Complaints (says the Dunedin Star) are made about the inordinate areas of the deferred payment pastoral section now being surveyed onMessrs Sutherland an.d Poison's run. If, instead of beind su'rveyod into blocks of 5000 acres, they were limited in extent to 1000 or 1500 acres at the most, it would be much bettor for the cause of settlement. The Tuapeha Times is informed that the land being surveyed includes the mineral country which has long been known to exist about the head of the Waitahuna. It is well known that splendid specimens of cinnabar, copper, and antimony have been obtained in that neighborhood, so that the greatest care should be exercised by the Government in alienating land containing such valuable minerals.
A peculiar defence was set up in a case in the Resident Magistrate's Court, New Plymouth, where a defendant was charged with allowing a cow to wander at large. He pleaded not guilty on the ground that the cow was not wandering, but knew perfectly well where it was going. This ingenious pleading, however, carried no weight with the Bench, who inflicted the usual j>enalty.
