LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Colonist, Volume XVII, Issue 1897, 6 April 1875, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

9 The Town Clebkship.—lt will be seen by a . perusal of our advertisement columns that the City Council are advertising for a " gentleman competent to fulfil the duties of Town Clerk." The salary attached to the office in, as things go, good, and as L the duties are not of a very difficult nature there will, . of course, be plenty of applicants. It is to be hoped , therefore, that the members of the Council in selecting a clerk will not allow their personal feelings to influence them. A good officer should be obtained ; for the money, and the citizens expect the Councillors to elect the best man who may offer himself. Merit, , and not friendship, should decide these things. Fibe Bbigades.—Several gentlemen intend going round with subscription lists in aid of the Fire Brigades this morning. It is to be hoped that the citizens will respond to the call and subscribe liberally, for it must be admitted that the brigades are the means of saving a large amount of property from destruction. Had they not existed, fewer houses I wouH have been standing in Nelson to-day. Entertainment.—The Nelson Artizans will give a dramatic entertainment in the Oddfellows' Hall this evening. The piece de resistance will bo the celebrated nautical drama "My Poll and my Partner Joe." We are informed that more than the average amount of trouble has been taken to make the affair a success, and as the Artizans generally perform excellently, there can be little doubt that they will be well patronised. * A Nelson Lady.—The friends of Mrs Henry Godfrey held a ball in her honor at E wart's Hotel, Blenheim, on Thursday night last. A large number 'of persons were present for the purpose of bidding herself and family farewell. Mr H. : Dodson proposed her health, and the toast was drunk with enthusiasm. Mr Dodson spoke of Mrs Godfrey's long residence in the district, her hospitality to all comers, and her general good qualities, in a very feeling speech. Pbovincial Gazette Notice.—The Provincial Government Gazette of April 3rd contains the following notifications :—The Provincial Council will meet at the Provincial Hall on Tuesday, May 11; Mr John Millar, C.E., F.S.A., has been appointed Provincial Engineer and Chief Surveyor for the Province of Nelson. Another Newspaper.—We have received a copy of the Despatch, a weekly newspaper which has just been 'started at the Thames. The number to hand contains a variety of news, and is a credit to the conductors. A large portion of its space is devoted to Ohinemuri news. Closed Doobs. —It will be remembered that the City Council excluded the public from one of their meetings last week. We thought at the time that their action in this matter was contrary to the provisions of the Act, and now, after making the necessary enquiries, we find that our view was the correct one. - For the information of the Council we publish the 140 th clause of the Municipal Corporations Act, which reads thus:—" The ordinary meetings of the council shall be held for transacting the ordinary business of the council under this Act, and amongst the rest for appointing and removing the inferior officers of the council and superintending their conduct, and for enquiring into the conduot of the contractors or other'persons employed by them to execute any works, and into the state and progress of such works, and giving such directions from time to time as may be necessary for carying into effect the purposes of this Act; and all ordinary meetings shall be held with open doors unless it shall become necessary to exclude strangers on account. of their disorderly conduct." Embezzlement. — Frederick 18. Fynmore was charged at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday with embezzling £31 5s from the General Government. Prisoner, who had been receiver of gold revenue at the Lyell, was remanded for a week. Customs Revenue.—The.following is the amount of Customs revenue collected at the port of Nelson during the quarter ended 31st March, 1875 :—

£ s. a. i Spirits . ... 2,259 14 5 Cigars and Snuff ... ... ... 247 1 7 ] Tobacco ... 716 12 6 „ Sheepwash ... 111 6 t Wine ... ... 277 2 3 Ale, Beer, &<?., in bottle 444 15 2 < „ „ wood ... ... 25 0 0 < Tea 984 19 5 Coffee, Cocoa, &c 113 18 2 ] Coffee, Roasted 0 15 0 - Sugar and Molasses ... 1,228 18 2 Goodsvby weight ~ 573 5 3 ; Ad valorem ... ... 3,546 8 2 ( Other duties not specified above ... 183 17 4 j Q-old Duty (Nelson Province) ... 13 5 3 1

