LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1967, 5 November 1891, Page 19

LOCAL & GENERAL.

The foundation stone of the Selwyn Theological College was laid on Saturday afternoon, Bishop Nevill performing the ceremony, which was, preceded by a public luncheon in tlfe Choral HaD, at which the speakers were Bishops Nevill and; Julius, the Yen. Archdeacon Fenton, Dr Hocken, Dr Belcher, Mr Justice Edwards, and the | Rev. A. R. Fitohett. The establishment of an institution with the objects that are to be fulfilled by the Selwyn College has long been known to be very near to the heart of Bishop Nevill, to whom it was matter fox great congratulation that his project had progressed to the, stage which was reached on Saturday. The luncheon, which was held in the Choral j Hall, was attended by about ISO persons, nearly one-half of whom were ladies. The ceremony of laying the foundation stone took place at 4 p.m. on tbe site in Castle street, behind All Saints' Church. The whole of the clergy who were present at the luncheon were in attendance, and there was a fair gathering of ladies and gentlemen. At the luncheon subscriptions to the amount of £29 18s were made to the college building fund, and the offertory laid on the foundation stone realised £24 155, making a sum . of £54 15s by which the fund was 1 , augmented as the result of Saturday's functions. , The regulations under " The Land and Income Assessment Act 1891 " are gazetted, and came into force on Saturday. An Order-in-Counoil notifies that during the session of Parliament members of the Assembly may send delayed telegrams at tbe following rotes .—For the first 30 words, 6d ; for every four words after the first 30 words, Id. During the recess members may also send delayed telegrams to Ministers of the Crown at the foregoing rates. " Collect " telegrams addressed to a Minister by any member will not be accepted unless the Minister has by telegram requested such member to send him a reply free. Notification' also appears abolishing " office " copies of telegrams. Dr Stenbouse suggests, in view of the prevalence in Dunedin of influenza in a severe form, that' the public schools should be closed for some short time. The eighty-second half-yearly meeting of the Bank of New South Wales was held, on Friday at the head office in Sydney, when a dividend and bonus at the rate of 17J per cent, per annum -was declared, add £10,000 carried to the reserve fund, which now amounts to £980,000. A conference of delegates from Friendly Societies was held on Friday evening to consider the question of exchanging medical benefits. Mr Gallaway (D. P. Druids) was iv the chair, and there were about 20 delegates representing the 1.0.6.F , A.0.F., and Druids, After discussing the matter at some length it was resolved— 11 That it is advisable to establish an organisation among the friendly societies in Otago and Southland for the exohange of medical benefits among lodge memberb"; and Messrs W.Reid, M'Fie, D. Larnacb, and G. M. Morrison (Oamaru), with power to add to their number, were p^o'nted to give practical effect to the resolution. One of the most curious revelations erer dis- j covered in a Stato paper is that for wLich we are ipdebted to Lord Wolseley in his article on j Count yon Molike in the United Service Magaz'ne. Ifc appears that in 1841, when a Europeau war peemed imminent, the King of Prussia made a formal request to the Duke of Wellington, then iv his 72ud year, to take command of his army. At this time of day, when the immense reputation of." The Duke" has perhaps somewhat faded in comparison with the scientific abilities of the German generals, the proposition seems, almost incredible, but Lord Wolseley has seen it in black and white; and also the Duke's reply. * At the meeting of the Mam'ototo County Council on the 28 sh ult., the following motion was moved by Mr John Ewing and seconded by Mr Forrester:' — "That this council protests agains'. the proposed partition of Central Otago amongst three different electorate's, in no one of which will there be community of interest between tbe majority of the inhabitants and tha people of Central Otago." In support of this contention tbe following is advanced :— That the great want of Central Obago ia tbe speedy prosecution of the railway now being constructed into ifc via Strath Tai°.ri; that the carrying trade of Central. Otago is now carried on by three different routes— the Palmerston, the. Lawrence, a.d the Kingston — from all of which the traffic would be diverted by the completion of the said railway via Strath-Taieri ; that the population that forms the majority within the boundaries of the. three electorates referred to—Waihemo, Tuapeka, and