LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Colonist, Volume XVII, Issue 1896, 3 April 1875, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Measles.— We are sorry to hear (hat measles hare been imported into Nelson from Auckland and Wellington. There are at present several cases in thisOity. The Wbeob: at West Wanganui.—An inquest was held at the Sandspit lighthouse on March 25.h on two dead bodies which had been washed ashore. The evidence given was merely relative to the finding of the bodies, and no new facts were elicited. From certain circumstances which have come to their knowledge, the. people who live in the district believethat more vessels than one hate foundered near the Wflit Wanganui Inlet.

Accident at the Gaswobks.—About eight o'clock last evening an aooident occurred at the Gasworks by which MrO-eorge Garret and Mr Thomas Harris were injured, the former rathor seriously. The men were oleaning out the from whioh the gas * was shut off entirely. The mau-holes were cleared away, and the dirty coke had been removed. Mr Garreftt lifted the bottom grating to aßoertain whether anything was beneath it. Owing to the faot that the scrubber had not been cleansed for some time, a small quantity of gas remained in it, and when Mr Garret lifted the grating this gas communicated with the light (lantern) which he held in his hand. An explosion ensued, and the two men above named were considerably burned. We may state that the work was beiDg done at night in order thai there might be a supply of good gas for this evening. Mr Garret's right arm, face, and neck, are considerably burned, and his left arm ia alao slightly damaged. Mr Harris haß also suffered from the effects of the explosion. His face is burned, but otherwise his injuries are slight. Both sufferers were driven to Dr Sealy's residence, where their hurts were attended to. Imaediately after the explosion Garret ran into the street, a portion of bis clothes being on fire. The explosion was purely accidental, and no blame is to be attached to anybody. Shortly before the occurrence Garret had warned Mr Younger, the Manager, not to go too close to the ecrubber, and fortunately he attended to the admonition. Messrs Garret and HurrU will probably be unable to do their duty for a few days. Aooident.—An accident happened on Thursday afternoon at the railway work*. I' appears that a

man named Thomas Williams was engaged with

some others in cutting earth from a hill at the rear of Mr Jones's produce store, when a quantity of earth f<ll on his leg and broke it near the ancle joint. Williams was sent to the Provincial Hospital.

Wool.—We see by the list of Australasian importers of wool into England last year, N. Ei wards and Co., of this City, sent Home 3,588 bales, and Sclanders btiri Co. 1.155 bales.

Breach of the Inspection of Machinery Act. —At ChriHtohurch two men have been summoned for neglecting to give a written notice to the Inspector of Machinery, as required by the Acf, that they h»id mti'hinery working on their premises Bi.'ing the first ea^es of the kind, the magistrate inSl-ted a nominal pena'ty of one shilling in each chsh. Owners 01 machinery must remember that the Aoc is in force in Nelson Province.

An Imp riant Discovery in Motutcki Vailey —It has long been known that Nelaun abounds with gold, iron, c >al, and many other equally useful com mo Ht.ies, and it blB also lons been felt that capital is f.ho only thing required to bring them from the howels of th<> earth and so enrich the Province. T!ie want of capital, however, and perhaps the lack of energy on th*1 part of the people who dwell in this p >rt.ion of the Colony have left the grea'er part of our mineral wealth where nature placed it. At the sums lime, comparatively small quantities of g'>ld, iron, and coal are being obtained and utilised. W« have now the pleasure to record the fact that another valuable diso»ery has been mide in our Province by Mr Sell, of Motueka. On Tuesday last he wits in Moturka Valley, where his attention was drawn to a number of pieces of a solid, transparent, brittle substance. He had been in the Valley on several previous ocasions, but he ha I never noticed anything of the kind hefore. Thinking that he had made an important discovery, he collected several lumps of the substance and forwarded thqin to a gentleman in Nelson forinalysis. On examination, the substance was found to, be proto-oxide of hydrogen of great, purity. The analyst immediately informed Mr Soil of the result of bis examination, and. shortly afterwards the latter wrote back stating that the commodity existed in large quantities in ..his district. It is stated that Mr Sell intends buying up as much of the ground in the Valley as he can.get; but it is to be hoped (hat the Government will interfere, add protect the people by refusing to allow any one man a monopoly. Our readers will have some idea of the value of proto-oxide of hydrogen when we state that1 there is a very large demand for it in nearly every part of the world. Tt is taken to London by shiploads from America and the north of Europe, and the ships which take it are very quickly cleared. In Australia, and even in this Colony it is extensively used, and on more than one occasion we have known anxious inquiries to be made foir it in Nelson. It is therefore hardly necessary to repeat that Mr Sell has made a valuable discovery. We expect to hear something further on the subject early next week.

