AUSTRALIAN PARTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1177, 20 June 1874, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN PARTY.

We take the following account from the Salt Lake Daily Herald :—

A party of distinguished citizens of Australia reached this city yesterday en route to Europe. The company consists of W. E. Winter, landed proprietor and stock raiser of Stanhope, victoria, and his family; A. 0. Todd, Inspector- General of Public Works, and Mr Lange, Inspector of Water Supply, Victoria ; W. W. Couche, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce ; MrHorsefall, woolbroker ; J. and S. Gordon, landed proprietors and stock raisers ; William Harker, civil engineer, of Melbourne ; C. 0. M'Donald, landed proprietor and stock raiser, New South Wales ; H. Blundell, editor Wellington Evening Post ; and Jno. Watson, late of the firm of Messrs Watson and Sons, merchants, of Dunedin, New Zealand ; and Robt. Reid, District Judge, Ceylon. The party is chaperoned from San Francisco to New York by A. W. Hall, agent of the A ustralasian and American Steamship Line, which conveyed them from Melbourne to San Francisco on the Company's steamer Tartar. These distinguished gentlemen are all representative men of the respective Colonies where they reside, and they visit this and other countries for the purpose of securing valuable information concerning the arts, sciences, new inventions, and manufactures, as well as all matters of interest to their fellow-citizens at home. They visit Utah to see for themselves what has been done by a working Colony in the various industries required for the support of a community. We regret that such inauspicious weather should have greeted them on their arrival. In spite of snow and sleet, however, they occupied the time in sightseeing and in conversation with citizens concerning our local affairs. Yesterday afternoon, they called upon President Brigham Young, and enjoyd a prolonged and pleasant intervie w. They made their headquarters at the Townsend House, and depart for the east this morning. This party is by no means the last which is likely to visit us this season from Australia. It is probable that the travel from that remote section, now so closely connected with this country by the steamship line alluded to, will hereafter be largely increased. The line is entirely a new one, and has the contract for carrying all the mails from the Australias, New Zealand, and the Sandwich Islands, to the United States and Great Britain. Each steamer carries an average of ten tons of mail matter each trip. The present vessels of the Company have not the requisite passenger capacity to supply the demand upon them. To remedy this deficiency, however, the company are now building four steamers of 3000 tons burthen each, which will be put on the line this Fall. These steamers are being built on the Clyde, and when finished are warranted to have a speed of 14 knots per hour, which will enable them to make the trip from Sydney to San Francisco in 25 days. It is calculated that the Royal mails carried by this lino will be delivered in London in 42 days from Sydney, being 11 days less time than they can be carried by any other line.

Histoeical I—Tide "Jurors' Reports and Awards, New Zealand Exhibition. >r Jurors : J. A. Ewen, J. Butterworth, T. 0. Skinner. "So far as the Colony is concerned, the dyeing of materials is almost entirety oonfined to the re-dyeing of Articles of Dress and Upholstery, a most useful art, for there are many kinds of material that lose their colour before the texture is half worn. G. Hiesch, of Dunedin (Dttnkdin Dye Works, George street, opposite Royal George Hotel), exhibits a case of specimens of dyed Woolb, Silks, and Feathers, and dyed Sheepskins. The colours on the whole are very fair, and reflect considerable credit on the Exhibitor, to whom the Jurors recommended an Hono. rary Certificate should be awarded." Hono* rary Certificate, 639 : Gustev Hirsoh, Dunedin, for Specimen of Dyeing in Silk, Feathers, &o.