LOGAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1761, 22 August 1885, Page 9

LOGAL & GENERAL.

Our cablegrams state that Messrs W. W; • Tickle and Co. have failed, with liabilities at £38,000 and assets at £12,000. Mr Tickle was at one time in business in Stafford street, Dun- . edin. . The firm 1 are the proprietors of " Tickle's Colonial Export Prices Current and Trade Review.", A somewhat singular case was heard at the Police Court on the 13fh, when one" of the foremen in a jam factory was charged with assaulting one of the lads' working under him by burning his neck with a soldering-iron. It was stated that immediately after doing so hfe was sorry for it, and offered the iron to the lad to be served in the same manner. Of the fine of 20s imposed, half was ordered by the Bench to be given'to the plaintiff. The announcement is made by cable of the . death of Baron Houghton (the Right Hon. Richard Monckton Milnes, D.C.L., F.R.S.). He was born on June 19, 1809. Lord Houghton graduated M.A. at Trinity College, Cambridge, 1831. ;He was elected M.P. for Pontefract in 4837, and retained the seat till his elevation to £ the peerage, August 20, 1863. He entered Pary Uament as, a follower of Sir Robert Peel, whom he supported in his repeal of the Corn Laws, but ■ afterwards joined the party, of Lord John Russell. He declined to become- aya v member of ,the Government of Lord Pahnerstpn, but gave it his entire support. .His attention in Parliament was mainly directed to foreign affairs and „ the reform of our penal institutions. He brought in the first bill for, the establishment of juvenile reformatories in 1846, and was the president ,of the great Reformatory Establishment at Red Hill. His Lordship was also- the ( president of the Newspaper Press Fund. /In 1873 he, presided over /the Norwich meeting of • the Social Science Congress. Lord Houghton accepted in February 1881 the nomination to , the office, of President of the. London Library, , "vacant by the death of Mr.Carlyle. He wrote several volumes of poems, under the title of " Poems of Many Years,'? ".PalmfLeaves,". &c. ; and • many pamphlets— notably, " One Tract More," •in the . Oxford controversy of the ,f* Tracts for the Times " ; and the " Real Union of England and Ireland,", advocating concurrent . endowment of the Protestant and Catholic - Churches. • His last work was , " Monographs, " Personal and Social," published in 1873. • • Dr Roberts, of the Dunedin Hospital, is 'at • present unfortunately suffering from a' severe attack of pneumonia, and is in consequence unable to attend to his duties as house surgeon.' Dr J. H. Scott, of the Otago University, is at present attending to the patients. It is likely to be some weeks before Dr Roberts will be 'able to- resume his control of the Hospital. ", The Sydney agents of the steamship Suez ' Aave had to pay £90 to the Custom-house on account, of nine of the Chinese" crew deserting. There is a .poll-tax on every Chinaman who lands from a vessel, and though the agents were liof parties to the transaction, they find themselves compelled tp pay £10 per head. -■' Dr Roseby delivered his lecture "Other ~ Worlds than Ours " in the Independent Church, ' Great King street, on the 13th. . The lecture ■ was one of a number. arranged fer by the . Mutual Improvement ' Society of the Church, the members of which are to be 'complimented > oithavingprovided a very attractive syllabus for ■the winter months. Dr Roseby dealt in a very lucid manner with the use" of the spectroscope . and its- revelations with regard to the 1 sun, and s•• stars. Atthe close of . the lecture the audience ■: were afforded an opportunity of looking through , one> of these instruments; The lecturer's remarks concerning the- sun and moon,- ■ . the wonderful' convulsive phenomena 'observed , by -astronomers, were particularly interesting, • and he ■ was frequently ; . Passing reference was also* made to the last great comet, and how "its lustre was • after, passing ;its , •vpariheiion' vißibly.increased, 1 owing to 'its close , • proximity- to the solar, disturbances. The conr eluding part of the lecture.was devoted to cither . .suns whichiwe see. only as> stars) and which had, no ; doubt a series of planets circling around ...them, even as four) planet circled ' around the . centre of our universe.' iThe lecture was well illustrated by the aid. of diagrams. 1 ■ Probably the' largest deputation that has ever ' waited on 'a' Government interview ed Mr Service ' and other members of the Government recently. The' deputation numbered over 800, and had been brought down from the dify northern and north-western 'districts of Victoria! inn two special trains. They, asked the 1 Government 'to borrow three' of four millions sterling to'construct.' head wbtks,.£or irrigation of the arid plains: Mr Service c oressed his sympathy with th'e ' gbject 'of ;fche deputation, bUt' advised an , adjournment till the 1 report of the Water, Supply Commission had been obtained! -- , • A, blasting-powder manufactory near Ballarat,iowned by-Fritz Keouman, has been com- , pletely demolished by an explosion. '.The owner , had left the, premises in charge of some employes, and at 5 o'clock they locked up, there being , about tw.o, tons of > powder in, s the, drying-room; './which^was heated by a. furnace some distance away by means- of .pipes..- The supposition is that the pipes got, heated and "set fire to the | powder., The place, was blown to pieces, and some, adjoining premises were burnt. ' The . greater part of the machine_ry, was .also destroyed. ,"•;,.-, •■ , ' The- South Australian Parliament have prac* tically agreed to grant' the franchise to women, the , following motion having been carried without a dissentient voice :— v , That,in'the opinion of this House, women, except while under coverture, » who fulfil the conditions and possess the qualifipv cations on which the Parliamentary franchise for blithe Legislative Council is granted toinen,shail, like them,' be admitted to the franchise for both Houses of Parliament." ' . j Intelligence has been received" that 'a water(- ( spout has burst hear Lagos, in Mexico, 1 and produced' terrible effects. The water , in a few minutes rose to a height of 25ft, the' flood sweeping down, the valley and destroying everything which' opposed it. More than 200 lives were lost, and great distress prevails.', A waterspout burst about a mile abovij the large town of Guanajauto, covering the entire plage with a body of water 6ft deep. An entertainment was being given at the theatre in honour of exPresident Gbnzales-when the waterspout burst. The building was crowded. An alarm was'given, causing a wud v panic. Everyone rushed to the dborsj ladies f ainting, the weak were trampled upon, many persons were fatally injured, and several were killed. The floods in the streets " foroed open many doors, inflicting damage which is estimated at more than 100,000dol. There 1 was' a .large loss of life. It is stated that 170 • dead bodies have been found.

