News of the Week.

Otago Witness, Issue 1355, 17 November 1877, Page 15

News of the Week.

W9 understand that it L is intended to •pply for a new. trial in. the. .case of Kirkpatnck and another v. Glendiaing. Another prospecting party are about to start; in. search of gold from Greberne (Hawses Bay): .They willle provisioned for mhrea months. ' ' ■ ' Ttn the priza list of the Tokomairiro Show in the "Entire. Thoroughbred class, Mr Coombe'a Flying Dutchman should have been placed- as first; and Mr Ooombe's Bar won second.' .■• •' c ■ The following is a return* of the numbsr of passengers booked at tha Dunedin Station" on Friday s-rOlotha seof ion, 462 ; Port Chalmers, Motion, 332 j ! Oceaa Beach section, 4463... T0ta1,, 6257. Wejiotioe'thatMrJ.G.'Fletfe, of Oamarn for a Jong, time one of theagent3 of this paper, wasi-presented, with an address from the. Church., of < England. 'Sunday school recently, prior to his leaYingjOamaru. oi| Friday Joseph Higgins. whilst -woTkCanada. Beef, some eight miles frommitahuna,;metwith ap accident.which tesuHef fatally. Jt apptars he yraa driving * 5?vS* ° r.^ 6 * ao two tons of «* rtl *. «»"?■ *» k? I *, billing him inatantaneonsly, ■•■>■■ .™1 $?*°«2 c ; ' (Canterbury) shearers heTOßborfa. 50,000 sheep in 18 working days, durtog^iuch no'rain fell. On one day the uiutal' number of 3570 sheep were shorn, %J%t??, mSUU Tte.Vrpduce was' close o* At -meeting in : Cooktown held recenthrjuaiißsolution was pwsed calling npop tfe^Gorohmflnt to exclude tha Chined from.aUpe^gyWfields for the period of Avq year^frpm their, as such action •"5fW to , the interests of the miners, and to thejprospenty of the district and the colony generally. . ' - ..^W^)fiti*r Board has resclved, ou 1 of the Chief Commis. n f*i*^JgWtew* paper mill' Bt*nd«,8 t*nd«, JecWo% talaatlon for improvemsuto.

Four blocks- of land in the Dalhousie Hundred, comprising over 9000 acres of land, will shortly be thrown open for sale as land of special value at an ups-rt price of 25s per acre. The land is situated to the north of the mouth of the Tuapeka river, and is described by the Chief Surveyor as rough and scrubby.

The Diocesan Synod passed a resolution to the effect that it was tbe duty of the Church to aid in the support of benevolent and kindred institutions, and that tuo Bishop should be requested to urgo upon the clergy and vestries in the Diocese the desirability of appointing a special offertory for that purpose once at least in each year.

Professor Hutton has been granted leave of absence from his professorial duties ia connection with the Museum, in order that he may accept an offer to deliver a course of forty lectures on geology at the Sydney University. Captain' Hutton will be able to do some service iv Sydney by securing .specimens, &c, for the Otago Museum. i At the annual exhibition of the Canterbury Agriculturaland Pastoral Association, Messrs, Guthrie and Lirnach, of Dunedin, took a first prize for butter firkins ; and they ex- J hibited sets of doors aud windows, tubs and buckets, hay rakes, wheel rims, and shafts, ; •which were highly commended. The Mosgiel J Woollen Factory was awarded a silver medal for flannels exhibited by Messrs Ross and' Glendming. . At a meeting of the Dunedin Garrick Club, held last evening, it was resolved ,to give a j performance next month in aid of the funds of the Benevolent Institution., The pieces Selected are Mr Morton's comedy, "Sink or Swim," and the well-known farce " Mad as a Hatter." The cast ia a strong one, and.we may; safely predict a very successful perform* ance,

The Illustrated New Zealand Herald for November is to Hand. The illustrations are numerous and interesting. Ond there is which is fraught with interest of' a -very gloomy. description.' If is a plate entitled* "Sufferer3-by . the Indian Famine. ". If the ' picture is oho of truth — and we .have no doubt it is not exaggerated — nothing could more strikingly bring to mind .the horrors of the famine.

■ Another large salmon trout was captured early en Wednesday morning at Portobello by a fisherman named Nicholas, who, at once communicated with Messrs Arthur and' Deans of the .. Acclimatisation' Society." ,' Those' gentlemen proceeded to Port r Chalmers with the intention' of conveying the fish alive to Danedin. Unfortunately, however, ithaddied before they reached the' Port. Ifc'was a male fish, • and -apparently weighed about 'ten pounds.

