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Bruce Herald, Volume XI, Issue 1077, 10 January 1879, Page 5

Some very anusing case 3 were heard in the Eesident Magistrates Court, Milton, on Tuesday. Several of the witnesses, &c, appeared to be rather deal and slow in giving evidence. Our worthy lawjera had their lungs well tested, as well as their patience, in conducting their caees. Mr "W. N. BjAIR, engineer in charge of the Middle Island, accompanied by Mr Ussher, resident enginee-, officially inspected the railway contracts from Balclutha to Clinton on the 7th. Theyfound the line generally in good order, and it is understood the line will be opened after s«ne minor works are completed. The date of opening is not yet fixed. Yesterday Balcntha was one mass of floating sand. It was impossible sometimes to see across the nain street, and sometimes it was impossible to »c at all. When the wind blows hard it plays tie very mischief with the township, and yet ire suppose nothing can be done to remedy the svil. Some imbecie Balcluthian sent us the following blood-curdlinj"joke"(o re yesterday's election :— "No latter what the result of the election, Mr Nicd must be perfectly content ; for there is no dabt but that he would have liked to have gone'n (Gawn in.)" We deeply regret that in a fiencsnly malicious momest we read this "joke" to anmoffending office boy. The funeral of the nnhapy youth takes place on Saturday. A rathsi nasty accident happened to Mr John Dicksa, yesterday. He was engaged «t

the exteution ot Me R. W. Capstiek'a auctiiou yards and store, and a sheet of corrugated iron, displaced by tbe wind, in falling caught his face with its edge, iafltcting some very painful, though fortunately not dangi-rous vrounde. Ho §iad to leave his work and go to his house where he was attended by Dr Stewart. He will probably be confined for a few days. : A traij left Balolutha on Tuesday with one or two gentlemen and a few workmen on board, bound for Clinton. Just as it arrived at Invertiel, where there is a very sharp curve in the line, Mr Proudfoc t's ballast engine was seen approaching from the opposite direction. Luckily the train that left here was proceeding very slowly aud cbe engines were pulled up in the nick of time, a very plight sheck as the engines met beiDg the only consequence. One of the men was knocked about a little and got a bit of a cut on the head, but this was the only casualty tbat resulted from what might have been a very serious accident. Many of our reader will be glad to learn that Mr Robert Deans R-tchie will shortly be in the district again. He is reported as having sailed from home in the Taranaki two months ago for New Zealand. Three gentlemen from here or the Clutha distiiot are soon about tD expand their minds by travel. Mr Stanbrooke, of the Koyal Hotel, Milton, and Mr Paton, late of the Southbridge district, leave for Melbonrne by the s.i. Lusitania next month. Mr W. Pillans, ex-Ctptaiu of the No 2 Company Clutha R. V., leaves Dunedin by the Euterpe soon. A MAN at Bradford, Englaud, has been held in bonds to keep the peace for sending oat a bellman to cry the proclamation that his wife was for sale. The land revenue for December amounted to £24,746, tbe otago Counties making the following returns :— Biuce, £431.; Clutha, £635; Lake?, £943; Mmiofcoto, £280; Taieri, £144; Tmpeka, £1,400; Vincent, £05; Waikouaiti, £362. | Y ester DAY was the first really hot day that ; h?s been experienced this summer. At noon a thermometer in the shade stood at 86 Several gentlemen, such as Messrs Perrier, Marryatt, and George Capstick to whom nature has been bountiful in covering, expressed Sydney Smith's wish, and were anxious to take off their flesh and sit in their bone*. A spkcial general meeting of the members of tbe Milton Bowling Club, will be Leld tonight on the green, as wiil be seen by an advertisement in another column. The business is of importarce, and should command a full attendance. We have been requested to draw attention to the advertisement in another column of bush land in the Akatore district, with taw mill plant complete. This would be an excellent investment, and would prevent Milton builders going to Dunsdiu for Iheir supplies of limber. The election of a Councillor to represent North Ward in the Borough Council took place yesierda}'. Thert, was little or no excitement over the master iv the townslip, tbe whole election being carried on in a quiet, gentlemanly manner. The result, made known shortly after six o'clock, was: Gawn, 41 ; Nichol, 22 Both gentlemen returned thanks. Tne courteous and friendly tactics adopted on both sides reflect the greatest credit on both the ciudidates and partizins. A lady from Excelsior, Michigan, recently (says an American exchange) related her tx perience in " shoeing hens." She in ,ke3 a boot or stocking of stout cloth, and ties it on the feet. Then the fowls are let loose into the garden and fields, and they kill off the insects but do not injure the crops in the least. Ife is amusing to see them walk — as though they were treading on eggs - at fii st, but they soon become used to it. The steamer Wyoming, sailed for New York lately from Liverpool, having on board no fewer than 600 Mormon converts who are about to take up their residence in Utah. They were accompanied by 17 elders returning to Salt Lake City, and wer ; under the charge of Mr Nesbitt, a Mormon agent, who has been in England for two years engaged in proselytising missions. The emigrants were collected from several countries of Europe in addition to the United Kingdom. 26 belong to Sweeden, Norway, and adjacent countries', aud 60 were from Switzerland and Germany. The efforts of the Mormon Agent in Ireland were unsuccessful, for not a single emigrant came from the island ; but from Scotland theve were 40 ; from Wales 50 ; and from England about 200. Information respecting the ages and sexes of the emigrants was not forthcoming. The ' Star's ' Tapatmi correspondent is responsible for the following : — " The Eettlers are moving for an enquiry into the action of the Land Board in granting to J. F. Herbert, of Ardmore Station, a second pre-emptive right on hi 3 run. The land in question is a piece ot the railway reserve, and is the very pick of it, being splendid bailey-growing land, worth L 6 or L 8 per acre. The settlers are incensed at Mr Bastings supporting the application, as they say it was always adjourned until he came from Wellington, while they applaud Mr Green's action in opposing it some time ago. They assert that it has been ascertained, on legal authority, that the original pro emptive right was taken out of a hundred, instead of off the run. Since the formation of the railway the reserve is worth about L 3000." " Ready mony Robinson" has the reputation of a Kew Zealand Crcesus. A writer in the ' Sydney Mail,' referring to the opening of the Amuri Plains at £25 per 100 acre farm by the New Zealand Company many years ago says :— " About that time a gentleman named Robinson, who has since become well-known under the tfogaomen of ' Ready-Money Robinwent to the Leud Office and took up 100,000 acres of the Amuri Plain for £25,000. He was son," came over from Adelaide. He offered .£350,000 |for it a year or two ago but declined it. On the 20bh September the sergeants of the Royal Scots Fusiliers stationed at Ayr celebrated the I: 00th Anniversary of the raising of their famous regiment by Charles Earl of Mar. Invitations having been sent to all surviving sergeants who had served with the regiment, there were present members from all partg of the kingdom wearing war medals — memoriate of Alma, lukerman. [Balaclava, and Sebastopol. The banquet was presided

