The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, APRIL 5, 1869. LOCAL NEWS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 78, 5 April 1869, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, APRIL 5, 1869. LOCAL NEWS.

Cattle Trespass. — At the Police Court this morning, before T. Brunner, Esq., J.P., H. E. Nathan was fiued one shiiliug and costs, for allowing a hoise to be at large iv the streets. Cricket. — A match was played on Saturday last among the College boys, of whom those, the initial letter of whose names were to be found between A and M inclusive, were matched against such as appeared between M and Z. .- The first half of the alphabet seems to have been too strong for the second, as, at the end of the day, the scores stood thus : — A to M, 135 ; M to Z, 106. Parish Meeting. — A meeting of the parishioners of Christchurch for the purpose of electing Churchwardens aud Vestrymen for the current year, is to be held at the Bishop's Schoolroom on Wednesday evening next, at 7 o'clock. We are very glad to find that the subject of providing an organ for the Church is to be mooted, aud we trust that this good work will be taken up in real earnest, so that the disgrace may uo longer attach to Nelson of being the only one of the original provinces of New Zealand in whose principal church are to be heard the grating tones of that wretched substitute for the organ which is called, oa the lucus a non lucendo principle we suppose, au harmonium. City Artillert. — This Company are to meet for shell and ball practice at he North end of Collingwood-street, this evening. Captain Pitt has been fortunate enough to obtain permission to use the old hulk which lies stranded on the mudflats as a target, aud we shall thus have the opportunity of witnessing the splintering effects of a shell bursting iv the sides of a wooden ship. The range we understand is a few yards short of a mile. Transparencies and Insurance Companies. — We have been requested to inform our readers that the fact of a transparency being erected outside a house and lighted from behiud invalidates the insurance against loss by fire, unless permission has been obtained from the insuring office and such permission endorsed upon the policy. Volunteer, Inspection. — We are informed that as the Volunteers are to be called out next week to receive the Duke of Edinburgh, the usual monthly inspection of the City Companies which is usually held on the first Tuesday in the month, and would consequently take place to-morrow, wiil ou this occasion be omitted. Accurate Information. — We understand that his Honor the Superintendent was considerably surprised on perusing his file of West Coast papers this morning, to find " that Constable Jeffery Macpherson, lately stationed at the Twelve-mile, was telegraphed for by the Superintendent of Nelson to be presented to the Duke of Edinburgh, as the first white man born in the Middle Island. He went to Nelson by the s.s. Murray, on her last trip." No doubt his Honor was much gratified to learn that " the first white man in the Middle Island was a resident in the Nelson Province," but we believe his gratification was exceeded by his astonishment at finding that he had telegraphed for him to come express to Nelson for the purpose of being presented to the Duke of Edinburgh. Accident at the Port. — A most extraordinary accident occurred on the hill leading to Major Richmond's house on Saturday last. It appears that Mr Cross junior, was taking a spring cart containing about 5 cwt up the hill, when just as he arrived opposite his father's residence, the horse jibbed, and, in spite of every precaution being taken, succeeded in backing the cart against the fence which soon

