The Bruce Herald. "Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, JUNE 16, 1876.

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 812, 16 June 1876, Page 5

The Bruce Herald. " Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, JUNE 16, 1876.

The Superintendent's address to tbe members of the Provincial Council of Otago will be read with interest, not only by those persons who still side with his Honor in opposing the Abolition of the Provinces, but also by the most ardent supporters of the Government. After the long debate that took place during the last session of Parliament, the speeches that were delivered during the general election, and the discussions that have since been carried on between some of the leading politicians in the Colony, it could scarcely have been expected that Mr Macandrew would be able to throw any new light on the important subject to which he devotes the greater portion of his valedictory address. All the Superintendent's latest assertions have been made before, and in our opinion answered satisfactorily and conclusively by his political opponents : but that fact dGee not by any means render his address devoid of interest. Looking at Mr Mac andrew's past career, we cannot help repog^ nising in him a man who has worked I earnestly and well for fche good of Otago ■ and admitting that the promotion of the prosperity of this part of Mew Zealand has been the one leading idea in his mind during his long career as a politician, we can scarcely express surprise at the fact that the impending change in our system of government fills him with grief, and causes him to see danger lurking where men who are able to study the question calmly and dispassionately can see no reason for alarm. His regFefc is perhaps only natural, for he bag seen Otago grow from an insignificant settlement to its present state of prosperity under the system of government be lnves so well ; and now that the time has arrived for this Province r.nd tbe ejght other petty states to dispense with the leadingrstrings whjeh guided them so well in their infancy, and join in forming a powerful and united colony, his feelings must be akin to those of a fond parent whose child is about to leave the home in which it was reared and protected to face the world for Itself. It is also perhaps natural that Mr Macandrew should allow his temper to get the better of his discretion, and that in his wrath be should niake statements of an extravagant and almost mirth -provoking nature. However, as we said before, he is entitled to respect in his grief and anger, and his last address to the members of the last Provincial Council of Otago will possess a special Jnteregt of jts owijjn tJH»e tp cpm|.

