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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 17, 20 January 1875, Page 4

-Willi **v I i i li ■■■in. i»*.r ,— ... INTERESTING- ;DISCQVISET.---Mr Thos. Daniel, M.P.C., furnishes to the Southland JSTews the -following -interesting account of a discovery of Maori tools and weapons : — About three years ago the Maoris here, under Pilau, one of their old chiefs aud warriors, were digging a very large matai or black pine stump out of his garden. It was about 3ft. /through, and when alive would be about 50ft. in the stem, and say 200 years old. When they got the etump out, in working at the tap root, tbey^turned up a lot of. charcoal, and with it,.some, old. stone axes. .This led to a farther search, which resulted in the unearthing of 32 finished stone implements of all kinds, and about 50 others, in a rough state, some halffinished and, otherß -pearly so, together with several stone hammers used in their manufacture. There were several small stone chisels, and a sort of gimlet or drill about a foot long, nud the thickness of a finger — used with a bow for boring, and also several pieces of flint (jasper). I asked Pitau and some of the oldest Maoris how they supposed the weapons, &c, came where they were found. Their idea was that they had belonged to a mechanic or axemaker, and — in expectation of a raid, of which the natives lived in constant dread — they were planted in a hole in the' ground $ that a fire was lighted over them for their better concealment ; and that, the owner having been killed, they remained until fouod as stated, the ; tree having grown over them in the meantime. Pitau, who is a big powerful man, over 6ft. high, states that some of the tools — an adze in particular was 25in. in length and thick in pro- | portion — are much heavier than the j Maoris now living could use. lie thinks "there were giants in those days"-— --an expression probably derived from the Biblical teaching of the Native minister—- Solomon. Pitau dismissed the theory that the implements had - been placed under the tree while growing, with the remark "Did you not see the hole must have been a large one, with the tree in the centre and the roots spreading all over?" I therefore conceive that -these implements -are the oldest ion record as having been found in New Zealand. Pitau said the race that used them had not then met with the greenstone — that it was discovered by the present .race, who found it easier to fashion and better to keep its edge when sharpened thau the stone previously used. The Wdikato Times says : — We have had some specimens both of the useful and useless immigrants in this district — tbe latter of course can barely earn a living. Where is the use of town bred men in the Waikato ? A spade is put into their bands, and the employer very soon discovers that it would pay hrm better to give his acquisition a gratuity to favor somebody else with his services than to feed him, to say nothing of paying him (which is almost . invariably demanded) the highest current wages. Some caßes have come under our notice' which go far to sub-, stontiate our statement that free immigration should cease. "A body of " new chums" were working on the Piako swamp j.thoy returned to town bechuse, as they said, they could barely earn bread and cheese, Another. body, composed of " new churns " also, but men who had been accustomed to bard work, and willing to do it, are at tbe present moment clearing from 25s to 30s per week, after paying for their keep. There is plenty of room for such men as these, but we do trust the colony will be spared the influx of useless material, picked up at a certain sum per head by unscrupulous emigration agents* The native -who was* adventurous enough to descend the Crown Prince shaft to examine the workings of tbe mine, writes to tho Thames Advertiser a letter, of which we give the the following translation : — " 15t.h December, 1874. At three o'clock in the dny, I went to a > claim where they mine for gold, the Crown Prince. That claim is a goodone. The name of lhe Captain is John Beeche. There was a reef carrying the. gold plain enough, but what, would put the Maori all wrong was its great depth below the surface. If the Maori had got brains, it would be all right. Well,, indeed, how the thing has been lying unused. Our ancestors were ignorant, and we are so also/ and "we continue mistaken. The man who is right amongst the Maoris is the man who haa money in the bank. — HoeJra tb Mimiha, of Ohinemuri." Some yeara since, when all the world was mad upon lotteries, the cook of a middle-aged American single man drew from bis hands the earnings and savings of some years. Her employer was anxious to know the cause, and she told him that, having repeatedly dreamed that a certain number was a certain prize, she* had bought the whole ticket. She seemed to take his taunts in good humor,' saying it would turn out right by and by. One morning he opened his paper at breakfast and saw it announced that the very number Bridget bad dreamed and bought had drawn the great prize of' a hundred, thousand dollars 1 Bridget was summoned, and the wily gentleman proceeded to inform her that he had long valued her as a friend, and, being desirous of settling for life, he would be willing to make her his wife if she had no objection. Bridget had always thought him a dear good man, and would be glad to do anything to please him. So he finished his breakfast, told Bridget to put on her best things, the parson was sent for, and made them "one that morniDg, After it' ; Was ali over; the cautious hus-

