j w^n correct^!. Twenty-seven ounot-s is no large , qu;uit ty, but it is satisfactory as au indication that i the lali jr of the pnwpectorti is not altogether %vkhout j reward. We infntion&J lately tkit a few men had ifi-n at work there all the winter, and that lately several other partita hail- arrived, swelling the popuia- ! tion u:i I'ie Wakatifi t> about sixty miners. A speck! general meeting of the Dunelinj Oani-k Club, is to \tc held at the Provincia Hotel, o:i Friday evening. " It-/»ei t Macairc " was the piece selectcl for : [H'rfo. munee at the Princess' Theatre, last m^ht. ; j Mr. Claries Youn^ as Jacques Strop, gave a very , | clever representation, his by-j»lay was excellent, . and deservedly met with great applause. Between the pieces the orchestra played tastefully and well ' the overture to "11 Trovalore." The farce oi " Done ou Both Sides" concluded the evening's! euterttuntueut. | It has long been an understood thing that it wus possible to insure against any and every con- ' tin»tncy. but some of our readers will hardly be • prepared to learn that it has already become a 1 common thing to insure against the risk of breaking the American blockade. Such, however, ' would appear to be the case. Witness the following from the Home Newt: —"Some excite-; ■ menl prevailed sit Lloyd's upon the receipt of intelligence that the Federal war ships have cup- i tured the steamers Stettin, Fox, and Swan, and 1 the tlifps Agnes, 11. Ward, Governor Morton, and ' Magnolia. Of these vessels the only one from England is the Stettin, which was captured off; ' Charleston bar. It being understood that an at- | t-'inpt would be made to cuter one of the Con- • federate ports, the premium of insurance upon the j ' Stettin previous to her departure from this conn- I try ranged from 15 to 25 guineas per cent. With ' regard to tha steamer Circassian, news of whose ; capture wjs received a short time back, we are 1 informed that the premium on the cargo varied from 20 to 40 guineas per cent., and was to cover • transhipments and risk of breaking the blockade in any port in America. This risk—namely that of breaking the blockade—has been insured against in so many instances iv this country, that ' some persons apprehend difficulties between our Government and that of America. Probably > about 20 ships and cargoes have been insured at Lloyd's. The difficulty of putting a stop to this illegal kind* of business would be considerable, since such transactions are entered into as private speculations, and Government could have no information respecting them through the StampJ office, or otherwise. The policies are of course - stamped, but as they would be clearly illegal and r the stamps useless did they apply simply to • breaking the blockade, evasions are resorted to. ■ The destination of a ship to any blockaded port in ; ; particular is not specially expressed, although I i that possible contingency is named in the policy. 5 It cannot be made too widely Jcnown that all peri sons who, whether openly or secretly, violate the - rights of neutrality and her Alajesty's proclama- ? tion, forfeit all claim to the protection of their s Government under any contingency that may j arise. The capture of the steamers Patras and s Cambria has also been announced, both of which i vessels are insured atj Lloyd's."

" Belphegor, the Mountebank," was pJayed for the third time at the Theatre Koyal last night. Mr. Holt took the part of Belphegor, and played with great ability. Mrs. Holt, as Madeleine, gave a correct impression of the character. Madame Marie Duret sustained the spirited part of Zepherine with great effect. The piece showed great care in its production, and passed off very well. The entertainment concluded with the farce of the •' Jlailroad Station," Mr. It. B. Dale as Mr. Sampson Jones, displaying considerable humor in his acting. The part of Mrs. "William Smith was well given by Miss Matthews. There will be a change of performance this evening— j the " Green Bushes," and " Katherine and Petruchio," being announced for representation. We understand that operations are discontinued with regard to floating the Victory, all the men employed having partaken of the general excitement apd rushed off to the diggings. Five shillings per hour is the present rate of wages for discharging cargoes at Port Chalmers. Of coarse it must be borne in mind thatj-his employment 13 of 3 very unsettled character, there rarely being above four working days per week. It is impossible to over-estimate tho value, in a city like Dunedin, of an efficient Volunteer Fire Brigade; and we are happy to find thit the brigade which it was recently proposed to form here is progressing most satisfactorily. Since the meeting a week ago, the General Committee have raised an additional £100, the fnnds being now nearly .£800; ani the number of enrolled members has been increased to 70. A general meting was held last evening, at the old Commercial Hotel; when the following were chosen officers:— Captain, A. C. Rees; lieutenant, Dl. Murphy; treasurer, J. Switzer; secretary, W. H. Mumford. A report of the proceedings at the meeting will be found in another column. The London Spectator tells the following good story of how a learned professor was bothered at the exhibition :—" The reporters of the London daily press who liave been entertaining the public for the last three months with the Great Exhibition, who continue furnishing their column or two per diem, and who are trying hard to make the Kensington show the greatest bore of the age» will have much to answer for in the end. Being ofum biidly in want of facts, they set afloat airy canards, without reflecting on the possible consequences resulting from such proceedings. The latest " story" thus started by no less a journal than The Times, was to the effect that a speaking automaton, able to articulate all