Total... , 10,616 4 6 ' EIiEOTOBAL.—We learn that the following are the numbers of the new claims this year for the franchise r in the following districts : — Nelson ... 60 Motueka 11 [ Suburbs of Nelson... ... ... 15 l Waimea 18 r i 104 h

The Ltbli Eleciion. — The nomination of candidates for the seat in the Provincial Council for the Lyell was to be held on Saturday last. The two candidates, we learn, are Messrs D. Macgregor and Dempsey. The poll is fixed for the 13th instant. Gold.—The last cleaning up from the No. 2 South Larry's gave a result of 228 ounces of gold, and that at the Fiery Cross claim 710 ounces of retorted gold, | being at the rats of about 1£ ozs. to the ton.—The first gold from the United Alpine claim has just been obtained, being 178 ounces from 120 tons of stone. The latter claim ia at the Lyell, the others at the Inangahua. Typhoid Feveb.—The Grey Miver Argus gives the following amongst the Press Agenoy telegrams: —"Nelson, April 1. —Several fatal cases of typhoid fever have occurred here this week." If true, how about the wisdom of sending away such news, of which so much as been said lately in certain quarters. We hare not heard ot a single death in Nelson from this cause for some time. What Dobs it Msan ?—ln the Russian budget for the present year the vote for the War department is fixed at one hundred and seventy-five million roubles; being nearly one hundred million roubles more than any other item of expenditure, the next large item being "interest of public debt," seventyeight and a half million roubles. —A telegram from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, dated March 1, states :— " A commercial crisis is impending here, and several leading Oxmafeel the effects of the approaching war. Peckham and Hoag, lumber merchants, have failed, Hays and Co., the largest furniture manufacturers in Ontario, have put their workmen on six hours a day. Many men are leaving for England. The Bankers held a meeting on Saturday at which they resolved to support each other in their difficulties." Mobe Coal.—Another seam of coal has been discovered at Oxford, Canterbury, on the Woodstock station. The seam is said to be seven feet thick. Surely New Zealand will speedily turn to account these discoveries of coal which are continually being made both in the North and South, and prove to the world that we have coal enough for our own use, and some to spare. A Stf akk —Wherk did it Come pbom ?—Capt. Bluett, of the Armed Constabulary, reports that the other day as some of his men were sawing timber two miles from Fort Galatea, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, they discovered a snake, between three and four feet in length, holding on to a native spider. Unfortunately the natives chopped it into mince meat.. Sergeant Hall, of the Armed Constabulary, saw the snake, and corroborates the story. The " Times" says —" We understand that this description of snake is occasionally to be met with up North, but believe it is the first seen in the Bay of Plenty." We have always been led to suppose that New Zealand waß entirely free fr tra every description of such vermin. Surely they muit have been unwittingly imported into this Colony. Twenty of the leading .Communists, headed by Dr , Rastoud, have escaped from New Caledonia to Aus« tali*, and are now »t luge, itataiaSjdnev telegram. *

