The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1366.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 184, 6 October 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1366.

The Colouisfc published in its issue of yesterday, a somewhat elaborate criticism on tho conduct of those who circulated the intelligence received from Panama, in reference to the alleged gunpowder discovery in England. It says, " only shallow dealers in tho marvellous could have accepted and circulated tho talc without pointing out its antagonism to probability, and the titter contradiction of dates."' As the Mail circulated this intelligence, we- presume it is included in the condemnation. We make no pretensions to infallibility, and are as liable to be imposed upon as other journalists. Our telegram was sent us* by a highly respectable journalist in WelI lington. for tbere are three there, although I the Colonist says there are but two; and the 1 canard, if such ifc be, was verified by date, | and not contradicted by journals of a later f date. We merely circulated the intelligence j for what it was worth, and ou the authority | that was given us, and di-d nofc feel c.lled upou i to read a homily to our readers on a subject i- which was as obscure as telegrams usually are. ! All the journalists in Wellington and Nelson | are not however so profound as the learned [ pundit of the Colonist, who sees intuitively ] what ie takes a process of reasoning for his ! less favored fellow creatures to arrive afc, and I solves by his remarkable powers of ratioeiua- | tiou the knotty problems of the future of which they are content to wail tho solution j in the ordinary course of events. "With reference to i! shallow dealers in the marvelj lous," however, the charge comes with an j ill grace from one whose geese arc ali swans, j who multiplies every murder ho records .by j ; twenty or thirty, aud who so jumbles his own figures with those of the statesman whom be so \owjj favored with his graciou:; vatrouasc, as to prevent head aud tail being made of tho mystified subject. These are perhaps only the ecceutriciilea of genius, but they are ) such as should prevent a man who dwells iv a house of such fragile materials from hurling stones in fill directions, at those be ihiuks nature lias not* endowed witii such miraculous ! perspicacity as he fancies he possesses. j Our readers will remember that we stated i [ yesterday that the reason why vre did not publish Kelly's written statement was that tiie Sheriff refused to hand it to our reporter wheu requested by him to do so. It was with greafc surprise, therefore, that we saw the written statement of the dying crim-ual published verbatim in this moruiug's Examiner. The rulo that* obfcaius in all 'Civilised communities where the Press is recognised as an institution is, that tbe paper which is first published is entitled to receive first all documents permitted to be published, and if necessary is required to furnish slips to its contemporaries. In this respect the Sheriff has displayed greafc unfairness aud partiality unworthy of au official holding his high position. We do nofc understand the conduct of the Rev. Mr. Isaacs in reference to Levy's letter. Mr. Isaacs banded the letter to our reporter with the strict injunction that ifc was not to be published iv full. We published it in a condensed form at his request, but we see ifc is published iv full iv this morning's Examiner. Iv both cases au injustice has beeu done this journal, as but; for the reasous previously stated, both documents would have been published iv extenso in the Mail. Lasfc evening the Nelson Volunteer Fire Brigade met for wet, practice for the firsfc ticne. The brigade was in charge of Lieut. ' Murfin, assisted by Foreman Bond. There were 36 members present. Several houses in Bridge aud Trafalgar streets were chosen as the seat of supposed fires, and the skill of the firemen was tested iv moving from one spot to auother as the exigencies of the moment required them. "The men complained thafc; the engine v/as nofc in such good working} order as they had a right to expect it to be. , It is a good engine, however, and nov/ the Brigade are responsible for the order in which it is kept; ifc may be expected to do good ser-