ov<r by Quartermaster Sergeant Mericr. j supported by Major Hsz.-lriqg and Captain j Willoughby avid the Earl tf Mar cent a repre- ! sentative. Each non commissioned officer after entering the hall was conducted up to the > tattered and blood- stained colors, which had so often been borne to victory. The toasts of the Queen, the Service, and the Regiment were all drank with enthusiasm. The Scota Fusiliers were raised by the Earl of Mar in September, 1678, and tbe regiment was one of tbe first which obtained the distinction of being called Fusilliers. , " Twenty generations back," said I)r Thomson, writing in 1859, " the** aboriginal settlers wereun ter 1000 souls ; in seventeen generations they multiplied to 100,000, during which period cousins married cousin?, unclea nieces, nephews aunts, and other blood connected kindred. The result is f .hat the whole of the present generation are closely intermingled ; chiefs living widely apart, and formeily hostile, can trace without difficulty blood connection wi h ea< h other, while am ng the lower orders of the people tbe consequences of such unions are still more apparent." The persist nt violation of a natuial law was thus leading up to the extinction of the race long berore the stream of European colonisation was directed to tbeae islands ; we may have helped to accelerate it, and that considei ation does no doubt sustain the sentiment of kindness and forbearance and and the desire to help and save them which, in these latter years at least, have marked our relations with the Maoris as a people. It may be hoped that there wi'l be no change or need of ci ange in that course with any section of them in tbe future. "WmN the Scotch papers described what manner of men the City of Glasgow B nkdiree tors were," writes " Atbs " in tbe ' world, ' " a little fact came out which I hope will not be lost sight of. I call particular attention to it, because it had to be printed ©n the Sabbath day. This is alinest like tbe jest that in Scotland the hens are not allowed to lay eggs on Sunday, A Scotchman, whom I know, informs me that he was carefully trained as a boy to be a bank director, for he was not allowed to whistle to hid dog on the Lord's Day. He might call it in English, or call it in Gaelic, but whistling was devilish. It is to be hoped that the present exposure may have a good tffeut in reducing, to its absurdity, the Sabbatarianism which is the opprobrium of Scotch religion. These Scotch elders devour widows' houses without compuction, but; they excommunicate a compositor who has an engagement on a daily paper, and, therefore, has to woik on Sundays. I do trust that our friends of the Scotch Press will use the present opportunity to give a death blow to the degrading superstition which raises the fourth c mmandment into the greates-t of all, and, in too many oases, makes ib the substitute of all." It seems that the purchase of land near Wellington, lately telegraphed all ov.r the Colony, will bear explanation, the price having been wrongly reported. The 'Jvew Zealand Times' s=ay3 " The following additional patticulars respecting the recent sale of land atKairoi may be j of interest. It will be remembered that the ■ lard sold c< mprises 5800 acres, the price being ! £35,000 cash. It is considered a favourable ! purchase, and it is the intention of of the buyers '. | to lay off a little township in euitabl} 1 -- sized \ building allotments. .From tbe vendor's point ' j of view the price represents ±.100 ,in acre for about 180 acres of level land, £30 an acre for [ 200 acres hilly, aud £2 .an acre for thertmainder, which is rough and rugged land. We believe : the origiual cot was 5- an acre, but a good deal ■ of money had been spent on improvements. It is expected that the land win very shortly be ! surveyed and thrown open to the public. The ■ name of the new township will probabably be Brighton. The proposal has been entertained ' to sell only alternate allotments in the fi--st place, ! | enhanced value of the intermediate sections en- { abHng the owners to fix a lower upset price for j the land firit offered. No doubt in time the j tramway will extend up to this place, as the i distance from the Post < ffice to this place is j ; only about three miles." ;