THE. Otago Daily Times

Otago Daily Times, Issue 558, 1 October 1863, Page 4

THE. Otago Daily Times

(< Inveniavfiviam aut xfacidmfi

DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1.

In the Provincial Council yesterday,

utT!}?.P ROVIN°rAL SEORBTARY-stated, in reply tb Mr Miller, that the Government meant next session to bring m*''-*a';-m^su*rei^for.Vinaklng'-*-ava'iiable the various Municipal and'other Reserves. ■ •'- ! fi 'Mr Macandrew mbVSd fia, ; resolution' in- favor of toe issue of Crown &an'^ni^e iierayince.''*''.-. i -It was explained^' Mr ivoGEt, athafc tlie Crown - Grants Act, No., l v passed by^-the General Assembly las* session, authorised :-tEe" : appointment of threfe .residentX!ommissi6aersjwithLpower. to.issue_Grauts.i " The® Provincial Secretary added that all that was wanted was 4 the Governor's, appointment ofthe Commissioners, .;,", vT ' " • On the motion of the Provincial Sboretaby it was resolved i":that2Qs a day/be:allowed to all members representing country districts residing two miles or more^putside of Dunedin/ for such period as they shall attend meetings ot-the Provincial Council, excepting such as are members;of vtbe Govei-n'mentytbe: Speaker,-andtheChairmanot Committees; andithat nnleagecbefallowed*.to all,such;; members residing beyond five miles from Dunedin, at tha rate of one shilling per mile." .. i. " * The House went' into Committee to consider amendments tp ; the Dunedin Budding Act" Interpretation Ordinance. ; After some discu=sion, ■■ Mr Vogel objected that the so-called amendments really destroyed the Ordinance and substituted a new one, . - : . -'.••'..'. .-' :.- ■ - .yy, _ It was agreed^© report 7progress, with a view to the introduction, ; qn afutiire^day,of,a hew measurei Mr Mumson; moved the adoption 4 the'report of the Select Committee on the^Constitutioh^and Man- • agement .of the Hospital and Lunatic Asylum." " , The report explained, why v/the^investigation had not been completed, r and recommended the appoint--mentr-of- ayGommissionrtojpursuethe investigation, with a viewtoaction'next sessiohV :' \ i The report was adopted. Mr Vogel moved, >'That-the resolution in regard to the Gold Fields Secretary, passed in Committee of bupply, be adopted.; . .He/explained thas he omitted ' to move this at the tims, simply from his unacquaintance with the forms of ~the House. After a long discussion, the motion was negatived by-16 votes to 14. '.: fi. fifi " :: A.'-."*" fi "' Message'No 17,frpm-.the Superintendent, recommended that L 4500 should Vbe placed-on mentary Estimates, for payment to Mr "Hill for the cancellation of the Forries Contract"; but to include the purchase of the Kawarau! bridge,;; eight boats, In Committee of Supplyr+be7;Mes3age {; was~cohsfdered, and there was a very long discussion; j It was ultimately r-solved^at^hisiHonor be requested to place on the Estimates a sum;-for the compensation of the lessee for. the reliriquisfiment of tlie-contract,;and-tbr : the-,bridge ; over-the-Kawarau. - ! The PRoyiNciil. |ritEASUßi!R^xplaihed tbat tlie sums already expended oivroads being found to be greater than had, been, expected—in some cases exceeding the proposed it had been found necessary greatly "td increase the sums set down m this division of the Estimates." 0:i" '"-"" -i; ! ;' ! Major Richardson moved : a series of declaratory resolutions.,, After, ashort discussion; he stated -that he would-.nqt press.them, .but would lav them oh tHe ttbleof "the "House.'' ',l,r ',' fifi-fifi;, Afi fifi, .■'■-■'■•fi \ The Provincial TrVa?Wk then proposed avote oi L 45.000 for, a» rpad-froni .Djinedinito Waikouaiti which, after a short discussion, was carried. ',''■' The remaining sums placed, on the Estimates under the head of,"Rqad v D^^^ g S the votes n'ec'essary;forOTidg:es.'"''''' '**'■. ; ~ The turn* placed onLlhe Estimate' for Schools were al-M p'ss-td.. wjUi-the exception-of two items, "L 750 School Wakari," and_.« L; 00, N.E. Valley;" which " wei c withdrawn for fur the* consideration.; " ; -fi I Major RiciiAßDSpniaiimated that it was his intention to more, when in Committee of Supply, that ile*«ums.vo"tedior rbads:be reduced oi.e fourth;' arid at 12 o'clock the .House adjourned to; one o'clock this'day.' -.'; -r.fir.AAfi. y .-' y-A-. -•..-.;-;'•■.■■• • -.- ■,-

