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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4885, 17 November 1876, Page 2

At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday a woman named Christina Wilson, who is well known to the police,' was charged with the larceny of two articles of clothing, valued at 205., the property of Mrs. Reeves. She made a lame defence, stating that she had taken the things, but had done' so quite by mistake. Perhaps she was subject to the walking swoons for which the amiable and imaginative Sarah Gamp was peculiar, and took the clothes, from the line of Mrs. Reeves’ yard while- in such a condition. But, from Sergt. Monaghan’s vivid historical picture of the heroine’s past life, it appeared more probable that the:lady bad appropriated the things while in full possession of her senses. : The/justices (Major PauT and Mr. J. H. Wallace) were_ of this opinion also, as they sentenced her to six month’s imprisonment. The other cases were trifling, and the civil list was of no importance. Mr. Jeffs, seedsman, Lambton-quay, after making a number of experiments, has succeeded in making a ' carbonated hydrosulphuretted compound for the destruction of blight, and has found it to answer admirably by tests /which he himself has made ;. and, further, w 6 may state that several nurserymen and gardeners in Wellington have; pronounced it to be an excellent remedy, and infinitely superior to Gishurst’s compound. It is, carried in tins, and is hard in substance until dissolved in water, being used in, solution. One test made by Mr. Jeffs was on a rose tree attacked by the aphis, known, as the plant-louse or vinef retter, and it proved most satisfactory, the plant, after havingbeen subjected to abath of the solution, being quite free from the blight, which floated on the top of the water completely destroyed, whilst no injury was done to the most tender twigs of the plant. This compound should be invaluable, and Mr. Jeffs, who contemplates exporting it, will no doubt profit by his invention.

A cricket match will be played on the Basin Reserve on Saturday between the Wellington C.Cf. and the Star C.G., play to commence at 1 o’clock sharp. The following gentlemen will represent the Wellington Club : .'r— Messrs. Armitage, Bell, Bryce, Edmunds, Evans, Norwood, Kennett, Kennedy, Knapp, Marchant, Speed, and Lowe. The players chosen to represent the Star Cricket Club are—Messrs. Garwood, Mason, I. J. Salmon, Russell, Lockett, Blacklock, Thornhill, Gouge, Brassey, Bond, and J. A. Salmon (captain)/emergency, Haughton. Mr. Bromley will act as umpire, and Mr. Humphries as scorer. A meeting of the Pastoral and Agricultural Association, which was to have been, held at the Mechanics’ Institute, Lower Hutt, on Wednesday night, was postponed owing to the small attendance consequent upon the severe weather which prevailed.. The. meeting will be held at the same time and place this evening.

