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Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1873, 9 October 1874, Page 2

About 11 o'clock last night the fire-bell in Williamson-street rang out the alarm. Mr S. Young, captain of the Graham&town Fire Brigade, and several of his men, quickly responded to the call, as did also Mr J. B. Mac. Donald and a few of the Shortland Brigade, There was no reflection of fire to be seen, and through there being no system of signals arranged, some time was lost before the locale of the fire was known. Eventually it was discovered that it was at Murphy Brothers, grocers, &c,, Owen-street, and the firemen hastened to the spot, but we are glad to say there was little need for their services. We are informed that the premise.) were locked up all safe at 8 o'clock, but at 11 the interior of the grocery was on fire, and had it not been for the promptitude of those present a serious conflagration might have occurred. There are various surmises as to the cause, but nothing certain, there bem* no one on the premises at the time. The ntoiik and furniture, which must be damaged, are insured iu the Victoria Insurance Company for £500.

A lodge of instruction in connection with the Fir Walter Scot 1 , Lodge of Freemasons will !e held this evening,

We are rcquestel to intimate that the fire bell which has recently teen erected at the corner of liichmond-street and Pollen,street will' be rung at seven o'clock to-night. The object is to see that the bell is all right, and to try the distance to which the sound extends. The hell itself cost £10, and the structure on which it is supported £35 The structure is 32 feet from the ground, and is a strong sub-

stantial affair. 0We understand that the directors of the Bank of New Zealand have given their Grabamstown agent instructions to pay the full value of the thirteen one-pound notes destroyed in the fire at a miner's hut on the Waiotahi, the ashes of which were recovered. Our Ohinemuri correspondent, who is better acquainted with the doings of the Maori king than the editor of the Southern Gross, or any of his informants, reporis that instead of being engaged pondering suggestions for the furtherance of the railway through the iuterior, and the promotion generally of the public works and immigration scheme, lie has recently established a guupowder manufactory, and besides making a stock for himself, is sending it to his friends around the settlements. Ohinemuri has had a small parcel, and Tauranga, it seems, has been honoured with five casks. Probably l'awhiao has no particular object before him in having this powder made, beyond the fondness all Maoris feel in being possessed of materials of ' destruction, He cau have no pressing want of it, for it is pretty well known that the natives have now a pretty good stock of the very best powder we can supply them with. It would be interesting to know who the Guropeau is who has put his services as a powder manufacturer at the command of the Maori king. Te Hira is, we are told, delighted at the fact that Tawhiao can now get as much powder as he chooses.

Mr T, Spencev has received from Mr E. B. Dickson, Secretary of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, packets of seeds of the following trees:—Pinu3 Insignis, pinus Lambertiana, abies amabilis, sequoia Wellingtonia, sequoia sempervirens, American elm—with a number of copies of directions for sowing and cultivating. All those trees are from California, the sequoia Wellingtonia being the mammoth tree of Calaveras. In reference to the distribution of these seeds, the letter says"You will be good enough to give members the first offer of them, as under: —Auy one requiring seeds in quantities (i.e., more than half-a-crown's worth of any one sort) will be charged at the rate of 83 per ounce for the S. Wellingtonia, and 4s per ounce for any of the others. Persons not members of the society will he charged at these rates for any seeds they may require. If further supplies are needed in your district, I shall be glad to receive the earliest information to that effect. In laying upon you this trouble, I have to express, on the part of the society, their sense of the kindness which has prompted you to volunteer to undertake it, and their hope that their present action may be conducive to the benefit of the district,and of the colony at large. Any suggestions towards more extended usefulness with which you may be kind enough to furnish us will be gladly, received, and the most careful consideration given to them."

The three mining companies interested in the formation of the Waio ICaraka iioad have contributed their proportions of the coat by lo iging their cheques for the amounts. The Queen of the May and City of London contribute <6109 ewh, and the City of York £220, making a tot il contributed of £553. JBub the money will only be drawn as required, and probably a portion will be refunded to each, as there is every probability that the Provincial Government will pay a fair proportion of the cost out of the grants in aid o- goldfielda roads.