the languages of Europe, even Welsh, wzs to be found among the articles sent to the Snow by the Kaiser. The I Httl c bit of news was not lost to eager sight - seers, always on the gui vice for novelties, and the - announcement had no sooner appeared in print r than crowds of fine ladies and gentlemen set in ; towards the wing near the western dome, where 1 floats the banner of Austria. Xo part of the 1 building is further from completion than this, and nowhere are there more natives unable to speak the language of Albion perfide than here. A thousand eager enquiries about the " speaking 1 machine" met with a dumb shake of the head, • an I a solemn pantomimic direction to a little " rn:-.:i in a grey mantlo, enthroned on a mountain •of lacking cases. Towards this royal imperial • representative, some Professor Whatnot, and a • niuii supposed to know everything, the tide ac- -' cos- lingly set in in full force. " The speaking machine; where is the speaking machine?" in--1 quired a hundred breathless voices at the same • time. Professor Whatnot politely explained that he knew of no sj>eaking machines except the orI dimry human ones, and begged to be excused from further explanation. But the account wasdeemed unsatisfactory, and the more visitors were told j tlu re was no speaking machine ia the Austrian , department, the more they insisted that there t on ,',ht to be oue. Day after day the crowds inI 1 ctvisedin the narrow Unes of the Imperial exhi--1 j bh tors, their inquiries driving, at Last, the poor 1 profe.-sor into a sort of frenzy. He began to think • himself the victim of a vast plot, laid for his • destruction by political foes, and in Gts of exalta-tiu-i threatened to commit suicide. Early one , iuurnitij;, when be vUited the show, we found him f sitting in dark mood at his accustomed seat, br loding over his misery. In rep'v to the rvvital of his wrongs, we attempted to calm his much harrassed international feelings, mildly [ suggesting tii.it a couple of Tyrolese i barrel-organs, kept alive by vigorous arms, should be put ri-ht,in front of his position. The professor smiled faintly, as if with a gleam of h<».-o, but soon relapsing, climbed a step higher • on his packing-case throne, wrapped himself in • t\vs wide fefcfo »f his mantle, and was lost in mcdi- ' tat ion oa JLaglish crelulity."

Lecturing Extraordinary.—ln the Times Je-jWi-t of proceedings at The Murlboroupjh-street Police Com, we fiutl the following curious ca^e: —■" Andrew Bui four Hepburn, a public lecturer, was chatted with tieirffing. One of the park constables s.Uted that he sau- the defendant in tlie park lecturing, first on ' Muraonbui.' then on ' How to rais-i the wind.' Ht- told the audience that he had lost one arm and the sijrht of one eye, aud could not work. He would not ask for money, he said, but he woukl tike ail that w«* given to him. At the same time he beld out his ha-id. Some persons gave eoppe.% and one gave a shilling, ami then he took the defendant into custody for bagging-. Police-c mutable A s*o said the def ndant, who knew him, told him he hoyd he would not tike not ice of him, as he wanted to get a f.-\v ha fjience that day. He io!d the defendant ifi.e received money he would take htm into custody. TiiJ defendant denied that he begged of any onel What he reetive 1 was freely given. *" Mr. W. Avling, of "27, fi-'omorsot-strcet, said'he ha.l on more than one occasion hu.'inl the defendant lecture, and, being struck with the plain common-sense view he took of the suly.jv w oa which he spoke, he gave him a shilling voluntarily. Hearing that tne defendant had bwn taken into custody for be^in<r, he went to the station-house to bail him, as he feared it was his gift that had got him iuto trouble. Mr. Trywnitt said the act of the defendant was as near that of begging ai possible. If he came there again he should not overlook, his conduct. He was no* discharged. The defendant said he did not be/, and would not beg; but that as long a* he could get a shilling or a penny gr -tuiUmsly he would take it, in all places and at all times. Tlie defendant was then discharged." Heartless Cruelty John Mitchell, a farmer residing at Dromana, died on the 28th ult, aad the evidence taken at the inquest held before the District Coroner on Wednesday, at Schuapper Point, showed that the wife and family of deceased had been guilty of most heartless cruelty and unnatural conduct. Kebecca (Jiiih'ths, the wife of Abraham Griffiths, of Droinan.i, stated that deceased had been ill about four or five incite, and could only take liquid food by rtpoonsaiL None of his family would attend to him. His wife left the house and would not cook any food for him. Witness furnished deceased with all tuathe required, aud he had pleuty. Deceased had never been ill-treated by his family by blows tLat she was aware of. They never went near him except on two octfissoas, when they took away the bed clothes and left him without any covering. The last occasion was about three weeks ago, aud deceased suffered much from the cold. Heury Fitzmaurice also deIMteel to the deceased having been neglected by his wife and family, who had refused to give him food. Mr. Kodd, surgeou, made a post mortem examination 01 the body of deceased. Tiiere were adhesions between the liver and diaphragm, and a tumor oa the liver. 1 lie stomach was contrasted in size. The iniueiiate c *use of death was water on the chest but the other diseases were of long standing. From the appearance, no hope existed that the life of deceased could have been prolonged. The jury returned the iollovviiijf verdict :•—" That John Alitfthell died oa the t-»th instant, at Kangarong, from cancer of the stomnch. Tiie jur\- arc of opinion that the conduct of the wife and family in ne-iectingr to attend upon him in his illness, and iv refusing to supply him with ood, was inhuman and uuuatural."— Age,