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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 3, 5 January 1869, Page 2

Up to the time of ouf goiug to press notelegram had been received by our Postmaster respecting the outward PanamaMail. The Tararua has not yec arrived at the Bluff, and greaf. uncertainty exists asto whether the Mataura will call this month at Wellington. The correspondence already posted will be sent on to Wellington,, in case the Mataura should call, if not, it will be despatched thence to Melbourne in time for the Suez Mail leaving thereon the 4th proximo. We direct the attention of our readers to an advertisement in another column announcing the advent amongst us of that sweet cautatrice, Madame Anna Bishop. We regret that such a short notice of her concert is all that is possible under the circumstances, as we fear that many of our fair townswomeu will thus be deprived of an opportuuity of hearing one of the most charming vocalists of the day. A very interesting lecture was delivered last evening by Mr Severne of Riwaka, at the Koom of the Young Men's Christian Association. The subject was Alexander the Great, and it was treated in a very able and pleasing manner. We have not space to do justice to the lecture but we may observe that those who were present seemed thoroughly to appreciate Mr Severne's endeavour to afford them an evening of intellectual enjoyment. We understand that the P- " tS: Grump will deliver a lecture to-mor. fir evening, at the Wesley an Church, on trie life of the late Rev. J. W, Shrewsbury. We have much pleasure in copying the following paragraph from the Grey River Argus. It is a refreshing remindei\of the good' old English icustoms; that obtain, „'at ibis joyous seaapn'in.'th? Oldj Country, where the claims of the sick and . the poor .and, f , the , needy! ' ire !j seldom forgotten. We hope Greymouth will not be

singular in its deeds of charity:— We are glad to find that a number of our citizens have not 'forgotten the patients in the Hospital at this festive season; and we" .are requested to acknowledge receipt of the following, donations: — From Mr Pelling — two pairs of fowls, three bottles wine, one bag vegetables'; Mr Strike— fifteen gallons ale, two dozen porter, halfdozen' wine; Mr Sampson — one pair fowls, one goose; MrMagoffin — one box cherries; Mr M'lnenery (Cobdeu) — two bags Vegetables ; Mrs Paul — one large cake ; Messrs Jones and Harms — two Christmas cakes. A correspondent has placed iv our hands (Press) the following extracts from letters received by the present Panama mail from correspondents likely to be well informed :•— From a letter dated 3 1st October — ' I heard yesterday that two regiments are ordered to New Zealand.' From a letter dated &lst October — 'The present Home Government appear to recognise the necessity of putting native matters ia the right path; and will assist with troops, add I Suppose, also with money, which is more wanted, if the colonists meet the Government half-way and put themselves in a proper state of defence; .... There is a strong idea that Bishop Selwyn will become Archbishop of Canterbury.' From a letter dated October 30 — 'Bishop Selwyn's name is mentioned freely for the Archbishopric of Canterbury.' Spurious gol-1 is being freely produced in Otago by the Chinese. The Dunedin Sun says that some spurious gold, which two Chinamen managed to sell at Cromwell a few dnys since, has been shown to several experts in goldbuying in Dunedin ; and it has-been, by all of them, declared to be the most cleverly got up of any samples of the kind they have ever seen. The sample was about 3 oz. iv weight, and it looked like fine gold, of a good bright color — such as would deceive most buyers. It consisted of silver dust coated with gold. The Chinamen who sold the metal are in custody, at Cromwell Iv their tents, a considerable quantity of of it was found ; and it has been discovered that a Chinaman at Alexandra has been largely producing it. A very disgraceful case of tarring and feathering has recently occurred at Clunes. A respectable person, name Black, weut accompanied by a surveyor, to a mining claim known as. the New North Clunes Company, respecting the proprietorship of which there is some dispute, and was in the act of pegging off a portion of the ground when he was seized by a number of the ruffians in the employ of the Company, stripped, bound hand and foot, and smeared all over with hot pitch or tar. In the absence of feathers, the unfortunate sufferer was then coated with fragments of wool, straw, and whatever rubbish of a similar character first came to the hands of the cowai'dly wretches who were perpetrating the outrage ; aud when the victim was at length allowed to go away, he was more dead than alive, from the effects of the inhuman treatment to which he had been subjected, the pitch having been thrust into his mouth. The first step taken by Mr Black, after he had escaped from his tormentors, was that of securing indubitable evidence of their brutal behaviour in the shape of a photograph of himself, in his then abnormal costume of tar and feathers, or rather of tar and sticks. The next step was the equally sagacious oue of instructing his solicitor to take legal proceedings against the mining company, at whose instigation the outrage is supposed to have been committed, la; ing his damages at no less than £2000. Madame R., who is still a coquette in her quite advanced maturity, weut recently to a private evening,;, party after eleven o'clock. ' How late yni are, my charmer!' said -the mistress' of p^Vhouse to her, reprovingly. — 'I am -^q'ttite ashamed,' answered Madame R.; ' but my maid is So /eery slow: she takes more than an hour and a half to do my hair.'—' Fortunately,' 'bbserved one pi* her friends, • you' are not" obliged to stay at home' while she-is doing it' ..■.■'•■.'.• , ' ' " ...