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Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3155, 8 August 1881, Page 2

Messrs Tait and Mills, the successful tenderers for No. 6 contract borough drainage works, will commence work in about a fortnight. The Poverty Bay Herald understands that Mr S. Locke's address, as candidate for the East Coast electorate, will arrive in Gisborne by the next mail. The following " scratchings " have been posted for the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club's spring meeting, to be held on October 11: —Maori for the Spring Handicap, and Ratcatcher for the Flying Handicap. At the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, before H. Eyre Kenny, Esq., John Retter, of East Clive, was charged with slaughtering two sheep on his premises at Waipoureik, the said premises not being a duly licensed sltughterhouse. Mr Lascelles appeared for the accused, and pleaded not guilty. After hearing counsel, His Worship reserved his decision until tomorrow. Strong hopes are now entertained that, with the final settlement of the Karaitiana will case, the Racing Club maybe able to secure a permanent course at Pakowhai. Mr John Sheehan has been appointed trustee under Karaitiana's will; and as it is well known that he is always anxious to serve the interests and please the wishes of the residents of Napier, it is more than probable that an application to lease the Pakowhai course will be favorably received by him. Mr W. Clark, the manager of the Southern Cross Petroleum Cornpany,_was a passenger on board the Te Anau on Saturday, returning to Gisborne from Melbourne. While at Melbourne, Mr Clark in the course of a few hours, disposed of the whole balance of the company s shares, £15 000. He brings back with him a person thoroughly experienced in the manufacture of soap and candles from mineral grease, and with the oonsent of

the directory Mr ClsCjc'k purposes' to com- V., 4 Wnce to the übJiltul deposits already W discovored on thejjSpTpany's ground. The value of grease, freed from earth, in the Melbourne market, is £28 per ton.

Tho Harbor Board lost the sum of £2 5s on Sunday in consequence of the greedy character of its regulation!*. We understand that at all ports in New Zealand, except at Napier, coasting steamers on return trip are only charged half harbor dues. The s.s. Kiwi, returning from Poverty Bay on "V"" v Sunday, had neither cargo to deliver nor to «t. - f ' take in; she had merely to land passengers. ~" To enter inside and allow the passengers to walk from the deck to the wharf the Harbor Board would have charged £i 10s. The captain was willing: to pay half dues, but this was refused, and so he paid nothing by remaining outside and landing the passengers by the boats. The extortionate harbor dues have driven the s.s. Rangatira from this port, and the owners of the Kiwi are now thinking of leaving Napier out of the list of calling places on the East Coast. So much for harbor improvements.

The following deeds were submitted to the Trust Commissioner for investigation, during the past week :—Paora F-' ' • and others to Lawrence Higp-'- -~whata the Tuhirangi block, 10"" <,«iB, portion of ten years from 2 1 ' -** 0 acres i leas e for Kapuaina - • -■*= July, 1881. Hota to sharps *» a d others to H. R. Russell, •> • -o of the vendors in the Baukawa No. o block, 145 acres, lease for eighteen years and three months from ■27th May, 1881. Pene te Puna and others to H. R. Russell, share in the Pukehon block, 730 acres, conveyance. Te Kawhene to H. R. Russell, share in the W_oka block No. 1, 24 acres, lease for twenty-one years. Kingita Tohunga to H. R. Russell,. share in the "Waikareao blook, 423 acres, conveyance. Hori to Aroatua and. others to W. Rath* bone,Tarewa 47, N., 490 acres, lease for twenty-one years. Kingita-Tohunga to H. R. -Russell, Bhares in Te Aute No. 3, No. 2116, 157 acres, lease for eighteen years. Te Wharekiore and/another to H. R. Russell, share in the Waikoreao blook, 423 acres, lease for sixteen years. Mr James Grindell was agent for the applicants in all the above cases. Thaka Whaitiri to G. 3>. — Hamilton, Mangatoro block 82 N., 30.75Q acres, lease for forty years, Messrs Wilson, (J and Cotterill solioitors for applicant. Grantees of Raukawa West to Henare Matua and H. R. Russell, Raukawa West, 4827 acres, conveyance in trust, Mr H. M. White solioitor for applicants. Trustees of Te Hapuku to El ugh McLean, Tarata block, 503 acres, lease foe thirteen years, Messrs Wilson and Cbtterill for applicants. Kawhara and another to H. R. Russell, interest of vendors in the • Onepu West block, 287 acres, conveyance, Mr H. M, White solioitor for applicant. ' \

It is stated that a firm in Dunedin are desirous of establishing a new industry— namely, the manufacture of linseed oil and cake, if the seed oan be procured' in sufficient quantities. The firm will Le prepared to give 5s 6d per bushel for the seed, delivered in Dunedin, and will use every endeavour to place the flax in the Home market in the most advantageous way for the growers.