' Sergeant Ferguson,' who has charge of the prisoners employed' at 'Portobello, .made a discovery- on Friday. -While cutting<away a part of the old road a Maori oven wa3 found, and .amongst i its contents were a number of atone chisels, some carved bones, and a quantity, of human remains. , The' sergeant at once ordered the human bones to ; be reinterred, .and, baa retained the other articles.' '. .' A meeting of the Co-operative Tailors' Society was held on the 12th in the Donglas Hotel. The object ,of the meeting was to consider the advisability of joining ia the Saturday half-holiday movement. Those present expressed their entire sympathy with, and concurrence in, the movement/ but bafore taking definite steps it was resolved to hold a future meeting at which every house in the trade should, if possible, be represented.

The following altered tariff came into force on the Ist November, as per Gazette notice : — Wool. — The charge for conveyanse of wool between Lawrence and Dunedin Stations to be 3s lid per bale of four cwfc. Special rate for large lots of sheep. — The charge for freight of sheep, in lots of not less than 9000, for distances not exceeding 170 miles, to be £360. tfor each additional 1000, or fraction of 1000, a charge of £40 will be made. No charge to exceed ordinary rate charges.

A meeting of the Otago Institute was held on Thursday in the U niversity building. There were present, Mr W. N. Blair in the chair, Messrs G. M. Thomson, R. Gillies, P. Thomson, Skey, Capt. Hutton.andT. W. Whitson. Mr Jame3 M'Kerrow was appointed to vote for the election of Governors for the Nbw Zealand Institute. Dr Sharp, of Dumfries, Scotland, was nominated for election as an honorary' member of the New Zealand Institute. There was no other business.

Viotoriahp its golden Bonanzain a not very small way either. In a recent petition against the insertion of certain clauses in the Mining on Property BID, of Victoria, ib was set forth that the Port Philip Company had obtained gold to the value of £1^200,000, and paid £180,000 in dividends since Messrs Lane, Whyte, ' and M'Dbnald had let that company their paddock, and that " the Clunes Company, with the consent of the Port Phillip Company, had obtained gold to the .value of £90,000 out of the same land.

The usual fortnightly meeting of the Danedin branch of ths Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners was held ab Krull's Hotel, on Saturday list. The Pje3ident, Mr R. Steven, in the chair. There was also a special meeting to consider the propriety of taking .over the National Association of Carpenters and Joiners. The Branch voted unanimously in favour of the same, and a vote \ was taken on tli3 addition of several new clauses to the rules. The Branch received one member by clearance from Home, thus ' showing the advantage of amalgamation. The Branch is making steady progress, having nearly 100 members.

His Excellency the Governor ha 3 been pleased to appoint Hugh M'tfadyen to be Town Clerk pf the borough of Not th- East Valley, and James Reid to be Returning Officer, to hold the first election of Mayor, councillors, and auditors of tne said borough. Also, to appoint Wednesday, the 2Sbh day >of November, for the election of Mayor ; and Thursday, the 20th day of November, for the election of councillors ; and Monday, the 3rd day of December, for the election of auditors of the said borough. Alao, to appoint Thursday, the 6th. day of December, qtinoon, for the first meeting of the Council of itfce borough, ' • "

During the month, from Oct. 11th to Nov. I 7th, nominations were received at the Dunedin office for 36«0u15, equal to 29J statute adults. The following is the classification of immigrants expected by the .Waipa, which left London for Port Chalmers on August 26th : — Farm labourers, 46 ; gardeners, 3 ; general labourers, 9 ; ploughmen, 10 ; tin miner, 1 ; carpenters, 13 ; joiners, 3 ; sawyer, 1 ; bricklayers, 2 ; cooper, 1 ; female cooks, 3 j dairymaids, 2 ; farm servants, 2 ; general and domestic servants, 40 ; housekeeper, 1 ; housemaids, 2 ; laundress, 1 ; nurses, 3. Nationalities : English, 77 ; Scotland, 41 ; Ireland, 8S ; Wales, 2. The Waipa has on board 214 souls, equal to 19 1£ statute adults.