. In common with other Canterbury members, , C&pjfcain Sutter, member for Gladstone, received from the secretary of t the Railway, League a pircujap pontajnmg the resolutipn passed, in

which it is stated that- the debate indicated that a majority of the House were in favour of the East and West Coast railway, though not agreed as" to the manner of construction, and urging that the Government should take immediate action. Captain Sutter in his reply is, perhaps, more forcible than polite. He writes : " Now, I deny there is any truth in the Avords ' majority being in favour of,' &c, &c, and any attempt on the part of the Government to take action involving the Colony in the construction, or the working of this railway when constructed, would bring them to a speedy end ; and any encouragement beyond the bill of last year shall have my determined opposition. The people of Christchurch say it will pay when constructed ; then I say, why not follow the example of the people of Wellington and build it themselves ? There are only 24,000 people— men, women, and children—on the whole of the West Coast, and they are decreasing day by day, and on some parts of the goldfields there I am of opinion the sooner they take their departure .the l better for the taxpayers, as they are simply a sort of State paupers, kept there by subsidies, water-races, sludge-channels, roads, &c, &c."

During the hearing of the robbery case at the Police Court on the 14th'the vexed question of how much liquor a man can carry before he is drunk again cropped up. The prosecutor in the case asserted that although' he had' a great many drinks during the day of the robbery he was not drunk. Mr Catomore then asked; "And how many drinks can you carry before you feel uncomfortable ?" This question seemed to nonplus the witness for a while, until filr Eliott, from the Bench, asked him " How many drinks can you carry and be comfortable?" Put in this light ' the witness intimated that half-a-dozen or a dozen whiskies would cause him no personal discomfort,' and he would know very well what he was about even with the maximum

quantity.

Private Mathieson, of the New South Wales contingent, in a letter in the Bruce Herald, states that "before leaving Suakin we were asked to volunteer for Afghanistan, and the majority of us would have done so if we had had different officers. As it was 'only half of the contingent offered to go. If one or two of the officers had stepped into the square and said they were going, and asked who woujd follow them, I believe the,, lot of us would have volunteered."

