WAIRARAPA.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3901, 4 September 1873, Page 2

WAIRARAPA.

. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.) Although the weather is in an unsettled state, and somewhat cold, there are unmistakeable .indications of spring everywhere — hedgerows are budding, and, the grass is growing amazingly • The snow has totally disappeared from tlu>' Highest peaks of the adjoining mountain ■ ranges, dnd the riverV haye'isubside~d to their ordinary levels, and are, therefore, cfossable where bridges are not available. The swollen . state of Abbott's .Creekj*las,t~ week, caused awkward detentions to cattle . and sheep which are being driverito^Wel* r lington, and.also impeded vehicle traffic ; materially. A bridge is imperatively - needed.over this stream, and the public are olamorous about it. Thfey^ay thatiifc - is outrageously unfair that the ereqtipnibf ".; v ■•. so necessrry a structure^shottld be w^lahgV^ delayed, especially as it is on ihe^main ':'-.. { road to the metropolisi : i : : diate vicinity of the toll at!Fea&e^on>>,'3 Some .contemplate the calling ; of a pti^iifl.^.';^ meeting, and the getting up a; petitib£to)^ the provincial authorities oil the suHje^l^-^ MrVWigglns^ of Feathersten|;fi^alio^iS^: to .supply a. deside.ratnm= thati tt|fi^^n.^|p loriif felt in'tiie" district, and tio'ri of which; jjp ecies :of ->nterpris%^eM^i^^ Berves puolib encOur%einen^whjf§hf^?ij^^

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to be hoped, , will be accorded to him. He has lately imported from England, at considerable expense, a dissolving views apparatus, which intends in exhibit in the various local townships ; and as the exhibition will at once combine amusement , and instruction, little doubt can be entertained as to the success of the project. The apparatus is illuminated by the patent oxy-calcium light, which is of unequalled brilliancy. Mr Wiggins gives a descriptive lecture at each exhibition. I have lately perused, with much satisfaction, an extract from a letter addressed by the Rev Charles Ogg, of Wellington, to the Rev P. Parclay, Presbyterian Minister of Yell, Shetland Islands, on the subject of female immigration from these Islands to New Zealand. The extract is altgether an interesting one, and Mr Ogg is entitled to the thanks of the community for the minuteness as well as the comprehensiveness of .the information he imparts in the letter. He has evidently given the matter more consideration than many would take the trouble of doing, and his assertions seem to be scrupulously correct, and consequently worthy of being relied and acted upon. The Shetlanders — both male and female — are a moat desirable class of immigrants, being, as they are, sober, steady, intelligent, and industrious. The females — who are noted t for their trustworthiness, as .well as their aptitude to acquire knowledge of domestic affairs — make excellent servants, and after passing through the indispensable process of the Hymenal altar, make the best of wives. In Tictoria and Queensland the Shetlanders are somewhat numerous, and a few years ago it was resolved in the Legislative Assembly of the latter colony to introduce a more copious stream of immigration from Orkney and Shetland than had been previously done, but from some cause or other the project was suspended shortly after it received the sanction of the Legislature. According to the census returns of 1861, there was a preponderance of 5564 females over the males in Shetland, so that the expatriation of large numbers of its young women, is not likely to create a disparity of the sexes in the group. The people, who are, of Scandinavian origin, are generally healthy and robust ; and there are many instances of longevity amongst them. The present Free Church Minister of Unst, the northmost of the Isles, is a nonagenarian, upon whose venerable brow the sun of ninety-six summers has shone. His name is Dr Ingram", and it is said that he preaches twice every Sabbath. He is the oldest clergyman in the British Isles. It is to be hoped that Wellington will soon be the scene of the arrival of the .first instalment of the norland bloomers, and that the felicitous anticipations of the worthy pastor of St Andrew's Church concerning them will be more than realised. *