LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 5, Issue 230, 11 April 1861, Page 3

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.

'■** g ; ' ■ - j/ii&S - - « ■Torakrta. —*>2^l©; %i^*^;^e/ s 5 markets which ■ tlie ; lately resolvwl' to hoM, 'totfkflaee $i Friday • fast on the piece of ground facing the- Ben Nevis Hotel. -7hs' ••'wfcatJifei&WaWvfiM,' - and £ there was a g-obil Iy iKtiVtre' of from ■ the neighbouring- ceiititjryf'fSevWal of thej< inhabitants of WatigamiJ ’.^t^ ? fori; the purpose of meeting country friends, '1 of :jth^E:^tic;e -i nr* f! -v • ' 1 # * fill ~• * • ■

forward ; for : TTjiere .was,.a considerable amount of, .priyatejy at : What were understood to -be* fair prices, and I Messrs. Taylor, j lowing sales by public .auction bushels [wheat, in: ! %uc,.;|pts;;.peg.^lipl .I M [bushels do ht Os? 280 oatg, in three lots, at 4s 6d 5, 24 Od, all f to he delivered, / kegs butter at Is LI per lb kegs included; T gehl'Hg. 4 yrs. old, ; for 23d; and calf, H 15$. Some grass se.ed . and*;jfpuy.'rams were qfler&l by them in. addition, nut.jyere not sold, tliese being the only, lots in. A .fine lot of breeding stocfcfttyas. offered. for sale, but there were- no cattle. We cannot butr friends at Turakina and..Rahgitikeh,§n tsqqcess jrluch attended their first piarkej ; who \ had business... there rgust.,Jiavg+ • with the prbippt;'an.4 l eatisfkci^ytritpinjier jn which it was, exe<?nte,d ?; who,- came principally to see; their ascertain : the ruling prices, and discussvjffattgfsQf general interest, whether agricultural,* political, or social, must have been day. ; while al4mas|;;h^yeivi^]i;^r€tat ? pleasure' in seeing a market ealeu-i fated to develope tfieirespprceg-jpfv.fhe district, j by the facilities it gives for the disposal of all j descriptions ofdi,ve stock produce. | Mention of'Mr..-CaiperaHfg | previous to the v salp, |ajpfe.^e ? omitted, creditable as? it was to .him i: qpd satisfactory to those who, sat.down at t „. The . Bridge letter has.-'been the-me-morial from the meeting of?the |7th nit.j

•,. .;S.«perr«ie.n > «Jent , '8 > 4jffic? t ' : . . .18(50. Sir,—l have,the the a copy. 0/ tJie v a piiblic meeting rsl >^ye^to? proposed bridge over ‘tii’e waiigdhur'nygr, and in reply to -. assure lyf>i£ life;; opinion l pressed by tile meeting sb|.li 7 >ec|iye' the earnest consideration of the Site is fipally j ‘ ;,I iiaye- thehopor - ~7, ' ’ /Your ;M • •• ’-V f "^y «fßS re^B.t^ent * •' / ' John Gibson, chairrntfri/ U I 1

(From our own "Correspondent.) ■ The Wohga stifling news from Napier, announcing a patched up peace, or rather,, as I Scotchman call it, a hotch foeafcfel*** we. iilftf *&lt fizzled and perplexed, aml head nor tail of the,affaii , that a something- definite 1 . li£S } Wn concluded, amounting to a hostilities, as the news confirmatory* /o&Jt6e (lalishafi>een re-j ceived from different'parts tof the island. It is, needless speculating on.fcha?£iresult j ; we must just wait patiently until . thqisarrival of the

v Thnrs.(]ay v , Tour ineitt her, blr. lms writ ten "a clever;' phletf on tlie.. 7aranaki war, dias'Le’en published in England,, has created a great sensation, and: had an lehormous only one copy lias been received here! ~•, The- Wellington Steam Navigation Company, in conjunction with others, are abouf to purchase the screw steamer Atorm Bird : ( l daTly expected from Otago"), sister vessel to the Wqnga Wonga, an l built by-the same house ; -this will cause a more active Wanganui and Taranaki trade with this port. On Friday, a deputation of ’merchants 1 had an interview with: his Honor, the Superintendent, who as-sured-thgin of liis most cordial co-operation and j government support; I sincerely wish them every success. -C ... - a I hear- that -it is'Dr. Fe'atherston’s,intention to summon the Provincial council together as soon- as- the- members are 'Gazetted at Auckland, if it is only-; for- a short The Doctor is r now determined to act ‘ih cppdlrt with his-GoUrrcfl^andAbe^ygujdedA by- tiicii-Ac- ‘ cision as far as lie- possibly •can iconsistently: If peace is proclaimed, the Governor cannot help himself convening the General Assembly . at Wellington.