Lake, as recently gazetted by the Representation Commissioners — are settled along each of the said routes, and will be benefited rather by the retardment than the prosecution of work on the Strath-Taieri railway ; that tbe effect of the proposed division of Central Otago among the said districts will be to leave it practically without a- parliamentary .representative-; and I: 'it it therefore be resolved — " 1 bat this protest be forwarded tc the Representation Commissioners, with a request that a district of Central Otago may be created, to have the boundaries, as near as possible, of the present Mount Ida electorate, with the Upper Clutha added to make up the necessary population. This district, besides being at one on the, to it, all-impprtanfc matter of railway communication, would in every other respect have community of interest." A member of tho New York press has been examining the effects of the M'Kinley tariff on Great Britain. It id pleasaufc to hear that things might have been much worse It is the inferior articles which have mainly suffered, and where style and quality are concerned Great Britain has held her own and continues so to do. Bradford, as the centre of the worsted trade, has been hard hit; but in Lancas thehire effects have been almost nil, and it; is something to hear that the German industries have been injured far more than Great BrifcaiD. Tho deoline iv exports to the States ia thought to be merely temporary. From the first annual report of the. Jubilee Institute for the Blind, founded in Auckland last year, it appears that Mr Tighe, the resident, last year visited 185 blind people in various parts of the colony, besides 23 who, though not quite blind, are but little removed from it, and Bix Maoris, giving them instruction and in other way's attending to their urgent needs. He recounts the work done in teaching the bliad to read and write, and states that 22 of his pupils can now correspond with tbe seeing. Five have been taught to usefully emp'oy themselves. The number now able to work at various trades, which includes halter, rn*t, and net making, bone polishing, chair caning, knitting, &c, is 35, ; and some of the above have earned a good deal towards their own support since the .'time they | were first placed under tuition. Two have been \ started as commisaiou agents, and preparations are being made to place a third in a similar position. Mr Skinner (Wellington), Mr Thompson (Ohristchurch), and Miss Jones (Dunedin),

who were, in 1889, appointed" honorary teachers, still fill those positions, and have done good work, visiting the blind, exchanging I ' books, and teaching them to read and write. Two burglars were plucklly captured redhanded at Collingwood, near Melbourne, on the 21st ult. They were heard tampering with the door "of Robert Walker's tobacconist shop, and Walker's wife and son, each armed with a revolver, proceeded to intercept thtm. Just as Walker reached the shop the two men burst in. He covered^one with a revolver; when the man pat his hands in his pockets, and Walker, thinking by this motion the burglar waß armed, fired, and shot the fellow through the arm. He was then easily taken, and gave the name of Nelson Veinon, well-known to the police. Meanwhile the other man had taken to his heels, but Mrs Walker was on his track, and covering him with a revolver he was brought to a standstill. She kept him under the muzzle of the pistol until the police were brought. He gave his name as John Collins, aged 17. A number of ex-pupils of Mr Stenhonse, of the Lawrence District High School, met a few months ago in Lawrence and decided to promote the presentation of a testimonial to that gentleman. Since that time all ex-pupils whose whereabouts could be ascertained have been invited to coptribute towards that object. A meeting of some 30 " old boys," now living in Dunedin, was held in the Coffee Palace on Saturday night, and those present were unanimously in favour of the presentation being made. A number of suggestions were agreed to, and will be forwarded to the Central Committee in Lawrence for consideration. It is likely there will be a large reunion of old scholars in Lawrenoe during the Christmas holidays, when it is hoped the presentation will be made. The annual meeting of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Obago and Southland took place on the 29 th in the Garrison Hall and took the form of a conversazione. There were present during the evening about 600 ladies and gentlemen. No addresses were delivered, for when the moderator attempted to speak it was found impossible for him to make himself heard above the hum of conversation that pervaded the building. The proceedings were opened by