'-■ •:'-■■■ ■■ ■ T H.E.. . : ..■■ \ ; .' "Inveniam viam aut fatiam" BUNEDIN, THUESDAY, DEC. 20.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1553, 20 December 1866, Page 5

'-■ •:'-■■■ ■■ ■ T H.E.. . : ..■■ \ ; .' "Inveniam viam aut fatiam" BUNEDIN, THUESDAY, DEC. 20.

Intelligence was received in town yesterday, from Hokitika, of the arrival of 'the Alfcair.bra from Melbourne, with news 4o the 13th instant, on which date nothing .iad been heard of the arrival of the ■steamer with the English Mail at St. "George's Sound. Tl;e yearly distribution of prizes at the High School will take place this morning, at •eleven o'clock. His Hcnor the SuperiDtendent "sri]i present them. A Hokitika telegram of the 16th instant ? -which appears in the "Lyttelton Times,1' -states that "in the Dobson murder case, Wilson alias Murray is committed for trial, ;also Be Lscy, on the charge of conspiring to ■rob Fox. There was a scene in Revell strett through the violence of De Lacy when on the "Way to gaol. Chumberlain and Carr are Te-arrested. The cases are assuming very •serous phases, as others than tho prisoners •are supposed to be implicated." A summoned meeting of the Loyal Dun? din ■lodge, M.TJ.T.0.0.F., will be held this evening at %c Oddfellows' Hall, George street, The Port of Molyneux has been appointed :a warehousing port, for the purposes of the -Customs Regulation Act, 1858, and a port for "the importation of tobacco. . " Nev Zealand Gazette," of the 14th, contains a Schedule of the Stamp Duties, ■enacted by the General Assembly last-session, ■■and a notification that they will come into •operation on the Ist January. A numerous meeting of tha ratepayers in Bell Ward was held yesterday evening, at •the Royal George Hotel, when Councillors. Birch and Barnes gave explanations with ■reference to the action of the City Council in reference to the Town Belt; the former asking for an expression of -opinion of the ratepayers, and the latter -defying all opinion. A motion, censuring •■the Council generally, was moved by Mr Perkins, and, notwithstanding an appeal from Mr Birch against a general motion, it was carried ; the meeting closing with cheers for Mr Dillon Bell, and groans for Mr Barnes. The "Southern Cross" makes the following remarks on the conviction of Elcock for arson :—The De ember sessions of the Supreme Court, for criminal cases, closed yesterbay, December 10. The last and most .'.lmportant cass was that of John Elcock, with arson, 1 here were two counts la the indictment, and he was found guilty upon botb. Upon the one sentence of death ■was recorded against him, and upon the other ■penal servitude for life. This sertence will -iiave, we may hope, a salutary influence 3n cheeking the spread of a crime which was jbecoming too common amongst us. To rob .a bank or an insurance company is thought -Iby too many, we are sorry to say, s, very venial offence as. compared with that of robbing an individual, and yet -either a bank corporation or an insurance •company is but an aggregation of individuals. ■jvho, as i hareholdsrß,- ore aDd all suffer; and f, in the case of the crime of incendiarism, the losses fall so heavily on the insurance companies that the whole of the profits are swallowed up in meeting them, a person may he robbed of his whole income for the time iieing, for there are many whose property is entirely invested in such shares- The very committal of Elcock had a salutary effect. But one clear case of incendiarism has occurred since then in Auckland. Few, SHVwever, looked for so heavy a ssutence as that which has been passed upon this jman, and it will, 'no doubb, as ifc was wisely intended that ifc should do., strike terror into the hearts oE those who may sneditate such a crime. It is an ugly and a Jearf ul thing for a man to have sentance of death recoided against him, even though he &nows that the rope will not be placed around ii 3 neck, but that he will only suffer the sentence of penal servitude for life. No man, too, when he commits arson in a city, the .greater number of the houses of which are of