vice. It -was No. 1 Government engine that was used last night. The practice was considered a successful one. We are indebted to Mr. A. Horsey, the purser of the Otago, for Melbourne .papers. . to the 26th ull. We learn from the Argus,, that the prospects of a. good crop, both iv Victoria aud South Australia, had not tended to re-assure tho market. The following is a list of prices : damaged maize, 4s Id ; prime samples, 4s 4d to 4s 6d; malt, 9s ; tea, is 9sd duty paid ; Mauritius sugars, rations £22 10s to £24, privately £22 iv bond ; white crystals, 375 ; (Sinclair's hams and bacon, Is B^d in bond ; full weight candles, bond, 10^d ; oysters, 9s 3d ; lobsters, 7s 6d ; Hennessy's pale brandy, iv case, 26s 9d ; Downer's kerosine, 3s 3d. The W. C. Times of the 29th uit. gives* the following prices realised from cargoes of lato arrivals: — Oals, 7s. 6d.; chaff, £19; car- . rots, £14; turnips, £8; potatoes, £6; whole maize, 7s. 9d.; flour, Adelaide, £21 to £21 iOs., Chilian, £*19 10s.; hams and bacou (Coey's), ls. od.; English cheese, ls. od. and is. 5£.d.; butter, Is. 7d. aud 2s. 4d. to 2s. sd. for prime parcels; wines and spirits stationary; for bottled beer little inquiry, a steady aud firm market anticipated. The following cases were heard in tho Resident Magistrate's Court to-day, under the Cattle Trespass Act. .W. Osman. allowing. 1 horse to be at large, fined 10s. and costs ; W. Taylor, 2 horses, 20s. and costs; I£. K. Turner, 5 horses, 50s. and costs ; W. Hargreaves, 2 horses, SOs. and costs. John Patterson was charged by the purser of the Egmont with being a stowaway during the passage of the vessel from New Plymouth to Nelson; he pleaded guilty, was fined £4 and. costs, and was ordered to pay the fare. £2 los., iv default of which to be imprisoned in Nelson gaol for two mouths, I Last evening, by the request of tlie inhabitants of Richmond, the members of the Stoke Temperance Sccicty and Band of Hope, repeated the '' Trial of John Barleycorn," ia tbe Agricultural Hall, Richmond. There was a large attendance, and the com- , pany were highly pleased with the eutertain- ' ment. The persons who engaged in the "trial," acquitted themselves in the most satisfactory manner, and produced a powerful | influence on the minds of those prasent in favor of the cause of temperance. The '•'trial" did not find favor, with some "roughs" outside the hall, who did all they could to disturb the meeting, by throwing stone.--:, and resorting to several other modes of annoyance. Probably only a few persons were concerned in this disgraceful conduct, and those not remarkable for their love of temperance principles. — Communicated. Tho interesting ceremony of ordination of two native deacons lately took place afc St. Paul's Cathedral, Auckland, by the Lord Bishop of New Zeaiand, assisted by the Yen. Archdeacon Lloyd, and Eev. Messrs. Chapman, Ash well, and ' Baker, native missionaries. The peraonfj ordained were the Rev*. Seth Tarawhifci, and the Hey. M. Tau paid. The first-mentioned native is to occupy the Hey. Mr. Ashwell's station at Tau pir i, oa the Waikato, and the Key. M. Taupaki wiil occupy a station in connection with Archdeacon Williams, at the Bay of Islands. A piece of Greenstone, very pure, and a ! remarkably beautiful specimen, weighing over eighty pounds, was taken lately near the Kanieri. Twelvemonths ago such a specimen would have sold for probably £150. To-day the insignificant snm of 40s. was offered for it. We (Gr. R. Argus) are glad to learn that the miners at Duffers' Guliey havo determined to solve the problem whether there is a secoud bottom in that district. Recently a meeting of miners and storekeepers* was held to consider the advisability of forming a compauy for testing for the second bottom, and wo understand tho decision was. unanimously arrived afc to form a co-operate association for the purpose. We are informed that some very rich prospects have lately .been obtained by means of tunnelling into - } the.. hi 11 from tlio. ..creek. Barr aud Co., who 'have driven in to a distance of 90 feet,! and made several cross drives, have obtained . from 2 tp' 6 dwts. to the. dish, with frrm -18 iucliea to 2 feet of washdirt.

