The Southland Times. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1868.

Southland Times, Issue 1043, 23 October 1868, Page 2

The Southland Times. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1868.

The arrangements for re-opening the Bluff Harbor and Ihvereargill Eailway have been speedily completed. It is scarcely three days Bince it was determined to erect a temporary station at Kew, during that time the engines have been taken from the Invercargill Station, and yesterday the goods trains were running. The passenger traffic will be resumed this morning, tickets being issued at the Invercargill Station, where cabs will be in waiting to convey passengers to KeW. A platfoim--*^ 11 *"- nnfl hundred feet long has been constructed at the new terminus, and it is expected the goods sheds will be finished by Monday next. Particulars, as to the time at which tickets will be issued will be found in our advertising columns. The attendance at the Theatre Royal last evening was somewhat limited, but the performance passed off with the usual eclat. There will be an entire change of programme this evening, "and in addition to the usual feats performed by these talented foreigneers, we are promised the novelty of a Japanese tragedy with an unpronounceable name. We are really sorry to witness such indifferent success attend an exhibition that is deserving of public support. We ! trust that the attendance at the Theatre this ■evening will in some measure compensate for the poor house last night. TJie attraction of a glimpse of eastern inner life, in the shape of a sensational tragedy, will no doubt go a long way to fill the house. Messrs Lenton and Smith have met with centinued success in every other locality which they have visitecL It_iAJ»-beJinn«i-*h»* TnTerdargiirwill not prove an exception. We have to remind teachers of schools, and others interested in catering for the amusement and instruction of the young, of the mid-day performance to be given by the Japanese Troupe to-morrow at 2 o'clock. These wonderful people should not be allowed to depart without the rising generation having seen their really astonishingly clever feats. It will been seen from our advertising columns that the brethren, and visiting Drethren of the "Shamrock, Rose, and Thistle Lodge, of 1.0.0.F.MJ7., are requested to meet at the lodge room this, evening at 7 o'clock in full regalia. We are in receipt of a prospectus of a monthly magazine to be called the ' Evangelist.' It is projected with the view of disseminating religious intelligence regarding 1 all church movements in Otago and Southland. The Bey. James Copeland, M.A.M.D.. the Presbyterian Minister of Tuapeka is announced as the editor. The first number will appear on the Ist January. The Director of Meteorological Stations, (C. R. Marten Esq.) makes the following remarks O n the great storm of last Thursday night :—" The storm of the 15th instant, although of brief duration, was the most severe recorded at this station in ten years. The anemometer sustained a pressure of 351bs to. the square foot, and then succumbed to the force of the gale, the arms being bent out of shape, and the screws loosened so as to disconnect the wheels j fortunately the cups were not. blown away. The barometer nfter fluctuating during the previous week, rose on the 14th to 29-40. On the morning of the 16th it fell-to 2874, a strong gale blowing from the N. At 11 a.m. it became perfectly calm, the scud moving rapidly from W.N.W., clear sky alternating with slight passing showers ; at 3 p.m., the barometer decreased to 28*55, the lowest reading ever recorded at the Martehdale Station j the mercury remained steady until sunset, when it suddenly" dropped to 28*49, and then sank rapidly to 28*32, the lowest point at which I have ever" seen "a barometer.. At" 11 p.m., a furious gale set in at W,3T.W., soon increasing to a hurricane, which continued all night, and until 8 a.m. on the 10th, when it lulled, but recomI menced, although with - greately diminished violence, at night. The barometer, rose to 28-95, but again decreased to 28*80. Abundant warning was given of the storm, by the barometer and hygrometer, also by the appearance of the sky (strongly marked cirrus and cirro-stratus prevailing for several days before) but the thermometer failed to give its usual indication, (exceptionally high temperature), nor was the usual storm — haze, or mist, perceptible. The amouut of ozone varied in a most eccentric manner, both before and after the gale." ' The latest news to hand of the Thames goldfields (Auckland), is not encouraging.. The 'Daily Times' correspondent "says ;—" With respect to the Thames Q-oldfields there seems to be a lull in the excitement that has so extensively prevailed. This is. not to be wondered at, when we consider the wretched weather that has prevailed of late. Incessant rain upon the original roads of *the district has rendered them all but impassable ; and the diggers who can carry a few tons of quartz on their backs for crushing, so as to keep the pot boiling, are lucky fellows. Numbers cannot accomplish even this. The price of labor in Auckland has gone down ; there 'are plenty of hands seeking labor ; that i 3 nrindicacation of slackness at the Thames. .As finer weather sets in there is no doubt the briskness of trade will return. Mr William Kennedy, of Jetty-street (saysthe ■* Daily Times,' sth inst.,) a passenger by the steamship Taranaki when she was lost in Tory Channel, has shown us a handsome tea and coffee service, purchased in Dunedin for presentation, by a few of the passengers— including the Bishop of New Zealand and Lichfield, and Lord Burghley — to the wives of two settlers named Bowden, in Bowdenßay, in recognition of their hospitality at a very critical time. At Napier a batch of militiamen have been heavily fined for, refusing to iturn out when/ called , upon to do so. Illness, defective aight, being in the Government service,- having a military contract, and a number of other reasons were urged; but none were »'*ertairied by the Magistrate.

