THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam aut faciam." DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 227, 11 September 1862, Page 4

THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam aut faciam." DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11.

When in a former article we commented upon the Marine Boards Bill now before the General Assembly, we were obliged to confine our remarks almost exclusively to that portion of the Bill that has reference to the powers and duties of the chief Marine Board of New Zealand, our limits not allowing us to enter upon the consideration of the proposed I Local Boards Cor the different harbors. We propose now to direct the attention of our readers more particularly to the Local Marine Board*:. For any port or harbor in the colony a Local Marine Board may be established, under the authority of the Superintendent md Provincial Council of the Province in which such port may be situate, by an Act or Ordinance being pa-sed to constitute such Board. It will also be competent for the Provincial authorities in constituting any Board to define within certain bounds, what shall be its powers and function*, and the limits of i's jurisdiction, subject to the assent of the Governor of the Colony. Each Board will consist of not less than than three or more than five members who will b$ appointed by, and removable at the plc&mreof, the Superintendent and Executive Council. These members will be styled Wardens, and the Chairman or President of each Boa-d will be known { as the Master Warden. Each Board will be a body corporate, and be capable of suing and being sued. With a view apparently to prevent any unnecessary delay in the establishment of these Boards, ii is provided that the Ordinance establishing any local Board must be passed before the end of the 3'ear 18G3 ; and, in case in any port no Marine Board has been established by the Provincial authorities before the Ist January, 18G4, it will be lawful for the Governor; in Council to establish a Board for such port. The general powers and duties of these Boards are defined by the 40th section of the bill, as follows:— To superintend and maintain harbor marks, buoys, lights, and beacons now or hereafter erectsd or placed : To license Boatmen plying for hire in any Port, and fi.\tke Fees to ba paid for such Licenses, and also the Penalties on persons plying for hire without being licensed ; to regulate th j Fares to bz charged by Licensed Watermen plying fur hire withiiAhe Ports in their jurisdiction : to fix places at which Licensed Watermen shall ply, and otherwise regulate their conduct and proceedings ; and to regulate and control steam or other Ferry boats plying for hire at wharfs or public thoroughfares : To license tupp, if necessary, for conducting vessels into and out of Port: and to fix the Fees t 0 be paid for such Licenses, and the Rates to be charged for the services of such tup:

To regulate the bartliing of vessels at wharves arid; in docks, and the mooring, unmooring, and removal ot vessels, and the number of days during which"a vessel shall be permitted to occupy any berth, and to fix and determine the depth of water to wliich vessels in any dock may be loaded whilst in such dock: To license ballast boats, and ta-ik boats, and as far as possible to regulate the supply of ballast au 1 water to the shipping-: To regulate the duties and conduct of the Harbour Masters, and other persons employed and acting iv carrying out and effecluatin;; the several objects of this Act within any Port; the limits to which the powers aad duties of Harbour Masters, shall extend ; the mode in which Masters of vessels shall apply for and obtain the services of Harbour Masters: To carry out and enforce all II irlnnr and Quarantine Regulations which shall be lawfully iv force wi'hin the Port : To make anl enforce rale 3, in cases where such shall not have already been provided by law, for the convenience of gpersons walking upon or landing on r>r embarking from any wharf, for regulating shipping lof goods,* merchandise, or othsr commodities, at or from any -lock or wharf; the nature of the good?, merchandise, or other commodities which may or may not be shipped or landed, and the mole and time of shipping and landing the same ; for the landing, cleanshig, r< pair, and effectual pre-ervation of docks :nd wharves; for the governing and regulation of porter.-*, carters, carmen, and others carrying goods, or using or driving horses, wagons, carts, drays, trucks, or other carriages for conveying passengers, irooda, merchandise, or other co:ninclities to or from docks or wharves; for the couvenience of persons using or resorting to the same; and otherwise generally for the better governance, regulation, management, safety, and protection of the port*, docks, wharves, and shipping, as to aue>'« Boards respectively seem necessary or desirable. It will be seen that thess powers and duties are tolerably extensive, and it is to be presumed that in som? ports very considerable revenues will be derivable from the various license fees that the Boards will be authorised to demand. The Boards will, in fact, have the complete control of their several harbors, except as regards lights and pilotage, which are matters for the Chief Marine Board. It is probable that one of the principal, if not the chief source of income to the Local Boards, will be that derived from the fees for ballasting. We observe that the Boards are authorised to license ballast boat 3, and, as far as possible to regulate the supply of bnlhst to the shipping. TbJ3 is a most important power and if rightly managed miy b2 made not only profitable in a pecuniary sense, but may also be maae a principal means of improving the harbors. To show the importance attache! t'> ballast elsewhere, we may mention that in the Thame* there is a penalty of £10 for every ton of ballast taken from the channel of the river without the authority of the Trinity Home Corporation, nor is any ballist allowed to be thrown into the river, under a penalty of £20. A similar penalty, but of half the amount, applies to the throwing of ballast into other ports. The supply of ballast in the Thames is in the hands of the Trinity Corporation, and the j charge for it varies from 13. per ton for un- I washed ballast supplied to colliers, up to 3s. 2d. for washed ballast supplied to foreign ships. This monopoly yields a very handsome revenue; in<le;-d, there is a special office—the Ballast Office—established for its collection. But the object of the penalties above mentioned is not so much to protect the revenue as to preserve the channel of the river. The dredging for ballast U systematically carried on with a view to the deepening of the channel, and it is therefore not only prohibited to tike ballast from unauthorised places, but to return any ballast to thiriver, as this would be to a certain extent to undo work, and to damage and fil! up the channel. The wisdom of these precautions is suQi-ientlv illustrated in the enormous shipping trade of London. At Glasgow, the advantages of judicious dredging are to be seen in the fact that ships drawing 19 feet of water can go safely, where, at one time, it was impossible for vessels of six feet draught to reach, except at spring tides. It is hardly possible to over estimate the advantage to ports such as the majority of those of New Zealand, of regular and systematic dredging to clear the chiuncls ; and it is to be hoped that the new Boards when they come into power, will 82e the propriety of making the subject of ballast their first consideration. By deepening the channels, they will make their harbors available for rebels of la-ger tonnage, and will thus facilitate trade, and by so doiiis promote the augmentation of their revenues from other sources.