When Captain Mackenzie drew'the attention lof the House on Tuesday evening to the fact of the old wretchedly inadequate punt being still the only means for crossing the Molyneux j Ferry, he and the House little knew that on the previous evening another accident, attended lit is to be feared, with fatal consequences, , had occurred, resulting in the loss of property of nearly one thousand pounds in value. In another column we give the particulars ofthe accident, which it will be seen arose entirely through the miserable insufficiency of the appliances for crossing the river. It is astonishing to what an extent the Government have carried the delay, neglect and stupidity which have characterised the "arrangements at the Molyneux Ferry. Although it forms a necessary adjunct of one of the main arteries of inland communication, the ferry has never yet been provided with suitable appliances for the heavy traffic passing along the line of road. Accidents have occurred times innumerable ; property to a large amount has been lost? valuable horses have been drowned, and what is far more serious, numerous human lives have been sacrificed—not by unforseen and unavoidable causes, but by the gross insufficiency of the means supplied by the Government and with which the public has been compelled to be satisfied. It is sufficient for the condemnation of the responsible authorities that the committee appointed to inquire into the matters -contained in Thomas ahd. Wood's petition, reported that the insufficiency of the punt had caused the accident in January last. Nine months have elapsed^ and the same cause has produced similar effects. True a new punt has been constructed at a cost of something like L 2,400, but it has not been brought into use, and we were told the other night in the House that it was unworkable. Be its scientific; construction practically useful or not, we are credibly informed that at present the new punt is ira- 1

paled firmly to the bed of the river by a snag, which has penetrated, through .the bottom of one of the pontoons. It is. high-time-that a stop should be made ' to these continually recurring accidents, and we see no security for the' lives and property, of those frequenting-the road in anything but a suitable bridge. Under the mout favorable circumstances, ferry-boats are risky things; but much more so on a river like the Molyneux. The traffic ia constantly liable to interruption from sudden floods, and the rapidity of the current converts every trivial dislocation of the appliances into a catastrophe. We have no idea what amount of money has from time to time been expended on the existing" ferry," but we fancy it must have in" one way or another reached a long Way towards the cost of a bridge. But "be that as it may', no further question can be raised as to the absolute necessity of bridging the Molyneux. Unless this be done, we shall never bs secure against being periodically horrified by tales oi' drowning. 'We believe that t au economical iron bridge on the lattice girder principle could be obtained from England, all complete, and only requiring putting together, within a y^arl The br'.dge mi£ht be constructed r s,o a3 to be made a available for railway; as, well as the ordinary "trafficTltrwbuld be weM/iiideed, if O tagp would only "follow the enlightened policy of the Canterbury authorities, who are making i arrangements for bridging,all the considerable 1 rivers in that Province. ' A bridge over the 1 Molyneux would be a' boon which directly or indirectly would benefit every resident in the Province. Tbe lessees of the present punt' -make a large, income out of | the public, which ought to' be "expended lin providing increased facilities.' The printciple of farming public ferries is of) itself k bad one, as it is not pretended that the revenuie; derived from the leasing of r .the., punts, bear's any proportion to the sums-actually] paid by the public. A bridge once' 'constructed, requires little outlay, on »its maintenance; and . the_increased. safety„and._conv.eniejice.afl.Qr.ded would be ~cheaply;' purchased by the cost of the *" structure; "A good deal of anxiety is expressed in certain quarters on the subject of improving the* means of inland communication, arid-; we trust our remarks. may T commend themselves .to the attention of theuGovernment. _ As we understand the1 owner's of the property lost by the.' accident the other day intend \o sue the Government l for -damages, .we may venture to hope that the prospect"iof "a few'ad verse verdicts may stimulate' /the Government to the immediate construction of a suitable bridge.

Tlie performances at the Princess's 'last evening comprised " Gold," and the farce of "Assisted Emmigrants." The same programme is announced'for repetition to-night.

The friends and supporters of Green, the New South Wales Champion Rower, aren6t: disheai't-; ened at the defeat of their favorite/ "We notice' that funds have heen raised to enable Green to remain in England" to contest the championship ofthe Thames.

The young woman who died on board of the Mataura on Monday, was named Jessie Moir, and was about 2-1 years of age. Tlie passengers hav;e not yet heen -removed lo the'quarantine island, but the hulk Thomas and Henry has been placed alongside for the transmission of their luggage.