How Men Rise in this Colony.—Sir GK Grey in his speeoh when elected Superintendent of Auckland, is reported to hare said about bia predecessor : —Mr Williamson kept a shopinShoftland Orettoent; that he raised himself from that position to the one be afterwards occupied, is'one of the circumstances which most strongly drew me towards the man, and towards his memory now. One day, passing down Shortland Crescent, I saw, gazing in at that shop window, a very intelligent looking boy. His dress was so neat, his appearance so intelligent, that; I was altogether struck by the circumstance* and watched him, as he most intently looked into the window. About a quarter of an hour afterwards I returned, and the boy was still there. I walked up to him and asked what he was loo,king at, and he told me he saw two little cannons in the shop window, "thaf he had just been building a boat, and that the question that occupied his mind was what a treasure they would be to him, but he had no money. Well, I took the boy in and bought the little cannons for him, (Chee s.) I asked him who hia father was, and he said " a mechanic ;" but the boy's whole aspect and demeanor convinced me that he must hare been a mechanic of no common order. The boy passed out of the shop. Two or threo, or it might be tour or five, years passed on, and I went to Nelson in the performance of my duty. I was met in the street iht-re by a lad, growing up to be a young man, who stopped me and produced from his waistcoat pocket the little cannons. Ho said, ''Sir, I have never parted from these, and have never forgotten what you did for me in giving them to me." I said,

''I* your father here?" '' lea." " Who is hie?" "He is Mr Robertson [? Robinson] the Superintendent of Neison." (Uhw»rs.) Now what had tasen place? The owner of the shop liai become Superintendent of this Province, and the fmher of the boy who was looking in o the wind w had raised himself to the position of (Superintendent of another Province.

WB Rbdwood, the well-known braeder of racing stock, had eight maiden horses on b mrd the steamer Phoebe, whicu arrived from Picton yesterday morning. I'hfy are to he landed at Lyttelton, and put in trainmn lor the Canteroury AutumnMdetuig.—Wellington Times, April 1.

Tub Opposition— We learn from Dunedin that the new session of Parliament will open with a comparative novelty, namely, a compact, organised, aud powerfnl Opposition. Drowned. —A Maori nam;d Mathews has been drowned in the Buller river at Westport. He fell overboard from a oanoe.

The Charleston Herald has changed hands, Mr. T, Dwan having purchased it from J. Tyrreil & Co.

Mb. tiVQti. J ONES, of the Bmk of New South Wales at Westport, has been presented with a purse of sovereigns and an address from his Charleston Iriende.

Animated Skeletons.—The " Times" of April 1, thus speaks of some of the horses used for public truffle in Wellington —" Many of these poor brutes are nothing more nor lets than animated skeletons— a phase of existence which can only be brought about by sheer starvation." • Ma A. D. DOBBON, late Provincial Engineer of kelson, has been appuinted District Engineer under the General Government., in which capacity he mil direct the works in connection with the Harbor and Railway Works in the Buller district. The pro* motion in his instance is entirely due to merit. — Westport Dimes., !

Bovßhß i'UKKOW Ploughs have been introduce I into the Spring Creek district, Marlborough, a-d the Express says they hare given great satisfaction by reducing the labor to a minimum.