gave way, when the horse and car t were j precipitated over the cliff, at this spot | some forty feet in depth, on to the rocks be- i neath. Strange to say, the horse, with the exception of one or two skin wounds, escaped unhurt, whilst the only damage sustained hy the cart was a bent axle. Ball to the Duicis of Edinburgh. — We would call the attention of our readers to an advertisement signed by the Secretary of the Ball Committee in which the public are informed that no tickets will be issued after Saturday next, and that on no accouut whatever will money be taken at the doors. It will therefore be necessary for those who intend going to the ball to obtain their tickets during the current week. Torchlight Procession. — A correspondent suggests that there should be a torchlight procession on the evening of the day of the Duke of Edinburgh's arrival, ancl we thoroughly approve of his suggestion. As far as we have yet learned, no arrangements have been made for the entertainment of the Prince during his first evening in Nelson ; no doubt he would like to stroll through the towu, which would shew to great advantage if illuminated by torches, and as there are plenty of people who would enter i jto the spirit of the thing, and volunteer their services as torch bearers, while the cost of the materials would be a mere bagatelle, we strongly recommend the subject to the favorable consideration of the Committee. Present to the Duke oe Edinburgh. — In the window of Mr Drew, senior, Trafalgar-street, is to be seeu a walkingstick, which is to be presented to H.R.H., by Mr James Smith, formerly of the sSth regiment. The stick itself is a piece of Nelson grown ake- ake, the ferrule being made of Nelson copper. The head is a piece of ivory taken from Heke's pa, in the first native war, and at the junction of the stick and this knob is a beautifully engraved gold ferrule with chased edges, through the ornimental engraving of which are to be traced the words Nelson Gold. On the top of the ivory knob is a plate of gold, also the production of this Province, a little larger th.;n a shilling, ou which is engrave J a Sphinx, the badge of the 58th regiment, underneath which is the following inscription : __" H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, irom James Smith, an old soldh-r of the 58th Regt. Nelson, N. Z., 1869." The whole of the engraving, which is beautifully executed, was done by Mr Drew, and the stick with its ivory, gold, aud copper appendages will form a pleasing memento to His Royal Highness of his visit to Nelson. Triumphal Arch. — It has been decided by the Receptiou Commiti.ee that a I triumphal arch is to be erected across the road in front of Mr Hounsell's store, in Bridge-street, in honor of the Duke of Edinburgh's visit. It was proposed, we are informed, that on the summit of the arch should be placed twelve blushing damsels clad in white, whose duty it should be to shower down blessings in the shape of rosebuds on the sacred head of "our Sailor Priuce," as he passed beneath them. The idea was pretty, very pretty, but there were one or two objections urged, which deprived the proposed plan of the halo of romance with which it was encircled. The proprietor of the horses ! which are to draw the carriage in which H.R.H. will be seated, is a gentleman who evidently deals with the real rather than the ideal, and it is said, that ho made the practical suggestion, that very possibly the Prince might have sufficient poetry iv his composition to enjoy being pelted with roses, stripped of their thorns of course, but — how about the greys ? Their path I through life bad not been strewed with flowers to the same extent as that of the royal personage whom they had the honor to convey, and although they had no objection to being deluged with ohaff yet a shower of roses was calculated to startle them out of their propriety, and to cause them to change their pace from the stately walk to the undignified gallop. H.R.H. drawn by six greys tearing at a mad pace along Bridge Street, closely followed by rosebuds, was an item that had not found a place in the programme, the Committee therefore abandoned the idea of the rosy shower, but, we understand, still think of planting the maidens in the leafy bower. To this however, we see, what we consider to be, two fatal objections. In the first place, suppose thatsuch a wind should be blowing on that auspicious day as is this afternoon, penetrating our very bones, where is the

ambitious maiden that would sacrifice her, we won't say life, but lungs, to her desire to do honor to royalty ? To apply the question practically — how would the stalwart Crisp or the wiry Levcstam like to be clad in thin white muslins, and placed iv an elevated positionou such a day as this? Again, we are told that it is a sine qua non that the twelve arch damsels, with whom it is proposed to crown the structure, shall be the prettiest girls in Nelson; who is to decide this knotty point ? Is there a man, or a body of men in the Province who will uudertake to act the part of Paris in the Mount Ida controversy and bestow the dozen golden apples that will be required on this occasion ? For our own part, we would rather be compelled to solve the most intricate problem that could possibly arise under the New Zealand Bankruptcy Act, than have to | decide such a question as this, and we are perfectly certain that our decision in both instances would be received with equal satisfaction. Once more — are there to be found twelve charming creatures in Nelson who will consent to be placed in the prominent position in which it is proposed that they shall display themselves ? We rather think not. General Government Prize Firing. — We have received the following telegram from our Dunedin correspondent: — First, Goldie (Otago) 48 ; Second, Tressedar, (Otago) 48 ; Third, McFarland, (Otago) 47 ; Fourth, Cameron, (Canterbury) 46. Shooting of little interest. Blowing a gale.