It is satisfactory to learn, as we have, that the committee of the Wellington Horticultural Society have succeeded in making arrangements to hold the usual spring show. It will be held on Tuesday next, and is expected to be superior to the last. In the afternoon there is a probability of there being ah attraction hitherto unknown in connection with the exhibition, the committee now being in negotiation with a celebrated musician to perform there. In the evening the sideroom of the Odd Fellows’ Hall will be opened for. dancing, the charge for admission to be - Is. ■No doubt the show will be largely attended.. It is to be hoped so at least, for the sake of the society, which is of vast importance to Wellington, as will be admitted by those who take the leastf trouble to estimate the effect of its operations The drapers and clothiers of this city have determined on the. formation of an association in connection with the trade, a meeting having been held on Wednesday evening, at which all | the establishments in the trade were represented, and a resolution to that-effect carried. It Was also resolved to agitate for having the shops closed at an earlier hour on Saturday i than hitherto. Another meeting will be held on Tuesday night. The sale of the Athenaeum building takes place to-day at Mr. Wallace’s auction mart at half-past twelve o’clock. The building, fence, and a quantity of surplus papers and books, are divided into lots. A condition of the sale is' that lots 1 and 2, shall be cleared off the ground }>y the Ist December, under a penalty of £5 a day beyond that time. A. very , singular discovery, of ' a human skeleton was made at Carterton the other day, : according to a correspondent of the local paper.’ The wife of Mr. Robertson, whose farm is situated on the skirts of the bush in the vicinity of the toll-bar,, had her attention attracted by what appeared to be the end of a stick protruding in a rather singular way from the trunk of a tree.. On pulling it out she was startled to find that instead of a stick, it was the bleached thighbone of a human being. —Further examination revealed an entire human, skeleton, with:two apparently severe gashes inflicted on the skull bones—one on either side of. the head. How it came to be imbedded in. the tree is a mystery, for although the trunk was hollow in the centre, the outer rim, with the exception of a small hole just sufficient to allow; the end of the thigh-bone to protrude, was in an entire state of preservation, The surmises are that the remains are those of a Maori who met his death during, the .tribal disturbances of bygone days. He must ieither,.haye : been : w.Ounded, and then : taken", refuge in the top of the tree, where ho died, or. else, he must. have- been wounded l while fighting.from the top of the trunk. It is very obvious, that; in either case his body must ha,ye dropped, down the hollow aperture’ in the tree from the. top, and, that his death blow must have been dealt before he had So fallen. That the true facts of the case will; never be known is almost certain. Still, that does not detract from the fact that inthis discovery we have a relic of the fortunes of war, aS war ■Was 1 waged,. in, theWairarapa before European; settlement, began. In making up our monthly summary of news for transhipment-by the outgoing mail yesterday mention? was omitted of one of the most interesting events that celebrated the Prince of Wales' Birthday, viz;, the picnic and ball given- I by i Mr.; B. W. Mills’ l employ es. Everything.that could be thought of was done to make the "affair a success. The weather was all that could be desired. The railway authorities* kindly acceded to Mr.: Mills’ wishes by arranging the ‘carriages; so that the party went' out; add returned • without discomfort; or 'confusion.* Conveyance’s were at {the Lowe* Hutt Station te take'the party to the fine paddock* kindly lent; for the occasion by E. J. Riddiford, Esq,, i " which ' proved admirably adapted for the requirements of the'' employes, their families and friends, amodhting: to nearly 400. r Thfero was every* available amusemeht—archery,* cricket,-croquet; footballj'quoits.duntIsally, rounders, and a number 'of- minor sports. Soon -after arrival the whole party. were, scattered about at the. various games, which |were supplemented; by_'_races,, .for. which, pome -handspme prizes were-provided, ;An* excellent .band,’ ,the’ Artillery,. ;was on the; ground, and dancing "parties . were not long forming.* All the amusements/ were gone into with spirit,' and the scene was ,one of true enjoyment. The company-were, refreshed by luncheon at noon and tea at five o’clock, after Whichthe party returned to town. ,Mr. Mills and his family .were, loudly cheered on; their, krrival'and departure. The whole picture was one worth looking at; and we trust to, see., more of these i reunions, which tend, to, fester inutual good feeling, dnd_ esteem. A -ball in JMr._ Palmer’a.warehouae, .whioh-waa- tastefullydecorated for the occasion, wound .up the pleasures of the day. < We heartily congratu-' Mr. E.-W. Mills’, employes on the of their picnic; and ball, and/have ho doubt that this, .good. ;example;..will have many followers.

In consequence of the inclemency of? the weather last evening the Choral Society; had'topostpone their usual practice, i 'V Barlow’s Circus', was s again a victim to Jupiter Pluvius last night, and we can only wish the enterprising proprietor better luck for to-night's performance. The weather, too, has interfered with,a.repetition of the turn-out with the band in Mr. Barlow’s drag, the youngsters missing a looked-for treat in a sight of the piebald ponies for nothing. Incase the public should be misled by the playful persistency with which an evening contemporary will question the accuracy of our paragraph in, reference toj the New Year’s sports that appeared in Tuesday’s issue, we are induced to reassert that the mile race is not for £ls, but £2o—there being three prizes, as follows : —lst, £ls ; 2nd, £3 ; 3rd. £2. The Melbourne Argus of November 9 gives the following particulars of the 100 yards race between Hewitt and Davis, for £IOO a side, on the previous day. The articles for this match had been drawn'up, and, along with the amount at stake (£200), lodged in the hands of the sporting editor of the Australasian, and for some time back- both men had put themselves under special training. The course was divided by flags, so that the competitors might have no excuse fpr jostling or colliding. Hewitt had the beat of the start, and kept the lead until the finish, when he won easily by about five yards. Time, 10|aeo. A singular case has just been before, the Gosport magistrates. A person named Hall was-charged with maliciously injuring a ringdove. Mr. Frikell, a professor of legerdemain, was giving an entertainment at Gosport, and a ringdove was passed to a lady (Mr. Frikell’s wife) for the purpose of apparently decapitating it with a pair of scissors. Before, however, the trick could be performed, the defendant,.who was among the audience, seized both the scissors and the bird and actually cut off the head. ■; The bird, it seemed, was a valuable one, it having been specially trained for this trick, slipping its head under its wing when it was supposed to have been decapitated, and keeping it concealed until its head had to be i restored. At the suggestion of the magistrates, the parties came to an arrangement. An interesting experiment was made on September 9 in a field not far from the Welsh Harp, Hendon, with a mechanical hare, the invention of Mr. Geary, a gentleman of considerable experience in sporting matters. The invention has been patented, and its object is to make an artificial hare travel along the ground at any required pace, and so closely to I resemble the running of the living animal as to be eagerly pursued by greyhounds. Judging from the result of the experiments, it may be said that the inventor has' completely suc- , ceeded in his object. The hare having been started at one end of the field went at a great pace to the other, followed in full chase by a brace of greyhounds, which were completely deceived by its appearance and action, and by doing this, not once but in several successive runs, made it quite certain that for greyhound racing the artificial hare would serve quite as well as the real one. The hare itself is nothing : but the skin of a real one carefully stuffed, : and it stands on a carriage somewhat resembling that which gives motion to the rockinghorse. Its motion is effected by means of an open tube, over which it runs, and in which is laid a rope or wire of the length required for the distance to be run. At the far end is a winch of special construction and great power, worked by hand,' and, by turning this, two men give the hare any speed required. In the front ■of this machine is a screen of furze, into which the hunted hare runs, and disappears, much to the Surprise and discomfiture of the hounds, who evidently are much puzzled as to what has become of their expected prey.. The object of the invention is to provide artificial means for greyhound racing (not coursing), and it is likely to do towards that object what ■the “ rink” has done for skating, or the “ Gyratory Pigeon,” for the amateur of Hurlingham.