Bittb Gttmß and Measles.—A West Gout con* temporary states:—"Blue gum trees are found to exert a purifying influence, in malarious districts, but it would appear that the virtues of this valuable agent are still far from being fully known. It is said that gum leaves placed in mattresses with the ordinary stuffing, operate as a powerful disinfectant, and^ tend greatly to prevent the spreading of infectious diseases, particularly among children. The experiment, we are credibly informed, has been tried successfully in preventing the contagious effects of measles." < New Zealand Denounced.—A letter from Dunedin, denouncing New Zealand, has appeared in the Manchester Courier. It is signed James Stansfield, Joseph Norman, James Edwards, William Clark, Thomas Wilson, Benjamin Whetton, and James Eeid, and is dated Dunedin, November, 1874. The letter asserts that " hundreds cannot get work, and the people cry shame on the Government for inducing them to break up their homes by false representations." They complain of their treatment at the depot. The letter says: " When peode arrive here they curse the inducement that brought I them out," and continues—"lf I were in England now with my little colonial experience, I should look upon any man who tried to induce me to come out as a scamp, a traffioer in the welfare of his fellow men, and one who for a paltry commission of 10s per head, would consign to irretrievable ruin happy and respectable families." A man named John Robinson has been killed at Makarau, Auckland, through a large kauri tree (which he was felling) falling upon him. Oabp.—These fish are rapidly increasing in Lake Taupo. The Southern Cross informs us that about three years ago the first lot (36) was liberated in that Lake, and now the natives are netting them wholesale. A Cbeditable Balance.—At the end of last year Hawhe's Bay Province had a credit balanoe at the Bank of Australasia amounting to £36 425! Peaches have been destroyed in great quantities in the neighborhood of Dunedin by a species of snail, " which apparently grows with the fruit." Pbogbess.—The Canterbury Spinning and Weaving Company commenced work on March 31st. Mobtality in Dunedin.—The deaths in Dunedin during the first quarter of this year were nearly doable those of the corresponding quarter in the two previous years. . Gaswobks.—There is a talk of erecting a second gasworks afc Dunedin, at a cost of from £28,000 to £35,000, for works capable of supplying 250,000 feet of gas. The movement is owing to the lessee of the existing works charging too high, in the opinion of the City Council-, for lighting the city. Captain Peek (who is known in Nelson) has lately bee» lecturing and preaching at Dunedin. Auckland Wine.—A Mr Albertz, of Mangawai, V uckland, expects to make fifteen hundred gallons of wine this year, and other vinegrowers in that . district have been most successful. : Fobq-ed cheques for very large sums of money, bearing the name of Mr. Robert Graham, and drawn upon the Bank of New Zealand, have been circulated | in Auckland. Steps, have been taken to Becure the1 , forger. Gbeat Fire.—A great fire at Port-au-Prince on February 16, rendered seven hundred families homeless, and did damage to the extent of two million dollars. . ', A society of cannibals has been discovered in , Hayti. ' Calijobnia now has a silk factory in full working order. It is at present turning out silk ribbons. Funebal Refobm.—The body of the late Baron Anseiin Rothschild was conveyed from the Frankfort-n-the-Maine station to the grave in a common . carrier's van. The Baron left a fortune of twenty- ' two million pounds Bt6rling. ' Sib Chables Lyell was buried in Westminster ! Abbey, with pomp, on March Ist. His grave is near ' that of Ben Jonson. ' I Thebe aas been a disturbance at Bethlehem, Pales- ' | tine. The Greeks attacked the Armenians, and several on both sides were killed. ..The Bible is now printed in two hundred different ' languages. ' Italy has no fewer than one hundred and fifty-four ' schools of art, technical schools, and trade sdhool*. ! The yield of potatoes this season in the Waikato district, Auckland, is reported to be a very abundant one. . \ Mr Spencer, of Mood us, Conn., oast a despairing ' look upon his twenty-first child the other day. li o ' wonder they call a repeating rifle a Spencer. { At the funeral of John Barnes, who died at Bristol recently, aged one hundred and three, the ' coffin was followed by his grandson, who is himself a grandfather. ' An Indianapolis father shot six times at a supposed burglar, and was astonished to hear the fellow ask, " Wazzer mazzer, fazzer P wazzer doing ?" Natubalisation Pboblem.—" What is your ' name ?" asked a census-taker. " John Corcoran." "Your age?" "Twenty-one." "What nativity?" " Well, that's what bothers me. I'll tell you, and j maybe you can make it out. My father was Irish, but is now a naturalised American citizen ; my mother English, and I was born on a Dutch frigate, under the French flag in Turkish waters. Now, how is it ?" Shape op Tbees.—The best shape for fruit-trees, i according to the opinion of a recent convention of [ German pomologists, is the pyramidal. This form is . preferred on the ground that it gives the minimum < of shade, greatest strength, production of better fruit, and fewer disadvantages from storms, weight of * snow, excess of fruit, etc. I Music and the Savage Bbeast.—Sir Samuel t Baker, in his new volume of African adventure, tells fi us of the notable effect of music upon the natives. " I believe," he Bays," a London organ-grinder could c march through Central Africa followed by an a admiring crowd." r The Tbuth will Leak out.—"What are you g after my dear ?" said a grandmother to a little boy, ] who was sliding along a room, and casting furtive glances at a gentleman who was paying a visit. "I r am trying, grandma, to steil papa's hat out of tbe ' room without letting the gentleman see it: he wants a him to think he's out." r