MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1867. SUPREME COURT. The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY DECEMBER 2, 1867. SUPREME COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 285, 2 December 1867, Page 2

MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1867.

SUPREME COURT.

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY DECEMBER 2, 1867. SUPREME COURT.

Monday, December 2nd, 1867. CIVIL SITTINGS. (Before his Honor Mr Justice Richmond, and a Special Jury.) BENTLEY V. KENNEDY BROTHERS. Mr Conolly and Mr H. Adams appeared for the plaintiff, Mr Travers and Mr Kingdon for the defendants. This was an action for good.- sold and delivered to the defendants, who are merchants at Hokitika and Greymouth. Part of the goods had been shipped to Hokitika by the Eleanor, and the rest by the Amelia Frances to the Grey in July, 1865. The latter vessel has never beeu heard of since she left this port, but the shipment of the Eleanor was admitted, and the plaintiff proved the shipment by the Amelia Frances, producing the bill of lading signed by the master of the vessel in favor of the defendants. For the defence it -was contended that the property in question did not pass to the defendants, but the Judge decided that it had passed on signing the bill of lading, and directed the jury accordingly. A verdict was taken by consent of the defendants for . £498 15s 4d. The case Bomford v. Eyes, involving an important question of right of road, was proceeding when we went to press. .

His Lordship Bishop Suter has announced his intention of holding a confirmation at Christ Church on Sunday next, and also that he will give a preparatory address to the candidates at the Bishop's School-room on Friday evening. Mr A. D. Dobson, the Assistant Provincial Engineer, returned to town on Thursday evening from his exploration trip to the Karamea. It is stated that his investigation of the district has presented the question as to the best entrance into the Karamea on a much more extended scale than was hither to anticipated, and the publication of his report, which will be presented to the Government at the end of the week, will be looked forward to with some curiosity. From what we can gather, it seems probable that the adoption of the old Wangapeka track, better known as Rochfort's, would present the greatest facilities for opening up the whole of the Upper Karamea as well as the Mokihinui district. The • firing for the Provincial Government Champion Prize takes place to-morrow at the Maitai butts. As not only the three highest scorers in each company for the present year, but also the winners in each contest since the first institution of these prizes in 1861, will compete for the prize revolver, the firing will necessarily occupy some time, and the usual driU of the No. 1 Rifle Cadets |will therefore not take place in the afternoon. We have been informed that we were in error in stating in our report of the case Eyes and . another v. Wither, in the proceedings in the Supreme Court on Friday last, that the sum mentioned as the amount of rent due from the plaintiffs to the defendant was £9000, this being ih excess of the actual sum; and that for this amount the defendant holds security. With reference to this statement we may observe that, if we remember aright, the actual amount admitted by the plaintiffs' counsel, which would have been due on the Ist of January 1867, was £9100 odd, against which the defendant holds security on 1000 acres of land at Massacre-hill, valued by the plaintiffs at £6 per acre, besides the wool security, which will probably not produce more than £1 100, or £1200 at the utmost. No cases of any public importance have been heard at the Resident Magistrate's Court either Saturday or to-day. We are informed that it is stated by the Maoris that the' late flood on the West Coast, which took place on the 9th and 10th ult. rose seven feet higher than any which had previously occurred there. The damage done in the Buller district has been estimated at £35,000. and at the Grey at j>robably a still larger sum.