the assemblage singing the Hundredth Psalm, after which the moderator (the Rev. Mr Steven) orayed, and then general conversation began and continued, excepting when interrupted by the music. A good programme of music was gone through. The united choirs rendered several anthems ; Mr Wright sang the solo " The heavens are telling" very effectively, and a pianoforte duet was played by Messrs Barth and Timson. Mr Barfch was the conductor of tho choir and Mr Timson played the accompaniments. Refreshments were served during the evening, and the proceedings closed with a vote of thanks, moved by the Rev. Dr Stuart, to the choir and to the ladies. The proceedings at the banquet to Mr T. Mackenzie, M.H.R., at Balclufcba lasted until daylight ou Thursday moruing. The following toasts duly honoured were not referred to our last week's report :— " Local Bodies," proposed by Mr H. S. Valentine, M.H.R, and responded to by Messrs D. Wallace and D. A. M'Laohlin; " The Agricultural and Pastoral Interests," proposed by Mr Donald Reid, and responded to by Mr Valentine atd Mr W. Christie; " Commercial Interests," proposed by the vice-chairman, and responded to by Mr W. H. Mackenzie; "Local Industries," proposed by Mr James Allen, and responded to by Messrs F. Lange and J. Nelson; "The Ladies," proposed by Mr J R. Thornton, and responded to by Mr R. S. Gilkison; "The Press," proposed by Mr W. M. Shore; ".The Chairman and Vice-chairman, proposed by Mr T. Mackenzie ; and " The Host and Hostess," proposed by Mr D. T. Fleming. The proceedings closed with the singing of " Auld laog syne " and cheers for Mr T. Mackerzie and the Opposition. Oar Wellington correspondent referring to General Booth says:— "You will find him a most genial and pleasant man, with a remarkable* personality and power of impressing that personality upon all be does and upon all with whom he has to do. He has a distinctly Jewish cast of face, with wonderfully brilliant eye?, which are constantly in motion, and which seem instantly to take in the smallest detail of his surroundings. His nose is markedly aquiline, and in fact his head strongly reminded. me cf an eagle'd, with the eagle-like, piercing glance and authoritative 'beak.' His readiness and smartness of reply and repartee were as noticeable at his meetings as his power of influence. ' He is not a striking orator in the sense of mere ornate oratory, but he has a marvellous knack of instilling his views. He reminded me, as a speaker, of Mr Subtle, tbe great barrister, in Warren's novel, ' Ten Thousand a Year,' who despised a set speech, but entered into an exquisitely crafty conversation with the jury, and could detect in a moment what was passing in the mind of each man, and in what manner he was influencing each hearer. There you have General Booth's method exactly depicted." Mr Hutchison, M.H.R, has been in com munication with the Minister of Public Works ou behalf of the small farm settlers of Catlin's River, in tegatfl to some doubt or difficulty which has been raised as to the most advantageous route for extending the line of railway through that district, and Mr Seddon writes to him " that before any decision is arrived at, he will himself personally visit tbe locality and investigate the matter." The dare of the Minister's visit cannot yet be definitely fixed, but he is now on his way south. Tbe ways of the wily middleman are as ditrk as those of the heathen Chinee (says the Melbourne Age), and every now and then the agency parasite braaks. oat in a fresh place. Ie is only in the order of things that people iv tbe town should be made to pay Is to la 61 per lb for butter, whi'e fllo farmers cannot make their dairies pay when they get only 4d or 6 1. Bub while both producer and consumer are "go'< at " by the middleman ou the silo of the insiiufaetured article, ia one respect the producer has been further severely bled in tbe purchi^e of his manufacturing plant. Farmers have orcv sionally complained of tho high price of cream separators, hut the agents have quelled the objection by pointing out that the prioa covers a heavy duty on tho importation of these articles. Now, as it happens that cream separators are imported free of duty by act of Parliament, the alleged duty has presumably gone into the capacious pocket of the agent, and the farmer has been defrauded to the extent thereof. It is stated that in the irrigation colony of Mildara, where intoxicants" have t;e?n rigidly excluded, a single policeman has had nothing to do amongst r population of 2000. Tho reports which havo reached Eugland from Obili concerning the efficacy of the Mannlichir riflo as an engine of war have induced the War .Office authorities to test its capabilities. •Though it is the weapon with which the Austrian soldiers are almost exclusively armed there are no restrictions placed upon its sale outside the Austrian dominions. Information has come to Bnglaud from a source that can be relied npon as to the capabilities of this weapon, which. is deolared to be even superior to the

