Local Intelligence.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1801, 6 December 1862, Page 3

Local Intelligence.

The Lancashire Relief Subscription. Nearly the whole town was canvassed ou Thursday — the portions of districts uncanvassed on that day having been completed yesterday. The amount obtained was about £500. It gives us pleasure to state that not only were the canvassers scaicelj ever refused, but that what was given appeared to be given with the utmost cheerfulness. Of course there were a few- mauifestatious of '* Au> I my brother's keeper" spirit; but we are happy to say they were so exceedingly few, as to be quite unnoticeable. There were a few who Refused because of the pressure of other claims, and, where this was the case, the effort to refuse was evidently often more painful to the individual making it than we are sometimes charitable enough to give credit for. Some of the country districts are being canvassed this week, and the remainder will be so next. I Launch of the Mosquito.— On Thursday ' afternoon, we were eye-witnesses of the launch of i a little vessel from Mr M'Lean's building yard, intended for the coasting trade- The event created quite an excitement in Willis-street, and a large number of spectators were assembled in the vicinity to witness the little craft taking the virgin plungeintothe" briny." About balf-past three o'clock the preparations >were all completed, the lady sponsor, Miss Haybittle, stood prepared to officiate, the wedges were loosened, crack went the bottle of wine over the bows, and the saucy little Mosquito amidst the loud cheers of the assemblage, glided gracefully away into her natural element. All success to tbe little craft say we, and may many successors continue to be built, christened and launched from the same place. The followingaie her dimensions: Length of keel, 36 feet, 8 inches. Breadth of beam, 12 feet, 8 inches. Depth of hold, 5 feet 6 inches. Length over all, 41 feet. Her register is 16£ tons, but she is capable of carrying 30 tons. She has been built for the Messrs Haybittle, by Mr McLean, and is intended for a coaster, for which she appears to be well adapted. It may not be out of place to mention, that the Messrs McLean built the Matilda Hayes, which is acknowledged to be the fastest sailing, and neatest built vessel out of this port. We should be very glad to see ship-buildiug carried out to a larger extent than it is ; as our New Zealand woods are specially adapted for the purpose. The Imported Deer.— Some months ago, we called atteutign to the fact that the deer imported per Triton, were lodged in a shed at Fiimmer's wharf on their arrival, where it appears they still remain. It is to be feared, i that keeping them in such close quarters will I endanger their lives, and when it is borne in \ mind, that they cost the Province 30s a week I for their keep, it would surely be advisable to | have them disposed of in some other way. We ', understand, that those belonging to Messrs i Clifford and Weld, which some time ago were sent to Canterbury, were seen there by Captain Jackson of the Shepherdess, who reports them well and. thriving. The Superintendent.— His Honor left town yesterday on a visit totheWairarapa.from whence he is expected to return in a few days. *