Upwards of £1000 has already been promised towards the £2500 required to start a monthly journal in London to be called " Imperial Federation," for the purpose of providing a medium of communication and discussion -between branches and members of the league throughout the Empire.

In the report of another Native ' officer — Major Soannell, R.M!, Taupo — some interesting particulars as to the social habits of the Maoris are given. Polygamy, he states, prevails to some extent even among Natives who profess Christianity, no restriction being placed by public opinion on the practice. The wives live together, for the most part contentedly. Except among a few the marriage contract is performed without any ceremony, and often dissolved in the same way. "Women's rights," 1 in one respect at least, have attained a very prominent position among the Natives, inasmuch as the property of tlie wife does not merge in that of the husband. She still retains her right to • dispose of it independently of the marriage, .or to transmit it to her, children. The dead are kept .unburiedfor from three to seven days, according to the rank — not rankness, be it understood — of the deceased, during which time scenes of alternate' feasting and weeping take place ; the whole stock of food of thfe hapu for the year being consumed at one of these "tangis." The Maoris evidently possess some knowledge of astronomy, since we are told that , the principal stars in the southern hemisphere are known to them by name, also the two great planets Venus and Jupiter. Each month is marked by the rising ' of a certain star beforsunrise, and they have a name for every sepal rate day of the moon's age. Major Scannele (says the Timaru Herald) is to be congratulated on having made his report of a very interesting i nature', and it is • a pity more of the Native officers do not follow his example by rescuing from oblivion many of the social habits and cnaracteristics of this fast-dying race.

A penal clause was the term applied by a member of the Southland Land Board at. its last meeting to that part of the Act which forbids a deferred-payment selector who has ta"ken up a section, but finds it necessary to relinquish it, applying for another. As was i shown in a case before t^ie, board (says ,the Southland Times) 1 , circumstances .might; force an honest, hardworking man to abandon an allotment, and because of these he was deprived of a privilege open to everyone else. He could not come before the board and make a fresh choice. Other members concurred, but, as was remarked, they were powerless, and could only administer the act as they found it. '

.■\Vell- merited puniihmen^ has bden inflicted on a man who had ridden his horse in '& most inhuman manner from Bealey to Springfield, and who was on Tuesday brought up at Christchurch on a charge of, cruelty to animals, and sentenced ,to one month's imprisonment in Lyttelton,Gaol. The horse had to be destroyed, as it was unable to walk," '

The controversy between.' Mr C. W. Williams, ■war correspondent, and Sir 0. Wilson about the incapacity of 'the ■ latter » is still going on with much bitterness. The quarrel promises to end in the law courts, and it is stated that in such case Mr Williams would command the .presence of Lord Wolseley,' Lord Charles and others to .prove his case. > > ; . ' 1< L ' A young girl, named Mary Taylor was charged at the Police Court' on the 14th with attempting to jCOinmiti suicide*. ,' As' she could not' obta.g employment,' she became very despondent, and bought some " Kough' on Rat& " vtiih. the idea of .ending her troubles. Sergeant O'Neil/hearing'of this, brought is the ( present charge. The girl has no friends in" the ' Colony.

The troublesome, question of dealing with the property of absentees came before the Resident Magistrate's Court on the 14th, when MrSperry, property 'tax commissioner,' sued to recover, the tax on . some Jand at ' Forbnry. It was shown that the owner had been absent for some years, and, as provided by law, the summons had been served by having 'it posted in a' conspicuous place on the land. Judgment was accordingly given for the commissioner for the amount sued for.; , •■' ■ The various country schools in the Ashburton ,county, remarks the Christchurch,' Press, are just now being visited by the board's inspeotor. During the examination of the ohildren attending the Ashburton Forks school the inspector' is .reported to have suggested to the master that in teaching history it would be wise to first ground tho children in contemporaneous matters, and then travel back to the times of Thomas A'Beoket and su'oh notable personages, instead, of oommenoing with eventg.relating to

those distant periods. . To test the children's knowledge of curreut history, the question was put, " Now, children, who is the present Governor of New Zealand?" Dead silence ensued, and all juvenile eyes were turned towards the ceiling. Presently a bright little Sutherlander -smartly replied, " Joe Ivess, sir !" The Wakanui election was still green in that youth's memory.

