LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3250, 13 July 1871, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Chief Justice. — His Honor Chief Justice Arney ia expected to arrive in the Lord Ashley, due hero on Saturday. R. M. Court. — Only one unimportant case was down for hearing at this Court yesterday. The Hon. Me Domett. — It is said that the Hon. Mr Domett has obtained leave of absence for a sufficiently lengthy period to enable him to pay a visit to tho old country, and that it ! is probable he will leave by the next, Webb's | boat. New Zealand Rope.— -A very nice sample of rope made from flux hns just been left at our office. It is fully equal in appearance to the best quality of Manilla, and wo believe were the two subjocted to a similar test, the colonial article would speak for itself. Wo loam that it can be made to any size or order, and we feel certain that, once known, it will soon find its value. Tho samples referred to were manufactured by Mr George Dawsou, at Mrs Q-rey's. Otaki ; and an inspection of them by sailmakers, seamen, and others competent to judge, would be found worth while, and prove satisfactorily the truth of our opinion as oxpressed above. Otaki Ferry Hotel.~Wg are much pleased to hear that this old-established hotel and accommodation -house still maintains its character, earned long ago, for comfortable accommodation. A correspondent, travelling up to Wanganui, writes as follows : — " I loft Whaikanao about four in the afternoon, in as dirty looking weather as I have ever seen on this bleak and intiospitablo coast. By a quarter to five it was totally dark, and, with mist, rain and wind, I could hardly eeo a yard in front of ice. Imagine my pleasurable surprise, when gleaming across the waste of sand and swamp, twinkled the cheerful lights of a hoii6e. I was not aware of the existence of a hotel on this Bide of the river, but my horse appeared to know better, and quickly brought me to tho door. I need hardly say that both he and I were made thoroughly comfortable for the night, every attention shown us, and in tho morning escorted safely across this dangerous river by a son of mine hostess. I do not think this house is sufficiently known, or its kind-hearted and struggling mistress would receive more than casual visitors." We need only say that wo aro only too happy to publish this jotting by a stranger, and hope that the poor widow referred to will receive a share of public support, to which we are assured she is thoroughly well entitled. Victorian Police.— We perceive from a paragraph which appeared in the " Molbourno Leader," under date of May 20, that the police service in the colony of Victoria, costs that country the sum of £195 000 per annum. An "Unfailing- Evidence of Decadence. — A correspondent of the '' Grey River Argus" says that tho proprietor of tho " leading" journal of Westland — the "West Coast Times" — has determined on publishing his paper with boy labor, assisted by two compositors. The Pelobtts. — A correspondent of tho " Maryborough News" writes from the Pelorus : — " The once bustling town of Havelock now shows more enduring signs of prosperity, and with the goldfields everything here looks more hopeful. Ifc may not, porhaps, bo generally known that tho timber trade of this port alone during six months, loaded no less than fiftysix vessels, with 1,478,850 feet of sawn timber. From eight to ten vessels are frequently in the harbor at one time. The work of buoying tho harbor, which has been undertaken by Dr Weld, has progressed most expeditiously, considering the difficulties that had to be contended with. Thirty-fivo of the buoys are laid, and there remain now only seven or eight more to be laid, and there are now only seven or eight more to be moored, which is not expected to be accomplished until spring. The mills of Messrs Brown und Inglis, and Mr Divo are in full working order ; but I regret to state that a fatal accident happenod to an old settler named William Beere, on tho 17th iusfant, who waa killed by the branch of a tree falling upon him, whilst employed at the former mill, Pietistical Restraint in the Colonies. — Roferiing to the recent conviction of Lorando Jones for blasphemy, a Glasgow paper •ays : — If the unfortunate sculptor, on finding himself inspired by a theological and propagandist zoal, which he was unable to restrain had only betaken himself to tho mother country ho would have met with a better reception. In our own city, to go no further, ho might have black-balled tho Prophets and

Apostles every day in the year, and torn tho Biblo to tatters, without running the smallest risk of persecution. And yet there are people who say that there is more freedom in the colonies than in the old country. Deep Sea Cukeknts. — Ifc is known that; not long since the cable between Lisbon and Gibraltar was disabled. After considerable labour, it wa3 grappled on February 11, in 500 fathoms water. It is supposed that at that depth tho ocean is generally at rest, and that thero are no currents below 200 ft or 300 ft from tho surface. When brought to the deck of the repair ship, however, there appeared on the cable most evident indications of chaGng of very heavy character. We believe that this is tho only case of abrasion at such a depth known, and it is important to those who study the geography of tho eeas, inasmuch as the chafe of tho cablo indicates the existence of a powerful ocean currents, at a depth of 3000 ft, along the Spanish or Portuguese coast.—" Journal of tho Telegraph." A Fijian Bejppo. — It is rather amusing (says tho "Fiji Times") to read scraps of intelligence from Fiji which appear sometimes in colonial papers ; and it is also rather puzzling as to the way in which such items get circulated. Surely some one must have played a " goak " upon tho journal which contained tho following :—The Young Australian, from Fiji, brings news from. Levuka to 29th April. A public meeting had been held at Levuka to reprove the British Consul for refusing to witness tho will of the late Lieut. Woods. If the journalist who wrote this wore to have a peep at Levuka just now, ho would bo astonished at the umount of vivacity displayed by the " defunct" gentleman, whose energy has only lately astonished the whole of the Group. So far from being doad, it would almost seem as if ho had entered upon a now life, tho first actions of which would startle and amaze the " malua" settlers of Fiji. Lunatics' Bones. — The number of bones broken in the English lunatic asylums has given occasion for a curious scientific inquiry ; and it is now asserted that the ribs of crazy folks are more brittle than tho ribs of save. Dr Heardon instituted an examination of the bones of twenty patients who died in the Carmarthen County Asylum, In nine of these cases " the very frame-work of the chest was found to be in an abnormal and diseased state." In two instances the breast bones woro not stronger than stout card-board. In one case the surface bone was so spongy and soft that is was easily crumbled up botween the fingers. Some of the ribs were easily cut with a common knife, thero being, through the action of the diseasod brain, a wasting. Queensland.— The "Gympie Times" of May 24th says : — From the Victorian Mining Statistics for 1870, we learn tla 1 . " the average yield per ton from quartz treated in that colony varied last year from about 6£ dwtß at Ballarat to about 25.£dwts in Gippsland, The information obtained by the department for the year covered tho treatment of about sovon and a half million tons of quartz, and the average yield from the whole of this was at the rate of 11 dwts 4.57gr3." Tho highest average per ton consequently appears to havo been obtained from the Gippsland district, and is not half that produced from all tin quartz crushed at Gympio during tho last sixteen months, viz, 2$ ozs per ton. There iB every reason to believe that if this district had the same appliances for extracting and saving gold from quartz that are used in Victoria tho yield would be Btill larger. It is therefore with no little satisfaction we direct tho attention of all to the fact that with the limited appliances at our command, the Gympio reefs are so rich that the yield obtainod from them more than doubles the highest average returned by the premier mining colony.