Lebel, this being from English surgeons who have treated the wounded. The rifle possesses the power of driving a bullet through • whole rank of men, and it has been demonstrated that the wounds are clean outs, and not jagged and splintered as in the case of other rifles. The little island of St. Helena is almost, if nob quite, the first Crown colony to overcome the reluctance of the Colonial Office to a divorce law. , There is now by proclamation, by and with the consent of her Majesty in Council, instituted in thi»«mall Atlantic island a court for divorce and matrimonial causes,, wherein any of her Majesty's subjects may file a petition for the small sum of 2s, and for a grand total of less than 30s in the coui.t fees may. go through all the various stages of a suit for dissolution of marriage, down to the pronouncement of the decree absolute. The Midland Railway Company have sent to Melbourne a quantity of birch with the view of testing its utility for street paving blooks. It 1b considered by experts that the birch timber of the coast is well adapted for such a purpose* '..being dense, tough, and durable. The Reefton Guardian states that the Hon. Mr Steddon, in passing through Reefton, evidently recognised that he was in enemy's territory, and he did not leave the coach except for the purpose of changing from one to the other. The utmost coolness amongst the people in the town seemed to prevail, and the Minister was not greeted* with any demonstration of any sort beyond a few groans from a number of persons assembled in Broadway. The common belief of people who know nothing of Scotland is that it is chiefly peopled by " Macs." This is an error. The surnames most prevailing in Scotland are as follows ;— Smith, the name of one person in every 68; Macdonald, one in 78 ; Brown, one in 89 ; Campbell, oue in 91 ; Thompson, one in 95; Stewart, one in 08. At the examination on the 28th, by Mr Taylor, of the pupils of the Stony Creek school— of which Miss Farms is teacher — 100 per cent, of passes was gained. A telegram from' Dargavllle says : — " Information has been received here that a Maori girl, 19 years, named Hare Tari, died from id juries received at Babylon gumfields, five miles from, here. Her father wanted her to marry one Maori and she wanted another, and it is alleged that because she would not consent to her father's choice he severely beat her. Constable Carr has gone to inquire into (he matter." A young woman named' Bailey, residing with her husband at Young, New South Wales, died from fright on the 17th inst, under- painful circumstances. On the Saturday previous, while engaged hanging clothes on a line in a paddock adjoining L her residence, she came unexpectedly upon a large snake coiled near a stump. She was so terrified as to be almost unable to move, bub as the reptile came towards her she ran into the house, and, becoming very ill, sent for the neighbours, her husband being absent from home. She grew worse, and medioal aid was called in, but the unfortunate woman gave promature birth to a child, became delirious, and continued so until the following Saturday, when she died. A family of three young chjldren ere left. Our Auckland correspondent telegraphs:— " A number of bogus telegrams have been received by various citizens purporting to be btnt from the Premier, and also, I believe, from the Minister of Public Works, offering seata in the Legislative Council to two, and an education commisßionership to another, and promotion in the volunteer force to two officers;- It is not known whether some of the victims rose to reply, though it is suspected they did, but they are 'lying low.' The hoax was discovered through one prudent individual wauling to frank his telegram in reply, as on Government business, and save his shilling. On showing the telegram he received it was ab once seen it-had not the office stamp upon it, though written on the forms and in the telegraph envelopes. The ! officers of the Telegraph department are investigating the matter, and it is also in the hands' of the pjiice authorities. Mr Shera informs me he received une to the eff< ct to t-ecur'c the support of the Auckland members, and the Strat-fo-1 route would be kept steadily ia view," Ifc is stated that two new special settlement associations are bting formed at tli« Forty-mile Baeb, iv the Wellington-lUwkeVßay district An application of out', for 