The Provincial Government have issued a Gazette intimating that the Auckland Waste Lands' Act, 1871, is to come into operation on the 15th of October. In the Gazette the Act is reprinted?

As Thorpe, the jockey who won two races yesterday, was riding a winning third, his horse tripped and fell heavily on hi-i rider. Unfortunately, having to carry additional weight, a rug rolled up had been strapped in front; of his saddle, which, as the horse iv.-is lying, prevented his rider from easily extricating himself from his dangerous position. The horse struggled to hi 3 feet, and Thorpe rode to the saddling paddock. Dr Hooper, who was on the ground, was promptly in attendauee; and, after an examination, stated that the injury sustained amounted to a frastured collar-bone, which, although, not a dangerous accident, is sufficiently painful and inconvenient as to require temporary retirement and great care. A great deal of sympathy was felt for the injured jockey, from the plucky manner in which, through good riding, he won two of the principal events of the day.—Gross.

Amongst the visitors to Drury by rail yesterday (says the Gross) wa3 the Hon H, Ciiam* herlin, who took this opportunity of visiting his estate and the coal mine belonging to him at Waiho:hoi,' for the purpose of procuring simples of coal and fireclay. It is gratifying to learn that Mr Chamberlin has, within the past few days, received offers from certain parties (whose names it is not necessary to mention at present) to work the coal mine, now that the railway line is so near being opened. The coal Mr Chamberlin procured, although taken from near the surface workings, is declared t) be very much of the character of the Waikato coal, which it is pleasing to note, is dally increasing in consumption in Auckland—\lr F. Scherff having, we are told, already supplied over 100 tons to Auckland citizens for domestic us'es; aud what is better, it is spoken of by all who have used it in terms of the highest commendation, for cleanliness in use, and freelom from cinder or clinker.

It would appear tkat Western Australia is soon to be included ia the loag list of goldbearing British colonies. Auriferous quartz appears to have been found at a place ctlled Preston, near Bunbury. The quartz in question was found by Commodore Stirling aud the. Colonial Secretary, and the 171bs of quartz analysed yielded gold at the rate of to the ton. This information (says tha Freemmtle Herald) wai communicated by the Colonial Secretary to the Legislative Council, and the nugget of gold obtained by assay from the sample submitted for the inspection of members A small quantity of quartz obtained from the same locality, was sent by Mr Barlee to Melbourne to be assayed, and .the result will be known on the arrival of incoming mail. Within the last few days we have receivei the most reliable information from Bunbury, that very rich specimens of qmrtz have been obtained, in which gold is abundaufcly visible to the naked eye. To remove all doubts, and to test fairly the yield ot the reef, £the Governmeut are erecting a "stamper" near the North Freemantle Bridge, and in a week or so soma tons of the will be crashed, and the question put beyond doubt, one way or the other.

At the quarterly meeting of the Auckland Presbytery, held ou Wednesday, and presided over by the Rev, R. McKinney, a letter was received from Mougonut accepting the refusal of Mr McKee (of the Thames), to take charge of their district. An application for employment was read from Mr McKee, and referred to the Home Mission Committee. The Rev. Mr McKee stated that, as the probability of h's • obtaining employment from the Houxe Mission ' Committee was very remote, lia felt it ueces* ■ sary to apply for his lines of diaj uuctuuo frylliL the Presbytery. After some discussioMpPr*v McKee stated that if the Home any employment, he had no objection to accept it, and withdrew Ms application for dis« juncture.

A- contemporary offers the followiog as a hint . for Mr Vogel and a subject for his State Forests Bill; In Switzerland there is a law which compels every married couple to plant six trees immediately after the ceremony, and two, on . the birth of every child. They are planted on : commons and near the roads, and being mostly fruit trees are both useful and ornamental. The number planted atnouuts to 10,000 annually. S. Younci (late of the Court House HoteJ) has assumed the management of the Queens , Hotel,' corner of Albert and Queen streets, where he will ba happy to receive a visit fwn\ his old friends.—Adti. .