Two thousand persons tilled the Prinoess* Theatre, Dunedin, oa March 28, to hear the Her. Charles Clark preach. Hundreds of persons were turned away at the doon.

Valuable Cargo.—The ship Nelson cleared at Fort Chalmers on March 27, for London, with a cargo valued at £127,404, including 4000 ounces of gold. Br the recent fire at Parnell, Auckland, the insurance offices' losses were—South British, £1,500; New Zealand, £1,400; and Victoria, £200; total, £3,100. Mr. Olson was insured for £2,800, but his loss is fully £4,000.

The Canterbury papers tell of a thirty-acre field of rye-grass in that Province that has yielded fourteen hundred and ninety-two bushels of clean teed, or nearly fifty bushels to the acre. It is reported that eight hundred men are at present employed on the railways and other public works in the Dunedin district. Thk total loss by the fire at Oamaru, Otago, on March 20, is estimated at £7,775 to £8,075, of which £4,900 was covered by insurance in the following offices—New Zealand, £3,250; South British, £500; Royal, £800; National, £100; and Norwich Union, £250. The well-known entire Karens worth has died at Waoganui, it is said from overwork during the season. SkriouliTUEE.—Chevalier Brauto, an Italian, has applied to the Minister for Lands in Victoria for two thousand acres of land for sericultural purposes. Wheat grown at Garibaldi (Otago), over two thousand feet above the sea, is being exhibited at Naseby, in that Province. Fevbr is still prevalent at Cromwell, in Otngo. Thb Matatua HotJSE.—The Bay Of Plenty Times gives the following description of the above-nan ed Maori house at Whakatane:—" The building of this house has occupied the Ngatiawa tribe for years, Apanui, the ol i chief of Wakatane, having begun the carving over five years ago, assisted to a very great, extent by skilled carvers and decorators from other tribes. The building is 70ft. long by 331t. wide, and the porch, or verandah some 13ft wide. The interior is richly carved and decorated with, plaited reeds, presenting the rich appearance of tapestry.. Around the sides are figures splendidly carved and decorated, representing the chiefs ef a past age ; the beams, rafters, &0., are all ear red and ornamented, and present a very rich coup a" ail. The floor is covered with magnificently worked matting, and in the evening the building is lighted by a large five-burner chandelier, besides sundry large reflecting lamps along the,walls. The porch, which alone has employed about a dozen workmen for the last two weeks, is very handsomely carved. Effigies of the leading living chiefs (male and female) are on each side of the doorway and at each gable end. The devices of these figures cannot be said to be likenesses, or even attempted likenesses; indeed, Maori art does not eeera to tend in that direction, but probably the tattoo marks are faithful copies of the several originals as far as can be ascertained by tradition." Mb Justice Gresson narrowly escaped a possible serious accident the other day at Christcburch. He was being driven in a carriage to the Court, when the horse became restive, broke the shafts, and was prevented from bolting with difficulty. Thb "Times" of March 29th, states that within a week; over £150 were collected tor the Otngo Benevolent Institution, including £80 10*. from the Rev. Mr.-Clark's preaching in the Theatre. As stated by teleg am,' the amount of damage done by the fire at Wanganui on March 25th, was about £6,000 on whioh there, was £2,700 insurance, divided I hua—Nation.l, £1,100; South British, £00; Standard, £400j Norwich Union, £200; and Victoria, £200. The rider of the Earl of Lynne in the Consolation Handicap at the late Dunedin races, fell from his horse, and received a compound fracture of one of his legs, the bone being exposed. The boy, who is named Smith, is getting on well, reports the "Times" of M.»rch27. ■ Dhowstbd.