NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume XVI, Issue 1632, 13 May 1873, Page 3

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Thb English Mail. —The s.s. Albion, with the English mail, via Suez, is due at the Bluff to-day. The P and 0 Company's steamer was due at Melbourne on the 6th May, and the Albion was to leave on the Bth. The mail will arrive at Nelson about Monday or Tuesday next. Lunab Eclipse.—An eclipse of the moon was observable last night, commencing at a little past eight, and lasting until half-past one o'clook. Nelson Aetilleet Company.—We notice by advertisement that the meeting of the above company, which was held at the Drill Shed on Saturday last, is adjourned till to-morrow, for the purpose of electing a Committee, swearing in members, and other business. It is also stated that all persons not iworn in on Wednesday will have to be balloted for. Me. GtEOKGB Cotteeell gave a very successful entertainment, to a large and appreciative audience, on Friday evening last. Inland Communication.-—On Saturday evening there was, by appointment, a meeting of members of the Inland Communication Committee and of West Coast members of the Provinoial Counoil. The object of the meeting was to confer as to the proposal to give land to a company undertaking the construction of a West Coast Eailway. Affer some discussion, a draft resolution to be subsequently submitted to the Committee was read, and was favorably received by the member* of Council who were present, as calculated to meet some of the objections to the granting of auriferous lands. It was agreed also that the resolutions at present before the Council should be postponed until a report be received from the deputation at present in Christchuroh. Photogeapht.—We observe that Mr. Brown, of Hardy-street, has succeeded in producing a picture of the assemblage at Stoke as it was grouped about his Honor the Superintendent just before he pioceeded to turn the first sod of the West Coast Railway. Some indistinctness occurs through the persons standing in the foreground being very unsteady, as, we believe, very few persons present knew that the artist was " making a picture" of them, aud this, together with the great heat of the sun, will account for so many persons near the centre of the group appearing with their heads covered during what they thought to be a hitch in the proceedings, but proves to have been the opportunity selected for the operations of Mr. Brown's camera. We hear that two or three of the illustrated papers have been supplied with copies of this picture, bo that, very probably, wood engravings of the scene will reach the hands of our readers before very long. Mr. Davis, of Trafalgar-street, also succeeded in producing a capital picture of the procession when it arrived before the Church steps, previous to its leaving town, and before the vehicles carried it off in sections to Stoke. Magestbate's Cottrt.—Thn business of thisJOourt, yesterday wns quickly disposed of. The caee of Stanton v. Eden, was adjourned until the 19th ; Hope v. Haase, to the 26fch ; Sellon v. Silcock, to the 13bh; Harper v. Armstrong, withdrawn. The Sububban Nobth Eoad Boaed.—Mr. Elliott in his hustings speech said: —" The Eoad Board in Suburban North was pursuing the Banie admirable course —not only was the dray-road through the district in excellent repair, but they had carried a bridle-road to the head of the Eai Valley —the boundary of Marlborough. When this work was projected, they were told the energetic Superintendent of Marlborough would have his share of the work to open communication between the two Provinces done before the Suburban North Eoad Board had ceased talking about it. It had happened just the reverse. The Nelson portion of the road was finished, or nearly so, while Mr. Seymour was still talking about the connecting link between the head of the Eai aud the Pelorus." I " Nbw Zealand Tablet " —is the name of a new and respectable looking journal that has made its appearance at Dunedin. The paper is started with a " view to supply good reading matter to the Catholics of, this Colony ; and to defend Catholic principles and Catholic interests generally." In an article entitled " Our Schools," we find the following : —"In the town of Nelson, the Catholics have excellent boarding and day schools. Those for girls , are conducted by the nuns, and those for boys by a master and assistant master, under the superintendence of the Eev. Father Garin, who has been, for more than twenty years, a very apostle of education in Nelson. These schools have a daily attendance of 200." The Tablet also states:—" There are no candidates for the Colonial Scholarships from Otago this year. Significant that. Where are our highlysubsided educational institutions ? and where our perfect system ?" Ngakawhau Coal.