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Southland Times, Issue 1986, 21 September 1874, Page 2

Winton District. — A correspondent in the Winron District writes : — The sowing of oats in this district commenced on the 18th of August. The weather at that time was all that formers could possibly desire for preparing the ground for receiving the seed, but rain fe)i on the a&th, keeping the land so wet for some days that the sowing of oats was put a stop to for the time. The weather has again cleared up, and the sowing has been pushed on with vigor. On some forms the sowing of oats and barley for this Reason is now completed. As, however, there will be a large breadth of oats under crop this year, the return will give a good surplus for export. As a proof of the value of early sowing, it may be noticed that the oats put in on the 18th are now above ground, and looking well. The ruling price for seed oats in the district has been about 4* per bushel this season. The sheep are now dropping their lambs, but grass is badly I wanted. Cattle of all descriptions are looking rather poor, probably on account of so much fencing having been done lately in the district. The rNTEaoAEGf-rLL Hospital. — The Hospital Committee held their usual meeting on Friday night, 18th inst., at the Hospital, with the President and Secretary, and Messrs Cleave, Hannah, Kerr, and Osborne present. After some formal business had been got through, a discussion arose on the question of the enlargement of the Hospital, when it v?a* deciried that an advertisement ahould be inserted offering a bonus for designs for the extension. The continued increase of out-door patients imperatively demands in the new portion of the building that a consulting room should form part of the plan, the attendance of the medical officer being hitherto given in the dispensary. The Treasurer reported that he had taken legal proceedings against three persons, named, who had, as was supposed, unfairly made themselves chargeable to the institution, and who were in a position to pay for treatment. Another case was mentioned, in which application hal been made for payment under similar circumstances, in which it was hoped there would be no need to adop' the like course. Two cases were considered as coming properly under the charge of the Benevolent Institution in Dunedin, the one being that of the girl Mary Hall, apparently likely to be permanently invalided. Pending the trial before the Supremo Court in this matter, action was agreed to be deferred, but in the second case, being one of confirmed paralysis, the Secretary was instructed to act for the removal of the patient. The other business of the evening comprised the filling up of a vacancy in the House staff, and some matters of repairs and supplies. The report of the House surgeon showed present inmates at 16 ; discharged since last meeting, 6. A New Dkaught Sire fob Southland. — Some very valuable draught stock has just been imported into Southland, having arrived by the Otago on her last trip from Melbourne. Mr Crosby ha 3 imported for sale seven splendid animals, six mares, all young and well adapted for high-class brood purposes, an 1 a young gelding of great promise as to strength and utility. Mr Lawson has also imported a number of draught animals of a high order of breeding. It is gratifying to learn that Mr J. M'lntosh, who some time ago was so uufortunate as to lose a most valuable draught sire, who died immediately on landing here from Melbourne, has succeeded in sifely landing another Conqueror, equal, if not superioi'j to his luckless predecessor. The present Conqueror, who is the get of the far-famed Scottish sire, Sir Walter Scott, is a rich dapplebay, six years' old, and stands 16| hands high. His breeding is of the very purest strain, aud for symmetry and compactness, and for what we would call condensed strength of body and limb, he is equal to the best sires we have seen in New Zealand. He is certainly a most valuable addition to our colonial draught sires. We have seen one of his get, a black one-year-old filly brought over in the Otago by Mr Blair, who was taking her to Dunedin, but bought at the Bluff by Mr T. Paterson, of this town, and her many points of promise for the future say much for Conqueror's good qualities as a sire. The Immigrants.— -From enquiries at the Barracks, we learn that nearly all the single women have been engaged, only some half-dozen remaining. The barrack-master speaks in high terms of this last batch of immigrants, from the ships Tweed and Parsee, their conduct at the dep6t having been most orderly. The ATHEN.2BtrM LIBBABT. — We are informed that 25 volumes were added to the Athenaeum Library on Saturday evening, among the.n being Domett's Poem, '' Ranulf and Araohia," also " Goethe's dramatic works," " Pliny and Euripedes," " Women of Methodism," " The Father of Methodism," '• Brown's Rab and his Frionds," &c, and a few of Disraeli's and Cooper's works. This small lot is the result of a large selection recently made by the Committee from lists furnished by the Education Board ; the Board's present supply of books worth having would therefore appear to be well nigh exhausted. The Committee, we believe, intend making up a list of their own which they will probably succeed in obtaining through the usual medium, the Eduojation Board. The Bluff Whaef. — It will ba observed that the Prcvincial Government