TELEGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 206, 1 September 1870, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE.

(from our own correspondent). Duuediu, September Ist, 2.40 p.m. The Escort baa arrived with 10,738 ounces of gold. A smart shock of earthquake was felt yesterday evening at 6.25. DunedlN. — The works on the Dunediu and Port Chalmers Railway were coinmeneed on Monday last. The contract was signed six months ago, the Proviuciul Government guaranteeing 8 per cent for 15 years. Napier. — The following telpgrara3 fluted Napier, 30ih August, are from the Wellington Post : — Rumour states that Ropata inteuds to organise an expedition. of Ngatiporou on his owu acouuut, to search for Te Kooti, in the spring. Mouuted Constabulary scouts at WV.iroa took a Maori prisoner, mmcd Hemi Kopua ; he was bearer of a letter from Te Whenuanui to Wairoa chiefs, expressing willingness to surrender, with 100 ineu. Two other Urewera chiefs, with 70 men, are on their way to surrender to Clark at Maketu. Prisoner states if \\v Urewtra come across Te Kooti, tiiey will seize him and baud him over to the Government natives. The spirit of the Uiewera tribe is broken. Tongiiriro was very active last night. Repeated reports, very similar to large pieces of ordnance thtee miles off ; clouds of smoke perceptible over the volcano. A late Melbourne Aaesnysi — Seventy years and six mouths is the extent of imprisonment awarded by Judge Poll 1 man, at the General Session just concluded. ! Out of this, six prisoners yesterday received 42 years between them. Rather a startling fact; still the community are gainers by it in one way, for it has broken up a gang of the most expert "cracksmen" in Melbourne. D'tective Christie received a very high compliment from his Flouor and the Crown prosecutor, for his conduct iv bringing these prisoners within the grasp of justice so soon after the commission of the robberies, acd his H-mor stated that he irueu led to pointe ily draw the attention of the authorities to the case. The following notice to mariners, received from the Groverinnriit of Queensland, is published iv tie Govern mi j iifc Gazette : — Pout of Refuge, Torres Straits. — Notwithstanding that the Admiralty Australian Directory of 1864, page 208, mentions tint a settlement was then beinj: form 'd at Port Albany, masters of vessels whiuli hive since been wrecked on tlm Barrier Reef seem to have been unaware of the existence of any such, settlement in Torres Straits. Notice is therefore hereby given, that wrecked crews cau obtain shelter and assistance at Somerset on the >v»uih side -of Albany Pass, and that they will b^ forwarded thence to the most, convenient port by the first opportunity. Masters of vessels not proposing to communicate with the. settlement are urgently requested, w ,en passing, to make the number by the Commercial Cole, and also to signal the port from which they have sailed and that to which they are bound. G. P. Heath, Commander, R.N., Portmnxter B is''an«\ We shoul 1 be sorry to raise ho>es which, after all, may not be realized, but there seems to be a possibility that the Devil'is dead. The Netv York Herald says that some workmen at Muoresville, Indiana, iv making an e\t:avaiion, have dug up a skeleton, well preserved, corresponding to the human skeletou in all respects except that the iorehead is villainously low, with two horns curving backwards. The Hims are of unusual length, nnd the spinal bone terminates in a tail, of which about a foot in length still remains. If the Devil is no more, and. this is his skeleton, he has been treated with som- iujustice. His death has certainly not put. an ami to crime on this side of the Atlantic ; and either we have attributed too much evil to the -instigation of the deceased, or, perhaps, only the American Devil is dead. For, unless all the views of the Devil which are popularly entertained are devoid of foundation, he is uot only alive in England at the present moment, but, if possible, mther more active than, usual. — Pall Mall Budget. A Whirlwind has carried away 80 houses in Taausylvania. Up to this time 200 bodies have been found in the fields, and 14 iv the river at Shartsburg.

The Late Fiee at Constantinople. The fire which recently occurred at Pera was actually greater in regard to the area devastated thau thnt which laiil London in ashes in 1666. The ruius of the latter are described as having covered 436 acres ; those of the former occupy, it is computed 640. The loss of life in I ondon was comparatively insignificant, but in Pera it was literally appalliug. A late Italian paper .estimates the number of those who perished at 500, while those injured must also he numbered by hundreds. Whole households were destroyed. In one case a family of twelve, and iv another a family of five, were burnt to death through a mistaken confidence in the incombustibility of the stone houses they occupied. Nothing seemed capable of resisting the flames, the devouring fierceness of which was stimulated by a hurricane which was blowing at the time from the north-west. In a female seminary fifteen young Indies suffered death iv iis most horrible form. Some of the survivors went mad in the extremity of their fear and anguish. Churches, convents, hospitals, hotels, a market, a theatre, and the palace of the British Embassy were involved in the general ruin. The wealthiest inhabitants of the wealthiest suburb of Constantinople found themselves reduced to poverty in little more than twelve hours, and tecs of thousands of homeless outcasts had 10 be provided with food by the Government, which has daily distributed 18,0001bs of bread, 3,5C01bs of rice, and 500 lbs of butter, besides other provisions. The estimates vary as to the number of houses destroyed. Our Italian authority puts it at 10,000, while London papers give it as double that number. For purposes of comparison, it may be interesting to mentiou that at llie great fire of London 13,000 houses were swept away, while the conflagration at Hamburg in 1842, which lasted for three days, was limited to th destruction of 2,000 houses, beside churches and public buildings. Whether regard be had to the amount of property destroyed, or to the fearful sacrifice of human life which is involved, the fire at Pera must be classed among the most terrible events of a similar character in modern times. Bandits have again attempted to kidnap two English officers near Gibraltar, but were frustrated in their attempt by the fortunate and timely arrival of Spanish guards.