In reply to the large deputation which waited on him on the subject of irrigration, Mr Service, the Victorian Premier, said the revenue for the current year was expected to bo £7,000,000, and it was estimated that only a small balance would be carried forward to 1886-7. As to borrowing money, a loan of £6,000,000 would shortly be wanted for the purposes of railways already authorised, and if £3,000,000 or £4,000,000 more was borrowed for irrigation purposes, the loan would be about £10,000,000. The national credit had to be maintained, and New South Wales had recently had to withdraw a loan. The following arc the Dunedin Hospital returns for the past week :—: — Hemaining trom. previous week ■ ... 137 Admitted during the week — ... Hi Discharged ... ... ... 16 Deaths... ... ... ... 0 Totalremaining ... ■ •• ... ... 137 At the City Police on the 14th two well-known "little game men" named Charles Moxham alias Bloxham and John M'Lennon were committed for trial on a charge of stealing six fivepound notes from ,the person, of a labourer named Joseph Campbell. From the evidence it appeared that Campbell had come down from the Nenthorn with nearly £40 on him, and dropped across Moxham, when a little euchreplaying and drinking were indulged in. Afterwards, the prosecutor alleges, Moxham deliberately took his purse out of his pocket and made off with it. Bloxham and M'Lennon w,ere committed for trial, bail being allowed.

The New Zealand Shipping Company's R.M.S. Kaikoura arrived off the Heads on Saturday evening, and after transferring the • Otago passengers and her mails to the Plucky she left for Auckland direct. The Kaikoura brought 194 passengers, of which number 94 were for Otago. She has made the passage in three days under contract time, her actual steaming time being 38 days 11 hours 16 minutes. 1 She had on board 267 bags of mails.

The new iron steamer which Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co. have on the blocks on the reclaimed ground, and which is intended for the Invercargill trade, is in a forward' way towards being ready for her engines. As seen in her present state, the steamer has handsome lines, and her builders, while having an eye to beauty in her construction, have fashioned her on the keelless principle, so that she will be able to' ride in comparatively shallow water even when well loaded. She will be divided into four water-tight compartments, and will be fitted aft with a water-ballast compartment. The propeller will be placed in position in a few days, and it is expected that the steamer will be launched in the course of a month. •

Excellent progress continues to be made with the Harbour Board works at the Heads. The contractor has completed the opening up of the quarry at Goat Island, from which is to be taken the ' material for the continuation of the halftide wall in the Upper Harbour. There is every prospect of material being secured from this quarry at a minimum of both cost and labour.

By the resignation of Lieutenant-colonel Pearce, of Wellington, Major Burns, of Auckland, becomes the senior officer of the New Zealand Artillery regiment. The following applications for patents have been lodged : — J. Cartel', of Goulburn, N.S.W., for improvements in quartz batteries ; W. G. Dodd, of San Francisco, for improvements in water-jackets smelting furnaces ; T. Dacombe, of Christchurch, for invention for making confectionery, known as "pan goods" j F. Oakden, of Dunedin, for eccentric safety catch for lifts ; G-. W. Bull^and G. Rayner, of Thames, for invention for treatment of gold ores : T. Garland, of Wellington, for milk strainers with moveablo bottom';' O/Walkden, of Christchurch, for a sub-aqueous excavator. ' The son of Te Whiti lately appeared in Court at Taranaki as prosecutor of another Maori, whom he charged with stealing his watch. He objected to the defendant's cross-examination, and stated that he came to Court to fell who stole the watch and not to be questioned, He was somewhat surprised that the vvatch was not returned to him after giving his evidence.

A man named Henry, Williams was admitted into the .hospital on the 16th inst., suffering from the effects of an explosion of powder. Williams, it appears, was engaged ■ charging a hole with powder for a blast, in Matheson Bros. 1 contract at Hindon, on, Saturday, when an explosion occurred, which burned' him rather severely on the right arm and on one bide of Ms face

During the' illness of Dr Roberts, house surgeon of the Dunedin Hospital, the committee of that institution have appointed Mr \V. Ledingham Christie as his lomm tenens. Mr Christie is the senior medical student at the Otago University, and recently passed his first professional examination in surgery and medicine. Since then he'.'hqs been in attendance at the hospital as assistant to the resident surgeon. Dr Roberts is likely to be about again in a week

Last week the City Corporation found em- , ployment ,f or 34. of, the unemployed at stonebreaking ; but now that the good .weather is ■ coming in there will likely be an exodus of the unemployed classes up-country, in view of spring and , summer work. -Altogether there were 50 applications for the work laid out by the, Corporation, but the number of men employed last week showed a considerable decrease on the previous week.