2000 acre? it ia esid, has already been granted. , • According to the. North Otago Times, the famous Lord Wortiey, under the plebeian, name of Me Ciaig, has been visiting the district with the usual results. He "irrupted" on the ficane at a prohibitionist and lived ou the good n&fiura of several' who hold strong temperance viaws. He, however, may be said to have given both sides a turn, for having been entrusted with .he boise and saddle of a temperance man he took them to a wellknowu publican, aqd on Che s'rength of his being a man of means wii.tr a daily expected remittance, the publican shelleq cut £5, and the other man's horse and saddle were left "till called for" The "other man" has called for his hor&s and saddle, but is refused possession till all charges aro paid. Lord Wortiey went north after borrowing the £5. He travelled around the country for some time in quest of a farming property, which he said be wished to buy, and gem rally bad a good time of it. The directors of the Nations! Fire and Marine Insurance Company of New Zealand intend to recommend the usual dividend at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum for the half year ending 30th September last. Ths accounts are now being audited, and will be issued in a few days. An application was maje'St the Auckland Resident; &Iftgi-<tr.-itt/& Court on Monday by Mr T. Ooop-r, solicitor, under the prohibition clause of the L.iO'W-i"g Ac', -*t the Police Court on behalf of Wilfred Robert Greonway. It was stated that the application was made under clause 267 of the act ibm the said Alfred Robert Greeuway had by f-xcessive of liquor lessened bis e*tats\ and greatly injured his health, and that hotel keep tra be prohibited from supplying him with spirituous liquors. Mr Cooper said they wished the order to extend to the whole of the hotels in the provincial district of Auckland for 12 month-". Th* application was made with f'bt 1 ooiioarr e>ics of Greenway, and be was prepared to ad.l tvitienooin support if ifc wtra deecru d necHKS&ry. bit Bishop, R.M , said there was no need for evidence as the merits were unfortunately of public ntroriety. He considered ifc wi« highly d-iiireabl-j thnt an order should be made, a>jd ha would accordingly grant the application as mp.de for 12 months. Tb« headmaatership of two of t : ic tchools ia Dunedin under che control of ibo Education Board have become vacaut, and it is somewhat ia the hatoro cf a crjncidecce thfi* in each cs.se the position which will bave to ba filial, has been occupied by a teacher who came to this colony from Tasmania. The causa of one of the vaoancies is explained elsevvht-re, being the death, from indue* z*, of Mr Park, .who has been for 27 years head master of the William street (now High street) School, and the other vacancy is caused by the. resignation of Mr A. Barrett, head master of the Arthur street

School, whose friends will rejoice to learn that the "boom "in Tasmania has placed him in a position that enables him to retire upon a competency. . . r We are informed by a telegram from Wellington that Lady Bailer, wife of Sir Walter Buller, died very suddenly on Sunday. She had«been in poor health for some time. The Great Eastern, that ungainly monster of the seaß, is being broken up for old iron. Yet while the process is going on (remarks the St. James' Budget; new Great Easterns are preparing. The Cunard Company, it is announced, are projecting two new steamers, which will be, like " that Leviathan," of which Milton speak*, the "hugest of all that swim the ocean stream." These two liners will be 600 ft long, or only -80ft less than Mr Scott Russell's unfortunate veßsel, and by the side of them the largest ships of Her Majesty's navy ..will look like squat and dumpy tug-boats'. It is, indeed, marvellous to consider that it will be only necessary to walk from the stem of one of these great ships to the stern and back again to have covered nearly a quarter of a mile. More marvellous still, these floating cities will be roshed through the seas -at the rate of 18 or 20 miles an hoar in pretty nearly all weathers. The severe economy which is being practised —by the Government (says the Melbourne Arguß of the 28th ult.) is making itself felt among the industrial classes. Already some hundreds of tradesmen have been thrown out of employment by the sudden stoppage of Government expenditure, and if the present state of affairs continues the number "must necessarily increase. The Railway Commissioners have been ad- * monished to exercise all possible economy, and tliey are endeavouring to do so, with the result that no contracts for rolling stock have been let for some time past, and other important works; which should Have