' wood, can tell but what he may really run the risk of the punishment of death. He cannot ■ tell but that, as in the case of the recent fire 1 at Christchurch, some person may throughl his act meet with loss of life. In such a case tho sentence is not merely recorded, but is actually carried out. In the recent series of fires which have taken place ia Auckland, there have been several very narrow escapes from such calamity. We believe the members of the Dunedin Volunteer Band have kindly offered to perform every evening at the Bazaar, to be held in the Provincial Council Chambers, in aid of St Joseph's Church, from the 2nd to the sth of January. We have received from the General Government a copy of the statutes of New Zealand, passed during the last session of the General Assembly. The Agricultural and Pastoral Society of Otsgo has issued its list of the prizes to be awarded at the second annual show of live stock, agricultural implements, and dairy produce, to be held at Duoedin on the 10th proximo. The list comprizes numerous and valuable premiums for all descriptions of stock ; upwards of seventy prizes, or honorary certificates, for machinery, implements, &c. ; and twenty-six prizes for dairy produce and utensils. The 7fch of January is fixed as tha last date for the reception of entries. The Horticultural Society of Dunedin hold a show at the same time and place; and other attractions atß offered, not exclusively practical or agricultural. We have to acknowledge receipt of the rules of the Pastoral Society, to which the report for last year, already published,ls'attached. It is understood that "-Grif," the new story of Colonial Life, by Mr B. L. Farjeon, author of " Shadows on. the Snow," is in tjp?, and will be ready for publication in a few doy3. The meeting of City Counc'l, appointed for yesterday, did not take place. At a quarter past three o'clock, which is the hour agreed upon for the commencement of the Council's proceedings, the Mayor and Mr Birch were the only members present. Mr Barnes and Mr Chalmer attended almost immediately afterwards, lut, in the absence of a larger number of the members, it was agreed to abide by tie usual rule. The correspondent of the "Grey River Argue," writing from Westport, says:—"l regret to mention a sad accident which occurred on the Mohikinui river on Friday afternoon, by the capsizing of a canoe ; two men lost their lives. Their names are Ned Fitzgerald and Thomas Haggarty. Fitzgerald was formerly packing at Noble's. The accident took place about fifteen miles up the Mohikinui, and the bodies have not yet been recovered." 'Accordingto the " Grey River Argus," the recently discovered diggings between the Grey and the Buller are likely to become as important as any on the West Coast. The Government intend to make the Buller a port of entry. Later information by telegraph states that news from Fox River and Pakthi is indifferent. The place, it is stated, is over rushed, and numbers are returning, the diggings being only patchy so far. The near departure of tbs Home mail caused bat scanty audiences at both Theatres last evening. ;At the Princess the drama of "Lucretia Borgia," and the farce of "The Irish Lion," were played. The performances at tne Royal were for the benefit of Mks Shepparde; and the comedies of "The Wonderful Woman," " Cousin Cherry," and " The Young Widow," were presented. Yesterday, afternoon, a boy about ten years of age, the son of Mr James Ruston, was leading a horse along the Stuart' street Jetty, when the animal became restive, threw him down, and a dray passed over his legs, fracturing the bone of each. The sufferer was conveyed to the Hospital, and is progressing favorably. No, blame, is attributed to the driver of the dray. : ■ lathe. Supreme Court, yesterday, the cause, Colonial Bank of Australasia y. Bank of New Zealand, was heard. It was a claim for money had to the plaintiffs' use, and: arose from transactions by both parties with Mr Sfcadrach Jones. The case for the plaintiffs occupied the whole day, and the Court was adjourned till to-day, at half-past one o'clock, when evidence will be taken on bshalf of the ■ defendants. ~ . I The Volunteers will parade for Adjutant's j Drill this evening, at 7.30. < The annual meeting of the Loyal Otago Lodge, A.1.0.0.F., will take place this evening. The following is taken from the " Wanganui Times" of the 1 lth inst.: —" On Friday last several horses belonging to the W.Y.O. arrived ( here from Manawapou, and upon inquiry, we find that some twelve or fifteen of the men have been placed m confinement, and one or two son-commissioned officers put under arrest, and thus their horses being sent to Waaganui is accountel for. From'what we can learn it appears, that a trooper who had served in Captain Leatham's troop, now disbanded, was taken on by Captain Beave, and at once promoted by him to ths responsible position of Trcop Sergeant-Major in the W.Y.C. This was looked upon by the non-commissioned officers and men as a direct insult and an in--1 tolerable act of injustice, S3 much so that they ' ! refused to obey the orders of or serve under I the nes-ly appointed Sergeant-Major. These ' are substantially the facts of the case, in so far ! as we can ascertain them, but we awpit particulars before commenting on them. Although., insubordination cannot fee tolerated, and is aggravated when resorted to in the face of the enemy, yet the acts of the commander who goads his men to resistance should be strictly enquired into. We wait to be better informed upon the facts !of the case." The "New Zealand Gazette," of the 14fch instant, contains a statement of the receipts and expenditure of the ordinary revenue of the Colony, for the quarter ending 30th September. The analysis is as follows:—General revenue, L 2148 16s 3d; collected in the Province of Auckland, L40,191'9s 9d ; Taranaki,L3Bl3 13s 7d; Wellington, L 23,749 11s 8d; Hawke's Bay, L 5681 15s 3d; Nelson, L 15,410 is 7d ; Marlborough, L 1529 4s lOd ; Canterbury, L 64,978 8s; Otago, L 50,930 2s 5d ; Southland; L 7031 17b $■ total revenue,

L 215,515 Os 4d. The expenditure during the same period was L 145.298 16s 7d, in the following manner : — General expenditure* which includes the civil list and permanent charges of interest and sinking fund, appropriations for public domains and buildings, the expenses of the postal, judicial and defence departments, Ll 16,861 6s 9d; expenditure in Auckland, L 5609 10s 7d; Taranakj,Ls69 10s 10d; Wellington, L 2525 13s 3d ; Hawke's Bay, L 1144 19s 2d ; Nelson, LBO9 12s 3d; Marlborough, L 1059 18s; Canterbury, L 6894 Os sd; Otago, L 8075 83 Id; Southland, L 1748 17s 3d. To which must bv^added three-eighths of the Customs Duties paid to the Provinces, amounting to L 68,410 ss, making a total expenditure for the Quarter of L 213,709 Is 7d. We extract the following from tho Tauranga correspondent or the "Southern Cross :"—" The survey is progressing rapidly and peaceably at Omanawa, up the Wairoa, and is visited by natives of all descriptions, spies included. At this place a redoubt has just been completed, and named after that br.ive and tried officer, Captun Moir, late of the 58th Regiment* but now of the Ist Waikatos. This position is distant from Te Papa from ten to twelve miles, and is situated on the ridge of a hill in the centre of a vast gorge, on the bauks of a beautiful creek, capable of navigation for boats drawing from four to five feet for several miles The camp takes its name from this week. Tho Pirirakaus are frequently seen approaching tho Wairoa, and a constant watch is kept upon th.-m. They, appear to muster in tolerable force, and are engaged daily in passing signals to the neighboring settlements. This is done by fires whichy so soon as replied to by their friends, are, at once extinguished, and up goes-a signal to another settlement, and so on till the range of mountain Hau-haus are communicated with."