News of the Week.

Otago Witness, Issue 568, 18 October 1862, Page 5

News of the Week.

The capabilities of the Fiji Islands for the production of cotron of a superior quality, were not favorably reported on by Colonel Smyth. 1 , the British Commissioner. Colonel Smyfc'ie's opinion would seem to be considerably at variance with, that of the Cotton Supply Association of Mancaester. Tiio Jthencrum of 19th July, sneakinoon th-s subject saj s : -" Not satisfied with "tttin"the opinions of th» Colonial-office and of the Ad^ niiralty, Lord Malmesbury sent some samples of cotton to the Cotton Supply Association of Manchester, and speedily obtained the following resolutions from that active body :— "Kesolvcd— That the samples of Fiji cotton which have been submitted by the Foreign office to the Committee of the Cotton Supply Association for examination, are found to bo of qualities most desirable for the manufactures of this country, and the committee have formed an opinion in all resp"- cts favourable to the<3 samples, and believe that such a range of excellent cotton is scarcely no\v re. eived from any cotton-growing country, which supplies this requisite vn w matcrio l to Gi el l Britain." •' Kesolvcel —That, whilst this JTiji cotton ranges i.i value from 7 il to U, the great supply received from t'.ioUnited States does not reahza nearly half so high an aveiage value at present. " We observe by the Sydney pipers that the Iniercoloniul Ca's new ste-imor, Ciaudj ILimi.'ton, is to sail from thence to O,«go, via Nelson, and the other New Zealand ports, on the lGth instant. The Acacia and the Gratia are also laid on for Otayo. Mr Cohen, of Messrs Miller anil Cohen, arrived on Saturday evening from the Dunstan with 3GO ounces of gold. He lefc on Thursday. He reports a discovery in shallow sinking at tlie junction of the Manuherikia with (lie Molyneux, six miles from the township. Ths sinking was five to six feet, and the gold coarse, but wcflinve no information as to tho'extent of the ground, or whether it was turning out rich or not. The strect3 of Dunedin were greatly crowded on Sunday by tlie large number of new arrivals, no less than twelve hundred persons having arrived during the day. This number was made up as follows :— By the Greyhound, from Melbourne, o.jO ; by the City of Hobart, 2-10 ; by tho Rangatira, from Sydney, 223 ; anJ by the Cheviot, from Glasgow, 220. As the Captain and two members of fie Fire Brigade were going through the Arcade on Sunday, they observed smoke from the back of the buildings. On making a search, they found that the cloicta at the bvlcsvorc in flames «"<l consequently threatening to destroy the whole of the Arcade, fortunately a supply of water was obtaineJ, and the flames were evtinguisherl by the before mentioned gentlemen. It is supposed that the fire was caused by some careless person throwing: a lighted match down in the closets— ConsicJci ing the inflammable nature of the materials of which the Arcade is built, there can bo no doubt that if it had once caught lire it would have been impossible to extinguish the flames before the whole was consumed. The necessity of caution 111 regard to fire cannot be too strongly urged upon" tlie residents in the Arcade. We learn from a l-eliablc souice, that the rate of cartage to the Nokomai from Kiverton is £50 per ton. By last advices tint p"i- ' was paid for two teams to take goods to tbe \l._,. l.igs. On Sunday a considerable crowd collected in Princes-street, in front of the Treasury, ni traded, by the eloquence of a respectable looking man in black who «as holding forth. Not lon,^ after he preicher had commenced, the pjlico interfered, and informed him that in collecting a crowd aud obstructing the street he was committing an unlawful act. He at onco closed bis address, and the crowd dispersed. It is well that olbers whose zeal may lead them to preach in the streets should be aware that they cannot be allowed to obstruct thoroughfares, and that if they desire to hold forth in the open air they must select some convenient situation in the suburbs. There were yesterday 355 men at work for the Government in cutting away Bell HiU ; parties of them beiii.j engaged at various heights along fie bill-side, from the point where work was originally commenced, to very near the Courthouse. The sight was picturesque, and the scene very bustling ; but a walk along that road to the Court-house was not particularly pleasant, partly because the newly-made ground was little other tlmn a mass of mud at the surface, and partly from the change there was of being struck by a stone or branch as it came bounding down the slope. On Tuesday there were only 232 rec-i pients of the 5s a day. We learn from a late Victorian paper, that Gipps Land has juit been proclaimed in the Oazjtte as a "clean" district under the Pleuropneumonia Act. As an instance of individual success at the Dun stan diggings, we may mention that yesterday, two brothers, named Ewiu paid export duty on 375 ounces of gold, the produce of their united labors for two months. The one brother had 180 oz. and the other 195 oz. Gold appears to be already found in remunerative quantities high up tho Molyneux. We leara that two men paid duty yesterday at the Custom House on forty ounces of gold, which they said they had obtained from a locality forty" miles above the Dunstan. The plan of what, we believe, was called at the Nelson diggings " blind dipping" lias we learn been successfully practised at the Dunstan. This is done by tho miner standing in the water and taking up shovelfuls of stuff from the bottom. We had yesterday an opportunity of seeing three pounds weight of rough gold "obtained by two men in tliia way lately, at a spot about eight miles further up the Molyneux than where Hartley and Eeillv ware last at work. They were five days getting it ; in one afternoon they obtained five ounces.

TnE Laohlaw Escort Robbery.— -The four men brought down in custody from Forbes, and who are charged with being concerned in the famous gold robbery, were on Wednesday brought up for examinatioa before the Bathurst Bench. It is reported that two of them have turned approvers. The examination, which lasted several hours, being conducted with closed doors, we are unable to say what transpired, except that the men were remanded. — Bathurst Free Press . ANOTIIER Earthquake.- The shock of an earthquake was experienced in Talbot, on Wednesday evening', about half-past eight o'clock. No underground noise was perceptible, but the wuxdows of several shops aud private houses were violently shaken, producing no small alarm among the occu~ pants. The shock lasted for nboi\t ten, seconds, and wasfbllowed by a terrific flash of lightning, accompanied by a deep roll of thunder. The direction of the quake was N.W. There was a light rainfall, but no wind at the time. — Talbot Leader. A J^AiiT Kiln. — Amongst the new industries" spriugintf up in our midst we are glad to be able to. report the erection of a malt kiln, "which is being proceeded with by Mr Edwards, the brewer, Jt has - long- been a complaint that colonial boer could npt > be so good as English, owing to the malt having I undergone a sea voyage j Air Edwards will now remedy this defect. — Ovens Constitution, 2nd l&a>' teinber. ] - f - • - - i