The following entries have been received by the ' hori. ' secretary for the poultry and dog show, to be held on Friday ' and Saturday in the Garrison Hall :— Poultry, 308 ; pigeons, 34 ; canaries, 131 ; and dogs, 144 5 total, 617. The committee, together with the hon. secretary (Mr R. Brownlie) are working the show upmost energetically, and th.c prqspeots so far point to the likelihood of its being in every way a thorough suocess.

News has been received in Wellington of the death in San Francisco of an old Wellington resident, Mr John Wade, who died from, paralysis. He arrived among the, first batch of immigrants who landed in Wellington, and was considered one of the most enterprising of the' settlers, He took an active and intelligent interest in all questions affecting the political state of the then young settlement, He was the first Wellington auctioneer, and owned the sohooner Mary Wade, the first vessel built in Port Nicholson. She was an unfortunate oraft. On her trial trip, whioh took place on a Sunday morning, she turned turtle, when many on boara,inoludjng the first New.Zealand news1 . ,n I

paper reporter' (Mr Yates), were drowned. When the Calif ornian'. gold fever < was at its height in 1848, he became afflicted with the malady, and migrated to the El Dorado,' where he studied the law, and in a short time became one of the most successful pleaders in the San Francisco courts of law. '

A paper was read before the Philosophical Society of Wellington "On the Maori in Asia " by MrTregear, who said that he would consider the arguments and examples used in " The Aryan Maori" as being already before the meeting. He explained that the cause of the Maori language being only partially inflected in its grammatical construction was owing to the race having remained linguistically (as in religion, habits, &c.) exactly in the position it occupied 5000 years ago. He then quoted modern Hindostani and Persian side by side with Maori, showing many remarkable cases of agreement. The words used were themselves full of history, and gave evidence as to the vast time which had elapsed since the 1 Maori passed through India. . Turning to the European languages, the speaker showed that hundreds *of similar words to the Maori were used by the Greeks, Latins, Lithuanians, Celts, Icelanders, &c., the mosb remarkabliepart being the identity with English, care having been taken to exclude Anglo-Maori ( words. ' The concluding portion cited Sir George Grey, Dr yon Haast, and others to prove the great antiquity of' the Maori race in New Zealand.

Referring to the Maori obstructionists on the Thames Valley railway the Auckland Herald says : — Amongst the assailants were a number of women. Mr Fallon had about 100 men working close at hand, and he deserves the greatest civ.dit for keeping his men, under most exciting and trying circumstances, from using violence in resisting the attack of the Native's on the works. Mr Fallon's clothes were literally 'torn from off his back, and he was roughly handled by a large powerful woman, weighing some 18 stone, who fairly threw him over her shoulders. As the Native men proceeded to cut away the timbers of the bridge, they were seized and carried some little distance away, but others stepped at once into their place. Then the women fought to protect the men at their work of destruction, and against them Mr Fallon's men could not iv all gallantry offer violent resistance, so 'that the Maoris succeeded in destroying the bridge. They appeared to be satisfied with this protest, and did not further attempt to destroy the works on the line.

Two large fish labelled " salmon trout from Lake Wakatipu" have been on exhibition in Wellington. The Press states that they are specimens (wofully out of condition) of the monsters into which the ordinary brown trout grows in this country, and pertinently asks how' they come to be exposed for sale during the time they are supposed to be protected.

It is stated that Mr T. W. Glover, the English temperance lecturer, has been engaged for a three-years' lecturing tour of the Colony. He will probably begin his work about January next. A' meeting of temperance delegates is to be held in Wellington in September, representing all parts of the Colony, to arrange for united political action.

The deputy - inspector of the Seacliff Asylum, in his report . laid before the House, several times draws attention to the fact that the building is still sinking, and one, of the dormitories has had to be abandoned, and the plaster is cracking and falling, to the danger of the inmates. He also complains of the absence of taps for fire prevention purposes. Several of the reports of the deputy-inspector point to the desirableness, of the Government issuing under certain restrictions free passes to friends of patients when desirous of visiting the asylums.