The Hokitika Star of the Ist says a nugget weighing ; 'l2oz; 3dwts. was purchased to day by the Bank pf New Zealand. It was got by a miner at the. Greenstone Creek, is perfectly pure, and free from quartz, and resembles a small golden egg. We hope to hear of mauy more of these welcome visitors. We (D. S. Cross) learn that Mr. Mackay has lately settled with several of the tribes having claims to the land at Tauranga. The Tawera tribe, at Manaia have been pnid £500, which clears offall their claims on the blocks from the Katikati to Waimapu. £600 was paid to Moananui, for himself, Taraia, and others, which disposes of their claim to Ivatikati ; Taraia received £500 for the claims of the Ngntitumutumu hapu of the Ngntirnaru over tho block between Katikati aud Te Punn. Taraia received £100 for himself for some other claims. The £600 received by Moananui was, excepting a small sum, divided amongst Te Hira and various other claimants in the Thames and Coromandel. Taraia was quite satisfied with the way the matter has been settled, and said that he would be glad to do good turn to the Government, and remove any further difficulties with the still dissatisfied. !Ngaiterangi, by clearing them off from Tauranga vi et armis. The Auckland pennyjournal says: — There are no separate rooms in the Mount Eden Gaol for female debtors, aud yet we are informed, that a very respectable looking woman was admitted for debt, and is at present confined with .some 15 or 16 women, many of them notorious criminals. This is a disgrace to our community. The New Zealand Diocesan Synod has terminated its sittings. The principal question before the Synod at the concluding sitting was tho distress existing in Auckland, which gave rise to a lengthened discussion of -various modes proposed for afford insj relief. Tt was ultimately agreed, that the Standing Committee should be requested to take the whole subject of relief of the poor into consideration, and to adopt such measures as they might consider necessary to meet the present distress, nnd for that purpose to associate with themselves and with as many other persons as they might think proper. A committee was appointed for the purpose of promoting the social and religions improvement of th*e Maori people in the diocese. Colonel Haultaiu bus written to his constituents, the Franklin electors, and says: — I oannot recognise the right of auy of my constituents to call on mo to resign my seat in the Assembly on such grounds. I deny that I ever pledged myself either verbally or in writing to submit to be a mere delegate to the. Parliament of the Colony, aud I am surprised that those who know me should have imagined that I could have cousented to be placed in so unbecoming a position. The correspondent of the Daily Southern Cross says that on Friday, the 6th uit., a man named Henry Mathews, a private of JNo. o Company of the Ist Waikato Regiment, was killed by the explosion of a shell at the site of the Gate pa. It seems that a bugler of deceased's company had a fowling-piece, and he and Mathews were anxious to gefc powder to shoot ducks with. Mathews determined to open one of the 1001 b. shells which were lying about, although he was warned of the danger of so doing. Indeed Mathews seems to have thought thero was danger, for he told the bugler to get out of the way, which he did. Deceased took a hammer, aud was driving out the fuse, when the shell exploded, tearing the flesh completely off one of his legs and shattering the bone. His head ' and face were also much injured. The accident occurred just after diuuer, and the men were nearly ali lying down in the tents, or probably other lives would have beeu lost. Captain Hunter and Dr. Mauley (surgeon), 12ch regiment, came iv a short time from Tauranga, and everything possible was done for deceased, who lingered till hali'-past eight o'clock in the evening. Deceased was formerly a servant with Captain Dv Moulin. The authorities are very much' to blame for not collecting these shells, which are to be seen in all directions for a considerable distance. Upwards of two years have passed since the engagement at , the Gate pa, and still these shells are permitted to remain.

