TELEGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 289, 6 December 1867, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE.

Wellington, Dec. 6, 10.15 a.m. The Rakaia arrived from Sydney this morning. Passenger for Nelson — Miss Fletcher. The Free Banquet ;*t Melbourne in honor of H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, was a great success, 100,000 persons beiug present. The Prince did not attend in accordance with his promise, and thus caused great disappointment. Au Orange row took place in Stephen-street, and the Roman Catholics tore down a transparency bearing an Orange device, which had been placed in front of the Protestant Hall. A riot ensued, when some of those personswho were in the Hall fired, seriously wounding three persons. Four men are charged with being the riugleaders, and were remanded for a week. The Prince laid the foundation stone of the new Towuhall on the 29th uit.

The dinner to Mr Fitzherbert previous to his departure by the Panama steamer, takes place to-uight. The Provincialists stand aloof from this demonstration.

The heary rainfall which set in early this morning, and which shows every probability of its continuance, will, it is likely, necessitate the postponement for the firing for the Champion Prizes given by the Provincial Government, which would otherwise have taken place tomorrow.

We were g:ad to find that, in spite of the threatening state of the weather, the announcement that the Nathan Juvenile Troupe would give a farewell performance at the Oddfellows' Hall last night for Little Marion's benefit, elicited a satisfactory response. The audience was not only a numerous, but also an appreciative one, and the entire performance, which did not conclude until a late hour, passed off with the greatest spirit. The appearance of Mr Small for the first time as Felix O'Callaghan in His Last Legs was" an event which should not be allowed to pass unnoticed, for, with all our memories of poor G. V. Brooke's triumphs in this part still fresh "in our memory, it was impossible not to characterise it otherwise than as a decided success, and perhaps the best evidence of this fact might be found in the unrestrained delight with which the audience greeted his efforts. Mr Small was ablj supported by his juvenile coadjutors, and also by Mrs Nathan and Mr Chambers, and the performance was one of the most successful in which the Troupe h«ive appeared. The sketch of the Colonial Servant followed, Little Selina and her youthful sister keeping the audience in roars of laughter; and this was succeeded by The Irish Tutor, with Little Marion as Dr O'Toole. We have already noticed this extraordinary performance, into the spirit of which this little prodigy seemed to throw herself last night con amore, and we need not add that her. efforts to please were rewarded with the heartiest applause. An especially amusing episode was Little Marion's appearance in Mr Small's well-known song of ' The Unfortunate Man,' the 'makeup' being precisely that of her popular instructor when singing the song. For the encore, she gave some additional verses introducing Mr Small himself as another 'Unfortunate Man,' who thereanent appeared and added his contribution to the fun, which we needhardly state, was intensely enjoyed by the audience. The reception which the troupe met with last night must at all events have shown them that if their visit on the present occasion has not been so successful as they had a right to anticipate, this fact was attributable to extraneous circumstances and not to any lack of appreciation on the part of the public. The troupe leave for Hokitika to-day.

We understand that a petition has been in circulation during the last few days, with a view to obtain a commutation of the sentence of death just passed upon James Wilson for the murder of James Lennox. The plea for the extension of the prerogative of mercy in this case is founded on the fact of the non-identification of the murdered man's body as. that of the prisoner's mate, Lennox, and that the evidence against him was entirely of a circumstantial character.

The Southern Cross of the SOth. uit. publishes a letter written by a gentleman attached to the suite of H.R.H. tbe Duke of Edinburgh, on board the Galatea, dated 3 1st October, wliich concludes tli us: — We stay certainly seven weeks at Sydney. We go to Wellington, and perhaps to Nelson.

The Tauranga Record of the 23rd November says: — We should be wanting in our duty by withholding from the public a Government order published on the muster day of the present month. This order intimates that, unless the military settlers can produce certificates showing that their arms and accoutrements have been returned to the military store, their crown-grants will be withheld until tbe sum of £7 10s in each default be paid to rectify the loss sustained on the pait of the Government. We quite concur with the precaution exercised by the Government lor the protection of its property, but we object unhesitatingly to the time determined by them to exercise their prerogative, as it militates against the interests of the public wuo have purchased land, from the military settlers. At the termination of tbree years' service the military settlers, according to their conditions, were entitled to a crown-grant for their lands. The public purchased land on this presumption, and are they to be the sufierers by a post-mortem examination issued by the Government ? The public never heard of these conditions until this month, and if a default occurs in the purchases it is attributable solely to the delinquency of tbe Government, and not to the military settlers.