invite tenJers for an extension of the Bluff wharf. The extension proposed is an addition of 100 feet in length, which competent judges pronounce will be utterly inadequate to the requirements of the port, 250 to 300 feet, at the lea>t, of additional frontage being urgently needed. We have learned, however, by past experience, to be " thankful for small mercies" at the hands of our Dunediu Executive, and it is perhaps more a matter of surprise that they should have thought of doing anything to the wharf at all, than that what they have resolved to do should be bo utterly inadequate. Provincialism. — An up-country contemporary, says : — Provincialists find themselves wofully disappointed in their hopes of tho general rising of the people to protest against Centralism. The Guardian, indeed, sums up, to its astonishment, tha^ in Otago, the supposed stronghold of Provincialism, nearly the wh le Press that has ventured an opinion at all has advocated Centralism. The Goldfields, as represented by the Tuapeka Times, the Wakatip Mail, and the Mount Ida Chronicle, look anxiously for the time of abolition of Otago itself. The Poverty Bay Herald makes the following remarks on the Bame subject : — We may now fairly consider that the death blow has been given to provincialism in the North Island, and not before it was full time that such a change should take place. Poverty Bay has especial reason to congratulate herself on the issue of this session. Fettered to Auckland, we could never have p?ospere.l or advanced according to our deserts, and the battle of Separation, although it must have been ultimately successful, would have been a long and weary one to fight against the many opposing influences which would have been brought to bear. The step taken by the Premier, if fairly carried out, will effect the desired change without any trouble to the district ; and we may safely conclude that innumerable other outlying districts, at present stifled by the baneful influence of provincialism, will also enter upon a new existence when the measure takes effect. Veby Sensible. — Major Ropata, the celebrated friendly Maori c!iief, who accompanied Sir Donald M'Lean on his recent visit to Australia, thus writes in the Waka Maori of his visit to the zoological collection at Melbourne: — "I went to see the reptiles and beasts of whioh we have heard accounts— the lion, the bear, and the snake. I could not consider them with attention, from the dread with which they inspired me. I trust such things may not be brought to j this country; let them remain where they are. I ► strongly deprecate their introduction here."

Beda's Performance. — Mr Eugene Beda, the clever one-legged gymnast, assisted by ;several local amateurs, gave an entertainment, which was well appreciated, at the Theatre Royal on Saturday evening. DE M'CLTTEE AND THE POBLIO HeAI/TH ACI. — The Otago Board of Health held a meeting on Monday last, for the purpose of considering the correspondence relating to Dr M'Clure's refusal tv comply with the terms of the 17th section of the Public Health Act, 1872. The correspondence, the greater purfc of which has already appeared in our columns, having been read, it was stated that His Honor the Superintendent had written to the Oolouiai Secretary, calling attention to the circumstance that a doubt has arisen as to whether medical practitioners can be compelled to comply with the provisions of section 17 of the Public Health Act, 1872. Adulteration. — The. Dunstan Time 9 has been privately informed that, on an analysis by Professor Blaok, of Dunedin, of a variety of brands of brandies, that sulphuric aoid, in a greater or les3 degree, was detected in each. The Victorian Tariff. — The alterations proposed iv the Victorian tariff by the recently appointed Treasurer, Mr Service, and on which we commented unfavorably in a recent issue, were very severely criticise! by various members of the Assembly, but uliimately passed without a division. The strength of the present coalition Government is such that resistance appeared to bo hopeless, although the anomaly of men professing free trade convictions doing the work of the protectionists did not escape severe animadversion. There are indications throughout Victoria that the public mind is beginning to awaken to the folly of the protectionist craza which the country has auS'ered under for the la9fc eight yaaw. The miners and agriculturists in particular are beginning to perceive that they are being annually mulcted of enormous sums, for the sake of fostering iv an artificial manner a few special industries which confer no particular benefit on the country, and after all only afford employment to a very limited number of individuals. Wyndham. — At the meetiug of the Otago Waste Lands Board, held in Dunedin on the 16th inst , Messrs Gillies and Street, for Messrs Kitchen and M'G-illivray, applied for a license to ( occupy an island in the Wyndham Village Reserve, under the 161 st clause, for grazing purposes. Adjournei, further information being required from the parties, also the report of the War len. Dunedin Haebob Board. — At the meeting of the Dunedin Harbor Board on Tuesday, 15th inst., an offer by Mr G- Proudfoot to construct a deep-water ohannel from Port Chalmers to Dunedin, giving a depth of 23ft,, was considered. Accompanying the offer was a sealed document, covering price, &c, the publication of which Mr Proudfoot considered