-Her Majesty's frigate-Curaeoa,'carrying 16 smooth-bore, 6 forty-pounders, and one der_Arinstrong_^uns^-avi-iv«dat_Sjid«aj£.^jn_th6----14th ult. Tlie Curacoa carries the pennant of Commodore Sir, W. Wiseman. 1 v. Paiker, who it will be remembered received severe injuries in a savage attack made on him by two men named Marriott' and Santy, in High-street, died in the Dunediu Hospital | yesterday. He was at one .time so far,recovered I from the injuries he_had_receivedj_as to be able to return to his duty ; subsequently,', however, he | again fell ill, returned to the Hospital, and as we have just stated, died yesterday. Under the cir- | cumstances it is perhaps desirable'that a coronerfs I inquest should be-held 'to determine~hdw fai* if at all, Paiker's,death is attributable to, the injuries he received at thei hands of the two prisoners who are now undergoing imprisonment for the assault. ' _^-

I The return match at billiards, between Messrs. Stafford and Cattabeni, for-LSO a-side, was played at the Jockey Club, Rattray-street, on Tuesday evening. The first match 'was "600 up, Mr Cattabeni receiving 130 points, and winning by over 170. The second match was foivthe same sum, but 700 up. the same points b&ng givenl by Mr Stafford, who ultimately woh/the score being at the* close Stfford; 702 ; - Cattabeni, 693. [ Another accident, atWded hy serious loss of property, and it is much to be feared, with loss of life, has occurred at tbe Molyneux Ferry. A sixliorse waggon, belonging to Messrs. Pic'kford and Co. of this city, laden with a" valuable Ireight of drapery and other goods, arrived at the ferry at 5 p.m., on Monday last. ' The six horses were first of all safely crossed in the punt, "the horses being accompanied by the owners/ who subsequently returned to superintend arrangements for embaiking the waggon. We understand that, the banks being steep, drays, &c, are run down a siding at a considerable angle, being let down by ropes arid run on to the punt. It i appears that some little' confusion arose in this instance as to the fastening of the rope to the waggon. * One;of * the men belonging to the punt wanted to fasten the rope to the biake of the waggon, but the driver objected, as it ,would damage it \ after some difficulty the ' rope was secured round the body of the waggon. The puntman then knotted the rope, and the driver, named Morrison, mounted tho waggon to put on the brake so'as to ease its descent, but he was ordered by the puntman to leave it alone, as they could manage the waggon as well without the brake ; he accordingly left it alone. > The horses being, as before mentioned, out of the waggon," the four diaymen went into the shafts to ease it down the incline-to itherpunt; two of the men were then desired by the puhtmenlo go to the wheels, as'they considered two men were sufficient in the shafts, consequently two men named Morrison and Aitken went to thewhpels, leaving Peebles and Williams in the shafts. The waggon was then moved down the incline, and the two front wheels had no sooner got on to the jetty than the rope broke ; the waggon then ran on to tlie punt with considerable impetus, knocked down the men who were in the shafts,* snapped the two ropes that were holding the punt to 'the jetty, drove the punt five or six yards into the river, carried-away' the side rails, and upset in the stream. The goods were washed away, and we are informed one of the men on' the waggon was capsized into the river and swept away by the current.