In addition to the powers and duties enumerated above, the Local Boards will have ownership of all buoys, beacons, &c, within their respective ports, and their approval will be required to be obtained before any additional wharves, quays, docks, &c, can be constructed. The Boards will also have the power to make by-laws, which will be of the sanu force a? the Act; and for offiure3 against thesj by-laws, or against the Acf, penalties not exceeding fifty pounds may be recovered. The accounts of the Boards*will be made up annuaily; and duly audited by the provincial auditors of their several provinces. From the above brief sketch, it will readily b? understood that the local Mariue Boards will be very important corporations, invested with great powers for good or evil. If wisely managed, they may be of incalculable benefit to the various seaports; but if on the con trary they are actuated by narrow or illiberal ideas, they may seriously obstruct commercial progress. It will become, therefore, a serious consideration in the appmituent of the Wardens, of whom they will be composed, that they should be men o"f experience, of judgment, of integrity, and of business habits. To secure the services of the right stamp of men, it will be necessary that they be properly remunerated. The Bill makes no provision at all for the payment of the members either of the chief Baard or of the local Board-, but as the appointments of the Wardens of the local Boards will be in the hands of the Provincial authorities we presume it will ba left for them to'settle whether they shall be paid officers or not. It is to be hoped that when the subject comes on lor consideration, no paltry ideas of economy will be allowed to prevail, but that competent tnen will be appointed, and their salaries be fixed at a rate adequate to the services required.

The New Zealand telegrams that are received in Melbourne via Sydney, keep puffing up the Coromandel diggings. The J term "nugget" is indiscriminately applied to the specimens of different weights, which, hovrever rich they are said to be, the miners,cannot find purchasers for.