A lady with a history died at Wanganui recently. She was the wife of the Rev. G. Stannard. The deceased lady was a very old colonist, having arrived with her husband in New Zealand in 1841 with a party of Wesley an friends, who had purchased a large "block of land in the Waipara distriofc for settlement. The vessel they chartered was lost while entering the Kaipara River, and, with the exception of Mr and Mrs Stannard and a child of one of the party, named Wilkinson, all on board perished— some 19 in number. After residing for some years at Hokianga and Auckland Mr and Mrs Stannard were, in 1848, sent to Wanganui to establish a mission station at Waitotara. They embarked in the schooner Harriet Leichardt, and after a tempestuowß passage from Auckland of 11 days, during which time tbey were nearly starved, the vessel was wrecked at the Wanganui Heads, and, in company with the Rev,s.—■ Hobbs.of Auokland, and W. Kirk, of Wellington, Mr and Mrs Stannard narrowly escaped a watery grave. At the time ot her death the deceased lady had readied the advanced age of 71 year.

There has just died a lady whose name was often enough in men's mouths during the course of the Crimean war. The name was Seacole, and the history of its owner was singular enough. She was a Creole by birth, and had received an education in her youth which developed her ruling passion—a desire to nurse the sick. The Crimean war gave her the opportunity, and when the campaign was over there were many to testify to her noble self-devotion and unwearied kindness and care. Amateur nursing has since taken its place amongst other illustrations of fashion patronising duty; but Mrs Seacole herself carried the wounded off the field of battle, and when cholera made its appearance in the camp before Sebastopol, took charge of one' of the wards. She had other work to do than to be interesting in a costume. It was found when the peace came that her health was broken down, and any fortune she had utterly dissipated. But such claims on public recognition could not be overlooked. Many military men, including the com-mander-in-chief, interested themselves in procuring subscriptions to a fund, on the interest of which she has been able to end her days in comfort:—Home News.

The following curious return of the articles of value enclosed in letters opened in the Dead Letter Office has been presented to Parliament. There were found:—l 22 money orders, to the value of £433 17s lOdJ; 52 bank drafts, £2716 18s 3d ; 97 cheques, £1720 3s lid; 3 promissory notes, £1233 18s 2d ; postage stamps, £3 9s 8d ; bank notes, £94; gold, £29 10s; silver and copper, £1 12s sd; representing a total of £6233 10s 3d. There were also received ia the Dead Letter Office :—1 silver hunting watch, 5 gold rings (one of which was set with precious stones), 1 greenstone and gold brooch, 1 pair of gold eadngs, 1 silver breast-pin, 1 gold locket and chain, 1 silver locket, 1 gold chain, 1 hair watch-guard mounted in gold, 1 greenstone and gold pendant, and 1 silver watch-case. 1500 unclaimed registered letters. 81 lettess posted without addresses. 157 letters detained for postage, of which 8 were subsequently prepaid and forwarded. 626 newspapers and 300 books and other articles without addresses; of these it was found practicable to deliver 47. 30 letters with obscene and libellous addresses. 134 letters imperfectly and wrongly addressed. 764 refused letters. 5 letters with previouslyused postage stamps.

When Sir George Grey brought forward his Affirmations in Lieu of Oaths Bill (which has since been thrown out in the Upper House), Mr Weston' (ex-District Judge) is reported in Hansard to have said: —"He was sorry the bill did not go.. further and provide for_ the making of affirmations in courts of justice and everywhere else where obligations had to be taken, and the abolition of oaths. He spoke now from some little experience in courts of justice. In the Court which he had the honor to preside over for several years he had frequently seen oaths administered in the most reckless manner without any regard to reverence, and frequently he had adminis- i tered tho oath himself in order to preserve. >M becoming solemnity. Again, it constantly happened that men, from conscientious motives, objected to oaths —to the frequent reference to the Deity—and felt, though perhaps illogically, that the oath was more sacred in its consequences than a declara- . tion, and that in the witness-box they should speak with reservation and caution. He appreciated very much the position of the class of witness he had just referred to. It Beemed to him that the wholesale administration of the oath was a perfect scandal to the age in which we lived, and the sooner affirmations were substituted for oaths the better for society at large."