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Southland Times, Issue 2092, 26 March 1875, Page 2

Meeting of Insurance Agexts. — A meeting of the Insurance agents of Invereargili was held yesterday in the counting-house of Messrs Cargills, Gibbs and Co. The following offices were !•• presented : — South Britisl), London and Liverpool and Globe, Victoria, Standard, New Zealand, Norwich Union, National, Royal, and Trans- Atlantic. Mr Calder was in the chair. Tt was moved by Mr Urodrick, seconded by Mr McPhorson, and carried unanimously — " That no insurance risks be taken on new wooden buildings erected after this date within the mva included by the Municipal Council under building regulations, and passed by that body on the 18th March j also, on sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of block I, Invercargill." Wo heartily endorse the propriety of the above resolution, and feel sure that it will bo hailed with satisfaction by the public at large. Matauka Railway.— Having been repe.itedly asked as to the probable datj of the opening f>r traffic of the extended portbn of the Mataura Railway, we have pleasure in stating that the prospect is onfidmtiy held out of the lius's being completed as far as Mitaura Bridge early in Juno next. Sale op Land. — At the Land Office yesterday the following Government la uh in Wuitr.i Hundre 1 were gold by auction by MrOsbamo — S;cti:m23, Block V.. 60 acre?, at 23s per aero; Section 27, Block IV., 23-i. lr. 2p., at 93s per acre; Section 28, Block V., 17a. lr. 12p., at 4.0s per acre, upset price. An IncoueigubTjE. — James Turner, a wellknown collector of miscellaneous material in the shape of old bonos, &c, made his appearance at the Magistrate's Court yesterday for the fifth time, on a charge of drunkenness. We undorstand that he was picked up from under his hand cart, by tho constable, in the act of singing the words of a popular hymn. This Late Fibe. — The local agents of the Transatlantic Firo Insurance Company of Hamburg, Messrs R. Tapper &■ Co, received a telegram on Wednesday last from the General Agent, Mr Fuhrmann of Ohristehurch, instructing payment of the claim of Messrs L^wis, Ree.l & Co. immediately on its being certified. The policy in question, nanelv, for £2000, hid only been effected last week, so that the action of the Transatlantic Company in the mater indicates a spirit of liberal. ty which will no doubt baget cjufiJence in tho institution. Campbelltown. — Our correspondent writes : The young man who met with tho accident on board tho K. P. Bouverie was Uken up on Wednesday aftarnoon to the Hospital, the injuries he received being too serious to allow of his going to sea in the vessel. Invercakgill District Road Board.— The ordinary meeting of the above Board, which Bhould have been h?ld on Wednesday evening, bad to be adjourned for want of a quorum. The following members were present :— Messrs Brown, Brownlie, Cross, and Findlay. fhe sul- 'Oinmittee for opening tenders met on Thursday morning, when the following were accepted, John Heirenan, Elles Road, £60 ; James Hay & Go, Kitchie street, £181 lbs. Da CaBR. — We underscaud that Dr Carr will | yisit Invercargill shortly.

Mb Wesi's Conoebt,-— Mr Hautrie West's concert came; off in the Theatre otfythe evening of Wednesday last, when the laverpifrgill Phil- ; harmonic; Sacie'y came to his assistance in fftll vocal and instrumental strength. The programme. was varied and attractive, and was carried oat with great success. The various songß, sung by ladies .'and gentlemen well known to the musical publio, j wero received with general favor, and in some j instances deservedly encored. We; were particularly pleased with " Truth in absence," " The Belfry Tower," " Constance," and " The Englishman," although the last "may bo open to some criticism on the score of time. The glee " Hail smiling morn," by the full ohorus, was also very effective. We can speak of the instrumental part of. .the performance with unqualified praise. " The War March of the Priests" was admirable, and gave a fine illustration of the dash and wildness of Mendelssohn's music. " Lucretia Borgia," a delicious piece, seemed well nigh perfect in the precision and harmony of its execution. A solo on the piano by a lady well known for her powor over that instrument, was warmly appreciated, as it deserved to be, and on being encored, was followed up by a piece perhaps still more illustrative of some of the qualities of the performer. Mr West's influence in developing the musical lasto and powers of the community has become very apparent, and it ia a safe predistion that he will succeed in raising still higher the standard of such excellence among us. We ought to have said that the concert attracted a large audience. Mr J. T. Thomson and the Weslkyans.