The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1866.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 242, 14 December 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1866.

If the regatta committee are enabled to carry out the programme they have pubI lished, they will provide some very . good sports on Boxing Day. A dozen or more boat races, to which are added amusements of other kiuds, will be enough to occupy the public attention during a long day. It is needless to remark that the carrying out of such a programme will be an expensive affair, and that if it is to succeed the public must support the committee well by subscriptions. The greater portion of the money I will be expended in prizes, and it is highly desirable these should be on a liberal scale, in order to encourage competition, without which there will not be much life in the sports. It is said two or three boats may be . expected from Picton. one from Croixelles, and one from the Grey, whose owners have been stimulated to try their luck at the sports in question. The more liberal the subscriptions, the more numerous and valuable will be the prizes, the greater the competition, and consequently the more exciting the sports. It is said that many persons withhold their support on the present occasion, in consequence of past failures. Now past failures have arisen from the insufficiency of the arrangements and the paltry scale ou which it has been attempted to carry out the thing. The races are no failure, simply because the amusement loving portiouofthe public support them cordially, and annual aquatic sports would be equally successful if a few spirited people determine that they shall be carried out. As the time is rapidly approaching when the regatta is to take place, the committee should be freed from all anxiety as to the means of completing their plans. We hope a pull altogether on the part of the Nelson public, will render failure - an impossible thiug, and that next Boxing Day will long be remembered for the success which followed the. amusements then provided -by the public liberality. Mr. Cross has purchased a small steamer, the Lady Barkly, for trading to Motueka, Collingwood, and other places in the bay. We should imagine this steamer will prove a great convenience to farmers, gardeners, and pleasure seekers, whose means of communicating between Nelson and the other side of the bay, are somewhat limited. We regret to learn that Mr. James King, fell from the ladder on which he was standing, whilst engaged in painting at the Union ;. Chapel, Hardy-street, yesterday, and sustained fracture of the left arm, as well as concussion. of the brain. He is progressing favorably, und«r~the care of Dr. Cusack. The following are the scores up to 30, at 200, 300, 400, and 500 yards, for the Provinninl frovfirnment nrizes. at Waimea : —

The Canterbury Jfrovincial iixecuuve nave resigned, on a vote of want of confidence. Mr. Stewart is forming a new Government. The Parliament of. New Zealand, has been further prorogued to 19tli February next. Francis Harris, Esq., has been appointed Registrar of births, marriages, and deaths, for the district of Grey River, Nelson pro- : vince. . Mr. Thomas Hill, late of Nelson, and Lauding Surveyor at Wellington, has been ■appointed Collector of Customs at Dunedin.

The importance of prompt action in the application of restoratives, in the case of persons apparently drowned, was illustrated, in "Wellington, a short time ago. The Independent says : — The apparently lifeless body of a woman was found floating about in Oriental Bay. Information of the fact was at once given to the police, who proceeded to the spot, and after much exertion got the body on shore. Though apparently past all hope of recovery, Corporal Doran procured a cab, ; and conveyed the body to the hospital, where the usual restoratives were applied. For a long time no signs were given of returning animation, but eventually the unfortunate woman gave hopes of ultimate recovery and was restored. The Otago Steamship Company are about to have an addition made to their fleet in the shape of a steamer (the fac-simile of the Scotia, lost some time ago at the Bluff) called the Corea, which is expected at Melbourne, shortly from China. She sailed from Shanghai for Foo-choo-foo and Tientsin on the Bth September. : .The W. E. Post says — In the course of the sittings of the Supreme Court, his Honor the Judge incidentally mentioned that, by the law offiE^gland, no one could be taken up for being.th^ worse for liquor unless he' was an annoyance" to the passers by, or incapable of taking care of himself, and that, if staggering quietly home, the guardians of the peace could not legally interfere with him. We observed several well-known habitues of the Police Court, who were congregated in the body of the court, give an ominous shake of the head, which either implied that the information was to good to be true, or that they would put its verity to the test upon the earliest possible opportunity. We E. Post are glad to learn that letters were received by the Tararua from Mr. Crosbie Ward, announcing that his mission to Sydney on behalf of the New Zealaud Government, relative to the Panama service, had been so far most successful, and that he was about to leave for Melbourne as the representative of this colony, at a conference to be held tUereObetween all the colonies of Australia, J© consider the respective merits of the. Suez and Panama routes, and to determine as to the relative proportion towards the subsidies of the latter to be paid by colonies desirous of availing themselves of its service. Before the Supreme Court at Wellington, Elizabeth Dixou pleaded not guilty to keep-" ing a. house of ill-fume. From the evidence of neighbors residing in the district the charge was fully proved. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and his Honor, in consideration of the prisoner's great age, ordered her to be discharged on her own recognizan.ces for the sum of £100, and those of two sureties in the sums of £oi> each, on the understanding that if she again was charged, with keeping a brothel she should be brought up for judgment. In reference to the expected Caledonian gathering, at Wellington, the Independent remarks : — We are given to understand that the preliminary steps have caused great satisfaction — good subscriptions h?ve been pro--mised — good ground for the games, lent for the occasion— and a good working committee -will, doubtless, make all arrangements as perfect as can be obtained in New Zealand: The tenor of recent despatches received by the Government from England, indicates that the Imperial authorities are willing to leave something like 1,200 to 1,500 soldiers in the colony. As the Ministry have not asked for troops, it seems that the Imperial Government have come to this conclusion of their own accord. The Marlborough Express reports the following remarkable escape from drowning : — On Wednesday, the 29th of November,, Mr, James Stuart, a settler residing near the French Pass, left his home in a small dingy for Havelock. He had got abreast of the station of Mill Brothers, in the Pelorus Sound, when a sudden squall upset the boat. Being unable to swim, with great difficulty he managed to lay hold of the boat, which was floating bottom upwards. In the meantime the wind increased to a gale, and in this perilous position he remained for about five hours, when he was picked up some miles

