NEWS OF THE MONTH.

Colonist, Volume XIII, Issue 1278, 24 December 1869, Page 2

NEWS OF THE MONTH.

LOCAL, DIBTBICT, AND GENEJJAL.

The Nelson Association held its usual monthly meeting on Wednesday, December 1, when Mr. T. Mackay read a very interesting paper on "New Zealand Flax, and the mode of preparing it for manufacturing purposes." Whibiwiito.—On November 28th, shortly before eleven o'clock, • portion of the town was visited by a violent cyclone, which, fortunately, was brief in duration although violent in* it's action. The direction of the storm appeared to be from the Waimea^apparently dmdingatrthe entwmce of TbvToiValley,-«nb passing in an easterly direction over the northern portion of 'the town, and in "its course considerable damage was inflicted.- Afc the outset its path was marked by levelled crops, small trees uprooted, and fencing scattered; and when it reached,the town, Beveral houses. The greatest mischief occurred about windows were burst open or torn from their hinges in the centre of the town. The old stables at .the back of Mr. Lane's hotel, and the various contiguous buildings about the timber yard of Messrs. Curtis Brothers, were (rendered complete wrecks, either toppled overrent asunder,or bodily lifted from their; place and smashed up. At Clapham Rise, two poplars and a willow tree were snapped of at the roots; and in Mr. Kingdon's garden, another. wiljow tree was actually twisted out of the ground; A cab on the Trafalgar-street utand, was whirled round more than once, and from a yard close by a crate was whisked up too and broke a window situated twenty feet high. At Mr. Levien's store, three shutters, although barred across firmly with the: others, were forced outwards with such violence that the iron bar w»s bent, and the ends of the shutters stood on the ground., The steamship John Perm was caught in the bay, but fortunately, no damage was sustained. The"whirlwinp was observed at Richmond sweeping past some trees not far from Mr. Barnicoat's residence, and bending the poplars like reeds. Its influence was not felt at the port. ; Attack by a Bum,.—On Sunday, the 14th of Nov., James Manson, a young man in the employ of Mr. Baird, of Sea View Farm, Clifton, whilst in "the act of shifting Ja bull •on his tether to a new peg, the bull caught and jammed him against the fence, bruising him1 severely about the body and face, arid then, fortunately for his life, tos3ed him over.the fence, and thus finding him without his reach left him. After lying some time in,a very weak and precarious state, he managed to reach the house and is rapidly recovering from his severe bruises and shaking. Fatal Accident.—-An inquest was held on the 22nd Nov., by F. E. Horneman, Esq., coroner, at Ngatimoti, on the body of a child named Arthur Henry Remnant, as;ed seven years, who was unfortunately killed by the overturning of his father's cart. Verdict, "Accidental death." The Culliford Gold-Mining Company.'— Election of Permanent Directors.—-On Dec. 2, the polling for the directors for this Company took place at Messrs. Thompson and Stavert's office, with the following result:— Mr^ Herbert Evelyn Curtis 196 Dr. George Williams ... 192 Mr. James Henry 187 „ James Burnett 183 „ Alfred Culiiford 180 „ Martin Lightband ... ... 162 „ Edward Everett 142 „ Robert Lee 89 . „ James P. Black 80 „ Alexander Fletcher ... ~ 72 „ Malcolm M. Webster 58 ' Dr. William W. Squires 47 Mr. William Milner 31 „ William Cooksey... 29 „ William Elton * 25 ; „ Charles Watts 18 Rev. Frank Simmonds 14 The seven highest) «m the list were elected. It should be stated tnat several names were proposed (it the meeting last week without the sanction of their owners. Mr. O. Curtis, M.H.R.—We (Hawke's Bay Herald) understand that Mr. Curtis, Superintendent of Nelson, has been appointed by the arbitrators,, Messrs Ormond and Bell, umpire in the question of the apportionment of the debt between the provinces of Wellington and Hawke's Bay. ; We hear that the British frog has been found in considerable numbers at Wakapuaka. This is very probable, as for sometime they have been reported as existing in several parts of- the town, notably in the water course at Gloucester-street, near the jPost Boy Hotel, i.nd also in the ditch in Vanguard-street. Accident to a Clergyman.—We are corriv to state that a serious accident occurred to the Rev. Mr. Butt on Tuesday, December 7. The Yen. Archdeacon, moui.ted on a newly-purchased steed, started for Marlborough, but after crossing the river Maitai his horse became restive ; he was thrown, and, unfortunately, broke his left lew, just below the knee. Mr. Butt was conveyed to Wilden, the residence of Mr. Adams, and medical aid was speedily obtained. No doubt, this accident will confine the rev. gentlemen to his chamber for some time. Mr. William Gibbs, of Totaranui, has been reelected, without opposition, as member of Provincial Council for the Golden Bay district Assault.—James Gilbert and William Reid; have been sent to Nelson gaol for one month, with hard labor, for assaulting Police-constable John Cooper,' while on duty on Saturday evening, December 11. - Marriage at the Synagogue.—On December 15, a marriage ceremony was performed at the Synagogue, by Mr Isaacs; the contracting parties '' being Miss Julia Davis, daughter of Mr Hyair. Davis, of Bridge-street, and Mr D. Caro, of Christchurch. The ceremony drew together a lare;e number of persons, who showed much interest in the proceedings, the bride and her four fair companions of course forming the principal objects of interest. The dinner was held in the evening at the private house of Mr Davis, in the Waimea-road, and a large number of guests were present, the arrangements being sumptuous and most complete for the joyous celebration of the happy event. College Exhibitions foe Government School Scholars. —The examination of candidates for the two exhibitions (each consisting of a free education for two years) offered by the Governors of Nelson College for rompetition to the scholars attending our Provincial schools, took place on December"!?, with the following

