The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1874.

New Year's Eve Services.— There will be an evening service at All-Saints' to-raor-rowevening, commencing at 8 o'clock. At Christ Church the service will commence at 1 1 p.m , »nd terminate punctually at 12.— At tl.-e Wesleyan Church there will be the usual watch-night service, commencing at 10-30. A meeting of the Nelson Lodge of OddFeiiow's will he held this evening for the pirjose of electing an "Anniversary Fe ! e Committee." Masonic— A Lodge was held yesterday at noon, when Bro. W. Lightfoot was installed as Master of the Lodge for the ensuing year, and the following officers were appointed-.— YV. M. Stanton, Treasurer; H. Green, Secretary; J. 0. Moutny, Senior Warden; L. Boor, Juuior War.ien; W. Holmes. Senior Discos; W. T. GOOJ, Junior Deacon; J. Cann, Inner Guard; H. Woolcott, Tyler. The ceremony of installation being concluded, P M Maclean, on behalf of the Lodge, presented P.M. S. a ! y with a handsome silver cjip in recognition of his services as instruction.master for maoy years past. In the evening the brethren sat down to an excellent dinner, provided in Brot!-er Host Tregea's well known style, and a most pleasant evening was spent. Netjdobf School —The children attending this tchool were examined on Wednt-sdHy last by Captain Kougb, and the nrizc3 awarded as follows : —First class— Four children. First prize, Eugenic Desaunais. Second cia'S— Twelve children First prize, Mary Prcstidge; second, Augustus Siade; thirl, Kliza Stiiie, fourth, Chriatinn Stide. Third clncs— Six children. First prize, Ekn Seiboth; second, Kmiiy Sixtus. Fourth class— Nine childrtu— First prize, Mary St-tdej second, Lin. Ewers ; third. A Perry. Fifth cla-s— Five children. First prize, Henry Glffjrd; secorn), Rolert Talbot; third, E!lea Ducker. Sixih class— Six children' First prize, Augustus Shieldaner; second' George Sixtus. Seventh class— Five cl i:dren. First prize, Alfred Sehawsg; eeeond A. Bensemann. Eighth class— Three children. First prize, Ellen Shieldaner. Good attendant, Annie Ewers. Sarau School. — Captain Rough examined the pupils at this school on the 23rd inst, and awarded the prizes as follows :— First cla-s— First prize, Martha Heine ; second, P. Lange; third, Hoffman. Seond class— First prize, £. Bens-mann; second, H. Bensemann. Third cla^s — First prize, O. Hoffman; second, E. Talbot. Fourth clafg— First prize c' Bensemann. second, D. Best. Fifth classiest prize, William Drummond; second, F Hewetson. Sixth chss— First prize, C Clouson; second, J. Best; third, C. Harvey Seventh class— First prize, A. Bensemannsecond, G. Harvey; third, M. Muller. Eighth class— First prize, Win. Bensemanu; second A. Harvey. At an evening performance of the Circus Company at AVel ington Jast week, thu roof of the marquee was fplit open by the wind. Dodd, late second mate of the Oneco, who was discharged from Dunedin gaoi on Mon-d-y, in accordance with the ruling of the Court of Appeal in his case, had, says the limes, the wanes due to him from his ship paid him when he left the gaol. The money hid been paced by the captain of the Oneco in the hands of Messrs Sievewiii-ht and Slout, and Dodd received a pUasint surprise when his monoy was handed <o him ii.tuct— no fee being charged for defending him in the Supreme Court or the Court of Appealto enable him to reach his home. A Napier telegram in the Dunedin Star says:— A serious blunder has occurrtd on the Napier and Paki-paki Railway. It appears when the two coniracts f.^r portions of the line were joined there wa3 a difference of three feet in tb-i levels. This has necessitated the station at PaUi-P«ki, which was nenrly completed, being removtd some 200 fc:l The Dominion of Canada is setting it*df vigorously to the work of faciiitatng the navigation of its coa3t. We obsen'e that within six years?, on the coast of Canada, ninety-eight new lighthouses have been built, four new lightships established, and ten new steam fog-alarms ; forty-eight more lighthouses, eight foK-alarra*, and two lightships are in process of construction. The complaint about boys leaving school at toa early an age is not confined to Nelson. At the distribution of prizes at the Wellington High School Mr Bowden, the head* master, and: — "I have compared in my mind the tasis of the grammar schoul