— ' A Grahamstown telegram dated Monday last states :—William Broker, recently from Riearton, Canterbury, disappeared from'amongst his mates at Ohinemuri on Thursday last. Search was made on Friday and Saturday, and yesterdiy his body was found in a creek, in eighteen feet of water. It is supposed he fell while climbing over the rocks, and struck against a rook, as one eye was much bruised. Over seventy men were engaged in the search. The foundation stone of the Auckland waterworks waß laid by the Mayor on March 29, when the contractors entertained 150 guests at a cold collation. A SBW sohoonef, the Roderick Dhu, of 167 tons, was launched at Auckland on March 24. Her owners are lbcal'men. ■ ' . Quebb Fish.^—A sunfisb, weighing lOOlbs., and an elongated froßt fish, measuring four feet, were'caught at Port Chalmers, on March 24. ■ Lurline is entered for the Adelaide Cup with 25 others. The New Zealand horse will carry Bst 101b., Lapidist carrying B*t 71b. Rich Copper: Ore.—News has reached Adelaide that at the Ballade mine, in New Caledonia, one hundred and fifty thousand tans of rich copper, is at present on view. Some South Australians bad speculated in shares in that mine. ■ Chinese are arriving in Queensland in large numbers. On March 20, eight hundred of them arrived at Cook town from Hongkong. An Astonishing Dividend.—At the annual meeting ol tho Shareholders in the Norwich Union Fire office, a dividend was declared at the rate of £20 per share. £30 paid.. The dividend was accordingly at the astonishing rale of over 66 per cent per annum. - Jaw Breakers. —John Pulasksoberiskwinchinski was married to Julia Soloskiminniewinniehiski at South Bend, Indiana, the other day. The Prince of Macao, one of the highest personages in Japan, is learning printing in a Paris office. Arrangements have been made for defending Halifax, Bermuda, and Malbii by torpedoes. A Veteran —Sir George Augustas Westphal died at Hove on January 13. Sir George served under Lord Nelson, and fought on board the Victory in the battle of Trafalgar. Chinese and America.—Mr Charles D. Leland has in the press a work entitled, "Fu Sang, or the Discovery of America, by a Chinese Buddhist Priest in the fifth century." It will be published in London and New York simultaneously. Ceushed to Death. —On February 3rd, a large rock fell from Cape Blanc, near Quebec, Canada, and crushed a number of people. When the mail left, eight bodies had been recovered.—At Cape Diamond, in the same country, an avalanche descended on a house, crushing it, and burying its inmates, named Gibson. It is believed eight lives were lost.: Female Cohdkge Leotureus.— Miss Kingeland and Misa Dove, of whom the first passed equal to second class in the Cambridge Natural Science Tripos, and the latter would have been entitled to an ordinary degree/ have received appointments, Miss Kingsland as an assistant lecturer in natural science and mathematics at Girton College, and Miss Dove as assistant mistress at Cheltenham Ladies' College. Awkwabd. —The Staffordshire potteries and district, with one hundred and fifty thousand people, were for several days in January destitute of water, owing to the bursting of a main. Watbb-pboobl bonnets are advertised in London. We do not imagine they are intended for a very long reign; adds the Worcester Gazette. The Dv eh troops in Acheen have made a general assauit on the works of the Achineoe and carried nii.e forts, with the lost of twenty-one killed and sixty-five wounded. Ten Lives Lost.—On January 25, the homestead of a farmer named Da ude, was destroyed by fire at Bui chervilie, near Quebec, Canada. Dalude, his wife, and eight children lost, their lives; the father getting ;at ally burned whilst bravely (but unsuccessfully) endeavoring to rescue the family, Femalb Fbanouisb.—Tue Woman's Suffrage Journal nays the Women's Disabilities Kemovai Bill will be introduced in the English Parliament during the present session, by the Bight Hon. James Smnsfeld, the Eight Hon. Kussell Gurney, »nd Sir Robert Austruther. . It is stated that the Dutch Society for the Fro* motion of Cremation now numbers about 1030

members. A obntlkkah, whose name is unknown, has given £10,000 for the promotion of university education in Nottingham. A Cujuo.—A Berlin oircus-borse site at table and eats like a human being, with knife and fork fastened tobiskwofocelegabyatrapK . .