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Southland Times, Issue 2248, 28 December 1875, Page 2

The Waitaea. — Dr Gri#or, Health Officer, inspected the immigrant ship Waitara yesterday, and passed all the passengers as being in an excellent state of health. Be speaks in high terms of praise concerning the cleanly condition of the vessel, the quality of the immigrants, and the character of the officers, and with pleasure as regards the good feeling subsisting between the passengers and the ship's company. It is probable that a number of the immigrants will be landed to-day. PrOVINCIALLY PAID KEfEESENTATIVES. —A. correspondent writes : — " Seeing the letter in your columns signed " riouthlander " the other day, enquiring whet-her Mr Lumaden was or was not in receipt of a Provincial salary, I have waited anxiously for some of that gentleman's friends to reply. The truth is that to fight for a salary seems so natural to the Provincialißls that no notice has been taken of the fact that MrLumsden draws sjme £200 or £300 a year, besides his honorarium, from his Provincial appointments. No wonder that he admires Provincialism, and considers it v sueCefiS J"

A Bunyip at Last —One morning (says the Seymour Express), the water of the Goulburn near the bridge at Seymour was observed to be in an unusual commotion, so much so that the cattle grazing near the river were attracted to the bank, and ran about in an excited state, watching the movements of some monster of the fish species, which was trying to make headway against the current. Duncan Mclntosh seeing the cattle running along the bank of the river, and hearing the splashing in the water, went to see the cause. On going to the river he saw something swimming or paddling just under the surface of the water. Owing to the river being muddy he could not see the outline of the creature, but describes it as of a grey color, 18ft to 20ft long, with short arms or fins which acted as paddles, and splashed the water about when it curae near the surface. It is more than probable that the steamer which came up the Goulburn about the same time may have disturbed the creature, and driven it before it, | Colonial Progress.— Colonists, says the Lyttelton Times, are never tired of alluding to their success, publicand private These things, however, never strike the observer so forcibly as on the holiday occasions, which happily for the majority of the people are frequent. The crowds of pleasure seekers are large, they are well dressed "and good humored. They have evidently money to spare for enjoy merit, and their orderly conduct is very noticeable. There are excursions by seaand land, which repay their spirited projectors ; sports and theatres offer their attractions, and do not appeal in vain. Business is cast to the winds, and pleasure is courted in countless different ways. Last and not least, poverty and crime are conspicuous by their absence. This sketch applies specially to yesterday's celebration of the twenty-fifth birthday of this Province, Those who looked upon the first day of its life, have seen the development of the last quarter of a century ; otherwise the contrast between the two days must have amazed them. On the first they stood in a morass, probably wondering at their own folly in determining to build a City on its quivering soil. On the second, they see that City stretching for miles on every side, pouring out its thousands of well-to-do citizens to commemorate that first dreary occasion by a " sunshine holiday." When a third day comes to mark the progress of another quarter century, what will it show to those of us who will be here to see 1 Measuring the future by the past, the sight will be marvellous. At a steadier rate of progress, it cannot but be good to see. Insuring Ministers' Lives -a _ good idea — At a special general meeting of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation it was resolved to appoint a minister at a salary of £500, with an allowance for a suitable residence, and if married to insure his life in the sum of £1,000, so that at his death his family will be provided for. Bribery.— The Daily Times of the 22nd inst. says that there is some unknown individual who, by the sending of sundry «£l-notes anonymously, is trying to tempt Mr Barnes from the path of duty. A few months ago some one left a bundle of notes on Mr Barnes's desk by w.iy of douceur. The money was sent by Mr Barnes to the Council, and was given by that body to the Benevolent Institution. Now, some anonymous benefactor has been mean enough to set down Mr Barnes's price at £o. This appears to be exactly his estimation, as he sent that gentleman the sum of £5 in notes. Mr Barnes, justly indignant, has handed the amount over to the Council. It's an evil wind that blows no one good, and the Council, on the recommendation of the Works Committee, resolved that the aforesaid £o shall be devoted to regaling the children of the Industrial School on Christmas Day. The Poet Laureate.