master to the fabled labor of bisyphus, cuntned by the gods to be ever rolling up-hill a mis-shapen block of stone, which ever before it quite reached the summit slipped from bin g?a*p and rolled down to the bottom cf the hil». in like raan"«t the teacher toils with his c.'ass through the distasteful task of the Latin acciience, and the still more distasteful exercises, in the' h'.pe that when that toilgomelabor is achieved lie may iegaie with th< m ia the pasture fields of Horace and Livy. But ere they reach the summit his pupils ar<i called away t) their several walks in life, with little profit from the L.atin they learnt, and real Icsj of time *-nd energr, and he begins his weary ta?k a^afD, with a new batch, at the bottom ot the liiil to meet again wit>i the same vexatious it-suit." The B-mbay police have captured another leading mutineer of '57, one who calls himself Adool Kussuff, and who fg known to have massacred with bis own hand a number of ]

Europeans, amongst whom were Lieateoant Irascrand Captain Douglas. He was wrested m Baroda, and will be tried in Delhi, where he now is. The Argus supplies the following about the new Governor of Fiji:— Sir Arthur was private eecretiry to his relative the fiarl of Aberdeen, when Secretary c.f State for Foreicn Affairs, between September, 384!, and July, 1846, and alsa when Fir;t Lori of the Treasury, lie was subsequently a number for Beverly, in the House of Commons. He accompanied Mr Gladstone in his mission to the lonian Isla ds, in 185 S. In 1861 he wa* appointed Governor of New Brunswick, and w*<j afterwards transferreJ to the ilauritius, where he became ixt emely unpopular, and was consequently relieved. A new tenor of distinction is thm written about by the London corresponJent of tlse Belfast News Letter -. — « Have you heard of the new tenor of whom everyone is talking? The new tenor is M. Devillier, and he charms everybody at the Theatre dv Paris, of which he is one of the principal artists. He iB a Frenchman— a native of the Pas dv Calais, and a very short time ago wan employed as a cooper, making herring barrels at a litt'e place called Portelle. A lady, a friend of the Empress Eugenic, happening to hear him sing at a concert given at Boulogne for some charitable purpose, spoke to hin und offered to give him introductions to Paris, and pecuniary facilities for cultivating his voice. Here he profited to rapidly by ihe means at his disposal, that he soon acquired distinction, »nd obtained an engagement at the principal opera-house, at a salary cf £40 per week. This, for a man who was glad to earn 4s 2d a day By his trale, was a considerable advance; but his friends aiy it is totally inadequate, and he has already received an order for £4000 for a tour in America, with all exexpenses paid. Returns just made up of the product of the mines of the Pacific coast of America in precious metals, show that the yield of the ■a?t quarter of a century reached a total of £317,000 000. Of this, California produced three-fourtfcß. nearly a'l ot which was in gold. Nevada ha? produced £44,000,000 in goll and silver chiefly the latter. Utah, although known for many years t > be rich in precious metals, his only lately been made to produce them, and the result is £3, "00.0. 0. Montana has added £24,000,000, and Idaho £11,000,000. Colorado ha* been oaly lately developed as a mining region, but its yield has already reached about .£ Oregon au-1 Washington territory ht*e together produced £5,000,000, Biitish Columbia £2,000,000, and Arizona a small sum ; butthe latter territory has not been worked to any great extent. The production of the Pacific slope his been afc'adily increasing from ysav to year, and the increa3e of last year was about 14 per cent., the actual yield being £16,000,000 against £i4,r00,0;0 in 1872. About £8 000,000 of the entire total remains on the Pacific slope in coin mid jewellery, and a fraction has been absorbed by the general business of the country. But the great bulk has been exported, and chiefly to England, China, and Japan, England having had nearly £220,030.000. A verbatim report of the proceedings in the Bef cher . case has been sent to London from New York for publication, it appears, but no respectable firm has been found willing to publish it, (For remainder of News see fourth page.)