been undertaken during the present year, have been postponed indefinitely. The number of men ! who are suffering through the crisis m Wright and Edwards' workshops at Braybrook is rather appalling, and there are other large establishSeats which have been compelled by the dearth of work to dispense with numbers of their employes. A deputation representing men out of employment *hioh waited dn the Premier yesterday, were told that if the commissioners wanted more rolling stock, the Government would be prepared to find. the money. The commissioners state that.they will require more rolling stock very soon, and that they will be happy to call for tenders if the Treasurer finds j the money. A writer in the New York Critic, in discussing some sides of the late Mr Russell Lowell's character, says : —" There was never a less mercenary author than Mr Lowell. -We doubt that he wrote a single line in the whole course of his life merely for the sake of the money it would bring him in. One may say that his circumstances placed him above the necessity of •writing for money,' and so, perhaps, into later years they did ; but it is equally true that the offers be reoeived were such that he must have been either very rich (which he was not) or very indifferent to money to decline them. I understand that Harpers offered him £1000 for six articles, none of whioh was ever written, and that the Century offered him £200 for each of as many essays as he would write, and he wrote but one. To go from great sums to small, when the Critic offered him £20 for the MS. of a part of his hastily-prepared opening address at one of the Authors' Readings in this city, every word of whioh might have been taken down by a reporter and printed without impropriety the next morning, he merely said, firmly, but with a polite smile, • I cannot bring myself to part with it.' He probably knew that, if printed, it would be permanently preserved, and did not care to have it go 1 down to posterity with his more considered work." The London Times makes the very important announcement that Mr Field, a well known engineer, has discovered a method of greatly increasing the efficiency of the steam engine. Instead of feeding live steam from the boiler to the cylinders, he mixes a volame of live steam in a dose chamber with eight times that value of atmospheric air heated to a temperature of say 40Odeg. Mr Field claims that the total contents of the chamber will have the expansive force of the steam so introduced. This claim, if substantiated, amounts to increasing the energy obtained from coal about eight times. The method of application f seems to be simple : a dosed chamber is connected with each side of the piston. Into this air heated by the waste heat of the furnaces is forced, after which a portion of steam is injected, and the combination vapour used in the cylinder as steam. The experiments reported and the information given would indicate that this is a most important discovery, and may lead to marked changes. The London Times char* acterises it as the moist revolutionary discovery of recent times. The London correspondent of the Auckland Herald, referring to Sir F. Dillon Bell's retire- , ment, writes -.—'' Some surprise is expressed at the choice of a politician who, it is understood, has had no administrative expeiience, and some of the Agents-general who know the insignificant character of the remuneration attached to office, wonder whether tbe salary of Sir Francis' successor is to be adequately increased. All his old colleagues deplore tbe retirement of Sir Francis. Without question he has for years been recognised as the ablest of the colonial representatives in London, and in all times of difficulty he took the lead, particularly when it was necessary to approach the Colonial and Foreign Secretaries, or.the Post Office and Treasury. He will certainly be greatly missed whenever any awkward questions, such as annexations in the Pacific, the recidiviste dispute, trust funds nvestments, &0., arise, for he had all the details at his fingers' ends, His influence with the departments was superior to that of his colleagues. He was, however, always unobtrusive, and never anxious to monopolise credit. So long as he attained bis end he oared little who claimed the credit of having been most instrumental in achieving it. There is some speculation as to whether Sir Francis will be induced to re-enter public life in the colony; but, I fancy, he will not be easily tempted to re-engage in the hurly-burly of political warfare. But for Sir Francis' well-known repugnance to such displays, an effort would certainly be made by his friends to entertain him handsomely ere his departure. But, as he wonld