The Otago Daily Times has the following: —" The Revenue Officer, who would appear to have been on the qui vive of late for food adulterators, summoned four persons before Mr Bathgate yesterday—one for vending impure milk, two for adulterating bread, and another for neglecting to comply with the provisions of the Bakers and Millers Act to stamp the wheaten bread sold by him with a Komsn H. Reports of the articles submitted to Professor Black *tir analysation were read, which showed that vrm'le mi bread was greatly adulterated, or contained deleterious substances, defendants were not necessarily the agents of such mixtures, and might reasonably be ignorant of the impure quality of their goods. The Dunedin water and clay both contained the substances found in the bread, while a sample of the salt which had been used was strongly impregnated with the noxious particles. -With regard to the milk, it was found to contain nearly a fourth of • water, which his Worship, while overlooking the present offence, gave it as his opinion to be much in excess of the proper quantity. One offender was fined 10s and costs, aud the other cases dismissed," The ' above-mentioned " revenue officer ■' with Professor Black, might fiud some employment at the Thames just now. where a good deal of curiosity has been aroused as to adulterations. The Dunedin Resident Magistrate seems to hare a cwious notion as to milk. The sample submitted to him combined one-fourth of water—the proportion at the Thames being from one-half to three-fourths of water—which the Magistrate said was "in excess of the proper quantity." We were not aware that there was any "proper quantity" of water which should be added to milk,' Our present interest in Professor Black's labours would be increased if he had analysed some specimens of rum,

Max Adler writes to the Daulury News as follows:— A recent medical experiment has excited a considerable amount of interest in our village. My neighbour Simpson was nearly dead with consumption, and Dr. Elopkins at last, in despair, concluded to try the effect of a transfusion of blood, of which he had heard so much lately. As no human being was willing $o shed his blood for Simpson, the doctor bled Simpson's goat, and opening a vein in Simpson's arm, he injected about two quarts of blood into the patient's system. Simpson immediately began to revive, but, .singular to relate, no sooner had his strength returned tliau he jumped out of bed, and, twitching his head about after the fashion of a goat, he made a savage attempt to butt the doctor. That medical gentleman, after having Simpson's head plunged against his stomach three or four times, took refuge in the closet, whereupon Simpson banged his head against the panel of the door a couple of times, and wouid have probably have broken it to splinters had not his mother-in-law entered at that moment and diverted his. attention. One well directed Mow from Simpson's head floored her, and then, ■ while she screamed for help, drnpson frolicked around over the floor, making assiduous efforts to nibble the green flowers in the ingrain carpet, Whei they called the hired man in, and tied him down on the bed, un effort was made to interview him, but the only answer he could give to such questions as how he felt and when he wanted his medicine, was a "baa," precisely like that of thegoat; and then he would strain himself in an effort to butt a- hole in the headboard. The condition of the patient was so alarming, and Mrs. Simpson was so indignant, that Dr. Hopkins determined to undo the evil if possible. So he first bled Simpson freely and then by heavily bribing Simpson's Irishman, he procured fresh blood from him and injected Simpson a second time. Simpson is now as well as ever, excepting that he shocks his old Kepublican friends by displaying an irresistible tendency to vote the Democratic ticket, aud makes his mother-in-law mad by speaking with a strong brogue, but he has given up butting, and has never indulged in it since but once, and that was on Sunday, when one of the remaining corpuscles of goat's blood getting into his brain just a? he was going iuto.church he butted the sexton half way up the aisle and only recovered himself sufficiently to apologize just as the enraged official was about to floor him with a hymn-book.