IVom Frankton (lake "Wafcatip) w» 'baity Times,' learn that the un^>recedentedly low level of the Craters of the late has brought M"essrs Bobertson and Hallenstein's Brunßwick Flour Mills to a stand still. At present they have got about 10,000 bushels of wheat dn hand, but not a stroke of •work has been done for the last fourteen weeks. A project for catching the water at a lower level, will, it is understood, shortly be given effect to. The proposal is to add three feet to the water wheel. 1 The Wakatip correspohdent of the 'i)aily Times ' writes: — "From reliable information I am in a ; position to say that the wheat crop for the ensuing season will be somewhere about 30,000 bushels. This is equal to fifty percent, more that it was last year. I have heard no estimate placed upon either the oat or root crops, but. both are talked about as likely to be larger than they were last season. The weather on the Weßt Coast appears for some time to have been the reverse of what we have experienced in Southland. It is stated that the miners in the district of Westport have had to almost entirely suspend operations for want of waten A proclamation recently issued in the Otago Government Gazette, extends the area of theatago a ciafloido as follows : — AH that area in the Province of Otago, comprising 983,000 aores, more or less, bounded by a line proceeding due north from Fox Peak to the Province of Canterbury ; thence -in an easterly direction along the boundary of Canterbury to a point due north of Mount St. Bathans. The following telegraphic summary of the latest intelligence from Wellington, is taken from the ' Daily Times,' of the 17 th instant:—"Wellington, 14th October. Last night Mr Stafford intimated that the Government were favorable to the proposal of a re-adjustment of the representation, and would consider it during the recess, without reference to a dissolution. — It is expected that all business, except what is strictly formal, will close with this week— An English ChiefJustice having given his opinion that the Colonial Indemnity Bills do not bar actions from being raised in England, Mr Fitzherbert is endeavoring to induce Imperial legislation in the matter.— Mr Hall has obtained leave to raise £200,000 on Treasury Bills, £150,000 of which Tire -raised -^for- tie. purpose of meeting others falling due. — Mr Richmond has also obtained leave to raise £28,000 against the liabilities on confiscated lands. — The University Endowment Bill and sundry financial Bills have been read a third time and passed.— The remaining Bills will be read at the next sitting on Supply. The steamer Wellington, will be detained till Friday for the convenience of members returning home. — Colonel Whitmore has arrived here. His appointment to the chief command at Patea is deferred until Colonel Haultain's return. — The Taranaki is to be sold as she now lies. The meeting held last night declined sanctioning any attempt to raise her. — There was a severe gale yesterday, causing heavy floods in the Wairarapa by which Cobb's coach from Wanganui was overturned. None of the passengers were hurt. — Letters from Wanganui report little change in the state of Native matters at Patea or on the West Coast.— The Boad Boards Bill and the Otago Settlements Bill have been thrown out by the. Legislative Council. — The resolution regarding the remaking of arrangements as to the Panama service is almost universally condemned. — The opinion both of the Government and of the House is (strongly in favor of continuing the present service. — The debate is still going on. The Cricketors of Canterbury and Otago ate preparing for the season's campagne. The first match has already been played in Canterbury, between the United Canterbury Cricket Club, and the Christchurch College Club. The match commenced on Saturday the 10th inst./ but. only the first innings was got over, the College team beat the United Canterbury Cricket Club by over two to one. The score being as follows : — College Club, 126 ; United Cricket Club, 54. What is the Ihvercargill cricketers doing. We Bee that the fence of the cricket Gtound has been allowed to fall to decay, that drays have been passing through it until it is cut up. in every direction, and if something is not done at once there ' Will be no ground on which to play matches during the coming season. The ' Lyttelton Times,' 12th inst, in announcing the death of Goorge Macfarlan Esq., Barrister-at-law,.and one of the Members of the General" Assembly says: — 'The colony has reason to lament the untimely death of Mr Macfarlan, for it has- lost in him a man of large intellect and cultivated taste. About two years ago, Mr Macfarlan entered public life, having been elected a member of the House of Representatives by the Lyttelton constituency. Though a silent member, his opinions, owing to* his recognised great abilities, were held in much respect by most of the leading ' politicians ; and, in committee, he has done much work for the colony. He has left a large nnmber of attached friends to mourn the loss of one who was pre-eminently a true and staunch friend. We have special cause of grief. His death, at the early age of thirty, has. added another name to the list of able men who have contributed to the ' .columns of this journal and' shared our labours, but who have now ceased from theirs for ever. The Auckland Correspondent of the .'Daily Times,' writes under date 2nd October : — " The Maori and half-caste condemned to death for murder, the one at Mongonui, the other at Hokianga, have had their sentences commuted to transportation for life. It will be remembered that Tawake, the half-caste, was strongly recommended to mercy by the jury, to which the Judge stated he should add his 'own intercession. ; A remission of his sentence was, therefore, fully expected. As regards the other prisoner, it has been gravely suggested in one of the papers that his reprieve is to be attributed to the arrival of c, new Governor, who usually manifests his clemency on a first occasion." The ' West Coast Times " of the Bth inst. says : — "The work of opening a new channel :was again marred yesterday, by the "high sea, which came in with the flood-tide. This was caused, as on the previous day, by a strong S.W. breeze 'setting in' during ttie afternoon. On the 'fore part of the day a number of men were sent over to the Spit, with long-handled shovels, and they .cat a gap. in the sand for a little distance on the west side of it, but the wavea quickly levelled the sand again. It is not at all likely that the much repuired work can be satisfactorily performed while these strong S.W. winds prevail."