A young man named Philip Downes had on the 17th doubtless 'cause to think that he had paid "too much for his whistle," as the presiding justices at the Police Court fined him 15s and costs on two charges of taking ashore from the Chinese steamer Tamsui 30 cigars without having paid duty on the same. The cigars, originally would cost him about 2s, so that altogether the 30 cigars cost him something over £3.

An inquest was held before Mr B. H. Carew, R.M., on the 17th on the body of Thomas Partridge, at the house adjoining that of the deceased in Moray place. From the evidence it appeared that Partridge had been in the employ of Mr Adair, watchmaker, of Rattray street, for about seven years. ' He had been iri a weak state of health lately, and instead of jgojng to the shop, used to do his work at home. Mr Ad air had not seen him for about a month before his death. His sister, who confirmed other evidence' about his bad state of health, stated that he seemed rather listless on Friday last, and went to bed about 11 o'clock at night. Next morning, about 4 o'clock, she heard s a knocking at his bedroom door. Accompanied by hep sister, she hurried to his room, and onopeningthe door found him lying in his bed with,blp.od pouring from his mouth. , Presently he dropped back on the bed, and died almost instantly. 1 Dr Be Zouche stated that he, reached the houso at about a quarter past 4, and found the deceased, who, appeared to have died, rebehtly. He sounded his chest, and found that ' one lung was very much diseased. It was, his opinion, which, he said, amounted almost to a certainty, that the deceased came to his death through 'haemorrhage of the lung. The jury returned a verdict iia accordance with the medical evidence. The deceased was a native of I<ondon, a "widower, and had three children.

Mr Berry, Chief Secretary of Victqria, is of opinion that if the union of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland, and .Western Australia were effected, then it is only a question of' time, good feeling, proper, tact, and judgment to bring New South 'VVales and New Zealand in also. '

A gentleman well-known in Melbourne ja endeavoring to gauge the prospects of forming a syndicate in London to purcho.se the interest of the New Hebrides Company in its recentlyacquired land and harbours in the New Hebridea. It is said that the company possess about a million acres, comprising the pick of the land,' together with the virtual control of a number of the best harbours. It is surmised that with the sale of the company's claims would go the chief objections by the French Government to occupation of the group by the British, but this somewhat sanguine conjecture has not yet been, supported by authority. At present the whole scheme is very much en lair. It is stated that the syndi-. cate would be expected to provide £80,000.

The R.ev. Dr Roseby delivered a very inter--esting lecture in .the hall of the Congregational Church, Moray place, on the evening of the 17th, entibled "A Trip to the Hot Springs and Terraces of Rotomahana." Mr A. Wilson, M.A., ocoupied the ohair. The leoture was a narrative of Dr Roseby'a own reoont experiences and impressions, and his descriptive skill enabled him to draw remarkably faithful and expressive pictures of the -phenomenal sceheryi in these localities, The Pink Terrace— -its fairy beauty,

its colour, its siliceous glazej- its .cauldron and baths— was first described ; and then came the geysers of Rotomahana, and an elaborate wordpainting of the White Terrace, in- which the details of its' structure were minutely dwelt upon, and very successfully conveyed to the audience. The humours of the journey were related in a very entertaining style, and there were some excellent illustrations of ' Maori character introduced. * .' ( M. Olivier Pain died of fever whilst descending the Nile. He will be remembered as that French " war correspondent " who joined the Mahdi "at El Obeid, and subsequently became his " Chancellor." It was said that M. Pain was present at the sack of Khartoum, and it is believed that he was of much use to the Mahdi in advising him how to meet the Nile expedition. His presence in the camp of the Prophet was so annoying to some of the 'British military men that at one time they setf a price on his head. This proceeding was, however, condemned by the authorities in Downing street, and was promptly declared to be null and' void. But now that M. Pain has fallen a viotim to his audacity, the fact is remembered in 'Paris, and it is openly asserted that he has been murdered at tho instigation of the British. M;: Rochefort (says a contemporary) prints much i balderdash on the subject. To him Lord Wolseley is nothing better than a common murderer,' and it is indeed announced that the Association of' 'Republican Journalist^ in Paris intend to proceed against Lord Wolseley and Colonel Smith in our own courts in regard to the proclamation made against Pain.