The " sensation." drama, " Etten Wareham, 1 was performed at the Princess Theatre last evening. The plot hangs upon the double marriage of. Ellen "Warebam, whose husband, Mr. Cresford, an officer in ths array, is reported to have bean killed in an engagement, bat who is I really in captivity as a prisoner of war or a supi>osed sp}\for more than four years. Believing him dead, Ellen marries a Mr. Hirailfcon, with whom she lives most happily. On the second anniverversary of this wedding, a letter arrives from Cresford, annonncing his freedom and speedy return. He has deeply loved his wife, and is overwhelmed with passion at finding not only that she has been another' 3, but that that other is by far the moro dearly loved. In revenge he brings about a trial for bigamy, only to show ho.v honestly and virtuously Ellen has acted, and how noble has been the conduct of Hvniltoo. He challenges Hamilton to a duel, bat being foiled in this effort for revenge, he takes poison, and so abruptly ends a life that was fast wearing out from the effects of privations in prison, and of baffled love. He forgives and is forgiven; an Ihe dies with a blessing upon Elbn an 1 H1 nilton, in their re-union, which he conmvjlj. Mr. T. Fawcett acted forcibly a:il well as thi deceived and enraged Cro?f ml, ani lie mi le the poison and death scene eSfcetive enough for t'l2 "sensation" nature of the pteco, wk'nti!; importing to it too much of the inaraly ghastly an I horrible. The only other character of i:np.)rtn.ae? in connection with the plot is tliat of Ellen, which wis playei foreib'.y though quietly, by Miss Adi Hart. Mr. Charles Young hrl a slight part, in Dick the Yorkshire servant of Captain Wareham, Dick, is guilty of some very extraordinary pranks for the servant of an irascible ha!f-pay oS^jr; but they serve as sure provocatives of laughter. Th 3 drami seemel to please, an.l the farce "The Pacha of Pimlico," certainly did so to the fullest extent. The Sin Francisco Minstrels are giving a series of perform races at t!i3 Cxnmarcial Concert Hall. Tnaysin^A^d joks very spiritedly, and most of the onsertsd piece? are well given. The tenor soloist hi 3 a ni-;e voice, so no of his higher notes being especially good ; and he sings with taste and expression. T;i2 danmr, too, is a g x>i specini?n of the clus. Altogether thi Mtisfcr;ls secure ahaaliat lau^hte? an.i appUuse fro n thair audiencc3. There was agiin, a g>ol attenlanseat the Tiieatro Itr/al liii evj ji.i^. w'l3l " Ilm'et" w.w plajcl for tin third tin:, an 1 wi? receive 1 with h?arty applau?3, T.ie tra^ily is ;i'avn>3l fjr repetition this evening, and we should like to see fie ho i« cr.i:n n :1, as a s!-n?!y Ijs:rv3l riCDgnitioa of tha m >>t prusivi.*thy ejiK-tj mils by the lessees worthily to pr:>l_ue t'lii lublework. Wj leara, from an authority likely to ba well informed, that it was confidently expected that the s.s. Victory wou'd be got o.T last evening. Oar information is to the eils'-t that th^ vessel had be.'a ?b-.vel ivmul vrit'i !i^r ha id t> thi sri, and thit the large cable h\\ ban mala fast to her bow; so that, with a toleribly high tide, it shrald be easy to warp her off. We shoald mention that, when this h?ary cibla was laid down, the shore end of it was 70 fathxn?, or 42) feet fro:n the vessel; so that, to have got it ou board, she must have been shifted at least 420 feet. The other end of the cable is fast to an anchor of three ton 3 weight some considerable distance out.

About fifty marnbarj an 1 othar; conaeetel with the Wesleyan Church in Dahlia, met oa Monti ly evening, at Mr. Grey's, Ilittray-strest, to discuss the liianciu! aff.iirs of the Church. After the tea had bain dUrnv}! of, the report ol the treasurer was read, showing a balance against the buildiag fu:i 1 of £5 VJ, f> rave which sim and relieve the church from debt, several gentlemen came forwar d and made tliemselves personally re?p.»asi'r>le fjr the amount. Several speakers then ad lr^ssi 1 the meeting, and before separating it was urtau im onsly resolved that ever}' exertion be used to raise subscriptions to clear off the debt.

A vague report was brought into town yesterday by a shepherd on 0.-l"s station that he ha I found gold ia the ranges behind the Warepi, at the head waters of the Kihiku and Puerui rivers not very far from the Molyneux R:vcr. According his state n^at 113 obtuiicl three oiftces by working in the evening after iuso»iiairv Übars. The g.>-d, he says, he soil at f;o Ferry. "YVe give the statement for what it i 3 worth.

A correspondent writes to us from Waitahuna, as follows : —Tiimuga the courtesy of Mr. Jameson, of the B.mk of Naw Zealand, I hiva si^a this e\-a:iing (Moa-lay) fjur haiutirUl nuggets which ha purchase! at the bank, from a man who came in on Situr.lay, and stitad that he got them within a mile of Waifcthuna oa the Woolshed side. II ? would not give his nim2, neither would lie give any account of the locality. One nugget weighed 17 dwts., the other three from 10 dw^. to 11 dwts each. There are a great number returning from the Danstan digging, and find their claims taken up. There is nothing but jumping daims'from one end of the lead to the other, and in some casa^ it enh in a general row, the strongest party coming off victorious.