Reports to hand from the railway works are rather more satisfactory than they have been for some time back. The Wairarapa News states that the summit tunnel, which requires rather more than 560 yards of piercing to effect the through passage, is completed, with the exception of three chains. According to the rate at which they are progressing, daylight will be spen right through in the course of three months from this date. The strata has been tolerably uniform—a hard shaly rock, considerable portions of which will require to be bricked. The men are working in three shifts from both ends. No. 1 tunnel from the Eeatherston side on the incline is being worked by a party of Italians, who are likewise said to be making satisfactory progress. The entire piercing is set down at 130 yards. It is being scooped out on aii incline of lin 15. At that grade it is impossible to work from the upper endi as the workmen would be flooded out by surface water. On the lower end they are working in three shifts per day, and at that rate the opening of the through passage should not; exceed six months. The works on this tunnel are reported to be Very heavy. No. 2 tunnel, situated about a quarter of. a mile further on, is pretty much in the same position. Indeed, both are expected to be finished about the same time. There is a very deep embankment between these two tunnels, something like 90ft. *in the centre. The stuff taken out of the tunnel is deposited into it, and our informant states that this chasm is rapidly filling up. The tunnel works are carried on under the superintendence of Mr. Mason, Government Engineer, and we are informed on very good authority that_ the rapid progress being made is mainly due to his skill and experience. A short distance above the base of the hill, at the foot of the incline contract, what is known as a “runaway” sideling has been put in. The line at this section, extending over a distance of five miles, has a grade of 1 in 15. {With a grade of that kind, a train in sloppy weather would experience considerable difficulty in checking its -speed. The “ runaway ” sideling has -been put in toprevehta mishap Of that kind.. An engine-driver, finding the grade too much for him, will be enabled to run on the sideling, and thereby bring the train to a standstill. It is about; ten or fifteen chains in length, and takes : an upward grade of 1 in 20. - , . .

On , the Subject o£ weather warnings we find the following in Iron-. —“On the Ist of May 'last, agricultural weather warnings began to.be issued from the Paris Observatory. While the forecasts made for the benefit of Seamen and t fishermen relate to the intensity and direction, of the wind, those for farmers will have reference to the rainfall, thunderstorms, and inundations. The last will occasion little difficulty; with the help of the electric telegraph, timely intimation of heavy rains and the first rising of the rivers will be collected and distributed to the dwellers on the plains. Data will also be,collected with regard to all kinds of meteorological phenomena, and we may expect the predictions ■to become more reliable year by year. As an illustration of ..the indications which, may be relied upon' in fortelling . change or continued favorable weather, an instance is rgiven’ in which ; the , latter was accurately fore-1 cast from the coincidence of a high and rising, barometer in the extreme north ,of . Europe with a contrary condition in Sicily,;. These, indicated a continuance of. the polar > current, bringing withit clear skies and a consequent increase of temperature ■ during .the day, which Were predicted, and verified by the event. Professor'Loomis(has, also shown that when barometers are high and temperature low in the Aleutian Islands the reverse obtains in the Ifjnited.States, that-a-similar-correspondenoe exists , between Iceland and’ Central Europe, and that the amount of'rainfall''bears - a well-' definedrelationto-the-.pressure'atthocentre of a storm. No doubt more facts of the same character ’ will be elicited; and "before long the’ Continental meteorologists 'at ‘least - will - , be able to issue fairly accurate- weather predictions for twelve hours,“if "not .for a longer period." '' - i L '" ' ‘ ■■■■■'■ j.;- | To-Messrs. Okixivlt & Co., /Paris.—Having-bn Repeated occasions. experimented withyourMaTioo preparations' (capsules and liquid) la the' hospital of whichl-amthoChief Physlclan;-XBScertalnod'thirt‘ they,Wire far’superior to all the Odpabia, Cabebe, and Other preparations for. the pure oficontagioua diseases,, acute or chronic, I.beg you kindly to send me ob a new supply.—Dß. BROWHV Chief Physician to fit. Andrew’s Hospital. -{Anvx.]