TOKOMAIRIRO.

Otago Witness, Issue 586, 21 February 1863, Page 2

TOKOMAIRIRO.

{7HQ3C THE DAILY TIME 9 COKRBSPOITDTiXT.) The erection of a small Presbyterian Church at the Woolshed has been commenced this week. It is situated in the immediate vicinity of the Police Station and Court House. Efforts are also bein^r made to obtain the establishment of a school at the .Woolshed. where there .are a great number of children. The church coulu serve also as a schoolhouse, and I do not think that there . would be much difficulty in raising the half of a teacher'B salary. There was a narrow escape of a serious bush fire down here last Monday evening Shortly after sunset, the bush at the back of the Survey Office was observed to be on fire but fortunately.t he wind which had been blowing pretty strongly during the greater part of the day, had died off towards evening, or else nothing co ild have saved the greater portion of the bush from destruction. As it was, little or no real damage was done. A number of the police and several gentlemen were early on the spot, but of course it was impossible to do anything except look on. A number of prosecutions for the illegal occupation of Crown Lands have recently been heard in the R.M.s Court here. In some cases it was the second offence, and a fine of £5 and costs was inflicted. In other cases, where it was the first offence, the fine varied according to circumstances, from ten shillings to two pounds. Last Tuesday a man named Cochrane was fined £20 and costs for exposing spirits for sale without a license. He was a well known shanty keeper, and on the previous Friday night there had been a . row at his place. The attention of the police had been directed to-it by some of the neighbors, and Sergeant Burns entered and seized a ten gallon cask of ale and a case of gin. In ' addition to the fine of twenty pounds the forfeiture of the articles seized was ordered.

A deserter from the 70th Regiment was ap- . prehended in this district the other day. He turned out to be the drummer, and was re-manded-to the depOt of his regiment in Dunedin.

Tokomairiro will not I hope be backward in its contributions to the Lancashire and Scottish relief fund. A committee consisting of the following gentlemen has been formed to act in connection with the Dunedin committee, viz., Messrs Musgrave, Dewe, Hardy, Mansford, Badcock, Jones (Treasurer), H. Clark, and E. T. Gillon (hon Sec). An energetic and systematic canvass of the district is to be made, and I expect that a good round sum will be the result.

I am glad to see that the Dunedin Volunteers have been resuscitated. Would that I could make the same remarks with regard to the Tokomairiro Corps. Tokomairiro was the first district in Otago in which volunteering was started. A company of 70 or 80 was enrolled, and all were entering into the affair with spirit, when their ardour was repressed, nd they as a body annihilated by being iniormed that Tokomairiro was not a militia district, and that therefore they were liable to all sorts of pains and penalties if they drilled: and also that only one adjutant could be appointed in the Province, and he was going to be appointed in Dunedin, where there was nut then, or for a long time afterwards a single symptom of a Volunteer Corps being raised. This treatment of course rather disgusted the gentlemen of Tokomairiro with volunteering, but as the present Government is decidedly more incline-l to foster the movement than the Government of their time, I believe that a capital company might now be raised here. If my belief, as to the wish of the Provincial Government to forward the movement be coriect, I think it would be well if they were to is>ue a circular, stating what districts a: e included in .vliliii.i district?, and what arrangements connected with Adjutants, Drill Sergeant, &c, they would be prepared to recommend to the General Government. If they were to do this, and to show that they took an interest in the subject, I do not think that the settlers would be found backward in volunteering. If they are, then call out the Militia, but before proceeding to this extreme measure, let them clearly understand their position, and what facilities will he afforded them if they volunteer.