The following U an extract fro-n a comraunicaion to the Southland News :—"Sir,—ln a recent communication, I stated as my opinion that there was gold towards the Walau; and of that I have , little doubt. Still, however, after having person-' ally explored the greater part of the Eistern Coast of tha Middle U\\al, an 1 a great portion of tha interior of the country, I have corns to tha conclusion that there is very little gold to be expected oa the East Coast. The only two placid where I am aware of its being fottad are at Mosraki (Otago), and at the mou'.h of £12 Aorere River, Massacre (orG>ldeu) Bay, Nelson. Tha extraordinary variety of boilders brought down by th-.it prince of mountain torroats, the Wahu exceeds anything I have seen even in New Zealand. The fine granite (equal to any in quality to be found in the " Dancing Cairn," Aberdeen), the limestone, sandstone, quartz, and fragments of Trappean rocks, &c, &c, exceed anyttyag you can imagine. S Jme of the smaller streanw in the neighborhood indicate auriferous country. I may however state that having been at the Rotu Iti (the source of the Buller River, Nelson), £h e Wanaka,and Hawea, (two of the sources of the Molyneux), ani having also crossed the country •n various places,—l am confident that the gold "ti situ" is in the interior of the Island The Slate River, Nelson, the Lindis, and the Tuapeka are all gold-producing streams ; and the recent discovery on the Molyneux, n&ir the Kwarau proves my views ware correct when I advised his Honor the Superintendent of Otago to make a hridle-track from the mouth to the source of the Molyueux-one of the great arteries of a gold bearing region. I may also remind you of the " Golden and Highland Road " from the Bluff via Wakatip Wanaka, and Hawea,-through the Lindis, the " Mackenzie Country,» — throuoh Canterbury,—and on to the Rotu Iti Lake Nel son.-and thence to the coast via Wansrapoka Gold Field, I would also now add, inaddtt, a steamer on the Wakatip, and a tramway or ailway to Milford Haven." iramway or

