Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Saturday 24 December 1831, page 2


IMPROVED TRAVELLING.

Those of us who have resided in the colony ten or a dozen years, know how to appreciate the improvements it is undergoing in its modes of public con-veyance. We had then neither steam-packets nor stage-coaches. The lumber-ing passage-boat and the dangerous small-craft were our only vehicles by water; while by land, if not rich enough to keep a carriage of our own, the stumbling hack and rickety "chay'' were the only in-struments of motion with which a guinea per diem could furnish us. It is we, therefore, and not the spoiled new-comer from the land of railroads, who can enter fully into the spirit of our modern luxuries by sea and by land. It is we who can tread the deck of a steamer, or loll upon the cushions of a "Royal Mail," with those buoyant feelings which agree-able novelties can alone inspire. The very smoke which streams from the chim-ney of the one—the very dust kicked up by the wheels of the other—is refreshing to our eyes. We are therefore glad to inform our rejoicing coevals, that new pleasures are about to be opened to them on "His Majesty's highway." They can already dash away, morning and evening, between their metropolis and Parramatta, at the rate of eight knots an hour. On the birth of the New Year

they will be enabled to skip from the dust of Sydney to the green hills of the Hawkesbury in the space of five hours; from Parramatta they may take an equally expeditious flight to Emu Plains ; and from Emu Plains to the bosom of the Blue Mountains. In plain speech, Mr. Hart intends to commence, with the month of January, an elegant new coach between Sydney and Windsor, and to per-form the journey twice a day, at the rate of seven miles an hour, stoppages included. It will start from Windsor in the morning, and from Sydney in the afternoon. Mr. Dargin, of Windsor, intends establish-ing another between Windsor and Parra-matta, leaving the latter place in the morning, and the former in the afternoon. A third is to be started between Parra-matta and Penrith, and yet a fourth between Penrith and Collitt's Inn, on the road to Bathurst. And it will not surprise us if we have to add to the list, before long, a fifth between Collitt's and Bathurst Plains. " Advance Aus-tralia."

Whether these new coach speculations will answer, time only can show. At all events they manifest public spirit, and deserve every encouragement that can be afforded them by the press. Of Mr. Hart's success, if not crossed by vexa-tious "opposition," there can be very

little doubt,

Yesterday His Excellency the Go-vernor, accompanied by his Staff, inspected the Military Barracks.

Extirpation of Stumps. —We in-tended to say a few words, in our present number, on the subject of Sir John Jamison's method of extirpating the stumps of trees, for which, as we lately announced, the Society of Arts has awarded to him the large gold medal ; but want of space has compelled us to postpone.

Thursday's Market.—But an in-different supply of grain was received in town this week, but of nearly every other description of pro-duce there was abundance, which, in consequence of the demand for Christmas consumption, sold readily

at very high prices. Butter was extravagantly dear, and cheese nearly as last week. Poultry and eggs plentiful, but high , butchers' meat at a slight ad-vance. the vegetable stalls were well supplied with potatoes, cabbage, onions (of excellent qua-lity), carrots, turnips, parsnips, artichokes, aspara-gus, &.c , and amongst the fruit we noticed apples, pears, plums, apricots, green-gages, raspberries, mulberries, and a few early melons. Hay and straw

were both scarce and dear.

ERRATUM.—Beef in the West Indies.—In the article in our last, respecting the consignment of colonial beef to the West Indies, it was stated that a duty had been charged of "12 per cent." it should have been, "12 shillings, per cent."

Bills have been posted about the streets, specifying that a subscription match of pigeon shoot-ing is to take place outside the toll-bar next Monday.

A sale of horses took place in front of Taylor's York Hotel, on Monday, at which very fair prices were obtained.

Four new districts, with a watch-house to each, are about to be added in the Police depart-ment of Sydney. The rapid extension of the town has rendered this step highly necessary.

The brig Helen will sail in a few days

for Swan River and the Mauritius

The schooner Schnapper is engaged to

sail early next week for Tongataboo direct, with

stores tor the Missionaries on that island.

The Elizabeth takes down several horses for the Van Diemen's Land market; ten of them belong to Mr. Moore.

The Sophia Jane brought up four pri-

soners last trip from Newcastle, who stand com-mitted to take their trials before the Supreme Court, three of them for highway robbery, and the fourth, who is an aboriginal black man, for sheep-stealing.

We some numbers back took notice of a toll-bar which has been recently thrown across the road leading from the Church-hill, Clarence-street, and Kent-streets to the Government stone quarries and Windmill-street. At this bar the sum of sixpence is demanded, by a person named Good-win, for the passage of every horse or vehicle that may have occasion to travel in that direction, and even the Government carts have been refused, in

default of payment, and actually go round by Dawes' Battery, an additional distance little short of a mile, to fetch stone situated only a few yards from the spot, while in some instances private individuals, who desire to evade the payment, in endeavouring to get round between the houses and the water, have done so at the imminent risk of their shafts. It is in this latter course that the intended road is to run , after the formation of which, the present highway will become the exclusive property of the individuals who received the grants, these grants extend in depth from the waters'-edge to the extremity of the road, and, if we are correctly informed, contain a specific reservation that a right of way shall be open on the present road to the public, till the new one is completed, under these circumstances it is some-what difficult to conceive how any person should have the temerity to erect a toll-bar of his own, for his especial benefit, and still more unaccountable that passengers, should submit to it without remonstrance :

but having thus detailed what we believe to be the facts of the case, we leave it to the notice of the proper authorities, who, we doubt not, will speedily ascertain the validity of this individual's claim to make a private emolument of the King's highway.

Fruit.—The late tempestuous winds have done great damage in the orchard, shaking the young fruit off the trees by bushels. At Baulkham

Hills and Kissing Point serious mischief has also been done by the bush-fires. It is feared that, from those combined disasters, fruit this season will be both scarce and dear.

CORONER'S INQUEST.—An inquest was held yesterday, at the Centaur, Brickfield-hill on the body of an aged man, named Patrick Gray, who died suddenly the same morning. Verdict.— Died by the visitation of God.