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Thames Star, Volume IIII, Issue 1694, 8 June 1874, Page 2

It ii rumored that a formal offer hat been made to the ProyincialG-overnment of Otago by a well known firm of Dunedin contractors to lease' the Port Chalmers Railway for a term of years at an annual rental of £20,000, and'that tha offer is under consideration.

THEHolitika papsrs report a case heaTd before the Magistrate there,-when a debtor itm.-tued -for forty shilling*, the creditor agreeing'to accept payment by instalments of one shilling weekly, to which the debtor (who must be a bora humorist) demurred on account of the same being excessive, and more then he was-able to pay.-, • ■ '

AX accident of a painful character happened on 'Saturday night to Mr Dowries, landlord of thei S&fibrd Spiel- Passing a glass door bis foot slipped and he fell head foremost againt one of Jhe panel, going through to the neck.;:.; His throat was severely lacerated in seTerai places, but, with attention the patient in prograsisng,, towards recovery, no laitiog injury being anticipated.

We learn from Mr. Thotjm Spencer that, the larks liberated some timemgo at 'Parawai have bred, and that their, progeny has been Been,,, several, times; la'ely Roaring to the Bkies. Mr) Spencer law ajhumber of young ones rising from the cricket ground on ft recent occasion, and Mr. Bennet sjaw a num; ber on another occasion. The parent Jbiro| were obtained from^the Aupkland-Acisliifta-tisation Sooiety, and' the your g ones seemed to be ip a healthy state—strong on the wing.

The Biverlon paper states that Mr. J. B. Watson, while walking on the beach found fire cows dead under a large red pine tree. Th« animals were ljing huddled together, and had evidently been killed by lighting on the evening of Wednesday, the 16th ins*. The tree was marked as if it bad been struck. Tho cattle were marked in a zigzag manner from the flank to the shoulder, as i( they had been with a hot iron. We heat that two head of catlle were also destroyed by lightning at Orepuki. Thb Sydney Morning Herald says :—The ralue of the casting vote has perhaps never been more completely .^VS^iyr^'viiS proceedings of two meetings of the Municipal Council of North Willoughby. At a meeting held on the Bth ult., the Council was equally divided on almost every motion submitted, and thus" the Mayor becamo virtually the Council. Only four members were present on the occasioH referred to, and the Mayor having a rote and a casting vote, was enabled to carry all the motions moved by h.mself and the councillor who. supported him. Seven motions were thus carried.

TriE following interesting little episode is recorded by the Otago Guardian as having occurred at a meeting of the Port Chalmers Town Council:—" Hia Worship the Major made a few remarks regarding the manner in which lessees of portions of the Town Belt were acting, and said they were«pilfering the Corporation property. Whereupon Councillor M'Kenzie rose from his seat, and demanded of the Mayor if he meant that ierm to apply to him in. common with others. He then marched up to. the Mayoral chair in what appeared to be a pugilistic attitude, and again pressed his question, upon which Mr John M'Dermid, the Mayor's son, stepped fovward, and dared the Councillor to strike \ (he Mayor, his father. An adjournment put pn end to the scene.

Velocipedes are becoming an institution in Paris' for forwarding messages from the Exchange (Bourse) to the central telegraph office, Hue de Grenelle. The rates charged by •« velocemen " are 2s. The run there and back, including delivery of messages, takes about thenty-five minutes for a distance of three miles 1302 yards. It is contemplated by some'speculators to establish a public company." When Marshal Bazaines trial was going on, velocipedes were u«ed for conveying messages from Versailles for the Moniteur, one of the Parisian papers. The single run was charged £1, and was accomplished in forty-five minutes for a distance of twelve and a half miles, at a quicker rate than the railway trains. But the road descends all the way, Versailles being on a higher level than Paris, an-i the railway is circuitous; stoppages are also very frequent on the line.