The-shipping .at the Jetty yesterday waa gaily drest in flags, in honor of the nuptials of Dr. Nelson with Misa Maty Jones, daughter of. John. Jones, Esq., tao oldest settler in the Province. The ceremony took place at the Church of England, at e!o%-en o'clock in the morning, in the presence of-a" considerable party of the Mentis of the bride and bridegroom. (gs ■ ■ ■ - ■ A match at billiards was played at the Northern Hotel, Oamaru, ou the 4lh instant, between two amateurs; Messrs. H. A. Julius and Captain G. G. Ramsay. The match was for £100, 300 uj. The play on both sides was throughout of a most scientific description, Mr. Julius at one time making seven winning hazards in succession with the red ball, returning his own ball each time almost to the identical spot from which he had played^ Captain Ramsay played a most brilliant briik of 35, and was frequently applauded by the. spectators. After a close and exciting contest. Captain Ramsay was declared the winner by 10 points. A" mnd is being' raised 'in Melbourne for the relief of the poor in Ireland. In connection with this charitable movement, Miss Joey Gougenheim, the actress, has made a most noble olFer to the committee. Her letter on the subject is full of generous kindness ; she says :—" ' The starving poo;- of Ireland!' Oh, who can think of them without the wish at least to alleviate their miseries? In this land of prosperity and plenty, one can scarcely realise the fact of human beings .starving.- Yet so it is ; and we, who are more blessed than our people at home, must do more than wish—wo mun set to work and help them, earnestly and quickly. I thought of starting a fund to be mostly subscribed to by my own sex; but now that your influential committee lias been formed, it would seem, I think, almost an interference. I .write now, therefore, to inform you that my benefit is to take place at the Theatre Royal next week, and to beg your acceptance of the entire shaie of my receipts for the relief of the poor of Ireland." It is rather amusing sometimes to'see the singular misconceptions in regard to New Zealand affairs,.which the Australian papers indulge in. The Sydney papers, occasionally make NewZealand a j..>t subject, and elaborate articles me written upon topics'with which the writers are evidently very imperfectly acquainted. The following paragraph extracted from the Sydney JLinpirc is either an instance of this, or else conceals a sarcasm :—"The New Zealand Ministry, of which Mr. Fox. is the Head, has resigned in coneequence of being defrated on a question involving the responsibility of the natives to British law, by the casting vote of the Speaker. No per--nianent arrangement had been made for carrying on the Government." A singular instance of the purpose to which a certain expansive article of female dress may be applied is related by a correspondent of the" Castkmain' Advertiser, —"A persevering miner in one of our back ranges, prospecting for a quartz reef, was hard up for a wint'-sail. Not bc-ing able to " raise the wind " to buy one, he ■used-up ail the calico he conld find, and had barely sufficient to make the pipe-, not having anything for wings or funnels—he hit upon an ingenious plan that saved him time and trouble. Whilst the " old woman " had gone to the store (_e?i deshabik) he sewed her crinoline to the mouth of the windsail, hoisted it upon n po!e, and found it to answer admirably. No doubt this wiii came sin increased demand for the article. Should payable->gold be struck, it will be called the " Crinsiins Reef." The Mining and Geological Department in Victoria have adopte4 ; .a most liberiilplan in respoet to the "testing of specimens.. A paragraph in the .'lrij'is states that, —'• It has been determined by the Mining and Geological Department to analjNe, free oPeost, specimens of all minerals or metal* which may be forwarded-for the purpose, and the various district surveyor? have been so instructed. The specimens niusrbe sent through the district surveyors, and with each a description of the la;:ility, «j;n approximate estimate of the quantity tliar. might be obtained, and a statement as to the., facility or otherwise of working should be sent ; but, in every case where the senders may des-ia.-, on tire secrecy will be observed. The ogreat object of this arrangement is, of course, Uj entourage private se.'ircb for minerals or metals ; and, doubtless, the privilege of obtaining an'accurate analysis in this way will be duly* appreciated by our miners." The colonizing spirit ] is' certainly strong in '' the Victorians. Our readers will remember that j it has been proposed to found a new settlement , at t»e Gulf of Carpentaria, and that already , some parties hitve sot oft'to take up the country, ■ They will however hardly -bo prepared to hear 1 that ie has been proposed to make a-railway < across the Continent ' Yet the Maryborough cm ! ' Duuolly A<h;erlh-er says .-—" Ihic'of the willist I schemes we have heard of for .-orac ti me past lias ! been broached in Melbourne. It is nothing It3s . than the construction of a railroad to the Gulf of Carpentaria! The enthusiast who propounds the project asserts (upon what data ?) that it could < be formed for £0008 a" mile. He must be singularly f ignorant of the nature of the countrj'to be tra- [ versed. Can he be aware that a formidable range i oi mountains runs from east to west, somewhere ' near the twentieth parallel of south latitude, and * that Bourke anl his companions were occupie:! ' for a w hole week in threading their way through an. Alpine labyrinth, and that when they did dia- x coTcr a gap- through which access was practicable y tothepkins (2,50'J feet below them, by barome- f trie.il measurement,) the descent was eifeeted with ] great difficulty and danger; the explorers, at one ] stage of the journey, slipped from rock to rock, 1 down a precipitous slide of 400 feet deap? At * Bomo distant period the interior of this continent ' will no doubt be traversed from north to south by ' a railway, but in order to penetrate the great dividing range, in which, the rivers that empty themselves into the Gulf have their source, we fear ~> that a tunnel exceeding in its length and cost that ( which b now being driven through Mount Cenis, E in Italy, will have to be bored ; and a work of that c magnitude is not likely to bo undertaken until i the northern shores of Australia areas thickly 1 populated as Piedmont. The promoter of this ' scheme talks about a strip of country, 200 miles I in breadth on each side of the line being a sufißcient equivalent for the outlay. But of what Talue would this land be without population? Who would buy it, leasa it, or settle on it ? Why j the population of the whole of the Australian colon ies does not exceed that of the efty of New j York alone, and yet we talk of constructing a rail- 1 way 1400 miles long, as though we had a super- ; fiuity of labor and raouey at our command, and I as if we had already outgrown the limits of the ' territory we occupy. Enterprise, like charity, '' ■ should begin at home. There is a'wide field still ' unoccupied within our own borders. There are ' plenty of undertakings which might be success- , '-'■fully prosecuted if capital and labor were more ( abundant and to talk of diverting these into channels which cannot be reproductive for years to , come, is simply absurd .In this colony we do no c

require to bo amused with the speculation of a visionary ;as the work we have'got to do is of a practical kind and only to bo discussed in a practical spirit, and by practical men, we have no time to bestow upon dreams or dreamers, howso* ever fanciful the reveries in which they indulge and with which they seek to beguilo us."