- We iearn from a contemporary that applies/tions have been made to the Australian Sunken Vessels "Recovery Company for the raising of no less. than twenty-six sunken vessels. The project has also been mooted of endeavoring to raise the gold lost in the General Grant at the Auckland Islands. We take the following from the 'Evening Star' (Dunedin) of the 14th October:— "The annual meeting of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society of Otago was held in the lower room of the Athenaeum this afternoon. There was a large attendance of members. Mr W. D. Murison waß voted to the chair. The Hon. Treasurer (Mr Maclean) read the following abstract from the balance sheet for the year ending the 30th ult. Receipts :— life subscription, £31; annual do, £165 18s ; donations, &c, £168 ; Government subsidy, £100 ; sales at show yard, £116 10s ; entries of stock, £29 ss ; sale of booths, £24; total, £431 Is. Payments. -Balance to Or. Treasurer from former account, £54 8s 7d ; prize money, £170 18s ; Caledonian Society for use of stand, £20; Secretary's salary, £50; Secretary's commission^ £10 10s 6d ; advertisements, printing, &c, £107 7s 6d ; entry money returned to exhibitor, £1 ; balance in hand, £68 16s 6<3. — Totalj-jEasirrsT TSIr Maclean explained that the medals which were now on the way out from home would have to be paid out of the { | balance. They would cost from £75, to £80. i The chairman stated that the item of £170 18s included over £100 prize money for former years. Had it not been for this payment the Society would be in a very good position now." A child recently" died at Cobden, near Greymouth, from eating the inner stalk of the tutu bush.. ________________