It will be so far fortunate that the'Governor will meet tlie now General at Taranaki, also; catch the Auckland mails there, which lie would cause to he opened to get his despatches —they may throw a new complexion on the state of affairs, ami upset the whole affair. I should think, if a Stafford peace has been cooked lip,-that G’eneral Camevqn, with his three regiments said to follow him ffom t.he Cape and India, would be not, a little disgusted One cannot help thinking, if tlie war has realty terminated, that the Governor would at once despatch a. steamer to the-southern porjts.to announce the same, as .lie must be well a ware’.'the. great;,.,anxiety and -loss jt has. already caused the settlers. ' • The Lord Ashley arrived this morning from thq south. She brings the sad new r s that Dr. Andrew Sinclair,‘late Colonial Secretary, who was on an exploring expedition, was drowned! in the Rangitata river, Canterbury province. l 7'liere is ho mistake that gold has been-found-in large nuggets, about 100 miles north of Otago ; about one hundred and twenty diggers are now at work. I learn from Mclntosh’s billiard room, that our city member, who stood at the head of the poll is now away grouse shooting on his reserve at tlie /Tuirarapa. -'•: sour#’^us tral/a . ; i

Mr. Stuart had arrived, on the 10th Jan., at- Mouiit Margaret, 70 miles N.7T. from Chambers’ ; creek. - The whole party were in excellent health and spirits! ; The land, under cultivation for ’ wheat in 1859-60 was 218,216 acres, and the produce ■was- estimatetfat; an averageiof 9f busliels-jper acre, which, after supplying the Jiome, consumption, deft. fo'r export 26,477 .tons of flour! Theißegister calculates the return of this year a,t 13 bushels per acre from 240,000 acres, and considers there, will. *be 42,500 tons of flour for exportation. -

-^NGA/SH.-EXTRACTS. • ' Secretauy of -Legation at Japan..— Die A-tipts says Lord John Russell has offered the new appointment of Secretary of Legation at Japan to Mr. Oliphant, wlio accompanied Lord Tlgin in his first visit to «/eddo, and that Mr. Oliphant lias accepted the post. Jerusalem. —It is stated in. a private letter from Jerusalem? received at Gibraltef,

that an A merican Jew at New Orleans, lias bequeathed £IO,OOO for the building and endowment of almsdiouses for infirm and destitute Israelites in the //oly City An A-geiit lia-1 already.arriyed to carry out the bequest? and tlie houses 'iiltemled .to be used tor the purpose mentioned were expected to be ready for occupation before the [expiration of the Coming winter « • | Mr. Ooeden.— -A- private letter from! Algiers conveys the "information that Mr2

i Cob Jen and liis family have arrived there, jand intend to remain till the opening of Par-, 1 lament. The same communication adds that the hon., gentleman looks, well, and it is un-, | dersttiod- idifft--though liis health" was somewhat 1 ; affected in Paris, he is now much better, and]

only requires rest. i ’ T®£& Source 'oe the NiLE.pv.2?here is a subscription on foot to raise .£2OOO for sending an expedition under Mi;.'Petherick, her Britannic Majesty’s Consul at Khartum, : up the-„Nile* ( toi; .explore its. sources, and, to aid thatpf Captain Speke, already despatched by way of Zanzibar, for the same destination. I,.Coup" Caithness ahd iiis Carriage in iLoNpoit.-—Among the Life may be mentioned the appeafaiice of Lord Caithness in the metropolis guiding his steam carriage. We were told it makes too" hutch noise to be used in cities. This is not the

case, as lie drove 11 11 4 ougl it he liios tv crowded parts without frightening the! horses, and threaded ,the vehicles, thickly strewn as they are in the city, with the ease and elegance of a master of dance in the chain des dames.

New Form' of Ikon Plating.— Some private trials are now being made by. Government with a new form of iron-plating, 1 and at the shortest distances. Every description of shot is shivered, and not the slightest impression made. * Iron-Cased Men-of-War.— The Globe announces that',the Admiralty have decided, .without farther delay,' upou'increasing the number of iron-cased men-of-war/ and letters 'were se'iit ont ? “on Saturday inviting tenders, icalling., by the 24th Jan., for building two-j 1 ships-of-war-of r about 4000 tons each.;. They) ■are to be 280 feet long, 56 feet broad, and! iplated with ird'n slabs fore and aft; The anjgular principle, of Mr. Josiah. Jones will not 1 e.adopted. .'r. V.