The Southern Escort, which armed in Dunedin on Tuesday, brought down the following parcels :— Lawrence, 19250z». 4dwts. ; Waitahuna, 3490z5. 4dwts. ; Tokomairiro, 2466n5" Bdwts. Total, 26200Z5. I6dwts. Air Auckland telegram states .that the brother of the man Packer, murdered by Winiata, has arrived to inquire into the circumstances of his brother's death. It is expected he will proceed to "Wellington to have the matter inquired into by the House of Representatives. The 'Wellington Argus,' referring to the Queen's new title, saj s : — " The whole of the dispute about making her Majesty an Empress has a good deal of the absurd about it. We laugh at the Emperor of China for calling himself Brother of the Sun and First Cousin of the Moon, but really his ambition in this direction is not a whit more ridiculous, while it is far more excusable, than the anxiety of the Queon of England to be called Empress of India." The 'Tuapeka Times,' referring to the gold escort, says : — " The quantity of gold sent from Lawrence has been gradually increasing for some time past, and ere long we expect to see it considerably over 2000ozs. per month. The larger portion of the gold is, of course, obtained from the Blue Spur, where one claim alone is turning out a cake of about 300ozs. every four weeks. Within a few months double the number of ■tampers at present employed will be at work, and with the increased gold returns a new era of prosperity will be opened to this district." A fire occurred at Napier on the 11th inst. Six houses were destroyed. The origin is supposed to have been accidental. There will be an inquest to-morrow. There was no fire-engine or proper supply of water, otherwise the fire would have been extinguished sooner. The insurances were : — Peacock's furniture, stock and buildings, £750 (National) ; M'Anenesy's stock and furniture, £250 (National) ; building, £275 (South British) ; Shauley's house, furniture, &c., £100 (New Zealand). Total insurance, £1375. The ' New Zealand Gazette ' contains au Order in Council specifying the conditions under which the Piako Swamp land is to be sold, as follows : — The block contains 83,325 acres, and the Secretary for Crown Lands is authorised to sell it by private contract for the sum of £25,529. A portion of this — viz., £13,132— is to be paid to the Receiver of Land Revenues for the Auckland Province, and the remaining £8377 is to be expended in draining and making roads through the land. The sale is to take place within a month from the publication of the Order in Council, and whenever the purchase-money lias been paid a Crown grant in favor of the purchaser is to issue forthwith. ; A Mei/bocrne telegram in the 'Times' says: — " A second cable to Europe is still engaging public attention, and it is likely that Sir Julius Vogel's proposal for a conference of the colonies will be acted upon. Mr Cracknell, the Superintendent of Telegraphs in Sydney, has been despatched to America, it is said, on a special mission in connection with this subject. The existing cables are still silent, and at last the Edinburgh, which has been for three months lying in ordinary at Sydney, is to be despatched to Port Darwin to fish up the broken ends, When once sho arrives, the work of repairing will be soon accomplished, as the break is close to the shore. "We jet, however, hear nothing of the Madras and Penang line, and whether it is now at work." The 'Waitangi Tribune' Eays:— "A most audacious attempt at robbing a bank occurred on Wednesday evening last, at about seven o'clock, during the temporary absence of Mr Grant, the agent for the Union Bank of Australia. An entranoo was effected into the premises by breaking open the back-door. The would-be thieves, armed with a sledge-hammer, borrowed for the occasion from a neighboring smithy, attempted to force open the safe, which, however, proved to be too good for them, and as all the Bank proper--1 ties of any value had been, as usual, carefully deposited therein, the burglars had to depart without the iutended plunder. With the exception of the cafe-door-handle being knocked off, and the lock so tampered with that it could not be opened for a couple of hoars, no inconvenience or loss of any kind has been sustained. One of the scoundrels was impudent enough to leave the following nofcioe taoked to the back-door — ' I will call again next week.' It is to be hoped he may, when, no doubt, he will be warmly received and duly rewarded." " vEgles" is responsible for the following : — " The auctioneer's advertised reasons for selling are ordinarily simple enough. The furniture is usually the furniture of a gentleman about to visit Europe, or giving up housekeeping. No one ever announces that he is selling his property because he wauts the money. That is a contin: gency too absurd to contemplate. In this week's paper there is, however, an example of real can? dor. The advertiser takes the world fully into his Confidence. He throws open the closet and mr fcroducea you to — his mother-in-law. Tills is how he prefaces hie desire to sell his brewery and malt-house : — ' The Owner being about to Leave the Colony on Account of the Estrangement in his House that has been caused by the contents of a Letter Addressed to his Wife and Fallen into his Hands, as also to get rid of a Mother-in-law and her family.' " We clip the following from Wednesday's f Times' ••— " bout 80,000 slated from the Otago Company's quarries *fere discharged from the Maid of Otago at the Ci'o3B Jetty yesterday. They seemed to be of excellent quality — in fact we huve been informed that, after being thoroughly tgßted ? the slates from these quarries have b e . e n found to posses? more power of resist; ing the absorption of water than English and slates, jn consequence of the dejay in the opening of the railway from Oatnaru to Mahcno, they have not hijthcrto been sent to market in large quantities. Those which arrived yesterday were conveyed from Mahenb to Oamaru by ' the contraotoi'3 for that section of railway. We believe that the Company will shortly obtain the services of a number of experienced Welsh quarrymen. The slates appear to be of a superior quality to those previously to hand from the Company's quarry, and if the proprietary can see their way to placing them upon the market at a •lightly less price than the English article, it will doubtless lead to the stoppage of importatiopj ofilate,"

