The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1866.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 199, 24 October 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1866.

Statements in the papers will have shown our readers that there is an unpleasant feeling existing between Mr. Tatton and Miv Hamilton, respecting the casts which Mr. Knight took of the Maungatapu murderers. Mr. Tattou allowed Mr. Hamilton to use the casts at his first lecture, but refused to do so at the second on the ground that the professor took more credit to himself for the casts than Messrs. Tatton and Knight were willing to allow. Yesterday Mr. Eout asked Mr. Tatton to lend him the casts for the use of the Phrenological Society, a proposal that was assented to on condition that Mr. Rout gave a written bond for their safe return to the owners. The bond was given, and the casts were lent to Mr. Rout. This morning Mr. Hamilton presented himself at Mr. Rout's office j ust as the boy was opening the door. Without asking permission he entered the room and walked off with the casts of the murderers' heads. Mr. Burns immediately expostulated with Mr. Hamilton on the impropriety of his conduct, and the wrong he was doing to Mr. Rout. Mr. Hamilton refused to listen to any reasoning of this kind, saying he had a moral claim on the casts in the interests of science, and as the founder of phrenology in Nelson, and would not part with them. Messrs. Tatton and Knight,, finding Mr. Hamilton would not deliver up the casts, gave him in charge to Constable Beattie who took him to the lockup on a charge of stealing them. In the lockup Mr. Hamilton was visited by Mr. Elliott, who also had a conversation with the Resident Magistrate, his object being, we were informed, to endeavor to arrange the matter amicably. Messrs. Tatton and Knight were in attendance, for the purpose of laying an information, in the event of Mr. Hamilton's refusing to give up the cast* 5 , or of compromising the matter on being put in possession of their property. Since writing the above we have ascertained that Messrs. Tatton and Knight, having found every method ineffectual to induce Mr. Hamilton to give up the casts, have laid an information against him for stealing them, and obtained a search warrant to prevent the casts being taken from the town. The case will come before the Resident Magistrate to-morrow. The following cases came before the Resident Magistrate to-day : — Levien & Co. v. C. Balme, claim £19 Bs. lid., judgment by consent ; Sarah Nicholson v. H. H. Stafford, claim £100, balance of sheep account — Mr. Kingdon for plaintiff, Mr. Adams for defendant — the dispute was respecting the amount to be deducted for deaths, and the Magistrate, after taking evidence at length, postponed judgment until Saturday ; Frances Patterson v. Parmenter, claim £2 — a set-off of £l 17s. was pleaded, and the evidence being conflicting, the Bench split the difference, and gave judgment for the plaintiff for £l. The Wellington arrived to-day with the English Mail. The Phoebe has undergone a complete overhawl at Wellington, and the papers praise ' Mr. E. W. Mills for the manner in 'wliich he has renovated the boilers and machinery. . The W: Independent says :-»-The Post-master-General has carried out the suggestions of the Postal Committee ''for the discontinuance of. certain" mail services. Notice has been given to the New Zealand Steam Navigation, Company to discontinue running steamers for Manukau, Nelson, and Picton, in order to collect the mails from those provinces which are intended for transmission to England by the Suez route. The steamer for Napier carrying the Suez

and Panama mails is also to be stopped. We don't koow how the reduced service, will work, but it appears to us that much inconvenience" will, be felt by some of the provinces. The Government of course are bound to study economy, but there are many things to which the pruning knife might more fittingly be. ."applied. If the mail services are to be cut down, let us have some reductions in those departments of Government for the maintenance of which much of the revenue is wasted on the mere pretence of public service.