LATEST AUSTRALIAN TELEGRAMS.(From the Melbourne papers.) KEW SOUTH WALES. In the Assembly the state aid question ha 3 been postponed for two months, aud the 'Governor's Salary Reduction Bill has been thrown out. On the 25th in the Assembly, the Government stated that they do not intend moving in the matter of the federation of the' Australian colonies. The Treasurer's Budget is anxiously looked for. Rumours are current that the Government intend proposing a new scheme of taxation, or a national bank of issue. A number of forged notes on the Bank of New South Wales nre in circulation in the northern districts. The supposed forger has been captured. On the 22nd, a gentleman, supposed of the name of Graves, drove in a cab to the South Head, left his hat arid watch on the cliffs, and jumped off. The body was recovered soon afterwards. The Due de Penthievre and the Count de Beauvoir arrived on the 24th from Tasmania. The Wild Scotchman has been convicted on two charges of bushranging at Maryborough, and seutenced to 25 years' imprisonment. A stouemason was jammed to death whilst at work at Messrs. John Frazer & Co. s stores, in York- street. On the 24th the eclipse of the moon Was very distinctly seen, and the night was perfectly clear. A suspicious case of poisoning by strychnine has taken place at Clare. The wool sales were inanimate. Scoured wools were neglected ; greasy brought B£d. to 10d.; fleece, 25:_d. to 17^-d.; scoured. 17fd. to SOd. j handwashed, 10* d.; sheepskins, -lid. to 7£d. QUE"E^TSLANI>. At Brisbane, on the 20r,h uit., the Assembly passed the additional Customs Bill, the only alteration being that the ad valorem duties aro fixed at 7_ per cent, the exemptions being the same as at Sydney, with the additions of machinery, fencing wire, steamers, and sailing vessels. The Custom-house I .vas closed pending tho passage of the bill. The Assembly aiso passed resolutions for scamp duties. On the SOth the bills authorising the issue of Treasury bills and Treasury notes were \ passed through ali their stages. The. new' issue of Treasury bills amounts to £300,000, two-thirds of which are to be deposited in the Treasury as security for convertible Treasury notes, to be issued to the extent of the \ Treasury bills and gold held in the pupiic , coffers. | ADELAIDE. j The Chief Justice has delivered judgment j in the salvage case in re Electric. He awarded the steam-tug £1,000, the boat's crew £150, and the pilots £100. The counsel for the defendant intends appealing against the two latter awards. A large meeting was held in the Townhall, to discuss the question of iightiug the city with gas. It ended in vetoing the ques- ' tion, and a poll of the citizens has been de- j manded and granted. j Wheat is dull of sale, and prices are lower, j The inspectors of police here have de- ! manded an enquiry into their conduct, in consequence cf the attacks made upon them by the press, aud by the members of tho i Legislature in Parliament. The Government have granted their request. I Notwithstanding the severe drought of 1 the past season, there will be over 3,000,000 sheep to be shorn this season. One sale of wheat is reported on the 25th at ss. 2d.; but other buyers ouly offer ss. The Rev. Mr. Juliau Woede, secretary to Bishop Shiel, has had the title of Dean conferred upou him, and he will shortly receive the title of Doctor of Divinity from Rome. The Treasurer made his financial statement ou the 20th ulfe. He does not propose to make any change in the tariff. Ifc is said thafc the next crop of cereals will be the largest ever known here. A' strong expression of opinion has been • given in the Assembly antl by the' press, as to the inefficiency of the present police force,

f* . ii il ; i m»*~mmmm*m^Mmm-m--mm~^wmmim*Kam-WWmm-mBBSCm^UMUm , ( [jf f and to the absence df the 'chief commissionedexploring. ." M . "" •, -_„ \-~\ Madame' Durand'sje^lery^'as Wen found. Captain «|"-ohu Hart js likely ,'tqjbe -appointed the Sou ih 'Australian 'Cornm.ssibner* to the Paris Exhibition.. "■■'•"'.. '-. The corn market on" the 20tTr uit. was very qu iet. Holders "of wlifeat ask os. (xi., and the millers offer 55."3c1. '"only, owing to.the unsatisfactory state of the flour market: On the 21st uit the financial statement made by the Treasurer gave a favorable impression. ofthe position of the colony, in spite of present commercial, depression. The Treasurer said, that in one article of consumption^ beof, his belief was that this colony, would -not be"' able for many years to.supply-.itself; •- The prospects next' harvest are very favor -^ ' able. t __ ,„.-. : .. .... .: •