— • A correspondence has been carried on for some time in the columns of the Otago Daily Times between Mr J. T. Thomson and sundry members of the Wesleyan community in Invorcargill. The following is Mr Thomson's latest oontribution to the controversy : — The Wesleyans themselves seem to be ashamed of the purposes to which they have applied ground that I gave for sacred purposes. The truth of my allegation of the perversion of my gift I see is not directly denied, for they admit the church site is now " used for the ordinary purposes of a manse site," and that it has never been a " pig-pen nor fowlyard in the ordinary sense of the word." Query, say I, in the Wesleyan sense of the word P For enclosed is a sketch of both, as I saw my church gift in 1873. That I did not sao the removal of the church at once is accounted for by my not having visited Invercargillor the site itself.but my correspon leucj with the Rev Mr Rishworth, which the trustees do not produce, shows that I objected to thf perversion immediately it came to my knowledge. That the gift is a dotriment to my property, no one will deny ; and this fact, I think, will convince all Impartial men that I would not have gi ven the site but for the plea pressed by the Rev. Mr Harding — that it was for a sacred object connected with the well-being cf my fellow men. Further, 1 was renting the frontage at the time of the gift (1862) at 10s per foot. Thus, as I told the Wesleyan representative, that my gift was equal to an annual subscription of £66 a year. I am glad to see that the Rev. Mr Taylor feels himself to bo in a false position. His abusa of mj at Mr Stobo's late tea meeting, describe 1 by the Prvsi as bei'ig very pungent, supports this yiesv. Lawyers with a bad moral case alwiys abuse the opposition. The delicacies that ha now draws from my sacred gift — in the shape of b nlid chicken — will appear in his rtreinu m d-jyill id fowl. He can have no honest satis fa .-tun in the eating or digesting; thereof, As an old benefactor of the Wesleyans of InvercargiU I would advise him to give up tint which ha himself cannot use, and transfer it to his famishing brethren who crave it. Forgive me for intruding further, as the DuriOLlin community must be tired of all this.— Yours, &c, J. T. Thomson. P.S.— ln enclosed sketch, Ais the parsonage, in section GG, B is the fowlhouse, and 0 the pigsty', in section FF, all being closed rounJ by goxl paling, each section separately. The fowls you will see scattered over the yard. Thit yard waa solicited from me for Ba -re 1 ground, as Mr Harding expressed himself— for the hou?e of God. Lindhttrst Road Boaed. — 1 meeting of the Lindhurst District Board was held on the 17th inst, at Halfway Bush — members present, Messrs T. McGibbon, (chairman), J. Elliot, J. Calvert, J". Little, A. Kinross, arid W. D. Busstian. Minutes of previous meeting were confirmed. A letter was read from Mr A. McDonald, respecting annexation of part of Winton sub-divi-sion of Makarewa Road district, asking the Board to employ a surveyor to define boundaries. It was resolved that the clerk inform Mr McDonald that the Board considers it is the duty of the persons interested, and not that of the Board, to employ a surveyor to define the boundaries of the application. A petition was presented from several ratepayers in tho neighborhood of tho Hedgehope Btream, asking for a bridge to be erected on road line between sections 37 and 33, block I. Resolved, that the consideration of petition be held ovar till nest mjeciu^. A. letter was read from Southland liaiUv.vy and Immigration Committee, inviting the Board to aid the said committee's endeavor to S3cure, if possible, the fulfilment of one of the fund imental conditions of Southland's reunion with Otago, viz , that every third ship should 3.iil i direct to Bluff Harbor. Resolved, thit the Board will be happy to co-ojrrate in securing a fulfilment of conditions of reunion, arrangements being in course of preparation for an address to his Honor tho Superintendent on the subject. The following i-esolution, proposed by Mr Elliot, and seconded by Mr Basstian, was carried — That his Honor the Superintendent be requested to proclaim the following road a main district road, viz, that road diverging in a westerly direction from the main Hokonui road, and leading through section 4, Waimuran, and a small portion of the east end of Q-lendhu estate, and again entering section 4 and passing on through Bushy Park property, following the Hedgehope stream for about one miler then bearing westerly to Mr Kingswell's. Proposed by Mr Baasnai), seconded by Mr Little, and carried — That the sum of £40 be Toted for expenditure in Mabel subdivision. Resolvod, that Mr J. Calvert be appointed returning officer for Myross subdivision; Mr I. McQibbo»i, that for Waijiiu:uu subdivision ; and Mr James Young, that for Mabel sub iivi-iion, at the enjuing election of Lindhurst District Road Board members. The clerk was instructed to write to his Honor tho Superintendent to explain what would otherwise appear neglect on the part of the Board in not forwarding certain returns to Government; the letter asking for said returns having cdidc to hand only on 10th of this month, although posted at Dunedin in November last — envelope bearing post mark to be forwarded to Government. Several accounts wero passed for payment, amounting to £326 7s. Next meeting of the Board to be held third Wednesday in August. Thb ATHEN2BDM.