Thb formal openingpf the Kaitangata railway and coal mines will take place to-day. A large number of visitors are expected to arrive by a special train, -which will leave Dunadin at nine o'clock. A train will also leave Balclutha for Kaitangata at half-past eleven, both trains arriving at their destination at noon. A Scotch newspaper says :— " A Fifeshire man recently took hie child to the minuter to be baptised, who asked him, ' Are you prepared for bo solemn and important an occasion?' 'Prepared ?' he echoed, with some indignation, 'I hae a flrlot o' bannock bakin 1 , two hams, an' a gallon oV.the best Highland whusky ; an' I wud like to ken what better preparations ye expec' frae a man in my condition o' life ?' " The long talked of trotting match between Mr M'Laren's Frost and Mr Dwyor's Quicksand, for £20 a-side, took place on the Tokomairiro Racecourse, yesterday afternoon, in the presence of aboub fifty persons. The distance was three miles, and the horses were ridden by their owners. Quicksand went off with the lead, and was never caught, winning by about a hundred and fitty yards. The time was 10 minutes 50 seconds. The Government intends next session to introduce a measure amending Coroners' adminis- 1 tration. It is understood that the chief feature of the measure will be the appointment of the Resident Magistrate as the Coroner in every district of the country, to the supercegsion of other functionaries who may now chance to hold that office. When the Resident Magistrate cannot possibly attend an inquest the duty for the time being will devolve upon some one or other of the Justices in the locality. In order to improve the personnel of the Coroner's Jury, it is proposed to reduce the number probably to not more than seven and not less than four, duo care being taken in the selection, We clip the following from the ' Boston Advocate' : — " Eev. Dr. Larimer told his congregation a good story on Sunday evening. While in Kentucky he was invited to perform a marriage ceremony, and rode ten or twelve miles through mud nnd rain to unite the contracting parties. At thd conclusion of the ceremony the mother of the bride offered Dr Lorimer a filled wine-glass, which he declined, and said — 'You ought to be ashamed of yourself, madam, for offering these young people that whicJi may ultimately work their ruin. 1 The woman, placing her arms akimbo, said — ■' Look ha'ar, Mr Preacher, you kirn to marry this yar couple. You're married this yar couple. Now git.' " One of the Hobart Town auctioneers a few days since did something in the way of mental calculation, which shows a most powerful memory and a wonderful aptitude to deal with figures. As his partner was selling 56 head of cattle (says the 'Hobart Town Mercury') which were divided into 20 lots, he mentally calculated each pen as the sale proceeded, adding of course each time the proceeds of lot knocked down to the last, and so on until the 20 lots were quitted, Instautly, on the conclusion of the sale, he told the gross result, dividing the figures realised for bullocks from those of the cows, and gave to a fraction the average realised per head for each beast. This was done without pen, pencil, or paper, and even during the progress of the sale the gentleman frequently joined in conversation with the bystanders. The following morning h« could tell in addition to the above, the number of beasts in each pen, the names of the parties who purchased, and the figures at which they were sold. From the above it is evident that our friend's mental powers have kept pace with the growth of his body. A general meeting of Roman Catholics was hold in St. Mary's Cathedral, Wellington, on the 10th inst., to discuss a question of providing education for the Roman Catholic children of Wellington. Bishop Redwood occupied the chair. The following resolution was carried unanimously: — " That the Catholics of Wellington, in union with their fellow Catholics all over the world, fully appreciate the importance and necessity of a thoroughly sound Catholic education for their children, and in dutiful obedience to their chief pastor, are determined to make every sacrifice for that sacred and urgent purpose." A resolution was also carried to the effect that immediate and efficient means be adopted to erect a large central school worthy of the Catholic Church, and a suitable residence for the Christian Brothers who were to teach. Subscriptions were at once opened, and over £1000 was subscribed on the spot. A.N English phonographic magazine has the appended piece of information. " The following explanation has been given of this extraordinary functionary (printer's devil), who lingers still in our literature, but whom we now sock in vajn in our printing.ofllce. There was in Venice a printer named Aldus Manutius, who in his business was largely as?istcd by a negro lad whom some ignorant people believed to be an emissary of Satan. He was known in the oity a» ( the little black devil s' and so greab wa9 the curiosity of the people respecting the negro boy that his master one day (in order possibly to free himsilf of the charge of necromancy or something worse) publicly exhibited his sable assistant and made the following declaration : — " I, Aldus Manutius, printer to the High Church of the Do^e, have this day n:ade public exposure of the printer's devil. All who imagine that he is not flesh and blood, come and pinch him.' " In our report; of the case, Bank of New Zealand v. Hislop, heard in the Resident Magistrate's Court, Bnlcluthn, on the Ejth inst., it was stated that the Magistrate reserved a point raised with reference to the defacing of a stamp on a bill. The point was raised by Mr Walter Tayjor in moving for a nonsuit at the close of the plaintiff's case, on the ground tljat the bill not being properly stamped and defaced, there was no evidence before the Court of the existence of a legdl bill of exchange, upon which the plaintiffs as endorsees could recover. He contended hat the law made it imperative that the endorser mu9t canoel the stamp, which was adhesive, by writing his name across it, and put the date upon it. The bill purported to show that the drawer had cancelled the stamp .by writing the name of his firm across it and nothing else. The bill not being duly stamped was not evidence. The Magistrate reserved his decision. The point raised by Mr Taylor is one of considerable importance, at \ho present time,