We extract the following particulars Ttl« five to the Ballaarat Champion Haee', from tlie Argus of the 22nd ult:—'' There was a'stVong muster last evening of the member? of the Victorian Turf Subscription Room, afclhe AibiolfHotel, caused doubtless by the near approach of the Ballaarat Champion Race. So far, however, as speculation was concerned, tliere was little ppparejitly to do. Tliere were numerous offers' to back Arcln* against tho field, and had the betters round been in a position to make an offer, odds would have been laid ou the great Sydney champion to a considerable amount. As it was, there wis no betting about him for the Champion Race ou.Tight; but in double events, as—soo to IC against Archer for the Champion Race, and Shillelagh for the Melbourne Cup;—soo to 20 against Archer and Barwon; 500 4,0 5 against Archer and Alfred :—SOO to. 30 against Archer and Regina — all for^the same double events, I the Sydnsj horse's , name was frequently written. In some'few double events at very long prices, 500 to 5 for instance, Zoe Tand Shillelagh 'were backed, and 700 to~I5 was taken about Haidee (Archer's stable companion) forthe Champion Race, and MormoA for the cup.. 5 .to 1 was bar one, for the Ballarat great event, and bto 1 would have been laid against'anything bar Aicher, had there been any disposition shown to take tbe odds. A few pounds were invested on Melbourne at 200 to, 10 ; 300 to 10 was laid agains Hatdee ; and to 20 was offered against Zoe and Talleyrand coupled. The number of the possible starters for the great iace at Ballaarat was yesteiday reduced to, nine by '-n , unfortunate and fatal accident .happeni, go Mr Hurtle Fisher's high bred.filly Wonga Wonga by Gemma-de-Ve.gy-Coquette, imported from England at a great price. It appears that, while taking a strong gallop of three mil es yesteiday morning, her owner observed her, when near the end of her journey, drop her off hind leg, and run as upon three legs only. -She was at once pulled up,and on examination.by a veterinary surgeon ; it was found that the bone at the hough joint ,was' * fractured and splintered. It .was found necessary to. destroy her in the course of the * mornmg. It now appears less likely than ever that more than four hoises will start for the Champion-Race." The following ..account of the Gunboat for the Waikato, built ft Sydney, is supplied by the .' Sydney Morning Herald :—« Some five or six months ago, when the1 military commanders engaged in the Maori war had become aware of the necessity or great Wantage of penetrating the centre of rebel Maoridom ,by effecting; a passage up the rivers, it became a question of some difficulty as to how a boat capable of' withstaad- - ing the assaults, bf the vmemy, 4nd at the same . time of light draught and easy- movement, could be obtained • for navigating the tortuous and shallow stream*. The * &ew' Zealand, Government at once looked to New ' South Wales for such a vessel, and overtures", were made through Mr E. 0. Moriarty, the. engineer for'rivers and harbors, who communicated witli the Australasian Steam Navigation Company" on~ the subject, and found them prepared to undertake the coustruceion- of a "gunboat of the required description. -Mr T. Macarthur, the company's chief engineer, was entrusted with the work, and in something like seventeen..'weeka ' the vessel was afloat; being now ready to hand over to the agent of the - Nev/ Zealand 'Government. Leaving out: of"notice the excellence of the workmanship, it must be a source ofgratifica■tion to New South Wales that she has a firm capablfe of building* a vessel like this to meet such an urgent emeigency, when we consider that it would'require some'sixteen or'righteen months to import one from the' mother rThe gun boat No. 3,' as, she is'at present called,, pending her formal' ndnrnation by 'the New Zealand authorities, will; no'doubt, figare-- prominently in future contests with the Maori's^ A 'Vprrimnc nr . 3lonitor-she-<looß -notrTesemble;~bhtTthe Maori warriors will probably rfind r'that against them, she is as formidable an antagonist as); either of those celebrated, ironclads was to the American combatants. She is ah 'iron built- vessel ; her length 140 ft, he'fJbrcadfch o"f beam 20ft, her depth tft. She is. fiat-bottomed, and her depth of water, with 300 men and stores on board, is, only about 3ft. But she has centreboards, 'by means of [which her keel' can . 'be. .deepened to Bfc. when necessary. She 'has noncondensing engines lbf 40 liorse" power, with tubular boilers of improved .construction, to carry a pressure of 601b.t0 the inch ; and she is propelled by means °df Si stern paddle-wheel, which has feathering.floats/ -To sdme slight degree her progress is .assisted by the discharge of exhausted steam afc her stern. On the main deck •he is fitted with two iron' towers, twelve feet in diameter and eight feet in elevation, pierced with slots for rifles, and also with ports_fot twelve pound Armstrong guns. Prom the one tower the vessel, if she should be boarded by the enemy, can be raked from the3eam forward, and from the other from the beam att. The engine-room aft is also constructed of iron, affording shelter to the steersman and accommodation for riflemen. The commander will have a turret above this stern tower. The engines are eutirely under deck, and 'every portion of the vessel can be shut against an enemy boarding her. Between decks there are five watertight compartments) but admitting ot communication fore and afc, and accommodation • for 300 or 400 men. One noticeable peculiarity in her means pf defence is, that on the enemy attempting to board she can, by means of perforated pipes lying like a moulding along her side, pour upon them jets of boiling water or volumes of hot steam. She is-sehosner-rigged, and does not present an ungraceful exterior—the iron, which is -three-eighth inch plate, not being so heavy as to make hor look cumbrous. Between decks she has a patent noiseless fan attached to a donkey engine, for the purpose of driving the smoke from the towers. She carries twenty tons of coals in' her bunkers, and consumes about three tops a, day. She was built entirely under the superintendence" of Mr E. O. Moriarity, acting agent- for the New Zealand Government ; and practical men are of opinion that the engineering work is as finely finished as any imported from the*mother country. 'Yesterday afternoon she left the Australasian Steam Navigation Company's wharf on a trial trip. There were about sixty gentlemen on board, including the hon. the Colonial Secretary, the hon. the Secretary for Works, Mr Dillon Bell, &c. She proceeded down the harbor as far'as Shark Point thehce'rbuud Cockatoo Island;" and"during^her course attained a speed of nine knots an hour whilst she turns, .with a favorable wind, witliin her own length." The Sydney Morning Herald, of the 18th September, says:-«lris decided to send to NewZealand, almost immediately, all the available military iorces in the colony. In addition to the troops that arrived bom England on Saturday >st Colonel Hamilton, with'the greater portion of the officers and men of the 12th Regiment, will : proceed to Auckland early next week in H M S S Curacoa; leaving Colonel Kemp and about 90 men for garrison duty in Sydney. The headquarters of the battalion, together wifch the band, will at the erame time be removed."