! West Coast Officiais.—Rumobed Changes.— Two or three of our West Coast contemporaries state that Mr Warden Lowe, at Cobden, has resigned his office and is going to England; that Mr Warden Broad will succeed him, and that Mr Harris, sub-treasurer atWestport, will be appointed in the place of Mr Broad at Charleston. : Thk Upper Gbet Districts.—His Honor Mr Cartis, the Superintendent of Nelson,' (says a Grey river paper) proposes paying a visit to the up-country districts some time about the beginning of the New Year. There are, so we have been informed, to be two warden's districts, to the one of which Mr Pitt, of Nelson, will be appointed, and to the other Mr Franklyn. Captain Bevebidge, who wag decidedly Vttae right man in the right place" aa Harbor-master at Charleston; has resigned the office which he ao faithfully filled, and leaves foe Auckland, ihortly. He is succeeded by Mr. David Cunningham, an experienced Melbourne pilot. [A testimonial was presented to Captain Beveridge by the inhabitant! of Ch«urle#ton.]

A-cdBBisPONDEXT requests us to make the following statement: —Sometime ago, a young man named Gascoigne, while in bed in Mr. Wright's Ship Hotel, at the, port, was wised, shortly after,* midnight, with a sudden paroxysm of insanity,'taking the form of a belief Ifiat seme person^ in the house were attempting to get' into' the bedroom to tak»his- life. The room was a double bedded room, and he alarmed his companion.by first threatening him with a drawn knife. The landlord came to the, door,; and Gascoigne stood by the, door, ready to stab anyone, on entering. ■ He-would/not allow hia L CH>mpanion to leave the room | but at last by an. excuse, tie, got out and was walking about .the street, _when suddenly his bedroom companion came out on the ; balcony .with a fearful yell,:sprang oTer the railing,* heiglvi of some twelve or thirteen feet from the ground,!and rushed st him, thinking he was i one; who sought his life. He said the men were gone up town,-upon which he ran up the HftYen-road, rand up Bridgestreet nearly naked, broke through the glass door of Mt. M'Gee's Hotel, and got into the bar, awaking the inmates by ringing the dinner bell., He afterwards got out again fearfullycut and wounded by \he gloss, and bleeding, and was found in Hardy-street in a pool of blood, and greatly exhausted. He was taken to the hospital, and is progressing. towards recovery. The circumstance is narrated so fully now, because it had been asserted that the unfortunate man was drunk at the time; but he was not, nor had he been drnking, .as Mr. Wright testifies. Mr. Gascbigne is a, brother of Lieut. Gascoigne who, with his family was murdered by the natives at White Cliffs, and this circumstance had preyed on his mind and temporarily deranged it. This statement we have been requested to make as a correct narrative of the facts. Poisoned Sugar in WEiireoToy. —His Honor the Superintendent has received the following notice in a telegram from Mr Gisborne : —" Caution to the Public—Police-office, Wellington, December 15,1869. —Notice is hereby given, that a certain quantity of sugar having been .sent by Dr Grace to the Government laboratory this day, upon being analysed by Mr : Skey it was found to contain a considerable quantity of arsenic. The sugar in question was recently purchased by Mr Henry Yates, of Molesworth'-street, grocer, and was sold by him from the 4th to the 11th instant, inclusive. The unsold portion of the sugar was immediately, handed to the custody of the police by Mr Yates on the above discovery.—Frederick Aoheson, Inspector of Police." > Death from Sunstroke.—Michael Herring, an Irishman, died afc Westpbrt, the other day, from the effects of sunstroke. ' At a sale by auction of Crown lands at Otago, the other day, 1885 a. 2r. 32p. were sold for £417317s lOd, or an average of £2 4s. 3d. per acre. ' A fatal accident happened, some days ago, to a man named Daniel O'Counell, a bullock driver in the employ of Mr. D. F. Main, Taieri Lake Station (Otago). It seems that O'Connelf was driving a dray back to the station from Hyde, and while sitting on the pole of the dray overbalanced himself and fell backwards. The wheel of the cray passed over his head, fracturing the skull. Medical assistance was obtained, but the poor fellow, who was insensible, never rallied, and died some thirty-six hours after the occurrence of the accident. - Theatres seem to do well at the Thames, as the local papers state that it is in contemplation to erect another one at Grahamstown. Mr. Boyle has been re-elected Mayor of Hokitika. The crops in the Arrow district (Otago) are reported to " look magnificent." Flax Movement in , Taranaki Province.— There are three flax companies formed. One at Opunaki, one near Cape Egmont, and,another at Patea. Mr. Thonias Hurst. proceeds to Wellington to make final arrangements about the lease of land at Patea, for flax-dressing. Important Meeting at Auckland.