Mementos of the Departed. — We sometimes like to indulge ia a fit of meditation amongst the tombstones, and there muse > on the mutability of all things human ; but the ' other day, a visit we paid to St. Paul's i Church, inflicted a terrible shock on our sense f , of the fitness of things. In a common paddock surrounding the sacred edifice, we stumbled across three ni< numental tablets, which were lying in a totally neglected condition, just as they had been hastily laid down. The first was inscribed " as being sacred to the memory of five men who had belonged to the Calliope, and had lost their lives in the war of 1846-47." It was stated in the inscription, that the stone had baen erected by their surviving messmates and comrades, as a tribute of respect to their gallant lives and patriotic deaths. The next stone was in memoriam of Sergeant Ingram and the men of the 58th Regiment, who perished, ' nobly defending their countrymen, against the aggression of the rebel natives in the Hutt, in 1847, and was erected by Lieut. Pa<?e, and the privates of that Regiment. The last of the series, was dedicated to the memory of thelale W. Wakefield, the first Agent of the New Zealand Company, who departed this life in 1848. It was very painful to see these mementos of the living for their departed comrades, thus dishonored andneglected, and the case is not improved by the circumstance thatin consequence of recent additions and alterations to the Church itself, those scenes have lain exposed and neglected fora considerable time. Why were they not placed iv theiroriginal positions long ago, and why are they permitted to remain where they are a day longer? Certes — the hard earned pence of our soldiers and sailors, were not subscribed for the purpose of having the tributes of their highest feelings of generosity thus rudely desecrated. Land Sale. — The laud sale at the Land Office on Wednesday last, of the Ahiarube and Warekaka blocks, VVairarapa, realised £3855. For several of the lots there was a brisk competition. Shrimps. — Although not exactly gourmands t yet we do eujoy the pleasures of the table to a moderate extent, and if we have a weakness which is scarcely possible — it is for shrimps. Yes, we do like those small specimens of the genus Crustacea, and it is therefore with great pleasure that we sawapbntiful supply the other day at a shop in Cuba street, and on enquiry ascertained that they were brought in from Porirua Bay by Mr Henry London, who is prepared with a fresh weekly delivery every Saturday. The Obiminal Sittings, — Doranv. Donody. — At the Criminal Sitting this week, a case was on the paper from Ahuriri, to which some of the Grand Jary have requested us to call public attention. In consequence of there being no Crown prosecutor, and Mr Brandon not considering himself justified in acting as such for any other province than Wellington, the case nearly fell to the ground, and the gentlemen of the Grand Jury, after the business of the morning was over, had to adjourn to 3 p.m., to their very great inconvenience. Had it not been for the interference of the Judge, the ends of justice would have altogether been defeated, as the prosecutor (a soldier) was not present. His Honor suggested that the prosecutor's wife, who was a witness, should act as her husband's agent, and that one of the legil gentleman present should act as her counsel. Mr Hart did so, and Donody was found guilty. We do not think it just that now a Circuit Court is held at Napier, the criminals of that province should be sent to Wellington for trial, eren if it be done without putting this Province to pecuniary expense. The afternoon of the Grand Jury was wholly broken in upon by their having to give a second attendance, and al! the petty jury would otherwise have been discharged on the first day, as only this Ahuriri case had to be tried on the second. It would be bad enough if the juries were only townspeople ; but, seeing that they comprise many from the country, the introduction of criminals from elsewhere, must be productive of much inconvenience and expense to them. Besides which, Wellington gels all the odium attaching to the increased calender— an odium which it is of first importance to prevent. If Napier did not possess a Circuit Court, we would not say a word; but as it does, it is not just to ourselves that we should let its criminals be tried here without protesting against it. Oil. OF THE EUCALYPTI FOR SfIEEP-DsESSING. — We extract from the Yeoman the following: — "In a communication we lately received from Mr Ledger, of New South Wales, it was intimated that in Spain a decoction of cloves is regarded as superior to one of tobacco in dressing diseased sheep. Dr Ralph writes to the Argus by mistake, we presume, and suggests that a decoction of bluegum flowers, just as they are ready to burst, should be tried, adding that — '• If the cloves are really serviceable, the circumstance is due to the presence of an essential oil which abounds iv the myrtle order of plants, to which the clove (being the unopeued flower) belongs. As the bluegum belongs to the same order, and is abundantly supplied with a powerful essential oil, I am led to infer a fair trial is due to this easy obtainable colonial product. I think, also if only those curious disc like cups which fall off the flower buds of the blue gum, in order to allow of their expansion could be gathered in sufficient quantity, it would be well to try them for they are sometimes obtainable in considerable quantity. The leaves, also, of the tree might be tried, as well as the flower-buds and leaves of the other native gum-trees." There cannot be a doubt that the essential oil obtainable from the leaves of many of the Australian trees and shrubs would be as effectual in curing the scab in sheep as turpentine or kerosine is, but by the very process of making a decoction tbe essential oil would be in a great measure lost it is so volatile ; aud then, nothiug would be left but the tannin, which would stain, and thus destroy the wool. This would particularly be the case in makiDg a decoction of gum-leaves. In making any experiment of tbe kind, distillation, and not decoction should be adopted, and we have no doubt would be highly successful.