further down the Sound by the schooner City of Nelson. Mr. Stuart says, had the schooner been ten minutes later he must have perished, as he was quite exhausted from his efforts to retain his hold of the boat. He speaks in very flattering terms of the kindness shown to him by the master and crew of the schooner. Mr. Stuart lost a considerable sum of money which was in a parcel with some clothing when the boat upset. The Marlborough News of the Ist inst., records the following singular escape from fire : — A man employed at the Blenheim Bakery, whose duty it was to rise very early in the morniug had retired for a few hours' rest, without undressing ; and it is supposed that by the friction of some matches he had in his pocket, a portion of the clothing he had around him was ignited. All that is known positively is that a cat belonging to the house went to the bed of a boy who had always shown partiality to the animal, and by purring and pawing succeeded in arousing the sleeping youth, who was the means of saving the life of the sleeping and half-suf-focated man. The W. E. Post says — When the names of the petit jury, summoned to attend at the civil sittings of the Supreme Court, were read over, such a number declared themselves to be exempt, from age, that his Honor remarked on the antiquity of the gentlemen summoned generally, and said that he wished it publicly known that all jurymen over sixty-three years of age should make the sheriff acquainted with the fact, in order that their names might be struck off the list. By a proclamation published in the New Zealand Gazette of the Ist instant, we learn that the Native Lands Act of 1866 came into operation on the Ist. The Waugauui Chronicle of the Ist instant says that all is quiet at the Front. The disaffected natives continue to come in and take the oath of allegiance in dozens and half dozens, men, women, and children, and will doubtless continue to do so, at least, until the autumn is over, and their crops have been safely garnered in. The Maoris, friendly and hostile, have planted to a considerable extent this season, not only kumeras and maze,, but in many cases wheat ; this is especially among the up-river tribes in the neighbourhood of Pipiriki and Parokino, where some promising cereal crops are growing. The Marlborough Press of the sth instant says : — lt is now definitely arranged that the long-looked for visit of the Wellington team of cricketers will take place in the early part of January next. One of the attractions on the programme of sports instituted by the Caledonian Society in Dunedin, is the reading of original poems in Gaelic and English on local topics. The judges on the ground will declare which is the hest, and will present the author with a gold medal. We learn from the Timaru Herald, that a seam of coal was discovered last week in the neighborhood of Arowheuna. The coal was first seen cropping out. in the bed of the Kakaku river, underlying the shingle, and it was supposed that a large deposit would be found in the neighboring banks. St. Andrew's Church, "Wellington, was opened for public worship, a few days ago. Mining in Southland is a good thing if the following from the Evening Post is true : — The Warden in the Orepuki gold-fields, Southland, in a recent report presented to the Superintenent of that province, says that there are about two hundred miners on that gold-field, making from £4 to £12 per week per man. He estimates the yield of gold at about 300 ounces per week, for the last two weeks. Wages men are scarce, at from 14s. upwards per day; stores from 15 to 20 per cent, over town prices ; bread, Is. 6d. per 41b loaf ; meat, lOd. to Is. per lb. We.(M. Press) are indebted to the News for the following scraps of information : — W. L. Wrey,- Esq., has succeeded in forming a company in England to construct a railway between Blenheim and Picton. There is a probability of a contest at the forthcoming election of members of Council for Picton. We can form ho opinion as to the foundation

for these, rumors.; but we hope that of. the first is as good, comparatively, as we know the^last to be bad. It is understood to be the intention of the Government to raise a mounted force to be called the Wellington Mounted Constabulary, to be embodied by the Ist January, 1867. The men will be distributed throughout the province. The bushranger Burke, who was sentenced <o death for shooting Mr. Hurst, has been executed in Melbourne. A petition againsf his beiug hanged was presented to the Melbourne Government. The Governor declined to extend the prerogative of mercy. An' Adelaide telegram to the Melbourne Argus on the 28th ult., says that, wheat, to be delivered this mouth, sold at from 4s. to 4s 4d.

Acting-Lieut. Barnes 12 14 14 14 ... 51 Private J. Tonilinson 16 11 11 6 ... 44 „ C. Tomlinson 14 11 9 5 ... 39 „ A. Baigent ... 14 10 8 6 ... 38 „ R. Fowler ... 11 13 12 2 ... 38 „ A.Taylor ... 11 12 8 5 ... 36 „ E. Baigent ... 10 9 9 6 ... 34 „ J.Ford ... 11 9 10 4 ... 34 „ W. Arnold ... 14 9 5 5 ... 33 „ RJBoddington 15 11 4 2 ... 32 „ G. Thorburn. 13 11 7 0 ... 31 „ G. Wratt ... 11 9 6 5 ... 31 „ J. M'Gowan.. 10 10 2 8 ... 30

Name. Airive Depart From . To. C.Hamilton. 2 3 Wellington Hok & Syd Otago 4 5 * Melb&Hok Wellington Egmont 4 9 Manukau.. Grey&Hok Airedale, or orPhcebe.... 9 10 Pieton, &c. Trki&Mku Tararua 12 14 Melb&Hok Wellington Lord Ashley. 18 20 Wellington Grey&Hok Airedale, or Phoebe .... 20 24 Trki&Mku Grey&Hok, Rangitoto.... 20 21 Melb&Hok Pieton., &c. Egmont 24 25 Wellington Trki&Mku C. Hamilton . 28 29 Syd & Hok Wellington