—A large and influential meeting of gentlemen interested in the Thames, has been ; held at Auckland to consider the present unsatisfactory system of mining management at the Thames. A committee was formed to enquire and report upon the matter. During, the meeting it was stated that wholesale specimen stealing was being practised, and that there ought to be an amalgamation of claims, so as to secure economy and better supervision. Cobomandeli, in Auckland Province, it is stated, is turning out a first-class goldfield. A newspaper is about to be started there. The Otago Escort.—The above escort brought to Dunedin on November 30, 5577 ounces of gold. The Late Wifj? Murdek at Lyttelton.—At the Supreme Court sittings at Christchurch," • John Smyth has been tried and found guilty of the wilful murder of his wife, Georgina Renton. The trial occupied two days, the jury retiring at 9.30 p.m. of the second day, and returning at 11.40, with a verdict of guilty of murder. The prisoner was sentenced to death in the usual form. ' Serious Affair.—From the Kaikouras we learn that on the 7th December, a woman was seen there with one of her children under her arm with its throat cut. In the other hand she had a loaded revolver, and under the same avm a gun supposed also to be loaded. She had fired also at some children belonging to Mr Monk, of the Accommodation House, at the Boat Harbor. Her name has not been learnt, but the police-constable and men from Hartland's and Caverhill's stations were out, by^u-t^ accounts, in search of her. The woman is sngpogectHo have been landed fron£the Bee last trip, amj is in su&b. a state that she may have to be shot before being taken.— Lyttelton Times.. * ft |V A magnificent--liferi^ table of New. Zealand woods, has been majiijfacfctired in Auckland, as a testimonial to Bishop "Selwyp from the inhabitants of that city. It is. desefibod as a beautiful work of art, and cost about £100. . Jons Henry Caton has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment in Lyttelton gaol, with hard labor for conspiring some months since to rob Mr. Wilson, of Christchurch, of a considerable sum of money. A Chinaman, named Lee Chow, while working in a creek three miles above Carnaby's store at the Lower Nevis (Otago); a few days ago, was buried by a fall. of earth. Although assistance was promptly at hand, eight hours elapsed before the unfortunate man could be dug out, and life was by that time of course extinct; > ; . ; ; Sudden Death on Board the Gothenburg.— The Grey Siver Argus of Decembflr 14th, states :— " A very distressing accident took place on ■ board the s.s. Gothenburg, on. her passago from ! Nelson to this port. A young man named William M'Turk, apparently about 26 years of age, died very suddenly, about half-past eight o'clock, on Sunday evening, from the: effects of hemorrhage into the lungs, from rupture of a vessel and blood vomiting, induced by a slight attack of sea sickness. While off the Steeples, deceased was observed to lean over the forepart of the ship and vomit a quantity of blood, indeed so much that it was at once apparently a hopeless- case. Captain M'Lean, assisted by the officers of the ship and some prssengers, did all that could be thought of for the poor fellow." Infanticide in Canterbury.—Th« Lyttelton Times states that on a recent afternoon the body of an apparently full grown healthy female child was found in the river Avon, under most suspicious circumstances. A Mrs. Thomas, residing near the river has been in the habit of fishing daily for whitebait: since the anniversary of The Prince of Wales' birthday (the 9th ult.,) and had each day noticed a strange looking bundle in the stream. Being in company with a neighbor on the occasion named, and their joint curiosity being aroused, the bundle was pulled on shore by means of a whitebait net, and on being opened the dead body of an infant was discovered. The body had evidently been wrapped up in the most careful manner, and every precaution taken to sink ifc. There were three wrappers in all; first, two common print aprons, whioh were covered with blood; then a piece of waterproof silk; and, lastly, a piece of brown paper; the whole being tied together by a piece of string round the waist of the body. Attached to the latter, also, was a small satchel, made of common bed-ticking, in which were several l»*g« stones and two half bricks. The body presented no marks of violence, and information being conveyedto the police it was removed to Mills' Hotel. Uty ■'Dreamer has since made a post mortem examination, and an inquest was held but do evidence adduced to throw light on the affiur.

reaiuc; — Candidate. School. H. Graham... Bridge-street... F. Severne ... Riwaka 0. Hardy...... Bridge-atreet... C. Newman... Hampden-street W.Hornby.., Bridge-street... A. Everett... Do. E. Hunter ... Do. T. Hooper... Do. W. Tregea... Do. W. Condell... St. Marv's .2 '■S a S § 5 • 5 5 6 92 50 70 45 45 45 25 35 45; 20 42 10 49 5 40 5 60 0 40 0 a ' .2 I i 40 182 40 155 20 " 110 25 85 10 75 20 72 10 64 10 55 0 50 10 50