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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 106, 8 May 1867, Page 2

We understand that no appointment of nominators was made at the meetiug of the parishioners of Christ Church, held yesterday evening, it having been discovered that the appointment of these officers is vested in the. Vestry and the Diocesan Synod, and not in the parishioners generally. The Supreme Court sittings for this province will commence on the 16th inst, when we understand that Mr. Justice Johnston will preside for the last time, prior to his taking office as Acting Chief Justice of the colony, caused by the temporary absence iv Euj^land of Chief Justice Sir George Aruey. The cases for trial will include the atrocious bushranging case on the Waimangaroa, — which, for audacity and cold blooded barbarity, deserves to rank with the Maungatapu tragedy, — as well as other cases of less painful interest.The New Zealand Herald states that a very serious disease is making head amongst some of the flocks about Auckland, which, as yet, has defied the intelligence of surgical investigation. The sheep suffer evidently from pain iv the head, which causes them to batter their heads against auy hard substance, until they render themselves perfectly blind with repeated bruises. They refuse food, and ultimately piue away till they die. In the flock of one gentlemau some three or four diseased subjects have been killed and dissected by a medical man, but no cause of the disease has been discovered. The stomach, in every instance, we have been told, is perfectly healthy, but the livers and lungs are affected, and, iv the case of those which died of the disease, were quite rotten. It was expected that, as iv the case of grubs in the brain, which disease has before now caused sheep to knock their head about iv the sanr" 1 way, through excess of pain, it would be found that entozoa of some kind had been the cause. No trace of worm or grub has, however, been found either iv the brain or other organs of the head.

The Auckland papers contain long descriptions of the ceremonies observed at the religious profession of five novices of the Convent of Mercy, at Mount St. Mary, which took place in the conventual church on Saturday the '28th ult., Dr. Pompallier, Bishop of Aucklaud, officiating.

Some important facts have transpired through the minutes of the proceedings of the Postal Conference lately held at Melbourne, and in the memorial sent by it to her Majesty. Thus in one return it is stated that the population of Victoria is 63,000 ; number of letters received and despatched in one year, 1,150,000 ; amount contributed, £28,774. The same facts as regards the other colonies represented are as follows : — New South Wales, population, 430,859 ; letters, 556,000 ; contribution, £71,935. South Australia, population, 165,000 ; letters, 254,000 ; contribution, £17,098. New Zealand, population, 220,000 ; letters, 1,008,000 ; contribution, £95,194. Queensland, population, 100,000 ; letters, 242,000 j con-

tribution, £52,4*74. Tasmania, population, 100,000; letters, 82,176; contribution, £3,138. We gather from these statistics that New Zealand is a great letter-writing country as compared with the other five colonies referred to. Thus, comparing the population of Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia, with New Zealand, we find that the latter receives and despatches during the year, when the respective populations are considered, three times more letters than Victoria, nearly twice as many as New South Wales, and three times as many as South Australia. These calculations are based on the number actually received and despatched during the quarter ending December 31st, 1866.