The following from the Wanganni Times_ of the 25th uit. supplies an answer to the question everybody is asking — What is the cause of such weather at this season ? : — The continuation of wet and stormy weather, so unusual at this season of the year, is by no means favorable to the ripening of the crops, or -sheepshearing, whicli is unusually late this season. This, we are informed by a shrewd observer, is occasioned by New Zealand having slipped her moosing-^ and begun to drift to ihe southward. Unless Mr Stuiibrd's financial cable pulls us up, there is great danger af floundering amongst the icebergs. Surely the weight of our colonial liabilities should obviate the necessity of taking in further ballast. No doubt the Ministry intend to throw out the grappling-irons of additional taxation next session which, if supported by a new loan, will pull ns up.

The following are Mr Macandrew 's views on the future government of the colony, delivered in a speech to his constituents at Clutha :-It is utterly futile to attempt to govern a country like this, as one. The country was colonised from so many different sources, that there was no cohesion between the parts. There were five distinct entities — Anckland, Canterbury, Wellington, Nelson, and Otago ; and he believed that the only way to do good wus to revert to the status quo ante — to go back to the five provinces ofthe Constitution Act. Give to each of the five full powers of self-government, and each would work out its own destiny. Let tbere be, in addition, a Federal Council, meeting once in every two or three years. He had always held that the General Assembly was the weak point of the constitution ; aud he appealed to his hearers to judge whether ail experience had not justified that opinion. The Assembly was a body not adapted to the circumstances of the country. We were just trying to mould together a number of incoherent materials, before they were ripe for fusion: and. to do that was an impossibility. When the land had all been sold, and the country peopled, it would be another matter, and we should want a different form of Government.

The Adelaide correspondent of the Spectator gives the following glowing account of the personal appearance and demeanor of H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. Describing the Prince's landing at Glenelg, he says: — 'And hat in hand walks the observant Prince, looking to the right and to the left, and bowing almost continually. He was dressed in plain clothes — black coat and vest, and light trousers; and a fine, frank, genial face is his. Besides, he is decidedly good-looking, and those chosen young ladies whose timorous little hearts arc said to be fluttering with excitement at the thought of dancing with the Prince, had better look well to their breast- armor, lest the gallant sailor should leave them with vacant bosoms on his departure. An address was read to him on leaving the pier, to which he briefly replied; in fact, that same brevity is one of his characteristics. It is said of him at the Cape that his voice, at all the public festivities where he was called upon to speak, showed one of the qualities of his mother — that ball-like clearness and distinctness whicli, without loudness, makes him readily heard even in a crowd.' The writer concludes his epistle with the following: — ' But I may remark that, short as has been the time he has yet spent in this city, we are all even now in love with him. He has such a affable manner about him that I should think him born to be beloved. May he always be surrounded by hearts as true as those which now beat in the breasts of the multitudes assembled in this capital of the first Australian colony ever honored by the visit of a British Prince.'

A good story is told of Baron Piatt, who, when once visiting a penal institution, inspected the treadmill with the rest, and, beiug practically disposed, the learned judge philanthropically trusted himself on the treadmill, desiring the warder to set it in motion. The machine was accordingly adjusted, and his lordship began to lift his feet. In a few minutes, however, he had had quite enough of it, and called to be released, but this was not so easy. * Please my lord,' said the man, ' you can't get off. It's set for 20 minutes.' So the judge w r as in durance until his ' term expired.'

Mrs (Longworth) Yelverton is about to visit the United States for the purpose of giving readings and recitations.

There are at the present time more than eight millions sterling of taxes in arrrear in Italy.

Sir John Bowring has been appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister' Plenipotentiary by the King of Siani to the Courts of Europe,

An ex-Emperor has just died at the patriarchal age of 85. Soulouque, who ruled over Hayti from 1849 to 1859, under the name of Faustin 1., has died at his native town.