I By a telegram received from Hokitika we learn \ that the Lord Ashley arrived there this morning at 10, having been 12 days out from this port. The Nathan Juvenile Troupe appear again this evening at the Oddfellows' Hall, Mr Chambers having, we are glad to say, entirely recovered from the effects of his late accident. The programme includes noTess than three pieces : the Irish Tutor, in which Little Marion plays Dr O'Toole fur the first time; an amusing farce, ' Quiet Lodgings,' and the burlesque of Codadad, which was so well received on their former visit. On Thursday, Little Marion takes her benefit, when shewill present every person in the reserved seats with a souvenir, in the shape of her portrait taken in the character of Dr O'Toole. From our Napier files, for which we are indebted to the courtesy of Captain Bendall, of the Star of the South, which arrived yesterday, we learn that the Ahuriri had arrived from Wanganui, having on board two companies of the 18th Royal Irish, who are to be stationed at Napier. Tha Star of the South left Napier on Wednesday, the 27th ultimo at 8 a.m., had moderate weather the first part of the passage; at 5 a.m. on the 28th, about 10 miles north of Cape Pallisser met a very heavy S.W. gale which compelled her to bear up for Castle Point for shelter, remained there until 9 p.m. on the 29th, the gale having moderated she proceeded on the voyage, had strong N.W. gale through the Straits, and arrived at the Waimea River at I p.m. yesterday. Cargo 30 fat cattle and 800 fat sheep to the order of D. Max; & Co. Notwithstanding the bad weather encountered on the passage, the i.tock were landed in excellent condition, which speaks well for the Star of the South as a cattle ship. The Westport Times, November 30, gives the following from Charleston: — The late heavy rains have caused injury to several of the old claims, and retarded the progress of constructing new ones, and a little fine weather, after such a long spell of bad, would be appreciated by miners as well as business people. The superabundance of moisture has had too, a bad effect on the young vegetation springing up around us, rendering the ground sodden and sour, and damping the prospects of many an enterprising gardener. In spite of old Saxby we look to the new moon bringing us a change. The Westport Times of the 26th ult., referring to the Auckland goldfields, says — We have received reliable information that hundreds are leaving these goldfields thoroughly disappointed. The reefs, if they can be -so called, are three in number, and are nothing more or less than a series of broken spurs, in which the gold is alloyed with silver and various other minerals. Outside of the reefs before alluded to there is literally nothing to depend upon, and numbers of people are almost in a state of starvation. They are not allowed to penetrate into the interior on account of the jealousy of the natives, who are gradually becoming more hostile, and it is feared that a collision, will shortly take place between the two races. The Melbourne Argus has the following remarks in an article on the New Zealand Goldfields: — All the facts of the case, in short, seem to point out that the volcanic region between Lake Wakatip and Nelson has beeu the source from which has been washed out the gold found in Otago, in the western parts of Canterbury, and in the province of Nelson. The area of the field, therefore, is presumably limited, though its richness may be very great, and its permanence may not be matter of dispute. Quartz reefs and cement loades bearing gold have been discovered over a wide extent of ground; and when, years hence, the alluvial fields are exhausted, they will no doubt be worked as energetically as they are in this colony. So far as discovery has followed the labors of the miner, it would lead to the impression that the goldfields of New Zealand will be of limited extent, though of inexhaustible richness. The maximum of their produce has probably been reached already; but there can be no doubt that they will continue to supply, for a period to which no limit can be fixed, a refreshing stream of that precious metal which has done so much for trade and commerce. The Otago Daily Times says — For five long months the lovers of oysters will have to abstain from partaking of them under a heavy penalty. The close season commences to-day, the Ist November, and continues for months. There is a penalty of £20 for either catching or selling oysters. The Governor has the powerj to relax the operation of the Act in respect to any portion of the colony he proclaims. It is really • worth while considering whether Southland (including Stewart's Island) and Otago might not be excepted, without any harm being done—indeed with positive advantage. We have it on excellent authority that those best able to judge at home, have arrived at the opinion that it would be well to repeal all the legislation which affects the oyster fisheries. Very competent authorities here have pronounced an entirely contrary ' opinion.' They state that the Stewart's Island .. oyster fisheries were being gradually but surely destroyed for want of some protective law such as that our contemporary objects to. The steamer William Miskin has been sold at Dunedin to Captain A. M'Kinnon for £1500. She was of 115 tonnage, had accommodation for 59 passengers, 25 in the cabin and 34 in the steerage. At the same time the Albion of 668 tons gross, with engines of 180 horse-power, and having accommodation for 85 saloon and 171 steerage passengers, was sold to Messrs Cargill and Maclean, for £10,000. The Wainui, 87 tons register, was withdrawn from sale on account of her owner, only £2850 having been offered. It would seem that the expediency of forming a new penal colony has been mooted in Victoria, and the Melbourne Age concludes a recent leading article on the subject by saying; — Why not send the convicts out of the colony altogether, and by their means extend the bounds of settlement more rapidly than by any other method? There is choice enough of new islands in the Pacific wherein to try the experiment. If New Guinea be too hot there is a Siberia (Kerguelin's Land) in the Southern Ocean. If the undertaking be toa onerous for a single colony let the maintenance or such a settlement be a federal concern, each colony paying in exact proportion to the number