IRELAND. ' - S iu,xiaiiGS;r~^fir."D.oiiTi-elly *-^ ,lr the origin and mode of. collecting the agricultural statistics in Ireland, stated that the present system commenced in-1847. , 2 T he returns - are no ( \v o'b«tained annually, in the month of June ’ The constabulary in the rural districta and towns, aiids the metropolitan police in and around the city of Dijblin, procure felie information. The nuinher o£ 'enumerators employed ; is about 40d.0, to each of whom a certain number of towtf lands' is 1 allotted. Each farm- or holding is visited by- an enumerator, who as.certainkfroin the occupier, or some person .connected with the farm, the acreage under each crop, and the number of live stock. ' The maps of the Ordnance survey ejiable mistakes in returns to be detected. Tlie district assigned tb -each enumerator averages Mahout

5200 statute acres, and five or six weeks are given ‘for the collection. The information is voluntarily and readily furnished by t lie whole Prior to the year 1847, the oe.'fsns- commissioners, in 1841, procured ah 1 published, in their report, information showing the number and'value of stock in the-'-country, and the number of holding*, in ' five ' classes, according' to size ; but the acreage of the. several crops was nob obtained in that year; Under the present system of conducting the inquiries, not only is-the acreage of'each crop ascertained,, but also iii the . autumn its probable yield,. which is published at the beginning of the following j ; ear, thus; eiiabliitg ; airangements to be made for the supply of aiiy 'deficiency in the produce of; the'precediiig harvest. The aveiv age yield-is obtained for each electoral divithe ;satjti‘e of enumerators' who fiad; - pHcttre3' , “thi"‘Sert*dge : ' Under the various crops, and the returns of tlie yield-made by them are all submitted for. revision to the Pooi\ Law Guardians oftlie respective tmiotis. , ' , ' i The statistical data furnished by Mr." Don-• uelly in support of the value of agricultural statistics, were 'exc< eilingly interesting, as marking the changes and improvements that have taken jlace in Ireland, which but for his recorded facte we should have been unable to arrive at with any degree of certainty or precision.! - -Taking the; ■■ of 1850, and comparing them with 1850, we find there has been an increase of £37,000 acres in meadow land; of 45,240 acres in flax—a noticeable feature, as there had been a decline in the last few years; an extension of 320,000 acres under green crops; and a decline of nearly 500,000 acres under cereal crops—shoeing that stock is taking the place of grain. La§t year there' were 608,413 h6lders; of which 157,603 were farms above thirty acres. Between 1841 and 1851 there was an exten?ion,oL 1,500,000 acres in .the arable land,’ and since then much more uncultivated laud has. been brought into use. ': • ... The'progression of live stock lias ibeen .very l considerable. The nett increase in the valua of all the stock owned between.lß4l and 1859 has been nearly .£ 15,000,000. ‘ Tlie number and estimated value of this stuck in 1859 was—

s Lord Carlisle at a late meeting of tlie Royal . /rish Agricultural Society, alter giving a . glowing description of tlie climate, position, t and .scenery; of Ireland,, went on to say that ;:,:8 iere weToiind in the soil and the climate the e couditionS‘ ! best'' suited for pasture, and pasture y frequently of too rich a kind to be good for o’several; species of sheep, which will often be j found to browse better on such hilly uplands 1 [as Scotland abotm.ls in. Hence it appears that cattle-above all-things seem to be renpdered, by the cbn<litiqus vof. soil and climate, .[tbe most appropriate stock for Ireland. ‘ Corn, t'you all know, can be brought from one ■ ..country fo another, from a great distance, at t'eoinparativety smiili freights. • Tt; is not so 1 with: cattle. Hence tlie great hives of industry iu England and "Scotland, across the Cliani nel, can draw their frequent shiploads of corn . j from more southern and drier el -mates, but r they must have a constant dependence upon

•> /relaud for an abundant supply of meat. 1 Now the" precise test of a .very few figures will be found to confirm these general remarks. In the year 1850 I compared Scotr land and Ireland; the' heads of cattle -iii • i .Scotland were 674,407 ; in Ireland they wereI j3/630,054. This, shows the. immense pre- - ijponderance of cattle. With sheep’ as I .hayp i j it is the reverse. Scotland proijiluced 5,683,168 sheep ; Ireland Only 3,452, j. 052; . -It appears that nearly half of the sur- - iface of lieland is devoted to pasture.” : Tiie leisii Brigade Banquet. — 7'iie • ’ grand banquet to Major O’Reilly and the Irish Brigade took place in Wexford"- on the Bth • January. Both General I amoriciere and The , .O’Donoghue disappointed the hopes of those' who promoted the demonstration, for neither 1 was present, though both sent letters of apology. In their absence the “ lion” of the evening was Major O’Reilly, who commanded tlie Brigade duiiiig its recent brief campaign, hi Italy. The chief point in liis speech was a defence of the soldiers who had fought nndei* his command from the imputations of cowardice castvUpon'He- paid a/high tribute. Ito the bravery and skill of General Lahtoriciere, and also to the- courage of the troops : who had fought under him. , During the pro-, ceedings, ; tjie toast “ The National. Independence of Ireland” was drunk “ with enthusi---astic and prolonged cheering. ’’ ;

No. Total Value. 7/orses and Mules ' 648,379 i- 5,187,032 /7sses ... ... 169,354 ‘ 169,354 Cattle ... ... 3,845,598 24,801,387 Sheep ... ..." 3,59-,804 3;952,084 I'igs ... ... *1,£05,751 1,582,186 Poultry ...lU,25 1-749 256,297 ' <£35,948,340