— We hear, says Public Opinion, that it is the intention of the Poet Laureate to commemorate in verse the visit of the Prince of Wales to India. Mr Tennyson has not been particularly diligent in his office as Laureate, having only published about five pieces concerning the E-oyal Family. Seeing that the Hindoos are writing a great deal of poetry on the approaching visit, more remarkable for vigor than elegance of expression, it will be interesting to see what the " versin'cator regis," or rather we ought now to say, " regie," will produce. A Warni.vo.~- The Ballarat Courier records that a siugular case as showing the effect of a shock to the nervous system just now exists in Ballarat. About six months ago a young girl, about ten years of age, in the best of health, physically and mentally, was attending Mr Martin's State school. A boy had played truant, and the master deemed it advisable to administer punishment in the presence of the pupils. The boy was accordingly caned, and the school resumed its studies. The young girl returned home to dinner, but scarcely had she entered the house when she was seized with vomiting, and on her mother inquiring what was the matter with her, the girl replied that she had been frightened by •a boy having been caned at school. A fit of nervous trembling immediately followed, and the poor girl has been bedridden from that day to the present, and her death is now daily expected. For months past she has talked of little else than the flogging the boy received, and has refused to allow any person to come near her but her mother. She has also rejected all nourishment except milk, and during the last fortnight has subsisted almost entirely upon lollies. She has had the benefit of the best medical advice and the most careful nursing. She has been taken to Melbourne, and everything, in short, that science, care, and money could do for her has been tried, but no remedy can destroy the impression which the caning has made upon her mind, for she refers to it almost incessantly. She has now been confined to her bed, with only short intervals, for six months, and all hope of her recovery is now abandoned by her mother, as aho by her medical attendant. We have heard of several other cases of a similar kind happening in this town of late though only one or two have ended fatally, and « c would therefore suggest that whenever it is found necessary to administer punishment to a boy it should not be inflicted in the presence of the girls. The Victorian climate induces quick cerebral action, and renders girls very susceptible, therefore, to anything like excitement,

The Blxjff Regatta. — We regret that by some mischance our report of the regatta at the Bluff has not reached us in time for this publication. Presbyterian. — The friends of Mr W. Corrie Johnston, says the Star, will be glad to hear that he has been selected to conduct the services of the Rev. Dr Macdonald's church on Emerald Hill, during the absence of Dr Macdouald at the meeting of Presbyterian clergymen, which is to be held in Edinburgh next year. The Bruce Herald's Melbourne correspondent also tells us that Mr JToiinstone's engagement is for twelve months. The Industrial School. — From the New Zealand Tablet we learn that Sergt. Titcbener, of Lawrence, and his wife have been appointed mastor and matron of the Indußtrial School, Dunedin. The Combinations of Playing Cards. — Professor W. Stanley Jevons, in a treatise on scientific method, asserts that "if the whole population of the world, say one thousand millions of persons, Were to deal cards night and day for one hundred millions of years, they Mould not have exhausted one hundred thousandth part of the possible deals of a pack of cards." Presentation. — The masters and pupils of the Grammar School, of Oamaru, says the local paper, have contributed the handsome sum of i'4s to a fund for presentations to the Rector (Mr W. S. Fitzgerald), Miss Fitzgerald, and Miss Murray, and Mr G-. Hewat, pupil teachers, on the occasion of their leaving Oamaru. To Mr Fitzgerald is to be presented a magnificent marble clock, one of the handsomest timepieces we have seen for a long time ; to Miss Fitzgerald, a beautifully chased tea and coffee service ; to Miss Murray, a gold clasp bracelet set with amethysts ; and to Mr Hewafc, a handsome silver pen and pencil case. A subscription has also been set afoot to give Mr Fitzgerald another presentation on behalf of the public generally. Overdoing It. — A Baltimore paper reports that a Mrs Mulligan, of that town, gave birth, some mouths ago, to four female infants, all of them " fine, fat, healthy, and handsome." Mrs M. is a small delicate woman, about thirty years of age, born of Irish parents in Baltimore. A year before Mrs Mulligan gave birth to five male children at one time. They are still living, not the slightest deformed. The children form a little regiment, and will soon, doubtless, walk, perhaps march to the tune of the Mulligans' March. Mr Reynolds and Poet Chalmees.