band B&id to his bride, " Well Bridget, you have made two good hits to-day ; you have got a good husband, and now bring me the lottery-ticket you .and I have laughed so much about, and let us Beei what, .the .number of it is." " Please don*t laugh any more about that ; I knew there was nothing in them dreams, and I sold it to the butcher a month ago." The New York Timea' own correspondent at San Francisco writes to that journal : — The Chinese are in some respects veryrouch like us. They buy their wives. A Chinaman here, in want of a wife, scrapes together his wages and sends the amount home, generally to his father or mother, with the order for a wife, and they go into the market and make the best bargain they can, according to the money to be invested. Sometimes the amount is small, and really a first-class article cannot be had for the sum, but the old lady generally does her best,, and ships over the woman consigned to her son, who meots her at the steamer with his bill of lading, pays freight and charges, and takes his property. It was a miscellaneous consignment of thia sort that was grabbed by our zealous authorities; but Judge Field,; of the United States Supreme Court, decided that the proceedings were illegal, and ordered the discharge of the. squad. If any of your readers want , to know the price of a real useful wife of this sort, of reliable color, warranted to wash (Mondays), I can inform them, as my Celestial, Ah Sam, who dusts ont my office, has recently imported one. Sam sent money to his mother, and in due course of time the purchase arrived, and Sam brought her down -for my inspection. She was as ugly a Chinese woman as 1 ever saw. I said, " Sam, not handsome, eh ? " Sam says, " No, no handsome much ; handsome gal cost heap money, and all time kick up— bobbery." Sam had the correct idea of it, and was wisely content with a plain article tbat was most likely to stay by him. Sam informed me that the original cost, with freight and charges, was 300 dollars — all it was worth, if I am a judge of that species of goods gained from a mild experience. Recently an itinerant pedlar entered the house of James Tolin, and proceeded to display his wares to Mrs Tolin, despite her assertions that she did not want to buy anything. Mr Tolin was confined to his bed, and has been bo confined for many years being sp crippled with rheumatism that it had been long impossible for him to leave his bed unless carried from it. After showing his goods and' Mrs Tolin not buying anything, the pedlar commenced a conversation, in the course of which he learned the helpless condition of Mr Tolin. Finally he made an insulting proposal to Mrs Tolin, and she indignantly ordered bim to leave the house. Instead, he approached ber and seized hold of her, saying, with an oatb, that she was in his power, as her husband was as good as dead. Mrs Tolin, being a delicate woman, ran screaming into another room. The , pedlar followed her, and, before she could escape by the door, caught her agaio. A desperate struggle ensued between them, and Mrs Tolin was thrown violently to the floor by the desperate villain. Mr Tolin had been all the time a witness of. the struggle, lying powerless in his bed. At the sound of his wife falling on the floor, however, and har frantic shrieks for aid, he seemed to be endowed with almost supernatural power. Under the influence of tbat power be sprang from the bed he had been unable to leave for years. Seizing a heavy crutoh that I stood neor the bed, he rushed into the room where the struggle was going on. Mrs Tolin had succeeded in regaining her feet, but the pedlar had grasped her around the waist, and was again endeavoring to throw her. As Mr Tolin entered the room tho singular spectacle of a bed-ridden cripple hastening to ihe defence of his wife seemed to paralyze the scoundrel, and "he stood staring aa if in a trance at tbe appearance of the husband. Mr Tolin, nerved by unnatural strength, brought the crutch down over the head of the jpedlar, and felled him like on ox to the floor. The next instant the excitement and super-human effort that bad supported the husband left him. With a shriek, that told of the intense agony of the relapse, he clasped his hand to his forehead and dropped to the floor, and almost instantly expired. Mrs Tolin succeeded in getting the body of her husband back in bed, and then started for assistance. She was obliged to go over a mile before she was able to* bbtain any. When she returned, with ieeveral neighbors, the pedlar was gone. He had recovered consciousness and ■fled, leaving his pack in the house. -When the news of the attempted out-, •rage and the tragic death of Mr Tolin spread throughout the neighborhood, the most intense excitement prevailed. ■Squads of men started in every direction searching for the pedlar, but as yet he has not bean iound. In the present feeling, if be. falls into the hands of the populace, he will be lynched there is not the slightest doubt. An instance of " ripe old age" is furnished by the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, which reports the death of Mr Patrick Bryne, oi Docker's Plains, on Thursday last, at the extreme age oosf s 102 years. The Marquis of Ripon, it is said-haa given a donation of £5000 to the hew Catholic College at Kensington. A seven-year old boy is awaiting trial at New York for stabbing a playmate often, who called him names.

