Provincial and General.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 28, 25 May 1870, Page 2

Provincial and General.

Eleven proselytes to Mormonism have altogether been emersed at Karori (Wellington), including a certain dame wlmfras: hitherto displayed strong proclivities towards intoxicating fluids. The New Zealand Herald says :—" One often hears of «plaited' hair, but last week | saucered' hair.came uader our notice, and in this wise:—A ladj proceeding down Queen-street was observed to come to grief suddenly in the matter of a very elaborate chignon. This artistic arrangement suddenly collapsed, and at the same moment a saucer, which had formed the basis for the superstructure of'the fair one's tresses, fell ou the pavement with a crash, and was shivered to pieces. The consternation of the owner at the unexpected revelation of the intimate relation between locks and crocks was only equalled in intensity by the amusement of the observers of the incident."

The first shipment of preserved meat from this colony to England has just been made by Messrs Walton, Warner, & Co., of Christchurch, who are sending home 121 cases of 61b-tins of preserved mutton, and three cases of preserved tongues, preserved by the Canterbury Meat Export Company (limited) from sheep fed upon the run of Messrs Cridland and Walton, on the Ashburfcon. From the superior quality of the meat we have seen preserved by this company, we have no doubt a profitable and ready market for it will be found. The company are now in full operation, and shipments of this valuable export will now steadily proceed.— Canterbury Times, May 14.

Walter Tricker, who has for many yeai-s been in gaol for the murder of Mr Rayner of Kangitikei, and in whose behalf a great stir has been made lately in Wellington by a number of persons who firmly believed in his innocence, has been discharged. The Maoris have given another proof of the possession of imitative faculties of a high order. According to a correspondent of the Wanganui Chronicle, they have invented a kind of telegraph, of which he writes :—" I had occasion early this week to go to Waihi, the post garrisoned by the natives of the Ngatiporou tribe, and was surprised at night by one of them asking if I would like to see their waea (wire), or system of communication from one whare to another. Their post is divided into two distinct pas or redoubts. They asked me what I would like to say to a native in the other pa. T gave them a message, and to my astonishment one. of them proceeded to "stinker'a bit of string suspended from the roof of the whare, aud in a short time my message was sent. I did not wait very long when the string before mentioned began to vibrate. One of them took a bit of paper and pencil and proceeded to take down the answer to my message, which, when translated to me, I found to be a correct one. On examining it, I found that the string is stretched from one whare to another all over the pa, ami that a continual communication is going on. 1 conversed with a native at a distance of about forty yards for some time." Sir George Eowen, like his predecessor Sir George Grey, has been purchasing an estate amongst the pretty scenery of the North. An Auckland contemporary says : —" We have - been informed that His Excellency Sir George BOTTgR has nur-, chased, or is about to purchase, that valuable pvoperty belonging to T. JElusseJ, Esq., known as the Pah Tarm, and situate near Onehunga. The proparty, which cost £12.000 some year, ago, has since been extensively and judiciously planted with trees and otherwise improved, and will in a few years become one of the handsomest sites for a country-jesidence in the neighborhood of Aucklaid.

It will be remembered that a man named George Dyer at present in England, lately confessed thai he had murdered one George WilsoD, hii mate, at Newstead Yictoria, so farbact as 1858. The. Argiil of 23rd April staes that a warrant for Dyer's arrest was amlied for at the Castlemaine Police Cour that day by Superintendent Winch, vho stated that the murderer's confessim in London was fully borne out by evidece that could be adduced at the trial. Thi warrant was granted, and will be forwrded by the outgoing mail. So the mrderer will be brought back to the scene>f his crime after an absence of twelve jrars!

The pit of th American Theatre last night presented ither a novel appearance, owing to a nuroer of Maori ladies and gentlemen appn-ing in court costume. This " full tires" or rather undress, consisted of a pairf trousers cut off considerably above the nees, and what resembled a door-mat thiwn over their shoulders. Their hair waan-istling with feathers, and they appearedalf bird, half Maori. They seemed to higff enjoy the performance, anil had theirratification been less noisely i testified, theiioy would have drawn forth | public sympafy The ladies appeared to possess one pfc amongst six smokers, and How tronienms clouds, to the evident disgust of the white sisters in the dress circle, who apared to think that althoWh they have jjlitly to suffer annoyince from men joking in the pit, the case was doubly trd when the practice was indulged injfwomen also Thamea Stoning Star, Ajl 26.