of its criminals kept out of harm's way. If South Australia had sent a detachment of convicts to Adam Bay, where the new city of Palmerston was to have been laid out, the expedition would have proved a. success. The great secret of the faiulre of such attempts at colonisation lies in the fact that the settlers are all masters. Labor is wanted, and the most convenient and manageable of all kinds is the forced labor of convicts, by making use of which all the purposes of punishment and reformation are accomplished. It is expected (says the Argus) that by the advent of the Chinese new year, Castleniaine will be depopulated of Chinamen, who are purposing, and in fact preparing for, a speedy departure to New Zealand. The Manchester Examiner states that Mrs (Forbes) Yelverton is said to be very ill from anxiety and fatigue, but as soon as she recovers it is her intention to commence proceedings in Ireland for a divorce. Major Yelverton is at present in the South of France. The Gardeners' Chronicle, referring to the crop of 1867, says that apples are all but universally deficient, the deficiency being due in most cases to the injury done to the blossoms or to the young fruits by spring frosts; in some cases wlfere the trees have borne for many years, however, a crop has been produced, and in many market gardens round the metropolis a fair crop of apples may be seen. Pears are also, generally speaking, below average everywhere. Plums, with the exception of damsons, which are reported as unusually abundant, are short in quantity. The crop of ■ strawberrie-i has been on the whole good, though the blossoms suffered from the May frosts in some localities. Cherries may be estimated at about average, but of comparatively indifferent quality. Peaches, nectarines, apricots, the last especially, under average; and figs, as might have been expected, are very scanty. On the other hand, small fruits, such as currants and gooseberries, have been unu«ually abundant, while raspberries have suffered from the frosts. Nuts supply an average crop, but walnuts are all but a complete failure. Fruits generally are found to be deficient in flavor, owing, doubtless, to cold nights and absence of sunshine. If you have a screw rusted into wood, or a nut or bolt that will not readily turn, pour on a little kerosine and let it remain. In a little while it will penetrate the interstice, so that the screw may be easily started. — Builder. The trade unionists of Liverpool have passed a resolution on the proceedings at Sheffield, in which they say: — ' That this meeting is of opinion. that the fearful outrages recently brought to light in Sheffield are a disgrace to the nation, and the perpetrators of them are hereby denounced by all the members of the various trade societies now assembled; and we are further of opinion that the officers in particular of the Sheffield trades implicated in these disclosures are deserving of the strongest condemnation from all those wellregulated societies whose object is to promote the moral and social elevation of their members by peaceful and lawful means.' The debt of the United States is 2,511,000,000 dollars. A clergyman, at a funeral in Marylebone, went on wi'li the service until he came to the words, ' Our deceased [brother or sister"].-" Not remembering the sex of the deceased person the clergymau turned to one of the mourners and asked, in the language of the Prayerbook, ' brother or sister?' The man addressed very innocently replied. 'No relation at all, sir; only an acquaintance.' When a Paris omnibus is full the word 'complet' is placed on the rear of the stage. An American m Paris was anxious to see all the sights, and concluded that he would in part aceomplish his purpose by going about in the different omnibuses. He states however that he was never able to get to ' Complet,' and adds that ' the place must possess superior attractions, though not spoken of in the guidebook, for every omnibus going there was always full.' When a Baltimore girl is kissed she says she is taking chloroform, and remains insensible as long as the operation lasts.- — When a Tennessee girl is kissed she exclaims, ' Now put that back where you got it from.' — When a Buckeye girl is kissed she throws up her hands and ejaculates, ' Blissful moments, how they fly!' — When a Louisiana girl is kissed she gets miffed and says, 'I'd like to see you do that again, I would !' — When a Toledo girl is kissed she acts on the principle, 'If anyone smack thee on one cheek turn to him the other also.' — When a Chester girl is kissed she saj's, * Now, if you do that again I'll retaliate, I will.' We may add to the above, that when a Philadelphia girl is kissed she says in the most reasonable manner imaginable, ' Yes, you may go and ask my father.' In Maine, a conductor — too busy, we suggest, saying 'Go ahead!' to be particular about wedding formalities — invited bis betrothed and a minister into a car, and while the train was in motion was married; leaving that station a bachelor, at this station he was a married man ! ' It is but one of a thousand examples of life as it goes in this fast country.' — New York Nation. The mere fact of advertising a change of name gives no better legal status, and is in my opinion a useless expense, and sometimes a source of more annoyance than the original name. For example, if Mr Norfolk Howard had quietly assumed that name it would not at present stand as a nickname for a little animal [Bug] whose cognomen he originally bore. An attorney cannot alter his name without leave of the court or special license; neither can a barrister. — Notes and Queries. Consider whether we ought not to be more in the habit of seeking honor from our descendants than from our ancestors; thinking it better tobe nobly remembered than nobly born; and striving so to live that our sons and our sons' sons for ages to come, might still lead their children reverently to the doors out of we had been carried to the grave, saying, 'Look, this was his house; this was his chamber.'— John Ruskin. The old lady that used to dry her clothes on the equinoctial line has gone to Greenland to get the North Pole to prop it up with. Modesty is to the female character what saltpetre is to beef—while it preserves jits purity, it imparts a blush.