—The prospectus of a company to work this coal will be found in our advertising columns this morning. The Wellington Independent of May 7th, gives the following : —" A severe competitive test was yesterday applied to the Ngakawhau coal, which should have the effect of removing the question of the relative value of New South Wales and Ngakawhau coal for steam purposes beyond controversy. With the view of obtaining as correct a relative value as possible between these coals, Dr. Hector obtained the average evaporating power of eleven earn pies of coal from different localities of the the New South Wales mines, mostly from Newcastle, showing a result of 7"801b3. A lump of clean, lustrous New South Wales coal was then taken from a heap for household purposes, at the time lying outside the Museum, and Mr. Skey was requested to analyse it; the return given was 7"l7H>s. An average lump of Ngakawhau coal from the bold of ;the Cynthia, that was lying ready to be thrown on the fire at Mr. Dransfield's office, was than handed to Mr. Skey for analysis resulting in a return of 9 701bs. It may be now considered satisfactorily proved that, taking average coal imported from both places, the Ngakawhau corl possesses 25 per cent more evaporative powoe than that of New South Wales, finl this conclusion is corroborated by previous tests of value, which have all indicated the same and even higher proportion in favor of Ngakawhau. This means that if properly nnd fairly used to the greatest advantage in both cases, 750 tons of Ngakawhau will raise as muoh Bteam as 1000 tons of average New South Wales coal. Eeduce this to money, and Ngakawhau coal is worth 455. per ton when that* of New South Wales is selling at 345., besides the saving of one fourth the labor in handling, and also a fourth of the space required, which for ocean steamers is a consideration worth paying for." The Tichboenb Case.—A late telegram from Sydney states: —" Power tbe bushranger, now undergoing a sentence, affirms that he is in a position to prove the death of Arthur Orton, who he says, was shot down by the police whilst engaged carrying off a mob of cattle." We should TfliNl SO.—The following appears in the Melbourne Age of April 12th, this year—-" Liardet. —At her residence, Syranga Lodge, Eiohmond, the wife of Mr. Fredk. Evelyn. laardet of twin daughters. Father delighted,"

The Son. Mb. Baijhgate on the Volunteers. At Dunedin the other day, the Hon. Mr. Bathgate in replying to a deputation on the subjeot of the formation of a volunteer corps at Lawrence, said that ho regarded the present force as perfectly useless for any practical purposes. It was high time its constitution was altered, and the force so organised that when ordered to attend drill, they would he compelled to comply. The Artillery and Naval brigades were the only useful branches of the service, other companies being merely Bhooting clnbs. A new Volunteer Act would be brought forward next session, by which, instead of each, company drilling twice a week, all companies in each Province would be assembled in the central town onoe a year for fourteen days' drill. A Dean gets a Photograph taken on Sunday. « JEgles" writes in the Australasian of May 3rd: —" There is great distress in theatrical and religious circles. The Keverend the Dean has hitherto been looked upon as a rigid Sabbatarian. No one ever suspected him of anything more attractive than cold lamb and yesterday's potatoes for his Sunday refection. But what will the Traviatas and Lady Godivas say now ? The Dean, lam told, permitted himself to be photographed after service at the Cheltenham camp upon the Sabbath day! The very statues in Fitzroygardens (in whom the Dean never had any confidence) have been making the most of their scanty apparel to wipe away the tears envoked by this awful baoksliding. A Beggar one Day—Rich the Next.—A party of fencers were working on Holt and K'Kellar's run, Cudgelligo, Biverina. It appears that the contraotor for the fencing had under him a son-in-law, whose wife was among the party. The father-in-law alleging thit the son-in-law was useless as a fencer, discharged him, so away went the man and his wife, and they wandered in a most destitute condition. Camped at a place called the Bald Hills, in Cudgelligo, near a beautiful lake, about 14 miles by four, the poor woman, bred on the Tumut gold-fields, picked up a piece of quartz in which gold was visible. They searched, aud soon found the reef, in opening which they found plenty of quartz of most promising richness. We are told on good authority that these reefs crop out over a large extent of country hereabouts, and that there are likely to be alluvial diggings. The poor wanderer, who found the reef, immediately secured it by law, and was offered £1000 for his share, which he declined, although a short time previously he had not a blanket to put over his wife. A company was soon formed of men in the neighborhood, and operations were commenced on a small scale. The specimen from the claim brought to Hay was very rich, but it was there broken, and the richest part retained at Hay. The piece brought to Denliniquin had gold all through it, and was estimated by a good judge that it would yield an ounce to the ton. A rush has taken place, and it is expected that in a month there will be 3000 persons on the ground.— Melbourne Argus. Bonuses cob Immigbants.—The following notice has beenis3ued from the Immigration Office under date April 21, 1873:—The Government having decided upon allowing bonuses to persons obtaining nominations of emigrants to this Colony, the following regulations are issued for general information: —1. The bonus is fixed at 5s lor males, and 10s for females, per statute adult, payable upon arrival of emigrants nominated. 