Too evidently the sparrow has no friends. It would seem that he has become demoralised by plenty, and so, like many other acclimatised beings (men and women included), has become a nuisance and a " loafer." This is what the Christchurch Press says of him: — -- An early xjrop of oats, grown by Mr Luxton, of Rangiora, was cut on Thursday last; the yield would have been much above an ordinary one, but for the havoc done .by sparrows. They bave been seen by hundreds in this particular field during the last week." A Californian temperance association limits the beverages of its members to wine, beer, and cider, " except when laboring under a sense of discouragement, and then whisky will be allowed." They are said to be one of the most discouraged temperance people in the State. Sir Arthur Gordon, the New Governor of Fiji, is a younger son of the late Earl of Aberdeen, the Prime Minister. He was formerly a member of the House of Commons, and private secretary to Mr Gladstone. He is half-brother to tho Duke of Abercorn, and Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. The coolest robber tbat Boston has seen for a long time is a man who went j to the public library building last week, j and, borrowing tools from some work- ' men, removed tbe copper lightning! rods, laboring at the job for several hours, and, having loaded his spoils upon a waggon, drove off. The workmen supposed he was acting under orders from the city. The daughter of tho late William Hope, the author, it is said, is in Victoria in destitute circumstances. She is 72 years of age. We take the following irom the Maryborough Chronicle (Queensland): -----A gentleman, whilst bathing iv the Mary River the other day, was bitten on tho forehead by Borne fish — a ground shark probably. The wound was inflicted whilst the bather was diving, and although no flesh was actually carried away, was clearly the work of two rows of teeth. At the time tio great, inconvenience was experienced, but some short time after the accident he became delirious, and remained in that state for several hours. He has now quite recovered. There is something mysterious about -the violent effect of wounds produced by fish, tbe paiD, inflammation, and nervous prostration being out of all proportion to the actual injury inflicted. The effects in question often resemble those which would be produced by the absorption of an irritant poison into the system, although from the nature of the weapons employed, no material venom could possibly have been injected." Confirmations in a gaol do not often take place, but tbey occur. On Thursday, the 4th inst. (says the Scrutineer), the Bishop of Sydney held a confirmation in Berrima goabin tbe presence of all the Protestant prisoners, when four of the latter underwent the ceremony of •- laying on of hands." This is the first confirmation held within the walls of a prison io tbis colony, at least since the arrival of Bishop Barker " What may happen to one's correspondence in transmission from one colony to another was strikingiy exemplified the other day," the Evelyn Observer writes, " when a letter was received by a near relative of the writer of this, which bad been just 12 years in making its way from Tasmania to Victoria. An explanation of this somewhat singular circumstance, which would bave been considered rather out of the way, even by the predecessors of Rowland Hill himself, was given in a short inscription on the back of the envelopo as follows : — * Found back of letter-box, at G neral Post-office, Hobart Town, when the box was being .repaired, Oct. 27, 1874,' — Just twelve years after the affectionate missive had been posted, it having been committed to the Hobart Town box about tho same dale in 1862. Tom Hood is now accused of being a creraationist because he said, shortly before bis death, that "he was dying out of charity to the undertaker, who 'wished to urn a lively Hood."