almost certainly decline such a compliment, his nnmerouß friends and admirers must perforce restrain their enthusiasm." The Anglican Synod commenced its session in the St Matthew's Schoolroom on Tuesday afternoon, when the president, Bishop Neviil, delivered an opening address. A number of notices of motion were subsequently handed in to the secretary, and the synod adjourned to meet at the same place at 4 o'clock next afternoon. There was the usual full choral evensong in connection with the synod at St. Paul's proCathedral in the evening. The attendance was only moderate. Under Mr Towsey all the church choirs of the town had combined and mastered in strong force. There wen professional and recessional hymns, the choir being

preceded by two cross bearers. Tour's service was used for the "Magnificat" and "None Dimittis," while the anthem was the " Gloria " from Mozart's " Twelfth Mass," which was ; rendered with grand effect. The sermon was preached by the Rev. A. C York, the Rev. G. W. York intoned the n vice, and Bishops Neviil and Julius were both present, with a large number of clergy. During the voyage out of the R.M.S. Tongariro, Mr T. Teschemaker, of Canterbury, lost a* very valuable hackney stallion, which, after' much trouble, he had succeeded in finding in England, and was importing for the purpose of improving tbe breed of hackneys. «The horse (Cannonball, late Carat) caught a cold, and, though nursed with the greatest care, eventuajly'died from an attack of inflammation of the lungs. He was not insured. The Christchurch PreßS states .that there died at Kaiapoi last week a Native named Pene Parekuku, who practised in his latter days the art of wizard, tohunga, and doctor to those who sought his services. It is said that in instances where the doctor has prescribed medicine for the sick Pene has been known to forbid its use. He practised medicine himself by herbal remedies. The potential qualities of the herbs he Increased by drying them within an old Bible. His faith in Holy Writ was such that he used a smaller copy, which he would ,bind on to the wound of a patient to effect a healing. He does not kppear to have been an advocate for bloodletting, but one of his accomplishments was in being able to blister. The old man's reported age was 103, and yet this centenarian was seldom seen or heard of outside his own people, and they naturally avoided the old wizard, except under circumstances of great necessity. A singular case came before Mr Raweon, R.lit, at Inveroargill on Tuesday. Some time back a school teacher named Eilburn wrote to the press regarding the alleged gross ill-treat-ment of a cow, and the police, acting on the strength of the letter, prosecuted a settler nsniied Durant. Kilburn's wife was the principal witness, but the evidence utterly failed to substantiate cruelty, and the case was dismissed. Durant now sued Kilburn for £2 14s, costs incurred in his defence. . The magistrate held that the '.action was one for malicioas prosecution, and tbe court therefore had no jurisdiction. The plaintiff was nonsuited. A. meeting of settlers at Bketahuna the other day '(says the Wellington Times) was a meeting of settlers— not landsharks, speculators, millionaires, or dummies. They asked, in connection with a settlement they have in view, for the addition of a purchasing clause to the regulations. It is useless to answer that the purchasing clause will encourage speculation. They do not want to speculate. They want to break in the land and make it productive by living on it and helping each other. It may be, from the Ministerial point of view, bad taste on their part 1 to prefer a chance of freehold to anything else, 1 but the business of the Government is to settle the country, nof to discuss matters of taste. Have they not enough knowledge of human nature to show them the bona fides of these men? And if they want to leave the landb by-and-bye, why not, so long as they leave others who toil and spin in their place ?. Mr Leslie H. Reynolds, son of the Hon. W. H. Reynolds, was a passenger by the R.M.S. Tongariri, which arrived at Wellington yesterday.' Mr Reynolds, who is a marine engineer, commenced 1 his career in Messrs Einoaid, M'Qaeen, and Co/s workshops;, afterwards joined the New Zealand survey staff; and in 1886 left for England,' where, after being artioled to Mr W. Shield, of Peterhead, resident engineer for the Admiralty harbour of refuge works on the east ceast -of Scotland, he was sent by Sir J. Coode to Trinidad, West Indies, to undertake a survey in connection with harbour works and dry dock. He then accepted an offer to proceed to Bolivia, where, in association' with Sir John Coode's son, he supervised^ large canal scheme.