Correspondence.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 232, 10 January 1860, Page 2

Correspondence.

To the Editor of the Colonist,

Sir, —In order to redeem a promise made to the debtors confined in the Nelson jail, I beg to call the atte&ljkm of the Government to what 1 wnsiderishi'gH'ly ue^eesary for the health and comfort of the inmates of that .hyijldipg. Upon being admitted into what I suppose yoiii"' may term 'the court-yard, I found to my astonishment aft enclosed place, say 16 feet by 40, close boarded to the height of 12 feet, without any provision, being made for fresh air being admitted except at the top. The Sun's rays were pouring down at the rime, and the heat was so intolerable that coming from iijje outside—where.a refreshing breeze wa6 blowing at the tjm,e—the change waaso great, that after staying there only a 'few minutes I was glad to retreat inside. I was led to consider'tlias'uri!.es3 some steps were taken to admit a better supply of fresh air,with the trouble pressing on the mind arisiug from the nature of their circumstances, and being shut in their rooms when the only chance oi a walk in the cool of the evening might be bene'fieial ip them, 'that no more effectual steps could be taken to cause $ij enlargement of the temporary building on the left^tlie'JjuaatijC asylum —or to create some other diseases that might be fatal to some of the inmates. J would suggest that a gr.ating, about breast high' with a sliding shutter to be opened or shut.as found to he most convenient. If it is a necessary part of their punishment to exclude their obervation "from all that dwells below the skies " —though I confess I think other-wise-^<)et the Goyernfnent adopt any other pl&n they think 'best. It k evideiijt £t might be done as far as security goes, for if any man was.jdetermined'to make his escape,it would be a matter of no difjjeultyj a? there is alieayy barred do,or jbejween arjd tljeir keeper, whjch exclude? a rigid §ui'Keiljai)pfß J# preyent it.. T'le expense would be so triff inland the benpfft 50 great, that I hope thjs will be a sufficient apojogy far my troubling them or you in the matter, . Yours, <£c, J. P. HORN.

To the Editor of the Colonist,

Sie,—lt is with much satisfaction that I read your admirable leader in Friday's paper, there was one poiet, however,;^hich I think-you might have, touched upqn,:andnyliiich certainly, deserves conaiderfitiooi wiiichi ia^What wquW the owners of

'property neatf'ithe end of. proposed1 culvert havd said to the Board of Works? You are no doubt, Sir, aware, that when sewage matter meets salt water, it becomes deposited there in the form of a sediment, the meeting causing still water, and the salt act ing chemically, so that we should be covering our Mud Flat with even a greater nuisance ;■ you; will remember I dare say some time ago the horrible stench which some whale feed caused, their contrivance would have given us a' permanent nosegay. Is it possible that.it was a delicate way of making a present to our Supeiintendcnt ? • With regard to Mr. David Burns, I should think that he would say with Sir Andrew Aguecheek. . .. "An I had thought he had been valiant, and so cunning offence, 1 would have seen him d d • ere I had fought him." . •■ Yours; &c.i, SCRUTATOR. : . To the Editor of-the Colonist. Sir, —I cannot forbear addressing a few lines to you to ask if you can inform the public where the fire bell is, and why it is not erected in its proper place? You are doubtless aware of the narrow chance on Saturday last, of a ''destructive" fire in Trafalgar-street. Now, Sir, had the incident have . taken place at a later hour, and no means of alarming the inhabitants of the neighborhood, in all probability a large amount of property would have been consumed and perhaps a few lives lost. Perhaps you will on behalf of the town write to the sleepy Board of Works, and persuade them to place the means within our reach of at least sounding an alarm in case of actual fire. Yours, A TOWNEY. ■■;■■' To the Editor of the Colonist. SiR,-rThe report in your last of the fatal accident which occurred to one of the hands of the Golconda, would appear to attach blame to the master ■ or officers of that vessel; but a short statement of the facts of the case will show that they are free from any such imputation. In the first place, the melancholy accident was not seen from the ship, but the alarm was given from the shore by the steward and one of the ship's boys, who were waiting on the wharf for the boat which the unfortunate man was sculling towards them, and 1 upon perceiving the accident, which occurred much , closer to the shore than the ship, they made every , effort to get a boat and raise an alarm. Immediately it was known in the ship there was a small ', boat sent from along-side, and the crew flew to ! lower one of the quarter boats which unfortu- • nately got foul in the mizen chains, and before it i was clear there were three small boats on the spot where he had last been seen. That is the reason why the quarter boat.was not lowered. We had no grapling irons or dredges on board, and on my inquiries at the wharves I found that there were none in the port. These, Sir, are facts which the officers of the ship are prepared to corroborate. EDW. MONTGOMERY. To the Editor of the 0 loni&t. Sm,—Your issue of this day (Friday) contains § letter of no mean length or small pretentious, in the estimation of its writer, who if not happy in expression flatters himself that he is powerful in substance, but alas'for poor human nature, had little. Burns called to mind the words of great . Burns relating to the powers above —"The gift would gie us to see ourselves as others see us"—he would not hive wallowed in his own sewer ofself--1 glorification, and consequently would not have !; been so bespattered with its garbage. The mis- ! named Board of Works through their mouthpiece, ! David, declare that it is perfectly correct and ! proper that they should be allowed to collect and '■ convey to the sea-side boundary of our town, all J the filth from closet, drain, and cellar, there to mix with the salt water and mud on the tidal flat, i and form the most deleterious compound known to science, which, mingling its deadly vapor and. i putrid exhalations with the'soft sea breeze a? jj blows along, must carry nuisance and disease'on its wings iq.the homes' of sore taxed ratepayers. 1 The united labors of the Engineer, Health Officers, and Chemist, have all gone to demonstrate the folly of a once antiquated and time-honored custom of poisoning the air by ejecting the sewaga , into rivers and other handy receptacle? where, ij; ! cannot get away, and millions are now_ being ex? ponded throughout Europe and the Bri ish Isle^ tq remedy an evil which has carried thousand to an ! early grave. However, these inquiries aT-i woyth- ' less according to the Nelson new light, who will i have our filth discharged under our very nose 9, ) and: is determined whether de!e!erious or not.it ) shall-be .inhaled', by his ra'epiying subjects. I ! should think if this able individual with the time » honored name were to apply to the Provincial > Council to recommend him to the notice of the ' Auckland authorities and again to bring his sewage * knowledge to tlja notice of fcjie Home Government, ', he would be eertkiii' to. rtjcejiye ail appointment more befitting his high flighty ahifities than Ijp , can ever hope to obtain in the City of Nelson; [ until Us intended palace for the reception of men i whose minds rise superior to matter, is built, and ready to receive the learned, who like Mrs. Aveiy i or Nelson, are sure every one besides themselves i are in the wrong. Your able leader, logical, just, i and to the point, has so completely silenced the wrajhfuj. Daniel, that I leave him to its perusal, feeling assured tjiat if it does not establish a raw on his piichydevmatous Mils, then «ny poor pen might aa well assail a good granite blbcK1 :as tfja| gentleman's cuticle. ' '" I remain, Sir, CHLORIDE OF LIME. January, Gth, 1860.