would be prejudicial to himself, unless the Board agreed to his proposal, or a reasonable moiificatioi of it. It was urged by several members that the Board should first exhaust all moans of endeavoring to raise funds for itself; Mr K.9.J an 1 others were for accepting Mr Proudfoot's offer only as an alternative of the Board not being able to obtain funds, and therefore not in a position to throw the work open to the public competition ; while the Superintendent was of opinion that if Mr Proudfoot undertook all the responsibility and risk (if any) of negotiating the Board's debentures, and would execute the work indicated in his letter for anything like a reasonable figure, the Board should close with him at once, as the most effective way of getting the work done quickly. The letter was referred to the Works Committee. The election of a secretary resulted in the appointment of Mr J. L. Gillies. Acoumtatisatiost. — The trout ova recently sent up to Q.ueonsfcovm (according to the looal paper), owing to the great cive displayed by Mr J. S. Worthington, and especially in the matter of providing a suitable filtering apparatus, are now hatching out well, with every promise of success. They are in the Lake View Gardens, and Mr Worthington has sent for another 1000. The Late Mrs Tttlly. — We extract the following from the Wakatip Mail of the 15th inst. t — Our obituary column contains the announcement of the death of a lady who has made herself popular in the small circle of society here. We allude to the decease of Caroline Tully, a daughter of the late Captain Howell. While hovering between life and death a deal of kind feeling was shown by the com. munity, and accounts as to how the invalid was progressing were anxiously sought for. She f jllows her father to the grave by a few months, and there are other circumstances that render her dea'h a painful loss. She leaves behind a young daughter only a few daya old. Results ot Protection. — Writing on the protective policy of Victoria, and its comparative results, the Argus in a recent issue says : — " By an insffectual effort to erect Melbourne into the Birmingham or Manchester of Australia, we are voluntarily relinquishing the prospects held out to it under free trade of becoming their Liverpool, and we are deliberately playing into the hands of our rivals. If New Zealand and New South Wales do not run us hard in the race for commercial pre-eminence in this part of the Empire, it will not be for want of encouragement from our media) pal and retrogressive policy. We have divested ourselves — in the teetli of all experience, and in disregard of the warnings and remonstrances of all the highest authorities in economic science — of the singularly favorable conditions under whioh we were placed ten years ago ; and instead of obtaining the prosperity whioh the protectionists predicted for the Colo"y, what is the state of affairs ? The last census returns show that in the decennial period which they comprehend, there was a net decrease of 5786 in the adult male population of the Colony j that ' the sustaining class in Victoria ia now weighted with a proportionally larger number of dependents (i.e., the very young and the very old) than the same class in England 5 ' that there were 7000 persons out of employment ; and that the number of men and women classified under the head of ' public burden ' had risen from 3511 and 104S to 6791 and 3513 respectively ; so that there ure upwards of 10,000 people who are charge on tho comcnunir.y. Such are v tew of the precious fruits of ' protection to native industry.' " AuuiFEROU3 Quartz. — Very rich quartz, says tho Wakatip Mail of the 15th ii.st., has been brought into A\-rowtown, said to be found at tho foot of the dividiu^ range, between the Upper Shotover and Twelve-Mile, Arrow. The distance from Macetown is a few miles, anl the spot is close to tho locality in which Mr Luke Preston and others previously prospected for a quartz reef or reefs. A general opinion has ruled amongst practical miners that in this direction ' payable quartz reefs would be found. Mr A. Olson, of Messrs Southberg and Co., Skippers, | has also prospected on this dividing range. The quartz now brought in is said to be the most promising collection of any yet found in the die- j trict. It bears, of course, all the indications of surface stone, but cannot be beaten by that ol the Carrick Ranges, Cromwell. We have only to add that this discovery is calculated to renew confidence in the value of our reefs. At Stoney Creek, above the Sandhills, there must surely be I a continuatioa of this line of quartz reefs. Largo lumps of golden Btone, hardly waterworn, are being now obtained in this newly-opened part of the district, and a portion of the same area was the subject of a trial in the Warden's Court, Queenstown. A Poetioali Emigration Agent. — Mr Dun. can, emigration agent for the Province of Canterbury, appears to be pursuing his vocation with zeal. Addressing a meeting of agricultural ! laborers somewhere in tha Eastern Counties of j England, ho is reported to have said.' — In this | 1-ind, blessed with a beautiful and temperate climate, the lowest wages paid to laborers were eight shillings a day. Breaking forth into rhyme, Mr Duncan said that the state of the labor market in New Zealand might be thus described :— Eight hours' work, Eight hours' play, , Eight hours' sleep, and 1 Eight bob a day. '