— "A Member of the League " contradicts the statement made by us (Star) on what we considered excellent authority, to the effect that the Anti-Centralist League had determened to oppose Mr Key nolds at Port Chalmers ; and he adds : " The League have not done anything of the kind as a League up to this hour. They have not arrogated to themselves to dictate to the Electors of Port Chalmers who to select outof the various candidates. If the Port electors think proper to take up a Dunedin castaway, they have a full right to do so. But the Port eieocora have a mind of their own, and no doubt they will exercise it in making a wise and careful choice on the polling day." A Narrow Escape.— George Marples, an ostler in the service of the (Sheffield Carriage Company, has narrowly escaped a horrible death. He has had care of a pair of entire Flemish horses. When he was putting corn in a manger, one of the horses seized him by the arm, tossed him to the ceiling, and then dashed him to the ground. The animal then kuelt upon him and was worrying him, when his cries for assistance were heard and he was rescued. His left leg and arm were broken, and he was otherwise frightfully injured. German Home Policy.— Mr Gladstone in thanking a German author for the dedication of his work, wrote as follows :— " Germany now hoids the first place, on behalf of the world, in asserting the necessity of limiting spiritual powers to spiritual things." Insurance. — It is notified in our advertising columns that Messrs Macrorie and Cuthbertson are now acting as local agents for the Batavia Sea and Fire Insurance Compauy. This Company has been long established, is a very wealthy and respectable corporation, and has only recently extended its operations to New Zealand. A Convert. — The Alliance News has the pleasure to announce the adhesion and enrolment of another noble lord, the Marquis Townshend, who has now become a member of the Alliance. The News adds, " We are informed that the noble Marquis has suppressed all public houses upon his estates." A New Product. — A remarkable article — fish flour — has lately been introduced into the market. It is prepared from dried fish of first quality ; it is thoroughly desiccated, and then ground in a mill. The Abyssinian War.— The House of Commons committee of public accounts report that the total cost of the Abyssinian war, so far aa ascertained up to the present time, amounts in round numbers to £8,950,000. But there are further charges, not yet settled, amounting to something over £30,000, and it is almost impossible to state positively that no more claims will be put forward by the Government of India. A False Stimulant. — Growth, says the Melbourne Argus, is as natural to a young country as to a young tree or a young animal. The utmost which bad government can do, in the case of a political community, under such circumstances is to lessen the rate of growth, and to partially retard what it cannot entirely prevent. Ibis has been the condition of Victoria during the last decade. Some of its legislative nurses have been admiuistering small doses of gin to it, under the name of protection, for the twofold purpose of stunting its future stature and of appeasing its fractiousness ; but the Year Book for 1874 just issued by the Government statist, shows that the constitutional stamina and hardihood of the ill-used infant have enabled it to thrive in spite of its ignorant nursing,

j The Theatbe.— One of the most I attractive pieces, presented under the \ auspices of the dramatic company now performing at the*. .Theatre Royal was placed upon the boards on Boxing Night. [t is named the Mistletoe Bough, and may be classed, as -belonging to the romantic school "of the English drama. It abounds in chivaFric spirit, picturesque language, and telling situations, and is founded on tbepatheticold legend which is sung of in the well known ballad which bears the same name as the play. The piece was well acted. Phis term of commendation applies with particular force to Mr Warde'9 Baron de Clifford, the Sir Reginald de Courcy of Mr Bvera, the Lady Atjnes of Mrs Byers, and Mr Metcalfe's Sir Harry Lovel. For to-night, Hob Roy is announced.