The idea of an English soldier- carrying with him upon a campaign a Hebrew Bible-is curious, but this seems actually to have been the case with Captain Mercer, who iwas killed in 1863, when leading an attack upon a Maori position. The Rev. Dr 'Roseby, at the conclusion of a lecture delivered by him ,'yesterday evening, exhibited to the audience the -identical volume, a rather bulky one,, carried by> Captain Mercer, and sold with his other effects after his death. It is a complete collection of the Scriptures in Hebrew, and was purchased by Dr Roseby at a second-hand bookstall in Sydney' many years ago- • ■'. , , ,', ■

A good story is told of three (Victorians who, feeling the want of a change after many years of business, took a trip to the Old Country. They arrived in due course after the voyage at a wellknown London' terminus, and all three determined to go to a certain hotel, to which they had been recommended- 'by a fellow .passenger from Australia. Hailing a cab, they directed cabby to drive at once to the place- at which they intended to "put up," at Many- .rate fora time. Cabby drove them on for the greater part of an hour. " This shows what a big place London is," said one. "It does," saj4 another. "Quite so," said the third, as the cab' was pulled up at their destination. ,' The fare (a fairly large one) having been ' duly pa'idj- and 1 cabby having whipped up his horse and disappeared 'round the corner, the three Victorians found' that the hotel they had inquired for and tiaS just been landed at was just opposite the^railway-station at which they had just alighted* ; They had a hearty laugh at the time, and ! tell v the story with great good humour against themselves now they have returned to the Colonies.' *

It was reported in Sydney that the Cabinet passed a minute censuring the Agent-general for recommending the withdrawal of the five and a-half million loan which was, put on the London market about three weeks ago. The minute is said to be strongly worded, conveying the opinion that the Agent-general allowed himself to be influenced by money .brokers. The impression is that Sir Saul Samuel will regard the minute as an intimation that bis resignation is desired, and will act accordingly. '* ;

An incident that will be appreciated'in Otago occurred when the Oam'aru .Band opened the contest at Wellington. As has already been mentioned (says the Oaniara Mail), 'there was the greatest enthusiasm, throughout an audience consisting of something like 5000 persons, many of whom, packed as closely as possible, had to remain in a standing position for • over two hours. At the dose of the proceedings the Mayor of Wellington (Mr. George Fisher, M.H.R.) called for three cheers! for the band, which were given in the heartiest manner, with one more for the band's. ''conductor. This, however, did not satisfy one lady present ; for, waving her hands, • she cried out in a loud voice, with a> distinct Scottish accent, " Bravo Otago, bravo Otago •!" The cry was readily taken up,- and-" Bravo- Ofcago!" rang out from a number of voices. It may be added that the whole of' the' 1 bandsmen speak very highly of their trip, and are liberal in thenpraises of the manner in whioh they were treated by the oitlzens of Wellington? Everything was done fa make the bandsmen thoroughly welcome, and- to render their visit to Wellington one to be pleasantly remembered. Thefaet that thousands were on, the wharf to'/fsW the band away, and that mutual cheers weire heartily given, is full testimony of the fact that the band! made themselves highly popular* and appreciated the kindness shown to theW ' ' Although from ?, statement made" in the House some tirae ago it was supposed that the proposals to, purchase the district railways had been abandoned by the Government, on account of the demands of the companies; being too extravagant, we (North Otago Times) find from Sir Julius' remarks in the House that his proposal inolttdes the Duntroon, Hakateramea, Waiho Gorge, Rakaia, Ashburton Forks, and Thames Valley lines. There are. one or two railways hi this lot whicb, if purchased by the Colony, we would advise the Government— they are not, however^ economical ' enough to take advice of this, sort— to lift the jails and sleepers off, and ivold them in readiness for. the first section of the Bast and tVcst Coast railway. Kerry, who was charged with having purchased gold in Tasmania to induce a company formed in Melbourne to prospect in New Guinea, is now in Brisbane, and has undertaken to, join the party which General M'lver is endeavouring to form, to proceed to New Guinea, and show them the locality of his alleged discovery. He asks no shares in the onterprise until he has verified his story.

It is understood that the vacancy caused by the death of Mr Arthur, chief surveyor of Otag'j will be filled by Mr C. W. Adams, geodesical surveyor, at present in Wellington. Mr Adams is -^ e ll known in Otago, having been for many years located at Dunedin and Lawrence. V ie j s an i enthusiastio apiarian, and while filling an important post in the Survey Department ire Chriatohurch, was the prime mover im the establishment of the Apiarian Society in that city.