2. Persons obtaining nominations must accompany the applicants to, or lodge the application at the nearest immigration office, where the application and arrangement for passage money will be duly made in accordance with the regulations (New Zealand Gazette, December 12, 1872.) 3. The person introducing the applicant will then be entitled to receive fron\ the immigration officer a certificate *a the effect that he has obtained the nomination A, B, or C, from to . 4. A duplicate of this certificate will be forwarded to this office, and, upon due notice of the arrival of the emigrants nominated, the amount of bonus payable will be forthwith remitted to the immigration officer for payment to the person holding such certificate. —Gr. Maurice O'Rorke. A Fortunate Splitteb.—The Cornwall (Tasmania) Chronicle relates the following story: — " About seven years ago, in that great city of London, a cheesemonger died, leaving cash to the tune of £100,000 to be quarrelled over, fought and disputed for by the reputed heirs at law. Advertisements were inserted at different times in the English newspapers, and many a claimant a la Tichborne was forthcoming. The lawyers, however, were not' satisfied that any of the numerous claimants wt»re ' the right men,' and what has just transpired proves they were correct in their judgment, as the 'right man' has turned up in the person of the deoaased cheesemonger's brother, George Hutley, who arrived in this Colony some forty years ago. He was discovered by Mr. F. Stevens, a Victorian barrister, splitting up in the ranges in that Colony, taken to Melbourne, shipped on board a steamer, and brought to Launceston, and then taken to Hobart Town, whore he was identified as the veritable George Hutely, who arrived in Tasmania some forty years ago.. After all the necessary documents are procured to prove without a shadow of doubt the man's identity, he will proceed to England to claim his inheritance." The locomotive sent from Dunedin for the Mataura line has been successfully erected in the Provincial Governtneut workshop, at Invercargill, under the superintendence of Mr. Conyers, the railway manager, in ten days (says the Dnnedin Star, May 5). To transfer the engine from its place in the workshop to the Mataura line, it was necessary, on account of the difference of gauge, to lay a temporary road, which was effected by placing loose sleepers across the rails of the Bluff line, and laying the light rails upon these, to the proper gauge. Thi3 process was continued until tbe point of junction with the Mataura line was reached, when the engine, weighing some eighteen tons, was lowered upon its own proper rails by the use of sorew jacks and wedges. Steam was then got up, and a number of gentlemen who had watched the operation, were invited to take a trial trip down the newly-laid portion of the line, extending about one mile from the Invercargill station. The engine worked well, and no hitch occurred, but the enjoyment of several of the gentlemen who had secured " outside places" was materially impaired by what the engineers call the '* priming" which the engine seemed to find it necessary to emit in the shape of showers of soot, water, and grease from the chimney, much to the injury of the gentlemen's apparel. This is understood to be the first engine that has actually run under steam on the narrow guage adopted for the ~New Zealand railways under the Public Works Act. Immigeation,—A telegram has been reoeived from the Agent-General, stating that the number of emigrants ordered for the current year will be duly sent. The Halcione, for Wellington, aud the Contarina Fleming, for Port Chalmers, sailed on the 17th ult, with full complements of passengers. 1400 emigrants were engaged to leave England during the month of May, and six ships have been chartered to sail in June. Dr. Featherston reports that no firm but Messrs. Shaw, Saville and Co. tender for the conveyance of emigrants, but he has arranged privately with Mr. Turner, the agent for the New Zealand Shipping Company, for three ships for Canterbury, the price being £16 10s. a head. Messrs. Shaw, Saville, and Co.'s tender for four ship« to sail in June had been accepted at £14 ; and, also, for a ship to Napier, at £16. Dr. Featherston expresses regret that the instructions given him not to send emigrauts to certain Provinces during the months of June, July, and August, were not forwarded sooner. 2,500 tons of rails and fastenings, 3 locoir.o': tives, 96 waggons, and seven break vanß have been shipped for various ports.— Post, May 9. False Pbophets.—lt is amusing to find that the propheoy-mongers, who have been making out Louis Napoleon as the Man of.Sin, or Antichrist, appear to look upon his conduct in dy ng without fulfilling their predictions as something very like a personal wrong. Mr. Baxter and Dr. Cumming are especially to be commiserated. The battle of Armagedon will of course come off, and they have now to oast about for at least one commander. — Otago Daily Times. Pleasant— Cheap Jams.—Rotten figs, common glue, and " Turkish seeds," have been discovered bj Dr. Tidy (medical officer to the London Commissioners of Sewers) to be some of the ingredients used in the manufacture of the cheap " family jams" and 11 household preservei" told in London* I