While the sfceam hammer at Port Chalmers has been showing the good people of the Port how much it can do in the way of local in duatry, Messrs Kincaid and M'Queen, of the , city, have been attempting to prove that they can supply an article which it has frequently ■ been deemed expedient to import, ,I'hat enterprising firm, has just turned out of their foundry the largest boiler ever manufactured in Dunedin, if not in New Zealand. The,, dimensions of the boiler are — breadth, 10 feet ; length, 8 feet 6 inches ; height, 8 feet; ' and weight, 14 tons. It is fitted up with all the latest improvements, and is highly > finished. . A team of fifteen fhorses safely conveyed the boiler to the 'Rattray', street Jetty, whence it will be placed in the, p.s. Dispatch, for which steamer it has.been built. , . We are. pleased to see that, the Waste, Lands Board is determined to enforce the'eon- , ditions with regard to personal occupa'tioniu" connection, with settlement under ,the deferred-payment system. To use the words, of the District Land' Officer at Tiiapeka, the. Board has resolved that ' " personal oc- 1 cupa'cioii means such a con tinuoua residence on an allotment as would be inconsistent with the , occupation of another'residenca in the same, district," and. the deferred-payment, licenses, h'eld ( by two settlers named "M'Comb', for land in. the district of Tu a peka Wesi, ; have been revoked, the Board resuming possession ..of the land. The reports" "upon which the 'Board based its decision are published elsewhere, and will' no .doubt- be interesting to holders of land under the deferred-payment' system. . , / :The Manicipal Councils of South Dunedin and Caverßhatn have i communicated with the Waste Lands Board, claiming a prior right of diverting- the Silverstreanv fqr the. purpose of; supplying their townships' with water, and stating that, rthey, /have, already incurred the expense'of&iurVey. .At r the meeting of the Board yesterday ■ the • Chief Commissioner referred ,to, the application that had been made by the City Councilfor;the setting aside of 7OoO.'acres as a;catchment area,; and remarkedrthat-ittiwas very; clear the Board could take no action inthe" matter at the -present- time. There was no doubt bat that there would have* to be some general scheme. '" ••' „, „_ At a, committee meeting of the Blueskm Agricultural and Pastoral Association, held at the Waitati Hotel on the evening, of the 9th instant, sundry matters; of 'detail connected with thej forthcoming show on j .the, 20th inst. were disposed' of. < A special prize of a pair of lady's boots,-, .given, by Mr WV Hutchinson, Dunedin, was.minuted aa a fourth prize for cheese ; and after considerable discussion it. was resolved that sweeps, special pmea, tilting and jumping, should be excluded _ for, point's counting for the special, prize given by Messrs Briscoe and Co., of a, saddle, value £4 10s. The points in thecattle, and horse sections as, per programme to count as three, two, and one, according to respective positions. Aa Mr Mansford, the late hon. sec, had left the district, having taken employment under the General Government in the survey staff, Mr W-. Porteus», of Kilmog, was unanimously elected secretary, to take charge from the evening of the meeting, it being considered necessary that such an important officer of the Society should be a resident representative. At the same time a cordial vote of thanks was passed to Mr Maiisford, for his past services and the interest he had unremittingly taken in the advancement and welfare of the Association.

The first anniversary of the Hanover street Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association was held on the 13th, ' Tea was served at half past six, and the undermentioned ladie3 attended at the tables : Mesdames Currie, Davis, Peterson, and Simon ; Mis»es Napier, C. Gallic, M. Gallic, M Laren, Bode, Campbell, Brown, .and Horder. After tea the chair was taken by Air D. S. Currie. An entertainment was given by the- young " men, .consisting of part songs, bolos, recitations, and readings. These were all very creditably . rendered. MrRobert Gillies addressed the young men on the subject of recreation, and urged the im • por tance of mental as well as physical ex-: ercise. He asked -them to be careful that their recreations were pure in character, as they made an indelible impression on their minds. The reports were of a • moat satisfactory character. The Rev.- J. U. Davis, on behalf of the Association, presented the President, Mr Currie, with a silver inkstand. Mr Currie briefly acknowl9aged the gift. A number of votes of thanks were then passed,and the singing of the ft atienal Anthem' closed the meeting. There were over 200 persons present.

Mr Samuel Gorman, the instructor in the use of the new explosive dynamite, has been, making further experiments in Dunedin. On Tuesday last he visited the quairy at Anderson's Bay, used in connection- with Messrs Proudfoot and M'Kay's railway works, and there tried the effects of dynamite. In a large cievicq in the quarry Mr Gorman.put ahout 4£lb. of the explosive, and ou top of" '.h%t planed several barrows of- rubbish.. A match being applied to the fuze, the result was extremeiy successful, abouT 50 tons "of rock being removed, to, the^surpriae rof the workmen and saiisfaction^bf tbe manager and projirifct«r.s, who acknowledged riyuamite to bo ranch cheaper than ordinary blasting powdar. "To have put any quantity of powder in so open a fissure would'have been, a simple waste, for it .would have exploded without loosening the rock. For blasting powder to have been successful the rock would have required a deep drill, which without powder would have, cost more than the dynamite. • The 'report ■ was scarcely heard, while the fall of rock looked grand.' Hit 'Gorman . next ' b lasted'iome of the large'