NELSON ACCLAMATISATION SOCIETY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume III, Issue 211, 5 September 1868, Page 2

NELSON ACCLAMATISATION SOCIETY.

A meeting of the members of this association took place yesterday afternoon at the Athenaeum Club, for the purpose of receiving the report of the Honorary Secretary on his return from his late visit to the colonies of Victoria and Tasmania. PI. Ailaras, Esq. occupied the chair, and the following members of the society were also present: — Count de Lapasture, the Hon. Major Morse, Drs. Irvine and Squires, Messrs A. J. Richmond, Greenfield, N. Edwards, W. Adams, M'Tavish, Batchelor, Elliott, Baly, Drew, and Lightband. The minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed, the Hon, Secretary, Mr. Huddleston, reported the payment to Mr Bailey, of London, of £103, for the shipment of birds received by the Gertrude, and also of £100 to Mr Edward Adams, for the purchase of game birds in England for the society. The Secretary then referred the meeting to the report of his proceedings in Victoria and Tasmania, published in this journal on Wednesday last, and produced the -accouuts of his expenditure, whilst employed on this mission, which showed that he bad expended about £50 less than the £250 granted by the society for this purpose, the actual amount being £194 7s. The accounts weie examined and declared to be perfectly satisfactory. Dr Irvine then moved, and Mr Greenfield seconded, the following resolution: — That the Society desires to tender to its valued Secretary, Mr Huddleston, a spe- ! cial vote of thanks for his spirited and disinterested exertions on behalf of the Society, and to congratulate him upon the success attendant on his late journey, iu connecting it with kindred associations in the neighboring colonies, and procuring for the province a variety of valuable acquisitions. The resolution was put to the meeting, and carried unanimously. A letter was read by the Secretary from the Registrar-General's Office, at Wellington, pointing out by what means \ the registration of the Society might be

carried out, which would entitle it to receive the license fees for pheasant shooting, &c, and it was resolved that a copy of the rules, signed by the chairman and three members, be forwarded to the Government. The Hun. Major Morse complained that the imported birds were released near the city, aud were uot sent up to the country districts, couduct which he considered unfair to the country subscribers, and expressed his regret that this course had been pursued in the case of the two haves lately imported. It was, however, explained by the Secretary (who charged the Major with personal motives in making Ihe complaint, as be had declined to avail himself of the offer repeatedly made to him of some quail,) and by other members of the committee, that this had been done in order that the birds might find food aft hand, when they were first set at liberty in a strange country; that it had been proved that the birds distributed themselves over the province, a fact which had been satisfactorily illustrated by the discovery that chaffinches had built at the Buller, and with, regard to the hares, it was imperatively necessary that they should be released immediately on their arrival. Mr M'Tavish suid that it could not be expected that birds, &c. should be turned out on each subscriber's property, and it did not appear that Major Morse had made any suitable provision for their reception. Major Morse replied that he had < intimated lots of places for birds to go to, but could not get them to go there,' a Statement that created much amusement, which was renewed when Dr Irvine sue- © gested that possibly an advertisement in the local papers, addressed to the birds, and suggestive of the Major's wishes, might be of some service under the circumBtances. It was theu determined that the four Angora and Cashmere goats should be placed in Victory-square, which has now been fenced in, under proper surveillance, the pure bred^Angora buck remaining at Mr Huddleston's. With reference to the poultry, including Spanish, Speckled Hamburgs, Houdans, Polands, and Brahma-pootras, brought by the Secretary from Victoria, it was decided, after considerable discussion, that they should be distributed and placed under the charge of any member of the Society, who, after two dozen eggs from each fowl have been delivered to the Secretary, will have the option of buying them at cost price. The fowls were allotted to various members in accordance with this arrangement. It was stated by the Secretary that he could hold out no hope of obtaining partridge's from Australia, but that the Victorian Society were prepared to exchange hares for pheasants to any extent. On the motion of Mr A. J. Richmond, it was unanimously resolved that the thanks of the Society be given to the Presidents and Secretaries of the Victorian and Tasmanian Acclimatisation Societies for the cordial assistance they had rendered to the Secretary of the Society during his recent visit to those colonies; and after a vote of thanks to the chairman, the proceedings, terminated. "We may add that during the meeting one of the trout ova, in which the fish was distinctly developed, together with specimens of the best Australian wool, and of the Angora wool (the latter of which was much admired), were submitted to the inspection of the Society, and elicited much curiosity.

Owing to the non-arrival of the Airedale, the mail for Europe, &c. } via Panama, -will not close definitely this evening at 8 o'clock, as announced. The rmil will not be closed until two hours pre-

vious to the time fixed for the departure of the Airedale, which, of course, cannot be ascertained until her arrival. An iuquest was held at the Upper Moutere Inn, on Saturday last, before F. E. Horneman, Esq., J.P., Acting Coroner, on the body of Henry Powell, who was killed by the overturning of his cart on the night of the 27th ult. It appeared from the evidence that the deceased had beeu drinking that evening with a man residing at Appleby, and that his body wts found on the following morning, lying quite dead under the cart. The jury returned a verdict of ' accidental death.' The k*t General Government Gazette notifies that his Excellency the Governor has been pleased to accept the resignation of the commission held by Honorary Captain Gueria, Nelson Rifle Volunteer Cadet Corps. It appears that Sir George Grey proceeds to England via Panama, by the Mataura, on the Blh instant, having arrived in Wellington on Tuesday last. An immense concourse of people of all classes assembled to greet him on his arrival in the s.s. Wellington, and it is intended that a monster banquet shall be given to Sir George iu the Government House Ball-room, on Monday evening, the prices of admission to which will be low enough to render the demonstration as general aa possible. The papers relative to the enquiry into Major Hunter's conduct while in charge of the Waiahi redoubt, were laid on the table of the General Assembly on Wednesday last, aud they prove that the men of Major Hunter's division refused to obey orders on the occasion referred to. There were no cases for heariug at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning. We understand that the Birch Hill Station, the property of Messrs Renwick aud S. Robinson, has changed hands, having been sold to an Australian purchaser, whose name we have been unable to learn, for £27,000. Diptheria has made its appearance at Wellington in the Te Aro end of the town, but as yet the malady is confined to children, and is of a very mitigated form. A purse of 100 sovereigns was presented to the Rev. W. Hall, the late Presbyterian Minister at Wellington, on his departure for Hokitika, at a tea meeting, held on Thursday, the 27th ult., for the purpose of welcoming the new Minister, the Rev. T. Patterson.