As the Innkeeper's Liability Ac£ affects not only kotelkeepers, but also all travellers •who put up at hotels, we give the following extract from it for their information. : — 2. No innkeeper shall be liable to make good to any guest of such innkeeper any loss of, or injury to, or property brought to his.inn, not being a horse or other live animal or any gear appertaining thereto, or any .carriage, to a greater amount than the sum of thirty pounds, except in the following cases. (1) Where such goods or property shall have been lost or injured through the wilful act, default, or neglect of such innkeeper' or any servant in his employ. (2) Where such goods or property shall have been deposited for safe custody with such innkeeper. Provided always that in the case of such deposit it shall be lawful for such innkeeper if he think fit to require as a condition of his liability that such goods or property shall be deposited in a box or other receptacle fastened and sealed by the person depositing the same. — 3. If any innkeeper shall refuse to receive for safe custody, as before mentioned, any goods or property of his guest; 'or if any such guest shall through any default of such innkeeper be unable to deposit such goods or property as aforesaid, such innkeeper shall not be entitled to the benefit of this Act in respect of such goods or property. — 4. Every innkeeper shall cause at least one copy, of the second section of this Act, printed in plain type, to be exhibited in a conspicuous part of the hall or entrance to his inn, and he shall be entitled to the benefit of this Act in respect of such goods or property only as shall be brought to his inn while such shall be so exhibited.

A great political meeting -was held in Dunedin, oa the 16th inst., the Mayor in the chair, to hear au explanation, from th© representatives, of their conduct in the Assembly. Mr. Paterson was hissed and hooted. He said he always opposed separation and denied having broken his pledge. He did everything in his power to prevent the passing of the Stamp Duties. He refused to be bullied and offered to resign. Mr. Eeynolds was applauded. He advocated that the fortifying of the ports should be done by the provinces. He knew that fortifying the principal ports meant Wellington. He was willing to resign. Mr. Dick spoke in favor of separation, insular, and was willing to resign. Mr. Yogel advocated the introduction of a self-reliant policy in the Middle Island, showed the policy of the North to be selfish, said the disunited action of the Otago members lost them the support of Auckland, aud thought it advisable in the meantime to seek to obtain financial aud afterwards insular separation. Mr. Burns said his constituency had been insulted by the Stafford Ministry and he would not rest until the insult was avenged. Miller of the Upper House was in favor of separation. Hepburn was not allowed to speak. "Reid, Macandrew, Bradshaw, O'JSTiel, Haughton, and Cargill were loudly called for, but did not appear. Resolutions were passed to the effect, " that the 15 members should resign their seats, and give their constituencies an opportunity of expressing an opinion upon, their conduct."

The Volunteer Act Amendment Act, 1866 has passed through the Assembly. It consists of only two clauses. The first repeals the 9th section of the Act of 1865, and enacts instead — "No person, shall be an Officer in the Volunteer Force, or a Volunteer or a Non-Commissioned Officer of the Volunteer permanent staff who is not a British subject ; provided always that no person shall be an officer in the Volunteer Force until he is competent to perform all' the duties appertaining to his office." The second

•clause repeals the 26th section of the Act of "1865, and enacts that — "Every Commissioned Officer of the Volunteer Force, and every ' Volunteer who shall hold a certificate of efficiency granted under and in accordance with, the provisions of the Volunteer Act, 1-865, or'any rules or regulations made thereunder and for the time being in force, shall, if he shall so claim it, be exempt from serving on juries within the Colony of New Zealand, provided always that nothing herein contained shall have the effect of exempting Volunteers from service upon any Coroner's Jury or Grand Jury."

Two fire-bell towers have been erected at each end of the town of Wellington, one at Thorndon in the street opposite the Government Buildings, the other at Te Aro, in the rear of the Market Hall.

The fourth Synod of the Diocese of Wellington commenced its sittings on the 25th ult., and closed them on the 27th.

The Wellington Gas Company is progressing very favorably, and more than half the required number of shares have already been taken up. As soon as 1,000 shares . are allotted and the first call paid, orders will immediately be forwarded to England for the plant, so that there is a prospect of Welliugton being lighted with gas next winter, if no time is lost in taking up the unallotted sharesConsiderable additions and alterations have been commenced in the Scotch Presbyterian* Church, Willis-street, Te Aro, Wellington. According to the plans of the improvements, the church will be made 10 feet longer and 16 feet wider than it is at present. """"" The Evening Post states that a gentleman in Wellington posted two letters to his sister in the mother country — one by the Suez route, the other by the Panama route, and requested .an acknowledgment of the time of ai'rival of each. The lady's reply was unique — she enclosed to her brother the envelopes of each letter, bearing the official impress stamp. The Wellington post mark, via Marseilles, by the Suez route, is June 16, arrived in London, August 18 ; by the Panama routa, per Kaikoura, Wellington, June 24, arrived in London, August 13, — showing a difference in time in favor of the Panama route of 13 days!