The 3,5. ' Strathnaver,' bound to Madras, fell s in witli the.crew of a schooner which had been sunk under most extraordinary circumstances. 1 The captain and others on board the steamer kad observed the schooner a few miles off, and saw a dark mass on the water moving towards ■ her shortly before she was observed to careen 1 and founder. The writer says:—"A3 soon as ( tke poor fellows were able to tell their story | they astounded us with the assertion that their ( vessel had been submerged by a gigantic ' cuttle-fish or calamary, the animal which, in a 1 sooaller form, al tracts so much attention in the | Brighton Aquarium as the Octopus. Each , n-trrator had his version of the story, but in • tke ma'.n all the narratives tallied so remark- 1 ably as to leave no doubt of the fact, As soon ] as he was at leisure I prevailed on tke skipper t) give me kis written account of tke disaster, and I have now much pleasure in you a copy of his interesting narrative:—'l was lately skipper of the' Pearl,' schooner, 150 tons, aB tight a little craft as ever sailed in these seas, with a crew of six men. We were bound from tke Mauritius to Rangoon in ballast, to return with paddy, and had to put in at (Me for water. Three d lys out we fell becalmed in the Bay, (lat. 80deg. 50min. N., long. 80.1 eg. smin. B.). On May 10, about 5 p.m. (eight bel's I know had gone), we sighted a twomasted screw on our port quarter about five or six miles off; very soon afleir, a« we lay motionless, a gieat mass rose slowly out of the sea, about half a mile on our larboard side, and remained spread out, asit were, and stationary; it lookei like the back of a huge whale, but it Bloped less and was of brownish colour, liven at that distance it seemed much longer than out craft, and it seemed to be basking in the sun. 'What's that?' I sung out to tke mate. 'Blest if I knows; barring its size, colour, and shape, it might be a whale,' replied Tom Scott. 1 And it ain't the sea-sarpent,'said- one of the crew,",'for he's too round for that ere crittur.' I went into the cabin for my riflj, and, as I was preparing to fire, Bill Darling, a Newfoundlander, caine on deck, and, looking at the monster, exclaimed, putting up his hand, ' Have a care, master, that ere is a squid, and will capsize us if jou hurt him.' Smiling at the idea I let fly aud hit hira, and with that he shook, tkere was a great ripple all round him • and he began to move. 'Out with all your axes and knives,' shouted Bill, ' and-cut at any part of him that comes on board! look alive and Lord kelp us!' Not aware of the danger, and never having heard of such a monster, i gave no it was no use touching the helm or rope 3to get out of the way. By this time tkree of the crew, Bill iucluded, had found axes, aud one a rusty-cutlass, and were all looking over the ship's side at the advancing monster.- We could now see a huge oblong mass moving by jerks just under the surface of the.water and an 'enormous train following ;| the oblong body was at least half the size of our vessel inleigth, and just as thick; the wake or train might have been 100 feet long. In tke time that I have taken to wiite this the brute struck us, and the ship quivered under the thud; in another moment monstrous arms like trees seized the vessel, and she heeled over; in another second the mooster was aboard, squeezed in between the two masts, Bill screaming, ' Slash for your lives.' but all our slashing was of no avail, for tke brute, holding on by his arms, slipped his vast body overboard and pulled the vessel down with him on her beam ends We were thrown into tke water at once, and just as I went over I caught 1 sight of one of tke crew, cither Bill or Tom Fielding, squashed up between the mast and one of those awful arms. For a few seconds our ship lay on her beam ends, then filled, and went down, Another of the crew must have been sucked down, for you only picked up live,if The rest you know. I can't 101 l who ran up 1 the, enßign,—James Floyd, late master of the schooner Pearl,'"

have glorious news for the-teetotallcrs," says the Trenthara correspondent of the KynetodGuardian. "Mr Streikfuss, at Wheeler's saw-mill, who'is one of the racst experienced chemists in Victoria, his discovered a cure for drunkenness. One dose of his medicine, which imperfectly innocuous, will effect a revolution iii the most confirmed drunkard. He will pre tt his prescription to the Society of '•abitea for the small sum of £500."