Our Wellington correspondent telegraphed onTuesday evening that cossfderable sensation wasexoited by a strango about tho Wellington Hospital, anc\ that the Colonial Secretaryhad dismissed (Jhilton, the resident surgeon^, on his decking to resign. He refused to accept a dismissal, and claimed an ihquiry, and DrLpxmge, tbp supew^nd^nt. Qfi the- liunatie-

Asylum, was then placed. in charge. On this the nurses and various officers of the hospital Srotested, and petitioned for an inquiry. For oing so they were summarily dismissed, and ordered to leave the building at once. This involved severe hardship on respectable women, who had no friends here, and who absolutely did not know where to look for a night's lodgings, the town being exceptionally full just now owingto the Exhibition and Parliamentary session. However, on representations to the Premier, he at once, in the absence of the Colonial Secretary, ordered that they should be allowed to remain in their present quarters till next day. There is likely to be a tremendous row about the affair.

Mr James Miller (designer for the Mosgiel Woollen Factory) gave an interesting lecture on « Electricity " in the Schoolhouse, East Taieri, on Monday evening last, the Rev. W. Will occupying the chair. The weather, doubtless, prevented a larger audience being present, but the schoolhouse was comfortably filled. The lecturer, as far as possible, avoided technical terms, and illustrated his subject by different experiments, some of the experiments causing considerable amusement amongst the audience. The apparatus used has lately been imported from Home and is the property of the Mosgiel Science Class Committee. During the evening Mrs W. Will contributed one or two ' operatic selections on the organ. A hearty vote of thanks to the lecturer concluded a very enjoyable evening's entertainment.

A Brisbane telegram in the Melbourne Argus states that Mr Booth has concluded his mission there. He was presented, on behalf of the executive committee of the mission, with a cheque for £200, amidst great enthusiasm The mission has been an unqualified success throughout, 4249 persons having signed the pledge, and over 5000 blue ribbons having been taken. The meetings were nightly attended by , large and enthusiastic audiences.

Another domestic tragedy is reported from Adelaide, where Edward Henry Carroll, a plumber, aged 37i murdered his wife in a horrible manner. They had quarrelled, and Carroll struck the woman on the head with a firebar, knocked her down, and rammed the bar into her head. He then delivered himself up to the police. It was then found that he had a severe cut in the throat and a superficial wound on the head, and it is a matter of doubt whether these were inflicted by himself or by the woman. She was Carroll's second wife, and had also been married previously. Both were addicted to drink, and the woman was of violent temper. The spectacle presented by the dead woman in the house they inhabited was shocking.

At the Police Court on the 17th, a young man of respectable appearance, named James Joseph O'Connor, was committed for trial on four charges of issuing valueless cheques, and obtaining money by false pretences. The first victim was John Sibbald, of the Provincial Hotel, who gave the accused £2 on his representing himself to be timekeeper for J. J. O'Connor, a contractor for the viaduct on the Otago Central Railway. The cheque given in this case was for £11 18s, drawn on the National Bank of New Zealand. The next case was one in which the accused obtained a pair of boots, valued at 15s, a pair of leggings, and £3 11s 6d change for another valueless change from Mr Nott, a bootmaker in the Arcade. The accused is then heard of at South Dunedin, where he purchased some goods from Mr Wardrop, chemist, tendering in payment another useless cheque, and getting back £4 6s 9d cash. Two days afterwards he attempted a similar transaction with Mr A. T. Price, chemist, in Princes street, but on this occasion he was not so successful," and it Was owing to the prompt action taken by Mr Price that O'Connor was so soon arrested. The evidence showed that all the impoilitions were gone about in quite a bold and opea manner, and it was this apparently which lulled any suspicion as to the value of the cheques. Bail was allowed, the accused in £100, and two aw#ties of £50 each.

An unfortunate accident occurred on SaturiSay io a son of MjfS J. A. Walcott, a pupil at the High School. In (Climbing over the fence with othertoys to reach the gymnasium young Walcott bad the little finger of the left hand caught on a «»ike, and as he fell the finger was torn off, and the sinew pulled out of the arm. He had a ring on that finger, and owing to this fact the accident resulted so seriously. Drs De Zouche and Macdonald were quickly in attendance, and Dr Alexander has now charge of the case.