The W. C. Times of the 18th, says the Egmont had'beeu detained in the roadstead six days, by the floods and bad weather, and had only taken her departure the previous day.

We understand that there is a probability of the Lyster's Opera Company again visiting New Zealand. It is understood that they will appear in Duhedin in January.

Mr. Shrader, who has been Mail Agent between Melbourne and New Zealand for the last three years, has been appointed one of the Mail Agents on the Panama line.

A new building has been erected for the Bank of Australasia, in Willis-street, Wellington, facing the harbor. It is 50 feet wide and has two floors, and the front is rusticated in imitation of stone.

The Otago Police Gazette states " that £30 has been awarded from the Police Keward Fund to Constable James Baxter, and £10 to Constable Patrick Fair, of the Dunedin Police, in acknowledgement of their conduct on the occasion of the conflict between the police and the escaped convicts, Langham and Kobson."

The Wellington correspondent of the Otago Daily Times says — The Bishop of NewZealand has been trying to get a Bill passed, giving the Supreme Court power to enforce the decisions of the Church Courts. The Bill is considered by the Episcopal Church necessary, because of the state of the Episcopal law as pronounced in Bishop Colenso's case. The church is. supposed to be subject to English law, and when she attempts to carry it out, finds herself unable to do so. The object of this Bill was to place her under the Colonial law ; but the Bill did not specify the church ia particular, but all religious, bodies. I totally disagree with the provisions of the Bill, and therefore I may the more freely say that greater rubbish than was spoken respecting it I can scarcely imagine. Either Star Chambers, Inquisitions, persecutions, or dungeons formed the staple of every

sentence of some honorable members' tirades. No candle-lighted turnip ever frightened a child out of his senses more than this bogeybill did some of the full-grown members out of their propriety. On the motion of Mr. Bunny, seconded by Mr. Burns, .it was directed to be read that day six months, by 40 to 15." The Southern Cross of Oct. 2, publishes the following, in reference to the project of stationing a regiment at Taupo, from a native who, the Cross says, knows the country well : — Will you make known to all the world our cautious thoughts, and destroy them by ai-gument if you can ? For, O friend, you have divulged publicly a word of tremendous import— that is to say, 0 fr'end, the word relating to the sending of the soldiers to fight with the Maoris at Taupo. Those who send the soldiers thither are wrong. The only way by which a cartroad could be made to Taupo would be by Kaingaroa, by Whakatane. Now, a cart could not go further than Tarawera. If the soldiers attempted to make a road, they would have to defend thenselves against the attacks of the Maoris. The Arawas would look suspiciously. All the tribes around Taupo are hostile to the pakeha, except the Arawas, who would not assist the soldiers to keep their place. The Ngatimaniopoto country is not a day's journey from Taupo. "Some alarm has been caused in Christchurch by the late overflow of the Waimakariri into the Avon, which flows through Christchurch. The Provincial Engineer is of opinion that in the course of time the Waimakariri will return to its old course and flow through Christchurch. The new Provincial Council was opened on Friday, the 19th instant. Mr. Tancred was elected Speaker of the Council. The Superintendent in his address adverted to some of the measures he intended, with the advice of the Executive, to bring forward; alluded to a plan which would be brought forward for selling rural lands on the West Coast; requested power to spend a fair share of revenue in Westlar>d and Timaru; and trusted that the cordial understanding which he had established with the neighboring Provinces of Nelson and Otago would be maintained. The Superintendent also said that he was advised that the line from Lyttelton to Selwyn would be open throughout in about nine months. The whole of the 14th Regiment, numbering some 1,297 souls embarked on board the hired transports Novelty, Siam and Monarch on the 15th inst., for transmission to Adelaide, Hobart Town, and Melbourne. Twelve officers and 218 men of the Ist Waikato Militia have proceeded to Tauran^a for location on their lands there. The D. S. Cross says that New Zealand flax had been put to an excellent use, in the manufacture of ships' warps. The D. S. Cross is glad to learn that active operations will very shortly be commenced at the works of the Otea Copper Mining Company on the Great Barrier Island.