An Auckland coi lporary says that during a late inquest the Lunatic AsyI luiu a circumstance c ? to light revolting Ito the -feelings of hi ipity. It appears Qiat in the inorgue o lat institution the remains of the dead actually devoured by rats—the face of < unfortunate object of enquiry bearing tharka of the teeth of these vermin. y The old story of " at may hafjjfjfe a man in Victoria" kvell illustratecf-iff the following paragraj from the Daylisford Mercury : —" 'ij William Trimble who died a few days p in the Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum, ancjpon whose body a coroner's inquest vjikeld, was an old Daylesford resident oNpectability. His history has not beeriithout parallel on the gold-fields. Six jseven years aga he was one of the leadinmen in Dayldijrd, in the commission of !e peace, and a'&n« terprising and success) mining speculwbr ; indeed, we believe heks been known to

receive dividends araliting to nearly one thousand pounds a wfc from his.shares. The tide of fortune tfi turned, and calls in numerous 'unluckyppanies' exhausted his means as fast as ley had been accumulated. "Unlike mly others, however, he honourably dischged his obligations to the last shilling. Hs friends then obtained him the appoinnent of Crown lands bailiff, and he filled his, office for some time. At length his ind became affected, and last year it was Insidered necessary to place him in the arra Bend. There his mental infirmity, asing from softening of the brain, increasectill lately he sank into imbecility." The police are still]t after Power (says the Ovens Constitatu), and apparently with little prospects o catching him, It cannot be doubted thahe must have many friends who assist hinto evade the law. The boy he has with In is said to be more formidable than Powt himself, on account of the cool-headednesihe has all along displayed. It is thouit that the convict Lowry will endeavouto join them when he comes out of jai which will be very shortly, as his term f imprisonment has nearly expired.

Not the least aiming feature of amuse, ment at the America Theatre to en-look' ers in the dress circj are the pranks and capers of the boys i the pit between the acts and during tb interval. They are always on the loolout for some one to make a butt of, antconsequently some unlucky wight beconc* the victim." Last night, after exerting their energies on an unfortunate " incaiable" they turned their attention to a dipinutive Maori woman, named Matr Anig. evade persecutibhby assmning an expression of virtuous indignation, but as this did not succeed, gjie almost imperceptibly retired. Presenty she returned with a parcel of some substance, very much resembling flour, hosely wrapped up in a piece of paper, tie contents of which, on : the next attack,she violently flung on an | unsuspecting imocent who happened to I be sitting imirediately behind her, and whose ludicroic appearance, on calmly looking over Jimself, is easier imagined than described—Thames Evening »SW. As the hardlabor gang of the Nelson gaol were at work near the hospital on the sth inst., the warder found it necessatV to. find fault wim one of the prisoners, named Hans Peterson, for shirking his wk, . ..^9_ n t ne mm suddenly turned round ,ml tried '^"ifilifc" 11 , his spj le. 'f to jump on one side, and Petersjwhc| W but half-witted, was at once seeled l» taken back to the gaol.— EveniMfoilMt, A correspondent at the Lower firdeki I] Queensland, writes :—« This rir/is tee t ing with alligators. I was \\ river the other day, in comply with : ! . bfackfelbw, and in doing so fe neal / swam into the mouth of an alliitor fu# 20ft long. Fortunately, howetr, we *M the beast m time to get on fa/a lcaninl branch of a tree that stood in be middf ox the stream, before it conld reach ul We then pelted sticks at hia until vl ji drove him away. This done, ym may W sure ve did not lose much tinis in swinjpj ming to the nearest bank. Lojs of cattW' '1 horses, sheep, clogs, and four rien thatf'* I knour of, have been destroyed by tIJpM niorsters in the lower BurdeMn ancs§ S tributaries since I first came to the distil l f nov nine years ago." raff; 1

A. dreadful accident ocourrec at Igrf '' I gamru, about H miles from Ltob's jflf j 01 Saturday morning last. A MJfaffl Ji 1 Sifstead, formerly a seaman on^HflJ?ff saip Excelsior, was engaged vlute men in putting up some fencing fo- ! the nattves. In the prosecution of theil business the party had felled a large trert aid were proceeding to cut it in&SfeiieflJ preparatory to splitting rails. The 0;' vas nearly cut through, and deceased w« atting on the top of it. His mature, |peatedly urged him to come down and ce font of the way, but, out of bravado, her«J tused to take their advice. Suddenly tbi log parted, and Safstead made a BprimMU),* a rush to get clear, Falling, i Ins head against a neighboring irWIH J log rolled completely over him, c/ffln \ him to death. Information was IMI V I the mills of the dreadful I ) assistance could bj of no avail j f case. Information was at once Hflß I I Auckland police, and in the roeujH I I body was interred on the f