By the Gothehburg, we have dur files to the following date : —Melbourne, 23rd ; Sydney andAdelaide, 19th ;• and Tasmania, 18th ult. We are obliged to hold over our correspondents' letters. The attempted opium frauds in Melbourneamount to at least eight thousand pounds The total number of Volunteers obtained in Victoria by Captain Pitt, for service in New Zealand, "was nine hundred and thirty-two. In South Australia, the revenue for the year had exceeded the estimated amount by upwu-ds ,of £24,000. In New South Wales, the last exploit of the bushrangers has been to rob the Carcoar mail of £600, Several r prisoners had escaped from Berrima gaol The Legislative Council of Tasmania has not assented to the proposed vote of £400 for the survey of a grand trunk line of railway to connect Hobart Town and Launceston. When the vote was proposed, the consideration of the question was postponed for a fortnight, which i& tantamount to its rejection, as Parliament was to be prorogued on the day of its next meeting.

We take the following remarks, concerning the Lord Eaglan,- together with ; a list of the cabin passengers, from the' Argusfi The following day the same journal explained that the list was pro. cured from the agents ,■ that it was made up at Liverpool -immediately preceding the vessel's departure, and; that •in the hurry of compilation inaccuracies might possibly have crept in. The name inserted, as Mr Spanlde, it added, should have been Mrs Spankie. . We believe that the name " Fellure" should be Filleul, and that the name of Mr Pulton shtfiild be added to the list of saloon" passengers. We append the paragraph from our contemporary :-—•' We publish below the passen-ger-list of the missing ship Lord Eaglan. This fine vessel, well known in this port, sailed from Liverpool upon the" 23rd "bf Ecbruary last. She has, therefore, been- out nearly seven months and, consequently, there is too _ much reason ifor .believing 'that she has met-.with ,some untimely disaster. Whatever, may.be the nature ofthe mischance, it is to he hoped that intelligence, of it will be obtained,, and that _the vessel "will not have to be added to the iistof J'*not heard of." We give the list, with a view; of allaying anxiety as far as possible as to who was in the vessel, and not upon the.supposition that,all hope of the safety of the yessel, or of her passengers, must be abandoned.; Messrs. Lorimer and Co., the agents ofthe ship, and to whom we are'indebted for the information, have not received the fist of the crew* The ship was, however, commanded by Mr. T.^Curran,- who was making his second voyage in her, haying just previously taken her home from India.,,. „The ; following" were the sengers^-=-SalQonPassengers_:_Johnj;H^Sunder-land, Sarah Sunderland, Mr Gosset, Mr Belcher, Mr Fellure. Mr Richardson, Mr "Spankie and child, Mr Charles E. Taylor, Mr Sutton, Mr , Francis A. Goddard, Mr E. P. Harper, Mr John A, Joel, Mr and Mrs Frederick Quinlan, Mrs Doherty, Miss Louisa Neville, Mr Husband.

We learn from the Sydney telegrams in the Argus, that the steam gun boat intended for service on the ' Waikato river, was. to be'ready for sea on the 22nd. September. The New Zealand Agency, in connection with the enlistment of volunteers for the Auckland Militia' was to close on the 25th, the required number of recruits having heen obtained.

The Sydney Mori\iqg Herald gays :—"Letters received by the late mail state that Mr Latimer Clark, who is associated with Mr Gisborne in the project for the construction of a telegraphic line: between India and, Australia, was to leave England in October, with the view of furthering that project ia these colonies. Mr Gisborne's proposal, is, to carry the line from the north coast of Aus-' tralia to Cape Sedano, and from Singapore to i Bangoon." . >