THE TICHBORNE CASE AGAIN.

Timaru Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 818, 20 November 1872, Page 3

THE TICHBORNE CASE AGAIN.

If the following statement, which appeared m the "Age" of 2nd October, be true, the Tichborne romance assumes quite another phrase. It is stated that a woman living m the Western district claims to be the widow of the claimant. She has, it is filleted, m her possession a photo-, graph of Roger Tichborne, and also thoso of other members of the family. Ti.is is confirmed by the "Warrnamb/iol Adver-i. tiser," which s^ate.s thai ici the year 1859, at Kilmary station, Sprint Cre^k, near Windsor, there was married hya We3leyari Minister one Robert Mills to Isabella M'Bae, the same Mills having been previously married t • Catherine Curtis, by whom he had sev-jn children, six being alive at the time of his second marriag-3. Although a man of dissolute habits, and: shoving a preference for low company, m his sober- moments he gave evidence -of having moved m a dilierent sphere of society. He was a good horseman' could

speak French fluently, and was skilful m various mechanical arts. One day after hiß marriage, when about leaving home, he told his wife if any one asked for Tom Castro to state she knew nothing about any one of that name ; and on another occasion he said he had been married under an assumed name. He further asserted that he had been wrecked when coming m the Bella from Valparaiso, was two or three days on a barren island without food, and was saved by tying a red shirt to an oar, and giving this as his reason for always wearing a shirt of that color. Once he casually mentioned his acquaintance ■with Lord Bellew. Mills was tattoed on his arm with the emblems of faith, hope, and charity and the letters It. C T. His body lies at Spring Creek, near Windsor, beside his first wife. A RELIC OF THE VIKJNGS. [From The Mechanics' Magazine] It is well known from Scandinavian traditions, as also from the evidence of the sagas, that during the last centuries of Paganism, constituting the viking period, or the earlier iron age (700 to 1,000 b.c.) deceased sailors were frequently buried m their boats, and a tumulus heaped over them. This has been verified by the occasional discovery m Norway and Sweden of tumuli containing boats, which, however, m nearly every instance, were so decayed as to furnish very little information m regard to their mode of construction. We learn from Harper's Weekly, that quite recently, m excavating a tumulus m the parish of Tune, near the town of Frederickstadt, the timbers of a boat were brought to light ; and this fact being communicated to the Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Antiquities, the disinterment was prosecuted with the greatest caution. The lowest layer of the tumulus proved to consist of stiff potter's clay, and. the upper of different kinds of eardi. ■ The portion of the vessel imbedded m the clay was preserved almost perfectly, that above it being almost entirely decayed. The central portion was m the best condition, as there the clay was thickest, the extremities being considerably injured. On moving the surrounding earth the remaining timber proved to be firm and hard, most of the nails being undamaged and still holding their places. The boat wasclinkerbuilt, of oak, and put together with iron nails ; only the ribs, and thewooden nails found m some places, were made of fir. The keel, which consists of a single piece of wood m good preservation, is 43£ ft. m length, and the boat was probably fully 13ft. m width, and not more than 4ft. m height from the keel to the gunwale, and with both ends pointed. The vessel must have been low and flat, and probably unfit for stormy seas. It was prepared for using both oara and sails, the remains of a mast still very evident. The .work was executed -with great care, and the vessel must have been quite elegant m its time. All the boards are ornamented with mouldings, both inside and out, and there were carved ornaments to be seen on the upper side of the ribs. No small implements were seen except the rudder, which was made of fir, the blade being 4ft. 7in. long, and lOin. ■wide. At the top of the stern is a square hole for the tiller, standing perpendicularly on the flat side of the blade. The body of the owner of the vessel was buried m the space just behind the mast-beam, the spot being indicated by small, flat wooden blocks sunk m the clay, and laid m a square alongside of the boat • and across it. With the human bones were associated the bones of a horse, accompanied by a few colored beads, some cloth compactly rolled together, the fragments of a saddle, part of a snow-skate, &c. It •was inferred from the bits of cloth, that the body was buried m the clothing, with the horse, saddle, and snow-skates by its side. The article from which we borrow this account states, that this is the only vessel extant from the viking period, so far as known, and the most ancient that has been preserved, with the exception of one m Denmark. The vessel and the artioleß found mit have been taken to Christiana, and added to the collection of Norwegian antiquities belonging to the university. PROTEST AGAINST THE RAILWAY BILL. "A protest, signed by eleven members of the Legislative Council against the third readIng of the Railways Bill, has been circulated, and' sent home by the outgoing mail. The reasons for protesting are as follows: — (1.) Because the BUI authorizes the Government to impose on the colony liabilities to the amount of nearly two millions m excess of the amount already authorized. . (2.) Because no efficient data were supplied. (3.) Because it does not reserve to the Parliament a constitutional control over the expenditure. (4.) Because the Bill empowers the Government to pledge the credit of the colony without any provision being made to meet its engagements. (5.) Because the Bill had been hurried through Parliament. (6.) Because no opportunity was afforded to the people of the colony to express any opinion thereon. '' The protest of the eleven members was the best.they could do, under circumstances which for the.present afford very.little hope of good. The Opposition would have been justified m dividing on every word of every 'clause of such a bill, if that sort of thing would have helped to arrest the mischief and arouse the taxpayer. Probably it would have failed; the ranks of Opposition would have lost all were half-hearted, and ■who did not realize their grave moral responsibility; and Mr. Yogel, with the aid of his plausible colleagues, would have created the impression that something very factious was being done. Public men nave to be muoh more selfdenying, before they can venture on a course much out of tho common line without being open to the heaviest misconstructions. The reasons for the changes of person m the Government may be excellent, but to the public all that appears is, that Mr. Fox is out and Mr. "Waterhouse m ; Mr. Sewell out and Mr. Hall in— all watery or unstable persons, all men who iiave used strong and even exaggerated language against recklessness and waste, and m turn countenanced them m action. Vigorous proceedings from men of some reserve are impressive, but our politics are bo' vivacious and our public men' so much of talkers, that the public misdoubts their vigour and sincerity. A protest however is' a record for the future, and does no harm m the present. Thepublio are not wholly deficient m memory, and" when a reckoning time arrives this proteßt may help to settle the balance. The Cat Show (says an English contemporary) the first ever held— promises to be a great success. '< The entries closed on Saturday, and it is nsw known that there will be nearly 150 cages,: containing selected samples of fine and curious ynimals. There will be one live wild oat of Scotland (Felis Cattus), exhibited by the Duk« of Sutherland, and two stuffed specimens, of the same variety, Bent by Mr F. Buckland; the.H6n. r Mrs Grey contributes an imported Porsian cat of: rare pedigree; besides which therqKwill be many Persian cats of . several colors,' 1 Agnora, Aleppo, and other foreign sorts, including one of great rarity from Sinm. Lady Irabbook sends a beautiful long haired creature m this class. There will be several of the iailess Manx cats ;andmany displaying curiosities of natural development and color, some of •wondron.B beauty^ weighing aa many as 18 and 201bs, and ono toriUeanell Tom.