The Invercargill Times. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1862.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 6, 28 November 1862, Page 2

The Invercargill Times. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1862.

Since the days when Solomon imported his "gold, apes, ivory and peacocks.'* a change has passed over th^ world. Peacocks are no longer to be found in " Prices Current;*' apes, it fhey have nob altogether" disappeared from the scene, are, according to M. De Chaill o, getting, to sav the least of it, uncorafortaWy like mon ; pvpti ivory, since the introduction of the photographic process, is at a discount, but the yelljw metal still holds an undivided sway over the affections of the multitude. Whether in British Columhia, India, Australia, or our own adopted land of the j anthropophagi, the yellow metal as sumes the shape of the golden calf, and the nations bow down and worship with a3 much zest as those Hebrews who. in the old days, put Moses so terribly out of temper. Here in the UMma Thule of New Zealand civilization [we speak with all due respect to the Province] our pulses have been quickened within the last few day9 by the hope that at length Southland will share to an extent worth mentioning in the golden shower. Already there is a visible stir in the " hive," as if our merchant* were preparing for a somewhat more active business than has hitherto fallen to their lot. W en, ia '49, the world was astonished by the j discovery of the Californian diggings, th^re was no class of men disengaged who had spent years in the search after gold ; there were but few data from which the rulers could glean advice as to their immediate course of action, and the consequence was that, in spite of the natural good sense of the American people, and their general aptitude for emergencies, California became in a few months the very stronghold of the worst passions of the human race. Adventurers of all descriptions, from every race under the sun, from the exceedingly ugly natives of China, to the inhabitants of Old England — flocked to the great centre of attraction, and success, in most instances, having crowned their efforts, they spent rapidly what they had so easily earned. Nor was the criminal element wanting Scenting the prey from . afar, they came in haste, their name was legion, and the law, utterly powerless to keep order, had to succumb before the superior influence of the dreaded "Vigilance Committee." From '51 to I 'oD, similar scenes, drawn rather milder, were enacted in Australia ; and not, in- j deed) till the <*olfl fields began to show symptoms of falling off, did society regain its balance. New Zealand 13 the latest addition to the gold-bearing regions of modern times, and to an experience gathered from California and Australia is to be attributed, in a great measure, our comparative exemption from the scenes we have plluded to. When, not two years ago. Otago attracted the attention of the miners of Victoria, one of the first steps of the government of tha 1 : province was the augmentation ■of the then existing police rforce. by a draught of men froni tW ■ cdfo^y' from whence the Dtw population principally

-VH-'A * ' z-'-h '■ k.v -s ; -i '■■■■■■'■ , "'■•'-'-■" is>>X'- vflowed tind «r||nlay.^^ftipJßareiit he; ticatly \ that #|fiiier fbwy i>f||p»^ ha v^ a^ltlom Wiiti got;^tdg4^ l Ji§S the present iiw^e under Brian'gein; Were it not "that the pbliceiior^: o? Southland, as at present constituted, is too small for the population and the extent of territory they are supposed to have under their surveillauce, we might, perhaps, be considered as going ahead too fast, or, in plain English, "counting our chickens before they are hatched,'* by recomendiui? its immediate increase; but the police force is too small, and we have aright to expect that within a few monihs consitlerable additions will be made to the population, attracted here by the late discoveries of gold: and that being the case, it is not too much to ask the Government to take the necessary steps for increasing without delay our police establishment. The force in Southland is distributed aa follows :— INVERCAROILL. Chief Constable I I Foot Sergeant 1 | Corporal* S ; Mounted Constable ... 1 ! Foot Constables S ! CAMPBELI/TOWN (tKE BLUFF.) Sergeant 1 Constable ... ... ... 1 KIVEBTOS. Corporal 1 Constable ... ... ... 1 ■waikatip. Mounted Sergeant 1 Mounted Constable 1 Hockauui, Otaroita, andWimea, have one mounted constable respectively, making a total for the whole Province of 22. Time will not permit us to particularise with regard to all the additions which appear necessary, but we may mention, firstly, tbat the duties which at present devolve on the Chief Constable frequently require his absence from town, and that there i j no second officer to take his place as is usually the case, the duty, therefore, devolves on the sergeant, and, in the second place, an addition to the police force in rhe north of the province is also much required ; both these are cases which the present exigencies of the Province point to. We would, therefore, recommend that such additions be made without delay ; and, above all, the appointment of au Inspector is absolutely necessary.