— The adjourned special meeting of the members of the Alhenseu n, called for last evening, was aguin adj >urned until Thursday, Ist April, there not being tho statutory number of members present, o. 1 represented by prcxy; It was requested by tho President that in the interval, eaoh member should endeavor either to induce attendance or to obtiin the proxies of such of his friends as might probably be absent. SrE Geoege Grey on the Pr/Buc Works Policy/. — In reply to the deputation which recently waited on him, Sir George Gray said the Immigration and Public Works policy was become the main puolic question of the colony. He did not deny that it wa3 a bold and statesmanlike conception, but it would take the best efforts of their best men to brini the policy to that Buccess r ul issue to which it was so justly entitled. The duty of the Superintendent clearly was to work in perfect accord with the Oo'onial Government in carrying out the duties of this policy, and he would be fully prepared to do so if elected. Howovor much ho might differ from the Government of the diy in other matters, he felt that in reform in this subject it was his bouuden duty to assist them by every means in his ppwer. Late intelligence from Auckland announces that Sir George has been elected, unopposed, to the Suporiutendency of that pro- I vinee.

Cone eetb. — The Naseby comap&ident of the Dunetan Times writes :— Concrete buildings are all the rage in Naseby at present. ;,;Thfr<Tow ; n >Haltfis built ../of. ooncrete ; the Hospital, ferer ward, which is detached from the main building, is^ alpo of concrete, or rather, that ; wae; the material stipulated for in /the speeificatioriß. The now Bank' of New South Wales is built of concrete, and the Episcopalian, Church, ia.ooarso of erection, is also built of the Bame material. The contractor for these buildings is taking advantage of the novelty to make the most out of it, as you will understand when I tell you that he has undertaken to build the Hospital fever ward, a building which could be erected in the ordinary way for about £150 or to £180, for the small consideration of £300. Added to the ! ridiculous figure of the contract, he haa endeavored to make the job still more lucrative by limiting the quantity of cement. The Town Hall is a fine 'spacious building. Besides the immense hall, fhere are in front three small rooms, very suitable for offices, and connected with the stage behind are rooms of good dimensions. The whole is a magnificent structure. We have had however to pay for our whistle. The total 1 cost is £2,500, £2,000 more than wa3 proposed at first, the first estimate being £500. Destetjctite Fibbs. — Intelligence of destructive fires having taken place on the night of the 20th instant comes to us from Auckland, Nelson, and Oamaru. On the occasion named a fire occurrel in Auckland, destroying Mr Olson's sauce factory and dwelling house, the house of Mrs Meurant, and other property, valued in all at £5000. The insurances are as follow : — Olson's stock, New Zealand, £2000; plant, £950. Half of these are re-insured in the South British; dwelling-house (New Zealand), £500; furniture (New Zealand), £LOO; manufaatury (South British), £400. Blunden's furniture (Smth. British), £100. Mrs Meurant'a house (Victoria), £200 ; furniture uninsured. Again a fire broke out on the same night in the drapery establishment of Everett Brothers, Bridge street, Nelson. The fire was confined to the premises, which, together with the stock, were entirely consumed, the loss being estimated at £5500. The insurances on stook are: — Norwich Union, £1000; Victoria, £1000; Standard, £1000. The building was insured in the Liverposl, London, and Globe for £600. Stosk to the value of £200 wa3 saved, but was much damaged by fire and water. O.i the same Saturday night, or S\mday morning, a great fira took place in the Thames street blook, Oamaru, resulting in the destruction of the Alliance Hotel and eight stores — property valued at upwards of £6)00, and insured at a Kttlo over £4030. The insurances are— Royal Insurance, £300 ; . New Zealand, £3000; Norwich Union, £350; National, £200. No lives were lost in any of theae cases, and in each case nothing whatever is known a* to the origin of the fire. Thus it would seem that InvercargiU is not without, fellowship in misfortune. ____^