One op the Largest Families in the World— We this day record the death, at the ripe age of |37, of one of the founders of one of the largest famjlie*, without doubt, in this colony, if riot in the world— » Mrs. Mary B rookor, mother of' Messrs. James and John Brouker, and of Mr. Edward Harrignn, of this district. The deceased lady arrived in this colony shortly after its foundation, was subsequently married twice, and gave birth to no less than twenty-one children, the majority of whom grew up and were married—and of these seven are now alive, one of them being upwards of sixty years of age. Without taking account of the ngmber of immediate relatives who have died, or of th'^ mem1! bers collaterally connected by marriage, and'only reckoning the children bornotsome of the immediate relatives up to five years back, the number of descendants now living number 148! These aie distributed as follows :— Children , '. .7 Grandchildren 43 Great-grandchildren 84 Great-great-grandchildren ~...,.. Iff 148 It is roughly calculated that, counting those other immediate relatives who are dead, and those alive collaterally connected, this family would number \\p\YQfds.o¥3oQ.--IllctwarraMeurc)y.- ' A Cunious Story op Waterloo.—Everybody was in expectation of a battled It was know?? in England that Napoleon had crossed into th* Netherlands, and that'■Wellington''was ready t^ meet him. News was slow of coming, and people^ hearts were sick with the expectation of the nex} mail. It chanced "that'between the services of. that eventful Sunday, a clergyman in Kent was walking in his garden. His gardener wa§ an old soldier, who had fought in'S^nliti. 'He said1, tnere'g a fight going on, sir, somewjieye j for I remembejr when \ye were in the Peninsula we afways k'ne^r a cannonade was tajjiiig.placp by the pfumnfing of fresh moulil." IJe fooll a ar)d dug down, a single fbot. and along the smooth surfaue ljjft hy the steel an iinppniepfilile trenihljijg aliook dem'n little pellets of the soil, * That's it sir," said the gardener, "they're at it sure enough." Before the next Sunday came round, the hews had . spread "from end to end of all the sea-girt isle joy cannon had sounded from all the castles in the land, and it was known that the greatest victory of modern time? had crowned the ©ritisli arms, , White's History of France.

[By Electkic Telegraph.] ;, From the Sydney Herald of the 23rd and tilth Ike. ' MELBOURNE. Weduesday. 7.30 p.m. At ilie iwo wool sales 3000 bales were sold, at v decline i»f about £d. per 18. on last. v«9A'i gales Greasy wools wet with few buyers. Seveial important parcels of, goods were offrtieil at auciion, but very few quitted. The cargo of B.iliic timber, ex Ludwig Heyer, sold at very low iMies. The '.Governor has gone to Queenscliffe, for Clnistmas. Friday, 7 p.m. The escorts have brought 42,000 ounces. The iDiirkets are agitated by rumours. Law, Dodd, aud Co. have filed their schedule. Budge, Brothers, and Sutherland and Buyley, have suspended. Confidence is again upset. The weather has been fearfully hot.